To Offer the Apple

A chill escapes from the whispers of excitement buried beneath a cold heart. There was no room for her personality here. There was only the part she came to play. He attire, and demeanor were far from their usual, more regal, status. She wore casual clothing. The sort of thing expected of the students here. Even still, the allure of red surrounded her choices. The beret the rested loosely on her hair, which was for the moment, pulled, and knotted tightly, save a few strategic frays giving her look of someone who had been rushed, or worked to hard to care. The jacket, a smooth leather unfitting of the desert. Finally her casual tennis-shoe's, worn to look as though they weren't bought just yesterday. All red, and expertly tended to compliment the appearance of a hard working shibusen.

Perhaps this was overdone. There was a disappearing animosity for witches, and more importantly, no one knew her face, or even name in this day, and age. Had she wanted, being a student would be simple. In fact,she planned to do just that. There were two reasons for being here. The most pressing matter was to find information of the witch Medusa. Namely her research of of madness working in tandem with her familiars. In the peripheral was the matter of her future tool(s). Finding them, and distancing them from the school, and whatever petty morality they thought they served.

The thoughts that ran so forcibly numbed through her head were covered flawlessly by a timid gait. Her arms tucked into her body, back to a slouch, and her head hung, forcing her eyes into the ground. She needed a connection into the DWMA before she went charging in, and trying to infiltrate it. The only thing she knew was what she could rip from a few brains, and that precious little was rudimentary at it's best. She needed a student to learn who the teachers were before entering, and then a teacher to learn who where she needed to go to find the documents regarding any of Medusa's work, and if it was on the way, the means to deduce the best students to honor as her tools.

At the very top of her vision she see's someone. It was simple negligence that would let her falsify an accident. Bumping into the person, and her books being thrown in every direction. Flailing to catch one, she slips on another, and falling backwards, introduces her head to the street light fixture. She rubs her head delicately, giving a pathetic groan. "Owie..." She complains, lurching over slightly, and her eyes watering with crocodile tears. A silence passes over her to feign an awkwardly placed thought. "Oh!! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" The call followed her head, darting upwards, he face looking to greet theirs with her intense, yet pleading ruby eyes.

The school was boring. Plain and simple. Yes, weird things happened on a regular basis, but she missed the light hearted atmosphere of the small house and Dad's homeschooling. It was a step up from the average everyday highschool, but it just wasn't the same. Regardless, it was an obligation she had to divert attention to.

Even in the summer's heat, Causper wore her normal jeans and sweater. Headset playing music loud enough to be softly made out by anyone paying particular attention to her. In someways, she made it seem like she preffered being mistaken as a teenage guy rather then the almost adult woman she was supposed to be. No one wondered why her chest was so oddly flat when they thought she was a he. It was often so much easier to let people believe their first assumption was right, ignoring whether they truly were correct.

Lost in thought, Causper didn't realize there was a person aproaching her until the person bumped into her. She stumbled back a bit, but regained her footing and didn't fall, contrary to the new arrival's outcome.

"Ah, sorry about that. I was lost in thought. Probably should have been standing out of the middle of the road."

Causper gathered a few of the girl's books and extended a hand to help her up. The red eyes didn't seem to have any effect on Causper's reaction at all, not even the tears. Calm and collected, she simply aided the girl back to her feet and handed her the books she'd gathered, completely intending to be on her way soon after.

Kaori wore a mental smile that didn't show in the least on her person. From Kaori's perception, this girl was trying very hard to defend herself. So hard, in fact, that a bit might be revealed. Types like this were both the easiest, and the hardest. Easy to shatter, but pick away the exterior, and their emotions come billowing out. Leaving room for whatever you want to replace them with. The distant expression made it clear that she had no interest in Kaori.

Taking the books, and Causper's hand, Kaori stand back up, remaining locked in their contact. "H-hey! I'm sorry, but do you think you could help me? I'm new here." He started, her voice sounding up-wind, yet slightly despairing, and nervous. With any luck this was a student, and with more, a student with access to information on Medusa, and very little will-power. While her simple observations lead Kaori to believe the girl would be easy to manipulate with the right leverage, it was really impossible to tell without actually speaking to her. More importantly, she couldn't implant thoughts in a person she couldn't read, and that meant that she could be detected.

