Tree of Infinite Knowledge (Sol x Ene Kagerou)

[Ene Kagerou]

(I apologize for the longness) @Sol


The tree was hundreds of years old. Madison was almost as old as it. She wasn't exactly sure how old she was, but she knew she was about the same age as the tree. After all, she first saw the old man when he wasn't even an old man, and now he was gone. He had been gone for three years. Since the first time she met Alexander. She missed him slightly, but as the tree grew, the memories of the old man slowly faded from her mind. People had always entered her life easily, and exited just as easy. From time to time, it saddened her, and she wondered how long Alexander will stay.


Madison opened her eyes and saw nothing but black. She freaked out slightly, and rolled onto her back, sitting up with a quick, sudden movement, now squinting in the morning light. It wasn't till Mica hissed that she realized her cat was the only thing causing the blackness, and she immediately apologized for it.


"Ya' idiot! Can't ch'ya ever wake up in a more calm way? In a way that doesn't involve slammin' yer hand on my tail?" Mica hissed.


"Sorry, Mica. I didn't mean to; I just didn't know why the room was dark, and it startled me a bit," Madison attempted to explain.


"You were startled? How d'ya think I felt? Gettin' woken up with painful measures like the way you use."


Madison bowed her head, her expression saddening slightly. Mica sighed, and jumped off of the bed from her pillow.


"Why do I even bother? I should just leave you to sleep on yer own, and sleep on a shelf somewhere or something," Mica complained.


"No! Please," exclaimed the Madison as she rushed out of the covers and picked the cat up, squeezing her tightly, "Don't leave me in the dark alone! What if I have to get up and I get lost?"


"Okay! Okay!" the cat choked, doing whatever she had to in order to escape the girls grasp.


Madison let her go and Mica flew to the other side of the room for cover. After that was over, Maddie decided to get dressed. She changed into her favorite outfit. A collared, button-down shirt with a black jumper over it. She tied the waist ribbon in the back, and tied a matching ribbon in her hair. The old man had given her the outfit, and many others. She pulled her socks up to her knees and put a pair of leather flats on her feet, before leaving the room with Mica by her feet.


As she made her way down the hall, her eyes scanned the walls that seemed to be made of books. She climbed down the stairs and entered the library's kitchen. She brushed her fingers along the cookbooks, and selected one of her favorites. It was from classical France, full of sweet recipes, mostly deserts, and a few breakfast recipes. She scanned the pages, for a picture of a strawberry crepe that she liked the looks of.


"I want this for breakfast," She said to the cat, brushing a strand of pink hair out of her eyes, "Can you possibly translate the ingredients for me, Mica?"


"Yeah sure, but couldn't ya just get one to appear without having to cook anything? Yer cooking skills aren't the best I've seen," She responded.


"I want to make it anyways! My cooking skills are perfectly fine."


Each ingredient she read appeared on the counter, and Maddie got a mixing bowl and a spoon, beginning to make three servings of crepes, to start the day off with something sweet.


It didn't take long to make them, but the kitchen was slightly messy, so Madison moved the plates to a table, and cleaned up the kitchen while waiting for Alexander's arrival.

 

[Sol]

There were days when he and Madison were up their necks in work and there were days like this.


No one came stumbling into the library that day and a few days before that. Today was another peaceful lull while they waited for the next troubled soul. The forest was calm as it always has and it was ripe for exploration. He couldn't exactly tell where all this wanderlust came from but he couldn't help but bow down to its whims. He knew the way back to the Library in the tree and he was also aware of the creatures that resided within this particular forest. Those two things were the only things he really needed to know before venturing out of the library in search of some grand adventure. The sun was up, a cool breeze weaved in between the trees and the sky was cloudless with light filtering through the forest canopy.


Alexander needn't explain himself to Madison, she should already be used to what he was doing right now. Three years was quite a long amount of time to acclimatize to someone. Madison never needed to worry because Alexander always came back before long, hunger was a driving force for the boy after all. He looked forward to what Madison would be cooking for breakfast, or if she was even awake to begin with. If she wasn't, then he would simply make his own breakfast which wasn't difficult at all. He was, after all, a librarian in a library that stores all known knowledge of man, a collective repository of information. He could access that knowledge anytime he wanted and he had some vague idea where most of the books were in that sprawling city of information. He also had all the time in world, someone said that he was an ageless being that would never grow old until, well Alex couldn't rightly remember how the rest of the words went.


