Queen of the Plains --2. Agreement
When Avi and Sa'kah left the pool, the weight of her situation had sank in but had yet to hit her fully. Avi had been cleaned inside and out and given a sarong to wear. As Avi bathed, Sa'kah braided the humans hair into ropes leaving her bangs free to frame her face. The topmost braids were arranged into a bun and the rest hung down her back and were entwined with beads, feathers and a few things Avi couldn't immediately identify. The two trekked back down the path to the encampment and their gait held a comfort only they would know the source of. When they reached the edge of the forest, Avi looked up into the sky and turned to find the suns position. "They're not back yet." Sa'kah assured. "When they return, you'll know. The whole clan never fails to become excited by returning hunters." She added as she looked out at the horizon as if the hunting group would arrive just then. Avi said nothing and just watched the ground pass beneath her feat. She could already feel the stares of the other Kaadra as they neared the encampment but she tried to shrug it off. If she decided to stay there and be the Chiefs mate, she'd have to get accustomed to stares for more than one reason. She fell behind Sa'kah once they passed the first hut. She pretended she was just a visitor and not as though she were about to meet their chief and decide whether or not to be his. "Do they know?" She suddenly asked of the Kaadra female beside her. "They may suspect it, especially now that you've been dressed like one of us." Sa'kah stated rather nonchalantly. A few of the Kaadra bowed their heads as they passed but Avi assumed it was directed at Sa'kah, not her. They had no reason to bow to her. If anything, she figured they had more reason to be hostile. She made sure to stay close to her guide in case somebody got too bold. When the Chiefs hut came into view again, her stomach formed a dense knot. It loomed above her and the other huts like a fortress on a rock. They continued down the trail past it, confusing Avi. "Where are we going?" "If you are to be our Chiefs mate, you should learn to ask less questions and think more." She was a bit put off by that but she was quiet. She instead looked around to see if there was anything that stuck out to her and that may be their destination. Half way down to the edge of the encampment, they made a turn and that's when she saw it. A weathered boulder towered over them and on it were pictographs with a few skull-topped sticks around it. She couldn't help but to stare at the skulls as they neared. To her relief, none were human. "Come on quickly if you want to see them return." Did she? Avi wasn't sure. A part of her feared she would change her mind and embarrass herself and the Chief. As if reading her mind, Sa'kah climbed onto the rock then squatted to offer her hand.
Avi carefully took it and did her part to help herself climb up beside the Kaadra. The top was mostly flat and from there they got a great view of the surrounding wilds. For as far as the eye could see it was savannah with trees here and there a few other rock formations. "Look there. See them coming? It looks like they had a good hunt." Avi squinted to try and see what Sa'kah was pointing at. It took a minute but eventually she made out distance shapes that quivered from the rising heat. She marveled at the Kaadras remarkable eyesight for to her, they were still just wavering smudges on the horizon. Avi stood and kept her eyes on them waiting for when she'd get to make out details. She tried to spot which one was the Chief but it was still difficult to tell at their distance. She squatted with her arms across her knees wondering if she'd lose patience before they got much closer. Sa'kah remained standing and vigilant. Having nothing else to do, she plucked blades of grass and braided them but that became dull quickly too. She had a couple of braids done when Sa'kah suggested she stand and look. She did so, standing first, then looked out into the wilds They were much closer now and she could see that they weren't riding animals or running; they were hopping. Like kangaroos on speed laced steroids, they leaped across the savannah at impressive speeds and lengths. Near the middle was the chief easily distinguished by his auburn mane and the beast he carried across his shoulders. A few others had beasts slung over theirs and they hopped close behind their leader. When they neared, the group slowed and gracefully transitioned into a run then a jog then finally a walk. They were at the edge of the encampment and a group of Kaadra were there to meet them. Avi watched as the Chief hoisted the prey from his shoulders and into the arms of another with ease. The sun reflected off of his sweat drenched body but he hardly seemed to noticed. In fact, they didn't even seem out of breath or tired. As the