Kirihito Arachne
Newbie
Diplomacy is the art of talking sweetly to one's enemy while looking for one's knife.
Posts: 24
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Post by Kirihito Arachne on Jan 29, 2005 20:34:25 GMT -5
With a satchel made of canvas and all of the belongings that it could hold the man dressed all in white made his way on foot through the gates of this place and up the gravel path leading to the modest estate of the Academy of Ulster. A small smile painted on pale lips, the spotless lenses of a strange pair of glasses, the featherlight black hair and penetrating granite eyes of a warrior, and the mind of a philosopher... wouldn't Ahote be surprised to see him? he had thought. Alas, upon his arrival in the last known place the Beast Master had been seen, the Kiryuudo had found that he was no longer here. Pity. But the job offer! The small man allowed himself a private smile, rebuttoning the cuff of his sleeve as he approached the main doors of the building.
Wonderful victorian era architecture, browns and siennas mixed with the light sandstone made the building stand out amongst the shabby farmholds of the land he had come to and would soon call home. The man that greeted him at the door perked a brow in consternation. The new semester had yet to start and Dr. Carter was away on business. Who was this new comer. A smile, and a small, thin hand was outstretched to the doorman. "Hello." The tenor strain echoed in the foyer, "I am Kirihito Arachne. Perhaps you have been expecting me?"
The dooman smiled in return, a look of recognition crossing his face. How polite! Kirihito thought and pulled back his hand, glad to see that this may be the place of refinement he was looking for. "Of course, Mr. Arachne. I received word of your coming. You are two days earlier than expected." Kirihito simply smiled. Soon he would traverse this town, find a new spot to continue his work, and learn of where Ahote had escaped to now. But first to get settled in the one thing he never thought he would ever own- his office.
When he had been approached in Emain Macha about the job his head had reeled at the prospect. He had attended a University in Rhy'din once and completed a minor degree in Art History and Literature. But to teach at one, now that was truly the pinnacle of academia and refinement, wasn't it? And in the same country Ahote had fled to! The Kiryuudo man accepted immediately. It was a long way from home, a long way from the tibe, and a long way from the trusted advice he had found in the recovering Onigumo and his besider Matsate, but he had told them it was for the greater good. It was to find and kill the one now called Adam Masou. It was so that they could reach their end goal and take back their home. They had of course acquiesced.
Up the lavish staircase went the man in the well pressed suit. Always in white, for it was his favorite, and he found the literary symbolism to be far too attractive to pass it up. A polite smile to those who would pass him, hellos and generally amiability for all, this man who barely reached five foot six with the dark olive colored skin and eyes the color of stone was regarded with strange looks. Obviously not Ulsterian, Kirihito did little to stop them. He did not mind if they were interested by what they saw as long as his privacy was kept his own.
Even an office was public property, however, so upon being shown to it the door remained open. His boxes arrived before him, he had been told, and had been brought to this level by the hired hands and groundskeepers. Kirihito thanked the doorman profusely. "And what is your name, so that I would know what to call you?" He asked cheerfully. The doorman, who had been leaving turned around surprised. Most of the professors cared naught for the lower classes, for here was a place of rich culture and knowledge, not fit for the common workers from the village. The caste system was not malevolent, but it was obvious. "Donovan." The man answered with a hint of a smile. "I am pleased to make such an acquaintence as yours, Donovan." Kirihito replied. "Perhaps soon you might join me for lunch?"
Donovan blinked a few times more and the smile grew wider at the proposition. "Yes, Mr. Arachne, if that is what you would like." Kirihito smiled and nodded and Donovan took his leave. What an excellent specimen, Kirihito thought as he watched the man go. He would be perfect. Perfect indeed. But the thought was shelved temporarily as he bent over to pull some books from the topmost box of the pile and shelve them in the designated place, whistling a soft tune to himself. A professor was it now? Whatever the role, Kirihito would play it to the utmost.
(Oh god, I'm sorry this sucked. I'm trying to get back into the swing of playing him -_-)
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Post by Dr. Alyce Graff on Jan 30, 2005 2:18:30 GMT -5
Job Opening: General Assistant to Dr. Alyce R. Graff Requirements: Knowledge or an interest in learning, of Mathematics and Physics. Organization is a must! Job Description: Helping in every day teaching and organizational skills; organizing office, grading papers, keeping papers neat, caring for the occasional pet and other general activities. Pay: To be negotiated.
