Memorizing [Illia]

[Elle]

There weren't many people out wandering through the meadows this day. There hardly ever were, which made it the perfect place to study peacefully. No one to distract you from your work. Hardly any noise except for the delightful chirping of birds.

Yes, this was exactly how Elle prefered to study. The library was nice, but there was always the possibility of being sucked into an unwanted conversation. The library should be a place to study, but there were always those people who didn't quite understand that. But out here... Well, who would bother her? The squirrels?

Content, Elle began flipping through her notebook, occasionally taking a peak at one of her other books sprawled out on the grass in front of her. Race Civics. Her worst subject. With a sigh, she settled in for a harsh sesion of memorization.

[Iƪƪia]

Gazing across the rolling plains, one might think that it was an unspoken rule to stay away from the area. Not an ounce of truth, of course. No, the true reason why this area was quite deserted stemmed from these creatures' psychological needs. They had to be around those who were like them. Or even those who were unlike them. Just as long as they got that attention that they craved. They hardly ever ventured out here, and if they did, they very rarely would come here alone.

Yes, these creatures were quite interesting. One could spend endless hours observing them. However, every creature needed a moment of solidarity now and then. Though the reasoning differed for every creature.

It was merely a change of pace for Ivan. A leisurely stroll, if you will. While he greatly enjoyed observing the students here, how could he forgo a moment of peace and quiet? A chance to be alone with ones deepest thoughts. A simple, quiet place to think was precisely what he wanted.

Yes, that was it... But it seemed as though today wouldn't be the day for that.

As he looked out across the meadow, he was able to make out a single figure lying beneath a tree on the other side of the plains. The multiple notebooks and text books that were laid out around her revealed that she was studying. A history class, at that. And having a rather difficult time with it, apparently.

Ivan remained where he was, watching her for a time. He needed to dissect this creature's actions. Simple enough. She wasn't an incredibly complex person, he could tell. Not a very social one, either. That was obvious from her choice of study area. Most would choose the library or a classroom, while this girl opted for the outside. That was because it was quieter; unoccupied.

The girl must also rather like the scenery, but that wasn't nearly as interesting.

He decided then, to approach her. She wouldn't care for his company, undoubtedly, though he wouldn't let that fact deter him. He'd really like to get to know this creature. To understand her even better than he already did. Besides, though he had learned a bit about many of this schools occupants, he hadn't yet taken the time to stop and really talk to one. It was rather rude of him, actually.

Forcing these thoughts from his mind, Ivan stopped several feet in front of the girl. A dragon, obviously. Lake water... A water dragon, then. He simply smiled down at the girl. A cordial, subdued smile.

"Why, good afternoon. Lovely day, isn't it?" Nothing like a bit of small talk to break the ice. Maybe even an unnecessary question, "Studying, I see? I was just taking a tour of the ground myself... Ah, I hope I'm not intruding."

As he finished this speech, his eyes turned skyward. Yes, it was a lovely day. Perhaps he'd actually go on that tour one of these days.

[Elle]

For the fifth time, Elle flipped back to the first chapter. She was now determined to memorize the Kenamias' governmental structure. She simply had to figure out the structure of a race other that the dragons. After all, it wasn't really anything special that she knew so much about them, her being one and all...

Just as she made it to the third paragraph, a sudden voice made Elle jump slightly. What the heck?! There wasn't supposed to be anyone out here! There hardly ever was, so why now?Trying to force any trace of nervousness from her face, she looked up at the boy who had spoken to her.

He was... Kinda cute. Certainly nice to look at. However, these thoughts only caused the fire to flare up in her cheeks that much faster. She looked down at the book in her lap quickly, so that he wouldn't see her blush so easily.

"O-oh, um... I-It's okay..." She stuttered a response, picking at the corner of her text book, "Y-yeah, it's, um... Race civics..."

She made a short gesture at the piles of books around her. Despite her efforts to say a bit more than normal, she still only maganaged to give her typical, short response. Hopefully that'd be enough for him.

[Iƪƪia]

Ah, how he had anticipated a quick, stuttered response. It was only natural. She was so shy that she hadn't much experience in speaking at all. With all the time she had spent avoiding situations like this, she had dug herself into such a deep hole that she was practically unable to have a normal conversation with a stranger or acquaintance, even if she really tried.

Well, that only meant that he'd have to be a bit more persistent when speaking to her. She was more likely to speak if continuously spoken to. And if she were speaking about herself.

Satisfied with his logic, Ivan knelt down beside her pile of books, picking one of them up and flipping through it in an interested manner. An act, of course. All he had hoped to accomplish was to seem less threatening now that he was lower to the ground like she was. After all, he already knew quite a bit about such a course. The different race's governments were something he was quite familiar with. And he was... Eh, self-taught.

