justscribing | The City

[And there he is, sitting at one of the tables with a journal he's writing in, looking exactly as she expected from Badou's thirst trap photo but with a lot less sweating.

His gaze lifts to the door.] "Raverobber", is it?

That's me. And you're Kaveh's friend Alhaitham.

[THAT PHYSIQUE IS STILL SO UNFAIR. ABSOLUTELY UNFAIR.]

But among colleagues I usually prefer to answer to Ghost.

Ghost, then. He would argue against calling us "friends", but we're acquainted. [This is really for her sake, before she earns a tirade from Kaveh letting that slip.] You have the books, then?

I don't know if I'd call what he does "arguing". I argue. He gives earnest, impassioned speeches straight from the heart in a manner that leaves no room for rebuttal.

[Rather than heading straight over to the table, she makes a brief detour to the front counter; she's in a coffee shop anyway. Might as well grab a carryout cup and get a little extra benefit out of her stop here.]

I do. Though I'm a little surprised by your interest. I wouldn't expect an architect to find this sort of thing very compelling.

[She does not, in fact, think he's an architect. But Alhaitham has already proven himself willing to correct her when he disagrees with some premise she puts forth, and that's a dangerous combination — might as well test the waters and see if she can get him to do it again.]

[Alhaitham thinks, if they're going to be working on something together Ghost will absolutely see what actual arguing from Kaveh looks like. Or perhaps she has an just isn't up to the task of rebutting him. Also possible, he thinks.

He was expecting to get down to business and go. He tilts his head to watch Ghost saunter right on by for coffee instead.

He could correct her on his trade. It would actually be fairly reasonable for someone to assume he was a connection through work rather than anything personal when it comes to Kaveh, for those who don't know them.

But he's more curious about the perspective she puts forth with it. A simple correction can come after he gets an answer.] You think that an architect couldn't have an interest in curses?

I would have a lot of follow-up questions about just what and where said architect is architecting, if he thinks curses are something he needs to study up on.

[Her cup acquired, she comes walking back over, taking a seat opposite him at the table without actually being invited, turning the chair around backwards so she can fold her arms over the top of the backrest as she sits.]

Or how he's locking his doors. You're not thinking of locking your doors with curses, are you? I don't recommend it.

[Alhaitham watches her sit backwards upon the chair. He loosely folds his arms as he leans back in his.]

Is it always a matter of need? People find their ambition in any things, and someone's hobbies or personal troubles don't have to be related to their line of work. Perhaps Im simply interested in the nature of curses on the side.

[She just kind of looks at him for a long minute, like the idea of people's hobbies or troubles not being related to their line of work is in some way a foreign concept, or possibly like he's just grown a second head.]

For the record, I am keeping count — I've answered three of your questions so far, and you're dodging every one of mine. Which I find curious, because it's usually the other way around.

[She sips her coffee, momentarily breaking the consistency of her gaze.]

Why are you interested in curses?

[Alhaitham just stares back through that long minute, like he can physically see the wheels in her head turning.

Okay, so, possibly a workaholic. The concept of hobbies should not require that long of a pause to consider.]

You're keeping count, huh? [More interesting is her claim that it's usually the other way around.] Curiosity. It's the most relevant to me between the two texts as far as something that I could end up dealing with one day. If you have the book then you must come from a place where creatures that have the capacity to place curses are well known.

Or because writing is my job, and knowing everything is my hobby.

[It's sarcasm, but the light kind — more directed at herself than at him. She sips at her coffee again, making no move to go digging around in the bag that still hangs at her side even where she's sitting in the chair, but it's apparent just from the weight of the way it hangs that there's something fairly bulky in there.]

Curse-avoidance was a fairly lucrative field in my previous employment. Also curse-crafting; two sides of the same coin. I had one witch come looking for help with crafting a curse that only the girl she was sweet on would be eligible to break. You'd be surprised how niche people's reasons can be for that sort of thing, really.

[A witch had wanted a curse that only the one she loved could break. There's a Mondstadt fairy tale of a sleeping princess who would only wake from True Love's kiss. There's a garden that Alhaitham had once been woken in by Kaveh's lips.

