Northstar Vale (PTERO 101) Like boom.

I’ve tagged everyone who signed up here but if you want your character to be involved, please feel free to join! I will make sure to put additional participants on the class roster.

Tagged parties do not necessarily need to post here; your presence for the class was assumed! This is open to anyone.

@Tamar @Zosime @Zulema

The daylight began to fail, forcing Towhee to conclude her first Ptero 101 session after nearly two hours. She thought she might want to revisit the starting time, though it was probably past time to dismiss the class anyway. If her wrists were sore, then she imagined everyone else’s probably hurt too.

Same time, same place, next week, she reminded everyone, then couldn’t resist tacking on a playful, -“Class dismissed!”-

If some of them chose to hang out a little while, Towhee wouldn’t complain. She retreated to the mouth of the cave and sat with a quiet grunt, letting her back rest against the cool stone. It twinged a little, though it didn’t actually hurt. She let out a sigh of contentment.

Tomorrow, she would finally let herself go exploring.

Some minor powerplay of the kids. Please let me know if it’s not okay! ^^

Towhee’s first Ptero lesson was something that the Arche had been looking forward to. He had talked with his children about accompanying them and Tamar, wishing to learn from the warrior woman. The art of language was something he hoped his pups would appreciate. Arsenio had been thrilled at the prospect of sharing communication with Towhee that was more comfortable for her.

By the end of the first lesson, the redstone man was overflowing. He feared that he might forget what had been taught, though he hoped that she would give him an opportunity or two for practice. Beyond this, he believed that his children had enjoyed their time learning something new.

Approaching the Theos, Arsenio flashed a toothy smile in greeting.

You are a fine teacher, -Towhee- he spoke and then signed her name as best as he could.

Antigone approached their instructor, standing stiffly at the feet of his father.

Arsenio spoke openly with the woman. It made the boy feel strange, out of place. He wondered if they had known each other for long. The way that his father had spoken about her had been positive, happy. The red-hooded boy believed that they must have been friends for some time.

When he saw his father attempt to sign the woman’s name in the method she had instructed them, he frowned and shook his head. No, dad… like this, he grunted with a nudge of his snout and then showed the correct way to say Towhee in Ptero. Right? he then asked of their teacher, his eyes fixing to her face.

it had been a good lesson!

tamar's wrist was cramped, though she knew it would become stronger with practice. she glanced at antigone, wondering over the boy's straight back.

but then she saw how he spoke to his father, and smiled. her eyes went to towhee in gratitude for the woman's time and the lesson.

No strict post order necessary, I’ll just start the next round once everyone posts. :)

Arsenio came up to her with words of praise, making a point to include her name sign. His son stood beside him, looking stern, especially at his father’s attempted Ptero. Young Antigone quickly corrected the Arche, which made Towhee suck in a breath and press her lips together, a laugh slamming against the backs of her teeth.

-Right on,- she signed at Antigone with a wink. Aloud, she added, -“Hey, thanks. On a scale of one to ten, how bad is your carpal tunnel now?”- and grinned at Arsenio.

She felt Tamar’s warm gaze and motioned her closer if she wanted to join the small social hour. It was probably way too soon to start demanding more feedback, so Towhee decided she would accept the leader’s praise and repress the urge to grill his entire family on how they felt the lesson had gone.

Psh!

The russet-furred man laughed. His son’s stern expression was surprising. The mercenary listened as his boy explained the proper way to sign Towhee’s name. Arsenio repeated the gesture with a tweak in his paw – the muscles and tendons were sore from the practice. It would take some work to strengthen those parts of his body. He was eager to keep trying.

Towhee asked for a scaled rating. Arsenio did not know if the question was aimed for all of them or primarily the young ones. The man glanced toward Tamar, happy to see that she drew closer. He hoped that she’d enjoyed the lesson.

We will all work to strengthen our bodies. Can’t have anyone slacking during the next lesson, hm? Right, son? Arsenio nudged his boy, still grinning. He shuffled a step back so that he could stand closer to Tamar.

