(Untitled)

[reallyaduck]

Duck's been snoring slightly on a table in the middle of the room, head pillowed on a piece of paper, when -

do you have the resolve, little duck?- she wakes up with a start, shaking her head to get the last wisps of weird half-memory out of her head

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[smallestopener]

"Hi," Ingress says, peering over at the girl. "You okay?"

[reallyaduck]

"- uh, yeah!"

Duck looks up, a smile already on her face.

"I guess I fell asleep," she adds, a little sheepishly. "Though, I guess it's better that I did here than in class . . . um, I'm Duck!"

[smallestopener]

"I'm Ingress," she says, without batting an eye. She really has heard stranger names.

She kind of has one, though no one has quite pointed that out.

"I'm almost eleven. How old are you?"

[reallyaduck]

"Uh . . . ."

This is a hard question!

"I'm in the beginner ballet class!" Duck volunteers. SURELY THIS IS HELPFUL, yes? "Um, what about you, what school are you in?"

[smallestopener]

"I go to school at home. I have tutors. Oh, and I took a little ballet. When my teacher Meg was here."

[reallyaduck]

"Tutors? You mean, like, private lessons?"

Duck props her elbows on the table, and her chin in her hands. "The advanced class gets private lessons like that sometimes . . . but I always think that's got to be kind of scary! I mean if you're late to class or something there's no one else to distract the teacher or to make excuses or bring you the homework if you're not feeling good or anything . . ."

[smallestopener]

"Oh, but my tutors are all really nice. Except for one."

Sorry, Nynaeve.

"And school is at my house, so it's like another part of the house. It's not scary. Sometimes some other kids come, like Clement and some kids from Marble Arch. That's a barony that's allied with my House. So it's okay."

[reallyaduck]

"That's good!" Duck says, brightening.

"We stay in dorms, so it's near the school buildings but it's still far enough away that I'm late a lot and my teacher gets mad."

[smallestopener]

"That might happen when I go to Haven to be a Herald. I hope I'm not late to my classes. I'll have a year to practice being on time."

Herald teachers might frown on running late for classes. And time in the Underside is such an ambivalent thing.

Practice might be a wise idea!!!

[reallyaduck]

"Oh!" Duck says.

Uh.

"Um . . ." She ducks her head, feeling stupid. This is probably something everyone but her knows. "Uh, what's a Herald?"

[smallestopener]

"Oh, I didn't explain," she says. "I always forget. They're like soldiers, sort of. Messengers of the Queen. I was chosen by my Companion to be one when I grow up."

[reallyaduck]

"Like -"

Duck's mind rummages around for an association; there's an obvious one right there.

"You mean, like knights?"

[smallestopener]

"Yeah! Just like that. Except we don't wear armor."

[reallyaduck]

"I know someone who's sort of like a knight . . . . he doesn't wear armor either," volunteers Duck, and then adds, "but, uh, he's kind of mean a lot of the time."

[smallestopener]

"Heralds aren't mean," she assures Duck. "I've met a lot of them. Sometimes they're a little busy and in a hurry, but they're not mean."

[reallyaduck]

"I don't think knights are supposed to be mean either. I sorta thing it's maybe just this one," Duck says, squinting. "I mean, he's kind of a weird guy in a lot of ways . . ."