I Lost My Notes, Can I Copy Yours? [Feos]

According to the clock, Terrance was five minutes early but no other students had arrived. Had she entered the wrong room? A slight crease formed on her forehead as she checked her schedule that was scribbled on her hand in blue ink.* I'm not in the wrong room.. she assured herself, glancing at the clock for a second time,* There's still  a bit of time before class starts anyways.* She had purposely arrived early to grab a seat at the back of the room but by the looks of things, she was the only one who remembered to show up. Although she assured herself that she was in the correct room, she still worried that somehow she had gotten confused or turned around which did not sit well with the part of her that liked to be punctual.

Pulling a notebook out of her bag, she flipped it to an empty page before resting her forearms down on the cool table to use them as a headrest.With any luck, the class would end up canceled due to lack of students and she could return to her bed that she so desperately missed. Who in their right mind would want to teach a class this early anyways? She could only assume it was some old, bag of a being who had nothing better to do besides blab about hills and list off unimportant names of rivers they found on a map. Perhaps if they were really old, she would be successful in persuading them to give her a free pass for this specific subject so she wouldn't have to show up and draw doodles in her notebook for over an hour.

In all honesty, she didn't know why she had even decided to show up to this stupid class. Something about Geography, wasn't it? She just needed the credit so she could move on to her next set of classes, but it's hard to pretend to be interested in something you could care less about. Tilting her head to one side, she starred at the door in the hopes of  seeing somebody arrive late- that way she wouldn't be totally alone. After all, he would need somebody to take note for her while she dozed off..

[Feos ]

Yet another day had started. Yet another day without the answer he so desperately craved for, one that would probably join hundreds of others, and be followed by even more. His day had started earlier than 6 o clock in the morning- Those last few decades, the pain and the underlying influence of the curse wouldn't allow him to take a longer rest-or a meaningful, truly refreshing one. That day, like any other day, the first thing the creature had done was to look at his form in the mirror. And how he loathed it, deep down inside! Forced to assume the guise of a human, and even with that, he could still see the black, vein-like marks spreading up his left arm, to his chest. To his heart. He had to find the answer, and perhaps it was in the vast knowledge held in the Academy's library. 

But no free usage.

He had to teach a class. For the last three years, he had managed to find ways to relieve himself of this obligation as much as he could. Planning it early was a good start. Picking a subject the students found boring was another successful move. And keeping his nature hidden probably had helped, or at least some curious ones would come to see a dragon in real life. There weren't many left nowdays after all. 

Punctual as always, he walked into the classroom at exactly the assigned time, when the long hand of the classroom's clock reached the hour mark. A tall man with a handsome yet expressionless face as if carved in stone, with silver, almost platinum hair and light blue eyes, skin pale as snow. He was dressed in colours of blue, with a blue coat reaching down almost to the floor. His appearance had something eccentric about it, but difficult to pinpoint exactly what...like a vibe. 

He was surprised, negatively so, to see a person in the classroom. A girl, red hair, looking quite sleepy. Why was she even there? She had caught him off guard, so he just stared at her, meeting her eyes with his own, silver ones. They were sharp, deep, and the pupils...were they slightly...non-circular? 

Recovering from the surprise, he turned around to face the board, just staring at it for a moment. How he wished the girl could vanish, so he could just leave too and do important stuff. But he was a man who followed his own code of honor, for centuries now, so if there was even one student, he'd have to uphold his end of the bargain and teach. 

"World Geography". He wrote on the board. Then paused. Then wrote "Van", just that, as if to introduce himself. 

He took in a deep breath, thinking. He hadn't prepared something...everything was at his disposal. 

"It is relatively well known in the circles of the supernatural..." he started, and his voice was deep and masculine, with a natural loudness, but because it was a natural high volume, he also managed to sound calm and contemplative while being just a bit loud. "...at least, of the traditional one, not these...odd humans that just happen to be born from time to time, that the world's current maps are in now way accurate. There are vast territories not perceived by the eyes of regular people....some can't be perceived even by irregular, yet mortal eyes, or technology of today. One such case, is the forest of Solantre, which the Fae people under the rule of High King Almorente hid away through weaving their most complex magic rituals, to ward off evil or impure creatures alike. The ritual is said to have taken an entire month, and by the end of it, the forest had hidden inside its own, created plane, and any attempt made by a non-Fae or Faefriend to enter would be met with wards so powerful, they might not even be perceived..." the professor started talking. 

