Who's Campaign Is It, Anyway?

It's a nordinary day at the newly established library, except for the empty table with all the smudged, charcoal and ink drawn maps sprawled across it, sitting alone and abandoend for the moment. These maps are carefully crafted and not in any particular order. There may be some recognizable landmarks of various spots, drawings of Yamato's coastlines, haphazardly inked notes from conversations with Landers, forest trails...

...honestly, to a passer by who knew what it looked like, it honestly seems like someone's patchwork sheaf of Dungeons and Dragons campaign maps in various states of completion or use.

Jazz's coat is sitting draped over one of the charis, indicating exactly who this belongs to.

Estelle is still frequently in the Athenaeum. It's yet in the early stages, after all, and she's still bustling around and making sure everything is properly sorted, that training is happening, and that everything is going smoothly. So far, it is, which sets her at ease... and the omens are good, for the path forward. So she's working to make sure they come true, that it does all work out...

Which has her here, today. She's sorting through papers, walking from her office towards the front desk... which brings her past the working desks, and the massive sprawl of papers catches her eye. She pauses, turning to look over the mess of charts, the notes, and more. "... Huh. Is Jazz working on a cartography project?" She muses aloud, noting the jacket. She steps over, arms folding to hold her own work against her stomach as she inspects the maps, trying to figure out the purpose of it all.

It's easy enough to figure out who's coat that is, yes, given the length and the black and the bows.

... in any event, sorting thorugh her maps is instructive. They're organized, in their own way, splayed out across the table. One can make sense of journeyys from point a to point b, but they're just her personal trips, and maps and notes and landmarks. This ancient looking, gnarled tree, that colorful boulder, that beautiful vista when the sun sets.

They're not ... lifeless things, to be sure, nor clinical. It's as much travel log as it cartography, and there are even hard-to-read notes of conversations with Landers she met along the way in a sort of shorthand that doesn't give a clear context of the conversation she had with them.

Naturally, this is when she's clearing her throat behind Estelle.

The fox isn't disturbing the organization, but she is taking a look over it all - and using her own knowledge of cartography to piece things together. Slowly figuring out that this is here, that is there, this map links up with that one... She hums softly, tails swishing behind her. The coded conversations get ignored; she's going to leave that shorthand to Jazz, and just focus on the maps themselves.

Up until a throat clears behind her, and she looks back at the Undine in question... and steps aside, to let her get back to her chair and work. "Good evening, Jazz. I was just looking over this all. You've got quite the project in front of you... though I'm not sure what it is. A travelogue? Or are you going to be cross-referencing it with some of the other books here. I imagine a comprehensive map setup and a gathering of local legends might help find hidden areas and locations."

"It helps connect the dots a little. It's not as if the Landers don't have charts and maps of their own," agrees Jazz.

"... as for what I'm doing, I'm not exactly sure yet. It just felt like maybe it was time to start consolidating some of these into ... something. I'm still figuring it out. Some kind of travellogue? Atlas? I don't know. I don't know that they're complete enough for it."

She leans over and places a hand on the table, studying them.

She lets out a sigh.

"... Either one would be a welcome addition to the library." The fox muses, resting a hand on Jazz's shoulder given the woman is in one of her black moods again. There's a gentle squeeze. "But you should probably take the time and think about it. Come to a decision. A travelogue would help others understand the path you walked, and the places you trod along the way. An atlas would help them find their way, and chart their fortunes." She pulls her hand back, using it to support the papers with the other again.

Her tails swish ebhind her, as she skims her gaze along it all again. "Both have their uses. Whichever you tackle first is up to your own sensibilities; which do you prioritize; understanding, or clarity?"

"I'm sure," muses Jazz aloud.

It's perhaps strange to see her without her coat on. It gives a clearer shot of the Undine and all her hair, especially since her hat is also sitting on the chair, to say nbothng of the maid's outfit and its array of frills and pink lace and pink bows and gold.

She leans over the table, glancing over her shoulder at Estelle when she makes physical contact with her. "Perhaps a mix of the two. I don't know. Right now, I need to weld the maps together into something coherent. I should mostly be able to do that, and do so accurately and with fidelity, it's just.. not in a particular order, and it's more going to wind up just 'maps of where I've been'. I may need to make some trips to do it too. I don't know. We'll find out." She draws a finger over one of the parchment, smudging a little charcoal.

"...and transfer them to better paper."

"Ink isn't too hard for us to get." The fox points on, on the part of transferring things. Charcoal is better in the field, but the Undine can properly transcribe things, now. "But, yes, getting them into a more secure medium is probably for the best. No matter which path you follow down." She moves to set her own papers on an empty desk, and pulls a chair out to sit at - facing her friend, of course.

