"What exactly do you mean by sprite dust?" Quinn asked.

Betty looked at Quinn in a way that made it obvious she thought the Librarian was joking. Quinn wondered why it was yet another memory that was difficult for the Lynx and the Library to recall. Could it be a common denominator?

"Don't you mean like pixie dust?" Quinn asked for clarification.

But Betty shook her head, her brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean pixie dust? What is pixie dust? I mean, you're not talking about a drug, are you? Is that a drug and you're comparing it to sprite dust? That's an abomination."

Quinn wanted to retort that the little sprite looked exactly like what Quinn had imagined a pixie would. But she wouldn't understand, and then Quinn would be stuck explaining the whole thing to her and be laughed at by Betty. She might have only known the tiny sprite for about a quarter of an hour, but she was fairly certain that silvery laughter would follow any explanation. "No, no, it's not a drug. I promise."

"Because you can never be too careful with those," Betty said earnestly. "You do realize that every single species has physiological differences, right? And so different drugs can have completely different effects on, well, different species."

Quinn nodded because the logic made sense to her.

"So what exactly is it that sprite dust does?" Quinn asked.

Betty blinked quite rapidly, almost as quickly as her wings fluttered. "You don't know what sprite dust is?" she asked, as if that wasn't even a remote possibility and had to be a joke.

Quinn shook her head very deliberately just in case her point was lost. "No, I don't know what sprite dust is."

Betty's wings practically hummed with annoyance. "But where, oh, well I guess you're not from everywhere. Sprite dust is a clarifying agent that assists in magnifying the potency of mana and its overall regeneration in leylines and nodes."

Quinn blinked. That sounded absolutely fantastic. "So basically it makes the mana easier to manage and more potent?"

"Yes," Betty said, delight filling her voice as her wings continued to batter faster than hummingbirds. "You've got it exactly, that is precisely what sprite dust helps with."

"And you were constantly donating this before the Library closed?" Quinn pushed a little farther.

"Oh well," Betty seemed to pause for a second, as if she was genuinely trying to pinpoint it. "Up until maybe a couple of hundred years beforehand. We seem to have had crossed wires with Lynx and Korradine for a while there, sadly. But I would gladly be willing to make that the way I pay fines or donate for extra privileges as I used to."

Quinn nodded very slowly. "I'd have to look into these extra privileges."

Betty laughed and waved it away with one tiny hand. "I'd just like to have a room waiting that doesn't change and the Library holds it for me."

Quinn blinked. Lynx shrugged "I vaguely remember that. Kind of."

Betty looked at Lynx, blinking rapidly again. "Lynx, is something wrong with your memory?"

He grinned ruefully. "There was. I'm in the process of restoring it."

"Oh excellent, then you'll remember me in no time flat." Betty seemed positively thrilled by the prospect.

Lynx nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. "I believe I will," he said.

"Mind you though, you'll have to be extremely careful using it." She reminded them. "Remember, you can't directly inhale it. It won't be compatible with any of your physiologies. Like I said before..."

Dottie spoke up, interrupting the sprite. "Betty, you haven't even said hello to me yet!" Her voice rang loudly with indignation.

"Dottie!" The sprite gasped her eyes widening even more. "I didn't even see you there. Oh, it has been so long. I missed you, my friend. You have to catch me up on everything."

And Quinn watched as the tirade of words vacated the check-in desk as Dottie, very skillfully, maneuvered the little, talkative sprite away from the check-in desk. That's when Quinn noticed there had been quite a line forming behind her that the other assistants standing in the check-in desk area had been unable to process the people.

Quinn silently thanked Dottie and turned to the waiting patrons. "I'm so sorry. We'll be right with you."

Finn nudged Quinn and said, "If you move down the other end, we'll take care of them."

"Thank you."