Was he for real? If he was joking, it didn't reflect at all in his dead serious, professional tone. He was even looking at the board as he spoke, but he wasn't writing down something at the moment. He seemed to have a preference for long sentences, which might be a bit difficult to follow, but he supported it with the colour of his voice and his changes in tone.

Terrance had just begun to doze off when Van came striding into the room. At first, she thought he was another student but thought otherwise when he seemed taken aback by her presence. Having been expecting someone elderly, Terrance raised an eyebrow towards him as they exchanged glances. He was definitely not old, nor was he bad to look at either. She wondered what would persuade him to teach a class so early in the day.

After he turned to face the board, he seemed unsure for a moment before writing the name of the class followed by a name that was most likely his. Sitting up from her resting position, Terrance glanced around the room while her professor, Van, jumped head first into his lecture. Had he not realized she was the only student in the room? Better yet, had he realized she was basically sleeping when he first arrived?

Watching her professor, Terr slowly raised her hand into the air. This definitely won first prize for being the most awkward moment she had the misfortune of being apart of. He went on for some time on a single breath, making Terr feel more uncomfortable as she waited for him to pause. He'd have to get winded sooner or later, right?  Eventually she put her hand down, realizing he had only just begun speaking about..whatever he was talking about. She had tuned him out before he had even opened his mouth.

Clearing her throat Terrance shifted in her seat, wishing she hadn't sat at the very back of the class now that it was just the two of them." Excuse me, uhm..professor?" She asked, having to raise her voice so it would carry to the front of the room, interrupting Van before he had a chance to change the topic. " You..do know I'm the only one here, right?" she asked, giving him a confused expression as she glanced at all the empty seats around her. " Don't you think it's..kind of a waste?" She questioned him, knowing he was feeling just as glum as she was for having to show up to something so.. uneventful. Perhaps she could use their mutual dislike for the class to her advantage and weasel her way out. He seemed decent enough and with some luck, he'd be gullible too.

Van had gotten quite a bit into his lecture - more of a narration of his memories really- , talking about how the Fae enchanted the river that flowed through their forest, when he heard the voice calling behind him. He rolled his eyes and sighed, and he wished this wouldn't be some stupid question about how Fae enchant rivers, or something that could either have a simple but lacking response, or a response of such complexity it would take hours and the student wouldn't understand. 

When he turned around, he was asked two questions instead of one. At least, they weren't ones that requires a long reply. "I'm very well aware, thankfully my eyes are sharp enough to tell." he replied in a tone that was at the same time calm and yet with a certain sharpness about it, an obvious displeasure contained in a layer of civility. "Regarding this being a waste or not...it probably is, but the Academy strongly believes students should learn about the world, even if almost every one of you will never actually visit its wonders. Now, if it's a complete waste, it depends on if you have been listening or not. Admittedly it doesn't change much for me, and I'm not in the least bit inclined to force you to learn." he stated in that same tone, crossing his arms at his chest. 

This class would truly be a bother, and he wondered why the girl had even shown up. If she hadn't, both would be doing something much more useful with their time. "As long as there's a student though, the Academy's regulations require me to teach, and that's what I'll do." he said, his tone a bit somber about this fact.

This must have been the most unwilling, most transparent and obvious about his unwllingness to teach, professor to have ever existed!

"...thankfully my eyes are sharp enough to tell." If there was one thing Terrance loved to dish out, it was sarcasm. If there was anything she didn't like being served.. it was also sarcasm. It seemed she had ruffled some feathers according to the displeasure laying just beneath the surface of the professor's cool tone. While her sarcasm radar was going bananas, she liked how composed he was despite being (for lack of better words) flustered by her questions.

