Sturgis chuckled at Dirk’s response, bowing his head ever so slightly and only for a moment. He’d always enjoyed lighthearted, innocent humor, even when others may have not found it amusing. “So Mermish on top of Gobbledegook? That’s impressive. Even if it just sounded like gibberish at the beginning, it’s admirable that you managed to learn such hard languages,” he pointed out, grinning. He believed in recognition where it was due, and such linguistic skills were nothing short of laudable in his eyes.
“Who, me?” the brunet scoffed softly, shaking his head. His hand found its way to the back of his neck, skin gracing skin. “Perhaps I’d consider giving it another try. Languages do help build bridges between us - Gobbledegook is no different. I don’t guarantee I’d be any good at it, however – how’s your patience level?” Sturgis joked, but his words carried the weight of a half-truth. He’d struggled with it in the past, so as much as he tried to fight the thought, he didn’t think a new attempt would change much. He wasn’t a kid anymore; his mind didn’t retain information as easily as it once had.
The man then quirked an eyebrow, exchanging glances with Dirk. He was not blind to humor or tease. Moreover, there was a point there. Gringotts was the second safest place he had ever heard of (behind Hogwarts, certainly), and given that the goblin-folk seemed to be at ease around the other wizard, the inside of the bank seemed a relatively safe place for them to engage more naturally. Even in such colorful scenery, he couldn’t shake off the thought that someone – who precisely, he didn’t know – could be hiding in between the shops of behind the brick walls.
“ — Can’t say I wouldn’t fancy skippin’ the wait,” Sturgis replied in a similar tone, gesturing at the entrance before making his way towards it. “I trust things at work are going well?” he inquired as they stepped inside. Even though both worked for the same body, the difference in departments didn’t let Sturgis see Dirk much.
“So far,” Dirk nodded, “I’m trying to work my way through Giant tongue now and perhaps even troll after that; despite what people say there’s a great deal more to their language and culture than points and grunts.” he said with a small chuckle. It was a sad fact so many wizards and witches often tried to reduce those cultures down to such base levels. “They’re very different from out own tongue, though interestingly, when merfolk speak their native tongue underwater, it’s very similar to our own, but without some spellwork we can’t speak with them underwater yet.” Who knew what more spells could come with time.
“Well, not the invisible man behind you,” he said lightly, smiling a little at his (pretty poor) jest. “I think so too, plus it’s respectful to their cultures to try and speak with as equals over assuming out language takes precedence.” He’d earned friends in both communities and was certain that his knowledge of their mother-tongues helped a great with that. “Quite high when it comes to myself, so hopefully it’ll be pretty good when it comes to others too; I did a little tutoring in Hogwarts and rather enjoyed it.” He’d considered teaching as a career briefly, but decided the Ministry was a better place to apply his skills and it have him the freedom to advance his duelling career on the side.
Dirk continued to smile slightly while he waited for a response, if Sturgis had his own business to manage he didn’t want to keep him, odds are they’d be together at the next Order meeting soon enough. They were becoming more and more frequent and Dirk hoped soon he’d get a chance to properly pitch his ideas for gaining more support from the other Beings in their community. To his mind it could prove to be a deciding factor in helping them take the lead in this battle. “It’s a handy time saver.” Dirk turned and walked back inside and Banrast once again came to speak with him. The two shared a brief conversation (the sharp, gutteral, almost vicious sounding speech between them at odds with Dirk’s smile) and they were lead to small room usually used for interviews between the more affluent families.
Dirk thanked the other and closed the door with a sigh “Things are going well.” he said, turning back to Sturgis, “Though I’m worried, Rookwood’s death could make our enemies emboldened with rage; innocents might be caught in the crossfire.”
