LSRO: Chapter 365 - Tip of the Tongue

This title is actually one of my favorite sayings. I'm not sure why... but I've always thought it perfectly describes the feeling of knowing what a thing and not quite being able to grasp it.

2026 has been a slow start for me so far. Trying to get back into the swing of things. Hope it's going well for everyone else.

Today's chapter!

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Chapter 28

Tip of the Tongue

Usually when she woke from sleep, Quinn felt decently rested and mostly ready to tackle the day. This time, however, she almost felt as if she hadn’t slept at all. Her eyelids felt heavy, and her body felt sore. She glanced up at Aradie, who stared down at her, letting out a mournful hoot.

“Really?” Quinn sighed and struggled to sit up properly. “You could be nice, you know. How about telling me I look great and here’s to a fabulous day instead of starting out by telling me I look like crap.”

Another hoot, but this time indignant.

“Okay, you didn’t say crap, but the underlying meaning was the same.”

Aradie at least had the good grace to look away.

Quinn couldn’t shake the tension, not just from her dream but also within the Library. The thrumming throughout the Library seemed serious, darker than usual. Focused even.

That was when she realized she’d slept a lot longer than she’d meant to. No one woke her either. All she had to do was concentrate on the background noise in her head to get a full rundown of the Library, which was working seamlessly. All the branches functioned within parameters, and every employee appeared to be doing their jobs well. The patrons were mostly satisfied. And yet Quinn felt anything but.

And while she knew her dream had been a huge puzzle she’d been right on the verge of figuring out, she could also feel it slipping away from her now she was in the waking world. “Damn it! On the tip of my tongue.” She hated that feeling. To almost have the answer, to almost know exactly what she needed to, only to have it slip away from her like a ghost in the night.

Aradie perched softly on her shoulder and bent down to rub her wing against Quinn’s cheek. Some of the tension fled Quinn, and she sighed with relief. Aradie might be a bird, right now at least, but she sure knew how to give the equivalent of a hug. “Let’s brave the downstairs and figure out why no one woke me up. I must have slept what... twelve, fourteen hours. I have so much to do before Horticulture opens this evening.”

Aradie trilled in her ear, and Quinn winced.

“Yes, I am busy. I’m very important, you know.”

Aradie let out a noise that if Quinn hadn’t known better, she’d swear it was a laugh.

Dottie, as per usual, awaited Quinn at the bottom of the steps. “Librarian!”

“Morning, Dottie.”

“Barely,” the little bench snarked at her. 

Quinn narrowed her eyes.

Dottie cleared her nonexistent throat. “Anyway! We have a lot on the agenda today.”

A second later, realization hit Quinn. Dottie had stepped in and subtly begun taking over Jasper’s role of keeping her organized. Memory of the dream flashed back, and the pain in Quinn’s chest sparked briefly before fading gently.

With a resigned sigh, Quinn followed Dottie to her office. “Hit me with it. What do I have to do today?”

“Narilin needs to see you about book creation permissions or something. I told her you’d be there as soon as possible. There are several hiccups with the system and some of the newly returned books required for the Academy. I’ll need you to look into that as well. And lastly, Farrow needs you a few hours before the branch is due to open to get last-minute preparations done.” Dottie stopped, raising an eyebrow at Quinn.

The Librarian’s first thought was that this was far more comprehensive than anything Jasper had ever prepared for her, and secondly she realized how glad she was to have finally read that book on Dottie’s species. It made interpreting body language much easier. Like a magical key had unlocked this new way of seeing her.

“Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” She asked, trying not to complain. She had needed the sleep, but she also seemed to have a lot to do.

Dottie blinked. “Because Cook would have killed me. They left very specific instructions to let you finally have a good night’s sleep before the crap hits the fan. I didn’t understand the reference, but I don’t mess with Cook. They can be very intimidating.”

Quinn wanted to protest, but recalled the few times Cook had insisted she eat. They could really be intimidating. “Send Narilin in. She can come and see me; I have some other things to take care of in my office first.” Hopefully giving her time to eat the food she was sure Cook had waiting for her, or else, as Aradie took off, her owl was going to fetch.

