Disclaimer: Same

Note: Sorry! Been busy

Chapter 10: Lost in Translation

The large yellow lorry lead her through the corridors into a vast and voluminous room with oversized tables and chairs. The space, what looked to be a mess hall, was full with hordes of Yautjas having a meal. She got the impression of being small. As if any minute one of these Jumbo Jets could trip and flatten her into a landing strip or swing around too fast and knock her on her ass. Not that she was itty-bitty, but when you put the oversized crowed into a room even of such ample proportion she compared herself to space junk in the traffic lane from Occupat to Permutation Oppi; the transit lanes between two busiest colonies in the United System. It smelled like food which was good because she was hungry. Actually so hungry she could eat a horse or a Yautja if they did not feed her fast.

She glanced all around her, taking in the vastness of the expanse and the crowd of unfamiliar creatures. Jo felt a slight shiver estranged to the heat that hung in the air. Admission to surroundings so unlike the familiar encroaching on her comfort zone and threatening all she acknowledged, loved and hated. She was not divorce from reality. Behind her banter and laissez-faire attitude was a woman scared stiff. She was by no means uncaring, but accepting what she could not change was the only way to deal. Humor and lenient hubris stretched the lines between comfortable maybe even venturous and enduringly terrifying. She pushed the latter down and allowed herself to explore with ease.

The area's design was anything, but usual, yet familiar enough to place it as a dining hall of some sort. She was so absorbed in her evaluation she did not notice the wall in front of her stopped and nearly walked into it.

Seth, as she decided to dub her new companion, shook a shoulder of the other barricade. He engaged the other male in a conversation choosing to brush off Jo's attendance. Hello asshole! Jo hated these third wheel uncomfortable situations, even if she did know what they were talking about. Not even a dammed introduction. Not so much as a "piss off".

She did not want to be rude, well not out loud, so she patiently waited returning to her evaluation. These creatures mostly came in three colors: green, brown, gray and any combination and shades of the three. Then, there were a few exceptions.

Her large escort, who has been ignoring her during the last few minutes, getting on her nerves, was as she already established rat snake yellow; complimented with honey eyes. The male he was talking too was also unique. He had very long black tresses, the longest she has seen so far adorned with, many trinkets and tiny skulls. Skulls seemed to be in this season because most males wore them in one form or another. She guessed it must have been a fashion statement since they didn't bother to wear shirts...or pants. For that matter they mostly wore some type of loincloth and surprisingly they could be very creative in its design. Seth also preferred being au naturel, while in his...scratch that...their cabin. The male was shorter than the golden boy and his coloring stood in great contrast. His entire body, and she could easily assume this was correct because they did not cover much, was painted in forest green and midnight blue. The swirls and twirls of the coloring looked like the two colors fought for domination. Blue was winning.

The male's front part of the head, which she guessed one, could call a face, and belly was lighter and locations where both colors melded. She looked from his clawed feet back to his face and met the male's eyes. She stared at the distinctively emerald green when the male growled. Jo knew a "fuck off" when she heard one, and apparently it required no words. So she refocused her examination on the rest of the dinning space. Her sight hopping from male to male while her inside voice corroborated: green, brown, gray, green, green, brownish green, light brown, grayish brown, grayish red…

…Grayish Red! Her mind confirmed her eye sights assessment even though the yautja she was looking at was greyer and the red were only blotches on its hide. In a room of monotony red was an atypical sight. However, what caught her eye further was not the unusually colored one but the individual sitting next to him; Very ordinary brownish green one. She immediately recognized him from her solitary treatment. This was the one that brought her food and water. She knew it was him, because so far it was the only one wearing that metallic swirl, woven into his shoulder length, left dread lock.

Joanna looked up at her guide and decided he was busy so he will not mind if she takes her leave. She moved around a few bustling tables, hearing grunts and puffs as she passed. They were none too happy. Jo wanted to flip the Frabs off but after a quick internal debate came to a conclusion they wouldn't understand or she might commit some interstellar faux pa. She made her way to the large chair across from the Yautja that scared the shit out of her the least. She figured that if he would have been the aggressive type they would not send him in with the necessities before. Besides she stabbed him so if he wanted to return the favor he had plenty of opportunities. When she got close she clambered to sit in the chair only to realize that it was too far from the table and she could not scoot the chair forward without touching the floor. She exhaled exasperated, jumped off, pushed the chair closed to the table and climbed back on it. There were some other frabs there, but she choose to ignore them. The Yautja sitting across from her stopped eating and stared at her.

