FLICK
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Post by FLICK on Dec 8, 2007 3:46:24 GMT -5
"I from island," Elai began. "Island forest... Win? Win Dain?" She was unsure of her pronounciation of the words, but knew that was the right name. Thank the spirits that had come to her. "Island forest in... what word... Ah-vah-las," she said, enunciating each syllable individually in an attempt to get the word right. "Are men in Ah-vah-las, too, but look different, not like you. I from tribe - E'relai of T'nasu," she said, allowing her natural tongue to flow in for the names. "Tribe live in tree, like monkey."
As she spoke, Elai's hands moved in flowing, subconscious gestures, trying to add to the meaning of the words she found so difficult.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Dec 8, 2007 4:08:27 GMT -5
Kokomai wished to teach Elai how to speak Common better. She seemed to want so badly to say more than her limited knowledge of the language allowed.
"Win Dain," Kokomai repeated, nodding and hoping that this would make Elai able to pronounce it better. "Avalas." She allowed Elai to finish. She lived in the trees? That would explain her comfortable movement in the forest and the way she had hid from Kokomai's trained eye so easily. She wished she could correct Elai, not because the poor use of the language annoyed her, but because she wanted Elai to know it better. Common was spoken in most countries with at least a little fluency and she was sure it would help the woman to know it better. She didn't want to make Elai feel bad, though, and she didn't want to start telling Elai things she didn't want to learn. She had no idea of Elai's natural curiosity and love for learning, so she decided against it. "What brings you here?" she asked before deciding to reword it. "What made you come here? Purpose?"
Kokomai, despite her indifferent nature, did not mind speaking with Elai in the least. She helped out whenever she could, and Elai needed quite a bit of help. It must be so hard not to be capable enough to say something to someone, especially if you were a social person. Kokomai was not talkative, but she could fathom what it would be like to be inable to express yourself.
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FLICK
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Post by FLICK on Dec 8, 2007 4:42:17 GMT -5
Elai nodded. "Avalas?" she tried. It still wasn't perfect, but it was better. What stopped her? What was it about her that stopped the words flowing so cleanly from her lips? Why couldn't she talk like everybody else? What made it hard for her? Elai's brown eyes clouded over in frustration, and the corners of her mouth turned down. Kokomai probably didn't want to listen to the garbled phrases that fell from her crude, uneducated tongue. Nobody did, and Common was spoken almost everywhere. Her self-esteem crumpled, and she looked despondently at her feet.
"I..." She put special effort into the words. She knew them, why couldn't she say them? "I am sorry that I not speak well," she said, trying to keep the depression from her voice. "I try, but... words do not come." It didn't come out the way she had intended, but she didn't know all the words. "If... If I could do it, I would speak... more well. I do not know how," Elai said quietly.
But how to answer Kokomai's real question? "I come... I come to learn things," Elai began, not really knowing how it would turn out. "To get... knowing? For my tribe, to write." She mimed using a quill. "So tribe know about outside forest, if need. If tribe need to... go." She couldn't imagine a situation that would drive the tribe from the forest. They were so intrinsically linked - to Elai, one could not exist without the other. "Elai sent because I know best Common in tribe, but Elders. Elders no come, old. I come instead..." The look of despondency crept back into her face. "But I not speak Common well."
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Post by Chani {♥} on Dec 9, 2007 4:05:39 GMT -5
"I could teach you," Kokomai offered, seeing this as her chance. "To speak better. Then," she slowed down her words, "you could learn a lot more from people. Ask questions and talk." She smiled assuringly, Gedeon closed his eyes lazily as his tummy was being rubbed, falling to sleep.
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FLICK
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Post by FLICK on Dec 11, 2007 2:09:04 GMT -5
ooc;; Oops. I didn't mean my last post to be so... wussy. Oh well; we shall sacrifice a portion of Elai's character for the sake of plot progression. Onward!
ic;; Elai stopped, her eyes flicking back to Kokomai. The woman was smiling at her in a reassuring fashion, and it smoothed out some of Elai's previous BLATANT CHARACTER FLAWS (and general failure on the part of her brain-dead creator). Would this woman really want to help her - no, to teach her - to speak Common with more fluency? If so, it was an opportunity the relatively uneducated forest girl would be more than grateful for.
