"Emma, one person. Alli, one person." She points at Crystal-and-Pyay. "Two people?!"
"Two people! Crystal and Pyay. Crystal not-sleep, Pyay -" Wobbly uncertain gesture. "...sleep. Pyay not-sleep, Crystal sleep. People two two two not sleep."
"But- but- but-" Emma splutters. She gestures at- she doesn't even know what to call her now. Crystal? Pyay? Is... one of them... sleeping? "One person, not two."
Now she looks sad.
Map wave. "People one." She imitates the bundle-up gesture. "People not know. People not know... mice sleep, people not sleep. People not know cup crystal, cup silver, cup crystal." They haven't gone over silver, but hopefully it's obvious in context. "People not know. People one."
She doesn't know what to do about the sad part. Someone she left behind, from the sound of it? She's been good about not using her own language, for the most part, those were probably names? "Crystal and Pyay good...?" she asks tentatively. "Sad-" she mimes it, "no good?" She'd offer help, if she had any kind of vocabulary for it, but basic vocabulary is the rule of the day.
"Crystal and Pyay and Praip and Fwaysyee walk, walk, walk. Tlaaaa - not klaon - tlaaaaa - mmm - walk walk walk -" She jogs in place. "Eat Crystal and Pyay. Not know - Praip and Fwaysyee."
Emma supplies the word "run" sort of automatically, then attempts to process. So- the thing that keeps people from sleeping caught Crystal and Pyay, and- ate them? "Eat Crystal and Pyay, and- Praip and Fwaysyee- run?" she suggests. "Run good, Praip and Fwaysyee good?"
This is as close as she can to "as long as you don't know, might as well assume the best."
If Crystal-or-Pyay got that, it's not clear. She shrugs again. "Eat Crystal and Pyay. Crystal and Pyay -" She gestures. She - they - don't look very eaten.
Emma looks at her. "Emma see Crystal and Pyay. Crystal and Pyay not eat," she points out with a grin.
Oops. "No, no, um. Crystal and Pyay say, tlaa eat Crystal and Pyay. But. Emma see Crystal and Pyay. Tlaa eat? Tlaa not eat?"
Well, that's unhelpful. Emma makes her best mock-haughty face. "Crystal and Pyay here, tlaa eat bad," she declares, trying to suppress her smirk.
So, now what? She doesn't know want, or now, hopefully sounding questioning is close enough. "Um. Crystal and Pyay- read more book? Go, Emma go, see Chialto? Sleep? Eat?"
Exploring time! Perhaps Crystal and/or Pyay will find a particular book interesting.
Crystal or Pyay wants to learn more words and put them in her little glossary. (It comes up over the course of this that Emma is talking to Crystal and not Pyay. And, when Crystal finds a botanical field guide, that Pyay means "holly".)
(Well, for all that Crystal and Holly appeared a fair bit after dinner, it is fast approaching 'not night any more'.)
They go through books. Emma mostly goes for reference books and children's stories; things like maps and history books don't seem like the best use of their time.
When they mention that Emma is talking to Crystal, she inquires, "Emma know see Holly, Emma know see Crystal?"
"Holly eat pie," Crystal says. "Holly front - one-ly?" She might mean 'first'. They haven't covered ordinals.
Well, Emma is happy to detour to cover the word "number" and then the ordinals, to see if that clarifies things.
"Well. Hi Crystal," Emma says, smiling. "But. Now, Crystal say, Crystal front. Not now, Emma know...? Crystal Holly say, Emma know? More know?"