The Neko's Tail (Book 2 of Astara)

The Faro

A loud knock woke the tiger up.

Grumbling about never being allowed to sleep as much as he wanted, Artemis rolled away from Elias and stood up. The neko's eyes blinked at him, cocooned under the sheets, and he smiled.

"Morning sleepyhead," he grinned, the neko bringing his mood back up.

Another knock at the door sent it plummeting once more. The tiger sped across the room, throwing the door open.

"Morning Captain," the black Dalmar on the other side said, adjusting his glasses. "This is the wake-up call you asked for."

"What? I didn't ask for a wake-up."

The Dalmar frowned.

"You didn't? This is room 13, right?"

"It should be room 14," Artemis grumbled.

The dog turned the door, angling it in the light.

"Crap," he muttered in his own tongue. "My apologies Captain. Have a good morning."

The Dalmar hurried toward another room, and Artemis closed the door, grumbling.

"Well," he sighed, looking at Elias. "We can try to get back to sleep, or we can wake up and get the day started."

The neko just stared back at him.

"Not going to help me decide?" Artemis asked.

Elias shrugged.

"It's funny, you are so expressive for such a quiet person, and then there are moments where I just have no idea what you're thinking."

His words were met with another blank stare and a yawn.

"Are you just not a morning person?"

Shrug.

"Or should I teach you sign language so you can talk without talking?"

The tiger's eyes widened.

"Actually, that's a great idea. Hold on a second, I'll be back."

Artemis sped out of the room, hurrying to his ship. He was going to find a way for Elias to talk, one way or another.

Elias studied the tablet in front of him, the motions of the hands on the screen entrancing him. A deep voice spoke as the gestures repeated themselves, labelling this motion "A".

Looking down at his hands, Elias copied the motions, flexing his fingers. It felt good, twisting his fingers around and stretching them.

On the other bed, he could see Artemis doing the same exercise, trying to learn the new language. He had warned Elias that the neko's translator wouldn't help. That used sound to translate, and with no sound, the device couldn't translate.

The neko played around with the letter for a while, startling when Artemis stood up. The tiger grabbed a cup of beer and drained it before turning to Elias.

"Hey, I need to figure out where the tests are held," he said. "I'm going to do some looking around. Are you okay here?"

Elias nodded, turning back to the tablet.

"I'm going to lock the door. Don't leave the room until I get back, okay? I'll knock on the door exactly twice."

He nodded again, watching the hand on his tablet sign a "B".

The door clicked shut, and Elias turned off his tablet, turning his attention back to the viewing screen. A bunch of kids chasing each other on the screen was much more interesting than a new language.