The Zaire have always been renowned healers, herbalists, and medics. Their dedication to the sanctity of life being very nearly legendary amongst the other Bedoan tribes. It was Tanishe, the young Leierin of the Zaire, who had managed to grow that reputation by leaps and bounds in the years that had passed since she and her husband, Hasani, had taken their places as the heads of the tribe.

In fact, her dedication to her people’s greatest art was topped only by her devotion to her husband, and her people’s own well being. It was her constant search for knowledge of new medicines, techniques, and herbs, that had allowed her to help grow her fellow healer’s repertoires, and thus the overall skill of her peoples medics. So much so, in fact, that some days were filled with visits from members of other tribes, clans, and families. Travelers and supplicants, sometimes from as far as Egypt, who had come to her and her healers for advice and help.

… Today, was not one of those days.

The sick tent was instead filled with tribesmen and women from the outer families of the Zaire, who had come in to get healing from the main camps healers. Stubborn old men, with equally stubborn coughs. One or two pregnant women, come to see the healers for advice and reassurances. A handful of children, scraped and bruised from their rough play. Without any of the guests or visitors, it was, by and by, an exceptionally calm day for the healers still, those healers rushed about with an urgency found in few other places in the tribe, making sure to take care of the needs of each of their patients.

That lack of other visitors was, honestly, much to Tanishe’s surprise. Especially considering how close the Somalu, having taken up residence around a nearby oasis, had come to the Zaire. The closest thing they’d had to a visit from them, was the handful of new slaves that Hasani had bought from the Somalu’s Leier. That thought made Tani’s face scrunch up in distaste, as she had never been too fond of the system of slavery, even if the Zaire’s ingrained inclinations meant that they tended to treat their slaves little worse than they treated other members of the tribe.

It wasn’t… Tani’s dark thoughts were interrupted by a small hand that reached up and patted her face, bringing her attention fully back to the task at hand. Namely, back to the child who looked up at her, worry coloring his young cheeks,while her fingers deftly pressed and massaged his ankle, checking for any sign breaks or other injury. Her sour look had, apparently, set him to worrying that she had found something wrong with him, and her face quickly turned to one of the beaming smiles that she normally reserved for Hasani… and her most well behaved young wards.

“No need to worry, Muki. I was merely lost in thought… Your ankle will be fine, you just twisted it.” Her reassurances came in a warm and comforting voice, and with a good natured pinch on the boys nose. She had begun to lose herself in darker thoughts, and to make up for it she did her best to get the boy to smile. Her pinch, and her winning smile, set the boy to squealing happily, and playfully fending off her hand.

With his worry eased a bit, she spoke again, this time a bit more officially, “Now, I said you’ll be fine… but I still want to wrap that foot a bit, and suggest you not walk on it too much, alright?”

The boy nodded, “Yes ma’am. I’ll try.” His smile as he finished off his sentence was mischievous, and she knew perfectly well that he wouldn’t try all THAT hard to stay off of it, but she could only shake her head and sight at the boy’s antics. As it was, the kid and his friends in this tent almost as much as they were in their own… and she doubted anything she said would change that fact.

Not that she could blame them. In fact, a wry smile lit across her face as she remembered her own childhood antics, and the scrapes and bruises that she and Hasani had earned together. She also remembered how her own mother had fussed over her, and treated her scrapes and bruises. It was, she noted with amusement, now her turn to fuss over an over zealous group of children.

To that end, she would need enough bandages to wrap the boys ankle, and do so firmly enough that he was unlikely to injure himself further. Sadly, they’d run out earlier in the day, and had sent for a new supply… but they’d yet to arrive. Tani turned, her face sliding into a more stern and commanding expression, and prepared to call to one of the junior healers to go and see what was taking so long.

That call died on her lips as she, finally, registered the new presence in the tent. There stood a young woman, likely a few years Tanishe’s junior. She was pretty, but somewhat ungainly, as if she had yet to grow fully into her womanhood. She was also, Tani noted, wholly unfamiliar. Not that that fact mattered much at the moment. What mattered was that the girl was standing there, holding two armloads of the bandages that Tani had called for nearly an hour before, and doing nothing of use.

“You there, put that pile down on the table nearest the central pole. Be careful not to drop them, it’s best if they stay clean.” Tani nodded her head in the direction of the table in question, where it and three of its brothers made a rough box around the central pole. That allowed the short tables to act as a sort of barricade, keeping any flailing patients from accidentally destabilizing the tent, while also keeping all of the supplies the healers needed organized and in the tent’s epicenter, within easy reach.

Once that was done, she called out once more, “And while you’re there, bring me a few of those bandages, if you would. This little rascal needs a good wrap.” That said she turned her attention back to the boys ankle, and her tender massaging fingers.

