do you wanna read a book about nightmares

Lochlann had an interesting relationship with many of the librarians at the library.

He was a regularly, but he'd never admit that. He spent a lot of time eating lunch on the roof of the library when the lake was especially crowded. He liked to weave his way through the shelves, not looking for anything in particular but thumbing through a book or two that would catch his interest. Sometimes, one of the librarians would recommend a book to Lochlann solely based on the texture of the paper.

He'd have to pretend he wasn't interested and then check the book out later.

Today, Lochlann had a stack of books that were related to his courses (The Omnivore's Dilemma, Crop Rotation on Organic Farms: A Planning Manual) and a few that were not (The art of Espionage, The History of the Cold War, the Art of Seduction).

He was not looking forward to The Omnivore's Dilemma. Lochlann was not an omnivore. Lochlann was a hungryavore and he was starving.He still had one book to go and Lochlann had no idea to find it. This was a book Lochlann was not ready to ask a librarian for.

He pushed his dark hair out of his eyes and rounded a corner near the section he was looking for when he saw a girl sitting at a desk with a pile of books. She did not incite his hunger, which was wonderful. Though a monster, Lochlann did not eat children. His eyes caught site of the titles of the her books and Lochlann felt a huge rush of relief. Maybe she could help him. They were near enough to the right section, he assumed.

That might be a bit morbid reading for a young woman, but Lochlann didn't know that.

"Hey," he whispered. 'I'm sorry to bother you, but you look like you might know where I could find How to Influence Dreams and Conquer your enemies. Is there any chance I'm guessing correctly?"

"Thank you so much," Lochlann said. Undisguised relief escaped into his voice and he followed after her with his stack of books in hand.

Part of him wondered if she was a librarian. She had the knowledge of the library like one, or at least he presumed she did based on how she navigated the shelves.

He had been at the academy long enough now that he didn't assume anyone to be what they appeared. For all he knew, the small girl before him could be a dangerous tentacle god masquerading as a little girl because....fuck, it was just something dangerous tentacle gods did when they were bored.

"Uhh, yes, it's just that I have some trouble pronouncing it," he confessed. "Mara Zlodzieja."

He butchered the Belarussian. It came out sounding like he had cotton in his mouth when he said zlodzieja.

"I'm not really good with this whole dream and nightmare thing, so I don't even know if there are subcategories it's in or any of that," Lochlann said. He did not dabble with magic often even though kelpies had the capacity for it. The most he'd ever done was summon some succubus for a good time. It hadn't been a good time.

"No shit," he said, in reference to the way they're categorized. "I wonder why that is. I'd assume they'd be their own category. I mean, in occult bookstores they usually are, so I'd assume on a magical island they'd have their shit together. Then again I'm pretty sure some of these books just head off the walls and float around themslves at night," Lochlann said.

He had a sudden horrible thought that maybe the book he was looking for had floated away to visit friends in another shelf. He was relieved when she found it.

"You're a life savor," he said, taking the book from her. "Thank you so much."

He took the book from her and gave her a sheepish grin.

"It'll probably be sooner than later. I have no idea what I'm doing with any of this stuff," he said. He remembered her stack of books and thought about asking her for help, but figured that might be pushing it. Having a person look for a book on a shelf was one thing. Asking a complete stranger to tutor you was another.

Dreams were not his power or his forte, but he wanted to be prepared if he ever had to visit them like he did the other night.

"My name is Lochlann, by the way," he said.

Lochlann had never considered what Melanie had said and the realization hit him like a brick. He sort of looked like he'd been hit by a brick. His eyes grew wide and his mouth twitched into a line.

Lochlann had never really considered looking for a book on his own powers.

He always took them for granted.

"Are there books on every power? he wondered.

He liked that she smiled at the idea of floating books and Lochlann felt relieved. There was something about her laugh and the way she twisted her hair around her finger in a way that almost suggested she was bored with the entire purpose of existence that reminded Lochlann of his younger sister.

"Hello, Melanie," Lochlann said.

When she offered her help, Lochlann couldn't hide the interest from his face. The first question Lochlann had he wouldn't ask--when she said nightmare, did she mean one of the scary demon horse witches? But that seemed rude, so Lochlann instead confessed, "To be honest, I could really use the help. I'm um...pretty terrible at this sort of thing."

He was still holding his stack of book so he waited for an indication that it was okay to ask now, or if she wanted to go back to her books by the desk.

Lochlann was really surprised by this knowledge of the library's content on powers. He had never, ever thought of it.

Maybe it was because he'd been illiterate for much of his younger life, or maybe it was because he'd learned to read in mundane schools in the United States that Lochlann's love of libraries was more about the texture of the paper and the escape from loud noises than it was any kind of realization that he could learn whatever he wanted about any subject in the world in the academy's library.

Lochlann looked at the books with a newfound respect--and fear--as they returned to his table.

Lochlann tried to figure out how to explain to her what he was up to as he walked.

"So I have a friend who can uhh...."He tried to figure out how to actually describe Emily's powers. "She can make me walk in my dreams and relieve things that have happened to me. The only problem is that they sort of spiral out of my control."

He picked up her stack of books automatically and added them to his own, trying to remember which table he'd left his bag and phone at. He found it a few moments later and set them on top.

"Plus there might be someone at the uh...place we're going to," Lochlann said, frowning as he tried to avoid saying I want to break into juvie island. "That might be able to manipulate my dreams. So I'd like to learn to do...something with them. Just not get overwhelmed."

He was pretty bad at it.

Lochlann was weak against his own insecurities.