In Ur Garden; Up Ur Tree

[onlytolerable]

 Sophie learned her lesson during the Arcana incursion. She'd spent far too much time buried in old tomes. On more than one occasion, she'd had to be carried to bed. So now, she paces herself. She gets the same amount done as she searches in vain for mentions of past magical failures--at least they have jumping off points--but she makes time to take the occasional break and clear her head.

That  still doesn't explain why the 8 of Diamonds is seen outside scrambling up trees.

Curiouser and curioser.

Comments

[onlytolerable]

"I imagine it's changed. There've been, what? One and a half regimes since you lived there. So long as it feels right. What do they have you doing?"

[falsepretences]

"Information management." So, almost back to where he started. "Liam was glad to get rid of the archival duties. I know, I was shocked, too."

[onlytolerable]

"Imagine. I bet he practically shoved the keys into your hands. He's innovative, though, if you can unplug him long enough to talk." She grows silent a moment.

"Information management...I've been thinking." She looks at him from under her lashes. "I want to challenge to Nine eventually. I'm fairly certain I won't be able to keep running the library if I climb any higher."

[falsepretences]

Irene, he'd guess, though he wouldn't say as much - to Sophie or her ice queen of a younger sister. " I stayed in the library when I was a Nine," he says. "But certainly if you want to be a Ten, they're going to make you administrate something or other." It might even come when she became a Nine, really; Diamonds were more sticklers for rank and position than Hearts.

[onlytolerable]

It might be Irene. She'd planned her rise to include Irene, but Irene worked hard and did everything expected of her Rank. These were tough times. It would be better for the Diamonds if she targeted some incompetent and knocked them out of a job.

She shrugs. "I run a large staff, but most of them are behind the scenes working in restoration. I'm specifically trained for that, so I'd like to keep my hand in. Day-to-day circulation, ordering, clerks...I'll find a replacement." Sophie swings her legs back and forth a little.

"It's amazing how much we don't know or remember about ourselves. It's like history doesn't count, not Deck history any way, not anything not spoonfed to us as we're growing up. No wonder Outsiders get confused."

[falsepretences]

"You know the Diamonds as well as I do, but Hannah was doing the day-to-day long before I left her the whole library." She'd never thought security was for him, and it was a little disheartening to know he was right. "Look to your assistants, I'd say. It's possible one of them is ambitious."

He sighs then, though. "It's strange," he agrees. " I'm almost sure what we need to know to fix things is in the past, but figuring it out...that's why I was looking for you, actually."

[onlytolerable]

Her first choice would be Miss Henshaw, but Sophie's not certain her assistant would want the headaches. Maybe Leo?

"And here you find me without my thinking cap on." She mimes doffing a hat. "Okay. Ready."

[falsepretences]

"I'm apparently in charge of the Spade researchers." There are some for whom responsibility just sort of gravitates towards. Isn't he lucky?

"I heard you're spearheading it again?"

[onlytolerable]

"I am. The Arcana's like cockroaches--keep coming back. Their magic anyway." Probably. "I haven't had a moment, though I've talked to Fin quite a bit. We should combine our efforts so we don't waste it." They'd already made that mistake once.

[falsepretences]

He nods at that, looking a little like he wants to sigh. "David wasn't much for information sharing, I believe," But it was a different time now. Different Spades were reigning.

"Maybe we should centralize research. The Clubs and the Diamonds have the most extensive libraries," he says, "but we have fairly extensive locked archives that I'm just digging into now. And I was thinking...there are things happening at the outposts. We should try to get reports of what they are." In case they matched up with anything they might find.

Of course, he had no confidence that Victor Fox would be all that into information sharing.

[onlytolerable]

"Oh, yes. I met with David in my attempt to get the Suits to share information. I'm fairly certain he thought I was--" she searches for the right word. Finally she grimaces and finishes, "--cute. Like a puppy. I swear, were our own worst enemies at times.

"There's all sorts of history stuffed into the castles and other buildings, things we no longer use, but which people might like to see or learn about. For that matter, once this crisis is past, we should do an audit of all our reference materials. I hate this blind leading blind feeling."

"I'm not sure I'm that high on the need to know list when it comes to those reports." She slants a look his way. "We could always take a trip that way and get the information for ourselves."

[falsepretences]

"We'll, he treated me like a very dangerous toddler," which was the real deep seated reason Jordan had hated him. It was in the past, though, and it was better to think of now.

"What, you don't think our security departments are going to be forthcoming? Utterly shocking." He grins a bit, though. "You know, my car's all fixed from the accident in October."