Welcome to Gaia! ::

Angela fiddled with a pencil on her desk, waiting for her student to arrive with a smile on her face. He was becoming one of her favorite students...

When she'd seen another application by him for her classes, she'd almost wondered what she had left to teach him. But, of course, Chath had never taken a genetics class... and there was still more to reveal about medicine, even leaving out most of it. Advanced medical training wasn't something she was qualified to teach.

The teacher sighed and shuffled her notes in front of her, then leaned back to stretch her shoulders. She had notes here for Chath's newt genes, and a class based around those notes, but if he was seriously more interested in medicine, well... She supposed time could be taken at the end for that.

"Hello, Chath, it's good to see you again," Angela greeted her eager student, smiling at his enthusiasm. She stood up from her desk, holding a sheaf of notes, setting them down on the table as she approached. She noticed his arm, and added, "You seem to be doing well!"

At his question she nodded, indicating the notes inbetween them. "Well, looking over your class records, it seems you've never had the genetics course, so today we're going to learn about the newt side of you. How much do you know about Red Spotted Newts?" she asked, looking to see how much he already knew before going into her lesson. She'd tailor her information around that, and maybe they'd have time to let class out early or answer other questions, depending.

There was a barely visible pause as Angela seemed to freeze for a moment at the question, but a moment later she was smiling warmly and nodding.

"I'm good, Chath, thank you for asking," she replied, and listened to what he knew, nodding again as she thought over what she had discovered in her research.

"Well, I haven't found any concrete explanation as to why your skin would change color, but based on the fact that it happens as you and the newts age, I would say it is because of the changing environments your genetic counterparts live in," she said, warming to her subject.

She gave a short explanation of the stages and how that might affect the color. She pointed out that in tadpole and adult stages, the coloration would help to hide the newt in murky pond water, while in the eft stage, the bright coloration would serve as a more effective warning to predators that they shouldn't eat the newt.

"Because of the toxin you mentioned," she added, raising a finger to the ceiling.

"Oh, no, you still have the toxins. Which is why you kept the spots," Angela said, gesturing towards the red dots on Chath's skin.

"I don't think the toxins will ever go away, as the red spotted newts are the only newts who can live in association with fish. The fish know not to eat them," she said, and chuckled.

"But their murky surroundings mean they don't need the warning colors quite as much. Or so I speculate. As I said, there isn't any clear statement on the subject," she finished, and then considered his other question.

"I'm afraid the only way to keep from being dehydrated is the same as it is for any creature, be they human, animal, or dragon. Make sure to drink plenty of water, and... in your case I would continue to keep that spray bottle around," Angela said, looking for said bottle, adding, "Just in case."

Angela gasped and clapped her hands in a display of delight at the water magic.

"Oh, splendid! Now you'll have water with you whenever you need it. Does it work as well in dry climates?" she asked, then caught herself with a light cough. She was supposed to be answering questions here, not asking.

She looked over her notes before answering his question, then said, "Well, it seems that birds, turtles, and fish will still occasionally give it a try, but for the most part they are safe from predation by that source. However... the main source of predation seems to be from leeches, which attach themselves to the tadpoles and adults," she said, and read a bit further.

"It also seems that some newt larvae, or tadpoles, have been found in pitcher plants in bogs. I don't know if a plant counts as a predator, but causes for this are thought to be the tadpoles going after the insects inside the pitcher plant, or the tadpoles using the plant as a means of shelter from more active predators," she said, looking up to see how Chath took this information.

She knew there was a leech child as well, and she didn't know if they knew each other. Not that chath was in any sort of danger from the other boy.

(( Apparently it didn't take the first time, and so now I'm writing it again. >_< It's never quite as good the second time around... ))

The teacher shook her head, smiling. "It's still quite amazing. Keep practicing, and don't be so hard on yourself," she scolded, shaking a finger.

As he asked about losing tails and regenerating limbs, she tilted her head and glancing over her notes, looking back up after she finished.

"Newts don't seem to deliberately lose their tails, like some lizards can, but of course they can lose them to predators. However, their regenerative cababilities are quite remarkable," she said, and went on to explain how it seemed that the cells were undergoing constant regenerative turnover, and an injury simply revealed what was always going on beneath the surface.

"Apparently, according to some research, there are regenerative fibers among the mature cells, a sort of embryonic-like cell, that are capable of differentiating into bone, muscle, nerve-tissue... whatever is needed, which is how they - and you - are able to regrow limbs, instead of simply healing over the stub," she said, and gestured to his arm.

"It's really quite amazing!" she beamed at him.

"It's really quite amazing. I think there are many who would wish for the ability to regenerate," she said with a smile, and a mental twinge that she didn't show.

He struggled to ask his next question, and Angela took in his embarrassment with a sympathetic smile before looking down at her notes. Was this what he'd wanted to ask her after the sex ed course but had decided not to?

"Well, during breeding season, which lasts from winter to spring, the male gets dark spots on his legs and tail. These help to attract a mate, along with pheromones and an... enticing motion of the tail," she said, and tried not to smile at the mental image of Chath swaying his hips like a saucy wench. She turned it into an encouraging one instead, with a small nod, then continued reading.

"After courtship, the male drops a sperm packet which the female picks up with her cloaca, and later uses to fertilize the eggs. It says that male to male courtship is also common," she said.

"The female lays a few eggs a day, widely scattered, and then leaves them to fend for themselves," she finished, and set the sheaf of papers back down.

"Keep in mind that your human DNA means that most of this will not be the same, especially since... well, I beleive the human DNA is a base which the animal DNA is added to. Otherwise you'd probably be a sentient newt," she said, and quirked a smile. She really had no idea what went on in the labs, but that seemed logical to her.

"Courtship might be similar, with the spots and pheromones, but any hip wiggling is up to you, I think," she teased gently, then relented, knowing that this was an embarrassing subject for teenagers, as the sex ed class had revealed.

Angela shook her head no.

"No, I very much doubt there would be many who would be able to detect the pheromones. At least consciously. Humans give off pheramones as well, did you know? But they usually only trigger a response in the same species, so if you did attract someone, it would probably be because of the human ones, rather than the newt ones," she said, and nodded gently.

Then Chath was asking more questions, and Angela listened sympathetically. Now they were at the crux of the matter, she supposed. It sounded like he'd found someone he liked, and was worried about the mechanics.

"Yes, Chath. I definitely think you will be able to have a normal relationship," she said, and then dimpled, trying to calm him a bit. "Especially since 'normal' is best defined as what works for those involved in said relationship," she added.

She thought through how to explain this, and leaned forward on her elbows and steepling her fingers, looking at the ceiling until she started speaking. Then she looked at Chath and smiled gently, hiding any embarrassment she may have felt and only showing a tiny blush.

"Accomodations are made between people every day when they love each other, and not just between people here at D-corp. Even some people who can't use their limbs, or who are missing some senses can have a healthy physical side to their relationship. You'll just have to find what works for you, whether that be using different positions or making other changes. If you dry out too much while getting close, helping you stay damp can be a very loving way to build trust," she said, then winked.

"It could be sexy, too, if done correctly," she teased, and then sobered, not wanting to send him fleeing the room.

"If your partner loves you, they'll be willing to work with your needs, and you should be willing to work with theirs," she said, finished, and hoped she'd both encouraged him and not embarrassed him half to death.