text, backdated to the 15th or so

[hellosirs]

[ First, he'd panicked. Suddenly being unable to speak was bad enough, but not being able to read or write was terrifying, and Angus had spent about an hour holed up in his room, trying to make sense of his books even though the text kept swimming out of focus. Some time with his family had helped calm him down, though, and it soon became obvious that this was the Turbo-Liches up to their usual fuckery. Things would go back to normal in a few days, but in the meantime, Angus was going to have to squash the fear down and try to figure out how to communicate, because miming things out could only get him so far.

Speaking didn't work. Writing didn't work. Typing didn't work, but... there was more than one keyboard on these phone things, wasn't there? Lup had shown him, once... ]

🤐

💬❌

✍️📵❌

👐🙌🤟❓❓❓

👩‍🎓❓

[ Anybody out there know sign language? Anyone willing to teach it? ]

Comments

[hellosirs]

❌❗️

[ He does not know sign language, but he's very excited at the idea of someone who does! ]

👐🙌🤟❓

🙏👩‍🎓❓

(👀👍)

[ It's cool, most of his friends aren't human. ]

[stealyoursoul]

Good thing for you I know enough to carry on at least some short conversations. Last place I was in had these monsters that killed you if you made a sound, so texting or signing were the only ways to communicate.

[He props his device up so that he can use both of his hands. It's almost entirely related to ASL, so the signs should be simple enough to learn.]

Let's just start with some basics.

[See, Leo is alright when he's not acting like a dick, which seems to be his default mood most of the time.]

video!

[hellosirs]

❗️❗️😱

[ Angus turns the video on, and the camera wobbles around for a few seconds before he gets the phone propped up against a stack of books on his bedside table. He's sitting cross-legged on his bed, looking bright-eyed and eager to learn. He even wiggles his fingers and gives Leo an encouraging little nod and a thumbs up, once he's situated.

As far as he's concerned, Leo is the opposite of a dick - he's just a nice guy who is willing to teach temporarily mute kids sign language! ]

[stealyoursoul]

Don't mention it, kid.

[He starts off with a few basic signs, just enough to say hello, goodbye, ask a question, and probably a very important one in a place like this, how to ask for help.]

[hellosirs]

[ He starts off a bit slow and hesitant, almost too careful to mimic the gestures properly, but Angus is a quick learner, and pretty soon he's signing right back at him. He's picked up a little bit of sign language from Avisheh too, just enough to sign 'Thank you' back at Leo once he has most of the signs down. ]

[stealyoursoul]

[Seems like the kid has got most of the basics down, so at least he'll be able to communicate with people around here.]

Good job. When you get your voice back, you can tell me your name. I'm Leo.

[hellosirs]

[ He flashes Leo a quick thumbs-up, and signs 'ANGUS' at the camera - another thing Avisheh taught him. He also signs 'AVISHEH', and since he doesn't have enough vocabulary to follow that up with 'taught me some words', he compensates with his phone again for the rest of the sentence. ]

👩‍🎓👐🙌🤟

[stealyoursoul]

You're welcome. Come look me up sometime later.

[This kid is just too pure and must be protected at all times. Good thing one of the redeeming qualities Leo has going for him is a big brother streak that makes him want to watch over anyone with a good soul.]