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Post by Stine Dagny on Dec 28, 2016 2:00:28 GMT -7
The effort spent figuring out where Yulia lived, as it turned out, was for moot. Likely for the best, from what Geata’s request and what else he could gather had suggested of the place. The alternative was by no means a bad one. The library had a quiet atmosphere, comfortable chairs, and vending machines. Most of all, it had heating. The only real downside was they’d have to be a little more cautious in the usage and talk of powers, but he was going to try to turn that into a boon rather than an issue.
The one thing he’d yet to find an upside for was it meant he had to physically carry all his stuff. If he were going to Yulia’s place, he would have a good number of workarounds - logging most if not everything necessary into his pocketbook for later retrieval, telekinetically floating in anything that wouldn’t fit, simply teleporting objects in should the other two prove insufficient - but as all these actions were generally frowned upon in public libraries, he’d had to resort to more mundane means. Today that meant piling everything into the trunk of his old tan car, which, while lacking an air conditioning unit and the left top half of the back’s leather spring bench, did have four working crank handles for the windows and the trunk capacity to carry the armful of textbooks and bag of smaller books and utensils as far as the library’s parking lot would allow him. From there, though, he’d had to lug them (and the couple of drinks he bought on his way in) in his arms into the library proper and then around with him until he found the back study room he’d reserved for their meeting. Inconvenient and tedious, he’d call it.
But, he did it, and made it to the room early in spite of early morning traffic and getting lost twice. He spent the first part of his extra time setting up the table and the chairs - he was the first one to use the room that morning, it seemed - and settling down in the space.
The spells he’d need were, of course, either already cast or ready to be so at a single syllable. One to trick the security cameras and another to instantly repair an object should either be needed were ready in one of the books in his bag. The chances he’d be writing things were high and he felt safe assuming Yulia couldn’t read Norwegian, so he’d chosen the english-specific spell he’d finally gotten around to writing for Bolide over his usual and preferred more general translation one. He also obviously had the one that changed his face into the one he used as a civilian active.
Most importantly, he’d activated and reprepared the regeneration spell he’d promised Geata. It’d heal any damage dealt to his person at a constant rate for as long as it lasted. Didn’t affect damage caused by fire - that was the trade off for a longer timer - but if that was going to be an issue, he had considerably larger problems on his hands. This casting would last him another thirty minutes, and the second another hour after that. He’d simply excuse himself off to somewhere unwatched if he needed more time. Hopefully it would be enough to counteract Yulia’s powers, but he’d brought along an extra rejuvenation spell just in case.
Once his books were off to the side, drinks on the other, and his bag on the ground beside his chosen chair, he hadn’t much to do but to pull out a reading book of his own and wait.
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Post by Yulia Sokolov on Dec 31, 2016 13:56:24 GMT -7
Yulia considered not showing up today. She was never good at school. Not attending anymore was a relief rather than a burden. It was easier to tell other people, and to tell herself for that matter, that the only reason she wasn't going was because of her power. That the only reason she wasn't going was because everyone would die if she did. She still believed that was the reason, there were just other benefits to not going. There was nothing wrong with that. The thought of having to return to all that was not an appealing one. More than that, it was pointless. She was never going to be able to get a job, she was never going to live a normal life. All she needed to know would be told to her, and everything she needed for her future she already had. The only reason she bothered to show up was because it was asked of her.
She wanted to at least look presentable, but she was running out of clothes for that. Yulia ended up settling on a shirt she stitched a decal on because there was a huge hole in the chest and some jeans. There was a hole in the back too, but that could at least be covered up by a jacket. The canvas jacket she had, and the few pairs of jeans she had, were holding up better than most of her other clothes. They were sturdier. She tried to look happy, or at least pleasant, but it was difficult to hide how annoyed she was at all this.
The tutor arrived first, dashing her hopes that she'd be able to get out of this easily. She smiled and waved as she entered, taking the seat furthest away from him mostly out of habit rather than rudeness. He should be able to handle this, but there was no reason to make things worse than they had to be. Even if part of her did want to get up in his face to end this more quickly. She folded her hands on the table and stared at them. It was too awkward to look him in the eye.
"Hello Mr. Dagny I'm Yulia. It's nice to meet you." Her greeting was mechanical with little emotion put into it.
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Post by Stine Dagny on Jan 1, 2017 15:29:32 GMT -7
The girl’s entrance wasn’t awkward or stilted in the slightest. She took the seat farthest away, he noticed. One of the many factors that hung the air of distance presently thick in the room. He wouldn’t do anything about it today, but he would have to consider dwindling the number of available chairs and his own position at the table later.
