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 Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:26 pm
Class Description Rather than learning the languages themselves, students will learn about the different languages and how they influenced one another. It is believed doing so will lead to quicker comprehension of foreign speech and, perhaps, a rudimentary method of communication.
Understanding.
It brought people, creatures, myths, magic, science... everything... together. Those aliens, they were different. They didn't have this. They had something else. Something for their disgusting little selves. Something that wouldn't quite make the cut of civilized sophistication and nobility. For a moment, the British boy stood in the doorway, admiring the room's decorations. It had a bit of flare to it and he was much happier in this room than in the others, except for that biological room he'd been in the other day for another class.
Vaguely, but not really caring too much, he wondered who else would show up for the class. People tended to show up and bother him, which made the whole lesson drag on. Still... still... it was better than ... being alone. He couldn't let anybody else in, per say... but it was better than shutting them all out. Nathaniel had discovered he'd liked being polite to everyone instead of indifferent to those who didn't matter. But of course, old habits die hard and he hoped the person to bother him today wouldn't harm those habits.
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Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 5:36 pm
This was, perhaps, the class that the slender little spriteling of a boy was anticipating the most. Language to him, seemed the key to unlocking a world that had only existed in his imagination…and whilst the praise of one teacher had encouraged him, even further had the criticism of another spurred him onwards. He would learn these languages, be they elven or otherwise, learn them intimately until his thoughts and dreams were translated flawlessly into these tongues.
A very nice goal, but he supposed it would be a rather difficult one to achieve, even with his natural gift for the learning of languages other than his own. He didn’t like to work with people, was often too shy…even stepping into class was something of a challenge to the blond boy.
Swallowing hard, he peered in the doorway, mismatched eyes cautiously taking in the classroom, looking to spot someone that he knew. Only a faint glimmer of hope that, as he knew about a grand total of three people in the entire roster of the school.
But wait! Gaze lighting up, he scampered forward, hoisting his bag on his shoulder, for there was someone familiar here. If anyone could be called his best friend, it was Nathaniel, due to that odd connection they shared, the gap they’d bridged…the tie that didn’t really need language most times. “Hey, Nathaniel…” The tow-headed teen’s voice was still soft, as there was a certain uncertainty as to just how important the other was to him…and until that particular issue was resolved, Jaden would always be waiting for some hint of approval from his friend, though never was the odd-eyed child afraid of the other…never that.
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Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 7:04 pm
Emerald eyes shimmered as bright as the sky as they looked around the room. He whipped out his notebook and began scrawling violently onto the pages, trying to get down all the information he could, as if it would fade away in moments. There seemed to be an endless menagerie surrounding him. So this language had originally began as pictures and then progressed to symbols? Complicated symbols had formed words even, and wedges shaped into clay-like tablets had also become these words. Non-coherent ideas seemed to become apparent and Nathaniel was joyous to find these things. Cuneiform and Mandarin Chinese weren't new to him, but he'd never looked at them like this. And even though he couldn't read them, he still loved knowing more.
Then, something caught his throat. A voice. A voice so familiar that he felt his heart beat a little faster, almost with a nervous anticipation. He knew the voice very well, and with a smile that he felt from the core of his soul, he turned to face Jaden. His best friend. "Jaden..." he said calmly, eyes burning brighter like fire. "You're taking this class today too?"
He seemed elated by the idea of being in the same class with this boy. This boy who meant the world to him. The blonde knew everything about Nathaniel. Everything. There was a sort of need to protect him, as well as the need to admire him. He inspired things in Nathaniel that the Brit himself hadn't known existed, and he was grateful.
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 4:06 pm
Jaden nodded when the other addressed him, shifting his bag yet again so that he could wiggle his way into a seat next to the other. Opening the satchel, he took out his own notebook and a pencil or two, trying to be relatively quiet, as always attempting his utmost not to disturb. It wasn't hard to believe that where he'd gone to school before, most of his classmates didn't know he existed.
"I think I'm going to like this class, I've been looking forward to it." He murmured, mismatched green and blue gaze coming to rest on his friend. "How're you liking it so far?" he knew better than to distract the other for long, as it seemed they both were keen on learning what was to be taught.
