Okay, it has been brought to my attention that Superboy is multilingual and knows EVERY LANGUAGE on earth. Come on, Cadmus, really? Even those obscure Brazilian indigenous tribes, of which there are some 250 - many of which have their one unique language, many of which have never even had contact with the outside world - ever? Yeah, I don't think so . . . However, for the sake of THIS story, let's just pretend that Cadmus missed this particular tribe. ;D Thanks for the info, btw, random guest. It will help in future stories!

WARNING: Some Language and Disturbing Scenes . . .


They were called the Ashinawa, a tribe indigenous to this area of the Brazilian rainforest for the last thousand years. There were too many for Wally and Conner to try to fight, especially with Robin so ill. When the hunters indicated that the boys were to follow them, they went peacefully.

The men were painted and their black hair was long and straight. Some wore braids, but only a couple had beads and feathers decorating them. They wore loin cloths or woven skirts of some kind grass. All were barefoot.

Wally got the idea that they were fascinated by his costume, or what was left of it. He thought it was its bright yellow and red color that attracted them. A couple of the men watched Conner, and stared worriedly at the boy lying limp in his arms.

As they neared their village, an argument broke out. A couple of the hunters waved their hand in their directions and spoke angrily. The older men shook their heads and tried to placate the younger, more volatile of them with gentle gestures. One large man stormed toward Conner. The clone chose to back up hastily rather than challenge the man with Robin in the middle. But then the hunter caught up to him and grabbed Robin by the hair, holding the semi-conscious boy's head up for everyone to see.

Conner bellowed in anger; kicking the big man behind the knee and dropping him like a stone. A dozen arrow and spearheads were pointing in his direction the next second. Conner growled low and hunched over Robin, turning so as to keep his body between the boy and as many of the weapons as he could.

Wally suppressed the urge to use his speed, hoping to diffuse the situation instead. He had been thinking on the hike in that if anyone could find the jaborandi plant, that these people could. He stepped between Conner and the more volatile members of the group with his hands up in surrender.

"Easy. Let's everybody be calm now," he soothed. "I'm sure we can work this out without anyone doing an impression of a pincushion. Am I right?"

The big guy was scrambling to his feet. He favored the leg that Conner had kicked, but it seemed like it was important to him to not show weakness . . . Or, apparently, fear. He moved purposely past Wally to reach for Robin again. This time, Wally intercepted him, grabbing his wrist before he could touch the boy.

Wally narrowed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "No," he said firmly.

The large hunter stared back; taking Wally's stance as a challenge. Wally stepped forward into him despite coming up only to the man's chest.

"No!" He repeated the word in a yell, but didn't make any threatening gestures.

Conner bared his teeth.

The older man eased between them, using many of the same non-threatening gestures that Wally had just moments ago. He turned to the large hunter; pushing him back. He looked at Wally and pointed to Robin. The words he used were nothing but gibberish. Wally had no idea what he was saying, but he thought he understood the body language.

"I think they believe that Rob is sick," He told Conner. "I think they're worried that if they bring him into their village that their families will catch his illness."

Conner frowned. "But Robin's not sick. He's been poisoned!"

"I know, but how to get that across to them so that they understand?" Wally asked him.

Turning back to the older man, Wally mimed being sick like with a cold. He faked coughing and sneezing, and then pointed at Robin; shaking his head vigorously.

"You look like an idiot," Conner commented dryly.

"Shut up. I think it's working," Wally snapped back, excitedly.

The older hunter stared at Robin, and looked back at Wally.

Wally pretended to eat something, and then grasped his throat dramatically with one hand and draped the other over his forehead. He then pointed at Robin and nodded.

"He didn't eat anything," Conner rolled his eyes and remarked. "Ivy shot him with a poisoned dart."

Wally shot him a look. "I know that and you know that, but I didn't want to make it to look like we might be the bad guys. This will still get it across that Robin is poisoned and not sick."

"Yeah, well, how about you mime to that the big guy there that he best keep his hands to himself? If he tries to touch Robin again, his friends will have to carry his ass back to the village."

"I'm kind of hoping this old guy will do that for us," Wally said.

The older man started talking quickly to the others and after a moment, he looked back at Wally, and pointed to Robin.

"I don't think he understands you," Conner said, concerned.

"No, I think he did. He wants to see Robin for himself," Wally told him. He held up a hand and nodded; stepping back to allow the elder man to see the boy.

