You'd think after 200+ years one would know everything. Yet there was always an endless abundance of knowledge to acquire. Being alone, with no living family to speak of and no significant other in his life, Aiden found himself at the Crocus Library searching for a particular book. A mysterious young woman known as Luciel had somehow acquired a note written in a now-extinct language. This had led the red-head to search the library for a dictionary of the Valen Runic Language.

"Ballan, Sinese, Sevese, Icbergian... no... none of these..." The young-looking man mumbled to himself as he slid his finger delicately across various book bindings. His red eyes scanned the titles written across the binding of each book without bothering to pull them out to check the cover itself. "Ah-ha. Here we go."

His pale fingers proceeded to pull forward a rather large dictionary labeled:

The Valen Runic Language Dictionary

This was exactly what the young vampire had been looking for. Seeking out a chair in a far corner of the library out of the range and view of other people, Aiden placed the note on a table opening the book next to it. Now came the fun part. Translating these strange words into a more familiar language. As he opened the dictionary, he was pleased to discover it was written in Fiorian using simple translations for old Valen Runic words.

This would make things a little easier. He then began the task of looking up each word one by one and making note of the translation, writing the solution next to the origin. There were several words here, so this could take a while. Not that time mattered for an immortal creature of the night. Still, he was grateful to have sated his thirst before coming here. It would be too easy and too risky to go on a feeding frenzy surrounded by all these innocent humans.

He refused to allow that to happen. Instead, he focused on the words in front of him, writing down each translation as he discovered it. The first word that he discovered was pretty complex as it was two words. Hare Meat.

What was this? A recipe for a potion or something? Maybe it was useful after all. As he continued he discovered the next word to be simply: cabbage. This was sounding more and more like a recipe by the minute. But a recipe for what?

Aiden moved on to the next word, his fingers delicately turning the pages of the old dictionary so as to not tear it. The word that followed was potatoes. Was this a recipe for some sort of stew, perhaps? What he wouldn't give for stew... it had been quite a while since he tasted food.

The red-head cleared his throat softly and returned to reading. He didn't need to distract himself with such pointless thoughts and fruitless notions. Ah, fruit... there's something he missed...

'Ah, stop thinking about food, Aiden! It's a waste of energy...'

"Ox..." he read out loud in a soft whisper, his voice almost feminine. "...Hooves. Ox hooves? What would anyone need with hare meat, cabbage, potatoes, and ox hooves?" His eyes widened in realization. "This is a bloody shopping list!"

He received a series of hushes from the librarian and the patrons who were trying to read. The vampire muttered an embarrassed apology as he stood up and crossed the library toward the main desk. Most people noticed his pale skin and red eyes and steered clear of him, eyes watching him wearily. The others paid no attention to the man, either not caring or possibly ignorant of his 'disease'.

After placing the paper with the dictionary and the translations on the main desk for Luciel to collect, Aiden nodded to the librarian and headed out the door. It felt like such a waste of time translating a shopping list, but perhaps the reward was worth the time.

[WC 500/500]