The man looked imposing in his small office, which was likely why he kept it uncluttered and neat. There was no need to make a small space even smaller. The Office for African Relations was one of the smallest departments in the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Duna certainly did not mind that fact. Not that he would not have liked for more people to care about the continent he came from, but he had learned over the years that people preferred to ignore that which they did not understand and he supposed that was the best he would get. Certainly the Wizarding World was much better than the muggle world in that regard, however.

He had arrived at the office as the same time as always - ludicrously early. There was just something in Duna that made him love work, and even the term workaholic might be used too lightly. Perhaps that was why the majority of his relationships had failed. Not that he especially cared, he had yet to meet a woman in his life that he thought was truly worth more than twenty cows and he was not going to have anyone worth less. After all, a woman of twenty cows or more would be the same quality as the daughter of a Zulu chief. Perhaps he should have gone home and gotten himself a Zulu wife... He supposed he still could if he really wanted to.

The idea was a foolish one anyhow. Duna did not particularly mind being single anyway. He could work as much as he wished and never have anyone throwing it in his face that he dedicated himself too much to his work. He could up and leave the continent when necessary and no one stopped him. No, he had the perfect lifestyle for a diplomat, no wife, no children and no attachments. Maybe he should at least get himself a dog. “Cha.” He spoke aloud, waving his hand in the air as though attempting to brush away the thoughts that had entered his mind unwarranted and unwelcome.

He moved about his small office, preparing for his meeting with the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures - and he thought his title was a mouthful. Ms. Gertrudis, she was worth at least 15 cows, but not twenty. Though fifteen was a fair sum to fetch for any woman! Most normal women rarely got more than five or six. She was also very young to be a Department Head and Duna greatly respected her. So, naturally, when she had requested a meeting he had cleared his schedule.

He set out a plate of rusks on his desk next to the teapot and cups and saucers. A small container of sugar came out next with stirring spoons. Should he have perhaps gone out and purchased some of those silly little biscuit things for Ms. Gertrudis? He hoped not. He had pride in his own baking skills and hoped that his rusks would be sufficient. They were tasty at any rate and he liked to offer those who entered his office a small taste of his homeland. Perhaps next time instead of tea he would offer her Milo. When all that was settled he resumed his position behind his desk, waiting for his appointment to arrive.

While having spent half a decade on Duna Gazini’s continent, the Firyali Chiku (Kiswahili for Unusual Talker, although some of the Turkana called her Kanoni or Little Bird since that was the first animal the first tribesman she encountered saw her speak to) knew very little else besides the major magically inclined beasts of the western region.  Covadonga wished this had been rectified earlier, but she had been called away earlier than she expected.

Dressed in her boots and field/working gear—she had been helping with constructing the Library and Resource Center—the witch walked down the unfamiliar halls of Level Five until she caught sight of the Department Head’s name on an office door.

Turning on her worn heel she politely knocked thrice, not wanting to be whacked with a staff or hexed with his wand.

Of course she was here to learn about werewolves and other beings in Africa.  Covi had started forming educational seminars to present to various other Wizarding governments to try and unify their efforts in doing away with the prejudices and stereotypes held against them.  True… nearly all stereotypes are rooted in fact, but the problem was acting on them and quite a number of them were no longer accurate.

He had turned to looking over a portion of his magical world map, which hung on the entire left wall of the office. On this enlarged part - showing Africa and Europe - there were several pins and large red circles. Dashes showed what he assumed to be potential routes for certain different illicit items that were being smuggled in to England. He was attempting to track muggle goods as well, ivory and the like. His focus on the moment was on the recent smugglings out of Burkina-Faso The knock on the door pulled him away from his desk as he took the two strides that would allow him to open it.

“Sawubona Miss Gertrudis.” Duna said in greeting. “Always a pleasure to see you, though I suppose I should really say ‘hujambo’.” If he was not mistaken she spoke Kiswahili as opposed to his native Zulu and while he was more acquainted with Afrikaans than Kiswahili, he was able to communicate fairly well in the language. Well, enough to survive in a country where no one spoke Zulu at any rate.

His African accent had failed to fade very much from his years living in England and it came through when he spoke. It was not quite so extreme as others, but it was certainly there. “Please, enter.” He moved aside allowing for her to enter and waved a seat to the chair that sat in front of his desk. “Help yourself to some tea and the rusks are excellent. I made them myself.” His chest puffed a little with pride.

When she was seated he moved back to his desk, pausing to pet the bright green fwooper that perched in one corner of the office. Ah if only there were magical creatures native to South Africa, though he loved his fwooper and the animal matched him well, after all, he did have a fwooper core staff. “How may I be of service today?” He asked pleasantly, motioning once more to the tea and rusks as though saying, eat, eat. Then perhaps she would be worth sixteen or seventeen cows.

---

Sawubona - Hello in Zulu
Hujambo - Hello in Swahili

With a confused look as she tried to translate the greeting, she smiled as he said something she recognized more, thanking him in a similar fashion, “Asante, my good sir!” offering a polite nod of the head before stepping into the office.

