<font color='#8D38C9'>Mia (Winter), Day 16, 81378 (4) All Welcome to join. This is basic Ramathian, which means all non-speakers. If your character knows any Ramathian, this is probably not the class for them. ----------------------------------- Another day, another class. Trei plodded down the halls of the school, sack of books slung over his shoulders as he did so. He knew where he was going, and plodded along with the look of a teacher headed to class - which was precisely what he was. He counted doors along the way, peering at each tag before moving on. Having just recently started teaching at Janardan (he was formely a private tutor for a well-to-do family with six children, but since they had all moved on with their lives he had respectfully resigned) he wasn't yet familar with all of the other faculty. No matter - he would soon know them all, very well. As he arrived at the room which would become his for teaching, he shouldered the door open and promptly wedged it open with the small block designed for just that. He liked an open classroom - it was his method of teaching to be frank, open, and available at all times to his students. He shrugged off the satchel of books and slung it upon the sturdy desk at the front of the room before peering at the board. It was clean, freshly washed, and ready to recieve his writing. Rising up on his hind legs, he siezed a piece of chalk in his left paw (left-handed was the way of things for him) and wrote a very careful statement across the very top of the board. Ev iyo kum jaup shet, iyo'ja em sha fjymd klutt. Upqots iyoj tkhapola ump kyna rukc vyj Upbumkap Ramathian em sfy hyojt. "If you can read this, you're in the wrong class. Adjust your schedule and come back for Advanced Ramathian in two hours." That done, he turned to the desk, pulled the books out of the satchel, and wrote a few more things on the board. All students will be required to have a copy of the following texts before Mia 30: 'Principles of Conversational Ramathian' by Zeikara Deiys 'Basic Concepts of Ramathian Grammar' by Ren Granhk 'Tgaucemd Tyompli - Speaking Soundly' by Treimaline Duneke</font>
<font color='silver'>With a yawn and a stretch, Lazuli sauntered down the hallway and to the open door. His silver fur, usually glimmering with health, was darkened to gunmetal gray by sweat. He'd just been outside, practising his fighting forms, as he did every Mia day, and it was time for his first class of that morning. It seemed he was the first in the door that day. He saw the teacher, however. New, he remarked in his head. He'd never seen him before. After looking the teacher over, he walked to the head of the desk and introduced himself. That done, he took his ever-present leather bag and walked to a desk in the front of the room. He sat down there, but not before bending down to snatch up a notebook and a blue pen from the satchel. Lazuli waited a matter of minutes. Then he began to doodle absent-mindedly in his notebook. When this began to get tiresome, he read the board. Ev iyo kum jaup shet, iyo'ja em sha fjymd klutt. Upqots iyoj tkhapola ump kyna rukc vyj Upbumkap Ramathian em sfy hyojt. The sleek, muscular 'dragon read the words slowly, in a soft murmur. His mouth hesitantly formed words that had never before passed his lips. Finally, he finished with the statement. He hadn't a clue what it meant, but he liked the slightly sharp, gutteral sound of it all. It's a fighting language, he mused to himself. He thought of the fighting forms he went over, the attack excersises and the defense moves. He knew the numbers he called as he moved were Ramathian, but they always seemed a natural part of him. Now he saw something completely alien and strange. It intrigued him. As he waited, his eagerness for the class to begin grew.</font>
<font color='#000F22'><blockquote><font face="lucida console" color=navy size=1>Rom wasn't very happy with his current predicament. Despite the fact that his father was fluent enough in Ramathian - and both of his same age siblings had quickly picked it up - the youthful pendragon had been left behind. It wasn't because he wasn't smart enough, no, that was certainly not the matter at paw. As a matter of fact, he was a bright young fellow. It was just a matter of inattention, of his lack of caring. He already knew English, what was the point in knowing the second language? It was only for scholars, anyways, right? That was what he had heard, anyways. His dad wasn't one, but Reveri was a special sort. As an athlete, the young 'dragon was far from scholarly, and the idea of sitting on his rump, trying to learn what the word for "ball" was in another language simply bored him. His right shoulder twitched, before a paw reached up, running along the strap of his book bag, and shifting it slightly so that it rested more easily across the bone. The youngster sighed, ears flopping down in a comical look of dismay. Not only did he have to go to this class, but there was no Keshmere or Remus to keep him happy. Neither of