The others

Chapter 3

Secret protector

Lanna woke feeling as if she had walked through a Dreamworld. A place filled with nightmarish things. Only the soreness between her thighs told her it was no dream. The fur that smelled like the strange other was no dream. The memories were no dream. It had happend it was all real.

She buried her head in the covers not wanting to face her attackers. She didnt want to face anyone. She just wanted to lay there and sleep. Her mind drifted to another intriguing thing.

The male other. He had saved her. All she had ever heard from the legends were crumbled to dust by his actions. His actions disproved everything she knew or thought she did. He had covered her with a fur. He had saved her. He had taken her home. Or as close as he dared to go to her home.

She remembered the pitying look he had given her before she lost consciousness. As if he had seen agreat thing fall very far from his expectations. He had saved her from them and and had even risked being caught near camp to avoid her being eaten by a predator.

'I will not lay here any longer'

She rose gathering what she would need. Giving her grandmother. nuzzle before going to find the two by the stream fishing. Fear filled her and she managed to squash it. Thinking of them as rabbits she was fond of hunting. She picked up to small pebbles and placed one in her sling to throw.

Once both had been knocked down with her pebbles. Loosing their footing in the stream he grasped her large piece of wood. She moved toward them with purpose. She smiled and laughed at their cries of pain.

*****************************

Nykrion held his breath to hold back the chuckles rising in him. Green eyes had digging spirit. She had found her pride again. It was good to see. He had known some women never recovered such spirit after a forced joining.

She attacked with the ferocity of a wildcat. She swaggered off to rejoin her camp. He was happy to have left the two males alive.He saw them get punished so much more than giving them death.

*****************************

Summer turned to fall and he went back to his people the deer were more active and distracted at this time. His clan needed his help to bring down the animals. He hoped his sister would be able to see Reina through the coming winter. The looks she gave him were not good. He despaired and his mind still puzzled how to save his only offspring.

Lanna was busy as well. More activity than ever consumed her days. Preserving meat, scraping hides, stockpileing wood, collecting herbs, and collecting roots nut and berries were only half of it. Warmer clothing was needed, sewing had to be done. As well as strengthening and warming the lodges was to do as well.

She didn't feel eyes upon her anymore. Though sometimes when she fished or was alone in the forest she felt eyes upon her. She wondered if it was the Stengel other male. The male the broke everything she knew of his kind. She reasoned he had his own problems to deal with considering winter was a few weeks away.

So the two groups went on with preparing for winter. It was the worst time of year. The time old and young die. The time when bellies weren't as full as they should be. Times when babies died or had to be abandoned. A rough winter was ahead and yet she felt as if it would all be alright.

'I have a secret protector. . .'

The winter came in gentlly one day as Lanna stood cutting meat off a carcass. Snow fell and she looked toward the trees finding a figure in the murky gloom of the tree line. The long brown hair and familar face made her glance around and then move to pick up a water skin. She moved through the camp toward the forest where she noted he had disappeared.

She was nervous and yet she couldn't stop herself from going to him. Obviously he had risked much to get her attention and his need must have been great. She found him by the cave she had awoken in months before. She smiled at him and then wondered if it was a friendly gesture to him or an agressive one.

He crouched down and motioned her to do the same. She did keeping from him a safe distance. He pointed to his chest and said something.

"Nykrion." he then pointed to hers and held his hands out.

She cocked her head to the side studying him for a few moments. He waited patiently for her to figure out what he had said. His brow was heavy his eyes slightly deepset. His  nose was larger than her people but it fit his face well. His body was stocky and muscular. He still towered over her 5'1 frame. His long brown hair blew in the cold breeze snow passed between them.

"Nykrion." she touched his chest lightly. He nodded in acknolegement. "Lanna." she pointed to her own chest.

"Nykrion lai Lanna." he touched his chest and then hers. She nodded.

"Nykrion." he made a motion as if to cradle a baby in his arms. And she nodded. "Reina moa nieva" he patted his chest again.

"You have a child and Reina is you child." she said nodding.

"Reina" he made a motion that meant she was small and then pointed to her breasts. She nodded in understanding as he motioned for drinking. "Reina nai moran" he said doing the baby motion, the motioning of her breats drinking and then a shake to his head. He pointed to her breasts and made a small gesture and repeated "moran".

"You wife doesn't have enough milk for Reina." She smiled and stood reaching in her pouch for Goats rue. He stood as well watching her movements closely.

"Goats rue. Reina moran" she made a gesture meaning alot to drink. He nodded and smiled a weight seemed to be lifted from his shoulders. She cupped hands in water made a move to sprinkle the herb in water and a motion for fire. He nodded in understanding and she made a motion for it to be drunk.

She measured out some of the herb and wrapped it in leather. She motioned to the sun and its path across the sky. She would have to take it for at least fourteen sun cylces. He nodded in understanding and then reached out his hand she clasped his forearm and then he went his way saying something in his strange language. She went back to the camp and continued her tasks. Winter had come she doubted her friend of a strange sort would come back anytime soon. He confused her even more.