Private Dunnstads Library Lessons

[Harveste]

There was no ladder, and the book she wanted was on the top shelf. She had the strength to pull herself up the shelves- so she climbed. "I can't believe I'm doing this like when I was a child," She mumbled to herself. Harveste was intent on getting that book. A book about the language of flowers in this world.

Grabbing the book, she jumped down, landing slowly thanks to her mana-manifested wings. No fall damage because it wasn't actually that high a jump. Landing on her feet, she was proud to be completely unscathed.

Wandering the library to find more books of interest, she found a book that reminded her of her friend- but it was again on the top shelf. "Why are all the good books so high up?" She asked no one in particular. This was getting frustrating. She didn't really want to climb another bookshelf... But there was one option she hadn't exhausted yet.

Running to a stranger, she quickly asked them, "Excuse me! Can you help me reach a book I need? It's too high for me."

The person she asked was a woman- a tall woman (though to Harveste, most were tall by default). There was something that told her this woman was a kind one, and safe to talk to. So, she asked her nicely, waiting patiently for an answer whilst biting her lip, a little worried she was being a bother.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Finding a library in this game had been something of a blessing for the agent, who had been told to expect not to find anything of the sort, since she'd been expecting a very medieval culture. It seemed, though, that knowledge didn't just belong to the wealthy here, as it had in the real middle ages. Instead, there was a library not all that far from the starting areas of the game. She had to wonder, had these always been around, or was this another hint of the influence that the UI locked players had caused now that they were stuck in the world and essentially an irremovable part of it?

Either way, it was a victory for her.

Though it really was getting to be a chore reading through every book she could find. She was finding quite an interest in language, to the point that she was heavily considering learning it, though learning a language was always harder without a conversation partner to practice with. Still, even learning to read and write these other languages would be immensely helpful, as picking up a book only to realize that it hadn't been written in Common was starting to become one of the most frustrating feelings in the world.

And that was when a voice caught her attention, her eyes snapping from the simplest dictionary of Caenil terms that had been translated into Common, finding that her crimson orbs rested on a short woman. Very short at that. For a moment, she'd not spotted anybody until she forced her sightline to drift downwards.

Huh, so that was what a Faerin looked like. She'd not actually seen one up until this point.

Come to think of it, she'd met a lot of Beastfolk....

Ah. Sure, I can help you out. Which book is it that you're looking for?

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

Harveste couldn't help giggling as the woman struggled to find where her voice came from at first. In the real world, she was already short and had a bit of a complex about her height. In the game though, she was even smaller, and proud of her tiny size. After all, she always saw faeries as smaller- so why not make a small Faerin?

When the woman agreed to help her, the little Faerin pointed at the shelf she wanted a book from.

Do you see the one with a green cover? It says it's about Faerin cooking. I want to read it.

Harveste wasn't interested in cooking normally. She did make food for herself now offline, but she couldn't help her laziness making her microwave most of her meals, even though she had an electric stove that didn't intimidate her. No, she wanted to find a recipe or five for baking bread and other such things. If she could find them, she could tell her friend about them!

My friend really likes exploring cuisine that's foreign to her. I thought I'd find something useful for her in it.

Her stomach growled gently.

...And maybe decide on my next meal, too.

 

[Cleo Looker]

Her eyes scanned the bookshelf as the small Faerin pointed out a book, looking for the green cover that she'd been told about, before her eyes finally settled on it, the sight making her smirk. It was pretty typical for the book that somebody small wanted to be on the highest possible shelf available. She grunted, stepping onto the bottom shelf and reaching up, having to stretch and strain somewhat in order to reach it, though eventually her fingers managed to wrap around the spine of the book solidly enough to begin pulling it off, stepping off of the bottom shelf as she retrieved it.

Here you are. Interesting choice in reading though.

She hadn't even thought of cuisine in this world. She typically just ate whatever the cheapest thing she could afford was, or that one bear that Mizuki had killed and cooked, but she'd had something of a suspicion that different races had different types of cuisine. It did make the world feel slightly more alive than it would've felt without that kind of detail.

