Craving Insight [Tony & Kale]

There was rarely a moment that the plantperson found himself separate and wondering away from the library of his own inclination. This was one of those moments.

His steps were tentative and barely audible. Confidence, unfortunately, was not a thing he could pride himself on. Too many variables, and far too much unpredictability forced an unwelcome entity into his mind - doubt. How it gnawed him. He truly preferred the whims of the library, where he could look everything that happened. Control. Infallibility. That's what his mind demanded.

He shivered, twitched and shook: such was the combination of instability and excess energy. His back was held rigid in some attempt to maintain dignity in his leafless appearance. However, there was flaw in his stride, and he looked ready to collapse upon himself at any given moment.

He raised his spindly fingers and knocked it against the door with taps that were quick and quiet. He waited. Perhaps she wouldn't be there. It would be both a relief and disappointment - he hadn't worked up this courage for nothing.

The room of dark woods, stone, green and greys was quiet. The harpy had not been moved from her desk since the early morning hours. Only one chair was occupied, tucked in the curve of the tower that was lined with shelves and numerous books of her own collection. It seemed these had been filled and the excess bindings had been stacked neatly in piles along the stairs leading up to the small balcony.

It was here still she was, hunched over papers and note books with an inked quill scratching, checking over numbers and trying to make out other's handwriting. Honestly, she hadn't been paying enough attention to her surroundings to hear any sort of approach, least of all one as silent as this, so the knock on her door did take her by some surprise. The tip of her quill hesitated. It didn't sound like anyone she was too familiar with.

"Come in." Kale called out as she resumed her sentence on the page.

Two words confirmed it. He released a chattering sigh, opened the door and stepped in. He didn't look inside the room until he'd safely shut the door behind him. Eyes swept over the room, absorbing the new setting hastily, before his gaze finally landed on the sitting harpy.

"Afternoon, Miss Kale," he said, bowing his head. "I h-had a f-few.. indispensable matters of which I must bring to your concern." His limbs wouldn't stop shaking to the point of annoyance. "I-I understand that you must be so terribly busy, so I shan't steal your attention for too long, b-but--" A particularly jarring twitch interrupted him "--I wish to speak to you about t-the safety at the castle... one of your employees...  and some other issues."

He lightly paced across the room as if the floor itself was littered with eggshells. He reached out to tentatively pat the chair that sat across from her desk.  "May I?"

As he made his entrance, the quill finished up its current task, dotting the end. It was set to the side, and hands folded across the desk as she looked up and gave him her full attention. It was a welcome distraction from the current project anyway. So, who was this now-- Ah, yes, the Bookkeeper.

"Monsieur Sharp." She said in way of greeting, lifting a hand only to gesture it towards the chair he touched. "Of course, sit. It's quite alright. Anything you have to say, I'd like hear it."

My, he was a nervous little twitchy thing, wasn't he? She eyed his limbs. Such an odd, interesting creature. But really, there had been so many things threatening the safety of the castle, it was entirely possible again. And, if she could have some notice beforehand this time, well, that'd be a nice change. Work never ceased.

At her invitation, he sat down, nervously eyeing the room as he did so. He gripped the edges of his seat with both hands as his legs dangled awkwardly. He wanted to pull the chair closer, but after an awkward shuffle, found he didn't even have the strength for that from where he was. Putting up with the odd little distance between him and the edge of the desk, he simply stared towards Kale.

"Y-yes, of course," he said, swallowing his nerves. "A-about a month ago, I volunteered to judge the fighting tournament that we hosted... And I did my job... B-but--" He shuffled nervously. "--I was surprised by the sheer level of wilful violence that was displayed, from both staff members and residents. It made me r-recall that this was a castle that hosted those who a-are far more... adept... than the o-ordinary human."

There was a moment of odd realisation that Kale could very much be easily the same, but he tried his best to subdue the thought. "A-As well as the recent death of an individual, it all made me realise just how very easily things can go to ruin. The truth is... I no longer feel safe within these castle walls." He seemed to shrink within the chair as he bowed his head. "A-and I would like something to be done about this."

The woman was quiet as he spoke, hearing him out.

Well, so it seemed there wasn't much of consequence after all. She didn't let it show on her face, but let her expression become thoughtful and contemplative.

"Monsieur..." Kale started carefully. "You must realize that the nature of this island, and what it stands for -- what its purpose is, by very nature -- makes it a dangerous place. To consider what it could be, factoring all the things in that could happen given the talents of the residents, the rate of tragedies that have occurred here are really quite low. I would prefer to let people's aggression out in safe, controlled, and organized, optional venues like the tournament rather than have it escape in unpredictable bouts that will cause innocent's harm. Much like the poor individual you reference." The harpy paused.

"The school is no more dangerous now just because you suddenly realized the potential its always had." She weaved her fingers together delicately. "That said, I am sorry that you feel unsafe. If there is anything that you would like to request? If it is within my abilities, I would do my best to reinforce your well-being. But there are certain dangers and unpredictabilities such that I cannot guarantee concrete protection. There are certain hazards that come with simply living in certain areas, but I can take certain measures to aid you and alleviate your worries, if you would like."

What measures those were, she was not exactly sure yet. But, she hoped her professional demeanor would keep the little creature from being too put off by her inability to guarantee his continued survival. She would not make that promise, she was not making light of said unpredictable situations.

Tony found himself trembling even moreso at her words, but with something other than fear. Indignation. So, but he had a plan, and he soothed himself with that thought. He allowed his toes to grow out, the stalks winding amongst themselves in a spiral. He slowly stopped shivering as the excess energy used itself up. He warily glanced to the clock on the desk. Within time, within time...

"Yes... Yes, I-I formally request that you issue harsher punishments to those that dare to cause disturbance! And I might add, Kale, with all due respect, that you might have known that the tournament was anything but safe and controlled if you had been there to witness it!" He placed his palms on his head in outrage. "I had been there from start to finish, as per my duty, and if you had seen the level of barbarity that I had seen, you'd have cancelled it in an instant! We must not allow any more of these events to continue!"

"Is this a sanctuary, or a place for some unruly hooligans to riot amongst themselves? And to encourage it--!" He scoffed. "It's unthinkable! I would leave, were it not for my daughter!"