Andy's throat felt parched after an hour of walking. Sweat poured off him in sheets he was pretty sure washed away his sunscreen, because his skin was turning an interesting shade of pink. He had only come across one small stagnant pool of water he didn't dare drink from. He stumbled and fell, crashing into the ground.
"Fuck.." Pushing himself up, he stumbled a few more feet before passing out in a heap in the dirt.
Consciousness came and went. First it was the feeling of something cool and wet on his lips, an urging with words he didn't know but understood well enough telling him to drink. Water flowed into him, though darkness took him again. The next time he woke up he felt like he was being carried, not slung over someone's shoulder, more cradled like a baby against someone. The final time he woke he was laying on the ground again, but with something beneath him. The air was cool, but there was a warmth coming from one side of him. The feeling of water on his lips had him opening his mouth to drink again, this time the urging to do so was in heavily accented English.
"Drink.. Not too fast." Andy did as instructed, his eyes slowly opening. He nearly had a heart attack, right in his face was that of a lion. He scrambled back, his heart beating fast until his vision cleared a little. Not a lion, but a man in a lion mask. Painstakingly detailed, carved from wood with a mane of dried grasses. Adding to the look was the man's own hair, kept in long dreadlocks, decorated with beads, resembling a mane. He was broad shouldered and athletic, with hard muscles and deep ebony skin.
Laughter came off from the distance, two other men sat by a fire. The laughing was coming from a lean man with a hyena mask. He said something in a language Andy didn't know, though it sounded very similar to what the locals guides had spoken. The other man at the fire was one of the biggest men Andy had seen in his life. Tall and powerfully built, he made the shorter leaner man next to him look almost childlike, he too wore a mask but of a rhino. That must have been who carried him. He could still feel those powerful chest muscles pressed against him.
The man in the lion mask said something that sounded chiding to the hyena masked man, who shrugged apologetically. "Don't worry about him. He has a bad.. sense of humor." The lion mask spoke slowly, making sure he had the right words. "We found you, vultures were looking hungry."
He also noticed all the men were dressed similarly. Leather sandals, a cloth garment about their waists with brilliant colors and patterns, and that was about it, other than the masks. Spears and bows sat off to the side, and over the fire was roasting meat, rabbits if Andy didn't miss his guess.
"Thank you. I got separated from my group. Could you help me get back to.. a ranger station, or somewhere I can get in touch with.. someone?" Andy scooted closer to the fire, the lion mask sitting down next to him and handing him a water skin. Animals moved in the distance, they had made camp on a rock outcropping near a watering hole.
The three started talking among themselves, before lion mask gave an answer. "Yes, and no. We are on.." He waved his hand, making an annoyed sound at not finding the right words. "An important task. We must finish, then we can bring you to a place." Some more words passed between the group, a momentary argument between lion mask and hyena mask, then hyena nodded. "You can come with us, we will keep you safe."
"He doesn't seem keen on it." Andy said nodding to hyena mask.
"His job is to.. argue. If I argue well back, he agrees." Lion mask said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Right. Well, thank you. I guess I will, my name's A.." He felt a hand go over his mouth, stifling his words before he could say his name.
"No names. This task must be done with no names. Attracts the wrong spirits. No names. No faces. We are on a.. becoming men.. task. We seek our.. other selves. They will know us without names and faces. Bad spirits will trick us if they know names and faces." Lion explained it slowly and carefully, not only looking for the right words, but as if explaining it to a child.
Becoming men? Some sort of rite of passage then. He had heard that was done more by young teenagers, but the three around him were definitely at least in their late teens if not very early twenties. All young and fit, very fit. It made Andy conscious of his thirty year old body and the slight spare tire he had from sitting at a desk at his job all day. "Aren't you.. older than usual?" He felt himself asking.
"Ah.. that is.. there are two. One when starting becoming man, and one when grown." Lion mask reached into his pack. If you must call us something, I am Lion, that is Hyena, and that is Rhino. We use other words, but your words will be fine." Lion pulled out something wrapped in leather, and began to carefully unwrap it. "If you come with us, no name, no face. Zebra." He held out the contents of the package to Andy. It was a mask like the others, a carefully rendered zebra, complete with a bit of a striped mane that might have been actual zebra hair. "Wear or we leave you."
Andy nodded and took the mask. It had straps, and slipping it on over his head, it fit like a glove. It was actually a whole lot more comfortable than he expected it to be. The inside smelled woody and fragrant. Lion nodded approvingly. "That belonged to a friend. He would have been with us but died a year ago. It will be good to have someone carry him with us."
After that, dinner was served, masks pushed up just far enough to eat. Andy had expected the roast rabbit to be bland but some mix of herbs and seasoning had been rubbed on it. Juicy and tender, it was some of the best meat he had ever tasted. The three chatted while Andy listened, not understanding the words but grateful to have people around. Occasionally Lion would translate a joke or something for him, and he'd join in on the laughter.
At one point the three started singing, then Hyena got up and started dancing with the singing, all obviously enjoying themselves. Though Hyena soon came over and grabbed Andy's hands to pull him up to join him in dancing. Refusing politely didn't seem to be working, and even though he was tired and his feet were sore, he got up and tried to copy Hyena's motions. By the end all four of them were laughing and slapping backs. Hyena said something to him.
"He says he thinks he will keep you." Lion said with a laugh. Soon though, they were rolling out bedding and laying down. For some reason they had an extra, which Andy gratefully took. None of them removed the masks for sleep so neither did he.