lolisourume, of course! I'm always happy to write something you guys want me to! (Assuming crippling writer's block doesn't strike)
Alrighty, this one is young Nic and Worick. It takes place between their first meeting and before Worick started teaching Nicolas Sign Language.
In my own mind, I imagine Nic's first thoughts toward reading/writing probably being similar to my own when I was introduced to it as a child. I was diagnosed with severe audio and visual Dyslexia when I was half way through 2nd grade. I was actually able to get by 'faking' my reading and writing until that point before I had to be put into a special education class for learning to read since the average teaching method was completely ineffective for me. My mom even tried using the 'hooked on phonix' thing to help whenever I got home from school, it just didn't compute.
The best way I can explain it is, my mind just couldn't fathom the concept of letters, much less putting them together to form a word. When I looked at them, I just saw pictures of symbols. I could memorize what the word 'cat' meant. But, memorizing and understanding are two very different things. Basically imagine how it would effect you if whenever you looked at letters, you couldn't recognize them as letters and your brain registered them as pictures or random scribbles on paper. To me the letters making up the word were just a picture and I could remember that picture was a 'symbol' for cat. So if a teacher called on me to read a word up on the board, I usually would be able to remember that the 'picture' meant some sort of animal or other easy word. But, once it turned into sentences my jig was up and suddenly the teacher's and my parents realized I couldn't read or truly recognize different letters(I couldn't match letters up with the right sounds they made).
Obviously now, I've learned the way for me to be able to read and write which involves understanding and not memorizing. But, if I read out loud I have a very bad stutter(it only happens when reading out loud) and I tend to repeat words and sentences 2-3 times before I realize I've already read it. Then when writing I typically duplicate sentences or jump to a new sentence half way through the current one. And I'm sure some of you have seen where I have switched out a word with another one that is of a similar length or sounds/looks similar at a glance. I think I've gone back and corrected most of them now though. I know a lot of people picture Dyslexia as just one thing where people switch around letters/numbers or switch a term with something completely opposite. While that is a type of Dyslexia, there are other types of it that affect people differently.
Anyway, in my mind I imagine young Nic(who was raised without language pretty much) not being able to understand what the letters and words Worick is trying to teach him to read/write really are. Not because he is Dyslexic, but because he wouldn't have a language to compare it too. It would be like trying to teach someone the Russian Cryllic alphabet with the person having no prior exposure/knowledge of the Russian language whatsoever. It just wouldn't compute. But, I imagine they probably could memorize certain combinations of letters to mean certain words. It wouldn't be exactly the same, but in my head it makes sense.
Anyway, sorry for the lengthy explanation. But, I felt more comfortable putting it in as an author's note than trying to force feed it to the reader's in the story somehow.
Also fun fact(sorry I just thought of this after talking about my difficulty in school with reading/writing and it struck me as ironic) I pretty much failed every single English class I ever took throughout Middle and High School. Only reason I have a diploma is because the teachers took pity and helped me with extra credit in English so I could pass with the bare minimum grade. I did well in my other classes. My parents weren't made aware at the time that with a doctor's diagnosis of Dyslexia I qualified for help with testing(I would have been able to take my English tests orally with a teacher reading the questions and my answering them vocally), so yeah I did not do well in school. One English teacher in high school actually told me, "Being a writer just isn't ever going to be possible for you." Well, kiss my writing butt old English Teacher :P I can do whatever I put my mind too! I might have to work a little harder, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible for me to do.
Wallace sighed in quiet frustration for the fifth time in half an hour. When he had decided to teach his new body guard how to read and write, he hadn't completely understood just how difficult that would be. When Nicolas had spoken to him, he had assumed that the other boy had a decent grasp on the English language. Now that he had been trying to make the other boy understand that the two words Wallace had been having him copy down on the paper was actually Nicolas' own first and last name, he started to realize that perhaps Nicolas had been parroting his speech more than talking.
Nicolas seemed to only have a few basic phrases he could say, as if someone had coached him into them without his actually understanding what they meant. Sadly, most of them started off with the two words 'I can't' or were responses of obedience or apology. At times, Nicolas would spout out one of these phrases, but it wouldn't make any sense as a response to what Wallace was trying to get him to understand. The one most frustrated by this was Nicolas himself, as if he wasn't sure why he wasn't getting the desired response for what he was saying.