Tani watched the newcomer out of the corner of her eye as her hands continued to gently probe Muki’s injury for any evidence of further complications. Her hands moved with a practiced ease and assurance even as she eyed the newcomer who had come into their midst. After a moment, she let a small, satisfied smile alight upon her lips as both what she saw and felt beneath her hands met with her approval. As far as Muki was concerned, there was no feeling of any bones out of place, or any other anomalies with the boys ankle. And for the young woman, her quick and efficient execution of Tani’s orders sood her in good stead. The fact that she hadn’t hesitateed or complained once someone had actually directed her as to what she needed to do was an even better sign.

Now that she had made doubly sure that her diagnosis of Muki’s injury was correct, she let her attention fall fully on the young woman as she approached, carrying the bandages that Tani had requested. As Tanishe had already noted earlier, the woman was clearly a few years younger than herself, but things she hadn’t seen noticed from a distance became more apparent as the girl approached. Her clothes, while decently kept and sturdy, were painfully plain and unadorned. Her face, while pretty, was uncomfortably gaunt and sunken. Not quite as though she had been recently starved, more as if she had been subject to long months of bare sustenance.

The woman’s physical appearance, along with the fact that the task of bringing the healers bandagges had been passed on to her, hinted that she was most likely a slave. Probably one of the new batch that Hasani had purchased from the Somalu on his last trip to their camp nearby.

However, Tanishe also noticed that she walked with a sublime grace and an air of confidence. Her head held high, and her eyes bright. That marked the young woman as anything but a slave, at least at her core. She had not been broken down by the abuses of her station. Her spirit had not been broken. And that… well, that made Tanishe smile all the more. After all, that marked the woman as an interesting new addition to the tribe, and that was something that Tanishe was always happy to see.

Especially when they were willing to work for their keep, she noted with a snort of wry amusement. She added to that a mental note, to have a talk with the man who had passed HIS job off to a woman who was so new to their camp. The woman who Tani gave a winning smile, and sincere words of thanks, when she arrived by her side and handed over the long awaited bandages.

Without further ado, she turned her attention back to Muki fully, as she began to wrap his injured ankle. Again, her voice took that half playful tone as she spoke to the boy,” Alright Muki, I’m going to wrap this tight now… and you best make sure it stays that way, you hear?” In lieu of an answer the little misfit just grinned, and Tani shook her head in amused frustration once more. Even as she talked though, her hands never slowed, and with the ease of long practice and experience she quickly had the boys ankle securely wrapped, and the wrap pinned.


While she worked, she had allowed the tent around her to fade away into so much background noise. Thus, she barely even noticed, let alone acknowledged the newcomers continued interest in her or her work. Nor did she notice when the newcomers attention shifted from her and her patient, to the young healer nearby and her own, much older, ward. Tanishe’s own attention was only caught when the young newcomer finally spoke, and the soothing dulcet tones of her voice reached out to her as she asked to help. She turned around to see what was going on just in time to catch her subordinates questioning look, and to see the slave girl completely ignore the young healers request for permission.

It was a rather surreal scene, and for a few moments Tanishe was shocked into inaction. After all, it wasn’t often that one saw a slave directly ignore a superiors orders, and even harm an elder. But, that wasn't quite what she was doing, now was it? No, as she looked closer, her eyes squinting in consideration, she could see the young woman's hands moving with practiced ease, and her earlier words fully registered. If she did indeed know a way to relieve some of Gamba’s pain, it was well worth a try, especially if it was one that did not require them to use precious medical herbs or poultices.

Not only that, Tanishe was not familiar with what the young woman was doing, and her insatiable curiosity was piqued. Even more so as the young woman not only insisted on helping, but threatened to harm young Ara if she did not stop trying to stop her from being helpful. The girls words, their sheer audacity and viciousness, made Tani chuckle, and brought a twinkle of mischief to her eyes. By the ancestors, she’d known this newcomer would be interesting, but had not expected her to bear her fangs so soon!

Before the junior healer could reply, Tani stepped forward waving her down with a single gesture. She could see Ara’s mounting anger and indignation, and knew that the girl would not be willing to help such an upstart slave. So she spoke up, breaking the tension. “Ara, calm yourself. This is a tent for healing, not fighting amongst ourselves like overstuffed hens.” So chastised, Ara took a step back, her face flushed with shame and eyes downcast. Tani was not done however and she then turned her attention to the slave girl,“ As for you. It was good of you to ask to help… it would have been better if you had actually waited for permission, and perhaps explained what you were before seemingly assaulting a respected elder of the tribe.”

As she spoke, Tanishe’s voice became increasingly steely while her expression became increasingly stern. For the moment, Tani’s amusement at the whole situation was hidden behind the commanding mask of the Leierin. Once she finished her admonishment though, she let a bit of her hidden curiosity slip through as she raised a quizzical eyebrow, and took a closer look at the slave girls movements. When she turned her attention back to the girl’s face, she spoke again, “With that out of the way… I would like you to continue. As you do, I would like you to walk me through, exactly, what you are doing… thus sharing your knowledge with me, please.” As the last words left Tani’s lips she gave the woman a wry smile, and a small nod to proceed.