As the woman spoke, Dhivael thought she could discern what the redness in her cheeks meant. It could be related to embarrassment or to shame. Perhaps there was some guilt in that, too? “Have you ever used your voice to get your way in the past even if you are against it now?” Kay’s logic about using her voice for sex being the equivalent of rape interested Dhivael. From what she understood, sex had a lot of emotional morality surrounding it. Sex against one’s will was considered wrong, but that didn’t stop people from doing it.
“Would it truly be rape if they wanted it? They may not have a choice, but using your voice would make them willing, would it not?” Philosophy was something about which Dhivael was quite curious. She had toyed with the idea that learning about the philosophy of Earth would help her better understand the sentient life upon the planet. So far, it hadn’t helped much, but she had decided not to give up on it when it hadn’t wielded instant results. Some things took patience, and the Rihan had copious amounts of that.
“Learning English has had its difficulties. The jargon used by you is not always something I understand, but I have been here for a few months, and I am learning more and more about it. I will remember that ‘cool’ means ‘interesting.’” When Kay laughed at her, she thought she understood its meaning. She had heard laughter over many of the things she had said since she had been on Earth. Many people found her naivety of their language and culture amusing. However, much like an inside joke ((or any joke at all for her, really)), Dhivael did not quite grasp the intricacies of the meaning behind it.
Dhivael’s eyes moved to Kay’s hand as it touched her arm. This was another thing that was difficult to comprehend about Earthings. They touched each other a lot of the time. “I do not think that the word ‘home’ for you has the same meaning as the word for me. Home is merely the place where I was born, the place where I grew to maturity. It is simply a place. The members of my immediate family have their own tasks, and mine was to come to Earth to learn. They are familiar, yes, but I do not feel… longing to see them, if that is the proper word. I have duties to fulfill where I am now. I find this place more appealing, for it is a much more conducive environment for what I have decided to learn.”
She paused a moment before indicating the touch Kay had made. “What was the meaning of this touch?” There was no reproach in her voice, but there was really no emotion at all in her voice. It was obviously a question, but only Dhivael would know exactly that it was meant to satisfy her curiosity. “I intend to travel while I am on this planet, so I think it would be a good learning experience to visit your homeland and try a hamburger that will not make me ill.” Kay’s assumption about why a hamburger had its name didn’t really make sense to Dhivael at all, but she simply filed it away at the back of her mind. Perhaps it would have some use later.
Dhivael’s brows cinched together. “I only see it as something that takes valuable time to accomplish. While I am busy lifting this apple and biting into it and chewing it, I could be accomplishing valuable research instead. I do not see how one can accomplish an emotional response to something so trivial. Of course, that is merely how I would see it if trying to understand people was not the objective. I eat these things to understand, but I do not think I comprehend it as you do.”