Research by DPIP indicated that the ocean held the lowest education rate out of all of the regions of Xiunus, and a plan had been put into place to alleviate that: A small school that had opened up on a large, central island, inviting any colonist to fully funded classes. Skritch had been incredibly hesitant to send any of the Sea-Cucumber Colony's residents, as time spent in college was better used mining precious gold and gems for their charismatic leader. Akira had only managed to convince him by pointing out wildly that it was free. Thinking somehow that it was saving him money, the Captain agreed to allow the colonialists into the island school. Akira had left, along with a black tsabhua, carrying their dreams of scholarship.

Akira, picked on by his peers for his serpentine form, tried to focus his eyes on the poster that he held in his beak. "Alchemy tutoring… Starting at Beta sundown…" His baby blue eyes glanced off into the hazy purple atmosphere, where the smaller of the two bright orbs was beginning to touch the surface of the water on the horizon. A gentle breeze blew across the island, rustling the palm fronds and trees, and bringing a welcome relief to the sweaty heat of the day. The college was set up in a series of thatched shacks with straw roofs, though the majority of the lessons were taught outside, where all species sat together on softwood stumps before a built lecture stage. This was supposed to be where the mysterious tutor would arrive, but only a few tsabhua students sat about.

"Shenzi!" Akira was shocked to recognize her orange-and-black mottled pelt at the meeting spot. "What?" She mouthed, unaware of why he'd be so surprised to see her here. "I just–I-I thought you were training to be a miner," he stuttered out. She was far more of the strong and silent type that might get in a fight after class, not–in his eyes–pay attention during it. "I am," she answered simply, her deep bronze eyes examining him, "Can't I learn organic chemistry too?" Akira shut his beak, glancing down at his satchel full of books for some relief from the tense social conversation. It was a hard subject–He just hadn't thought that a female would… Not that females couldn't… Drat.

"Who do you think that the tutor will be?" Shenzi insightfully asked after the moment of silence, balancing on one of the stumps. "I mean, leaving these secret notes around… Meeting at sunset… It's all pretty sketchy, don't you think?" She's testing me, Akira recognized keenly. "I think…" He thought aloud, feeling that he remembered the penmanship from the poster somewhere… In a big "X" drawn over his English assignment. That had never been his best subject–the draconic tark'ee was built for empirical science and mathematics, not color perspective… "Principal Eldrich?" He offered, though his voice trembled with uncertainty.

"Bravo, student," came the cheerful call of an old voice. The grey belemoid took to the stage, as assistant rolling a rack of various test tubes and substances behind her. "Don't look so pale and surprised," she called out, turning the pages of a book with her claws–too fast–and wincing as she accidentally ripped one. "Well done," Shenzi whispered to Akira. That moment–of impressing the female tsabhua, lit his black cheeks in the light blush of an emerging crush. "Well, if you're all done spreading rumors," Eldrich propped up the textbook onto the podium, readying to read out of it. "Your remedial lesson on organic chemistry begins now, with the carbon atom. As you know, our planet Xiunus is primarily carbon-based…"