The “Real” Apprenticeship

And so my "real" training began. As it would turn out, the real training was much more enjoyable than the torturous "prerequisite" training. Unlike during the stone-moving trial, I now saw Moonlight Guardian every day. And she was actually showing me stuff, instead of trying to run me off on a rail.

The instruction consisted of two parts: shadowing and combat training. Of the two, shadowing was what consumed the majority of our day. As the word would suggest, I spent that time following Moonlight Guardian around as she performed her duties. This was eye-opening having never really known what she did. I mean, I know she guarded the village, but what exactly did that entail? As far as I could tell, I had never seen anything that could be construed as a threat to the tribe, but perhaps that was just because Moonlight Guardian was so good at her job.

So what did her job entail? Mostly patrolling around the village and surrounding area. Sounds simple, and frankly boring, but it was much more involved I assure you.

Making her rounds about the village was mostly about checking in on everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE. This was usually done covertly, which is why I was unaware of her before, though there were some people with whom she would always speak, such as the Elder. She claimed she wasn't trying to be sneaky and it wasn't like she was hiding behind trees or anything, like when Dawn and I spied on Mesa, but she almost exclusively used tree branches and the like to get around and scout out the village. Nothing was stopping you from spotting her if you knew to look up, but why would you? She claimed it was to provide a better vantage point to see from, but I think she liked playing the ninja.

"What are you looking for when you spy on everyone?"

"I'm not spying, I don't invade people's privacy."

"Okay, but what are you checking for while you are 'not spying' on them?"

"..." Moonlight Guardian didn't like to show that she was annoyed, but whenever she gave an out-of-place pause, I knew I had got her. "I check to make sure that they are well, and that they aren't missing."

"Do people go missing often?"

"No, not if I am doing my job correctly, though sometimes certain... reckless individuals do make me earn my keep." She wasn't hiding the fact that she was looking straight at me.

"Umm... Sorry about that." I felt a warmth spread through my ears.

"No, it was my failure. I should have kept a better eye on you." Her head dropped a little. It hadn't been my intention to upset her, I tried to think of something to reverse the mood.

"But you saved me! I would have been a blood stain on that guy's compensatorily large ax if you hadn't shown up when you did!"

She looked up, "You should thank the Forest Guardian. He tipped me off that one of my own was in danger." He was there, wasn't he? I didn't think much of it at the time, but it was strange that they would both show up at the same time. "Come on indigo. There are a few more tribesmen we need to check on."

Also on the short list of problematic tribesmen was Midsummer Maskcrafter, or as he was better known—to me at least—the notorious Bucket Head. This was one of the people Moonlight Guardian would actually interact with regularly. Aside from having a low self-preservation instinct—he did let a large icicle fall on him—he needed to be reminded to do simple but important things, like bathing... and eating. My understanding was that he wasn't too lazy to do such things, but that he simply forgot. Apparently, he often got so enthralled with his mask crafting, that he would become oblivious to everything else, including his own starvation. Still, if this was the only thing that Moonlight Guardian had to worry about with him, then it wouldn't have been much more than a bit of community service.

The real issue of concern was that Midsummer Maskcrafter would often seek out materials worthy of a mask—he had high standards—and that often involved wandering off to the Deity knows where. Once he set his mind on it, there was no stopping him, and no amount of threat or reprimand from Moonlight Guardian or anyone else would dissuade him. Depending on where he was planning to go, an escort would often be arranged, usually a Hunter or Harvester. However, if it was a particularly uncharted area, Moonlight Guardian herself would have to accompany him. It was for this reason that she needed to check in with him daily, to make sure he hadn't decided to stake his life on a roll of the dice for his art.

I should point out that Midsummer Maskcrafter didn't much like me, probably from that previous incident. The only thing he would say to me when I tried to apologize was, "I will never accept you as the God of Clear Skies' Chosen." Apparently, he had heard this rumor too. I might have appreciated him rejecting the idea, if not for the fact that it seemed like he thought the idea had merit and was merely denying it out of a sense of animosity.

Who he did hold in high regard though was Moonlight Guardian. It would seem that she was worthy of wearing a mask and was one of the only people he had explicitly made a mask for. Upon learning this, I had to give her mask another look. It was a simple mask, but upon closer inspection, it looked flawless and the leaves that adorned the left side had incredibly minute detail, if you looked hard enough.

"Are you done looking, Indigo?"

"Oh, yeah... Sorry."

"Come along, there is still much ground we need to cover."

Except for Bucket Head’s antics, nothing eventful happened around the village for the most part, though there were exceptions. So clearly scouting around the village outskirts was more interesting. Unlike in the village, where you could expect all was well, this was not the case outside the village limits. Not that it was dangerous exactly.

For certain, the area where "not children” were permitted was safe from anything, with perhaps the exception of your own clumsiness. However, the area outside of that was not granted such a guarantee. That's not to say that it was particularly unsafe either. But, you could meet something you would rather avoid, which is why outside of Hunters and Harvesters, not many would come out this far.