And it was nice to know that the Faerin girl was looking into all of it for a friend. Cleo smiled and nodded, though she did smirk as the girl's stomach growled slightly.

It's good of you to look out for your friend's interests like that. And I guess there's nothing more foreign than cuisine that actually just doesn't exist in reality.

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

She watched with earnest as the woman strained herself to reach the book Harveste wanted. She felt a little bad as she heard the grunts and watched the woman stretch her body quite taunt. When Cleo came down from the shelves and handed her the book, she smiled brightly.

I'm sorry, I didn't intend to hurt your back with my request. Would you like a shoulder rub or something in thanks? I may not look it, but I'm pretty strong, and I can give really good massages!

She spoke quietly but clearly, hugging the cookbook to her chest along with the other book she'd already gotten through effort all her own.

May I ask your name, kind miss? Mine is Harveste.

Hugging the books with one arm, Harveste held a hand out to try to shake with the woman who'd helped her despite the strain. She giggled slightly, adding a soft note.

There's actually a lot of books I want to read here, but I'm starting with these two. Learning takes time and practice, after all. And good sleep, too.

 

[Cleo Looker]

Well, she hadn't quite strained that much, had she? Perhaps it had looked like a lot to the smaller female? Cleo blinked, the offer of a shoulder rub was definitely...awkward...coming from somebody that she'd only just met a few seconds ago, so she shook her head and waved a hand as if trying to dispel the very notion of needing repayment.

Oh it's fine, it really wasn't all that painful. Just been compressed for too long since a lot of the books I've been reading are stored in the bottom shelves. It's pretty lucky that I didn't bother to change my avatar, or I'd have been tempted to make myself taller than I am and would've really regretted it.

She chuckled, reaching out her hand to shake Harveste's outstretched hand.

My name is Cleo. Cleo Looker in full. I'm here looking into the different languages that exist in the game. I'm hoping that I might be able to make a lot more friendly connections with the locals if I can speak their languages, but it's pretty hard to learn how to do anything more than read and write using only books and stuff.

Maybe she could get a Lander to teach her to speak the language? It would certainly be helpful to start learning. Even being able to hold a conversation at a child's level would help immensely.

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

The woman waved off her concern and desire to repay her. What a nice woman she was! Harveste grinned eagerly. But then, the woman mentioned being compressed for a while. This made Harveste frown ever so slightly.

If there are anymore books you want to read from lower shelves, just ask me to fetch them. Compression can be dangerous if you leave it too long. I know a thing or two about joints and spinal problems.

Laughing nervously at basically admitting her health outside wasn't all it could be, the smaller woman tried to break out of the intimidation she felt growing in herself from overexposing her life again.

Cleo? That's a lovely name! And your reason to be here is wonderful as well! I've been studying some old Faerin texts lately. I'm just good at languages though.

Confident in her ability, she put the books under one arm and put her other hand on her hip. This was one of those 'power poses' she'd heard of, wasn't it?

Learning to read and write is extremely important. If you can read a book in the language, you can learn the proper grammatical speech. I recommend writing down sentences and words you think you'll use a lot, to help you practice and memorize them.

 

[Cleo Looker]

I'm sure I'll be fine, though thanks for the offer. I've been looking at Caenis language recently and I found this book, so for now I think I'm good with finding books to read. Probably. Maybe.

There was always a chance that she would spot a better book and need to go for that. Though it was interesting that Harveste seemingly knew a lot about spinal issues. Was she perhaps a chiropractor or something in the real world? Or some other profession that had a focus on spinal stuff? She'd mentioned giving a massage, so maybe Harveste was a masseuse in the real world.

Wow, she really needed to stop putting so much thought into this.

You're good at languages are you? That's pretty cool. I don't have much of a special talent at it, but I've picked up enough in a few real world languages to hold a conversation or two. I was thinking of working at an international branch of my employer, so I started studying up on as many languages as I could.

Though again, given her lack of particular talent at it, she wouldn't go far enough as to say that she'd reached fluency in any of the languages. It'd be ironic if her second fluent language was one that didn't even exist in the real world.

Thanks for the advice, though. Learning the proper speech would help when trying to learn stuff like slang and casual talk, right?

