Page 114 of Ruby
“In the wrong place,” Ani replies.
I nod. “Breath placement determines structural meaning.”
Kira stares at me in betrayal. “That is cruel. Languages should not punish you for having lungs.”
Drasuk makes a low sound that may be amusement.
Kira hears it immediately. “Don’t you start. Your language is like someone sharpening knives inside a cave.”
“It is efficient,” Drasuk answers.
“It is aggressive,” she shoots back.
She attempts her song again. This time she holds the first note longer. Her face begins to flush from the effort, but the harmonic remains intact. I feel a small flicker of approval.
Then she panics.
She gasps for air.
The final tone leaps high and piercing.
A nearby bird abandons its branch.
I make an involuntary sound.
“What?” she demands.
I hesitate.
Ani grins at her. “You just proposed to the ocean.”
Eli collapses into helpless laughter.
“I did not,” Kira says.
“You did,” I confirm gently.
She drops backward into the sand with a dramatic groan. “This language might actually be worse than Drasuk’s.”
Ani wipes at her eyes. “Why?”
“In his you can’t cuss, which is fucking stupid,” Kira says. “But there’s texture. Bite. You can feel the insult. This?” She gestures toward the sea. “It’s all breath and poetry. You can’t even swear properly.”
Ani laughs. “You absolutely can. You just don’t have the proper control yet.”
“I have control,” Kira hisses. “I am always perfectly in control.”
“You have volume,” Ani corrects. “You need breath discipline.”
I hum in agreement. “Proper diaphragm engagement is essential for accurate obscenity.”
Eli nearly falls sideways laughing, tentacles keeping her propped as she wipes at her eyes.
Kira sits up and points at me accusingly. “You are enjoying this.”
“I am,” I admit.
She flops back into the sand again. “Fine. Ani needs to teach me breath control so I can appropriately insult aquatic ecosystems. I am serious as fuck, Szhe’ka. Wroahk needs some schooling and I can see how annoyed yourbirdiesquawks make him.”
