[Flashback] Two Students Meet {Hadrian, Naomi}

[Naomi]

13th Day of Fall 506 AV Naomi gazed at her books longingly and brought her right thumb to her mouth to gnaw at the nail in frustration. It seemed impossible to understand at this point, the Ancient Tongue. But this was her second assignment. There was no conceivable way she would gain credit for her course if her work continued as such. With the teacher's disappointing lecture still on her mind, she frowned and leaned back in her chair. Glancing to the right, she gazed down the hallways of books in the library, watching other students whisper to each other. Biting her lip, she sighed, returning her gaze to the leather-bound books in front of her. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply, relaxing her mind and body. After a few moments, large eyes opened to focus on another student. The girl's hair was blond and styled in a bun, skin a light olive. Concentrating, Naomi felt her vision focus on the female, leading the background into a blur as she came into focus. She watched as the girl's aura came into view, dim at first, and then a soft glow of yellow. As her mind steadied on the color, Naomi probed for the girl's emotion...and found it. Happiness. She blinked, immediately cutting the ties from her concentration. The girl had begun laughing, proving her inquiry. Smiling, Naomi brought up her filled waterskin and drank a small gulp, satisfied. At least she had that skill working. The damned language could wait a few chimes.

[Hadrian]

Less than two weeks into his first quarter at the University and Hadrian was painfully aware of the holes in his education. The academic holes were insult enough after all the work he had done with his many tutors and all the outside research and reading he had done on his own to fill the voracious black hole of his mind, but worse still was the realization that he didn't know how to socialize with his peers. He had peers suddenly. Oh, there had been his siblings, several of whom were close to him in years, but the other children of his socioeconomic class had bored him and so he had always retreated with a book to some quiet, out of the way place. On his travels around the continent with his father, he had met various and sundry people, but mostly adults and most of them beholden to his father, so eager to make a good impression on his bookish son. Not so at the University. Here there were other people of similar mindset to him, but if there were any as obsessed with knowledge as he was, they kept themselves well camouflaged. It wasn't until he reached his utopia, the pre-Valterrian buildings full of books and bookish people, that his loneliness hit him like a ton-of-bricks epiphany. If he had no friends here where he was among his own kind, then perhaps he was just not the sort to ever have friends. He moved awkwardly, his limbs too long and lacking in coordination. Quite tall, with too intense, chlorine blue eyes, he looked around, daring eye contact only for startling moments before looking away. The library was busy and most of the seats taken, or at least most of the tables had too many people for him to comfortably insert himself. All the private, one-person desks were being used. When he found a likely looking table, large enough to seat six with only two students sitting across from each other at one end, he stumbled in his haste and shoved the chair in an attempt to catch himself. The unbearably loud -- at least to his mind -- wail of the chair's legs against the floor sounded above the low buzz of illicit conversation. Embarrassed, he fled. He didn't run, but he might as well have. When he was far enough away that surely nobody could have recognized him as the one who had broken the sleepy beehive drown, he found a table with just one girl. "May I sit here?" he mumbled to her, eyes flashing up to make eye contact. He was polite, after all.

[Naomi]

Naomi brought her hand down between her arms in frustration, sighing under her breath. It was ridiculous. She'd been at the university for nearly a year, pre-studying at home for nearly four or five, but she still seemed to be having trouble with academics. Her thoughts wandered to her true wish of freedom, of the wilds. She had three more years before she even thought of those long journeys, of the free sun and moon on her back. Heart aching, she thought of her parents, weeping at her decision to leave Zeltiva all those years ago, bereft of a useful profession. Well, at least she'd have some skills out in the wilderness once she left... "May I sit here?" She was brought out of her thoughts when the voice spoke to her, a man's voice. Looking up, Naomi's brown eyes met a beautiful blue. She found herself feeling warm and immediately knew her face was flushing slightly, though not from sudden adoration. She just wasn't used to males coming up to her out of the blue. Taking in his long limbs and awkward look, she realized that this man was very young, possibly in his teen years. After all, he didn't seem quite at home in that tall body yet. Glancing around at other tables, she nodded and gestured to a seat. "Go ahead. Seems the rest of the building is a full house," she whispered, aware of the library rules. Those librarians loved to 'SHH' anyone if they heard a voice level above a quiet talk. After a moment of silence, she began to flip the pages in her book, uninterested. Seeking for relief, she glanced over to him. "So...what year are you? University is a bit much, right?" There went an opener for a conversation. Hopefully he'd take it. If not, well...no loss.

[Hadrian]

He sat abruptly when she gave him permission, already laying out his books. Not much progress was made preparing his study area when she spoke, which startled him. Most of the other students had taken one judgmental look at him and decided he was a rich snob or a bookworm with no social skills. There was some merit to both claims, but he had not been purposefully unkind to anyone. Blinking up at her, his eyes limpid with surprise, he pursed his lips at her question. "It's my first term," he admitted in a whisper. "My classes are very interesting." That was true and trite at the same time. If it sounded like a dismissal, it wasn't. Small talk was not his forte and he was generally overwhelmed by the reality of the place he had dreamed of for so long, since before he had ever seen it as a passenger on one of his father's ships, only hearing about it in reverent tones from one of his tutors. "I..." he began, but couldn't think of anything interesting to say, so he looked down at a book whose leather binding was stamped with words in the ancient tongue.