his siblings needed this class - they were thinking of going Advanced, but most certainly didn't need the Basics taught to them. Normally, one or the other would have accompanied him to anything academic. The idea of being there without one of them was odd, almost depressing, to the earthen cub. Never the less, his father had shoved him out the door, and, thus, here he was, wandering down a hall, unhappily dragging his paws across the floor as he drew closer to the room - that terrible room. The room of Ramathian. As he saw the same number Reveri had receited to him several times to make him memorize it, the youthful predator flicked his ears idly, and halted for a moment. Plopping down on his furry haunches, the student peered at the room, as if some monster was going to leap out and attack him. Floppy lobes flicked, then perked, so that their normally loose and bent ends were pricked forward. Yet they soon fell back down as he recongized the sound that had drawn his attention. The screech of chalk against a blackboard - what a horrid sound, when he didn't want to go to the class. That - and the brick that kept the door open - suggested that the teacher was already in there. Oh, phooey. He couldn't back out and say "oh, but he never showed", if the teacher didn't give him a chance. Scowling unhappily, the youthful pendragon stood up. Dropping the sign of displeasure (for he figured a teacher might not like that much), he wandered into the appropriate room. Eyes peered at the blackboard, but didn't comprehend any of it. If he had paid more attention to his dad... but then he wouldn't be in this class. He spotted only one other student, and sighed halfheartedy, then jumped up into an unoccupied seat in the back of the class. Sliding his pack onto the floor, he flopped his head onto the desk in front of him, and covered his eyes with his ears. This was bound to be boring.</font>
<font color='#000080'><font color="gold">Aurora walked through the halls that were still new to her. She had to keep asking directs just to keep on the right track to the basic ramathian classroom. Oy, I am going to be late! This place is a maze... She finally reached the open classroom. She scanned the tag on the door with her silver optics, then she rushed to an empty seat near the front. She set down in her seat, letting her book bag drop with a loud 'thump'. She looked at the text written in ramathian. Ack... I hope that isn't important... She read the text below, then reached into her bag and pulled out the books that were written there. She hadent much to do until class began, so she focused on her elemental sorcery. She quietly muttered a few words and a ball of water. But, it formed a pendragon, though she had not tried to make it take shape. It was swiping it's watery paws at the air, and then, as if it had been stricken by an invisable being, it went flying back, and lied down, completely motionless. She was almost in tears, but she quickly sent it away before she could lose concentration on it, which if she did, the water would have fell to the ground and have created a big mess. She just stood there, completely expressionless. Why does that always happen? First in Advanced Elemental Sorcery, now this! What the heck is wrong with me? Everything I conjour turns into the vision of my father dying...</font></font>
<font color='#000000'>Saltamus carefully plodded towards the Ramathian classroom, remembering what his guardian had said about the subject. Listen Saltamus. If you're going to go on to become a great artist, you've got to know Ramathian so you can understand your customers! Understand? Growling he shook his head. He understood, but Ramathian... he didn't learn it. It wasn't an official subject at his last school (which had tried to stray from the 'old ways' ), but now it had closed down due to lack of funding. He had transferred here. And it meant that he would have to learn Ramathian. Maybe his guardian was right. The soon-to-be older teenage 'dragon (his hatchday was pretty soon) finally turned and entered the classroom to see four other pendragons. Two very young pendragons, obviously new at this subject. One that was older than him; maybe he hadn't paid attention. And the teacher himself. He hadn't seen this teacher before. Salty sighed. I hope he understands that I've got dyslexia and Asperger's... either way I might test his patience unless I'm careful. Quietly he walked over to an unoccupied desk and took his seat. He looked at the blackboard. Hmm... I only understand 'iyo' and 'sha'. 'You' and 'the'. Those books? I'll make a note of that. He wrote down the names of those books in his notebook, then looked up to the teacher with a half-attentive expression.</font>
<font color='#8D38C9'>After recent events, Sisius could not help signing up for this class. She had never before even encountered Ramathian, but after that she knew that it could not learn to learn it. Might even help with her magics and all. Sirius took a seat, seeing at least one familiar face. The silver and purple 'dragon relaxed a moment, looking to the peers around her as she thought, 'This could be very interesting indeed...'</font>