Despite the coolness of the forest, Alexander soon found himself stripping off the jacket he wore. A thin sheen of sweat covered his body but it wasn't that inconvenient. It certainly didn't bother him that much while he watched a unicorn gallop through the forest, a majestic creature and one of the many different kinds that inhabit the forest. Most of the books say that some of these creatures are dangerous but Alexander found them amiable enough that they wouldn't hurt him unless he provoked them, which would never be his goal at all. Just as the unicorn gracefully raced past him, Alexander found himself in need of food. His stomach grumbled and nothing in the world could drown out the sound or the sensation.


"I do suppose it is that time of day then. Probably be best if I headed back."


He wanted to hear confirmation of his own plan, it did get a little lonely outside since his companion was never really the kind to go out exploring. She reminded him of someone very familiar and yet he couldn't put his finger on it. Alexander had a large gap in his memory of white space filled with fragments and silhouettes. Filling up the white spaces and piecing the fragments together was a little side project he had adopted during his stay as a librarian, he would have to be patient though as he was not making any noticeable headway but as someone once said, he had all the time in the world.


Alexander turn around and followed the trail back to the old tree. The Old Tree did house the library he and Madison worked to maintain, well they would maintain if it didn't seem to always maintain itself. The library was nothing short of magical. He spent his journey idly musing about what he wanted to eat and how to go about cooking it and whether or not Madison was awake or sleeping in for the entirety of the day. Alex soon found himself in front of the Old Tree and stepped inside the hole in its massive bark. The hole itself was larger than a door and could easily fit three people going through abreast.


Stepping through the door, he found himself in a great chamber that was nothing short of mundane for him but was doubtless elegant for the first few dozen times he went through here. A large cavernous chamber with a large statue of a bearded man holding open a book and gazing down upon it. One would marvel at how pristine the marble used in making the statue remained, it was as though time couldn't touch it either. Well Alexander doubted that time could touch a majority of the things in this library. The Great Hall had two other doorways, one on the right and one on the left. The left one led to the library itself where it was nothing short of an entirely new world, the one on the right led to the librarian's homestead.


Alexander entered the right passageway and found himself in a circular lounge of sorts with side rooms along a hallway that stretched for some distance opposite of him. Even in the Homestead, books lined the walls, books that the Librarians living here chose to keep either for quick reference or as a personal favorite. It was convenient in that he didn't need to traverse the country known as the library. Alexander made his way down the hall and turned into the kitchen. Where he found Madison already hard at work with some dessert that she may possibly be dying to try or to try again. He walked toward her, who was seemingly absorbed in her work, he adjusted the bow tie on her hair. It looked it was sloppily put on.


"Good morning, Madison. I see you're hard at work again, though you may need to visit the mirror in your room and do a quick review of yourself. That bow tie seemed somewhat off and loose. Well then, what are we cooking here? "

 

[Ene Kagerou]

Madison looked up from her work when she heard Alexander's voice. She had been so into her work that she hadn't even seen him walk up to her. She looked at him and smiled, feeling the adjusted ribbon in her hair. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't even brushed it before walking out of her room.


"Good Morning! Thank you for that. Your breakfast is on the table if you want to start eating. I made strawberry crêpes. I just have to clean the dishes and I'll be done in the kitchen, then I'll eat too. Sorry if it isn't very good. I know my cooking isn't the best," Madison said , brushing a strand of pink hair out of her face. Her hair wasn't long enough to tie everything up. But she liked the way it looked.


"Good morning, Alex," Mica said digging into one of the crepes at the table, as her tail swayed in delight, "Maddie, the crepes could use a bit less sugar next time, but other than that, ya seem to be improving."


Mica finished and jumped from the table, "I leave her in your care. I woke up with startle and a throbbing pain on my tail. The moment I attempted to leave her alone, my bones felt like they were being crushed. She's your problem for the time being."


With that the cat slipped out the room and went exploring on her own.


