Page 74 of Tharn's Hunt
Jus-teen's expression softens slightly as she looks at me. "When Rok and I first met, he went through the same thing," she projects. "The pain. The separation sickness."
I look away, uncomfortable with her scrutiny. I do not wish to discuss this. This tearing inside me. This separation from skin and bone.
"Jah-kee deserves to know what's happening," Jus-teen continues, her mental voice gentler now. "She's confused. Scared."
"No," I project firmly. "She has enough to adjust to without my... difficulties."
Jus-teen sighs, frustration evident in the sound. "Men," she mutters under her breath before switching back to mindspeak. "Alien or human, you're all the same. Keeping everything bottled up inside like it makes you stronger."
"It is not about strength," I project, the thoughts tight with restraint. "It is about what she needs. What helps her."
"You know what would help her?" Jus-teen argues, leaning forward. "Being able to understand what's happening around her. I've been thinking about the translator. If we could get it working, even a little..."
"Trans….lator?" I project. The image I get isn’t something that makes sense. A stone in Jah-kee’s ear.
"Well," Jus-teen begins, "Jah-kee has a device in her ear—a translator. It helps humans understand different languages." Her hands gesture as she explains, a habit I've noticed when she speaks of things from her world. "Right now, it's useless because you all communicate through mindspeak, but if we spoke aloud in your language, it might start to work."
My gaze shifts to Jah-kee, to the small stone barely visible in her ear. I had noticed it before but assumed it was a decoration.
"A stone that teaches language?" I project. "Your kind has strange powers."
"Not us and not powers," Jus-teen corrects, her lips quirking. "Just technology. But if we can get it working, Jacqui might be able to understand at least some of what you say."
"Drakavian is not spoken aloud after one emerges from the Giving Stone," I remind her.
"But you remember it, right?" she presses. "You can still form the words."
I hesitate, uncertain. The thought of speaking aloud feels strange, uncomfortable. Hunters communicate through the mindspace, have done so for generations. Vocalizing is... primitive. Inefficient.
"It would help Jacqui feel less isolated," Jus-teen adds, clearly sensing my reluctance. "She's struggling, being the only one who can't understand what's happening."
That argument strikes deeper than she knows. The thought of Jah-kee feeling alone, cut off from understanding while everyone around her communicates freely... it claws at something protective in my chest.
"I will try," I project reluctantly. "Though I make no promises about my skill."
Jus-teen's expression brightens, a smile curving her lips. "Great!" She turns and calls to Jah-kee, who looks up from where she's been pretending to examine a small stone. "Jacqui, come here a minute."
Jah-kee approaches cautiously, her gaze flickering to me before settling on her sister. "What's up?"
Jus-teen pats the ground beside her, indicating Jah-kee should sit. "We're going to try something with the translator. Maybe help it calibrate to Rok and Tharn’s language."
Jah-kee's eyebrows rise in surprise. "It can do that?"
"Worth a try," Jus-teen says with a shrug. "Beats having to play charades for the rest of our lives."
I don't understand what "charades" means, but Jah-kee's soft laugh makes the pain in my chest ease momentarily.
"So how does this work?" she asks, settling beside her sister. "Do they just... start talking?"
Jus-teen nods, then turns to Rok. "You first. Just a few words. Nothing complicated."
Rok inclines his head, then opens his mouth. The sound that emerges is strange to my ears. Rough, guttural, yet with a rhythmic quality that speaks of our ancestors' time when the Daughters of Ain roamed the dust.
"Teka…” Rok struggles, throat working, but he pushes on. “Vhan rath…kul doreth sa."
I stiffen at the sound of the old language, memories stirring from deep within. It has been so long since I heard these words spoken aloud. Many revolutions ago. The last time Kol, our leader, visited the Giving Stone. When the dust claimed one of our clan.
Jah-kee jumps slightly, her hand flying to her ear where the small stone device sits. "It beeped," she says, her eyes wide with surprise. "It's doing something!"
