AN: Rewritten and Reuploaded. 08/01/16
ONE
Stood perfectly still on the edge of a sun bleached playing field, there was a small boy.
His hair was impeccably combed, styled in a way that was not common for children his age. Underneath the strong glare of the sun, the strands shone a deep mahogany. The colour broken only by the tips of two pointed ears. He was dressed strangely for the hot weather, a long black robe that fastened around his frame - starting from his neck to the almost to long hem that brushed along the dust covered ground.
With his hands folded neatly behind his back, posture so impossibly still, he was attracting a lot of attention from the people around him.
Children native to the country, their skin dark, hair falling around their faces in unruly curls or attractive braids, gave him questioning stares as they passed.
The majority of these children were male, and even though the presence of the strange boy was something of an irregularity, they focused more upon their game – kicking a small white ball to and fro across the field.
Two adolescent females sat on the other side of the field. They were more open with their observations of the new-comer, longer glances and secret comments past between them.
The last of the children was a little girl, who was barely a year or two younger than his own seven years. She seemed content with spinning herself into dizziness near the gathering of adults that watched with protective gazes over their children.
The ball game increased in pitch, the boys whooping and exclaiming their excitement as one managed to get the ball from the other or a point was scored.
The small, strangely dressed boy observed all of this through dark calculating eyes.
As much as he tried, he could not see the academic merit to this ball game. He could calculate the correct position down to the last point nought percentage in which it would be the most beneficial to exert force, to make the ball land inside one the improvised 'goals' on the edges on the playing field.
The game did not assist in improving the players strength or stamina. It served no academic purpose, as there seemed to be no elder keeping track of achievements nor a scoring system of any kind. They seemed to be playing simply for the enjoyment and social bonding.
With the smallest of frowns at the oddity of human sports, the boy turned his gaze towards the gathering of parents.
The tiniest of smiles graced his lips as he spotted his mother. With her pale skin, his mother stood out as much as he did. Even though during the time they had spent in this country, her skin had tanned to a becoming honeyed brown.
Oblivious to his gaze, his mother was talking to a native woman he presumed was the mother of one or more of the children around him. Both women were lost in conversation, hands moving as they spoke, features alight with emotion. The two women were also dressed in a similar way. Colourful wraps of fabric, a garment he knew to be called a kitenge, adorned with beads and matching jewellery. His mother wrap was a soothing mint green that contrasted pleasantly with her dark hair and tanned skin. The other woman's wrap was a deep ruby red.
During their visit to the terrean country, his mother had been awash with happiness. An emotion she was very rarely was allowed to show back on their home planet. She had also removed her headscarf, a garment that protected her less versatile skin from the heat of his much more humid homeland. The headscarf was also a symbol of her position as wife to a Ambassador, something that was never to be removed when in the presence of anyone but family.
And yet, as another brilliant smile lit up his mothers features, the boy found he could not be too concerned or disapprove with her state of dress. After all, Earth was her home planet. And whilst on Earth, her happiness was of the uppermost importance.
As a Vulcan child, his culture had many traditions and disciplines he was sure would anger and confuse the human parents around him.
One of the most important traditions, and the reason for the impromptu journey to Earth, was the Kahs' wan. A trial of passage into adulthood that all Vulcan children were to complete. Due the severity and the risk involved, his mother had become increasingly emotional as the day of his examination drew closer.
In an attempt to calm her, his father had suggested that they take a sabbatical to Earth. He had business on the Terrean planet which could be completed whilst the boy and his mother travelled to Kenya, to visit a long time friend of his mothers. The distraction had worked, somewhat. The prospect of a chance to visit her home planet and the promise of precious time with her friend had calmed his mother. Although her body language had stated the probability of another emotional outburst was imminent when they returned to Vulcan.
For the first three days of their seven day trip, his family had stayed in San Francisco. The location of the Star Fleet headquarters. He had been intrigued with the academy, and had wished for a more in-depth tour of the building. Instead, his mother had taken him deeper into the city, to a building that homed a large quantity of aquatic creatures. After that, they had travelled further inland to a large building that housed a very large holo-vid screen. The motion picture they had watched that day had already left his memory.
He and his mother had travelled to Kenya that afternoon.
Whilst the searing heat of the African continent was a pleasing change from the dampness of San Francisco, the boy was ready to return home. The Kahs' wan was a trail that required days of meditation and mental training. He needed to prepare, something he could not do whilst stood on the outside of a improvised sports field.
