John and Argent by cmsix

Chapter 6

Up before sunrise again I fixed breakfast, fed and worked with the pups and then got dressed for a wagon ride. I opened the new big door and pushed the wagon outside without too much of a strain. It wasn't easy but it wasn't really very hard either. Even as large as it was the wagon weighed less than seven hundred pounds due to its titanium construction.

I attached the tongue and then single trees to the wagon and then got Sally and Jane, leading them through the main cross-fence gate and to the wagon. Leading them right up to it I let them sniff around on it a little. Tying Jane off to the back of the wagon I put the harness on Sally then tying Sally I put the harness on Jane. It was a little tricky getting first Sally and then Jane hitched to the wagon but afterwards I ran the reins up to the wagon box on the front, climbed in and sat on the padded bench and then made a little clucking sound that I had tried to teach them for a move signal. They remembered and after a few false starts they were headed up the valley with the wagon behind them.

It was awkward for them at first but soon enough they learned to turn at my signal with the reins and with a little help from the wagon's brakes they soon learned what whoa meant. All in all it was a productive start. I let them take me about four miles up the valley and as they were walking along I picked up the.22 rifle I had brought to start on their firearm training. I put it to my shoulder and fired. They both tensed and were surprised by the small calibre's crack but they didn't miss a step and better yet they didn't try to run.

After a few more shots they were not bothered at all by the.22. I put the rifle down and pulled the Glock from its holster. They were surprised again and Jane wanted to bolt but couldn't figure out how to since she was harnessed to the wagon. Sally staying calm helped Jane and at the next shot she hardly flinched. They'd done so well that now I wished that I'd brought the thirty ought six also but that could wait until next time.

Turning them around we headed back to the cave. When we arrived and after setting the brake I went to fetch Ben. Putting the bridle and saddle on him I left the halter on also. Tying him to the back of the wagon I boarded the bench seat again. When Sally and Jane moved out Ben just stood his ground until the rope jerked his head. He started following the wagon at once and when I stopped and started again he was paying attention and didn't even get his head jerked.

The.22's surprise was next and though Ben snorted when he heard it he didn't shy or pull back on the lead. After a couple of repetitions he was accustomed to it and later I repeated with the Glock. They all passed with flying colors and by the time we were a few miles from the cave I stopped the wagon, set the brake and got off to get Ben and mount. I had the.22 in hand and after riding Ben for about twenty minutes I gave it a try. Ben didn't even flinch and later the louder Glock didn't bother him either.

This was excellent progress in my estimation so we turned around again and headed back to the cave. When we arrived I untied and unsaddled Ben and returned him to the large pen. Then I came back to the cave and opened the big door. This next little feat was the hardest all day.

Sally and Jane couldn't see anything except a big black hole that I wanted them to walk through but I'm sure that they could smell the wolf cubs in there. They didn't want anything to do with it and after messing with them for about an hour trying to get them to pull the wagon inside I finally put a couple of rags over their eyes for blinders and was able to lead them into the cave with the wagon. I got them to circle it around until it was headed out and then unhitched and unharnessed first Jane and then Sally and I removed their blinders.

They were nervous when they could see again but settled down enough that I could lead them both out without a fight. I took them over and released them into the big pen with Ben and all three of them nickered and then went flying around the pen. I guess that they just wanted to work off a little of their anxiousness from the days new activities.

I spent the rest of the day with the cubs. Today I took them, one at a time, outside the cave to work with them. I let them each run around a little to sniff things then I called them to me and I was glad to see that they all came as soon as I whistled. I repeated this with them three or four times each and then called it a day.

Going back into the cave and putting up the last pup, I looked around in my supplies and found some nylon collars that I had. I fitted one to each cub. They were all males and as I put on the collars I decided to name them. Soon Prince, King and Rover were back in their pen worrying at their new collars and waiting for their supper. I brought it soon enough and then warmed up some venison and some beans for mine.

