[color=ed1c24][center][h2]Akeno[/h2][/center][/color]

The old shaman was willing to entertain her question, giving Akeno enough of an answer to satisfy her curiosity and then some. Like she had thought, the role of shaman was varied and covered areas generally related to preserving knowledge and being more educated that the rest of the tribe. Yambagorn was a historian with maybe a hint of the religious added to it; she remembered the tribe’s history, passed down from past shaman through oral accounts, and its prominent members. There was probably some level of ancestor worship involved and the shaman was probably the one in charge of performing last rites, assuming the Orcs had any.

She was also an apothecary or herbalist; making things, most likely medicine, from mushrooms and plants. But it was the part about reading things that stood out to her; was reading the stars a literal thing or was it figurative? Or maybe both? Did the read the stars to navigate and lead them to a place she already knew about, or was she a fortune teller who felt that this was a good place for the tribe to settle? As for reading an Orc’s soul?

The look the shaman gave her then was too pointed not to mean something, but Akeno didn’t want to give anything away by reacting, so she didn’t. Or tried not to anyway. It was probably best to assume that Yambagorn knew about the whole resurrection thing, though what that meant for Akeno she didn’t know.

The look passed and took some of the tension out of the air with it. Yambagorn offered her information then, a taunting edge to her voice as she offered to tell Akeno where the best hunting spots were, where the Orcs enemies lived and… hell, did she really just offer to help her usurp a position of, presumably, some importance in the tribe? Or to tell her the chief’s future plans? It seemed strange that the shaman would conspire so easily and openly against her leader, assuming Akeno could actually do anything of note with that information. Which, come to think of it, was probably why; a runt like her wouldn’t be able to do anything against the chief and it would be amusing to see her try. 

She was getting a clearer picture of the way Orcs thought.

Actually, more importantly than that, did Yambagorn offer to teach her magic? Akeno already knew that skills were a thing; video game like abilities that gave her a buff when she did a certain thing, or which let her conjure and throw a fireball. Was that magic? Probably not, since she wasn’t certain that non-resurrected Orcs could absorb the skills of the stuff they ate like she could and wasn’t about to tip her hand if they couldn’t. If they could, then that would be included in asking where the strongest prey was. So, no, magic was probably different or separate from skills.

Akeno turned more fully towards the shaman; any affected air of nonchalance dropped now that it was clear Yambagorn wasn’t going to fall for it. [color=ed1c24]“Is there anyone in the tribe at the moment who is looking for an apprentice, or to teach their trade?”[/color]

Asking about magic was tempting and she would likely approach the shaman again in the future for that, but right now her main priority was still finding shelter, food and stability within the tribe now that she was considered something of an independent. Orcs didn’t seem to go in for family all that much and Akeno frankly lacked the knowledge to go it alone, so seeking out something like an apprenticeship to tie herself to someone in the tribe seemed like the best bet at the moment.

[@Zeroth]