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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
The nation Chapter 115
She turned and saw the others had gotten to the ones that must die, a big male shot her with arrows, she knew what they were. She had seen the two-leg hunters before, she was curious about them, and so she watched the hunters on several occasions. They used sharpened sticks that flew through the air, they pushed them with another stick into flight through the air. She witnessed some of the two-legs who were extremely accurate with them, she faced one of them now, when he let the second arrow go she turned her back to it. As soon as she turned the dog was there, his teeth were not as sharp as hers were so the dog tore her throat out more than biting it clean through. She fell to the ground, the fight draining out of the hole in her throat, her memories flooded back to her in a flash. Her mate being killed, her killing her cubs before she followed the two-legs, all of the sport kills along the way to the river. That river, she had jumped towards that last rock knowing she would not make
The nation Chapter 116
“It has to mean new, like the dawning of a new day.” Said Erek to Kaya, Rollins, and Lorne.“There are a few names that carry that meaning.” Stammered Lorne.“Yeah Erek, I like that thought, he is like the first rays of light to hit the ground. He is such a good baby.” Kaya tickled the little boy until he smiled, she held him in her arms while they spoke.“He is a good little eater to,” Talia reflexively rubbed her breasts, “very good eater indeed, he’ll be big like you Erek, what name where you thinking of?” The healer asked.“Arun, I was thinking of naming him Arun.” The second time he said it out loud he knew it was the right name for his son.“Arun.” It rolled nicely off of Kaya’s lips.Erek didn’t realize how much it mattered to him what Kaya thought, he wanted her to like the name he had chosen, it felt strange to him to want her to like his idea.“Arun it is then.” Said Erek.“Doesn’t Arun mean rebirth?” Asked Rollins.The grip that winter held over the Land was severed as the
The nation Chapter 117
The valley they were in was not populated with much game, there were animals there but they were small. The likes of squirrels, rabbit, or pheasant would not feed the entire caravan’s remaining six hundred plus people. The hunters needed deer, elk, and antelope; the bigger game animals were scarce in the early days of spring. The Land was unfriendly to the travelers, they must move or some of the people would starve. If the food was not the problem that it was, the valley would entice the eyes of all who gazed upon it. Lush green grass that the livestock fed on, the trees wore all of their leaves, and the flowers were all in bloom. Talia found a small bouquet on the ground in front of the shelter she shared with Rollins and Kaya, not sure who it was for she took them as her own. The valley was alive with animal life but the travelers still suffered.Rollins knew that the buffalo wouldn’t return until the spring melt was over, in about three more weeks, she also knew about the pass tha
The nation Chapter 118
“Now look at that,” Miro pointed to his foot, it was still in the pile of pooh, “spring has given it moisture. I’m going to have to make a new pair of moccasins.”Woorak laughed until he saw the opening in the mountain, “bless Utoo, there is the way Miro. There’s the way.”“You still pray to Utoo? No one in my house prays anymore.”“What are you talking about? Miro, we just found the way east, What difference is it what I believe?”“What?” Oscar had to shake Sir awake, “Oscar, what do you want?”“Um,” Oscar had a handkerchief, “you have some.” He dabbed Rognvald’s mouth.“Would you stop that.” Rognvald flailed his hands at his caretaker.“The way east has been found.”“Wonderful, simply marvelous. Would someone get me a beer.” He yelled.“We still have some work to do Sir.” Oscar already began preparations to move before he told Rognvald, he knew that Sir would want to move right away. When the last two scouts returned with good news, Oscar ordered everything to be made ready to move
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- The nation
Chapter 141
“Alright,” Rognvald said, “that was a good walk.” He pulled Lilly towards his chambers, she wanted to resist but she was ready for him, her body waited excitedly.Oren walked over to the wailing wife of Hastiin, he knelt down and put his fingers in the cooling blood on the ground, he never looked at the woman. Her wails fell on his deaf ears, as well as the rest of the caravan’s, after the commotion was over the people simply went about their business. Oren’s fingers felt the stickiness of the cooling blood, he rubbed them together feeling its viscosity. The urge to taste the man’s blood was too strong for Oren to resist, it tasted of iron and a touch of salt, he swirled the taste around his tongue to reach every taste bud. He didn’t put his whole finger into his mouth, just the tips touched his tongue, his eyes lit with some knowledge he didn’t understand. It gave him ideas, thoughts on how to do what he was born to do, rule. He thought about how to kill his father, for he knew that
- The nation
Chapter 140
Thewolf from the trees saw the one it wanted, it ran as fast as he could, but a two-leg gave his stealth away. He did not stop, he had to kill now, there would be no other opportunity. When the woman’s words registered in everyone else’s mind, they turned to see the wolf coming for them, they had all heard of the animal attacks but they had never been a part of one. Lilly and Claudia froze, Oren waited to see who would get eaten, Oscar and Hastiin looked for an out. The wolf leapt up and into the air, the man he landed on was bitten cleanly in the throat, the sound of his wind pipe being torn out was sickening. The wolf had torn out the wrong throat, Hastiin lay bleeding from a throat the was not whole anymore, a gasping whistling sound came from his opened neck wound, the man’s hands felt the deadly damage. The wolf looked quickly around, there was the one he needed to kill, the wolf moved so fast. Rognvald’s smile never once faded, the wolf charged at him, he stood, waiting.The wolf
- The nation
Chapter 139
