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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 17:28:55 GMT -5
The week after Less' meeting with the headmistress, the young werewolf went in to meet with the teacher in charge of his detention. It had, admittedly, taken a while for him to find her office, so he was probably slightly late. He knocked on the door to her office and called out, "Hello?"
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 17:30:16 GMT -5
"Yes? Oh, come in", Tate's voice could be heard from inside.
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 17:34:21 GMT -5
Less let himself in and went to stand in front of the professor's desk. He had his head lowered somewhat and his eyes averted, which unfortunately was a little piece of body language that could be mistaken for disinterest or (depending on how one interpreted it) defiance. Less merely felt that he was properly showing submission to a higher authority. "May I ask what my task will be?" he asked, still without making eye contact.
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 17:37:50 GMT -5
"Task? Uhm, what is your name again? I'm sorry but if you've been in my class I simply do not remember you yet." Tate began searching from something on her desk. It didn't look messy, but there was a very stuffed looking recycling bin for paper in the corner of the office. "Detention, detention was it?" she asked with a warm smile.
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 17:51:43 GMT -5
"I'm Less Than Beta of the East Tundra pack. I do not believe that we have met before. You are Professor Tate, right?" Less' voice pitched up slightly as he asked the question. "I was told that you were the professor to handle my detention, yes."
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 17:56:29 GMT -5
"Then you are in the right place", Tate said brightly. She went to a bookshelf in the office, looked around it and then finally settled on something with an "a-ha!".
"My classroom is right next door and it's empty. I've simply lost the list but if someone else comes for detention I'll spot them." She went to the office door and held it open. "Shall we?"
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 18:00:33 GMT -5
"So we are going to your classroom?" Less looked politely at the open door, but did not go through it. It would be above his place to lead a person of higher authority. "May I ask what my task will be?"
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 18:04:39 GMT -5
Tate chuckled. "Your task is to sit in a desk and optionally engage in polite conversation with me. I am also curious to hear what such a quiet and nice boy like you are doing in detention."
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 18:13:44 GMT -5
He still waited for the professor to go through the door. "There was an incident in the computer lab which involved another student." Less wouldn't exactly call it a fight, really. Just a small incident where one party attacked and the other retaliated. It ended far too quickly to become a fight.
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 18:16:04 GMT -5
"I see", Tate said, sensing the boy wouldn't be volunteering any more information. She looked at him standing there for a moment. "We can sit the detention here if you like but I'd have thought students would find the smaller space too intimate."
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 18:25:11 GMT -5
Less was very good at patiently waiting. "When you are ready, I will go to the classroom." What he meant was that he would go once the teacher did. It simply didn't occur to him that the teacher was waiting for him to leave first, instead of perusing a chain of thought that would be interrupted by walking.
If Professor Tate asked what happened in the computer lab, he would most certainly tell her, but he was not accustomed to volunteering information that did not have to do with a hunt or was not an emergency.
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 18:28:13 GMT -5
Tate looked at him, puzzled. "I am ready to go once I have locked my office up. I'd rather not leave you there alone with all my files and books, and I'm pretty sure it'd be criminal negligence or worse."
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 18:34:07 GMT -5
"Then why do you not go?" Less ventured the potentially-insolent question, shifting his feet in discomfort. While he was perfectly fine at waiting patiently, he was not the type to question authority. Already he was beginning to wonder whether he should have just kept waiting quietly.
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 18:36:49 GMT -5
Tate didn't think they were having special education kids in the school, but maybe they did now...
She stepped out of the office. "Can you come out now?"
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 18:41:24 GMT -5
Less stepped through after her. "A student cannot lead a teacher except in specific and unfortunate circumstances," he muttered to himself, but still loud enough for Professor Tate to hear should she decide to listen. Now he was going to wait for her to lead him to the classroom.
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 18:42:46 GMT -5
Tate shrugged, locked her office, and walked into her classroom. "Pick a desk", she called out to him, "from the two closest rows." She laid the book on her desk in front of the room and sat down.
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 18:49:49 GMT -5
Less chose the middle-most desk in the first row. As he sat down in it, he set his ever-present notebook on the desk and opened it. He was ready to take note of any hints towards not getting in trouble again. "What questions do you have for me?" he asked after retrieving a somewhat-dull pencil from a pocket.
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 18:56:48 GMT -5
"This is a conversation, not an interrogation. But let's see... you are in detention because you did something against the rules, I would assume. Do you think this is the fairest way to punish for the infraction? The best way?"
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 19:02:30 GMT -5
Less cocked his head to the side. "The best way is the way the leader says is best. The fairest way is the same. In this case, the leader is the headmistress and she is the one who assigned me detention with you as the manager. I have not had detention before, so I may not be the best person to ask."
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 19:11:12 GMT -5
"That is... interesting. Most of the children your age would say that they had done nothing wrong or that the punishment was too harsh even if they had done it." Tate was a bit concerned now and it was in her voice; what had happened to this poor boy? Abusive parents? It was like talking to a soldier. "What if the leader is wrong?"
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 19:18:15 GMT -5
"If the leader is wrong, than he or she will no longer be a leader. The rest of the pack will always drive out poor leaders." Less began to wonder why the professor was asking him these questions. He doubted that she was looking for an opportunity to challenge the headmistress for her place, but was still curious.
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 19:19:54 GMT -5
"The pack?" Something seemed to click in Tate's head. "You think you live in a pack of some kind?" It would fit the picture, she supposed. Maybe he had been raised by animals? But those tales never ended with a person as socialized as the one sitting in front of her.
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 19:28:03 GMT -5
Less cocked his head to the other side. "Werewolves live in packs unless they have been driven out. The pack must be led, or we will starve. It is very hard for us to live on their own." He had thought that all of the teachers knew what he was.
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 19:37:27 GMT -5
"Werewolv- oh my. Uh, maybe there was a memo, but I must have lost it", she said and tried to smile. "I didn't mean to insult you, I just didn't know. Very interesting. So you have a pack but you come to a human school regardless?"
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 19:45:59 GMT -5
Less didn't mind the 'oh, my.' He recognized that many humans didn't know that weres existed. "Normally, my pack members stay and learn in the pack. However, Negotiator is getting old. A negotiator is always needed, so I am here to learn about humans so I can take over for her when she dies. It is harder than I thought."
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Post by Jocelyn Tate on Jun 21, 2010 20:00:42 GMT -5
"It sounds like a lot of responsibility, and it does seem to weigh on you - you seem more mature than your years would suggest. Though I don't know how that works for werewolves.
Alright, here's a better focused question to you. This country is founded on the principle that all men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Are you a "man"? Does this apply to you? Should it?"
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Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jun 21, 2010 20:37:50 GMT -5
"You can't stay a pup forever," Less said. He shifted in his seat slightly. "I am not fully grown. Therefore I am a boy, not a man. Semantics aside, and assuming that you mean 'man' as 'male person,' yes I would say it applies to me. I am not a prey animal. I shape my environment, I use tools, I am a person. Why would it not apply to me? I would appreciate it if that principle applied to my sisters as well, and to Alpha."
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