justscribing | The City

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?

Do you?

[But unlike some of her previous rejoinders, this one she actually carries on to answer regardless.]

I'm not sure if "fulfilling" is quite the word I would use. I don't think I'll ever self-actualize by doing it, for example. But it pays the bills both figuratively and literally, and it's better than a lot of the alternatives. I didn't have many options available to me, when I fell into this particular line of work.

Interesting. [That's actually a curious explanation, given her particular line of work. It's the sort of thing most people would pursue because they want to, simply because of the degree of expertise it requires to get anywhere in the field. Especially if she's self-employed.] Your job requires a level of social and technical skill and a body of knowledge far beyond any manual labor. Is the pay that good?

Hm.

[That gets a dry smile out of her.]

You're a king whose infant daughter is about to be christened. Fuck up the guest list and she might be dead on her sixteenth birthday. What would you be willing to shell out for the services of an expert who can consult on how to make sure it goes off without a hitch?

Anything. [Said simply. There's no need for him to consider his own position on the matter. The feeling is universal. It's love. A father wants to protect his daughter. He wants to see her thrive. No cost could be more than what it would be to keep her safe.

Alhaitham isn't a man with a daughter, or anything like that. He just knows love.]

But I would also ensure that who I consulted was the best. It's no small amount of work on your end to be better than the competition.

I do have something going for me that they don't, however. I'm an established commodity, on the basis of a few unprecedented feats of excellence, and people will almost always favor an established name over an up-and-comer.

[She shrugs a little.]

That's part of the reason why I write the books. People shouldn't be deprived of help just because I'm only one person, and there aren't enough hours in the day.

[That improves her networking, but the thing about a reputation is that your failures can get around just as quickly as your successes if you aren't careful. Ghost doesn't address that her line of work requires significantly more than shuffling papers, for being something she does to "pay the bills".

Putting effort into facilitating others to follow in her footsteps and help themselves, and spread her expertise, is more dedication that "better than the alternatives" begets.

Alhaitham's head tips slightly as he regards her, in this. What he says in place of it:] You've secured your livelihood well then.

I didn't have much other choice. It's not as though I had anyone to help me, and I wouldn't have gotten far on charity anyway. I used the skills I had to make a way for myself.

[And now, at last, she reaches into her bag, producing the promised textbook on curses, which she sets on the table and pushes toward him.]

Kaveh calls me a hero for it. What do you think?

[Alhaitham slides the book closer, reviewing its cover and then cracking it open to the title page.

Then he closes it once again and returns his attention to Ghost.] I think you're a contributing member of society like anyone else.

He affords me lofty accolades, you make me sound unfathomably boring. Here's hoping I actually land somewhere in the healthy medium.

[She shakes her coffee cup, eyeing the bottom; the lack of weight and slosh to it suggests she's nearly drained it.]

When can I expect my book back?

[Alhaitham and Kaveh will certainly be arguing if she's one or the other over the kitchen table.

He tilts the book, considering how thick it is.] I'd like a few weeks so that I can transcribe it.

[He could read and transcribe it in a much shorter period of time but... well, he doesn't want to spend all day doing it. He has other things to do.]

With proper credit and attribution given, I presume.

[Intellectual property!]

That should be fine, though. It's not as though I've encountered a whole lot of curses to break around here, to begin with. ...Well, except for the tea that induces deathly sleep, but if a kiss isn't everyone's first attempt when faced with a situation like that, I really don't know what we're all doing with ourselves.

I intend to copy the title page if that's what you mean. [It's not like his sharing his copy with anyone except Kaveh, and that's only if Kaveh cares to.

Though, that next statement gets the rise of his brow.] The seeds are the typical cure to anything the tea does. What made a kiss your first solution?

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