"Wally?" Conner growled in warning.

"Take it easy, Conner. I think he just wants to judge for himself. I won't let him hurt Rob," Wally assured his friend.

The older man stared into Robin's unmasked face. He took in the dilated eyes; the dry, reddened skin; the parched, chapped lips. He tilted his head as if listening to the boy's quickened, labored breathing and then pointed to Robin's chest. He mimed a beating heart on his own body and then pointed to his ear.

Wally nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, that's his heartbeat you hear!" He repeated the gestures as he spoke.

The older man frowned and started to turn away when Wally took a chance.

"Wait," he said. He stopped just shy of touching the hunter. "We are looking for the jaborandi plant. Have you heard of it? Jah-bore-ahnd-ee," Wally sounded out the plant's name slowly.

The hunter stared at him, the frown never leaving his face, until finally he turned away again. But this time, he waved for all three of them to follow them toward the village barely visible down the hill through the trees.

They looked at each other and shrugged. What choice did they have? There was still the possibility that someone in the village knew of the plant they so desperately needed. Conner clutched Robin closer and followed Wally into the heart of the village.


"This may be our first bit of good luck since this God-forsaken mission started," Wally told him.

Conner was laying Robin down on the woven mat indicated by the woman tending them. He kept his head down rather than look at her. All she wore was a loin cloth similar to the men. Her long hair was all that covered her breasts, and although he knew it was just a cultural difference, he still felt uncomfortable looking at a female who was unclothed and so immodest.

Interestingly enough, girl-crazy Wally's attention was all on Conner and Robin. He barely even acknowledged that there was a woman in the room. He kneeled down on the other side of the boy; his hand stroking lightly over his face.

"We need to lower his fever. This high temperature might kill him before the poison does," Wally told him.

The young woman, it was hard to determine her age, patted the redhead on the shoulder. She mimed drinking and pointed to Robin.

"Uh, I don't know," Wally stammered. "Your water could cause him more problems." He held out his hands helplessly. "How do I explain this? Robin needs water desperately, but if it isn't boiled, it could hurt him."

"You could just tell me," another woman entered the hut behind them.

Wally leapt to his feet as both boys spun about in shock.

"You speak English," Conner said. This woman wore a sundress, thankfully.

"Sorry," Wally apologized. "He didn't mean for that to come out as an accusation. We were just surprised! And pleased," he added. "We need help."

"I can see that," she said. She spoke to the other woman and sent her out. Then walking further into the hut, she kneeled beside Robin in Wally's place. "What happened to him? Caua said he believed the boy was poisoned."

"Hah! You see? I told you he would understand that," Wally chimed at Conner.

"So, he was poisoned," she concluded from that. "I suppose how that happened is of no relevance, since many tourists become sick from eating plants they know nothing about, but I can think of no plant that can cause all of the symptoms that Caua mentioned."

"We're not tourists," Conner told her. "The poison is not native to the rainforest, but the antidote is. My name is Superboy. And this is Kid Flash."

She tilted her head curiously, but didn't ask about the unusual names. "My name is Araci. And who is your young friend?"

"You don't recognize us?" Conner glanced up at where Wally was hovering over her shoulder to check his reaction.

"Should I?" She asked simply.

It was true, they were a long way from the U.S. and Gotham City. Robin wasn't as well known around the country as Batman, but the Caped Crusader was even then only marginally known; unlike the more visible, personable members like Superman, Wonder Woman, or the Flash.

"I assume you haven't spent your entire life in this village," Conner stated.

She smiled. "No, I was sent to attend school and learn the languages of outsiders. I was chosen to be the village's spokesperson when dealing with others."

"And you chose to learn English?" Wally sat down at Robin's head.

"I learned Spanish and Portuguese as well as French and English," Araci told him.

"Have you ever heard of the Justice League?" Conner asked her.

"No. Is it important that I have?"

"No," he told her, and indicated the boy laying between them. "His name is Robin."

Wally laid a hand on her briefly and lifted it away. He didn't know the culture, and really didn't want to accidentally end up having to marry Araci because of his ignorance.

"We were told that the cure to the poison is a plant called jaborandi. It's supposed to be a kind of shrubby tree with black berries and feathery leaves," Wally asked her. "Have you heard of it?"

She nodded. "I have."

Wally and Conner shared a grin. Thank God!

