Childhood+Friends+and+Learning+Languages

"Sennn-ah!" the sing-song voice of a familiar little boy about a year younger than Sen rang through the trees. "Amin de i'om," a young Sen called down from her lofty perch. (I am up in the tree.) "You're where?" he called out again, looking along the ground of the forest around them. An all too familiar smooth and calm male voice answered from behind the trunk of the tree in front of him, "She said she's up in the tree." "De sinome, Minoc! Tree! Tree!" Sen's voice called from above him. (Up here, Minoc!) (Minoc - pronounced mee-Nock) The young human boy walked around the tall birch tree to find Aralethis (Air-uh-leth-iss), an elf about 7 or 8 years older than Sen, sitting with his back against the grey patched white bark of the trunk. The young elf nodded to him and pointed up, "De, Minoc... means Up... I thought you were learning elven?"

"I'm trying! It would help if Sena spoke common," Minoc sighed heavily at the elf on the ground and then looked up toward the sky to find Senathliel dangling upside down by her knees off of one of the branches and grinning from ear to ear as she waved frantically at him with both hands. "Careful, Sena! You know you have bad luck! Come down here! Ndu, ndu!" Minoc pointed to the ground, reaffirming the elven word he knew as down. He glanced back to the silvery white-haired elf with protective accusation, "How could you let her go up there? You know how she is!" He climbed onto the trunk, using the grey rough patches to maneuver up the smooth white parts of the bark to go after her. Ever since the elven ranger arrived, it seemed his aasimar friend got into more trouble!

"Ro utue ta!" She pointed off toward the bushes where the scream of a rabbit soon followed. (He found it!) The young elf stood up and dusted himself off as a white tiger cub came from the bushes, carrying a limp bundle of grey fur. Aralethis patted the cub, nodding approvingly, and looked up into the tree, "Tula ndu sinome, Senathliel, lle ume quel." (Come down here, Senathliel, you did well.)

Just then all three heard the snap of the branch as the lightest of birds landed next to the young oracle, and Sen gasped in alarm, "Lethis?" "N'dela, Sen, amin sinome," Lethis was perfectly calm despite the danger. (Don't worry, Sen, I'm here.) He looked over the tree and her, calculating things out in his head, and in one brief and smooth motion, he walked forward and caught her as she fell, continuing forward out of the way of the falling branch. He set her down gently, with a hand on her shoulder, "Ire lle quel?" (Are you well?) "Uma," she nodded up to him, gratefully. (Yes)

"Sena!" the human boy leapt from higher up along the trunk, and tumbled along the ground to reach her, "Are you hurt?!" "N'uma, Minoc, I...am...okay," she struggled in her childhood with common words.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">She knew celestial perfectly... it flowed from her tongue smooth and natural as if the gods themselves bestowed the knowledge in her head... and her parents spoke elven often, so both sylvan and elven came easier for her, but in a village of different races, she was learning multiple languages at once... and before long, she could speak several quite fluently.