central_librarylogs | (no subject)

Who: Neal Cassidy and you
What: Arrival in the library
When: Today
Where: Main hall of the library
Warning: None at the moment

Save us. The words echo in his ears as he regains awareness. Saving people is Emma's job. She even saved the Lost Boys when none of them thought they needed saving. Is that who's appealing to anyone who's listening now? The curse is sending everyone back to where they came from. What does that mean for the Lost Boys? Can he save them now?

He opens his eyes to look around him. This is definitely not right. It's not the Enchanted Forest, which is where the curse was supposed to send him. It sent him here alone, too. None of the others are here. Did something go wrong with it? This looks like a library. It could be Storybrooke's library, but the town was supposed to be erased by the curse being removed.

So just where is he?

He sits up slowly, looking around him. He doesn't even see anyone else here.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" His words echo around him in the open space.

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"The invitation?" He rubs the back of his head. There are worse things he could be expected to do here than protect people, he supposes, but it would have been better if he'd known he was coming here. "I don't remember an invitation."

"Do you remember hearing someone ask you to 'save us' or a voice requesting help?" The Cat wove between a few books, careful not to disturb any of the volumes. "That was your invitation. Only those who agreed to help are brought to the Library. We do not kidnap people or bring them here against their will. If you are here, then some part of you wished to help protector the Library or your world."

"My world?" He knows there are threats there, and he knows about traveling from one world to another, but it's no less disorienting anytime it happens. Protecting any world does sound like something he'd agree to, even if he can't remember doing it. "Protect them from what?"

"Yes, your world. The reality that you normally exist in. There are many of them. Each of them are accessible to the Library and its Librarians."

That was an easier topic than the potential dangers to the Library. His ears dropped for a moment before he sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws. "The Library is vast. Greater than most sentient minds can comprehend. Sometimes things from one world slip into another or chaos creeps into the Library. The areas that are in disrepair or filled with shadows that don't seem normal... those things corrupt our work and risk the worlds we tend."

"I know what my world is." He was just confused and trying to clarify.

"So we're supposed to protect this place from those threats?"

"Some beings have more than one world or one reality." The Cat quirked his tail as he canted his head to one side. "Are you not from two different realities?" Perhaps that was not how it would be considered in Neal's world but from an outside perspective it could be considered that way.

"Yes. The well being of the Library is connected to the well being of all other worlds. If it is harmed..." There was a hint of sadness in his voice. "It is the Librarians and the patrons' duty to protect the Library so that all worlds will be kept safe from chaos."

"Different realities? Hmm. Different realms. Which I suppose could be considered realities." It seems this cat is more than just a talking cat. It also knows something about the people who have (whether they're aware of it or not) agreed to come here.

"So we're not just protecting the library. We're protecting whatever realms we come from too."

"That depends on a being's point of view." To some it would be part of the same reality, to others it would be different. It all depended on perspective.

"The Library protects all worlds. As it is damaged, those world will suffer. If the chaos overtakes this place then..." It was something the Cat refused to consider. They could not fail. Too much was at stake to even consider that possibility. "But that will not be a problem because the Library has the Librarians and its patrons to protect it."

"What exactly is this threat, anyway?" How is he supposed to help fight it if he doesn't know anything about it? If someone had asked him to help, they must have thought that he had some skill to offer.

"There are many complex answers to that but the most relevant would be things slipping from the books or one reality trying to establish itself in another." The Cat stretched, a gesture that was almost a feline shrug. "Each person brought here wished to help when we asked and had some ability that would be vital to helping protect this place."

"So monsters from books are coming to life?" That's his understanding of it, anyway, in terms he knows. This isn't an unfamiliar concept to him. It's almost comfortingly familiar, in fact. "I'm sure I can come up with something."

"Not everything that leaves the books is dangerous. Some are simply misplaced. Once we had woodland creatures from one story slip into another." The Cat considered some of the creatures that might find themselves in the Library and flicked his tail thoughtfully. "Remember that some things in the Library may look like monsters but they might be harmless."

"Does that also mean there are things that look harmless but are really monsters?" It makes sense to him that it should work both ways. Luckily for everyone involved he's more the benefit-of-the-doubt sort of person than the shoot-first-ask-questions later sort of person.

"Yes, but that is a universal truth shared by all realities." It was difficult to find a balance with that warning. Many of the things that slipped from books wished to go home, not cause damage to the Library. "The Librarians will warn patrons if something is dangerous enough to make killing necessary and what needs to be guided back to its book."

For a moment, he seemed smaller, his voice more thoughtful. "Killing is not an easy thing, whether dealing with monsters or in other, more grave situations. We do not want that burden taken on by our patrons unless it is necessary."

"I won't be taking it on unless it's necessary." That's just what sort he is. "And it won't be necessary unless there's a direct threat to my family."

The Cat nodded, letting out a thoughtful sound. "We will attempt to protect your family but even the Librarians' powers have limits. The greatest dangers will be when patrons step through the portals on missions. But all physical injuries can be healed."

"That's good." He'll protect those he cares about too, but it's good to know there's someone else looking out too. He knows that there is more to worry about than physical injuries, but they've also been through a lot already and made it through, so he's not as worried about the others right now.

"We do care about the patrons even if we sometimes seem aloof." Especially the Cat. The Head Librarian was the being who showed compassion in direct ways. The Cat was forced to be more subtle in such things. A gift here. A favor there. His tasks required a certain distance that could not be maintained if he was the one who befriended all those who entered the Library. "But there are other dangers. Emotional damage is not always something that we can protect our patrons from. We try but there are things that even we cannot stop."

"Well I would hope so." They're helping out, after all, so someone should be looking out for them.

"How did all of these problems in the library get started, anyway?" Sometimes you have to know the origins of the issue before you can resolve it.