Jo forced her best toothless smile that most definitely came off as fake and made her look like one of those puppet master dolls.

"Soooooo…"she said pensively

"Whatsa girl gotta do to get some food around here?"

"Setg'syra" answered the Yautja in front of her

"For food? That's a little extreme." She said and snorted. The joke was obviously distant to the other. He cocked his head trying to grasp her meaning.

Jo knew there was no sense in explaining so she just changed the topic for now. She put a hand on her chest and introduced herself "My name is Joanna. You can call me Jo" since he said nothing she just continued with a wave of a hand in his direction "…and you?"

Then there was another moment of silence and she was about to give up when he answered. He said something that she did not catch so she asked him to repeat.

"Adzin" is what she finally gathered after a few tries. He was surprisingly patient with her slow progress to say one word. At the end it turned out it wasn't even a hard one.

Then he pointed at her and said "Jo" in the guttural voice these creatures possessed. His was not as deep but strange nevertheless. Great! It took her a few tries to grasp his name and he didn't even ask her to repeat.

The male pushed his food in her direction and she looked at it surprised. He was offering her his food or telling her to wash the dishes.

"Eat" he said in approved basic. After years of colonization it became easier to use one commonly approved language. With colonies being a melting pot of tellurians of diverse backgrounds, basic was the adopted tong. There was no legal process rather a natural evolution of mostly English. She smiled relieved to hear his explanation, because asking her to wash the dishes would have been a real shit move on his part and she was tired of those for a while. Jo wasn't sure if she should accept the offer, but then by denying she might offend him so she decided to go for it. She looked back at the plate not recognizing much on it. There was, what she assumed, some meat and grape sized fruit in an orange color and some other stuff, which she could not classify. Jo knew the bread like baked good which she had ate before, so she grabbed that not knowing if she should try anything else and possibly keel over.

"Adzin... thanks. You're aight" He cocked his head and she proceeded to explain "you know… me and you are cool" … "you should really invest in some utensils" she added off hand. Eating with her hands felt primal. Hamburgers, fries, fruit possibly a sandwich was ok but the piece of meat was too much. It resonated too far with a quest for fire.

Curiosity finally won out and she grabbed one of the fruits, turned it around in her fingers, smelled it, put it in her mouth and cautiously bit it. It was bad tasting; a bit on the sour side; nothing like a grape. But it did not burn her tong so she took it as a good sign.

Suddenly she became aware everyone at the table, five in total, was staring at her. She stopped chewing, slowly swallowed and sat strait. "Whaat?..." she asked fully aware that she was the alien at the table and anything she did would probably be worth further examination. That was OK as long as they kept the knives in the kitchen. Since she had no mandibles, the way she chewed must have been quite a sight. Just as the way they tore into the food themselves and closed the mandibles before swallowing. Wicked

The one with the red blotches that sat next to Adzin grunted pointed to himself and said "Var click click grunt H stop dlak". She assumed that was his name but there was no way in hell she can repeat that.

"Is that your name?" she asked to confirm her suspicion and after consulting with Adi he nodded. Jo assumed Spots did not understand much of basic. "Can you say that again?"

"Var click click grunt H stop dlak".

"What?"

"Var click click grunt H stop dlak".

"Var…Whaaaa?" Her voice rose at the question

"Var click click grunt H stop dlak".

This was going nowhere. She could not make some of those clicks without mandibles. "How about if I just call you Var…. huh?"

"-H stop dlak" he added, but Jo already made a decision that there was way too many clicks in that to make it sensible and Var was a good compromise. So she confirmed her verdict by saying "Var" wrapping her hands in front of her chest signaling that is where their discussion stopped. Adding "Listen muchacho! I shorten my name cause it's easier I don't need you to fancy yours up"

In that instance he said something in Yautjan to the amusement of everyone at the table except for Adzin, who in turn was just looking at her transfixed. She knew it had to be something on the lines of stupid human, because once again she heard that word "Ooman". So she intercepted:

"Var click click grunt hhhhhhhaaaa pause dlak" deliberately pronouncing every word slash sound and added "Sorry… I'm not fluent in stupid."

Var did not like her modest dramatics, especially after one of the other males translated, because he growled and his fists balled on top of the table. Just as quickly he got all raucous he stopped. Jo smiled at her victory and heard a commanding grunt. She should have known that it wasn't her raised eye brow that shut polka-dots up. She raised her head and looked at the towering over her Seth. He did not look happy. Then again, she really didn't know what a happy look could sport.

