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
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.
"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.
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.
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.
"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.
"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.
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."
"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?"