Closing his book and setting it on the table, he greeted her with a smile. “Good morning, Yulia. Please, call me Stine. I don’t care for the formalities.” He said gesturing dismissively, going through the formalities.
Copying her, he placed his hands on the table and locked his fingers together. Under the assumption that Geata would either tell her he was a super or she’d figure it out herself, and that like most people her age she wasn’t inclined to be enthusiastic about learning, he was expecting some prior reluctance from her in one form or another. Coldness appeared to be her method of choice. He’d figured he’d have to sell the idea to her and had planned with that in mind - and if she was allegedly so devoted to the Keepers that she thought of little else, that this was all for them was the best angle to take.
“As you may have been told, I’ve been hired by your organization to instruct you in things deemed important for you to know, along with anything else you might be interested in learning.” His smile momentarily widened. “Essentially It’ll be my job here for the next while to give you knowledge specialized for your situation.”
His expression returned to a resting smile and he waved his hand upwards in continuation. “I imagine your schedule is a fairly busy one, and I don’t want to interfere too much with your important business. I’ll be pacing accordingly, don’t worry.” He said, trying to head off one of the possible worries he saw. The point was to have a recurring and regular reason to meet with her, not eat her time.
“There’s a couple of things I’d like to discuss with you today, but first, do you have any questions for me? About me, or about this? Oh, and would you like a drink?” He pointed to the small collection of vending machine-acquired soda and juice.
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Post by Yulia Sokolov on Jan 2, 2017 21:11:12 GMT -7
Yulia looked down and sighed. As apprehensive as she was about this, and as irritated she was that she had to do this, she knew exactly why she was here. It had to be treated like any other mission, like it was of the utmost importance. Even so, she couldn't stop her hands from fidgeting. She didn't say anything for a little while to try to psych herself up. This wasn't like school. There was one teacher, one classroom, and she was the only student. She didn't have to worry about people saying mean things to her in the hall, or trying to steal her lunch. She didn't have to worry about group projects, or people acting like she was cursed. She'd be able to get help when she didn't understand the assignments, and she wouldn't have to worry about overworking the teachers. She wouldn't have to worry about bumping into people, or how hard tests were, or how hard fitting in and being social was. It would be completely different. With one last deep breath, she was ready to begin.
"No, I'm fine thank you."
She looked down again. There was one question burning in Yulia's mind, but she was afraid to ask it. It might make it look like she was trying to get out of this. Even if that was true to an extent, she didn't want it to look like that. She started kicking the legs of her chair while she thought of what to do. In the end, she couldn't leave it unsaid.
"If you know that much then you must know about me. Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, my grades were never very good in the first place, so it might be pointless anyway."
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Post by Stine Dagny on Jan 7, 2017 23:51:08 GMT -7
The poor girl was tense enough he’d think she expected him to be an android set on world domination, and all she needed was a bit of proof. Stine put mental effort into maintaining his casual demeanor and smile that was friendly but not too wide, and apparent cluelessness to her rigidness. He shrugged at her denial of a drink and began placing all the ones he didn’t want in the bag beside him by their lids. She took her took her time answering, and for a moment he was worried she wasn’t going to, even though she looked to have something important to say. When she did, he, too, took his time in answering. Pressing his lips together and locking his hands on the table, he leaned backwards and looked up. She really had no confidence in herself, did she? Self-worth was yet to be determined.
“Well, I’ve been hired to do this, so I’m technically obligated to do so regardless of if it’s ‘pointless’ or not.” He mused after a couple moments of thought. He was glad she had asked - this was a good opportunity to try floating an idea past her. His eyes and smile turned down to her. “But that’s just a small part of the picture. If I didn’t want this job, I wouldn’t have taken it. I don’t think an education is pointless at all, no matter who you are, what you do, or,” he teasingly raised his eyebrow, “how good your grades were. If anything, I think your status with all of those makes it for you particularly worthwhile.” His smile momentarily flashed wider. “You deserve it, Yulia.”
He didn’t leave much room for any possible rebuttal before moving on to the next topic. “I also have a couple questions for you.” He said cheerfully, reaching into his bag and withdrawing a notepad. He flipped to the first page. “Determined topics are presently english, math, biology with a focus on human anatomy, and architectural study.” He glanced up at her. “And, of course, anything you’re interested in learning. What was the highest level of math you took in highschool, and what’s the toughest book you’ve read? And, the most important question, what are you interested in learning?”
Stine sat back, stretching out his arms to keep his hands on the table. “You’ll notice I’m going to be asking that question a lot. Every time we meet, actually - I find students are far more successful overall if there is at least one thing they are genuinely interested in mixed with all the rest. I’ll ask you at the end of every session and prepare material for it the next. It can be something as specific as the blooming cycle of a cherry blossom or as broad as capitalism, and I won’t leave until you do.” He said pleasantly. “I’ll also take on any full topics of study you would like at any point in time, such as astronomy, should you think any useful or any take your fancy.