He had basically admitted that this class was a waste of time, which briefly brought a smug smile to Terr's lips. So she had been right all along- no surprise there. Usually she didn't feel bad for people, and she didn't feel bad that this guy had decided to preach about something that could put even the most alert person to sleep, but something about his tone made her think twice about the original plan she had concocted. "As long as there's a student though, the Academy's regulations require me to teach, and that's what I'll do." The poor guy almost sounded defeated, as if he had nothing left to do but bend to the will of the academy. While she found that she could relate to a certain level, having to take a useless class over again probably wasn't as bad as having to teach it.

She said nothing at first, studying the man long and hard before letting out a slightly frustrated sigh as she held the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. Of all the times to feel a "connection" with somebody, it had to be now. Stupid emotions.

" Look, She spoke, letting out another sigh as she removed her hand from her face to make eye contact with Van once more, " I've failed this class once before, and as of now, I'm only here because I have to get a passing grade." She pointed out in a firm, matter-of-fact tone. If he thought he was going to treat her like some nitwit, he had another thing coming.   "Unfortunately, you're stuck here because I'm stuck here so instead of treating this like one of your normal classes- if you've ever ..actually had a full class- why don't we switch it up?" It wasn't exactly a grand idea, but since it was just the two of them she figured it wouldn't hurt to change things up a little. Besides, if he started lecturing like he had just a few minutes ago, she was more than positive she would be snoring and drooling on her journal.

The more the man studied this girl, the more he got the impression that she wasn't one to be impressed or held back by authority titles or positions. She was strong willed and stubborn, and also impudent and perhaps not as polite as she should be in front of superiors. On one hand, this annoyed the century old dragon a bit, but on the other hand it also amused him, so he was quite undecided on his overall impression of her. Her scent was not something he could identify, and with such a vast knowledge and wealth of experience, this meant-to him at least- that this person didn't belong to a supernatural race.

Her way of directly confronting him made him raise an eyebrow, and when she asked the question, he couldn't resist allowing his lips curling into a small smile, a smile that in combination with the look in his eyes had something...not so human about it. She wished to bargain? It would take him some time to recall all the beings that had crossed his path throughout the centuries and had wished to bargain with the ancient golden dragon, some more successful than others. He wondered how she'd go about it...and at the same time, he wondered how different her approach would have been if she was witnessing his true, awe-inspiring form.

"To firstly address what should be your first concern, I'm not very much inclined to make the final exams too challenging. This might result in some....rather undesired situations. Like students needing to take the class again. Failing it." he pointed out, his tone a bit sharp and his eyes straight into hers. Yes, he meant her. "And I'm not very curious about how much you've managed to learn either, but the Academy's rules are such, so there will be a typical final exam. Fortunately, to alleviate myself from the stress of you failing, you will also be given an assignment of some sort. You will turn it in timely, and if you have written something remotely resembling a decent reflection over the matter presented, it will be impossible for you to fail." he stated, and even if he was basically reassuring her that she wouldn't fail, his tone was anything but comforting or friendly. "Now, moving on to what I feel is your actual first concern, which is how this class will go, you probably want to suggest something. Go ahead." he bade her.

"This might result in some....rather undesired situations. Like students needing to take the class again. Failing it." Exactly what was he getting at? She flashed him an indignant expression, crossing her arms across her torso. He didn't have any right to make that kind of remark- especially to her. Asshole.

She couldn't decide if she liked him or if she wanted to ram her pencil down his throat. As of now, it seemed she was leaning towards the latter. "Fortunately, to alleviate myself from the stress of you failing, you will also be given an assignment of some sort" Her eyes narrowed as she watched him. * Ah good, another professor who just wants to cover their own ass..* she grumbled internally, allowing her eyes to roll."...and if you have written something remotely resembling a decent reflection over the matter presented, it will be impossible for you to fail." Her mouth watered with sarcastic remarks she wished to spit at him, but somehow she managed to keep them concealed.

