#khalu val

[cinlat]

@actualanxiousswampwitch since you asked, here is a height comparison of the crew (I’ve been meaning to do this, you just gave me an excuse). Caldus and Altan are indeed, large boys. It just so happens that Khem is bigger. Khalu is tiny.

Adding Cinlat and Verin for giggles below.

[cinlat]

It took longer than it should have to remember the second figure. The hooded child from the security cam. No, a small woman…a Nautolan. She temporarily pulled Altan’s attention from the monster, meeting large, black eyes.

Altan flinched when her hands raised. She paused, head tilted to one side while she studied him, then they repeated the same pattern over and over until Altan realized they were words. Sign language, though he was rusty. 

When Altan was ten, he’d become obsessed with the smuggler’s signs on Rishi. He watched them, learned their silent language, and was thrilled to find out that his adopted parents already knew it. For a solid year, he communicated solely with his hands until eventually, he grew bored. 

“Can—“ Altan glanced at the Dashade. “Can you slow down? I have forgotten a lot.”

She did. So the Nautolan either wasn’t deaf, or maybe she read lips. Now that his death didn’t feel as imminent, Altan really saw the woman. Scars circled her lips, cheeks, and throat. It was possible she simply didn’t have a voice.

Altan forced himself to watch her hands, parsing out the meaning a little more each time she repeated it. Finally, Altan understood. “Oh, of course.” He offered a tight smile, hoping to come across as non-threatening. “My name is Altan. Who are you?”

Again, the creature rumbled in dissent. Altan didn’t need to know the words to read his tone. She shook her head at the creature, hands moving too rapidly for Altan to catch, before turning to him and signing more slowly. “Khalu”

”Nice to meet you, Khalu.” Altan glanced at the Dashade again, then swallowed the bile that tried to burn up his throat. “Are you going to eat me?”

[cinlat]

I have DONE it. I wrote a whole thing. 39 chapters of a story COMPLETE. Now for editing. I'm going to give myself a week to edit each chapter, then I'm going to post them instead of obsessing. You get what you get, but it'll be finished at least.