Thinking! (Training Thread Open)

The desk felt cool as it pressed against the side of the groggy student's face. The student suffering from said grogginess was Nasin whom had been in the library of sorts reading up on medical terms. Knowing only the basic he sought to further his knowledge, but as of now had little time to actually perform any type of studying which was a shame. It was one of the few things he did enjoy as of lately. Another part of the student wanted to delve into the safety of words as recent events have lead him to recall a gruesome memory of man being fed his own intestines. The act in itself wasn't that bothered Nasin it was the cruelty of it. Closing a hardcover textbook Nasin shook his head wondering how Espi was handling memory better than he was. She seemed more adjusted to that sort of scenery than Nasin which took him by surprise.

The towers of books surrounding Nasin not only were outdated they made the world seem big once again. Almost like the dark back streets weren't what confined Nasin any longer. Hard for him to think otherwise. Nasin was many things, lair, cheater, thief and a man with a sliver tongue. Yet for all he did he somehow managed to get into the academy and train with all the other children despite missing large amounts of his papers. Either way it worked out for him. Gently pulling a book from one of the leaning towers he smiled as it reminded him of the game jenga he once saw in the marketplace.

Opening the old book unleashed a unwelcome pungent older books obtain with time when remaining unopened. It somehow comforted Nasin if not with pleasantry, but rather familiarity. The book held pages scrawled with notes of a woman. At least to Nasin seemed to be notes of a woman with letters entailing hearts and soft flares that seemed cliche. His eyes reading the cursive notes out of curiosity if they correlated with the book or was just ramblings of girl. From what he could decipher within his mind it was a mixture.

The girl sometimes wrote about how certain parts of the body have functions that if taken out wouldn’t necessarily prove fatal, but hinderance to the host. Nasin commented silently think every part of the human body has some use. It may be arcanic at times, but it will be useful to the human at some point. ‘This girl may have been daft’ he thought as he gently turned pages as his eyes wondered toward the clock on the wall. It had been the first time he actually check the time of day or night since he woke up.

It was night. Didn’t matter though. No one ever bothered to know where he was at any time in his life. Sighing Nasin delved back into the medical book with more enthusiasm than he expected. It was a nice surprise he felt he did not deserve. As the pages went one the notes left by the girl became more scarce which made the reading somewhat dry. It didn’t matter in the end. Nasin came to learn not to see what some girl from the past wrote about.

WORD COUNT: 542

The past was something vague to Nasin. It wasn’t a place you can go to or an object you can hold, yet people talk about it as if they can. It confused him. With each passing page he became more and more interested in the passage of time than learning. With a sudden halt Nasin slammed the book shut deciding it best to take a small break. Getting up Nasin from the chair thought that maybe something to eat would put him at ease. Sighing with frustration he didn’t want to leave the library. It was for the better to finish the book while he still had the free time to do so anyway.

It seemed the girl vandalized this book did not finish it as the last chapters had no graffiti. The book in honesty wasn’t very interesting as it was meant for learning not to entertain. Still he felt a tad bit sad that he longer had something to break the constant monotony. It was something that he had gotten used to after a few hours of reading the girls writing and would miss. Shaking his head as if it would throw off the emotions he pressed onwards take his own notes every now and then in a cheap notebook. Everytime he wrote something it would remind him of the girl. Questions filled his head not of medical procedures, but of her.

It amused him that something so simple as written notes would drive out his curiosity. Sighing once more Nasin gingerly closing the notebook raised his head so that his face would stare at the bland ceiling tried thinking of what he learned today. Tonight. Right now. The lightbulb high above his reach left blotches of color in his sight staring away from the light only made the effect worse. Rubbing his eyes as tears formed Nasin placed his head on the desk tempted to go back to sleep. The temptation was quickly thrown out his mind as he grabbed the book one again.

The last chapter of the book was fairly complex which made Nasin go back to previous chapters to look up procedures, terms and at rare time his notebook which held knowledge of several other medical books. Nasin felt sluggish all the while. Maybe the extensive time sitting down was catching up to him. Still Nasin plowed through finishing the book. He felt a sense of accomplishment, yet no one to celebrate it with. “No matter” He said aloud closing the book before standing up as if to reward himself.

WORD COUNT: 968

Nasin grabbing a few books before trying to leave unannounced was surprised to see someone still handling still at the front checking out books. Smiling at the clerk the studious would be thief check out the books as the law demanded. Walking outside he met the chill of the desert air and the cooking of several nearby houses. It was a good reminder that it was time to eat. The nearest restaurant was a few blocks away which happen to be on the route home.

The restaurant was in route was a far from an actual restaurant. It was literally man in sitting in a corner with a small portable stove with a cooler filled with ingredients. Nasin content with what was near his surrounding order some food. It was cooked with haste as Nasin handed the man the money. Not saying anything else other than his order he waited for his food to be ready. The area which Nasin dwelled was something of a slump. All sorts of shady folk flock towards this part of the village as it can hide dealings, murders and other crimes quite well amidst the overcrowded buildings and constant passing of people.