"I like that," Elai said, a small smile creeping onto her lips. "I would like that," she amended. "Much... grateful." The smile grew larger and an appreciative glint shone in Elai's eyes. She reached out subconsciously to rub Gedeon's stomach, and only when she felt his warm, comforting fur had she realised she'd stopped before.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Dec 14, 2007 7:35:30 GMT -5
ooc;; Don't go so hard on yourself, Flick! I mess up my character's personalities all the time. Like, Kokomai isn't supposed to be very social. I'm just trying to use her curiosity and love for helping people as excuses to get her out of it, otherwise the plot wouldn't be able to proceed. =D
bic;; Kokomai smiled back. She would have to watch how she worded and said things from now on, but Elai was lost if she didn't. "If you... need words, you ask," Kokomai said deliberately. She patted Gedeon's stomach and gently took a handful of fur. "Fur," Kokomai announced. She ripped a blade of grass out of the ground. "Grass." She hoped that had been enough to show Elai what she meant when she said "need words". It had been a long time since she had tutored someone, but she thought it would be worth it. Once Elai spoke better English, she could learn more about this strange woman. Also, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't stop to help this stranger out; she was lost with words and frustrated to no end.
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Post by FLICK on Dec 14, 2007 21:01:15 GMT -5
ooc;; Sorry for any terrible-ness in this post - I'm feeling really dreadful at the moment.
ic;; Elai's eyes sparkled with excitement. A stranger was actually willing to help her learn more Common? That was better than anything she had hoped for. But Kokomai didn't seem to understand that it wasn't the names of objects that she had trouble with, nor even abstract concepts. That was just memory. She knew most of the words she needed, but she had trouble working out how to put them together coherently. But how to explain that?
"I know names for things, lots of names. I know not... how words..." She was stuck, again. "Go... how words go with others." How they fitted together, how they interlocked, to form sentences. "But names good also!" she said hastily. She didn't want Kokomai to think she didn't want help with the titles of things. Any help she could get was good.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Dec 15, 2007 16:20:41 GMT -5
"I understand," Kokomai replied. She decided to start with plural differences in sentences. "This wolf is strong. Those wolves are strong." She pointed from Gedeon to the trees around them. "That tree is tall." She waved her finger. "Those trees are tall." She accented the words that were different in each sentence. "Do you understand?"
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Post by FLICK on Dec 15, 2007 20:20:45 GMT -5
"Wolfs?" Elai tried. She knew it wasn't right, but she didn't know how Kokomai made that strange 'vuh' sound. "Fffuh... Fvuh..." They didn't have that sound in her language, and making it was beyond her. It was like a growly 'f', but she couldn't get it to come out right. What Elai didn't realise was that she could do it, unconsciously, when she wasn't thinking about it. 'Forgive', she had said earlier. There was the 'v' sound, if slightly different.
But she had already turned her mind away, to the next sentence. She held up a finger. "Tree, that tree is tall." She flicked up two more. "Trees," she said, emphasising the s. "They? They trees are tall?" She shook her head, the braid flicking side to side. That wasn't right. "Those trees are tall," she said, correcting herself.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Dec 16, 2007 3:42:43 GMT -5
"Very good," Kokomai complimented her. "Wolves." She lifted her top lip a little extra to show Elai how her teeth barely sat on top of her bottom lip when she did the "v" sound. "Not ffff, vuh." She smiled patiently. "Now, if I'm wrong, tell me how to say it correctly." She slowed that sentence down a little for Elai. "If I say it right, say 'right', okay?" She thought for a moment, then spoke. "That mountains is rocky."
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Post by FLICK on Dec 18, 2007 3:52:36 GMT -5
Elai smiled at the compliment, even though she knew she should have gotten it right the first time. She was normally very good at repeating things she'd heard - it was one of the reasons she had picked up Common, if in limited doses, so quickly. But travelling was exhausting work for one unused to it, and Elai's sleep schedule had been thrown off. She berated herself for getting the simple sentences wrong, but was relieved there was at least a reason for it.