I went to bed early thinking of doing a little more exploring tomorrow.

Up before sunrise again I dug out my high tech titanium skillet to check out how it would cook. I cut off some thin strips of venison and fried it. I had only ordered four-dozen eggs in my supplies from Argent and I had them in ultra-light and ultra-strong egg cartons of Alien design. They had been irradiated like the Salisbury steak and Argent had assured me that they would last indefinitely and that I wouldn't be able to taste the difference between them and real fresh eggs. I fried three of them over easy and though they definitely weren't fresh eggs they tasted remarkably like them. I was happy with them. I loved eggs but had asked for these more as a novelty than anything else.

After breakfast and plenty of coffee I dressed to go exploring. This time I remembered my custom made titanium chain mail. I'd had trouble at first describing what I wanted to Argent's engineer but when I got through to him he researched it a little on the net and got a good understanding of what it was for. Modern day bulletproof body armor wasn't necessary in these times but the chain mail would protect my torso and upper arms from any weapons of this day and age.

The Aliens had outdone themselves on this project. The chain mail fit me like another skin and they had even put a zipper type arrangement down the back. Instead of having the normal zipper teeth that interlocked, somehow they had designed a mechanism that interlocked the tiny rings that made up the mail. I slipped it on over a T-shirt and zipped it up. It wasn't bothersome at all and after putting a denim shirt over it the chain mail was hardly noticeable.

I slipped on some alien made lightweight long underwear bottoms that Argent had promised me would never shrink and then put on a pair of Carhartt type overalls, finishing up with woolen socks and high top hiking boots. I strapped on my Glock and then my backpack with enough emergency food for two days, picked up my thirty ought six, binoculars and night vision goggles and locked the cave behind me as I left.

I still kept close to the canyon walls as I headed down river again. When and if I met any other people I wanted to know about it first and be able to decide whether on not to approach them. I had serious misgivings about trying to communicate with them. I knew that the Cro-Magnons talked but I had never gotten close enough to them to even decide if it was similar at all to any language I had ever heard. Stupidly I hadn't bothered to even ask Argent about it and even if I had I don't know whether or not he would have told me anything.

I still had no idea why they went to all this trouble to put me here and I couldn't think of a single thing that they could learn from all of this. I was pretty sure that they weren't all that interested in capturing wolf cubs, building rail fences or even horse capture and training. I had to do what I thought was best for me though and they would just have to get what they could out of it. I'll admit that I was glad about the physical modifications I'd received in the deal and that they had been very cooperative about furnishing what ever I had asked for.

While easing down river I thought that I should have tried harder to get details out of the map software I'd been given. There were probably indications on it telling which areas the different groups near me commonly used for hunting. After all it had shown the locations of wolf dens in the area and I'm sure the Aliens knew exactly who hunted where since they knew so much about where they all camped. I would have to try again when I got back to the cave.

I'd been moving faster today even though I was still staying close to the walls and mostly out of sight. I knew that I was within half a mile of the camp I'd watched earlier. I had just stepped into a little copse of woods that I'd hidden in last time when I saw two of the females that I recognized from my earlier spying trip. They were heading up river but they didn't seem to be moving with any purpose. Shortly they moved to the side of the canyon to some low bushes growing there and seemed to be inspecting them. Berries, they were checking the berries that grew on the bushes and they were picking a few of them, probably looking for and picking the ripe ones.

I stayed still and out of sight until they'd finished. When they turned to leave the bushes they seemed to be heading back to their camp. I decided to show myself and stepped out of the trees.

"Hello." I said to them.

They both looked at me at once. Their eyes went wide as if they'd seen a monster and they both screamed at once. Of course I didn't understand what they were screaming as they dropped the basket they'd used to gather the berries and took off toward their camp at what was surely full speed. I didn't know how but suddenly I understood that the word they were screaming was "Stranger". I stood where I was for about a minute and then went over to pick up the basket. It was nearly full of the berries. I held it and waited facing the camp.

