#earthrunes

It is rare when Lord Hume ap Dougal comes to the library save to help with Tech support on those RARE times such might be needed. He comes in softly, knocks with gentle knuckles. He wears a belt of silver and red, not his usual colors.

Zara is at her desk, pouring over a large, dusty tome. Bronte is immersed in another. A stack of other chimerical medical texts wait nearby.

"Zara?" He says "Sorry to trouble you. I've got an odd side project or two. Do we have some sort of census book on Bird pooka in the area? "

"mm?" She looks up. "Master Hume."

"Ah.." A moment, blinking. "Ah. Census records, row C, shelf three."

"Thanks. I really need to enter these into the system" He admits and his spine pops and clicks a bit as he bends over there "I've tried making a tracking program for crow flights, to find our patient zero. But a bird pooka might help better than any drone, at least at tthis stage. I'm not sure why I've been trusted with these tasks exactly but I won't let the baroness down. I mean, she still SCARES me some, but at least she also gives me a chance now."

"Coradel is something of a force of nature, aye."

"We haven't many avian pooka, that I recall."

"Aye" He nods as he looks, "And I don't recall eitther. I guess they ARE rarer, but while I've got some hints online of a few, I can't 'confirm' it. Pooka love pranks and they don't answer straight, and I respect that is who they are, but it makes 'any of you avian pooka' questions hard. There's a young owl pooka in Brightwind, and a roving Mocking bird pooka drag queen originally from Rowan Oak. But neither is easy to reach"

"Oh, there are more than that."

"You could always visit Kansas City."

"Oh?" He looks up from the records now in his hand "What's in Kansas City?"

A slightly arched brow.

"You... haven't been to KC?"

"Once... I think. But the only major freehold there is said to be a den of chaos and anarchy"

"Aye, this is correct."

"And... thou art seeking a Pooka, no?"

He winces "Ah, are you suggesting I go to this Mos Isley of freeholds in PERSON?"

She levels him a steady, unblinking look.

"Uhhm. It's kind of dangerous" he reminds "I mean, can you just imagine the kind of lunatics that circle around there? Steepliing their fingers, plotting the downfall of concordia or ..whatever?"

She remembers a nice wingback chair, she has one HERE now, of course.

Zara's grey lips curl into a tiny smile.

He looks a bit worried at that smile

"Oh, aye. Anarchists. Winged lesbians. Luddites,"

He shudders at the last

"So you're saying if I go, I'll find folks who will want to guilatine me for being a noble, steal my girlfriend, and destroy my lap top? No thanks" Alarmed

"And, mayhaps, a befeathered belchick."

"Befeathered bel... sorry I'm.. not versed in the Yiddish? if that is Yiddish?" He says not wanting to offend

"OH" he blinks "A pooka..avian... right" he sighs "So if I REALLY want to do right by the baroness I should check it out?"

"What do you think?"

"I think the right thing sucks somedays" he sighs "And that I should probably get some gear on if I'm going to visit it"

"...Gear?"

"Laptop, smartphone, mace to swat off kidnappers... possibly Oswald to protect me."

"Trolls are very handy for that, you know?"

"I am well acquainted with the uses of trolls."

"Still - need you both laptop and smartphone? Could not a tablet alone do?"

"Oh" he says a bit embarrassed, only sidhe birthright keeping him from showing greater embarrassment "It could, but I'v'e heard about scammers there so I bring in a fake if it gets stolen or someone tries to hack me, either will get them a surprise" A smile

Brow.

"Whatever you need to feel safe, Hume."

"Right. TWO trolls" he nods "Wonder if Sir Earl is busy"

Meanwhile he takes picttures of the census and enters it into his system

"He is working."

"I'll have to take a trod then" he nods "Okay." A beat "Saw one of his recent covers on a sci fi novel... the one with tthe living space suit thatt is trying to get the astronaut out of it because it seems the human within as a tumor? Kind of cool"

"Oh, aye. The bulging veins were especially gripping." An elegant gesture at her slender neck.

Bronte lifts her own neck "Book?"

"Aye, Darling. Our Earl hast painted a new cover. One of the DAWs."

“Reading one book is like eating one potato chip.” - Diane Duane" Bronte declares and looks about to see if this new book, cover and ALL is here yet.

"She's a bit impatient, isn't she?" Hume says fondly.

"She is a glutton."

"A shameless one, at that. New arrivals, darling."