Issue 1 Downtime

"Sometimes things important, spirits make you listen..."

"...fair enough," she said as she let the matter go.

She raises her eyebrows. "You mean something else? Sometimes I not understand right..."

"It's nothing. Don't fret it."

"If you have question then it is better to ask. But yes, part of learning is making your thoughts closed to them. Spirits are everywhere always but we only want to hear when it is important."

"It doesn't matter. Wasn't a question about this anyway."

She nods.

"Oh! I am bad host. Bring you food but forget drink..." she suddenly changes the topic as she takes the water-skin slung over her shoulder and hands it to Sam. "Is honey-tea."

"You don't need to fuss. This is already fancier than I'm used to."

"Is important." She stops, missing the right word. "Show guests they are welcome."

"You've already done a lot for me, just letting me stay."

"Was thinking of me too. I was curious and maybe tomorrow you break camp and move."

"...probably would have," she admitted.

"And now you will not? Leave tomorrow?"

"Think I could stick around a bit," she said with a faint smile.

"Good!" she smiles. "Not good being alone for too long."

"So you keep saying."

"Because is hard to understand you living alone. Not why, but how."

"It's hard in some ways. It's easy in others."

"You can try differently now. Most not speak your language and I am sorry if arriving was big surprise but I hope you will like it..."

"I just hope you don't feel that way because of..." she trailed off.

She tilts her head slightly. "I can not keep listening when you stop talking." she smiles faintly.

"What I am, I mean."

"What you are is part of you. You mean if I brought you here because of your spirits? I only knew you were Skinwalker when I brought you and I not know when I came to your camp, yes?"

"But it's why you want me to stay."

"Hrm. Yes and no... Yes because it is not good to hear spirits but not know about them and I want to teach. And no because you are curious to me. I talk to your kind before and they are different, quick to anger and slow thinking and not listening. But you stay away from them too so I think maybe you not like them, maybe you more like us. And..." Oh she'll probably hear it anyway. Go on. "...my people know of the spirits and some of us are touched but not many hear them. But you do and maybe that make you special to the spirits but it means maybe you understand me."

"Because you see?"

"I see and hear and feel and dream." she nods.

"...maybe I can understand."

"So it is why I want you to stay and it is not. It is not because you are touched but because you are touched you are person who I want to stay. Sometimes can be a little alone even when you are not." And you're really pretty, Fire-Hair.

There was another pause as if she was still listening, and a look of confusion went over her face before she shrugged it off.

"I suppose that's true. It's why I left."

"Can't leave. Responsibility. But is not that bad, still have my people. Is only sometimes that..." she frowns, the lack of the right words getting her again. "Alone but not alone. Hear people in camp but sitting and looking up at stars and people feel far away."

"...there are other ways we can understand each other."

It was her voice, but her lips didn't move.

"You're dreamwalking!" comes back, almost instinctively, tinged with a bit of excitement. "It is hard speaking your language sometimes. I try but somethings you don't have words for and some words I don't know. But now you can understand me? Do you hear this? Do I just think? How do I stop talking then? Because I can't stop talking and I don't want to say something rude because my mind just went to something I didn't mean to."

"Yeah, I thought you understood it, I'm just enjoying that I could talk more freely and I'm trying to focus on things so my thoughts don't get ahead of me. Not that I'd think you'd get angry about it or anything, but I mean I was glad that you turned out to not look like you did at first and damnit this is exactly what I meant there... she blushes.

"It looked a little like what my people would draw if you asked them to draw one of your people." she nods.