“Oh, so you’re an overachiever,” she teased, standing up. “You’re that guy.” She paused for a moment before a curious expression crossed her face. “So... what about you? You have teachers?”
“Do you like them?” she asked interestedly, her head tilting. “In the stories I’ve read, teachers are always the antagonists of the story.”
He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, I like them. It usually depends on the person, though. Whether they are invested in learning, or not."
“Are they kind?” she asked. Her hands folded on her lap and she leaned forward, totally intrigued. “What do they teach you?”
He sat back, his brow raised in thought. "They're stern, mostly. Kind at times. And they all teach different things. What we are doing now is just for one class. I have others going at the same time."
Her eyes studied him and she pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I see. And your classes? How are they structured?”She paused, looking a little sheepish. “In the books I’ve read, all the classes are indoors in a room. There’s a bunch of desks and you all sit down all day and listen to lectures. Is that true?”
"Kind of. It's more like long rows, for me. Not desks where I go to. But we do listen to a lot of lectures."
She pursed her lips, a small frown crossing her normally joyful face. “That’s... wow. We lead very different lives,” she said thoughtfully, standing up and stretching.
She shrugged smoothly, leaning against the wall. "Well, our lessons are conducted around the Sanctuary," she said thoughtfully. "We spend a lot of time in the woods practicing new spells and then we disperse to the towns to try them out. The lessons are originally taught by our Alyndars, but then the older students begin to teach the younger ones. For example, my younger... I guess you would probably call her my 'sister' because we're both Tyria of Alyndar Aspen, so we've grown up together. Anyway, right now I'm trying to teach her the Pixie Ballad, which was taught to me by one of my older 'sisters'. We learn the lessons from each other rather than one teacher and they get passed down until a new Alyndar assumes the position and changes the lessons. Does that make sense?"
For some reason, the question made her flush slightly with embarrassment. "Uh... well, it's the song we sing when we see a human in the forest who has come too close to our Sanctuary. The song confuses them and makes them lose all sense of direction. Eventually, if they listen to it long enough, they fall asleep and then we can carry them out of the woods so they won't be able to find us again. Think of it as a defense mechanism."
He frowned, looking down at the paper. His fingers folded the edge thoughtfully. "People tend to take that the wrong way, sometimes. Don't they?"
She sighed slightly, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked down at the ground, biting her lip in thought. "I think..." she began after a moment, not meeting his gaze. "I think it makes people think that we have something to hide. People, humans especially, fear what they do not know and since my entire species keep their living spaces a secret, I think people just assume that our intentions are malicious. Combine that with the practical jokes that we play on other species and it makes us seem even untrustworthy." She paused before shrugging slowly. "We have good reason to be reserved though. Back in what we call the 'Hunting Times', pixies were, as the name suggests, hunted for their Enryli and their wings." She stood up and turned her back to him, opening up her wings and pointing to the base, where the material met her skin. "They would cut them off here with silver knives and then use these machines to suck out the Enryli, leaving the Pixie for dead."
He frowned. "That's horrible. People should get more educated next time they decide to spout out nonsense."
"Hm. Ignorance, I'm afraid, will always be the enemy of progress," she said, swinging her legs in midair. "People don't understand because seeking to understand is too much of a commitment. It's too much work. So we just get stuck in this endless cycle where no one ever wants to change." She shook her head and landed on the ground again. "It's a pity. I grow tired of waiting for the world to become empathetic."
He nodded slowly, before shaking his head and sitting straight. "Well.. That's everything I have for you today."
She seemed to grow embarrassed for having been so personal and she shook her head, standing up. “Right. Sorry.”