Finn flashed her a smile and Quinn noticed that the little ilgonomur had gained what seemed like some confidence. Much more than she'd had when she was desperately pleading to stay in the Library and be rescued from her family who were trying to pit her against the Library. Quinn realized that the ilgonomur was definitely on their side, or perhaps it was more accurate to say, on the side of knowledge that she could gain from any book that she could get her hands on. Because Finn was an absolute knowledge hoarder.

Quinn chuckled as they moved away slightly. "Okay then," Lynx said, still glancing at where Dottie had whisked Betty off to. Quinn pulled the Mattiniman book with her. It was still absolutely massive and she flicked through it, a frown on her face. "So it's a very odd book for the medicinal wing then?"

"It's about mind healing," said Lynx.

Milaro nodded, "Exactly. Mind healing is Nishpa's strongest affinity set. It's that simple."

"I know," Quinn said, running her hand over the cover again. "It's just sort of odd."

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Milaro grinned at her. Geneva fluttered into place right next to Lynx. Her face was ever so slightly flushed and Nishpa followed close behind her.

"Well, what do you think? We need to get the last book, right? The Jezishian one so we can open the branch next branch, right?" Quinn asked, suddenly feeling excited to see yet another branch open.

"Once the branch is open, well, we can work on the combat branch," Nishpa said. "Or I think that's the plan."

"Yeah," Quinn said, mulling over the book in front of her. Finally, she tapped it, bringing up the console as she did so. She checked it in, double-checked it, and watched as the number, specifically for the alchemical and medicinal wing, went down to one. A thrill of excitement washed through her and frankly, she couldn't wait to go and retrieve that book. "You know, guys, we need to go retrieve that book."

"Well, we also need a precise location for it, although I do believe it's been oversight and it doesn't seem to be a malicious withholding," Geneva said bringing the expectations back down to... the Library. "I would like to accompany you, if that is acceptable."

Quinn frowned. "I'd prefer for you to stay here with Nishpa and help arrange all this." She gestured around them. "We have 300-odd patients in our hospital wings. It's a little stressful for me to contemplate leaving the Library without some of my best assistants in charge."

Geneva's eyes narrowed. "Are you just trying to butter me up, Librarian?"

Quinn grinned. "Well, I'm not trying to butter you up, but I may be trying to flatter you into accepting the fact that you're needed to oversee the Library with Dottie while I go and retrieve the book."

Geneva offered her a smirk and then a frown. "Okay, but you'll owe me."

"Fine," said Quinn, biting back a laugh. "I'll owe you one, within reason, and nothing that can harm me or those I care about or the Library."

Geneva laughed. "What do you think I was going to ask you for?"

"To be fair, I'm pretty sure I don't need those caveats," Quinn said, "but I've seen way too many crime dramas and bad genie wishing movies. Some of the species in this universe are far too literal and I don't trust myself if I don't get into the habit of acknowledging that fact and thus covering my butt as much as I can."

Geneva laughed again. "Okay, that is a perfectly valid reason to give me such a specific answer. I will take you up on it and I will take care of the Library for you."

Quinn grinned at her friend. She was really glad that they'd gone to the Ishiposa Isle together. Not that she liked what they'd had to do or the outcome or any of the implications of it all, but ever since then, Geneva had been far more comfortable around her, and indeed, had turned into a friend.

Lynx piped up, interrupting them. "I realise you're bonding right now, but we need to find the location of the remaining two books of Hal's. I'll do that with Jasper, while you're gone, getting the last book."

"Excellent. Maybe add Narilin, if she's well enough? Can't she hone in on specific inks, leathers, things like that?" Quinn asked.

Lynx nodded. "Might help Jasper locking in on it. I have several theories on how to get us a closer approximation."

Quinn clapped her hands together. "Okay, so I guess that's set up."

Milaro cleared his throat and was about to speak when the Doctor golem walked up to the check-in desk.

