“You mean we read each others’ minds?” The mammoth looked intrigued.
“Yes, and no. Only the stuff that we would say to each other if we were talking.”
“Well that’s good. I wouldn’t want my privacy invaded by a lower creature.”
Ilara was too excited by this new development to be offended. “You think of humans as lower creatures?”
“Well, yes. As a rule you are puny and small, you have tiny ears and feet, no tusks, and no noses to speak of. It’s a wonder you survive as a species. I expect you will all die out soon.”
“And yet here you are speaking to me.”
“I suppose I am, in a manner of speaking. You as an individual seem pleasant enough. There may be hope for your species.”
Ilana found herself oddly pleased by this. There was something satisfying in being the hope for one’s entire species. She bowed ceremoniously. “The hope of my species, at your service.”