Beginning Letters

Writers: Heather, Miriah
Date Posted: 23rd March 2019

Characters: Enamra, Thayde
Description: Thayde and Enamra begin her reading lessons.
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 10, day 11 of Turn 9

Enamra

Thayde

--
**I think that's everything.** Thayde stepped back and looked at the
renovation he'd done to his desk. Normally, the dolphineer's desk in
the dolphin infirmary was covered in books, hides, and a cup or two of
half finished klah. This evening he had cleaned the surface off,
pulled up another chair, had a beginner's book he had borrowed from
the hall Harper, and he had a tray of sand for practicing letter
making.

He had experience teaching... dolphineers, so the prospect of teaching
someone to read made him a little nervous. Again, as he had when she'd
been pregnant, Thayde felt a pressure not to fail Enamra.

Enamra was hesitant when she peeked her head in through the door, but
seeing the infirmary mostly empty, stepped in quietly. She'd rushed
through her chores, feeling excited all day about learning what for
her had always been forbidden knowledge. Even Hista hadn't been able
to dampen her mood and she had made very certain to ask Jylanya if
those were all of the chores expected for her. The older drudge hadn't
liked that at all, but Enamra didn't particularly care. Not today.
On nearly silent feet, she approached the desk, then stopped,
waiting.

"Oh!" Thayde jumped when he turned to find Enamra standing before him.
"I didn't hear you come in," he smiled a little and then gestured
toward the chair he'd added to his desk for her. "Have a seat. How was
your day?"

At the offer, she quickly sat. "Thank you." She studied the supplies
he had gathered and briefly wondered how she was supposed to take it
all in or possibly use it all. "It was okay. The same as any other, I
guess." She paused, then remembered her manners. "How was yours,
Master Thayde?"

"It was fine," he commented, watching the look in her eyes as she
surveyed the things he had collected. "I figured maybe we could cover
a few things and then take a break. I've got some patients you might
like to meet," he gestured back to the holding pens in the watery
grotto that served as the dolphins' infirmary.

She craned her head to look over at the pens and her interest in them
was far more apparent. She looked back at the desk and nibbled on her
lower lip. "Cover what things? How do I even start? I've seen writing
and it looks so complicated."

"Well, is there anything that you remember learning, maybe just from
what you heard from others? Like your alphabet?" Thayde asked, trying
to get an understanding of exactly where they were starting from.

"Uhm..." Her brow knit for a moment. "I know what my name looks like
and what the numbers look like. My Mama taught me before she died."

"Okay, let's start with letters then." Thayde pulled the tray of sand
over. "I'll show you what it looks like, and sounds like, and then you
can practice making it, too."

She nodded, then carefully picked up the writing stick, holding it
awkwardly in her left hand. She poked at the sand, amused, then looked
up to pay attention. Her eyes followed Thayde intently, for once not
hiding behind her sheath of hair.

Thayde used his finger to draw an 'A' in the sand. "This is an A, it's
the first letter in the alphabet. It's also a vowel. It's also one of
the letters in your name, and in mine, and in Ada's."

The moment he moved his hand, Enamra put the stick to the sand. It
felt odd in her hand and for a moment, she struggled with how to hold
it correctly. Frustrated, she put it down, wiped his 'A' away and used
her own finger, carefully following the path that he had shown. It
wasn't as neat, but it was a fair imitation of his own writing. She
stopped, looked at it, then looked up with a wide smile. "That's
right, isn't it?"

The dolphineer returned her smile. "That's exactly right. Don't worry
about the stylus just yet, we'll worry about that later." Thayde
thought that nothing in that moment compared to the look on Enamra's
face. It was a tiny step in the process of learning to read, but any
step that added to her self-confidence was monumental in his book.

Her smile was proud and at his praise, she sat up a little
straighter. Now feeling a bit more confident, she was eager to try
again. "What's next?"

Thayde showed her all of the alphabet and they practiced making each
letter in the sand. "You can take this piece of paper with you, I've
written all of the letters on it. Then when you have a spare chance
you can practice making them."

She figured she could practice them in the sand on the beach when she
had free time, and she was determined that Thayde would be proud of
her progress when he saw her next time. Her letters weren't as neat
as his, but they looked much like what he had done.

Enamra took the paper and studied it before folding it and tucking it
away in her pocket. "I'll practice every day."

"Good. Would you like to take a break now and visit with the
dolphins?" he asked.

The offer brought an immediate smile and she nodded. "Yes, please,
Master Thayde. " She glanced over at the small pools and nearly
vibrated with eagerness.

Thayde smiled at her excitement as he took her to the first pen. "This
is Feo," he said, kneeling down and reaching into the water to stroke
his fingers over the melon of the older bottle-nose. "He's our senior
citizen at about thirty-eight Turns old. He comes in for regular check
ups, and some extra protein snacks."

She knelt beside him as always seemed to forget the difference in
their ranks at the sight of the dolphin. Her eyes gentled. "Hello,
Feo. I'm Enamra. Can I pet you?"

Feo nudged his melon toward Enamra. "Oh, he definitely is wanting
pets," Thayde chuckled, glancing at her and finding again how
different she looked when she was smiling or was unaware that she was
being observed.

She didn't notice Thayde watching her, but kept her entire focus on
the dolphin in the water. The look in her eyes was unlike any received
from her towards a person; it was soft and gentle with a sense of
wonder. Lightly, but with more confidence than she'd had before, she
stroked her fingers along the melon and along Feo's jaw like Ada
liked. "You're very handsome, Feo." She loved the feeling of the
rubbery skin, so soft and slick all at once. "I hope you're feeling
well today. "

Feo inched closer to Enamra, enjoying the attention. "You can come
down here any time, you know. They really enjoy the special
treatment."

"By myself?" She looked at him quickly. "You wouldn't mind? I promise
I wouldn't touch anything. " Enamra looked back down at Feo continuing
to strike and rub along the places he liked the most.

"Of course I wouldn't mind. I'll make sure the other dolphineers know
should they see you down here." Thayde assured her.

Her smile was a happy one as she concentrated on the dolphin. "Thank
you." She looked up. "For everything. "

Thayde returned her smile. **We're just getting started,** he thought.

Last updated on the March 23rd 2019

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Beginning Letters