[... oh. Azhar blinks up at Pittman at first, before it dawns on him. Right. He can't just assume people know about his tribe, can he?]

Mm... yes, I think that's right. [common language is hard.] We Vikute believe that carrying memory in our bones makes it stronger. It's our sturdiest part.

[never mind that he's clearly something else now, and his body definitely feels more fragile than it used to.]