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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 7:20:34 GMT -6
A shadow with more smarts than half the people he's met in his life (If he was being kind), and yet also one that's still not unlike a child in terms of communicating. Far from it could be said there's an attachment due to that, as sentiment is not something he considers applicable, but perhaps a bit of inward pride at facing down this type of challenge with some success. Slow success, but still.
At the end of the second week, the general vocabulary of the shadow seems to have improved further, as the late-evening 'chats' at the park begin to involve more and more phrases, both old and new. From time to time the man even throws in a curveball of a word, something more rare or uncommon and not likely to have been heard as often. The shadow continues to have difficulty deciphering those in the first attempt, but gradually does better at repeated attempts once the meaning is explained. Even so, a form so small only has capacity to take in so much learning in one go, so while its overall understanding is quite decent by the end of the second week, there's still more left to learn in the coming ones.
. 10 . (added) Atrum: 22 (0/5) ( Foreign Language - Common I: 10 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 7:28:36 GMT -6
And therein begins the truly difficult part - To make a mute shadow able to listen and think like a regular human. An undertaking which would have been difficult enough even with their gesture-based communication, for much more complicated concepts and phrases are far beyond those limits. But between the gestures, and the understanding already gained, it isn't necessarily impossible.. It would just require far more patience (Of which the man can hardly be said to be bereft of).
For a time the lessons were placed on hold, just to allow the shadow to digest everything that had been learned. It didn't mean their market and dock-side visits were held off on, however, as continuing to be within the general sphere of the language's influence would only make this digestion process easier. But the nature of it was certainly less urgent and more casual, as the courier found time to sit and eat lunch at various food places, or simply enjoy some time off at fountain sides and city benches.
. 11 . Atrum: 22 (1/5) ( Foreign Language - Common II: 1 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 7:33:26 GMT -6
A habit which he picked up long before the shadow came along, for any studious and observant mind can pick up quite a few things if they only sat still long enough and paid attention to their surroundings. It was more that specific talent that he was trying to teach the shadow as well, for to understand something on a deeper level, one has to first see how deep the levels even go. Gossip, rumours, news, a wayward comment about this or that - Really, the city is a font of information, if only you knew where to stick around long enough. Even as the shadow would occasionally make a slight cold pinch, to ask something, his reply via a few quick gestures would be the same - Watch and learn. Observer. Take in. Study. It's the only way to understand how anything works anywhere.
In a way it is leaving the shadow much more to its own devices, but that too is intentional. There are just some things intelligent minds need to work out on their own, before they can be handed the answer.
. 12 . Atrum: 22 (2/5) ( Foreign Language - Common II: 2 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 7:38:59 GMT -6
To the shadow's credit, it did not cling to him in any sort of desperation. Despite a child's understanding of language and an age better described as 'recent', the shadow is hardly childish itself (Which is perhaps why its presence has been so easy to tolerate, given the man hadn't exactly picked up the shadow himself). There is a curious streak, and being a creature of silence, observation is every bit its favoured tool as it is the man's (Though each would apply it for somewhat different reasons, and certainly far more different causes). So, it watches and listens in shadows, day in and day out, while the courier reads, eats or merely sits nearby. Close enough to provide a sense of comfort, but distanced enough to make it clear this part needs to be done on its own.
The first day has little in terms of lessons to take, as the shadow is more often confused than not. Though, considering how confused he was before the lessons even began, it doesn't even come close.
. 13 . Atrum: 22 (3/5) ( Foreign Language - Common II: 3 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 7:45:05 GMT -6
It's mostly in the next few days that the meaning behind the exercise starts to reveal itself in bits and pieces. It hears phrases both familiar and new, and some that seem a bit of both. While the entirely new words are outside its ability to understand, it instead focuses on those which seem to cross the line. Some of them remain a mystery even so, but in a couple of cases the shadow is able to make a connection between some familiar phrases in a whole new way. Not necessarily a new meaning to the work, just a new way to use it, apply it or explain it.
Not unlike the way one can say "I am going" to indicate heading out, and then asking "How's it going" to mean the same thing as "How are you". Language has a fluidity to it, and there's certainly plenty of words and phrases where context is king to the meaning behind their use. And those first few days, the shadow's purpose is to understand context - where, when, how and why something is said - before the what.
. 14 . Atrum: 22 (4/5) ( Foreign Language - Common II: 4 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 7:49:18 GMT -6
Needless to say, by the time the shadow recognizes this type of communication the need to learn has only grown stronger. While a simpler mind, certainly not as interested in puzzles and the mysteries of the unknown, as some elevated minds are plagued by, the shadow none the less feels a bit of excitement at unlocking this kind of revelation. Perhaps less for the puzzle element and more so for the opportunity to understand these strange being that surround it in the world that much better.