"But it's considered a poison in itself," she told them. "Our shaman forbids anyone from gathering or using the plant."

"What?! B-But it's his only hope! He'll die without it," Wally cried out.

"Please," Conner asked. "Can you talk to him . . . Your shaman? Explain the situation?"

"Who is this boy to you?" Araci asked them.

"He's our friend," Conner answered immediately.

"He's our brother," Wally added.

"And he's a hero," Conner stressed. "He gives freely of himself to help other people."

Wally nodded. "He saves their lives at great risk to his own. Please," he entreated her. "He doesn't deserve to die like this."

Araci blinked and looked at the boy more closely. "He is just a child," she exclaimed. "How can he be this great hero you speak of?"

"Because that's the kind of person he is," Wally explained. "He's been doing the hero thing for a long time now. If he lives, he will continue to do it for a long time to come."

She was silent for a moment as she contemplated the boy in front of her. Without a word, she rose to her feet and left the hut; leaving Conner and Wally without any clue as to what would happen next.


Several minutes later, the first woman re-entered the hut carrying a cup of hot water. Steam rose from it. She handed it to Wally without a word and left.

He looked from the cup to Conner. "She boiled it. But we can't give it to him until it cools down." Wally set it down.

"Do you think Araci will be able to talk the shaman into giving us the plant?" Conner asked from where he sat next to Robin.

Wally sighed and dropped down to sit across from him. "I don't know. But if we don't get that plant soon, Rob's going to die."

Conner blew out a frustrated breath. He watched how Wally rubbed his foot through his boot. "How's your foot," He asked, concerned. "I noticed that you're not limping as much as you were."

Wally flexed the appendage carefully. "Better. I'm thinking that the bones have already healed, although it still hurts to use it. I wouldn't be surprised if they will have to be broken and reset again when we get back."

"But you can run?"

"It hurts a lot, but yeah, I can run if I have to," Wally agreed. "But I'm not leaving you! I doubt I could find this place again anyway."

"Then we don't have to wait. You could go out and look for it," Conner suggested, ignoring Wally's doubt. "You're fast enough that there is no way they could stop you."

Wally shrugged. "But what good is being fast if I don't know that the plant looks like? The description that Poison Ivy gave us is so vague, it could be anything. I could pick something that might kill Rob faster!" His face darkened with anger." She knew that we would never find it on our own. She knew that Rob was going to die from her poison!"

Robin moaned. The sound was scratchy and hoarse. It sounded painful. His eyes, which had closed for a time, opened. They were dull and bloodshot; his pupils completely blown. His breathing was turning ragged and his hands came up to claw at his throat. His legs moved restlessly.

Wally grabbed his hands to prevent Robin from doing himself more harm. The yellow of his cape he had used to bind the bite marks was stained a rusty-brown color.

"Bat . . . man . . ." Robin reached out at the ceiling above him.

"Batman's coming," Wally told him soothingly although both boys understood that Robin couldn't actually hear them anymore. "He's looking for you right now."

The words were said by rote, without any emotion behind them. Robin had been asking after Batman or Bruce so often that the words of comfort had become automatic.

"You know," Conner injected. "He probably is by now. We were scheduled back last night."

Wally rubbed his eyes, and sniffled. "So, at least I'm not lying to him anymore."

Robin's face was contorted in pain, but he had no tears. He turned his head in the direction of the door, unseeing. "Bru-u-uce . . . Bru-u-u-uce!"

"Bruce is coming, Dick," he said. The tears Robin lacked rolled down Wally's face unchecked. "Don't worry . . . Bruce is coming."

"His name is Dick?"

"Yeah. He'd probably want you to know it now," Wally said, quietly.

"Who is Bruce? Is he the Batman?" Conner asked, softly.

It was kind of obvious from listening to Rob's ramblings over the last eleven hours, but it wasn't Wally's secret to tell. So he told Conner a version of truth.

"He's Dick's father."

Conner frowned. "He calls his father Bruce?"

Lacking the energy to explain his friend's home life further, Wally simply nodded. "Yeah, he does."

The mask was off, so it was Dick who stretched out his hand toward the door. "Bru-uce, please . . . Hot," he gasped. "So hot . . . help me . . . Bru-u-uce!"

Wally picked up the cup and waved his hand at super speed in an effort to cool the water down faster. When it was lukewarm, Conner held Robin up so that Wally could try to pour the liquid into his mouth. He choked, and the water sprayed out of his mouth and ran down his chin.

