Later on into the day Ford had his shirt back and he and Talvu were happily engaged in conversations. Whenever one was stuck, they would piece out and describe what they were saying until the other caught on. Talvu's story was rather simple but sweet.
She was an old widow crow. Her nest had emptied only a few years ago and her flock had fluttered off to create flocks of their own. Her husband had died while the "chitel-yuns", as she called the children, were still fairly young. Ford didn't bother to press how he died. But she made do throughout the years and they got along just fine. Part of what was so funny about Ford's borrowed shirt was that it was a baby's size and still too big for him. She had a lot of baby clothes saved for the day her only daughter would finally settle in with a family of her own. It's generally hot out where she lived, on the outskirts of the city. But she liked the slightly older fashioned life and kept herself well shaded from the desert sun. Hence why the sun hat and shawl earlier.
When she saw Ford, she was on her way back home from the city. She was hesitant for picking up a random stranger off the road, but apparently Ford had slept under a particularly dangerous tree that would've slowly absorbed him a few more hours into the dark evening. As she would've guessed, Ford simply didn't know better. She worried a good deal how he was left there all alone, where he came from, if she should help him at all, but it really wouldn't have felt right to have left him to die. It was obvious he didn't know the way this world worked.
And then it was Ford's turn to speak while Talvu was preparing dinner.
She had already paused their conversation to gather her ingredients from outside in a place she called an "arij grutter", and while she cut up the meat to cook, Ford found himself stumped on what to say exactly.
He didn't want to tell her of his twin brother. But he couldn't explain how he got into the portal by accident.
"Ford?", Talvu asked, still cutting up the orange meat.
Ford looked back, realizing he was a little consumed in thought and hadn't said much.
"Auu din ohnu falan teeres? How did you come here?", she asked.
Ford sighed and looked back down at the counter space between him in the dining room and her in the kitchen.
"It's not easy to explain.", he said at last.
She paused in what she was doing and looked back, a little concerned.
"Uhn?", she asked in her variation of a hum.
"..It's…a long story.", Ford said scratching the back of his head. "There's a lot to tell. I was in a place called Gravity Falls."
Talvu nodded, went back to cutting and smiled while she listened.
"Gravity Falls..", she murmured. "That is your home?"
Ford paused and sighed deeply as his mind went back over the forests and mountains. The wide open starry skies from his rooftop. The deep green misty lake. He could still smell the stingy scent of pine trees in the Summer heat and musty old books in his little shack. A long aching feeling of homesick came over him.
"…Yes…", he said quietly. "That is my home.. ..Ahem.. I was researching the things that lived there."
"What are 'things'?", Talvu asked, putting the meat aside and working on cutting up some unusual, large, yellow vegetable that reminded Ford of a carrot and a lemon mixed.
"A living creature or object. You're a thing. I'm a thing. That knife's a thing.", Ford explained with a point to the knife, earning a nod from her. "I was researching things that lived there. Not people like you and me. But…"
"Polains?", she offered.
"If that's a word for animals. Small living things? Not plants like..that.", he said, pointing to the vegetable.
"Fo.. Yes. Polains.", she smiled "Plant is yuloin. In fact, this yuloin is called a yunick."
"Alright.", Ford smiled. "I was researching the polains that lived there. They were considered weird in my planet."
"What is weird?"
"Well..", Ford had to bite his tongue to keep from saying himself. "…It's something that's not..common. People are common. I'm sure people like you are common. But these polains…well actually these creatures..they weren't. Some are like people and some are like animals. But they're very weird.
"These creatures were what people like me, humans, have only talked about in stories for years. No one believed they were real. I had found them and was learning what they were like. But I was always curious as to where they came from. I really wanted to know, but there was no explanation. Nothing could tell me where they came from. There was one creature. A creature with all sorts of answers that I thought could help me."
Talvu looked at him curiously as Ford's expression darkened and his hands balled up into fists.
"…his name is Bill Cipher.", he said. "…and he is what my dimension calls a demon. He's evil. Evil is worse than bad. Much, much worse than bad."
"Fo unih.", Talvu grimaced.
"…and what's worse was that he tricked me.. I was desperate for answers and he played me for a fool.", Ford sighed. "He lied. He said he was a friend to me, but he wasn't. At all. He helped me build this thing. A great, big, huge thing we call a machine. It's made of metal like that knife. It was going to open a doorway between my dimension and others."
