Daniel's hand hovered over the device's digital keyboard. He had always fantasized about this, the impossible moment in which he would come into possession of the Scribe's implement. Now, however, he was frozen. He had so many things he had dreamed of doing if this time were to ever come, but his mind had run blank. He had an item capable of bending the very fabric of reality and he had no idea what he was going to do with it.
He pulled his hand away and took a breath. He had to regather himself. He knew he should start small and test the device's capabilities, first. The legends said that the form of the device tended to vary. Obviously the Scribe of the medieval times would not be walking around with an iPad. So, there had to be a way for it to change form.
He gingerly lifted up the device and turned it over in his hands. He noted the Apple logo on the back and the usual wear and tear on its unprotected surface. He even tapped the home button and the writing app minimized to reveal the iPad's main screen. He was a little disappointed to see the wallpaper was one of the default ones. Scrolling through the apps, he saw the usual list, all generic. There was not even the most basic of free games. He reopened the writing app to see the previously entered statements, including Daniel's own input which had brought him to his apartment and onto Abigail's lap.
He hesitantly typed a new command. "This implement is a book."
He tapped Enter and was suddenly horrified as the screen split in half with a sharp crack. The screen flickered and went out. Daniel quickly dropped the implement back on his desk and began to panic. He'd broken it! How had he managed that? If the Scribe hadn't wanted to kill him before, he'd certainly want to murder him now.
Daniel was brought out of his anxious fit when he saw the iPad was now changing shape. It seemed to widen as its glassy surface lost its smooth glossiness, becoming rough and textured. It suddenly seemed to fluff up and the ends segmented. Daniel realized the surface had become paper and it had split into pages, with the large crack in the center becoming the spine. Stepping closer to it, he could see his previous commands written in his own handwriting on the open pages. He reached down and picked up the iPad-turned-book and looked it over. Where the Apple logo had been, there was now a blue, hardbound, canvas cover, with the word "Journal" unceremoniously stamped on the front cover and spine. Under where the book had been laying, there was a rather nice looking ink pen that was a blue matching the cover of the journal.
So, this was how the Scribe might change the appearance of his implement, and possibly himself. Though, the Scribe might have abilities of his own and simply used a "glamour" like some fairy creatures Daniel had researched his search for the Scribe. In any case, Daniel now knew the implement was capable of altering itself as well as other people.
Speaking of altering other people, Daniel figured he might just test it out. He searched through the drawers of his desk until he found a small hand mirror he never used. Perhaps he could alter some minor aspect of himself, just to test the book out. He looked at himself closely, taking note of his dark, brown eyes. He'd never liked the color of his eyes. Perhaps now he could do something about that.
He picked up the pen and, slowly and deliberately, wrote "Daniel Stephens has ice blue eyes." Daniel was no great writer. Sure, he could write a great thesis paper, but creative writing had always escaped him. He could see the Scribe was more of a writer from what he'd seen and read about him. But Daniel was straight to the point.
He peered into the mirror. Sure enough, his irises brightened, shade by shade, until they were a piercing, ice blue. Fascinating.
He heard the front door of the apartment open, announcing his roommates return. He could hear him through his own door.
"Hey, Abby. How's it going?"
"Greg!" Daniel heard them laugh as they greeted each other.
"So, how's the couch treating you?"
"Oh, fine. Until your roommate decided to sit on me."
"What? Danny? He shouldn't be back for quite a while, yet."
"Well, unless some other guy has the crawled in through the window without me noticing, it had to be him. It was the strangest thing. I must have dozed off or something, because one minute there was nothing, and the next, there he was, sitting on me like he was five, I was Santa, and it was Christmas."
"Weird. I can talk with him if you want."
"No, it's fine. No harm done. He looked just as surprised as I was. You were right, by the way. He's a little weird."
"A little? You don't have to listen to him talk to you about his thesis paper. Seriously, the guy is obsessed."
"Uh, Greg. He's only in the other room. Can he hear us?"
"Oh, he don't mind. Danny's a chill guy."
"Yeah, no. Chill is not the word I would use, but he's your roommate."
Daniel glanced between his door and the book. Perhaps he could try a few field tests with the book, just to see what it was really capable of. It was either that, or keep making changes to himself. Or, perhaps he could seek out the Scribe and give him the implement back. Maybe it wasn't too late to seek forgiveness.