Place of Learning

Some are familiar with a particular stereotype. At the word 'nun' some may conjure the image of a lady, withered by her years, who finds limitless energy to draw upon to torment those in her charge, under the pretense of 'wanting to cultivate discipline and faithful spirits'. This may have been a harsh archetype built by the minds of children unable to empathize with their teachers' limited patience, but for Yorresie, it was all too accurate. Her teacher - Sister Aria - had fit that stereotype to a T. Sister Aria was gone now - Geod grant her peace - but her impact on Yorresie had set the course for the younger nun's life.

Years of taking bitter, unconstructive criticism and having her wrists switched had taught her a lesson, but not the one Sister Aria may have intended. Yorresie came to understand that physical **** and cruelty were neither ethical nor useful tools in a teacher's kit. As a teacher with six years of experience herself, Yorresie knew - quite viscerally - how contentious children could be. She knew how strong the impulse to respond with raised voices and slapped hands was. But she also knew how ineffective those methods were. Kids would either openly resist such attempts to subjugate them, or they would capitulate, but develop a warped understanding of what a teacher is. A teacher is meant to be figure that educates, that helps, that uplifts their pupils; not a warden that demands perfection in exchange for undesired knowledge.

This was the philosophy Yorresie lived by. There are no bad students; only those in need of more creative teachers. It had worked for her thus far. Even in rare, nightmarish cases, compassion and imaginative approaches brought out the best in children. She had a knack for this, and the other agents of the school knew it.

"Yorresie! Angels smile upon you. You look even more stunning today," a robed man gushed as he stepped in from the hallway.

"My thanks, Brother Matthew." Yorresie was in her classroom, arranging materials and reviewing her plan for the day. She was indeed a stunning woman, with long wavy hair, black skin, a wide nose, eyes one seemed to lose themself in, and a height that placed her above the average person. That being said, compliments on her appearance were not typically spoken by Brother Matthew; not unless he was after something.

"Do you... have anything arranged this evening?" he asked, rocking from his heels to his toes.

"No..." she responded. She had an idea where this was going.

"If it is not too much to ask... would you please watch over Lila and Dustin for me tonight?"

There it is.

Lila and Dustin were the children of Brother Matthew and his partner. If he needed them watched, then that meant he wanted to go out for the night. Given the timing of this request relative to Priestess Fauxbright's declaration... she could guess what he had planned. Then again, maybe she could not. Anyone familiar with the relationship between Brother Matthew and his partner would not so much as entertain the notion of infidelity. But then that raised the question: if he was not going out behind his partner's back, then what did he have planned?

Perhaps they had something planned.

Yorresie shivered as some kinky and unwelcome ideas about Brother Matthew and his partner entered her head. None of this yet even touched on her hesitation in accepting the monk's request. The problem was not him, it was his kids. Clearly, with Yorresie's principles, she held nothing against Lila and Dustin. It was just that the pair was rather energetic, to put it mildly. Few could be put in charge of them and not beg for a break after half an hour. Yorresie was good with kids, but that was not to say that she would ever volunteer to supervise Lila and Dustin.

Despite all of this, she had no plans that night, and no real reason to turn down Brother Matthew. "Certainly," she accepted with a weak smile.

"Thank you so much! You're a saint! I'll bring them to the school courtyard at six!" he said, backing out of the room excitedly. The dread behind the nun's façade was not lost on him, though. He was well aware of how big a favour Yorresie was doing for him, and he would be sure to repay her for it.

Zaida pushed through the church school's doors in the armour the knight corps had provided her. She was not a fan of it, preferring her leather set to these rigid, glary plates. They offered no flexibility in the abdomen, it felt like it trapped heat like an oven, and it hid some of the best parts of her figure - but mostly the first two things. She had outright left the helmet she was given on her bunk. She had her mace strung to the back of her cuirass, but passing by children in the hall, she just felt self-conscious about it.

The church folk on the other hand... around them, it granted her reassurance. Who knew what devious schemes were cooking in the hearts beneath those habits and robes? Could they sense her true nature, and kept it to themselves? Were they simply awaiting some holy trap that would snap shut on her at any moment? Had word spread about her exposure last night? Why did some of them look at her like that? Had one of them seen her? Did they know? Did they know?

"Good morni-"

"NoI'mnot!" Zaida blurted at the monk that had been smiling warmly as he passed her. Needless to say, his expression was more of one of concern after that. "Um... sorry," Zaida called after his hasty departure.

