[ That seems to pique her interest. There's not much to go off of course so she's sort of imagining it as something she might find lying around Viktor's workshops. Which is to say, it could probably do anything and everything, and she would be none the wiser. ]
That does sound handy. Sometimes the messages come at the most inconvenient times like when I'm trying to get ready for the day.
[ Hilda lets out a huff of annoyance. ]
Do you know how difficult it is to do that when you've got words flashing across the mirror?
Something like that. [ Hilda can't help but sound mildly amused in comparison to Adrienne's expression. ] It's kind of convenient. Languages are neat but I just don't think I have the attention span to learn it.
[ It would certainly make her lofty goal of attempting to learn any lick of Almyran easier. Before she can bemoan the fact that she wishes things were easier, she gives Adrienne a curious look before it turns into bemusement. ]
No, not at all. It's mostly just known as Common - most of the surrounding areas know it too. Are there more languages where you're from?
[ She's impressed! But then again, Hilda can't say that she's entirely surprised. Doctors, in her mind, were brilliant and rarely got to that point without more than a handful of brain cells. ]
I would ask what they are, but I feel like I probably wouldn't know any of them. That's amazing, Adrienne! Did you grow up speaking all four?
( luckily for hilda adrienne's going to tell her anyway. even talking about not from earth she still doesn't fully remember that hilda is not from earth )
I grew up speaking two of them. German's my first language, my mom taught me it and my dad taught me English.
( which is a much longer story but that can be for later )
I learned a second dialect of German as I grew up too, French during college and then Arabic when I lived in Egypt.
( she shrugs slightly )
It helps living with people if you can speak to them.
[ There are some days where she can barely comprehend learning any new skill let alone a language. There were some in Goneril who were familiar with Almyran. Being so close to the border meant that knowing how to communicate with the merchants was important - not that Hilda had ever taken it upon herself to learn.
Aside from never seeing a reason to, she never would have been able to. So to fathom learning four? Hilda simply couldn't. But there had been something else she had hoped to do ever since making up with Claude. Unfortunately Almyran wasn't one of the languages that Adrienne was familiar with so asking her to teach her was out of the question. ]
Some of it. But being able to read it's only one skill.
( she pauses for a moment, thinking back to each moment )
Each one was a little different. I went to an English-speaking school so I learned to read in English, speak it, write. And my mom read stories to me in German, and then with me.
( it's a memory that will always make her smile, the love of her mother's home that she'd learned and felt through little things, and loved it because of this )
Arabic I learned through conversation so I can't read it too well, I speak it better, but that was how I mostly needed it.
I'd show you something but honestly I don't know now if that would even work.
[ Fodlan was big enough and vast, but there wasn't much variation when it came to the language itself as a whole. There were dialects but Hilda's attentions had always been elsewhere growing up. Her preference to focus on other things like how to be prettier, softer, gentler - and avoiding training lessons with Holst.
That being said she had picked up some words here and there at least when it came to fashion items in Almyran. ]
Speaking seems more useful, but it does feel a little like you have to have a little of both to learn. We could try now? Maybe if you just think really hard you'll be able to do it.
[ It sounds like a silly suggestion even to her but hopefully Adrienne will forgive her for that. ]
( it definitely sounds like a strange suggestion and whilst it sounds like it should be simple and doable adrienne isn't even sure how to start it. she knows how to speak her languages, but she doesn't know whether simply speaking another would let hilda hear it. which is probably why hilda suggested thinking really hard but--
she frowns slightly, then remembers her bag, pulling out of it the notepad she has in it. it's mostly blank pages, the few at the front with some sketches that adrienne had drawn, though she turns it straight to the blank page at the back, writing just a short phrase in german )
[ Like many other things in life, Hilda hadn't put much thought into what sort of outcome her suggestion would lead to. So when Adrienne goes to ruffle around in her bag and begins to write something, peers curiously over the woman's shoulder.
At first it takes her mind a moment to register what she's reading. There's a momentary bubble of panic that rises in her chest. She looks up at Adrienne, a sliver of helplessness in her eyes before she looks down again. Seconds tick by until finally, weirdly, the words Adrienne has in front of her sort of form meaning. When she looks back up this time, she looks mildly bewildered. ]
( she sees the change in the woman's expression from confusion to understanding, thinking at first that she's managed to do it until hilda translates it. and maybe she feels mildly frustrated even if that's probably not the right response )
But you couldn't at first.
( commenting, thinking, and frowning slightly )
When you understood the words... did you see them in the language you speak or did they look unfamiliar and you somehow just knew what it meant?
