Some Wings Must Bleed

Chapter 3 - Horses Do Be Shitting

Kurapika and I followed the kids outside to the road, to which they all huddled up and looked to me in anticipation. Our clan's village was pretty much just one big road with buildings along it, which was actually nice because nothing was too complicated. The heads of the clan lived on a hill that wasn't not too far from the village, and everyone else either lived on or around the main road.

"Alright babies, follow me!" I chirped, walking behind the school to a small pond and creek where some of the horses came to drink water.

I instructed the children to sit in a circle and did a rough head count. The classes were small these days, and that particular one only had about nine kids. I sat in the circle and Kurapika cautiously sat next to me. "Miss (y/n)! Guess, guess what!" A small boy named Haru piped up. "My birthday is in three days and I'm going to be eight!" He announced proudly, a slight lisp slipping through his charming gapped teeth.

"That's incredible Haru! You're going to be the man of the house now!" I remarked, taking my index finger and lightly tapping his small, freckle-filled nose.

The boy giggled and swatted my hand away as the other children chatted amongst themselves, some of them pointing at Kurapika.

They're probably talking about his weird outfit.

"Alright babies, do you know what we are practicing today?" I questioned, searching around the circle and excitedly making eye contact with all of the children. "We are practicing communication techniques with animals!" I practically whispered, drawing my students in and smiling to myself once I saw their enthralled faces.

The interest appeared to not last long for everyone, however. "What color are your eyes?" A student name Chiyo asked, leaning closer to Kurapika with no sense of boundaries.

Kurapika leaned back as she began to climb onto him, and I felt a slight urge to laugh at the sight. I mean, the stupid hunter looked so uncomfortable. It was hilarious. Suddenly my teacher side snapped back in and I leaned over to Kurapika, swiping Chiyo and placing her on my own lap, to which she happily played with my hair.

"Now, there are two ways to go about communicating with animals. The first is the physical way, in which you communicate by studying and copying motions that the animal does. The second is the emotional way, in which you speak to the animal."

"Uhm, Miss (y/n)? How do we talk to the animal? I don't speak animal." Haru stated, fiddling with a piece of grass.

I moved Chiyo slightly before bringing my hands in front of me, raising them a bit so that the whole class could see them. I concentrated some nen onto my hands, letting the white aura surround them as the class watched in amazement.

It's not like this is the first time they've ever seen nen...

"That's why we call it emotional instead of verbal. If you focus your energy into forming a sort of spiritual understanding with the animal, you can speak and understand the rough gist of what's going on! It's not like a direct science or translation, but when it clicks for you, you'll just get it!" I tried to explain it as simple as possible, but some of my students still looked lost.

I decided to continue with the class instead of explaining farther. "Alright, today's assignment is to find a creature in the pond or the creek and make some sort of communication with it. Whether you attempt emotional or physical, I would like you to report back to me with your experience. Understood?"

"Understood!" The class replied back.

All of them hopped up and rushed to the water, spreading out almost immediately and sifting through the stream. All of them except Chiyo. "I don't like the water, Miss (y/n)! It's cold and bugs are in it!" She professed, pouting her bottom lip as her eyes filled up with tears.