Her attention was drawn to the map hanging on the wall after suppressing a squeal of glee at seeing the perched bird, “Ah!  I had a similar device for my travels back in the day.  Much smaller, however,” her nose wriggled in annoyance as she remembered the map was actually folded up in her journal… the journal she had intended to bring along with her.

Standing her toughened heels clicked quickly as she closed in on the tea, pouring herself a cup.  Lifting it up to her nose as she took up the saucer and a seat on the opposite side of the desk from Duna Covi took a deep whiff.  “Oh-oh-oh!” he was a man after her heart, it seemed.  Taking as delicately a sip as she could manage she exclaimed, “I have not had rooibos in so long!”  It was a good red tea, though brewed like black, and while usually taken with milk and sugar she preferred it without as it was customary to the area she had studied in.

Looking up at the man she offered a happy grin and thanked him again as she took a rusk, “I do not believe I have had this kind before…” although she did know it was usually dipped in rooibos, which she promptly did and took an appropriate nibble of it.  After swallowing she could not help but smile.  “Very good!”

But now it was time for business.

Setting the biscuit on the lip of her saucer she answered his question, “I am here to inquire about the populations of Magical Beings in Africa.  You see, I was more entrenched in the study of the beasts… but I am currently researching those of the lycanthropic nature, and I am woefully unaware as to their presence in Africa.”

Moving back to behind his desk he sat down and looked at the young woman before him, a rare smile showing on his lips. It was always a pleasure to have someone around who understood some part of his culture.

He nodded as she mentioned having a similar device. “They are terribly useful, are they not? I find it easy to track what could be patterns for smuggling and such this way. Though I suppose migration patterns could be tracked as well.” He began to run his fingers in different directions as though he were touching the map, making note of which way creatures might move during different rainy and dry seasons. It would actually work quite well for that though the idea had just occurred to him.

He bowed his head slightly as she mentioend the rooibos before he reached out to pour a cup for himself, grabbing a rusk before pulling his hands back. “There is nothing quite like rooibos. This English black tea for breakfast, I do not really understand it.” He shook his head before dipping the rusk in the tea and taking a bit of his own. Ahh... Perfection. He hoped she enjoyed them as well.

He waited almost with baited breath for her reaction. It was few people who would actually try his cooking, and he always liked to have reactions. When she smiled and told him that it was good, he relaxed more. Her value had just gone up to sixteen cows.

A small ah escaped him as she explained why she was actually there. He did not have too much knowledge about the beasts and beings of Africa but he would help if he could in any way possible. “There is not a particularly strong presence as far as I am aware. Though the size of the continent and the large Saharan area makes it difficult for them to be able to band together were they to want to.”

Crossing her ankles politely, she wriggled her nose in a not too politely way, somewhat perturbed at the lack of a lycan population in Africa, then again… the species did seem to be more prevalent in the Northern Hemisphere.

“There is not too much to worry about them banding together,” Covi took a sip and a deep breath of the steeped leaves, “unlike their purely beastly counterparts werewolves tend to be solitary,” much more like coyotes or foxes, she thought.

Hmm… the Sahara… that suggestion got her thinking.  The witch visibly zoned out, though still staring directly into Duna’s dark eyes.

Sahara, the northeast specifically for some reason tickled the back of her mind.  And then it appeared, like a Lumos being lit. 

“Egypt,” she suddenly said, her blue eyes becoming alive once again, looking at her colleague now instead of through him.  “What about Egypt?” knowing their culture and the passages from the Kahun Papyrus which had begun the tickling the back of her cranium made her suspect that a possible population could reside in that country.

"Do you think there is possibly of a goodly number there?"

He wished that he knew more on the topic but could readily admit that he was ill prepared for the inquiry she had made of him. The Department of International Magical Cooperation rarely dealt with magical creatures. In fact, the most they did was when they were highly dangerous creatures being smuggled into or out of one country and into another. The last time they had heavily worked with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was when an Egyptian Sphinx had been brought into England from Egypt for the Triwizard Tournament those many years ago.

He nodded at her explanation and stroked his chin pensively. “I am sorry for being so ignorant on the matter but we will see what we can come up with, I suppose.” He looked at his map once more looking for a possible idea when Ms Gertrudis threw one at him that caused him to pop out of his seat and over to a bookshelf in the corner. His fingers tapped the spines of the books lightly as he moved through the alphabetized collection, quickly hitting the letter “E” for Egypt.

He pulled it down and placed it on his desk, moving to open it and flipping through this way and that, ‘hmm’ing occasionally and nodding. Muttering to himself in his native tongue before looking up at the woman before him. “I believe that Egypt is an excellent place to start. The history fits in and I can see why werewolves might choose Egypt as opposed to other African countries. Of course, if I’m not mistaken - now that I look at these lores - perhaps Ethiopia might be another point and Tanzania. The tribesmen there tell tales of men that transform into half beasts. Perhaps, werewolves?”

After draining her tea she stood up and placed the teacup on Duna’s desk, placing her hands on either side of it and leaning over to get a look at what seemed to be an encyclopedia.  A wide smile spread across her face as the wee tidbits of African human culture she knew over the various countries he mentioned flickered in the nooks and crannies of her brain.