[Naomi]

Naomi thought she'd done something wrong when he pursed his lips. She lowered her eyes, afraid that she'd upset him. Biting her lower lip in thought, her gaze returned to him when she heard him speak. "It's my first term. My classes are very interesting." Naomi gave the young man a smile, nodding slightly in response. "Ah...well, that's good. First term is tough, or it was for me. At least you're enjoying your classes." She was friendly, especially now that she knew it was his first term. The transition to university life was fairly difficult, after all. Time management became a required skill, combined with actual studying...it was a stark contrast to city life to be sure. When he looked down at her book, she chuckled and shrugged. "My worst class at the moment. I just can't seem to get anything right. It's sad, really...I love languages, but it's really challenging for me to learn anything more than 'hello'." Sighing, she flipped through the pages.

[Hadrian]

"The art is long," he quoted in the ancient tongue, "life is short." It was a reflexive action. His brain moved so quickly that he didn't always have time to rein it in, which often proved embarrassing. But it was apropos of the situation, and if she didn't understand what he had said, then perhaps it was something to continue the conversation. He lifted one of his books up, its cover also stamped with words in the ancient tongue, though his was literature rather than a language primer. His tutors had taught him the language when he proved the most scholarly of his siblings and it was already paying off at the University.

[Naomi]

As the man spoke some gibberish, Naomi felt her eyes widen in surprise. If her ears were correct, the phonetics were very much like what she had heard in class. As he raised his book, she placed her elbow on the table before resting her chin in her palm. Chuckling, she smiled. "Well, now, seems like you've got some knowledge of the 'Tongue under your belt, hm?" Her smile left and her face turned inquisitive. "I hate to ask, but you wouldn't mind teaching me the basics, would you? I mean..." A pause. "I guess...I'm asking for...a tutor?" She shook her head, dismissing her statement. "Ah, how rude of me. Nevermind." Naomi glanced down at his textbook after a moment, gazing into his eyes the next. Social awkwardness had completely left her. After all, the man was speaking with her and seemed to be interested in a conversation based on academics. "How long have you been studying the Ancient Tongue, Mister...?"

[Hadrian]

The phrase 'tongue under your belt' made his mind go in entirely the wrong direction and his pale cheeks managed a bit of a blush before he realized what she was saying, at which point he nodded violently. "I don't know how good I would be at teaching it, but I will try to help if you want. I'm... Hadrian. Aelius. Hadrian Aelius. And I guess I've been studying it for a long time. I had tutors growing up and I was the most bookish of my siblings, so they tried to fill my head with as much learning as they had." He blinked and then carefully lowered his voice again. "And what I said... it was the art is long, life is short. An old, dead poet said that. Basically just a fancy way of saying there's too much to learn for one lifetime. I suppose that's why we're reborn again and again." He paused again. "What's your name, then?"

[Naomi]

It wasn't until Naomi watched his cheeks darken that she understood the other context of her statement. She opened her mouth to explain, feeling her face turn warm. However, she stopped when he nodded furiously, apparently understanding what she meant. Naomi retreated in her chair, bringing her hands down to rest in her lap. Social awkwardness returned. "Oh..." she replied softly at his surprising agreement to tutor. "Well, that's wonderful. Any help would be appreciated, Hadrian. Very pleased to meet you." She smiled, nodding her head slightly. With a sudden turn of events, the young man had opened up to her, leaving her feeling ecstatic. A tutor for her most frightening class! Blessed day! "Oh, neat!" Naomi exclaimed under her breath, leaning closer to listen. "At least you had a little bit of extra time to prepare for your studies here, yes? And siblings-" she wrinkled her nose "-I never had the pleasure. I've heard they're absolutely terrible, though." At his explanation of the phrase, she nodded, expression turning curious. "Oh, I see...though, it sounds much more ominous in the old language, mm?" Chuckling, she nodded in agreement. "Yes, reborn again and again...s'pity that we can't remember." Raising a hand to her breast, she widened her eyes as if remembering something extremely important. "Oh, you're right! I've forgotten to introduce myself. I'm so sorry. My name is Naomi Verrys." She extended her hand, willing to take his in a firm, but friendly, handshake. "Erm...was there any class you found yourself having trouble in? I mean, it's only fair to return your help with something." Tilting her head, she bit the side of her lower lip in thought. "I can always spare time for tutoring...or I can hand out a few coin every week or so."

[Hadrian]

"Plenty of siblings," he said, nodding. "And they are terrible. I mean, I love them. I guess. But... we don't have that much in common now that we're all reaching adulthood." He shook her hand, friendly enough. His hand was a little clammy, but that was most likely from nerves. "Pleased to meet you, Naomi Verrys. Ah... well, I'm doing all right in most of my classes. What are your specialties, though? I might offer my services in exchange for an IOU for future reciprocity..."