[FIN] The Silent Language of Hands

[Kitomyx]

A brown-haired, brown-eyed young man in his twenties lay on a park bench in Camphoreon. He was half asleep with his face towards the sun, basking in the cool marning air. A pair of ear pieces linked directly through green cord to a matching mp3 player, indicating that he was, for the moment, deaf to the world.

Work had ended a while ago, but he hadn't been all that eager to return to his dingy old apartment. For all he knew, his disgusting roommate was still stinking up the place with the smell of smoke and beer, possibly with his late-night friends if they were still over. No, he wasn't in any hurry to go back just now...not while he was so at peace.  

[Suudonym]

Corinne had similar qualms about a home that felt entirely unsavory, though she was only just arriving in Camphoreon that morning rather than remaining from the night before. She usually spent her time wandering around the vast city of Sandalwood, but the low visibility, she found, made it a less appealing location than that nearby industrialized Camphoreon. Her task for the day, she decided, was to come up with something to prove that her alleged pokemon journey was underway; the school in which her foster parents had enrolled her allowed time off for such quests only on the stipulation that she was periodically able to produce some proof that she wasn't simply skipping classes. With one such checkpoint approaching, Corinne resigned to try and teach Lady signals for using attacks, specifically Ember. The move, as she had seen it written, didn't have a single, distinct gesture associated with it, and so the girl grudgingly accepted the task of assigning one. This wouldn't have been so much trouble if Lady weren't so obviously disinterested in learning to battle; her duty was as Corinne's friend and guide, after all.

The girl's first choice in her chore was to secure a place in Camphoreon's park, which she did without specifically looking to see if anyone else was around first. She then knelt in front of her Growlithe, retrieving the broad screen of her phone and loading an application into which she drew a messy rendition of the fire-type breathing out small flames, signing with it the vague instruction to 'use a fire attack.' Lady hesitated, tilting her head in curious uncertainty as she attempted to pinpoint exactly which attach her trainer was requesting.  

[Kitomyx]

Through half-lidded eyes, the benched fellow watched the girl and her pokemon for a time, wondering vaguely what they were doing. After a bit, it occured to him that the girl wasn't opening her mouth to communicate with the fire-type at all. Curious, he sat up a little straighter and removed an ear piece from one ear. After a couple of minutes watching, the second was also removed and the mp3 player was turned off.

At long last, Akira stood and stuck his hands in his pockets, walking over with what he hoped was a casual gait. He smiled and crouched a little ways away from the girl and her Growlithe. "Hello," he spoke, facing her with an amicable expression. "May I ask what you're doing?"  

[Suudonym]

Lady heard the individual's approach before Corinne became aware of it, and the fire dog turned to regard him in curiosity. Corinne looked up from her efforts as well, and upon realizing that she was being addressed, she shifted on her knees to face the stranger more properly. When he had finished speaking, an act she watched avidly, she turned her attention to the screen of her phone, closing out of the application she had been using and returning to basic text. Deftly she typed out her response, adjusted the font to a proper size, and turned the device to display her words to her company, 'Trying to teach my Growlithe to use Ember on my command.' It didn't occur to her that that probably sounded like a very simple feat under normal expectations.  

[Kitomyx]

Akira flinched back at the canine's bark, wondering if he was unwelcome and realizing too late that the sudden approach probably hadn't been the best idea. He eyed the Growlithe's shaggy fur and made a mental note not to get too close. The service jacket it wore, however, simply fed his curiosity and silent theory on its trainer.

The girl's slow reaction, though...that hadn't been anticipated, exactly. As Akira valued his sense of hearing the most of his five, it wasn't too difficult to tell which one the Growlithe's trainer was having trouble with. His forehead creased in concern and he searched her face.

When she turned to her phone, he followed her gaze with intense interest and caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a crudely-drawn version of her Growlithe using some sort of fire attack. This was clarified when she typed out a response on her cell - something that surprised and brought back nostalgic memories to Akira. He'd known someone to communicate that way before, but she was long gone.

With a slightly melancholy smile, the young man nodded in understanding. Hesitantly he raised his hands, wondering if she would think him daft or crazy, but then he realized it didn't matter. He no longer had any reputation to uphold for his family name. [Do you speak sign language?] he asked with slow deliberation. The risk of him looking stupid was far outweighed by the chance that he could make communication with him easier for this girl.  