"Uhn?", she asked.
"Dimensions. It's….", Ford sighed, not really wanting to get into the college-level explanation of it. "….it's where the universe is. Stars? The sky? Your home world? All of it is the universe. And where the universe sits, is a dimension. I'm from another universe. A planet similar to this one, in some respects, that runs a different form of life. I'm from another dimension."
"Fooo, ohnu mean loropsiat.", Talvu said with a knowing nod.
"Oh, is that what it's called? Lo…loropsiat?", Ford stammered a little trying to repeat.
"Ep.", she gave a nod. "Yes."
"Ah. Well yes, so he telling me how to build this machine, this portal. It would allow me to get to another dimension, such as this one. But it was actually very dangerous. Very very bad and hurtful. Hurtful means a lot of pain. What he really wanted was a way to create a tear in my world. A rift that would allow him access and power over my home. It would allow all sorts of demons to be let in and wreak havoc."
"Ford?", she paused him.
"Hm? Oh. What does 'wreak havoc' mean?"
"Ep."
"Wreaking is a word for causing. Typically used in a bad way. Havoc is chaos and destruction. Say I were to throw your pots all over the kitchen and over turn that board you're using for the polains and I'd jump and yell. I'd be wreaking havoc in the kitchen."
"I see.", Talvu glanced at him worriedly. "Why would this Bill Cipher want such a thing?"
"Hell if I know.", Ford scoffed. "I haven't the slightest clue. He's just evil. I had to shut the portal down and close my research on dimensions. I couldn't ever let him into my world."
"So… If this..portal…is closed… How did you come here?", she asked slowly, now putting the vegetables into a pot of boiling water and frying the meat.
Ford sighed and opened his mouth to speak but thinking of everything that happened, not more than 24 hours ago, made him stop and freeze in flashback.
"Stanley! you don't understand what I'm up against! What I've been through!"
(Ford writing the post card. Handing Stanley the journal. Hearing whispering in the lab after Fiddleford had left.)
"Living it up in your fancy house in the woods! Selfishly hoarding your college money cause you only think about yourself!"
(Ford tackling Stanley for the journal and being tripped. Stanley being kicked in the desk. The punch in Ford's face.)
"I'm giving you a chance to do the first WORTHWHILE thing in your life and you won't even listen!"
(Stanley laying a hand on his shoulder, trying to coax him into talking it out. Ford trying to show him the portal.)
"You care more about your dumb mysteries than your family? Well you can HAVE THEM!"
(Panic. Screaming. A pull on his being as blinding white light blocked Stanley from view.)
"Ford? Ford!", Talvu shouted, finally breaking through to him.
Ford blinked and gasped, momentarily wondering if he was breathing at all as suddenly he had a lack of air. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes and face tiredly.
"Ford? Era ohnu ite?", she asked for what felt like the millionth time today.
"I'm.. I'm fine. Sorry… I…", Ford sighed and looked down at his hand. "…When I was building the portal, I wrote it all down in these things journals. To keep what I learned someplace I'll always be able to find it again. But I had to hide the journals when I found out the portal was dangerous. But in order to make sure Bill wouldn't find it, I had to ask someone else to hide the last journal for me. I didn't have any friends though. There was only one person I felt like I could trust to hide them someplace far away safely for me but…well we weren't exactly friends to start with. And when I asked him for help, of course, he fought with me about it and shoved me into the portal. That's how I wound up here. ….Now I wouldn't even call him my friend."
"What is he?", she asked. "And what do you call a friend?"
"I don't know what to call him anymore.", Ford sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "A friend would be someone who's considerate. Someone who thinks of you. And is nice to you. Someone you could trust. Be able to tell them your secrets and know they wouldn't ever hurt or betray you."
"What's betray?"
"It's like…lying. Saying they'll do one thing for you, promise they wouldn't hurt you or wouldn't tell anyone something, and then turning around and doing the exact opposite of what they promised. When you feel like someone's your friend, and then they hurt you? They betray you. They betray your trust. I should not have trusted him.", Ford said solemnly. "He betrayed me, just like Bill Cipher betrayed me. But what I'm really worried about is that the portal must've shut down after I passed through it. I'm hoping that he, the last person I thought I could trust… I'm hoping he wouldn't dare try to activate it again."
"Mm.. Why?", she asked. During this time she was peeling off the leaves of the long stalks of herbs she had gathered for her supper.
