mission details:

Nova stood quietly outside the building bore the address she had been given for her most recent mission. Even before entering, she could smell the comforting scent of old leather and paper wafting from the place. It was one of her favorite scents. Perhaps this mission wouldn't be so bad, libraries were a second home to her growing up. A source of knowledge on many things, she had spend many hours researching her interests in these very walls. “best not keep all those lovely books waiting” she thought to herself before swinging open the door and walking inside.

A rush of wind followed her in before she could shut the door, blowing a thin cloud of dust up from the shelves nearest it. Nova sighed to herself as she realized the work she had set out for herself. She walked up to the section labeled fiction and looked briefly at the books stored on the shelves, realizing even in her quick glance that the books were horrible mis-sorted. Books of all genres were mixed on the shelves, some stack upside-down or laying on their side. Nova chewed her lower lip for a moment, deciding what her action plan would be. After a moment, she twisted her long wavy hair up into a more manageable bun and set off to look for supplies

After much digging around in a well stocked(but rarely used) supply cabinet, Nova's arms were now overflowing with cleaning supplies. Dropping her haul unceremoniously on a work table, she grabbed the feather duster and dragged over a step stool to the first of several shelves. She dusted each one from top to bottom, clouds of dust kicked up that had lain dormant for far too long. She went from shelf to shelf, removing the dust that marked unuse from many wonderful books. As she reached the final aisle of books, she went to wipe her forehead of the thin layer of sweat that had started to accumulate only to find herself now covered in the powdery dirt that she had spent the last two hours cleaning up. She sighed at the thought that she wasn't even halfway through this chore.

Nova limped back inside with a bucket she had filled with water from a nearby faucet. Water splashed to the ground as she dropped, and squeezed a few drops of soap into the water. She swirled a mop around in the sudsy combination and started to mop the dusty floor. The lemony scent was comforting to her, it reminded her of her childhood, working with her mom and helping with even the most minor of tasks like mopping. Making sure to pull out all the chairs at the tables and even under the desks, she restored the hardwood floor to its prior glory.

Now would be the most time consuming task by far. Starting in the far north-west corner she started removing each book from its shelf, and placed them on a different table according to genre. It was at times difficult to keep herself on task, as occasionally she would find a book that would start to draw her in, before she caught herself and continued with the tedious sorting. There was a huge variety of books here, from fantasy and romance novels to books on various histories. She did find a book here and there that had damage to the spine or the pages were starting to become loose from the aging glue that bound them. She set them aside as well, intending to try to repair them as best as she could. As the shelfs empied, the piles grew, towering on the tables and overflowing onto chairs and even the floor. By the time all the shelves were empty and the books sorted, she had created a treacherous maze of towering stacks of books that seemed to sway from being stacked too high. Starting with the nonfiction she started filling the bare shelves, sorting them alphabetically, by author as she went. This project took her several hours, and by the times she was done the only light was coming from the dim light on the ceiling. Throwing herself down in one of the chairs previously occupied by books, she stretched out and yawned loudly. Looking around at the newly organized shelves, she was proud of what she accomplished, even if she knew it would be messed up again within the week.

After resting her eyes for just a moment, she set up a desk with the supplies to repair the damaged books she had found. A small pot of glue, some thin soft leather, bindings of various sizes, text stamps, ink in various colors, blades, picks, and depressors sat at the ready. The first book was falling apart, the spine had separated from the book itself, a think layer of glue miraculously still holding together the pages. Taking a small blade to the deteriorating leather, She removed the offending piece. Being even more careful, she peeled the remaining leather back from the covers. Laying them out alone, she placed a properly sized spine between them and applied a thin layer of the glue. Selecting a lovely pale blue color, she cut leather to the proper size and pressed it to the damp surface. Flipping it over, she folded the edges in properly and trimmed them beautifully. She spread the glue more thickly on the inside of the spine, and pressed the stack of pages back into place. She clamped everything together to let the newly bound book dry, and grabbed a silvery ink. This book was titled “Oceans, Seas, Lakes, and Rivers”, which she pressed the stamp-like lettering tools into the cover to inscribe in a metallic silver.  She repeated the tedious process late into the night, restoring over a dozen damaged books.

Finally finished with every task she could think of, she cleaned up her supplies from the cleaning and repairs. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck and back, not realizing how stiff she had become hunched over the books as she repaired them. Nova was happy with what she had accomplished, and now that everything was perfectly organized she planned to return and read the books that had been distracting her earlier. Content with her day, and desperately needing a relaxing bath she headed out the library locking the door behind her and started her path home.

Word count: 1070/750 (+75 ryo for bonus words)