Nehaalista nodded and shifted around the items on her table, selecting and discarding things as one thought or another came into mind. [Before, I could communicate with very few. As I gained friends who were willing to learn, I was able to use parchment and pen less and less. But it has always been my nature to sign first, write later.]

She seemed a little embarrassed of that as she finally selected a large blue stone and went to work on it. With little chips and cuts, she shaped the stone into an oval, and then went to work on putting facets into the stone to better catch the light.