While waiting I wondered how I had recognized the word they were screaming. It must have been the Alien's doing. They hadn't mentioned it but there was no other explanation. They must have somehow given me the ability to understand my new neighbors' language. I wondered if I would be able to speak it also. Then I wondered why they would do it if they really wanted to see how I interacted with these people in this time. Maybe watching people learn each other's language didn't interest them in the same way that seeing the natives catch my diseases didn't interest them. What did interest them? I wondered.

Soon enough twelve adult men were approaching me from the direction of their camp. I'd only seen eight men before. There were twelve now though and they were all carrying spears. I could see the women and children following more slowly behind them and it seemed there were more of them. Most of the women were carrying spears also. Apparently stranger was a word that carried the connotation of danger to them.

Leader still seemed to be the leader even though there were more of them. He was in fact in the lead and about five or six paces ahead of the others. He came right up to me and as he kept his spear in hand I placed my hand on the Glock just to be safe. He stopped when he saw this and I could see a question in his eyes. I looked pointedly at his spear and gave my head a tiny jerk.

He looked at his own spear as if he hadn't realized that he was carrying it. He threw it down at once and held both his hands up toward me palms first. I released the Glock and returned the gesture.

"I am sorry." He said though those weren't the words he spoke. I knew exactly what he meant though.

"I am sorry that I frightened the women." I said in reply.

"Who are you?" Leader asked me.

"I am a stranger as they said. I am called John." I told him.

Apparently he could understand me perfectly also. Though I thought I'd been speaking in my normal Texas style English I did realize that the words that came out sounded like those he had spoken. I knew for certain now that Argent had to be responsible for this and I decided to quit worrying about the details and pay attention to what leader and I were saying.

"I am called Gigo. Where do you come from and where are the rest of your people?" He asked me.

"I now live in a cave four hours walk up the river. It is beyond the side stream where you hunted nearly a moon ago. It is near the entrance to a blind canyon. I am alone." I told him.

These revelations gave him a pause. At first it seemed to take him a minute to comprehend what I'd said and I wondered if I'd only received a half assed translation mechanism.

"How do you know we hunted by the side stream?" He asked me.

"I was watching. I was in the tangled woods near where the stream joins the river." I told him.

"Why didn't you show yourself then?" He asked.

"I am alone. I did not know you and I was being careful." I told him.

"Where is your mate?" He asked me.

"I do not have a mate. I am alone." I said.

"Why do you come here now?" He asked.

I was getting a little tired of the third degree. I knew that I was a stranger and that I was not dressed like anyone he had ever seen. It was still getting a little old though.

"I came to meet you in the light. I am a stranger and I am alone. I do not know your ways. If you don't want me here I will go." I said.

"I have been rude. It is not very often that we meet a stranger and less often still that he is alone. Come to our camp. You are welcome here. We will eat soon and you can fill your belly. I see that you have no spear and can't hunt. Maybe we can find a spear for you. One that isn't needed here." Gigo told me almost apologetically.

"Thank you for your welcome Gigo. I will be glad to fill my belly. I do not need a spear to hunt but I thank you for the offer." I told him.

"Come. You must tell me how you hunt without a spear?" He said and turned back toward his camp.

The others turned also and all headed toward the camp. The men behind Gigo had been close enough to hear all that we said. The women had been further back but I was sure they would get the story later.

I had picked up the berry basket again as I'd started for the camp and I carried it with me. When we arrived I was ushered to a sitting place on a small rock ledge. As I sat I told Gigo that I still had the women's basket that they had dropped when they saw me. He looked at it as if he was just noticing.

"That is Gema's basket. It was she and Merita that were picking berries. Gema, come and get your basket and berries." He called out.

Soon both the girls that had been picking berries came to us. One was a light blond with gray eyes. She was very attractive and I guessed she must be near sixteen years old; the other had dark auburn hair and blue eyes and seemed a little older but I couldn't be sure. She was very attractive also and I began to think that Jean Auel might have been on the right track describing the ancient women as beauties.