“Very well! I’ll be off to fetch her then!” Dottie trotted away, and Quinn wished there was a way she could bottle that energy and enthusiasm.

With no sign of Milaro or Malakai anywhere, Quinn pushed into her office and looked around. The Library had seen fit to place three couches into the space for the day, which meant at some stage, she’d end up with many people. She shook her head, trying to remember the dream even more. It felt like something was unfinished, as if she had all the pieces but wasn’t putting them together, and it made her want to punch things. 

The knock on the door came as she sipped her coffee and ate her scone and cream Aradie had brought with her. “Come in,” she called out before stuffing the last of a scone into her mouth.

Narilin walked in and raised a delicate, bark-accented eyebrow before sitting in the chair opposite Quinn. 

“Dottie said I need to okay the creation of some books?” To be fair, Quinn didn’t understand what this was about. She knew Narilin had almost all permissions available for creating tomes. 

“The books were foundational books from a few of the already opened branches. Special permission is required to recreate those. Most of them don’t have duplicates.”

Quinn raised an eyebrow. In a library of this size, servicing the amount of people it did, having only one copy of any beginner books seemed like an unnecessary bottleneck. Things she could look into once everything was back in place. “Sure, what do I need to do?”

Narilin shot the list over to Quinn, who raised an eyebrow while looking at it. The system gave her prompts.

Retrieving current missing tomes

Marsh’s Guide to Perfecting the Art of Elixir Extraction

Krafick’s Medicinal Applications of Divination

Application of the JoeDan Principle - Magical Ailments and Physical Solutions

These books have recently been destroyed.

Archived interior information accessed

Librarian activation required

Do you wish to reproduce these tomes?

Yes or No?

Quinn clicked on yes and frowned. They seemed very specific books, which of course they were if they were essential to the opening of branches. But they were all Medicinal/Alchemical branch related. To her, it seemed like that meant something. She just didn’t know what.

Of course she picked yes. Sadly, it didn’t make things any clearer.

“Done.” She said, already suddenly tired again. Maybe it had to do with the ridiculous amount of information flying around in her head and attaching itself to her. 

Narilin watched her for a few seconds. “Are you feeling alright?” The words held hesitancy, given that they weren’t on the best of terms. 

Quinn nodded. “Just a bit exhausted. Constantly.”

Narilin frowned. “That does not sound normal.”

“True. But then,” she gestured all around her, “to me, none of this is normal.”

Narilin actually smiled and stood up. “Very well. Just remember. The Library is yours. If you need rest, then you can take it. Please take care of yourself.” 

Quinn watched the salosier walk out. It was more of a sashay considering the way her vined hair swished behind her. Narilin was probably right too. Except Quinn didn’t feel like she had the right to take any time off until the tense pressure in the Library lifted.

“Lynx?” She spoke into the air, missing when Lynx was practically glued to her side at the beginning of all this.

A second later, he popped into the room, his runes flashing as he moved over to her. “Is everything okay? You rarely call me like that.”

She cocked her head to the side. Huh? He was right. She rarely called for him. He usually just popped in or was there when she needed him. “Is it normal for the full synchronization to drain me of any and all energy?” And brain power she wanted to add, but she figured if he answered her question that’d be answered along with it.

“Of course it does.” He answered as if it were the most obvious answer in the universe.

Quinn sighed. “I wish Drev had waited.”

“It couldn’t. The Library needed you in tune as soon as possible. Just in case the soul bomb latched on. Just in case it backfired. Just in case something worse happened.”

“Something worse?” Quinn asked, her interest piqued.

Lynx shot her a withering look. “It needed you fully in sync as soon as possible. That’s all. It’s pretty obvious why. I just wasn’t expecting it right then. Usually, a Librarian only needed one synchronization because the Library was already at full power, but you’ve had to step up calibrations with each expansion. Drev couldn’t wait. Might not have gone about it in the best way, but...” He shrugged.

