Study Corner!

[will_be_god]

Who: Cyrus and YOU!

What: Study!

Where: what passes for a library

When: Mid-June


Cyrus's efforts to salvage the library from the old school hadn't been completely in vain. Some books had somehow appeared in their new location, and that had been a small comfort to him. Their knowledge could continue.

But preservation of knowledge was nothing without education, and Cyrus knew just how to draw attention to it.

His reputation was one of strictness, of rigidity, of being unbending no matter the circumstance. So he would draw on the theory that self-direction led to greater advancement. It was a foolish theory to apply en masse, that much he knew for sure, but if it could change what others thought of him and thus permit him to influence them to his side, he would bear it for the time being.

So he advertised the event in advance and set up tables with writing implements and paper, and waited for people to arrive.

Comments

[will_be_god]

He sat amongst them and opened the book. It was a bit simplified for his tastes but served as a useful beginner guide. "First off, I will quiz you to determine your present knowledge."

He proceeded to ask questions of varying difficulty, picked throughout the book.

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

And she answered each of them in turn with accuracy. Rosalina has been watching the stars since she was a child, and her present nigh immortality has given her all the time in the world to study and learn.

[will_be_god]

As he had asked, his pace had slowed, and upon reaching the end, he snapped the book shut. "You wished for me to teach your subjects. Yet you answered in their stead. If this continues, I must ask you to leave."

Sorry, I thought he was quizzing her directly!

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

The lumas giggled happily, bouncing about. "Mama's in trouble!" they joked until Rosalina made a quick gesture with her hand, signalling her children to quiet their giggles. "My apologies," she told him. "Please continue."

He be vague like that

[will_be_god]

Cyrus waited for them to be quiet, then asked them successive questions. Occasionally he would glance at Rosalina, sometimes longer than others, but his even tone never wavered, his cadence never slowing.

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

Rosalina was quiet throughout the exercise, as the Lumas tried to squeak out answers. Most of the time they glanced to Rosalina, hoping she might help them out. She simply smiled patiently.

[will_be_god]

"Very well." Cyrus eventually closed the book, setting it on the table. "Your knowledge is perhaps greater than I believed, yet a true being of the cosmos must be able to answer all of these correctly. That is what I will teach you."

Almost as an afterthought, he again looked at Rosalina. "I assume you will want to join, either them or me."

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

"I think I will observe," Rosalina told him. "Far be it for me to interfere with your lessons, after all."

[will_be_god]

"Very well."

He drew out another book and began reading from it, without notes but remembering what questions he asked, waiting for the Lumas to write their answers down.

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

And Rosalina simply continued to observe. She gave a small smile as she watched the Lumas try to answer their questions, putting pencil to paper in study. It was a hard impulse for a nurturing figure to fight, to want to help them, but like any parent she had to let them succeed or fail on their own at times.

[will_be_god]

After, he gathered their papers and looked through them. "...remarkable. Their answers are nearly identical. There is almost no deviation." He looked up at Rosalina. "They have paid attention in your teachings."

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

"And yours as well," Rosalina commented. "You are a fine teacher."

[will_be_god]

"I speak only the truth and expect only truth in reply. There are those things grander than either of us, and the quest to comprehend them is in our nature." It was almost flippant, if not for his solid tone.

"Though we must understand ourselves if we are to understand anything else. To recognize the true nature of sentient beings, that is a harsh reality that many are not prepared for." As he spoke, Cyrus turned to stare out the window. "This world and the last...they are no different in that regard."

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

"Perhaps, but for now, I will settle for what you can teach my children," Rosalina replied. "The harsh realities of existence can wait for another day," she added with a small smile, almost teasing.

[will_be_god]

"In time they will know," he cautioned. "Will you be prepared?"

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

"I already am," she pointed out. "I would not be a very good mother if I were not." There was a sadness buried underneath that statement, one that she did not acknowledge openly.