Russian PV Closed

@John Penton

A singular black eyebrow rises and he glances at the other one again. His red eyes search the other's eyes, and then blink in shock. Learn... Russian or German? No one's ever showed interest in them other than us natives. He thinks to himself before bowing his head.

"Need any assistance? I wouldn't mind teaching you yes and no in both languages if you are interested." he says with a shrug. Still kind of in shock, Steve cannot help but feel slightly elated at the thought of someone being interested in his languages. He smiles softly as he glances at the ground.

"I'm better at writing them than speaking them. I guess I just have a natural arm for writing rather than a mouth for speaking. That's why I write letters to my family." He says as he runs a hand along his right arm uncomfortably. His subconsciousness it trying - unsuccessfully - to tell him that he should be a little nicer to John, but his entire being is fighting it.

"Don't hide who you are, Steve. We all know you're a monster" His oldest brother would always say and then would smile at his young sibling. And Steve would always smile back.

And not tears well in his eyes at the thought of his brother. Although they could be annoying, he still loved them with all his being!

“Really! That would be brilliant!” John exclaimed. “It would be great to start learning from a native speaker.”

John couldn’t believe his luck. He thought he was going to have to search for a couple books on the subject to start learning Russian and German. Teaching languages to yourself through books is notoriously hard so any kind of assistance would go a long way. John was starting to enjoy Steve’s company a lot. All it took was to view past the terrifying and cold exterior and you would find a great human being.

Prejudice was something that Steve obviously had to endure throughout his life. His cold exterior was probably a defense mechanism. But who was John to psychoanalyze Steve. John knew for a fact that he had his own defense mechanisms that were created for his own protection.

“Do you have any books you recommend or really anything that will help me learn?” John asked. “because notes can only take you so far.”

John was trying very hard to contain his excitement at the prospect of learning a new language. Really the prospect of learning anything made John excited. It was moments like those that made John wonder why he wasn’t put in Ravenclaw. But, there had to be a reason and who was he to question the talking hat.

Word Count: 221 | Interacting w/@Steve Falenwolfe

@John Penton

"No, I do not know any books." He replies calmly. Glancing at John again, he can very easily tell that the American is happy to learn another language and he cannot help but wonder if all Americans are this way.

"What one would you like to learn first?" He inquires with a raised brow again. He blinks and he cannot help but feel a pang of excitement at the thought of teaching someone how to speak Russian. He has a fondness for his language, and he would love to teach anyone who would listen to his language.

Steve glances at his parchment, and begins to write different words in Russian on the paper. When finished, he them places his quill down and looks at John again.

"Sorry." He says, but doesn't sound the least bit sorry. "Would you like me to say a few words and give you a hint to what the word is?"

And he has the perfect idea for two words, so he low-key wants to teach John his language. Ans he's shocking himself by actually showing interest in this.

How odd. I thought you didn't like people. He thinks to himself and he tries not to laugh as he raises an eyebrow.

210 words

John didn’t really have to think about his options. Obviously, Steve new more about Russian than German. There was also the added bonus of Steve already writing down Russian.

“I think I should start with Russian.” John said. “It’s seems to be the topic you’re most knowledgeable about.”

John had started to pull out his own quill and parchment ready to write down notes for later review. Steve seemed to really enjoy the thought of teaching John Russian which was about the most invested he had been this entire conversation. After writing a quick title on the piece of parchment John pushed it to the side to give is full attention to Steve.

“If you wouldn’t mind teaching me I would love to be your student.” John continued getting relaxed into his chair. “I would be a fool to not ask for your help.”

John was hoping that Steve would agree to continue teaching him. It was almost a blessing in and of itself to come across such a person as to be willing to talk about their home country with a complete stranger. Russia sounded like an amazing place all things considered. Sure pop culture made the place look like a death zone and Jesus Christ if wasn’t cold, but John could live with the cold and everyone knows pop culture isn’t to be trusted.

Word Count: 226 | Interacting w/@Steve Falenwolfe

@John Penton

Steve inclines his head to John again. His heart leaps and he is actually happy - which is odd, considering that he doesn't like to talk to most people. But this person - this American - has one of the same interests as he does. He wants to learn Russian - and Steve is happy to teach him.

"The Russian alphabet is nothing like the American one, so it'll be hard to learn." He says with a raised eyebrow. Glancing at John, Steve can tell that he is eager to learn. "But I can teach that to you - we can write letters to each other with Russian so you can get better. That is... If you want to." Steve says with an awkward shrug.

Glancing around with his reddish eyes, he doesn't see anything written in Russian. Maybe he'll put in a request or something, but he doesn't know how to do it. He shrugs again and begins to write the alphabet down on some parchment.

