[FIN] The Silent Language of Hands

[Suudonym]

'It's not much of a journey,' she confessed. 'It's more of an excuse to skip school than anything else. Regardless, it's not really much more difficult or dangerous than it would be for any 10-year-old with an untrained starter.' The idea that children were permitted to wander the entire continent complete unsupervised baffled her, but seeing as she was taking advantage of that system for her own benefit, she didn't really have much right to complain. 'I rely on Lady for most things,' she signed the individuals letters first, then the shorthand portmanteau of "lady" and "love." The Growlithe flicked her ears attentively as she watched her name. 'If I lost my phone, I would only have to find paper and pen. If we got stuck,' a long pause in consideration, 'I can't imagine getting stuck somewhere that neither of us could get out even working together.' She was prepared to leave it at that, but a thought occurred to her just as she lowered her hands, 'If I really had to, I could always just shout.' It was easy to forget she was capable of the thing called voice.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira cast the dark-haired girl a wry smile. An excuse to skip school...what he wouldn't have given for that not long ago. Then again, he couldn't complain too much. His school hadn't been like most others.

'It seems like your starter is trained, though...if not in the way you want her to be.' He regarded the Growlithe with admiration, but knew better than to reach out to pet her. He wondered how Asumi would have liked a service pokemon. 'That's a lot of trust to put into someone who can't speak to you,' he answered, realizing the irony of his words as he signed them.

'Lady...hello,' he told and signed to her experimentally, unsure of how much the fire-type would understand, if anything at all. She seemed to recognize something when Corinne signed her name, but then he supposed she would have had to. 'That's amazing.' Wow, for pokemon to be able to understand sign language... What would it have been like for something like an Aipom to learn?

At the solution of a paper and pen, the young man hit the heel of his palm against his forehead, though it was more of an absent-minded gesture than a sign. He was so used to technology, he had completely forgotten the basic uses of the written word. Shaking his head at his own foolishness, he continued to watch Corinne's signs, surprised and glad that she was so confident and her and her pokemon partner's abilities and teamwork. Even if pokemon techniques used as attacks weren't Lady's specialty.

The last part left him puzzled, however. "Shout?" he said aloud, dropping his hands to his in astonishment. "...You can speak?"  

[Suudonym]

A nod, 'I don't mind if we can't battle together. I'm only trying to teach her so I can prove to the school that we've been training.' It felt awfully underhanded, but the bottom line was that she didn't particularly care about her alleged pokemon journey. It was hard to take such trivial things seriously after being so unceremoniously tossed into such an unaccommodating environment.

The Growlithe, recognizing the greeting, wagged her tail lightly in reply, watching her addresser with her attentive gaze. Corinne, who watched the exchanged, contributed an explanation, 'Olivier had her trained professionally when she was very young. She understands a lot of common words and phrases.'

The sudden shift of motion from his hands to his lips caught Corinne off guard, and she hurried to switch her focus back to lip-reading instead of sign language. She shook her head fiercely to deny his misconception, though, 'Not speak, but vocalize. I'm not mute so I can make sound, but I don't know what words are supposed to sound like so I can't really pronounce things.' She tucked her chin slightly in with a slight, pouting frown. 'I don't really know my volume, either, so I don't usually do it voluntarily.'  

[Akira Midoriyama]

The young man hastily returned to sign language, feeling foolish. 'Oh...not mute, so you're deaf?' Of course she must have been, what else could she be? 'I'm sorry, that was stupid.' He wanted to hit himself again, or at least tug on his bangs, but alas, once more, he reached up only to find no bangs long enough to tug on. He had to stop doing that.

'Yes,' he acknowledged hesitantly, returning his focus to their conversation on why she was trying to teach Lady to battle. 'That would make sense, wouldn't it?' He didn't seem at all bothered by the idea that Corinne was trying to deceive her school. After what she had been through, he was surprised she even bothered to make it seem like she was doing anything at all instead of just being outright difficult.

Noticing Lady's reaction to his signs, Akira beamed at her. 'Good Lady,' he told her. 'You're a smart girl, aren't you?' Nevertheless, he carefully watched her as if afraid she might do something unexpected. No such emotion showed on his face, though, and he smiled admiringly at the mention of Lady's professional training. 'It really shows,' he signed to her owner.

Pausing a minute, he considered something. 'I think I might be able to help you teach Lady,' he told Corinne. 'I have a couple ideas, but I don't know if they will work. Might as well try.' He turned firmly to Lady in order to get her full attention.

