Love Upon the Hudson Bay

Chapter Four

Aranck

Sweat drips from my brow as I took refuge from the boys. Training them always ages me immensely, but if I was to ever be half the chief that my father thought I was, training the younger boys will become one of the easier tasks I must shoulder. A large stream lay to the west of the camp, and even further west lay our enemy. An enemy that I hoped to one day negotiate and trade with. 

Fighting the pale ones will only bring more death, but if they see us as trading partners, then maybe respect will come among our people and theirs. 

I know my father would be looking for me soon, he wants to pass the torch to me, especially since I just passed twenty years. A man of twenty is a man ready to lead. 

Also according to my father, a man of twenty is ready for a wife and a family. I did not question my father on his wish for me to start a family, it was legitimate. If I was to become the nínaa for my people I would need a family behind me, and a child to carry on my legacy. 

Hopefully, that child will be a son.

Stripping completely, I entered the stream. I did not wait to fully submerge under the water. I could feel the cooling properties rush through me, and rejuvenate me. I let all my frustrations float away with the rushing water. 

"Aran" someone threw a rock into the stream nearly missing my head. I shot up from my sanctuary

"Ksisáttsiiwaat! It will get you nowhere!" I exclaim while wiping the water from my face. 

I was not surprised to see Machk slyly leaning against an adjacent tree, no other man would live to see another day. He grinned as he threw a stone up in the air and effortlessly caught it again. Machk may have had a temper, but at seventeen he has gained a marksman ability that puts our best warriors to shame. 

"Niitsistowahsin, you could do well among the warriors. Maybe, in a few years, you could even lead th-" I tried.

"I do not want to lead the warriors, I want to lead all of our people, Aran" Machk sighed while dropping his stone.  

I stepped out of the water, Machk immediately turned to face the camp.

"All I ever wanted was to be you. I sit by father day and night, and the only advice he ever listens to is yours. What would I give to be you for just a day? I dream of being a leader, but I will always live in your shadow" My brother lamented. 

I shrug on my buckskin pants and let my damp hair dry naturally, and approached the slumped figure of my brother.

"Machk" I put a hand on his shoulder.

He quickly turns, and I see unshed tears threatening to escape his cocoa eyes. 

"I know that this will not be enough for you, but it is the highest honour I could ever give you. Please, when I take over, become my Hassun. My kinníínaiksi. Be my top advisor and the next in line after my children. Or if there are no children - you will lead" I promise.

"Do you actually mean this?" 

"I know that you may be a bit unconventional choice for the advisor, but you will always be the only man that I would solely trust with my life. I also will have to grapple with the elders as th-"