I'm looking for people who look for books [closed]

[fairysoul]

Who: Hana, Sam, Zeref and Mavis.
Where: Fayren, at the book store owned by Mavis and called "Scribes and Scripts".
When: Today (August 20th), after closing time.
What: Mavis received two job applications, from Hana and Sam respectively. They wish to become book hunters at Scribes and Scripts. Since Mavis doesn't really know them, she's invited the two of them to come to the book store to get know them and talk about their future job. As the resident book clerk, Zeref is present as well.
Warnings: BOOKWORMS EVERYWHERE!!! People allergic to books, please stay away from this post. ;)

Mavis pushed the door from Scribes and Scripts, the little bell greeting her with its soft chime, and let out a contented sigh. Sure, she liked her Guardian office, she liked Fairy Haven too but, for some reason, coming back to the bookstore always felt special to her. Maybe because it reminded her of the abandoned library that used to be Mavis' and Zera's favorite spot on Tenrou island.

She walked down a few aisles, caressing the leather bindings of some random books as she went. They had sold quite a few books lately and they were empty spots on the shelves now. Yes, it was time to refill the book store and that was exactly where the two potential book hunters she was planning on meeting today came into play. If they loved books half as much as their job application suggested they did, they'd be perfect for the task. They'd find the missing pieces that would make those shelves whole again.

Mavis' small bare feet padded soundlessly on the wooden floor as she made her way to Zeref's desk. And, as was to be expected of a dutiful book clerk, there he was, sitting behind the desk, a book in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. She smiled at him.

"Is there some coffee left for me? I don't remember when was the last time I had so much paperwork to do."

She hopped gracefully onto a ladder using it as a stool.

"Hana and Sam should be here soon," she sounded cheerful, yet calm at the same time. A strange combination that only a hundred year old girl who still looked like she was fifteen could muster. "Sam graduated from a school called Stanford back in his world. Have you ever heard of it? From the way he wrote about it, they have you read a lot of books there."

There was the slightest bit of envy to the blond girl's voice. Going to college was something Sam and Zeref had in common. Unfortunately, Mavis never got to go to school. That was something she had always wished she could have done, though, with time, she had managed to learn more by herself than she could ever have at school.

She looked towards the door, waiting for their potential future co-workers.

Comments

[deathsought]

He didn't even need to look up to know who it was when he heard the door open. Business had been slow all day, and that was one presence he'd never be able to mistake for anyone or anything else. Feeling a smile spread across his features as he found himself less and less able to focus on the book, he closed the book just as he heard Mavis' voice.

"It's a fresh pot. Sugar?" he asked, as he pointed to a jar of sugar pilfered from Erza's reserves. She had so much of it that she surely wouldn't even notice that it's missing, right?

"I havent," Zeref admitted. "But every school I have heard of, in this world and our own, have that in common." Reading, he means.

[draconixaviarix]

[The bosses from the business had wished to speak with her! Hana didn't know what this meant, but if they wanted to talk to her, then she was definitely going to abide. Going to this place was more familiar to her each day that she visited to learn how to read. It was a hard task, but with enough practice, she was going to crack to code and learn about these words' meaning!

Opening the door, the dragon-in-disguise looked all around, taking in the nice smell of SECRETS and knowledge around her. If only she had such a place in her world. Maybe one day? Hana was just excited to hear about working here.]

Helloo..?

[Hana chirped out, looking all around, but also trying to be the most quiet]

[fairysoul]

"Of course, sugar!" Mavis answered. Coffee was an acquired taste that she developped here and it was all Zeref's fault but it was still a bit bitter for her. But sugar made everything better.

"I wonder how many schools there are in the world..." she mused but the sound of the door opening broke her trail of thoughts.

"Over here, Hana!" she answered the timid yet excited sounding girl. It was an easy guess, really. Sam was a boy and Hana's voice was hard to mistake for a male's voice.

She turned back to Zeref and winked. "Romantic time is over. Time for business."

[insanguinated]

The possibility of being able to go back to school and have a life he might have chosen for himself hadn't even begun to sink in yet, but the reality that he and Lorna both needed to find employment to pay for housing and food definitely had. After looking through the job boards, the words 'book' and 'hunter' together in an ad seemed too good to be true. And so did the prompt response.

