The assignment asked for three ways to distinguish an Abyssal creature from a Spirit Beast without approaching either. I had written two and crossed out one.
Hostility was a poor answer. A horse could be hostile if you stood behind it, and I wasn't sure the academy would accept that as a separate category.
I turned the pen sideways between two fingers and read the question again. Without approaching either. I had underlined that part so thoroughly that it was beginning to look like the answer itself.
The student opposite me had almost filled his page. He was using a ruler to keep a diagram straight, lifting it carefully each time so the ink wouldn't smear. I watched him complete a line and looked away when he reached for the next one. Copying his pace wouldn't supply me with whatever he understood.
