"They're signposts, yes," Tommy agreed, before telling Robert the name that Kelan had given his language. Then he slowly repeated it since it was one of the more tongue-twistery phrases Kelan had taught him. "It's the most common of all the languages from this area of space."
Then he smiled at the question about Rawm. "I've got a Raijū for a pet, yeah. Well, he's far smarter than an Earth pet, so I don't think 'pet' is exactly the right word for it, but essentially, yes. I do." Rawm huffed in agreement just as an arc of electricity flickered over his face and down to his tummy.
"We're... yes, that. Sort of." He paused for a moment, quickly sorting through things that might be useful before continuing to talk. "You're outside of your time, though, so time back home has paused until you're sent back. The easiest way to envision it is, it's like you're a character in a book and someone's reading your story. When they put a marker in the book and put it on their shelf or bedside table, your story has paused until they pick the book back up and continue to read. A marker's been put in your book for now. If that helps. Does it help?" He didn't know, since this had always been his reality, first on the Island and now here.