Ill, Literate, And Mai [Mai]

… Damn, shit, fuck.

Nah, his day wasn’t supposed to be annoying. Scratch that – his life wasn’t supposed to be annoying. Ever since he cashed in on the girlfriend lottery and became king, life was supposed to be a dance on a bed of roses, not a damn… tutelage. Or was it, perhaps, because it just happened to involve the most annoying toddler in Ace of Spades?

Well, if there was any solace to this, it’d be the fact that a smarter Mai… would likely be a kinder Mai. And a kinder Mai would be a splendid Sabertooth mage one day. However, education aside for those who pursue the career of a guild mage (and a legal one at that), any person should at least learn OR have the right to learn how to read and… y’know, write and stuff.

Mai, apparently and allegedly, couldn’t. So that was where Imai stepped in. Man, he’d need Vitria’s attention for several nights after this; he could already feel the bite wounds ache on his skin…

“…”

Where the heckity fuck was she, now? She was at the inn a second ago, and Imai was waiting for her at one of the classy, wooden tables. Despite their reputation, the Red Dragon’s Inn’s spirit was simplicity – okay, wait, maybe that was a humblebrag, but they didn’t go all in on the design. Makes it more… homely. Thus, they have regulars. Thus, profit.

“The fuckcrap is she?! Doesn’t Luna keep an eye on her?!?!” he groaned in impatience, awaiting with a stack of books, papers and a pen and eraser on the table. Not the best setting for some teaching, but he figured that Mai’s favorite spot – the inn – would give her the best motivation.

WC: 290

Oh, there she was.

She held a random stick with both arms as if it was a damn rifle and began ‘blamming’ bullets off… at least, in her wacky imagination, she did. Her forest spirit Chio went with the fun and all, and props to the small guy for stomaching Mai’s company all the time, but since Imai now found himself within the same space as the little gremlin, it didn’t take very long for Mai’s shining eyes filled with intent to zone in on his redhead face. The moment she did so, after refilling her imaginary rifle, she leapt… without noticing her surroundings. This led to her knocking her chin on the edge of the table in front of him, which gave the fast-as-light astromage the opening to catch her with an arm over her belly.

She was swiftly plopped on a chair next to his, in front of an open notebook containing letters of the alphabet in very ordinary font… then slightly fancier, connected fonts. Letters first, after all – that was how you taught this crap. “Mai, got sum homework for ya! You’re growing up faster than a mothaf- sh-w-hedgehog… so, uh, your big sisters told me to teach you how to read and write. Ya see those letters on the notebook?”

He'd point a big, fat index finger on the first letter of the alphabet – A. “We gun teach you the alphabet first… any comments?”

WC: 238
TWC: 738