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

Harveste smiled obliviously to Cleo's thoughts. She didn't see a point in explaining her health history, which was a bit of a gloomy topic anyway. She wanted to stay on positive topcs. Luckily, the darkness was never dragged out into the spotlight, so Harveste could merrily respond to Cleo about the topic at hand.

Caenis would be fun to learn too. I also want to learn the Elven language when I can. I just figured it logical to start with Faerin language, since it's the species I chose.

She glanced down at her limber, compact body. Adding in her mana-created wings, and she looked like a faerie from ancient lore on Earth. But, rather than focus on her appearance, she tried to focus on what Cleo was telling her. And the woman told her a lot.

I think being able to hold a conversation or two in multiple languages is already plenty amazing. Some languages are a lot harder to learn than others, though. I'm still struggling with my Japanese lessons online.

She nodded before continuing to speak.

If anything, I'm the one impressed. Working so hard on languages to complete a complex goal is amazing. I just do it for fun and inspiration as a writer. Trying to raise yourself on the corporate ladder is pretty amazing to me.

She walked towards a nearby table and put down the books she planned to read. Taking a seat, she looked at Cleo with a smile.

Learning proper speech patterns is important for lots of reasons, but yes, slang and casual talk are one of them. Since they say teaching can help you retain information... Why don't we teach each other? Two birds with one stone, if you will.

 

[Cleo Looker]

Cleo looked down at her own, very human body. It was easy to see why she hadn't picked whatever the human language was, because that was Common, at least as far as she had been led to believe. The simple fact was that she'd just ended up meeting more Beastfolk, and more Caenis, than any other race so far. And so, that had informed the language that she'd picked out from all of the possible options.

Oh you're learning Japanese too? Yeah, I really struggled to pick up enough of that to hold a conversation. I used to be approaching fluent, but well, a couple of years without using it has left me pretty rusty when it comes to reading or speaking it.

It was nice to know that somebody found her drive to be impressive. She wasn't going to reveal that she'd been thinking of joining Interpol. She'd learned that people in this game tended to have adverse reactions to being told that she had worked with the law. If they learned that she was a detective, or worse, an agent of the VRSA, she would probably lose any trust that she'd gained.

And then the Faerin wandered over to a table and sat down. To her credit, Harveste had a good idea. Cleo rubbed the back of her neck, nodding.

I'm not sure I'm all that good of a teacher, but I'll do my best.

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

Harveste had met plenty of people in her time in Terrasphere before it seemed to just vanish. She met many beastfolk and elves, and even other Faerin. Since returning, the diversity felt the same. The first person she'd met was an elf, then a Faerin like herself. Now that she thought about it, she was certain there should be a lot more beastfolk- so why didn't she see any yet? Nah, it was probably nothing more than a coincidental happenstance. Nothing more.

I started taking a college course online for it. It's really difficult, especially since the written language is so different from my native tongue. I find speaking it easier than reading or writing it...

She had many reasons to learn Japanese. Reasons she wasn't going to get into, for obvious reasons.

Well I'm not a teacher either, usually. But you never know, right? It's good to help each other anyway.

She opened the book Cleo had gotten for her and quietly read aloud the title in Faerin language, translating it to Common (or English, as she thought of it).

Your turn!

 

[Cleo Looker]

Oh absolutely. I found learning to read and write it to be something of a nightmare. Nothing quite prepares you for learning something so wholly different from everything that you've been taught before that sometimes it feels like your brain just rejects the knowledge completely.

Even now her abilities to read and write Japanese were pretty atrocious. If she struggled and forced her way through it, she could maybe write her name, but even with something that simple she wasn't entirely convinced that she could do it. Speaking it was, by far, way easier than reading and writing it for somebody that wasn't a native speaker, or somebody that didn't come from a country with similar langauge systems in place.

Cleo swung a leg up, crossing it over her other leg as she leaned back, listening to Harveste read the title of the book that she was reading in the Faerin language. It was quite a pretty language, it had something of a flow to it, quite relaxing to hear even if she didn't understand what was being said until Harveste spoke the translation out loud.

