Ch 5 - Dangerous Discovery

I awoke at twilight from a sudden quake of the ground. This movement didn’t wake the others, so I quietly got up and left the whole. The forest was still dark and the air was cold and smelled of the dew on the leaves and the moist dirt. I could hear the distant thump of footsteps in the forest. My curiosity grew and I carefully followed the sound deep into the forest. I hid behind trees and followed the steps as they grew louder and clearer. My feet grew cold as I stepped in a puddle, freezing my toes. Then chilling morning breeze ruffled my fur as I squatted down behind a bush with large leaves and small thorns hearing the footsteps stop right in front of me.

A large creature with white scaly skin and enormous wings stepped out from behind a large red wood tree. I jumped at the sight of him and fell back onto the ground. He heard my thud and turned in my direction. I was so scared that I couldn’t move. My heart beat quickened and I found it difficult to breathe as he came near. I saw his large white teeth with streams of smoke wrapping around them and floating into the air as he growled in my direction. I was so small compared to him that all I could think of was how badly I messed up from coming out here.

Then the bushes were smacked away right out of their roots right in front of me. The massive creature stared into my eyes as I lay on the ground below him. He looked angry and jumped on me, pinning me to the ground. I screamed a yelping howl of fear and began to shake under his grasp, barely able to move.  I yelped and barked as loud as I could to wake the others, but feared I was too far away.

“Who are you?” The great creature growled at me. I tried to answer but I couldn’t speak. I squeaked a little and tried to turn my head in the direction I came from.

“Answer me!” He snapped as he gave me a shake. I stared wide-eyed at the creature that stood three times as tall as me.

“You work for the humans. I know you do!” He screamed. He squeezed me tighter and tighter in his claws until I couldn’t breathe. I scratched at his hands with my feet, not being able to move my arms that were pinned against my sides in his deadly grasp.

“Where is my wife?” He screamed. “Why aren’t you answering me?” He shook me and looked as though he was going to explode and set me on fire like Hwajay did to the wood a while ago.

“Stop!” Someone screamed at him. “Daegom, she’s one of us! Don’t hurt her!”

He dropped me on the ground and looked behind me. I gasped for air and touched my stomach and ribs that now felt quite bruised from his strong grip.

“Haenami.” He said in a sigh. He jumped over me and I could hear them rejoicing behind me. I continued to lay there trying to catch my breath and calm down, now that I wasn’t being threatened by that monster. Jonsa ran to my side and helped me up with his four arms.

“Why did you go off on your own, Sachi? You stupid pup.” He yelled at me worried as he searched my body for any wounds. “You are always getting in trouble! Why is it that every time I see you, you’re on the ground in pain?” He asked. I pushed him away and glared at him. He looked surprised.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled, “That was a bit rude of me, but you shouldn’t have gone off alone.” He came to me and started to help me up again. I leaned on him as we began to walk back to the rest of the group. A sharp pain aroused in my right ankle and soon began to burn. I fell to the ground and whimpered as I held my ankle and rubbed it as my black fur covered ankle began to swell right before my eyes. 

“Sachi!” Jonsa said alarmed. He sat next to me and examined my ankle. He tried to pull my hands off so he could see but I smacked him away, still angry that he called me a ‘stupid pup’. Then a pair of strong arms lifted me up off the ground and before I knew it I was flying over the trees and watching the sun rise over the mountains. I looked up, shocked at the sudden lift. It was Daegom, who looked straight ahead as he flew toward a tree covered cliff soaked from a waterfall that fell into a cloud of mist from below.

“I’m sorry about what happened earlier.” Daegom sounded more kind than before. His voice was different; not as deep as before, but more smoothing and relaxed.

“I’ve seen many creatures in the last few hundred years that have betrayed us and went to the humans.” He explained.

 I stared at him, still frightened by his strength and power. He held me against his smooth scaled chest and I could feel the light thud of his heart and the warmth as he flew. I held onto his shoulder, scared of falling to my death as he continued to talk.

“I thought you might have been one, since I haven’t seen you here before.” He paused, “I have been here for almost 500 years now and if it wasn’t for Haenami, I would have never been chosen as the clan leader. She taught me how to control my anger and trust our clan members.  Haenami has been my mate for 200 years, and to this day she still tends to surprise me and teach me new things.” He laughed.

“I truly am sorry about before. I was blinded by hatred and thought the humans killed Haenami. I was looking for the survivors when I found you, but I thought you were a traitor since I have never seen you before on this land.” He sounded sincere.

