Disdain
@Jessamine Lancaster
Speech
Other's Speech
Today was a bad day, a terrible day infact. A day that he had repeated dozens times in his nine years of life. A day where he would be introduced to a new tutor.
He had been rudely awoken a few days prior, after his previous tutor had been dismissed for 'working him too hard', and informed by his mother that they were giving him one final chance to be taught by a proper, qualified tutor before drastic measures would have to be taken, whatever that meant. Even as young as nine, Edwin was perfectly aware that any 'drastic measures' would be an inconvience at most for him, he was, afterall, the favorite of the Westbridge children. The child who could do no wrong in the eyes of his parents, which was why his tutors had been constantly dismissed, rather than him being the one to be punished or reprimanded. Most complaints he had gave against the tutors that lead to their dismisal were ficticious or gross exagerations of what had actually transpired. His complaints about 'being worked too hard' amounting to little more than being asked to read an average sized passage, or attempt a mildly complex equation.
Now, on this Monday morning, the day of reckoning, he had been forced to wake earlier than he would of liked, forced to dress properly, forced to make himself appear presentable. All in all, the day was off to a poor start, nothing having gone his way thus far.
"Behave, Edwin." was the first thing Edwin was greeted with when he made his way into the dining room, his mother sitting, waiting. "All we ask of you is that you have an open mind, and try to learn."
"Yes, mother." Edwin drawled, taking his seat at the table, opposite his mother. "But why French?" He asked, between mouthfuls of food, having quickly began to wolf down his breakfast. "If I need another tutor, let me learn something cool at least.. Like, uh.."
"Like?"
"Well, I don't know!" He protested, setting down his fork with a huff.
"You've tried everything, Edwin. We're running out of options, so please, for once. Engage with the tutor for me." Whilst she spoke with a kind smile, appearing to be patient, her tone was exhauted. Exhausted because she had had to have this exact conversation dozens of time, Edwin being the only one of her four boys to have ever struggled to take to any of his tutors. It wasn't even for a lack of ability, she had often asked him to finish the tasks he complained about, and he would do so with little difficulty. He was being difficult for the tutors for no conceivable reason.
"Fine," Edwin grumbled, raising from his seat, making no effort to veil the annoyance and boredom that had set into his expression. "Fathers study?"
"Yes, it's been prepared for you."
With that, Edwin excused himself, heading up to his fathers study, where he would sit waiting. Across the desk, writing materials had been laid out, as had a number of language based books, which Edwin found pointless as the tutors almost always brought their own resources. The door to the study had been left open, so that the tutor could easily find Edwin and not mistakenly turn into one of the many rooms that were on the second floor of the Westbridge home. The study itself was average sized, book shelves lining each walls, filled to the brim with a combination of books and various oddities that the Westbridge patriarch had gathered over his career. On the desk itself, which now had two chairs pulled up to, there was mainly the prepared learning materials, but a number of moving photos ontop of it, Edwin center piece in almost all of them.
Whilst he waited, Edwin snatched one of the sheets of parchment, beginning to idly doodle in the corner. The drawing itself was nothing special, but appeared to be a duelling sequence between two stick figures.
Disdain
Date: Backdated to 2022
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Mentions: @Edwin Westbridge
Active abilities: Cat's Grace, Calming Presence
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Mentions: @Edwin Westbridge
Active abilities: Cat's Grace, Calming Presence
Sometimes, contracting with a family to tutor a child offered a well-needed break from the trials and tribulations of psychotherapy. There was something about the study of languages, cultures and communications that made the world feel so much lighter for Jessamine, and imparting that knowledge upon others was something she had always been particularly partial to. Furthermore, she enjoyed working with kids. Usually, she got to listen to kids talk about all sorts of things—sometimes more positive, but often a bit heavier. It was a pleasure, then, to get to engage with students on a topic they actually enjoyed.
She arrived at the Westbridge household two minutes before she was meant to, wearing a nice set of robes and having a small bag slung over her shoulder. Inside were a few French books and stacks of parchment, a few quills and a few inkwells. Better prepared than scrambling, after all. French was easy enough, after all—most pure-bloods had their students learn the language, at any rate. In England in particular, Jessamine had encountered rather few students who had not encountered the French language to some degree.
Should the boy's parents be in the front hall when she entered, she would greet them politely. A bit of small talk if they engaged it. Then, she would make her way to the study, where she noticed the desk. The boy—Edwin, she remembered—was all over it. In photographs, in little touches his parents had left in the room, and, well, right in front of her. Jessamine did her best to enter mostly soundlessly Cat's Grace, instead taking a moment to observe the boy's drawing.
Finally, she made to sit in the other unoccupied chair, and she set her things next to her. 'Hello there,' she said softly as to hopefully avoid startling him. 'I'm Jess Lancaster, your new tutor. Français, non?' Her voice was warm, holding a hint of held-back mirth. 'What spells are they using?'
