Through the seeing glass, part two

A/N NOTICE:

Greetings readers! Is anyone actually caught up to the current chapter? If so then please leave a comment! if there are some of you that are current then I'll release some more chapters with frequency.

Chapter twenty-eight

"So I've been thinking that all you children should probably have some shared activity together." Grandma announced to all of us gathered here.

Everyone but me roared up out of the collective silence we had just been sitting in with some form of emotion. Kagu and the twins seemed to be pretty amped, throwing their fists up in the air. I could visibly see Kaxis' face crinkling in a cringing fit and the girls looked between themselves and I with smiles, though I'm not sure why. Gives me the creeps honestly. One of them is already a bit much for me to handle but if they all look at me like that… I shiver to think of the possibilities. Though I guess I am being a bit unfair to Kalinna since she's been the most docile out of all these kids.

Come to think of it, Karak has been as well. The most he does is come around for some casual conversation. I guess. With how the others are around me I could easily see a timeline where he is always reeling them back in. Anyways I'm getting off track here.

"I wondered what would be appropriate since I've never had children from the outside under my care before, so I consulted with your previous caretakers."

From the corner of my vision the Brolic man from the first time, I met everyone and the Smaller plat blonde woman with the blindfold and bandages that was with him before stepped up to the sides of the desk. They both looked far better than I remember back then. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they too are wearing Grandma's signature attire in some manner. Mr. Bear looked like his muscles were about to rip the shirt to shreds. Fortunately, he still had his (Traditional?) Pants from when I first saw him. The woman also just seemed to wear the white blouse top only as she too had her own leg and footwear. Twas some knee-high brown leather boots and some brown leather pants.

It reminded me a lot of these people in my assimilated memories called 'elves '. The woodland kind.

"We thought that it would be a great idea if we had structured lessons for learning!"

Honestly, that doesn't sound like a terrible idea. I can learn without feeling like a dunce in that environment.

Kalinna raised her hand up.

"Yes, Kalinna?"

"What will we be learning?"

Grandma tapped her chin for a moment before giving her answer.

"Well, you children will be learning how to speak my language and other things like mana theory and the like. My cute little Su'll teach you. I hope you all will be kind in your lessons!"

What?

Me?

Teach?

I don't know about that. It took me years to learn just one language, so how does she expect me to teach something I just learned myself to others? I feel like she is once again forgetting that I'm still technically only six years old. Of course, I'm omitting the whole other person in my brain thing but whatever. The point is I'm really against teaching them.

"Grandma, I appreciate that you have such high faith in my capabilities, but I don't think it'd be best for me to teach them."

Just think about it, Grandma! I'm really not well suited for this! I'm awkward and I don't have the best speaking skills!

"Hmm… is there a particular reason?"

"Yes. I um… well I'm just now getting to native level and It's already really difficult for us to communicate."

Suddenly a devious smile formed on Grandma's face that I knew all too well. It was the smile she always got when she sniffed out something to poke fun at. Knowing what was coming, I could only hope that she would at least do it in a tactful way as to not let the kids know how I felt. I don't think I've told them about my insecurity and honestly, I don't want them to feel bad or pity me because of it.

"..."

"You're scared that you'll sound goofy like you did when you first met them, right?"

I nodded unsure of where she was going with this questioning. Thankfully, she had asked that in the abyss fairy tongue so the others couldn't pick up on the conversation. Thank you for being tactful Grandma!

"Well, as much as I'd like to make fun I recognize that that may be a bit much for you since You've been around people far older than you for the greater majority of your life."

Now I was really suspicious. Her grin had grown just a little bigger as if she was coming to a point with her words.

"T-Thank you for understanding…"

"Oh don't thank me just yet. I'm going to have this girl here teach you so you can hold a conversation in the way you'd like".

Grandma said as she gestured to the blonde. I think I've heard her name in passing, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember it. I suppose this was a pretty decent outcome. At least I'll be able to get to a decent level of understanding before really engaging with everyone. The smirk she had fell away after a bit of silence. I guess she didn't quite get the reaction she was looking for? Whatever. Grandma returned to the beastkin tongue and once again addressed everyone.

"Your teacher will be arriving in one week, so take this time to prepare or do whatever it is you'd like to do before that time. That's all I have for you."

She waved her hand away, signaling that we were all dismissed. The others wasted no time, getting up from their seats and heading to the first floor of the study. Even the adults who had been standing next to Grandma left, leaving only me as the remaining attendee.