“When we land at the new site we will treat your ankle and any other injury I may have given you. I feel aweful for what I have done. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

I nodded to him and felt him dive down toward the cloud of mist below us. I grabbed his neck to hold on as I felt myself fall with him. I squealed a little in fear as the moisture rippled through my fur and stung my eyes. As we lowered through the mist I couldn’t see anything for several moments. Then just below us I could see the water of the lake that the waterfall spilled into. We then few right into the waterfall and I jumped as I prepared to hit the rocks on the other side. I shut my eyes and gripped the suicidal Daegom’s neck tightly. I wanted to yell at him to stop, but before I knew it we were in a cave and he set me down in a large creatures arms who brought me to room that was carved into the rock of the cave. The room was filled with herbs and bowls of liquids and various materials. The few plants in pots and other strings of medicinal herbs and vines were attached to the walls and hanging on the ceiling.

The room was warm and the smells were relaxing. The large bull faced creature put me on a flat rock covered in thick, soft, moss.

“Your ankle isn’t broken, or else you would be crying right now.” I had forgotten about my ankle it since Daegom had picked me up in the forest, so I looked down and saw that it had become twice its size, and then felt a subtle ache, pulse through my toes and up my leg. I touched it lightly with my cold fingers and tried to flex my foot lightly but the sharp pain sparked in my nerves and made me jump. The large creature in the room with me was at a table filled with medicine bottles and strange objects and materials. He was tall and thick, with strong legs that had hard stumps instead of feet, and a large bull like head with thick fur and had tribal like decorations hanging from the base of the horns on his head.

“Take this; it will help with the pain.” He handed me a slippery green root that oozed in my fingers.

“Eat it.” He urged.

 I looked at him nervously. He raised an eyebrow and turned away toward the table. I licked my lips in preparation, then I placed the entire root in my mouth and felt a strange numbness in my gums and then my tongue began to tingle. The root was strong and bitter but only for a moment, and then my taste buds were numbed and I couldn’t taste anything. I chewed the root and swallowed trying not to bite my tongue. I coughed as the slime glided down my throat and tingled the walls of my esophagus.

“Now drink this.” He handed me freshly picked leaf that was twisted into a cup that contained fresh water from the waterfall outside. I drank it down quickly and felt the numbness on my mouth and throat reduce slightly but still felt like it was coated in cotton.

“My name is Yak, what’s yours?” He introduced as he took a bowl of thick, red liquid with gobs of black seeds or herbs meshed into it, and rubbed it into my ankle with his warm fingers. His touch was painful at first, but then the strange medicine took effect and the pain subsided and was soon gone. When he was done he took a ripped grey and brown cloth and wrapped my ankle it. I smiled at him as he finished wrapping my ankle.

“Do I frighten you?” He looked at me expecting an answer.

 I shook my head in response.

“Then what is your name?” He asked again.

 I looked away and opened my mouth. A chirping barking sound came out and he nodded.

 “I see.” He said and put a hand on my white fur colored shoulder. “You forgot to give yourself a voice.” He laughed. “My grandmother was the same. Her clan traveled for days to the next village to get the Mage to give her a voice.” He stood up and went to the far corner of the room to grab a large, thick blanket.

“While you’re here we can teach you a few signs and motions that are universal to all creatures so you have an alternate way of communication. Just until you get you voice, of course.” He handed me the soft blanket. “Your fur is still wet and you feel very cold. Use that to warm up.”

I wrapped the blanket around my body and felt instantly warmer.

“Sachi.” I heard my name called as Haenami walked in the room. “I’m glad you’re alright. The rest of the group with be here soon.” I smiled, glad to see someone I knew. She glanced at Yak and froze.

“You’re the medicine man?” She asked stunned at his massive structure of rippling muscles and lack of clothing. He smiled at her and nodded his head. She gave a weak half smile as I stared at her expression and tried not to laugh.

He was several heads taller than me and his body was nothing but pure muscle and strength. He wore a hanging flap of fabric on his hips to cover his manly hood and his backside. He also had a tribal looking necklace around his neck and a few ropes draw across his body with various items and plants tied and hanging from them. They must be the most important types of medicine for on hand use.  He turned to me as Haenami left the room.

“You can leave, just be careful when walking on that ankle. And don’t take the wrapping off until you can walk normally without pain. I would guess about 9 to 10 days.” He said staring at my ankle.