The tiny smile on his lips told all...of his delight to be in this room, to absorb all this information with Nathaniel as a classmate. The other was invaluable to him, a precious sort of thing, and the closest friendship the blond could recall. Yes...very precious indeed, he had to be careful not to hold too tightly to it.
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 11:19 am
The British boys eyes strayed carelessly around the room, ruthlessly taking in the surroundings and analyzing what he wanted to look at and learn particularly. The barrier as well as the familiarity that language had created was truly something useful for research. The more language he could understand the history of, the easier it might be to learn and translate them, thusly opening many more doors for his own poisonous entreaties. Such was how his mind worked, and the gears and cogs ceaselessly turned.
His life was a mask beyond his mind. Lately he had tried something new, but seeing Jaden again, now, made it clear that that was all a futile attempt. Making friends? Being polite? Inquiring about other people and how they 'were'? What sort of benefit would that bring him in the long run? Nothing. It had never brought him anything but pain, and it never would bring him anything else. Perhaps there were people whom he could trust ever so slightly, but any more than that was murder for himself and everyone else. Toxins could only save so many as it killed.
And so, Nat would allow himself small talk with this boy. Allow him small gestures. Allow him so much more than anybody else... simply because he knew too much. And Nathaniel would never kill anybody for knowing too much. Death was a sin and virtue, a feature he wished the enemy had but his own family had scraped by without. Such thoughts were useless and impossible, so he took his seat next to the blonde and finished compiling his notes properly. If there was anything Nat truly loved beside his research, it was organization.
"It's quite informative," Nathaniel replied with a fairly soft smile, not looking up at his friend as he continued to scrawl in a neat writing on parchment-like pages.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:08 pm
Jaden sometimes felt like he had only touched the tip of the iceberg where Nathaniel was concerned. He knew so much, but so little, like he was always watching a masterpiece come together through a clouded lens...missing pieces of a puzzle that would surely be a captivating thing, were it to be assembled entirely. Nathaniel confused him, and at the same time he didn't. It felt right to be his friend, right to spend time with him and offer support if needed, but...
Nathaniel was giving him this much, and Jaden soaked it up like a sponge. Flashing the other another bright smile, he let himself get a glimpse of the intricate pattern and trail of thought that had preceded the words. There was so much in that head of Nat's...it left the tiny blond perplexed as often as he was granted insight.
"It's more than that..." He breathed, fingertips tracing the notes that he'd made, some in flowing elven script. "Language is an art, a beautiful piece of a culture, a peephole into a much wider and different world. Imagine what you could know and what you could do if you could speak every language in the world." The thought was almost rapturous to the odd-eyed student.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:26 pm
And for a moment, he did imagine. His pen stopped scrawling on the page, frozen solid in time. Everything seemed to stop as he let these thoughts glide their way into his mind. One of the first thoughts was that that was impossible and altogether silly to waste time on. The second was that... if it could be possible, it truly would be amazing. It could breach all the barriers. Right all the wrongs. Make easy all the misunderstandings. And when he came back to life a few seconds later, he looked over at Jaden and smiled. His unfinished notes lay in front of him, organized to him but a mess to any other eye. And yet, he wasn't looking at them anymore.
His acid green eyes were focused on the blonde who said such strange things. Who had always said such strange things. And who always made Nat think there was something to hope for in this pathetic world. For a moment, he put down his pencil and allowed the thoughts to roam. Allowed them to blossom and take shape into something bigger and as intricate as a rose. It sprang forth and he turned his soft smile back to his notes, finishing them.
"The world could not work without language. Without speech. To try to learn it all would be futile," he paused, "But I do agree that it could be amazing." And with every word he said, he always meant it. Always to Jaden. For the blonde had always been truthful to him, and so the British boy owed him that much at least. Always that much and always so much more.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:05 pm
It was the look on his face that captivated Jaden, the way he appeared when he was thinking intensely on something. It was altogether fascinating and highly captivating, and the blond loved that about his friend. Even when he was sure the other's thoughts were bleak...Jaden still wanted to reach out and touch those images within the other's mind, comprehend them, make them tangible.
Languages were his passion...well...one of them, it seemed like he was constantly finding new things that he wanted to do and learn about...Nathaniel being one of them.