Dr. Alyce R. Graff. She still blushed at the title. She hadn’t been a year with it and already she’d had an offer at a nice Academy! The Dean of Mathematics and Physics. She was not the sort to put her accomplishments upon her walls in plaques. She was more excited to teach it to the students. It was a passion that she had enjoyed since she had been able to notice the use of addition. Unlike Kirihito and like most other people, Alyce did not say anything to those that helped her with boxes and packages to her office. It was not because of her dislike or her uncaring for the lower class, as she was indeed a part of them, to a degree. Within her excitement, and one could say that during her teaching of math she was most always excited, she often forgot that the outside world even existed, high class or low class. The periodic table and a large list of equations and formulas went up on her wall only after the shelves had been filled with book upon book. Math books, anatomy books, physics books, bird books, plant books, so very many books and with each one, she smiled, braces causing her lips to be slightly reminiscent of a chipmunk’s.
The job description was short and to the point as were most of her interactions with others. She had taught for a while, while working on her last bit of schooling she had taught the occasional class. Without an assistant to help keep things organized, her office, not to mention her labs had become somewhat...out of control. She still had yet to ask Dr. Carter if the school allowed, in otherword would pay, for an assistant but she had found it necessary. She’d pay for it. One way or another if the school wouldn’t pay. Alyce was a practical woman and knew that it would be very hard to get through a school year without someone to tell her that she had forgotten her books or put aside an assignment in some forgotten alcove.
The petite woman stood upon a chair within her office, pushing books aside to make room for others. Plain brown hair was pulled up into an unorganized bun, strands sticking out this way and that. To look at her, one might expect her to pause and push her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Alyce, however, had been without glasses for the better part of a year now and had finally gotten out of the habit. With her brand of organizing came a litany of words. “Oh yes, that one shall come in handy in my calculus two class.” Another book was pushed into the shelf. “I suppose I shall have to procure a local bird book sometime soon.” Yet another. “Oh, she shouldn’t have!” Finally, the litany was broken by none other than the same Donovan that had helped Mr. Arachne move in a few doors down.
“Excuse me, Dr. Graff?” Alyce’s head turned toward the door and soon, she stepped ungracefully from the chair she had been standing on. Catching herself just before she was sent tumbling across the floor, she cleared her throat nervously. Her smile was nervous, tongue moving outward to run across practically clear braces. A new thing the dentist had said. She barely noticed them most times; it was when she was embarrassed that they began to show themselves. “Yes?” She brushed the front of the jeans she wore. Donovan stepped forward and help up a cage that held a flapping and quite noisy bird. “Oh my!” Stepping forward, she took the cage from Donovan and shook her head. If her head weren’t screwed on... She had meant to thank him but after the cage was set upon the table and the bird was quieted, Donovan was already gone and long forgotten.
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Kirihito Arachne
Newbie
Diplomacy is the art of talking sweetly to one's enemy while looking for one's knife.
Posts: 24
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Post by Kirihito Arachne on Jan 31, 2005 22:14:47 GMT -5
An office was a novel concept! Stacking the books neatly in alphabetical order Kirihito found his feet tapping to a waltz playing softly in his head. And to think, on the side he could teach ballroom dancing. Culture was something he would gladly provide these people with, for it mattered little to him what the did. It was simply preferable that they learned something of value before their short and miserable time on this planet was up. Hanging a few paintings the dark skinned young man did a few twirls and a bolero to reach the far wall, the impressionist painting of a full French garden in bloom radiating out at him as he beamed a smile back in response. Fantastic.
Reaching into his coat pocket he removed from it a small insect. Eight furry legs attached to a bulbous thorax extended out as the spider explored its new surrounding. Soothed by the presence of an insect master the small brown arachnid stretched out further and crept along his palm and fingers as he crooned to it. “Welcome to our new home my beautiful friend. I think that we shall like it here very much, for there is plenty to eat… for us both.”<br> But his solace was shattered as the hideous high pitched voice of the caged… creature… that Donovan carried was brought past his door. Flinching and for a single moment letting his guard down Kirihito stiffened. He hated animals. He hated furry mammals and their sappy companionship to humans. He hated reptiles and that predatory gaze they gave him. But more than anything else in the world, he hated birds. They were the most disgusting creatures, shedding their dirty feathers and leaving only shrieks and excrements in their wake. It was a wonder the Great Spirit created them if not to simply annoy all other life on Ela.
Twitching ever so slightly a thin hand raised up to his head, fingertips gently grazed over the scar which was ever throbbing on his temple just under the rim of his glasses. He kept his hair just long enough to cover the strange wound, but it was times like this where it made its presence known to him. His vision became blurry and red, and a strange lust for a sweet and tangy taste rose in his chest, through his throat and tingled on the edge of his tongue…
But then as soon as the feeling came it was gone again and Kirihito straightened himself up. Hands ran the creases out of his fine looking white suit and he lifted his head making a very elegant recovery, though there was no one there to see it. He placed the placated spider back into his sport coat as gentle as if he were holding a robin’s egg. Fingers traced the seams of the coat as hands ran into the silk lined pockets of the suit jacket he wore. It did appear that he had a new neighbor.