“Sachi.” I heared my name called from outside the room. Yak looked at the door, “You better go.”

I smiled then slowly lifted my body up and tried to stand. It didn’t hurt much at all. I walked to the door slowly and felt just a little irritation in my ankle, but I could walk on my own, so I followed the voice that called me and found Haenami. She was in a separate room, trying to move some furniture and pressing a large moss covered flat rock, like the one in the medicine room, against another identical rock that was wedged against a wall.  She looked up as I entered the room.

“Oh good, you’re here.” He gave one more lunge into the rock and it slammed against the other to form one large flat surface. I jumped at the loud slam as it rang in my ears.

“Can you help me with the blankets?” She asked as she turned to look at the opposite wall with a few blankets on the ground. “The others haven’t gotten here yet, besides Hwajay, but he is helping Deagom with something.”  I took the blanket from my shoulders and placed it on the ground, feeling quite warm now. I walked to the pile and lifted a blanket, not sure what she meant. I gave a small bark and she looked at me.

“Lay them on the moss please. I’m going to turn this into a bed, but I can’t do it alone since I have paws, instead of hands.” She gave a small laugh and flicking her tail in amusement. “I guess I made a mistake when I made my body. Don’t you think so? Thumbs would have been nice.” She sighed as I nodded and laid the blanket on the rock bed. “Put the other two on it too. It seems a bit cold in here.” She sniffed the air, as I placed the other blankets on the bed.

“Jonsa and Eijong are here.” She said leaving the room to greet them at the entrance. I followed to see them both out of breath and wet from the waterfall. Eijong flicked the water from his tail and shook his horse body of droplets.

“Ha! Guess we don’t need to wash up then, huh, Jonsa?” He said nudging Jonsa’s wet shoulder as he laughed. Jonsa glared at him angrily.

“How could you be joking at a time like this!” He said pushing Eijong back with all four arms, and Eijong stumbled back, surprised. Jonsa dropped back to the floor and flicked his tail angrily then stalked off to the back of the cave, shaking the water from his fur.

“Jonsa…” Haenami called to him as he passed her. She sighed and turned to Eijong, who was walking over to us with a hand rubbing his head and looking at the floor.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize he was so emotional today. It’s not like he’s never seen an attack before you know.” He said staring off at Jonsa as he rounded the back of the cave and disappeared into a tunnel.

“Well this is the first one that nearly killed Kamokeh. That’s probably why he didn’t walk with her on the way here. He didn’t want her to see him upset over her.” Haenami defended. I stood next to her noticing her head was as high as mine. I suddenly felt a shudder of intimidation run over my bones.

“Well that’s true. The group is going to have a difficult time recovering from this attack. It was one of the worst ones all year.” He said crossing his arms.

“It was the worst attack I’ve seen in ten years, Eijong. At least Daegom has returned. I just wish he got here a day sooner.” She sighed lightly and glanced at me. “But we lost the Mage.”

“For now you will have to wait, Sachi.” Eijong said to me frowning.

He patted me on the shoulder, but before I could respond I flicked my ears up at the sound of footsteps splashing in water. We all looked at the entrance. Hwajay flew in, though I can’t recall him ever leaving. It was the first time I had ever paid attention to the details of how he flew. Even when we were running to the village after we heard the screaming, I wasn’t paying attention to how he got there so fast, but now I understood. He didn’t have wings, he just floated in the air with his body moving through it like ripples of water. He was so fluid with his movements it was nearly hypnotizing. He landed on his front legs first, rather than his back legs followed suit with the rest of his body as it came down to the ground behind him. He tail was still hanging out of the waterfall as the rest of the group entered. Iri and Kemi hustled through the watery entrance, and Kisang hopped in behind them. Inau came in last holding Ounsu in her arms, shielding her from the water fall. They all headed in different directions, like they knew exactly where to go.  

I watched Kisang hop by me with a smile as she hopped into a room across from the medicine room. Inau walked by irritated and marched off into a smaller room near the back of the cave by the tunnel that Jonsa went in, but Ounsu flew from her arms and flew up to a small nest that was built on a ledge of a rock that protruded out of the wall near the ceiling. I looked up and saw how high it was, and realized that the only ones who could ever reach her nest would be those who could fly. Too bad I didn’t give myself that ability. I thought envious of Haenami, Ounsu, Daegom, and Hwajay. I never saw Kemi fly but because of her beetle like wings on her back I figured she could fly as well.

