Zalen really liked it when Soran smiled at him it reminded him of his mother in happier times. When she placed a gentle paw on his shoulder he felt a warmth emanate throughout his body and he smiled at her. It was good to meet so kind of a woman that he didn’t completely lose his mind around. The other girls he had met recently had caused him great embarrassment and confusion and it was nice to actually have a grasp on the situation for once. He understood now more than ever why he had avoided and was wary of females in the past; they just caused so much trouble.
She offered to teach him how to write and Zalen wagged his tail enthusiastically but when she handed the slate and chalk to him he sat there for a moment dumbfounded holding the chalk in the palm of his hand like a staff. When she went to look for something in her bag he tried to manipulate the small stick of white in his huge paws. He managed to pinch it between his thumb and forefinger and went to try and copy the marks she had made. It wasn’t as difficult as he thought, the marks were mostly comprised of lines and circles and before he knew it his name appeared twice, one elegant and the other choppy, but nonetheless he had written!
Zalen’s tail was going a hundred miles an hour when she produced the two books. Zalen set the slate down. She said that they would help learn to read. He had never seen anything like them before, and he held one open an watched as the tattered leaves inside fanned out. He sniffed the one he was holding. It smelled like her, but also like hume houses. He wrinkled his nose a bit and then held the book correctly, albeit upside down. He noticed that it was filled with more of the writing and some strange drawings of what Zalen guessed must have been humes. They were hideous! Furless bipedal creatures with tiny noses and ears but no tails! What ghastly things, they reminded him of infant mice, all pink and helpless. No wonder they had all died out. Thank you, he said, flipping the book right side up to get a better view of the illustration, but I’m not sure what to do with these things. He looked at her somewhat apologetically.
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