"Vvhh." She tried again, but there was still a slight 'f' sound to the syllable. "I am sorry," she said, blushing slightly. This was more than simple mimicry - this was making sounds she had never made before. Even when she used 'v's subconsciously, they were still marked by the distinctive sliding 'f' that she couldn't seem to keep her tongue from making.
Elai had to pause to mull over Kokomai's next few sentences. What did she mean? But she eventually got it, and with a grin set her mind to correcting the phrase. But there were multiple possibilities... which one was the woman after? Best to give both, Elai decided. "That mountain is rocky," she said first. She was pleased that it came out of her mouth correctly; she'd been practising in her mind before she said it. The next one was more difficult. "Those mountains is rocky?" She paused. That was definitely wrong. "Are rocky?" she said tentatively.
ooc;; Maybe we should just skip to doing something more interesting, and just pretend that Elai's been practising? I mean, a few posts of it is fine, but if we had a whole roleplay's worth of language tutoring, it could quickly get tedious... Elai'd get tired of it before long anyway, and she'll be looking for a way to repay Koko for the help. What do you say?
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Post by Chani {♥} on Dec 19, 2007 1:47:46 GMT -5
ooc;; I agree entirely!
bic;; Kokomai smiled assuringly. "Yes, wonderfully done, Elai," she praised. "You are a fast learner. A good student." She nodded as if to confirm the statement were true, and that she was not just saying it.
Kokomai taught Elai more, making sure not to take her tutoring too fast, but she found that Elai was an even better student than she had thought at first. It was an hour or so after midday that Elai seemed to be tiring of the language and Kokomai decided to give her a break. It was best to do that when teaching, anyway. Even the most intellectual people needed breaks in between learning sessions to absorb completely what they had been taught. Kokomai's belly rumbled, though it made no sound.
"I think it is time for lunch," Kokomai announced. "Breakfast when the sun rises. Lunch when the sun is there." She pointed to where the sun was at now. "Supper when the sun sets." She didn't know if Elai was aware of this yet or not, or if her tribe even had certain times at which they ate. She knew of a few tribes who hunted independently and ate when they were hungry, with no regard to where the sun was at, but she thought it best to inform Elai, anyway. It was not so much a lesson in Common as it was in local customs. "Tea is after lunch, but only if you have the items to make it." She nodded, standing and stretching. "I think it is time to hunt." She looked at the wolf, who was also stretching and standing. He, too, was hungry and he always hunted for Koko.
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Post by FLICK on Jan 5, 2008 3:38:34 GMT -5
ooc;; Sorry if this turns out to be terrible. I haven't written in... like, ever. ): Also, I'm advancing Elai's language more than a short lesson probably would have, just because not being able to talk properly is a pain in the ass, and I don't want to keep talking about how unsure she is and not being able to find the right words and other things that make me feel reminiscent of a broken record.
ic;; Elai smiled at the praise, but she was eager to get back into the lesson. To her, although pleasant, praise was mostly superfluous. It was nice to be complimented, but the lesson was definitely more important - and Koko's lack of criticism showed the other woman though Elai was doing a good job. It was also something that the girl was exceedingly grateful for. Elai had never been able to cope effectively with criticism. In the tribe, chastisement was a big deal. For a society with a highly developed linguistic system, they spoke surprisingly little. Children, and indeed adults, were only criticised if they'd done something seriously wrong. The minor criticisms used everyday by people all over the world scared and confused Elai. She remembered with horror the time she had been driven to the verge of tears by a bartender shouting at her when she'd handed over the wrong change. She'd almost broken down in tears - rare, for Elai, but she'd never been spoken to so harshly in her life.
The lesson progressed well, but after a few hours Elai began to feel seriously taxed by the in-depth tutoring. She had mostly taught herself back home, with a little advice from the Elders, and the one-to-one experience exhausted her. It wasn't that she didn't like Koko's teaching - she was extremely grateful for it - but she had to hold back a sigh of relief when the woman called a stop.