"Whoops," Madison said, quieter and slightly awkward, starting on the dishes, "Anyways, did you see anything interesting today, or new?"

 

[Sol]

"Strawberry crepes then? You never seem to run out of anything sweet don't you Madison?"


Alexander walked over to the table Madison mentioned, not that there was any other table in the dining area/kitchen of the homestead. Madison's cat, Mica, was already digging into the food with the usual elegance of a cat. The swaying of her tail was always a little too mesmerizing and calming at the same time. He took his seat opposite the cat which meant he also sat opposite Madison and simply waited. It was rude, after all, to eat when your companion has yet to arrive at the table.


The cat soon finished her serving and was no doubt satisfied despite the minor complaint. She bid them both farewell and stepped out of the room.


"You have a good day too, Mica! Now as for you Madison, no I have not found anything new or interesting in the forest. I spied the same variety of creatures that I have been observing for the better part of three years. I have not stumbled upon another seeker either, today seems like it would be a slow day indeed. Do you need any help with the dishes? I'd rather not eat ahead of you after all."


Despite what he said, Alexander was still rooted to his chair. His gaze was fixed on the crepe in front of him. Mica was right about the crepes, it looked like it was blanketed with a visible layer of sugar as if the strawberry's natural sweetness was not enough for her. Then again, Alexander couldn't expect any less from his partner who will always be a sweet tooth. He grabbed his fork and scraped off the layer of sugar that blanketed the visible portion of his crepe. It would be sweet enough and he wasn't always keen on very sweet food.

 

[Ene Kagerou]

"Thanks for the offer but I'm just about done," Madison replied as she looked up, "I guess it has been a while since we've had a visitor. I wonder if today someone will come."


She finished washing the dishes, and dried her hands. After walking towards the table with a slight yawn, Madison sat down in her seat. She was into her work, but the affects of sleep still lingered in her mind. Then again, it had only been less than an hour since she'd woken up. She took a bite of her crêpe, enjoying the taste of everything together. Deserts from other countries almost always seemed to taste better than the ones in her own country.


"What time did you get up? Have you been out this entire time? I'm amazed that you can go out into the forest so often," Madison said, "I probably could never last 2 hours in there, while you could spend a whole week!"


Maddie took another bite of her crêpe. "Sometimes I wish I was like you, but then I remember, that I have good things about myself too, because everyone has good parts and bad parts."


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[Sol]

"Yes, I have been out this entire time since, well I can't exactly remember, the sun was rising when I got up. You know, I really thought I'd find something new in this forest but no such luck, at least I got a good walk out of it. I have to stretch my legs every now and then and so should you. All that sugar might end up in your thighs or something, I mean you only ever sit or sleep if you aren't eating. You should come with me one of these days. Good or bad, you gotta keep healthy, Madison."


Alexander had already lost track of the amount of times he's went about trying to convince Madison to go out with him and work a little bit of exercise into her daily routine. Despite what he says though and Madison's apparent diet she just doesn't seem to be losing or gaining any weight at all, Alex, on the other hand, could always feel fatter whenever it was Madison's turn to cook for both of them. The culprit was definitely all those sweet ingredients she sticks into a dish there was just no way anyone could survive that sweetness day in and day out


"Yeah I seriously doubt you'd like to be like me. I always go out and brave the unknown! There's still a large part of this forest I haven't explored but I'd rather not make you worry and handle people all on your lonesome while I go on an adventure. You and I, we have to stick together, yeah. Well I kinda hope no one stumbles in today, I just want to relax and keep this long weekend up for as long as possible."


The sugary crepe wasn't exactly that large so it was easy enough to finish it quickly, then again Alexander did have a habit of eating very fast. He noticed Madison yawning a little before she took her seat opposite to him, before she began talking. He doubted the efficiency of all this energy giving sugar on the girl. She was a sweet tooth and probably already gotten used to it, it wasn't likely that she'd be bright and energetic yet. But Alex had been proven wrong in the past several times. Alex stood up and brought his plate over to the kitchen sink and washed the plate and utensils. He placed them on a rack to dry.


"Well I think I shall go take a bath. I am somewhat damp with sweat after all. I mean, we have to look our best for whoever walks through that door right? Or would you rather use the bath before me, Madison?"