"Lady," he said, using both sign language and verbal words, "Use Ember." That was a fire attack, right? Akira had no idea if she knew the attack, recognized the order (in either language) or if she would even obey him if she did, but what did they have to lose if she didn't? At least they might learn if she could at least use the attack. Though he wasn't sure what the name for the pokemon attack was called, he spelled out the word 'E-M-B-E-R' with his hands and then made a fire sign.  

[Suudonym]

A nod to confirm his conclusion, and a shake of her head to deny his comment against himself - though she was a little surprised that he had thought her mute rather than deaf. Perhaps it was because she could still respond when he spoke aloud. 'I learned lip-reading when I was young,' she clarified. 'It's made communicating a fair bit easier.'

Lady continued to watch the gestures she was shown, wagging her tail at the compliment but not behaving in an otherwise notably friendly manner. She was still in the midst of a lengthy evaluative process to determine whether or not this stranger was one who should be permitted to share company with her Corinne. So far he hadn't done anything to earn any marks against himself, but that didn't necessarily absolve his character of all doubt.

Corinne responded to his suggestion with still hands, instead tilting her head slightly in curiosity and watching what actions he took. Her eyes stayed on his hands, though her peripheral vision noted that he also spoke. Lady, who understand the command, raised her ears critically before looking to her trainer for confirmation. The girl nodded to give her the go ahead, and the Growlithe stood, turned to face away from the humans, and grudgingly used a small Ember attack.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Unaware that he was under scrutiny by Corinne's furry friend, Akira was pleased that the girl seemed to approve of his attempt. He was even more pleased by Lady's response, grudging though it was, and applauded.

'That was wonderful,' he declared with both verbal and physical languages. 'Corinne, maybe you can make a short-hand version of that attack like you have shortened versions of your names. It might be faster, and Lady seems more than capable.' He paused, thinking. 'I have a grass-type pokemon with me if you want to have a practice battle.'

Nodding in response to her explanation regarding lip-reading, Akira beamed. 'I see. I learned some lip-reading myself. Mostly because of these.' He lifted the ear buds that dangled from his pocket to show her before stuffing them in properly. It was then that he was struck by a thought. A horrible, awful realization.

'Corinne,' he signed slowly, though he feared he already knew the answer. 'Have you always been deaf?' If she had been born with her disability, as Asumi had, then she wouldn't have ever known what she was missing out on. Still, it pained Akira to think that one of the things he loved most in the world - the one constant comfort that had always remained an inspiration to him in times both good and bad - had never been known to Corinne.

'Have you ever heard music?'  

[Suudonym]

Corinne nodded in response to the suggestion and gestured to obtain Lady's attention. On receiving it, she spelled out E-M-B-E-R the same as Akira had and followed it with the righthand part for 'hit' and the lefthand part for 'fire.' Lady, who had heard their company's verbal explanation, understood her intent and gave a small, visible woof in understanding.

'This could work,' the girl signed thoughtfully, 'but wouldn't she be at a disadvantage in battle because she would have to turn her back on her opponent and look at me to see her command?' It was a puzzling conundrum. She supposed that maybe she could place a mirror on the opposite side of the battlefield, but that would require carrying around a large mirror any time she anticipated battling…

Corinne recognized the form of the earbuds, but she didn't understand the sense of dread that manifested in his gestures. She nodded in the affirmative to confirm his suspicion, but his second question required more explanation, 'I have, but not in the same way you think of it. If it's loud enough to vibrate, I can experience it. With most genres, all I need to do is put my hand on a speaker.' Live music was a treat as well, though rare and often expensive.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Amazed at the almost-instant progress that Corinne and Lady had just made, he looked on in wonder, considering future possibilities. At least until the female trainer's expressed concern burst his bubbles.

It wasn't entirely hopeless, though. He gave her a sly look. 'Corinne, if you can use your voice, you should,' he signed and spoke. 'Just because you're deaf doesn't mean you have to be mute too, does it?' The young man considered.

'You don't have to speak words for people to understand; just get Lady to connect your specified sounds to her attacks. You can make up words if you want, or even just whistle in different pitches. Using different levels of force,' he amended. 'It may be a long shot, but if you can just teach her enough to show your school what you've learned, wouldn't it be worth it? You don't even have to do real battles.'

He smiled sympathetically at her experience of music, wondering how that could be enough. It just wasn't the same; like trying to explain color to someone who could only see in black and white. Still, black and white was preferable to nothing, just as vibrations were preferable to silence and stillness.

