After rendering the carcass Saa'rok's father returned to inspect his son's work.
What Nequi saw pleased him. He grasped his sons shoulders and said proudly with a broad grin, "I am most pleased. You do me and the tribe proud son. Truly, you are a blessing from The Goddess." His fathers face then turned solemn. "Your mother would be proud of you also. I am sure she is watching us now." The image of a beautiful dark-skinned women appeared in Saa'rok's mind, and he felt a pang of sorrow. It felt bittersweet to come of age without her, but he knew that she was with their Goddess for a time until her ọkān returned to earth.
Sarah, or rather Saa'rok, was greatly moved by his fathers praise. Sarah had craved the praise of her father, but he became a distant workaholic as she grew older. She was always bitterly disappointed whenever he didn't show up to Cheer competitions.
Nequi's praise filled void within Sarah that she had tried to fill with popularity and shallow relationships.
Sarah once again became disoriented as new memories appeared in her mind. She saw herself as the boy Saa'rok being taught by his father about his peoples history and traditions. It became clear that Saa'rok was always a dutiful child who was always eager to please his father with whom he had a close relationship. He took his fathers teachings and his role in his tribe very seriously. His father had also instilled in him a strong faith in The Goddess. For a moment she thought becoming Saa'rok might not be so bad, before catching herself and cursing the changes she was going through. As bad as her actual father was, she didn't want this -- to be a boy.
"Now go son take Chatok with you and make sure he takes his duties seriously. You know he and Ruut are too mischievous for their own good." Despite Sarah's resistance, Nequi's words resonated within his son's mind. Saa'rok stood straight-backed and said dutifully, "Yes, Father." His posture emphasized his boyish physique, as his body lost more of its softness. By now, Sarah's breasts had disappeared having shrunk into the flat chest of a teen boy. Where once was fat was lean muscle. The proportion of fat and muscle had changed. While they weren't the built muscles of a man, there was a thickness of strength that hadn't existed before.
His father had been entrusting him with increasingly more tasks, and he didn't want to disappoint him. Even more so, he wanted to prove himself leadership to Chatok. He was the older boy after all, and was given responsibilility . The last thing he wanted was to lose the respect of the future chief, or his father.
He told the younger boy to follow him. "Come Chatok, I will teach you how to skin an animal yourself." Saa'rok said, his voice cracked and his voice deepened slightly while trying to emulate his fathers commanding voice in order to earn the boy's respect.
He called over to another boy whose name appeared in his head, Aminu. Aminu had been taught to hunt by Nequi, along with Saa'rok where they had become as close as brothers. "Káàsán! Aminu", he greeted, "Aminu, Father has instructed me to teach Chatok. I have need of another carcass so he may learn to skin it himself. May I have your animal" Aminu answered genially, "Of course, Brother! It is an honor to teach our brothers, especially the son of the Chief." Aminu placed the animal on the flat ground at their feet.
Saa'rok handed Chatok his knife. "Chatok, you know what to do, as you have watched me. I will guide if you need it." He saw the boy respond positively to the trust he was giving him. Chatok cut into the animal starting from the anus all the way to its head. He struggled at first but it became easier as he went along. When he was finished Saa'rok helped to peel and clean the skin. He praised the younger boy, "Well done, Chatok. You did very well for your first time. Our fathers will be pleased." Chatok beamed at him.
The part of Saa'rok that was still Sarah realized that she didn't have any romantic feelings for Chatok. Her knew feelings of fondness were that of an older brother feeling proud his younger sibling. Sarah tried to remember who she was before, but it was increasingly fuzzy. She looked at her rough hands and she was stricken by a feeling of wrongness. The fact she was becoming a boy bothered her less than the color of her skin. Her light complexion revolted her. It felt wrong to be covered in such ugly, pale skin. Sarah knew that previously she had great pride in her creamy and well-moisturized skin, but she couldn't shake the disgust. It dishonored the Goddess, and her people.
Sarah was desperate to avoid permanently changing. "I need to talk to Maa'ti. I need to convince her to find a way out!" she thought, but she couldn't escape that nagging sense of duty she had in the back of her mind, duty to her tribe, duty to make her father proud. Gritting her teeth, she turned back towards the boy. She decided she had to finish her tasks before seeing Maa'ti. "Come, Chatok. We must take the meat to the women." As Sarah walked her skin darkened along with her hair, she also began walking with Saa'rok's confident and masculine gait deftly moving over the terrain with bare feet.