( even if adrienne will never figure out how to get around it she can at least figure out what hilda sees )
[ Rationally Hilda knows that it isn't her fault that she might not be able to understand what Adrienne has written, but for a moment she worries that she's disappointed her somehow. A part of her that's been trained to react to the slightest hint of it that she tenses, the bubble of panic refusing to pop - only to realize that Adrienne simply wants to understand a little more about her experience. ]
A little of both? Some of them looked familiar but it took me a second to understand what you had written.
( hilda's response doesn't help her frown, though that's a frown entirely based upon ghte fact that she can't wrap her head around this rather than anything that hilda's doing or saying.
she knows some languages, she knows understanding and translating and getting meaning even if you don't know all of the words but... hilda hadn't known this but then she did?
which is why, after a moment, she hands the pen and notebook to her )
Can you write something? I want to see what happened.
[ Surprise flits across her gaze before nodding and taking the pen. ]
Oh, sure!
[ She shouldn't think so hard about this. It's just a little phrase after all. In her neat, elegant writing words bloom across the page: Adrienne is a doctor! But she's more than just a doctor she's my friend too.
Before the ink dries she flips the notebook around for her to read. ]
( she frowns at the writing for a little bit, not understanding what's written and maybe it's because adrienne doesn't expect to that it takes a little bit longer.
she's about to shake her head when some of the words clear up for her, not all at once but the longer she stares at it the more of it she can seem to understand.
and it makes her smile a little )
Oh. ( hilda! so nice! ) That's... really weird. I shouldn't have been able to read that but I can.
Right? That's sort of how it felt reading what you wrote earlier.
[ There's a little bit of a nonchalant shrug at the end of that however. ]
I try not to think about it too hard. Magic and the Singularity do weird things. And well, all of that feels a lot like a mystery I'm not sure I'm equipped to solve.
[ There's a brief pause. ]
But if I did want to learn some German, would you teach me? I was thinking it might be fun to talk about things without others knowing what we're saying.
( she looks surprised at the question before slowly smiling, the thought more heartwarming than adrienne ever would have expected it to be )
Of course I would.
( having that little piece shared was always special to her )
Though, just in case you do find anyone else that speaks German, mine is... not quite the same. But that's an if.
( schweisserdeutsch was just that special dialectally. and whilst adrienne did also know standard german it wasn't with as much fluency or use. and it wasn't hers )
[ Adrienne's warning is met with a little shrug. Hilda isn't immune to the draw of exclusivity. Or the idea that no one would be able to understand them if they were talking about things they only wanted to discuss together. That feels presumptuous in some ways - but she waves the thought off.
Mischief sparks in her eyes. ]
That's okay! All the better to tell secrets with, right?
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abraxaslogs2023-12-06 08:35 pm
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Sort of? You just don't have to wait for someone to take it there.
( she'll use her hands to kind of try and help her explanation )
It's like the psychic messages just on a little device so you can read them? It's... handy.
no subject
[ That seems to pique her interest. There's not much to go off of course so she's sort of imagining it as something she might find lying around Viktor's workshops. Which is to say, it could probably do anything and everything, and she would be none the wiser. ]
That does sound handy. Sometimes the messages come at the most inconvenient times like when I'm trying to get ready for the day.
[ Hilda lets out a huff of annoyance. ]
Do you know how difficult it is to do that when you've got words flashing across the mirror?
no subject
( she hated it )
And... it's weird. Seeing everything in the same language.
( though now she thinks about it she hears everything in the same language too. which didn't even happen in new york )
Because everyone's from different places?
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You don't like them? I think they make the text fun to read at least.
[ Her laughter fades, becoming more thoughtful. ]
I guess I didn't think about it that way. Maybe it's something that the magic did when they summoned us. That's the only reason I can think of.
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( she really pulls a face at that one. sure, it's useful but where's the off switch? )
Does it sound rude if I ask what language you were speaking?
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[ It would certainly make her lofty goal of attempting to learn any lick of Almyran easier. Before she can bemoan the fact that she wishes things were easier, she gives Adrienne a curious look before it turns into bemusement. ]
No, not at all. It's mostly just known as Common - most of the surrounding areas know it too. Are there more languages where you're from?
no subject
I speak four languages.
( and there were a hell of a lot more in the world, even without talking about different dialects that go with them )
Some people only speak one language though.
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[ She's impressed! But then again, Hilda can't say that she's entirely surprised. Doctors, in her mind, were brilliant and rarely got to that point without more than a handful of brain cells. ]
I would ask what they are, but I feel like I probably wouldn't know any of them. That's amazing, Adrienne! Did you grow up speaking all four?
no subject
I grew up speaking two of them. German's my first language, my mom taught me it and my dad taught me English.