"Amazing is one word for it...I think it would be far larger and more beautiful than that. Language barriers have been the start of many misunderstandings and wars...and if there was but a single person who could understand every language, think of the difference they could make." The world's ultimate translator.
Scrawling down notes, Jaden's fingers soon forgot their duties, and went about to more artistic endeavors, decorating his page...the crowning achievement being a little portrait of his friend in the top right-hand corner. Hmm...he could have done better, but he supposed it was all right.
Jaden's page
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:23 pm
It was funny, he thought off handedly as he went back to his notes, his mind melding with the work. All languages had originally started in pictures of some sort. Most of the character based languages had actually began with pictures and symbols that had turned into an array of lines after awhile. This was simply how things were meant to be. It just couldn't have stayed all pictures. That made things difficult. But how had pictures turned into letters truly? And how had speech formed and come about?
Did the aliens have speech? Surely they did. They had to have something. Some kind of vulgar language. Whatever it was, he wasn't quite sure he wanted to learn it, or even cared about it, unless it would promote his research. Still. Facts were facts. As he looked around, he sighed a little. Cave paintings, hieroglyphics, Latin, Mandarin Chinese, Kanji, English, French... on and on and on. Elvish. Anything and everything. The last one coming to his mind only because of his best friend's love for those others.
Something about Jaden and this topic was refreshing though. The other seemed like a vivid ball of light, all excited and happy and in his element. To Nathaniel he was glowing and beyond happy with this topic, and something in his chest felt light-hearted at seeing the other like this. So wondrous. He wanted Jaden to stay that way. To stay pure and kind and perfect like that. It was appropriate.
"Do you know any other languages? Elvish right? I think you told me once..." Nathaniel ventured, looking over at the other and slightly glancing at his friend's notebook, slightly surprised with the small pieces of it he could see.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:08 am
That inspired a blink from the little blond, and a tiny grin. "Yeah...though coming here has made me realize that though my Elven is understandable, I need to spiff it up so that it fits what the elves here speak. Apparently my version is a little...well, changed through translation and the like, though they know what I'm saying." He practically glowed whilst speaking of his favorite subject, "It's such a beautifully complex language, with a Latin-like base of its own. The elves have been around far longer than we have, and yet they've managed to keep variations down to a minimum and have a firm grasp on all their various dialects, it's beautiful."
Though he found human languages entertaining and he wanted to learn more of them, he'd never felt the same enthusiasm or love for any others that he felt for the language of the pointy-eared, long-lived beings that had come from their eons-long period of self-imposed exile to come and aid the staggering human race, noble persons, raised high in the odd-eyed child's estimation.
To share this with Nathaniel seemed comfortable, easy, and he wasn't afraid of being laughed at. "I speak a smattering of Latin and French as well, thanks to my mum, but not much more than that. What about you?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:34 pm
Comfortably, he let his friend ramble on. The other was undeniably interesting when he went on about a subject he liked. He felt like there was good left in the world when he listened and watched the other's face change emotions. Nathaniel's green eyes were accustomed to this only a little, and he managed to laugh a very little bit, disturbing the seriousness in his usual facade. Although he was still slightly uncomfortable with the whole arrangement, he couldn't help but find happiness in this. Find contentment. There was so much to like.
He'd even refrained from putting more notes down in his book to pay attention. He didn't want the other to feel ignored. When he was little and his father had ignored him, he'd hated it. These days, all he had left were the memories of his strict teachings and manners. Of his cigars, and the way he loved his wife. That was all. There was no bond. But with Jaden, as with his mother, there was a bond. And he liked it. But only now. Only one person. Only one he could protect, now and forever.
"Me?" he said with mock shock. "My mother used to love French novels, so I know a bit of that... but my father was more concerned that I simply learn perfect English." He gave a short laugh, remembering how cold his mother had been to his father when he'd found out she'd been filling his head with French fairy tales. How he too had been scolded. And all over a little language.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:16 pm
When he heard the other's laugh, however small, Jaden reached out and poked the other lightly in the nose, his own eyes twinkling with pleasure. "You should do that more often." He coaxed, a wee grin touching his lips. It was a good look, albeit a rare one, on Nat. There was so much plaguing his friend, it was a wonder that something that Jaden found beautiful still lay within...like a treasure amidst the ruins...you just had to get past the wall first.
