New School (Fyr)

A/N: This is, in all regards, completly ridicuous but I had a very fun time writing it. Wholesome single dad Fyr is so much better than Beyte and her delusional dialogue and I will die on that hill. Also you know how sometimes you just get certain vibes from certain characters with ohohoho you are neurodivergant? Yeah I get that from all four clones (and Fyr, and somewhat Ayron) but Alfe is definitely autistic. Anyways enjoy tiny clones and Alfe giving a teacher a heart attack :)

Formal schools are few and far between along Azura’s coast, most children being tutored at home or apprenticed to master wizards once they’re old enough if they show potential. I forget exactly who it was that convinced me to do this little experiment, perhaps Mistress Dratha, whoever it was, seems to have made a mistake in their judgment regarding education of the young…specifically, one of mine. Out of the four clones Alfe has always been ahead of her sisters when it comes to academics, her intelligence combined with her generally polite and quiet personality made her the best choice for this experiment. Beyte is a sweetheart and intelligent in her own way, but has far too active an imagination while Delte is certainly more serious but only will engage in a topic academically if it interests her- currently the topic is math. Uupse seems to be the most well rounded of the four so far being overall intelligent academically and socially, though it can be a struggle to get her to sit still long enough to get much done. Yes, Alfe being the tiny genius she is despite being only the age of a kindergartner or so was the best choice…or so I thought.

The closest formal school to the tower is in Sadrith Mora, and understandably so- it’s one of the main settlements of Telvanni territory. A short ride by boat or a mix of land and water travel, and an even shorter trip by levitation, it’s one of the more accessible places when it comes to the area. The rest of the girls had been left at the tower under the care of one of my close friends and primary staff while I went into the city to pick Alfe up from school. At the end of the day students meet their guardians outside with their teacher before heading home and the area is congested but slowly emptying out as shouting children run and play, telling their parent or babysitter all about their day. A teaching aide recognizes me, though not from my relation to school as much as simply being a well known wizard- Alfe hasn’t been enrolled long enough for people to know me from pick up and drop off alone. “She’s waiting for you over there.” The aide points in the direction closer to the main door to the building. As I get closer I overhear some bits of conversation. “Now Alfe where’s your mommy?” The teacher, a middle aged woman asks Alfe as they wait “I don’t have one.” to which the teacher gives a perplexed look. “Well sweetie, everybody has a mother.” In the distance as I walk closer slowly I notice Alfe very confidently shake her head “I don’t have a mother.” she reiterates “Well then Alfe, how were you born? You have to have been born somehow. All babies are, Alfe.'' The teacher responds, almost vaguely annoyed and Alfe, in typical Alfe fashion, laughs at her comment for a moment before returning, in the level of seriousness only a six year old who’s very self confident can, with a gesture toward the teacher before gesturing to herself along with “You might have been born. I was created in a lab.” much to the teachers confusion and obvious annoyance. A moment after, having heard the lovely exchange I am sure will have no negative impact on Alfe and her schooling, I arrive in front of the two. “Oh thank the tribunal you’re here.” The teacher says to me clasping her hands as Alfe stands looking between the two of us holding her school bag with a grin on her face. “Your daughter was just saying the most outlandish things! Tell me, where is her mother? Is she deceased?” Before responding I look at Alfe quickly and give her a barely noticeable wink. “Oh no, I heard the conversation as I was walking over- everything she said was true. There is no mother, she’s a clone, and really was created in a lab.” The poor teacher turns a pale color no Dunmer ever should turn and looks as if she might faint. “See? I told you there’s no mommy!” Alfe pipes up to her, swinging her bag for dramatic effect. “Anyhow, I’m afraid we should get going.” I tell the teacher with a polite smile “Ready to go?” I ask Alfe, who glances over toward some climbing structures and a few swings silently before looking back to me. “Fine, we can play for a few minutes. I’ll take your bag.” Excitedly she claps and practically throws the small bag full of child size books and writing materials at me before running off to go climb the nearest piece of equipment in a way that would give the teacher who has thankfully gone inside a heart attack. Luckily when you’ve been around as long as I have these things don’t phase you, she knows what she’s doing, and there’s always magic in the case something goes wrong.

