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She nodded and smirked. "Well, you look good, for that age. And I suppose that's still young, since you live longer." she commented. "Some people would kill though, to have that sort of body." she said shaking her head.
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"...Thank you?" Léan's tail swished back and forth. "Yes, it is young for my kind. I am a juvenile, much like my brother is."
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Lyra tilted her head. "What would be considered old enough to be an adult?" she asked. Then she wondered if they start to age again after they get to that age. Or if they just look like that their whole lives.
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"You reach adulthood status by graduating from the Terminal. Er...the last year of schooling, for children," Léan clarified. "After that, you're considered an adult...but you're not respected in the adult world unless you pursue further education..."
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"Hm, that's not too different than our standards. Except, you're considered an adult when you reach 21. And you aren't respected unless you've got a degree or something and a good job." she commented before blinking. "How long does it take to finish schooling? And, have you done that?"
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Léan nodded, stretching his tail out. "I have. It takes...mm...sixteen years in total, usually...perhaps a bit longer if you want more comprehensive schooling."
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"Hm, that's pretty cool. You guys get out faster than we do at least." she said, chuckling somewhat. "What do they teach you?"
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"The mechanics of our native language. Scientific subjects...history--some history of your world...different languages...career skills...public speaking skills...anything, really. I studied to be and have certification to become a jewelry maker, as well as an English teacher..." Léan revealed, somewhat proudly.
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She smiled somewhat, looking impressed. "A jewelry maker and an English teacher? Amazing." she said. They did seem a bit more advanced with things they taught. "You're fond of making things then?" she asked, not having pegged him for the artsy type.
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"Just jewelry. I make things out of pretty stones, shells, coral...and fish bones, sometimes." Léan closed his eyes, resting his chin on the edge of the tank. "I find inspiration in everything."
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She smiled and nodded. That would sound like it'd be fun. "That's true. But it's pretty cool, that you can do that, must be fun. So, if you're a certified English teacher too, you can also read and write it?" she asked, curious.
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"I can. Most of it, anyway. I'm certified to teach all levels of English, and the first level of Italian and Spanish, perhaps..." Léan informed her. "I am well-versed in those three languages...I know bits of pieces of other languages..."
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"That's pretty cool." she said, sounding impressed. "Can you teach me some basics of Vgepam?" she asked, tilting her head. "If it's even possible." she added, unsure if she could even mimic the sounds. She at least would try and attempt it. Just in case she would ever see any other merpeople around, she'd at least be able to say hi or something. "And if not that, then Italian, always wanted to learn that."
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"It is a very difficult language...and almost impossible to learn unless you have grown up with it," Léan explained, quietly. "But, I can try..." With that, he was off on a teacher's rant, explaining some of the basic words and sounding them out. They were like squeaks, but they did have certain sounds, and different letters.
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She listened intently on his words, and what he was sounding out, trying to sound it out in her mind. It did sound hard, but she would try it. Occasionally, she'd try and sound them out, but it didn't really sound like the sounds Léan had said first. "It is hard." she admitted after a moment, but shook her head. "I'll get it." she said, sounding determined. From what he'd said about the language, it made her want to learn it even more.
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Léan chuckled. "We will see. It is an almost non-existant language in your world. I could find you a few tomes from my world about it, but they are all engraved in stone."
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Lyra's eyebrow raised somewhat. "Stone tomes? Sounds interesting. And heavy." she said, trying to imagine those being lugged around. She shook her head before sighing. "Well, I still want to learn it, even if I have a horrible accent." she said, chuckling.
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"I can fetch some for you...but it will take a bit, of course. They are easy to find..." Léan hummed, stretching himself out.
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Lyra nodded, "I'd like it." she said, wondering if it would be fair for him. "You're pretty good at teaching." she said, smirking somewhat. She could see how he got the degrees.
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"Thank you..." Léan's tail swished back and forth, eagerly. "I suppose I was proficient in school...my speech must seem a tad formal for you, though, since I was, for the most part, only taught formal human speech..."
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Lyra smiled a little and shook her head. "It's fine. At least it's not Old English." she said, smirking somewhat. "You sound fine, so no worries there." she added before tilting her head. "So, does this mean you don't know some slang terms? Like, sup?"
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"...? What is a 'sup?'" Léan asked, confused. "Is it like a cup?" It seemed he was clueless, for the most part, when it came to slang.
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Lyra stifled a laugh as she grinned somewhat, shaking her head. "No no. It's a shorter version of 'What's up'" she said. Then she wondered if he knew what That meant. "And That's basically a way to ask how you are, or what you were doing." she tried to explain.
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"I knew what 'what's up' meant...just...'sup' is not in the English dictionary," Léan pointed out, frowning more. "You humans and your slang...sheesh."
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She chuckled somewhat. "Hey, it's, different now, I suppose. But, there is a dictionary full of slang words. Some of them, I'd never even heard of." she said, remembering one time her and her friends had found the thing. It'd been highly amusing. "And, some of the words you don't even think is slang, is actually slang. Did you know moron is slang?" she asked.
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