Instead, I narrowed my options further which lead me to choose to take 'Perspective and Understanding'. This felt like another good option to learn about other species.
Stepping inside, already I could feel the mood had shifted a little. It felt must less controlled and stale and felt a little more relaxed. Though there was still timidity in the air, it was slowly giving way. As I walked in, I quickly found a desk in the front row that looked suitable. The young instructor was busy talking to another one of the students so I sat without giving her a greeting. I did as I did before and pulled me red riders hood from under me, sat my notebook this time on the desk, and folded my ankles comfortably back.
I had only just positioned myself when a young women to my left said.
" You're a witch as well?" I turned me attention over to the dark haired girl.
" Yes. How could you tell?" She smiled.
" Well you are wearing a riders hood. And we don't have horses here."
" Oh" I scoffed in a playful chuckle.
" Yea, I suppose that WOULD give me away."
" Did you bring your broom?" She questioned, the air between us already becoming rather friendly.
" Yes. I was really excited actually that I could."
"Oh me too!" She exclaimed, her smile only growing wider.
" There are never really no chances to ride them nowadays. I just do it in my house so I don't look the magic to do so." I turned my knees to face her as I leaned forward, placing my hands on them.
"Me too! I am glad I am not the only person to do it. Sometimes I take walks into the forest and ride mine, but I am so paranoid I will get caught." The women lightly shook her head with a solemn sigh.
" It's like a hobby now. We don't use brooms like we used too and we don't need them like we used too." I lightly sighed, feeling the loss with her.
"Yea... But at least here we will be able to do some flying." She chuckled.
" Yea and more than two feet off the ground!" We both laughed lightheartedly.
"Okay" The instructor spoke stepping back on front of her desk. Both me and the other witch turned our attentions forward. I realigned my body with the desk giving her my full attention to the instructor.
" My name is Gina, and I am a Tartar. Does anyone know what a Tatar is?" A boy in the back spoke.
" Like a fairy right?"
" That's right. I am a type of fairy. Are there any other Tartars in here?" A girl near the back and a boy a few seats from me rose their hands.
" Good. Now Tartars for many years were hunted, killed, and not well liked by the human race. Why is that?" She questioned looking at the girl who quickly straightened up in her chair.
" Well... We tend to have the most power as children. Our magic can allow us to give people a single thought, a thought that they things is theirs. Because as children we can go invisible, we often use this ability to cause problems. Like make them think they HAVE to have cake or they HAVE to go to mexico. In the 1700's we were... Um, less civilized and often tormented people who were un able to see us. We were also not well liked because we were nimble fingered thief's and hardly ever caught. We were mischievous and self serving and very childish. Some Tartars even used this to manipulate land owners, scheming farmers, and doing what we could to do what we wanted." Gina nodded.
" Yes. And this caused us to be very prideful and as we know pride comes before the fall. Because of our pride and childishness we practiced less and less discreetness while doing these things and soon what we were became known. Once we were discovered for what we were, most Tartars were run out of town, a few were killed, and for hundreds and hundreds of years were segregated. They spent hundreds of years in the forest and soon became only myths. It was only in the last 200 years when we joined the humans once more. But I think we learned our lesson." She said, ending with a chuckle. A few other chuckles sounded in the room before she turned her attention over to the boy.
" So she mentioned that as Tartars, we have the most magic as children. Can you add to that?" The boy who was leaning back against his seat, arms crossed and legs crossed, lightly fidgeted uncomfortably. It was clear he wasn't expecting to be called on.
" Um well. We start off with the most magic, maybe not with the understanding about how to use it but with the most magic. Like, spiders I guess. Spiders have the most venom when they are young and it becomes most potent as they get older." He shrugged, clearly not impressed by his own explanation.
" But as kids, we are usually the most selfish and mischievous. Like teasing our parents, not wanting to do chores, taking revenge on a classmate. We can like turn invisible, make people thing they want a single thing, we are very good at sneaking around. Going invisible is the first thing to lose I think. I lost my ability a little early around 9 or so. I am not as nimble as I was as a kid but I can still be pretty sneaky. As for the single thought thing, I haven't tried it for a while so I don't know if I could still do it." Another shrug. Gina nodded.
" I personally, don't like kids. But let me tell you, Tartar kids are the worst" She laughed once more, followed again by several other laughs including mine. I had never thought about meeting a Tartar but now I wondered if I had. There was a large amount of foul children, perhaps a number of them were just power drunk little Tartars.
" Once, when I was a kid, I think about 11. I had a girl in my class named Jessica. There was her first problem right? I mean who knows a nice Jessica? Anyways, She invited everyone to her birthday party but me. She even made it a point to make eye contact with me as she handed out some of the invitations. During the party that I was not invited too, I attended invisibly. She had a pool, and was swearing a nice pink dress her well off parents bought her. So, right as they were bringing out her cake, I got up to her and whispered that she really wanted to get into the pool. This of course would seem like an overcoming desire from her. She ran across the yard and leaped into the pool in her nice dress." Gina let out a small burst of laughter.
" It was great. The looks on everyone's faces, how surprised her parents looked. And then the next few weeks when everyone whispered about how strange it was that she jumped in the pool." A short chuckle as she relieved clearly a pleasant memory. '
" Of course I am older now, and despite my powers becoming diluted I know better than to use them to mess with people or further myself." There was a short silence as Gina turned and begun to write on the board 'Tartar' and once finished she turned back to us, chalk still in hand.
" Okay, how about Gremlins? Any Gremlins in here?" A young African American man rose his hand.
" I'm one." He admitted rather calmly. Even though I had not notice before, while he spoke the sharp rows of two teeth spoke for themselves.
" A gremlin, very interesting. Can you tell us a little about your peoples heritage?"
" Well.." He begun, his eyes turning aside as he thought about how to answer, but there was no question about his knowledge.
" Gremlins caused lots of problems. We have been alive for thousands of years but were outed during world war II when one of us were caught taking apart a plane. We liked to dismantle things when people were not looking, take things, and even do cruel things like cut off women's hair during the night. We were much more barbaric and more like mischievous animals. Unlike most other creatures we did not have a sense of family or belonging. Mothers would often eat their mate, and even their children if their children didn't eat them first." He lightly sighed in a disproving way. Gina leaned back against her desk.
" And why did things change? Why are gremlins no longer wandering around?"
" Well... the women begun to die out, a Gremlins being animalistic begun to mate with human women and would run off to continue being a nuisance. However most of the women who were already... well married, assume the experience to be a case of insanity, or a bad dream so didn't tell anyone. When they got pregnant they would assume it was from their husband. But the women who gave birth to half Gremlins were more attentive, loving, caring, and taught actual lessons. Now all full Gremlins to our knowledge are dead, and we half Gremlins are left, still producing. The Gremlin gene tends to be more powerful so our genetics have hardly died off."
" And how do you feel about your ancestors? Do you feel ashamed?" He shrugged.
" As much as I would any time I read about evil acts. But not personally. I didn't do anything wrong, neither had my parents. I am aware, but those creatures are not me, and I am not them. I am responsible for myself, so I don't feel guilt or shame when learning things about my ancestors." A smile touched Gina's lips.
" And you shouldn't. That is the perfect attitude. Having bitterness or shame based off of what your great, great, great grandparents did will now help any of us." She turned and begun to write 'Gremlins' on the board.
" Being clouded with these feelings will not help us learn about each other or ourselves. These events happened, they are over, we are here now and what we do now is what is important."
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