"Heyyy" she said almost singing hoping to appease whatever bug was up his ass "I already have food, thanks" no thanks too you she added in her head.

He grabbed her by her neck which Jo already recognized as a signal for go where she is told or rather directed, and she pushed her chair and follow the course she was given. She was led to a different table and slightly pushed towards an empty chair.

The ooman was already a problem. He stopped for a moment to have words with Kai di'chak and when he turned to lead her to the table she was gone. He knew that Kai di'chak noticed her leaving and said nothing, probably hoping for a confrontation from which she would not get out in once piece. His eyes surveyed the mess hall and spotted her comfortably sitting across from Ad'zin eating out of his plate. It was he who was chosen to be the ooman's guardian and it was he that she will be eating with. He has not given her permission to leave and she will not be sitting with a youngblood.

Setg'syra shook his head and walked over to the Youngbloods table to collect his ooman. He came in time. She managed to already insult one of the hunters and Var H'dlak was one she most definitely should not offend. He might have been young and inexperienced, but also vicious and most skilled out of the group. She was speaking again, but he had no mind to listen and instead led her to the appropriate table and nudged her toward her chair. He was unsure of how much strength he should put behind his direction. She looked brittle as if he had pushed her too much she would fall and splatter the floor with her red thei-de.

Setg'syra stomp his fist in greeting and received a nod in return from honored hunters gathered at the table. The ooman was already fitted into the seat. She sat at the edge of the table, next to him, opposite Yin'thar. Somehow, having her sit opposite Kai di'chak was temping faith, even if Yin'thar believed the ooman to be blessed. Setg'syra was also curious to see if she would recognize Yin'thar as the one she saw on Nar'raka before she lost her sense of sight. Quickly he determined that she did not.

The food was brought by the Eta. Only the honored table was served by Etas. Youngbloods and Blooded warriors needed to get their own food from the bots. He moved the smallest portion in her direction. She mumbled incoherent words and then started very carefully digging into her food. Picking pieces of shredded meat or fruit smelling some and putting them back on the plate or giving them a tentative lick with her unusual, pink tong. No Yautia would lick their food for everyone to see. What she approved of she ate, what she was not sure of she did not; Putting it on the side with an "ehh" sound. Setg'syra was not the only one watching. Even with many eyes directed at her she seem not to notice, busy with the examination.

Kai di'chak was first to interrupt the quiet investigation.

I see you found your disobedient pet

Sei-i. In good time. Var H'dlak was about to lose his temper. She called him stupid

Suicidal creature. Perhaps you should grant its wishes.

To Kai di'chak the world was simple. It divided into the hunted and the hunters. Everything else was just unnecessary clutter filling in the void between the two. Setg'syra usually shared his view but decided to ignore the suggestion.

Ad'zin seems to favor her. He shared his provisions. Intercepted Yin'thar and the ooman gave him a tentative look before returning to her examination.

Ad'zin is a pathetic excuse of a hunter. You should present the ooman as a gift. It might be the only female he ever gets. Kai di'chak added.

"Oomna, that's me right? … Sooo… anybody gonna fill me in… ?" …she suddenly intermittent, clearly aware she was the topic of their conversation. "And what about Adzin? You know where I come from its kinda rude to speak about people behind their back especially if there right there." …"Not that I have anything against gossip. I'd just like to understand the juicy details"

Does it always speak out of turn and give advice on terms that do not concern it? Kai di'chak said annoyed. It wasn't a question. He was reprimanding Steg'syra for not controlling his pet. Setg'syra however found this a bit amusing.

It always speaks. She is unusually quiet. I was wondering when she has time to respire

Setg'syra lifted his mandibles in a Yautja grin. Even if the female annoyed him with the nonsense babble, it was the first time Kai di'chak was more annoyed then him: A small token of satisfaction.

As if on cue she once again started her nonsense word production.

"whaz that? Are you smiling? Is that a smile? " she said with a wide grin and pointed at his raised mandibles. At first when she bore her teeth he assumed it was a sign of aggression. However he dismissed it because she did not seem agitated, did not smell of fear. Med'maru explained it's a sign of joy so Setg'syra did not question further. Now a few males growled at the end of the table; probably misunderstanding her intentions. "I mean I'm just guessing so throw me a bone here"... I'm trying to figure this out"… "Because see!" she said pointing at Kai di'chak "he does not look happy, but for what I know that might be an expression of bliss"

Bliss Setg'syra found that even more amusing. How could anyone interpret Kai di'chak's clearly rising temper as a sign of bliss?