Then it was apparently her turn. She closed her own book to look at the title, before clearing her throat and attempting to read it in broken, bad Caenil. It took a few tries, wrapping her lips around unfamiliar sounds and phrases, before eventually she managed to sound out the title in Caenil, before translating it to Common.

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

That's right! In my case, lately, my sleep hasn't been so good either, so... According to a neuroscience class I took once about how learning works, your brain cells actually shrink when you're sleeping so cerebral fluids can wash away toxins that otherwise make you feel sluggish and out of it.

Harveste could speak Japanese pretty well- but asking her to read or write it was like pulling teeth. She remembered maybe five of the katakana symbols she'd learned? Yeah, probably no more than that. Still, she wasn't going to give up. She loved languages. They expanded her world exponentially! Then again, so did translations and subtitles.

For learning languages, another good way to learn and to reconnect with your learning is watching stuff in the language. As you learn more words, you'll get used to speech patterns and be able to say more things more fluidly. Subtitles do wonders, too. Sometimes you get an idea of what a word you don't know means from the context of the words you do in the subtitles!

Cheering Cleo on, Harveste clapped when she heard the translation of the Caenil language.

See? Now I know that those words equal that phrase, and... hopefully, you can relate them a bit better now too.

 

[Cleo Looker]

Huh. Harveste really seemed to know a lot about a lot of different subjects, so maybe her initial ideas about the Faerin being some sort of masseuse in real life hadn't quite been accurate? It was actually quite hard to pin down what it was that this person did. Knowledge of language and a passion for it. Knowledge of health related things. She was like the characters from old RPG's, the scholars and sages that kind of just knew anything about everything, only she was here and was a real person. It was pretty impresseive.

Do you take a lot of classes about different subjects? You seem to have super wide ranges in your interests. Which is a good thing, by the way. Nobody in the history of history ever said that it's possible to learn too much.

And Harveste did have a point. Watching stuff in foreign languages was pretty useful, though Cleo figured she'd probably struggle to find something that she enjoyed enough to try to piece things together and translate it in her head. Sure, stuff like anime existed, but she'd never been too much of a fan of that kind of stuff.

It's a little easier to make the mental connection now that I've spoken it out loud. It's a shame there aren't like, Caenil or Faerin tv channels or something to watch.

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

I do! I really love learning. Some subjects are harder than others, but I generally love learning new things as much as I can. It helps me write, too!

She didn't think it was giving away too much to admit she was a writer. To the woman who had been part of the writing community for a decade or two, it was pretty normal to think everyone knew writers as curious, ever-learning people. At the very least, Harveste had come to the conclusion it was normal due to those friends.

I'm glad it helped! But I agree, it is rather hard to find visual media in the languages we want to learn... But there's always people watching, I guess. Though some people consider that eavesdropping, huh?

Laughing a bit nervously, she scratched the back of her neck. She often listened in on conversations neighbors were having when she could hear them, just to come up with story ideas. And as for watching people in general- well, that was what windows were for, right?

 

[Cleo Looker]

A real education buff, then? I've heard of people that are kind of just hobbyists. They like to learn anything they can about everything they can. Would it be wrong to say you'd count yourself amongst that same kind of demographic?

Either way, it was impressive to come across somebody so devoted to education and learning. It reminded Cleo of herself, back when she'd figured out what career she'd wanted and began to pursue it with a single-minded devotion that was almost pure zealotry. Of course, Harveste's interests didn't seem nearly as one note or single-minded, though the fact that Harveste was a writer, wow her predictions had been off the money on that one, did make sense.

A writer, huh? I wonder if you've written anything that I might have read in the past? I'm a pretty avid reader, not the most committed reader that you'd find I'm afraid, but I love a good story as much as anybody else.

She chuckled at the thought of eavesdropping, nodding. Far from being the kind of person that found such an idea distasteful, Cleo actually loved listening in on other peoples' conversations. Her career demanded she be good at listening and finding clues, after all.

There's nothing like a good round of eavesdropping, if you ask me. Some people just have some really interesting conversations. Once I'm at a good enough level to start picking out words, I definitely plan to just listen to a few of the Landers talking to each other.