For the first time in a long time she was actually disappointed in herself for knowing so little on such a subject, even if it wasn’t her area of expertise.  The last thing folklore she could remember about Tanzania was the story of how the one rougher looking peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro came to be because his sister peak smacked him in the back of the head with a spoon because she caught him stealing some of her food.  To this day the imagery of the Chagga woman telling it to her brought a grin to her face and a stifled giggle to her throat.

“Hmm…” she started, “werewolves or what may actually be called ‘half beasts’,” going so far as to even make those ridiculous air quotes to make her point.  Covadonga went on to explain what she meant by speaking of centaurs and manticores.  Thankfully she was able to stop herself before going into her usual philosophical tirade about how their world titled beasts versus beings.

Pouring herself another cup she stepped back so she could get a better look at the man as he still stood over the book.  At her height when she got too close all she could see was nose hairs.

“Are there any books you could suggest so I could do some extra research?  Any specific places within those countries I should visit?” he knowledge of wizard friendly places on the continent besides Kenya was also woefully limited.

His tea discarded for the moment he continued to flip through the encyclopedia, moving it towards Ms Gertrudis when she leaned over to get a better look at it. His knowledge of African folklore was wide, but from what he could recall there was little mention of werewolves. There were no wolves naturally in Africa and perhaps this was why, their stories spoke mainly of were-hyenas, were-leopards, were-jaguars and were-lions.

"If there are werewolves, it is most likely that they have migrated to the continent ant started to turn others. African legends do not speak to werewolves. The wolf is not native to Africa, they speak of humans turning into other predators that are native to our lands. Though, perhaps, the werewolf might have been mistaken for something like that." He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He was afraid that he had offended her with the half-beasts comment but there was a certain amount of patience in her and Duna was not as enlightened as perhaps he should have been, though he made a mental note not to use that term anymore.

He closed the book he currently held and extended it to her. "This is an encyclopedia of African myth. We are a continent that still believes in magic, white and black, our myth is different from most. Werewolves are not mentioned but it may be enlightening in terms of what people do believe in terms of that form of transformation." He nodded sagely and returned to his cup of tea, wondering what other books he could recommend. "It would be best if i just give you free reign over that shelf there. It is entirely books on Africa. If you need anything and it is not there, I can try and find it for you."

He waved his hand at the large shelf packed with books. It should be easy enough to find other books. The major African countries that had Ministries were generally willing to help if one did not try to interfere too much in their affairs. He reached into a drawer on his desk and found a list written in his tight scrawl. "Here are the names and owl addresses of my contacts on the continent. Should you need to know where to stay, they could help you and direct you to what you would need." Let no one say Duna was not helpful.

Graciously she took the book and sat down with her fresh cup of tea.  Crossing her ankles appropriately she flipped the book open, her grin growing wider and wider with each turn of the page.  Certainly she wasn’t too interested in all the human stuff, but she loved creation stories.  Just about each and every culture had one and just about each and every one of them had animals mentioned in them.  After all, where did they all come from? 

Without the scientific method people had to rely on their imaginations, which fascinated her.  Covadonga could never really think outside scientific terms, but the stories always made her inner bookworm child prance about in glee.  She had actually been told from time to time back in the day how much she seemed to lack an imagination.  She could never really make up one of these stories on her own.

“Absolutely…” one hand traced the worn edges of the well-loved book, “fascinating…” the words slipping from her mind to her lips.

Returning back to the world she complimented Duna’s people, “You and the Eastern World, too.  Some days,” she shook her head and looked back down at the book, “I wish we were the same way.”  Honestly, though, would the Muggles here have been able to handle it?  In the past the backlash had been horrific.  Granted with magic few actual witches or wizards died, but many innocent people had.  While most of the Muggle World here had been able to shake off lycanthropy as a silly story of days gone by… their reaction to it when it was known to them was worse than what other witches and wizards endured during the hunt.

Many actual werewolves were killed.

She continued to flip through more pages as Duna talked about the other books and wrote up the list for her.  Taking a deep breath she looked up, “Thank you.”  A simple phrase, just two words, but they meant exactly what she felt.  No fluff was needed.

He sat down as well and resumed his tea drinking as she flipped through the book. The tales were interesting, yes, but that was merely an encyclopedia that might lead her to better sources and to tales and tribes that might help her. It was what help Duna might be able to offer, never having really interested himself in learning about magical creatures on his own continent unless they concerned him and his work. He knew about fwoopers because he owned one and then the dangerous animals that were often traded or smuggled. It had never occurred to him to take a real interest in werewolves.

He nodded his head as she complimented his culture and understood where she was coming from. There was much more acceptance of magic in Africa. It was like another element of daily life woven into the frame for them and they implicitly believed it exited, why then even had their own form of witch hunting to rid themselves of black magic. They had witch doctors and the like. The muggles accepted magical culture just as they would have any other thing that came along. It was part of their history.

"You are very welcome." He smiled and tipped more tea into his mouth. The conversation would soon turn to more pleasant things, the werewolf questions answered as best he could and Ms Gertrudis satisfied.