The sudden addition of a small weight against his left side brought the small boy from his musings with an audible 'oof!'. The sound coming from the small shape that toppled into his field of vision as he took a surprised step to the left.
He had the brief view of brightly coloured clothing before a tangle of black curls and chocolate coloured limbs landed on the ground next to his feet. And stayed there.
Raising an eyebrow, the boy simply stared at the human shaped tangle for a short moment before he frowned. A slither of concern crossing his mind as he recognised the small female child he had observed not ten minutes before. The one which had seemed content with spinning herself into dizziness until she fell.
With the frown planted firmly on his face, the boy temporarily was at a loss with how to react. Had the child injured herself and required assistance? Was he required to help her or did situations like this necessitate parental interference?
Before he could make a confident decision, the tangle of limbs and clothing moved. Rolling over until he found himself staring down at the delicate - and dirt covered - features of a human child. Two large dark brown eyes stared up at him quizzically, before the child laughed with unreasoned delight and a wide smile danced across her face.
"Samahani!" Her voice was high and sweet, a delighted laugh spilling from her lips at the frown gracing the boys features.
The child was still on the ground. Upside down from his point of view, yet seemed to find her strange position terribly amusing. The boy quirked an eyebrow, still a little uncertain on how he was supposed to react. He glanced towards his mother, unconsciously asking for her assistance, when the little girl abruptly rolled herself onto her knees and bounced to her feet.
"Ni nini jina yako?" She asked. Her head tilting in question.
The boy stood bewildered for a short moment, before he slowly shook his head.
"I...do not understand your language"
The child blinked, a frown pursing her lips as her dark eyes roamed his face. Her expression thoughtful as she focused on his robe, then the pointed tips of his ears.
"You are Vulcan" She stated. Her expression turned serious for a short moment, before she gave a small nod, as if mentally coming to a conclusion. Then she gave him another brilliant smile and wiggled her fingers at him.
Somewhat confused, the boy watched as her fingers started moving around in a peculiar way. After a moment, the girl let out an annoyed sounding puff of air and raised her other hand the mould her fingers into the shape she wanted. Then, she smiled, and all but shoved the newly shaped hand under his nose.
"Tonk'peh" She said the word clearly and confidently.
The boy blinked, his mouth almost dropping open as he heard the familiar word, a common – if informal – greeting in his home language. Her small hand formed the shape of the ta'al, the Vulcan salute.
Surprised, the boy instinctively returned the salute and bowed his head in respectful greeting.
"Ha'tha ti'lu"
His answer brought another delighted smile to her lips and the girl all but bounced in delight in the pads of her feet. Intrigued, the boy slipped his hand back into the folds of his robe and observed the girl with a new curiosity.
"You can speak Vulcan?" He asked.
She nodded, making a agreeable noise. Then she lifted one hand to point at the wide expanse of blue sky above them.
"I wanna fly in the stars on a spaceship when I'm bigger. So I learning how to say hello to everybody" She explained. Her eyes almost shining with excitement as she raised her head to watch the thin covering of clouds move across the sky. The uncommon sensation of warm affection danced through the boy, a smile threatening to curl his lip as he watched the small girl show her delight. He opened his mouth to speak when the woman in the red kitenge suddenly called out, drawing the girls attention. They spoke in their native language for a moment before the girl turned back towards her new found friend and smiled.
"Mama said I have to go home now. Are you gonna go home too?" She asked.
The boy nodded slowly, his gave moving towards his mother, whom had been watching their interaction with warmth and interest. The little girl hopped on the pads of her feet for a moment, then turned and darted towards her mothers waiting arms.
But then she stopped, skidding to a halt that almost had her toppling over again. She span on her heal and aimed a small finger towards the bewildered boy.
"I like you, so I'm going to share my name. I'm Nyota. Nyota Uhura. What's yours?" She called out.
Blinking, the boy graced her with the of softest smiles.
"Spock. My name is Spock"
Vulcan
Kahs'wan – Vulcan maturity test: is a traditional survival test for pre-teen Vulcans. The basis for the kahs-wan is to survive ten days without food,water, or weapons in Vulcan's Forge.
ta'al – Vulcan salute
Sochya eh dif – Peace and long life
Tonk'peh – Hello (informal)
Ha'tha ti'lu – Good Morning
Swahili
Samahani - Hello
Ni nini jina yako – What is your name