Light steps took him down the hallway, a polite nod and a smile to the one he knew as Donovan as they passed in the corridor before attentions were curiously turned to the now open door. The squawking seemed to have ceased for the moment, and so Kirihito approached slowly. There was a light rapping of knuckles on wood as the lean frame of the Kiryuudo man appeared in the doorway. Eyes like two intricately carved stones peered from behind a pair of … odd… glasses framed by feathery dark brown hair as the olive skinned professor tilted his head at the sight before him.
She was small, thin, with metal on her teeth and from what he could observe quite some skills in mathematics. “Hello.” His voice was light and soothingly pleasant as was the inviting smile that had spread over his face as he clasped his hands behind his back. “I do not believe that we have met.” He continued, “If I may present myself formally, I am Kirihito Arachne, and I have just been hired to work at this institution.” Granite colored eyes shifted to the small bird in the cage and fixed on it.
“My what a beautiful animal.” His words were like honey and carefully practiced, for they betrayed nothing. Inwardly he wished his eyes could wither the revolting creature, dry it up and cause it to keel over shriveled and lifeless, but that wish was in vain for the bird simply continued cleaning itself with its beak as if in spite of the smiling man gazing upon it.
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Post by Dr. Alyce Graff on Jan 31, 2005 23:17:15 GMT -5
The bird was a Psittacus erithacus. In otherwords, an African Grey. The birds were, as the name suggested, grey with a bright and short orange tail. No doubt Kirihito would be thrilled to know that it was of the most talkative parrots. The cage had only been a traveling container and now the medium sized bird was sitting upon a stand made of gnarled grapevines. Skin and feather coverings quietly sifted to the floor beneath the stand as the bird preened. The squawking and flapping within the cage had unsettled it’s feathers. It would not have begun preening at all were Dr. Graff not present. An uncomfortable bird was an unhappy bird and an unhappy bird did not often preen. Dr. Graff had begun her litany again, pushing books this way and that and sliding more between them. There was no apparent rhyme nor reason within the placing of the books, titles nor authors were matched in letter. “Hm...perhaps I better place that one within the classroom...” She tossed it upon the desk behind her, causing the grey to shift and ruffle it’s feathers as it looked indignantly toward her.
Tilting her head forward, she looked to the bird as if she were looking over the rims of glasses where there were none. “Felicity, I....” The bird squawked, lifting it’s wings and dragging it’s body upward to land upon Dr. Graff’s shoulder at the sudden intrusion of the stranger. “Oh!” She turned again, this time barely keeping herself from repeating the stumble and fall. She smiled immediately. She was not one to notice things within a person, namely kindness, evil, good, and many other aspects, but she did notice the kind and soothing tone of Kirihito’s voice. “Hello!” She strode forward, Felicity taking a moment to settle herself upon the moving woman’s shoulder. “Are you in an office down the hall?” She pointed, ever one needing visual confirmation. Shaking her head, she dropped the pointing hand. “I’m sorry, introductions first, where your office is comes later.” As if she needed to explain it to herself. “Dr. Alyce Graff...” She blushed after she had said it. “Call me Alyce though.” A small though not exactly frail hand reached outward to be offered up to him. “Dean of Mathematics and Physics!” With this announcement she smiled.
It was in those moments when she was expressing her love for math, even if not in words exactly, that she came closer to being beautiful. Her brown eyes and brown hair were never particularly beautiful; she was merely plain. Felicity watched the man, her head tilting and cocking this way and that as if she were in need of attention from him. Alyce though, did not notice the weight upon her shoulder. “I’ve been newly hired as well and I am very excited!” It showed plainly upon her pale skin. “Have you...have you met Dr. Carter?” She’d not met the man personally yet to thank him, though the question was quite irrelevant and so she moved on. “That doesn’t matter.” She paused and smiled, showing the clear and metallic braces plainly. “What are you teaching?”
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Kirihito Arachne
Newbie
Diplomacy is the art of talking sweetly to one's enemy while looking for one's knife.
Posts: 24
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Post by Kirihito Arachne on Jan 31, 2005 23:41:40 GMT -5
The urge to twitch was creeping up and down his spine, the muscles in his hands, his face, his arms begging to recoil in horror from the grey monstrosity before him on the little woman’s shoulder. But Kirihito was one who was, if nothing else, controlled. Everything was controlled. His muscles did not react, his expression did not waver, not even a hair. Though all the while the throbbing in the side of his head continued pounding on his mind like a spoon on a bell.
