"Going Native," part 15

The three Tineri returned home, having collected the necessary provisions.  As they entered the clearing, N’krzi yelled, “RIPRASHA TONIGHT!”  The rest of the tribe, who had been sitting in their huts or around the clearing, perked up.  

“Is she ready?” M’li asked.

N’krzi looked Maggie up and down, like a cat sizing up a mouse.  “Yes, she’s ready.”

"Going Native," part 14

Maggie clung to N’krzi’s side for the next few weeks.  There was a noticeable thaw in their relationship.

He watched with pride as she underwent the last of her preparations for riprasha.  The small rod traversing her nostrils were systematically replaced with larger ones, until her petite nose was warped enough to accommodate the large metal cylinder she desired.  Likewise, the tiny metal stick in her septum eventually became a huge clicker.  In time, it would weigh down the cartilage between her nostrils, giving her an even more exotic look, but for now, she’d have to settle for the constant, reassuring feeling of metal on her upper lip.  She would forever be cursed with tiny nostrils and small pointy nose, but Maggie did what she could with it.

"Going Native," part 13

The ensuing weeks saw a revitalized Maggie eager - almost impatient - to become a full-fledged Tineri.  Daily consumption of riprasha drink made assimilation deeply desirable and, in fact, inevitable.  Eager to make her piercings permanent, she tugged on the needles as much as she could tolerate to try to make the holes bigger.  As soon as she could, she switched to the largest gauge rods she could, and the process repeated.  The gold chain bracelet and necklace she had been wearing - gifts from a past boyfriend - were repurposed as chains tying her nose jewelry to her earrings.

"Going Native," part 12

The return trip took a different path.  Maggie walked in silence, pondering the events of the day.  Was that really her old friend Juliana at the resort?  How could it have been?  How long had Maggie been with the Tineri anyway?  And what exactly did M’li mean when she talked about “being ready” for riprasha?

"Going Native," part 11

The next day, Maggie drank her riprasha drink and went foraging with M’li.  They were looking for the various herbs the tribe used in cooking and for their various treatments and rituals, as well as anything else of interest.  Several of the herbs grew in great quantities on the shore of the brook, miles downstream,  As a Tineri, a miles-long trek was no issue, of course.  And so Maggie embarked with her friend, in search of these sought-after herbs.

"Going Native," part 10

M’li led Maggie to the clearing center, where a fire was pitched.  

“Here comes Maggie, ready to truly join us,” M’li told the assembled women.  Understanding her completely, they gathered a few things and led Maggie to sit on a log on the ground.

"Going Native," part 9

That evening, M’li disappeared from their hut for a while, then returned with a bowl full of some dark fluid.  The smell wasn’t unpleasant.  “Here, drink this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s the riprasha drink.  Have some in the morning and night, every day until the riprasha.”

As M’li knelt over her, Maggie held the bowl in two hands and brought it to her lips.  There was a weak, minty taste.  

Almost immediately, Maggie felt light headed.  She reclined on the bed.

In Tineri, M’li addressed her. “You’ve been holding out on us.  You have not been Tineri.  You have barely tried.  That changes now, doesn’t it?”

Maggie nodded.  She had spent the last several weeks with the tribe trying to figure out how to escape and not how to meet her end of the bargain she had struck - how to become part of the tribe.

“And it’s going to change because you realize now that you want to be Tineri more than anything else in the world.”

“...yes…”  The realization hit Maggie - why was she trying to leave the Tineri?  Everything she needed was here.

"Going Native," part 8

Maggie’s everyday duties also extended to regular sex with M’li.  Before sleep every night, Maggie was expected to worship M’li’s feet and eat her pussy until she came.  

Maggie’s evolving position on her own feet was mirrored in her enthusiasm for the foot fetish acts she performed.  When she was new to the tribe, before her feet had tanned and widened, and long before she began wearing toe rings herself, she dreaded the point each night when M’li would put one of her feet in Maggie’s hands.  Over time, though, she gained an appreciation of the fact that feet can be cute, and that appreciation extended to M’li’s feet.  Maggie noticed that M’li had long, slender toes, for instance, and that her feet always smelled like cut grass, and these things helped Maggie find it more palatable to suck M’li’s toes.  She still wasn’t interested in feet sexually, she told herself, but these were objectively pretty feet, and besides, it wasn’t like she had a choice.

"Going Native," part 7

Weeks passed.  There was still no sign of any rescuers or search party coming to find Maggie.  She knew better than to ask the Tineri for help in returning to the opulent lifestyle she had known.  

"Going Native," part 6

M’li announced the group’s return with several loud cries as they approached the village.  Maggie trailed slightly behind.  She wasn't used to walking barefoot anywhere outdoors besides a beach, and she had nicked her foot on some sharp rocks and small roots on the trip back to camp.  By the time she arrived, what seemed like the entire tribe was there to greet her.

"Going Native," part 5

The next morning, Maggie knew she had to find water.  She figured she could just watch the Tineri and see where they got theirs.  After making her way back to their camp, she watched for a while before some of the women left carrying jugs and basins.  They were clearly headed to the water supply, and Maggie would be close behind.

"Going Native," part 4

She arrived shortly after dusk.  In her approach to the camp, she could hear a steady drumbeat and wild, bestial screams.  Maggie couldn’t tell if someone was fucking or getting killed - or even if humans were involved at all - but, lacking any other options, she pressed on toward the noise.  

"Going Native," part 3

Maggie opened her eyes.  Her vision was blurry at first, but after several blinks, everything snapped into focus.  She was on some straw in a small shed or something.  Looking more closely at the walls, she could see that they were textured.  Did this shed have stucco walls?  No, looking even closer, Maggie saw that the walls were made of dirt and straw.  She was in one of those huts she had passed earlier.  

"Going Native," part 2

The following morning, Maggie awoke, hung-over.  She flipped in bed and saw Juliana, already awake.  Next to her was Abassi.

"Going Native," part 1

Maggie had never been more excited.  She was going on a safari!  As she and her best friend Juliana drove to the airport, Maggie made a mental checklist of all the things she wanted to see in Africa:  Victoria Falls, giraffes, lions, rhinos.  Those termite mounds that were taller than a person.  Parrots!  Chimps!  A three toed sloth - the slowest mammal in the world!  The list of interesting nature Africa boasts was practically endless, Maggie thought.  The people who lived there probably had no idea how beautiful their land was.