Shiro inhaled deeply, hearing his name in the man's native tongue. He hadn't imagined that it would sound so different, so short but full of long sounds. He played it back in his mind, playing with the idea of where to form the sounds in his own mouth before he was met with a new utterance to decipher. Unlike Shiro, this man relied only on his language to communicate and the words he spoke were as unfamiliar as the last. Shiro played the words back again and took notes from the way that the man spoke to understand that he had returned his name. Which of those sounds was his name?

He likened this language to that of Zarkon and his men. The sounds were harsh and sharp, using the mouth and tongue to form the different sounds and the throat and chest to put emphasis into those sounds. Shiro had begun to learn phrases and words that were shouted across the arenas at him and at the crowd and he had begun to try to speak it himself. It had been difficult. Merfolk spoke with their throats and the backs of their tongues. The sounds and clicks that they made were more reminiscent of dolphins, which was perhaps why the two species got along so well. But Shiro had persevered and got used to exploring how to use language.

Here, in front of this curious land man, he felt baffled and unusually shy. He moved his mouth, rehearsing the motions it would need before he started to give up, turning his head with a click and splashing the water with his hand in his embarrassment. He stared away from the man into the darkness of the night sky and listened again to what he remembered the man said. He felt a chill, recalling his own name being said and wished deeply to return this favour to the man. He wasn't sure about customs, but even for the sake of an acquaintanceship he wanted to know what to call the man.

Again, he practised forming the words before glancing back over his shoulder and slowly repeating the sounds. They were hushed and almost foreign, but he frowned and slowly repeated them, "Col..nee..Kee?" The words felt strange to say and he was sure he had missed some of the sounds. He stared hard into the dark eyes of the man and fell back onto his own language again, "Which part is your name?" he asked.