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[capable_of]

His steps were light as Lex wandered down the path in the direction of Anatoly's hut for their first Russian lesson. His mood was high for two reasons: his actual true joy of learning something new and spending time with someone that he considered a friend. Clark had been his first real friend, so the idea was still new to him. At home he couldn't trust just anyone and here was proving to be almost as difficult. But Lex didn't feel like that around Anatoly. He felt more like Lex then Lex Luthor then he had since arriving on the island and it hadn't taken nearly killing himself by driving recklessly off a bridge to do it.

In his hand, he clutched a small bottle of rum. He'd heard rumors of Han Solo giving away semi decent rum. When he'd noticed that today was the day of the Russian Revolution, he felt the need to bring something to celebrate so he'd tracked down the famous smuggler, hiding his inner geeky fanboy rather well if he thought so himself, and managed to procure some of said alcohol.

Finally arriving at the hut, Lex knocked on the wood by the door. "Hello?" He called politely in Russian, not sure yet if he should just walk in or not. He figured it was better to be polite.

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[chesspolitik]

"Come in," Anatoly called out, automatically in Russian. A bit sheepishly, he repeated the welcome in English in case his new friend's Russian was not quite up to the task.

In honor of the occasion, he had managed to convince the bookcase to give him some suitable books and a Russian-to-English dictionary. How far they'd get, he didn't know, but at least he was prepared.

[capable-of.livejournal.com]

Chuckling at the repeated words, basic greetings being part of the little bit of Russian that he did know, Lex entered the hut with a friendly grin. "I hope you haven't had second thoughts yet. I'm almost afraid to admit how much I've been looking forward to this, if anything just to have something to do." He replied easily, then held out the bottle. "I also brought us something to toast today's holiday with."

[chesspolitik]

Anatoly grinned in return. He had been rather excited himself, and had barely known what to do with himself while he waited. "No, there are no second thoughts here. I was hoping you wouldn't have any."

He glanced at the bottle curiously. "Holiday? I - oh, yes. I hadn't realized the date. Thank you."

Revolution Day had always left him with very mixed feelings. There had been so much hope, so much promise, and for what?

[capable-of.livejournal.com]

"I'd never have second thoughts about learning something from a willing teacher." Lex replied with an almost cheeky grin, relaxing a bit to let a tiny bit of his own excitement show. He'd almost forgotten how to do that.

Lex cocked his head as he seemed to pick up a bit on his friend's unease. "There is something to celebrate. The Revolution came true, it just took longer then anyone thought." He lightly reminded Anatoly of the news he had shared during their first meeting. "And anything worth having is worth waiting for."

[chesspolitik]

In truth, Anatoly had forgotten about the fall of the Soviet Union, and Lex's reminder of that fact quickly cheered him up. "You have a very good point, my friend. Thank you for reminding me."

He offered Lex a more relaxed smile. "So. Please. Make yourself comfortable - unless you would prefer to do this outside. I know there's not much room here."

[capable-of.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps I should give you modern history lessons in payment for your language ones." Lex replied with the same cheeky grin as before. "There is much that has happened that might interest you." It was odd, talking about the difference in when they had lived, and yet was easily taken in stride compared to a lot of the island.

But then he relaxed as Anatoly did, letting the other's mood be an example for his own. He really was out of practice. "Wherever you would feel more comfortable. I've had to sit through lessons in worse conditions then this, but it is a beautiful day."

[chesspolitik]

Anatoly laughed. "Why not? I think I would enjoy that. And chess will be included in one of your lessons, perhaps?" You can take the grandmaster out of the chess area, but you can't take the chess out of the grandmaster.

He mulled over the choices. "I think outside, at least for the moment. I sit too much in here, it'll be good to get out into the light."

[capable-of.livejournal.com]

Lex laughed along in return, amazed at how good it felt. "That's not something I know off the top of my head, but if the bookshelf cooperates, I'm sure I can work it in some how." The only thing he remembered off the top of his head were the chess playing computers that had been all the rage in the early 90s, but that wasn't something Anatoly needed to know about at the moment.

"Outside it is then. Do you really spend so much time in there? I think I'd go crazy." He remarked as he stepped outside into the sunlight, looking around for a place for them to sit.

[chesspolitik]

Anatoly laughed ruefully as he followed Lex outside, books in hand. "Perhaps I am. But it's comfortable and I have my chess books here. If I had a chess board, I might never leave."

Lex was going to have his work cut out for him, there was no doubt about that. He was perfectly content being left to his own devices, and very well might have to literally be dragged out.

Still, that was neither here or there at the moment. Finding a good spot to sit and begin the lesson was the focus of the day After looking around, he gestured to a nearby palm tree. "What about here?"

[capable-of.livejournal.com]

Lex gave him a sharp look from the corner of his eyes, a disbelieving smile. "I can see it now. The generations of Island children will learn about the Russian chess playing hermit who talks to invisible opponents." He teased lightly before shaking his head. "Or at least that's the fate I hope to save you from."

Then he nodded. "Looks like a perfect spot." There was even a nicely sized piece of wood sitting under it that would serve as a table. He walked over a settled himself gracefully on the ground beside it, removing two cups from his pockets that he'd brought to accompany the bottle of rum.

[chesspolitik]

"Now, I have never talked to invisible opponents," Anatoly protested as he sat down at the indicated spot. "Only the chess pieces, if I am feeling bored. And I never expect them to answer back."

[capable-of.livejournal.com]

Lex only raised his eyebrows, rather pointedly. "I think I'm glad you don't have your own chess board. On this Island, they just might one day." He teased before nodding to the books. "Where shall we begin?"

[chesspolitik]

"I haven't quite decided that," Anatoly answered, choosing to ignore the possibility of more island weirdness for the moment. "I know you said you knew some Russian, but how much?"

[capable-of.livejournal.com]

"Very basic. Greetings, numbers, places, basic information gathering. It was memorization so I don't really know the alphabet beyond recognizing a few letters here and there." Lex offered as he sat back against the tree. "I know next to nothing about the grammar either." While normally he'd be more reluctant to admit his short comings, this was for a good cause.

[chesspolitik]

"That's a good start. I can work with that." He smiled at Lex then glanced down at the books, flipping through them to find a good starting place. "I thought perhaps we could do some more basics today, at least. The alphabet is a bit daunting, I'll admit."

He'd tried to teach Florence, but that had turned out to be a disaster. This would be different, he was sure, but all the same, he wasn't going to start with Cyrillic.

[capable-of.livejournal.com]

"Basics it is." Lex replied with a nod, unable to help himself from leaning over to look at the book Toly was flipping through.

This would be different. Because Lex took things like this with obsessive seriousness and had no intention of letting himself or his teacher fail. And if anything, at least he was spending time with one of the few people on the island he trusted. That was almost enough in of itself.

[chesspolitik]

Anatoly tilted the book so Lex could see it more easily. As far as text books went, it was a bit outdated and highly simplified, but useful enough for their purposes.

"So, my friend. Where shall we start?"