That the other would give him his undivided attention was something that Jaden valued as priceless. The tiny blond had only had that with his own mother, as the memory of his father had swiftly faded, lost at a young age. Friends were sometimes there, but not always...and they always left. Nathaniel was something new and different.
"You speak some French?" Jaden seemed wondrously excited about this new piece of information. "You'll have to practice with me, the whole, 'if you don't use it, you'll lose it' thing." He smiled impishly, "It's a beautiful language, I wouldn't mind learning still more of it."
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 11:01 am
Scrunching up his eyes momentarily, he recoiled slightly from the gesture. His eyes darkened a shade and then he loosened up, smiling sheepishly. There was something embarrassing about being told things like that, not to mention he didn't really like being touched. But, as usual, Jaden was the exception. The other had a big heart and Nathaniel knew, by one glance and comment that he really should laugh a little more, if only for that reaction.
Nudging him a little with his shoulder, Nathaniel assumed a grim and solemn face for a moment. He wanted to get back into the seriousness of a class and subject. But naturally, it was a lot harder because he just couldn't be serious with Jade. Instead he allowed himself a small smile and shook his head with a small moment of shock. The other was so easily excitable, it was cute in a way.
"I really don't know a lot of it, but I wouldn't mind helping you practice it. Certainly it would be more interesting to practice if we knew the origins wouldn't it?" And then he moved his hand to indicate some of his notes about the French language. "Convenient that was have that kind of information, isn't it?" Was that sarcasm? Oh goodness, the British boy was getting a sense of humor!
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Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 2:33 pm
Those reactions were, after all, what Jaden lived for. Small things pleased him, because he was used to getting so little from others. Having a friend like Nathaniel meant everything to him, and quite quickly, he had learned to depend on the British boy, had come to be quite seriously fond of him as well, attaching to him as he had been afraid to attach to others. A dangerous thing, as...Nathaniel was so very proper, not like so many of the other students here.
Jaden placed his pen between his teeth and arched a blond brow at the other, as though trying to study whilst undermining the seriousness of it all the same, flipping the writing utensil in his fingers, he addressed the other once more. "So very convenient, sir!" He remarked jauntily, "I suppose it must be some sort of sign of our good fortune!"
Not that he didn't want to study or anything like that, he loved to study, much as Nathaniel did, and suchly, he glanced up to take some more notes, scribbling them down on his decorated page. "But I do like to study with you, French or no." He confessed, "We should do it more often."
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Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 2:56 pm
Emerald eyes shimmered with childish enjoyment. It felt almost like he was a boy again, a young lad of only a few years, tumbling around in the grass with an over-sized dog. He was rolling through fields of dirt, his mother trying so very hard to scold him but laughing all the while at his boundless energy. Kids like him were good for the world. They brought a small charm of happiness. But it all ended.
It had to.
His father would come home, see his new clothes covered in dirt, scold his mother and then take him in for something much worse than a spanking: drills. Lesson upon lesson well into the next morning, where he would have to write proper etiquette. Manners and poise. And then his father would depart, leaving his son more than a little disappointed. There was love there, yes. Sometimes they had joyful afternoon's of tea, where he could sit in the grass without being reprimanded. But mostly, he had to behave. He'd always wanted that longing compliment from the man.
Even after his death, he sought to be the pride of his father's teachings. Even now, he took everything seriously, and was kind. He'd locked away the truth and let revenge become him. And yet, this boy, this American boy with strange eyes, had become his charm. The key to unlock everything good inside of him. And inside, he was still just a little boy. Fresh with ideas and joyful smiles that he'd show only now. Only to one.
Naturally, this made it very very difficult to concentrate on the lesson. So he took his eyes off the blonde and eyed a few set of notes in front of him, studying them judiciously before rewriting a good portion of them in a notebook. This was a different section entirely. Though how Nathaniel stayed organized was definitely a mystery; only he could read his notes.
When the other spoke again, he looked back up, and nodded, a small glimmer in his eyes, but his features all devoted to the seriousness of the class. "That could be nice, perhaps we should."
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