It had been two days since Odysseus had given Noir his first assignment. He now waited for the boy at the agreed upon meeting place for their next lesson. It was mid morning and dew still clung stubbornly to the grass in low places. The air was just beginning to warm and it promised to be another hot day, which was exactly why Odysseus had chosen this time to start. Both he and his apprentice were dark coated and would likely be miserable from late morning until early evening if they spent time in the sun.

While he waited Odysseus mused to himself about what he was going to tell Noir. He’d promised to tell the boy his weaknesses and he had every intention of doing just that, but he had yet to decide on how exactly he would do it. The delivery was important; he had to cast himself as a strong man aware of his weaknesses and not a weak man struggling against them otherwise Noir could walk away with new and unsavory notions or a strengthened sense of justification in throwing his weight around.

Noir… hadn’t actually contemplated his weaknesses during the past two days. He’d been too busy harassing Summer to do as he told her. She seemed to have finally got the picture, and he and his raven were going to be a much better team than Poem and Edgar. Summer obeyed where Edgar did whatever he wanted. Noir was certain the bird would go rogue eventually, the thought amused him.

Right now though, he needed to think about his assignment from Odysseus. Summer rode along on his hips, much like Edgar did with Poem, except Noir forced her there. Her beak was much too close to his eyes when she tried to perch on his shoulders. He tried not to feel so excited about showing her off to his mentor as he walked, only working to further distract him from his mental task. What were his weaknesses?

For the first time in their relationship Noir looked to the young raven for advice. He slowed and turned his blue and lavender gaze her way. ”Summer, what are my weaknesses?” He stopped and stared at her before she answered him. Her eyes seemed to pierce him before she cracked, ”you lack empathy.” She told him critically, rubbing her wing against her breast as though it was still sore from his acts against her.

Noir’s eyes hardened and turned away, his dark paws carried him towards Ody’s position. Of course his mentor was already seated in position. Noir lifted himself up from the slump he had formed on his way here. He puffed his chest up as he trotted up to his mentor with the raven on his hip. ”Hello again, Odysseus.” He offered politely as he stood at attention, forgetting again the whole point of this lesson.

He didn't have to wait long. Noir arrived promptly and presented himself proudly to his mentor. If he noticed the bird at all Odysseus made no comment about it. He gave a shallow dip of his head in greeting and then rumbled, "Hello, Noir. Thank you for arriving on time."

Olafur, who was curious about this whole mentoring thing, ambled out of the bushes with what looked like a wad of wet grass clutched in one hand. He said nothing and only glanced at the trio, but seated himself nearby and began to twist together the thick strands of grass. The macaque would be a quiet spectator of today's lesson.

After noting the arrival of his companion, Odysseus' attention returned to Noir. "I hope my assignment didn't give you too much trouble. Sometimes it's hard to be so honest with yourself, but I've found honesty builds and strengthens a man much like sunlight builds and strengthens a tree." This was a simple prompt meant to get Noir thinking in the right direction before Odysseus launched into an explanation of his weaknesses.

Ody greeted him with no mention of Summer, but he did thank him for his prompt arrival. The raven on his hip didn’t seem perturbed as her gaze shifted to the horizon and the sky she wished to take to. Noir was a little upset he didn’t even get a word from his mentor about his new companion, but he knew better than to show it. His mentor briefly brought attention to the primate companion that appeared as it fiddled with a bit of grass in its hands. Noir stared for a moment, but was brought back by Odysseus’s deep voice.

Summer took her chance to relieve herself of her grumpy perch and hopped next to Olafur. The boy was unable to show his displeasure and only gave her a brief glimpse as his blue and lavender gaze trained on his mentor. Oh yeah, he had that assignment he should have been working on instead of playing with Summer. Noir tried not to look worried as Ody finished the introduction and something about trees.

”No, it wasn’t hard at all.” He spoke and Summer cracked quietly before Noir could silence her with a quick look. His striped tail lashed out behind him in frustration before the boy could still it. He looked up at his mentor with the same proud grin he’d wore on arrival.