"Because if he does and the portal comes into full power, my world would be destroyed."
"Lop, I mean why would he uhn..activate it? Was that the word?", she asked.
Ford sighed and frowned, looking back at the crow. He glanced down at the knife.
"Would you like me to help you cook?", he asked, changing the subject entirely. "I'm pretty good with a knife. I'd like to help."
"Fo?", she glanced at him.
Ford came in, pointed at the knife and held out his hand, offering. She gave it over and Ford gave the knife a twirl in his hands to adjust for comfort and quickly minced up the herbs for her. Fascinated by his handiwork with a blade, Talvu asked no further question on Ford's life in his home dimension.
As Talvu cooked, she taught Ford and he had the chance to explore and try different kinds of food. He found some herbs to taste similar to the ones he grew up with. When dinner was done, it looked amazing and they sat in the dining room. Ford's only problem was that it wasn't finger-food and Talvu didn't need silverware to eat. Just her beak. He thought it over, dug out a pocket knife from his back pocket, and used it to stab his crab-scorpion-cross meat to eat instead. It was very warm and filling. Slightly spicy, but savory and he smiled and praised her cooking for it.
"Heh. The last time I had something so nice to eat was.. Well damn, I wouldn't even know. I'm not much of a cook. Though I had experimented with a kind of sushi during my research.", he complimented.
Talvu smiled in appreciation.
"I'm glad you like it. I have been uhn..wondering whether to get foruhnlay or not, but I don't have people, especially humans come here often."
Ford paused at this remark, took another bite, and then slowly sat down his knife as he thought.
"Hm.. Just curious, Talvu.. Do you see other humans in this dimension?", he asked.
"Ep. I do.", she nodded. "Whenever I'm in the ihtezay, I see at least a few here and there. People from other dimensions are actually not weird here."
"Really?!", Ford's eyes opened wide. "H-ho-how?! How is that possible? Without utterly destroying the other dimensions by tearing the fabrics of reality through powerful electromagnetic forces- It doesn't add up! Is it really probable in other co-existing dimensions to find ways of interdimensional transmission and transportation? How far behind is Earth, really?! How many multiples of universes could possibly exist, just out of reach beyond our own?! Is it possible there are other dimensions that are even further behind in advancement in technology than we? Is the spacecraft in Gravity Falls really an example of what laid beyond our own existence?!"
Ford's brain whirred faster than his tongue could keep up as he stuttered and stammered and brushed back his hair in amazement of the never ending questions and possibilities that flooded his mind. It took Talvu trying several times before she could get a word through to him that she was unable to keep up with anything he was saying.
"You speak too quickly.", Talvu said, having taken him by the shoulder to keep him from falling off the perch in his excitement. "Is something wrong?"
"Sorry..", Ford gave a sheepish grin. "Nothing is wrong. No. I'm just excited."
"What is excited? Is it good?"
"Yes. It's a good thing. It's being very uh…enthusiastic about something.", Ford calmed down to explain. "The way I was talking so fast? And smiling and loud? I was being very excited. I-I get excited over these sorts of things. Science like this is so..fascinating!"
Talvu sighed, again having a hard time understanding what he said.
"..I think this is good?", she asked, feeling a little worn from his enthusiasm.
"Yes. Very good. Science is really good. Science is learning. Fascinating is a very good word. It's a compliment. It's saying something good about something else."
"Ite.", Talvu nodded.
"I'm sorry.", Ford said. "I like this a lot and it's making me very happy to learn."
"You have been happy all day then. You have learn so much.", Talvu commented.
"Yes.", Ford smiled and then leaned back a little in his seat. "I've actually really enjoyed myself today. It's so amazing, that's another compliment, to learn so much from you. Your language, your home, your world."
"Then I am good.", Talvu smiled, earning a small chuckle from the other.
"Happy, would be the better word.", Ford said. "You are happy."
"Fo. Then I am.", Talvu nodded with a small chuckle herself. "I am happy."
Ford realized he had stopped eating and then continued, his mind still running through so many questions now to ask about the worlds beyond what he knew. While he ate and thought, he absentmindedly began to spin the pocket knife around in his fingers. A common habit he had with anything that could fit between them, typically pens and pencils. Talvu watched, astonished to see him so effortlessly keep from scraping his hands as he pulled the knife out to the blade and fed it back, weaving through his fingers down to the handle. Sometimes letting it simply rest on the side of his hand as one finger so expertly spun it around and around. He only paused to get another bite but still his motions were fluent and fascinating to the large bird. Such small hands compared to her own, so fast and careful. Even knowing when to slow down to avoid things like being scraped by the sharp blade or pricked by the fine tip.