Kaori continued to hold on, hanging on the moment with a bit of genuine anxiety, as she kept a nervous smile on her visage. The countenance being nearly entirely false. Nearly.

Causper looked behind her at the academy grounds. There wasn't much she had bothered to note the location of, so she only knew of the library and the classrooms for the most part. Anything else she needed directions. Even so, she may be able to help out the girl.

"I suppose it depends on what you need help with, if you're looking for a tour guide you'll have to find someone else but if you're looking for somewhere specific I can at least point you in the right direction."

Causper focused her attention on the girl's face, trying to see if she was a student she'd come across on her year of school here to no avail. Either the girl was new, or she didn't show her face often. Her red outfit didn't ring any bells either. Something seemed off though. The nervousness she was giving off didn't seem like a true emotion but there was nothing to say otherwise then a small alert from her subconscious. Causper sighed and brushed it off as nothing important. A little girl couldn't be a psychic threat. Psychic threats were typically older and more experienced. There was the possibility the girl had uncontrolled psychic powers but those would be more obvious. Still a bit concerned by the warning, Causper let go of the girls hand, expression still showing nothing but calm.

"If you don't mind me asking, would you mind telling me why you came? If you're a new student you would be looking for a staff member, but with all those books you appear to be headed to class."

"O-oh!! Sorry." Kaori said, wiping her hand on her pants after Causper had retrieved hers. She noted that she had somehow already raised the girls suspicion, and wondered how that could be. Maybe she was simply the type to stay informed, but a question like that was generally casual interrogation. It might have been an odd take on the sixth sense possessed by meisters, but her soul was protected, and gave off whatever emotion she wanted it too. Could she be a witch as well? She was certainly anti-social enough.

"These? T-these are from my collection. I like to read, and that's pretty much the whole reason I came to the DWMA. I hear they have a huge library! You see! I'm going to find the root of all madness, and destroy it with my Death Scythe, and then-... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to ramble! I-I just get excited when I think about it." It was only half suspicious to be interested in madness. If it wasn't known from the start it would be all the more strange, but no one would question someone if they seemed inspired, or more importantly altruistic in their motives.

Kaori's head hung down, peering into the ground through her small stack of books. She appeared to be thinking of something that caused her no small amount of strife. "I'm not looking for anything in particular really I guess." She spoke in a tone that held a hint of sorrow through it's chipper usual. Darting her head back up, and shacking it a little, she continues in the usual voice. "But I'm pretty new here, and it's kind of overwhelming to try, and figure this place out on my own. C-could you maybe come with me? We could help each other! L-learn it together." She suggested, her voice fading into a quiet one, as she peered away from the strangers face, her own becoming a bright red of embarrassment.

Whether it had been falsefied from the start or not, her explanation would be enough for now. Intrest in madness would arise quite the suspicion so that explained why she was so nervous for the most part. Why she would be carrying so many of her books with her was still unexplained, if she was already going to be studying other books on madness. Her enthusiasm seemed genuine, so she probably wasn't lying about wanting to go to the library. The whole 'going to destroy madness with her deathscythe' part seemed to be a child's dream. If the girl had time to dream like that she probably wasn't much of an imminent danger. Causper gave the girl a smile and patted her on the head.

"Ambition isn't always a bad thing, but you should probably start from the begining and find a weapon to turn into a death scythe. If you don't, your whole plan is useless unless you get a team to do the fighting for you. If you want to get a head start on the research though, I can show you where the library is. I don't know how good their collection on madness is though. As for a full school tour, I still suggest that you find someone else for that. I had no intrest in a tour when I first joined the school and I still don't now."

Something still seemed off but now wasn't the time to be giving in to foolish superstitions. The girl wasn't a psychic, not unless she wasn't a part of the mayan ancestry or a run away. So she was something else, possibly a witch however that didn't really concern her. Was it a bad thing that she could never manage to even consider killing a witch? Causper didn't know. Aly never said anything about it. If Celia was alive perhaps she would have the answer. Causper shook her head to clear her mind. Now wasn't the time for this.