“The last thing I’d like to ask is how you would like to structure this. I would like to meet at least once a week for a few hours, but I don’t mind meeting more often if that’s valuable to you. Your… abilities shouldn’t give me too much trouble, I believe, so you don’t need to worry about that. Tutors also get paid by the hour, so I certainly don’t mind.” He finished with a joking smile.
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Post by Yulia Sokolov on Jan 13, 2017 1:32:22 GMT -7
Yulia shifted in her chair at his answer. It didn't make her feel any better. She considered getting up and leaving right then. If he was being forced into doing this, whether it was only because of the money or because of some other form of coercion, she couldn't be comfortable with that. Being around her had implications. Then he continued. She didn't get it, but she could at least understand that there was a lot more to it than getting paid. It was probably the reason he became a teacher in the first place. For a moment, she was able to look up, though not at him, and her lips curled into a small smile. She had to look down at the table soon after though due to feeling a little embarrassed about his comments.
Then he asked his own questions. Just the thought made her nervous, but actually hearing what they were felt like a punch to the stomach. Yulia looked back down, firmly at her hands, and started tugging on her fingers. She tried to put a lot of the past year out of her memory, but it was still recent enough that she could remember everything if she tried. It still wasn't fun to think about. Suddenly, her voice was a lot more quiet.
"I took Algebra 1 but..." she went quiet again and leaned forward enough that her hair started covering her face. "But I...I didn't pass it, so I don't know if it counts." She had to pause again to think of the answer to his next question. "Um...the last book we read in school was Romeo and Juliet I think, so I guess that?"
Yulia furrowed her brow again as she tried to think of other things to learn. What would everyone want her to learn? She wasn't sure. She would have to ask Azoth, Sin Eater, and the others what else she should learn. If she had to give an answer now though, she couldn't go do that. Trying to think about what they would want was hard, but if he was hired by them then he should know what they want already anyway.
"What else should I learn?" The last question was easy, she didn't want to have to come in here more than she had to. "Once a week sounds fine."
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Post by Stine Dagny on Jan 29, 2017 10:37:26 GMT -7
“So you’ll decide on the amount of time, but you’re trying to take a pass on the subject?” Stine shook his head. “That’s only doing half the job, Yulia.”
He said it like it was a very serious matter, even if he was teasing her. Her response could be taken as a sign of strong devotion, but that was exactly what worried him.
He’d begun thinking about the location of the needed textbooks in the stack beside him as soon as she’d given her subject level. The bulk of them were math books, as he’d brought one for every level of highschool math, as well as one pre and post highschool, just in case. Placing them in order (a poor choice, he was now realizing) put the needed textbook one from the bottom. The english book was considerably easier as it was not only paperback, but one of just three.
“Presently, I’d say decision making. You won’t always be able to ask your allies for advice in the heat of battle.” He said to the stack of books, wrestling the thin hard-bound textbook out from under the rest. He dropped it on the table with a hard thunk.
“We’ll start with algebra one, then. This should suffice as reading material.” He slapped a collection of Sherlock Holmes, small in size and old enough to have yellowing pages, on top of the much newer textbook and pushed the two hard enough to make them slide to the other end of the table.
“You can thumb through the math book until you hit something that gives you trouble, and we’ll start there. Pick your favorite of the stories in that book there - by title, page length, whatever you’d like - and give it a read for next time. Let me know if you need either replaced. I’ll bring extras.” He paused and sat back in the chair, resting his hand on his chin in thought. “I’m also curious as to what your hobbies are. What do you do for fun? As… enjoyable as it would be to spend every one of these meetings in front of a book, I’ve been given a good sum of funding for this that may as well be used. Learning in the field is usually far more effective than in a room full of paper.” He explained. “I also still need a topic from you. It doesn’t really matter what it is. Something that made you curious lately, or the first thing that comes into your head would work fine.
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Post by Yulia Sokolov on Feb 5, 2017 23:10:45 GMT -7
Yulia stiffened and sat up straighter when she was scolded. Her hands remained firmly knotted together. She thought she was following directions, but apparently there was more to it? Did he want her to do more than the bare minimum? It made sense, but she wished he just said so. Tests like this happened often, she was used to them, but somehow they always managed to catch her off-guard and she always seemed to give the wrong answer. On top of that, she wasn't very good at school and the idea of going back stressed her out, so she figured starting slow would be better. Plus, it meant that the teacher would have to spend less time near her. It sounded reasonable in her head, but apparently it wasn't right.