“Thank you mother.” Said Talia.“Thank you as well,” Kaya’s eye’s pleaded for something, some miracle to save her friend. “Leave him here with me,” Sooleeaway said, she held an open palm towards Bram, “Talia will stay and help with his care. Let me look at you child.” But the healer paused before inspecting Kaya.Kaya did not flinch when Sooleeaway reached towards her face, she stood and respected the older woman, even after she was referred to as a child. Kaya’s younger self would have tried to correct the older woman, there by reaffirming her status as a child, on this day she merely stood and waited for the healer to look her over.“Pardon me,” said Sooleeaway, “you are grown now, Kaya Tasso Flistedt. You have changed, you are a child no more.” The healer spoke no more.Sooleeaway inspected Kaya, she found cuts healed, bruises, blisters, and a nearly mended heart. The heart was not spoken of, but her physical injuries were treated. Kaya left Talia with Bram, there was nothing for
- The nation
Chapter 138
“We have to get him to the bend in the river.” Talia told Kaya.“Can he travel?”“He will have to, we need to settle before the winter and Bram needs to heal, the best thing for all of us is to get to the bend.”Kaya knew Talia was right, she felt the urge to settle for winter the same as Talia did, Bram was a concern and she had no idea if he would make it. He remained unconscious fighting for his life.“I feel it to,” said Kaya, “we should go this morning, will you let everyone know that we are leaving?”“Of course.”“I’ll stay with Bram until you get back, then I’ll harness old Percy and we can get going before noon.”When Talia left Bram’s tent, Kaya looked at her friend, the burly man was lying on a buffalo skin blanket, sleeping fitfully. She watched his breathing, it was still labored and shallow, Talia said the venom attacked the victims muscles, making it hard to move or breathe. Kaya didn’t want to remember Bram as he was now, she wanted to remember him like he was in Ondu,
- The nation
Chapter 137
The force like no other was the will of the Land, it used the storm to discourage the travelers from continuing any further, the Land was exasperated by the nerve of these humans. The storm surged over the long butte, it tried to retain the water like the force instructed, but it began to rain while crossing the long butte. The water washed away all of the small animals on the ground, the animals in the trees did not fare much better, some fell and were also washed away. Then the storm saw its target, it was aimed for the humans on the ground, the Land did not like these humans, they were too far from home. The purple cloud roared with thunder and rained heavily on its course towards the humans. Everyone in the caravan raced to find the best shelter they could, they scrambled into the trees because there was nowhere else to go. The Land offered them no shelter, nothing strong and stable, some people sat under there carts, some went into the trees, others found a nook they could climb
- The nation
Chapter 136
Kaya ran after the girl, she was faster than Kaya and as she watched, Lisbet sped away towards the edge of the desert. Who was bit, she thought, who was bit that would make Talia want me? That thought led her mind to the worst possible scenarios. Was it Rollins? Or Erek? The last thought chilled her, what if it was Arun? Kaya ran as fast as she could after Lisbet. As she ran thunder echoed across the plateau, she turned her head towards the long butte, what she saw made her glad she was not in the north with the caravan. A humongous purple cloud rolled over the buttes flat top, it drug rain with it, Kaya could see the sheets of water pouring down as the titanic cloud crested the edge of the butte. So much water, she thought as she ran towards death.“Talia,” Kaya was out of breath by the time she reached the healer. Two men were carrying a third on a hastily crafted stretcher, “who was bitten?”No sooner than those words left her mouth she saw who it was, her hand went to her mouth.“
- The nation
Chapter 135
The horses pulled carts and wagons like they had for the last three years, they were thralls to these travelers now, the animals knew nothing of the Path of Life. All the animals knew was the cycle of life, and how nature gives and takes, without mercy. Now they were lashed to these heavy carts, they were penned up while not moving, something they never experienced before. Normally they were free to roam and came back to The People willingly, now they would most likely bolt at the first chance, a few had and the horses that were left had to work harder. It was miserable work but they endured, they pulled the future of the Land towards a place where a city will be built, it won’t be the one in Rognvald’s dreams, it will be tainted and immoral. These horses would not see the wickedly beautiful city of lust and greed, they would be spared those memories.The caravan stopped at a few sites that were indeed good places to settle, each time Rognvald baulked, he would not stop until he reach
- The nation
Chapter 134
“Only a few more days Percy, a few more days, then we can live for a while by the bend in the river.” She rubbed his cheek; he made no sounds only looked back at her and waved his tail.Over the last three weeks Kaya had worked at putting closure to that part of her life where her parents lived. She had their memories now and no one could remove those, she came to terms with their deaths, it helped that she knew what happened to them. When Erek told her what he heard his father say she was angry and hurt but that to was fading, she was not as angry with the big man now, his father was another story, Kaya prayed that she would never see Rognvald again. Kaya finished unhooking the horses from her cart, normally Percy would buck around for a few minutes before relaxing into grazing not today though, Gerard went right to grazing, Percy joined him without any fuss. How things change, thought Kaya, she watched the two horses feeding as most of the weight from her grief floated away on the e
- The nation
Chapter 133
Kaya’s hair had grown back over the last three years of travel, it reached down to the middle of her back now, she kept it braided in one long braid while traveling. The braid reminded her of her mother, of the time they shared together, just the two of them. It wasn’t that they had something that was better than anyone else’s mother daughter relationship, it was simply there personal relationship that Kaya remembered. When her father was hard at work, making one of his fanciful pieces of pottery, or out making deliveries, they would be together. They lived in the back of the pottery shop that had been in Tombold’s family for generations, it was one of the more permanent looking structures in Ondu, having poles that had been sunk into the ground over two hundred years ago. The poles in the center of the shop were so round that Kaya couldn’t reach all the way around them until she was twelve. The shop always had a fire going, whether in the kiln or not, the friendly smell of wood burni