"I'll be sure to include pictures for you." She assured him with a small nod, matching his tone but allowing some of her sarcasm to drip off her words."Now, moving on to what I feel is your actual first concern," Again she smiled, but it wasn't intended to be taken pleasantly. Who was this guy? Maybe he was just a substitute for the real professor who was-hopefully-out sick. Perhaps she shouldn't propose a deal with him, seeing as he would most likely look down at her like he had just done a moment ago. She considered taking her simple bargain back, but she couldn't allow him to the pleasure of belittling her, she


" Oh gee, thanks for allowing me the opportunity of free speech, Professor. I thought I would just die if you hadn't stopped blabbing to answer my question." She sneered, though her tone was still sweet sounding. " First off," She spoke, gathering her journal and  tossing it into a pocket of her bag," I have no desire to listen to you today." she told him  as she tossed her bag onto her shoulder before  gingerly climbing onto her desk."I was taught never to speak with strangers-such as yourself, so I think we should take this time to get...better acquainted. Don't you?" She tilted her head to the side, eyeing Van as she carefully stepped from desk to desk, making her way towards the front of the room. She tossed her bag just ahead of her, watching it land  firmly on the desk in the very front row, not far from where Van stood.

"Second," She paused, now standing on a desk in the second row from the front, resting a hand against her hip briefly, " You can drop the oh-so-superior attitude any time." she advised, stepped forward so she was now standing on a desk in the first row, peering down at Van with mild interest. He could act tough all he wanted, but  Terrance wasn't going to let him look down his nose at her. He wasn't going to run this little show without having to work for it first." I'm not the only one to have failed this class.."she pointed out to him, raising her eyebrows as she lowered herself down so she was sitting cross legged on the surface of the desk, arms resting casually against her knees as she met his eyes with a glint of provocation visible in her own. 

Van admittedly hadn't expected the student replying like that, and he raised an eyebrow. Was this how students behaved during these times and ages? Was this girl a special case of sorts? He should have checked those student files he had been given, but he had deemed it worthless since he didn't plan to interact with them too much. But now, he was finding himself with a handful. 

He watched as she walked over the desks, and his sharp eyes picked up the faint foot step the soles of her shoes were leaving on each desk. It ticked him off a bit, and his sense of order, but then he reminded himself that he didn't care about the classroom, or even the school, so he fought back this slight annoyance, and kept staring at the bold, odd, daring student. 

Oh how he wished to see how she'd react if he was in his true form, huge enough so that she was just a bite for him, with an immense presence and impossible size! But those were just pointless daydreaming thoughts, because it wasn't worth to experience that, and the girl kept approaching him. Would she come and stand on his very own desk?

And what did she mean with his attitude? This was his typical, everyday attitude. A dragon's attitude, because yes, dragons were superior in so many kinds of ways. It was no excuse that she didn't know of his nature and splendor....To be challenging him like this, it was both startling and somewhat, oddly entertaining.

"The name's Van." he said in a rather sharp tone, and at the same time speaking with a slight, deliberate slowness, repeating himself as if the girl was a bit too slow to understand him. He pointed at where it was written on the board as well, for more evidence. "And I'm the professor of this class." he continued in that same tone. "I doubt you knew more about the other professors you had. Now, if your sensitivities are not being addressed, you are free to report that some stranger is in this classroom teaching World Geography. If not, I believe that's all we need to know about each other in order to carry on with this class, and then with our lives." he pointed out, making it quite obvious how he didn't ask something about her. Did he even know her name? No, he did not. 

"Now, if that's all you wanted to discuss, ask and point out, we may continue with the lesson, I suppose..." he said, though in his tone there was an obvious lack of enthusiasm, and he was truly conflicted about what was worse, teaching the stupid subject or talking with this impudent, bold student. Surprising himself, he realized he couldn't tell anymore, now that his lecturing rhythm had been broken. "And sitting on the desk is not the proper way to pay attention to a class..." he couldn't help but add, as a little jab in the end, but without as much gravity behind the statement.

Van's sharp tone made Terrance smirk to herself as he repeated his name and profession. It seemed she had rubbed a nerve with him, and decided to investigate how long his seemingly cool demeanor could last.

