Jose
Even if she didn't know what her words meant, Minnah was quick to notice the concern in the other's body language, which was enough to ascertain their general meaning. She cringed internally at having made Vhun worry for no good reason. *Sorry*, she wrote, *I'm okay.* At least she didn't shrink back when Vhun's hands reached in her direction, which Minnah knew she would've done at the beginning of this conversation. *Just a little homesick, I suppose.* She did feel a little silly, getting so emotional over such a simple thing. Hopefully she could just move on from this topic to alleviate her embarrassment somewhat.

Taking a few deep breaths, she decided to focus on the words presented to her instead. Minnah curiously looked at the circular letters, finding them to be completely unfamiliar to her. But at least they didn't look too difficult to write, that was lucky. Of course, the impossibility of being able to say the words wasn't a big issue for her, because she couldn't say anything at all. Writing, reading, and understanding the spoken form, that seemed doable enough with some effort.

*Is it a hard language to learn?* Minnah asked curiously. She then hesitated, holding her quill in the air for a moment before adding; *If I'm asking too much, say so and I'll stop.* She didn't want to annoy Vhun, after all. *And if you want to ask anything, please feel free to do so.* Another pause, and then she recalled something she'd thought of a little while back.
** **

Passing her quill to her left hand, she once more crouched down next to her bag that still sat beneath the easel, careful not to squish Azeria with her body. Minnah dug through it for a few moments, then pulled out a few sheets of parchment with sketches on them, the same scene that was depicted on her painting. They were nice enough to look at, but Minnah had no use for them. She flipped them over to the empty backside and held them out to Vhun for her to take. After all, it seemed the mothfolk had been running out of parchment to write on, so why not give her some more?
Damon
Vhun seemed quite relieved that her attempt at verbal communication was understood, retracting her hands as Minnah began to write once more. Many people were quite disturbed by the sound of her language coupled by Vhun herself running toward them. However, this woman didn't seem to be afraid of her. That was absolutely a relief. She really did like her. Instead of replying with a card, the mothfolk just nodded along with her. Making her read right now seemed like it wouldn't help anyone.

The mothfolk kept her writing held out, allowing Minnah to continue to examine it. She did seem strangely intrigued by it, and if such a thing could serve as a distraction to her apparently poor mood, Vhun was more than happy to provide it. Her hands moved to shuffle through her cards once more at the question, slightly relieved that she wouldn't have to provide emotional support.

*Yes.*

A pause, the mothfolk's head turning down to watch Minnah stoop. What was she doing? Was she packing up to leave? That was a far less subtle cue than most gave, and somehow seemed uncharacteristic for this woman. Vhun took a small step back, leaning lightly forward as she watched her. Drawings? She was picking up drawings? Why? Though Vhun thought they were pretty, she definitely didn't think she should have them. Her head tilted, and then she pulled out her own piece of parchment, beginning to write. It was time to give a three-part answer.

*You aren't asking too much at all. Nobody seems to ask me anything. It is hard to learn my language because you have different parts for speaking.*

A line was drawn beneath this.

*You're an artist, yes? Do you paint for a living? You are very good at it. Do you speak any other languages?*

Another line. Separation of thoughts.

*I can't take those.*
Jose
Minnah was definitely trying to hold too much things at once, with Azeria on her left arm, the quill in her left hand and the parchment in her right. Well, it seemed like the fox would be fine with being on the ground for a little bit, so she gently placed her down. It'd be good for the aching in her arm too, give it a moment to rest.

Azeria didn't seem to mind very much, looking around for a moment before noticing that Vhun was still there. Well, why not? With what almost looked like a smile on her face, she walked towards the mothfolk, sat down on the ground and looked up at her, tail slowly swishing from left to right on the snow. She let out a yip to attract Vhun's attention, hoping to get more pets - or food, food would be equally as good. Azeria wasn't particularly hungry, she just liked to eat.

With the fox now on the ground, Minnah switched her pen back to her right hand and held the parchment in her left. Much better. Now that she could actually focus on what Vhun was writing, she did exactly that, leaning forward slightly to read.

She couldn't help but let out a silent chuckle at the first line. *That won't be a problem*, she wrote, and hesitated. *I*, another hesitation, *Can't exactly talk anyway.* Minnah paused, averting her gaze, thinking for a moment before she discarded that thought. *If I can write, read, and understand it, that's all I need.*

Minnah decided to follow Vhun's example and separate her answers, though she instead just waited until the previous words had vanished. *I do paint for a living, but my mother sells them for me. She's much prettier than I am. It sells better.* Perhaps, in an alternate timeline, Minnah might have grown up to be as beautiful as her mother, maybe even more so, but that wasn't the one she lived in. In this one, her appearance was simply off-putting to many people, and there wasn't much she could do about it.
_ _

Another few moments passed while she waited for the text to disappear, avoiding looking at it. It was a truth she didn't like being confronted with too much. *I know Elvish as well*, she then wrote, deliberately avoiding the word 'speak'. *But nothing else. What about you?* There might be yet another language that Vhun hadn't told her about, which would be even more impressive. Mastering another language was already hard enough, but two, or more? Frankly, Minnah wouldn't know what to think of that.

She held out the parchment once more when Vhun declined it, blank side pointing up. *I thought I saw yours was running out of space.* To be fair, she might have been mistaken in that, her vision wasn't perfect. *I don't need these, I was planning on tossing them anyway. But perhaps you might be able to make use of them?* It certainly would be less of a waste if they were reused for Vhun's writing. *If you don't want them, I'll put them back.* It was but an offer, after all.
Damon
The mothfolk's gaze, which had been squarely placed on Minnah for a few long minutes, slowly tilted down to examine the fox. The little creature had made her way over to Vhun, and the mothfolk really did want to interact with her. Slowly, Vhun bent at the knees, moving to extend her upper set of arms for the creature to sniff, still holding the cards in her lower arms. She really did want to just pick the little animal up, but didn't want it to bite her. That would be deeply embarrassing, and would probably hurt quite a lot.

Vhun kept writing as Minnah replied, giving a little hum as she slowly reached out to keep petting the fox. She nodded along as she spoke, not wanting this other woman to think that she was ignoring her. She really did like petting this creature, but she liked interacting with this woman more. She, after all, did need friends.

*Understanding it is hard too, but I think you could pick it up. You seem very observant.*

A noise something like a gasp of surprise came from Vhun at her next phrase, the creature tilting her head, fingers tapping against her leg. She didn't know what to say to this. What could she say? Telling Minnah she was beautiful wouldn't mean anything, given that Vhun hadn't actually seen her face. 

*I do not think you give yourself enough credit.*

She leaned forward to look at the parchment. Elvish? She couldn't speak that herself, though she'd always wanted to learn it. Perhaps, she thought, an exchange could be made. Or maybe not. She didn't want to make this into a transaction. That typically didn't bode well for future friendships.

*Elvish? That is impressive. I never tried to learn that one. I also understand Aarakocrian. I suppose it is not the most useful.*

Vhun hesitated once more at the final statement. Toss those? Why would anyone do that? Her hands that were petting the fox stilled a moment as she thought.

*I suppose I could use them in that case. Thank you. I am a little low on space.*

She had no intention of ruining such beautiful drawings. She'd just have to write lightly on the back so she could save and display them. Another pause, and then an unrelated question.

*Will your fox be upset if I pick her up?*