He could almost feel the bird upon his own shoulder, invisible fingers digging into the naturally tanned flesh of the Ela native as the animal situated itself upon her and wriggled back and forth. He would not even deem such a disgusting creation worthy of eating, and therefore he held to a strictly vegetarian diet. He would not dare touch one of those nasty little beasts let alone consume one and spread the poison in his own flesh.
“It is my pleasure, Dr. Graff.” He gave the hand she offered a soft grasp and gave a second small bow, as was custom among the Yuudo people when showing great respect for someone. “Mathematics is a very admirable field. In all sober truth I have found that there is nothing so close to perfection as a complex equation or fractal in perfect balance.” He admitted with a cheerful tone. “It almost shames me to truthfully answer you, for I am merely a professor of Political Science, however the good Dr. Carter has told me that I may offer private lessons in the art of ballroom dancing if I am so inclined.”<br> She was not an outstanding woman in any way, he thought as he looked her over with eyes made of stone, gray irises flicking this way and that to avoid the ominous gaze of the bird. Yet she seemed to hold a deeper and more intellectual understanding of the world, of such things as numbers were of great importance in the world of art- though none he spoke to really seemed to understand this concept well enough to engage him in deep conversation about it.
“Indeed, my office is located two doors down from here, and as for Dr. Carter I am afraid I have not met him either, though I have in fact read one of his dissertations on the desert tribes of the eastern nations. Fascinating work. I believe he is away on a dig somewhere. I expect he plans to be back before the new semester starts.” He nodded to put some extra reassurance to a fairly confident statement.
“Perhaps if you are not so busy later in your day you might grace me with your presence for a luncheon meeting. I have already enlisted the company of Donovan, the doorman. It would honor me greatly to share a meal with a fellow scholar and co worker, as it were.” The smile was impeccable even as his hand twitched involuntarily inside his sleeve wishing with a desperate pang to curl into a fist as long as he was in the presence of that bird…<br>
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Post by Dr. Alyce Graff on Feb 1, 2005 0:40:09 GMT -5
Alyce watched him speak, the smile failing as if she could not listen and keep up the positive facial features as well. Not that she wasn’t capable of it, of course. It was merely the fact that she had never thought of herself as someone to look at, never watched herself smile in the mirror since before she had discovered math. And so, she did not construct her face as others did. She did not plan the feelings that she would show. When she listened, she showed such. When she was happy, she smiled, when she was excited, her face showed it dutifully.
She blushed at his expression of the perfection of her field and it’s components, though it was obvious that he had piqued her interest. She shook her head at his reluctant admittance of his teaching subject. “Political Science!” She shook her head, a quite serious look upon her face. “Though I do not have much background in the subject, I have found that it has as many complexities as mathematics!” Stepping back, she bent forward to push a box from the main thoroughfare of the room, though as it opened, her brows perked, interested within the graphs and posters and books that had been packed within it.
After a moment, she continued speaking, though it had almost looked as if she’d forgotten his presence. “Though the complexities are different, it is still an interesting subject!” She took the visuals one by one from the box as she continued. Felicity shifted and flapped as Alyce bent forward, moving her stance upon a shoulder blade. The bird though, always kept her eyes upon the new feature within the room. All the others being unpacked, the bird was quite familiar with. As he asked about lunch, suddenly the bird found her voice. “Lunch!” Her eyes widened as she said it, head turning from Kirihito to Alyce as if she knew just what the man were speaking of.
Alyce lifted her head at the reiteration of Kirihito’s purpose. “Oh of course!” As if she found that she had been rude beginning to unpack again, she stood suddenly, dislodging the bird and forcing her to fly and land on her perch. “That would be lovely as I think...I’ve forgotten to eat breakfast in my excitement!” It often happened. She stood before him and smiled again. “I have not had a chance to read any of Dr. Carter’s work! Perhaps you could share that particular dissertation with me?” Her eyes brightened. “And perhaps anything you’ve written? I would love to read them!”<br> As if she had only just noticed his secondary subject, Alyce blinked. “Ballroom dancing?” She nodded, impressed. She blushed at thinking of her own terrible attempts at moving in such a graceful form. “Political Science and Grace itself!” She nodded and laughed, a very unforced sound that caused her hand to lift to cover her mouth. “Very impressive!”
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Kirihito Arachne
Newbie
Diplomacy is the art of talking sweetly to one's enemy while looking for one's knife.
