Quote:
Originally Posted by
Maxilocks 
Di had never been clumsy. One of the few good things about being Davina Markovic [so she told herself in super unhappy times] was that elegance - at least - came naturally to her. But, looking up at the astronomy Professor right now, Di fully felt that any and all elegance had deserted her the moment she had managed to throw the door open like that. How rude. How impolite.
How.... embarrasing.
Davina? First name basis? Um. Di was... not used to referring to fellow professors by their first names. So far, Josephina was the only one she had managed to come to a first name basis with. But since she could not for the life of her remember whether Risu's last name was Antenna or Antarctica, she did not press the matter. "No, thank you, I'm fine," she said. Translation? I have a feeling that if I try to pull up a chair right now, it's going to end up sideways on the floor. "I... I used to think Jarnsaxa is the name of a giantess." She paused. "It's, err, Norse mythology." She paused again. "Something that I read -" Ten minutes ago - "Recently gave me the impression that it might... be a celestial body. Is it?"
Right. This sounded stupid now. Di resisted the urge to bite her lip, and looked up at Professor... Risu with large, hazel eyes that looked a liiiittle unsettled. She attempted to smile like, you know, this-is-something-I-came-across-and-found-ohsointeresting-so-I-thought-I-would-ask but the look did not quite come off.
"I guess I should know about the giantess Járnsaxa, seeing as Norse mythology is right up my cultural alley," Risu said, smiling his little smile, "but I have to admit, I have never delved much into mythology of any origin. I happily take your word for it in this matter."
The wooden floor creaked slightly as Risu walked around his desk. His feet led him to one of the high shelves on the wall. "As far as astronomical objects go... I am not a planetary scientist, so I could not say for sure, but the name suggests a moon to me." He tilted his head sideways to read the titles of the books, keeping up his chatter while he did so. "A moon of Saturn, if I am not mistaken. It is the only planet in the Solar System whose moons are not named solely after Greek or Roman mythology."
Risu poked the back of a large book triumphantly. "Hah. One moment, please, Davina..." He tugged at the tome (an encyclopaedia of Solar System objects published by the International Astronomical Union) until it unstuck from the rest of the row, and carried it to the desk.
"Now, watch your teacher work, Miss Della," he said to the young student sitting at his desk with a grin. He began flipping through the book. "Saturn, Saturn," he mumbled, skimming the pages rapidly. "Where is your Norse group of moons..." He stopped.
"Found it," he announced, and added, not without pride, "I was essentially correct. Jarnsaxa is an outlying moon of Saturn. Six kilometres in diameter, orbiting Saturn in retrogade mot-..." He stopped. Davina would hardly know what that meant. Or have to. "Erm... Orbiting Saturn at a distance of about 18 million kilometres." He glanced over the rest of the entry quickly. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"