[Suudonym]

Lady's ears flicked forward in attention at the unexpectedly familiar gestures the stranger employed, and Corinne took similarly good notice - and it showed in her expression, as her every emotion generally did. Lips parted slightly, eyes wide as though she would cry, the girl placed the phone in her lap and raised a hand waving lightly curled fingers from her wrist in a simple response, 'Yes.'  

[Kitomyx]

A bright, genuine smile came to Akira's face when he witnessed the recognition in both the pokemon's and her trainer's faces. So, she did know after all. The waving fist the young man recognized to be a form of ASL, which he wasn't as familiar with as JSL, but as it was more widely-known and used, both he and his family had learned it just the same. Rusty as he may have been with it, it was nice being able to speak with his hands again as he used to with his older sister.

Taking a moment to recall the corresponding signs that went with the message he wanted to convey, the young man held up his open palms before brushing his right across the surface of his left. Then he made a pair of fists with his index fingers up and thumbs across, representing two people before he put them together to 'meet'. The final gesture was a simple finger pointing at his addressee. [Nice to meet you.]

Putting a hand to his chest, Akira indicated himself before putting up two fingers on each hand and crossing them atop one another. [My name...] Then he spelled out his letters gradually, recalling the letters one by one. [A-K-I-R-A]

After a pause, he gestured to her a second time and once more put up the two fingers on each hand to crossing them atop one another. [What is your name?]  

[Suudonym]

She sat tensely with her hands in her lap, folded lightly over her unneeded phone, as she watched the words that formed. At his prompt, she spelled out her own name, 'C-O-R-I-N-N-E,' followed by the single movement version that Olivier had created for her when she was small: a smooth motion comprised by holding her hand in a crescent then straightening it into a right angle and a gesture towards her chest - her initials C-L and the sign for heart. She mirrored the movements he had made before with a small addition to convert the words into a response, 'It's nice to meet you as well.' She hesitated momentarily, her features holding all the bittersweetness she felt. 'It's been a while since I've been able to talk to anyone properly,' she conveyed, ducking her head slightly downwards. It reminded her painfully of Olivier and of the home that rejected her first means of communication.  

[Kitomyx]

"Corinne..." He tasted the name on his lips like an exotic delicacy, speaking it aloud to hear how it sounded. He mimicked the gestures that followed the individual letters, charmed by their simplicity and meaning. 'Beautiful' he told her. But his face fell when he took notice of her bittersweet demeanor, his brow knitting in concern.

'What's the matter?' Akira's hands asked, wondering if he had said something to distress the young lady. She explained that it had been a while since she had spoken to anyone through sign language, but he suspected there was more to it than that.

Though under normal circumstances he wouldn't have dreamed of touching this girl he'd just met, physical contact, he found, was something that spoke volumes - particularly among those who had no voice of their own. Thus he reached out a hand to place gingerly on her shoulder, hoping to encourage her to raise her head once more and meet his gaze.

'It's been a while for me, too,' he signed, speaking the words aloud in conjunction with his gestures. 'My older sister is mute, but I haven't seen her in a long time.' Perhaps by expressing his empathy, he could make her feel more comfortable in explaining her situation. 'Have you also been away from your loved ones long?'  

[Suudonym]

She shook her head lightly; it wasn't as though there were really a "matter," per se, so much as there were personal feelings of discontentment. It felt petty to complain about her circumstances when the fact of things was that Olivier's brother had acquiesced to house, feed, and clothe her. She didn't react overtly to the contact, though Lady did perk up a bit at the touch. 'The people I live with won't learn sign language,' she gestured, raising her eyes as she communicated as she found to be polite. 'I'm an inconvenience to them.' The question of her loved ones brought her to bite her lip gently, her hands closing on themselves. When she reanimated, her movements were small and short, 'My caretaker passed away some time ago.'  

[Kitomyx]

Akira hesitated, frowning. He wasn't sure he was reading her signs right. 'The people you live with', he signed back, wanting to clarify something, 'Do you mean your family?' ...Or did she not live with her family? Who was it that she lived with, exactly, then? ...An inconvenience?

The young man's brown eyes narrowed. How dare whoever it was make her feel that way. Surley it wasn't her fault she had a disability. She couldn't want to have been forced to communicate through a phone. How dare they!