Posts: 24
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Post by Kirihito Arachne on Feb 1, 2005 16:14:00 GMT -5
Another light chuckle as the young man straightened himself once more, hands again clasping behind his back in true elegant respect. “I am afraid I have not written anything. All honesty laid to bare, Dr. Graff, I am not a professor at all. Merely a historian. I would have much preferred to teach something of Philosophy or Antiquity of history, but I am afraid ass far as the anthropological aspect goes Dr. Carter seems to have the ground covered and Philosophy is not offered at this Academy.”<br> Pleased to see that she would accept his offer for lunch a smile broadened over the strange and almost exotic features that all Yuudo seemed to share in common with one another. “It has been a long time since I have shared a meal with company of such stature, Dr. Graff. I am very pleased to gain your company for lunch. Please allow me a few moments in my office, perhaps you would be so kind as to meet me there?” He asked and waited for a nod from the woman before proceeding to his own academic haven.
Features darkened once inside the doorway of his own office, the scowl hardening as he reflected on the bird. Reaching into his coat pocket the spider was brought forth once more, letting the eight legged carnivore roam over the soft dark skin of his hand he ran a finger along the fine hairs on the red stained cape it bore as its mark.
“Foolish people, aren’t they? But do not fear, beautiful one, I have already found you a meal…”
Footsteps in the hallway made his eyes snap open and immediately the spider was cradled gently to him and slipped back within the darkness of the inner coat pocket. There would be more coming, he knew, boxes of them, but this lone one was his only companion right now. And the Mathematician would soon arrive. It would be unwise to reveal such a secret to anyone here… not with Ahote so close.
A sigh and a glance was given to the boxes of books and things yet to be unpacked as the rapping on the door told him someone had arrived for him. The oaken structure creaked open and Kirihito met Donovan with a genuinely cheerful smile and a welcoming gesture. “Would you be so kind as to wait with me? I am also expecting Dr. Graff would like to come along with us for lunch.” He spoke merrily, enthused at the rich and diverse company to dine with.
Meals were so underrated these days. They had once long ago been times to sit together for hours and rehash ideas, tell stories, and discuss the finer things of the world. Envious of the Greeks and their lackadaisical take on life, love, and dining Kirihito had modeled his own tribe after their eating habits. It had been long since he had the company he felt he could meet on an intellectual level for lunch.
“It would seem Aristotle and Philo will have to wait until after we come back.” He mused to Donovan, running his hand over the worn edges of the books still housed in their wooden crates. “No harm in it, and I would gladly sacrifice the time to such wonderful camaraderie.” Donovan simply smiled. Kirihito smiled in return. Oh yes, a plan was already starting to form in his mind…
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Post by Kahlan Lothair on Feb 3, 2005 19:24:36 GMT -5
The idea of teaching was amusing to Kahlan. The amusement would not extend to her students she rationed as she stands out front of the establishment that had been erected before most present had been a thought in their mother's minds. Kahlan wasnt overly excited about teaching, but she had promised Daniel that she would take over a semester. Promises were promises now werent they?
It would be quite logical to question Kahlan's reasons for teaching, but who wanted to question the High Queen? The tall blonde mused that it would be hard to keep the students' attention on the material and not her. Queen's werent supposed to teach after all right? Especially a class in Military History and Tactics, but the again who better to teach than a woman whom had been at the front of historical battles? She could see Daniel's reasoning behind his actions.
Tangling her fingers in stray wisps of hair, Kahlan pushes them back into place. Tucking them into the uniform braid that runs down her back. The High Queen appeared changed in some fundamental yet unreadable way. Today her outfit was a simple pair of black breeches with tall black military issue boots and a white shirt tucked into the breeches. Over her shoulders rests an old dark grey leather cloak that looks relatively heavy and is scarred in a myriad of different places from heaven only knew what.
Unlike most of the professors that worked here at the Academy, Kahlan had no use of an office here though at Daniel's behest she would keep a small one for the sake of the students. Checking the leather satchel held against her body by the cloak, Kahlan begins the walk to her office.
The doorman looks up from whatever he had been doing and his jaw drops as Kahlan slowly takes to the steps leading up to the door. "My..my...my Queen!" Donovan stuttered and looked genuinely unable to comprehend what she might be doing here. Kahlan smiles and dips her head toward the man, "Donovan...My name is Donovan Madam." He says before Kahlan can say anything. Raising a hand with the finger extended, as if to make a point, Kahlan exhales and drops her hand and laughs at the fidgeting Donovan. "Pleased to meet you Donovan. Could you possibly direct me to my office?"
Donovan looked taken aback. The High Queen here? Teaching?! "Surely My Queen, What is it that you are going to teach?" Now it was Kahlan's turn to be amused and she situated her satchel and shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Military History and Tactics. Daniel, excuse me, Dr. Carter insisted that I have an office on campus." Donovan could see why, the High Queen was every inch that legend and legacy claimed her to be. He wondered if the students would be able to concentrate with such a prestegious head of state standing before them. Then he remembers that even if they ask her to tell stories, they will be learning the subject. Queen Kahlan had been through several historical battles. "Military History and Tactics is it My Queen? Right this way!"