"I doubt you knew more about the other professors you had" For being so young looking, he didn't seemed to know what a social life was. Lucky for him, Terrance was more than happy to introduce him to " On the contrary Van-O!" She grinned at him as she tipped onto her side with her legs extending towards his desk. Oh, how she loved to prove people wrong. " My last professor was some sort of shape shifter who enjoyed birdwatching, drinking tea and cuddling with his ungodly amount of cats. He was blind in his left eye, nearly deaf and smelled of cabbages that had sat out in the sun. He lived  in an apartment by himself, and was terrified of the color purple. He looked like an older, crippled version of you, actually.. " She gave a small shrug after rattling off the previous professors details, looking up at Van as if waiting to read his facial expression-which she was. He wasn't one for showing exactly what emotion he was feeling like most others did, which made it  little harder to tell if she was pestering him or not, but she knew she was making  progress when his tone changed and he spoke with a certain..precision.


She didn't attempt to hide the smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth as she leaned onto her back, making sure to stretch for dramatic effect when he mentioned that laying on the table wasn't an effective way to pay attention. "Anndd who said I would be paying attention today?" She wondered aloud as she crossed her legs at the ankle and let them rest just on the edge of his desk. She peered at him, with one eyebrow raised looking more intrigued by the minute." You can talk all you'd like my good Sir, but I'm afraid with all this excitement and your endless enthusiasm, I'm just plum tuckered out." Again her words became partially inflated with sarcasm and she felt her mischievous nature beginning to take over more than it already had. If nothing else, she supposed he made for some decent company while she waited for their class time to run out. It had been a while since she had met somebody who was even remotely close to matching her level of sarcasm and, although Van didn't seem as amused as she was, she had decided that bothering him every morning would be worth her time. At least until she lost interest or found somebody more interesting.. but she doubted that was possible.

Van winced when the girl proceeded to spurt out all those unnecessary, silly little details about her last professor, and he felt quite annoyed that a professor would share so much. Why would they do this kind of thing? Were they so eager to let others know about their tiny, insignificant, miserable life? Van's annoyance was evident in the way his eyebrows were furrowed, and if Terrance had been focusing on his silver eyes, PERHAPS she might have noticed the pupils becoming a bit less round, just a tiny bit more slit. He took in a deep breath, after the girl was done talking, and had even put her feet on his own desk. He didn't have any emotional attachments with the desk or the class, but it was mildly annoying.

"It would be a stretch to call me a shapeshifter, the way you imagine it, so I'm not a shapeshifter. I find birdwatching boring, I hate tea and I don't own a single cat, nor do I harbor a sliver of desire to touch them. Both of my eyes see quite fine, my ears are quite sharp and I don't smell of cabbages. I don't live in an apartment, and purple doesn't have a specific meaning for me, or influence me in any particular manner." he declared. Though, he highly doubted this professor was older, or more crippled than he was. 

"Now you know the same amount of information about me as you know about that professor, and, please do correct me if I'm wrong, none of this information helps you learn more, which is the sole reason you are here. Not socializing or gossiping, learning." he pointed out in his superior, sarcastic, calm in tone and yet full of disapproval tone. 

"And I personally don't care about you paying attention or not. You can do as you wish. Sleep, make paper planes, play with your phone, or whatever the youth does to avoid class. Here, I'll turn around and continue the lecture, so I'll never know. You tricked me, well done, kudos to you, the professor had it coming, the student is always smarter." he stated, one word shot after the other, and at the end he crossed his arms at his chest, gloved hands holding his biceps, staring at her, but not yet making a move to turn around as he had declared.

Ugh. This was so much fun! She found it fascinating how Van's expression remained almost unchanged, yet his voice had combined into sarcasm and superiority. The disapproval was a surprise. She hadn't heard a tone like that since her mother used to scold her as a child and she found it both pleasing and slightly annoying as it stirred up a few irritating memories.

Something about his eyes seemed.. different when she looked up at him. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, the change was so subtle, but something was not as it had been a few moments earlier and she studied him for a few seconds longer than she had previously to try and spot the change. Unable to spot the difference, she turned her attention back to his words which brought another smile to her lips.He had stated firmly that he disliked birdwatching and cats, as well as pointing out that he didn't smell like cabbages, acting as if he had been accused of such things. He was rather defensive,or perhaps lacked a sense of humor- having both didn't seem far fetched..

