They immediately started the five-minute countdown on Asher's tablet.

Once inside, the pair moved swiftly and silently, careful not to disturb the quiet stillness of the library. Their footsteps echoed softly against the polished floors as they searched for the information they needed.

Asher couldn't shake off the feeling of nervous excitement. It was rare for them to engage in such clandestine activities, but Samaira's persistence had finally convinced her to join in on the sleuthing.

"Alright, let's split up and search the room," Samaira whispered, her eyes scanning the dimly lit space. "We need to find anything that might give us a clue about what's going on."

Asher nodded, her heart pounding in her chest as she made her way towards the locked door at the far back of the room. She tried to appear nonchalant as she examined the door, trying to pass it off as nothing more than a storage closet. But Samaira was not convinced.

"Ash, come on," Samaira urged, her tone insistent. "I don't think librarians keep their 'janitor's supplies' behind locked or sealed doors. There's something suspect about that."

"Oh my gosh, okay! Well, it's locked," Asher muttered under her breath, frustration creeping into her voice. "And it's not that out of the ordinary, Sam. Any ideas on how to get it open then?"

Ignoring Asher's scepticism, Samaira suddenly dashed to the front desk in search of makeshift lock-picking tools. She returned with a handful of bobby pins and set to work on the stubborn deadbolt lock.

Asher exclaimed, "What are you..!"

"I've got just the thing," Samaira said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Stand aside, Red."

Asher watched in disbelief as Samaira deftly manipulated the pins, her fingers moving with precision as she expertly tried unlocking the door.

"Ah, nice work," Asher whispered, admittedly impressed. "Do I even wanna know how you learnt this?"

Samaira winked as the lock clicked once.

"K8-LYN let me watch a new movie on our sweet sixteen. I saw someone do it and got obsessed, so I practised whenever I could. But...not much to pick in those old Domes, though. No door handles, remember?"

Asher smirked, still processing what she had just witnessed. "I can't believe you learned that from a movie. Which movie was it?"

Samaira paused, trying to recall. "Uh, it was something about eleven criminals in a heist. So cool. But the title said something about water. I think they all drowned in the sea or something."

Asher stared at her, baffled. "What?"

"Yeah, or something like that. So, naturally, I thought they were dealing with the ocean at some point," Samaira said, still working the lock.

Asher couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay, well, that movie sounds morbid. I...I don't know why it never occurred to me to ask K8-LYN for any special favours...or extra requests. Even though I knew she was...lax."

Back in the girls' Domes, they were only allowed to watch one movie during holidays, which occurred just three times a year for them: on Winter Noel Day, Remembrance Day, and Unification Day.

Noticing the shift in Asher's mood, Samaira cleared her throat. "Don't worry, I begged relentlessly for years until she finally agreed. K8 only let me watch that one once, and I've been obsessed ever since."

She hesitated before commenting, "You know, sometimes, I actually envy your perpetual contentment...your almost... 'fulfilled' nature."

Asher managed a smile, despite her internal turmoil. The difficulty of actually managing to maintain her said collectedness. She usually felt like a fraud - seen perfect in everyone's eyes but hers.

"I - we all find it quite comforting. Uhm...reliable or whatever."

"Thanks," Asher said with genuine appreciation.

Samaira smirked. "And yeah okay, maybe I got a bit distracted by the whole lock-picking thing. I guess I didn't pay much attention to the ending...or the story."

"You are something else. Now let's get this door open before anyone comes."

The soft clink of metal against metal resounded in the library, heightening the tension of their operation. With a final twist, the lock clicked open, and the door swung open with a satisfying creak.

"And that's how you do it - no drowning required," Samaira said and grinned triumphantly.

Asher replied, "Alrighty. Let's see what's inside."

They stepped inside, the musty smell of old books and dust filling their nostrils. She turned on the light, revealing a small and dull interior. The room was small and unassuming, with a single desk and dust-covered empty shelves.

"Well, this is underwhelming. It looks like some kind of study...or a reading room?" Asher observed, her eyes scanning the room for any signs of clues. "But why would it be locked?"

Samaira shrugged; her attention focused on a stack of papers scattered across the desk. "Let's take a look around and see if we can find anything useful."

They quickly sifted through the papers and shelves, searching for any sort of information.

She began methodically searching the room, her eyes darting from one dusty corner to another. Asher, growing impatient, sighed.

"Come on, Sam, there's nothing here. Let's just go before someone catches us. We have 3 minutes."

"Hold on," Samaira retorted, "take pictures of anything you see suspicious around the room, even on the walls."

"One step ahead of you," Asher murmured while repeatedly clicking her tablet.

Samaira was undeterred, her voice muffled as she crouched by the desk, "Hey, c'mere...there might be something useful in these drawers. I'll have to unlock these again though...and quickly."

She finally succeeded with one drawer and immediately went onto the next ones, while Asher hurriedly inspected them right after.

Inside, they discovered a collection of seemingly mundane books and useless receipts. However, they felt that there might be more to it and Asher grabbed everything she could carry in each drawer, including some discarded papers that caught her eye.

Their search particularly led them to a mysterious book with no title. However, the pages were filled with intricate illustrations of both familiar and unfamiliar creatures. The drawings included ancient beings they recognized from their past studies, but also strange creatures they had never encountered before. Asher's frown deepened as her curiosity grew exponentially.

"What on earth are these?" she muttered, flipping through the pages with a mix of fascination and bewilderment.

Meanwhile, Samaira scrambled around the room animatedly as she also gathered up all she could, even the scraps.

"Hey Sam, check this out," Asher said, holding up a faded photograph she found buried beneath a pile of papers. "It looks like some kind of old...group photo at a college."

Samaira peered over her shoulder, studying the faces in the photograph. "Hm, maybe old students?" she mused, her brow furrowing in concentration. "Take it," she told her with determination. "Okay babes, you got everything?"

"Just gimme a sec..." Asher closed the book and stuffed everything into her satchel. "Alright, we literally have less than one minute left till Scientia turns back on."

As they hurried back to the party, adrenaline surged through their veins. While it might not have been a big deal for Samaira, Asher couldn't help but feel a surge of exhilaration - a sensation she had never experienced before, or perhaps had always denied herself until now.