"So then, would you like to try and find a weapon first or check the library first?"

Kaori scratched the back of her head, a small sigh escaping her lips. "I-I get ahead of myself you see. I've waited so long, and now here I am. I can't wait to start!" She called proudly with a jump causing a book fall from the stack, followed by the rest as she tries to catch it. Her face lit up red again, and she fell to her knee's, scrambling to retrieve the scattered literature. "I-I swear I'm not usually this clumsy!" She assured, and stood to her feet for the second time.

This was all naturally a ruse. Kaori would only lose her composure on purpose. The girls suspicion had already seemed to have dissipated, leading the belief that she was the curious sort. Though, she was still surprisingly astute for her age group. Kaori would avoid using her magic of manipulation until she knew more of why, or how. She didn't need a full tour of the school however, and while she had removed it from her mind, perhaps it wouldn't be bad to simply join, and make a few confused allies. The thoughts hid beneath the nervous exterior, and seeming excitement. Even Kaori was impressed by how well this was going. If she let it get to her head, she would just end up dead though.

"I-I guess I should at least see the school first. If you know an available weapon, I wouldn't mind meeting them though!" How perfect that these students could be so friendly.

Causper laughed at the girl's clumsiness and her obvious over enthusiasm. Perhaps her initial suspicions were wrong? No, something still seemed off, but she couldn't pin point what. It would be best to let the girl think she'd let her guard down then, wait for her to make the first move if she had malicious intent. Coming forward would either scare her off or cause a fight, unless the girl really was here to be a meister in which case she'd probably just answer or get confused. A fight Causper knew she couldn't handle on her own. An escape, sure. Fighting was her weak point. Training and classes she could handle, but when it came time to actually put her skills to use she was sloppy and weak.

"Say, I don't think I caught your name. My name is Causper, and I guess you've already figured out that I'm a student here. I am a weapon, and currently meisterless, but I'm not actually looking for a meister either since I don't plan on becoming a Death Scythe."

This was dangerous. Her name should not have been given to this woman. Woman? Causper was confused about why that thought had come to mind, but she didn't let the girl see anything but calm. Why was it dangerous? Names held some power, but not enough to be a safety hazard. Slowly, Causper counted backwards from five in her head to clear her mind. Now wasn't the time for clouding emotions if her instincts were right. They were probably wrong. They tended to be wrong, even if only slightly.

"I'll show you what I know of the school, and if we pass some weapons I know are untaken, I'll point them out for you, sound good?"

No. This girl was in the EAT class. Her down to earth attitude, perceptive mind, and astute empathy. There was no way this girl was a simple NOT. And no EAT member joins unless they're an aspiring Death Scythe. This only meant that Kaori's speculation was flat wrong, a distinct possibility, or the girl was trying to play her somehow. Only, what was the leverage? There was no way to confirm it at the moment either way. The more perceptive Kaori seemed, the more suspicious it is. For now, she is the un-assuming, ditzy, Zoey. She already had the papers proving it.

"Oh! S-sorry. My name's Zoey! Pleasure to meet you." She reached a hand to shake, but quickly replaced it to catch another falling book. "T-the handshake will have to wait I guess." She added in a nervous, trembling voice. "Sounds good though! Let's get started!" Zoey let a small silence pass between them. "S-so why don't you want to be a Death Scythe? Are you just her to tame your weapon qualities?" She asked, trying to ascertain the girls class indirectly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Zoey."

Causper started off in the direction of the school offices, the first place she'd gone when she had first arrived at the school. She didn't know if the girl had already been there yet, but it was a good place to start nonetheless. Along the way, Causper pointed out a few people and places that would be important, most she could only give vague discriptions of from what she'd heard around campus. She knew it wouldn't be much help, but it would likely be enough to keep the girl up to date.

