17460/=I'm not Showing Off! You're Showing Off!

=I'm not Showing Off! You're Showing Off!
Date of Scene:	21 March 2024
Location:	Rock of Eternity
Synopsis:	Billy gave Clara a book and will never get rid of her.
Cast of Characters:	Billy Batson, Clara Jennings

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Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson had phoned Clara Jennings and told her where to find the portal to the Rock. He could sense her in a way, somehow. The Rock made some things very easy for him, others harder. He activated the portal and waited, holding a cup of tea for her.

Some people did not react to portal travel well. Billy liked it but he was Billy. He also fluffed up Mary's pillow nest for her and turned the heat up for her. Steve the stylus stands at attention on his best behavior. "Sorry, no Besom this trip, Steve." The stylus seems to shrug.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara, in her own awkward way, makes it to the portal. She had arrived rather earlier than she was supposed to, but spent some of that time reading. She also had some things to consider for work. Her continued focus on Mr. Kord's information archives has led to some progress. She's filled up many a whiteboard and sketchbook with her novel thoughts on tagging, retrieval, and many things besides.

    But now she is ready to step through. As she so often does, Clara has dressed modestly. She wears a skyblue dress with a high neck. It is lined with fancy lace. It is not overdone, but it is rather on the cute side for someone her age.

    She enters with a blink. The stone walls capture her attention immediately. "How curious. It is truly a place of rock, and not in name only..." Immediately obvious is her fidgeting. Her hands do as they will, after all. Still, her voice is calm when she turns to greet Billy.

    "Oh, um, hi! Wow, so this is where you... work?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson occupies her hands immediately, handing her a mug of tea and taking her free hand to shake, "Uhm sort of. It's really more a sanctuary where Shazams can come to rest and do research. The library puts Hogwarts to shame and there are a lot of corridors we haven't fully. So uhm quick tour: Eye of Evil, don't touch. Seven Deadlies, don't talk to them or pay attention to them. If a door has no sticker, don't open. If it has a post it it will say whether it is safe or not."

He takes her by the arm to lead her to the desk slab, "This is Steve, our assistant." Steve nods to Clara and writes 'hello' in Egyptian and Greek. Billy pauses and give Clara an odd look, like he got an order by mail he didn't expect or remember.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    "Thank you for the tea! Oh, umm, I generally do not go where I am not supposed to, and my curiousity tends to be limited to books and conversation," replies Clara. She would not open a door without asking, really. Plus it sounds scary! She does not like scary things.

    She laughs softly as she turns her gaze to Steve. "Hello!" She tilts her head, reading. "Do you know other languages as well, Steve?" With her attention thus diverted, she does not notice the odd look.

    "So you say Shazams as a plural matter. How does that work, exactly?" Her interest is piqued. And tea is sipped daintily.

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batsonsays, "My gods, you're tiny! Sorry. I thought it was because I really only spent time with you as Shazam and he's bigger than most people including me but you're very petite. It's just odd seeing people from two perspectives." He looks at Steve writing what he assumes means 'hello' including... great, he's learned Aurabesh from Star Wars. Irie would have been happy.

"How it works is, Shazam is a title. I took it as my name. It's the magic word that transforms us. I just got very good at saying it without transforming when I had to introduce myself. So my sister and borther go with Thunderbolt and Pantheon, but they are Shazams technically. Also, it gets silly if we all answer to Shazam. Hi Shazam, Hello Shazam. Ok Steve, that's enough... you're getting into Conlangs now."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    "Steve is just trying to make me comfortable. Writing reminds me of note-taking, which is very comforting for me," says Clara. Anxiety, anxiety, always just on the edge of her vision. Even when she cannot explain why.

    "So you are a Shazam named Shazam," says Clara. This makes her giggle for some reason. She seems a bit fidgety, still, but the tea keeps one hand quite busy. If anything, her posture makes her seem even smaller. She started with that perfect, Victorian posture she was taught, now she's feeling very shy.

    "I um, am very short. My gover... my mother tells me this is a blessing, though. I can get comfortable in small spaces and even sleep comfortably on an airplane."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson leads Clara to the thrones. "The pillows are for thunderbolt but women seem to like it. I stuck with bare stone. Though I added a cup holder. I'm sorry I didn't mean to short shame you. You're very cute. Any guy would be lucky to have you. I'm sorry the tea is just Tetley's, not steeped or anything English." He sits on the central throne and indicates the holder.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara will use the pillows. "It is okay for me to sit here, though? I am not really um, well I am not a queen or anything." Still, she is sitting. It is comfortable! And her posture is textbook perfect. She is tiny, but there is something almost regal in her bearing.

