My Very First Room [Makara]

Makara was very much a mother hen, despite being neither a woman nor a chicken. He had not had much of a childhood, nor had he much in the way of parents. They had existed, certainly, but he remembered almost nothing of them, and he couldn't have been more than six when they vanished from his life. He'd always understood, in a very general sense, what parents were supposed to do for their children, but he'd never had any true first hand experience with it.

So he'd overcompensated, eager to prove himself. He made sure all those under his care ate every meal. He made sure they did their homework. He checked in on them perhaps a bit more than he should have. He was not one of those dorm parents who was there when you needed someone to talk to - he was one of those dorm parents who was always there, just like a real parent would be.

He had been told he was getting a new member of his little dorm, which was always a cause for celebration. His floor of the dorm was only half full at the moment, and they were slowly trickling new students in so as to avoid overwhelming him. He was fine with that - it was a learning experience for everyone. Even if he'd been on the islands for almost a decade, he'd only become a dorm parent recently.

He did not, however, know the child's name. He'd been warned that she was very young, and the woman who had warned him had described her as 'fragile looking'. But she hadn't said the girl's name, no doubt assuming he'd simply read the file and know it.

Makara could not properly read. He could read a bit, if he struggled, and he knew enough individual words to bullshit his way through life, but English continued to be a near-impossible hurdle before him. He wouldn't need it though - he would introduce himself, and she would introduce herself, and then he wouldn't need the paperwork that he'd left on the desk.

He was always up, because Makara didn't sleep, but he usually waited until the sun rose before he started really doing anything. In the early morning light he was solid, and most people would assume he was human from looks alone.

Was seven too early? Was eight? Seven-thirty, he decided, was good enough. She would have to get up around that time anyway, if not earlier. Of course she wouldn't be expected to go to school on her first day on the island--she would need time to settle in--but it was never too early to start a routine.

Even so, he was aware that she might not be up when he paused in front of her door, rapping lightly with his knuckles. Maybe she wasn't even awake. Maybe it would be better to come back later.

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Tag to @"beloved" ​

Makara was just as used to looking up as Nia was, if not more so. In Cambodia he'd been mostly near eye level. Most people his age were stunted in some way, and even in places that hadn't been starving, the average height was only around four inches taller than he was. Yes, he was shorter than usual, but he wasn't extremely short in Cambodia.

Anywhere else? Well, on the islands he was nearly a midget. There were people walking around who soared past 8 feet, and while he'd yet to meet someone twice as tall as he was, it was really only a matter of time.

He was expecting someone about his height, but he wasn't expecting someone about his size. She looked just as tired and thin as he did, a concern he'd soon rectify by making sure she ate as much as possible.

He was not expecting her to be upset though, and his eyes widened as she seemed to tremble in front of him. Was she scared? Had he frightened her? For a moment he actually had to question if he looked human at the moment, but yes, yes he did. He looked like any other human, albeit one that looked perpetually half starved.

"I - My name is Makara Som." Flipped from it's usual order to avoid any confusion. "Your dorm parent." Why was she so frightened of him? He wasn't used to people being so scared of him during the day. He was supposed to be small looking and completely unfrightening.

"I'm just here to... formally welcome you." His normal welcoming speech had been thrown all off-kilter by how alarmed she looked. "Are you alright?" There was no point in carrying on until he figured out why she was so scared. Better to get right to the point.

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Tag to @"beloved" ​

She seemed to calm down a bit when he said he was her dorm parent, but she was still shaking far more than he was used to. He was used to people being... well, honestly no. No he wasn't all that used to people being nervous around him during the day. He was possibly the least intimidating person on the planet. He was short, skinny, and looked like he could be knocked over by a light gust of wind. People were often terrified of what he looked like at night (even when he wasn't trying to be scary), but he'd never before encountered someone intimidated by what he looked like during the day.

At the very least he could understand that she was nervous around strangers, and he gave a little nod as she gave her name. "Would you like to come to my office to talk? Or we can talk in the lounge." The lounge sat at the end of the hallway that could be considered Makara's domain, and was used for any social events or parties he could think up. After all, it wasn't really inappropriate to cram everyone into his bedroom, and his office was small enough that they couldn't all fit.

He was doing his best to keep his voice low and soothing, hoping that would help her calm down. It was fairly easy for him. His voice was almost always quiet, to the point where it could be hard to hear.

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Tag to @"beloved" ​

Apparently she wasn't comfortable with the lounge. He could understand that. She was new, and probably didn't want to share her life story with the whole dorm. Well, perhaps not her whole life story - but Makara liked to at least get to know the basics. It helped him understand his students a lot better - and also understand what they needed.

Without a word he stepped back, shaking his head and gesturing to the office. The office took up the front part, and then a separate door led off to his own bedroom. He kept that door closed - so it was really just the office. A nice high backed chair, a desk he'd shoved up against the wall, and a couch for his students to sit on.

Assuming she was willing to go, he'd lead her back there and gesture for her to sit. He was a man of few words at the best of times, and when unprepared for what he was going to say, he struggled all the more.

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Tag to @"beloved" ​

The room was, if anything, kind of boring. It was a neat little office, the kind you might find at a counsellors. A large couch, a scattering of chairs, and a small desk off to one side with another chair in it. There were several posters on the wall, all obviously provided by the school, because they were all friendly reminders about school events or programs.

He didn't take the seat behind the desk in the corner - he really only sat there when someone was in trouble. Instead he took a seat in one of the chairs closer to the center of the room, settling in.

Just as Nia expected him to start talking, he expected her to start talking. Only it quickly became apparent that she wasn't going to - she was very quiet, and he was very quiet, and those two things didn't work out all that well.

"Nia, right? What's your family name?" He had never gotten the hang of calling it a last name. In his culture, family names had always come first.

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Tag to @"beloved" ​