Story Practice
They stood before them, their eyes burning with anger and frustration at the situation that they’d been forced into. Their eyes shone with fear for what had been done to them and what might be done to them, for they were helpless, arms and legs tied behind them with thick ropes to prevent any resistance. They grunted and growled through the gag in their mouth that prevented them from making all but the most simple, animalistic sounds. They said that they were a monster, who’s words would poison the mind, who murdered and fought with a crude brutality, seriously harming several of the soldier who had gone to stop the intruder.
And yet, Atava knew that this wasn’t true, that their people where letting their fear of the outside world, of the world beyond their borders, of their fear of trusting someone else to do the things that they haven’t been able to yet. And that is what this person was here to do. To learn about the people who had hidden from the rest of the world, from the people who had spent the last ten-thousand years creating their own history separate from the rest of them.
Tav kneeled down in front the stranger, the person visibly pulling back as Atava reached out.
“It ok. I friend. I help.” Atava fumbled with the unfamiliar words as they tried to assure this person that they weren’t a threat. Their eyes showed the spark of recognition at hearing Lojban words. They settled down, still visibly uncomfortable with the situation, but willing to let Tav help them. Before Atava could reach out again though. They began to gesture in an odd fashion, rubbing their cheek and mouth against their shoulder.
“Want off, yes?” They began to shake their head vigorously, happiness shining in their face. Tav pulled the gag out of their mouth, allowing them to breath freely once more. They mumbled a series of Lojban words of obvious gratitude.
“Uh, Ok, now we-”
“Hold on. If you’re willing to, please untie me. I hate being unable to-”
“What?!” Atava jumped back, taken aback at understanding the words coming out of the stranger’s mouth, despite the words being unlike anything else that Atava had heard before, somehow understanding their meaning. These words stood out in Atava’s mind, seeming to devour all the available attention that Atava could spare. “H-how-?!”
“Shush up or the guards will hear us!” The stranger hissed. “I don’t speak Kellit, you’ll have to wait a couple of minutes before you can talk to me.”
Atava stared at the stranger. They didn’t understand what was happening. Could the rumors be true about this stranger? As they sat there, the stranger’s ears perked up briefly.
“The guards are coming! Put the gag back on! You can come back for me later! Just.... don’t forget about me.” Tav looked at the eyes pleading with them to listen. Putting the gag back into their mouth, quickly leaving before the guards showed to investigate the noises they had made.
--
Outside, looking up at the stars, Atava’s mind swirled in a confused mess, scrambling to make sense of what had happened. Of the words the stranger had spoken and how they where so easily understood, despite no prior exposure. How had he managed-
He? Atava had never known such a thing. They heard that the outside world had two or more genders, but the Culari hadn’t, so where had the word come from? As Atava thought about it more, they began to notice more and more words bubbling into their memories, swirling through their mind and making themselves known as if they had known their whole lives. These words took root, germinating and adding more of their kind to Atava’s mind. As Atava tried to make sense of the situation, understanding and comprehension began to make itself known. Atava began to understand that the language, the speech, instantly understandable to anyone with a spoken language, and it made itself known to those who had heard it.
Atava stood, stunned, as it dawned on them that somehow, they had learned a new language by simply hearing a sentence. And now, curiosity burned within them to know more.
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So yeah, this isn’t much of a story, it’s just me playing with some descriptive text based on an idea I had for Haakha. Let me know what you think, I’d love your opinion.
@boxonthenile
