"They're speaking English, Drasuk!"
I yell back as loud as I can. "Kira. Who are you?"
I wait a beat, switch back to Drakonid, and ask what he heard. "What did they say?"
"'Ree,' I think. There were many, many more words than that, so I assume she must be human."
"Yes! I know her, Drasuk. Pick me up already and move those feet."
"Are you sure you can trust her?"
"Yes. Just go, glitter lizard."
He grumbles, but he does what I ask.
Ree and I keep calling each other's names back and forth, but it takes very little time to reach each other.
Probably because she's riding a giant orange cat thing like she's He-Man. A tiny, very excited looking female He-Man.
"Kira!"
It's all she manages to say because she's all choked up.
"Greetings, soldier Kira," the cat rumbles out.
A sharp pain and I'm speaking his harsh language. "Hello. I assume you must be the manticorid we've been looking for?"
Ree finds her voice. "He is. Did you really just use the cat dinner bell to find us?"
"Well, it worked, didn't it? Sorry I don't have any Fancy Feast."
We both start cackling at that.
She wipes tears from her eyes and speaks again. "This is Thivoll."
Then she slides off Thivoll's back and rushes over to me. I slip out of Drasuk's arms and then crush her to me in a hug and pat her back as she cries. I'll admit to spilling a few tears myself.
I never thought I would see her again. Not really.
46
Drasuk
Kira introduces me and then they talk about incomprehensible things for a while longer, and not because I don't understand the language.
"I only know a few words of Drakonid," Thivoll admits.
Typical.
"We can't keep speaking in a language he doesn't understand," Ree replies. "It's rude."
I like the manticorid's choice in mate. Not as alluring as Kira, but far more thoughtful.
Kira snorts out a breath weighed down with disgust, instantly providing a perfect example. "His language is ridiculously literal. You talk in circles all day."
My tail twitches at her continual insistence that my language is at fault.
She seems to find any possible way to disguise her message, so it's little wonder she doesn't understand the beauty of words matching their meaning.