Ford finally noticed her watching him and quickly stopped. He frowned and flipped the blade closed and hid the gadget in his palm, turning his fist face-down towards the table and gently knocked it on his knee as he turned his head away, clearly embarrassed for being watched.
Talvu looked back at him, surprised.
"Why did you stop?", she asked.
Ford glanced back at her.
"…Isn't it..bad?", he asked, sounding a touch reproachful which almost alarmed Talvu to hear. "Weird?"
"Weird? Well… You said weird was uncommon…so yes, it was weird.", she said, unsure how this behavior suddenly came over Ford. "But it looked..uhn…what's that word? Fas…fascinating?"
"Excuse me?", Ford was surprised.
"The knife? The way it moved. It was 'fascinating'.", she said.
"..The knife?", Ford asked, completely perplexed. "You.. You mean you weren't..staring at my hands?"
"Your hands were moving the knife. So yes, I was.", Talvu nodded.
"No, I mean.. You weren't.. You didn't think my hands were weird?", he asked, holding it back up again, looking between his fingers and her as he held the knife with his thumb.
"Why would I?", she asked, tilting her head to the side. "They are simply hands.."
"…Well…They have six fingers.", Ford said and sat the knife in his lap so he could tick off each finger as he counted. "One, two, three, four, five, six."
"Fo?"
"Well on Earth.. In my home.. People only have five. Not six.", Ford curled in his last finger again to demonstrate. "Having six is..weird. Uncommon. Unusual. Bad."
He frowned and stared at the hand. He could hear the kids in his early childhood yet again calling him a freak and picking on him. Something that he never quite let go of.
"How is 6 fingers bad?", Talvu asked, surprising him again. "You have more. Would that not make you untoomiley?"
"What does untoomiley mean?", Ford asked.
"Ah.. Good? Very good? More than good."
"Better? You think I'm…better than other humans?", Ford asked, feeling his heart lift a little as he earned a nod. It then sunk again and his shoulders slumped. "I wish… Other humans.. They.. They don't like it. They call me bad things for it. Freak. Weirdo. Inhuman. To other humans..I'm more like all those creatures I researched. Something…weird."
"But.. You are human.", Talvu frowned. "There are lots and lots of things that are not common. Why would six fingers be so bad?"
"I don't know to be honest..", Ford sighed. "Most humans don't like things that are weird. I'm still human, yes. I'm like any other human. Actually, I'm smarter than most other humans. I learn faster than they do."
"Then are you not the better human?", Talvu asked.
"I would be, if everyone else didn't prefer normalcy over weirdness.", Ford smiled up sadly at Talvu. "You're the only other person I've heard that liked my six fingers."
"Is there another human that does like your six fingers?"
"About only one. My mother. My rahlun.", Ford chuckled with Talvu.
"A rahlun never chooses weird or common in their chitleyuns.", she said.
"That is accurate.", Ford said and he genuinely smiled up at her and Talvu smiled back warmly. "Thank you for not judging me. For not saying I was weird."
He pulled out the blade again and they continued eating.
"Twirling things around in my hands is actually a habit of mine.", Ford explained. "So sorry if I worried you with the sharp blade. It's just something I do when I'm busy thinking hard about something."
"Fo. It is alright. As long as you don't hurt yourself.", Talvu nodded.
"..Thank you.", Ford said softly.
After dinner, Ford helped her wash the dishes and then finally noticed the heavy bags under his eyes and the pale skin and messy hair and unshaven face in the reflection of the plate he washed.
"Oh wow..", Ford frowned and bit his lip. "Do I really look this bad?"
"Uhn?", Talvu glanced over.
Ford finished the dishes with her and then dried off his hands and tried to smooth down his hair. Sure it was always kinda messy, but it didn't always have to stand up like that. He looked like some drunk hooligan fresh out the bar.
"Ford?", Talvu asked. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to clean up a little.", Ford said. "My hair's a mess."
Talvu leaned her head one way and Ford looked back up at her.
"How's that? Is it standing up still?", he asked.
Talvu leaned her head the other way and then gently pecked at his hair and straightened it out for him. Ford gasped and then began laughing. Feeling her soft pecks pull on his hair, it was ticklish!