    "Oh, I did not feel anything negative in the comment. I rather like being the way that I am. Um, I mean, short. I never have to worry about fitting on a bed, and blankets all cover me! Plus I can hide very well." She continues sipping the tea.

    "I like most tea, and this is quite good. Do not worry about it, Billy. Hm. How often do you come here? It sounds like a maze that would take a long time to explore."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson shrugs. "It's like a Shazam cave. I come here to think when I have problems or meet with my friends in the same business. It's enormous. I think it keeps changing. In four years a half dozen people with the speed of Mercury still have more to explore. It hides stuff sometimes. We didn't know about the library until recently, or Steve."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    "Well, it is good that Steve was found. I imagine it must have been a lonely existence lost somewhere in this cave," says Clara. She nods politely, and then, well, there's the word.

    Clara pauses mid-sip. It is as if there was a sudden error in the system. It takes her a moment. The tea is set down and her hands fold in her lap. For a moment. Then they go, well, rather into what might be a wrestling-match with each other. It is excitement. Frustrating, yes, but excited frustration.

    "A library?" she asks far too casually. "I do like libraries."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson is evidently quite proud of the Rock. "Sure. Let me take that!" The tea mug is taken and placed in the cupholder he dug with a fingernail as Shazam. He takes her by the hand and pulls her upright from the pillow nest. "Please don't talk about that queen stuff to Thunderbolt. She's already full of herself." He shakes his head in mock regret. He leads his diminutive guest to a wall that moves aside to reveal the library!

Scrolls, books, charts, some floating between shelves and restructuring. Steve reappears on a nearby desk, amid a pile of blank parchment. The Stylus pushes a folio towards them.

"The... Critias? You translated this? Okay. Here Clara. Zeus maintains a tradition of hospitality. Gifts to guests is part of that."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara follows eagerly. Books. Books! And then, yes, the books. Excuse her. She needs a moment. Her eyes are very wide. Is that a little squee forming?

    "Eeeee!!!" Yep, sure is. "It is marvelous! Beautiful! And..." Deep breath. Deep sigh. Happiness. "I love the smell of books, scrolls... paper!" She has to come to in order to see what is offered to her.

    "Oh thank you so much! I... um. Drat. I should have baked after all. I just was not sure of the appropriate reaction towards coming to a secret lair. I felt that, perhaps, biscuits would have been rather too common a thing for such an occasion."

    The translation is not just held, but clutched to her chest. It is immediately precious. "I wonder what kind of arranging this library uses..." She imagines it is not the Dewey Decimal System. "I might learn so much!"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson says, "Oh, uhm that's fine. Biscuits... I like biscuits. Biscuits are fine. I mean... do you want a hug?" The tiny bibliophile suddenly looks radiant to him and... he isn't sure how to react to female radiation. He never quite managed to satisfy a women before. He really thought it was an entirely different matter. He never saw someone so happy and from him. Sh he holds his arms up awkwardly.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara would normally clarify that Americans seems to think bicsuits are cookies. The people in the colonies often come up with weird twists of the mother tongue! However, she is happy to hug. Hugs are good!

    "Thank you so much for the gift and... well showing me this!" She totally wants to come back and explore this library. For days. Maybe she can sneak over here on the weekend?

    "Do you read many books?" she asks. "You must have amazing self-control. If I had a library so nearby, I would get nothing done!"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson shrugs in the hug before releasing Clara. "Not lately. I've been busy. I did start on the Orphic Hymns especially to Zeus. And I enjoyed the Star Wars Essential Cross Sections book Irie got me to read."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara will, at least for now, get lost in the library. She keeps up friendly chatter the entire time and allows Billy and Steve to guide just where she can go and what she can touch. Naturally she puts her gloves on! These are priceless works of art!

    One might get the impression she could do this forever. But, eventually, she has to go home. She is crashing at her Teddy's place tonight! And she has to make dinner, too. No more of that takeout nonsense! She will depart with a cutsey and a hug. And laughter. Plus a bunch of thank yous and hopes to visit again. And not just for the books! Billy is friendly and doesn't seem to mind her fidgeting!