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[Blood of the Beast]

The Academy... what a sight, wasn't it? An enormous structure, constantly filled with the buzz of activity, where one could never remain out of sight from a human or dragon or dire. Nothing like this existed outside the rare city in the desert, and Keiro could certainly attest to his lack of city experience. Being in such a huge, well-constructed place almost baffled him, and every time he found himself within the complex, he found himself stroking the walls in awe, savoring the feel of cold stone. Good stone was a valuable commodity where he had come from, and he had grown up used to canvas and wood, all harvested from far away and used sparingly. He'd been lucky to grow up sharing his tent with only his family, though even that was far from comfortable in a family of six. Furniture had been unheard of... yet when he'd ventured into the Academy, he found wooden tables and chairs and beds made from down instead of straw. Often, he would gaze jealously at well-groomed riders from the nooks he liked to hide in, coveting the luxuries he almost knew they took for granted. When was the last time he had even enjoyed a bed? These pampered humans had probably never known the horrors he had lived through, spending every night sleeping in dank swamps on slick, wet earth, woken regularly by the crowing of a warped Vega and the whimpers of a dreaming Proteus and the throat-scratching tang of Yuurei's gases.

But... would he have to deal with that ever again, now that the war was over? He knew Proteus and Yuurei were not quite welcome among the Sekkaians, but because they hung back, Keiro found a strange new freedom. Now, they didn't care where he went. He could explore freely, while Proteus fawned over the idea of trying to weasel his way into the infirmary and see if any part of him could be fixed. And Yuurei had spoken of a "flower and a bird" who wanted his blood, and dared not step within a certain distance of the Academy. Not even Vega followed him and honestly, this pseudo-freedom was strange. Intoxicating. Something he'd dreamed about since the first night he'd spent caged by the claws of the blood-marked Bone dragon.

Keiro wanted to learn more about the Sekkai beyond the desert. So he'd spent the past few days sneaking around the Academy, stalking through the shadows in his explorations lest someone mistake him for a Tainted rider. Somehow, today, he'd made it into the precious Archives, a place he never even had the mental capacity to dream about. He had never seen a real scroll or a book before, not to mention whole shelves full of them. As he first entered, he scurried to a corner, out of sight, and widened his eyes in awe, hungrily taking in every detail of the new place. The sad frown etched into his face vanished instantly, replaced with the faintest trace of a wistful smile as he rocked back onto his heels, knees clenched under his chin, a small figure in a place of wonder. Just how often did people come here? Would they notice the odd man huddled in the corner, all dark skin and stark white hair and bewildered curiosity?

Nothing of that mattered to Keiro anymore. Mind ravenous, he snatched a book and flipped it to a random page, staring intently at the characters, unaware that he had opened it upside down. Never had he seen paper with such orderly arrangements of ink on it. Squinting intently, he glanced down at the floor and noticed a thin layer of dust. With earth-brown eyes flickering from the floor to the page and back, he focused on a strange character--an upside-down A--and extended a tan finger to trace it faintly in the dust. His finger had been shaking and the figure was far from perfect, and he frowned slightly before inhaling deeply and trying again. Idly he wondered whether or not he could ever hope to find someone to teach him to read and write. Nearly everyone at the Academy seemed literate... right? But who would teach him, a lowly servant snatched from his home, cowering in a corner, looking as much like a true Taint as anything with bloodstains in his hair...

[Discordance]

Such beauty and inspiration he had seen. The Academy was just rife in things that could get his imagination running. The young blonde Candidate had just been wandering the corridors. He had been flitting from one portion of the building to the other like a hummingbird to nectar. He just couldn't keep still, there were too many sights to see. Dragons, his mind was buzzing with them. There were of every shape and size, colour and personality. They all had their own air and their own stance. He had never realized just how wonderful they truly were. Was he falling in love with this place and its inhabitants? Yes, yes he was.

The artist skipped along yet another hallway, looking to passersby somewhat of an idiot. Well, he couldn't very well keep his joy inside now, could he? He grinned as he went by women and men alike, then suddenly, he ended up stumbling. To right himself, he placed one hand on either side of him, his right hand touching wood. He glanced surprised at the change in texture from the opposite wall, then realized he'd stopped close to a door. Chuckling to himself, he opened it and stepped inside.