"May I ask what brought this on, though? It's a new project, and I haven't heard you even mention the idea before this. Did someone say something, or was it just a moment of inspiration?" She rests her elbows on her knees, and her chin on her interwoven fingers. Silver eyes study Jazz closely, but without judgement.

"Fortunately. It's not wsomething I carry a lot of. Charcoal is better, you're right. I've found that to be true since I got here and started having to use a quill and ink. I don't know how our ancestors did it in reality." Jazz's face scrunches up quite cutely, though she glacnes over her shoulder towards Estelle once more as she leans against the table, finishing her inspection.

"I'm not really sure. I guess I just felt like I needed to do it at some point. These papers were all accumulating and what happens if they get ruined before I actually do something with them? One time, I spilled coke all of over a month of D&D campaign planning and ... anyway, that went poorly for me."

"Backups. That is, really, the simple answer." She pokes at the Undine's shoulder, shaking her head. "You make copies, and you store them somewhere in case the main ones get damaged... like, say, a library already equipped to store and preserve such things?" Her tone is lightly teasing, tails swishing behind her. "There are other options that allow you to take it slow, JAzz, not rushing into a new project."

The poke turns into a squeeze of the No-Fun-Dine's shoulder, an attempt to be reassuring and show support. "Remember that when you seem out of options, a fresh set of eyes can sometimes help. You have connections and allies... though composing this all into something could be useful, anyway."

"Yes, I'm going to make copies of them. I have to be exacting about it, but that's going to happen. And I need to clean them up, fill in the gaps, link them together, show the journeys, add my recollections... Maybe point out some things. It might be worth something to someone. Honestly, it makes me think about how we need to take stock of this world as it is. It's irrevocably going to change because of us so ... better that we know what it was." Jazz looks down at them for a moment, then back up at Estelle.

"I appreciate it, Estelle, and yes. There's a reason I'm in here working on it, you know," She points a finger at her. Then she's got her shoulder squeezed.

"I'm doing this while I work out how I want to extract the right of waystone right out from under a Leviathin's eye."

"Ahhhh. The kind of work you throw yourself into to distract yourself from another problem. That's fair." She squeezes that shoulder one last time, and then pulls her hand away. "And that does sound like a noble goal; documenting this world before it gets changed irrevocably, for good or ill." She shakes her head, sighing, and crosses her arms across her chest again. "And I'm sure it will be a wonderful thing to look over, when you're done."

"Just let me know if you need anything, alright? Or one of the other librarians; I'm training them for a reason, after all." Her silver gaze sweeps around, looking at the adventurers using the space, and the few Landers who've crept in to see what it's all about. It puts a soft smile on her face.

Jazz just sort of eyes her shoulder where it has been squeezed. Her maid's uniform is clean, at least, and she is not stinky this time. A slight nod of her head follows. "Of course you can help. I'm going to be including star charts. We can work on the accuracy. I'll give you a nod in the dedications. To the star Fox or something." She leans down to eye the maps. "Mostly, just ask me questions about the maps. It'll help me know what to add in the writing."

"If you don't want to name me, you could just write it out to Vulpecula, hm?" There's a wink there, and she turns to look over the maps again, tail briefly brushing at the undine's side with the motion. "I'm sure I can think of some, though. Like... are these accurate topographic maps, or more planimetric?" One finger reaches out, hovering over one so as not to muss the charcoal, and begins following some of the contours.

"Then there's things like legends - you'll want to make them consistent across them all, if you're compositing them all into a single larger map or book."

"Planimetric to some extent. I'm working on expanding to proper topography but that's easier said than done with limited tools. Some abstraction required!" Her nose twitches cutely when the tail brushes her. A nod at the talk of legends.

"It's true. These are going to wind up being works of constant revision," she grumbled half heartedly. Then she sneezes. It must be noted that her sneeze is adorable. A tiny 'chee'!

There's a giggle at the sneeze, but Estelle doesn't say anything else on the matter. That's enough teasing about the sound. Instead, she gives a nod a resumes looking over the papers, silver eyes skimming he contents. "Yes. We don't have as many tools for it as we used to, but I'm sure we'll make do. I'll keep an eye on things, too, while I deal with everything else - and make sure you're not slipping into a Mood, hm? I'd have to call for help if you were."

The fox's voice is teasing there, of course, and remains teasing as she continues. "Pela, for instance. I know I can't cook in this world these days, so she'd probably be best to ask about making sure you'd be eating, if so..."