Sikiakwa Moyo was a special boy in a very special sense of the word. He didn't play hunt or fight like most little boys or play make-believe. However, some might consider what he did do to be make believe. The Dawn walkers had one healer but what they didn't know is they had another in training. But his teachers were the trees and the grass and the shrubs. He believed everything had a voice if you just listened. And that was his namesake, even: "listen with you heart".
Today the odd green and yellow boy wandered a bit far from his home. His parents would be quite mad but he even hadn't quite realized it. He was distracted, hunting for a plant Mrs. Mti (the palm tree) had told him about after overhearing some birds talk about it. Something to do with Aloe. But he wasn't sure what. So he wanted to find out.
It was the day after his talk with Laini, the afternoon following his talk with Muroki, and come nightfall he'd give Laini the news and hopefully much more. The question that remained was would she say yes, or would she say no? In the meantime, Matifu did have things to tend to, duties and the like.
He was about to head out for some hunting when the young cub crossed his path. Well... not exactly a cub, but no adolescent either. Matifu watched the young one wander, wondering just how far from home he'd gotten. He looked like a pair of lions he'd seen in these lands, Safiya, and Moyenda, weren't they? Didn't Laini mention them once, or their litter?
"What is it that you're looking for little one?" Matifu rumbled gently, watching him search so eagerly.
Siki blinked, hearing a voice. It was a deep, resounding voice which clearly meant it was a "real" voice in the sense that others could hear it too. Looking up, he saw a male almost the color of the sand but a little more beige with markings and a dark brown mane. He probably had seen him around but Siki never payed much attention to other lions. Not with other things to talk to. His brother Banda was probably the closest one to him. They both had a fascination for talking to what others might consider "inanimate objects" and having tea parties.
"I'm looking for a plant," he said. "It's supposed to grow where the sand meets the grass. Called Aloe vera ...I think. Mrs. Mti told me about it. She heard from a bird that the leaves - for it's kinda fat and prickly - secrete this oil thingy which is supposed to be soothing. I'm not quite sure what for but I'm sure I'll find out once I find it and ask it." He nodded promptly. Yup, that was right.
Right! Matifu followed just fine up until the last bit, but it didn't cause his steps to faulter as he approached, only a brief lull in pace which was quickly rectified. He blinked, smiled a bit and nodded softly. Children needed encouragement, not scorning, and for all Matifu knew maybe the boy did speak to plants in a way that he wasn't aware.
"I see... do you know what it looks like? Maybe I can help you find it." Aloe Vera, that was something that he was sure Chamiyu had mentioned once before, though he couldn't recall them having any, thus he didn't know what he was searching for.
"Well," he said trying to remember exactly what it was he had been told. It was a bit hard to remember. Sometimes they felt more like dreams than conversations. "It's kind of pricky but not a cactus. The leaves grow out of the ground and are fat. Supposedly when you break them, this gooey stuff comes out. I heard it's good for you." He nodded. Yup that had to be what they told him. There might have been more but he couldn't remember.
He furrowed his brow. Wait. Who was this? His parents would be very mad if he talked to a stranger. But if he knew the lion's name then he wasn't a stranger, was he? "I'm Sikiakwa Moyo. Who're you?" he smiled politely.
"I see... I believe that I saw some like that just round over here actually." Matifu purred, glancing just up ahead towards the edge of the nearest oasis. He fell into an incredibly lazy pace walking towards it, mindful of the youth that would be walking just underfoot, so to say. "My name is Matifu, it's nice to meet you, Sikiakwa Moyo, do you have a nickname that you prefer, or do you mind if I shorten it a bit?" He questioned.
Siki's eyes lit up, his maw spreading into a wide smile. "You did?!" He had failed to find it on his own but regardless, this meant he was still able to see it and experiment with it. And see what exactly it really did. Of course, he could also talk with it. But he'd probably be forced to ask it to let him take a leaf back with him since it wasn't too close to home which meant he really wouldn't be able to talk to it much. Especiallly since others didn't much like to be around when he talked to plants.
"Everyone else calls me Siki," he said. Quickly, he trotted after Matifu, eager to witness the finding of the plant. "Hey Mr. Matifu, whatcha doin' out here, anyway?"