Books, books, on all sides. He'd came across a library of sorts. He hopped inside and closed the door after him. Such a room he hadn't seen yet. Jadorn looked around, taking a step forward for every completed study of his surroundings. Whoa, it went on for quite a way, didn't it? He paused, noticing something that stuck out from beyond the third set of shelves. Well, no, not something, but someone. They had propped themselves up in a corner of the room, probably away from prying eyes, but Jadorn couldn't help but feel curious. He approached cautiously, his fingers tapping an unnamed tune on the material of his trousers. He came up short soon however, noting that there was something odd about the book the young man was reading. "Um, sir, you do realize your book is upside-down?" he uttered, reaching out a hand toward him.

((OOC: Just couldn't help myself, I had to add Jadorn to this. <3))

[Blood of the Beast]

((Sorry for taking so long... life and such! D: ))

So engrossed was Keiro in his flawed studies of the strange script in front of him that he didn't notice the approach of another young man at all. The Assarian probably wouldn't even have felt the touch of the other as he reached out, but the new voice broke his concentration so violently that he instinctively flinched away from it with a choked-back yelp. He half-expected a distorted visage, as was normal back in the Desolation, but as he raised his head to fix the new man with a curious gaze, he had to remind himself that he was no longer in that foul land. For a moment he stared, taking in the well-kept face before him, before realizing that he had been spoken to. Hopefully his new conversation partner wouln't quite care that he had taken a few bewildered moments to comprehend and respond.

"Uh...thanks?" he stammered before casting his eyes back to his book. Upside-down, really? Well, certainly this well-groomed man would know better than Keiro, so with an embarrassed flush, he flipped his book back over and half-heartedly pretended that everything suddenly made far more sense. Never mind that the script still looked like pure chickenscratch to him. He almost expected to suddenly be able to comprehend everything, but no words formed out of the jumbles of ink lines before him. Somewhat ashamed, he glanced back up at the other man and sighed with resignation. "C-can you tell?" He paused to take a deep breath, reminding himself that he no longer had to worry about being beaten for speaking out of turn. "...That I can't read?" he quickly clarified, noticing that his previous question might have been a bit too vague. In facing a man of such cleanliness and civilized upbringing, Keiro couldn't help but feel inferior, but in a different way than he had this past year. At least he knew how to read Proteus and dodge death at the hands of his crazed master, but he felt like he'd lost his ability to read a person of sound mind. He had been considered particularly intelligent in his tribe, but that was in matters of survival, whether it be in terms of hunting or battle strategy. Poor Keiro no longer knew what to expect in such a different culture, where everyone seemed to know how to read and write and engage in high conversation... could he ever fit in?

[Discordance]

((Don't worry, my post is late too. xD))

Jadorn blinked and pulled back at the unexpected yelp the young man made. He scared him - oops. He hadn't meant to do that... Maybe he'd spoken too loudly? He reached up and placed a hand to the side of his neck as the other looked at him in bewilderment. So... he didn't know he'd been holding it upside-down? Jadorn shifted his weight from one foot to the other, pondering. Was he unable to read? He thought for a moment, considering the question. If this man was... that must be frustrating. Many things relied on a person's ability to read an write.

He gave a small smile at the stranger's stutter of thanks. As he righted the book, Jadorn caught the reddening of his cheeks. He needn't feel embarrassed. If his assumption was correct, then the young man had had no idea. Within a short time, it was proven true as he spoke of his problem aloud. "A little," Jadorn admitted. "But it's not something you can help." He stepped closer and dropped to sit beside him. "It must be difficult," he said. He pulled up his legs and draped his arms over them, his eyes still on the stranger. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm... Jadorn, nice to meet you." Jadorn flashed him another smile.