Still, he'd done his best to look presentable. It wasn't the usual clothing he'd wear for an interview, but he didn't have a suit and he couldn't spend money on it. So it was clean jeans, a bleached white t-shirt, a tucked in flannel, and Sam trying not to feel like Lurch when he spotted what was probably the other person they'd mentioned interviewing entering the shop.

When he stepped inside, though, all of his stress went out the door in favor of a smile. This was the sort of place he could happily spend a lot of hours. He looked around for a minute, just smiling, and then went looking for Mavis. "Hello?"

[deathsought]

And here they were.

He promised he'd help with things like this, but one of the key reasons he took the job was the solitude it offered. Most of the people coming into Scribes and Scripts already knew what they were looking for, and his only real interactions with customers usually involved taking their money and wishing them a nice day. It provided him with a quiet place to read, perform his own research on the magic of this world and others, and most importantly, kept his interactions with others to a minimum. After nearly three years in this world, he's long since come to accept that isolation was not a realistic option here, and that he can't have his cake and eat it too; he and Mavis have given their relationship another chance, and if he wants to stay with her, she's not going to live in the woods like a hermit.

When Mavis called toward the door, Zeref stifled the resulting sigh with a sip of his own coffee, and put his book away. 'The Veil: Myths vs. Reality' the book was titled and had been an interesting read. It was back to being a leader, for once. He hated the political aspects of Alvarez, which was why he treated his monarchical duties there as an elaborate, live-action game of Risk, or Civilization. No such luck, here. It was a social convention and a professional necessity, not a ceremonial oath-taking, like appointing a new Shield of Spriggan.

Just think of them as tools, he silently told himself. Then they'll be safe from the Curse.

"Come in," Zeref said quietly, folding his hands on the desk in front of him, and sitting up straight. Mavis was far more well-known than he was, being both the Guardian of Fayren and the head of one of its most prolific guilds, and Zeref would appear to barely qualify as an adult, himself, looking more like someone in his late teens. He was dressed in his usual loose-fitting black and white robes, though with an added nametag identifying him as an employee.

His last name was conspicuously absent.

[fairysoul]

Well, Mavis knew Zeref valued his solitude. Plus they didn't have that many customers every day. This was why Mavis was not looking for more book clerks. No. She was looking for 'book hunters', as in 'people who'd spend most of their time roaming the cities and looking for books to bring back to the store'. So Zeref's interactions with them should remain occasional. Unless they were very very productive and needed to often come back to the store to drop their findings.

Mavis waited for the two newcomers to be standing in front of them. Then, she smiled and said: "Hana, Sam, welcome to Scribes and Scripts. I'm Mavis, the owner of the store and this is Zeref, my book clerk. He's in charge of checking the stocks, sorting the books on the shelves and helping out the customers."

She cleared her throat. "First, I'd like to thank for your interest in our humble bookstore. This store is very special to me because it was founded by a friend from home and being a book clerk here was my very first job upon arriving in Genessia." In addition to being a bounty hunter. "The job for which you both applied is 'book hunter', so let me tell you exactly what it's about. But, first, let me reassure you: you're not competing against each other for the job. There's room for two book hunters. I just want to be sure we're on the same page regarding what you'll have to do here."

"Book hunters don't have hours but I expect you to be serious about your hunt. You will be given a small budget each, every month, in addition to your salary. With that budget, you'll be able to buy books but you have to understand you can't buy them for a highger price than the one at which we sell them. If you find them for free, of course, it's better or you can trade them against a service. But you understand this is an honest job, under no circumstance should you ever steal books." The idea of stealing books was repulsive to Mavis. Plus, the reputation of the shop would be tarnished.

"You should come by to Scribes and Scripts at least twice a week to check the list Zeref will have prepared for you." She glanced at Zeref as if to signify to him that he could show said list at his convenience. "It gives you the names or topics of the most 'sought after' books at the moment. Books customers have asked for and that we haven't been able to provide. Or books that are in high demand and that we're afraid we're going to run out of." She smiled. "Of course, you can still bring back books that are not on the list based on your own appreciation. Book hunters are people who know and love books. So I trust you to know a good book when you see one."

"Last but not least, we don't pretend to only sell books that looks as good as new but we try to sell books that are in good reading conditions. Some books you'll find might need to be restored. We have the tools and material to do this. Zeref and I will happily help with restoring books but we'll also show you how to do it yourselves."

She paused, looking at each of them in turn. "So... is that the kind of job you could be interested in and would you still like to apply for it? Do you have questions?"