'Do you have a favorite kind of music?' he asked, hoping it wasn't a rude question and wondering if she could, indeed, tell the difference between music genres simply through the vibrations. The idea intrigued him.  

[Suudonym]

She shook her head adamantly at the suggestion, her expression set in a slight pout. 'I'm not good at speaking. I sound bad.' She'd tried it once before when she was much younger, but her absence of understanding of such simple concepts as volume made it difficult for her to convey words properly. 'Verbal deaf are usually so because they have enough hearing that aids or implants can improve their ability enough to have control over their speech.' She didn't have that same ability, so while she had at one point felt she understood lip-reading well enough to reproduce the sounds correctly, her peers had quickly informed her otherwise.

'I'd rather not use my voice if I don't have to,' she signed curtly. 'I don't know if I could reproduce the sounds faithfully enough for them to be useful.' More importantly, though, she just didn't want to embarrass herself making random sounds in front of people she was likely not to know. She'd had quite enough of seeing the laughter in people's expression in response to her attempts at vocalizing; she knew they hadn't meant any offense, but even so.

'I like a lot of modern electronica subgenres,' she answered, more animated with the subject. 'People have said it doesn't suit my image, but a lot of them have strong, interesting rhythms that are fun to experience.'  

[Akira Midoriyama]

With a sympathetic smile, Akira shook his head. 'It doesn't matter how you sound as long as Lady can associate your sounds with attacks, right? No one else needs to understand. You can make your own words if you wish.'

He thought of Momoko; her voice so hoarse from disuse that she could only make a few strangled noises and had to communicate through typed texts, like Corinne. 'You don't have to if you don't want to, though,' he quickly amended. 'I understand about not being able to hear enough to control your voice, though. If you're not comfortable with it, you shouldn't need to.' The other kids had teased and laughed at Momoko. They had thought her mentally-challenged simply because of her less-than-perfect attempts at forming proper words. The girl had been immensely brave to even try.

Nodding in acknowledgement at her signed opinion on the matter, he tried to imagine just how difficult it would be to try to reproduce the same sounds without being able to hear them. He'd been stupid again. 'I'm sorry, that was very insensitive of me,' he apologized, his face contorting into an expression of deep regret. 'I should have remembered how cruel people can be.'

His brows shot up in astonished delight at her response regarding favorite music genre. 'That's fantastic,' he told her, just as enthused. 'I love modern electronica. Techno music is among my favorite.' But his features darkened for an instant when she mentioned her image.

'What do they know?' Akira answered, though his bitterness wasn't as evident in his signs as his voice, which, of course, Corinne couldn't hear. 'People shouldn't mistake a person's image for who they are. An image is comprised of assumptions, and that in itself should prove how wrong they are. They shouldn't presume to know you.'  

[Suudonym]

She felt guilty for refuting an idea that was more or less sound primarily on grounds of pride, so when she raised her hands again, it was with a suggestion for the question at hand, 'Is it allowed for me to stand on the opponent's side of the field? Then I would be facing Lady.' She wasn't completely sure of all the official rules for battling, though, so she had her doubts as to the prospective success of the solution.

'The benefit I've got,' she gestured, wearing a smart expression, 'is that if the lyrics are strange, I don't have to deal with them.' She had looked up lyrics from time to time out of curiosity but found, more often than not, that they were peculiar and difficult to comprehend within the genre. Acoustic performances usually had more compelling lyrics, but they tended to lack a lot of variation. It was a little give and take, she supposed.

She waved a hand slightly in dismission, surprised in his sudden interest in the subject, 'It is a little strange though, right? I don't think you could find anyone less suited for the clubbing scene.' At least, it was her understanding that electronica had evolved from the nightclub scene, and she certainly wasn't a great fit for such a hobby. Nighttime was best for sleeping, after all.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira blinked before uttering a short laugh. 'I don't think so,' he signed back. 'The opponent might think you were up to something more than commanding your own pokemon. But don't worry about it,' the brunet advised. 'I'm sure there are other ways.'

'If only you had a psychic pokemon...shouldn't it be able to understand you without verbal or typed commands. Or at least be able to relay it to another pokemon, though I suppose that might be cause for suspicion too, unless it was a double-battle...' As he spoke these thoughts with his hands and voice, he almost seemed to be speaking to himself, as immersed as he was. His gestures became less pronounced and the volume of his voice faded. He looked up. 'Can you have a translator? I can speak the command if I see you sign it. And, of course, if Lady will permit me to interpret.'