The threats this area attracted were the kind that wouldn't attack a group of people, so the Harvesters didn't often have issues. I think the Hunters would have welcomed an attack, because it would save them the effort of having to hunt them down, and they were generally competent when it came to combating animals. Still, Moonlight Guardian insisted on putting down even the mildest of potentially hostile creatures. She said it was better to "Nip the problem in the bud" than let it fester.

I felt kind of bad just killing something and letting it rot and would have preferred to eat it instead—there was no nutritional reason not to—and if the hunter happened to be nearby, they would quickly snatch it up—I somehow got the impression that the Hunters like to avoid working as much as possible. However, Moonlight Guardian preferred to let them rot. She said it would deter other creatures of its kind from coming around.

While the creatures we encountered were not particularly ferocious—I think as long as you were not caught off guard you would be okay—Moonlight Guardian warned of more powerful creatures and that I shouldn't become complacent.

"It's when you let your guard down that tragedy can strike," she said with a far-off gaze. It seemed like a sore subject; I decided not to pry.

The last thing that Moonlight Guardian was responsible for was being a peacekeeper. I previously said that not much of note happens in the village proper, and that is certainly true. Everyone was basically family and that's to say nothing of the fact that we were a carefree people. That said, while things were usually fairly civil, every once in a while, some of my fellow tribesmen could get a bit rowdy, and not just during the annual bacchanal.

However, I found these fights a rather enjoyable diversion. They were not hard to break up—this was not a fighter culture—and nobody tried to inflict serious harm on the other.

Case in point, I got to see one fight break out over my first year on the job. It started with a cliche argument over a sojourner that devolved into a throwing of hands, or in this case, fox magic. Think sumo but with telekinesis instead of adipose tissue, basically just pushing and shoving.

In this case, Moonlight Guardian acted as a bouncer and even I got to help out—my fox magic was fairly strong by then and I would put it up against any full-grown adult. No, there was no epic throwdown. It was just a scene where the two combatants' buddies pulled them apart in a bar fight.

"I saw her first! You can't just swoop in!"

"I'm older than you and you need to wait your turn! It's my time!"

So it was first come first serve vs seniority takes priority. Two methodologies that have been practiced since time immemorial. However, even I, with my limited understanding of courtship practices, was confident that this wasn't how it worked.

Unfortunately for both parties involved, the sojourner involved got wind of their spat and wasn't impressed, and at some point would make it clear to both that they had no chance. She was cute from what I could tell and sojourners were always in short supply, so I guess their hormones got the better of them.

Aside from the rare scuffle, peacekeeping also involved supervising special events, like the first time I saw Moonlight Guardian, supervising the merchant visit. But this also included events like tribe meetings that were occasionally called. During these events, the entire tribe would congregate to discuss whatever matter the meeting was called for. Moonlight Guardian would be present for these meetings regardless, and nothing unruly enough ever happened to warrant some kind of strong-arm intervention, but she still took her duties seriously. Between you and me, I think she needed to loosen up a bit.

I guess there were also times when we would have visitors other than that traveling merchant—adventures and the like. Though I had never seen any, possibly some stopped by while I wasn't around. When Moonlight Guardian told me about this, she made little effort to hide how little she cared for them; she made sure I understood how important it was to never take your eye off them until they were well outside of the outer limits of the surrounding area.

"So they just stop by and say hi?" This place did seem like a curiosity.

"No, they usually want to trade for supplies or spend the night."

"Spend the night? Do we have places for travelers to stay?"

"No, if the group is small enough, the Elder might allow them to stay with him, much to my dismay." She shook her head. "Otherwise, I've never seen him turn down a group that just wanted to set camp under the trees for the night."

"But aren't travelers a great opportunity for trade? I'm sure we could get some unique items..."

"Pss..." That might have been one of the only times I heard her make a dismissive sound. "They usually want to exchange these shiny round objects of no value for food or occasionally information." Oh... I guess a tribe that has no concept of money wouldn't find coins more than a novelty.

"I guess that wouldn't be useful..."

She cut in, "However, the Elder seem to find them fascinating, and will usually part with some food as long as we are not running a deficit." She was actually angry. You might not know, but I had started to get her baseline mood, and she was definitely displeased with the Elder's visitor policy. Personally, I didn't think trading coins for food was necessarily a bad thing, you could use them with other visitors if they wish to unload some stuff of value. That being said, I was confident that the Elder just wanted them to add to his hoard of human relics.

Her disdain for humans, and other humanoids I suppose, was perhaps not that surprising. It was likely that she encountered them often, poaching resources and that tainted her opinion of the whole race. Unlike our people, humans have a diverse range of beliefs and behaviors, so it was hard to paint the entire human race with such a large brush. But Moonlight Guardian, for as much as I respected her, was a provincial creature and I was fairly certain she had never been outside the village. I think a little bigotry could be forgiven.