Kahlan was left to her musings and inner thoughts as Donovan led her to her Office. When he pointed to the door, he bowed once more and made as graceful an exit as he could muster. Kahlan tries her hardest not to laugh and tries the knob on the door. It opened easily and she slid inside. It was a tiny office, but that would soon be filled from wall to wall with books and other pertinent information for the semester from her own personal library. It wasnt very often that anyone got the chance to see the Queen's library, and this semester's students would be privvy to the information pertinent to the class. A rare treat indeed when the last person to have been able to freely wander the many shelves of books had been Daniel Carter. Before Daniel it had been at least a good half century since she'd trusted anyone except Ashina into her study and library.
"Ah, I would say that this semester shall be very...enlightening." Kahlan says as she slips her cloak from her shoulders and places it on a hook nailed into the back of the heavy wooden door. Leaving the door ajar, Kahlan lifts the satchel over her head and sets it on the barren desktop before lowering herself into the chair, a single light glows in the corner as she simply soaks up the atmosphere, intending to wait for the few boxes of books she ordered to be brought here.
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Post by Charlie Dudox on Feb 7, 2005 17:12:16 GMT -5
She expected it to be strange to be back at school after taking a break. She had not enrolled in classes for almost a year now, her research was not moving forward at any measurable speed and most of those whom she had been friends with had moved on with their careers. Had she been on top of her studies, she would have registered for classes weeks ago, but her incident in the desert made her uncertain she would wish to come back to Ulster Academy. There were other academies, though none close by, where she would be burdened by the memories of a trist with a top professor. If Daniel wished her not to continue at Ulster, she would seriously consider any possible alternatives, but as things lay, she liked it here and it seemed silly to leave unless there was good cause. There were no other programs in anthropology or archeology that could rival Ulster's.
Entering the halls of the University, Charlie dressed as a student once more. Her clothes for climbing in ditches and traveling the world were traded for those of a modest young woman. Her a-line skirt was a pale purple that brushed against her legs just above her ankles, it had been a gift from her mother and was embroidered and beaded around the hem in the traditional fashion of the Tunti. Her blouse was a plain white wrap around that tugged tightly around her narrow waist and seemed to accentuate her slightly buxom hour-glass figure. Her black hair, as always, was down. The only thing from the outfit that was missing was the silver and turquoise earings that she wore almost every day. The trip back to Ulster was usually a safe one and the robbers who surrounded her carriage had been quite a shock. The underbelly of Ulster and all of Ayenee was a bit schitzophrenic since the passing of Theoren. She had been able to convince the men out of taking the matching necklace which was an actual artifact but it had been a wake up call about the dangers of wearing anything quite so irreplacable. Despite all the clothes she wore, these little absent items did leave her feeling a bit naked.
Entering the halls of the Academy, Charlie had a singular goal in mind: to find herself a full load of classes to take her through the semester. She hoped not to need to resort to basket weaving to fill her time, but she had no illusions that she would need to take classes outside her particular realm of studies. She hovered by the posted list of available classes. What shocked her more than anything was the number of professors that she did not recognize. What sort of name was Kirihito Arachne. He was foreign no doubt. That might make for an interesting class. It was almost equally shocking to see which names she did recognize. The queen herself was teaching at the academy? That would certainly be a class without empty seats. She had never gotten to thank Kahlan for saving her life so very long ago. With this in mind, she wandered down the hallway of professor's offices searching out the high queen herself.
(Ugh, sorry I'm still kinda sucking)
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Post by Kahlan Lothair on Feb 7, 2005 21:35:42 GMT -5
The boxes of artifacts, weaponry, and books were in. It had taken the better part of two days to get everything where it was needed and now, as Kahlan unpacks some of her belongings, she pauses to reminisce over some familiar items. A wane smile finds its way to the High Queen's lips as she caresses the wire bound hilt of an exquisitely made short sword. Her class required that the students understand some basic knowledge about weaponry because it was a class on Tactics just as much as it was a Historical course.
Setting the dagger aside, the door to her small cozy office is wide open and as inviting as can be expected. Most feared the tall young woman that was their leader, many not without reason. Today though Kahlan appears to be in good spirits. Her outfit is a simple deep green dress that hugs hour glass frame before cascading from her hips to the floor. Long loosely curled fiery blonde hair is left to fend for itself, looking more like wheat running rampant over verdant green fields.
The fragility of Kahlan's appearance serves the woman well. The few that were privaledged enough to know Kahlan as a woman knew that she was far from fragile. The gentle nature of the dove often hid the calculating of the wolf. Fifty-seven years of peace had been all accounted for and credited to Kahlan. Yet to her that seemed eons ago, and what was time to an ageless creature?
