Chapter Text
I definetly think they're scared. But I think they're just perpetually normally in a state of being scared. It's probably natural for them. I mean, they're a soft, squishy, fragile thing that could almost certainly get hurt really easily. And on their home planet there's probably lots of animals and circumstances that would be incredibly dangerous for a little goober.
At least, this theory makes the most sense.
The more I speculate about my saving grace the less of a hero they seem to be. This is… honestly probably a good thing. Don't want me keeping my hopes up too high. After all, I had hoped this mission wouldn't have everybody else die and me begin to get sick like them.
It would be alot more comforting if my saving grace could watch me sleep. Or if they would let me watch them sleep. I mean, I am. They're muttering something. I'm trying to figure out what they're saying, but we just haven't talked enough yet. And they're really dumb. They haven't picked up nearly as much as I have of their language. Not that I could do as much without what Adrian has taught me.
Word order can be different in different languages. This also can get complicated with the fact that most languages on Erid have you saying several words at the same time, where the overtones are describing the undertones and providing additional detail (like whether something is high quality or low quality or simple or inticate to use) to whatever you're describing, but from what I've heard listening to my saving Grace is that they're only able to make one or two fundamental notes at a time, and they create "words" by changing the "shape" of the sound and all of the harmonic frequencies, I think with the shape of the larger cavity on their sensory organ. it creates something very muddy and difficult to understand but I think I'm getting it.
But I digress. Word order and sentence structure. Grace can only say one word at a time because of how their body and vocal systems work. In language, each sentence requires you to have λ things: a verb (a thing that is being done), an object (what the thing is being done to), and a subject (what is doing a thing). I think. This is Adrians department, they just explained it to me once. With λ components, this leaves us with Iℓ different potential sentence structures. VOS, VSO, OSV OVS, SVO, SOV. Earlier when I was showing Grace my understanding of chemistry they held the oxygen model and said what I now know was "This is my air". "This" was what I think the subject of that sentence, "is" the verb (probably something about labeling a thing) and "air" was the 'object'. It was not the easiest sentence to go off of but it was one of the most simple ones I could remember, and comparing others came to the same conclusion. So, when I'm talking to grace, I need to go with a SVO structure.
The reason I'm working this out is because Grace is dumb. And I need to be able to communicate with Grace on their level. And something like the order of a sentence has a fair chunk of significance within meaning. "<Rocky> watch Adrian" and "Adrain watch <Rocky>" could actually mean the same thing, depending on where your language puts the subject in the sentence. And I want to make sure that there is as little miscommunication with Grace because I want to go have this astrophage dealt with because I am sick of living alone on a big spaceship surrounded by my long dead friends and an alien who is a very fragile prey creature and could die at any moment and I WANT TO GO HOME.
I sat and waited at the airlock between our atmospheres doing these speculative things for a while. I'm expecting to wait VV l λI seconds. My saving Grace appears only IV∀ℓ seconds late.
They have something in their hand. It's a block of coil. but the coil is flat. I lift my carapace higher. It looks interesting. The mechanic in me wants to learn all about it. Why is there a coil in that container. What does it do?
Then Grace pulls out part of the "tape". they let go. And it falls right back in. the tape retracts. this is cool. This is so cool! We have stuff that's similar but not exactly. I gesture for Grace to put it in the small airlock at the bottom of our dividing wall. (I trust them enough use it now).
They chuck their hand in, drop the retractable as I'm going to call it, and immediately pull their hand away. I slink back slightly. The coolant system I have for the airlock is powered by astrophage. And while astrophage's temperature is probably far easier for Grace to deal with than my own, I think it still hurts them.
Of course it still hurts them! This is my saving grace. They are more fragile than an unborn pebble!
When the airlock cycles and the tape measure gets to my side of the wall a wad of part of the material has melted. I kind of show it to Grace. They move their shoulders up and down. It's a new gesture. I copy it. Then I flick the liquid away and take a look at this mechanism.
It's facinating. and exhilarating. And fun! I test speed, the reaction to the energy discharge, how far out it can unravel… Grace is talking the whole time but I'm barely listening.
"cere Yeh ark fute imersenteat The los t’s CERS TIMERS TET"
I have learnt that increasing the volume of their speech is how Grace stresses importance. So when they do so, I finally stop to listen.
"Do you see the numbers?"
I don't understand. What numbers? Are you talking about counting the amount of times the tape is coiled over?
He pulls out the coil slightly and taps at it, frustrated. I copy the gesture. I don't think I'm doing it corrently though because they've still got that heighted volume voice.
"Rocky, oh my gdo. Are you bnldi?!"
I have no idea what they're saying.
"No understand word" I say.
"Wait are you bnldi?" They continue. "It is dkra…"
"I don't know what you're saying." I reply. I think I end up copying their heightened-volume for adgitation habit.
They put one finger up and tell me to wait. I know what "wait" means. They didn't have to tell me as many times as they did. I leaned forward, hoping that by being closer to the wall they would understand that I didn't want them gone for long.
"Don't go anywhere. stay."
I do. The retracting coil does not. It gives out and the tape bangs around the space while all that energy is unleashed. But I don't pay too much attention anymore. My focus is on Grace. Who finally introduces themself, and tells me the human word for their name.
"Oh, Yeah, uhm, I'm <Grace>"
I Proudly stand up the best I can considering we're not in gravity and announce my own name.
"My name is Ro—"
They interupt me. Rude!
"I'm gonna call you rocky. because… you know, you look like a giant rock."
They stumble and continue walking away.