#someone like henri who sits somewhere between the two might say something. but they'd learn pretty quick that :) we dont do that here :)

[whumpiary]

How much does Future!Cass maintain his French and Mandarin from Bergen?

Also, I love the detail that his Mandarin is better, both with how logical its grammar is, and also I assume that characters suit his dyslexia better than French spelling. There's something fun and unexpected about Cass projecting nonchalance yet enjoying a language which is tonal. For a person from a non-tonal language, especially the relative flatness of English, Mandarin demands a kind of rhythm and attention which doesn't come naturally.

Also also, who do the tutors who come to the Estate tend to be? How much do they know/suspect?

Future Cass absolutely maintains his languages! He falls off the wagon a little while he's at the Facility, but his languages are actually one of the things he comes back to through his recovery later on, and maintaining them become really important to him. I've had in my head for a while that he probably joins a Tai Chi class so he has a bit more of an excuse to maintain the Mandarin.

Cass has a talent for languages, which Christopher figures out and encourages him toward, because he knows its a lucrative skill. Cass learns mostly aurally from language tapes and conversation, which means he speaks both languages better than he can write or read them.

He's better at Mandarin than French, and generally prefers it too. He really likes the tonality of it, and copying the sounds just so is something he gets fixated on early on while learning it. He also likes that he's better at picking it up than some of the other charges who pick up the same languages. It's not often he feels book-smart, so he latches to it

The tutors are just tutors! They are carefully vetted and have... an awful lot of NDAs to sign. For the privacy of the charges of course, they understand. And they're also prepped and primed for tall tales their students might spin about how they're treated on grounds. But they've seen the facilities. Does it look like anyone's getting abused?

The people who run the tutoring program are absolutely in Christopher's pockets however, so if a tutor was to show any amount of inappropriate concern... well maybe they're just not a great culture fit for the company.