His gaze slips to the bag, then back to Ghost.]

Is the ability to cast curses innate to most people where you're from, or the power of a select few?

That depends on how you define "where I'm from". Would that be where I was born, where I grew up, or where I wrote the book? All three are different answers from each other.

[She sets her coffee cup down on the table, fingers splayed to hold the round lid from every side at once, and spins it idly so it makes rapid rattling circles on the edge of its lower circumference, using the weight of the liquid still inside for momentum.]

"I have no idea", "The latter, from a certain point of view", and "The latter, point of view irrelevant", if you're wondering.

[It's an answer to a question that expands upon not the nature of Ghost's home, but of Ghost herself. Alhaitham wonders, briefly, if she meant to let so much slip in between the words. That she did not grow up where she was born, and she did not write the book where she grew up. That she knows less of her place of birth than the other two.]

Ah, you wrote this book. [That she didn't carry the advice of another expert in her line of work, she is the expert.] Based on the last one, are you among those capable of casting curses?

I did. Which is why I'm not particularly stingy about loaning it out. It's not as though there's anything in there that I don't already know.

[She shrugs a little.]

We would need to define a few of your terms of art before I could meaningfully answer that. It depends on what you mean by capable, and what you mean by casting.

[All right, he can pinpoint it further.] Can you curse somebody and it'll work?

[The technicalities are irrelevant. He just wants to know if the end result is at all functional.]

No.

[She says, easy and without hesitation.]

That's another question I've answered, by the way. One more for the count.

[Alhaitham shrugs. He's a man who likes to know. Whether he would share in turn has always been a separate matter.] I have another: when do you plan to pull out that book?

I would say sometime between when you start to pony up answers yourself, and when I finish my coffee and leave. So half of that interval is fairly flexible, I'd say.

[She spins her coffee cup again, as if for good measure.]

What is your field of study?

So if I decide I don't care to answer the question you'll revoke your offer? [The quirk of his brow at the end of an inquiry.]

Linguistics.

Show me where in the terms of the agreement it says I can't set conditions on my specific performance. Or, since this doesn't have to be strictly business, maybe I'd just prefer to give my books to an acquaintance rather than a stranger.

[Linguistics, though. That would certainly add up. Particularly with why he'd feel drawn to a book entitled something like Exact Words.]

Do you speak a variety of languages, then, or just study them?

I'm aware we don't have any sort of formal contract in regards to your book lending. [He's simply curious abut the thinking behind additional requirements. Ghost is using the book as collateral to force him into a conversation. But Alhaitham is not a man who will be made to do what he doesn't want to.

She's just interesting enough he'll let it continue.] It'd mean very little if I didn't learn to speak the languages I studied. But it's not particularly useful with this place's ability to translate our speech.

I see. You're aware; you're just also not averse to biting the hand that feeds you.

[She sips her coffee.]

What are the practical applications of your work? Do you teach? Translate?

[Alhaitham hums.] I work as the Akademiya's Scribe which means I'm its recordkeeper and manage the archives.

[He's a glorified file clerk. In truth his study has very little to do with his job, which is simplistic enough anyone could have become it. Most wouldn't be as efficient as he is, and anyone as efficient usually puts their sights on much greater ventures that a medium grade office job.]

And you? I could guess what your previous employment is, but I'd rather you just explain it.

Interesting. Archive management is certainly relevant to my interests.

[In more ways than one; she lets that linger a minute before going on.]

The job I was born to do was to write, which in practice was probably more like being an architect than being a scribe. I trained in that most of my life, but when circumstances forced an undesired career change, I became an advocate. I do some legal work, some facilitation, some negotiation, some intermediary efforts. It's a mixed bag.

[It's a little more proactive than his initial guess, but within the same lines: that Ghost is someone's who job is to be an expert in rules and regulations and provide guidance to her clients in navigating them. Negotiation is, after all, simply a set of regulations between a smaller group of people.]

Do you find the work you do fulfilling?

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