Adenovirus 423 Foxcroft Heights: Library

M

Meliodas

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Description: Straight out of the American Renaissance, while standing the test of time, it has aged considerably but is still home to a wealth of knowledge. It is roughly just over a mile west of their Headquarters (Pentagon), and across the street from Arlington National Cemetery in what used to be Foxcroft Heights.

Located On: Main Road

See the following posts for further details.

 
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Ulric Zion Driscol, as played by Meliodas

Many of the windows had since been boarded up, and while a thicket of vines and weeds had crawled up the cracking walls of the once grand structure that had housed a swath of books from Shakespeare to Hemmingway, the inside was still very much left intact. Just like everything else, however, the building's name had been lost to history, but there was still very much a story left to be told. The floors had once been finely polished every morning, but the wood had since splintered, many of the boards rotted and creaking when stood upon. Tables and chairs were scattered throughout the large space which housed three floors, each with shelves of books in no discernable order lining the walls. Some of the platforms on the higher floors had since caved in and were far from safe to stand on, but a master staircase spiraled its way to the third level where there was a ladder that leads up to the roof. An elevator had once been hidden somewhere but was nothing more than an empty shaft full of cobwebs and dust.

Fashioned straight out of the American Renaissance, large arches lead into various rooms, with massive marble pillars holding the structure up. Much of the space was open, with a ceiling that would almost put even the Sistine Chapel to shame. Nonetheless, it was quiet and quaint; aside from a slowly burning candle sitting on a table in the corner of the room, nothing stirred in the dark... until. For God so loved the world… He began to read the beginning of the passage before slamming the book shut, sending an echo booming through the chamber. “What a bunch of horseshit.” Tossing the book onto the floor, the man stood from his seat in one of the many corners of the room, eyeing the hallowed hall only to imagine how beautiful it once must have been. Ulric knew however that the world had always been a lie, a veil cast over the eyes of every fool willing to believe there was any hope for a better tomorrow. The world was in shambles, and while he hadn’t lived to see it prosper, he was prepared to do everything in his power to usher in an era of law and order. An era of longevity, one where people could cling to their pathetic lives just awhile longer.

“As if you can call this living.” Mumbling under his breath, he took his leave, with the candle eerily flickering behind him before its light was forever silenced by the cold draft that had made its way into the room.
 
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Steps were heard as ishade entered the library, old wood creaking under his weight. The first thing the young adult did was to look upwards, the ceiling fascinated him in ways very few things did. He admired it and aspired to be able to paint things as beautiful someday... maybe in another life, though, as his brother used to say, they didn't have the time nor the resources.

The next thing he did was to smile widely, the library had a magic aura, with so many books and so many mysteries. He used to dream of it having secret passages behind its many pieces of furniture, which were inhabited by the thousants of books this place was a home for. A nice and cozy home, Ishade figured. At least compared with the real world out there.

He came here often, more often than not to get tangled and lost within stories that narrated lives with happy endings, worlds that weren't real, with fairies and captains, and worlds that had been real once but were just ignorant of what was coming towards them.

Ishade noticed Ulric next, advancing towards the other.

Ishades hair was messy and his black beanie could be seen partially hanging from his pocket, his runners were dirty, but that was only normal, he did spend his days giving them good use after all.

But even though he was tired, he aproached the other man with a smile on his face.
"Hey Ulric!, how are you doing?"
 
A small light flicked as the small breeze passed it lighting a small room, and cast a shadow of a small frame onto wall in the hallway due to rooms lack of a door. The room was small, and was once used probably by those seeking higher education as a small study room. It as long since seen a proper cleaning as vines claimed the cracks of it's now yellow stained marble. The vines also claimed the small desk in the room as it's victim as well, and allowed for moss to grow where water had dripped from in the ceiling. A thick layer of dust covered the walls, and the small cabinet that had one door missing, and another hanging by it's final bolt, and were a small robin family called home and was feed crumbs from the previous nights dinner.

Medical books of all sizes were stacked in multiple towering piles by order of their topics. A few of them laid on the floor open to particular pages so that a quick gathering of information could be done. Claudia sat in the middle of them room with a large book open in her lap, and the small candle in front of her. Today's topic was that of different ways to treat certain sexually transmitted diseases. Due to the advanced wording of said book it required her to have an open English dictionary on her right, and a medical dictionary open on her left. She understood what the book was saying, but every now and then she would come across a word that she didn't quite know the meaning of, and would have to look it up in order for it to make sense again.

After what felt like several hours of being there reading in her small room she heard a the small slam of a book echo through the halls from below. She closed up her own book quietly, placed it on one of her piles, grabbed her flashlight out of her bag, and blew out the candle saying goodbye to the bird family as she left the room. She made her way down the vine and dust covered yellow marble hallways and staircase. It was then that she heard a second set of footsteps, and hid behind a pillar.

"Hey Ulric! How are you doing?" A familiar voice echoed.

She stepped out from behind the pillar, and continued to make her way to her husband; wrapping her arms around his when she got to him.

"Hello Ishades!" Claudia said with a bright smile. She to look up at Ulric, smiling, and in an inquiring tone asked "Are we done for the day darling?"
 