Gigo introduced the blonde as Gema and the auburn haired one as Merita. They smiled at me shyly as I told them that my name was John.

"Gema and Merita are both good women and both unmated. If you don't have a mate and can get their eye you might want to bargain for one of them. The women here are shrewd though and they will expect a generous offer. In fact we have five unmated women here and they are all good women." Gigo told me.

I was a little surprised at his proposal. I had no idea what the requirements were for taking a mate but I was pretty sure I would find out soon even if I didn't want to. I wanted to though. Gema and Merita both seemed slightly embarrassed by Gigo's announcement of their status and of their attributes. They both blushed and as Gigo told them to take their berries and leave they giggled just a little and did so.

A little bit of living alone can go a long way, especially when there isn't even any TV to watch at night. I could only get so much companionship out of three horses and three wolf pups. From what I understood so far, taking a mate required getting that mate's approval and a bargain with the other women of the camp.

"Those two are good women; attractive, hard working and obedient to the other women. They never cause trouble but each has had several offers to mate and they have always turned them down. Of course since all the men in our camp are already mated the offers have all come from other camps. It is as if Gema and Merita don't want to leave each other. That would be fine if there were unmated men here but there aren't any." Gigo said.

I could tell that a meal was being prepared but it didn't seem like a big one. I couldn't bitch though. I was a stranger and was happy to get invited to a meal at all. I was sure I didn't rate a feast. I was anxious to see what the ancient cooks could do though.

"I do not know your customs Gigo. I don't know how to ask for or bargain for a mate and I do need a mate. What must I do?" I asked him.

"In the first place you must find a woman who will have you and that you want. That shouldn't be any problem. There are fewer men here, and in most of the closer camps, than there are women. If you can hunt I am sure you will be acceptable to any of the unmated women here except Gema or Merita. If you were a part of this camp you might be acceptable to them also, though you understand I can not actually speak for any of the women." Gigo explained to me.

"That can not be all of it. There must be something more." I said.

"Of course there is. You must make a bargain with all the other women of the camp to compensate them for the loss of your mate. It is not so difficult for a man in his own camp since the woman will not be leaving. Since you live elsewhere, if you mate a woman from this camp she will be lost to us and will no longer be here to help. That loss deserves compensation." Gigo said and I thought he had a slightly defensive attitude.

"I can see that easily Gigo. I did not know your customs but I see that it would be a great loss to the camp to give up the help a woman can give. Remember, I saw you hunting and I saw that some women were there hunting with you." I told him trying to appease.

"I had forgotten. So you understand that it will be a loss if one of the women mates you and leaves the camp?" Gigo asked.

"I do. After all if it was not helpful to have a mate I wouldn't need one." I told him.

"Yes I can see that even though you are a stranger you understand how to get along. Would you like for me to arrange a meeting with the women for you?" Gigo asked.

This was all going much faster than I could have dreamed. Talking to Gigo gave me the feeling I was talking to a car salesman. In fact his technique reminded me of the one that had sold me the CL600. It wasn't exactly high pressure. It just seemed that ancient times or not, Gigo understood how to close a sale. From what he'd told me it seemed that making the deal wasn't his part of the transaction. I was sure that getting the buyer to the deal making stage was his job though and he was doing respectably well.

I hadn't seen any of the other unmated women up close but if they looked anything like Gema and Merita then I didn't think Gigo would need much salesmanship to get things going.

"I haven't seen all the unmated women and I haven't asked any of them if they would mate with me. I do not know how it is done. Perhaps I should talk to the women I must deal with first. When they have got the better of the trade from me I am sure they will help me find a woman for a mate." I told Gigo.

"John, stranger or not I can tell that you are very shrewd yourself. Most young men like you don't even consider that aspect. Believe me the women have much more influence with the unmated ones than any man ever can. I will get my mate to talk to you now. She is the leader of the women and can help you with your offer. You must understand though that she can not tell you exactly what will be required for the bargain but she will be able to give you a representative request." Gigo said.