"Stop! Stop!", he laughed. "It tickles!"
She pecked all over his scalp, smoothing his hair down this way and that, down to the fine hairs around his neck, making him laugh especially hard.
"Talvu! Talvu stop! It tickles!", Ford wheezed, trying to squirm away.
"Don't go. You wanted your hair cleaned.", she said, moving one large, black, feathery arm to hold him there.
The feathers on her arm tickled even more so and Ford was in a fit of laughter as she struggled to hold him steady and clean him up. When she finally finished, his stomach ached and his throat was sore from laughter. But his hair was finally neatened and straightened out.
"Why did you push me away?", Talvu smiled, amused and yet perplexed.
"It tickled.", Ford said between breaths as he leaned back on a wall to catch his breath. "You pecking my hair and all those feathers… It caused a sensation in my skin that makes me laugh. It's instinctive to push it away, but I don't mean anything bad by it. Sorry."
Talvu chuckled.
"I never been 'tickled'. So I don't understand. But you look happy."
"It was fun. I'll say that.", Ford chuckled and double checked to make sure his glasses weren't smeared. "Thank you for the preening."
"What?"
"Sorry. When birds clean their feathers, or another's feathers, it's called preening. You're a bird, or like one. You cleaned my hair, so I said preening instead of cleaning. Either way, thank you."
"What is a bird in your world?", Talvu asked. "How am I like it?"
"Well there are lots of kinds of birds. But you resemble a crow. You look like one. Small forehead, smooth feathers, quick to learn. You have black all over you and a shorter beak and wing span er, a shorter arm span really-"
"Fo! Am I really all that small?", Talvu exclaimed in surprise and amusement.
"Ha ha! Well I wouldn't call you a raven! That's a bigger bird than a crow. And it's ruffled and ugly and has a harsh voice.", Ford explained with a smile. "I'd say you're a crow. But birds in my dimension are much smaller than you anyway. Even a raven. They fly too. Y'know, they go through the air instead of walking on the ground. There are all sorts of birds. Some even bigger than ravens. But none of them are as tall or as smart as you are. And I don't think there's ever a bird as kind either."
Talvu's feathers fluffed a little at the compliment as she smiled down at Ford.
"Thank you, Ford.", she said. "That was good, right?"
"Of course.", Ford smiled back.
They sat in the living room and talked a few hours longer. Ford told Talvu of his adventures in Gravity Falls and all the things he learned and discovered, while the bird gently rocked on her perch and wove. Similar to a granny knitting, she held the pieces in her hands and used her beak to weave in and out tightly, making something like a basket from Ford's guess. She generally didn't say anything unless to ask Ford to describe what she didn't understand. It wasn't until late into the evening that Talvu started to get tired. She sighed and sat the weaving down.
"And then when I got back in, heh, it's really funny. I came down to the lab and McGucket asked if I was- wait. Is everything alright, Talvu?", Ford asked, finally noticing.
"Uhn? Oh I am good.", Talvu smiled tiredly. "But it is quinop now."
Ford looked behind her, out the window at the dark desert.
"Oh. Quinop. Night.", he said. "It's late."
"Ep.", she nodded. "We should zilay."
"Sleep? Ah…", Ford hesitated and wrung his hand a little. "Well… I suppose..we should."
Ford dragged his feet about going to bed, but soon he took his tie from the bed and hung his tie up on the perch nearby, took off his shoes, sat his glasses on the table, and clambered into the tall box nest in the guest room, insisting on not going and asking Talvu for help with it. He curled up into the middle of it with his coat laying over top of him like a blanket and tried to find solace in the long night.
Sufficient to say, sleeping was easier said than done.
"Keep running Sixer! Just keep on running!", the demonic triangle's laugh rung in his ears as he dreamed. "Such a smart boy, running away from all your problems! Just make sure they don't catch up to you! One day they will! YOU'LL SEE!"
Ford felt like he would've choked if he didn't just wake up from his nightmare. His coat twisted around his body tightly from his tossing and turning. It took a bit through blindness and confusion to finally get it untangled. Ford laid there, panting, pouring cold sweat. He rubbed his eyes sorely and reminded himself of where he was and how he got there. He wiped the sweat away and sighed long and slow.