“Where is Ambyok and Kamokeh?” Haenami asked Eijong.

“Uhhh…”He looked back.

“They’re hunting a mountain goat for dinner.” Hwajay cut in as he sat near the entrance, now with his tail wrapped around him in a puddle of water. He shook his fur and sprayed us with droplets. I squeaked in surprise and backed away. “I saw them on my way back.”

“Hey knock it off, Hwajay, we just got dry only moments ago.” Haenami spoke.

“Yea man, do we smell so bad that you need to give us a second shower?” Eijong laughed as he trotted off to his room next to Kisang.

Haenami sat down and licked the back of her paw and began to groom herself. I stood there like a fool, not knowing where to go. I watch Hwasang groom his large flowing body. I traced his body from his head to his tail, following his curves and movements as he washed the water off his fur. I couldn’t look away until Haenami spread her wings up in the air, blocking my view and drew them in front of her as she began to clean them.      

I jumped slightly then remembered that I needed to find a room. I cleared my throat to get her attention. She paused and looked at me. I pointed to myself then pointed to the other rooms. I made small chirps while I tried to speak. She drew in a quick breath as her eyes grew wide.

“Oh! Sachi, I’m sorry I forgot. Your room is next to Inau’s room, at the end of the cave, just before the tunnels. That was our Mage’s room before….now, but since she is no longer with us, I supposed it will do for now.”

I went to my room and heard Inau talking in a low voice from her room. I looked up at the nest above us and saw Ounsu’s tail curling from side to side off the edge of the nest. If she wasn’t talking to Ounsu, then who was she talking to? I didn’t see anyone enter her room. I figured she must be talking to herself, and tried to listen to what she was saying, though it was quite hard to hear her through the wall.

“…Come here? We have other tribes we could have gone to. But they choose this cold cave to go to. We didn’t even get to find the others who escaped. How are they supposed to know that we are here? We had other relocation plans but…..”

 I pulled my ear away and realized why she looked so upset when she walked in. She must really want to meet up with the rest of the clan. I looked around the room and saw that the tables were filled with bottles of random objects and animal parts. Some were eyes, some were claws, and others were filled with things I couldn’t recognize. I backed away a bit freaked out. I fell back on the moss covered bed as Yak showed up in the door way.

“Haenami sent me to clear out the Mage’s stuff for you.” He said as he entered the room. I sat there quietly as he took each container and placed it carefully in a bag that looked to be made of woven rope.

“You should go see Inau. She knows Sign Language. She can teach it to you and help you communicate with the group. She was teaching us all a few signs to help us communicate if ever we needed to be quite due to dangerous situations or something.” He reached up and grabbed some bottles that were placed on the rocks that protruded out of the wall then left the room.

I lay down on the mossy bed and wondered if Inau would be in the mood to help me. She seemed distant and angry most of the time. I perked my ear up against the walls but heard nothing. Wondering if she had left her room, I got up and saw everyone chatting with each other in random small groups of two or three in the large main hall. I saw Inau and Jonsa sitting against a wall, and Jonsa looked like he was venting to her about something.  She would nod every few seconds and say something back to him. Then she glanced up at me and we stared at each other for a few seconds. Jonsa looked at me for a moment and then gave a small crooked smile . I quickly looked away and felt my face go hot, with embarrassment. I walked away with no specific place to go, just to get out of their line of sight. I walked to Kisang, who was talking with Eijong. I stood next to them as they discussed how horrible the humans have become.

“They were so scared of us when they first saw us.” She explained, “Then they grew in numbers and became greedy, trying to push us out of our lands.”

“Killing our kind seems to be a game to them.” Eijong added. “Disgusting humans.”

“They think we started this war. Blaming us for their deaths and sicknesses.”

“Ironic, since they are the ones give us the diseases, rather than the other way around.”

“I just wish it could stop.” Kisang sighed and glanced at the floor. Eijong placed a hand on her burgundy scaled shoulder.

“It will. As soon as we attack them and show them how strong we are, they will be too scared to bother us ever again.”

We all turned to the entrance of the cave when a splash of water caught our attention. Kamokeh walked to us happily with a bow in her hand and some blood on her arm and shoulder. She wore a cloth the same as me but her top was wrapped a little differently and covered more of her stomach than mine. Her thick, long, fanged tail swayed behind her, leaving a dripping wet trail. Ambyok climbed in after her with two rams in one hand and a large doe in the other.

“Were back!” Kamokeh said a bit out of breath.