The red-hooded boy gave their instructor a small smile. The expression did not quite reach his eyes. Antigone felt strange that his father would speak so loudly when he had not paid well enough attention to even learn their teacher’s name. The young pup hoped that his dad would try harder during the next lesson. It was important that they keep being allowed to attend these things. It felt good to learn something new.

When Towhee offered him a signed kudos, Antigone bowed his head to her. He was grateful that she approved of his watchful eye and his close attention to detail. She asked them how their carpal tunnel was. The boy glanced toward his mother, unsure how he was supposed to answer the question. He did not feel that there was anything wrong with what they had learned.

The boy with the red hood remained quiet, listening to his parents speak with instructor Towhee.

tamar smiled at her husband.

she laughed; she signed the first letters of an alphabet and then looked toward antigone. their son was quite studious and serious in this moment.

"is there anything else you want to ask towhee?" she inquired of the boy, glancing up warmly toward the instructor.

No one answered her question, though it had only been a joke. One glance at Antigone’s face told her that it had gone over his head, either way. He seemed so serious, especially compared to her mischievous pair. He reminded her of some of Germanicus’s and Ruenna’s kids, a thought which made a shadow briefly flicker across her expression.

-“I recommend rotating your paws like this a few times a day, helps stretch the tendons,”- Towhee told them, doing a brief demonstration, -“and if they’re really bothering you, soak them in some cold water for a few minutes.”-

Tamar asked her son if he had any questions for Towhee. The Redhawk returned her attention to her most earnest of pupils, always keen to help someone better understand the ways of Ptero, even after the formal lesson was over.

Arsenio noted the paw rotation. He lifted his foot to mimic her motion, feeling the stretch of his muscles in a satisfying way. If he managed to retain the knowledge Towhee shared, he hoped that he could use her methods of communication more often. It was hard for the man to bite his tongue – he was very fond of speech and what it could do. The Arche needed to remember that this was merely a different way to use those words.

Ah, you have… a sign for your name, he spoke to Towhee, head tilted curiously. Arsenio offered a clumsy attempt at the gesture she had shown them. How would you say my name? It seemed like a selfish question, but he found himself curious to know if each wolf’s name sign was as unique as they were.

Antigone also mimicked the paw rotation. The young wolf was slow to start. The more he stretched the feeling in his wrist, the better it felt. After a few moments, the soreness of their exercises did not bother him quite as much. Satisfied with the progress, the red-hooded boy glanced to his father when a question was asked about names. He felt a rush of embarrassment when he saw Arsenio’s poor attempt to use Towhee’s name in ptero.

The young wolf wondered if they would have a course on how to introduce themselves. How many wolves knew this language? Could it be used to their advantage? Antigone felt his mind whir with thoughts and questions he did not speak. Curious about what his own name might look like if it were signed by their instructor, he watched Towhee intently to see if she would answer Arsenio’s question.

tamar nodded.

her wrists indeed felt better. she gave towhee a warm look, then glanced toward arsenio. it was a good question. now she too was curious!

lastly tamar eyed her son once more. intense. scholarly.

It was Arsenio who came up with the next question. Towhee nodded, performing her name sign a few times alongside him until he’d more or less perfected the movements. The followup question made her lips twitch into a grin.

-“That can be your homework assignment,”- she replied. -“You can come up with your own name sign, something that feels like it suits you. It can be a completely random motion or based on words—I’m always happy to provide a translation for any word you need—or even entire phrases you feel represent you. The alternative is spelling it out every time, which works in a pinch. But it’s sort of tedious.”-

It was officially dark now. Towhee could pick up signing even in low lighting conditions but she knew the others would have trouble. Besides, everyone’s wrists were getting tired, her own included. She didn’t mind if they hung about a bit longer, though she decided to rest her feet on the loam and resort to verbal articulation.

Next week, we can start by introducing ourselves with our name signs, she said, eyes bouncing from Arsenio to Tamar, then to Antigone. Sound like a plan?

I think this’ll be my last. Thanks so much for participating and please feel free to include references to future classes anytime. :)