CxB Week 2015: The Tower

Clark had noticed a tower of books moving around the library out of the corner of his eye several times that day but each time he turned around the tower was gone. Said tower was even growing in size each time it teased its appearance if Clark's imagination had not exaggerated each near sighting.

Honestly the library part time job was rather boring most days. His expectations was gathering research for the librarians, not returning the books of lazy students back to the shelves day in and day out. He wasn't even sure if he had opened a book since he started this job.

Despite his reputation in High School, Clark wasn't some nerd that spent all his time studying. Still he wasn't so far away from that reputation when it came to a good story. He loved the Chronicles of Narnia and Oz and science fiction and fiction in general but with a tendency toward hero stories like Hercules, Arthur's Knights and the occasional Starfleet captain.

The first appearance of the tower of books had instantly piqued Clark's interest. Images of Merlin researching for spells or Hermione Granger looking for a bit of light reading made their way into his mind and he kept looking for the reappearance of the tower as he made his way through the aisles on his own journey of book retrieval and returning to their proper place.

At last Clark spotted the moving book tower, ten or more books now, some of them rather thick. More importantly Clark spotted the bearer of said tower but not a good look because the books were blocking his face. The only thing that Clark could really see of the person besides their legs and clothes was the fact that this person had green hands.

Just as Clark was going to journey forward, he saw the bearer trip a bit on one of the library's mostly red area rugs. The bearer was able to stay upright but it made the balance of the books precarious. Quickly moving back and forth to try to re-steady the books, the bearer managed to stabilize the base but the top of the tower was already too far gone, plummeting to the ground.

Rushing forward with a boost of speed, Clark caught the books and midair, looking up just at the bearer turned with a look of such cute trepidation that Clark couldn't help but smile and offer the books like a knight offering the Holy Grail to King Arthur.

Slowly the bearer blinked, Clark instantly noticed their multi-shaded magenta eyes, striking against their green skin and all of that topped with a sleek blond hair cut. The green skin could belong to a multiple of alien species but the magenta eyes seemed to be a rarity and Clark could quite think of where his bibliophile came from.

"You're Kryptonian," the bearer stated without hesitation. He blinked again and looked down a little, "Thank you for catching the books."

The bearer moved his arms down a little to take the books back but Clark decided to keep them prisoner a little longer.

"It's sacrilegious to let books hit the ground," Clark joked, "But I think it's time I cut you off and escort you to a table so you can make a dent in these," he drew out the last word, tilting his head a little as he peered at his captive.

"Querl," the bearer supplied after a moment, now looking Clark over in an analytical matter, "And you are?"

"Clark, humble protector of books," Clark mocked a little bow, thinking a curtsy might have been funnier but not wanting to chase Querl away.

"Yes, very humble," Querl murmured, heading for the tables and seeming to know Clark would follow. "I've seen you walking around to return the books all day today."

At first Clark was embarrassed but then smiled, "You've noticed me all day?"

Querl's face went slightly greener along his cheeks.