Solo Building on the Basics

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

A delicate bloom

Timestamp: 68th Day of Fall, 514 AV


"Teisaia, do you think you could help me with something?"

Seirei fidgeted uncomfortably when her friend turned to look at her. Something in her voice must have betrayed her anxiety about making her request, because Teisaia looked concerned.

"Of course. What can I do for you, Seirei?"

"I'd like you to teach me how to speak pavi."

Teisaia gave her friend a confused look.

"But you know how to speak pavi already, Seirei. You're speaking it now. And you speak our language really well for a...well, you know." Teisaia said awkwardly.

Seirei smiled weakly. She was glad that her friend made the effort to not call her a captive. There was no getting around the fact that that was what she was, but it was something she was very sensitive about. She could barely bring herself to admit that she was a captive to herself. And even after all this time, it hurt her deeply to be referred to as such. The fact that Teisaia and Rytira understood that, and were willing to spare her feelings in the matter showed her that they were true friends. It meant a great deal to her.

"Thank you for saying that, but it's only partially true."

Teisaia gave Seirei a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"I can make myself understood, and I know enough words to understand a lot of what people say. But there are still a lot of times when I misunderstand something, or have trouble finding the word I need. If that were the worst of it, I could manage. But my understanding of pavi signs is very poor. My father taught me some signs when I was younger, but..."

Teisaia's eyes widened as she realized the severity of Seirei's problem. She nodded.

"But I bet that you've forgotten a lot of the signs he taught you, right? And even the ones you do know are going to be the simplistic signs that a child is taught before they are old enough to learn proper signs."

This time, it was Seirei's turn to nod.

"I feel like I'm only understanding half of what is being said most of the time."

Teisaia nodded again.

"That's because you are. And it would be less than half sometimes."

Teisaia thought about what she had just learned for several chimes before speaking again.

"Okay. I want you to show me what signs you do know, and tell me what you think they mean. That will give me an idea of where to start."

It took a little over a bell, but Seirei did as her friend had asked.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

A delicate bloom

"Okay, I think I know where we should start now." Teisaia said after thinking about what Seirei had shown her for a while.

"The first thing you need to know is that you aren't as bad off as I thought you would be from what you told me."

Seirei frowned.

"But..."

"No, hear me out. The signs you do know are basic. There's no getting around that. But they aren't the, well...baby signs that the youngest children learn for lack of a better word."

"Baby signs?"

"Um...well, when a baby learns how to talk, they start out with things like "Ma," "Da," and so on, right?"

Seirei nodded.

"Baby signs are kind of like that. Very basic hand gestures that children can learn when they're just starting to learn how to talk. Kids that age have tiny hands, and they can't make complex movements very well. But they can make broad, simple gestures, like this."

Teisaia turned her hand so the palm was facing up. Her fingers were pointed towards Seirei. Then she moved her fingers towards herself.

"That means "come here." And that's the kind of simple sign I mean when I talk about baby signs."

Seirei smiled.

"I think I see what you mean, now." she said softly.

"You said that your father taught you the pavi you know, right?"

Seirei nodded.

"He taught you the basic signs that form the base of all of our signs. Take this one, for example."

Teisaia made the sign for "love." When she made the sign, she did so slowly. She wanted to make sure that Seirei could see it clearly.

"That's the sign for love." Seirei said.

"Yes, it is. And when someone says they love you to someone else, they will probably use either that sign, or a variation of it. That's where you have the biggest problem. You don't know the variations of the basic signs. Things that add description, or emphasis. Let's use love for example. There are many kind of love. Love between a parent and their child, or a child and their parent. Love between siblings, or cousins who are close to the same age. Love between extended family members who aren't close in age, like a child for their aunts, and uncles, or the other wives their father has. Love between close friends. Love for your strider. Love between lovers. Love between spouses. Newly discovered love, or an old, abiding one that has stood the test of time. Love that has the approval of those who are important to you, and cursed love, or forbidden love, which does not. Love for an object like a favorite toy, weapon, or food. Love for a craft, or task...like the way you love carving wood. Even love for an idea, or a concept rather than a tangible thing. And that's only the beginning. Every type of love has its own sign. Each one has the basic sign for love as its base. So it's the nuances that you need to learn, not the basic signs."

Teisaia made another sign. Seirei could recognize the sign she knew meant love as part of the complicated sign, but there were parts before and after the basic sign that she couldn't understand. The end of the sign looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She thought she might recognize it if she saw it on its own, but it looked different when combined with the rest of the sign.