Chief ran his forearm across his forehead, he looked directly at the rock. Avi felt herself become rigid and somewhat fearful of what would come next. Whether or not she should stay on the rock or climb down she didn't know. When she turned to ask Sa'kah, she was already gone. Avi frantically seeked her and was relieved to find she was just a yard or two away closing the gap between the Cheif and one of his hunters. Sa'kah greeted the Chief, then the male and they spoke briefly. She presumed Sa'kah was relaying what she accomplished and Avi blushed. Would Sa'kah tell the chief that she had touched his mate to be so intimately? Sa'kah did say it was a part of her job so maybe he knew and it didn't even need to be brought up. The Chief nodded to Sa'kah with the same smile he had since he arrived back at the encampment. Sa'kah turned her attention to
the other male who took her by the back of the neck and leaned forward at the same time Sa'kah did. They touched foreheads, or more accurately, faces, then they parted and made their way to the edge of the encampment where the hunters were. The Chief, on the other hand, continued his way up the trail and towards the rock. Avi watched but when he got close, she averted her gaze to the hunting group. With ease, the Chief leaped onto the rock and for a moment, they both stood in silence. Finally the Chief took a step towards her and half turned with his arm outstretched towards the inside of the encampment. Avi looked to where he gestured then up at him. Immediately she felt a pang of nervousness but also awe. He proud posture made his defined muscles all the more noticeable and beads of sweat collected in the crevices of his abs. His face was serene but one corner of his mouth perked up nearly in a smirk. Avi nodded then she climbed down from the rock the best she could. The last thing she wanted was to fall or trip and embarrass herself in front of him. Just as she reached the ground, he landed a few feet away where he waited for her. She continued on in the general direction of where he pointed but for the most part, she followed his lead. The two traveled up the path towards his hut and no words were exchanged. Even if they wanted to, neither spoke the same language. Avi watched his back muscles shift beneath his skin with every step he took and his tail sway back and forth just above the dirt. All over his body, his falvous-bronze skin was taught against his muscles and shone with sweat. His musky scent wafted to her as they ascended the hill and rather than dank and sour, it excited her. With the breeze, his auburn mane bent and wavered but it was hardly enough to tussle the dreadlocks tied at the back of his head. She was so busy gulping in his image that she didn't notice when they arrived at the hut. She was caught off guard when he suddenly turned. The Chief moved pushed the door inwards and stood aside. When she didn't move, he nodded his head and looked into the entryway and down the passage. Avi hesitantly moved forward but she waited for him at the second entrance. The Chief reached from behind her to pull the cloth aside then urged her forward by placing his hand against the small of her back. The second physical contact they had. She didn't feel fearful or suspicious like the first time. The skin on her back prickled and a tingle ran up her spine. She managed to keep going without tripping over herself then stopped in the center of the main area. The Chief secured the cloth back over the doorway then he turned to face her. They stood in silence and simply gazed at one another until the Chief looked past her. She looked behind herself as well seeing nothing but another covered doorway. When she looked back to him, he was making long strides across the
room. Avi prepared herself for anything and gripped her sarong. To her surprise, he passed her. The musky breeze made her chest muscles clench. He stepped into the other room and was out of sight. Not knowing what else to do, Avi loosely crossed her arms and looked around. She could hear things jangling and cloth rustling; he must have been changing. She tried not to think about what his body must look like beneath his tribal hunting garb but it was difficult not to, especially when Sa'kah had given her a preview. Avi had to physically stop herself from turning when the Chief exited the room to reenter the main area. He came around her to stand on the opposite side of a low table then gestured for her to sit on the cushion. She obeyed and sat cross-legged then politely rested her clasped hands on the surface. He sat after her in a slightly less graceful manner but in a way that was clearly male. She noted that he changed into more modern clothing; a grey tanktop that hugged his body tee khaki shorts. Avi began to think that they were going to sit in silence, unable to speak, until he was called away, but