Wallace would try to make him understand that he wanted Nicolas to sit in a chair and not on the floor. Nicolas would respond with 'sorry' or nodding his head, but instead of then complying he would shuffle off to the corner of the room as if he thought he had been told to get out of the way. The other two popular phrases were, 'I can't read' and 'I can't hear'. But, the more Wallace paid attention the less he thought Nicolas actually understood what he was saying. It gave him the impression that the mercenaries had somehow taught Nicolas how to say these phrases in order to keep Nicolas from accidentally angering a client. All the phrases were used as excuses almost, then Nic would do whatever he thought Wallace was trying to get him to. Of course, that was just if Nicolas spoke at all. Usually, the boy would just nod, shake his head, or look confused instead of attempting to speak out loud.
The one phrase Nicolas did seem to be able to put with the correct question was in response to if Wallace pointed out a bruise or other injury. Nic would just say he had fallen down. Of course, if Wallace asked where he had fallen or how, Nic would have no idea how to repond and would just repeat himself. At the very least, Nic seemed to understand that saying he had fallen down was the proper response to anyone pointing at visible injuries on him. He also seemed to understand when Wallace would say the same thing back when Nic pointed at Wallace's own bruises. Somehow it felt pathetic that their shared understanding of abuse and making up the same excuse for the evidence of it was the easiest point of their communication.
The next step Wallace tried to use in making Nicolas understand the words he was writing down had no more effect than simply having him copy down the ABC's had. Wallace tried drawing a picture then writing the word for what the drawing depicted to try and help Nic make the connection. But, all he saw on the other boy's face was either blank lack of understanding or outright confusion. Nothing Wallace did seemed to get through. There was no communication between them, at least not really. It often took a lot of patience and some creative gesturing for Wallace to get Nicolas to do something. Sometimes, Wallace would just forget and start talking, only to have Nicolas shake his head with a nervous expression and once again tell Wallace that he couldn't hear.
For awhile, Wallace began to wander if Nicolas was perhaps a little slow. No matter what he did, Nic just couldn't grasp the concept of anything he was attempting to teach him. But, then Wallace would just remember that it was, in the end, a lack of language. After three weeks of this struggle, Wallace finally decided that Nic didn't seem to understand what language was at all. Whatever few phrases he knew how to say, were purely parroted and he had likely been taught how to do them in a less than kind manner. Whenever Wallace had to speak to someone, especially when interacting with his private tutor, Nicolas would stare at their lips with curiosity. The child mercenary seemed to understand that other people could communicate together whenever he saw people moving their lips, but likely had no clue as to how or even why.
It wasn't until Wallace found the book about Sign Language that he finally regained the lost hope he had at communicating with his new found friend. With his photographic memory, it only took reading the book once to memorize all the signs. The concept of word order and using the signs to form complete thoughts was a bit confusing for him, but Wallace figured the important thing would be getting Nicolas to understand the basic signs first. Making sentences with them could come later.
The first time Wallace had taken Nicolas outside and pointed at a tree before making the hand sign for it, Nicolas had just cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. It had really deflated the blond's excitement, but he kept at it. While he and Nic were together, Wallace would always make the signs for things they passed and point at them, hoping that eventually it would click for the dark haired boy. After awhile, Nic started to copy him. It seemed to be more out of curiosity than understanding, but it was still progress.
It was nearly two full weeks after Wallace had found the Sign Language book that it finally clicked with Nicolas. Wallace had taken to trying to show Nicolas conversation styled Sign Language. Quite literally, the blond had spent the past few days 'talking' to himself in Sign Language. At first, Nic had been more amused than anything, chuckling at the antics he was watching. Those dark brown eyes were as alert as ever, but his lips would be pulled up into a smirk. Then it finally happened. As if a light bulb had just suddenly flickered on in a dark room and illuminated everything inside, revealing everything to the eye so that it could be understood.
Wallace had almost missed the movement. He had been signing to himself about the weather in question form, pausing, then answering it. It was the same thing he did every day. Usually Nicolas would copy him, but it would be exact. This time, instead of following along as Wallace did the signs, Nicolas jumped in during the pause and signed the answer that the weather was clear and sunny. Blue eyes had turned to meet brown ones and the look on Nicolas' face said it all. He understood.
The next moment was a whirlwind, as soon as understanding clicked in Nicolas' mind he began pointing at everything and waiting for Wallace to show him the correct sign. Then Nic would go back and start pointing at the objects in random order, making the signs himself. He certainly picked up quickly on what signs matched up with what objects he was pointing at. It was the first time Wallace had ever seen the boy smile. It was a big joyful grin and he was suddenly curious about everything, soaking up all the information like a sponge. Not that Wallace didn't have a big smile on his own face. He'd never really done anything worth while before, but this was something he felt proud of doing.