"Now you know the same amount of information about me as you know about that professor," he indicated as she lay on her side, watching him with mild attentiveness."...none of this information helps you learn more, which is the sole reason you are here.". For being a professor, he really didn't seem to view the 'larger picture' like Terrance - or at least view it the same way. "Actually," she piped up, clasping her fingers together and resting them behind her head,"I've learned that you may be a dog person, although you seem likely to tolerate the company of a lizard, or or something. Maybe even a dragon of some sort." She shrugged one shoulder to herself as if thinking aloud." I have also learned that you have a fair amount of patience, although not enough to watch winged creatures swallow seeds, so you're tolerance level for annoyance is rather high. As for the cabbage thing, I can only assume that you take pride in decent personal hygiene in your spare time, which I personally thank you for."

Speaking of patience, Van was proving to have more than Terrance had originally thought. Not that she wanted to keep pressing his buttons to see how long he could last- okay, maybe a little- she was mostly captured by how calm he seemed to be. Perhaps he had been some type of smartass in his younger years and had gone toe-to-toe with students such as herself before. Either way, she was having fun getting a chance to let out some of the sarcastic-ness that had been backing up inside her mind. Most professors would have kicked her out by now, or at least given her some type of warning for being rude and disruptive.

""And I personally don't care about you paying attention or not. You can do as you wish...Here, I'll turn around and continue the lecture, so I'll never know" She laughed at his words, casually copying his crossed arm stance."Sounds like a plan to me." She nodded, watching him for a few moments before holding hr hand out a little and lightly pointing towards the board, " Times wasting Van-O.."

The man listened to Terrance's deductions about his person, and he had a sarcastic reply waiting at the tip of his tongue, but when she mentioned dragons, his eyebrows furrowed a tad bit more for a moment. Was it just dumb luck? Perhaps. He also had a few things to say about how she kept calling him "Van-O", quite a silly name even for someone who spoke more than twenty languages, most of them dead by now. He would have made a remark about that too, but he realized he might just be feeding a fire. 

So, he decided to change the pace. He took in a deep breath, held it for a few moments, and then exhaled, enjoying  a few seconds of silence. Looking down at his person, he reached into a pocket and took out a fine pipe carved out of wood, long and slender. He brought it to his lips, and proceeded to reach into another pocket, pinch something and empty it into the pipe. Then, taking out a matchbox, he fished out a match, lit it, and proceeded to light his pipe. All these movements had a deliberate slowness and the certainty of a daily ritual. He took in a deep breath, and exhaled again, this time with a twin puffs coming out of his nostrils. They looked almost like vapours, so thin and light, and they almost instantly vanished. They also had a faint, discreet, sweet scent, almost like lilac. 

Following that, he seemed much calmer, his eyebrows unfurrowing, his expression once again made out of stone. "If I were asked to compliment you in a way, I'd say that you have the remarkable, unencountered before talent to make me feel time is being wasted, when it was already considered wasted by me. Double-wasted, if you will." he replied calmly, almost emotionlessly, to her remark about how he was wasting time. Somehow, after that breath through the pipe, he had become more distant. After having been caught up in this barter, he remembered why he was there, and it was not to socialize in any form with students. A very, very sensitive person to others' moods and emotions, might have picked up a very distant shadow or pain about him that moment, should they be paying attention.

Following that, he turned around, picked up a marker and started writing down names, names no modern person had ever heard of encountered before. But he wasn't lecturing, not talking anymore. Had he insulted the girl? Would he hear her footsteps walking angrily out of the class and slamming the door behind her? Or would she just be oblivious and say something in return? He tried to persuade himself not to care. Every other person was just a brief presence in his life, a snowflake that would fall over his eyes, then fall more and melt eventually. That was his destiny, blessing and burden.

Terrance watched Van as he pulled in a breath and released it slowly. She took this as a sign that he was highly agitated and watched as he took a puff off a slender pipe from his pocket. Extreme patience and self restraint? This guy was proving to be far more intriguing than she had originally thought. She wondered briefly to herself if Van had any idea that smoking on school grounds was most likely forbidden, but something about his furrowed brow and sharp eyes made her think that he probably didn't care.

"...you have the remarkable, unencountered before talent to make me feel time is being wasted, when it was already considered wasted by me. Double-wasted, if you will." Rather than feeling insulted, she was rather pleased with the comment he had given her but before she could respond, he had turned his back to her. She watched as he began to write down names, a third of which she had learned about the last time she had taken this class.