"If it was up to me, I'd be freelancing like my dad did. He worked with DWMA weapons and meisters now and then but he generally just worked alone or with a relative. He was really good at what he did, and he didn't eat souls like a normal weapon would, he thought it was disrespectful to the human they once were you know? My mom on the other hand, is really loyal to the school and she's a Death Scythe. Up until a year ago, she was teaching me how to fight. We share the same weapon form so she thought it would be easier. I guess she didn't realize just how much more i was like my father then like her and so after five years she had me enrolled here at the academy. I suppose I'm more trying to become the kind of person my dad was rather then become stronger."

This was probably more dangerous then telling the girl her name, but nothing about the mayan ancestry was revealed. If she found a way to access records on her dad and family though, there were plenty of hints. Causper simply brushed aside the possibility though, this girl likely wouldn't be able to trace that far back in history. 600 AC, if she could remember correctly. That's when the psychic family began to branch out. Could the library have records from back then? She began to get curious about the contents of the library. Perhaps when she brought Zoey there she'd take a look around herself.

Even suspecting she was a witch, Kaori's true age would be something to behold. Had she been alive for the extent of her years, there might have been a larger issue to knowing this name, and brief background. That wasn't nearly as dangerous as revealing morals however. The fact that this Causper didn't want to devour kishin souls, let alone pure, would lead her to want the girl personally. She would make Causper hers. Still, something warded her from the mind. Something about invading her seemed uncertain. If there was a guard, Kaori would break it. Twisting the energy around her mind would be enough to give her nightmares. It was as simple as depriving the girl of sleep until she was so malleable she practically begged to be invaded.

For now Zoey listened closely to the girl, eating everything she said. Her responses were covered in "Wow." and "Really?!". Between the audits, and the tones, the girl seemed completely daft. Like the books she read consumed her reality to the point her grasp of it was slim to nil. "I-I didn't think about it that way..." Her tone died at the explanation of why she wouldn't eat souls, sounding like her conviction had been destroyed, or maybe just blocked by a new way of thinking.

"Not many people do, since it's pretty uncommon for a weapon. It suits me just fine though. Blech. I hope I never even have to touch a soul ever agian. They're revolting. .~. Spaghetti sauce flavoured jell-o slime balls is what they are. They taste like the filth they're made of... eh, sorry. You didn't need to hear that, I was just err.. little bit zoned out. Anyways, you sound pretty dead set on your task, so I'll let you go through life your way. I'm not overly fond of murder, but when it's necessary, it's necessary. Besides, morals are something you'll probably be more interested in when talking with free weapons."

Causper stopped walking in the middle of the hallway in front of the teacher's offices and such. It was here she'd spent her first day at the academy, filling out paper work her mother had neglected. Causper doubted Zoey would have anything similar to do here though.

"So this is where you go when you have paperwork that needs to be filled out or can't find a teacher. You'll probably be here more often for a teacher rather then paperwork. Regardless, did you want to look around or would you like to go see some of the classrooms?"

Again? She wondered briefly, but remembered to laugh lightly at the remark of the souls taste. "M-murder...?" She echoed meekly, seeming as if Causper was steeping all over the expectations she had drew in her dreamy world of books with the unforgiving boots of reality. "I-It's fine, please say whatever you like... I-I think I need to hear more of what you think. T-this may not be the place for me after all." She said, her eyes averting to the ground, causing her to nearly bump into Causper again.

"Oh! I'll just follow your lead I think. You probably know which is best right now. I-I'm pretty green about getting out of the house right now.... I-I'm getting better, I swear!" She added in a rush, and hugged her books tightly into her abdomen.

Kaori had an unfortunate amount of paperwork she would need to do when filling out her history. She had staged quite the act to secure herself. Unlike the Lady Medusa, Kaori's plan was a thing of patience. She had staged for a Kishin Egg to kill the family of one Zoey Rosario right down to it's extended branches. It would happen that they lived close together, letting her avoid suspicion of conspiracy. With this she had her motivation to join the DWMA, as well as a clean slate. After imprisoning the girl for five years, and having the Kishin collect several other girls to again erase conspiracy, she killed Zoey, and took her place. To remove loose ends she staged freeing the girls by tipping off the DWMA. Her background was spotless, and anyone who knew the name would likely avoid confronting her on motivations on any deep level.

