Worms! How . . . romantic?
Oct. 26th, 2011 03:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gryphonseggIt's time for my response to the gay YA prompt! BTW, I couldn't help but notice that each of these scenes is longer than the one before. By the time I decide who/what my trolls are, I might be doing two-part posts.
Professor Greta was sitting on the low wall that separated the students’ experimental garden from the rest of the grounds. She had a big bucket of dirt, which Santha was digging in, apparently unable to decide whether to be grossed out or delighted. “Ooh, I found one, I found one!” Santha squealed, holding up a handful of dirt and receiving an approving nod from Professor Greta.
“I am so going to draw her like that,” Nara whispered.
“Are you going to give her a different kind of animal ears this time?” Ambrin whispered back.
“Maaaaaybe.”
Ambrin chuckled at Nara and glanced over his shoulder. Tseng wasn’t there yet. That was no surprise; Tseng was always late for outdoor lessons. Ambrin really shouldn’t have been as worried as he was.
Greta divided the students into teams of three, sending Santha to join Ambrin and Nara and holding Emeraude back until Tseng and Colben arrived. Ambrin felt a surge of an emotion he had never expected to feel: jealousy of Colben. Ambrin knew he was being silly—Tseng and Colben were late a lot—but no amount of understanding would make the feeling of being twisted up in knots go away. Tseng hadn’t spoken to him since what happened in the pantry. Granted, it hadn’t happened that long ago, but not knowing what Tseng was going to do next caused a pain that Ambrin could almost feel physically.
When Tseng finally appeared, Colben trailing him like a big, awkward puppy, he gave Ambrin a long, unreadable look and said not a single word. A tentative smile and wave from Ambrin provoked only a profoundly ambiguous nod from Tseng. Colben grinned and waved like an idiot. Greta told them to sit beside Emeraude. Tseng tried to remain standing so as not to get his richly dyed clothing dirty, but Greta informed him that he wouldn’t be able to avoid the dirt this time.
“Today’s exercise will build your skill at seeking and homing in on faint manifestations of animal life-force,” the professor explained. She pointed at the ground beneath their feet. “Never mind the plants, even the biggest ones. See how fast you can find the worms. First team to bring me ten of the little slimers gets an automatic A.”
The look on Tseng’s face was priceless. Ambrin wished Tseng would give such clear indications of how he felt about people.
“Professor,” Tseng managed to choke out while obviously holding back one of his infamous Lord Tseng explosions, “if that’s the case, then Ambrin’s team has an unfair advantage.”
What was this? Ambrin was shocked. Was it just a work avoidance tactic or was it some kind of indirect personal attack?
“That rat!” Nara growled.
The professor folded her arms and looked pointedly at Tseng. “Convince me.”
“Ambrin is the best at distinguishing different sources of life-force-” Tseng began, giving Ambrin a look that was even more ambiguous than the previous nod.
“Manifestations,” Professor Greta corrected.
“Manifestations. Anyway, he’s the best.”
“Only with plants,” Ambrin mumbled. He could tell a spruce pine from a loblolly from ten meters with his eyes closed, but he wasn’t nearly as good with animals, especially small invertebrates. What was Tseng doing? Setting him up for an extra-disappointing failure? “That’s not fair!” Ambrin said under his breath. “He kissed me first!”
Nara seized Ambrin’s hand. “I knew it!” she said at almost normal volume. Professor Greta looked at her until Nara blushed and seemed to shrink inside her robe.
“Go on, child,” the professor said to Tseng.
“Right.” Tseng must have been wrong-footed by the interruption. He seemed to be re-gathering his thoughts. “Nara’s unusually sensitive to small manifestations—I think we’ve all noticed that by now—and Santha knows every damn thing about everything.”
“No, I don’t!” Santha protested.
Tseng looked at the little girl with an expression that just might turn into a smile any second. “All right, then, you know some damn thing about everything. So you’re wrong twice a year or however often it is. My point still stands: It’s not fair to put you on a team with the two people who are already the best at this kind of exercise, especially since you’re not insensitive yourself and they’re not stupid.” Tseng appeared to address the entire class when he spoke next. “I say the teams should be balanced. The little genius should work with a pair who need all the extra brainpower they get, Nara should work with people who can’t find anything as small as a worm on their own, and Master ‘Marigolds decayed on this spot five years ago’ should work with someone who doesn’t have the patience to develop nature skills.”
“Mm-hmm,” Professor Greta said in a skeptical tone. “You say ‘someone who doesn’t have the patience to develop nature skills’ like you have someone specific in mind.”
Tseng looked as sheepish as Ambrin had ever seen him. “I guess it does describe me. I’m sure you’d be the last person to argue with that.”
Nara tugged Ambrin closer and whispered, “That’s either the most arrogant way I’ve ever heard anybody ask for help or the most arrogant way I’ve ever heard anybody ask to get close to the person they like!”
