Books Are Magic for everyone

"Oh, no, no," Rivkah dismissed with a wave of her hand, "nothing of that sort. Daniel is my friend." Whether what she said was true or not was up to whoever heard. Rivkah's tone gave nothing away. She took the list and glanced it over, before gesturing for the woman to follow her, leading her over to the Classics section and plucking out a few books. "Well, that sure is nice of them. What's your daughter's name, if I might ask?" Her gaze went back to the woman for a moment. "And yours." She held her hand out. "I'm Rivkah. Always happy to meet new people and help out."

"Maybe he will be one day," Rivkah suggested, but it was a rather dark idea to think about. It would mean the poor boy would have to die and, really, Rivkah didn't wish that on anyone. Especially not a fae. She shook her head. "I'm sure he'd love to know he's named after your stuffed bat, though," she teased, taking the books handed off to her. She gave Leyla a once over, those big, puppy eyes staring back at her. She chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm sure that routine really works well for you on people, doesn't it?" she teased again, giving Leyla a gentle gesture. "Those big, sad eyes of yours. Alright--" Rivkah reached over and grabbed the books for return-- "just this once, I'll check them in early for you. So that you can check out all the new ones you want. I'm here to promote reading, after all, what kind of librarian would I be if I didn't?" She gave a wink.

option b.

New Leaf was not a bookstore he had built from bare bones like the store he had previously owned in New York, yet Daniel had worked hard the last few months to create a place he was proud of. In the one hundred years he had been on this earth, being a bookstore owner wasn't his dream job. However, he would be content if this were where he spent the rest of eternity.

Daniel had been in the back office looking over recent orders. He could feel his eyes starting to strain, even with the blue-light glasses he had on. The orders were nearly finished. If he took a small break, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Daniel made his way to the front of the store. A smile danced on his features as he saw familiar patrons make their way around the store. It was a sight that he would never get tired of. He made his way to the shelves and began organizing out of habit. "I'm always happy to hear what your latest recommendations are for me." Daniel smiled softly as he turned to look at Rivkah.

Daniel had always had a softer disposition, which wasn't bad, Rivkah supposed, but it did allow him to be somewhat of a pushover. When it came to her, though, she supposed she couldn't complain. It meant he sought out her opinions without her having to push them, even if she would have done that regardless. At least this way, they could be friends. Acquaintances? Something of the sort. She grinned. "Do you have all day? Because I've got more than a few. Least of which is to move your classical literature shelves to the front of the store. With school starting soon, those books will be in hot commodity again."

If it wasn't for the reading list she had been given by the school, she likely wouldn't have set foot into the bookstore. The only time she even stopped by New Leaf was to say hello to Daniel. She liked reading well enough, but in truth, she had never quite had much of an attention span for it. She couldn't recall the last time she had ever truly made it through an entire book. But when skimming the shelves, the familiar brunette managed to catch her attention. "Don't you work at the library? We are at New Leaf, aren't we? Or have I completely gotten myself all out of sorts?" She whispered playfully back.

"Oh, no, you're at the bookstore," Rivkah said nonchalantly, waving a hand. "I visit here often. Often enough to know the inventory just well, or--" she leaned over, a tad conspiratorial-- "better than-- the owner." She couldn't say with 100% certainty if it was true, but if you asked her she would say it was every time. A grin played on her lips. "So, need help with that list?" She nodded at the paper in Savannah's hands. "I'm surprised they've released the reading list for next year so early. Did they assign summer reading again this year, then?"

Leyla was a frequent visitor to both the library and the New Leaf Bookstore. She was often checking out the maximum number of books every week as she breezed through them. But in all of her times passing through the public library, she had never known that there was an employee there by the name of Bartholomew, likely because he went by Barry. But at the mention of his name, she let out an audible gasp. "I'm sorry, did you say his name was Bartholomew? He wouldn't happen to be a vampire, by any chance?" Leyla wondered from where she was peering over a rather large stack of books in her hand. All this time she had a plushie bat body pillow named 'Bat-tholomew'. But to think, there had been an actual Bat-tholomew in town all this time. She couldn't wait to go home and tell Ken, but before that, she blinked over at the Librarian, "Oh, um, yes, I'm here to check out. And I have a pile of books to return too."