"What does that mean?" Seirei asked, curiously.

"It means I love you. The first part of the sign indicates the form of love that exist between a child and their parent. And the part that came after the basic aspect of the sign refers to who the child is speaking to you. In this case, a child is telling their mother that they love them. Your child will sign this to you a lot when he or she is old enough." Teisaia said with a smile.

Seirei returned her friend's smile. She had very mixed feelings about the child she was carrying. As much as she tried to think of it as hers, she could never forget who its father was. Nor could she forget the fact that the unborn child had been forced on her against her will in repeated acts of violence. The child was not to blame for the acts of its father, but even so, its very existence was a direct result of her being bred like an animal. Still, Seirei appreciated her friend's attempt to make her feel better about her situation.

As Seirei tried to memorize the sign she had been shown, she realized that the part that had looked familiar must mean mother. Her father had taught her that sign by itself, but the slight changes to the sign when it had been added to this one had made her uncertain it was the one she knew. Seirei practiced the sign several times, until making the gesture felt familiar to her. The first few times she'd made, she made mistakes. Even once she was able to make the sign correctly, she was slow, and awkward at it. But as she practiced, she started to gain speed as the sign felt more familiar to her.

"What would I say to the...to my child?" Seirei asked at last.

Teisaia's smile brightened.

"I'll show you."

Seirei watched intently as Teisaia made the sign. Once again, she recognized the basic sign for love that her father had taught her. The first part of the sign was similar to the last sign, but reversed in a way. Since it meant the love for a child from its parent, that made sense to Seirei. The sign for mother was also part of the complex sign. Seirei practiced this sign several times, too, wanting to get a good feel for it.

One by one, Teisaia demonstrated each of the signs that reflected some aspect of love. She made each sign slowly, and clearly so Seirei could get a good look at them. For her part, Seirei practiced each several times until she started to get the hang of them. As she learned each new sign, she noticed the differences and similarities in each. Some, like the ones that represented a mother's love for her child, and the one representing a father's love for his child were very similar, differing only in the identity of the one making the sign, whether it was the mother or the father. Likewise, the signs reflecting a child's love for either parent were also very similar.

Other signs showed more variation. Especially the ones reflecting love of an object, craft, or idea as opposed to a person. Once Seirei started to get a grasp on those signs, Teisaia took it a step further. She showed Seirei nuances based on the strength of the love, including everything from a mild affection to the strongest of loves. These nuances, Teisaia explained could be used with other emotions as well, such as anger, sorrow, and happiness. Once again, Seirei did her best to learn the new signs she was taught.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

A delicate bloom

"That leads into the next series of signs I want to teach you."

Seirei looked at her friend, eyes bright with interest, and eagerness to learn. Teisaia chuckled at her reaction.

"When you showed me which signs you know, I noticed that you made the signs for "mother," "father," "child," "sister," and "brother." But there are many other family members, besides those."

This led Teisaia to demonstrate the signs for "aunt," "uncle," "cousin," "grandmother," "grandfather," "grandparent," "niece," "nephew," "ankal," "son," "daughter," "heir," "half brother," "half sister," "wife," "husband," and several others, ending with "other mother," a term Teisaia mentioned could be used in regards to the other wives one's father had. She made each sign carefully so Seirei could see how to make it herself. She also explained what each sign meant as she made it.

Seirei dutifully copied each one, practicing each one many times in an attempt to memorize it before moving on to the next sign. When she had difficulty with one of the signs, Teisaia would correct her, showing her what she was doing wrong.

"These signs might be easier for you to learn because they don't really have that many variations to keep track of. And the variations that do exist only effect some of the signs. Specifically brother, sister, half brother, half sister, cousin, son, and daughter. The variations themselves refer to the age of the person."

Teisaia showed Seirei the signs for "older," "oldest," "younger," and "youngest." As before, Seirei did her best to memorize them. She practiced each new sign several times until her hands seemed to learn the motions needed.

"I think my father only taught me the ones he thought I would need to know. Teaching pavi signs to me was like a game we shared. And the only family I had were my parents, and my older brother, Jared."

Teisaia nodded.

"And that's the next thing I want to show you. I know you know the basic sign for family, but like love, family is a complex concept, so there are a lot of variations."

Seirei frowned.

"Like what? Family is family, isn't it?"

"For the most part, yes. But there is family that is related to you by blood, like your parents, siblings, and such. Then there is the family that is related to you through marriage. Like your spouse, and his or her family. To make things even more complicated, you can have family that you choose rather than family that you are born or married into. These are your closest friends, and the friends of your family. In a large pavilion, there can be several families, some of which aren't tied to each other by blood. And yet, they are all family, too."

