by pebble/scifipony
Fandom: The Librarian
Chapter: 3
Characters: Excalibur, Flynn Carsen, The Library
Tags: Friendship, Humor, Fluff
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Back to fluff! This one takes place about halfway between the first two movies.
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“Where did it go?” Flynn asked no one for the hundredth time.
Or maybe he was asking the Library. He had a tendency to do that — talk to the Library. It was nice. Excalibur couldn’t remember the last time they’d had a Librarian who did that. He knew it meant a lot to the Library.
Standing on one of the top rungs of a sliding ladder, and mostly ignoring how unbalanced his current hold on it was, Flynn had been searching through rows and rows of books for a ridiculously long time now. It had started as a research expedition in the mythology wing, only to turn into this side quest as Flynn was yet again side tracked off his main objective. That tended to happen a lot, as they were all learning. Sometimes he needed a gentle nudge to get back on track, but most of the time it was best to let him explore whatever paths he wanted.
Excalibur let out an amused grunt, hovering nearby as his Librarian continued to disregard the law of gravity. He could feel the Library’s magic humming steadily through the air around them. Knowing it was devoting so much of its focus to this spot was the main reason Excalibur wasn’t more concerned for Flynn’s safety. He knew the Library would never allow Flynn to be hurt within its walls.
“Come on,” Flynn groaned as he shut another book in frustration. Ignoring his precarious perch on the ladder, one foot mostly supported on a shelf and barely remembering to keep hold of the ladder with one hand, he let out a frustrated sigh. “Why can’t I find it? I know it has to be here somewhere.”
Returning his current book to its place on the shelf, Flynn leaned a risky distance off the ladder in his pursuit of another tome. The foot currently holding most of his weight almost slipped, though he barely seemed to notice.
Excalibur let out a sharp yip of warning. Entertaining as this was to watch, he didn’t want his new friend to actually end up injured.
“I’m fine, Cal,” Flynn said dismissively, never taking his eyes off the book he was looking through. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
Cal. That was the name this new Librarian had taken to calling him. Usually when he was excited or distracted or they were having fun in one of the back hallways. When he was frustrated or they were on duty, it was still Excalibur. As such, the sword could only assume this new name carried a positive connotation.
In the six months since his arrival, Flynn had completely disrupted the quiet and order of their Library. Maybe that was the real reason Excalibur had changed his mind about Flynn. He had an energy and enthusiasm about him that had been sorely missing these past few centuries. Even the Library itself seemed happier.
“Aha!”
The sudden exclamation drew Excalibur out of his musings. Above on the ladder, Flynn was holding up a dusty leatherbound book in triumph.
“Found it!”
And of course that was the moment physics finally caught up to him. His foot slipped and, with most of his weight leaning too far away from the ladder, there was no hope of catching himself.
Fortunately, the Library had been anticipating exactly this outcome. It had already shuffled the furniture so a large, well-cushioned easy chair was right below the bookcase. Flynn landed on it with a dull thud, none the worse for wear.
Excalibur hummed his amusement. He moved forward to gently swat Flynn on the arm — his way of saying ‘I told you so.’
Completely unconcerned — or possibly unaware — of his close call, Flynn sprang out of the chair with a grin on his face. He held the dusty old book high as he proudly announced, “I found it! I knew it was in this section somewhere. C’mon, Cal.”
And, just like that, he was off again. Always in motion. Always excited about the next big discovery.
Excalibur felt a wave of affection swell through the air from the Library as it set the furniture back in place. Silently, he agreed with the sentiment as he raced off to catch up with their enthusiastic new Librarian.
Flynn was strange, beyond a doubt. And Excalibur had to agree with the Library and Judson that he was exactly the kind of strange they so desperately needed.
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