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

I suppose I would be part of that camp, yes. I don't think I learn about everything I can though. Just things that notably interest me.

There were plenty of things Harveste knew nothing about. Horror movies, for example. She couldn't watch those for her life without a panic attack- so, they didn't interest her. She also didn't know much about spicy foods. Why? Because she wasn't fond of them, so what was the point in knowing their ingredients? Then again, she wasn't much of a cook anyway...

I've written a few things, but it's really not a big deal. I've always loved writing. I still have far more incomplete manuscripts than I can shake a stick at...

Shyly, she looked down at her book. She was used to commendation now, but curiosity about her as a writer wasn't actually that common for Harveste, not from strangers at least. When Cleo mentioned her taste for eavesdropping, though, Harveste stared up at her with sparkling eyes. Someone understood her so well!

Right? People can have such interesting things to say to the people around them... and the way they make use of words varies so drastically from person to person! I feel like I always learn something about people when I listen in... It's really fun!

 

[Cleo Looker]

Well that was fair enough. It was probably a bit unfair to assume that somebody was the type to learn about everything. Still, it seemed that Harveste had quite the range of interests, for her to be so learned about a bunch of different things. That was always a good thing. It'd be a good idea to keep this girl close. It never hurt to have a contact that was informed about a great number of things.

Though she definitely sounded like most writers that Cleo knew about, talking about how many incomplete manuscripts she had. Cleo had heard that it was the life of a creative to have so many incomplete works. Perhaps there was some truth to that saying after all? She wouldn't know herself, since she was about as opposite of a creative person as could possibly exist.

Even more interesting was that Harveste seemed to have the knack for investigation, if she was so interested in eavesdropping and listening to the different things that people said. This would definitely be a good contact to make for her investigation.

Not only how they say what they say, but also what they say too. Overhearing a conversation can teach you something completely new. There's a lot of stuff about the history of this game that I wouldn't know if I hadn't listened to a few Landers discussing it.

She looked down at her own book, even more eager to understand Caenis than before. And other languages too. They'd be so useful for her investigation. She just had to knuckle down and pick them up.

Would you like to buddy up and study this world's languages together on a more regular basis? I always find it easier to actually learn a new language when I have a partner to help and talk with. And that way, we can kind of teach each other too.

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

That's certainly true, too. I learn a lot about the way people think by listening in on conversations. It's really fun getting into people's heads to really understand the differences between different people, you know?

Harveste was smiling broadly as she spoke. The fact was, she really enjoyed sneaking a peek into the lives of people- whether she knew them or not. Cleo seemed to understand this joy intricately. Sure, her example was in-game specific... But Harveste didn't have to admit she was just as interested in it in the real world. Cleo probably figured that out already anyway.

This thought process stalled when Cleo asked her about being study buddies. The girl's face lit up eagerly, as she nodded to the woman with a grin.

I'd love that! It's easier to learn things when you work with friends to do so. And we'll learn a lot more more quickly this way too!

Within moments, Harveste had sent a friend request to Cleo.

Is there a certain time you usually are available?

 

[Cleo Looker]

It was definitely odd to meet a fellow eavesdropping connoisseur, though it wasn't an unpleasant kind of odd, that was for sure. If Harveste hadn't admitted to being a writer, Cleo would have wondered if Harveste wasn't a detective or an agent such as herself. As such, she nodded along, happy that Harveste saw the same importances and opportunities that she did.

Exactly. Getting to understand people is such an interesting and unique topic and train of thought. The way that different people can discuss the exact same topic differently.

And she had to wonder, if she learned the different languages, would she figure out what the opinion of the players was from the Landers? The true opinion, not whatever they presented when they knew a Traveler was watching and listening.

Still, she smiled when Harveste agreed to study with her and sent her a friend request, the redhead quickly opening her palm menu to accept it and placing a finger on her chin in thought.

I actually spend a lot of my time in this game now. I've got a lot of unpaid time off, at the moment, so I've not really had much to do other than log in and play. So you can probably find me at basically any time convenient for you.

The excuse was a small white lie. Nobody needed to know that she was getting paid to play.

@Harveste