'If I try to go to sleep again, it'll only come back. A self-perpetuated nightmare based on higher levels of stress being in an unfamiliar territory and with so much to have happened within the span of 2 days. I can't sleep. I should get up. But it's dark, which means it's still night. So obviously I haven't been sleeping long at all. I must remember to hold my temper today. But I can't sleep. I can't sleep. I can't sleep at all…', he thought to himself.
He carefully crawled out of the bed, dragging his coat along with him, and dropped to the floor. He slipped his shoes and glasses back on and made his way out of the dark, moon-lit room. Even though he just woke up, Ford was careful to shift his weight with each step to decrease chances of noise and silently made his way down the hall and into the living room. It was cold in the house with the fire gone and he wrapped the coat around him tightly and sat on the floor near the fireplace.
'I can't sleep. I simply can't sleep.', he thought to himself miserably. 'What to do with myself till then?'
After adjusting to the still, quiet house, Ford felt more bold to shuffle around more. He looked out the window. There was a light blue colored moon with purple stripes hanging in the black sky and bright stars, similar to those he knew so well. He stared up at the dark sky and sighed, missing his large white normal moon.
He shuffled over to the fire and saw the wood stacked up nearby. He sat some up, peeling off shavings from it to use for kindling, and rubbed his hands together. It was cold in the room without a fire. He remembered something from a few years back about fires.
'Wonder if it still works in another dimension..', he pondered.
He decided to give it a try and picked up one twig. Held the tip of it leveled to his lips and about 6 inches away from him. He took a breath.
"…Pyros, kinesis. Setusthe stickus aflamus.", he said, concentrating on the stick.
There was a small spark that flew from the tip and then a crackle and with a sudden pop fire flared up on the tip, burning bright and cheery red. He smiled and sat up the stick with the others. With a little more magical encouragement there was a fire burning, providing plenty of heat and light. There was some help to Bill's teachings earlier on.
He fortunately had a spare pen to write with in his pocket and found plenty of blank paper. He sat down and made sketches of the creatures he knew and wrote some ideas that came to mind. He drew Talvu and his own study on her habits. The way she rolled the "r" in Ford's name like a pigeon coo. The way she would so effortlessly reach back behind her and smooth down some feathers on the back of her neck with her beak. Different little bird habits she had.
Ford hadn't even noticed that dawn arrived, let alone Talvu coming out and finding him sitting in the middle of the floor with all sorts of papers scattered around him with drawings and notes. It wasn't until she was laughing that his head snapped up and he acknowledged all of these things.
"Oh, sorry. Good morning.", Ford said with a sheepish grin.
"Hello.", she returned, not fully sure what morning meant yet.
"What was so funny?", he asked.
"You.", she said. "You look like a chitleyun sitting there."
Ford looked around and saw what she meant. He chuckled and cleaned up his work.
"Sorry.", he said, shuffling the papers. "I am a bit of a slob about these sorts of things. Did you sleep well? Ah.. Din ohnu zilay ite?"
Talvu smiled and gave a nod.
"Ep. A din.", she confirmed. "I did. Did you?"
"Uh..", Ford bit his lip a little as he stacked the papers against the ground to straighten them. "N..no.. Not really.. A din zilay ponu."
"Uhn? Why?", Talvu asked.
Ford sat there, his papers close, and he sighed, partially yawned, and kept his stare to the floor.
"I can't sleep.", he said softly. "Can't sleep. Never. Just can't. …I can't sleep.."
He shook his head, in bad memory of his Bill Cipher related dreams.
"Uhn? Ford?"
"…I can't sleep.", he said. "Humans sleep. They should sleep. But not me. I don't like to sleep. I can't sleep."
"Why?"
"Do you see pictures when you sleep?"
"Ep. We call it fulooyan."
"Well we call it dreaming.", Ford explained. "And I have a lot of bad ones. Lots and lots of bad dreams."
"Fo…. But… Don't you need to sleep?", Talvu asked, leaning her head to one side.
"Yes. Humans need a lot of sleep. At least ten hours.", Ford said, looking back at her. "But I can't even sleep for 2."
Talvu could see he was still obviously very tired. She thought it over in her mind.
"Are you sure you can't sleep?", she asked.
"I could try. But I wouldn't like it.", Ford scoffed. "I'll just put these in my room."
He went around and into his room. Talvu followed.
"What's an hour?"
