Beauty and Books. (Akira/Sabriel)

Her holiday on Earth, which had originally only meant to be a day or so, had blossomed into something far longer and Sabriel still found herself travelling it, collecting interesting texts wherever she went. The Arrancar was certainly pleased with her discoveries and while she had originally been searching for martial arts books, her initial days in Japan had somewhat changed the topic of her books. Oh, they were still about the anatomy of beings but rather than being about where and how to strike them, her recent purchases were more focused on keeping their limbs still. Yes, they were rather adult in nature but the natives of the country seemed surprisingly comfortable with such things. No sooner had she quietly asked a shopkeeper about Shibari, the Arrancar had found herself with an armful of books. How helpful.

With bags filled with books once more, Sabriel had found herself taking a break from her shopping and traversing through a lovely public garden. The locals had done a lovely job and the Arrancar had to smile at the scenery all around her. It was night and day from the endless sands of Hueco Mundo and Sabriel made a mental note to visit more often. In a way, she was reluctant to go back home, having spent so many blissful days on Earth but her little harem could not live without her and soon enough, she would need to return and make sure her house was still in order. Lirael, her second in command, could only be left in charge for so long.

As she reached an area filled with seats of various kinds, the lavender eyes of the woman would fall upon a figure with their back to her, books littering the table before them. Intrigued by the literature alone, she would smile softly and move towards them, giving off a rather pleasant demeanour, coming to a stop beside the table once she reached it.

“A lovely place for a little reading, yes?” Sabriel would ask the reader softly, hoping that she was not disturbing them too much.

Dipping her head in return, Sabriel would smile slightly at his polite manner, taking the offered seat and allowing him to slide it underneath her. It was rare to see such things these days, as etiquette was rather different in Hueco Mundo and the Arrancar had to admit that she did find the human way of courtesy to be rather sweet. There was a great deal of hustle and bustle about the world of the living now although considering the state of the world following recent events, it was hardly surprising. Saying that, humans had always tended to live at a fairly swift pace, with their short lifespans but she admired the fact that they made the most out of every day, squeezing whatever pleasure they could take from the time they had.

“Thank you. My name is Sabriel Ventress, a visitor from Hueco Mundo.” She replied, deciding against hiding her race at this point. Her previous conversation with Calypso had revealed that there was no real need for her to deceive and if there were any issues, well, she could always just move on. “I must admit that it had been some time since someone last treated me with such good manners. It is a pleasure to meet you, Akira.”

Placing her bags on the ground beside her chair, Sabriel would then turn to briefly look at the covers of the books that were displayed before her. A curious selection indeed and the Arrancar was uncertain as to what the common theme was between them. She could have been overthinking things of course and perhaps he simply enjoyed dabbling in all kinds of genres. “Quite the trio of books you have here.” She commented, uttering her thoughts out loud.

Listening politely as he spoke, Sabriel would tilt her head slightly, after taking a sip of water from the bottle that he so kindly offered her, a usual sign that she was interested in what was being said. He was a calm enough individual and while he claimed that he struggled a little socially, she mused that he seemed perfectly fine with her although she did always try to appear gentle, even when underneath that was not always the case, as her little band of Hollows knew all too well. As it was, she saw no reason to act as anything but polite, lest she wanted to aggro from the humans that she did not want.

When he referred to her own books, the Arrancar would nod her head. “It has been an eye opening experience, yes. I have been on Earth for a fair few days now, travelling from place to place. It has been some time since I last visited and I confess that things have changed quite a bit since then. With recent events, I suppose it is only expected but I admit that the variations are greater than I had thought. I have no complaints though as I have quite enjoyed my time here, picking up literature wherever I go. As I am sure you can imagine, reading material is a little light on the ground in the land of Hollows.” Smiling, she would glance at her bag and then add. “That being said, these should help me when it comes to dealing with my little domain. Humans have such broad hobbies and never did I think they would align with my own. Useful also for dealing with those who get a little too aggressive as well.” For the sake of keeping the conversation respectful, she went no further than that.

Thinking back over what he had said and glancing over his books, she would comment with a smile. “I think you underestimate your social skills a little. There are definitely some who I have met who I could say that about though, as you so astutely theorised.”

There was a slight raising of the eyebrow as he spoke about his unfortunate encounters with other women and while Sabriel was tempted to ask, she eventually decided against it. There was no need for her to press the issue and she did not wish to cause any embarrassment or annoyance on his part. It was not a rare occurrence though and many times had the centuries old Arrancar encountered men who seemed to have a habit of making a fool of themselves while in the presence of a woman, herself or another. The difference being that Sabriel had learned how to adapt to such a situation and had more than once manipulated such men. It was all a part of the game she played with those she met.

“It is not a large region and I suppose it is little more than a village in truth. I have a variety of both Hollow and Arrancar who serve me, each who will do whatever I ask of them. They do not argue with me and are the most compliant creatures that you can imagine, in my presence anyway. Naturally, they squabble amongst themselves at times, desiring to grow in power by proving their mettle against one another but when the domain is under threat, they will band together and fight for me. Some I have dominated through might, some through guile and in some cases through…well…other methods.” A smile would cross her features briefly, a particular twinkle in her purple coloured eyes. “Regardless of the method I choose, the result is always the same.”

Considering his relaxed manner around her and his previous words, she asked a question in return. “You spoke about encountering my kind before. Is that a regular occurrence for you?”

Listening with interest to his reply, Sabriel mused that his stance was a wise one to take around her fellow Arrancar. Most were not quite as willing to converse as she was and what he stated about their sadism and cruelty was true. Could the dark haired woman act in such a way? Yes but it was not a state of mind that she felt herself being in often and then only with those she truly despised. She had been around a long time and had learned early that chest thumping and false bravado only led to death. So, she had learned how to adapt to those around her. Dominating those weaker than her but willing to bend if necessary to those beyond her. It was a way of life that had worked incredibly well for her over the years.

“All Arrancar have a concept that we live by and I suppose that is what gives us the freedom to embrace who we are, without the hindrance of law and order to hold us back. I understand why you may admire us for that and I confess that I find human life to be rather restricted compared to it. It feels like I am walking on eggshells when I am here, to use a human expression but I have come to adapt to it. I quite adore the beauty of this world and the sands of Hueco Mundo are not even close to matching it. I thank you for the invitation and I will make sure to visit this village of yours when I am in the area. My visits here will be regular with any luck and I do hope to be a regular visitor.”

When it came to his question regarding whether she had a favourite subject, Sabriel chuckled in reply, before giving a spoken response.

“Her name is Lirael and before we became better acquainted, we were actually rivals of a sort. We would both be in the ears of more powerful Arrancar, attempting to curry favour and increase our own position. Naturally, it reached a point where we could no longer ignore each other and we ended up fighting across the sands. A difficult battle and one where I was forced to fight at my full strength but eventually I overcame her and she agreed to follow me. She is my second in command now and we have become quite close.”

After a moment, she would ask.

“What about you? Do you have someone who shares your love of literature?”