"Ah... I remember the subject well."

Replacing the book back atop the stack, Ivan continued to watch the dragon, subtly analyzing her actions. He had noticed her blush, of course. And her quick, ashamed reaction to cover it up. She was simply intimidated by him. Not such a great feat. It wouldn't take much to intimidate this girl.

He averted his gaze slightly to the trees behind them so he wouldn't make the dragon any more uncomfortable than she already was.

"Forgive me.. I should have introduced myself first. My name is Ivan... Dimitriev. And to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

Still not looking directly at the girl, he extended his hand in a gesture of greeting.[/color]

[Elle]

Looking away, Elle caught a lock of her hair between her thumb and forefinger and began to intertwine it around her hand. Though she didn't like latge groups at all, a single person could be just as intimidating if not more. After all, there was no one else to distract their attention.

Inhaling a deep breath, she attempted to calm herself. As it turned out, that wasn't too hard. He wasn't even looking right at her now. So this was okay, right? She could handle this...

"My name's Elle... McFarland," She managed to say quietly.

She looked over slightly as she said this. What was so hard about talking to people? She really had to get over this, she thought as she shyly grasped his hand, returning the gesture.

[Iƪƪia]

While her stammering may have ceased, she now had lowered her voice to little more than a whisper. It hardly seemed like a step up, though Ivan was able to tell that it actually signaled an increase in confidence. And of course she felt more confident. The removal of eye contact from a situation had the power to do that.

Gently grasping her hand, he raised it to his lips before allowing her to retract her arm.

"Elle. That would be short for Eleanor, yes? That's quite a lovely name."

While it might have seemed like a type of mind reading, it was more of a parlor trick, than anything else. All he had to do was look down at a certain book upon the ground to find her full name. However, it was sure to command her attention.

Retrieving another text book from Elle's pile, Ivan leaned back against another tree, much like the girl was. He flipped through the first few chapters, not bothering to read the entire book, but instead, he only picked up a few key words and pieced together what each chapter was about based upon them.

He had heard all of this before, though he was certain that he knew just a bit more than what was printed in this outdated book.[/color]

[Elle]

Elle didn't need the burning sensation in her face to realize that her entire face must be bright red by now. Biting her lip, she brought both of her arms in toward her and began to absentmindedly twiddle her thumbs. She desperately needed to do something to get her mind away from the matter at hand. She just needed to relax...

Perhaps that was too much to ask, as at that moment, he called her by her full name. Her head snapped back to look at him, quite against her will. How did he... Could he read minds?!

His scent was so unfamiliar to her... Whatever he was, she knew nothing about him. Oh, if he could read minds... No, that wasn't good. Her mind was her one safe refuge.

"Y-yes, it is... But... I don't like it much, so... People just call me Elle..."

Elle wasn't sure why she had felt the need to explain. After all, if he could read minds, he must already know, right? Still, she just had to say something.

She found herself staring at him as she thought about all of this. It was such a bad habit how she could get so spacy sometimes. Luckily, he was more preoccupied with the book. So he actually liked Race Civics? Good for him... Elle could barely stand the sight of those text books.

[Iƪƪia]

Ivan only nodded as he listened to Elle speak. However, she offered no new information to him. Not directly, anyway. Certainly she preferred her nickname, otherwise she would have introduced herself as Eleanor. However, he doubted that it was solely her decision to be called by that name.

She was a very weak creature. Easily swayed by others opinions. Willing to blindly follow someone until the bitter end. It was shameful, really. Dragons were traditionally strong creatures. If she were only able to overcome this handicap, she could be a great leader.

At the edge of his field of vision, Ivan noticed her looking curiously at the book in his hands. Not a fan of Race Civics, was she? Or any other form of history, most likely.

She seemed like more of a math person, anyway. Formulas and proofs would be her forte. After all, history required a great deal of memorization. Something that this girl seemed to dislike with a passion.

"You... Don't seem like much of a history person, yes?"

As long as he continued to ask her about herself, she'd continue to speak. Not much, though it was a start. And seemingly a great effort for the girl.

[Elle]

Looking away, Elle picked up another book and began flipping through it. She wasn't really reading it. Or even skimming it, for that matter. She didn't even notice the sporadic pictures. All it was was something to do so she wouldn't be expected to make eye contact.

"Not really... It's actually my worst subject..."

Frowning at the book, Elle suddenly wished that this year would end. She wouldn't have to take a history course ever again in college. She could fill her schedule with nothing but math and science courses if she so wished.

Picking up her notebook, she began to take down several notes. Well, not really notes... She was simply copying the first few lines she noticed in the text book. Once again, all it was was something else to do.