there came a call at the frontmost door. In his smokey, deep voice he called back. The door creaked open; shortly after the cloth rustled to the side. "You'll have to excuse our Chief." Sa'kah begin. Avi was relieved she had returned to her. "Omnilingua is not his specialty. He knows a few words, but because you're in our world now, it would be wise to learn our language; Kaadraal. Before we get to that, let's discuss plans for you." "I thought I had until morning to decide." "You do, but you can't decide if you don't know the result of either decision. Should you decide to leave, we will take you back to your city. Should you decide to stay and take your place as our Chiefs mate, a ceremony will be held to bind you by our law. The binding of body and soul will be up to you and our Chief. Once you become his mate, you will be loyal to him and he to you. You will take his side and be his friend, his lover, his mate, his comrade, his nurse and..well, if such a thing should be possible, the mother of his offspring. " Avi blushed and rose her brows. She forgot about that entirely. Could she become impregnated by him? Was their kind near enough for his seed to plant his offspring in her belly? Could Human and Kaadra create life together? The thought of becoming heavy with his spawn was enough to make her press her lips together forming a tight line. "Reasonable enough." Avi managed to respond without stuttering or giggling. "But if I decide to stay, I ask that I have five days to make sure I can truly survive here. It's far different than where I'm from. I would hate to take the slot as his mate and be unable to do anything a Chiefs mate should but," She sat back and placed her hands in her lap. "What if can't bear him any
children? It seems counter productive to keep a mate who can't produce the next generation." Sa'ka turned her head slightly as if impressed by the consideration. "That's between you and the Chief. Leadership here isn't determined by lineage." Avi nodded. then waited as Sa'kah translated for the Chief. He listened to her intently. She could tell when Sa'kah brought up pregnancy by how he looked off to the side briefly and ran his thumb over the claw of his forefinger. He replied to her then looked directly at Avi. "He says to cross the bridge when it's reached. Until then, focus will be on making sure you assimilate well." Sa'kah put her hands behind her back and continued, "In the morning, have your decision made. Until then, would you prefer a separate hut?" Avi placed her hands back on the table and thought about it. It might be more polite to stay in her own little hut so she can make an unbiased decision. On the other hand, she wanted to know as much as she could about the Chief, and what better way to do so than to live with him?" The Chief spoke and interrupted her thoughts. He said something to Sa'kah who exclaimed then said, "On second thought, being nomadic, we move frequently. Tomorrow is our last day here so it would make no sense to put up a hut just to take it down hours later. If it pleases you, we can make you a separate bed." Sa'kah and the Chief looked to her expectantly. After a few moments thoughts she finally said, "It may be for the best to have my own bed. If I stay, the Chief and I will have plenty of time to share a bed." Sa'kah translated this to the Chief who nodded and seemed to agree. Sa'kah and the Chief exchanged more words then she spoke to Avi again. "It's not too soon to get you acquainted with our way of life. I'll take you to where they are preparing the food so you can learn. The Chief will be there too. He participates in all important activities. Come." She gestured for Avi to stand, which she did, and the Chief rose as well to accompany them. "Oh, and another thing." Sa'kah stopped at the door and faced Avi, "It's very important that you and the Chief not mate until after the ceremony. It's not a matter of virginity but rather..a test of will and patience." Silently Avi sighed a breath of relief. She was no man-eater, but she did have a few partners before and after arriving on Kalaan. She looked to the Chief who met her gaze at that moment. It was as though he were thinking the same thing. Avi averted her gaze to wonder how many partners he'd had already. When the group arrived where the prey was being skinned just outside of a medium sized hut, the Kaadra there were happy to see their Chief. They pretty much ignored the human at his side. She didn't mind and hoped maybe it was because they didn't know her purpose for being there. She stayed on the