"A long measurement of time. A second goes by quickly. In the span of saying 'one Mississippi'. It takes 60 seconds to make a minute. It takes 60 minutes to make an hour. It takes 24 hours to make a full day, from sunrise to sunset and back to sunrise.", Ford yawned. "Seven days to a week. Four weeks to a month. 12 months to a year. 10 years make a decade. 10 decades to a century. 365 days in a year. 30 days in September, April, June, and November. 28 days in February, and 31 days in January, March, May, July, August, October, November, and December… Wait.. I'm sorry I'm rambling. Uh, an hour takes a long amount of time. And 10 hours are very long. Almost half a day."
Talvu chuckled.
"You do need sleep.", she commented.
"Heh. You sound like Fiddleford.", Ford chuckled and made it to the bedroom. He sat the papers on the table. "Would you like me to show you how long an hour is?"
Talvu gave a nod and they sat at the table and Ford showed her his watch.
"See this small line that's constantly moving? It's a second-hand. It moves every second. When it goes in a full circle, that's a full minute and this long line moves.", he said, pointing it out.
"Fo. What are these things?", she asked, pointing to the numbers.
"Numbers. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.", Ford said. "They mark hours and minutes."
"How?"
"When the long hand, the minute hand, moves from 12 to the 1, it's five minutes. And when it goes to the 2, it's 10 minutes. Every number multiplied by five is the minute. Then when the minute hand makes it from the 12 all the way around the clock and back to the 12, it's a full hour. 60 minutes.", Ford forgot he was rambling again.
"Uhn-hu..", Talvu nodded slowly, taking it in.
"Humans track their days starting at midnight when it's dark. In the middle of the night. The short hour hand at the 12. The hour hand drags itself all the way around from what we call, 12 o'clock midnight, back to the 12, it's half a day. 12 hours have passed and we say it's 12 o'clock in the afternoon. When it reaches back to the 12 again it's midnight. A full 24 hours have passed and a whole day has spent.", he explained. "Are you keeping up?"
"Ep.", she nodded. "So what time is it?"
"It is..", Ford adjusted his glasses to better see. "…8:36 in the morning. Nice to see our worlds are conveniently still on proper parallel schedule to each other."
"So how long until 10 hours pass?", she asked.
Ford sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"Ten hours from 8:30 would be 6:30 in the evening. The evening is when it turns dark outside.", Ford explained. "The little hour hand will be on the 6 and the large minute hand would be past the 6."
Talvu nodded.
"May I see it?", she asked.
"Here, of course.", Ford handed it over.
She took the watch and then took off his glasses.
"Hey! What-?", Ford gasped.
She sat the glasses on the table and then picked Ford up and put him back in the bed.
"No! Talvu, I can't sleep!", Ford groaned.
"You need sleep.", she said simply.
"NO. I can't. I won't!", Ford sat up.
For the first time, Talvu frowned back at Ford. Eyes narrowed and glowed slightly. Ford was suddenly reminded of the many similar looks his own mother would give Stanley for back-talking and he swallowed the lump in his throat, seeing it aimed at him.
She climbed into the bed as well, fitting easily as the bed sunk underneath her, and tucked Ford in under her, just as a bird would.
"Talvu!", Ford cried out. "Lemme up! Stop this!"
"No.", she said, setting the watch down in front of her.
"I can't sleep!", he growled. "I won't! Not again! I can't keep going back to those nightmares! He'll try to kill me! Or trick me again! I don't wanna sleep!"
"Then don't sleep.", Talvu said, keeping her eyes on the clock. "But you must inalex."
"Relax? Rest? For ten HOURS? Are you kidding me? NO! Talvu you don't understand!"
He scrambled and squirmed and managed to pull his head out from underneath her. But Talvu simply pulled him back under again with one large talon of a foot and resettled herself upon him, careful to give him room to rest and breath, but still covered and kept very cozy and warm. There was no getting out of this. As far as Talvu saw it, he needed to be looked after like a child. Ford couldn't argue with her. It was pointless.
'Note of discovery: Talvu's species is very determined once firm in a decision.', he thought bitterly to himself.
Ford sighed tiredly and rubbed his eyes. She was right and he knew it. He was tired. So little sleep wasn't good at all. But what could he do about it? The anxiety to sleep, the horror of what could happen in a simple dream. It was almost laughable if Ford wasn't so worried about it. Yet here he was, caught between an overprotective motherly bird, more or less laying on top of him, and a soft mattress that just beckoned sleep. He tried to stay awake, but it didn't last long. Slumber overtook him, and he was out like a light, with little will to protest.