Sang the Stray (Completed)

22. Cuss a Blue Streak

A/n: no more censored language filter...you've been warned!

So it turns out that slang words for excrement and copulation are used for Taren cursing, too. I guess some things really are universal.

About a kasse into Gabriel drying and styling my hair, the censoring feature lifted and I hear the Taren equivalent of, "Shit, Trouble, your hair color is fucking amazing." At least, that's the best translation I can come up with.  I did wonder if there was still some sort of filter though.  The Interface was giving me a very PG image of cartoon turds and two stick figures embracing in a horizontal position.  I heard plenty of those kinds of words at school back home to logically reason out what he really said.  I still tensed enough at the new vocabulary that the boys noticed.

Kota coughed, "You really should work on that Gabe, especially on mission."

" Shit...I mean...gah! Sorry, Trouble," Gabriel apologized.

"It okay, not bother me," I replied.

"Good.  It's fucking hard enough when we're out on rotation and mission logs are on," Gabriel said.

"Sang is still on first level monitoring, you know," Victor commented.  "If someone isn't watching now, then at some point, this conversation will be reviewed."

My face fell. This is why no one is ever going to be themselves or fully honest around me.  Could I ever really have friends this way?

Gabriel came around to my front and grabbed both sides of my face gently forcing me to look at him.  "Sang, I don't fucking care.  You hear me?" Gabriel said, so earnestly. 

Victor came over too.  "Sorry, Princess.  I shouldn't have brought it up," his face displaying concern for upsetting me.  "We do want you here with us.  Please don't be self-conscious.  All mission logs are temporary first level monitoring for all of us."

Kota added, "Tsee Blackbourne and I are advocating very hard that your monitoring be downgraded once we've completed testing ability enhancements.  However, we have to be careful and avoid any more surprises, like the fainting.  You also need to get enough rest and build your strength to convince Ista Phillips.  I know it must be frustrating.  Just be patient, Sang."

"And we'll be as fucking normal as possible around you, no matter what," added Gabriel, dropping his hands and returning attention to my hair.

Was it really possible that these sweet, handsome boys had only known me a few days and could care so much?  No one had ever shown me such attention and kindness.  To help push the monitoring issue to the back of my mind, I was going to do some more elementary math lessons.  However, I received an Interface invite message.

Interface Channel:  Group
Users: K🔬t∆, V🎼tor, G🎨be, S💝

G: hey y'all wanna play a game?

K: @ G🎨be - you can't just assign Sang a gamer tag like that

G: what? It's cute...besides I already know she likes pink and little bows...

V: huh?...what do you mean?

S: it fine...I do like pink....what game?

G: here to upload file

I soon found myself immersed in the 3D game.  Turns out boys and racing fancy, high speed vehicles is also universal.  We were astride sleek, hovering motorcycle -like craft speeding across a South Kolar terrain.  Kolar was one of two other worlds that the Lantarens of Muina had fled to.  It was divided into snow-covered North Kolar (which sounded a lot like Russia), and South Kolar that ranged from tropical to Grecian paradise.  The two major regions were separated by a vast desert which abruptly became almost impassable mountains that formed North Kolar's southern border.  They sounded quite disparate with completely different governments, economies, and languages.  However, since Tare had made contact and started sharing some technology, like a limited form of the Interface with Kolar's version of the Setari, the two regions were allied more closely.