Curator POV

As the brothers finish changing I watch, giving them a bit of time to get used to moving again. Seems like a 'fish in water' situation as they quickly finish some basic stretches and movements and seeing how limber, and in the case of Vaslo, how strong they are.

"So, how do y'all feel?" (Curator)

"Better than ever. I do have a question though, what is a 'steward' and what do they do?" (Vaslo)

"And what is a 'forager' exactly?" (Vahlu)

"Ah, both excellent questions! Lets start with you Vaslo, since you asked first. A Steward is one who supports a group of people. Basically you'll still be chieftain of your people, but, you'll still be 'under' me in a sense. Day to day running of the camp and most things will still be deferred to you, but I'll still give a direction and even offer plenty of advice. Logistics, supply, food stocks and distribution, all that stuff would fall to you. Now, onto you Vahlu. A Forager is one who Forages. To forage is to search for goods, mostly food, but also other things as well. Functionally, you'll mostly be a hunter still, but you'll also look for plants, seeds, other groups out in the desert, and be my eyes and ears outside the sphere of my direct influence. Don't worry, you'll still be able to travel and seek with Poppit's in tow, as it wouldn't make sense to leave you unguarded while out and about. The reason to also search for plants in addition to meat is that many plants can be used for various medi....er...healing properties. We can also grow and cultivate plants as a long term, sustainable, food source as well, or make materials with which to record information or provide protection and storage." (Curator)

Now that those roles are better defined, things can start moving forward. I totally didn't explain things in such detail to recoup some of the mana spent on naming and titling just now. Nope, not at all, and that rush of feeling the energy flowing in is just the sign of a job well done!

"Any other questions? If not, I'll let you both get to it, in the ways you think feel right. I do want you're people to thrive as, in a way, I've adopted you all as my people." (Curator)

"Uh...right, no questions here. It'll be nice to get back to roaming again, and the extra assurance of our little, vicious, guardians will help ease a lot of nerves." (Vahlu)

The smug look on Poppit's face after that is said, must have been imagined. There's no way that noodly thing can make a smug face with those mandibles...right?

"And I should get back to the day to day running of things, this newfound energy and strength should help immensely with keeping things running smoothly. It'll also show our kin that you aren't stingy with your gifts, and that, they should, with time, get their own names and roles." (Vaslo)

????? POV

"Boss, that group of little lizard kin we were keeping an eye on has just up and vanished. Somethin' had em spooked so our scouts came back to report, and when they got back to where that camp was it was just...gone. Nothing left, and no real indication of where they went." (???)

Stolen novel; please report.

"Damnit you idjits, how hard is it to keep an eye on some unawakened tribals who are barely scraping by enough to not starve? You do know without blank templates for th' church to experiment with we don't get paid, right?" (Boss)

"I know boss, I know. What does th' church even want them for anyway, they ain't full beastkin or anythin' of the like, an' alot of the lads wanna know why we can't just go huntin' for slaves in some place not so damn hot." (???)

"Dunno, but, for the price of one of these things for the church we make twice as much coin as th' normal slaves, and, with a lot less danger. Not much to worry about when fightin' these folks if ya do th' prep work for a proper ambush first and kill their strongest fighters." (Boss)

"Got it boss, dun ask so as t' not ruffle any feathers. An' will say, yer right there, should we head back now with th' group we already got in th' cages though? Cut our losses, make th' sale then come back and start lookin' fer more?" (???)

"Nah, we should fill the wagons up proper with a haul, after all, the dumb lizards couldn'ta got far from where that camp was before, they're travelin' on foot and hauling all that gear after all. Doubly so, if they got folks clearin' the trail afterwards which is odd that they did anyway." (Boss)

"Maybe one of th' scouts got spotted. That team has a rookie on it if I r'member right, and would make more sense as t' why they cleared their tracks, right?" (???)

"Good call Terris. S'why yer my right hand. Bring th' green horn, we're gonna have a lil chat, and he's gonna do some work." (Boss)

"You got it boss!"

Vahlu POV

Moving is so easy now. I was stronger than the others before but now, it just feels so much more free, like I was fighting myself before without knowing it. Quickly padding down the steps of Curators...temple I guess, it's a quick, brisk, walk back to camp. Heading to my tent, I grab my sand board, and the sack I normally take with me when going out hunting. We may say it's hunting, but really, it's always been more of scavenging than anything. As I check my bag to make sure it's got a few rations in it so I can recover my strength if needed, I feel the presence of some one watching me.

"Can I help you?" (Vahlu)

"Ah, sorry to 'peep' but I wanted to see what kind of equipment you were working with currently. You don't seem to have a spear, or a knife, so what do you use to take down your prey when you find it?" (Curator)

"Ah. We call it hunting but usually it's just looking for weakened, mostly dead, or recently dead animals. Much less risk that way, and much less chance of failure." (Vahlu)

"Fair enough, but, you should at least have a knife, a water skin to take some water with you, and maybe a sling since there isn't much in the way of rods or the like to use and well, pebbles and rocks are fairly common, and, we can even make those. I'll see about instructing some of the craftsfolk in making those tools for you, in the mean time, if you need something snipped or cut, just ask Poppit for help, fair enough?" (Curator)

Taken a bit aback by the sudden interest in what I do, and, the push to ensure I had tools to work with, it'd take a moment to gather my thoughts and reply.

"Fair enough, but why do you care so much? Why try to help us be better than we were instead of taking what you need. Why teach us and instruct us on new things like you do? Why help?" (Vahlu)

"The people I....used to be one of had a terminology for this actually. We called it selfish altruism. That's what we'd typically say is an oxymoron. Words that normally have opposite meanings but taking on new meaning when together. In this case, to be selfish is to only care about ones self to the detriment of others, altruism is the act of caring for others without regard to one's self. Selfish Altruism, is helping others in order to help yourself down the road. As I teach you things, it gives me mana with which to do things and sustain myself. It also lets me have a more efficient way to learn things about this...situation I find myself in and ensure my own safety and that things I want done can actually be done. For you, it creates stability and security like your people have not really had before so you can grow and be more than you once were. It's honestly a form of mutualism. You need me, and I need you all, so it makes no sense to be mean or bad about it, as that will result in driving us apart." (Curator)

Pondering all that has been explained here, the core isn't wrong. It does need us, but, for our people to thrive and become more than we were, we also need it. Like cactus flowers needing wasps to spread their pollen, but, giving the wasp sweet nectar to do so, one cannot thrive without the other.

"That...makes a lot of sense actually. Thank you for taking the time to explain that too me. It helps me understand a lot better that you will look out for us, and why we too, should and will, look out for you too." (Vahlu)

"Glad to help, and I knew ya understood without ya sayin' it!" (Curator)