<font color='#8D38C9'>Okay. ^^ I'm going to go ahead and leave it open for others, as well. You can say that you were here on time, or late. Your choice. --------------------------------- He sat quietly in front of the classroom as the students filed in. He wasn't expecting a very large class - so few 'dragons seemed interesting in learning their own native tongue these days - but since it was the first level Ramathian class, he wasn't expecting a small class, either. And the turnout lived up to his expectations. He placed his forepaws on the sturdey desk and drew the class roster towards him. He called out the names one by one, pausing for a time between each to place a face with the name. "Meina Suel." Pause. "Lazuli Tsyjn." Pause. Hm. Very few 'dragons seemed to have Ramathian names anymore. Their ancestors had long since translated them into the more common language. "Rheina Krull." Pause. "Webb Ujuk." Pause. "Romulus Silvent." Pause. "Aurora Lyte." Pause. "Temrull Jemk." Pause. "Piotus Levh." Pause. "Saltamus." No falter, just a pause. There was no sense in embarrassing anyone, though it was a bit odd that there was no surname listed. "Reisa Pyd." Pause. "Kraus Kluff." Pause. "Quongmed Qui." Pause. "Vladi Reo." Pause. "Peesk Stoli." Pause. "Kevik Uarn." Pause. And that was it. He cleared his throat once, and turned his back to the classroom, drawing the chalk from the sill and quickly jotting down a few words there. Instructor (emtsjoksyj): Treimaline Duneke Mia 16 Vocabulary 1. reskh - A female dog. 2. rutsujp - A fatherless child. 3. kykc - A male chicken; a rooster. 4. thes - Feces; The act of defecation. 5. punm - To condemn to everlasting punishment or a similar fate; doom. 6. vokc - The act of tazual intercourse. The words were met with sniggers from several of the students, and blank stares from others. Ah, so not all of them were completely innocent... it was best to get this over with. He preferred to make his lessons open and frank. "Well, we might as well get this out of your system. You can find all of these words in your Ramthian dictionaries, anyway, so I'm going to teach them to you in their proper context. How you use them is completely up to you. Have I left any out? Does anyone have any suggestions of what I can add?" His expression was open. Frank and honest, there wasn't a hint of jest in his tone. He was completely, one hundred percent serious.</font>
<font color='#000000'>Salty was always somewhat strange. Not only in his appearance, but the fact that he seemed to lack a last name. In fact, he didn't; his was just obscene and embarassing. And it happened to contain 'thes'. Right now, he needed to concentrate and not quietly greet every other student who entered. Already he'd waved towards Sirius. No, Salty. Don't waste time. Concentrate! But when the teacher was saying every name on the roster, it was clear that he was already losing interest... until he heard his name. Instantly he snapped to attention. Thank the gods! He didn't falter! He watched as Trei wrote down the words... and his expression changed to a "you-MUST-be-kidding-me!" expression. It was obvious what he was thinking. Who in their right mind would put obscenities on the board in our first Ramathian lesson?! But he managed to calm his face, though not his mind. He needed to remain mature for this lesson. "Excuse me, Duneke'ba*, but you've put inappropriate words on the board there." His voice was a little loud, and with quite an honest tone. "Why did you do that? I'm feeling uncomfortable just seeing them." And thes is part of my surname, he added mentally. ((OoC: *Read this thread if you want to know why I put 'ba' at the end of Trei's last name.))</font>
<font color='#8D38C9'>Sirius waved back to Salty, smiling, when he brought to attention just what was on the bord now. Sirius looked up there, blinked once or twice, and shook her head. Well, at least they would not have to ask. And like it or not, there was always someone who would ask. "Interesting choice of words there, but very helpful to know," she said to herself. At keast now after seeing that though, she did not have to worry about virgin ears.</font>
<font color='#000080'><font color="gold">Aurora finally blinked when she heard her name called. She looked around, quite confused about where she was, but soon remembered she was in class. She looked up at the board and read the text over a few times, not really paying much more attention to the obsencities in it than any of the other words. She waited patiently for an instruction...</font></font>
