[Flashback] He Made Me Do It! (Ma'ii)

[Chijana]

23rd of Winter, 508 AV The earth was red with heat. Winter in the Burning Lands was not filled with Zulrav’s gales or Morwen’s icy hold. Under the dark of night the desert folk would shiver by their sparse fires, but now the brilliant morning light seemed to melt the horizon, and set the ground ablaze. Chijana squinted, though the black band that crossed her eyes stifled the glare, Syna had only just begun to stride across the expanse that stretched above her, and she hung low in the direction the girl was walking. Waukaji’s claws flicked up soft dirt with each step as she trotted after the twelve year old. “Meet him by the acacia tree… Why should I have to meet anyone? My brother should take me himself if he wants me to learn so terribly, not a stranger who knows me only as the dumb one, the mute.” Waukaji’s great black ears twitched sympathetically as the pair reached a rocky spot less than half a bell’s distance from the Kalanue camp. “Niyol and the Wayhali will be happy to see me interacting with the tribe. They don’t care, what good is it for a hunter to speak anyway? Silence in the desert is life in the desert,” the girl paused, sighing with frustration for the benefit of her attentive listener. It was not difficult to move over the rough and sandy rocks that littered the area around the nearest acacia tree. “He is supposed to meet us here, so I guess we wait Waukaji. Brother said his name was Ma’ii, we’ve seen him before, by the tents. Brother Coyote I’ve heard father call him. A waste of time I say, this man will teach me nothing, not if he thinks I can learn nothing.” Chijana squatted in the scant shade offered by the acacia’s bare and spine covered branches. She had brought some hunting supplies with her, as this was supposed to be a lesson, but left the bow and arrows and small trap strapped to her back, her knife at her thin waist. Instead she scooped up a small stick from the ground. An airy, untidy sensation buzzed up her finger tips as she swept the large pebbles from a patch of dirt. Chin on tawny knee the child began to sketch her dog in the dust. The muse flopped into the shade of the trunk and panted, waiting for something interesting to happen.

[Ma'ii]

Ma'ii had been sitting on one of the branches of the acacia waiting for his first pupil as a hunter. Though the acacia's branches were bare, they did radiate from the trunk in all directions. Ma'ii only had to chose a branch that jutted westward so that the trunk would cast a shadow over him as the sun rose. A trick that Niyol taught him when he was but a boy. The raptors always flew high so that the sun would be in the eyes of those whom they chose to pounce on. What was good for the hunters of the sky is good enough for a Kalanue.

He watched as the young girl he'd heard of sullenly approach with her dog. The pads on his hands detecting her and her dogs movements more clearly as they approached, like the wind picking up speed and building up to a dust devil. I wonder if I was ever that beligerent. he thought to himself.

Finally the girl squatted in the shade of the acacia almost directly below Ma'ii's perch and started drawing in the dust.

"The first thing you have to learn is to not take things for granted Silent One. If you can learn that, then there is hope for you." Ma'ii said without any hint of condescension. He was merely stating a fact. While it was not so long ago that he heard the same thing from Niyol, it was, for all intents and purposes, in another life from before his Searching. He waited to see how the girl would react to this development, that way he would know how best to teach her.

[Chijana]

OOCQuick question, is it Nyali or Niyol who is head of the hunters? Two large hoops for ears appeared in the red dust, marked by the deep tracks of the stick and the mounds raised by its motion. Chijana frowned softly, preparing the reprimand Waukaji for wiggling so much, though she had drawn her friend many times before. Then the acacia tree spoke. A spirit of the desert, messenger for Eywaat! the child thought in surprise. She swayed on her heels and tumbled from her squat, landing hard on her bony rump. Stick held tight as though it was a holy relic Chijana looked to the talking tree. The shade allowed her to see what had escaped her eye before. Silent as a snake he waits to surprise me, catch me off guard! This is who you have chosen to train me? A trickster! Certainly a Coyote at heart… she thought, scowling at the silhouette that had spoken. Chijana stood, her leathery feet smearing out the dog's head, returning the image to the earth. “Th-th-that is a l-l… That is a l-l-lesson our… Our t-t-t-t… Ou-Our tribe has y-y-yet to, t-to l-learn.” Her throat felt tight and sticky as the words pressed their way out, consonants violently resisting the will of her tongue. All but choking on her small speech Chijana felt the heat of failure, or embarrassment rise to her face. The words had seemed clever in her mind, no doubt she looked like an idiot to this boy. Exactly what she had been trying to say. Why? Why did he have to surprise me? The ripple of tears burned in her eyes, turning them to boiling black oil as she glared up at Ma’ii. She did not let the precious water waste itself on her cheeks. Speaking with strangers was a struggle, her words barely surviving no matter Chijana’s effort, a surprise made the task worse. Her speech had failed though, and that was not a surprise, she would stick to small words now. Better to not weigh him down with my stone tongue. At his first sounds Waukaji had sprung up on her thin legs. The dog’s barks, high as a bird’s chirrup had peppered the empty spaces where Chijana would have put words if she could. Now she tapped her fingers along the soft hide of her waist wrap. A tsk whispered between her teeth silenced the splotchy canine, who came to nuzzle the stick in her hand. Her knuckles were white around it. "W-w-w-Well? T-teach." OOCMa'ii makes little girls cry! Haha.

[Ma'ii]

OOCIt's Niyol. Corrected my mistake.

Ma'ii gave a short, bark-like laugh.

