#atum 2

Though I knew it couldn’t understand me, I greeted it anyway. It seemed to understand the meaning, however, as I could just faintly see a smile behind the teeth of the helmet it wore. It said something back to me, though obviously I couldn’t understand it. Seeming to know that, the stranger dug through its bag for a moment before pulling out a stack of strange white papyrus and a stick of charcoal with a triumphant sound. It looked around for a moment before holding up a hand, seemingly wanting me to wait. Bemused, I watched as it looked around for a moment before huffing and sinking to the floor, scribbling something on the papyrus.

When it showed it to me, the papyrus had markings on it, along with an arrow pointing to the stranger. It pointed to the markings on the paper, and then to itself, before saying something in that garbled language. I raised an eyebrow, deciding to humor it. My tasks for the day were done anyway, and I wasn’t needed again until midafternoon. I attempted to repeat back what it had said, and its wings fluttered in what I presume was excitement as it nodded rapidly. It repeated the sound, probably a word, though slower this time, while once again pointing to itself. I tried again, this time much closer to how the stranger had said it.

Suddenly, I realized what it was trying to do. I believe the stranger was attempting to communicate with me, starting with what it called itself. The strange markings and the sound must be its name, both in a written and spoken form. I tried the sound again, this time almost perfectly mimicking the stranger’s pronunciation. It nodded again, smiling widely, before repeating the name with some more words attached. Before I could question it, it pointed to me and made a questioning noise.

I believe it wanted my name in return, though I didn’t wish to let it have so much power over me. I hesitated, not sure how to explain my dilemma, before deciding to give it my everyday name. It was still my name, just not one the stranger could take advantage of if it did turn out to be a demon of some sort. I pointed to myself and said as clearly as I could, “Khata”. The stranger tilted its head, almost like a cat would, before attempting to repeat.

“Kaahta?” it said, the syllables sitting strangely on its tongue. I shook my head and spoke more clearly, hoping it would follow easier. “K...Kha....Khatah?” it tried. I smiled, though I’m sure it couldn’t see behind the faceplate I wore. I waved my hand in a sort of so-so motion, hoping it understood the gesture. “Khata!” it said. I clapped my hands together gently and nodded, watching its wings flutter. It pointed to me and said my name again, before pointing to itself and repeating its own name.

With ‘introductions’ out of the way, it resumed scribbling on its strange papyrus sheets. It seemed frustrated at the lack of dexterity its claws provided, huffing at them before pulling at its hand. Despite being fairly certain it was just armor, I still moved to stop it, afraid it would injure itself. Before I could, the claws came off, revealing it to just be a gauntlet. With the gauntlet removed, I could see it had regular human hands, though they seemed a bit rough and scarred. I suppose it wasn’t that pale, but compared to the deep brown of the bandits and the ashen grey of myself and my fellow Efreet, it definitely seemed that way.

I refocused on the stranger, eyes widening as it pulled off the helmet it wore, revealing a man much younger than I would have assumed. He had deep green hair, the color of the palm leaves in the scattered oases, and eyes of a brown so light they seemed almost golden. His face was smudged with sand and sweat where the helmet hadn’t covered, and I almost laughed at the sight he made. Like this, he didn’t seem so much of a threat, even with his wings and massive greatsword still on display.

The stranger, Tai-Lehr, resumed scribbling on the papyrus, hand moving much smoother now that his gauntlets were removed. Peering over his shoulder, I could see a rough sketch of a khitther drone taking shape. He pointed at the drawing when he noticed me looking, saying something that sounded a bit like ‘murr-mex’. I frowned slightly, deciding to settle on the ground next to him. “Khitther,” I informed him, looking away from the drawing. Even just an image of a khitther beetle had my skin crawling, and I didn’t want to look at it too long.

He tilted his head again, this time the action making him seem more like a child than a cat. “K...Kitter?” he tried. Before I could respond, he shook his head. “Kitther,” he corrected. It was close enough, and I told him so with another soft clap. He smiled again, eyes glinting slightly. He turned his attention back to his drawing, this time drawing a Sunspeaker faceplate.

He made another questioning noise, tapping the picture gently. I pursed my lips, unsure of how to answer this one. The distinction between Sunspeakers and Efreet was barely there, as all Efreet had been Sunspeakers since their creation by Ra. I wasn’t sure if he was asking what we called ourselves, what the mask itself was called, or what the species behind the mask was called. He seemed to notice my confusion and shook his head, crossing it out. It seemed we would get back to that one. Instead, he set aside the papyrus, shifting his weight so he was facing me.

He laid a hand on his chest, presumably indicating himself. “Tai-Lehr. Hyumahn,” he said, patting the scales on his chest. He then pointed to me, the gesture feeling much less threatening without his clawed gauntlets. “Khata. Hyumahn?” he asked, tilting his head again in that questioning way. I was confused at first, not sure what he was asking. Was he still trying to figure out if I was like him?

I shook my head, deciding to give it a go. “Tai-Lehr, hyumahn. Khata Efreet,” I said, laying my hand on my chest. He looked puzzled for a moment, tilting his head the other way.

“Khata.....eyefreet? Eifreet?” he tried. I shook my head.

“Efreet.”

“Eifreet.”

Once again, close enough. I nodded, clapping again. “Tai-Lehr hyumahn, Khata Efreet.” He grinned at me, a lopsided thing that only made him look younger. Just how old was he? He couldn’t be more than twenty, not with a face that young. Which just begs the question, why is he here? Why not at home with his family? Do Hyumahns even have families? They must, right?