Ten Zero

Ko-lee looked at Antimony. The woman was clearly still struggling with Origin, but was willing to try to argue with Sanza anyways. Ko-lee would've thought it was cute, if she didn't find it so incredibly pointless. "There's no way that Antimony is going to be able to do what I couldn't. ...but I guess there's no point in not at least trying. Plus, Sanza was very clear when he made his formal declaration. I may not request the assistance of a Tenno, or talk to them for or about Sharip. But I wouldn't be the one talking, and technically it wouldn't be for or about Sharip, it would be about whatever it is Antimony wants. And if Sharip gets brought up... well that's just coincidence." Ko-lee smiled to herself, pieces of a plan forming the more she thought about it. "I could talk to Antimony on the journey, explain my position, and how Sanza is stuck in his ways, and as long as I don't explicitly tell her to do anything on my behalf, I'm not really breaking the rules. It's just the generosity of a friend at that point."

"And why wouldn't she be generous?" Ko-lee continued in her mind. "I did save her life in the forest. Most people would want to do something to pay it back, and a handful of days of yard work doesn't really match up. Pretty much anyone would agree with me on that point." Ko-lee nodded her head, outwardly appearing to Antimony to agree with her request. She had begun to feel very confident of her plan she had just concocted, and was eager to get the ball rolling. "Okay, Antimony. You will talk to Sanza. He is at the lake," she said, being careful to enunciate each word, and avoid contractions wherever possible. The only sticking point in this plan was Antimony's ability to communicate, but she figured that an earnest expression, along with Ko-lee in the corner, would do a lot to bolster the argument. "Also, how are you supposed to form an elegant argument when your opponent can only understand 30% of what you're saying?" She thought to herself with a chuckle.

As far as Ko-lee was concerned, it was already a done deal.

I have this in the bag. The biggest issue is being unable to fully articulate to Sanza what it was I'm trying to say to him, but Ko-lee had let me know that she'd be willing to play interpreter between the two of us. My main goal is really to just convince him to let Ko-lee ferry me to Cetus, and then back again. Ko-lee seemed pretty sure that he didn't want anything to do with the Tenno, but I wasn't planning to bring them back for tea, I just needed an opportunity to chat. Once I did, I could set up some long term method of communication with the Lotus, and then we'd make our way back, simple as. I knew that, at least in the games, people could chat with the Tenno over long distances, but from what I can remember, it's never explained. Everyone just has these floating head zoom calls whenever you're in a mission, seemingly whether you're a good guy or a bad guy.

I'm not sure if it's a Tenno specific device, but I was sure I'd have more information once we got to Cetus. Then, all I had to do was spend my time in Sharip, conversing with the Lotus and determining our next course of action while doing chores and what not, and I'd only need to bounce when I was actually ready to make a move. The Lotus (and the Tenno) would never come anywhere near Sharip, and so there'd be no reason to worry about them causing tension with the Grineer. "All I have to do is explain all of that to Sanza with 16 words under my belt," I think to myself, somewhat self-deprecatingly. Like most things in life, this was definitely a case of easier said than done, but I wasn't planning on letting a little thing like 'feasability' stop me. I get up from the table, and follow Ko-lee to the front door, and we head out in to the perfectly pleasant midday weather of Sharip.

She starts her way down the road, and I make sure to keep pace with her, even as she is powerwalking to our destination. I have about a foot of height on her, which makes it easy for me to keep up with her eagerness. As we walk towards Sanza's whereabouts, I look around the settlement, still somewhat caught up by the simple beauty of the place. "I know it's not nice here, like in the Origin system, but it's nice 'here'. The weather is great, everyone's friendly, and I'm not really worried about keeping a roof over my head or food in my belly. I wish I could just transplant this little town with me when I make my way back home. Don't get me wrong, it's not nice enough to get me to want to stay, but I think everyone has at one point or another dreamed of having a little plot of land where you and 25 of your closest friends live. This feels like that, even if there's quite a few more than 25 people here."

As my eyes wander over the various houses and people in and around them, I realize that we are headed out of town. "Sanza... uhm. Sanza at lake?" I ask Ko-lee, stumbling over the preposition. I hadn't had a chance to actually visit the lake yet, but Ko-lee had described it to me during the tour of the city. Apparently the river that wound it's way through the trees of Lyka forest terminated at the lake, also named Lyka. So while I had nearly ate it in an attempt to make my way along the riverside, my initial thoughts of following the water had actually been correct. I just wasn't able to enact the plan as successfully as I hoped. I can actually see the river from our current position, and my eyes follow it's path to where I assume the lake is, hidden by the bulge of the road.

