1.28 – Consolation and clichés

In despair, Jeska brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.

“I thought I could handle it,” Jeska said from the floor. “It's this place. And that voice of his."

She thought for a moment, and said, “And the fact that he almost killed Riox!”

“He what?” Riox said.

“Jeska, it hurts me to see you losing your barbells,” Prnei said.

This wasn’t Prnei cutely misquoting a human cliché. In the past 700 years, many Earth-originated phrases had changed.

"Shereiously, who almosht got killed?" Riox said.

No one answered, and Riox promptly forgot what he was asking about.

There was a flash, an odd smell, and Anderson stood before them.

“Li ... ar ... said … you … were … all … here,” Anderson said. “Is … Jes ... ka … ok?”

“No,” Prnei said.

“I’m … sor… ry,” Anderson said.

“Thank you,” Jeska said. “But it's over. I can’t take it.”

“Pleashe do not give up,” Riox said.

“Yes,” Anderson said. “You … can’t … let … him … win.”

“He already won,” Jeska said. “I need to leave.”

She wiped her eyes.

“I guess I’m not as strong as you three,” Jeska said.

“We are not strong," Prnei said.

“We hate it here,” Riox said.

“So … ve... ry ... much,” Anderson said.

“But you’re not going crazy,” Jeska said. “I just want out. I have to get out!”

She started to cry again, out of desperation this time, not fury.

“I’ve tried to find a way home,” she said, wiping her eyes. “But there isn’t any.”

Riox thought about it for a moment. It took great willpower for him to force out the mental fog. When he finally succeeded, he felt proud.

“What if there ish?” Riox asked.

Stuck On: Is vs. Ish

Riox the General is trying to say "Is," not "Ish."

"Is" is the third-person singular form of the verb “to be.” The Ish are an aquatic alien race that collects clichés.

Speaking of clichés, Riox's question (without the slur) already rests next to "Nothing can possibly go wrong" and "It's too quiet" in the melodrama section of the central phrase library on the Ish homeworld.