I still did not know what I wanted to do with my time. I learned early on that I was not a skilled huntress or a good cook, and today’s schedule told me I was to partake in a herbalism class. I shrugged my shoulders. I loved the vegetation on Ealra, so learning about that would likely interest me. I was relieved to see Nuni’s morning schedule matched mine, so I stuck close to her as we went to our group’s meeting point and waited for our guide to introduce himself.
Today’s Maji guide was named Nero. He looked super intimidating. He had eyes the colour of liquid gold, and his golden blond hair was long, braided, and hung over his shoulder. His skin was a lustrous grey, and he had thick, black tattoos that spiralled from the back of his hands, up his arms to his neck and onto his chest and abdomen. They disappeared under the band of his trousers which made me swallow.
His clothing was similar to what all the other males wore on Ealra apart from the jewellery he donned. That jewellery told me he was a highborn male; only the Royal and highborn families of the Maji wore jewellery during day-to-day activities. His sculpted torso was bare. His trousers were a baggy, colourful red and were cuffed at the ends. I thought he was twenty-five-ish, but I knew that meant he was really old in Earth years. Getting used to the aging system of the Maji was difficult.
If they looked young, it meant they were old in Earth years, and if they looked old, it meant they were really old in Earth years.
“Females,” Nero said with a serious expression when we were all gathered around him. “We’re being honoured today. Prince Ezah of the Maji will accompany us on our herbalism lesson as the group healer. Should you need medical attention, he is the male whom you should seek. Do not speak to him unless you need the help of his ability.”
I could have been dying of a wound of massive proportions, and I still would not seek out the prince. He was as tall as a mountain with broad shoulders, vivid grey skin corded with muscle, and sunset pink eyes so menacing I feared they would look in my direction and burn a hole in me. His head was shaved on both sides and braided at the top where his mane hung down the centre of his back.
Its colour was whiter than Nuni’s skin.
At the thought of her, she threaded her fingers through mine as we walked, and it brought a small smile to my face. She did this a lot when we left our homestead, and I had only recently noticed she also did it whenever we were in a large group. It was like she knew that being around so many strange people scared me. By holding my hand, she gave me the courage not to cower away like I so often did out of fear. I appreciated her greatly for that.
“Nuni,” Nero called, looking up from the paper-thin tablet in his hand. “Where is Nuni?”
Nuni raised her free hand. “Right here, baja.”
“You’re interested in herbalism, yes? You made a note of it on your human profile.”
Each human woman had a profile that we completed in the early days of being on Ealra. It contained basic information as well as our picture, interests, and our bracelet identity chip number. Everything was uploaded into the System that connected all Maji. Each time we attended a lesson, our profile was updated. It was kind of like a map of our journey on Ealra so far. We took lessons until we found something we were interested in and wanted to do for full-time work. It was also a fast way of giving us some education on Ealra and the Maji as people and a culture.
There was a lot to learn.
“Yes, baja,” my friend answered with merit. “I did.”
Nuni was fascinated with the plant life of Ealra. She talked about it whenever she could.
“Come to the front.” Nero gestured her forward with his hand. “The plant life in this area is special, so you might be interested in learning about it. If a healer is not around, chewing some of these plants to a paste and tucking them into an open wound can save a life from infection and blood loss.”
I practically felt Nuni’s excitement and she took a step to walk forward, but when she looked down at my hand, then at my face, I saw in her bright green eyes that she was going to reject the offer from the alien male and stay with me. My heart warmed for her at that moment. Besides Mama and Nicah, she was the nicest person I had ever known, and it worried me deeply that I was beginning to care for her. I was terrified that if I loved her like a sister, then I would lose her and be alone again.