Tuktu Hinterlands sometimes i feel you pull away from me

@Rhode :D

 

No, she was not enjoying this. Taking even a single step into the Hinterlands wasn't her first choice and she absolutely wanted to be on the beach. But it seems the beaches around here did not know that beaches were supposed to be warm- where Huā came from, the sand was always warm, the sky always bright and snow was something she almost never had to worry about. It was snowing heavy here now, and eventually Huā had made her way into the Hinterlands for a little bit of shelter, provided by the roof of trees. But already she felt claustrophobic, without an open view of the sky. The siren's paws carried her over the snow and dirt that created the forest floor. "哎呀!" She cursed suddonly in frustration. She wished she could see the blue ocean right now. Damn this heavy snow.

anathi's head immediately perked from the greenery he'd repurposed as a pillow. beneath the reach of the aspen, the ground was relatively clear, which made sleeping in the cold more doable. there weren't a lot of passerbys in these parts, so when he heard the exclamation of another, it came as a surprise.

upon closer inspection (and a very rude glance), he could tell that this was another female. did they just not bear males in the wilds? whatever. in anathi's mind, it just made for a larger selection of potential mates.

still lying down, though now in a lounging position, he chuffed and waited for a response.

A chuff came in response to her exclamation. Suddenly she was embarrassed that she had sworn so loudly right in front of some stranger. She spun to face whoever it was. Just some rando like most of the wolves around here, nothing particularly special. And from the fact that he was even in the forest, she figured he was a bore. 

Nevertheless, he had chuffed at her, and what could she do, ignore it? Even if she didn't care to talk to him, she wasn't a bitch. "Hey, what do you want?" She asked, a little bit of rudeness i her tone. Honestly she was tired of meeting all these damn people who lived among the trees and spoke the common language like some sort of freaks.

hey, what? 

the extent of anathi's comprehension was maxed after the first two words. even without understanding what was being said, he could tell by her tone that it was nothing pleasant. he was both impressed and annoyed by the girl's attitude and knew instantly that she was not from home.

he shook his head. andilwazi ulwimi. there was nothing for him to explain, nothing that needed to be communicated. thus, anathi didn't care to put an excess of energy into his words.

The guy's response gave her nothing. Was it a common word that she hadn't learned yet? Her brow furrowed a little. No... a response to what do you want wouldn't be so complicated that she wouldn't know it... right? Or maybe she hadn't learned as much of the language as she thought she had. andilwazi ulwimi. It didn't sound like the common language to her. "You speak the common language? Or what? I do not know that word you say." She explained to him, her tone now moreso perplexed than rude. Had she actually found someone worse at the common language than her?

there was a shift in tone, small but noticeable. still, the words spoken went without understanding. anathi maintained his flat facade, finding himself deplete of the excess energy needed to continue with their charade. instead of speaking, he gave a wide yawn and scanned their surroundings.

nothing interesting, as was expected. he returned his attention to the foreign girl and shook his head. i don't understand you, either, it was to say.

The dude's first response was nothing but a yawn, which annoyed Huā. 你也很无聊... She thought to herself. But after only a moment more, he confirmed her suspicion with a shake of his head. "真的??"  She exclaimed. Huā threw back her charcoal head and let out a strange cackle. "You are even more bad than me!! 我觉得你也不说中文." She waited to see if he had anything to say to that, though she doubted he would. How long since she met someone even worse than her at the common language? How amusing.

the woman's words were lilted, sung out in a serenade. it was a mixture of common and foreign, neither of which he could understand. frustration might have begun to build if there was an actual purpose behind this interaction.

there wasn't, though. it was just the two of them trying to communicate in absolute gibberish. anathi broke his stagnant expression and sounded a gentle laugh. andazi ukuba mandithini, mfazi. at the least the barrier was mutual this time.

There was a laugh from him. Even though the conversation would take them no where, somehow she felt at ease with this guy. Another one like her, a foreigner who didn't know a lick of the common language. She remembered she had been like that just a year ago. Perhaps in a year from now, he would have familiarized himself with the vocab. And maybe Huā would be completely fluent, though she doubted her obvious accent would ever leave her. It was nice to know that she wasn't struggling alone.

"因为你不说他们的语言，现在我不需要说他们的语言. 我可以说中文." She sighed as if relieved. She knew he wouldn't understand but she didn't really care. She missed her homeland where everyone spoke her language. The common language was harsh on her ears, blunt and ugly, but it was the only way she could communicate. In the presence of someone who knew neither language, at least she could speak her own, because what difference would it make?

the stranger relaxed so anathi followed suit. it would be nice to be vent for a moment, the thing that he assumed she was doing, too. just having someone to talk to, even if they couldn't respond, was something that he appreciated.

ndisentlungwini, he sighed, maintaining that smile, ndiyakuxelela ngoba awukwazi ukuqonda.. otherwise, anathi would have never admitted it.

you want to wrap up soon-ish unless anything happens? I dont think hua would stick around for too long ^.^

 
The guy let out another string of unknown words. She wondered whether he was thinking the same as her. Or wondered what he may have said, but it didn't matter anyway. Whatever it was, he kept a warm smile, and she knew that both of them must be at least somewhat content. Of course, she wasn't really aware he was in pain.

Huā, a distant girl who was not particularly one for careful eye contact, suddenly looked him very directly in the eyes, giving him a warm smile. If he could understand, she would've wished the fellow foreigner the best of luck on his travels- she knew traveling these lands without speaking the language could be hard. But it wouldn't mean anything to him. So she remained quiet.

wrapping is fine! i enjoyed it but yeah, maybe rhode should learn a little more english for next time.

the look was noted and met. initially with surprise, but later with a nod. i'll see you, then, he thought. the chances of it happening on its own were slim, but anathi thought that he'd make sure of it. 

there was still some distance between them. he'd continued to rest in that same spot throughout the encounter. after finding that he was pleased with their goodbye, anathi rolled back and lay down once more to relax beneath the canopy.

thanks for the thread!!

He gave Huā a nod, as if understanding the message of her silent thoughts. She gave him a nod back, and decided that as refreshing as it was to meet a foreigner like her, she had no reason to stick around any longer. He did not seem to be benefitting her really in any way. 

"再见." She uttered, before turning away from him. She began to tread away from the stranger without a look back, but in her heart she wished that good fortune would light his path.