visual | location: castle summers | Give Me Something I Can Believe

[slayersidekick]

For the first time in a while, Willow's making a visual transmission instead of relying on audio or replying visually to someone else. She's accepted - as much as she can, anyway - that Tara has pulled a Buffy: she's gone. The aliens sent her home. Still, that doesn't mean that her disappearance doesn't hurt. It hurts a lot and Willow's pretty sure

Comments

[Visual]

[imperial_long]

"I would be a terrible employee in a magic shop," Long admits, with a polite nod at Willow. Given the still-strained situation between them, he'd debated answering, but her mention of the transmission, well. He clears his throat.

"I understand the dialect of Chinese that was spoken in the transmission, but I am afraid that still wasn't entirely helpful. It was the same message as the previous speech, the one in Portuguese? But both transmissions were very garbled. I've been attempting to try and fill in the gaps, but so far my progress has been haphazard."

He clears his throat again, obviously hesitating, before saying, "If you do actually wish to learn another language, I could perhaps be of assistance."

[Visual]

[slayersidekick]

Yeah and she doesn't really want to employ him there anyway. Willow has a feeling that would just be asking for trouble between the two of them and that's not something she really wants right now.

"I wonder... what they're trying to get across."

She chews her lip thoughtfully before the rest of his words sink in. "Uh... maybe? I-it would give me something to do, but I wouldn't want to y'know... dump too much on you."

That and she's not really sure how much debt she wants to wrack up in regards to this guy. At least they're sort of trying to repair the damage that was done?

[Visual]

[imperial_long]

"I intend to share the results of my translation with the city once I have something more complete, but at the moment, my theory is that the transmission is a message from previous captives of the hamsters, who have escaped this city, or similar."

Long looks slightly sheepish at her next words, and offers a half-a-smile at Willow. "It is a selfish offer on my part. Languages are my field, and I enjoy teaching them. But you are under no obligation, of course... it was merely an offer."

[Visual]

[slayersidekick]

Willow's immediate thought is what Tara said her theory was on that... that they aren't the hamsters' first captives. Maybe people don't get sent home, but Willow refuses to believe that. She has to hope Tara's future is brighter than this. What little she knows.

"Maybe. I wonder how it's transmitting, though. This place doesn't exactly seem keen on radio wave transmissions or anything." Why, yes, Willow can talk technology shop, too, when she wants to.

"If it's no trouble, that'd be nice. What languages do you know?"

[Visual]

[imperial_long]

"I wouldn't know-- technology, especially of the level practiced here, is somewhat beyond my realm of expertise," Long admitted, and added on with a small snort-- "For me, the year is 1983. Even the tablets have been an adjustment."

And then Willow asked that question-- he supposed he really needed a good answer for that one sometime. He settled on his usual response so far, however vague: "Many. My field was languages, you see. Chinese, certainly, both Mandarin and Cantonese and the lesser-known dialects, although I will say that Chinese is not an easy language to begin with. French or German, perhaps? Spanish? These are fairly easy to pick up."

[Visual]

[slayersidekick]

"They're a little different for me. Early 2000's technology is a bit different, but not by too much." Besides, she's been known to figure out how to hack the government back in the nineties, so... Not much of a problem for her.

"That's pretty cool." And she looks very interested and impressed. "Maybe French, then. It's gotta be easier than Latin, right?"

Granted, she didn't use Latin for much aside from spells, but it still counts.

"Sometime when we both have a little time and energy, we can start slow and easy."

[Visual]

[imperial_long]

"That depends," says Long, ever the eager languages nerd. "If one has a very orderly mindset and a good focus on memorized rules, Latin is almost an ideal language. But French, despite being descended from Latin, is far more organic and, in my opinion, a beginner can more quickly grasp the essentials and be more quickly speaking it, even if not fluently--"

He breaks off, vaguely aware that probably not everyone else in the world loves lectures on comparative languages.

"--that is to say, yes, if you would like. Merely an offer. I shall let you get back to your interviewing of job applicants, miss Rosenberg."

[Visual]

[slayersidekick]

Willow nods along, listening intently. "I'm just... not very good at Latin anyway, but the most I've had to use it for is..." Spell incantations, but she's not really sure she wants to add that in when they're actually... getting along. "-not conversational Latin anyway.

It's okay. I don't mind the distraction. It's not like anyone's really raring to go right now. And I-I like this. Talking about languages."

Talking about anything rather than arguing about magic.

[Visual]

[imperial_long]

"Given that Latin is practically dead, it is difficult to have conversations in it, at least with the living," Long jokes, or tries to. He follows that with a half-smile for her saying that talking about the languages is pleasant- an acknowledgment they are trying not to irritate one another, however poorly they may manage to do at that.

"It is a topic almost guaranteed not to offend, no?"

"I... my interest in them was a hobby when I was young, a way to make sure I understood what I was reading, but I am afraid I become rather obsessive with my pursuits. I have grown into a collector of languages as some hoard stamps. Or insects."

[Visual]

[slayersidekick]

Willow offers a laugh at that. It's true. "Probably better to use living languages, then. They don't smell as much." Not that... she's ever been near enough to a corpse to know... They are indeed trying. It might not amount to much in the long run, but it's something for now.

"Exactly. U-unless you try to make a joke about them and it backfires." Sob, Willow, stop with the foot in mouth routine.

"That's cool, though. I kinda wish I'd had the time to learn more earlier, but... schools never really give you that option."

[Visual]

[imperial_long]

Long happens to think the joke is funny, because that is his sense of horrible humor. He smiles, and smiles a little more at her self-consciousness about it.

"I cannot remember who first said it, but there is a saying among classical students that the only good language is a dead language. Did your school not offer much in the way of language choices, then?"

[Visual]

[slayersidekick]

Oh good. She'd been a little afraid that her humor attempts would just fuel the rage between them.

She offers a laugh at his saying. "Not really. There's never much of a choice in anything these days. I figured I'd learn French because it might be useful. A-and besides... I'd like to go to France someday."

[Visual]

[imperial_long]

"Spanish is perhaps more useful in today's landscape," Long muses, although for him 'today' is 1983.

"As for France-- Notre Dame, I am afraid, has become a hive of commercialism. The Christ of the New Testament would surely have a choice condemnation prepared for the 'den of thieves' and so forth. But there are areas of Paris, and of the rest of France, that are still quite lovely."