Her first question was meant to engage him in the language, the latter a perhaps vain attempt to be relatable. Only time would tell how that would work out.
'Have you encountered French before?' she asked, intrigued. Often, students had at least made the acquaintance of the language with which they worked. Sometimes such experience provided an easy starting point. However, should Edwin be an absolute beginner, Jessamine still had a few ideas for a gentle introduction to French.
She arrived at the Westbridge household two minutes before she was meant to, wearing a nice set of robes and having a small bag slung over her shoulder. Inside were a few French books and stacks of parchment, a few quills and a few inkwells. Better prepared than scrambling, after all. French was easy enough, after all—most pure-bloods had their students learn the language, at any rate. In England in particular, Jessamine had encountered rather few students who had not encountered the French language to some degree.
Should the boy's parents be in the front hall when she entered, she would greet them politely. A bit of small talk if they engaged it. Then, she would make her way to the study, where she noticed the desk. The boy—Edwin, she remembered—was all over it. In photographs, in little touches his parents had left in the room, and, well, right in front of her. Jessamine did her best to enter mostly soundlessly Cat's Grace, instead taking a moment to observe the boy's drawing.
Finally, she made to sit in the other unoccupied chair, and she set her things next to her. 'Hello there,' she said softly as to hopefully avoid startling him. 'I'm Jess Lancaster, your new tutor. Français, non?' Her voice was warm, holding a hint of held-back mirth. 'What spells are they using?'
Her first question was meant to engage him in the language, the latter a perhaps vain attempt to be relatable. Only time would tell how that would work out.
'Have you encountered French before?' she asked, intrigued. Often, students had at least made the acquaintance of the language with which they worked. Sometimes such experience provided an easy starting point. However, should Edwin be an absolute beginner, Jessamine still had a few ideas for a gentle introduction to French.
Disdain
@Jessamine Lancaster
Speech
Other's Speech
Jessamines entrance went unnoticed by Edwin, solely focused on the completion of his 'masterpiece'. He had grown accustomed to the only noise being the scratch of his quill against the parchment, and so when a voice sounded out from behind him, he practically jumped from his seat. Though, he regained his composure, turning to greet her with a forced smile, his lips curled up slightly, the rest of his features remaining entierly impassive. "Edwin Westbridge," He returned the greeting, textbook pride seeping into his voice at the mention of his surname. His head tilted slightly at the few words of french she had spoke, "Oui." He drawled, almost sounding bored already.
He wasn't hugely proficient in French, but French had popped up on a number of occasions in his life, his older siblings spoke the language decently, and he'd overheard the rare word they would speak, or his father had on occasion attempted to impart some knowledge of language onto him, to varying success.
"Oh, here," He seemed to brighten up when she inquired into his drawings, twisting the paper so that she could better see his drawing, which had seemingly grown to somewhat resemble a story board. Two duellists fighting and exchanging spell on each line, taking up the top right quater of his parchment. "Here," He tapped the top line, the fake smile previously plastered to his expression replaced by a true one. "This guy is using 'Expelliarmus', and the other is trying to freeze him." A beat passed, as Edwin racked his brain for the incantation. "Something totalus, he's trying to freeze him." He continued on excitably, pointing out each spell used, displaying an impressive knowledge of spells considering his age. Whilst he didn't always remember the incantation exactly, he'd often give them a good attempt and accurately describe their effects - proving himself quite the poster child of two aurors. used to have prodigial dada before it's change, trying to still incorporate that in some capacity.
Any sign of enthusiasm drained from his face at her attempt to further the lesson, reluctantly setting his quill down and halting his doodles. "A bit, yeah." He began, shifting in his seat so that he could face her. "My brothers can speak it, they were taught about my age I think. I used to hear them talking sometimes when they were back from Hogwarts, and I'd ask my dad what they were saying. Beyond that," He shrugged. "Maybe I've seen the odd bit written somewhere, but I haven't a clue what any of it means when it's written. I can just understand the odd word here and there."
Disdain
Date: Backdated to 2022
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Mentions: @Edwin Westbridge
Active abilities: Cat's Grace, Calming Presence
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Mentions: @Edwin Westbridge
Active abilities: Cat's Grace, Calming Presence
That the boy had introduced himself in response to her was a good sign—really. Jessamine took it well, her gaze brightening, but despite her positive demeanour, she was unable to hide the slightest widening of her eyes in surprise at the boy's... drawl? Her first thought was that she was impressed. She hadn't ever heard French drawled before, even if this was just one relatively simple word. Very quickly, though, she realised the boy was likely messing with her. It likely would have just spurred him on if she reacted further, so she refrained from commenting and just waited.
The approach to instead comment on his drawings proved fruitful. Jess watched as the boy's expression shifted, and he seemed to open up just a bit. Something about the smile on his face when he talked about the scenes he'd sketched was far less manufactured than the one he had greeted her with; it was disappointing that he'd felt the need to even try on a fake smile with her, but, having grown up in a household that would have expected the same of her, Jessamine understood. Still, it didn't mean she had to like it.
