Going to keep my dibs if you all don't mind. I'm not quite done with what I was writing, but I thought I'd put down what I have so far. Not much more to go, just don't have the time to write it it at this exact moment.
New Frontiers
Natan's eyes held hers, and Argent saw his hand start to move, pushing the branch down against the trigger mechanism.
Pure instinct took over.
Male. In danger... made worse by the fact that it was likely her fault.
Argent was airborne before she realized it. She came down hard, but was able to land on her feet, collapsing to a crouch to absorb the impact. Springing up, she saw Natan's eyes go wide as he stumbled back, continuing to push on the trigger.
The Loroi acted fluidly, without thought. With less than a solon to act, she snatched the barrel of the weapon. Unfortunately, given the angle of her arm and the tightness of the chamber, the only direction the muzzle could go was directly towards her.
Click.
Both Loroi and human froze, staring at each other, shocked. Argent's left hand clutched the barrel of the primitive weapon, its end resting underneath her chin. Natan's left hand gripped the stock just below hers; his right still angled the stick through the trigger mechanism.
Their eyes traveled down the length of the weapon; the trigger was depressed, the hammer had fallen.
Natan blinked, let go of the branch, and took a shaky breath. Argent slowly, ever so slowly, levered the barrel to the side, away from her. Natan held onto the weapon, causing his arm to be drawn across his body, between them.
Adrenaline coursed behind her eyes, and the initiate could see the same intense look in his... so similar and yet so different. Each had been ready to meet death mere moments before. Something had to be done, she realized through the haze of chemicals, or this might turn violent. Reaching up, Argent gently laid an open palm on the side of Natan's face. His flesh was noticeably warm.
To a Loroi, it would be a grave assault and most assuredly guarantee a fight, but Argent knew that he was different, and without language she could only hope that she could somehow get him to understand that she meant him no harm. Quite the opposite, in fact. She released the weapon, and brought her left hand to the other side of his face, matching her right.
Natan flinched, but did not pull away. Closing here eyes, she focused every last bit of energy she could into her sanzai.
Ally.
Nothing... blankness. She might as well have been sending to a wall. But, after a few solon, Natan's whole body shuddered, and he let the weapon drop with a clatter against the smooth walls. He grabbed Argent's wrists, pulling them away from his face. His grip was surprisingly strong. She opened her eyes to see him an utterly shocked expression on his face.
"Ally," she repeated aloud, hoping something got through to the male.
Argent gently pulled her arms towards herself, prompting Natan to let go. He stood, breathing heavily, watching her with a wary eye.
As she caught her own breath and the rush of adrenaline subsided, the thoughts of the others crashed in around her.
Leader, are you hurt?!
Argent, what happened?
Did the male attack you?
The Loroi sent a rough summary of what happened to her fellows, along with an image of the chamber where Natan had fallen. The smooth, ever slightly luminescent cermet walls marked it as a Soia structure. There had been plenty in the town where she had been raised. Long since thoroughly analyzed and stripped of any useful technology, they were mostly used for decorative purposes. This, however, was an undiscovered site. It would need to be reported… eventually.
Now though, there were more pressing problems. Natan looked at her with the distrust of a wild animal, ready to run at a moment’s notice.
Coldfire, get the communicator as quickly as you can.
I thought you said you were going to…
Now, Coldfire.
Argent barely had a notion of what she was going to do, much less a cogent plan that she could relay to her second. But an idea was forming, and time was of the essence.
===========
Nathan watched Tin carefully as she backed away, looking up at the hole through which he had fallen. He shook his head again, trying to clear the utterly strange sensation that had filled it mere moments before. At first, nothing had happened when the girl clutched his face, but right as he was about to push her away, some… thing had happened.
The young man could not describe it. He sensed something, but it was in no way like anything he had experienced before. It was something like sight, but not sight. It certainly wasn’t sound, touch, or any of his other senses. But for a moment, amid all of his own fear, he could have sworn that he felt that same emotion from another direction… a fear that wasn’t his.
Was it her fear he felt? Could she do that?
A thought occurred. Maybe that was how these blue girls spoke with each other, only they did not have to touch each other. He had certainly seen the effects of it; they communicated and coordinated their actions without talking.
Tin gestured impatiently to her fellows outside, all the while glancing at him to make sure he… what? Didn’t attack her?
Nathan looked again at the musket. Either the primer or the powder got wet, he thought, just my luck.
But perhaps he was lucky. As his body wound down the adrenaline that had prepared him to take such a drastic action, Nathan replayed the sudden events that had just transpired. Tin had thrown herself into the chamber and risked her own life to pull the musket away from him. Had it not malfunctioned, one of them would be dead now, most likely her.
That’s not how you treat captives, he realized. There was something more here. This group could clearly survive on their own – any structure he built them would be nice, but not something they couldn’t live without. Why go so far to protect him?
Tin reached up, signaling to her fellows. Suddenly, a small black object fell from above into her waiting hands. Nathan tensed, ready to fight in case it was a weapon.