It was like Momoko's situation with her schoolmates all over again, though at least she and Akira's sister were priviledged enough to have families who cared. Wealthy families, ones that would do anything in their power to make thier children feel happy, comfortable, loved, and 'normal'. It seemed that Corinne was not so fortunate.

Caretaker? The creases of anger and concern on his forehead smoothed a little when she mentioned the passing of someone else. Presumably this had been someone who had been dear to the young lady, judging by her actions and movements. 'I am sorry to hear that,' he signed back, 'But may I ask what you mean by 'caretaker'?'  

[Suudonym]

She shook her head at the offered synonym, 'My caretaker's brother and his wife.' Not family of her own, certainly. Corinne wasn't particularly adept at reading expressions or body language, but she was able to detect the signals of displeasure in her company's disposition. She felt a little guilty for this, assuming that she was merely projecting her own dislike without allowing him the benefit of hearing her foster parents' perspective on the matter. On the other hand, though, Corinne was fairly certain she already knew the whole of their perspective; they hadn't really cared to keep it secret until they realized she could read their lips.

She dismissed her indignant feelings to address his question, 'O-L-I-V-I-E-R.' She then signed the shorthand version of his name, forming a circle with her hand and raising the thumb of the gesture to her temple - a rough portmanteau of the letter O and the sign for "father." 'He adopted me when I was very small and helped me learn sign language.'  

[Kitomyx]

Lost in thought, the young man's features revealed faint traces of his outrage in the furrow of his brow and the tight line of his lips. As he had been raised to mask the majority of his emotions for politeness' sake, he managed to avoid unintentionally expressing his full-on distaste for these people, but it wasn't completely concealed. Certainly there was a reason this girl didn't consider these people she referred to as family, blood-related or not.

The fact that they refused to accommodate her by at least attempting to make communication easier was enough to convince Akira that this was an injustice. Rich or poor, the effort it took to show someone you cared cost virtually nothing and meant everything...yet these people had denied this girl even that.

"Oliver..." Even as he repeated this second name aloud, copying the shortened version as he saw it, he recognized the term 'father' and his expression visibly softened. For a while he didn't seem to know what to say, lowering his gaze to the grass between them, his lips slightly parted with sorrowful uncertainty. 'I'm very sorry', he gestured again, feeling as though it was repetitive, but not wanting to just remain silent. He couldn't express the regret he felt for her loss. 'It sounds like he loved you very much.'

The news that she was adopted was also of mild interest and it saved him the embarrassment of asking what happened to her real family. Instead, when he put his hands again, it was to ask, 'Are you living on your own, now, then?'  

[Suudonym]

The girl forced a certain brightness into her expression, though her ineptitude to constructing masks made her efforts quite obvious. 'There's no need to apologize,' she signed. 'The time we shared is very precious to me even if he's not with me anymore.' Despite her inability to change what appeared in her features, she had become quite skilled with forcing such childish emotions as grief and despair out of her mind, replacing them with an objective maturity and an outwardly optimistic perspective. Confronting things like an adult had always been her pride.

'Olivier's brother and his wife are currently providing for me,' she explained. 'Officially I'm on a pokemon journey, though, so I don't spend much time at home.' Probably one of the only things keeping her sanity and spirit intact, along with the company of her Growlithe.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Time shared... Akira nodded slowly with a melancholy smile of his own. Losing someone - no matter in what way or for what reason - that was always hard. To value the memories had with said someone...well, that was something that he felt made Corinne stronger than he.

He knew that he himself couldn't revisit old memories without the terrible feelings that accompanied them. It was knowing he wouldn't have any new ones like the old that hurt the most and kept him from reminicing. Weak though he felt he was for it, he was one who preferred to forget.

'Corienne', he addressed her, using the shorthand signs for her name, 'Isn't it difficult for just you and your pokemon to go on this journey by yourselves?' At the risk of sounding condescending, he had to ask. He really didn't like the idea of the teenager being alone aside from her pokemon. 'What if you lose your phone or it gets stolen? What if you and your Growlithe get stuck somewhere and you can't call for help?'

Disability aside, it must have been terribly lonely and dangerous for a young lady like herself. At least Akira thought so. He'd never really understood the novelty behind going on a pokemon journey.