Welcome to Gaia! ::

((OOC: That's okay. I'm having the Weekend from Hell, too.))

"Oh. Like centaurs," said Katalina, losing interest somewhat. "Does the female attack the male if the presents aren't enough for her, like centaurs do?" She inspected him. "I don't see any scars on you," she added dubiously. "Besides, what do they need them for? Can't they just choose one? It seems easier."

There was probably a protocol for humans, too, she thought wearily. But they probably didn't have to either obey their fathers or disown themselves.

Katalina just chuckled. "Maybe I could ask your friend. Rose? Is that her name?" Then she added lightly, "I don't think it's really important, though. It's just that I was curious. Now, let's try those greetings again. Whatever order you like, and tell me one merperson you've met that you would use that greeting on - well, except the fourth one. You can just try to say that one."

Katalina chuckled softly, but quickly sobered when Joshua asked about the Sirens. "They have a different language, yes," she said quietly. "It's similar but not the same. Like your languages...French and Spanish, I think they are? We can understand one another, but it's not the exact same language." She looked down, becoming a little sad. "The Sirens aren't really as similar to us as you might think. A lot of things are different in their culture, as I'm sure Narcis or my mother would tell you if you ever find time to sit for a while and talk to them."

Shaking it off, she smiled. "You're doing really well with the friend sound. The lover one needs a bit more work. The other two...they aren't bad. Merfolk would understand what you meant, at least. That's pretty good for a start. Goodbyes are a little more complicated - there are at least eight of them, depending on who you're speaking to and how long it's likely to be before you see them again, so maybe we won't start on that just yet. Is there anything else you want to try?"

Katalina realized that he thought he'd upset her and she was sorry, but she didn't really want to talk about the differences in the Sirens' culture. Not that Joshua would know anything about this, but she knew that those differences were one of the only things that kept making her refuse her family's wishes, when otherwise they would have so perfectly coincided with hers.

Never mind that, she didn't want to think about it.

Katalina smiled a little when he thought up another thing to ask about. "Yes, there are a lot of ways to say goodbye. But asking for names is a good one. It's pretty universal, too. There are two versions, but you only need to know one - no one will be offended if you use it in place of the other. It goes like this." She made a light, fluting, rather bubbly sound that had the waver at the end signifying a question. "And if you do that without the waver and say your name right after, you're stating what your name is," she explained.

Katalina chuckled as she listened to his attempts to mimic it. "I may just have to get Narcis to teach you the Siren language," she murmured. "It's a little easier." By the second time, she was nodding a bit, and by the third she was smiling. "Good," she assured him. "Very good. No one would mistake you for a native speaker, but they'll appreciate your effort. All but the youngest should even understand it," she added teasingly.

"Now," she said. "Try to introduce yourself instead of asking what my name is. Remember what I told you?"

Katalina nodded when he was finished, looking delighted. "Perfect. That one was right on it. Do you realize that now you can carry out a good portion of a first conversation?" She chuckled. "I'm not kidding. Among our people, a first conversation usually amounts to hello, an introduction, a chat of maybe a few minutes, and goodbye. Then we use that to figure out if we want to talk to the person in question again."

Her eyes sparkled slightly. "I think they'll be intrigued enough by a person who can speak our tongue that they'd want to speak to you again."