"The Kalanue have not learned to not take things for granted you say. That may be true for most, but the hunters of the Kalanue have learned that lesson well." he said with humor in his voice and a crinkling of his eyes indicating amusement.

"I have already given you your first lesson. Can you tell me what it was and how you fared Silent One?" he asked, again without any trace of condescension. Ma'ii waited patiently for the girl to think things through.

Reason for short postSince Chijana might be difficult to teach, I've decided to give her confidence by allowing her to figure things out instead of Ma'ii feeding it to her.

[Chijana]

He was laughing at her! Red raced beneath her coppery cheeks as the girl glared up at the Kalanue hunter, failing to notice the friendly tone in his voice. He was laughing, just as they all did, just as Mother did. And soon he would become frustrated, tired, weary. They all did, especially Mother. Can I tell you? Can I tell you! Yes, I can if you want to stand like statues until the sun has finished her journey and Akajia comes to cool the earth. The girl’s webbed toes curled against the red dust that had been her drawing pad, leaving shallow gouges to mark her anxiety. If I can’t sound intelligent while speaking I must do my best to give him the right answer. What did I do wrong? He surprised me, snuck up, and caught me off guard… She was ready to respond. The desert air was warm and still in Chijana’s mouth, she held it slightly open, trying to force her way through the block that had risen up against her words. After long moments choking on her halted breath the girl’s words began to trickle out. “Be… b-b-b-b-b… B-b-be pre… pr-pr-pre… prepar-p-p-p-p… p-prepared,” she stammered, gulping at the end of the short sentence filled with difficult letters. Why is he doing this? Forcing me to speak? As much as Chijana hated the activity, she tried to finish answering him. This was something harder to say. “I f-f---ffailed.”

[Ma'ii]

Ma'ii slapped his thigh and gave another short, bark-like laugh.

"Very good Silent One! Being prepared is the mark of a hunter, if you are not prepared then you might wind up the hunted. Take a look out there." Ma'ii gestured towards the desert that was heating up fast as the sun rose. "The desert looks dead to the wetlanders, but the people of Brother-Crow know differently. There is life in the desert and that life is necessarily harsh. A mistake could be fatal."

Ma'ii allowed some time for what he said to sink in before continuing.

"Now for another lesson." Ma'ii stood up on the branch and proceeded to go down the tree by brachiating from one branch to the next until he was low enough to drop down without any incident.

"Find us an underground spring Silent One. Do not let the Dynakuva help you, use the gifts Brother-Crow gave us." He said as soon as he was standing beside Chijana.

[Chijana]

Was this man mocking her or praising her? Chijana’s black eyes settled with frustration on his laughing form. Folks laugh at the dumb and mute, but he said it was the right answer… So why is he laughing now? Though Ma’ii’s cheery disposition was confusing the young Chaktawe she did as he asked, and turned to look at Semele’s rolling form. Where the three stood the earth was red and rocky. Small plants grew beneath the rocks, their pale and waxy leaves curving out around the jagged edged of the earth to face the sun. Beyond their small patch of earth Syna’s presence was the only constant. The Burning Lands glowed in Chijana’s eyes as her light caught on the shifting grains of sand that were piled against one another. The desert was hardly empty, she knew that. But its children were quiet ones. Now was the time they slept, curled in the cool bellies of the dunes. Some would be out and about though. Snake bellies would roll through the sand, lifting themselves up by the tail and the head so the heat of the earth could not scald their smooth scales. Eywaat’s children would be flying high today, looking for the trails of sidewinders and the thin drag marks of lizard tails with tiny footprints strung along their lengths. The crows knew how to find the life of the desert, and there was much of it. But all the signs of life in the sky and sand were small and delicate. Ma’ii was right, they often passed unnoticed by the wetlanders in their caravans, who seemed so hurried and eager to escape the Chaktawe’s homeland. They did not see, did not listen. This was what Ma’ii had asked her to do, listen with her whole body. This was what Chijana was good at. Though Waukaji could speed the process she did not need the huge ears of her friend to hear Matsuki’s whispering. Chijana scooped her tongue against the back of her mouth, making a soft click, and dropping the stick, she flicked her wrist, gesturing behind her. Waukaji wagged her tail and stood behind the young girl obediently. Ma’ii could not accuse her of cheating now, her dog was a better listener than most Chaktawe, and would remain a pace behind the girl until she “said” otherwise. Chijana grinned and nodded at the young man who had been sent to mentor her. Now he will see I know what I am doing! she thought excitedly. The children of the desert learned from a young age the signs that would lead them to the gifts of Mother Matsuki. But it was a challenge, Chijana had never searched for water on her own, not without knowing there was a spring in the area. Do not worry, you’re in a good spot, she thought, remembering the words of her family. “Sand drinks Matsuki’s gift too greedily, look for rocks that will cradle the water in low spaces.” They were surrounded by rocks; she could feel their rough edges beneath her leathery feet. But they were high up. Chijana stepped around Ma’ii and the tree to the slope on the other side. It was steeper here, and rockier. Good, she thought, edging her way carefully over the hot stones. Chijana’s arms were out for balance, her fingers spread wide to listen carefully. She could not feel anything except for the faint whisper of Waukaji’s tail wagging and the stronger current of Ma’ii following her down the slope. OOCSorry for taking so long, and I realize nothing much happens in the post, but it was getting a bit long so I figured I’d wrap up the search for water the next time round.