<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#e25041">Sabina watched as the scout smiled back and sat near her in front of their tents. The campsite was quieting with soldiers setting up watch rotations and other bedding down, Lia choosing to sleep near Red's protection and the leader walking around the embankment and looking at the sky.</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(226, 80, 65)"><b>"Sabina, right?" </b>he asked, reaching out to shake her hand again. She chuckled low in her throat and nodded, returning the handshake.</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#e25041">"And you're Will Riot," she replied. There was something almost boyish about the man, although she did not doubt his scouting abilities. She'd seen his wariness on the path after she'd dropped behind him and the others, except for the giant. He was nearly as watchful as the leader.<br/>
<br/>
<b>"Hey, our cartographer," </b>he began, motioning to Lia as she lay sleeping a few feet from Red, <b>"told me that I should learn a new word. <i>Jinsia? </i>She said you could explain it to me." </b><br/>
<br/>
The young woman coughed in surprise, her eyes wide and her face reddening as she looked into his befuddled face. Realizing Will was not in on the joke, she let out a husky laugh that drifted into the night. <br/>
<br/>
"It's a Nubian term," she said, averting her eyes and clearing her throat, trying to figure out a delicate way to explain its meaning, "that essentially means cunnilingus, but there is a bit more to it than that." Her cheeks turned pinker. and she hoped the darkness of the night prevented him from seeing the evidence of her embarrassment. "It's a formal word that is part of a ceremonial practice in Nubia, and not something that considered part of the usual sexual repertoire. The Nubian people copulate for one reason only--to produce offspring. They consider themselves above the need for mundane physical pleasures, so they reserve <i>jinsia</i>, as well as other forms of oral sex and...uhm," she paused, struggling to explain the ceremony without getting too specific, "even foreplay and other sexual acts taboo unless they are participating in Ngono Ya Mdomo, the yearly ceremony I mentioned."<br/>
<br/>
The young woman slipped the manuscript back into her satchel and then reached into her braid and pulled the small dagger and holster from her hair, tucking them into the bag, too. She unbound her fiery fiery hair and ran her fingers over her temples, massaging them. Her long, thick hair often gave her a headache after it had been pulled back too long, and tonight was no exception. <br/>
<br/>
"The ceremony is held on the eve of the Harvest Moon each year, and it is in celebration of the bountiful yields that their crops produced," Sabina explained as she described the bonfires and dances, the brightly colored scarves everyone wore, and the festive atmosphere involved. "The night is one of pleasure for everyone. Even though children do not participate, of course, they are given sweet treats and goodies as part of their celebration. The adults, however, participate in more decadent delights. It truly is an interesting sight," she admitted, her words indicating that she had witnessed the event.<br/>
<br/>
Sabina's gaze darted to Lia's sleeping for in the distance and then was directed at Will, her eyes twinkling in laughter. "For Lia to mentioned <i>jinsia</i> to you, that must have been some conversation!" she chuckled, her face lighting up with laughter. But then she caught sight of Grimsson's tent, and her visage became serious again and she opened her mouth to speak, but she squelched the warning that Lia and the leader seemed to share a history. She had no right to talk about other people in their group, and she certainly had no proof except assumptions based on body language. Instead, she smiled and pulled the dagger out of her boot before tugging off both of the thigh-high leather boots. She stretched her slender legs out in front of her, stretching and wiggling her toes beneath her stockings, happy to be free of some of her confinements if only for a few hours. </span>