Comments | poison_puppet: RL: Tutoring post [backdated]

poison_puppet

RL: Tutoring post [backdated]

Dec 26, 2009 22:12

Himiko sat in the Honky Tonk, sipping coffee and waiting for any one of her numerous tutors to appear. The skinny woman lounged in one of the booths, watching the door, surrounded by various last minute study guides ( Read more... )

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demondoctor December 28 2009, 04:28:29 UTC

Stein had gotten himself a world hop and walked into the Honky Tonk with a curious expression on his face. So far, this world looked pretty similar to his own, though the walled city he glimpsed in the distance had to be the Forbidden City that Himiko had mentioned.

He spotted the girl almost immediately and walked towards her.

"Working hard?" he asked, beaming as he slid into the booth across from her.

poison_puppet December 29 2009, 16:32:00 UTC

She looked up and grinned. Stein was just as she had remembered him from the virus. The bolt was a little odd, but beyond that he would fit right in around the Honky Tonk.

"Hi, Stein! I've just gotten started."

She set aside the English study guide, and pulled out the one on biology. It was clearly a higher level than the other books scattered across the table.

demondoctor December 29 2009, 16:59:53 UTC

Stein poked through the books curiously, taking a look at what she had. The curriculum at Shibusen wasn't exactly standard, but the kids did learn enough to fit in with the rest of the world, along with their weapons training and soul theory.

"Looks like you've got the materials we'll need," he said with a smile, opening the biology book and leafing through it. "So how come you're studying so hard on your own? They don't have correspondence courses in your world?"

poison_puppet December 29 2009, 19:41:46 UTC

The transporter looked back down at her notes. "They have all of these courses. But only for High School students. I...never really had the chance to go to High School."

This was obviously something she was not proud of. She knew that most of the people on the community were well educated for their worlds, and she was quite the opposite.

demondoctor December 29 2009, 19:43:32 UTC

"That's a shame," Stein said, though his grey eyes glittered curiously behind his glasses. He knew almost nothing about the girl.

"So you're interested in science, in particular?" he asked, setting the biology textbook down. "This book is more advanced than the other ones."

poison_puppet December 30 2009, 06:17:41 UTC

"These are all my study materials for the GED*." She explained, gesturing to the texts. "But I've got an instinct for the way creatures and plants work. Most of the introductory stuff was just giving me names for things I already knew. But I don't understand Chemistry or Physics in the same way."

She did not mention the reason behind her 'instincts' for biology - namely her Witch Blood heritage. She herself didn't understand most of her former powers, and her foray into biology only highlighted how little she knew about her history.

((*GED: General Education Diploma. Himiko never completed highschool, and is now attempting to get a diploma after the fact. Mun isn't sure what the Japanese equivalent of a GED is, though.))

demondoctor December 30 2009, 07:00:22 UTC

Stein nodded, familiar with the concept, as he was from Nevada, though the name Himiko used was unfamiliar. "Well, I'm sure you won't find the high school equivalancy too difficult. If you've got a flare for biology, why don't we start with Chemistry, and we can move on to some things that you find easier later on," he suggested, smiling.

He'd have been very interested to hear about Witch Blood...

poison_puppet December 30 2009, 07:15:25 UTC

"That's probably a good idea. I've worked with some of this stuff while making my perfumes, but the chemical names just make my head spin." She smiled sheepishly, and pulled out a notebook and a chemistry text.

Himiko herself knew little about it, beyond that it linked her to an ancient clan of "Witches" that had been persecuted throughout the centuries. She herself had rid herself of the "curse" in an attempt to avoid similar persecution, with mixed success.

demondoctor December 31 2009, 07:03:58 UTC

"You make perfume?" Stein asked interestedly.

He flipped open the book and began explaining how chemical names worked, how you broke them down into pieces to understand the chemical nature of the compound in question.

poison_puppet December 31 2009, 15:48:12 UTC

She nods. "That's the talent I gained from my Curse. When I got rid of the Curse, the knowledge on how to make normal perfumes remained, even though I couldn't make my poison perfumes anymore."

Himiko listened intently, scribbling notes in the notebook and asking questions from time to time. It was far easier to learn from Stein than the dry texts.

demondoctor January 5 2010, 19:03:46 UTC

He finished up the chapter of the textbook, then flipped it closed, thinking it was time to take a break.

Especially since he was still thinking about what she'd said before they got down to work.

"So...you said something about a Curse?" he asked. "What's that all about?"

poison_puppet January 8 2010, 12:01:09 UTC

Himiko was about to say something foolish, but she didn't know it yet. The community was so accepting, sometimes it was hard to remember that other community members came from different backgrounds and might not always understand ( ... )

demondoctor January 10 2010, 19:44:17 UTC

Stein's eyebrows shot up at the mention of witches, and he stared at her with obvious fascination as she explained her story. A witch who was set to be sacrificed, and who'd rejected her heritage.

He pushed his glasses up his nose with a finger and they flashed in the light as he extended his senses towards her. For a moment it felt literally like he was literally undressing her with his gaze, a physical, uncomfortable, invasive feeling as he looked right into her soul and took measure of it.

It wasn't quite the same as a witch soul from his own world, but he could see the differences from a human soul, nevertheless. "That's fascinating," he said, his voice more of a low, eager purr. "How did you manage to give up your powers?"

poison_puppet January 10 2010, 22:02:30 UTC

She shivered, visibly uncomfortable at his look. He reminded her of Kagame, and that similarity was hardly a pleasant one. Had she been in full control of her powers she might have been able to guess what he had done, but instead she interpreted his stare as his way of reinterpreting her, fixing the transporter into a new category.

"I'm not quite sure, actually. There's a guy on the community, Kuronue, who offered to wish away my Curse. He did it by making a thousand paper cranes."

Himiko pauses, and pulls an origami crane from her satchel. Inscribed on one of the wings is "378" in her handwriting.

"It seemed silly at the time, but it somehow worked. Except now I've go all of these weird side effects. But its better to be sick and have a future, than be healthy with everyone and his brother trying to kill you, right?"

demondoctor January 10 2010, 22:10:57 UTC

The feeling faded as he let his eyes drop to the crane and stopped using the Soul Gaze. He nodded thoughtfully. He'd never seen magic like that, but little surprised him.

"What about healthy and having a future?" he asked, returning his gaze to her. "Maybe I can help with more than just tutoring."

poison_puppet January 10 2010, 23:57:09 UTC

She relaxed when he averted his gaze, trying not to mention how uncomfortable it had made her feel. A stare couldn't hurt, right?

"Really?" Her face brightened back up at the thought of no longer being ill. "None of the doctors around here have been any help."

At least, none of the doctors that she had been able to afford, but Himiko refrained from mentioning that bit of information. Stein was treating her far better than any of the doctors in the various hospitals she had been brought to - and she already respected him for it.

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