Dragoncrest Cliffs Time will not slow down enough for me

Em tripi, said the brown-furred Goufa, and Ephraim's ears began a slow drift toward his shoulders as he realized she was going to keep on saying things he couldn't understand. Isolation wasn't in his vocabulary and it would be some time before he understood what Kiwi was doing without intent, but he felt the sting of it all the same. He didn't know what she was saying, but took it with some smugness that made him feel nervous. Only when she spoke in his language did he perk up, and then immediately felt deflated again.

You talk funny. Hey, that wasn't nice! His tail beat shyly at his hocks as she approached to sniff at him and, in an effort to connect on some level, he declared, "you talk funny too." Then, as if he could somehow demonstrate, he attempted to repeat the strange phrase she'd used earlier while sniffing the air between them: "um traypee." Yeah, Ephraim was way off and had no idea what it meant, but he tried, damnit. His eyes flicked up to Thuringwethil as if for approval.