From the Vast

Chapter 15: Nurture

"^So, any more questions for now?^"

Despite the utter weirdness of the creature being discussed, not even two entire classes of kids could maintain a steady output of questions forever; Autumn left with no responses for the first time in what felt like hours. She definitely wouldn't disagree with that development, and neither would Geiger after having to do more talking in one extended session than he usually did in a week. Still, it'd be a shame for their class to end on a flat note like that.

No, there were much better ways of reinforcing the knowledge she'd been trying to drill into their heads.

"^Alrighty! Now, how about you discuss what you've all just learned with your friends? We and other teachers are here, so if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask!^"

On cue, the entire clearing exploded into a cacophony of murmurs, growls, and whispers; what felt like a dozen different discussions starting off before she could even finish the sentence. Quite a lot of sudden noise for her ears and horns alike, but the Indeedee would tolerate a bit of over-stimulation if it meant the kids would be more effectively swayed.

And, even more importantly, she could exchange more than a couple of words with the adults now that the little ones were occupied.

"^How are you holding up, Geiger?^"

A drawn out grunt and a staggered stretch weren't the most inspiring of responses to a question like that, but the words that followed made up for it somewhat.

"I'm managing, I think. Glad to be of help, though, good gods, my throat is taking a beating."

"^Won't hurt to grab a drink at Viv's after we're done here.^"

"That it won't, indeed. As an aside... I can't say I'm not curious about your personal involvement in the girl's situation, Autumn. The way Oliver described your request made it look... unusually pointed for you."

"^That's... an accurate way of describing it, yeah. Hard to be too detached with my daughter having been Anne's primary point of contact with the village for the past couple days, and having gotten a very good look at what brought her here in the first place.^"

"Hmm, about that. I've heard a lot about 'what' but very little of 'why', and I won't deny my curiosity about that. Ultimately, I only know so much about humanity, and to hear about a child escaping her home to her doom sets off more alarms to my head than one of the practice emergency drills at the building I worked at."

Autumn had exactly zero idea about what his comparison meant in terms of words, but everything about what emotions came with it, and those were inarguable.

"^Ultimately, it comes down to an abusive family making her fear for her life.^"

Geiger didn't respond immediately, his tone instead lowering into a drawn out grumble; the charge in his body spiking enough to produce visible discharge between his horns and tails for a brief moment.

"I see. I am terribly sorry. Suppose it only makes sense to prepare everyone for accepting a new head in our fold, even if it's an unusual one."

"^I hope so, yes.^"

The uncertainty in Autumn's voice caught the Electivire's attention right away; eyes narrowing with another, brighter flash between his horns.

"And I'd hope something as self-evident as a girl's need for safety isn't being called into question by anyone beyond an annoying, xenophobic child..."

"^I wish.^"

Immediately, his right hand clenched into a tight fist, the Thunder Punch's charge fierce enough to catch the attention of many nearby kids.