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Thali didn't want to be here. She didn't want to be in class, not after what had happened. She wanted to be in her room! In her suite where no one could bother her. Here, in class... She didn't feel like learning. Not more than a few days had passed since the death of her friend.

The tiny toddler sat at her equally tiny desk, her feet barely reaching the floor beneath her. She had a book that when held up, hid her face and most of her upper body. She couldn't read very well, but that didn't keep her from trying. She had always liked reading with Lani... Lani would have helped her with these lessons.

They were difficult. Thali was smart enough to know that those the same age as she was weren't given these lessons. Addie and Livvy hadn't been. So why was everyone so hard on her?

Unfortunately for Aeto, the little princess knew nothing of Leirre, or perhaps she would have been nicer to him. In fact, she merely thought he was a mean teacher who liked bossing her around, keeping her inside when she could have been playing outside like every other elf her age. He frightened her, even. She'd never tell him that.

"Morning, Lord Aeto," the tiny princess intoned. It wasn't a good morning. It was a horrible morning. The toddler didn't think mornings would ever be good, unless Elani decided to come back from the dead. "What I learnin' today?" It didn't matter what she was learning, as long as she was able to go home soon.

Thali hesitated. Why had they left their old home? She didn't know, she hadn't been around when it'd happened. None of the elves alive had been. While she was thinking about what she would say, her tiara went lopsided. One of the ends was poking at her cheek, perfect for sucking on. Which she promptly did.

"To get away from meanies?" she guessed. This teacher had always been rumored to be really nice, and easy going. Especially amoung her older siblings. They had said how he allowed them to act out history lessons.

He had never done that for her.

Thali frowned, but stopped sucking on her tiara. "Papa lets me," she said. "Papa lets me all time." Of course Averi let her, he allowed her to do pretty much anything she desired.

She thought about his next question, hesitating. She thought she knew the answer. She thought she did. What did she do when she first visited a place? Explore of course! "'Plore?" she asked. "Me and 'Lani 'plore all time!" She paused, realizing with a jolt that she and her friend wouldn't be exploring anymore. Her friend was gone. Gone.

The toddler sniffled, and bowed her head over her desk. "No more 'ventures..."

"Trees and fl'wers," Thali mumbled, still not looking up from her desk. She rubbed at a stormy blue eye with one small hand. Now Thali wasn't a bad student, not at all. In fact, her previous tutors had liked to say she was one of their smartest pupils, and they weren't just saying that to please her father.

Still, she hadn't been able to prove that to Aeto yet. She was determined to; the tiny toddler, half the size of her peers, was determined. "Aeto? I miss my 'Lani. No one bring her back... Can you?"

No, it seemed the toddler didn't quite understand the concept of death yet.

"Oooh..." Thali thought about it, her thumb going to her mouth. "Pears!" she said, though it was muffled behind her hand. "Pears. I luv pears. They so good..." She paused and frowned at her teacher.

"Why?" she asked seriously. "Why again't rules? 'Lani hiding! No one look for her... Why no one look? I order it! Find her! Find her!" Her eyes turned into slits of angry silver-blue for just a moment, and then-- she rubbed at her eyes with her fists. She sniffled. "I wanna go home," she stated, oblivous to the fact that technically, she was home. They were still in the castle.

"Dun wanna learn no more."

"I dun want death," Thali sniffled, leaning against Aeto as he hugged her. "I forbid it." She would hang anyone who tried dying. They'd be sorry they ever tried it! She'd hang them and they'd apologize, and never do it again. She knew they would.

She brightened up considerably at the suggestion of going to the garden. "Really?" she asked hopefully, drying her tears with her sleeve. "We play too! Come on, Unca Aeto! Come on! We play with my fl'wers!"

Thali seemed to ignore his first statement completely. She was much too excited about working with flowers to have given him much attention. "Hooray! Fl'wers! I planted some, you know. I did. I take good care of em!" And she did tend to take very good care of them, with the help of guards or the gardeners who'd allowed her to plant easily grown flowers, as well as giving her a set of gardening tools just her size.

She leaned against Aeto's shoulder when he picked her up. He was being much nicer now, why? She supposed she would be nicer too. She'd attempt to behave. "I luv you," she said.