Suneqhe and Maheega

Sunqhe and Maheega are two indigeous women who travel from town to town selling whatever they acquire, usually dried meat or tobacco. They buy items further in more populous areas and go to more remote locations to sell them. They are the last of a small minority tribe, the Mesqe.

Previously they were a larger family group, of Sunqhe, Sunqhe's mother and aunt, and Maheega, her mother and aunt became sick and died several years ago, leaving only her and Maheega.

Sunqe
She is fluent in English and (the language of the Ute tribe there) barely conversational in Mesqi.

Sunqe welcomes Joel to their camp and guesses that he's Navajo, to which Joel replies his father was supposedly. She is lonely from traveling all the time and welcomes Joel's company. Nearby her, there's a very old, silent woman who she introduces as her great-grandmother.

Maheega
Maheega (Mesqi for "Gallops upon wildfire") is Sunqe's great-grandmother. She is supposedly over 200 years old but Joel comments that she doesn't look a day over 100. She can only speak Mesqi. Earlier in her life more than a century ago, when the Mesqe were more numerous, she was a well-respected warrior and leader (Sunqe calls her a war chief). She was brave and kind, but didn't hesitate to fight when necessary. Under her leadership the Mesqe defeated many enemies and were the most feared tribe in the mountains. But later on, a number of factors, some natural and some man-made, contributed to fall of the Mesqe and their absorption into a larger tribe (many joined the Ute people), where Maheega was seen as a threat and pushed out of power by the existing elders and leaders. Over the years she grew older and those who remembered her feats died away, now she is dependent on Sunqe for care and can't talk because no one understands the language she's speaking.

Sunqe's mother was the last person who remembers her legacy and respected her for it. Sunqe sees her increasingly as an obligation and burden. She takes care of Maheega but is impatiently waiting for her to pass away.

Maheega recognizes the plate as a living source of magic, with a very old soul. She recognizes Shida is sentient, and suffering. She knows the plate is just a temporary shell and not his true form, and knows he can be freed- but should he be? He could be a very destructive force. She is unable to verbalize this, though, Joel and Sunqe only see that she is very worried. She attempts to tell them, but eventually gives up when they're not really listening to her. She gives up, figuring it won't make a difference whether or not they know.