Avoiding further paroxysms, Zaida wandered the halls, uncertain as to where she was expected to patrol. There was plenty to wander too. The school was two stories tall, and host to two or three dozen rooms. She encountered other knights in her milling. The first simply looked too bored to pay her much mind, but the second approached her.

"What are you doing over here?" he asked in a tone that was perhaps more gruff than was polite.

"Guarding...?" she offered.

"Not over here, you're not," he shook his head. "Monitor the west side of the first floor." He pointed down the passage.

"Right away." She gave a sloppy imitation of the salute she had seen other knights give each other.

Zaida arrived in 'her' corridor. It was totally devoid of anyone else. Voices from occupied classrooms bled into the hall and echoed off the hard walls and floor. The knight walked the length of it, catching snippets of monotone lectures and the occasional chorus of a prompted response.

"Humans learn in a place like this?" she muttered skeptically to herself.

A few of the classrooms had their doors open to invite air circulation in retaliation against the heat of the day. Zaida slowed to a stop outside one such room after hearing words implying that geography was being discussed within. Be it that that was one such topic that she had not impressed Tivra and Edie in, she stepped inside.

"Very good, Fatima," Yorresie praised one of her students for her correct answer. She stood beside a blackboard, guiding her students with a piece of chalk over a crude rendition of the kingdom. "Now, if we were to travel north from the capital - for seventy-two kilometres, right over the river - we will arrive..." The nun trailed off as she noticed the knight intruding on her class.

Neither the look from her, nor from any of her students slowed her pace as the armoured woman casually made her way over and leaned against the back wall. Seeing her pause there, most of the children looked to Yorresie, as though they expected she was in the know on why this stranger was joining them that day. If the knight wanted to speak with her, Yorresie would have expected her to pause in the doorway and say as much. Instead, she situated herself at the back of the room like a delinquent did behind a tavern.

"Well-met, my good knight." The nun did not abandon decorum.

Frankly, the intruder looked caught off guard by the teacher acknowledging her. "Likewise." She said nothing more.

"Can I do anything for you...?"

"No, thank you. Please, don't allow me to interfere with the lesson."

A bit late for that, Yorresie thought. She blinked and cleared her throat, rallying her students' attention. "Right. Erm... Ah, yes! Blithehold. Seventy-two kilometres north of- Oh, rats!" she exclaimed, realising she had said the answer aloud. One of her students raised their hand. "Yes, Qaniit?"

"Is the knight a new student in our class?" they asked.

"No, she it not." Yorresie took the opportunity to subtly recommend that the invader leave. Evidently, it was too subtle, as the woman merely appeared puzzled that she was being looked at while someone else's question was answered.

The nun moved to resume her lesson once more before accepting that she would not be able to instruct without bringing this situation to some sort of close. "Miss knight, might I speak to you alone in the hall?" She **** a smile.

"Certainly." The woman shifted her weight off the wall and moved to the door.

Yorresie had half a mind to simply throw the door shut behind her and latch it, but thought better of it. "Class, talk among yourselves, if you please. I'll only be a moment." She gave them a more sincere smile for reassurance before drawing the door shut.

She stood alone with the knight in the corridor. By the look of her, she had yet to suspect that her actions were in any way inconvenient to the nun.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Yorresie's tone was confrontational without being too aggressive.

"I'm Zaida, and I'm afraid I don't quite follow."

"What is this?" the teacher threw her arms out wide, referring to the situation. "Why are you walking into my class in the middle of a lesson?"

"To learn," Zaida said, like it was obvious.

"The knights have their own teachers and school," Yorresie pointed out. "Look, I don't know what game Dyna is trying to play here, but this is not okay. If she wants to challenge the priestess to screwing contests, that's between them; but under no circumstance am I going to tolerate soldiers coming into my class and attempting to intimidate me in front of my students. Understand?"

The nun had closed the gap, her face only a couple breaths away from Zaida's with her finger pointed at the knight's throat like a dagger. Tall as she was, she was nearly eye level with the warrior.

"I don't think that I do," Zaida responded candidly. Her features did their best to convey to Yorresie that her intimidation and confusion were no act.

Yorresie either did not notice or did not care. "Zaida..." the teacher took a step back, one arm held out, pointing off to the distance. "... get out."

As the knight understood it, leaving the building would be abandonment of her guard duty there, but disobeying this fuming woman before her was out of the question. Meekly, she did as she was told, following the passage out of sight.

By Geod, what was that all about? Yorresie took some deep breaths, recomposing herself to return to her class. Ugh, that and I'll have Lila and Dustin later? What did I do to deserve this?