Smoothing the fabric over her hips, Kahlan finishes placing books on shelving that had been quickly but efficiently erected for her. The semester would be interesting indeed and she expected a full class the first day. As she places a few different blades on racks above and to the side of the shelving, Kahlan muses as to whether the students will be afraid of her or in awe of her. Possibly both. In many ways it amused Kahlan that someone could be afraid or in awe of her.
Reaching back to secure the mass of curls falling over her shoulders, Kahlan ties it back with a leather thong at the nape of her neck. She wasnt exactly expecting visitors, but then again she was always prepared for just such an event.
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Post by Charlie Dudox on Feb 7, 2005 22:38:50 GMT -5
She rapped softly on the frame of the open door. Charlie respected Kahlan but she was not the sort of woman who often felt awe towards other people. It was hard to intimidate her no matter how much power or presence a person might have. It annoyed more than one of the professors here and had a habit of catching her "betters" off guard as she treated them all as distinguished collegues but not much more. In this fashion she gave a nod of her head in recognition of Kahlan's high standing but stopped short of a bow. She had never bowed to anyone and was certain that she would end up looking ackward and clumbsy.
"Good Afternoon Queen Kahlan, am I interrupting you?" She peered into the office at the wide array of armory. She knew little about weapons, though she was crafty with a few here and there. The axes and long swords she found to be especially intriguing. What situations would lead one to use such a large and seemingly unwieldy weapon? She wondered it Kahlan would be interested in one day seeing her demonstrate her own personal weapon of choice, a blow gun that shot darts with impressive accuracy. That would have to be saved for another time though. "I doubt you would remember me. My name is Charlie Dudox. You rescued Daniel and I from the cave in at the Invernis dig. I never got to thank you properly for what you did." She was polite but not overly formal, giving Kahlan her preferred nick name to her real name. She had learned over time that there was little point of introducing herself as Charlotte if she never wanted to be called that.
With that she offered Kahlan her hand in friendship. It was uncertain how often the queen shook hands instead of having hers kissed but nothing else would come naturally to the young woman. There was something easy and sincere about the way she acted. It either put others at ease or they did not know how to respond. Still the warm smile on her face showed that she meant no harm nor disrespect. "It is good to have a new professor here at the Academy as well, I am certain that your class will be quite the talk on campus." Kahlan could sit in a seat and say nothing all semester that her presence on campus would be the biggest news of the semester, but Charlie did not add that obvious little fact.
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Post by Kahlan Lothair on Feb 8, 2005 9:11:15 GMT -5
At the sound of a knock on her office door Kahlan turns around. The next event was probably one that Charlie would never have imagined could come from someone like Kahlan. She smiled, a gentle and heartwarming smile. In fact she didnt seemed bothered either way by Charlie's show of respect.
"Charlie Dudox...why yes I do remember you Ms. Dudox." Kahlan grips the woman's hand firmly and shakes it as if they had been companions for a great many years. "Your life is thanks enough for me Ms. Dudox. I am simply glad to see you alive and well." Kahlan noticed the sidelong glances that Charlie gave to her surroundings. Most of the armor and weaponry was in some manner an artifact and all easily weilded.
"Thank you for welcoming me Charlie. As you have probably noticed, my class will be somewhat different from the rest. I am the Professor for Military History and Tactics. If you are here to sign up for classes you are more than welcome to sign up for mine." Smiling again, Kahlan pushes a stray whisp of her loosely curled silken hair out of her line of sight. Her very demenor toward Charlie was friendly, as if she were not the leader of the large nation of Ulster. In so many ways Kahlan's easy going attitude could be infectious and that was why so many wanted to be around her. More than once she had to remind them that she was just a simple woman born into a not so simple duty.
The green dress that Kahlan wears boasts a modest neckline, and as usual the emblem of Ulster rests at the end of a silver chain. Other than that, and most astonishingly to many that came to know her, Kahlan wore no other jewelry. Jewels were reserved for special occassions, and she very rarely wore anything more than a crown and a necklace. When she had been married Kahlan also wore a ring, but now as all of Ulster knew, their High Queen was unmarried.
"I am looking forward to an interesting if not exciting semester. I also have no doubt that my class will be full simply because of who I am." Looking into Charlie's eyes, Kahlan's own have an impish sparkle to them. So much like Theoren and yet so different. "The students are in for a surprise when it comes to me. But I keep you from registering Ms. Dudox so please go register! My office doors are always open if you would like to come chat. If you decide to take my class all the better. If they tell you that my class is full when you register, let them know I said it was alright for you to join."