Kai di'chak abruptly got up I will take my leave, before I act on my more than usual desire to collect another trophy. And with those words he did

The ooman sat up strait abandoning her food and said "What I'd say? Boy is he touchy..? I bet he is the glue that holds this multicolor social circle together."

Steg'syra clicked his mandibles in concert deciphering the meaning of her words, but it was Yin'thar that asked in her native tong

"Ex-pplain"

"Which part?"

"All" put in Setg'syra

"hmmm … I never thought of it. First…am… I asked what I said that was offending"

Yin'thar lifted his mandibles and answered "Noth-ing, Kai di'chak not li'ke ooman"

"Is that me in particular or all living and breathing"

"All"

"I have a question, 'cause I don want to jump into any conclusions. That Kai dude is the one that left, right?" she asked searched their faces for answers.

Kai di'chak, Sei-i Yin'thar provided.

"And you are?"

Yin'thar

"What the hell am I supposed to do with that?"

"do?" asked Yin'thar confused

"Yeah. I can't say that. There is a hum in there that I can't possibly say. I will call you …. Hmm… I almost want to call you a yin-yang, but you don't make me think of a yin-yang so I might just call you Yin"

Sei-i approved Yin'thar

"Oh! You agree! I expected more … you're like the first Yautja that did not give me shit about proper pronunciation" she said and bore her teeth again. Smile

The rest of the meal continued without any abrupt departures or unnecessary growls. Setg'syra learned she called him Seth because once again she could not find proper sounds to voice his name. He was quite satisfied with that. He understood Yin'thar's point of view of not pressing the issue, to the surprise of Yin'thar who believed he would make it into a tragedy of honor.

The ooman would exhale the air from her lounges quickly. He recognized it as a sign of impatiens and agitation. Yautia's did that as well, but usually around one's their own status, otherwise it was perceived to be disrespectful. But there was a vulnerability to her attempts and failures as well as the huffing agitation that made it far more amusing then offensive. She was more agitated with herself then others. Those that perceived it otherwise were unwilling to make proper introduction and settled on distancing themselves from the choppy conversation. They were not to be convinced. The oomans in their eyes were useless creatures existing only to the purpose of the hunt. To push their minds toward a different resolution was unnecessary. He often found himself in that category of hunters but today he discovered one more feature that he has never contemplated: Oomans were also entertaining, beyond the regular entertainment of the hunt.

Every emotion was on display. She did not hide anything. She scrunched the fur above her eyes when confused, opened her eyes wide when surprised, sometimes even straitened as if scared like a startled pt'jjak. Her fleshy mouth curved up when she found something amusing. Her flat face would scrunch when she was not satisfied or disgusted. Some of these were similar to what a Yautia would exhibit, although a Yautja would have never been so open, unrestricted and unabashed of one's emotions.

Some of the body language was new and often when he asked he would get an ambiguous answer. It would start with the words "it depends". Yin'thar had to explain to him what "depends" means. With oomans too much was unclear and could be easily misunderstood. Such as the way she rolled her eyes. When he asked what that means she once again responded with "it depends". She followed further by saying it can mean annoyance, boredom or even delight. He could not understand how do ooman's know which is which. When he asked however she answered with another gesture; shrugging her shoulders. So they probed further. She said it can mean disregard, discouraged or inability to answer. He liked that gesture very much. It would have saved him a lot of grief and unnecessary conversations.

Med'maru, that joined them within time, found the conversation fascinating and highly informative. This was the very essence of why the Medic wanted to retain the ooman. He on the other hand only wanted to see how many funny faces can the ooman make and how absurdly she would respond to many answers. Besides, he needed to know more about what she was trying to communicate since she was to stay with him. But that was a less important factor.

She was eager to answer questions and that had him worried, because she has not stopped speaking since they sat down, and he hoped she would run out of things to say and ultimately stay quite.

The time passed and the discussion, to which many contributed, due to speech differences, went along. Most of the topics covered gestures, words, meanings. She even spoke about some ooman yyin'n ya'ng symbol he gave no c'jit about.

He liked to look at her. He also discovered that he was not the only one. Ad'zin stayed by his table and from afar observed the conversation, while the other youngbloods long time left. Possibly, if it was not and honored table he would have approached.