[insanguinated]

At the reassurance that they weren't competing for the job, Sam relaxed and shot a smile at Hana, who he assumed would be his coworker. How could anyone not want this job? He'd been concerned when he saw her, though, because he knew himself. He wouldn't want to take a safe job away from someone like her when he was perfectly capable of managing himself in rougher work.

He nodded to Zeref, a quiet greeting, since he seemed, like Sam, to be something of an introvert, and then answered Mavis. "It sounds great, actually. I've spent a lot of my life hunting for things that didn't want to be found, and I like books a lot more than most of them. Will you be explaining how you price the books so that we can get a sense of what to pay for anything we're buying on our own?"

[draconixaviarix]

[Hana relaxed as well. How was she going to compete with a full-grown, literary human??? She beamed up at Sam and nodded]

Yup! This is the job I'm looking for as well. On the side I am also a beast hunter and an herb gatherer and found that finding things is one of my strong suits. I can't wait to find books as well~

[She chirped, content as can be and excited] Plus, I can't wait to learn more about books, and reading, and secrets~ So thank you for having us both do that~

[deathsought]

Thankfully, Mavis introduced him so that he didn't have to do it himself. Zeref returned Sam's nod of greeting and offered one in turn to Hana. It seemed like Mavis wouldn't need much help explaining the particulars of the job; go out, find rare books, acquire them by whatever legal (and preferably ethical) means you see fit.

"Books are priced the same way everything else is priced: According to the laws of supply and demand. Common books may not be worth much, especially if they're second-hand. A one-of-a-kind spell grimoire, no matter how old or the condition it is in, will be near-priceless, and may not even be offered for sale once it is in our possession."

At least, not until Zeref and Mavis have had a chance to take a look at it, themselves.

[fairysoul]

Mavis nods gravely, agreeing to what he'd just said.

"It's right. Price is a thing but you also have to understand as book hunters that some books can be dangerous if put in the wrong hands. Therefore, there can't be put for sale if there's the slightest chance they might injure the reader or be used by the reader to injure other people."

Or to create demons that would be set loose in Genessia but she was not going there. Not today.

"Therefore, when you bring back books you should try and tell us which category you think they're falling into. And then, either Zeref or myself will confirm your assessment and make a final decision."

Mavis seemed to remember something last minute.

"If some books qualify as good teaching material, we might decide to contact schools directly to see if they'd be interested in acquiring them."

She paused and smiled back at their two new colleagues.

"Anyway, if you're not sure about the price someone's asking for a book you want to buy, just contact one of us and we'll help you decide. With time, I'm sure it will become easier for you to decide on your own.

...So, do you want to start tomorrow or shall we waiting until the beginning of next month?"

Who knew? They might both have arrangemets to make before they could start working.

[insanguinated]

"I can start immediately," Sam replied without hesitation. He needed the money, and it made an excellent cover for asking a lot of questions on top of being a job he would really enjoy.

"Do you want us to attempt to acquire dangerous books so we can remove them from circulation, or are you only interested in books that can be sold?" If the answer was the latter, he was going to need to find other ways to remove those dangerous books from circulation that wouldn't blow back on his employer. It shouldn't be too hard. He could pose as Dean if he needed to.

[fairysoul]

Mavis tilted her head as Sam asked his last question. Something told her he already had his hand on 'dangerous books' as he called them. Still he seemed to have good intentions. That was the impression Mavis got at least.

"Well, I guess it would depend on your definition of 'dangerous', Sam." She paused. "But in any case, I would assume it'd be better for us to keep them somewhere safe than to let them out them and put innocent people at risk. So, yes, do bring them back. And tell us right away. We won't sell them." Though she could think of people who'd be interested in buying them. But Mavis didn't need that kind of money.

So, no, Mavis and Zeref would not sell dangerous books but they would most likely study them.

[deathsought]

"Anything can be considered dangerous in the wrong hands." Zeref turned to Mavis, briefly. He'd rather not have this debate again, right now, least of all in front of prospective employees. Sure, some forms of magic were inherently more dangerous than others, but a frost or fire spell could kill just as easily as magic that spreads a plague or raises zombies. It all depends on the intent - and the person - using it. Turning back to Sam, Zeref continued. "We'll trust you to make that distinction."

Like how he wouldn't let anyone other than Mavis (or maybe Erza or Mirajane) anywhere near the Book of E.N.D. Of course, that book was dangerous for an entirely different reason, as Mavis knew well.