After a few hours of going about and pointing at things around the estate for Wallace to teach him the signs for, Nicolas finally seemed to wear himself out a bit. Or rather, he ran out of things to point at. Nic's lower lip pouted slightly as he turned himself in a circle, looking for anything he hadn't noticed before. There was an expression of disappointment on his face when he found nothing new and had already gone around pointing at objects and making the signs for them himself. Turning back to Wallace, he cocked his head to the side and those big brown eyes regarding the blond with quiet curiosity before he jabbed a finger at Wallace.
With a small smile, Wallace finger spelled his own name for Nicolas. It took a good ten minutes of coaching before Nicolas got it right, but then he pointed toward himself expectantly. Wallace actually had to think for a moment, recalling the correct signs for each letter of Nicolas' name. As he made the series of signs for Nic to see, Wallace couldn't help but keep smiling to himself at how excited Nicolas was. It was infectious to say the least and after nearly two months of knowing each other but being unable to communicate together, that language barrier had finally been broken.
Once Nicolas understood the concept of Sign Language, reading and writing followed shortly after. Then once he was able to do basic reading and writing, lip reading and speaking out loud came next. Nic wasn't just parroting mouth and tongue movements anymore, he actually understood what he was saying and was fairly good at reading lips to see what was being said to him as well. It was hard work, but rewarding for Wallace. Suddenly, he had the first friend he had ever had in his entire life. And that friend could understand and speak with him now.
It wasn't long before Nicolas was able to ask questions and he asked a lot of them. He was still quiet by nature, but his curiosity was no longer kept internal. There wasn't any impatience when he wanted to know something, though Nic certainly got excited about learning new things. He especially liked when Wallace taught him how to play a few card games, but now that conversation was possible things were different. Instead of just communicating want, need, and interest, Nicolas could sign out full thoughts and if he tried hard enough sometimes he could say them out loud or write them down. It wasn't perfect, but they could understand each other and that was major progress.
'W-a-l-l-a-c-e, other you. Who?' Nicolas had his head cocked to the side again, fumbling through the signs as if he knew he wasn't asking the question correctly but lacked the knowledge of the signs he needed to do so. It wasn't unusual, but it took effort to figure out what Nic wanted to know.
"Other me?" Wallace murmured, thinking hard before realized that Nic was probably asking about his brother Michel. With a sigh, Wallace made sure to sign and speak slowly as he answered, "You mean my brother? His name is Michel."
'Brother? What is?'
"Uh... It means we have the same parents. Well.. the same father. Do you understand?" Wallace explained, feeling a bit nervous about the direction of this particular question.
'Is friend?' Nicolas' brows were furrowed, likely because he hadn't meant the question to lead to any mention of parents. They had already had the serious conversation of appropriate and inappropriate questions after Nicolas had asked the touchy question regarding Wallace's mother and father.
"No, Nic... Michel isn't a friend. He doesn't like me," Wallace explained, smiling a bit when Nicolas just shrugged and waved his hand to dismiss the subject.
'W-a-l-l-a-c-e, friend with me?' Nic's question actually caught Wallace off guard.
The blond had accepted that the two of them were friends quite some time ago, but the fact had never been verbalized between them. They did everything together now and there certainly was a level of caring and worry for each other that came with the territory. Wallace hated knowing Nic went back to the shared quarters of the mercenaries every night, only to show up the next morning with fresh bruises covering him. It wasn't hard to answer the question, "Yeah, Nic. We're friends."
Those dark brown eyes of Nicolas' watched the movements of Wallace's hands with keen interest, only glancing at his lips once or twice. A small smile spread over Nic's face as a faint blush spread across his face, the pale tinge of pink reaching up to the tips of his ears. As if embarrassed, Nic just nodded and turned back around to keep walking forward, but Wallace couldn't help but chuckle a bit to himself. Even before he had finally broken through Nicolas' communication barrier, Wallace had thought he had had a good idea of Nic's personality. But, now that they could talk to each other, he realized that there was much more to the young mercenary than he had originally thought.
Nicolas was very intelligent, picking up on Sign Language along with reading and writing rather quickly. Speaking out loud was harder for him, but he was making a genuine effort to learn how to do so. He was curious about people and things around him, but had learned to be a bit shy for fear of angering anyone else that might find him irritating. Even thought Wallace tried to forget, he couldn't get the image out of his mind of the corpse in the yard with Nicolas standing over it, blood dripping from the unsheathed sword in his hand. It was easy to forget that Nic had been a mercenary for most of his life, if not all of it, when they were playing cards or arm wrestling. It was easy to see him as fragile, needing to be shielded from the world, but then Wallace would be faced with the stark reminders that Nic probably knew more about the harsh realities of the world than Wallace himself did.