Ulric Zion Driscol, as played by Meliodas

He could feel his chest tighten, lungs gasping for air as he stumbled in place for a moment, lightheaded mostly from getting up too fast. His stomach growled since he hadn’t eaten recently, and his mouth was dry from lack of fluids. Regardless of the heartless wretch of a man that he appeared as, he tended to leave everything he could for the children’s plates; the warriors who guarded their borders and mothers who had it tougher than anyone. Fighting every muscle and nerve in his body that urged him to simply collapse, he shut his eyes, breathing in a bit deeply as he attempted to collect himself in silence. Not but a second passed before he heard a familiar voice in front of him.

So far, Ulric had succeeded in hiding the early signs of his condition from the rest of the gang; with the only one knowing he was sick being his wife, Claudia. Most people believed he was only twenty, but the cruel truth was he was pushing twenty-three. The virus was slowly infecting him, and he knew he only had a handful of years left before he would succumb to it. There was no time left to waste. He had to get his hands on a cure, and he needed to do it quick. Struggling to find words, he felt Claudia’s touch, her arms curling around his as she hung at his side. In an almost subtle way he leaned against her, his body weak. Ulric was doing his best to hide his woes, especially from Ishade of all people who was one of the few who knew him better than anyone - which is why Ulric considered him his right-hand man.

Brushing the white locks away from his hardened steel-gray eyes, he briefly slid a hand into his coat pocket. He looked ordinary enough, with black jeans that had various holes painting the front, as well as a dirty designer tee with a skull on it and a black leather jacket. His boots were muddy, and while he looked a bit unkempt, he had a way of making it work. “Hello, Ishade.” You could tell his voice was a bit raspy, so Ulric attempted to keep it short. “Why don’t you go find Ghost and see if she needs anything.” In truth, he had Ghost working on a little pet project of his, something he truly hoped he would never have to use… but he preferred to be prepared in any case for anything the other gangs might try to throw at him. War was on the horizon, something Ulric could feel in his bones.

Looking over towards Claudia, his hand reached out to lightly caress her cheek with a few of his fingers, his thumb tracing just beneath her right eye. “I think we should be going; unless you have any objections, of course.” Ulric was eager to get some fresh air, even though the cold wouldn’t do the virus lurking inside him any good. While he loved Ishade like a brother, he had a way of always showing up at the most inopportune moments.
 
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Ishade openly stared at Ulric, maybe expecting him to say something else, maybe not. But he stared.
Was it him or was Ulric a little pale?,

However, he discarded those thoughts soon enough, sure that if the other wasn’t feeling well or had noticed any of the virus signals, he would have surely told him something about it. They were friends after all.
He smiled widely at Claudia, watching her hug Ulric lovingly and immediately realized he was probably interrupting something there. Oh.

“Hello to you too, Claudia.” He answered the lovely girl, well, woman.

“Sure I will, if she needs any materials I can go look for them a little be later, as I just came back from a run near No man’s. Nothing interesting, by the way. “

He turned around, ready to leave the library and go find Ghost, but looked back towards the couple.

“By the way, Ulric, you might want to eat something and have some water as well… your voice sounds raspy and you are a little pale. Take care you two.”

To comment on it was better than anything, and it surely wasn’t anything important, but they couldn’t have their leader becoming dehydrated because of worrying too much about other things, ah, yes, that must have been it… the man just had too much on his mind lately.
Ishade walked out of the library.
 
Ulric Zion Driscol, as played by Meliodas

It was only a matter of time before Ulric would have to tell Ishade the truth, but he wanted to shield him from the harsh cruelties of life for as long as he could. Unfortunately, he knew it would be a tough pill to swallow. Ever since he could remember he’d lied about his age (claiming he was a few years younger than he actually was), even to Ishade’s older brother Lukias, who was the leader before him and more of a father to Ulric than anything else. As a young boy, Ulric lied out of necessity, believing if he were younger he would get more attention and affirmation for his efforts; but as the years went by, he realized he wanted nothing more than time. He had the responsibility to lead and he wished to do that for as long as he could. But, it was only a matter of when before he struck fear into the heart of the West. There would be a panic and a belief that the virus may be targeting people at a younger age. Did Ulric come clean then, disgracing himself in the process? Hopefully, he would have a solution before things got that out of hand.

Catching Claudia’s gaze, he waited until Ishade was gone and he knew they were alone before collapsing, growing weak as his grip on her slipped, his arms falling through hers as his legs gave out from underneath him. Softening his fall, he sat there, shivering ever so slightly. His skin ran hot as the result of a mild fever as well as dehydration, and while it would surely pass, it was only the beginning of what was to unfold over the course of the next few years – or even months for that matter. Ulric was walking a fine line and treading into dangerous territory, but he was strong, resilient, and would do whatever it took to keep soldiering on. “Soon enough all of the threads are going to be undone, and everything I’ve built here is going to fall apart. I truly don’t know if a cure exists, but if it does, I must find it.”
 
"Ulric!" Claudia gasped as she dropped in front of him.