Turning to see his reaction, Tin said something in a soft, placating voice. Holding the object up so he could see it clearly, she pointed to its face which seemed to be made of black glass. Touching a finger to it made the glass light up with all sorts of bright shapes and colors.
The boy was awestruck; he had never seen anything like it. Smiling, Tin touched something else and lay the device flat between her palms. A bright light near the top of it came on, and suddenly a surface, seemingly made of light, came into being in the air over her hands.
Nathan couldn’t help himself. He reached a hand forward, touching the surface. Though he felt nothing, shadow formed where his hand crossed it, leaving a path of blue.
Tin laughed and touched something on the glass face. The blue lines he had left vanished.
She touched three symbols in sequence on the object, and they instantly appeared in the air over it, this time in green. Raising one hand, Tin pointed.
“Tin,” she said, then pointed to the characters in turn, making a “t,” short “i,” and “n” sound at each one.
It’s her name, in her language, the boy realized.
Then, she touched another spot on the object, and the surface was empty once more. Making a motion with her hand, she gestured for Nathan to draw on it.
“Tin,” she inclined her head towards the glowing plane.
Nathan struggled to remember the sweeping, curled letters he had just seen. There had been no pattern that he could discern. He tried drawing the sort of backwards “E” that had started Tin’s name when she gently pushed his hand away and shook her head. She cleared the surface and put her name back up in green, pointing at it.
“Tin,” she said, pointing at the name and her. Then, she made the surface blank again and pointed at him. “Tin,” she repeated, pointing at the surface, then emphatically at him.
Her name, but… me… he thought, but then it hit him. She wants me to write it in English!
Nodding his understanding, Nathan reached forward and drew on the surface with his finger.
T I N
The girl smiled widely, then brought the device closer so that she could examine the letters. Below the blue English letters, she placed her own version of her name in green. He noticed that it appeared from right to left. He pointed in the respective directions on both their names, and Tin nodded in understanding. She touched something else on the object, and the green characters in her own name reversed themselves.
“Tin,” she said, looking at him. Then, she touched a part of the device that made both sets of text raise further into the air. There was now black space below. The girl pointed at the space, then at Nathan.
“Natan.” She pointed again at the open space.
Understanding, Nathan drew his own name in the space, grateful for the many, many hours his mother had spent making sure that unlike many other frontier boys, he knew how to read and write.
N A T H A N
Tin drew the surface back almost before he had finished writing, studying the letters intently. Below the Ns and the Ts, she made the equivalent characters from her own name. The backwards E appeared below the T in his name, and what looked like a circle with horns fell into place below both Ns. The girl pointed at each, making the sound for T and N respectively. Nathan nodded his agreement.
Next, she pointed to the As, and what looked like a sideways Y with a dot appeared below them. She made the sound of a short “A.”
Nathaniel shook his head, and made a long "A" sound.
Tin tried to follow him, but what came out sounded like “eehhy.” Maybe she didn’t have that letter. “Ah,” he agreed, and the sideways Y characters stuck.
Now, only the H sat alone. Nathan pointed at it and made the sound. Tin only stared at him. He tried again. She shook her head… another one they didn’t have? The boy made a waving motion, hoping she’d understand that it didn’t matter. He pointed at the T, made the sound, then pointed at the H, making that sound, then pinched the letters together with his fingers, making a “TH” sound.
Tin blinked, completely lost. Looking away from the letters she tried to mimic the sound.
“Sh?” she tried inquisitively.
Nathan shook his head, and repeated the sound.
Tin tried, and failed miserably, even going so far as to spit a little as she struggled to emulate “TH.”
The boy couldn’t help but laugh. She looked at him sourly.
“Natan,” she said with a huff.
“Natan,” Nathan agreed. She reached over and closed the five strange characters together under the six English letters, then touched something else that made them reverse themselves in order. She smiled as she realized that she didn’t need to; they were the same in either direction.
She pushed something else on the object, and the lighted surface went away. Looking up at him, Tin’s face grew somber. She said something, indicating the both of them, and pointed toward the entrance. She pantomimed climbing, and walking, presumably back to camp. Then, she held up two hands, talking to each other like sock puppets. Nathan wanted to laugh at the spectacle, but the girl was serious. She continued, holding one hand toward him, and gestured in a back and forth motion.
Come back with us, and we will learn how to talk to one another. Nathan was fairly confident that this is what she intended.
Nathan nodded, and turned to pick up his musket, for once glad that it has misfired. Tin and her kind were difficult to understand, but he was confident now that they did not mean to enslave or abuse him, or at the very least, Tin did not, and she seemed to be in charge.
Besides… it was not as if he had any other options; if the powder was wet, then that meant his store of it was too. He may have one round left, but no way to fire it.
Tin looked at him but made no motion to take away his weapon. She nodded and turned back to the entrance, where a rope made of twisted creeper was being lowered down.