"Then I will as well, as long as it's alright by you, Siki." Matifu confirmed, glancing to the youth again at the question. He'd never gotten "Mr." before, it was amusing and strange all at once. Made him feel a bit old somehow. He chuckled, giving answer anyway. "Oh, I was just about to head out for a bit of hunting. Nothing that couldn't wait a while."
Siki's mouth formed a large "O". That would probably be his occupation when he grew up. He hadn't thought about it. But his dad was one so he supposed that was what he should be. Of course, being the youngest, he had a choice but with Siki's attention span, he hadn't paid attention enough to know that. He also hadn't done a good job learning to hunt.
Reaching the oasis, he looked around trying to find it. Looking at something that seemed like it could resemble what he was looking for, he pointed. "Is that it?' It was good to know that he had seen it before and it wasn't some wild goose chase. Maybe Matifu knew what it did too. "What's it for, do you know?"
Matifu couldn't help but grin, hanging back a little to let Siki begin the search. It would be more satisfying for the cub if he was the one to locate it, in the end. Upon spotting it, Matifu moved to have a look, lowering his massive head towards the ground for a better look. After a quick glance, a closer inspection, Matifu stood again and nodded.
"The very one. Very nice job, Siki, I'm not sure I could have found it again. I don't have much of an eye for herbs and flora..." He'd have a field day where Matifu were from, and Chamiyu would have loved to have met the boy, maybe taken an apprenticeship, but they had a healer here that could teach him things just as well too. "I believe that a friend once mentioned it being good against burned skin." He rumbled softly.
Siki grinned up at him, proud of himself almost as if Matifu were his teacher and were teaching him where to look. But then again, it might have been a little more comical if he had known the path fate had laid out for Matifu with his cousin Laini. Siki bent over the plant, poking it to get its attention. It didn't seem to be very responsive to his presence. But maybe it was just that he was used to the plant life near his family's home recognizing him and sharing with him the latest happenings and telling him stories. "Do you mind if I take a leaf or two? I know it doesn't hurt Mrs. Mti too much but that might be because she's a tree. I don't know if you know her..." The Aloe vera was very unresponsive, a bit of a grump it appeared. "Please?" The plant said nothing but didn't appear to be hostile about his prescence so he went ahead and took some. The plant didn't brook any refusals. Siki smiled. "Thank you."
He looked back up at Matifu, feeling he was a good source of luck. "Do you know any others?" Finding more helpful plants would be great. Siki only knew a few. Mrs. Mti only knew so much and that was because she was too tall to know much about what the small plants say.
Matifu watched the cub work with reserved mirth, only hiding it for Siki's sake, but how much it warmed Matifu's heart to be around young again. He could only hope that one day he'd be lucky enough to sire a second litter, wishing now that he hadn't waited so late in life to start any families. The first time he did he'd been hooked and spoiled, and life wouldn't be the same thereafter.
"I know of one or two, but I'm afraid they only grow in certain parts of the jungles. I've been quite as talented with plants as you seem to be... However, I do believe there's a healer here that knows much more than me, and can tell us all about different types of herbs?" He offered to escort the cub and help him look, if only to bring him back closer to home and keep an eye on him along the way.
He nodded. "Oh ok. That's too bad." They were too far from the jungle and he knew his father would probably never allow him to go that far from home. Not that Siki resented that. His parents were very kind and gentle if not the most in-love couple he ever saw. They were always saying things to each other and just like... looking at each other to the point that the cubs swore their parents forgot they were there. Siki didn't get it. But he didn't understand a lot of interactions. Didn't help that his conversations happened with plants.
"We have a healer? They know about plants?" Siki needed to pay attention some more. "Alright, let's go!" he exclaimed cheerfully.
Another soft smile and Matifu gave a nod, lifting to stand again as he led the cub back towards what was temporarily the heart of the Pride lands. All that would be changing in about a week's time, with any amount of good fortune. Then perhaps Siki would have more plants to explore further into the area, where the temple grounds stood.
"We do, now I believe her name is Fedha..."
Siki hoped that he would indeed find plenty of plants to learn the nature of and understand. Plants were very helpful beyond the fact that he could talk to them. Carefully grabbing the leaves he had picked in his mouth, he nodded to Matifu to lead the way hopefully politely enough. He couldn't wait to experiment with what he had found and to learn more. The healer had to know oodles that he didn't. He didn't know if he'd be able to sleep tonight as excited as he was.
