Mwenye stood with his back to the little oasis and his face to the desert sands. A dry breeze brought the scent of sand and little else. The evening light was fading, and he sighed quietly. There were two directions the tribe could go from here, to find another oasis big enough to support them all for the next while, and the leier and the tribe's elders had begun discussing which choice to make today. Well, the leier, the elders, and two youths. Hasani, technically a man grown now, was practically Hunai's son, even if not of his seed. And Mwenye, at only fifteen, did not yet officially have the duties of a prophet of the tribe, but since it was inevitable, none were foolish enough to suggest that he should not be welcome to listen to their discussions. Wisdom was best learned before it was needed.

The smaller oasis was less reliable, but the larger one was more likely to have another tribe present. Almost certain - accounting for the fact that the ancestors who spoke to the young man were still human and perfectly capable of error - but they had not told him which tribe they could expect to find there, and that was quite a significant factor. They would probably send a scout to the smaller oasis in the next day or so, since it was closer, if they didn't just end up deciding that Mweyne's relayed message was meant as a warning and they ought to simply take the tribe the other way on trust. That was an argument for tomorrow, however, or perhaps the day after; they were not in a rush.

Mwenye, however, knew more than just the words he had relayed to the elders. It was a lesson he had learned young, that sometimes there was no point speaking when he knew he wouldn't be listened to. Maybe that was why the ancestors were silent when he asked for advice, he wondered. Elders don't listen when they were too set in their ways. And boys didn't listen when they didn't know enough to understand. Hunai, at least, always listened seriously even when he didn't agree. But that was what it meant to be leier - to listen to all advice, and then make a decision himself. As for what it meant to be a prophet... Mwenye was still learning.

He headed out onto the sands, thoughtful but unworried, implicitly trusting the voices only he could hear.