Gigo left me and returned soon with his mate Geera in tow. He introduced us and then left us alone to talk. I noticed that he joined game flusher and some other men and that they all laughed after he told them something. Since I had no reason to be suspicious I assumed it was some good-natured jesting about a lamb being led to a lion. I had a feeling I was playing the lamb to Geera's lion.

"I will speak right up and tell you Geera that I am a stranger living alone not far from here and that Gigo has told me that I might be able to find a mate in this camp. It would make my life easier and more enjoyable if I had a mate and Gigo said that you might be able to help me with your customs and help me decide if I can make a bargain for a mate." I said.

"That is all true but do you know that the woman you want to mate must agree to take you first?" She asked.

"I would not want it otherwise. There would be no joy at my cave if I had a mate there that did not want me." I told her doing my best to be sincere and project it.

"That is good that you understand and it makes you a more desirable mate. I do wonder if you can hunt though since you do not have a spear with you." She said.

"I can only tell you now but I will be glad to prove it later. I can hunt well without a spear." I told her.

"We shall see. What could you offer for a mate?" She asked getting right into the bargaining.

"I am ashamed to tell you that I have no idea what is required. I am afraid that you will have to tell me what I must offer. I do not know your customs and if you require more of me than you would of others I will not know it. I will add that I do not think that you would consider doing such a thing I just want you to know how uninformed I am about the process. What is usually given for a mate?"

"It depends somewhat on which woman you mate. I'm sure that you know that some women are better workers than others are and are a bigger loss to their camp when they leave. Even if you do not live far from here it is still not here and we will loose the help and companionship of the woman you mate." She told me.

"Yes I understand that it will be a big loss but I still must know what I must give and decide if I can do it." I told Geera.

"Usually the fruits of hunting are given in exchange for a mate. If you are a craftsman with exceptionally fine goods they may be considered also." She told me.

"I would find it easier to bring the rewards of my hunting to the bargain. I have some abilities at crafts but I have not been here long enough to make anything." I told her.

"Do you have any notion of which woman you would want for a mate?" Geera asked.

"I have only seen Gema and Merita. From what Gigo told me either of them would make a fine mate and they would be more than acceptable to me." I told her.

"They are the hardest workers and really the best unmated women here. They would require the most in trade. I have to add that I doubt that either one of them will accept you as a mate. They do not say it but I am sure that neither of them will take a mate that isn't going to stay in this camp." Geera told me and seemed almost apologetic when she did.

First Gigo and now Geera had made a point to mention that I would be better off if I was a part of this camp. They had also been careful not to ask me to join it. It was difficult trying to understand what I felt were unspoken suggestions though. At one point it seemed they might be close to inviting me to join their camp while later it seemed that they were just pointing out that I wasn't a member. In any case joining their camp was not in my plans so I didn't inquire.

"As you know I do not understand your customs. I am ashamed to have to ask you but I feel I must. Is it possible for me to take two mates?" I asked.

Geera looked almost shocked and I was afraid that I had stepped in it.

"It is possible and it is very acceptable. Some leaders and some very good hunters have two mates and some even have three. It is very costly though. Even the best hunters need many seasons to gather the goods for two mates and since we do not know you I am sad to say that we would probably require you to gather all the goods before you took the mates. Are you thinking of mating two women." Geera asked as if she didn't believe me.

"You have said that you did not think that Gema and Merita would mate if they were to be separated and you have also said that they would be the best mates. Since I live alone, having the best mate or mates would be very good for me. Maybe they will consent to mate the same man together." I said.

"I have a feeling that you may be correct in that regard but I must tell you that they have already rejected some very generous offers." She said.

"Can you tell me the highest offer that they have rejected?" I asked.

