Sometimes, the shaman was forgetting how they assigned to this man the position of being the chief of the village. Given, most of the decisions that affect the village was decided by the elders but being strong should not be the only factor. Next time. Though one really cannot say that the current chief was lacking.
Bobo finally reached the two, with some men still catching up behind him. This shows how strong he really is compared to others. Skidding to a kneeling position, he immediately snatched his son from the old man's hold and checked for his injuries, not giving further attention to the shaman. This shows how dumb, er, concerned he is of his son.
However, the shaman was not surprised with this display. The man's kindness was also a reason he was chosen as the chief of the village. If only he was a little smarter too.
The shaman thought it was good thing the children got their brains from their mother.
When the other men reached them, they noticed the old man and immediately greeted him, "Shaman Matnaad!"
The still kneeling man raised his head when he heard the greetings. He then noticed the now standing old man. Thinking for a while, he tried to stand too but his knees were numb from the running and skidding so he almost dropped his son in his arms.
All the other men tried to help but Bobo still has enough energy to steady himself. He decided to keep kneeling and bowed to the shaman, "Shaman Matnaad, I'm sorry I didn't notice you earlier."
"Who is that old man, father?" Bobo heard his son whisper to him when the other men started discussing the incident.
The father leaned to his son to answer him so the others wouldn't hear. "Didn't you hear? It was Shaman Matnaad." However, that was heard by the other men since Bobo whispering was still loud.
"But, father, who is that? I don't know him." Ling clarified to his father.
"Oh, yeah. He is..." Bobo scratched his head, thinking how to explain it to his son.
The men were used to their chief's slow thinking but they were still finding this funny especially with the shaman beside them. They tried to cover their smirking faces until the shaman answered the boy.
"Ling, I'm one of the elder shaman of our village and I also work with your father." The boy then nodded, showing this was enough of an explanation to him to consider the old man not a stranger.
To continue their talk of the incident, he turned to all the men present, "Regarding that pool you were saying that was beside the river, I want it closed off due to this incident. If you want to still use it, ensure a proper safeguard and consult us."
"Yes, shaman!" The men stood at attention.
"All of you except for Bobo and Ling can leave to announce my decision to the village." With this, the men left, though some were still peering back, curious why the two were left behind.
Once the other men can't be seen, the old man turned to the father and son, "Hmm.. Bobo, I noticed your son has great control of the 'mist' in healing his body. He had more wounds a while ago but now, you can see that only a few remain. Healing those were not done by me if you think it is, then I want to clear that up."
Although, Bobo noticed that his son did not have a lot of wounds from his adventure in the river, he never thought it healed because of his son's powers, "Really?"
The shaman was surprised with the other man's reaction. Suddenly, he noticed the little boy with them was exuding a different kind of mist.
Well, Ling was depressed. It was only his sisters who knew that he heals fast, they said like their eldest sister, so he can hide some of his adventures from his parents. But now, because of this old man, his father knows. Despite the old man saving him, Ling was still slightly mad because of this.
Surprising the two, the old man laughed, understanding both their reactions. But the old man was further amazed since it looks like the little boy knows his powers and was using it deliberately.
"That's how it is, Bobo, so I want to train Ling on this since his class in the school will focus more on his external control of the mist."
Seeing that the two were still staring at him, seeming like they were confused with the offer, the shaman continued, "You just have to have Ling visit me after his classes to practice."
Ling was horrified when he heard that. Be with the old man after class? No playing after class? Though he doesn't have anybody to play with now, but that was not the point. He won't get friends to play with if he stays with an old man.
Because Ling's control of his emotions was still erratic, the shaman can deduce what he was feeling with his statement. He did not know whether he should laugh or cry. A lot of parents in the village would feel privileged to have their children directly train under him.
"Hmm.. Since you still didn't know the basics, let's talk about this after a few months. Bobo, bring him to my house at that time."
Satisfied with this, the boy nodded while the father followed his action, though still confused.