She wasn't about to take notes if that's what he was hoping for. Then again, he had stated that he didn't care what she did so she pulled out a smaller diary type journal and began to write. Most of the content she wrote down had to do with meeting Van, as well as taking note that she tolerated him- which was kind of a big deal. He was fairly easy to talk to, or..annoy, yet he was distant enough she didn't feel claustrophobic by his presence. She didn't mind his silence, and she also didn't mind engaging him in pointless, argumentative banter either. While she wouldn't go as far as considering him an acquaintance, she decided he could bare to remain in the class, even if she didn't plan on paying attention to the material all that much.

As the departing steps of the girl never came, and he kept smoking his pipe, Van was starting to calm down more and more, or perhaps, he was becoming detached again. After all, the herb he was smoking was a rather strong painkiller that served to help a bit with the constant, tormenting pain of the curse, flowing through his body and having an inevitable impact on his mood. He kept writing down names, and after a few minutes of relative silence, he started to slightly appreciating the fact that Terrance hadn't left. Perhaps she wasn't just plain unruly and impudent, but she had some sort of her own, self-discipline? At any case, while not making the effort to see through her motives or understand her, he appreciated the otherwise bothersome girl just a bit more.

At a whim, and dragons were known to have whimsical moments quite often in their long lives, he made a decision. Just for the heck of it, as one might say. "Write down these." he instructed in a calm tone, without turning around to regard Terrance. But there was a sense of importance in his tone, mostly conferred because of the lack of communication regarding the other things he was writing, setting what would follow apart. 

What followed was a list. On the left side, there were names. Half of them were known to Terrance, and they were names or rivers around the globe. Thames, Dunabe, Volga, Euphrates....some of them were not known to Terrance, and most of those would be magical ones, flowing through concealed lands. On the right side, next to each name, there was a totally unfamiliar word. The way Van had written each word, pointed out that perhaps he was spelling it phonetically, writing down the sound of the word more than its actual letters, teaching Terrance how to speak the word properly. 

"Learn those, if you feel like it." he added in an aloof manner after he was done compiling the list. To someone who knew what this was, it had tremendous value. Essentially, it was a list of the names of the spirit guardians of those rivers, and knowledge of their name would summon them to the aid of the caller once. They never gave their true names willingly, they did it either when defeated or done a great service, and it was the product of centuries of travelling and knowledge of the dragon- and defeating of helping said spirit guardians-. On the other hand, having seen how Terrance acted, he mostly expected her to ignore him once more -wouldn't blame her, since she might not be able to suspect what he had written down for her-, and even in that case, he'd find some small, satisfaction of admittedly more lowly nature, but still it would be there.

Terrance, dare she admit it, was also enjoying being in the company of Van. Finally, a person who didn't care about what she was doing, talking about useless gossip. Just knowing that Van was hanging out, doing his own thing was enough socialization for the girl.

She had just finished writing about Van in her daily journal, having taken a few notes on how empty the class was and her first impression of him when he instructed her to write down the list he had formed on the board. She looked up for a moment, pen still in hand to see the list he had created."Mmh, I will. Later." she answered simply, though this time there was not hint of stubbornness or sarcasm in her voice. Unknown to Van-O she had a specific way of completing her day and according to her mental schedule, studying wouldn't occur until later tonight after she had cleaned her room and made popcorn.

Although his back was still faced towards her, Terrance complied briefly and looked over each new term a total of two times each- so she could write them down later tonight. Once she had memorized the spelling of each, her eyes dropped back to her journal as she began writing once more. It seemed that Van had caught on quickly to her not paying attention and had adjusted accordingly."Learn these, if you feel like it." he added shortly after making the first comment. Again she looked up, giving a subtle nod."Will do." she answered distractedly.

She wondered why he was still attempting to teach her after she had clearly stated that she had no desire to accept any information presented. Perhaps it was their personalities- she didn't care to learn, and Van didn't care that she didn't care. Maybe that was the reason she found herself acknowledging what he had written- for the simple fact that he wasn't trying to cram it into her head like so many professors usually did.