He waited for Quinn to acknowledge his presence before speaking. "Librarian, we are in need of somebody to oversee us, or for you to give me permissions, in order to arrange for certain surgical and survival elements that I need to activate and operate within the hospital wing. Even if you choose to downsize at some stage, once the patients have been sent back to their domiciles, it would be beneficial to have these specific apparatus on hand at all times,"

"So... ability to initiate production of key medical items..." Quinn squinted as she turned her attention to the information in front of her. "Okay, I'll give you rudimentary permissions for specifically medical wing things." She fiddled with the console in front of her, bringing up the parameters, the blueprints, everything. She frowned at the sheer mass of information. She felt the Library sigh at the back of her mind, and suddenly the information displayed through the system was much more specific to what she needed.

Quinn grinned. Sometimes, it was nice having a sapient Library stuck in your brain, listening to everything that was said to you. It managed to help her narrow the cumbersome lists down, and she gave basic permissions to the doctor and the surgeon. "That's done! Anything else?"

He shook his head.

She turned to Nishpa.

"Since you're not coming with me to fetch the last one..."

"I'm not coming with you," Nishpa asked, raising an eyebrow, her wings humming quite irritably as she hovered in place.

"I thought it might be a good idea for you to stay here for the mind-healing, for the patients." Quinn elaborated. She'd not thought she'd need to, but apparently people were being contrary today.

"Ah," Nishpa nodded, her face coloring slightly. "It slipped my mind for a moment there."

Quinn nodded. She understood how it was when you had lists that were 17,000 items long. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but that was exactly how it felt right then. "Can I make you an assistant and bump you up to supervisory role?" Is that a good idea? She shot to the Library.

That is an excellent idea, if Nishpa accepts, because I'm not entirely sure she will.

But Nishpa cut the Library thoughts in Quinn's head off. "Fine, bump me to supervisor and I will make sure the hospital runs well in your absence only, is that understood?"

Quinn nodded, "Yes, in my absence only." Quinn was relieved. While she'd inadvertently cured Eugea, it had been instinctive. She only knew rudimentary things about healing, commands she could give to elicit a healing type response from the magic that she carried within her. So having Nishpa there was a boon.

Nishpa turned to her niece "Will you help me with the specifics?"

Geneva practically rolled her eyes, sighed deeply and said, "I'm already staying, but fine, I'll help you." Quinn suppressed a smile.

Milaro cleared his throat to get Quinn's attention from the Firionas Fae. "Would you accompany me?"

With the two Fae locked in discussion now, Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Where to?"

"I'd like you and Lynx to come with me to see Malakai." His tone was serious and a flutter of nervousness engulfed Quinn.

"Where is he? I haven't seen him since we got in. He was only here for a minute." Quinn had been keeping an eye out for him, but was hoping secretly that he had returned to his room in the infirmary and was trying to heal up and not be a hero. He had to heal up as soon as possible.

Milaro laughed, "I sent him back to his bed. He's doing physical therapy and working with his mother on certain aspects of his very specific mind magic to better protect himself against the onslaught and attack. Arnekaia's shielding is exceptional and hopefully this will help boost his own."

Quinn wanted to make a comment, but very wisely did not. It was the first time since she'd known Milaro Seveshal that he had actually praised his daughter-in-law. She wasn't even sure he was aware of it.

"Anyway, shall we head to the infirmary then?" Milaro fell into step beside her, but they didn't get far.

Several steps beyond the check-in desk there was a fluttering of wings and a skidding in the air somehow that Quinn didn't exactly understand. Eric suddenly appeared before them and bowed with a flourish in mid-air, not a sign of limp to his wing at all.

"Eric, it's fixed!" Quinn said joyously. She was genuinely happy to see him.

The imp grinned, "Yes, I am fixed. Back to 100%, better than ever, with shields to die for, not literally," he said, "not planning on dying. Wait, is that a sprite? Have you found..."

"Focus, Eric?"

"Oh, yes," he said, his impish grin out at full force in all its glory. "I have a message from Hal."