"I'm sure Kim gets sick of only havin' me to talk to," Aram admitted, grinning, as Hawk tore his gaze away from the camper.

"Oh, I been meaning to ask," Teige interjected, resting his chin on his hand. "Where'd you learn sign language in the first place? School?"

"N-no," Hawk answered, somewhat unseated by the question. He handed Aram the beer he'd gotten from the cooler, and continued, "Emry taught me an' Liya some. At first, it was stuff like 'stay down,' 'don't move,'"--he signed along with his words--"'keep quiet,' 'be careful,' y'know. But I liked learnin' it anyway. I always had a real hard time with readin'--I guess I'm real dyslexic, is why. But I could figure out sign language okay. Em was teachin' me more before he d--"

He paused.

"Anyway," he murmured, raising his own drink to his lips, "I guess I was too dumb to learn anythin' at school. They threw me out. 'S just as well."

Aram raised an eyebrow. "You sure they didn't throw you out 'cause you're a monster?" he asked. "'Cause as far as I can tell, you're smart as a whip. Just sayin'," he added, and headed back around the fire towards Kim.