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The nation Chapter 107
“Hold tight to the rope.” Said a hunter to his wife, word had come back across the rope, the way was dangerous but passable with caution. “I’m scared, I don’t want to go, can’t we wait a bit? Please.” She pulled her husband, trying to get away from the river.“My Eesh’ta, what is wrong? They say it will be ok if you just hold tight to the rope.” He wanted to get this over with, his eyes were on the mountain beyond, the mountain that called to him in his dreams.“I want to wait; I will cross this river but my heart says to wait.” She had the look on her face that said this discussion was over.The hunter loved his wife, he tried to make her happy by not aggravating her, the face that she was showing him was a face that said, this is over! if you want to remain happy shut your mouth. “Ok my Eesh’ta, we can go and wait over there.” He pointed to a spot that looked comfortable, then he shut his mouth.The walkers went into the water holding tightly to the rope, they went in one after ano
The nation Chapter 108
The remaining travelers on the west side of the Domea watched the horror with shock, they could do nothing and they knew that they still had to cross this river. Oscar was glad that he was not on that first raft, he felt remorse at the loss of life, but he did not feel regret, he instead ordered smaller rafts to be built. Rognvald would not hear of this tragedy right away, it would be a few hours, Rog would not get the full details of this devastatingly ill planned river crossing until he was well into his beer. Lilly cried herself to sleep after their shelter was erected, she had smoked the greenleaf to try to quell her mind, she was in such a state of denial that she told herself that none of this was real. Claudia was helping for the first time on this trip, she was helping herself to some of her father’s beer, and she was eating more than she should be. Nobody looked for Oren.After Rognvald’s wagon made it across the river, Oren had jumped out and climbed a tree, he had grown str
The nation Chapter 109
“Kaya,” Bram the big blacksmith said, “it is good to see you. I was concerned when you left, how did you get across that river?”Kaya saw the blacksmith Bram in the road, Percy stopped on his own next to the big hammer wielding man, Bram rubbed the horses nose in greeting. Percy seemed to relax a bit after the touch from Bram, he stood quietly next to Gerard as Kaya responded.“We went north of here to cross where the buffalo cross.”“The buffalo? How do you know where they cross at, or if they even cross?”“This is Rollins,” Kaya pointed to the girl sitting next to her in the cart, Rollins kept her eyes averted from the blacksmith, “she knows of the wild and where the buffalo go.”“She does?” Questioned Bram.“Yes she does, she knows many things that we have forgotten.” Announced Kaya.“Where did she come about all this knowledge?” The question made Rollins squeeze Kaya’s hand to try and stop her from talking, it didn’t work, “from Morgan, they met in the wild. Ouch, why are you squ
The nation Chapter 110
They had made their camp nearest to the trees, to avoid some of the bitter cold winds that blew down from the mountain, it was several dozen meters from the main camp of the travelers. No one wanted to give Rollins a chance, save for Bram, he was kind enough to listen to her speak, he watched her to. Kaya had seen him watching her, when she asked him about it he simply said, “I’m waiting to see if she is the curse people say she is.”Rollins worked hard to help when she was allowed to, she was given some of the worst tasks to do, digging waste holes and burning them when they were full. She was hunting when she was not gathering wood or splitting logs, she worked to impress upon the people that she was not a curse. The animal attacks started back up with in nine days of Kaya’s return, a big cat was killing livestock, it was not like the dogs that were killed before, this time the kills were partially eaten. Sometimes the only evidence was the bloody trail that led off into the trees,
The nation Chapter 111
The cat bothered him, he knew it was with them, and he knew that he had smelled that cat before. Had the cat followed them across the river? He thought. He could not know, but he could feel the cat watching the camp, he knew the cat was stalking the two-legs. He did not know the cat was stalking his two-legs. Scanning the trees to the east, he searched for signs of the cat, he got back up to move around in the frigid air. He made a circuit near the trees, sniffing and looking for signs of the cat, he kept himself between the camp and the trees he patrolled. He didn’t see the feline itself but he did find tracks in the snow, a little blood as well, one dog felt the sting of winter again. He gave the trees one last look, then he headed back to lay near his stove.Erek had begun to remember things from his past during this trip, it was as if his mind was injured and now it was healing. He could learn things faster, he communicated better, and his critical thinking ability had improved dr
The nation Chapter 112
She hunted while the sun slept below the horizon, her skill was growing with each life she took, she was successful two out of three hunts. She was hunting her regular prey, she had not eaten venison since before she crossed the river, the prey she hunted now had nowhere to hide from her. The livestock was penned up under a hastily built roof, the walls were open air. The cows huddled with other cows, goats were grouped together, the people did not keep wild boars or pigs when they were domesticated, Ondu said they should never be eaten. The chickens were caged and protected from the winds, they had to be hand fed after the snows covered the Land. She also hunted two-legs; they were the easiest of all to kill.The two legs walked around like cubs, she thought, they do not belong here in the wilds. Yet, they were here and two of them had killed her mate. The night was clear and frosty, the crunch of the snow under her paws was deafening, she moved slower. She circled the open roof pen
The nation Chapter 113
Erek was a bit better than an average hunter, Lorne and Gorman were passable as well, the three were out hunting with One dog as there escort. The dog smiled as much as he could, he knew he would find his master among these two-legs, he just didn’t know when. He stayed with his pack, this small group felt right to him, he wanted to protect them, even the one no one liked. When the men set off to hunt in one direction he went with them, the One dog watched as the two females went in another direction to hunt, he was torn but decided to stick with the big sad man for now. The weather was clear, the sky was the best blue winter would allow, the breeze was slight and the temperature was bitter. The One dog used his nose to help the men find game, they thanked him with pets and small treats if they had any, it was a nice day, one of the nicest that One dog could remember. The crunch of the snow beneath their feet, the feeling of camaraderie was strong among these men, the One dog was happy
The nation Chapter 114
“His farts smell worse than the ass of a menstruating skunk.” Gorman pretended to pinch his nose. That wasn’t why the girls were laughing.“How do you know what the ass of a menstruating skunk smells like?” Asked a puzzled Talia.Everyone burst out laughing, even Talia laughed, although she wasn’t sure why this was funny. Erek snorted the loudest snort that Rollins ever heard, louder than the ones the buffalo make. Gorman blushed, his already rosy cheeks turned redder, he laughed to, eventually. Kaya nearly pissed her pants, she was enjoying the food so much that she didn’t want to get up to pee, now she really had to go. When she got up, she said between laughs, she was going to pee, Rollins went with her. They walked a safe distance from their camp site, even though it was winter, each time they had to relieve themselves and this time was no different. They laughed loudly towards the spot they all used to do their business, they were too comfortable, they were acting careless.She g