Welcome to Gaia! ::

Angela tapped the papers against her desk to straighten them, then sighed as she looked out the window on the cool, rather grey looking day outside. The weather at the end of fall before winter really hit was never her favorite. She laid the papers down, and fanned a few more out on the table, her notes.

The day might be gray outside, but it wasn't really dimming Angela's day. There was the prospect of a new student. Zyanya, an Indian Flower Mantis. Also, apparently, the sister of Chath. She hoped she would be as delightful of a student as he had been.

From perusing her files, she knew that the girl would be intelligent, but it would seem to be a matter of getting her to apply herself rather than lack of understanding. Well, hopefully there wouldn't be too much trials and tribulations. Angela had had truly difficult children in her classroom before, and Zyanya seemed like she was more strong-willed than difficult.

All that was left was waiting for the student to arrive.

Angela's eyebrows raised mildly, but she greeted Zyanya with the same warm smile she gave to everyone. She noticed the dragon was in absence, but that wasn't always a bad thing.

"Hello, you are Zyanya, I presume? My name is Angela Medina-Rivera, and you may call me Mrs. Medina-Rivera, or if that's too long, you may call me Ms. Angela. Welcome to your genetics course. Today we'll be learning about the Indian Flower Mantis and how that relates to you," she said, and nodded as she tapped the papers on her desk with her fingers. Considering the girl's no-nonsense attitude for a moment, she decided on a different tack than starting from the beginning and going from there.

"Perhaps we could start with you telling me a few things you already know? I won't waste your time retelling you things you have already learned," she said, though an amused thought crossed her mind and made her smile more deeply. If Zyanya was already very well informed, this could end up being a very short class.

Angela did notice the finger thing, but as it didn't seem to be directed at her, she didn't say anything. However, Zyanya's knowledge of her animal half was pretty good.

"Very good!" Angela complimented the teen, and nodded her head. "That's a good basis, and we can fill in the details from there," she added.

"For starters, did you know that mantids don't start out as larvae like most insects? They are born looking like miniature mantises," she said, and came around the desk to walk around. She did like to move as she spoke.

"They molt several times as they grow, and they get their wings in their final molt. Also, as they molt, they may take on a slight hue of the environment. If there are pink flowers in the area, after several molts, they will be slightly pink in color," she stated, her interest in the subject very clear in her eyes. There was always something incredibly interesting about each of the children and their animal, and Zyanya was no exception.

Angela paused, a bit taken aback. She wasn't sure at first how to answer that question, then mentally shrugged and started speaking.

"As human children generally are physically the same as their adult selves, aside from having growing to do, yes, they would be. There wouldn't be anything that might complicate matters from the mantis genes, such as odd metamorphoses."

"Let me ask you, what sort of of environments are you most comfortable in? Your animal counterpart prefers areas with different types of foliage to hide in or perch on while waiting for prey, with a somewhat higher level of humidity than average," she added.

She was a bit confused by the disdain Zyanya was displaying. Angela had hoped that she would want to learn about her animal half simply to know, or at least to provide information that could come in useful later, should any problems or unusual things occur. But, at least she was listening, analyzing, and participating in the discussion.

Angela blinked, a bit taken aback, but after an instant recovered. She considered the problem, tilting her head to one side and resting a finger along her cheek.

"Well, in some species of mantids, the female devours the male after mating, as nourishment for her eggs. However, if the female is well fed beforehand, the likelihood of this happening is much less," Angela said, nodding decisively and smiling.

"In fact, in the species that are prone to this, some males are known to look for females who have just fed for this very reason. So, all you have to do is have him cook you something ahead of time....or you can do it yourself, but that's not as romantic," the teacher said, waving her hand airily.

Angela was pleased that Zyanya seemed to finally be taking an interest, and also pleased that she might have helped to solve some relationship problems.

She checked her notes to make sure before answering Zyanya's next question, and her eyebrows rose a bit. Well, how to break the news gently?

"Well, Zyanya, an egg case typically contains 1500 or more eggs," she said, but hurried on before she could get an outburst from the teen, "but, considering you're also part human, and humans only typically have one or two at a time, you're not likely to have to deal with that many. Perhaps a multiple birth, perhaps not," she finished, not able to give a more concrete answer.

Angela smiled a bit in empathy at Zyanya's shock and dismay, a tinge of sadness hiding in the back of her expression. But, she nodded graciously at the teen's thanks, and replied, "I hope you and your paramour are happy," she said, and hoped that the boy wasn't hoping for a lot of kids.

The teacher thought for a moment. They'd covered physical characteristics, breeding, and habitat had been briefly mentioned but not delved into... there really wasn't too much else that she had found.

"Unless you'd like to go over habitat in more depth, or have any other specific questions, I think we can call this class finished," Angela offered.

Angela, also being in charge of sex ed classes, was probably the best teacher to ask about such things, and she nodded as she moved around to her desk and opened one of the drawers.

"Here is a pamphlet with some phone numbers for family planning centers," Angela said, and handed it to Zyanya, continuing with, "You might have to talk to a tech beforehand, in case there's any issues with genetics and so on."

"Thank you for coming in today. It was a pleasure having you in my class," she added, smiling. She'd had her worries, from Zyanya's other notes, about what sort of a student she might be, but she was quite delightful.