"Gembo is the son of the leader of a nearby camp and his uncle is the best hunter of that camp. With the understanding that his uncle and probably the whole camp were to help, he offered the meat of fifteen bison and the skins of eight of them for either Gema or Merita. The other women here would have accepted the offer and we tried to convince either Gema or Merita to accept but they would not." Geera told me.

"I need to ask you a question then. I am new to this area and I haven't seen any bison anywhere. I know that you hunt yourself. Can you tell me how hard it is to find bison?"

"They are not hard to find. They roam in the hundreds on the upper steppes. They are hard to kill and they all run off at once if they detect hunters." Geera said.

I knew exactly what bison did when men hunted them on foot and needed to get close enough to make their kill with a spear. They stampeded. Geera didn't have any way to conceive of hunting them with a firearm. My predecessors on the North American frontier had perfected that little process over a hundred years ago.

"I can kill many bison but I am alone and it will be very difficult to kill, gut and skin many bison at once." I told her.

"That is true but we would be willing to help you with the hunt, the cleaning and the skinning. Only the bison that you killed yourself would be counted toward your offer though." She said.

"That is wonderful Geera." I told her excitedly.

She seemed taken slightly aback by my outburst. I could see her mind working at finding a reason for my happiness at her last statement.

"If your camp will help with the skinning, cleaning and carrying of the bison I will offer twenty-five bison for Gema and twenty-five bison for Merita. I will offer all the bison and all the skins." I told her.

I could tell that she hadn't expected anything like this. I was afraid that it might be too much at first.

"Twenty-five bison is more than has ever been offered before. How can you do it? It is more than has ever been offered for any two women." She said still amazed.

"You said that they were the two best unmated women in your camp. I know that they are valuable and I don't care if everyone knows how valuable I think that they are. If I can find a herd of bison I can kill fifty with no problem but alone I can't clean, skin and carry fifty before they spoil or before the other animals steal them." I told her in explanation.

"I will have to talk to Gigo. I do not know how you can kill fifty bison but if you can kill fifty at once I don't think that even with all of us helping we can take care of them fast enough." Geera said.

"I will only kill as many as you want to deal with at one time then. We do not have to rush. There will be plenty of time before the snow won't there?" I asked.

"Yes. There will be time and if you can even kill ten in one day we will know that you are the very best hunter anywhere and will keep your promise. We will not make you wait to mate if it is only the processing and carrying that slows you down." Geera said.

She made her excuses and left me then. I expected her to go directly to Gigo and tell him what we had talked about. She didn't though. She called to another woman and motioned for her to come inside the shelter and they did. The other woman, game flusher's mate, came rushing back out just a few minutes later and, circulating among the others, she sent all the mated women plus Gema and Merita inside.

The women weren't inside the dwelling more than two minutes before I heard a collective gasp from inside. Even Gigo and some of the other men turned to look at the opening when they heard it. Soon a mated woman I didn't know came to the opening signaling for Gigo and game flusher to come inside.

Ten minutes later Gigo and game flusher came out of the dwelling and approached me. Gigo introduced me to Dergo and asked me if what Geera had told him about my offer was true.

"I offered twenty-five whole bison for Gema and Twenty-five whole bison for Merita. Is that what Geera told you?"

"That is what she said. I do not understand how you can do it and I must say that you will not be welcome here again if you have spoken falsely." Gigo said.

"I would be too ashamed to come here again if I could not do it. If I can find the bison I will be able to do it with not very much trouble." I told them.

"But how, you do not even carry a spear. It will take many spears to kill fifty bison." Dergo said.

"Do you remember when you hunted the deer by the place where the small stream joins the river?" I asked.

"Yes, I remember." Dergo said.

"Do you remember the large male that was running off before the thunder killed him?"

"We remember it well. We have never heard the thunder so loudly without seeing the lightning and we have never seen the thunder kill a deer. We did that day though." Gigo said.

"I made the thunder kill the large male." I told them.

"How can you make the thunder? The thunder only comes with the lightning." Dergo said.

