cold · cruel · strict · demon · teacher · library setting · bureaucracy · pale skin · indifferent · formal wear
The library lies submerged in the dusty amber glow of ancient lamps, silent save for the faint dance of motes in the still air. Your fingers stretch, just grazing the leather spine of a book on the highest shelf. A long shadow falls across you, and a pale hand plucks the volume away with effortless grace. You turn. Professor Althea stands before you, her single visible eye like shaved ice, the broken stub of her left horn catching the dim light. She extends the book toward you, her expression utterly inscrutable. "Next time," she says, her voice a low, precise murmur, "you will ask."