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Post by Charlie Dudox on Feb 8, 2005 17:42:42 GMT -5
Charlie had a strong handshake and easily matched Kahlan's grip. The last time they had "met" Charlie had not gotten an impression of Kahlan one way or the other. By the time she had been well enough, Kahlan had been ill and Charlie far to wrapped up in her own affairs. Now on this second meeting she found herself liking Kahlan and respecting her. The fact that the whole kingdom adored her was little to sway her opinion one way or the other. She was a woman who liked to decide her own opinions without peer pressure.
"Military History and Tactics might be a bit beyond my usual range of studies. The most recent wars I have read up all occured several hundreds of years ago. From the look of it, weaponry has not changed much. Though the Madri peoples were known to use some rather cruel weapons including a bow and arrow where the arrow was said to shatter within the organs of ones victim. They would actually carve images of the bodies on the arrow heads believing that the shards of the arrow head would seek out the matching parts of the body. The magic arrowheads have never been found, only the texts referring to them. Archeologists had made several hypothesis about the types of stone they might of use but all we really know is that their enemies were terrified of such things." She was babbeling and broke into a wide, slightly apologetic grin.
"Anyway, you must be busy preparing for classes and running a country as your extra-cirricular activity. I will definitely look into your class. I need to find an opportunity for a few of Dr. Carter's lectures to graduate one day, but it is difficult to take classes from a man who is never here." She shrugged her shoulders, seeming to mean this as a statement more than a criticism. She had been present for some of Daniel's little adventures, and if she were him, she would choose those over a stuffy classroom as well. "Before I go, what do you know of any of the other new professors? Have you met any of them? I suppose while I am broadening my horizons perhaps I should look into the others as well."
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Post by Kahlan Lothair on Feb 9, 2005 21:06:43 GMT -5
Charlie's firm grip was heartening as it showed that she was not intimidated. As they shake hands, Kahlan takes the woman in without appearing as if she were staring. Charlie looked strong, not just physically but mentally also to say nothing of her strong will. Charlie was obviously not a woman to be told what to do, all the better in Kahlan's eyes.
Kahlan soon finds herself enthralled by Charlie's interesting tale of the Madri. "Is that so?" Her words are spoken as if she were chewing on them, extracting the data and storing it for future reference. Suddenly realizing that she must seem like an ungrateful recipient of the knowledge, for she said nothing when Charlie apologized, Kahlan smiles. "I apologize Charlie. You'll find that I am a quick learner and a willing listener when it comes to interesting facts such as those. You will have to tell me more of the Madri when you find the time. I am most interested in their weaponry and the people behind them."
Kahlan could, whenever she pleased (or so it seemed), look like an expectant child when it came to the field of knowledge. She has a voracious appetite for knowledge and a mind like a sponge, or so teachers of old used to say. So the look in her eyes is one that seems to register, physically, the fact that Charlie may just be someone she can learn from. Making her an invaluable asset to Kahlan. Most invaluable indeed.
"Im sorry to say that I have yet to meet the new professors and honestly do not know what they might be teaching. Daniel asked me to teach for a semester until he can find someone to take this position. So in reality I will only be here for a semester, unless he cannot find someone to fill in after me." Pushing some hair from her eyes once again, Kahlan smiles lightly. "I look forward to the semester nonetheless. Please, dont be a stranger. I intend to learn more of these Madri people from you. Yet I digress, you really should go sign up for classes. It has been wonderful speaking with you Charlie and I look forward to seeing you again real soon."
Tipping her head in deference to Charlie, Kahlan shows respect to the woman in possibly one of the highest degrees she as High Queen could. It was an open acknowledgement that Kahlan saw Charlie as an equal and that she considered her a fine individual.
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Post by Charlie Dudox on Feb 16, 2005 20:28:05 GMT -5
Charlie smiled broadly. She approved of the Queen in a way that she did not expect that she would. All her life she had been in tribes with Head women. She had been around enough to know that even the leader of a meer fourty tribe members could act as though they were the very image of a goddess and ought to be treated as such. Charlie liked those who knew themselves to be humans and led their people simply because that was their job and duty. That was the sort of head woman she would have been in another life time. She nodded her head that she ought to be going and gave another sweet smile.
"Thank you Kahlan. It really has been a pleasure to meet you. I am sure that we will be seeing much more of each other soon. I look forward to it." With that she slipped out into the hallway and made her way to the bullitain board that held the list of open classes. Daniel's class was still open, as was another archeology course that she had desperately needed but nothing else was available to help her graduate. She carefully squeezed her name on to Kahlan's roster and in a moment of pure spontenaity, she scrawled her name on to the only other open class that interested her, a Political Science class by a professor she did not know, Kirihito Arachne. If he turned out to be sub-par it would be easy enough to drop the whole thing. All she knew about political sciences had taken place deep in the jungle or long in the past. Perhaps it would be beneficial to gain a "civilized" prospective.
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