[Blood of the Beast]

((I'm so sorry Disco!! Somehow I managed to completely miss the fact that you replied! ^^; I'm a derp, so here's a post. XD))

He... he wasn't going to say anything scathing? Keiro honestly was surprised at that. From the little tidbits of conversation he had overheard about the Academy, he had almost expected illiteracy to be some sort of taboo, something that would be instantly looked down upon as a mark of inferiority. Little did he know that the institution held its fair share of illiterate and half-literate residents, some bonded to dragons and some waiting their turn for a chance. Had he known that, perhaps he wouldn't have been so nervous about the fact. But this man seemed kind enough about it, acknowledging that really, Keiro didn't have any control over such a situation. Which was completely true.

He relaxed visibly when the other young man sat beside him, welcoming the companionship. There was even sympathy in the other man's voice, something Keiro should have expected but didn't. And then, though he almost missed it for his dwelling on little emotions, an introduction. "Ah--a pleasure, Jadorn. I'm called Keiro."

An idea then struck Keiro, and he fixed Jadorn with a hopeful look. "I've always wanted to learn how to read, but as you can probably tell, I'm from the desert... Books are scarce, and my tribe definitely had only one or two at most. But... you seem capable. In the little time I have..." he glanced at the nearest window and was relieved to see that the form of a ragged black bird was notably absent, "...could you maybe teach me a little? You don't have to, and I'd understand if you didn't, but..." He blinked and glanced back down at the book longingly.

[Discordance]

((That's fine Bloo ^.^))

Honestly, he was smiling too much today. He wondered whether it was an annoyance to his new companion... Jadorn reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, then smiled again at Keiro. He was glad he'd found someone so nice. This place was so large and, friends seemed hard to come by. But, it might just be him. The young artist was known to often disappear to some beautiful green place to plan out his next masterpiece.

He was a little taken aback at Keiro's mention of the desert. Was that where he was from? He studied him a moment, then nodded, first to himself, then in response to the young man's question. "Er, yes, I'd be more than happy to teach you!" he said, brushing the clump of blonde strands from his dark eyes. "It must be frustrating not being able to do something that you know others can, but-" he grinned "-I can help."

((Sorry for the short post. D:))

[Blood of the Beast]

Keiro fixed his eyes on Jadorn as he seemed to scrutinize his appearance, then ponder his request. It was a bit of a big request, he knew, but he hoped, somehow, he'd be able to fulfill his dream. He hadn't exactly met many inhabitants of the Academy, but of all those he'd seen, Jadorn certainly looked like the most likely candidate to help him. He seemed... perhaps generous, but certainly kinder than the people he had spent most of his life with. Would he agree? A small nod, and then a more confident gesture, and Keiro's eyes lit up. Finally, he'd found someone willing to share knowledge with him! He grinned almost ridiculously, nearly missing the actual words Jadorn spoke.

"Really? Thank you, Jadorn... thank you so much!" Excitedly he flipped back to the first page of the book he'd been holding, eager to learn at least what the content of it was. He'd seen illustrations of what looked like dragons, done in an older and more stylized fashion, but what else could a four-legged, winged reptile be? And he did want to learn more about dragons, so perhaps when his lessons had progressed far enough, he'd come back and do research on his own... if he could get away, that is. But then again... "I don't have charcoal or paper or anything to write with... is that okay? Will we need that?"

[Discordance]

Before he could say: 'you're welcome' Keiro had already begun, flipping through the pages of the book he held back to the first. The eagerness of the fellow candidate almost brought forth a chuckle from Jadorn, but he held it back, not wanting to offend. At Keiro's question, Jadorn tilted up his head in thought. "Hmm, I think it would prove useful if we did but, for now we can make do with going over the words aloud." He rubbed the back of his neck and pondered over whether or not he'd brought his sketchbook. To be honest, he doubted it. Today had been one of those occasions where he was liable to forget things. It'd been one of excitement and now was one of teaching.

"I'll go slow for you, if you pick out some of the words, and don't worry, I'll be patient." His smile returned. He'd never thought he'd be doing something like this, but if it was to help someone in need... Well, that was completely fine! His hand fell back on his lap. "Also, if you ever need my help again," he added gesturing to the book with a dip of his head, "just come find me."