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[thirtybits]

"This is Judah's voicemail, no need to leave your number, I'll reply as soon as I can."



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[thirtybits]

Why should I let you kick me, centurion? [The grin grows. But he does get up to sit beside Dorian.]

taking a wild guess on legal status weeeeee

[depicted]

Why? [Dorian leans towards Judas. While his Latin is more Late than Classical, it is smooth and easy compared to Hebrew, reflecting familiarity and practice. After all, he has hardly had anyone to speak with in Hebrew, but he and his friends were all excellent with Latin.] Because you can't stop me. But please, don't equate me with a centurion. I am a patrician, my darling dediticie.

as we learned before, it's impossible to find out

[thirtybits]

[It's just the opposite for Judas. He has heard Latin much more than he has spoken it. But there is at least one phrase he knows well, with perfect pronounciation, if only out of spite. And that's just the one he wants to use here.] I can stop you. I'll fight back.

[depicted]

[Dorian claps his hands together, laughing in delight.] Who would have believed it! There is your spine: hiding in the language of those who rule you.

[thirtybits]

[The rest he has to think through, chewing on his lip as he selects each word.] The one reason I used Latin. No point speaking or listening to the soldiers otherwise. I can do the same for you, if you want.

[depicted]

[Dorian raises his hands, indicating that there is no need to be hostile, and moves himself into Greek. He is as comfortable with it as he is with Latin.] What about this? More neutral ground?

[thirtybits]

[In embarrassment, Judas shakes his head, and speaks some of the only Greek words he knows.] No Greek. [It's back to Hebrew for him.] I can manage Arabic, Phoenician and Latin. While fluency is just Hebrew, English and Japanese. I only know enough Greek to recognise it and indicate I don't speak it. Yeshua and some of the others like Yaakov and Yohanan know it, it was more for...business and intellectuals. Not farmers and fishermen.

[depicted]

[After working out who 'Yaakov' and 'Yohanan' must be, he slips, however uncomfortably, back into Hebrew.] I didn't expect Arabic. A lot of speakers in the area?

[thirtybits]

[For Dorian's sake, he goes back to English. It's thrilling to revisit his mother tongue, but he doesn't want to make Dorian work too hard to entertain him that way.] Yeah, most of the Jews of my region came from around Egypt, and others besides. And maybe only half of us were Jewish there, while Galilee was pretty much one hundred percent, and all native to Judea.

[depicted]

And here I thought my home country was a linguistic mess. [Though it all gets translated anyway—eerie to notice, now that Kido has pointed it out to him—he can hear the difference in how Judas talks. He places his hand over Judas's.] Thank you for tolerating that. I didn't often get the chance to practice my Hebrew. Most of my friends were pure Hellenists.

[thirtybits]

[He shakes his head, laughing a little.] It was awful when I joined that group, I didn't know Phoenician, and most of them didn't speak much Hebrew. We were piecing things together with broken mixtures of those two and Latin. Or Jesus would have to translate everything.

[He lights up with another shake of his head, placing his other hand over top of Dorian's.] Tolerating it? I thought you were the one tolerating it for me. No one speaks my language with me, it was great! I'm pretty impressed you've retained it so well, especially with your circle being as it was.

[depicted]

Ah, then Hebrew severed us both from our groups. I more by choice, of course. [So Dorian makes the effort to return to Hebrew again. It is difficult, but that doesn't make it unworthwhile.] I enjoy it.

[thirtybits]

Yeah, even though it was the same country and a short distance, the Judah region was pretty far removed from Galilee. [Well, he certainly won't complain about the language being decided upon.] Do you? It's not as if it's a particularly 'nice' language.

[depicted]

[Dorian simply likes the way Judas seems to prefer using it, and hearing it.] The beauty in a language, that comes from how it is used. Language is sound. It is our work to make it music, not to make it noise.

[thirtybits]

[Judas is more attentive and bright with every word. It's just the same as what his clothes or name do to him, amplified for its continued use.] What do you mean?

[depicted]

[Hebrew lessons at Cambridge did not cover the kind of things Dorian is trying to say now. He works out each sentence in his head before trying to say it.] Sound is sound. Ugly or beautiful. Any language is harsh. Any language is pleasant. You work to make it one or the other. Like with— [No, he definitely doesn't have this one. He is pretty sure it wasn't a word in ancient times and he has no idea what it would be called now, and he doesn't know the general term for an 'instrument.' So he mimes the playing of a piano.] Your skill decides if your song is ugly or beautiful.

[thirtybits]

[It takes a moment to see what Dorian's going for, but when Judas realises, he nods. 'Piano' comes to him in English or Japanese, the same word either way, but he realises he has no Hebrew for it. Not alltogether surprising, but odd to think.] I see. Well, then your skill makes it pleasant to me.

[depicted]

[Dorian's smile expresses his disbelief.] Very little skill. It is merciful of you to take that attitude to it.

[It doesn't matter if he is good or bad at it. What matters is Judas's expression.]

[thirtybits]

Not at all, you're good at it! It's been ages since I've heard or used it myself, so it's not as if I'm any better. [He could not have anticipated how happy this would make him. And certainly doesn't realise his own expression.]

[depicted]

Nonsense. It is your mother's tongue. [It's good that a lot of his Hebrew was learned from the Bible because that gives a pretty big vocabulary, really.] Don't tell me you only use Japanese in modern times.

[thirtybits]

We live there, what else would we use? Sometimes they speak Latin, but, well...not with me so much.

[depicted]

I spoke English with Englishmen when I was in France. And when I was in Singapore, for that matter.

[The joys of being a former Imperial power: a feeling of linguistic entitlement.]

[thirtybits]

Yes, but most of the Apostles don't speak Hebrew. I'm an outsider in all ways, remember?

[depicted]

I remember. [He grips Judas's as if to bring him in.] But Yeshua knows it.

And I always assumed that Satan would taunt you in your own tongue.

[Accidentally forgetting that Satan is also an actual Hebrew word.]

[thirtybits]

Yes, but I'm never alone with him, it would be rude to speak something Buddha or who ever else is around doesn't understand.

[He immediately assumes satan in the sense of 'opposition'. So, Rome, right?] And as for them, that was still ages ago. But no, they mostly used Latin.