Arrogant or not, Ambrin was relieved and elated that Tseng wanted to work with him.
Professor Greta was sitting on the low wall that separated the students’ experimental garden from the rest of the grounds. She had a big bucket of dirt, which Santha was digging in, apparently unable to decide whether to be grossed out or delighted. “Ooh, I found one, I found one!” Santha squealed, holding up a handful of dirt and receiving an approving nod from Professor Greta.
“I am so going to draw her like that,” Nara whispered.
“Are you going to give her a different kind of animal ears this time?” Ambrin whispered back.
“Maaaaaybe.”
Ambrin chuckled at Nara and glanced over his shoulder. Tseng wasn’t there yet. That was no surprise; Tseng was always late for outdoor lessons. Ambrin really shouldn’t have been as worried as he was.
Greta divided the students into teams of three, sending Santha to join Ambrin and Nara and holding Emeraude back until Tseng and Colben arrived. Ambrin felt a surge of an emotion he had never expected to feel: jealousy of Colben. Ambrin knew he was being silly—Tseng and Colben were late a lot—but no amount of understanding would make the feeling of being twisted up in knots go away. Tseng hadn’t spoken to him since what happened in the pantry. Granted, it hadn’t happened that long ago, but not knowing what Tseng was going to do next caused a pain that Ambrin could almost feel physically.
When Tseng finally appeared, Colben trailing him like a big, awkward puppy, he gave Ambrin a long, unreadable look and said not a single word. A tentative smile and wave from Ambrin provoked only a profoundly ambiguous nod from Tseng. Colben grinned and waved like an idiot. Greta told them to sit beside Emeraude. Tseng tried to remain standing so as not to get his richly dyed clothing dirty, but Greta informed him that he wouldn’t be able to avoid the dirt this time.
“Today’s exercise will build your skill at seeking and homing in on faint manifestations of animal life-force,” the professor explained. She pointed at the ground beneath their feet. “Never mind the plants, even the biggest ones. See how fast you can find the worms. First team to bring me ten of the little slimers gets an automatic A.”
The look on Tseng’s face was priceless. Ambrin wished Tseng would give such clear indications of how he felt about people.
“Professor,” Tseng managed to choke out while obviously holding back one of his infamous Lord Tseng explosions, “if that’s the case, then Ambrin’s team has an unfair advantage.”
What was this? Ambrin was shocked. Was it just a work avoidance tactic or was it some kind of indirect personal attack?
“That rat!” Nara growled.
The professor folded her arms and looked pointedly at Tseng. “Convince me.”
“Ambrin is the best at distinguishing different sources of life-force-” Tseng began, giving Ambrin a look that was even more ambiguous than the previous nod.
“Manifestations,” Professor Greta corrected.
“Manifestations. Anyway, he’s the best.”
“Only with plants,” Ambrin mumbled. He could tell a spruce pine from a loblolly from ten meters with his eyes closed, but he wasn’t nearly as good with animals, especially small invertebrates. What was Tseng doing? Setting him up for an extra-disappointing failure? “That’s not fair!” Ambrin said under his breath. “He kissed me first!”
Nara seized Ambrin’s hand. “I knew it!” she said at almost normal volume. Professor Greta looked at her until Nara blushed and seemed to shrink inside her robe.
“Go on, child,” the professor said to Tseng.
“Right.” Tseng must have been wrong-footed by the interruption. He seemed to be re-gathering his thoughts. “Nara’s unusually sensitive to small manifestations—I think we’ve all noticed that by now—and Santha knows every damn thing about everything.”
“No, I don’t!” Santha protested.
Tseng looked at the little girl with an expression that just might turn into a smile any second. “All right, then, you know some damn thing about everything. So you’re wrong twice a year or however often it is. My point still stands: It’s not fair to put you on a team with the two people who are already the best at this kind of exercise, especially since you’re not insensitive yourself and they’re not stupid.” Tseng appeared to address the entire class when he spoke next. “I say the teams should be balanced. The little genius should work with a pair who need all the extra brainpower they get, Nara should work with people who can’t find anything as small as a worm on their own, and Master ‘Marigolds decayed on this spot five years ago’ should work with someone who doesn’t have the patience to develop nature skills.”
“Mm-hmm,” Professor Greta said in a skeptical tone. “You say ‘someone who doesn’t have the patience to develop nature skills’ like you have someone specific in mind.”
Tseng looked as sheepish as Ambrin had ever seen him. “I guess it does describe me. I’m sure you’d be the last person to argue with that.”
Nara tugged Ambrin closer and whispered, “That’s either the most arrogant way I’ve ever heard anybody ask for help or the most arrogant way I’ve ever heard anybody ask to get close to the person they like!”
Arrogant or not, Ambrin was relieved and elated that Tseng wanted to work with him.