Once he's finished, Steve cannot help but smile. His handwriting is so neat, and he's proud of it. "So - see what I mean by it's complicated?" He asks with a soft smile.

202 Words

John looked at the complex lettering that was laid in front of him. Steve wasn’t kidding when he said it would be difficult. But what was life without a little challenge. Steve’s hand writing was perfect in everyway and it made the lettering seem very practiced. Almost as if a printer had created the paper. If you looked closer thought there is a level of detail and patience that not even technology could replicate.

“Letters sound like a great idea!” John said enthusiastically. “It’ll help me get used to conversing in Russian.”

John decidedly left out the part that it would be amazing to have a friend to write to. Steve was the first person offering to write to him via owl and it felt nice. John would have to get used to mail via owl now that mobile devices weren’t things he could use. The lack of modern technology was a weird part of wizarding society in John’s opinion. While he didn’t necessarily miss it as magic all but made up for the loss but it was weird not to see the kind of things that were a central part of everyday life in the muggle world.

John stopped his own train of thought and sat up straighter in his chair. “So, lets get started.”

Word Count: 216 | Interacting w/ @Steve Falenwolfe

@John Penton

"Anything you would like to learn first?" He grins wryly. Yeah - this won't be easy, but he practically lives for challenges. That's the best part about being him - he loves to speak in his native language, and he loves to help others understand it.

"Why not start with Yes and No?" Steve inquires with a raised brow. He glances up and down at John, and he then glances at the paper. "Learning yes and no is very easy." He says with a shrug. So this won't be easy - big deal. At least he's got something to distract him from the going-ons of his life.

Currently kind of bored, Steve stands and stretches awkwardly. He wishes he could have his phone here - then he could at least write to his friends and tell them he's alright. But he can't - muggle devices are not allowed for some reason. Maybe it interferes with the medieval theme or something like that? Either way, it makes Steve feel lonely. Like he left everything in Russia behind, other than the language.

So he's very pleased that someone is showing interest in it. He's also proud about the fact that he can help someone to learn one of the few things he actually has a passion in.

217 words

“I think Yes and No is a good way to start.” John said. “I’m pretty sure that’s where everyone starts when learning a new language is it not.”

John didn’t know much about other people’s learning experience if he was being honest but it seemed most logical to start with the easiest part of the language. Yes and No would probably be something He would have to use a lot when learning the language so it would be smart to build up a knowledge of it in his head. The Russian alphabet would probably be very hard to memorize but at least it was something to do when he was bored.

Pronunciation would probably be another thing that would prove to be difficult. Hopefully Steve proved to be a decent teacher because without him John would be completely lost. John had faith that Steve would do more than fine at teaching but one could never be too safe. That was something John took to heart. Being prepared was probably one of the most important things to human life second only to communication. John knew he needed to be more social, human beings were social creatures and the world has no home for the antisocial.

Word Count:204 | Interacting W/@Steve Falenwolfe

"I think." Steve replies nonchalantly. "So, yes is pronounced 'da' in Russian, and it is spelled like -" He begins writing it on his parchment, да. He then looks up and a crooked grin is on his face as he tries not to chuckle softly.

"Is that easy enough?" He grins wryly. To him it is easy - but he grew up with it, so it's a different story. He clears his throat as he looks away.

He hopes that John is a good student, because he's never taught before. But he hopes it'll be funner than he thinks it'll be. Usually he's the one being taught different things, so he hopes it'll be easy enough to teach someone.

"I kinda had trouble with this in the beginning, too, if that helps any." Although it likely won't he doesn't add, although he would like to. He'd rather not be sarcastic - he doesn't want to hurt this person. It'd be better not to, actually. Who knows - John may come in handy later in the school year.

Not that he'd manipulate him, though. Steve may be cold, and blunt, but he is not the type to use someone to his advantage. He knows that it hurts - a lot.

209 Words - @John Penton

“Well at least some of the lettering is similar.” John said out loud. He had a habit of doing so when he started to get comfortable. “But I believe with a good amount of studying I could get it down.”

John started to copy it down on his own piece of parchment. Being so used to the English language made it hard to make such sharp and almost confusing lines but he tried his best and, in the end, he believed it to be decent for a first time. As he writes it down a few more times he tries his hand at actually saying the word. Soon he was muttering ‘da’ to himself as he writes down the lettering until his hand gets used to it. He only stops when he feels comfortable enough with the word.

“So, I believe that to be committed to memory what shall we go for next.” John said. A good memory was something that John took pride in, that and a good learning ability.

He would like to consider himself a quick study but he didn’t want to be viewed as self-righteous so he refused to let himself think that way. John didn’t want to come off as arrogant to anybody.

Word Count: 208 | Interacting w/@Steve Falenwolfe