The boy's throat was too dry and irritated to swallow the water effectively anymore; too dry to accept the liquid that would him relief. Wally threw the cup at the wall of the hut in a rage as he realized that Robin could no longer even drink! The precious water flew in all directions as he covered his face with his hands and screamed out in frustration!

Conner laid Dick down gently, and climbed to his feet. He was done waiting! He would find the jaborandi, and to hell with the shaman's law!

Before Conner could reach the door, the curtain that covered the entrance was pushed aside. The older hunter entered with another man at his back. The second man was decorated even more vividly in painted designs; a streak of red and black across his eyes and forehead. He wore an elaborate headdress and had numerous piercings through his face, and a carved piece of wood ran through the septum of his nose; his earlobes were stretched to the point that they hung nearly to his shoulders.

Araci entered behind him.

"This is Caua," she said, pointing to the hunter. "You met him on the hunt. He's the chief of our tribe. And this is Ubirajara; our shaman. He came to look at the boy."

"The boy is dying," Conner snapped. "He doesn't have time for people to 'look' at him! He needs the jaborandi plant! He cannot survive without it!"

Araci's eyes lowered to the dirt floor. "I am sorry. This is the only way. If Ubirajara agrees, then he will go out himself and bring you the plant you seek."

Conner grunted in frustration, and moved aside for the shaman to pass.

The man was small in stature; coming up only to Caua's shoulder. He waved Wally away and kneeled down to peer closely at Robin's face.

"Please," Wally begged. "Please, help us. He doesn't deserve to die like this!"

Ubirajara paused to look to Araci. She translated Wally's plea for him; holding out a hand beseechingly. She told the priest who the boy was to them, and that he was a great hero in the outside world despite his youth and size.

Ubirajara appeared unmoved, but spoke rapidly. He turned back to his examination. Araci looked disconcerted.

"What did he say?" Conner asked.

"He said, if the child is a great hero as you say, then this is the way he deserves to die." She held up a hand to forestall their outrage. "He said, that a great hero suffers much for the sake of others, and he is expected to die in the same way. For him to die in his bed at peace is an insult to the life he has lived."

"No," Wally moaned. "No, please! He's too young! He's only thirteen!"

"Robin has more to offer this world. It's too soon," Conner argued.

"It is for the shaman to decide," she told them quietly.

"He saved me, you know," Conner told her.

Araci blinked.

"He's saved me as well," Wally added quickly. "More than once."

She turned to the chieftain and spoke rapidly, and then to the shaman. The priest grunted as he poked a finger into Robin's mouth. The chief then spoke to his shaman with respect and deference. Finally, the shaman rose and turned to them; speaking in the tribe's language.

Araci listened carefully; frowning at his words.

"Ubirajara said that the plant you seek is very dangerous. He said that while he thinks it might help your friend and brother, it might just as likely kill him. He said he would be cursed if he were to personally harm a great hero by giving him a terrible poison. He said that he would let the gods decide your Robin's fate."

"What? We're supposed to just pray that he lives through this?" Wally asked incredulously.

"Prayer is a very powerful tool," Araci chided. "But no, that is not what he meant."

"Then what did he mean?" Conner scowled.

"There will be a challenge that one of you must face. If you win, then Ubirajara will help him. If you lose, the tribe will help you to mourn him," she explained.

"What challenge?" Conner demanded to know. "We'll do anything!"

Araci looked at the shaman who rattled off something to the chief. Caua nodded, and then spoke to the boys.

"The challenge," Araci told them, "will be a simple test of strength. Your gods will endow you with great strength should they choose to honor the child with continued life."

"Done," Conner took a step forward.

Wally was more cautious. "You don't even know what the challenge is yet? Remember the collar? Superboy isn't super anymore," he reminded him quietly.

Conner frowned. "Whatever it is, we will find a way to do it. Don't tell me that you won't try because I know you will."

"Of course, I will," Wally snapped at him. He was just worried. They couldn't screw this up!

"Come," Araci beckoned them. "You must come now. Ubirajara said, your friend and brother does not have long. The test must be done immediately so that he has time to collect and prepare the jaborandi for the boy if the gods show him favor."

Wally hesitated leaving Robin alone.

"Yara will watch over him," Araci promised.