“It’s about time we’re starving.” Jonsa called to her smiling.

“Wow you brought more than I expected.” Haenami glided to them quickly and took a ram from Ambyok to help carry the load. Ambyok nearly dropped the other ram when Haenami pulled one out from under his arm.

“Good, job you two.” Daegom said, suddenly appearing from a dark room in the back of the cave.

“Give them some space to put it.” Kisang ordered, as she cleared a spot on the floor.

They all stepped back and gave an opening for the corpses. When they put them down, Daegom walked over and blew air at the meat slowly. The air he blew was hazed and thick. I could feel the heat rise in the room and the fur of the corpses melted off and then began to steam. A thick scent of cooked meat rose in the cave and we all began to lick our lips as our bellies grumbled.

The group dove for the corpses and ripped the meat off of the bones as they took a hunk of meat and went somewhere else to eat it. I headed over to the doe and pulled at the meat on the thigh. It took a bit of strength to rip it off, but after a few pulls I was able to detach it. I chewed on it as I sat next to the wall of my room, and began to watch everyone else chat and eat with each other. I studied their habits and how they acted with one another. Ounsu was very close to Inau and Kisang, but she rarely talked to the bigger more dangerous creatures. She must’ve felt intimidated by their size. Kisang was friendly to everyone but in different ways. With Eijong, she was flirty and liked to bump him and make jokes, but when Kemi came toward them, both Kisang and Eijong stopped joking as much and talked more seriously. Jonsa and Kamokeh talked nearly the entire time, but they didn’t flirt; they just smiled and enjoyed their chat with a few laughs here and here. Daegom and Haenami were in each other’s arms, taking turns snuggling and tickling one another like newlyweds, even though they have been together for decades.  Iri went to Kemi and hugged her from behind as she talked to Kisang and Eijong after they were done eating. Yak was even enjoying a good laugh as he tried to make a joke with Inau, but she just looked at him like he was crazy. Then he reached down shook her droopy ears which made her smile and giggle as she tried to shoo his hands away. I watched her look at him with big eyes as she said something and then went in to hug him. He knelt down and hugged her small body. She nearly disappeared completely in his large muscular arms. He was the only one I’ve seen so far that could make her smile, and her smile was very beautiful, despite her odd body shape and stone colored skin.  

I looked to the waterfall and realized that Ambyok was sitting alone as he looked at the scene beyond the waterfall. He was truly quite a large creature. His tall and thick tree like structure caused him to stand out of the crowd more than any other. Even though he looked strong and powerful, he seemed to be so sad like something was bothering him. I took the last bit of meat and shoved it in my mouth before I got up and started to walk toward him, when suddenly a loud voice interrupted me.

“Alright! Listen up.” Daegom announced over the mass of voices. “We need to live in safety away from human danger and lower the chances of being killed. So I decided that tomorrow morning we will head out and go to the other tribes and clans. There, we will gather up as many creatures as we can to help us form a small army to fight the humans.” Everyone looked wide eyed at his words. “We will go to the Village at the base of Sora Mountain and train for battle. Those who do not fight will become craftsman and medicine men, ready to aid those who get injured in the fight.”

“Why don’t we just leave and not risk the chance of them killing us all?” Eijong asked.

“They need to leave our area, for the sake of Namu. If we leave then there will be no one to help the newly born pups of Namu, and they could die and never experience life.” Daegom explained. “That Mother-Tree is ours to protect, and we must carry out that responsibility, just like every other clan is doing right now with their own Mother tree.” He said. Every one listened in silence. “Many of those Mother-trees have already been destroyed by these humans, and I will not give up on Namu! I can’t handle that kind of disappointment. When those trees are gone, there will be no way for a new star to make their own body. Why would we take that away from them?” He asked. “To spare our lives and protect a life that has already lived? That’s not a good enough reason to give up on them.” He paused and looked at us for a long moment. “This is our duty and I will not allow any of us to stand back and watch Namu get killed by some filthy humans! If you don’t have what it takes to defend her, then leave now.” He stared all of us down with his bright yellow eyes. No one moved. He smiled

“I’m glad we have a good group with us.” Haenami added.

“How long do we have to train, Daegom?” Hwajay asked.

“As soon as we are fit for battle, we will attack. That may be anywhere from 3 weeks to a month.” He estimated. “Are there any more questions?” He looked around the group who seemed were standing tall and smiling with eager expressions and ready minds after his inspirational speech. “Alright, continue resting for today. We will leave tomorrow at dawn.”