My eyes scan the lakeside, and eventually, I spot Sanza standing beside a woman I haven't met. The two are animatedly talking, and I while I can't see his expression from this distance, I can hear him laugh out loud. It doesn't appear that he's working, and his good spirits bode well for making the request. I look to my left, but Ko-lee's face is neutral, giving away very little about the woman, or the situation. "Not relevant then," I think to myself, as we get within range of a comfortable greeting. I take a breath, and just below a yell, saying "Hello there, Sanza! Great weather we're having!" It's a generic enough phrase, one of those nothing-burger sentences that you tend to learn early on, and use very little. In this case though, it's a perfect greeting, and it allows me to close the distance so his response doesn't need to be nearly as boisterous.

"Ahh, hello there friend! And Ko-lee, erawht you two nigdo rhee?" he says in response, his eyes still shining from his exchange with the woman. He quickly says a phrase to the woman that I can't understand, but it seems to be some sort of dismissal, and the woman gives a wave to Sanza as she walks off. Ko-lee make eye contact with the woman and nods her head once, but otherwise doesn't interact with her. I just give her a wave, not really knowing who she is, or what the protocol is in this situation. "Sorry we... we here. You talking." I apologize, to the best of my ability. "Ohh, ahh, dtno worry tobua ti," he says, giving a dismissal with his hand. He says another statement I don't quite catch, and this time, Ko-lee jumps in as response. I don't catch all of what she says either, as it's quite quick, but I do catch Antimony, Cetus, and Tenno as keywords in the sentence.

Sanza immediately focuses up, looking sharply at Ko-lee, before softening slightly while looking at me. In this case though, it's like a rock that's been polished slightly, and the look is still incredibly firm. "Mi sorry, Antimony, but eewr not tctienringa with the Tenno, iinhtw Sharip. Tsi a safety ssieu, I'm reus you can understand," he says, locking his eyes with mine. I take a moment to chew on his words and my response, before saying, "I am no Sharip. Antimony... different-" "Separate," Ko-lee corrects me, and I continue with a nod, "yes, separate. Grineer no know Antimony. Antimony safe talk to Tenno. Antimony know Tenno...," but I am struggling to find a word that explains that I want to do an information exchange with them. My pause is too long, and Ko-lee starts to look at me strangely, my sentence's meaning having been warped by the pause. "Ahh, no. Uhm. Antimony talk to Tenno, Tenno talk to Antimony. Same," I say, before deciding to sidestep the issue and get to the heart of the matter.

"Ko-lee bring Antimony to Cetus. Safe with Ko-lee. No safe with no Ko-lee. Please," I implore, finishing up on the only politeness word I have in the toolbelt. After a moment of silence, Ko-lee steps up, and I assume, fills in some of the gaps of my request, although her speech is a bit fast for me to follow. The day isn't over, but the work portion of the day is, and my brain is exhausted from having to try so hard for every single word. "This is more talking then I think I've done in the last three days combined. I've mostly been sticking to my flash cards and listening. I'm glad Ko-lee's here and we're on the same page, otherwise this would've been a nightmare to explain," I think to myself, as I wait for Ko-lee and Sanza to finish going back and forth. I do keep picking up words here and there, although they've switched to Ostron by this point, which I'm definitely weaker in, so I mostly am just hanging out and watching their faces.

After what feels like 10 minutes of back and forth between the two, Sanza nods his head once, and Ko-lee smiles brightly. Sanza turns to look at me, and says in Origin, "Ko-lee and I eahv moce ot a decision. She iwll njueryo whti you to Cetus, where you two iwll ayst orf two weeks. You yam vncorese twih the Tenno, and econ you ehav enod os, you lwil eb alwleod ot nruert here. Hevewro, ti si important taht you understand atht I od nto aehv yna resedi orf ftccilno tiinwh teh settlement. Any nrecosdcneepro you heva wiht the Tenno lliw pahnep whntii Cetus, and lwil nto eb boghtur kbac here. You lwli ton rnbgi the Tenno ackb hree, onr ask htme ot whos pu rehe artfe eth caft. Si tath clear?" says Sanza, his eyes searching mine for understanding.

"As mud," I think to myself, but I'm sure that Ko-lee will walk me through all the specific do's and don't later down the line. Broadly, I knew he didn't want Sharip and the Tenno to have any interactions, so I figured he was just being more specific about that, and since I didn't have any issue with it, I nodded my head. "Clear, friend!" I lie, hitting him with the double thumbs up. Sanza takes a moment more to look me in the eyes, before he softens up and starts smiling again like I had seen when we first approached. "Man, it's like Sanza the Chief versus Sanza the dad. That would've been intense to grow up with," I think, as I lock eyes with Ko-lee. She seems super happy about the outcome, more than I would've expected, since she was going to have to hand hold me through the forest for two weeks. But regardless, I was glad to have her on my side.

