Blacktail Deer Plateau Spoken Word

@Aditya

Pema had picked up a few more phrased from Adi when they were out on their scouting trip, but nothing too extensive. Simply greetings, along with some general questions and answers, and random words here and there. She enjoyed learned from him. It was something she could pick up on somewhat easily compared to fighting or hunting, though she was slowly getting better at both of those things.
 
But learning another language had an entirely other level of skill required for it. More mental then physical, like medicine which Pema was excelling at. With all this change recently, she just wanted to go to something she was good at, while still learning something new in the process.
 
So, she sought out Adi for another language lesson, and maybe a friendly chat.

though he had just spent a month with the girl, he felt he had not spoken to pema in a while. the trio had kept mostly to themselves, save for the pack meetings, and had taken more time for solo excursions than even he had anticipated.

he was delighted, then, to hear her call for him, and he trotted to where her voice had came from, tail wagging in greeting. "namaskaar, pema," he said warmly. "aap kaisi hain?" he wondered if she remembered his language lessons, and if she'd be able to respond accordingly.

aditya hoped pema had relished the lessons of a different sort she had picked up on the trip. adi knew little to nothing about healing, and it felt good to have someone nearby who did.

Sorry if google doesn't have the best translations

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She smiled when he approached and thought it almost funny that he would greet her in the very language she was trying to learn. He would greet her from time to time in it, but it was mostly as a passing by when no one else was around. "namaskaar Adi. main achchha hoon. aap kaisi hain? kya aap... um... up for another lesson?" she replied with a smile at the end as she didn't know how to say what she wanted to say near the end of her statement. 

She may have said everything accuratly up until that point, but her accent and emphasis on curtain parts of the words were still a bit off, but hopefully understandable none the less. 

a smile broke over his face as she spoke, only tripping over a few words here and there. "very nice," he responded, wagging his tail once more. "it's 'acchhi,' since you're a woman, and kaise when speaking to a man, but otherwise well done.

"main theek hoon--that means, i'm okay. have you settled back into the plateau fine? how's burr?" he asked, abruptly switching topics. he knew that the healer had been busy with the easthollow boy, and not without a shred of sympathy for the kid himself did he inquire after burr.

life had been slow since they had returned. adi found himself looking for adventure once more.

Her tail wagged as he complimented her and gave her little tid bits along the way. She mouthed the new words along with him to get a feel for them before answering his question. "He's doing good. Alot of the pain has lessened. He mostly rest in my den which helps. As for me, I think I'm doing alright. The first week was a bit hectic getting everthing situated and catching up on what we missed, but I think I'm all caught up now."

"bahut achha," he responded, smiling. "very good. glad to hear you both are doing well." despite the update, he suddenly felt uneasy. the thought of the evil wolves to the south still plagued him day and night, though he had not spoken of it since they returned.

he took a few troubled paces past her, then turned around, fixing his golden gaze upon her still form.

"what do you think of this pack that dawn was told about?" he asked abruptly. "what do you think we should do?" aditya gave her a gentle look. "you're healer. casualties would affect you probably more than anybody. but these seem like. . .like terrible souls.

"is it our duty as moral, honest wolves to take them on?" he understood it was a loaded question, but perhaps pema could bring some clarity to the troubled thoughts swirling through his mind.

She could tell Adi's dimeanor changing when he began to pace past her. Something was troubling him and she thinks she know why but she still asks "Is there something on your mind?" before he throws his questions her way. It had been something on her mind as well, this 'evil' pack to the souther and Morningside's part in it. 

She thought it over before answering, there were so many things to consider when answering this question truthfully and fully. "No... I don't think it's our duty to take them on. The female that attacked Lavender wasn't one of them. They haven't effected us in anyway. There's no need to go out and aggrovate them and put Morningside on their radar. I understand that they are bad wolves that do terrible things, but Morningside isn't filled with warriors. It's filled with hunters. Deer and whatever else are far different then wolves. Sylvas is the only true warrior that Morningside has and I feel if we went to battle with them, we would be the ones risking our lives not them." she tried to explain. "I understand the desire to have them gone and to have them stop what they are doing. But... Morningside isn't going to be the one that stops them." she finished, hoping that Adi understood where she was comming from. 

