Verdigris Ravine tail

"woman," zoug signed as he settled near @Candle. he had looked for her a while, and brought with him a mouse.

of all the others, candle understood him most, though zoug had not yet been able to impart more nuanced signs.

"you quiet. always. you not want talk? not able?" he wondered if she followed his motions, his guttural words.

Candle greeted Zoug warmly, nose to his cheek and then briefly at his ear. His maleness was not so strange to her anymore; she no longer prickled uncomfortably in solitude with him. And she was beginning to grasp his language.

Woman, She parroted back with a learned confidence. But then he had more words for her, and this time she only watched his gestures. Not all of them were known to her; it took her a moment to understand.

She let out a breath, her gaze falling away from him as she gathered her courage. She hummed faintly. The last time she'd spoken was with S'ari. C... c-caa... n't, Just a whisper; Candle was ashamed, and could not look at Zoug again for several moments. She wasn't certain he would understand.

candle could not. he gave a quick nod in acknowledgement. they would speak no more of it. zoug hardly knew the words. that was why he spoke with his own and with his gestures.

he was still unused to the ease with which candle touched him, and the others as well. zoug was more used to an aloof regard from his clan, a wary respect for a scarred man to walked with spirits.

"you learn clan words fast," he complimented her. this was the first language taught to babies, but she would be ashamed to know that. her command of it would grow, though zoug was not certain she would ever truly know all the meanings. "candle have question? for zoug?"

Candle was relieved by Zoug's quiet acceptance. She couldn't quite parse the meaning of his next words, but he seemed pleased with her, and her relief deepened into something more akin to affection.

He was still odd to her. His bloody adornment, his guttural manner of speech, his distance; it made him different, but perhaps that was what drew her to him. A kind of solidarity in their otherness.

He used her name, and his own. She didn't understand. Question was a word she hadn't learned yet, not in his language. For the first time, Candle began to feel frustrated; she had more words now than ever, but it was not enough. She didn't even know how to tell him that she couldn't understand. Candle chewed on her cheek and looked at Zoug helplessly.

like her, in that moment zoug felt the sting of their continued language barrier. he felt also very far from those who called themselves tribe.

so much of him would always belong to his clan.

reminding himself that he taught these sign-words not only so candle could communicate with him and with the others, but so he would not forget.

zoug pointed toward the sky, then glanced at the woman. did she remember his word for it?

He pointed to the sky, and Candle recalled the gesture he'd once showed her, the line drawn in the air. She knew this one. It comforted her, demonstrating at least one word she had learned and retained, and after she made the gesture she turned her eyes to Zoug with a lighter look. Softer.

After a moment, she remembered another. One she thought she understood. A careful imitation of that rounded growling sound slipped from her, the one she thought might mean home. She reached to touch his shoulder with her nose.

home.

zoug felt his heart ache, and as candle gently feathered a brush over his pelt, he experienced a lessening as well, an easing of that pain.

from time to time, he often slipped into the words, simply to say them. even if she did not understand. "it makes me proud that you are learning so quickly. it makes me proud that i am a good teacher. it gives me hope that these words will endure."

finished, zoug rose. he was not a man of touch, but his gratitude was in hunting. a glance for candle, and then he set off.

Zoug started to speak again, and as she listened and watched, picking out words she knew here and there, Candle was overcome with the realization of new feeling. It was something like the awe S'ari had once inspired in her, but softer, not quite so electric and fearful. She turned shy, confused by herself and by Zoug.

Candle rose when he did, unsure if she was meant to follow or if he meant to leave her and wrongly correlating his movement with her own feelings. It felt briefly as if she'd done something wrong. But the way he moved spoke of hunting; always eager to join her packmates in their hunts, Candle hesitated only a moment before following.

wanna fade & do another? <3

outside, in the golden sand beyond the ravine, pale swift rats scurried to and fro, gathering seeds and flowers.

it was among them he would hunt with candle, and teach her the word for their species: three dots in the sand and a line to indicate the draw of a tail.

the sun fell before he returned home.

Yessss <3 fading!

For a time she knew a rare contentment; quiet companionship and the continued gift of language, and a brewing warmth Candle gave little thought for now. When the sky began to darken, she glanced up once, but made no sound of protest.

The dark still frightened her, but she was learning to ignore the fear.