"I think I understand." Seirei said softly.

As before, Teisaia showed Seirei the signs that shared the basic sign meaning family. Seirei took several chimes with each one, practicing it until she became familiar with it. Just as she was about to ask Teisaia to show her some more signs, Rytira entered the tent.

"What are you guys up to?" she asked with interest.

"Teisaia is teaching me how to speak pavi." Seirei explained.

Rytira gave her cousin a confused look. Then she turned back to Seirei.

"But you already speak pavi. Very well for an outsider, in fact." she said with a puzzled frown.

Teisaia told her cousin what Seirei had told her, and Rytira's frown deepened.

"I never would have realized that you were having so much trouble understanding our language, Seirei. It makes sense, though."

Rytira turned to her cousin once more.

"What have you taught her so far?"

Teisaia gave Rytira a brief summary of the signs she had taught Seirei so far. Rytira nodded in approval.

"That's a good start. And I like the way you're keeping to topics that can be related to each other. I think it's easier to learn something when you can make connections between the things you're trying to learn. It helps you to remember them."

Teisaia beamed, happy that she was doing a good job teaching her friend. Seirei nodded in agreement. She was seeing a lot of connections between the signs Teisaia was showing her. And she thought that that would help her to remember them more easily each time she reviewed what she had learned.

"Since you're working on family now, you should learn the signs that are related to family at a more distant degree than the ones Teisaia has shown you so far. Things like..."

Rytira showed Seirei several signs, including ones for "family loyalty," "family pride," "family rivalry," "family feud," "family duty," and "sibling rivalry." As she did so, she explained what each sign meant. Seirei watched each one carefully, doing her best to copy it. Then she practiced each sign many times in order to memorize it. While she was working with this latest group of signs, Seirei couldn't help but notice that although the basic sign for family was part of each one, it was only a small part. In some cases, only part of the basic sign was present within the sign she was learning. Seirei wondered if this was what Rytira had meant about the signs being distantly related to the basic sign. With the other signs she had learned, the full version of the basic sign she knew was included in each new sign, and it seemed a more prominent part of the sign somehow. When Seirei asked if her guess was correct, Rytira confirmed that it was.

"Have you been teaching Seirei the words to go along with the signs?" Rytira asked when Seirei had finished with the last sign Rytira had showed her.

"Of course I have! What kind of idiot do you take me for?" Teisaia protested.

"Well, you can't blame me for asking. It is the kind of mistake you tend to make."

Teisaia blushed, knowing it was true. That didn't stop her from poking her cousin sharply in the arm in silent protest, though. Rytira poked her in the arm lightly, in response. It was a teasing gesture that soon had Teisaia relenting. She grinned as her anger faded. Seirei couldn't help but smile at their antics. She could tell how close the two cousins were just by watching them.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

A delicate bloom

"We've already taught you a lot to keep track of for one day. Did you want to keep going? Or would you rather call it a day. We'd understand if you were feeling overwhelmed." Rytira said after a while.

"We can always make lessons like this a regular thing, if you want. There's no need to try and learn everything today." Teisaia offered with a smile.

Seirei gave the matter some serious thought. She had learned a lot so far. Her head was swimming with the signs she had learned. And yet...she was enjoying herself greatly. She found it easier than she had thought it would be to keep the different signs straight. Perhaps it was because her friends were good teachers? Or was it because she already had some background with the language since her father had taught her some things? Maybe it was a combination of both. And it helped that there were connections between the things she had learned today. Different kinds of love led easily into family because you were supposed to love your family. And they were supposed to love you. Several of the different kinds of love involved family. Various names for family members led into the different kinds of family easily, too. Which in turn led into the duties and responsibilities of family. Concepts like family honor, duty, and pride.

The real test would be if she could remember everything she had learned so far through the test of time. She remembered it now easily enough. But she remember it as well next week? Next month? Seirei vowed that she would. She would practice a little each day to make sure she kept it fresh in her mind until it became so much a part of her that she didn't have to think about it anymore.

"Can we do both?" Seirei asked at last.

"I'd like to keep learning some more now. But I also want to make these lessons a regular thing until I become as fluent as you are in pavi. If such a thing is possible for me."

"Keep this up, and it will be." Rytira said with a smile.

"And yes. We can do both."

"Thanks." Seirei said with a sincere smile.

"Do you know the signs for friend, and friendship?" Rytira asked.