When that 'restful' week is up, the two resume the same process as before, when they began with basics, as the man steps in to take on a more active role in the observations once more. The steps are not too dissimilar - spend the day around town, in various places and districts, then retire to the park in the evening to go over what they heard, saw and learned. The main difference is the ante which has been upped.
. 15 . Atrum: 23 (0/5) ( Foreign Language - Common II: 5 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 7:55:16 GMT -6
The man has the shadow pay more attention to the wealthy-looking and erudite, rather than the low-born and wage-working. To learn fancier words, you need a fancier crowd, and while the courier doesn't exactly have direct access to such, there's still plenty of places around the city to find better shades of such. The scientists are a bit outside both their leagues, but there's certainly no shortage of scholars or wealthy denizens to make up for it. "Fancy words make for fancy masks," he explains to the shadow during their first park-sitting evening, "But the meaning behind them is still the same. It just makes the speaker sound more important than they are." He would have little difficulty going into a longer spiel at the philosophy and psychology on such matters, but seeing as that would detract from the general purpose of their little training, that's best left for another time.
Of course, the shadow doesn't necessarily even need to know the details of such thinking in order to be a good hidden agent, so long as the words it hears can be conveyed in full.
. 16 . Atrum: 23 (1/5) ( Foreign Language - Common II: 6 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 8:00:11 GMT -6
But it can help to understand why some concepts can be said in many different ways, and how sometimes what is said isn't half as important as who is saying it and why. To begin with, the two take a few days to go over a series of new words that were overheard that day, plus a few others the man throws in there just to expand upon the selection. It's basic dry learning to begin with, more memorization than anything else, but also something vitally important, in order to take that next step up in understanding more complicated phrases and terms. Speaking like a toddler is all fine and good when one needs to convey the general idea, but when listening like a toddler, that's when important details can get lost, and thus make all the difference.
Needless to say, it's that part of the training that isn't necessarily the most pleasant in the shadow's mind. It still wishes to learn as much as it can, but with so many new concepts in one go, it would need time to process them.
. 17 . Atrum: 23 (2/5) ( Foreign Language - Common II: 7 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 8:04:55 GMT -6
Fortunately, time is something they have plenty of, and in the interest of ease, the courier intentionally avoids the theatre district within that first week of the more complicated lessons. Instead, they ease into it with longer words at first, followed by compound words and the different ways they can be used (And while the shadow wouldn't know it, the man feels it is still getting off lightly considering it doesn't have to read these words in the process, as he once did. The mere fact only half the letters are pronounced in some was enough to make him close the book on most days). Repetition follows repetition, and as ground as the first week feels, it does result in some progress - When walking the streets, the calls of the vendors feel far easier for the shadow to explain than before, though they still largely rely on 'simpler' terms with a few longer ones thrown in here and there.
Thus begins the second week, where theory is set to be proofed by fire (So to speak).
. 18 . Atrum: 23 (3/5) ( Foreign Language - Common II: 8 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 8:09:40 GMT -6
The first half of it still involves the little late-night park lessons, where the man would ask a question about a specific term, or speak a phrase and have the shadow convey its meaning via the usual gestures. He also ends up speaking up far more when asking or explaining things, diverting away from the gesture-based replied from before. They can still remain to be a useful method to communicate silently, but for now the more spoken terms the shadow hears, the better. In many ways, those days are not too dissimilar from before, if only from the steadily increasing degree of difficulty presented by the questions and phrases.
It's the second half of the week that really offers the shadow a challenge, however, for it is then that the question begin as they're still out and about during the day. The courier could be sitting on a bench, watching a tradesperson pass on by chattering about importing this and exporting that. No sooner are they past that he turns to the little green eyes watching from his own shadow, "So what was all that about?"
. 19 . Atrum: 23 (4/5) ( Foreign Language - Common II: 9 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 8:17:03 GMT -6
The shadow would take a moment, quickly trying to parse through the words on the spot, before giving a brief summary through gestures - something (a box) taken in, something else (a different box) put out, money exchanged. "Good. But what was taken and what was sent?" Those types of specifics are certainly more difficult for it, though the gestures continue - cloth bolts (rolled up) taken, rocks (shiny, metal) put out. It isn't always right, particularly when it comes to the mercantile details (Which, in fairness, is something not even all people understand all that well to begin with), but the man would smirk all the same, "Good. Let's see what else we can hear."
Sometimes it's political gossip, sometimes every day chatter and complaints. A few more tradespeople could pass, or it could be craftsmen discussing the latest and greatest methods. The shadow does it's best to explain what each has said or spoken, and although the translations remain a little limited in the gestures, there's eventually a point where the man's satisfied enough to call the week done. If nothing else, the shadow has proven it can understand. Whether or not it can convey that is a topic for another time (And for another series of lessons).
. 20 . (added) Atrum: 24 (0/5) ( Foreign Language - Common II: 10 )
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