"This place probably needs more people like you. I don't think anyone here is as eager to wipe out madness permanently. Actually, I don't know if anyone has done the research to see if it's possible. Meaning you may just be the very first. Hope you find something though, it'll make the teams' jobs easier. If you need some help with the research part I'm sure I could lend a hand with that as well."

It would seem to Zoey that all distrust Causper had towards her was disappearing, however it was actually only growing bit by bit. A sneaking suspicion that tugged strongly at her spine. Somehow, inexplicably, Causper's spirit rejected Zoey's. Warned Causper away. Refused to let her thrust the girl. Gave off the feeling that Zoey, despite her clumsiness and light hearted speech, was corrupt. It was a foolish thought, that Zoey was corrupt, but it wouldn't be the first time someone tried to invade the school would it?
Causper cleared her mind yet agian and started off to the classrooms. There wasn't much of interest there, but the girl had to know where the classrooms were if she was taking any classes. Agian along the way, Causper pointed out people of importance and even introduced her to two of them, weapons who she was pretty sure were new to the school and still on the hunt for meisters. She stopped agian outside the classrooms, although she stepped aside so Zoey wouldn't bump into her agian.

"These are the classrooms, go ahead and take a look, I don't think there's any classes going on right now. This is basically all I know of the school, so next I'll take you to the library."

It was true that Kaori no way of knowing Causper's true disposition. She had a nagging gut feeling something was between them, but everything else told her otherwise. She would have to tread carefully.

Zoey's face lit into a bright smile, seeming incredibly touched by the girls compliment. "I-I won't let you down!" She assured, as if new fervor had taken place in her heart. She already knew the answers though. The root of madness was in the Old Ones. Lord Death, Asura, Excalibur, and the others. It would be suicide to try and kill them. It was, in that instant, that Kaori wondered if that was true. What gave the old ones their seemingly unexplained power, and how could she get the same. If their WAS a root of madness, it could make her magic reach a cosmic scale. She sweeped her mind from this machination. She knew better than to get ahead of herself after being patient for so long.

Zoey appeared in thought for a moment. "I think I would rather see the library. I'll be spending enough time in the class-rooms as it is." She said with a smile, and half a laugh. "S-sorry I keep running into you... I'm still a little nervous here. I-I've never seen so many people before." She said, huddling her limbs in a little closer to her own body. "I-Is the library very quiet here?" She asked, sounding like she might die if it wasn't.

Causper smiled and patted Zoey on the head lightly. The girl really did seem harmless. Although there was probably a lot of emphasis on seem with the signals she was getting. Whether it was simply an incorrect psychic interpretation or a reasonable suspicion Causper couldn't tell. Most times, Causper's sixth sense was dead wrong. Extremely rarely was she right. Something told her this was one of those times, however she didn't really believe it.

"It's alright Zoey, you'll fit in just fine. The student body isn't actually the biggest i've seen and although there are some bad apples they've got training dummies and kishin eggs to beat up."

Causper led the way to the library, not pointing anything out this time and moving as silently as a breeze. She walked at a pace the girl seemed comfortable at however she really just wanted to dart up ahead and start her search. How much did the academy actually know about the psychics? Was she really the only one to ever go to the academy to train? Causper wondered if the archives had anything that dated back older then the libraries the psychics had. She definitely hoped so.

Zoey returned Causper's gesture with a nervous smile, and seemed slightly re-assured by the comment. "I-I certainly hope so." She followed the weapon in what appeared to be a completely acquiescent fashion. Eventually adopting the same step has her. One would think she had decided on a role-model other than a victim to destroy utterly. Though, judging by how closely she was walking, one might think her a stalker. Reaching out a hand, she takes the hem of Causper's shirt into her hand. "Sorry. Th-the people. Th-there are so m-many." She explained with a small tremble, and eyes that darted across the halls. The girl named Zoey was from a small time, and had a hard time during her trips to the city. It was on record, and explained. Kaori was simply playing a part. In fact, it was one that she hated. To think she would act so weak. Had she her own way, she would try being a stronger figure. But, there was no room for error in the DWMA.

