Belmarniss may or may not be translating.

Sovi huffs and leaves.

Sigh.

...She starts packing up all remaining bits and pieces. The partially thread-sheathed wire gets treated most carefully.

Does she want help or is she all set there?

"I've got it. Find a place to set up or are you still looking? It'd be pretty fast to have found something already, I think? ...I'd like to get out of this room either way. You mentioned your mother doing hauling spells?"

Slow nod.

"I don't think I ought to walk around without Tongues, or learning the long way, but I want to do something other than sit in the dark and fuss with wires. Not that I didn't make progress. I just... Have a new appreciation for synthetic latex. Wrapping them in cloth and thread is taking a while. Should build something to do that for me."

Does Waltana want an introduction to the drow alphabet? In the form of Belmarniss writing letters on the slate and saying how they're pronounced?

Focusing on this is a lot better than moping!

Oh good.

Belmarniss is not going to try to take her anyplace until she asks her questions one at a time, when they're all rapid fire she can't be sure that nodding will be clear.

Waltana is kind of mood swingy but asks again if Belmarniss has already found a spot to set up again, later.

(Also, it looks like her version of a permanent light requires rewinding about once an hour.)

Handwobble about the spot.

"Yeah fair. It'd be great if there was a spot with - a consistent breeze. Or water. But I doubt it."

Belmarniss has a notebook and writes these desiderata down, blinking attentively in case there are more.

"-Or some sort of convenient heat source, I guess. These would all be ways to get energy without needing to haul so much coal in. Otherwise mostly just needs to be big."

Belmarniss makes various sizes of gesture with her arms at "big".

"Uhhh... Well, the bigger the better but if I'm going to build a kiln, a work area, the plant-zapper, troughs or pots for actual plants... Sixty, eighty feet or so? I guess it doesn't have to all be one chamber but ideally there'd be one entrance to the place?"

Nodnod.

"-Okay, it's been bothering me. Your family has slaves too. I guess it's - going with the flow - and slash or they'd be picked up by someone else or just killed if you didn't, something like that?"

Handwobble.

"-Ugh." Sigh. "I don't know what I'm doing pokin' at it. Like picking at a scab or an itch. Since we've established doing something about it would be counterproductive, an' all, and I have no solid way of double-checking it on my own yet."

Nod.

...Back to a somewhat grumpy language lesson.

She's focused intensely on it, and cunning. Maybe wizard-tier cunning, maybe not. Diligently repeats things and practices pronunciation.

Then she can make some respectable progress and learn Drow for whatever words she might expect to use with people other than Belmarniss.

After the Comprehend ends, she thinks for a bit to assemble:

"Me - do things? Or - work- This?" Gesture at the parts and bits.