Seirei nodded. Then she demonstrated them both.

"Good. I think we should work on those next, then. The closest of friends can be family, and siblings and cousins can be friends as well as family, so there are several connections between the two."

Seirei nodded again.

"Let's start with the different kinds of friends you might have." Teisaia offered.

Seirei thought about that for a while.

"Well, there are causal friends. Friends you've just met, and don't know very well, or people that you enjoy spending time with, but you wouldn't seek them out, or trust them with your innermost thoughts." she began.

"Then there are work friends. People you see every day in the line of work, but you wouldn't really spend time with them outside of your job. You could call them causal friends too, I suppose, but I don't think it's quite the same thing."

Teisaia nodded, and gestured for Seirei to continue."

"Then there are friends, close friends, best friends, friends that are as close as family, friends that are rivals as much as they are friends, but it's impossible not to like them anyway, and blood brothers or sisters. People whose friendship is so strong and true that it surpasses all boundaries."

"I think that about covers it."

Teisaia and Rytira took turns demonstrating the signs for Seirei. Seirei practiced each one diligently until she got the hang of them.

"What kind of friends would you call us?" Teisaia asked, curiously.

Seirei gave the matter some thought. They hadn't known each other for long, but at least to her, their friendship went deeper than merely causal friends.

"I would consider you to be close friends. We haven't known each other very long, but I think that we're comfortable sharing things that wouldn't normally be shared between casual friends."

The two cousins exchanged glances. Then they turned back to Seirei, and smiled.

"We feel the same way." Teisaia said.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

A delicate bloom

"Friendship is a fairly easy concept when it comes to signs. In that, it's similar to the signs related to family members."

"The ones that mean older, younger, and so on?" Seirei asked, wanting to make sure she understood what her friend was getting at.

Teisaia nodded.

"Only in this case, the signs that are directly related to friendship describe the strength of a friendship as well as how old it is." she began.

Rytira took over the explanation.

"There newly formed friendships, and old ones that have withstood the test of time. Then there are the fragile, tentative friendships, friendships of necessity, casual friendships, strong friendships, and the strongest possible bonds of friendships."

The two cousins took turns showing Seirei each new sign. Seirei copied the movements of their hands until she knew how to make the different signs. Then she began practicing each one. If she made a mistake, Rytira would correct her so that she wouldn't learn the wrong thing.

"Let's see. We've covered love, family, family members, friends, and friendship. Did you want to keep going? If you do, we could teach you the signs that are related to some of the other emotions. But we've covered a lot of ground today. I wouldn't want you to get overwhelmed."

Seirei had mixed feelings about the question. She wanted to learn more. She wanted to learn everything there was to know about pavi, and master the language. If she could speak it like a native, maybe she would be treated better by the Drykas in general. That was a very strong motive for her. But she also wanted to learn it because she found that she was enjoying this lesson. Spending time with her friends was always enjoyable, and this was no different. It reminded her that not all Drykas were cruel, or indifferent, no matter how it seemed at times.

On the other hand, Seirei had learned a lot for one day. How much was too much? Could she keep learning more now without risking all of the signs she had learned blending together in her mind until she couldn't remember which was which anymore? She wasn't sure.

"We can always give you another lesson some other time. You don't have to learn everything today, you know." Teisaia offered when she saw Seirei hesitating.

Seirei nodded slowly.

"Why don't we review what you've learned, and then call it a day?" Rytira suggested.

"Okay. Let's do that." Seirei decided.

"When we're done with the review, we can go do something fun. One of our family's striders gave birth to a new foal a few days ago. We can go see it if you want."

"Seirei nodded.

"That does sound like fun." she said with a smile.

With that, Teisaia and Rytira began reviewing the signs they had taught their friend.

[Tribal]

G R A D E S

Seirei

Experience

• Rhetoric: 2
• Socialisation: 5
• Logic: 2
• Intelligence: 1
• Observation: 2
• Philosophy: 1

Lore

• Teisaia: Always willing to help
• Pavi: Basic words and hand gestures
• Pavi: Grassland sign
• Pavi: Greetings and social ques
• Pavi: Seductive hand gestures
• Pavi: Formal and informal grassland sign
• Grassland sign: How to communicate with children
• Grasslandsign: The difference between angry and happiness
• Grassland sign: Gestures for people and races
• Rytira: Teisaia's cousin
• Drykas: Cruel and indifferent

Rewards

Seirei now has a very good grasp on basic Pavi

Notes

Enjoy the rewards!