I went off into my room and sat on my bed. I reached underneath my bed and pulled out a thick textbook that explained in abundant detail the foundations for all Beastkin tongues. I've been delving into this frequently over the past month or so since I've been secretly teaching myself, but some parts are still a little difficult since my actual reading comprehension of the Abyss fairy language was poor. Why is that relevant one may ask? Well, it's because the book is written in it.

More often than not I happen to find highland beastkin speak a bit difficult as a language for me mainly because of where the sounds come from. Unlike the abyss Fairy language, the beastkin language was significantly more guttural. So much so in fact that I started to think the reason I was struggling was not because I didn't understand the language, but rather my vocal cords were not well suited to actually making all the necessary sounds to speak fluently. Whatever the case, I'll figure out a way to get it down before the weekend.

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Today was the final day of the week Grandma had given me to practice. The week passed in the blink of an eye. I figured perhaps it was because I had enjoyed the silence that my studying time afforded me. At first, I had enjoyed my time spent with the other kids, but it felt strange. As if I was out of place. Too smart for my own good. Too knowledgeable on things that I could never talk about. It was just… you know.

My speaking capability improved to the point where I don't have to stop for each word so the coming weeks should be bearable. I'm still not really too keen on taking on other people's learning. I can already see the expectant eyes looking at me…

It's something I've been seeing in the scarce few dreams that I've had recently. A me that is not myself standing in the middle of an endless black void with singular eyes staring in the distance. It's the first dream I've had in the month since I was forcefully kicked out of my own head.

That aside though, Isaea and the blonde person… What was her name again? They have been helping me along not only with my studies but also with making some structured lesson plans. We've got a bunch of group exercises. Thing is that they're all focused on me teaching. So in essence it's just me winging it. I wasn't really expecting anything from their input so I'm not pressed about it or anything like that. I figured it only made sense, at least with Grandma being Isaea's master and all. I can't speak for the other girl though. What was her name again?

…

...

Dang it, me! How are you so inconsiderate as to forget her name! You should feel ashamed! Ange would never forget yours!

…

...

Her name is Ange.

Well, at least I don't need to feel too bad anymore. She's so kind and thoughtful even though she doesn't have any eyes. That's why she wears those bandages after all. I asked her about it on one of these past days, making sure to emphasize that she didn't have to speak about it if she didn't want to. She wasn't all too bothered by what happened and told me anyway. The conversation was relatively short as she didn't have too much to say. Apparently, human smugglers had taken them for some reason she didn't seem to want to provide. Naturally, I left it alone so as to not press about it as I felt she was already being really forthcoming about a topic that I'd find difficult to talk about if the roles were reversed. Still, I admired her ability to come to terms with such a devastating loss.

"She really is something," I said.

I looked over to my desk from my bed and picked up the Beast god textbook. I held it up over me, reading its cover title.

"The Tree of Language sprouted from the Beast God."

The words were harsh and awkward-sounding, but I didn't need to stop between each word anymore. I suppose that all I had to do was practice enough with it to the point that my vocal folds became acclimated. Of course, I have no basis for this myself. I'm just relying on these tidbits of knowledge from the assimilated knowledge.

Getting into a more comfortable position on my side, I placed the book on the bed in front of me and turned to the section pertaining particularly to the highland Beast tongue. My eyes lazily danced over the text as I reviewed page after page, away my time. Thoughts of unrelated things were oozing into my conscious stream of thought like freshly erupted lava. Thoughts about my non-existent parents. Thoughts about this world outside the Abyss. Thoughts about what my life means. It was at times like this that I knew I was nervous. My mind was just throwing things at the figurative wall in hopes of distracting my train of thought from what was really on my mind.

Now to be abundantly clear, some of these questions were actually good ones. The kinds I'd like to write about in my lonely journal.

I closed the textbook and traded it for my journal, which was also sitting on my desk.

"It's still basically brand new," I said.

With a swift movement from my hand, let the pages flutter like a flipbook, taking in the scent of unused paper. An uncanny sense of nostalgia crept up along with the scent, giving me a chill that ran the length of my spine.

"There it is again."

I have felt this before. Feelings from the me who is not me. They remind me that I'm not alone in my own body. They remind me that there is this… Strange existence that dwells within me. Of course, It's allowed me to skip the steps that normally come with growing up and for that, I think I am grateful. I say I think because it remains to be seen as to whether or not that truly serves to benefit me. After all, I am still only a six-year-old kid.

Feeling the fatigue of the night wear into me, I placed the book down at my side and closed my eyes, snuggling into my tri-layered blanket for the night.

When next I opened my eyes I was greeted not by the familiar sight of my bedroom, but rather of the walls of a small wooden crib. And along with this crib, the face of a woman smiled down at me as she gazed. The special thing about this was, well, that she had horns. Horns just like I had.