To Azdrei’in’s surprise, the Earthling responded to his question. Of course, he couldn’t understand what it had said, but just the fact that it had recognized that he’d spoken and attempted to reply was enough to make him stop and think. Logically, it made sense to him that a race that had the intelligence to build impressive structures would have their own language, but he hadn’t expected one to try to communicate with him without prompting. He’d thought they were all bloodthirsty savages who were quicker to fight than they were to talk. The being standing before him now was far different than the image he’d painted in his head. It didn’t even behave like the one that had charged at him not long ago.

As the Earthling gestured to itself and spoke again, he stared at it wordlessly, trying to process what it was doing. For the moment, he’d completely forgotten about his missing gear, too wrapped up in the strange scene before him to think about anything else. His crystalline eyes swept over it with quiet intrigue. Earthlings seemed to be somewhat diverse, perhaps even more so than his own kind. Unlike the being he’d shot, this one had even brighter features. Its hair was red, not brown, and it had colorful green irises. Upon closer inspection, he determined it was a female as well, based on its anatomical similarities with female Lunvalgans and the higher pitch of its voice.

It—or rather, [i]she[/i]—picked up a piece of fabric, and he tensed, eyeing the object warily. By itself, the cloth didn’t look harmful, but if it had been doused in a chemical, it could be used as a weapon. “Come near me with that, and you will lose your arm,” he said dryly. He was aware that she couldn’t understand him, but the threat slipped out anyway. However, it turned out it wasn’t necessary when the Earthling demonstrated that the cloth was used to clean up water. He blinked and looked down at the table in front of him, on which the full cup she’d left for him had spilled when he’d hastily stood up. Apparently, her species wasn’t fond of messes.

When she tossed the rag onto the table, he carefully picked it up between two claws, lifting it to his nose to sniff just to make sure there was nothing dangerous about it before he risked touching it against his skin. Obliging her implied request, he bent over to wipe up the spilled water and then glanced up at her again when he saw her move in the corner of his eye. Interestingly, it seemed like she was still trying to communicate with him. He watched her gesture to the food on her plate, speak a word, and then do the same thing after indicating herself. Next, she drew his attention to a picture. Another word was spoken, then two more.

[i]She is trying to teach me her language,[/i] he realized, his eyes widening slightly. He turned back to the plate, recalling the word she’d used to describe it, then looked at her again. She had indicated herself as well as other Earthlings when she’d used the word ‘human,’ and he guessed that was the term her species used to refer to themselves. They called themselves humans just like his people were Lunvalgans. In spite of himself, he felt a thrill of excitement at the prospect of understanding what the creature in front of him was saying. He had never encountered another being outside of his own race before, and since he’d thought Earthlings were barbarians, he hadn’t considered the possibility that he might speak with one like this. It was fascinating.

He tracked her with his gaze as she picked up another object and then retrieved something from a large, upright container, which she pushed toward him. Another word was spoken, this time with a raised inflection at the end. He presumed the context was different. A question, perhaps? In any case, he assumed the liquid in the sealed container was meant for him, and he cautiously stepped closer to examine it. Picking it up, he opened the top and smelled it, determining that the liquid was water. It didn’t seem contaminated, so he lifted it to his lips and took a small sip, tasting the drink on his tongue before he swallowed.

He was still baffled by the human’s actions. If she had been the one who had knocked him out, it would have made more sense if she’d taken the opportunity to kill him. Instead, she was treating him like a guest in her home, trying to make conversation and offering him food and drink. It was far from the way he’d expected her species to behave.

When she sat down, he relaxed slightly, less concerned about keeping track of her movements now that she was off her feet. He brought the water to his lips again and downed a larger swig while she toyed with the object she’d picked up earlier. In the back of his mind, he was aware of his orders to eliminate any Earthlings he came across, but technically his leaders hadn’t said he had to kill them right away. Surely he could indulge his curiosity a little before he finished this one off. What was the harm?

As she turned the screen of her device toward him, he set his water down and looked it over with a hint of amusement. The human had resorted to drawing pictures to communicate with him. His eyes flicked up to her face when she vocalized a few more words, using her drawings and gestures to conclude that she was talking about what had happened in the structure where she’d hit him in the back of the head. Absently, he touched the spot that hurt, understanding that she had attacked him because she had seen his gun and fought back to protect herself. It was a reasonable response, since he [i]had[/i] been about to kill her if she hadn’t stopped him. Although it was mildly irritating that an Earthling had gotten the best of him in a fight, he supposed it had been a good thing in hindsight. If he’d shot her right away, he wouldn’t have had the chance to learn more about her kind, which was turning out to be more docile than he’d thought.

The human said the same word about herself again and then pointed a finger at him, speaking with the same raised inflection she had earlier. Now he was certain it meant she was asking a question. He processed briefly before it clicked in his head. A name. She had given him hers and was now asking for his. Eager to try talking to her again, he pressed a hand flat against his chest and replied: “Azdrei’in.”

Gaining confidence in the exchange, he decided to take it a step further. Pointing at her, he tested a few human words on his tongue, “You… Artemis?” He made sure to inflect his voice the same way she had when she asked him a question. The short phrase sounded different when he spoke it, colored with an accent because of the way he was used to pronouncing words, but he was pleased that he was able to recreate the sounds she had made. Now that he knew they were capable of communicating, he wanted to find out more about her people.

But first, it was smarter to start small. He picked up the container of water again. The human had used a word when she’d passed it to him, but he wasn’t entirely sure if she had been referring to the liquid or the clear unit that held it. To find out, he held it up and mimicked the word inquisitively: “Water?” However, he supposed it was still difficult to tell what it meant, and he frowned, perplexed. Earthlings looked quite similar to Lunvalgans. Perhaps they could exchange information the same way his kind did?

Experimenting with his theory, he decided to try approaching his question from a different angle. Reaching out to her telepathically, he created a vision of a river from Ashad’te in his mind’s eye and presented it to her while he repeated out loud in her language, “Water?”