sidelines as the others cut and peeled and hacked and chopped. She paid special attention to the Chief who sliced the skins of the catch and peeled it from the body deftly. Below the bodies were pans to catch the blood and they were raised from the ground, presumably to keep it from becoming dirty as feet moved around below. Although it seemed to be otherwise, she wanted to believe that the blood wasn't going to be used in the cooking. She was happy to simply watch the butchering but suddenly a knife was thrust into her hand. She looked up to see the Chief smirking down at her. Was it a challenging smirk It seemed so. She had little experience with cleaning game but the challenge wasn't one she could back out of. She not only wanted to see herself if she could survive such a world, but also prove she could, especially to the Chief. She was feeling confident until she realized that other Kaadra were watching. She went about it as she was taught back home and hoped it wasn't too different from how they did it. She got a few minutes in with no interruption but come time to peel off the skin, she struggled like she always did. She heard the Chiefs chesty chuckle behind her and his hands come from either side to grab the loose flaps. She began to remove her hands to let him but the Chief took her hands into his and placed them back onto the carcass. He guided her through it and showed her how to effectively remove the skin. His hands gripped hers and she could feel his powerful tugs through her arms. When the skin was removed, he held it to another who would likely re-purpose it. She thought she was off the hook after but he held the knife to her again. The Chief guided her through all steps of preparing the catch and by the time they were done, she was smudged in blood and sticky fluid and her own sweat. The parts were hauled off to where they'd be cooked or recycled and she was left standing without any clue of what to do next. The Chief lightly touched his fingertips between her shoulder blades to get her attention. When she looked up at him, he nodded his forward forward. Most of the group who had helped prepare the catch were walking off into the brush. What could possibly be out there that they needed now? She didn't ask or hesitate and instead she started off with them. The Chief walked close by though he spoke with others the whole way there. She could see a crease in the land before them and it hit her that it must have been a stream and they were probably just going to wash the sticky carcass fluids from themselves. The others knelt or squatted on the bank and scrubbed their hands and arms. Children who had observed the process and tagged along splashed around in the water and lifted rocks looking for interesting things. Avi stood on the bank and watched them deftly leap and perch on the rocks with their strong, hand like feet totally
unconcerned with tripping or falling. Even if they did fall in, the children were dressed minimally in just some shorts, sarongs or loin cloths for the toddlers if anything at all. Unlike the adults, the children lacked the horns growing from the temporal areas of their skulls. She realized that both male and female grow the horns, but like with most horned species, the males had larger ones. She tried to pick out other differences between the two sexes but the sexual dimorphism was too minimal for her to pick up on right away. Since the children had no horns, she couldn't tell which were male and which were female so she couldn't tell if males had external genitalia or internal. Avi looked to her side to watch the Chief step into the clear water and scrub his hands and arms. She kneeled beside him to do the same and at first the water seemed very cold but after a minute of splashing around in it, it was more refreshing in the unrelenting sun than anything. Along with several others, the Chief bowed his head and scooped water into his hand to dump over his mane and face. He scrubbed with his hands and splashed water onto his face to rinse off the sweat and dirt seeming unaware of Avi's fascinated gaze. She watched his ears fold back as he did all this and the strands of hair stick to his face. Water dripped from his chin and pooled in the crease of his lips until they parted into a toothy smile. She met his gaze and immediately flushed then pretending to be busy washing her arms. She thought she heard him chuckle, but it was hard to tell over the sound of rushing water, splashing, talking and children at play. Avi used the water to keep strands of hair from her face then she undid her hair to redo her ponytail. The urge to dunk her head into the water overcame her so as carefully as she could, she leaned forward and dipped the top of her head into the stream then combed her hair over her to soak it all. She wrung her hair then wound it around her finger and tied it. Her hair band was slipped around her wrist. Avi wiped the excess water from her face and neck now feeling a lot better with her head nice and cool and the wind blowing the moisture on her skin. The children nearby became quiet immediately getting her attention. Her alertness was quelled when she found them all perched on rocks staring intently into the water. One of them was leaned far forward with their ears perked forward and their tail stretched out behind them, presumably to help them keep balance. The child gripped the rock with their clawed toes and poises themselves with their hands out in front of them. The others watched, completely entranced. A long minute went by and the child suddenly darted their hands forward into the water. There was exciting shrieking and splashing. The child struggled but it all ended when they held up a plump fish which weakly struggled between the child's claws. They
