[center][h1] [color=f6989d]Rapunzel [/color][/h1][/center][hr][center][@SailorSadie][/center][hr]

"I didn't have time for a shower this morning, though goodness knows I practically got one on the way here. But I think the bubbles would have looked pretty in your hair, especially if they were those color changing ones that are-wait, did you say Dorothy is missing?"  The momentary distraction of bubbles adorning Ariel's fiery hair were forgotten the second the rest of her news registered. Rapunzel's eyes widened as she glanced around the diner, taking careful stock of just how many fellow fairy-tale people had come in this morning.  
To see them regularly was not unusual, to have so many of them at the diner at the same time, however, was another matter. 
So that was why everyone was up and about so early this morning. No doubt the earthquake had a hand in such an early day, but a disappearance was unsettling news, and the best place to compare theories and speculations was over a cup of coffee at Jess's diner. 

Picking at a slight indent in the counter, Rapunzel bit her lip as she digested the news, a chill of foreboding rippling up her spine at the unnerving thought of Dorothy disappearing into thin air. 
"She was just in here the other day . . . " Truthfully they weren't what Rapunzel would term as ‘friends’, even if her understanding of the words was extremely broad, but even so she felt a tickle of worry in the pit of her stomach. 
"I don't suppose she just decided to take a last minute trip out of town. . . no, she wouldn't have done that in the middle of a storm." 

Glancing up half of a grin replaced the worried expression as Rapunzel reached out and flicked a bit of fluffy whipped cream off Ariel’s nose.
“Ah well, it will be heavily discussed at a meeting, for no doubt we’ll have one what with a disappearance and all. But for now, you better scramble for work,” She nodded at the ever moving hands of the clock on the wall, “I’ll save you a seat at the meeting if I get there first!”  Which she probably wouldn’t, but then again Jess might close the diner early, what with the disappearance of one of their own and an important meeting no doubt already being arranged.

- 4:06 pm -

Of course she wasn’t on time, she never seemed to manage that, but there was the small comfort that she wasn’t terribly late, and as Rapunzel slid into the circle of chairs and took a seat she noticed even Lucy herself wasn’t even here yet.

When she did arrive, in a flurry of jumbled words and apologize, Rapunzel scooted to the edge of the seat, leaning forward slightly in order to catch every single important detail Lucy was about to share. . . . which turned out to be nothing more than Rapunzel herself had managed to glean from the conversation of everyone else today.

“Wait . . . but . . . we already knew that!” The words were out of her mouth before she considered the fact that they wouldn’t help the matter at hand at all.  But she was quite certain she couldn’t be the only thinking them, and therefore should be voiced accordingly.





[hr][center][color=a2d39c][h1]Sebastian[/h1][/color][/center][hr]

[center]Peaceful solace.[/center]

All libraries seemed to have the same basic feeling at their core, a quieting atmosphere that offered temporary escape if one were willing to quiet their minds and let themselves be distracted.
Never having been much of a leisure reader Sebastian had not, in times past, spent much time in the midst of such places.  When the need arose he preferred instead the musty, damp vaults of ancient maps and records of aged and nearly forgotten deeds. Which made them a library, of sorts, but there tended to be an air of serenity in a library, lacking the intensity and thrill of discovery that was wont to go hand-in-hand among the mazes of vaults of old.
It did not mean, however, that he did not recognize their value. He respected such places, acutely aware of the time and effort that went into the creation and upkeep, not to mention the time spent on the creation of the books themselves. 

Since coming to this place he had become intimately familiar with the library, having spent endless afternoons scouring the shelves for answers that were not to be found. Despite the calming effect the establishment had on his ragged nerves, it was also a source of never ending irritation and frustration. 
He understood records implicitly.  He knew how to track down the source of even vaguest references. And he was well versed in deciphering old ciphers and encrypted messages.  But in this case none of his talents had helped bring anything new to light.

Today would most likely be no different, but he had come as he always did, leaning lightly against the corner of a bookshelf and waiting for the others to arrive, flipping through an old book simply to look as though he were doing something instead of letting his mind wander. 

Even though they had all been here for five years now, no one had been able to figure out exactly how the man found out about important updates or meetings.   He did not carry a cellphone, nor did he live within the town limits, instead preferring a quite spot in the woods. 
Very few could recall a single time that they had actually directly contacted him. Yet whenever something of importance was happening, even if it was no more than the regular meetings that often failed to be of any help, there he would be, tucked somewhere on the edge of the gathering, not as far away as to be completely isolated, yet rarely close enough to be in the middle of everyone else.

Today he had arrived before everyone else. 
Well, almost everyone else. 
Keen eyes slid over the array of chairs to where Peter was, scribbling on a normal piece of gaudily colored paper instead of the bound booklet he usually carried. 
Sebastian hadn’t engaged in conversation with the other man, choosing instead to find his own spot and wait until the meeting came to order.  He fidgeted for a few minutes, making certain he had not tracked any mud or wood shavings into the building, an offense he had already committed once or twice during the past few years. He did not want to be at odds with Scheherazade this evening, a feeling in the pit of his stomach making him wonder if this gathering was going to be different than so many others. If so there would be no need for other distractions to muddle the proceedings.
Long minutes ticked by as he absently picked at the sliver that had wedged itself in the toughened skin of his palm, the feeling in his gut spreading until he could hear it throbbing in his ears. Finally, in a sudden movement of exasperation he had grabbed a book off the shelf and begun to leaf through it, giving himself something to do while he reigned his impatience into check. 
[hr]
There had been times in the past that he puzzled over how Lucy had ended up being one of the few everyone else turned to for answers. Truth be told he still questioned the decision to put her in the position she held among them. 
The oddity of the choice made itself even more apparent when she finally showed up, a tangle of scattered thoughts and absolutely no new information.
Her excuse of waiting was simply a delay tactic. If there was any new information it should be shared immediately, late comers should have to catch up later if they didn’t deem it important enough to show up on time. 

"Is there any sign of this disappearance being any different than the others?" He finally inquired, book still casually resting in one hand. To anyone else in the library he would have appeared laid back and relaxed, giving the impression that their gathering was hardly of any great importance. But the steel grey of his eyes remained intense and keen, fixed solidly upon Lucy, analyzing every movement and expression. 
"Any signs that she was taken alive or dead?" Perhaps not the most subtle way to put the question, but this was hardly the time or place for subtlety.