[Iƪƪia]

Lowering the book slightly, Ivan watched as Elle scribbled something into her notebook. Notes, perhaps? However... These notes seemed to be a mirror image of several lines near the top of the page in her text book. Rather useless lines at that. No, not notes. Most likely, she was simply engaging herself in an activity as to avoid conversation.

Perhaps he would have normally honored her request, however, she was far too entertaining to ignore now. She had quite a bit of nervous habits, and he was rather enjoying dissecting each of them.

"I see... Well, you are studying. You're proactive at least."

It was the memorization aspect. He was certain about it now. There was just something about her response... She must be more of a math and science person. While the subjects may contain formulas, they also contain logical ways to understand said formulas. Quite different than history. Though it didn't quite make a difference to Ivan. He was equally skilled in all three subjects.

[Elle]

Elle was forced to lean in closer to the book, her face not even inches away from the pages. She always blushed easily, but this was just ridiculous! Turning her head slightly, she pretended to read the following page. Hopefully he'd just think that she was really into this one chapter.

"I... I suppose," She mumbled into her book, "But I-I'm still not too good..."

She just couldn't accept a compliment. Well, she didn't really deserve it, anyway! After all this time spent studying she still was no better with the subject than she had been before. It seemed rather pointless now. Maybe she was just one of those people who couldn't succeed at something no matter how hard she tried...

[Iƪƪia]

At Elle's discomfort, Ivan's smile only broadened. She clearly didn't care for so much attention, nor was she used to it. Perhaps her distant personality would seem annoying to some, but she seemed rather cute to him.

She was clearly an easy person to get along with. After all, she didn't really have a personality of her own. Or, rather, she wouldn't show much of it. And what she did so was quite unassuming and unoffensive to most. Really, she couldn't offend anyone. Unless that person really disliked such awkward silences.

"No? I'm rather fond of history myself."

Here he gently closed the book and returned it to the pile. Leaning forward, away from the tree, he ran a hand through his hair before continuing.

"If you like, I could help you there."

[Elle]

Inhaling a sharp breath, Elle closed her book and returned it too to the pile. Ivan seemed really nice... Too nice. People usually were pretty cordial to her face or they simply ignored her, but she wasn't used to all of this attention. It was unnerving...

Yes, it would probably be better for her to decline and go on with her life as if they'd never met... However, that wasn't a possibility. She'd always had a difficult time saying 'no' and it wasn't about to get easier at this very moment. Besides... It felt like... Like she wanted to see him again.

"Well, um... Okay..."

She bit her lip as soon as the words left her mouth. She didn't know if she should regret having said them or not.

[Iƪƪia]

"Ah, very well!"

He leaned forward still, brushing the chips of bark from his shoulders. Leaning against the tree was a rather foolish idea, actually. Yes, he should get his jacket dry-cleaned now. But was there even a dry-cleaners in town? Well, no matter. He'd find one somewhere.

With that in mind, he continued to smile charmingly at the girl. While she may have only agreed to placate him, he was still quite satisfied with her answer.

"Well, perhaps we could meet somewhere more suited to studying? I believe this school has a rather extensive library."

Producing a pocket watch from inside of his jacket, Ivan quickly glanced at the time. Though it was true that he didn't care to continue this outside, he had more pressing reasons to resume their conversation at a later time.

His watch revealed that he really must be leaving soon if he were to reach his destination on time. And it wouldn't do to be late at all. Pushing himself up off of the ground, he straightened out his jacket as he looked out across the plains.

"Although, I have a certain matter to take care of first. Shall I meet you there in about an hour?"

Ivan was sure that he already knew the answer, so actually asking was merely a formality. With a tip of his head, he took several steps backward. Time was running out now. He was fairly certain that he wouldn't be late, but he couldn't risk taking any chances.[/color]

[Elle]

"O-okay..."

An hour... Well, at least she had some time to mentally prepare. After all, she was having a hard enough time keeping her skin at present. At least if her skin failed out here, there wouldn't be many people around to see her, but if it failed in school... It's times like these when Elle wished that she had a recording of Seth's one song... It was really relaxing. Or maybe she should take up drinking? Actually... Maybe not.

As she was attempting to prepare herself already, she noticed that Ivan suddenly seemed like he was in a hurry. He said he had something to take care of... Maybe he was late for a class or something?

Elle began to pack up her things as she thought about this. She should at least brush her windblown hair before she headed to the library. Oh, why did her hair have to be so unruly?

Packing the last of her things away in her satchel, she too stood up.

"S-so... I'll see you then..."

With that she turned and headed toward the dorms, her skin flickering ever so slightly as she did.