Jimmy's neck couldn't bend far back enough to see the entire grandeur of the library Gem had shown him. Books lined the walls and shelves brushed the high ceilings as the carpets rolled out in complex patterns under his feet.
"How have I never been here before?" he muttered, eyes drifting over the sight as the scent of old paper and ink lingered in his nose every time he took a breath. "No one ever comes here or even talks about it anymore," sighed Gem, running her hand along the leather-bound books, "Such a shame. It really is pretty."
"Scott mentioned a library once. So did Katherine."
Gem's eyebrows rose in a mixture of surprise and amusement. "They did? So this place is getting used."
She found a book and started flipping through it, her respect of the antique apparent from the way her clever fingers worked. "Nothing. I'm not really interested in the gods of Rivendell." She set the book back as she walked down the aisle, looking for something else that might help her.
"Gem-" started Jimmy but he was a little too late. Gem ran into a purple-haired girl carrying a stack of books.
The books thudded to the floor. "I am so sorry!" gasped Gem, still in slight shock, "I'll help pick those up." She bent down and handed the last of the books to the girl who took them. "Thanks," she said briskly before striding off.
"Wait!" called Jimmy, earning an odd look from both Gem and the purple-haired girl, "How come you're here?" She laughed, "Long story." Jimmy looked her in her eyes before the gradual realisation of her eyes crept up on him.
Instead of where her pupils and irises should have been, there were large, dark indigo circles and the lights in them didn't reflect the lights of the lanterns hung up in the library, rather reflecting what seemed like galaxies and stars. It was like looking at space.
"You..." he began, unable to form words appropriate to the situation.
As though realising her eyes were like that, she averted her gaze and turned on her heel, walking away. He watched her hair bounce as she left, remembering he forgot to ask for her name.
"Hey, Jim, I've found something!" Gem's voice brought Jimmy back to attention. "What is it?" he asked, peering over her shoulder to see what she saw.
"Hybrid hunting," she read aloud, "Common in the past, hybrid hunting often occurred due to the fears of mortals or their idiotic bravery. Hybrids went into hiding out of fear of mortals. If skilled, a hybrid could stay in hiding for centuries at a time. Sometimes hiding away wasn't enough to protect them, which led them into creating potions that allowed them to hide their odd abilities."
Gem mumbled to herself for a little bit as she scanned the page, flipping it as she read faster than Jimmy could. "They've got recipes!" she said with a relieved laugh, "They can be used for a few hours before needing to be replenished and I'm sure I can at least double that time. Oh, this is wonderful!"
"Nice," said Jimmy, unable to understand what Gem meant by recipes. Everything was in some odd language. "C'mon, let's go! I can show you how to make these!"
And so, Jimmy found himself in a bedroom with books lining an entire wall and a cauldron in the center of the room.
~~~~
After a few painful hours of putting precise amounts of ingredients into a cauldron, Jimmy and Gem had a bunch of bottles of a shimmering gray-blue colour. "Well?" asked Jimmy, "How does it work?"
"Watch," said Gem, taking the potion and pouring a tiny bit onto the crystal embedded into her arm. The crystal flickered before disappearing completely. "Fascinating! I think it's just a modified invisibility potion."
She hummed to herself as she thought.
"Now let's go to Joey's place 'cause it's closer to mine." Jimmy wanted to protest, wanting to give the liquid to Scott but Gem was more logical than him. "Alright," he managed to grumble.
They made their way over to Joey's. After knocking, Joey answered, peeking his head out to see who it was. When his eyes fell on Jimmy and Gem, he smiled and opened the door.
"Hi!" he said after they were seated, "D-do you have the potion?" Gem let out a small sigh as she pulled out three bottles of the light liquid, "Here." She handed them to Joey and after some small talk and Joey's wings disappearing, Jimmy and Gem were on their way.
"So the wings are there but you just can't see them?" enquired Jimmy. "Yep. Now, to Scott's?"
"To Scott's!" To Petal's!
They began the short walk. Before they were even halfway to the house, they were stopped. As Jimmy saw who it was, his eyes widened in surprise. It was the purple-haired girl.
"Hi. I need some of that potion. I'm not asking."
•~•~•~•
Word count: 836
Why is there a penguin?
Why shouldn't there be a penguin?
<RubyBlueWrites left the game>
YOU ARE READING
Hidden Worlds (EmpiresSMP)
Fanfiction"So show it to me," The people said their kind was gone, lost to the sands of time. Never to return. They said these magic-users were evil. They said all that lay in their chest was a heart of stone. They said not to worry - their kind was now nothi...