She nodded in understanding when Edwin began to explain the sequence of sketches. She could see it, especially now that he explained it. When he said something totalus, she even chuckled, but didn't correct him. He continued to list more spells than she had expected someone his age to have memorised, and even if not every word was correct, usually, the general idea of what he was going for matched up with the description. 'You've certainly got quite the command of spells,' Jessamine said warmly. She wondered if he would continue with that excitement once he got to school; she hoped he would, as often, excitement about learning made schooling so much easier.
The excitement he held for the discussion about spells faded visibly, and Jessamine did her best not to mirror his disappointment. In fact, she thought she maintained a relatively upbeat expression and tone. She listened to what Edwin said and nodded. 'It's pretty common to be taught to pure-blooded children. I think my parents had me trained in it when I was just a bit younger than you.' Attempting to be 'hip and relatable' was probably not going to work, but she would attempt it nevertheless. 'With how wizarding population demographics go—you know, sparsely-populated within Muggle cities, or spread out within small wizarding villages, often around the world—it can be really important to be able to communicate with more than just those immediately near us.'
She reached into her bag and pulled out two slips of paper. 'I don't want to do too much too fast. But here are two of the verbs you'd use most often to express yourself.'
She slid one paper towards Edwin. It had six squares created by folding creases, and within each square was a conjugation. Je suis, then tu es, then il/elle est, then nous sommes, then vous êtes, and finally ils/elles sont. On the back of the paper, if Edwin cared to flip it over, both être and to be were written in neat print.
After double-checking that the other paper was correct, Jess also slid that one to Edwin. The format was similar, but the words slightly different. This one had a different verb conjugated within the squares. J'ai, tu as, il/elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont. On the back, it would say avoir, and beneath it, to have.
'Être and avoir are some of the most common verbs you'll use in French—to be, and to have. So, to say "I am Edwin", you could always use je m'appelle, but you could also say je suis Edwin to introduce yourself. You'd use avoir to say how old you are, though. In French, it goes more like "I have years" rather than "I am years". Some people think that's a bit odd when learning it.' Jess herself had.
With that, she would pause, waiting to see how Edwin was faring with the material.
The approach to instead comment on his drawings proved fruitful. Jess watched as the boy's expression shifted, and he seemed to open up just a bit. Something about the smile on his face when he talked about the scenes he'd sketched was far less manufactured than the one he had greeted her with; it was disappointing that he'd felt the need to even try on a fake smile with her, but, having grown up in a household that would have expected the same of her, Jessamine understood. Still, it didn't mean she had to like it.
She nodded in understanding when Edwin began to explain the sequence of sketches. She could see it, especially now that he explained it. When he said something totalus, she even chuckled, but didn't correct him. He continued to list more spells than she had expected someone his age to have memorised, and even if not every word was correct, usually, the general idea of what he was going for matched up with the description. 'You've certainly got quite the command of spells,' Jessamine said warmly. She wondered if he would continue with that excitement once he got to school; she hoped he would, as often, excitement about learning made schooling so much easier.
The excitement he held for the discussion about spells faded visibly, and Jessamine did her best not to mirror his disappointment. In fact, she thought she maintained a relatively upbeat expression and tone. She listened to what Edwin said and nodded. 'It's pretty common to be taught to pure-blooded children. I think my parents had me trained in it when I was just a bit younger than you.' Attempting to be 'hip and relatable' was probably not going to work, but she would attempt it nevertheless. 'With how wizarding population demographics go—you know, sparsely-populated within Muggle cities, or spread out within small wizarding villages, often around the world—it can be really important to be able to communicate with more than just those immediately near us.'
She reached into her bag and pulled out two slips of paper. 'I don't want to do too much too fast. But here are two of the verbs you'd use most often to express yourself.'
She slid one paper towards Edwin. It had six squares created by folding creases, and within each square was a conjugation. Je suis, then tu es, then il/elle est, then nous sommes, then vous êtes, and finally ils/elles sont. On the back of the paper, if Edwin cared to flip it over, both être and to be were written in neat print.
After double-checking that the other paper was correct, Jess also slid that one to Edwin. The format was similar, but the words slightly different. This one had a different verb conjugated within the squares. J'ai, tu as, il/elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont. On the back, it would say avoir, and beneath it, to have.
'Être and avoir are some of the most common verbs you'll use in French—to be, and to have. So, to say "I am Edwin", you could always use je m'appelle, but you could also say je suis Edwin to introduce yourself. You'd use avoir to say how old you are, though. In French, it goes more like "I have years" rather than "I am years". Some people think that's a bit odd when learning it.' Jess herself had.
With that, she would pause, waiting to see how Edwin was faring with the material.
Translations:
être - to be
je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont - I am, you are, he/she is, we are, you (plural) are, they are
avoir - to have
j'ai, tu as, il/elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont - I have, you have, he/she has, we have, you (plural) have, they have
je m'appelle - My name is...