Causper looked at Zoey a little confused when she took a hold of her sweater, but her explanation was enough for her. She took Zoey's hand in her own so that the girl had something more substantial to hold onto. In crowds larger then this, when everyone was packed so tightly they could hardly move, Causper experienced the same kinds of panicking. The paralyzing fear that left Causper immobile was the same kind of fear that gave Zoey the need to hang on to something.

"The library is just up ahead Zoey, it won't be long."

True to her word, Causper had Zoey inside the library doors within two minutes. There weren't many people there, a good thing for Zoey's fear, and it was almost stifling with its silence.

Zoey looked to be incredibly relieved entering the library. She quickly puller hand back to her books, blushing lightly. "Thank you, I won't forget all this! And I'll get used to it quickly, promise!" With that she stumbled off in search, before coming to a sudden stop, and returning her gaze to the girl. "Y-you'll wait for me won't you?" She asked politely, her eyes seeming to beg where the rest of her would not.

She would research madness for today, but was eager to find out about the girl. Unfortunately, it very strange to look for something like that right off the bat. Moving to a nearby table, she sets her own books down, and begins to pull books off from shelves signifying that she is not only very familiar with libraries, but in the case of some books, may already know what she's looking for. All of this was true. She knew a few books, and simply pulled the one's that seemed useful with them. After a few minutes of hopping to reach upper shelves as if she no idea there was a ladder, and breaking a shelf to send a row of books tumbling giving her a deep red complexion, she's constructed a small pile of books, and has already begun to flip through with the dumbest grin on her face.

Causper was already on the search for books on the mayan culture when Zoey asked if she would wait for her. A bit busy to anwswer, too polite to not answer, she simply lifted a hand in response. Whether positive or negative was unknown, but it was a response nonetheless.
Causper found some books in her quest, but none had what she was looking for so she went up to the librarian and asked for assistance. Despite knocking over an entire shelf of books, Zoey seemed to have found what sje was looking for so Causper watched her read while she waited for the librarian to return.
After a while longer Causper had an obviously old book with a leather cover in her hands. Everything about the psychics that the school knew was in this book supposedly. She was almost afraid to read it as she sat down across from Zoey with it.

Zoey gave a playful smile, and wave. "H-hey! I'm Zoey remember?... O-of course you-... Nevermind." She communicated, moving swiftly from an excited tone into a mutter. Blushing, she quickly props up the large book in front of her to hide her growing blush. The book was concerning witches that were observed, and researched in the past 30 years, or so. The page turned to the Archne sisters. Arachne, Medusa, and Shaula were all highly proficient in madness. While this book concerned witches, it was slightly out of place, the majority concerning the Old Ones, and Lord Shinigami himself. If Kaori wanted anything substantial on that, she would likely need teacher grade access.

Kaori noted the books serial number, and would look at it later. She didn't know what it was about, or why Causper wanted it, but it looked to hold critical knowledge regarding something. Even still, it was probably just some old folk-lore. Back to the point, Medusa's magic was a simple concept turned into a finely oiled machine. It was something that could take forever to manage. The versatility of her magic was impressive, and deserving of respect. Even still, the Vector magic held little luster for her. To manipulate madness remotely with no chance of being detected, or traced. That was what she wanted. If she could use it to stay in touch with the minds of others, her network of information would be instantaneous, and she could create a faction with fervor, and intuition un-matched by the others on the board.

Causper's attention focused solely on the old book in front of her, reading it all very thoroughly in order to not miss a word. The spine was cracked and the glue holding the pages together was loose. The pages themselves were yellowed with age however the lack of discolouration on the inside of the handwritten pages indicated that the book was well kept but not opened often. In some places the ink was faded and illegible, but a peice of notebook paper placed over top and a pencil gave her enough to figure out what was being said. The age of the book wasn't the same as the dates, meaning that it had been copied from older texts and probably translated. Causper wished she could get access to the original, but it was likely a pile of dust now. As a thought, Causper pulled a blank notebook out of her bag and began copying the pages into it with careful and delicate writing. This would slow her down, meaning it would take twice as long to read the book but it was worth it.