The group cheered and jumped around. Excited to teach those humans a lesson, and defend their Mother-tree.

Haenami followed her mate to their room with her wings raised, possibly to make herself seem bigger than she actually was. It worked. She looked more intimidating now as she entered her room. I felt an excitement grow inside me. I wanted to learn to fight and become powerful like the rest of the group. I also wanted to be a hunter like Kamokeh, and have my very own bow and arrow. I now felt a sudden motivation to learn how to sign and communicate. I searched the room for Inau, but she was gone. I headed to her room but Jonsa blocked my path.

“Hey.” He said with a half-smile. “How is your ankle? You don’t seem to be limping as much as you were before, so the herbs that Yak gave you must be working.” He said lightly touching my ankle.

I flicked my tail at his touch and he pulled away. I bit my lip and gave a nervous smile at him as he apologized. He sat down and wrapped his long tail around his legs. His two middle legs gestured in between his two front legs as he spoke.

“So you got the Mage’s old room? Well that must be nice. Before we lost some of our members, we had to sleep in the rooms at the back of the tunnels, where it’s colder and darker. One time we even had to share a room because there were so many of us. We split up after that to reduce the clutter. That group is now at the base of Sora mountain, where we are going to train.” He continued. I nodded to him and waited for him to finish. “You know, if you ever need someone to talk….I mean….sit with, then I’m always here.” He offered. I smiled at him and he gave a quick smile then added, “Well, have a good day then, I’m going to talk to Kamokeh. I’ll…I’ll just be right over…over there.” He stuttered as he pointed to a wall across my room where Kamokeh sat and cleaned her arrows as the mouth on the end of her tail licked its lips from the meal it just ate. I smiled at him as he trotted away with his long blue tipped tail dragged behind him.

When he left I continued toward Inau’s room and poked my head through her doorway. She was sitting at her desk swiping a chipped knife with a cloth wrapped handle on smooth stone for sharpening. She jumped at the sight of me and he ears perked to the sides for a quick moment then dropped back down. She pushed her short, straight, white hair back behind her floppy ear and took a breath before speaking. I sensed her irritation and suddenly felt that my need to communicate wasn’t so important.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, then waved her grey hand in front of her face, “Oh, never mind, I know why you’re here.” She stood up and dropped her knife and stone on the table and came to me.

“It’s not good manners to just poke your head into someone’s room, you know.” She said folding her arms in front of her chest.

I twitched my nose and looked at the ground feeling a bit guilty at the bad start.

“You want me to teach you Sign Language don’t you?” She asked after a moment. I looked up and gave a small nod. “Who told you? Was it Jonsa?” I shook my head confused why it mattered. “It was probably Yak then.” She went to her bed and patted moss next to her as she sat down. I stared at her like a dummy in the middle of the door way. Was she trying to say that the moss was squishy? Or soft? Maybe showing me that she had a bed? I didn’t see the relevance in this situation.

“This means to come and sit where I patted my hand.” She said impatiently, when I didn’t move. I walked quickly over to her and sat on her bed. I felt dumb, but eager to learn more.

“Alright let’s start with the basics shall we?” Then we started to sign.     

I learned from her more words than I could remember and she constantly tested me. She would lightly smack my hand if I got the answer wrong which made my tail flick like crazy in annoyance. She laughed at my irritation and after I remembered the majority of her words and was able to put together simple sentences by linking different signs together, she taught me what name-signs were and showed me the name sign for each individual. I was amazed by how much I learned and how easy it seemed to be. As she tried to think of a new sign for my name-sign, I realized how stiff my body was from sitting for so long. I stood up and tried to stretch, but it didn’t help much.

“Keep stretching, it will feel better soon.” Inau said as she got up and joined me. Then she stopped and smiled. “Hey.” She said. “I thought of your name-sign.” She then took her hand and made the sign ‘secret’ but instead of tapping her lips, she tapped her jaw bone.

 “Because you can’t talk, and you’re a girl.” She smiled and shrugged. I smiled as I signed my name sign a few times so I wouldn’t forget it.

“Thank you.” I signed to her. She replied with sign language rather than her voice, “Your welcome, have a good night.”

I left and looked at the waterfall that had become dark. We must have been signing all day long, though it only felt like a few hours. I went to my room and lay on my bed, covering myself with a blanket that was left at the base of the bed, and then fell asleep on the soft moss.