[D7 EE] I Saw the Sign (open)

[Shinjo Miuna]

Miuna had had a rough couple of days but she was looking forward to seeing everyone gather again. Many of them were becoming quite good with communicating and she had hope that a few might actually become fluent in time.

Aono sat beside her next to the fire, her arm draped across her shoulders protectively. She worried for everything they were about to go through. These small moments of happiness and interaction were going to be few and far between in the coming days so they needed to take advantage while they still could.

[Kyosei of the Isawa]

While he'd been distracted, he was still curious. So, Kyosei was once again on the edges of this grouping. He still had the large stone he had been carving, and was working on it. He gave a nod to the teacher.

[Hanzou]

Hanzou soon arrived, moving directly up to the sisters.

"How are you?" he asked quietly, with concern.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

Ayumu arrived, signing a hello, and sitting quietly.

He found that the mood was surprisingly somber tonight.

[Seppun Dawei]

Dawei is not far behind, nodding and taking a seat.

[Inga]

Inga came back to this sign language class and maybe communicate with Miuna about the other night. Inga waved hello to the two Unicorn girls.

[Ninube]

Ninube returned and signed "Hello" correctly this time.

[Shinjo Miuna]

Hanzou soon arrived, moving directly up to the sisters.

"How are you?" he asked quietly, with concern.

Miuna was flattered that Hanzou had asked after her. She had been thinking about him and wondering when she'd see him again. She'd been so distraught that morning that she had considered seeking him out but instead Phi had come to see her and that was just what she had needed. She signed for him and Aono spoke quietly, in case he couldn't make out the signs fully. "I'm fine, really. Come see me after, okay?" She smiled warmly at him, taking his hand and giving it an affectionate squeeze. Aono smiled at the two of them. That they could find solace in each other's company during such uncertain times warmed her heart.


The sister's bowed and greeted all who came. Aono addressed the group with both signs and voice. "Welcome again, and thank you all for coming. Tonight we will do some work on phrase structure. Piecing together groups of words to make intelligible thoughts to express. We will take all the signs we have learned together so far and see what things we can say with them. If you still haven't chosen a sign name for yourself or you need some assistance, please don't hesitate to ask for help from myself or your fellow students. And of course, I and Miuna are here to address any questions or concerns that arise."

[Seppun Dawei]

Dawei signs, opening with his carving-motion sign for himself.

"Seppun Dawei says I will try."

[Hanzou]

"I'm fine, really. Come see me after, okay?"

He squeezed her hand in return, before signing a short reply.

"I will." he promised as he stepped back and took a seat nearby.

[Miyako]

Miyako arrived by the campfires for the next lesson that the Shinjo women had to offer on the language of signing. Though the previous time had her cuddled up in her cloak and blankets due to the cold, the weather was much warmer this time around, albeit with a light rain, and her straw cloak and hat were decorated with the colorful trinkets of feathers and stones and other shiny and vibrant things she fastened to them while she was spending time around the camp. She both listened and watched Aono as she tried to connect the hand gestures and signals with the words she was saying, fully understanding the spoken of course and at least believing she was accurately connecting the hands to the words in her mind. On the last part she said, however, she put up her hand just above her shoulder to signal she had a question.

"Sign name seems to be... personal, a sign that one chooses and sticks with to represent them. How did you both settle upon yours and was there something special that made you use that particular gesture to be... well, you?" And after she asked that, she looked down at her hands and crudely signed out in front of her: How you think and do get name for you?

[Shinjo Miuna]

Aono answered Miyako with a smile. "Miuna's sign name was easy as it's simply the two characters that make up the sounds of her name. For my name I simply chose the sign for the word "sister" because until now, we had only used these signs in our family and it was what Miuna called me already. Honestly it is something that you settle on because it feels like a good fit. So something special to you, something you really like or do for fun, or if your name has another meaning. It's something you can absolutely take your time with." The gentle patter of rain felt warm against their skin and dampened everyone's clothing.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Apropos names, does this silent language we're learning have a name of its own? A strong name is good as our Nezumi friend would say."

[Shinjo Miuna]

Miuna shook her head and Aono looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't think so," she said, "we've only ever really called it signing since we use hand signs to communicate. I'd never given much thought to it. Names are important, the Nezumi you met said this? Interesting, can you expand upon this, Ayumu?"

[Jiyo Ayumu]

Miuna shook her head and Aono looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't think so," she said, "we've only ever really called it signing since we use hand signs to communicate. I'd never given much thought to it. Names are important, the Nezumi you met said this? Interesting, can you expand upon this, Ayumu?"

"Sorry, but I don't know much more. I've heard them talk about strong names, big names, good names, but I have been unable to catch what they meant by that. For all I know, when they say name, they might be meaning a vastly different concept we have no word for in our language.

Actually, that raises a good question. How do we sign very abstract concepts? Like spirit, or essence, or hope?"

[Shinjo Miuna]

"That's actually a really great question, Ayumu. There are many signs for abstract concepts. Inga had asked about the word 'fate' during our last lesson. And Hanzou had asked about 'spirit'." Since she always signed when she taught, Ayumu got to see both signs for hope and spirit again. She even repeated them at the end for extra emphasis. Then she signed something they had not yet seen."This," she said, "means hope." She used it in a couple phrases, saying 'I hope you're well' and 'There is hope we will succeed'. She said, "Let's also take this time to work on the words 'he, she, we, you' and other ways of addressing specific individuals." She looked around the group, watching them interacting and signing with each other. Her heart swelled. She had no idea how quickly this would spark interest, and she secretly hoped to see it spread enough that it reached more people that it could help. It was uncommon but she thought of those like Miuna that were getting by without such a valuable tool. Then she looked at Miuna, a smart, beautiful and capable girl, navigating this world with much more ease. They were truly blessed, she realized. And she hoped that those blessings would follow them into the Shadowlands.

Miuna traveled around, offering smiles and gently correcting those that needed it.

[Seppun Dawei]

Dawei continues to practice, miming motions and having a somewhat goofy grin return to his face again and again.

[Hanzou]

Hanzou's eyes were more on Miuna than her signs, but he managed to follow the lesson. The discussion at hand was an interesting one. He'd never given much thought about languages or his ability to understand spirits the way he did.

[Miyako]

After a couple of tries, Miyako got the "hope" thing down and worked on stringing together some sentences with it. After a bit of practice and thought on some symbols, she grinned wide. "I think I have found my name!" she said proudly as she held up her hands to practice it.

I am Miyako. The gestures that she used for her name amounted to signing "Night Child" with some intensity and ending with a gesture of one hand on top of the other and her fingers fanning out as her hands moved in opposite directions. I hope you all are well. May the spirits guide you well.

[Kyosei of the Isawa]

Kyosei continued to observe. He wasn't really trying to do the moves himself, just watching, observing. Absorbing.