Selene liked to act like it was nothing, or like she didn't realize the significance of what she was doing.. but she was far smarter than that. She liked Mazin. His bumbling had not ceased, even as they became more familiar, but she still thought it was adorable. He was just awkward, she was OK with that. Besides that, he was careful and respectful and Selene liked to think it wasn't just because she was the heiress.
On that bright afternoon, Selene had been sent on a scavenger hunt. A part of a lesson, inspired by her uncle's favored methods (adapted from the occasional games her grandfather would stage with him).. but this time, it wasn't only a lesson, it was a competition. Her brothers were playing, too, and since she'd spent all this time looking for Mazin.. they had a headstart!
"Come on, Mazin!" she said, not for the first time since she'd run into him, "I need your help, you don't want me to lose do you?"
"N-no! Of course not!"
Mazin wasn't stupid but he couldn't seem to pull himself together whenever Selene was around. He felt he could be perfectly normal when dealing with his family, or even now that he was officially employed as a slave.. it was a little more awkward than as friend or family, of course, but he managed. Selene was different. He was familiar with the story of her uncle, he was familiar with her uncle himself- they were classmates, after all.
Because they were opposite sexes, it never mattered what their relationship actually was. Friend or more, everybody would assume there was romance involved. And everybody had- or so it seemed from the family members who seemed happy to comment. It didn't help that uncle Fafnir used to be king. Though this was more extreme, apparently it rather mirrored the situation he had been in.
"Are you allowed to get help, though?"
"I don't see why not," she said confidently, "The rules were not much more specific than that it was a race to see who could find everything the fastest. I know where to find some of the plants exactly but others I only know the general area."
Selene was beaming, she was perfectly happy to employ other lions to help her. She might not even be above asking (telling) Uchanjaa to help her out. He had followed around all the way here, even if he kept his distance. That was an unfortunate side-effect of this kind of lesson, where she was sent wandering on her own, she needed the guard nearby.
"That's when I'll need an extra set of eyes," she explained, "And if you're worried about getting into trouble, you can always say I said you had to help me."
Mazin shuffled his feet thinking about what she said. If the rules didn't forbid it, then that was the fault of the rule-maker if they decided this was not a good way to go. He supposed, anyway.
"Well, aren't you?"
It sure seemed like Selene was making him do it. Of course, if they weren't friends he would have submitted much faster than this. If she were just looking for help, she would have been better off asking a different slave.
Giving him a stern look that she most likely copied from her mother, Selene smiled.
"It doesn't matter because you're coming with me now," she said brightly, walking past him- making sure to give him a nudge as she did. They were done arguing, he wasn't even really putting up a fight, just wasting time. Her relaxed competitiveness only went so far. She couldn't lose to her brothers, they didn't have as much of a reputation to build! Of course, she already had a plan for if she did lose. She could use the practice for being a gracious loser and go on about the experience and .. blah blah blah.
"Let's go!"
"Ok, ok."
Mazin nearly cowered at the nudge but managed to stand his ground. As he turned about to follow after her, he couldn't help but glance around for the royal guard. If there was one thing that made him most nervous about being so close to Selene, it was that they definitely always had someone watching. And not just in the sense that she was high class and well known. Someone literally followed her around.
"What's first on the list?"
"It just so happens we're near on of the smaller patches of one of the plants we need to find, if I remember it right, anyway," Selene said brightly as they walked along, lifting her nose to sniff at the air thoughtfully. It was hard to tell sometimes, her parents knew what to ask for to make it tricky.
"If we're lucky, we'll find it fast and we can move on!"
"Ok, good," Mazin said, pleased that she hadn't had to go too far away from something on the list.. even if she still hadn't told him very much about what they were looking for. He was going to be exactly no help if he didn't know what it at least looked or smelled like.
"But, uh, how will we- I mean, I- know what it is?"
A valid concern, though not his only one.
"Well, ah.."
Selene had been avoiding answering that particular question intentionally. She wasn't sure how to explain it right, she only knew from experience. Though perhaps it was good practice for her to be able to describe it to someone else. She would have to teach her own children this kind of stuff someday.
"It has an odd scent, that's the easiest way we'll know," she said, "Until you see it, I guess, and you might need to know the scent before you really recognize that it's there."
Mazin paused, even in his steps- but he was quick to resume before he could fall far behind. He picked up the pace to walk alongside Selene rather than trail behind her as he had been.
"So what use am I, really?" he asked.
"Company, mostly," she answered with a short laugh, "No, there are other easier ones you'll be able to help with much better!"
This was just the beginning, soon there would be hunting for a certain color of flower in small, scattered patches that were predominantly a different color. And looking for little plants that liked to hide by bigger plants. Easier things where an extra set of eyes and paws would help.
"And you'll learn something from this one, you'll be able to find it no problem," she added brightly.
While he was relieved to hear there were easier things on the list, he couldn't help but wonder what use it would be for him to be able to find a plant that apparently mattered to her and her brothers but that nobody would have taught him otherwise.
"Am I going to be looking for it a lot?" he asked, his tone awkwardly amused by the idea.
"Maybe," Selene answered simply, saying nothing more on the subject and intentionally leaving it open to whatever interpretation he liked. She stumbled to a stop rather suddenly and sniffed at the air before looking over to Mazin with a smile. They were close.
"Come on!"
"Maybe?"
He repeated it but he wasn't entirely sure what it meant. Was he going to suddenly need a lot of plants or was he going to be going on a lot of scavenger hunts with..
"What?"
He nearly ran into her when she came to a stop but he recognized immediately that she had found something useful. Mazin was silent until she gave direction and took off-- and then he followed after her.
Fin!
