Talk:EESM Ideas/@comment-4423292-20140913171244

Michael came to Romania at age 16, headstrong, mad at the world, and almost grown. The dragonologists fought with him, and criticized him. There were bitter standoffs, and Michael almost left numinous times. ''You think you're strong from playing quidditch? Ha. A dragon could pull out of your grip without a struggle. You think that wound is bad? Ha. You should've seen the burn I had last year.'' They tore him down. They tore off the arrogance, the self-righteousness, the angry temper, the impatience. And they built him back up as one of them.

Michael resented Gāo Xiùlán (高 秀兰): She was only a year older than him, and so couldn't have been in Romania for that long. But she was treated as one of them, and was subjected to none of the abuse he endured. Xiùlán could be downright cruel. Even after a year had passed, and Michael had stopped being an ass and most of the dragonologists had started treating him better, Xiùlán would be nice in one breath and insulting in the next. Oddly enthralling, they grew close in a strange way.

The dragonologists called Michael the more Romanian Mihail, and Xiùlán sometimes called him Mihăiță to tease him.

Mihailescu