Rivkah chuckled. "I would hope not, considering he's been aging for the past seventeen years." She watched him grow up, too, from when he was a five-year-old coming in here to get his first library card, to this very moment here, where he was sitting among her shelves trying to figure out the Dewey Decimal system. "Here," Rivkah said, reaching out to take some of the books from Leyla's hands, "you really should start bringing a bag, darling. You know they even make them specifically for books, right?" It was a tease, but Rivkah had seen Leyla in here often enough to know her name and her husband's as well, despite Ken rarely visiting the place himself. Meanwhile, she started scanning in the books that were now on the counter. "There's a drop-off box by the door, for your returns."

Since their move to Lunar Cove five months ago, Will had tried to keep their life as stable as possible, but that was easier said than done when his sister's newfound magic was anything but normal--and how could he convinced her there was magic hidden in the pages of a book when she could now create real magic herself? But he was sticking to the rule he'd set, that she had to read at least one book a month, and that he would cut off her internet access to "help her concentrate" if he had to.

Almost immediately upon entering, his sister spotted Barry and rushed off to talk to someone closer to her own age. Will watched her go with a weary sigh then turned his attention to the librarian. "Hi." He leaned against the front counter and forced a smile back into place. "I wanted to get two new library cards, if we can. And if you have any tips on getting a teenager to read, I would gratefully take that too. Sorry--" He broke off, realizing he hadn't introduced himself, and extended his hand. "I'm Will."

Rivkah also watched the younger girl rush over to Barry, who was squinting a little too hard at one of the spines of a book, as if trying to read the name. Rivkah sighed and turned back to her guest. "Good afternoon," she greeted with a warm grin. "Oh, of course! Are you two new in town?" She leaned over the counter to hold her hand out. "Rivkah. Nice to meet you, Will. Now--" she reached around with one hand to grab some papers-- "just fill these out for you both. You're her guardian, I assume?" She flicked her gaze back to the girl who was watching Barry with disinterest as the boy tried to sort through more books on the ground. "Hmmm, it depends. I do find that a reward system works better than any sort of punishment. I've heard a few parents around talk about paying their kids a certain amount for each book they finish. The longer the book, the more money, etcetera, etcetera."

"Hm? Oh. Merci. I was...waiting for Daniel. I needed to discuss this with him." Ignacio, who seemed to have been startled out of a bit of a daze, staring at the shelf and mulling over many things, offered a smile. He held up a book of poetry by Odysseas Elytis, a tome with which he had left the last time he was in the bookshop. "Do you enjoy poetry? I read it very much. Since the dawn of time, we have all pined for the same, do you find? Verse is unbound by the trappings of prose, but I enjoy prose as well." This observation came matter-of-factly, but still, for him, poetry resonated in a primal way beyond space and place.

He hummed, rolling his shoulders, and craning his head from side to side as if to take in every book which lined the shelves. "What do you recommend for springtime? For new beginnings. For renewal? We as humans, or adjacent, oui...we can afford to use our hours on pastoral folly. Bees cannot. Hard work does not end for prettier weather. Hmm." He trailed off, seemingly engaged in some sort of philosophical banter with himself.

"Oh, you know Daniel, then?" Rivkah tutted, glancing over at the younger gentleman. Her eyes dropped to the tome he held up and she preened a little. "I enjoy all types of poetry, yes. Are you looking for a specific kind? Epics, perhaps? Sonnets, haikus? Classical? Modern? Antiquity?" She reached out to tap the cover of the book he held up, giving what could be interpreted as a knowing smirk. "Romantic modernism, perhaps?" A smile curls further onto her lips. "Poetry is one of the oldest forms of prose. It's certainly one of my favorite."

Rivkah pondered on it for a moment, before ushering for the man to follow her. She led him over to the poetry section, skimmed a few titles quickly, before plucking one from the shelf. It was Felicity by Mary Oliver, an all time favorite of hers. "I think you might like this one."