The following day, Ko-lee pulls me aside before I get a chance to step out for some more lorrid fondling. "Antimony," she starts, her eyes twinkling with a mischievous flare. "you are soft," and pokes me in the stomach. "Umfh," is all I manage to say in response, as her poke nailed me in the solar plexus, immediately taking my breath away. "I know," I say, rubbing the spot she poked me. "Why?" I ask, assuming that the metaphorical and literal jab at my weight had a purpose behind it. "You oamlst died in Lyka forest. Next time, you imhtg really die. So, practice," she says, holding up the zaw she always keeps strapped to her side, and continues, "I wlil kema you strong. More strong, more safe."

I found myself nodding my head along with her statement, not having an issue with what she was saying, in theory. "I've always wanted to lose weight, but it's hard to find the motivation. But not getting merc'd by another one of the jackrabbits from hell is a pretty good reason for motivation. Plus, I've never had a personal trainer before. I probably won't even be able to slack off if I want to, since she knows where I sleep. I just wonder what she has in mind for training," I think to myself, looking at the viscous weapon at her side. "How practice?" I ask, as I tear my eyes away from the zaw, and look back towards her face. She looks at me, and with a malicious grin, says one easy to understand word. "Run."

I knew immediately, it was a time for action, not questions, so without a single stretch under my belt, I take off in a dead sprint, headed towards the lake, since it's the only waypoint I can think of that is away from Ko-lee. Within moments, I'm huffing from the exertion. "Yea, two weeks of traipsing through the jungle would've had me laid out on my back, let's be honest. I wonder how much training we're actually gonna do before we leave though, because I already hate this," I think to myself, my mind wandering from the task at hand. I start to slow slightly, wanting to pace myself since I had taken off at full speed, but the moment I start to, I feel a sharp sting in my thigh, "Ow!" I exclaim, as I go to slap off the bug that had just stung me, but instead my hand touches the cold of metal, and my eyes shoot sharply down and to my left.

I was under the assumption that Ko-lee had still been standing near the front door of the house, as I didn't hear her follow after me, but I was very clearly wrong. Not only was she keeping pace with me with little to no effort, but she had been doing so so quietly, that even as I was staring at her I couldn't hear her footsteps on the cobbles below. "Well that's kind of insane, how is she running so quietly?" I think to myself, but the second my mind strays from the run, I immediately get smacked again. "Why!?" I half yell, half puff out towards her, the sting of the the flat side of the blade having struck the exact same spot that was still prickling from before. "When you think, you slow! No thinking! Jstu running!" she says with ease, and I can't find the words to formulate a response. "No think", I think to myself. "Only run. Only running. I imagine it's probably because if I get in my own head, I star-" "OW OKAY FUCK," I yell in English, having immediately been caught again. "I can't really not think! I've got fucking ADHD, not that you would know what that is, for fucks sake! You wouldn't happen to have so addy on you? No? Then please stop smacking me!" I rant in English, my chest heaving in between every word or two.

The few times I had exercised before, I had done so with music. It was one of the few ways I could somewhat turn my brain off, but even if I had brought my phone with me, it would only end up dying after an hour or so of playing from the music I had downloaded. I would need something else to focus on, something that could keep my mind busy, but also not be so engaging that my pace began to flag. My feet continue to hit the cobblestones in front of me, and I keep my eyes glued on my target's rough position, doing my best to avoid my mind wandering into unrelated tangents. I can hear my huffs and puffs, my chest already feeling tight from the small distance traveled, and I feel every thud as my feet hit the well laid stonework beneath.

'One-two-three-four', my feet go, and I start to adjust my length slightly so that each step is a little more even. I can hear the pace better than I can feel it, and I push just a little harder to get my feet sounding more like the beat to some sort of song. I do my best to focus on breathing in through my nose, out through my mouth, and I can hear the different cadence between the two forms of air movement. I stagger my breath so that it sounds like a polyrhythm along with the sounds of my foot, making sure that my breath is still even as I do so. I simply let the sounds intertwine with each other, and I can feel my arms start to pump in syncopation with the vibes that are forming. It's as though each movement of my body, in and out, is hitting a beat on a drum set, creating a rhythmic pattern that I'm finding hypnotic to listen to. I'm so focused on my body, that I barely notice Ko-lee's voice trying to reach my mind. "Antimony!" I hear her yell, and for a moment, I'm entirely aware again. "What?" I say, turning my head to look at the smaller woman behind me a ways. "Water," she says, and then I trip and fall face first into the lake.