tushanshu | 5th; video

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5th; video

Just when I think I'm finished with unexplainable happenings.

[Armin is tired. Dead tired. He sits in front of the console and occasionally rubs at his face, or his temples, or shoulders while speaking, and sports some rather impressive dark circles under his eyes.]

The other day, I was doing my food shopping in the Wood Sector. Usually I buy things on sight or by tastes the Kedan give me, and that's alright, but... Out of nowhere...

[He looks so at a loss it's almost comical.]

I could read Kedanese. All of it. Everything! And even stranger, I still can't speak it! I see the words on the signs and I just... I know what they mean. When I see them, I can sound them out as well, but when faced with a Kedan to actually communicate, I can't do it anymore. Honestly. I can only read.

[Somebody please make the ride stop, I would like to get off now.]

Please, somebody say this has happened to you as well. I think I'm going insane. I must not be getting enough rest...

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That did happen to me, actually. Although Asti- Tu Vishan- was the one who gave it to me. Have you had any odd dreams recently?

Dreams?

[Armin leans his head in his head as he tries to remember.]

I think... No, that was this morning... Maybe-- there was a dog? Blast, I never pay any attention to these things...

You don't know what caused it?

[A short pause, and then with rather forceful interest,] How would you feel about providing translation services? [Preferably unpaid, given the state of Miles's current finances. Maybe if he doesn't bring up payment, Armin won't think of it either.]

Yes, dreams! They're the only way Asti- and the other turtles, I suppose- can really talk to us. When he's awake... his mind is too big.

I have absolutely no idea.

[It's not the first time something unexplainable and bizarre has happened to him though. He was blind for a whole month not long ago.]

...Translating what, exactly? [He's not normally adverse to helping others, but he's had a lot put on his plate recently.]

Have you tried writing it?

Oh. I had no idea... If I knew, I would have made careful catalog of my dreams...

[He rubs at his forehead.]

Is there any way to contact Asti, to ask?

I'm afraid not. It's just something that happened once. And I don't know of anyone beyond the two of us who suddenly gained the power to read the Kedan's language.

Can you describe what happened?

Writing...? Oh no, I haven't-- just a second.

[He works with something just slightly off-camera-- he must keep writing utensils on the desk with his console.]

...Yes, it seems I can. And I thought the characters were so complicated...

Curious. Have you been here long? Perhaps you've just picked it up gradually through osmosis.

I wish I had more to tell you, but I really don't. I just could, one day. Like magic.

[Like magic. Those words are becoming less distasteful, but they're still just as confusing.]

[A soft hmm.]

Did you experience anything strange before today? Mysterious dreams? Voices? Met any odd locals?

At least it's happened to someone. [And to Sabriel. That it's her and not someone random that he doesn't know does make him feel a little bit better.] There's a chance our situations are the same then.

I've been here for half a year, but I've barely had any understanding of the language until now.

Nothing more odd than usual. Dreams... I never remember them.

"More odd than usual". Well.

[She repeats it with some faint amusement, and then switches to a 90% encryption.]

I'm a telepath. If you're willing to let me scan you, [not that she asks permission, usually, but she's aware of what society considers ethical] I can check to see if you've been tampered with.

[He does snort a laugh at that.]

I don't think this place will ever stop being odd for me.

[...Well. He's actually never seen an encryption before. But he figures out its purpose fast enough.]

A telepath? What do you mean, tampered?

Yes, I can read minds. [A beat.] You wake up this morning and suddenly you're able to read kedanese. You don't recall anything strange happening to you, but something must have, shouldn't it?

Oh. I've never heard of such an ability before.

I agree, something must have happened. I just wasn't aware. You think you can find out what?

[Confidently:] I can.

[She's just unused to having to ask first.]

Then by all means, please. As long as nothing else will be damaged as you do so?

The process is painless.

[It hurts only if he resists, which she doesn't think he has any intent of doing so. And anyway, people who came from worlds without telepaths tended not to have very strong mental shielding.]

What time should I drop by?

I learned a good helping of the Mercian native language when I worked abroad for some months on the Eurish continent, so I'd thought maybe it'd be the same for you here. But even then, that was due to immersion in the spoken language. That came before understanding the written...

Are you sure you know what it says? Did you get confirmation from a Kedan? Maybe you're just imagining it.

In my world everyone speaks one language, although some ancient ones still float around, so I wasn't very used to the concept to begin with...

Yes, some Kedan there confirmed it. One lent me some papers to read, and I could. They seemed fascinated that I could read whatever they showed me, but was still mostly unable to speak with them in their language.

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