"I-I'm sorry. Did you want more time?"
His suggestion for a subject made her shoulders droop. Was she doing a bad job before? It was true that she normally worked alone because there were certain dangers with working too closely with people, but she thought she'd been achieving what she set out to do regularly. Was that not the case? Did someone tell him that she needed to be better at that? Why they felt the need to hire a tutor for her was suddenly starting to make more sense. It was disheartening to hear, but she would manage. Yulia needed to take this extra seriously. It was more important than she thought before.
Yulia leaned back in her chair when he slid the book towards her and stared at it like he was handing her a copy of the Necronomicon. She took a deep breath, opened it and started scanning through the pages. It was relieving to hear he had more than just the old copies of these books. Given how much they were falling apart already, she doubted they would last more than a couple of weeks around her, and even then some of the pages might start crumbling faster than that. She furrowed her brow, trying to think about how to answer his question.
"I don't think any of my other skills will be that useful. I can't really do a lot of the things I used to do anymore. Like um...I used to write music, and take care of the plants around the house, but now my equipment breaks too fast to do anything and I shouldn't be anywhere near plants if you want them to live." She paused to think again. "Um...I guess I'm okay with electronic things, but I can only mostly use them to make sounds. If they still work when I'm done. That's a big if. Oh, and watches, I know how clocks work because my dad used to break his watch all the time. But that's about it. Not stuff I can really do anymore, so I don't worry about it. It's okay though, it's left more time to do things for everyone else. As for something to learn about..." Yulia looked down at the table and frowned, her face turning slightly red from embarrassment and shame. "What...what you suggested is fine."
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Post by Stine Dagny on Feb 13, 2017 16:10:14 GMT -7
Stine stopped a chuckle and hid a grin behind a hand on his chin. He’d been hesitant to give any suggestion for a topic in case she agreed to whatever he said - which went against the point - but he’d wanted to make it a little more clear both his point and that he wasn’t being completely serious. It seemed like she’d missed both, and had jumped to a conclusion about him wanting more time. How she’d reached that he wasn’t entirely sure; he certainly hadn’t been expecting it. His expression flattened and he shifted forward. Leaning forward over his elbows on the table, he locked the tips of his fingers into a triangle and looked Yulia in the eye.
“If I had wanted more time, I would’ve made the minimum higher.” He replied professionally. “No, I was pointing out the disparity between your answer pertaining to the amount of time and to the subject. If you are able to answer a question of time, you should also be able to reach a certain conclusion for subject as well, yet you did not. It makes me wonder if you have some underlying factor that would allow for one but not the other. If so, it needs to be found and addressed. Both questions were of about equal importance, perhaps the one of subject moreso, and I hold to my statement that it’s a necessary skill to be able to make concise calls when it’s needed of you. Thus my suggestion of ‘decision making’ as a topic. I was also teasing you.”
He broke into a light smile. “It’s a large topic,” and something he knew a single day wasn’t going to change much, if anything, about, “but I do think it’s a good one. I’ll prepare some basics for next time.”
Musing over her given hobbies, Stine sat back in his chair, hand on his elbow and knuckles under his chin. “It’s a shame; your abilities would make all of your hobbies difficult. Almost ironic, in fact, and quite unfortunate.” He thought aloud. With her family, friends, and hobbies all gone, it was no surprise she was throwing herself completely into her work. Then she framed it as though it were a good thing. Looking up at her, “One of the benefits of music is that the one who writes it doesn’t have to be the one to play it. Would you be open to considering writing sheet music? Or perhaps a new hobby altogether?”
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Post by Yulia Sokolov on Feb 14, 2017 14:00:45 GMT -7
Yulia's frown turned into a pout. When he leaned forward, she leaned back and was unable to maintain eye contact. Her shoulders slumped downward and inward as she tried to make herself as small as possible. It was bad enough that he was making fun of her, but now he was using big words too. She could understand him still, but it seemed so unnecessary. She looked down at her fingers in front of her and started tugging on them. Before long, her cheeks flushed a light pink.
"W-Well you said how long and stuff and..." she mumbled barely audibly.
At least he was okay with the answer. It didn't make her feel too much better, but it helped a little. At least enough for her to try to regain her composure enough to keep talking. Yulia shifted in her seat, and continued staring at her fingers. She wasn't sure why he was asking about hobbies, especially given he was a tutor, but she'd continue to take it seriously none the less. She forrowed her brow, thinking hard about his suggestion.
"I don't know if I could write it without hearing it first. I wouldn't even know what it sounded like if I just wrote it down, it sounds backwards," she tilted her head a little trying to make sense of the process. "I didn't even know there were people that knew I wrote music. Did someone want me to write something? Or do something else?"
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