The author started at the behining of the year 574 AC, meaning there would be about forty six years of notes until the time she was interested in. Rather then skipping to the time she needed, Causper read from the begining. The book spoke of kishin eggs and full kishins that were created during those years. Most of them were meaningless to her, although sje copied down their information anyways. All these kishins were long dead but Zoey could probably use this stuff in something. One of the kishins stood out, one that was found in 578 but was only killed fifty years later because he disappeared somewhere in Maya. It was curious that, but Causper didn't notice just how important those fifty missing years were. She brushed it aside casually and continued reading.

Once again her companion seemed distant. It was obvious that the weapon had her own business in the library, and nothing as trivial as rudimentary studies. Just what was in that book? She would be forced to wonder. For now she shrugged off the wonder. She would see for herself soon enough, and she couldn't be guaranteed her time in this library.

She removes another book from the stack. One solely regarding the Gorgon's. Skimming through the vast sections of Medusa, she found most of the content was counter strategies, and off set speculation into how she worked by hopelessly uneducated non-witches. Even still, there was valuable input. She may not be able to copy the woman like she had hoped, but she may be able to form her own spells from this. The only problem was knowing how to sustain madness in a familiar remotely. The rest is only practice... right?

Zoey planted her face into the table look defeated. It was obvious that she expected to simply jog into the DWMA, and fix the world. Sadly, it would take time to find what she was looking for, assuming it existed, and she was only 2 books, and less then a day into that journey. "I should have known better." She muttered, simply resting there for the time being.

Causper read and copied several more pages without noticing that Zoey had given up. Even when she'd bookmarked the page she was on -half way through year 589- and closed both books to take a break she didn't notice for a few more moments. Pausing with a half opened plastic container full of apple slices, Causper blinked at Zoey's slumped form. Either she had fallen asleep or she had given up. From the looks of it, it was most likely the latter.

"Hey, you doing okay? Don't give up just cause you haven't found anything in the first hour, there's plenty more to do. I think now's a good time for a break though, would you like some apples?"

Causper opened the container completely, revealing what was probably once four or five apples, each slice carefully carved to resemble rabbits, and pushed it into the center of the table. Taking one of the nearest ones, Causper placed it on the table right in front of Zoey's head then took one herself and ate it. The apples tasted like lemon because they had been sitting in the lemon juice for so long to prevent browning.

Zoey grumbled at the remark, and looked up sluggishly, her eyes shifting suddenly to form an expression of awe. "Wow!! Y-you made all these!?" She reached for one, and picked it up in a light grip. She held it in her palm like something precious that she would never want to see harmed. "I-Is this really okay to eat? You spent so much time on it, I think I'd feel bad." She continued. It seemed her loss in confidence was already forgotten. It seemed that the girl was quick hearted indeed. She peered up into Causper's eyes, waiting for approval.

Kaori was slightly impressed by the girls artistic flare. Slightly. Never the less, her act didn't seem in the least disingenuous. Many professionals may be lead to envy by her skill in acting. Rather, by her three centuries of experience. In her mind she discretely played with the uses of such an impressive conviction. If she could direct Causper's oh so intensely focused conviction in her favor... Now wasn't the time. She needed a teacher to help her. Otherwise she would have to break into the library, and there's no telling what's on the upper levels, or where to find it. Maybe, if she was a good girl with a passion for books, and something absolutely tragic happened to the keeper here. Yes, if she took his place, even as a temporary, she could get everything she needed.

