Peek: First Day of School

Parm tries to keep his nerves at bay as he waits in the lecture hall. The medical ants have been nothing but kind to him since he expressed interest in learning how they heal, and from the little pieces he's been able to grasp in passing, their methods will be nothing short of revolutionary. It's exciting and terrifying at once, his old instincts of avoiding attention warring with his need to understand how it all works.

He hasn't curled up into a ball when thinking about it in a couple days now, so he thinks he's doing pretty well, all things considered. He has his charcoal sticks and notebook ready, so all there is to do is to wait, and maybe look around the classroom nestled deep within the antkin enclave.

He's surprised to see a lot of medical antkin in attendance, and after a few minutes, he manages to build up the courage to ask the woman antkin beside him why.

"Hmm?" she asks, her mandibles and antennae twitching as she processes the question, before her jaws quiver in a small laugh. "Ah, yes! Despite our caste, our expertise isn't universal. I think it's because only some of us were involved with actual surgery before the enclave, with the others mostly escorting people to actual help. The memories from before are rather hazy. All I know is I need to learn a lot more before I try treating anyone."

That makes sense to Parm, so he quietly nods before turning his focus back to his own desk, before the antkin woman continues.

"By the way, my name's Barb. What's yours?" she asks, holding out a hand to shake. Parm finds himself staring at the odd hand the antkin has before he realizes he needs to respond.

"Oh! I'm... I'm Parm," he manages as he shakes her hand, feeling awkward. He glances around, desperately trying to find a topic of conversation. "So, uh... a lot of the other enclaves look pretty interested in learning...?"

She nods at that. "Lord Thedeim's methods for healing are incredibly complex, and a lot of His other dwellers are interested in being able to help in that way. I think about half of them are officially part of His church."

Parm tries not to flinch at the mention of a church following a dungeon. Even with Thedeim seeming to be much more benevolent, he'd still prefer to remain beneath notice. "And the other half of them?"

She shrugs. "They might just be curious. I'm pretty sure there's a few from the ratkin and spiderkin hunters attending, hoping to better understand how to quickly take down and process whatever they might find on their hunts, but I haven't asked them, so I can only guess."

Parm wasn't expecting to hear that, so he takes a moment to look over his fellow students with a bit more focus, and he can see several who look a bit more... rugged than the others. "Oh."

Barb giggles at that. "Yeah. Anatomical knowledge has shown to be a great help on our own hunts, so I wouldn't be surprised if they want to learn it, too."

"Have... have you gone out hunting?" he asks, uncertain if he's being rude or not. Judging by her giggle and shake of her head, it seems he's fine.

"Oh goodness, no! I don't think I'd be suited at all for going out on a hunt." She titters again at the idea and shakes her head once more. "No, I'm definitely more of an academic. How about you? Do you want to go out hunting?"

Parm pales at the thought and quickly shakes his head. "No, definitely not. I'm actually an apothecary. So when I heard about Thedeim's methods for healing... I had to learn them myself."

Barb's antennae twitch in interest at that. "Oh? I've heard of apothecaries, but I think most of the people here are more alchemists."

He nods at that, feeling confident in himself for a brief moment. If there's one thing he feels comfortable with, it's his class. "If I understand Thedeim's methods right, an apothecary is to an alchemist as his methods are to more typical healing."

Barb eagerly nods to that. "That's what I've been hearing! Are you going to be sharing your methods eventually?"

His confidence quakes at that, and though he shrinks under her earnest gaze, he doesn't falter completely. "That... is part of the tuition for me, yes. I don't know how long that will take, or how well I'll do with teaching, but I'll try."

She smiles, her mandibles opening wide, but she doesn't get to respond before another antkin walks in, ringing a loud, obnoxious bell. His gaze sweeps the room as he moves to the podium at the front of the class, with several large chalkboards behind him. He stores the bell and clears his throat before addressing the gathered students.

"Alright, please settle down everyone. I am professor Tak, and this is Anatomy 101. While the specifics of anatomy differ between each species, there are similarities enough that the basics are nigh universal. By the end of this course, you'll have a working knowledge of bodies in general. Now, we will start with the mammalian form, though practically everything with an endoskeleton follows the same basic plan. Take notes as you can, I'll take questions near the end of class. Let us begin."