aldersprig | Signs of Love, a story of Addergoole Yr17 for the Giraffe Call

For itsamellama's Prompt.

Moore is from a story I'm working on for Addergoole: Year 9, although he's a Yr. 16 Student.

Cumhai is from A Couple Helping Hands and Littermate and Strange Favors

Addergoole has a landing page here

"Found anyone you like yet?" Cúmhaí tossed Moore a beer and flopped down in the chair across from him.

He shook his head. "Nah." Being an upperclassman was still a little weird to him; he wasn't sure how Cúmhaí was adjusting as quickly as she was. "They all talk too much."

She snorted, her face twisting while she doubled over in what he assumed had to be laughter. When she looked up at him again, she'd gotten it down to a smirk. "Such a guy."

"Hey." He gestured at his ears. "No fun when they can't slow down enough to make themselves understood." Much to his frustration, his Change nor his Words had come with an easy fix for the deafness that had plagued him from childhood.

Cúmhaí's smirk slid off her face. "Okay, for you, I can get that. But..." One of her doggish ears twitched. "I don't think you've met all the new students yet. I'll be back in a little bit."

"Coo..." It was too late; she was already gone. Moore leaned back against the couch and prepared himself for a blind date.

~

"Right in here, no, he doesn't bite. Well, my brother does, but I'm not introducing you to my brother right now. Here. This is Moore. Moore, this is Janoah."

Cúmhaí ushered the slender girl in and half-pushed her at the chair that was normally her own. She looked straight at Moore. "You two make nice, now."

"Yes, ma'am." He rolled his eyes at her. This was not going to end well, was it?

Across the coffee table from him, Janoah was looking at him with wide eyes. Deaf? she signed.

He stared at her. What?

Sorry, sorry. You deaf?

Yes. He found his hand gestures getting excited. You?

She shook her head, color coming to her pale cheeks. She had very nice cheeks. Moore shook his head. Distracted. He didn't need distractions right now.

Mute. Her signs were better than anyone he'd signed with in a long time. She added a complex sentence that meant, more or less, "as long as I've been aware."

He spared a glance for Cúmhaí, who was watching from the corner. "You win." He spared his crew-mate a grin, and turned back to the pretty girl with the eloquent hands.