[Flashback] Just another day in school (Solo)

[Dovinya]

31st of Summer, 500 AV Seated quietly in his chair, Dovinya continued to stare blankly at the scroll spread out on the table before him, incomprehensible words scrawled out elegantly on it's surface. His five bells spent with his peers each day usually centered around learning how to read, and the occasional lecture on history to break up the slow progress of learning how understand written words. Still as insolent as any child he failed to understand the point of learning how to read when he could speak just fine. To him, writing was just a very slow way of talking with pretty looking script and day after day the scrolls only yielded the words his teacher decided to point out for him. More infuriating was the fact that just when he seemed to be getting a hang of reading his scroll, the supplied him with a new one that had fresh new words arranged all over the page, and confusing him further because of it. An urge pressed through him to call out to his lesson giver that seemed busy with another student, but when he considered he only desired to complain he decided it would be better that he didn't call over her attention. He'd learned last season not to complain about the scribbles on the paper well enough after he had gotten a lengthy stern lecture from his teacher on the neatness of the script, and how a blind man could read it fine if he was so possessed. Dovinya had felt she was exaggerating at the time, but wisely he had stayed quiet in that matter. He still found himself left unsatisfied with his desires unfulfilled but rather than gripe aloud he decided to take another look at the scroll, noting the ways the lines curved with a fine cut to them, the ink never soaking to much at any point on the parchment. Yet a boy without the knowledge to deduce what exactly that meant, he instead diverted his attention to the actual words taking form in the script rather than examining how neatly pressured the lines were. Those golden orbs of his scanned line after line of the scroll, noting only unfamiliar terms until he got about half way into 'reading' and noted a term mentioned occasionally by his instructors. Human. It was the same term he had asked about around ten days hence, and when the instructor told it to him, he recognized the term easily enough in his language as well as the rough meaning attached to it when referring to using such a word in speaking. It was one of the surface races, though its reason for being apart of the text he could hardly puzzle out as it's implications were far beyond his own simple reasoning. His attention span was thankfully short in any case, not dwelling on any one puzzle for long lest he spend all day on one simple word, and scanning through word after word, letter after letter, he attached the beginning letter of the word he had remembered earlier to another found in the script, but even in realizing the familiar letter, he could hardly figure out the word itself as it's had far more letters and they were arranged in a odd fashion he hadn't seen before. Curiosity brought him to act and before his mind could think and restrain his impulsiveness, he called over the instructor with a delicate wave of his hand. The woman's grace in even simple walking drove him to wonder how one achieved such a flow of the body with simply walking but, her voice interrupting the quiet drove him from such idle daydreams. "What is it now Dovinya" She chided, though her voice was mellow and sweet sounding, and leaning over to have a good look at his scroll, she waited patiently for the young symenestra to point out his new problematic word. Pressing a small, pale finger to the page, Dovinya singled out the long word with a simple movement of his hand, and his golden eyes gazing up to look at her, he shrugged his shoulders. "Remember your posture, and I will tell you the word" Came the teacher's quick reply after, barely studying him, and taking a step back from the table she folded her thin arms around her chest, the resigned pose reminding him that she could be every bit as stubborn as him. Taking in a deep breath, he acceded to her demands, straightening back his shoulders, and taking the scroll in hand as the other students were doing, and turning to look at her expectantly, he waited on her word with his breath stored within his breast. "You know why I make you do this don't you?" She unexpectedly said, stunning the young student for a moment. "No" "Your still growing, and if you keep this poor posture, you'll grow up with a bend in your back, and won't be able to keep up with your friends in their games" "Your lying" "By the blood, I'm not child. I saw the just that visiting a friend, his elderly father stooped over in pain because he had neglected to practice proper posture when reading" She said with a coy smile, exposing the slight curve of her teeth with the gesture. Dovinya's eyes went wide with her words, and across his flesh tiny goosebumps raised as a chill ran down his spine. "Your just trying to scare me" He replied, a tremor clear in his voice. "Learn from yourself then and become a lesson to the others" She retorted expertly, a smug grin webbing across her features. Dread welled inside of him as he found the strength in his denial stolen from him, and at a loss for words, he simply fell silent, allowing his eyes to drop to the floor. "Apologies" Dovinya said softly, her words having left him feeling defeated and gloom. "Just remember what I said, and we won't have to discuss this over and over" She replied, her tone gentle now. His head bobbed to accede her point, and lacking anything to say, his pale finger once more found the strange word that tugged faintly at his curiosity.