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Katie, though she would never have figured out the right way to explain it to them, was still a little bit angry with the crew.
They'd had translators for about a week, but no one was used to Nom and Katie understanding the others yet, not even Nom and Katie themselves… which meant that they could hear and understand everything being said about them, even if not directed at them.
"Is that approval?" Graecie was muttering to 4C as Katie nodded at something Kitty was saying.
"Yeah, I think so. They've done it in positive situations." The plasmoid replied, sounding curious. Katie stomped right over to them, though she attempted to be polite about it.
"Yes. Nodding is a common sign of approval. Head shaking is basically a way of saying no. Any other questions while I'm here?" Christ, Katie, not like that, pull it together!
Graecie and 4C at least had the decency to look sheepish. She was a little glad for it, if still angry in some capacity. It always stung when she overheard people discussing her and Nom like they were particularly interesting lab experiments. Bad memories.
"Sorry, Katie, I keep forgetting that I can just ask you these things," Graecie apologized. "Oh, dear, am I being offensive? That's— It must be so weird to hear yourself discussed like an animal and not a person, oh my stars, I am so sorry—"
"This almost makes it worse, actually," She hummed.
Graecie made a sound of pure embarrassment, and Katie felt a little bad, but then she reminded herself that she was being discussed like an animal and not a sentient, sapient being with hopes and dreams and a life.
4C also gave an apology, which Katie forced herself to sound okay when accepting.
Katie really liked this dress on her, actually. Kitty had outdone himself. It was soft green and sleeveless, with a short skirt that flared out around her when she twirled, and white mesh and rhinestones that made her feel like a rockstar. She paired it with the combat boots she'd taken from home.
So she wasn't offended at all when people were also inspecting it! Why wouldn't they? It was a stunning dress, and many of them said so, including a moment where she and Eloise fawned over the craftsmanship for five minutes straight.
That wasn't the point, though. The point was that no one thought they were allowed to touch her without asking anymore, which was great! She had honestly been weirded out by how often people thought they could just touch her with no warning. It had taken serious consideration not to bite people when they started fitting her for the disguise stuff.
Yes, she'd given consent for the actual disguise part via some charades, but she would have one hundred percent swatted at the measuring person if it hadn't been Kitty. The idea that any alien still believed they had the right to experiment on her, in any way, even the smallest kind of transgression, made her sick.
She sat at the dinner table next to 4C and Nom, one of the very few crew-members who actually showed up to every meal, because she needed three daily. It was a rare instance for all of the crew to show up for the late meal, but in the week since they'd gotten translators, it had happened every day.
Katie felt a little like a zoo attraction.
She engaged in pleasant conversation with the rest of the crew, giggling at 4C and joking with Cherri, and all was well until she slow-clapped at something Nom said, grinning sarcastically.
"Humans are so confusing," Cam sniffed as he ate his greens. Graecie and Cherri glanced at him, but said nothing. Nom visibly clenched his jaw. Katie had no such qualms.
"What an odd thing to say," She kept her voice dangerously light, a little bit of a reprimand and a little bit of a joke. "I think it's quite rude to go around calling other people's social behaviors confusing or weird, but maybe that's just me, right? 'Cause humans obviously aren't smart enough to comprehend how you talk about us, right?"
Cam looked sheepish. "I didn't mean it like that—"
She stood, pushing away her plate. Nom followed suit, and 4C looked nervous. "I would never say that to any of you! I don't call you weird or confusing or odd or even fascinating to your faces, do I? But since it's Katie and Nom, it's fine, is that what you think?"
Graecie also stood, her face twisted in some worried expression. "Where is this coming from? I'm sorry that we haven't had the context to understand humans yet, but—"
"No! You don't get to blame this on a lack of context!" Katie snapped, feeling horrible already. "Cam just called Humans confusing right in front of us and he didn't even apologize! I'm not insane for feeling like a fucking circus performer when people keep treating me like one!"
Nom nodded and grabbed for her hand, which she squeezed immediately once she had it. She huffed, and turned on her heel to go to their room.
The room sat in stunned silence for a few moments after the Humans'— after the siblings' departure.
"They're right, though," 4C said miserably.
Graecie stared at him, already a little bit too shocked to deal with this. She hadn't seen Katie angry with her in a while. "What do you mean?"
"You all have been defining them nearly entirely by their species. You refer to them as the Humans instead of Nom and Katie. I wouldn't call you the Arcanum, right? That's rude. That's a weird thing to say, but everyone's comfortable doing it to them." He replied.
Graecie suddenly felt terrible. They had been doing that. They were all significantly better at it than they used to be, but Nom and Katie were more than just Humans. They were siblings, musicians, hilarious jokesters, good friends, and empathetic people. They were people.
Cherri nodded. "I don't blame her for lashing out like that." She turned their deadly glare on Cam, who shrunk away from it. "You are going to apologize to them personally tomorrow, and Graecie and I will apologize to them as soon as dinner is done. I expect all of us to do better."
Mumbled echoes of 'yes, ma'am,' and 'sorry' filled the room.
Graecie put her head in her hands. She still hadn't apologized for pointing her blaster at Nom when they met. She'd barely thought to say sorry for all the confusion that being unable to communicate must have caused.
In a way, they were also captors. Sure, Nom and Katie could likely have stopped them from taking them by force, but… Graecie would have incapacitated them if they tried.
She was gonna throw up.