Yara was the woman who had brought them the water. She entered quickly and quietly and kneeled down beside the boy. She began to sway and croon.

"What's she doing?" Conner asked.

"She is petitioning the gods to find favor with the boy and to bestow strength on his champion," she explained, quickly. "She will care for him. You must come now."

They followed her to the center of the village. It was small, so the boys could still see the hut where Robin rested. One of the men was setting up a cut log on its end. The log was about three and a half feet tall.

The chief walked to them and began speaking. Araci translated to them.

"One of you will extend the arm blessed by your gods and with it defeat the arm of strength of our greatest hunter, Joao." She waved an arm and the large asshole from the hunt was kneeling on one side of the log. He placed his elbow on the end of it and smiled at them.

Wally blinked, and then gasped. "Arm wrestling! They want us to arm wrestle the big guy!"

Conner narrowed his eyes and took several steps forward before Wally stopped him.

"Wait," he said. "Remember your collar!"

"I can take him," Conner growled.

"You could if the collar was removed, but there is no guarantee that you'd be able to do it with it on," he insisted. "This is Rob's life! We can't make a mistake here."

Scowling, Conner turned to face his teammate. "Then what do you suggest?"

Wally licked his lips and looked over Conner's shoulder at the hunter. "I'll do it."

"You? But I'm stronger than you even with the collar on!"

"We need a solid win. There will be no doubt that the gods are with us if I beat him." Wally said.

"And how do you propose to do that?"

Wally grinned. "By doing what I do best!"


Wally kneeled across the log from Joao, the giant hunter of the even bigger ego. He put his elbow on the end of the log. Joao's forearm was longer than Wally's, and it placed the teen immediately at a disadvantage.

At the chief's signal, the two clasped hands. Joao said something to him, but Wally had no idea what he said without Araci translating. He had no doubt that it was meant to be insulting and condescending.

Joao grinned at him, exposing brown, stained teeth. Wally smiled back confidently despite the fact that he knew Joao planned to slam his hand down as hard and as painfully as possible. Joao's grin faltered and he scowled.

Laughter echoed around at the mismatch contest. Wally ignored it. Rob was counting on him and Conner had his back.

"When Caua speaks, the contest will begin," Araci said.

"Right," Wally nodded.

"I hope you know what you're doing, West," Conner whispered behind him.

"Me, too," Wally muttered.

"What?!" Conner gasped.

"TAI," the chief shouted.

Wally used his speed to slam Joao's arm down before the hunter's brain could even process Caua's word.

The crowd gasped.

Joao stared for several seconds at his defeat before roaring in anger and leaping to his feet. He shouted at Caua rapidly.

Conner was grinning, but he asked anyway. "What's he saying?"

Araci shook her head, still stunned at what she witnessed. "What? Oh! He's demanding a re-trial. He says that he wasn't ready and that your friend cheated."

Conner was offended on Wally's behalf. "He didn't cheat!"

The chief looked at Wally in awe. He nodded and Joao kneeled down in triumph; placing his elbow back on the log.

"What? Kid Flash clearly won that. Why is he challenging him again?" Conner growled.

"The gods don't make mistakes," she said. "If Kid Flash won the first round, then he can win the second round as well."

Wally grasped Joao's hand and tried not to flinch when the big man squeezed hard.

The chief stood next to them and watched carefully.

"TAI!"

Wally slammed Joao's hand down in the next millisecond. This time the crowd went wild! Many of the men leapt high in the air with shouts. The women hugged each other in delight.

Joao yelled and slammed his newly freed hand down in a rage. It didn't take a translator to understand what he wanted when he place his elbow back onto the log's center. Wally sighed, and grasped his hand again without prompting.

This time the chief kneeled beside them, even leaning forward a bit to better see.

"TAI," he shouted.

Boom! Wally's hand slammed Joao's arm back against the log in less time than it took one to blink. This time the chief jumped up and shouted. People were laughing. Conner patted Wally's back.

Wally took one look at his opponent, rolled his eyes, and placed his elbow back on the log. Joao immediately grasped his hand.

"TAI!" Someone other than the chief yelled the word this time, but the result was the same. The back of Joao's hand smacked the log almost before the sound of the person's voice ended.

"What are they shouting?" Conner asked when the crowd began to chant.

"They are shouting 'again, again, again'," she smiled.

Conner waved at the priest and the man approached warily; eyeing Wally nervously.

