Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in Dasca’s Apartment - Let Us Make Mr. Melvil Dewey Proud

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Dasca’s Apartment - Let Us Make Mr. Melvil Dewey Proud

Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in Dasca’s Apartment - Let Us Make Mr. Melvil Dewey Proud

(snip)

“Tea would be lovely for me, thank you.” Massat said. French said “Just water, please.” As they sat, Masaat slid the PaDD they had been drawing on towards Eela’s side of the table. On it was a startling accurate depiction of her hall, but the blank wall was now bookcases recessed into the walls themselves. Glass case fronts and metallic hardware had been drawn in as well. “That is what I am thinking off the top of my head. The recessed shelves will leave the width of the hall the same, and it will insulate the books as well as protecting them from damage by eliminating the possibility of the case getting jostled or knocked over. What do you think?” they asked.

Massat, Owner, Quill and Parchment Books

It hadn’t actually occurred to her to inset the shelves, but it made quite a bit of sense. She set a glass of water for Fren down and picked up the PADD. “I like the idea of recessing them a lot actually. While the hallway isn’t all that narrow, the rest of the apartment is so open that shrinking this access way didn’t thrill me.”

The kettle was getting louder, so Eela moved back into the kitchen. She rummaged through her jars of herbs and teas looking for the one she though would suit Karilan and set about making a special blend of subtle spiced black tea with a herb from Halii that had an earthy undertone and a soft floral scent on top of that. A tiny bit of citrus peel to brighten everything went into the infuser and she poured the water over top. For herself she mixed some soothing flowers with a dose of the analgesic that Sharah had approved her to use. The busy day was taking its toll but she didn’t feel she needed a dose of terakine yet.

She set a delicate hand-thrown tea cup before Karilan. The base colour was white but it had very delicate swirls of purple, blue, red, green and yellow. They all intermingled in a very specific way forming something of a net. It was a standard representation of the Hallian concept of interconnectivity. “I hope this blend is okay,” she said. “If you don’t like, I have other options and I promise you won’t hurt my feelings.”

Karilan took the tea and inhaled. “Oh no, this smells lovely. Thank you very much. And the cup is exquisite.” they said.

Eela beamed. “A friend of my parents is a potter. She made me a whole tea set as a wedding gift. The original set was destroyed but I decided I missed it so I had a new one replicated.” All her personal effects had gone down with her ship, and if she ignored the whole connection to her marriage, the tea set itself meant something special enough to her that she brought it back into her life.

Dasca tapped the edge of the PADD. “I have overhead lights in the hall but I was thinking of picture lights over the shelves for perusing might be nice. They would still work if we recess the shelves but they would stick out more strongly and possibly look out of place but I might be overthinking it.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Karilan shook their head and said “Not at all. But we can put interior archival lighting inside the glass case-fronts. The interior will be illuminated when the cases are closed, and you will be able to select various lighting colors and patterns. Even set them to a schedule if you like. The lights themselves will not damage the contents, and will keep any kind of bacteria or microorganisms from damaging the contents as well. When you open a case, the light will dim so as not to hurt your eyes, and will return to normal when the case is closed. How does that sound?”

Massat, Owner, Quill and Parchment Books

“So you think the ones in the hallway need the glass too? I honestly was just going to leave them open, and save the climate controlled ones for my office, but I’m sure my housekeeper would love it I didn’t add more places to to dust,” she said with a grin before sipping her own tea. Having someone help her keep the penthouse in order had been one of those perks Eela hadn’t even blinked at. Between her schedule and her current disc compression there was no way she could have managed on her own. So she was extremely grateful for Sinna Elz.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.