A full year after Akira had visited the impromptu college set up for islanders, he had returned–this time, as a professor. Not only had he hit the books, reading two a day, but he'd also grown much larger in that time–about ten feet worth!

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the stage was ready-built. Benches were set in rows across the sandy beach, and a wood arbor had been raised that offered some protection from the hot sun. The crabs were a mild concern, however, as they dosed about repeatedly trying to pinch his tail! Akira's nerves reached a peak as the first students, a tark'ee and belemoid, took to the front row of seats.

Polly, a bright green tark'ee, had come to support him from his own tribe–The Sea-Cucumbers. Her presence was reassuring, but also a reminder that Skritch had a hand in this and would be judging the worth of education: Something Akira had been forced, time and time again, to prove to the greedy captain.

The second figure, Bohtz, was unfamiliar to him. A mud-brown saltwater tsabhua with black inked and marble markings, he may have been either from another colony, or just a native who had come to check out the lecture on biology. But soon, other students were joining in of all species, colorful dots of murmuring voices awaiting the scholar's tale.

"Ahem," Akira announced, gathering their attention. To his surprise, they all fell silent except for the seagulls, giving him their attention. Polly sat up tightly, a brown leather bag and notebook clutched against her chest, and Bohtz watched on with ears perked and eyes focused in. "As you all must know, today's lesson is on comparative biology." Using the tip of his long tail, the draconic gestured to the posterbord depicting a tsabhua, hojenst, and jaebo. "Something most common to the planet of Xiunus is a tendency for species to maintain exactly three sets of limbs."

I have noticed that! Polly agreed, eagerly scribbling it down onto the notebook. Bohtz glanced over at what she was writing, perhaps amazed that she could read at all. "You see, most creatures on Xiunari, the ones who evolved here, have a similar placement of hox genes, which determine limb placement," Akira continued, feeling like he'd broken into the flow of it. Finally, he pushed past his nervousness and his eye on the crowd, instead digging deep into a topic that he was passionate about. "So while all of these creatures may seem unrelated, they all arise from a distant ancestor who had six limbs."

Bohtz did his best to laugh silently–he wasn't making fun of Polly, per-se, but rather, he found her enthusiasm a bit jolly. Every time Akira spoke, she stared down at her notepad and scribbed down seemingly everything he said. Her yellow-tipped paws hung from the bench above fine sand and a spiraling seashell. A curious crab drew close, giving her toe a pinch–but no reaction. She was completely enthralled with focus.

"Over time, each species specialized, going a different evolutionary path," Akira explained, "While jaebo became desert foragers, tsabhua focused on intelligence and developing hands. "Ooh, ooh!" Bohtz raised a clunky paw. "And us saltwater tsabhua adapted to live in the water!" Akira, first surprised by the outburst, melted into it. "Yes, that's exactly right!" He agreed, proud that they were already catching on so quickly.

Polly squirmed in her feet some, as something was still bothering her about this evolutionary story. She raised her hand. "Yes, Polly?" Akira called her by name. "If the species all have six legs because we're so similar, why do tark'ee only have four legs?" She asked. Akira winged slightly–that wasn't totally true. Draconic tark'ee, like him, had none, while aerobic tark'ee had six limbs, though two were as wings. But still…

"Ah, you see, us tar'kee are not from Xiunus," he admitted, "We came from a different dimension, so our anatomy is different from all other creatures. We have beaks instead of maws, and four limbs–some of us, anyways." Polly nodded gravely, seeming to be rather excited for this portion of the lecture—the one that covered her own people. Akira drew out a second poster, one on the tark'ee species, and spread it out on the blackboard next.

On the other hand, this wasn't Bohtz' favorite part of the lecture… The saltwater tsabhua started to doze away, disinterested. Even as Akira noticed the nodding-off student, he gathered his strength and continued through the lecture, forever eyeing the excited Polly who was positively bouncing in her seat.