"Look. He can do this all day," Conner pointed to Wally, but then he pointed back to the hut where Robin lay. "He cannot. Your challenge has been met. Go and get the jaborandi. The gods have spoken."

Araci translated and the priest nodded his head, bowed, and left, grabbing a small boy on his way. Conner watched as he said something to the boy, and the child ran off and disappeared into a nearby hut. He reappeared only minutes later with a staff and a coarsely woven bag.

"He will return before nightfall," she told him.

Conner looked worriedly at the sky. The sun had just passed the mid-day mark. He prayed that it would be in time.


They were accompanied back to their hut by Caua, Araci, and several jubilant villagers, but the mood crashed when Yara burst from around the blanket that served as a door. She ran to the chief and began jabbering hysterically. Wally and Conner ran into the hut terrified at what they would find.

It was almost worse than they had imagined.

Robin was in the midst of a violent seizure. The two older boys threw themselves on top of him; holding the younger down in hopes of saving him from injury as his body convulsed.

"They're not stopping," Wally yelled at Conner; panic in his eyes and voice. "What do we do?"

Conner had sat down and pulled Robin against his chest; trying to hold his head still with one hand and wrapping his arm around the boy's torso. Wally laid over his legs.

"We hold on," Conner shouted.

An elderly woman appeared beside them with Araci.

"This is Maiara. She is a wise woman. She says the boy is fighting his fever. It must be brought down." Araci told them, touching the woman's shoulder.

Maiara did not speak, but immediately lifted a wet cloth from the bowl she carried. She began to wash Robin's face with it. After a few minutes, she muttered something and tugged at the boy's tunic.

"We must strip him down," Araci translated. "The water must touch his skin in order to steal the fever from him."

Wally straddled Robin's legs and worked frantically to work the fasteners free around Conner's arm. His speed was there, but in his fear, Wally's dexterity was almost nonexistent. As soon as he pulled the tunic apart, Maiara drenched Robin's torso with water.

Eventually Robin was strip down to his briefs and Conner and Wally were as wet as he was. It felt like a lifetime before the seizures ended and the boy lay exhausted and unresponsive on the mat. More water was brought in and the friends were shoved aside as several women in the village took over bathing the boy.

But it was no use. The second the women stopped, the water evaporated from the heat Robin's body was producing and his fever would spike once more. The women attempted several times to coax a tea that was purported to relieve a fever into him, but the boy couldn't swallow more than a few drops without choking. His eyelids were open, but half closed. If Robin was awake, however, no one was home.

Wally sat a few feet away, his arms draped around bent knees. He stared at the activity as tears rolled down his face. His best friend was dying and there was nothing he could do. Conner leaned against the corner of the hut; silent. His face was also wet. He wanted to rage and barrel through the village and surrounding jungle like a wild animal and scream, but he knew what Robin would think of that; think of him should he act on his violent inclinations. So, he waited and watched helplessly; hating Poison Ivy for what she had done, but hating himself for his inability to save his friend even more.

Araci burst through the entrance to the hut and ran to them as soon as she found them in the dimness of the room. Wally stood up and Conner came forward to meet her.

"Ubirajara is back," she told them excitedly. "He found the jaborandi."


REACTIONS?

Uh oh . . . Here are the last couple of symptoms convulsions and coma? Death would follow the coma, and usually is a result of respiratory or circulatory failure. Oh yeah, and don't forget to review!

A/N:

The "Ashinawa is a fictional tribe as I wrote this entire thing in seven days. I didn't have the time to put into picking one of the many indigenous tribes found in the Brazilian rainforest and researching them well enough. The Ashinawa is combination of several different tribes. I just picked what I saw that was interesting or sounded cool . . . making my tribe a conglomeration of many.

The word "Tai" that Caua uses to begin the arm-wrestling match means "Foot" in the Tuxinawa language (another Brazilian tribe). It was the closest thing I could come to the word "Go". I looked for a word for "One" (found many) thinking I could countdown, but all the words for one were all two-syllables, and I felt we needed a one-syllable word to start the match. As it was, "Tai" was my best option. What do you think?

Oh, the names I use for the native characters are actual given names found in the indigenous tribes of Brazil (with the exception of Joao, which is a nickname common in Brazil. I ran out of boy names - there wasn't many listed. Maybe if I had more time . . . But I like this one and it seemed to fit well with the other names in that it didn't stand out as unusual.)