The man putting Nasin’s food on a plastic plate handed it him before handing him a fork. Nasin taking a side step starting eating his food as he casually watched for dangers around him. Nothing out of the ordinary. The food was spicy and made his throat burn as he swallowed. It tasted of cheap meat doused in cheaper spice and herbs trying to hide the meats nature. Not wanting to think about the mystery meat any further Nasin finished his food with haste before tossing the used plate a few feet away from the corner cook. It would be a few blocks before he would reach his home, but it felt more like miles away as he passed through the filth of the village.

It was here he was left to die and it was here Nasin learned to survive. Learned to talk, walk, steal, run and the cruelty of men. How people with so little would fight for the most useless of things. Nasin gently pushing past a crowd of prostitutes knew he was near his home. The prostitutes waved at the sight of Nasin before telling him his landlord wanted something. Nasin’s landlord ran the brothel he lived in. Most of the time she asked for favors she couldn’t ask others his age. Walking into the whore house Nasin was greeted by the landlord known as petha. Petha was a husky lady in her later years who wore thick makeup and cheap perfume. Petha cooing Nasin to come closer did so as she pulled him by his collar whispering him to head to the back of building for further instructions.

Having no money to actually pay for rent Nasin had a sort of arrangement with Petha. He would perform errands for her and he would be allowed to stay provided he stay a good distance away from the workers there. As Petha let Nasin’s collar go he asked with utmost respect if he could drop his books before heading to the back. Petha shook her head as she took the books from Nasin’s hands claiming that she would have one of the girls take them there. Nodding his head with his usual calm posture proceeded to the back.

The soft moans and trembles of furniture tapping against the hard floor was something Nasin could get used to. It always bothered him. Opening opening the back door that lead into a sort of staff room Nasin was greeted by a woman spread eagle on a couch breathing heavily as other girls flocked to her need. Petha with ninja like stealth talk to Nasin, “She is giving birth. I know you can help. Go.” Startled Nasin turned his head saw just an empty hallway behind him. “Now is not the time to question exactly how that old woman was able to move so swiftly” he mumbled to himself before turning his attention back to the woman bearing child.

Nasin now focusing on a task quickly walked into the room with posture of authority as he snapped his fingers ordering the girls to get needed materials. Rare was it for Nasin to speak and even rarer for him to give orders the girls stood in the room silently stunned in amazement before rushing to follow orders as the snapping of Nasin’s fingers blasted through the room. This is not he was expecting then again he wasn’t sure what he was expecting. He never was. Not knowing the woman’s name Nasin simply called her Ma’am. Which would suffice as she was more preoccupied with more important than giving out her name.

The woman was given advice by Nasin that could ease her birthing pains as the night went on. Girls came and went as they too had jobs needing to be fulfilled. Nasin had to constantly re-explain exactly what was happening. It was at one point that he heard that some them kept repeating questions simply to hear his voice as they thought him to be a mute til this point. Nasin irritated order gossipers and onlookers to leave. Few did others barked back insults. It was this time Nasin noticed the head of the infant.
The time had come for the child to enter this world. Nasin making eye contact with the soon to be mother kindly asked her to make the final few pushes. Gently grabbing the child's head supporting it he repeated instructions. Nasin given a towel wrapped the child best he could wiping the girl down cleaning her. The woman asking what her child’s gender was only answered with silence as Nasin stared at the child's features looking for any abnormalities. The mother demanding to see her child was only given question, “Did you drink while you were with child?” Nasin knew the answer, but wanted to be wrong. “Yes. Clients like to drink before hand.” Handing the child to the woman Nasin had internal struggle to the woman what her girl suffers from.

Nasin knew infants are left on the streets if a mother wishes in this part of the town. An unspoken law if a child is not healthy all the more reason to leave it to fate. If Nasin stays quiet the child will have a chance to be raised by his mother. If he does tell her the infant girl will be left on the streets or some random doorstep. It was in his hands. “Your child is not well, Ma’am.” the woman already feeding her child looked back at Nasin with anger and venom, “Does she look to sick to you, boy.” Nasin started to explain the effects of alcohol during pregnancy, but was only met with disbelief.

The woman now graced in motherhood ordered Nasin to leave the two alone. Walking out the room Nasin was face to face with Petha who asking of the child’s health while he silently closed the door. Petha received a honest answer. Petha nodding her head gave order Nasin away without any other questions.

Upon reaching his room Nasin saw the rising sun which illuminated the small crowded, but tidy room. His books lay on a desk near the entrance as was promised. Not in the mood to read Nasin lay on his bed. Wanting to be left alone he closed his eyes allowing sleep to come to him. It would be a few days later Nasin learned the child was left in some random doorstep while the mother returned to work.


WORD COUNT:2243