I un-slung the thirty ought six and pointed it at a rock face upriver. I didn't need to prove any marksmanship to them I only needed the noise. I squeezed off a shot and got plenty of noise. Dergo and Gigo just stood there with their mouths hanging open. Behind me I heard a few yelps of surprise and then feet shuffling. I turned back to face the camp and everyone else was walking toward us.

"Should I make it again so the others can know I will do what I said I would do?" I asked Gigo.

"Yes. Show them. Let them all hear it thunder from your hands."

I squeezed off another shot and there was only silence behind me. I put the rifle over my shoulder and walked back to camp. When I got to the rock shelf I sat back down and waited.

The shocked people tried to resume their task and soon things had settled back down. I knew that every one of them wanted to come to me and ask a hundred questions. None did though. The women all returned to the dwelling but soon Geera came back out to talk to me again.

"I have talked to the women and to Gema and Merita. Most of the women didn't believe that you could kill fifty bison until we heard you make the thunder. Most of them still don't think you can. I remember the thunder when it killed the large deer. We did not know what it was then but I remember the buck dropping like a stone after the thunder. I know that you can kill the bison and I told them so.

"We are all agreed that if you kill ten bison in one day that the mating can be preformed and you can kill the others later. Gema and Merita surprised me, when I told them that you wanted to mate both of them they were so happy. You are wiser than you seem John. I have no doubt that you will be mated to Gema and Merita before very many days." Geera told me.

I decided to take a little chance here. I knew damned well that Geera was the driving force behind the leadership of this camp and I also knew that she wasn't afraid to spread herself around a little when Gigo got into his cups.

"I am only sorry that you are already mated Geera as I am sure that I could easily kill a hundred bison for three mates. Especially for the three most attractive and best mates in this camp." I told her.

She actually gasped and then she blushed and looked around quickly. I guess she didn't think that anyone was close enough to have heard.

"John you must not say such things where others could hear. Since no one heard but me though I will have warm thoughts of you tonight." She told me.

She got up and walked back into the dwelling then. Her last comment had given me a hard on as I flashed on the show she, game flusher and game flusher's mate had unwittingly given me. I could see game flusher's ass muscles bunch as he pushed it up her for the first time and I remembered what it looked like as she wrapped her legs around his waist and hunched back up at him. A picture of game flusher's wife's naked perfection came to me then and I replayed her writhings as Geera had held her down while her own mate plowed her wet furrow. I wondered if they would be serving any of the beverage from the animal's stomach tonight.

The meal was ready soon and it seemed anticlimactic after all the ruckus I'd caused. Gema and Merita seemed to think that the mating was a done deal as they served me and then sat with me as we ate. They both told me that they were glad that I was going to be their mate and that they were anxious for me to kill the first ten bison so we could be joined.

I asked them if there was going to be some kind of ceremony and they told me that a runner had already been sent to bring the shaman that served all the camps nearby. He would come first and speak to us before the actual time had been settled on. When I had killed the first ten bison the date would be formalized for two nights later and a great feast would be given after we were mated.

After everyone had eaten they joined the other women in cleaning up. No booze bag appeared tonight and I wasn't sorry. I was pretty sure that whatever the bag contained caused big hangovers and I hadn't even brought a single aspirin with me.

Later Merita and Gema came out from the dwelling to fetch me. They showed me to a sleeping berth that they had prepared. They explained that it was one that visitors usually used but that they had replaced the bedding for me and brought clean furs for my use. They lamented again that we weren't already mated. This served to renew the boner that Geera had already unknowingly given me.

When I lay down on the furs I could tell that they had taken special care to make the bedding comfortable. I also noticed that at least some of Ms Auel's speculations had been correct. There were skins hung up that could be let down as privacy curtains. I didn't feel the need for any privacy tonight and after removing my boots I lay down in my clothes and went to sleep. Surprisingly the chain mail was even comfortable enough to sleep in.