After some climbing which I observe from the sidelines as these old joints have been better days, and some digging in the ash for fossils it’s time to go home. “Come on, hold my hand, can't have you getting lost, it’s a busy place.” Alfe holds my hand with one hand and covers her ear with the other, complaining it’s too loud as we pass through the center of the city. With the business of the end of the market day I decide it’s easier just to carry her until we’re through the market, she’s small enough. Putting her down once we get to the quieter part of our route we walk along. “So what did you do today at school?” I ask her and get a five minute long excited ramble moment by moment of the day. Learning letters in both daedric and common, as it’s important to know both in a modern world, a nature walk around the island perimeter, how to write the different characters and letters- something she admits is hard, which it can be especially for little hands, snack time and lunch, a counting game, free play where she played pretend with another student until they left her alone, and clean up. An eventful day for sure, even if one doesn’t include the teacher's conversation. She does make a comment at one point about how she wishes other kids talked to her more, which is something that can always be hard at a new school.

Hopefully as time passes things will improve, in the assumption she’s allowed to stay after today. Academically and socially I think it’s good for her, though the idea of tutoring at home is now floating around in my mind. After a period of silence as we keep walking, in which I’d gotten absorbed in my thoughts I’m drawn out of them by “Baba…where do babies come from?” This was a question I was hoping I would never have to answer, or if I did I was expecting the question from Beyte.

Taking a moment to think I come up with the best I can do off the top of my head “well Alfe, when two people love each other very much sometimes they do a series of special rituals or take special medicine and through a combination of science and magic a baby appears. Usually it’s a mama and a baba but not always, some people have two mamas, or two babas, or only one of either.” Alfe stops for a moment, processing the information “So what about me?” A valid question, but one I also was hoping to not answer. “You said it yourself earlier, you were created in a lab.” I responded “But how?” Aiya, children have so many questions “In our bodies we have this special code, and if you do something special to the code, you get something even more special- you. Instead of the special rituals or medicine that people do to have a baby, there were other special things that happened and in the end I got you and your sisters.” That explanation seems to satisfy her thankfully, I don’t know how I’d explain genetics and artificially engineering those genetics by accident to create life with different chromosomes to my own to a small child, or even an adult. The clones really were for the most part an accident, a side effect of my research into corpus, with Alfe, Beyte, and Delte being created semi-intentionally to see how changing a cells make up would effect the make up of something and what it could potentially impact when treating Corpus, and Uupse being a result of the original artificially changed skin and flesh cells that would become her and Delte splitting.

By the time the journey home is finished the crankiness of a long day of learning has set in, and so after a quick bath, an early dinner, and a brief section of the current picture book it’s officially naptime, which I assume will in fact be an early bedtime. Heading back to the lower level I say hello to the others, who are all engaged in their own activities. Beyte seems busy coloring in a picture she drew, Delte is counting up her toy food that she is ‘buying’ from my old Khajiit friend who thankfully seems okay with entertaining children when she usually guards corpus patients, and Uupse lays unconscious spread out on the carpet holding her favorite blanket. I should really wash that thing now that I think of it, when I can manage to get it out of her grip one of these days. Delte acknowledges her sleeping sister and remarks she’s been like that for awhile as I pick up Uupse to take her upstairs, Beyte ignores the entire interaction, too busy talking to herself quietly and drawing what seem to be flowers. I remind them it will soon be time for bed for them as well before going upstairs, a fact they do not seem fond of.

After some tears and a tantrum or two, all four clones are put to bed, leaving me to think over the school situation. While beneficial in some ways, I fear that things could turn ugly if they continue the way they have been, perhaps it’s better to homeschool. The teacher didn’t seem the most competent anyways, and I have more than enough material to teach between magic, general academics, and perhaps some self defense. Socially it may be a struggle, but it was already, if anything a flexible schedule may allow more social interaction as I can take the girls with me if I go to other regions of Vvardenfell. Yes I think the new school experiment may have to go down in the failed experiments category, however it was at least useful in some regard. If Alfe is too much for a local school, the other three wouldn’t last half as long as she did without issue. Ah, the struggles of raising children, organic or otherwise.