She swung her satchel around from her side to in front of her on the ground, and began furiously digging into it. Soon enough she found a small pill bottle, her canteen of water, and a small piece of cloth that had a small chunk of bread from last night's dinner wrapped inside.

"Here darling, take this. It'll help with the fever, and possibly the muscle weakness. I also have the inhaler if you need it. Here, you need to drink water, and eat some, or that medication won't work." Claudia told Ulric in her doctor voice. She would get like this when she treated people. It helped her separate her emotions from treating the person in front of her. She placed the pill in one of his hands, her canteen in the other, and laid out the piece of bread on the cloth it was wrapped in in front of him.

She made many of her own medications based off the books she's read. Sometimes it's natural remedies. Sometimes she gets lucky, and a scout will bring her back medications that they find in No Man's. Most of the time however, it's combinations of different medicines found, and natural ingredients like different herbs and animal parts.

"Only stand when you feel ready to darling." Claudia whispered, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek before having a seat next to him.
 
Ulric Zion Driscol, as played by Meliodas

It pained Ulric to feel so helpless, to be reliant on Claudia while at the same time attempting to hide practically all of his symptoms from everyone else. Never in all his life had he felt so weak. He was meant to stand with his head held high; the leader of the West. Ironic that for a gang named after Thanatos, not even Ulric could cheat death. “You wouldn’t be trying to poison me now, would you? After all, you did come from the Obsidian Knights to woo me I suspect. This could be a coup. Wouldn’t put it past good ol’ Jacob to stick it to me. The prick.” Speaking in jest, he swallowed down the “medicine” with a drink of water and nibbled hesitantly at the bread which was admittedly not the best but still good – especially when you hadn’t eaten in a while. Ulric wasn’t quite sure how much he believed in home remedies. Just like the cure, it seemed like he was swallowing nothing more than false hopes. But it made Claudia happy. She seemed to spend more time with her nose in a book than anywhere else. Oh, how he envied how simple she had it.

Placing a hand delicately over hers, he sighed. Too afraid to look at her, he turned his head, his attention drawn to a spot on the floor beside him. “You can’t save me, Claudia. I only have a few more years left, and you a handful after that. Can’t fight fate.” Repositioning himself, he carefully placed his head squarely in her lap, closing his eyes as he rested there for several moments. It could have been a few minutes or even a few hours for that matter, but by the time he sat back up, he rose to his feet with a hand extended to arguably the most important thing in all the world to him. To most, Ulric seemed cold and distant, and came across as sarcastic or even crude; but Claudia was one of only a few people in his life that he showed some signs of his true self to. Where for a moment the ice encasing his heart melted away into a flood of emotion and feelings he never knew he had until recent years.

Taking a leisurely stroll through the front doors into the frigid cold that awaited them outside, Ulric would be greeted by a pair of armed guards who had sat by the door. Elijah and Isaiah. They were twins in fact; dark skinned, and almost appeared doe-eyed if you didn’t know any better. In private it would be hard to believe they would hurt a fly, but between the pair, they weren’t afraid to get the job done. At only 19, the two were extremely loyal, and followed Ulric almost everywhere – always lurking in his shadow. “We are going to return to headquarters, boys.” Nodding as he stepped out, he crossed fingers with Claudia as they begun following the main road which was painted with a myriad of trees which had long shed most of their leaves for the winter.
 
“You wouldn’t be trying to poison me now, would you? After all, you did come from the Obsidian Knights to woo me I suspect. This could be a coup. Wouldn’t put it past good ol’ Jacob to stick it to me. The prick.” Ulric said sarcastically.

"My brother may be an ass, but he'd never have me kill someone I love. Not that he ever had the heart to control me anyways." Claudia huffed back. She sat, and waited as Ulric regained his strength. She looked around the library knowing that if she watched him take the medicine that he wouldn't. She noted where the last bit of day light tried to force its way through the cracks in the walls, and where the ivy had grown to prevent such a thing. It was eerie quite which felt oddly peaceful. After a moment she was startled a bit as she felt a hand touch hers making her snap her head back over to Ulric's direction.

“You can’t save me, Claudia. I only have a few more years left, and you a handful after that. Can’t fight fate.” Ulric told her, looking away from her. She sighed heavily, and frowned not wanting to start an argument that would go no where with him. Slowly he lowered his head onto her lap, and she ran her fingers through his hair. She was quite for him while he slowly fell asleep on her not wanted him to feel like he needed to rush his movements and make things worse.

"But if you can't maintain a false facade how will anyone continue to follow. You are our strength darling." Claudia whispered mostly to herself. She took a small book from her bag. 'Siddhartha' was a book that she found lying on the floor of the library the first day they discovered the location. She felt sorry for the poor book, and for all the dusty unused books, so she decided to keep it, and read it when she found herself having some down time. It felt like hours before Ulric finally stirred and rose up for her lap. She placed everything back into her bag before taking his hand to stand next to him, and then wrapped her arm around his as they exited the library, and entered into the cold winter night.

“We are going to return to headquarters, boys.” Ulric told Elijah and Isaiah in a harsher tone than he'd every use with Claudia. She felt his arm drop, and so she did the same with her's, and interlaced her fingers with his hand as they walked down the barren path back to their home.
 
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