07-24-2014, 10:52 AM
Connor was irritated at the man's broadcasting his question to the store. There had been only the young man sitting at the tables initially. But just as the old man mentioned the oroborous the first time, the door rang as another older man walked in. He was a hard man and Connor suddenly felt very exposed. His feeling was compounded when the old man mentioned the oroborous again and the new man responded with "There are books on that?" He was definitely uncomfortable and acutely aware of what was in his pocket.
It was time to lie his ass off. He laughed at the old man and then glanced at the new one. "Heh...they have books on probably everything in here."
He relaxed his demeanor and was nonchalant. To the old man: "I've been taking classes at the college- you know, comparative mythology- and the teacher was pointing out the prevalence of snakes in Proto-Indo-European legends. You know, their connection to immortality and stuff. It's definitely interesting so..."
He shrugged as if it were nothing. I figured I'd look more deeply into it."
He laughed. "Might be worth some extra-credit maybe.
Then an idea occurred to him, and he looked at the new man for a moment, about to include him in the conversation. Just then, the door dinged again and another man walked in. He was tall, maybe an inch more than him and he moved with a quiet grace.
Connor's gut was screaming at him to get the hell out of there as fast as possible, but not to draw attention to himself. He turned back to the old man and let his laugh turn to a snort. "I told my wife about the snake stuff and now she wants of tattoo of that snake eating its tail thing- the boroboro you called it?"
He chuckled. "Heh...she says it'll be a good reminder to me that she'll be around forever."
He tried to sound put upon. Then he shrugged and joked to the man. "Whatever she wants is fine with me, as long as she's not buggin me about it."
The shopkeep smiled as if to say 'nobody cares, and I have customers,' for which Connor was glad. "Well, there aren't any books on the oroborous itself that I know of."
His words emphasized the proper pronunciation of the word. "Of course, you can check the internet. I'm sure you can find something there."
His tone showed just what he thought of the internet's reliability in comparison to his precious books. He was old. Probably same age as his dad would've been. "I can tell you of a few individual legends mentioning snakes. Most of them have to do with creation and rebirth though. Julungul of the Australian Aborigines. The Naga of India. Kulkulkan of the Maya"
The man paused. "Those are just a few. There are just too many mythologies to mention. Indonesian, Aztecan, Greek. They appear everywhere."
He wound down. "But I do not know of any specific books that endeavor to collect all these myths into one place."
He looked at the other men in the store, one of whom was just browsing deeper into the stacks. "All of those I mentioned are in the mythology section you were just in. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Connor was glad for the dismissal. And that the man had rambled on about snakes and mythology. He couldn't leave right away- he still the Watkins book in his hands- and he thought leaving might call attention to himself. The man had given him suggestions and it would do to look like he was checking them out. Besides, he was being paranoid. The men were probably harmless. Well, he remembered the hard way they looked. Not harmless exactly. But probably not interested in him.
"No. But thanks. I'll check them out."
He smiled at the man and then went back to that section. His heart was beating fast but he had to ride this out.
Edited by Connor Kent, Jul 24 2014, 02:48 PM.
It was time to lie his ass off. He laughed at the old man and then glanced at the new one. "Heh...they have books on probably everything in here."
He relaxed his demeanor and was nonchalant. To the old man: "I've been taking classes at the college- you know, comparative mythology- and the teacher was pointing out the prevalence of snakes in Proto-Indo-European legends. You know, their connection to immortality and stuff. It's definitely interesting so..."
He shrugged as if it were nothing. I figured I'd look more deeply into it."
He laughed. "Might be worth some extra-credit maybe.
Then an idea occurred to him, and he looked at the new man for a moment, about to include him in the conversation. Just then, the door dinged again and another man walked in. He was tall, maybe an inch more than him and he moved with a quiet grace.
Connor's gut was screaming at him to get the hell out of there as fast as possible, but not to draw attention to himself. He turned back to the old man and let his laugh turn to a snort. "I told my wife about the snake stuff and now she wants of tattoo of that snake eating its tail thing- the boroboro you called it?"
He chuckled. "Heh...she says it'll be a good reminder to me that she'll be around forever."
He tried to sound put upon. Then he shrugged and joked to the man. "Whatever she wants is fine with me, as long as she's not buggin me about it."
The shopkeep smiled as if to say 'nobody cares, and I have customers,' for which Connor was glad. "Well, there aren't any books on the oroborous itself that I know of."
His words emphasized the proper pronunciation of the word. "Of course, you can check the internet. I'm sure you can find something there."
His tone showed just what he thought of the internet's reliability in comparison to his precious books. He was old. Probably same age as his dad would've been. "I can tell you of a few individual legends mentioning snakes. Most of them have to do with creation and rebirth though. Julungul of the Australian Aborigines. The Naga of India. Kulkulkan of the Maya"
The man paused. "Those are just a few. There are just too many mythologies to mention. Indonesian, Aztecan, Greek. They appear everywhere."
He wound down. "But I do not know of any specific books that endeavor to collect all these myths into one place."
He looked at the other men in the store, one of whom was just browsing deeper into the stacks. "All of those I mentioned are in the mythology section you were just in. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Connor was glad for the dismissal. And that the man had rambled on about snakes and mythology. He couldn't leave right away- he still the Watkins book in his hands- and he thought leaving might call attention to himself. The man had given him suggestions and it would do to look like he was checking them out. Besides, he was being paranoid. The men were probably harmless. Well, he remembered the hard way they looked. Not harmless exactly. But probably not interested in him.
"No. But thanks. I'll check them out."
He smiled at the man and then went back to that section. His heart was beating fast but he had to ride this out.
Edited by Connor Kent, Jul 24 2014, 02:48 PM.