Part of her really wished that Morningside was build with more warriors capabale of defending their territory if attacked, but in the end the best way for all of them to be safe, including the youngest ones was like Day said, to move.

he nodded along with her speech, tilting his head in confusion only at one part. "but how do we know she wasn't?" he asked, his tone worried. "we didn't get close to them down there. we don't know what their scent is, or who even is a part of that group." it would be much easier, much more convenient, if the woman wasn't a member of this pack--but life rarely worked that way.

"otherwise, i agree," aditya continued, giving her a slightly tremulous smile. "it's not worth it. the cost is. . .much higher than the reward." the smile faded as he thought of his and dawn's talk down by the lake. "but dawn. . .seemed keen on taking the path of moral justice. not that she'd foolishly leap into anything," he added hastily, concerned about even slightly maligning dawn's image in any way, "but i do worry. oftentimes, hearts prevail over minds."

he knew too well. he himself often chose the impulsive, emotional way. and if it had been him alone facing this danger, he might have well leapt headlong into the fray. but this was his family--their lives were at stake if they participated in this struggle. he would not risk a single hair on any of their pelts, even to impose justice on wolves who badly needed it.

Pema had had the same concerns and on the very first day of learning of the event was eager to point out how they might already be involved. But she chose to belive Day's word that she wasn't in thier pack. It was something you could smell often times, if someone was a loner. Their scent was stronger, less cluttered with other beings. 

"I guess we don't know for sure. But I'm choosing to believe in what Day said. For some reason he was keen that she was a loner and I want to trust him." she told him, convining herself in the process. 

She glanced as him silently for a moment before continuing. "I don't want to see those who do bad things thrive either." she admitted "But we're not ready." she said refereing to the pack. "I want to see the members of Morningside able to defend themselves. Me and Day had talked about doing some sparing practices with the pack in the past. I think it's time, now that I'm back, that I start making that an actuality." she said. She didn't want Morningside to fight, but she didn't want them to perish if they were ambushed. They needed to know how to defend themselves.

he nodded, impressed with pema's foresight. "that is an excellent idea," aditya complimented, smiling. "i've never been much of a fighter myself, and morningside seems light on trained warriors."

it was a hunting pack, with a few scouts, a couple of medics, and some odd talents here and there. they would be in trouble if they ever had to face off against a pack with powerful soldiers. and to see his family torn apart needlessly was an image he could not even bear to entertain, not for a second.

shaking off the thought, he launched back into his birth language, giving pema some added knowledge. "zindagi--life. maut--death. those are two fairly important words," adi said gravely. "khoon might be of some use to you, as a healer--that's 'blood.' and if you ever need to ask questions. . .kya is what. kahaan is where. kaun is who. kyon is why.

"you already know kaise. . .?" he asked, his voice light as he tested her.

It felt good knowing that Adi thought that the pack needed some sparing practice. She hoped that when the time came he would be able to participate. 

But back to what she had initially come to speak to him out. Language practice. He listed off a few more words, along with question starters, all of them except for 'how'. A work that Pema had already learned, but too a few seconds to peice it out of the phrases she had learned along with it. "That's 'how' right?

"shabaash! that means 'well done,'" aditya said, breaking out into a charmed smile once more. she had remembered that, at least. it was more than he could say for some of his prospective students throughout the years. "sometimes you'll hear me say 'vah vah, kya baat hai.' same basic thing, just more words."

a warm feeling suffused him from nose to tail-tip. it felt good to speak the language on the plateau, even if it was just with pema, who knew maybe a dozen words at best. he thought that perhaps dawn should know it as well--but she had not asked, yet.

taken by sudden inspiration, he asked, "pema, kahaan se ho? where are you from?" she had not yet spoken of her past before morningside, only giving him the brief explanation of how she had come to find the pack. he was curious to know this girl's past, her background, maybe the reason why she became a medic in the first place.

Her face lit up with a smile to hear Adi applaud her correct answer. She didn't think the answer was too hard, but just hearing the excitment in his voice was exciting to hear. It felt good to be spending some quatity time with Adi. A nice change from the pressures and stress of recent news about the south.

He then asked where she was from, thinking of a new work he used in the senstence, 'se' which she assumed was from. She though about it for a few moments. I am from Minnesota, am Minesota from I... "Main Minnesota se hoon. I am from Minnesota." she said with a questioning tone at the end. "Aur aap?" she said trying to ask him 'and you?". She thought of asking the same question again for him, but wanted to say it in a different way to challenge herself. She wasn't sure if it would be correct, but she felt that even if she was wrong Adi would be kind in telling her.