<font color='silver'>Finally, the students arrived. It seemed that this was a popular class. Other 'dragons were rapidly arriving, taking the effort to come in early for once. With a flicker of a whiplike tail that left his tail-flame guttering, Laz looked about at the other student. There was a considerable age-range there. Lazuli was ever-so-slightly embarassed to see a 7oo-year-old there-- but surprised and relieved to see Sirius there, the femme he'd met in the halls his first day here. With a slight shake of his head, he turned to the board to survey what the teacher had written there. After he scanned the text, a smile quirked his jaw and his brows raised. Interesting method, he thought. But then, the more he thought, the more it made sense. There would be no whispering and muttering about who'd be the first to find out what that word meant, or whether the teacher knew this word. A brief speech from the teacher proved that he was, indeed, quite down-to-earth about this. And though Lazuli did think he had a suggestion or two to add, he didn't reckon that would be a good move just yet, nonetheless. The words writ upon the board did bring some mutters, and even some protest (from the one called Saltamus). But it was a smart move on the professor's part. With a quick shrug, the male grabbed the pen and quickly scrawled down the words in small, untidy print. Then he slowly read them over, internalizing their definitions as he would in so many classes afterwards. That done, he sat back, curious as to what would happen next.</font>
<font color='#000080'><font color="gold">Aurora watched Lazuli enter the room. Her mind was completely wiped of any thought, and the thoughts of those around her started pouring in. She just caught Lazuli's little comment about her age. She shot him a disapproving look. This is basic ramathian, you should have expected younger students to be entering this class! I find it quite rude that you even thought that!</font>
<font color='silver'>ooc: Just to let ya know, Lazuli didn't actually say anything about Aurora's age aloud... just thought about it. So I doubt she'd know whether he'd said anything or not... just tellin ya. Anyway, makes for an intersting plot in any case sooo... we can either make like it didn't happen or I could edit that post so as to make it that Lazies did say it out loud... either way. </font>
<font color='#000080'>(Yeah, she has telepathic powers, but she can't really control them so she hears other's thoughts without actually wanting to post on)</font>
<font color='silver'>(Yaii. My bad... I checked Aurora's charsheet just in case but I didn't see anything about telepathic powers... but I'll keep that in mind. sorry about my screwup.) EDIT: kay here's teh post! ic: Lazuli started, nearly falling off his chair at the tremulous comment that had rung through the classroom. Gulping, he turned around and stared at Aurora's small frame. No. Way. He could feel the heat in his face. I know I didn't say anything aloud... or I'm almost sure I didn't. Did I? ...No! For a moment, a quick argument went off in his head. But soon he realized it led to noplace except for-- She couldn't have. Or maybe... --this. The small pale-furred femme had to have some sort of psychic ability. But what was the likelyhood...? <span style='color:indigo'>"I-- did you-- hear my thoughts?"</span> He asked, disbelief ringing through and through his words. Realizing how positively... jerkish... he sounded, he belatedly added, <span style='color:indigo'>"If you did, I'm sorry about that."</span> Sorry about what? Sorry you peeked into my head?!? <span style='color:indigo'>"I wasn't angry about you being here. Just... surprised,"</span> he said, hoping that would somewhat undo any assumptions the little female had made. With another quick swallow, he settled back on the seat, feeling quite bad, and waited for the small 'dragon to respond.</font>
<font color='#000080'>(its one of her trades! :P) <font color="gold">Aurora nodded. I was born with Telepathy, but I can't control it... I hear the thoughts of others just when ever, If I could stop, I would... She hummed.</font>
<font color='#000000'>Lazuli swallowed, feeling badly for the little female. It must suck not to be able to control your gift... "I'm really sorry, Aurora... I didn't mean to offend you," he said, and bowed his head slightly. The male ruffled his silver fur, not quite sure what to say. Then he told her in a whisper, "I think we're gonna get busted if we talk some more... so let's see what's up with this new class." With that, he turned back 'round, settling back on his seat. The male turned towards the board and pulled his sheet of paper closer to him. Then he looked up, ready to take more notes and begin the class.</font>
<font color='#000080'><font color="gold">Aurora nodded. It's ok... She sighed as she turned back to stare at the blackboard again. But it isn't the worst of my problems... She started tracing a circle on her desk with her finger.</font></font>
Sirius noted the confusion around her, but decided not to butt in. It looked like it was all clearing up anyways, and she was glad of that. She turned back to the blackboard, her tail slowly going side to side in thought. 'If these are our first ramathian words, I wonder what therest of this class will be like...'