( which is a much longer story but that can be for later )
I learned a second dialect of German as I grew up too, French during college and then Arabic when I lived in Egypt.
( she shrugs slightly )
It helps living with people if you can speak to them.
no subject
Aside from never seeing a reason to, she never would have been able to. So to fathom learning four? Hilda simply couldn't. But there had been something else she had hoped to do ever since making up with Claude. Unfortunately Almyran wasn't one of the languages that Adrienne was familiar with so asking her to teach her was out of the question. ]
Did you learn mostly from books as well?
no subject
( she pauses for a moment, thinking back to each moment )
Each one was a little different. I went to an English-speaking school so I learned to read in English, speak it, write. And my mom read stories to me in German, and then with me.
( it's a memory that will always make her smile, the love of her mother's home that she'd learned and felt through little things, and loved it because of this )
Arabic I learned through conversation so I can't read it too well, I speak it better, but that was how I mostly needed it.
I'd show you something but honestly I don't know now if that would even work.
no subject
[ Fodlan was big enough and vast, but there wasn't much variation when it came to the language itself as a whole. There were dialects but Hilda's attentions had always been elsewhere growing up. Her preference to focus on other things like how to be prettier, softer, gentler - and avoiding training lessons with Holst.
That being said she had picked up some words here and there at least when it came to fashion items in Almyran. ]
Speaking seems more useful, but it does feel a little like you have to have a little of both to learn. We could try now? Maybe if you just think really hard you'll be able to do it.
[ It sounds like a silly suggestion even to her but hopefully Adrienne will forgive her for that. ]
no subject
she frowns slightly, then remembers her bag, pulling out of it the notepad she has in it. it's mostly blank pages, the few at the front with some sketches that adrienne had drawn, though she turns it straight to the blank page at the back, writing just a short phrase in german )
Can you read this?
no subject
At first it takes her mind a moment to register what she's reading. There's a momentary bubble of panic that rises in her chest. She looks up at Adrienne, a sliver of helplessness in her eyes before she looks down again. Seconds tick by until finally, weirdly, the words Adrienne has in front of her sort of form meaning. When she looks back up this time, she looks mildly bewildered. ]
Can I read this? Is that what that means?
no subject
But you couldn't at first.
( commenting, thinking, and frowning slightly )
When you understood the words... did you see them in the language you speak or did they look unfamiliar and you somehow just knew what it meant?
( even if adrienne will never figure out how to get around it she can at least figure out what hilda sees )
no subject
A little of both? Some of them looked familiar but it took me a second to understand what you had written.
no subject
she knows some languages, she knows understanding and translating and getting meaning even if you don't know all of the words but... hilda hadn't known this but then she did?
which is why, after a moment, she hands the pen and notebook to her )
Can you write something? I want to see what happened.
no subject
Oh, sure!
[ She shouldn't think so hard about this. It's just a little phrase after all. In her neat, elegant writing words bloom across the page: Adrienne is a doctor! But she's more than just a doctor she's my friend too.
Before the ink dries she flips the notebook around for her to read. ]
no subject
she's about to shake her head when some of the words clear up for her, not all at once but the longer she stares at it the more of it she can seem to understand.
and it makes her smile a little )
Oh. ( hilda! so nice! ) That's... really weird. I shouldn't have been able to read that but I can.
no subject
[ There's a little bit of a nonchalant shrug at the end of that however. ]
I try not to think about it too hard. Magic and the Singularity do weird things. And well, all of that feels a lot like a mystery I'm not sure I'm equipped to solve.
[ There's a brief pause. ]
But if I did want to learn some German, would you teach me? I was thinking it might be fun to talk about things without others knowing what we're saying.
no subject
Of course I would.
( having that little piece shared was always special to her )
Though, just in case you do find anyone else that speaks German, mine is... not quite the same. But that's an if.
( schweisserdeutsch was just that special dialectally. and whilst adrienne did also know standard german it wasn't with as much fluency or use. and it wasn't hers )
no subject
Mischief sparks in her eyes. ]
That's okay! All the better to tell secrets with, right?
no subject
( which adrienne knows people do. she's just not had anyone around in a long time to do that with )
It was more a warning of just in case there was someone else, but if you're learning it for me then we don't have to worry.
shall we wrap? 💕
[ She grins. ]
Let me know when works best for you! You can come by and visit the loft and I'll make sure that we have all the proper learning treats.
[ Don't ask her what those are because she has no idea. It'll be a surprise for the both of them. ]