"south of here," he responded absently, much more engaged in what she had said. "minnesota? where is that? it seems awfully far from here. how did you come to be in these parts?"

it reminded him of his mother's--and hari's, he supposed, as well--tales of bharat, the land from where their not-so-distant ancestors had come. a place that seemed the stuff of dreams and legends, but was in fact as real as the ground on which they stood now. . .just tucked away, across the vast ocean.

something else came to him--something he had forgotten in his curiosity--and he added, before she responded, "not aap. tum. aap is for parents, elders. we're friends. tum." aditya gave her a warm smile, nodding and falling silent as he waited for her response.

"It's East of here." she replied. "I just kept heading west will I got here I guess." For the most part that was what Pema had done. Following rivers and streams she had set out on a path westward. She wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it was because she wanted a similar climate, or maybe it wasn't anything too specific. If she had had a reason in the past it was lost to her now. She was just happy that she had chosen to do it. A simply decision like where to head could make a world of a difference. 

When Adi made a simply correction if confused Pema. She understood what he was saying, but thinking back to what he had told her before it seemed to conflict. "tum instead of aap? Is it still 'aap kaise hain' for how are you, or is it 'tum kaise hain'? she wondered. Having heard him use the word earlier in their encounter she wondered if it was only switched for curtain phrases.

he nodded, impressed. he hadn't made the choice to come here; the sea had brought him, unwilling, through tumultuous waves and under bursts of lightning. pema had faced her own, personal storm. she had made the choice to set out alone and had made it to the other side--and now had a home, and a new family.

"tum is always informal. aap is formal. you'd say tum kaise ho? to me, but aap kaise hain? to a wolf you barely know. you get what i mean? always go for aap if you're not sure where you stand." aditya smiled as he remembered something more. "there's a third 'you': tu. you use it when you're speaking to a small child. . .or your god."

he began to pad away, beckoning with his head for pema to follow. "it was challenging, to learn the common tongue," aditya continued, thinking back on the days where his interactions with most individuals went as far as three or four words. that was where his sparkling personality came in handy. "i have a lot of respect for wolves that can adapt to anything."

adi stopped suddenly, looking at his friend. "i see that adaptability in you," he said softly. "you came all this way. . .yet it's as if you were born here."

Sorry for the wait

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Pema listened along to the formality changes that come with the language. Aside from the gender specific changes, it was another things that would be hard for her to get. Learning words was alot easier then figuring out sentence structure, and other things that really makes a language a language. But aside from learning the specifics of the language she took another think away from his examples. The fact that he considered her a friend. Yes they were in a pack together, but in group setting it was sometimes hard to figure out who was you're friend and who was simply being nice. She nodded with a smile to show her understanding. 

She followed along as he spoke about the struggles he faced when learning Teekon's common tongue. "I'm not sure which is harder to learn, but I'm sure learning any new langauge is challenging. But I think I heard somewhere that with every new language you learn, learning a new one gets even easier." she threw out there. 

It didn't feel like getting to be a member of this pack was that hard. She did what she felt was right and what she wanted to do and ended up where she was now. Like he said, almost like she was born here. "I guess it does feel that way. You're not doing too bad yourself either." she said with a smile.

"dhanyavaad,"he responded, dipping his head in gratitude as he filled with warmth at her words. he felt more accepted in this pack, more loved, than he could have ever imagined when he first caught sight of this woman and her friend. "thank you, pema. thanks for bringing me here, most of all."

aditya looked over the horizon, where the sun was slowly beginning to dip below the earth. night was falling fast, and they ought to head back to the warmth of their dens. he closed his eyes, breathing in the crisp winter air, taking in the vast array of smells the plateau had to offer. the freshness of pine, the musk of the wolves, the blood from their last pack kill. . .

"aisa desh hai hamaara," he said with a smile. "'this is our land.' and will be, for a long time to come.'" aditya pointed his nose toward the rendezvous site, his gaze questioning. "shall we head back to the others?"

Pema smiled. She didn't think back and think that she was the reason Adi was with them today. It had been a combined effort between her and Dawn. Her much more eager then Pema. But she supposed that without finding him and helping him alittle bit with what injuries he had he would be in a completely different place. Overall she smiled that he thought so fondly of her thinking back to that first day.

"Definatly." she responded to his claims about the land. Even though she had been told at one point that the pack was likely to move again once the weather changed, she would still think of this place as her home, even if they did end up leaving it at some point. 

She nodded her head in agreement and they began to head back towards the others.