"Actually, I only made a few, which I ate for breakfast on my way here. These ones were made by my aunt's doctor. I think she uses a scalpel to cut them and she's been doing this for more then a year. She does them just for me. ^-^ "

Causper waved Zoey on, encouraging her to eat it. The apples were in fact, sliced with a scalpel by the vampire employed by Enclair as a live-in doctor. A childish thing to ask of the doctor, but it just wouldn't be the same if she made them herself. Fortunately enough, the doctor knew why she asked for them and generally agreed to slice a few bags of apples every week. A nostalgic snack, rabbit apples. Her dad would make them with breakfast every day without fail. Every day.... until he got sick. No one even told her what it was he had, just that he was dying. That he wouldn't live another month without help. They said they could keep him alive. They lied.
Suddenly realizing how far south her mood had gotten, Causper snapped her head back up and shook her head to clear her mind. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of the past. The past was done. She picked up another apple slice and bit it in half, the sour taste of the lemon overriding the apple's sweeter taste.

"Anyways, how's your research going?"

Zoey let a hand glide towards the absent faced Causper to silently ask if she was alright. Her mouth opened to do so, but the will was shot down by her apparent unsure attitude, and her hand withdrawing quickly. Instead she took a silent bite off of the fruit rabbit. Once more she sparks up at the address. "I-It's like no one even cares where it came from." She looked down at the book, her tone one of defeat. "They just want to use madness for their own power. E-even Lord Death gives it off." She slumped into her chair, taking another timid bite, like she was savoring a treasure. "But I don't think anyone knows why... If it comes from the will of others then... Then I'll never be able to stop it."

Kaori scoffed mentally. So the girl wasn't so impressive. Still, she was a good option, and it seemed like she already had a foothold in her.

"W-what about you? You seemed pretty out of it earlier. I-I don't look like much, and we just met so don't think I'm trying to be invasive, b-but I'm a really good listener!" She spat out, taking a deep breath in after the train wreck of compressed words. With a light blush of embarrassment, she averts her gaze to the ground. Occasionally her eyes dart over Causper's face in anticipation of anger, never sparing more than a few moments before shooting back to the safety of the floor.

"Don't worry about it Zoey, you'll come up with something eventually. I mean, the more recent databases may not have anything, but the past probably will."

Causper passed the notebook to Zoey for her to look over. She'd taken exact copies of everything that was written in the book in the pages she'd read so far. She was less then halfway through the book and yet the note book was plenty more then half full. Probably more then three quarters. Each page of the book took up two and sometimes three pages of the notebook, all pages were really detailed on the kishin eggs or kishins they were about, including backstory and powers, even living relatives for some of them.

"I haven't gotten to the time I'm actually looking to study yet, bit those might help just a little bit on the conditions madness needs to spawn and breed."

"You did all that!? J-just now?..." Zoey looked to take another blow to her conviction, and trying to ignore her avoided question. For another few quiet moments she read over the papers, her face seeming to become more distressed with every word. "I can't... They used to be humans right?... They all seem so sad. I-I don't want to hurt them. I need to change them back. I-I just need to know how..." Her hands formed a tight grip around the papers. Without another word, she continued her reading.

(Sorry it's short. I'm off to work, and had little time left. >~<)

Causper flipped through a few pages of the book before getting back to where she was. Sighing, she continued to flip through the pages til something caught her eye. It was an entry on the kishin who had disappeared in mayan territory, an explination on how he was caught. Causper read the tale, not really interested but it was certainly interesting.
A few parts did seem familiar though, so Causper thought back to where she may have heard of them. As far back to her childhood when her father spoke of fairytales. She slammed her hand down on the table as the ancient story came to memory. Taking the note book from Zoey, almost tearing it from her hands if she was still holding onto it, and scribbled furiously on a blank page. An all too familiar story came to being on that page, where only moments ago it was blank. She compared them next, the pages from the book and the page from the notebook, highlighting similarities between the two. Soon enough, half the story in the notebook was highlighted and Causper flung it onto the table before hanging her head in her hands.

The two tales were about the creation and death of a kishin who called himself Ah-puch, after the mayan god who walked about villages at night and took souls from the dead. In both tales, Ah-puch did this. In the tale Causper learned as a child, Ah-puch really was a god that walked amongst the villages. In the other, he was a murderer and rapist who was worshipped as the god he claimed to be. The stories matched in all but perspective. This story contradicted everything she had ever known to be true, crumpled it, bent it, shattered it to peices. An entire life of happiness shown to be nothing but twisted lies and coverups.