immediately stood and called to who Avi assumed was their mother. The children who didn't follow the young fisher to the adults all tried their hands at catching something in the area. Avi squatted with her arms around her knees while she observed them. Another child looked about ready to snatch something up; Avi inwardly rooted for the child. A surprised sound escaped her when the child flew forward with a yelp and another leaped away laughing. The pushed child sat in the stream and hollered something to the other before scrambling to their feet and giving chase. The little prankster 'eeped' and the two ran off into the surrounding brush. Avi laughed and rested her chin on her arms. Beside her, the Chief stood and shook out the excess water from his mane then spoke to the group in a short, decided sentence. The adults turned to head back to the encampment with the children on their heels. The young fisher held his prize over their head as they ran in front of the group. The prankster and their victim ran to catch up with the group and were dusty and covered in twigs and leaves but they continued their chase using the adults as obstacles. Avi shuffled along behind the group careful to stay out of the way of the youth at play. The Chief took a few strides to reach the front of the group and called to the young fisher who stopped to let the Chief catch up. They spoke and the child beamed all the while. The two children in chase tumbled to the ground in a mess of claws of teeth alarming Avi once again. If not for their laughter and the short breaks in scrabbling, she might have thought they were truly fighting. The pranksters victim had them flat against the ground and was seated on their back cowboy style. She couldn't understand a lick of Kaadraan but from what she could gather, it was a friendly game of 'Uncle' which the prankster didn't give up on until their captor began to chew on their ear. The prankster emitted a wide-mouthed and throaty hiss causing for their captor to leap off of them in alarm. They chased each other more until their parents told them to knock it off. "Quite a lively bunch, aren't we?" came a familiar female voice. "Sa'kah, I didn't even know you came with." Avi admitted. "Yeah, the kids aren't too different from human children but we usually don't chew on each other." she added with a laugh. "Yes, you could say we're a little more rowdy than humans. The one who was chewed on is Na'kor. He's a trouble maker. Sanna was the other. She gets the bulk of his teasings but it's all in good nature. The two are sweet on each other." Na'kor's mother is Shauni, one of the most gentle souls you could meet and Sanna's mother is one of our best hunters, Nihir. And the one who caught the fish is Kohlo," She grinned widely. "my little hunter." Avi smiled herself, "When do they start leaning to hunt and fish?" "Kohlo will start to
accompany the fishers this spring. It'll be another couple of years before he can go with the hunters but he and the others his age are already practicing with smaller prey out in the brush." "So he's ahead of his peers. You must be proud. Is he your only child?" Sa'kah shook her head, "Neyir is my oldest. He's taking bones to be cleaned so they can be made into various things." Avi looked ahead at the group to try to take her mind off of what she and Sa'kah did earlier in the day. Lucky for her, she didn't have to try too hard for the Chief returned and joined Avi and Sa'kah. He spoke to Sa'kah and judging by where they looked and gestured, they spoke of Kohlo who ran ahead to take his fish to be cleaned. Suddenly Sa'kah spoke to Avi, "He says that you're a fast learner. You'll be able to skin prey on your own very soon." With a blush she looked between the Chief and his bright amber eyes, and Sa'kah with her yellow ones. "I hope so. If I plan to stay, I need to be able to be a functioning part of the group." Sa'kah relayed this to the Chief who chuckled again. After a couple of steps he looked across Sa'kah at Avi, "You will do well." Avi's eyes flickered to a smirking Sa'kah then forward. His accent was thick and his voice deep and smokey. More than anything at that moment, she wanted him to say her name, but she feared if he did, she might become a lusty pile of gelatinous human.