Drawn from his pondering of battles, he chuckled at her comment concerning the song lyrics. 'Yes, they can be a bit peculiar,' he agreed, 'but I like to think that music is as much if not more about the sound and the way it makes one feel as the lyrics themselves.' Beaming at Corinne's question, he shook his head.

'I've come to learn how foolish it is to judge people by appearances,' Akira confessed, fiddling with the tips of hair that ended just short of the back of his neck. 'I myself have never been to any clubs, only heard of them, so I'm afraid I wouldn't know what meets the criteria for being 'suited'.'

He was surprised how talkative he'd become, though the irony that his fellow conversationalist was deaf did not escape him. He hoped he wasn't annoying her. 'It was my sister who taught me my love of music and its uses for communication. Since she was mute, when she wanted to comfort me, she would use a comforting song and play it - '

Akira froze. "That's it!" he cried, momentarily forgetting to sign. "Corinne - ah! Sorry - " His hands flew up. Though the girl could read lips, he didn't want to inconvenience her in any way. It just wasn't polite; not to mention he needed to practice his signing. 'Corinne, what if you used music to indicate attacks to Lady?'  

[Suudonym]

'I've thought about psychic-types,' she said with a slight frown, 'but I'm a little dubious. Can they really read minds perfectly?' And if so, wasn't that kind of scary? Even if communication was often a bit harder for Corinne than for others, that didn't necessarily make her thoughts any less sacred a place. She wasn't certain she liked the idea of a pokemon being capable of intruding upon her mind. At the suggestion of a translator, she shook her head, 'I'm under the condition of meeting the requirements without any special accommodations, since I pushed so much to get them to allow me to do it.' Better than having to deal with whatever accommodations they made for her schooling in a region without any specialized programs, she figured.

Corinne nodded, 'I haven't either, but I knew someone who sneaked into one once. She said she thought I would like it, since the music is played so loud.' It was an interesting thought, but as far as she knew, most clubs had a minimum age requirement of 18.

She watched her company's story in interest, feeling just slightly put off by the idea of using someone else's words to convey one's own emotions. She would have thought that the phrase "actions speak louder than words" would be a core philosophy for anyone unable to speak. She supposed that music was something of a universal language, though…

The sudden excitement in his disposition took her by surprise, and her eyes darted from lips to hands to keep up with his communication. The idea he conveyed was an intriguing one, and she pursed her lips thoughtfully. 'It could work,' she agreed, nodding. 'It's the same as associating words with gestures, only with sounds.' The idea coalesced further as she considered it, and she raised her hands to offer an amendment, 'Or maybe I could keep recordings of the commands on my phone.' She did have the one recording of her name in case anyone ever asked her how to pronounce it, so the capability existed.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

'Ah...yes, the 'reading minds' bit would be a bit disconcerting, wouldn't it?' He smiled uneasily. 'And I guess I should have known about the translator thing, since I'm not sure why you would be pushing yourself so hard to train Lady if it was that easy. But it's good to challenge ourselves every now and then, yes?'

Corinne's independence and ability to rely on herself as much as (if not more than) others truly impressed Akira. He was betting she was already far more capable of being independent than he himself, someone who had little to no disability save for his lack of common knowledge regarding the city.

At the mention of a friend who had slipped into a club, the brown-haired boy laughed. 'You didn't go with her?' The age requirement in clubs was not known to the 22-year-old.

'That's wonderful!' he cried, clasping his hands together in a joyous gesture. 'Your opponent isn't likely to think much more of it than a ringtone. They'll have no clue what to expect from you and Lady!'

In his enthusiasm, he didn't seem to sense Corinne's feelings toward the use of others' music to express oneself. As sheltered as Akira had been, so had his sisters, and so the philosophy of actions speaking louder than words hadn't entirely come through aside from participating in the plays that their two younger sisters had created. Asumi had relished in music as if it were a voice of her own, valuing, as Akira had previously mentioned, the melody and atmosphere of each song as much as the words in the lyrics.  

[Suudonym]

A nod and a confident smile, 'I'd contend that I'm pretty good with challenges.' As long as said challenges weren't stupid and pointless, like learning to battle when she had no intention of ever battling practically.

She shook her head at the question, dark hair swaying with the movement. 'I'm not much of a sneaky person,' she admitted with a light shrug. 'Too young to get in without taking chances I had no interest in taking. I'm sure I'll go some day, though.'

Corinne wore a smile with a quality that indicated she might have laughed if she had the voice for it, and she waved her hand dismissively. 'I'm not sure about opponents. Ideally I'll just show them that I can give her a command and that she'll obey it and they'll give me my check mark and go on their way.'