A soft, unfamiliar sound escapes her lips as Pete floats upside down. A giggle, something she didn't normally do when she was awake. It felt... Natural. A faint smile painted her face, listening with interest as Pete wondered how Snow was handling the new boy, and then how they would "Initiate" him later on. The mischievous wink gave Ash a bad, yet intrigued feeling, and worry for the young man's well-being bubbles up inside her head but faded within a moment. Her body relaxed just a bit, stance loosening as her anxiety began to feel far off the more she spoke to the childish Petria. The bookshelves began to feel less tight, the constant feeling of selfish people surrounding them faded. Eventually she was in a state of pure bliss, and it showed clearly on her face, until Pete brought up telling a story.

A story.

Ashling had plenty, but not many asked for them. And those who did always ended up calling her mad. Though... Pete had a look of naiveté. Ash's forehead creased, but her smile widened, and she motioned towards one of the tables towards the center of the library. Once seated, her eyes brightened, hands folded neatly on the wood in front of her,

"Now, this is a story, well, a poem, I discovered a while ago... About a horrible beast and his slayer." She cleared her throat, making her face look dark and menacing to add to the mood:

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

Her story telling method was extravagant, her arm gestures wide as she painted the story out with only movements and the strange words. Many words were, of course, nonexistent to this world. Perhaps the words had a different meaning in the dream world, but Ash could never figure them out. For now, she just understood that the story was about slaying an awful beast.

"He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought."

An invisible blade seemed to enter her hand, via story telling, and she swung it once or twice before continuing on with the story.

"And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!"

Ash acted the part well, her high, accent voice seemed to go down three octaves as she tried to sound as frightening as possible. A mischievous smile appeared on her face as she let out a quiet 'raaaaar', and she almost broke character to chuckle at her own idiocy.

"One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back."

The invisible blade was swung, and then a triumphant look covered her face, hands on hips and chin high as if she had actually slain a beast. Perhaps she had gotten a bit too into the story, but either way she was enjoying it.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy."

And with a final nod, she ended the story. It had been shortened considerably (or not at all), due to the fact that Ashling had refused to try and speak the gibberish in the beginning and end of the silly poem. The heat of eyes on the back of her head slowly lowered her mood, and with a swift glance she saw the familiar cat-eye glare of Vapor. And then she heard a giggle from within the bookshelves. We're they laughing at her acting? Ash's shoulders slowly hunched and her head lowered, a pale pink flushing her face as she slowly began to realize how intense and strange she must have appeared. A sheepish smile appeared,

"Sorry... If that was weird."