"...you're pretty sure you've got 'magic' translating correctly -?"

Nod.

"Can anyone learn to do magic?"

"Anyone alien. Don't know Calado."

"We're Amentans. What would you need to find out?"

She considers this.

"Don't know Amentans. Amentans don't know magic. Need to know Amentans learn magic understand magic, understand doesn't--" she considers. "Understand things need doesn't do. Need to understand safe."

"It's dangerous to try to learn magic?" attempts Cadra.

She nods. "And--Amentans learn magic dangerous, magic dangerous--" she makes an illusion of a floating alien hitting another alien with lightning, then firmly banishes it and shakes her head.

"I'm not sure I follow."

"'Amentans learn magic' dangerous to 'Amentans doesn't magic'. Need understand Amentans learn magic not magic to Amentans not magic dangerous."

"- maybe we should start with some more Oahkar lessons. Now, I can get a linguist in here, but the more people know about you the greater the chance everything gets out of control with you in the middle, so I think I'll try myself for a bit, okay? And if I'm a lousy teacher we can get one of the senator's polymaths."

Nod.

She illusions someone stabbing another person. The stabbed person falls over with an unrealistic fountain of blood and doesn't get up again. She gestures and raises an eyebrow.

"...that appears to have been a representation of murder?" says Cadra. "Are you looking for vocabulary or trying to clarify how things may get out of control?"

"Vocabulary."

"The one person stabbed the other person. With a knife. Why is this vocabulary useful?"

"Amentan learn magic murder Amentan doesn't learn magic easy."

"...I do think dead people would have a hard time learning magic, yes..."

"Magic Amentan murder doesn't-magic Amentan easy."

"- magic makes it easy to commit murder? Well, so do guns - do you have guns -"

Illusion of a cannon. "Murder--one dangerous thing." She starts ticking off numbers on her fingers.

"Okay."

She sighs. Vocabulary building? Numbers?

Numbers!

Body parts?

As many as she likes.