At least that explained her tiredness. She knew it would. Her lethargy came on her fast in the last few days. It lasted longer, and not even caffeine seemed to pick her up. “It’s all good. I’ll figure out a way to stay on top of this, energy-wise.”

“Anything else?” he asked, but he wasn’t as brusque as usual. Instead, he sounded like he was trying to hold back concern. 

“Not really? Had a strange dream last night that I’m still trying to piece together.” She paused and had another thought. “Does the synchronization ever transfer information?”

The look he gave her could have stripped paint. “Seriously? That’s all it gives you.”

“Oh.” She didn’t know why she’d phrased it that way. Maybe she was too tired for her own good. “Sorry. I meant more - does it transfer Library memories and experiences as well as the knowledge contained within?”

Lynx looked puzzled for a second. His runes and eyes flashed momentarily, and he frowned. “I... not usually, but nothing about this is usual. The connection between you and Drev... It’s possible, likely even, that you may have inadvertently had memories passed through to you. I’d say it was an oversight, or even that we hadn’t realized it was a possibility. Did you get something?”

Quinn shrugged. “That’s just it. I’m not sure. The dream I had made me feel like I should know more than I think I do. Or that I’m not seeing what is right in front of my face.”

“Should get Milaro to help you with that. Or Nishpa.”

“Good idea.” Quinn couldn’t quite shake the feeling of despondency that overwhelmed her. In the beginning, Lynx had solved so many of her problems. She’d sort of wanted him to do so now. “Any hints on how to manage this exhaustion when I have way too much to do and saboteurs to foil?”

Lynx actually chuckled this time. “Sadly, I don’t have the faintest idea how to do that. But I know you. And you are capable of anything. Try to sleep well; see if Cook has anything that can help in that regard so the sleep you get is actually restful. Examine and use the information that’s settling into you. The quicker you allow it to soak in, the faster you’ll recover. Right now, your body and brain are trying to find space and to categorize everything. Being what you are, you shouldn’t have a problem. But I know that doesn’t mean much when it comes to squeezing in more than you can conceive of. Failing that, call Drev. She got you into it, she can try to shoulder the burden with you.”

“That’s so kind,” Quinn rolled her eyes. “Thanks though. For coming.”

He eyed her, his confusion clear. “Why on earth would I not come when you need me? I’m your manifestation. I’m your friend. And I can travel here faster than most of the population in the universe.”

Quinn laughed. “Yeah. I know. But I give my thanks anyway.”

“Accepted,” he said, eyed her once more, a thoughtful expression on his face, and warped out.

Quinn threw herself back into her chair. Dottie’s list was longer than she’d like, but she had to buck up and get stuff done. One down, another on the list. She cracked her knuckles and reviewed the requests from different supervisors, including one from Misha. Another security detail request, this time a bit more heavy duty. She frowned.

“Misha,” she called out, and sure enough, about a second later, Misha appeared in front of her desk.

“Librarian?” 

No matter what Misha was doing or how much she had to do, she always answered Quinn’s calls. “This request is for heavier-duty security. Any reason?”

Even though the golem’s expressions were slight and sometimes difficult to interpret, Quinn got the distinct impression Misha was looking at her like she’d forgotten how to think.

“Our prisoners. Halschius has not collected our prisoners yet. I am aware they are quite busy right now. But I would like to be prepared just in case we have to keep them much longer. We have materials to spare. This would not leave us shorthanded on anything.”

“I didn’t realize they hadn’t been picked up yet. Are the cells adequate?” Quinn asked, immediately okaying the request.

Misha seemed to contemplate that question. “Yes. The Library expanded again to accommodate them more comfortably. Detainees still deserve basic comforts.”

“Agreed,” Quinn eyed her supervisory golem, oddly proud of how she’d bounced back from sharing her psyche. Which she realized was a horribly recurring theme around here. “Thanks.”

Misha nodded and warped away.

Quinn took the last bite left of a now partially stale scone and sighed, motioning to Aradie. I think it’s time we visited and helped Farrow. Don't you think?"

She didn’t wait for the bird to answer before leaving.

~~

ARADIE is one of my favorites

Much love

KT