"Father, I'm thirsty. And see to our guests, it has been a long day for all of us, I'm sure they are not as used to our sun as we are, and they need to eat."

Makalo, roused himself from his seat next to the fire and got his daughters canteen and handed it to her before rummaging through his pack and getting out food for the group. He wasn't ashamed of seeing to his daughters' needs before his own. It was her right, it was who they were, and she was superior to him, even though without him she would not exist. It was the way of things.

Egaiarasu Acharya got up from his seat and began helping the old man with their provisions. They could have hunted, but the deeper they traveled into the heart of Ethiopia the more civilized it became and the hunting was getting to be more and more scarce.

It didn't even really phase him that whatever Makalo's daughter said, or requested, or insinuated, or out and out demanded, Makalo did without question. It was a bit of a culture shock honestly. Did he do it because she was his daughter? Was it because of the Bultungin's matriarchal society? He didn't know, only that he couldn't let this old man prepare his food for him like he was a servant, even as a pack alpha he didn't feel right unless he helped with the work.

Their group had grown by five since they met Dakarai in that sun baked village to the North West. Makalo and his daughter, another young woman of only twenty or so, a young man about the same age and an older man maybe in his mid-forties and he was the most interesting one of the new group. He was quiet and would only speak to Furaha. Acharya couldn't remember even hearing the man's voice. He seemed to have taken up the position of honor guard for the proud female, and Acharya was happy to let him have it. He wasn't sure if he was a Bultungin or not, but he and his pack were hardly in any position to argue or resist the female of the group. They needed these people's help, and if he had to lose a little sleep watching over his own people to get it, well… everything came with a price.

They ate their meal in relative silence. The Africans took their cues from Furaha, if she wasn't speaking, then they didn't either, at least when they were with her. It was a little creepy honestly.

After the meal Furaha stayed near the fire and Acharya drew his pack away from the fire with Makalo and Dakarai. The other three Africans usually chose to stay close to Furaha. It was becoming a habit that the thirty-three-year-old young woman was rarely seen without at least one of her new companions.

The pack and two older Bultungin went a little ways away from the camp, outside of earshot, not for any conspiracy reasons, but it was nice to know that who you were talking to were the people right in front of you.

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"Is Mary any closer to accomplishing her task?" Aiman asked not unkindly.

Tara shook her head, "I don't know. She seems to be making some progress but every time I ask her how it's going, she seems to get really confused and says that she hasn't gotten there yet. I'm not sure what's going on. But if I didn't know any better, I would say that something is bothering her, something she doesn't really want to talk about."

Malikah smiled a little, "I know what she's going through. I mean we have put a lot of pressure on her for her to perform this thing that up until a year or two ago the Mountain wasn't even aware it could do. She's flying blind here and lost in the dark. Maybe we need to give her more time?"

Acharya smiled, "I wish we had that option. Unfortunately, we can't really go any further without her figuring this out and none of us can help her with that."

Dakarai asked, "I know we haven't known each other long, but what thing are you talking about?"

Asclepius shook out his mane and grunted loudly. He didn't like sharing too much with these Bultungin. Acharya knew this, but these were their guides and they would have to trust them at some point.

"Mary has a unique ability among our people; she can see and feel things that other people can't. She's trying to figure out how to use that ability to find the key to the lock you spoke of. We need Bultungin in numbers matching your Matriarchs honor guard, yes?" Dakarai nodded. "So," Acharya continued, "she is trying to find out what that is so we can actually gain an audience with your Matriarch and see if we might be able to convince your peoples to join ours in our fight against the vampires." Dakarai nodded silently.

Makalo said, "We know we still have a long way to go. My daughter is a powerful influence and she has gathered three followers to herself already. Our group consists of four men, but more importantly two women, one of which is the clear alpha over the other, that's a good sign, at least as far as my people go."

"Without knowing the numbers of the Matriarch's honor guard," Aiman said thoughtfully, "we are still just guessing. I would feel better if we had an equal number of male and female Bultungin with us. You've pointed out yourself that males don't hold much power in your society."

Makalo nodded slowly, "This is true, in our weaker human form, we men have the apparent advantage with our size and strength, but in our stronger pure forms, as Bultungin, our females are much bigger and stronger than we are. Their abilities are keener as well."

"In that case," Malikah interrupted, "Shouldn't we err on the side of caution and try to recruit a few more female Bultungin?" She looked at the group with questioning raised eyebrows. "I mean if I was a queen, I would want to have the strongest I could find for my honor guard. Unless that makes absolutely no sense?"

Dakarai responded, "No, that would make the most sense. But we Bultungin measure strength and prestige differently. Even though our strongest males pale in comparison to even the weaker females, we males do have an honored place in our cackles. Our Matriarch would not forsake the male side of the equation in exchange for the raw power an 'all female' honor guard would…"

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