"Failure! FAILURE!" They roared. How was it that the children screamed the loudest?
He found himself gripping the wooden of the bench so tightly that his knuckle went white. He had failed. He acknowledged that to himself. Almost madly, he acknowledged that to himself, every time they came, and every time he had the strength to reply.
Like a wolf, he growled back at them. 'Aye, I failed. I failed, damn you. But I will get stronger for it.'
When he opened his eyes again, he was smiling. These were exactly the type of problems that he wished to solve. He did not know the professor's name, not yet. But the man could teach him things, many things. Oliver got that sense from him. The next time that he had to battle, he would not be so weak.
"Information," he said, more to himself. But the professor overheard it, and he frowned.
"I don't think that answers—" he began.
