Touch Articulation
There's little more terrifying than being lost in the dark. Alone, afraid, and without a guide. Unsure if your next step will be safe or take you off a ledge or on top of some fanged creature.
Sometimes all you need is a reassuring presence and such shivering terror lessens to something more manageable. A slight shaking of the hands or quiver in the voice are things one can work with, in spite of their fear.
We Otonomoi are familiar with this fear, considering our role throughout history being to deal in the dark where the Humans are loath to go. Our ability to peer into the dark might be greater overall, but it is not infallible. A room with no light at all is just as dark to us, as it is to a Human.
Combine this fact of life, alongside the kinds of creatures and beasts that can be found in the dark spaces between settlements, ancient Otonomoi developed what falls under the umbrella term of "Touch Articulation".
By using one's hand and through a series of pokes, drawn lines, and patterns of contact, two individuals (or perhaps three if each is particularly coordinated) can communicate with little to no sound. Most Otonomoi are taught at least a rudimentary form of this language. Enough to perhaps recognize common phrases, or parse out unknowns if given the chance too, but little else. Soldiers (particularly scouts and rangers), as well as medical personnel, are often taught a more advanced form that can be used for freeform communication.
Touch Articulation is not a universal language, even if there is a large amount of crossover between varieties at times. It is more a method to translate ones native language, dialect and all, into a silent alternative.
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