The being indicated the object Na had touched. >Put that down. Now.>
"Don't," Rruyshah said. "He can't make you." Not only had she been kidnapped by the Skrit Na, she was now defending one? What had gone wrong, and was it too late to go back?
>It's, like, the forty-second amendment. You have the right to your tunes. Even though these aren't mine. They belong to some random loser who's down a couple hundred mp3s.>
Na ignored it and spoke to Rruyshah. "I visited this being's planet once, as a Skrit. It is very different from the other residents of the planet we met."
"You've been there. Ah. Now I understand. I think if I was a Na, going to this thing's homeworld would make me sane too."
"Actually, that was most likely due to my upbringing in a Taxxon colony. I'm actually relatively decent compared to my comrades."
"Skrit Na decency is by definition relative."
"I care about beings besides myself!" Na ranted indignantly.
"They don't count if they're the ones paying you."
Na looked mildly dejected that Rruyshah had seen through him, but quickly perked up. "Who are you to decide who counts?"
"I am an Exalted of the Kelbrid and do not deserve to be unable to communicate with this semi-sentient who thinks it can communicate with me!"
Na walked out. Rruyshah was speechless and indignant, until he returned, holding a stack of things in his hands. "Here. This is data from its home planet. We'll absorb it together, no? That would be smart. Then you can communicate with him."
Slowly and painstakingly, Rruyshah learned the language. But the thing was almost as tormenting as the Na! >To make sure you learned it, how about…a final exam? That sounds good. You have to write an alphabet poem, y'know, like A is for Animorph and stuff. Make it rhyme, too.>
"You can't do this!"
"Oh yes he can," smirked Na. "I don't want him unhappy when he arrives for display. Sulkers aren't as lucrative. Get writing."
Rruyshah was ready to explode, but she began the poem anyhow.
A is for andulit
Thay ar blu
I am not
And nethur ar yu.