"Thank you for the lesson," Elai said quietly, offering her tutor a small bow. The bow was a courtesy in her culture - it signified respect, and the debt owed to the person who recieved it. "I know times of meal," she went on. "We also have times of meal, at Win Dain. But no... 'tea'." Elai frowned. "I not know what 'tea' is. We do not have." And what had Kokomai meant when she had said that you needed the correct materials? Elai certainly hoped Koko had the right materials - she wanted to see what this mysterious 'tea' was all about.
But hunting - that was something all people could understand and partake in, regardless of language. Finally, something that could show her patient instructor that Elai wasn't a simpleton. Well, that - or just that she was a simpleton that could hunt well. She rose from her cross legged position, a small smile flickering over her lips. In one fluid motion her bow was off her back and nocked with a long, slightly barbed blue feathered arrow. "Does Gedeon hunt also?" Elai asked? She wouldn't want to hit him accidentally.
ooc;; And... this isn't finished, due to my suddenly having to rush out for dinner (it's our first day back and we don't have anything in the fridge, so we're going out). I'll finish it when I get back, or in the morning. One of the two. Sorry!
Aaand... Now it is finished. Sorry about that.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 8, 2008 3:57:45 GMT -5
"Yes," Kokomai answered Elai. "He hunts, I gather." She figured that that was the simplest way of saying, "He hunts wildlife while I acquire herbs and water."
Gedeon stirred as Elai mentioned his name, his ears twitched and he opened his eyes. He flicked his tail a couple of times, awaiting an order of some sort.
"Are you ready to hunt, Gedeon?" Kokomai asked. The wolf wagged his tail, waiting for her to use a special word. She had a single word that commanded him for most things; it was easier for him to learn and memorize things that way. "Food." That was the keyword he had been waiting for. Rather sluggishly, he stood and stretched, flexing every toned muscle on his body and letting out a yawn that sounded more or less like a potential roar.
Kokomai had noticed how gracefully and quickly Elai had removed her bow. It had actually startled her a bit, as she wasn't used to enduring such sudden movements without drawing a weapon. If I had to make a wager, I'd say that Elai is a fair hunter, she thought silently. With the way she had drawn her bow and hidden expertly in the vegetation, along with the fact that she had mentioned her tribe lived in a forest, Kokomai reckoned it was a fair assumption.
"Go with Elai," Kokomai ordered, pointing to the woman next to her. "But stay out of her way. Understood?" Gedeon did not, in fact, understand the last part. But, of course, he didn't need to understand the last part -- he was old enough to have seen a bow in action and know where not to be when it was strung. He wagged his tail frantically, excited that he would be accompanying his newfound friend. "We will meet back here as soon as we are done and eat. Does that sound alright?" Kokomai was talking to Elai now, which Gedeon was quite glad of, because the only word he understood out of the babble was "eat".
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Post by FLICK on Jan 10, 2008 16:13:25 GMT -5
Elai smiled slightly as Kokomai spoke to Gedeon. Although her tribe didn't, she had encountered other races that used animals to hunt for or with them. It was still a novel experience for her, but one she found quite intelligent. Using the advantages of an animal to your own ends? The wolf, Gedeon, could run faster than she could, for example, had a better nose, and with his formidable natural weaponry, he was a beast built for the hunt. To use him seemed so obvious - why hadn't the tribe thought of it? But then, there weren't many hunters as efficient as the wolf in the trees.
Gedeon would come with her? Elai hardly believed her ears! She would be able to see him at work with her own eyes! She dropped down to her newfound animal friend and rumbled a low growl of affection, rubbing his neck. Then she rose, hoping that wasn't rudeness, and turned to Kokomai.
"How much I hunt?" Elai asked. Koko had said to return when she finished, but how much did the woman want her to return with? And then another question, this one driven not by necessity but by her natural curiosity. "We have 'tea' after meal?" she inquired. She smiled slightly to realise that behind her back, she was making the tribe gesture equivalent to crossing one's fingers behind one's back - she hadn't done that since she was a child.
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