Hunting Party

Chapter Seven

She struggles to breathe while running. The gag in her mouth is difficult to remove. She can hear Demur and his soldiers right behind her as they peruse her through the woods. The occasional arrow whizzes past her. One wrong step and it’s over. Moonlight guides her way as her eyes adjust to the black void of the wild.

Tanika and her friends ran through these woods countless times but never at nighttime. Regardless, she gains ground from her pursuers. She finds a covering of rocks and hides behind it. She manages to pull the gag from her mouth and breathe in the cool night air. Her breaths are heavy while trying to remain completely silent. Her heart is racing. She can feel leaves and dirt clinging to her cold bloodied feet.

The hunters become silent once they lose track of her. Tanika listens carefully, looking for a sharp rock to cut her final restraint. She doesn’t want to give away her position. She leans flatly against one of the rough edged boulders, intently looking and listening for anything. She slowly peeks over her cover. She can see the firelight from the hunter’s torches. Not nearly far away enough, but it will have to do.

She feels the boulder’s texture in the dark and finds a suitable rough edge. She rubs her wrists up and down the edge frantically. One of the straps breaks. It’s working. She looks back over her cover again. The torches have been extinguished. She knows from experience the hunters must be splitting up to find her.

Tanika rubs furiously until each leather strap snaps away. The last one breaks, freeing her hands at last. The restraint leaves red marks all around her wrists and arms. She flexes her fingers and feels the circulation flowing freely again. Her eyes are now better adjusted to the dark.

She finds a rock and tosses it as far away from her as she can. It bounces off a tree trunk and lands in some leaves.

“There!” someone yells.

She takes off in the opposite direction. Demur is not far behind. He spots her and slowly tracks her with his bow. He fires an arrow.

Tanika feels the arrow as it slices her waist. She can’t help but yell out in pain. Blood drips slightly as she holds her wound. She continues running anyway.

Branches break and scratch her all over, sometimes catching her fur coat. Demur fires another arrow. This one grazes her shin and she cries again. He’s trying to slow her down and it’s working.

The pursuit continues. The thick forest finally makes way to a clearing. She looks ahead to see a large slope. It’s same one she scaled during her first hunting expedition.

She turns around to hear the attackers coming near. She has no choice; she must hike it or be captured. She begins the incline.

It feels like an eternity but she is now halfway up the slope. At this point she is vulnerable. She’s an easy target to hit, but Demur has not fired. He must be out of arrows. She looks down to see him climbing steadily behind her. No other hunters have caught up to them.

She finally reaches the top and travels through another lush clearing. Her wounds leave behind small traces of blood. She is struggling to breathe and can’t run much further. The pain is too great. She is further now than she’s ever been, now entering what is considered to be the wolf’s territory.

The air is even colder here. Her feet are numb as they crunch into the snow. She can only hobble onward. The trees part way as she approaches a cliff. Below the drop lies a vast and frozen stretch of lake, the ice fields.

She stops to catch her breath. Demur can’t be too far behind. “I can no longer continue.” She thinks to herself. This is where she will make her last stand.

The sound of a bowstring stretching breaks the silence. Demur stands within range of Tanika. His final arrow is precisely aimed at her. She turns to face him, holding a sizeable jagged rock. She raises it above her head, ready to throw it into Demur’s face.

“It’s over. Come home with me.” He says.

“You should never hold your bowstring taut for so long, Demur.” She utters in a shaky but resilient voice.

She arcs the rock backward, about to throw it with all of her might. Demur scowls and closes one eye, fine-tuning his aim at Tanika’s heart.

A lone wolf leaps from the darkness and attacks Demur, causing him to release the arrow and fall to the ground. The arrow impacts Tanika’s left shoulder, and the weight of the rock makes her lose balance. She falls backward down the mountainside.

She tumbles down relentlessly. Rocks and other debris fall with her until she lands with a thud on the thick ice below.

Demur struggles on the ground amidst a fury of snarls and biting before a loud wolf whimper shrieks through the landscape. Tanika brings herself to her feet, the frozen ice surface sticking to her skin.

She shivers from the frigid coldness all around her. She can hear distant voices talking as Demur’s hunting party meets with him above.

The moon’s light reflects off of the ice surface, casting a moody white glow around the cliff side, which stretches down the fields for a vast distance. She squints her eyes to focus on the tiny shadowy figures, as they seem to be pointing down and talking about her.

One by one they ignite their arrows, which look like dancing fireflies from her perspective. Demur signals them to fire.

The arrows fly through the air one by one slowly, until they complete their arc and speed swiftly to the ground near her. She runs away from the cliff as they continue to volley all around her, spearing into the ice with great force.

Her bare feet slide on the ice as she nearly loses balance while trying to regain traction. Arrows and rocks continually land all around her.

In front of her lies a wall of white fog. She is unsure if there is even another side of this ice field, or if just stretches on forever. If she can just make it to the fog, they won’t see her. She only hopes the ice will support her weight.

Tanika regains traction, heading directly for the fog. The ice creaks and cracks like spider webs beneath her feet as she runs. Just a little bit closer and she’ll be out of sight.

Suddenly her worst fear happens. She feels her right foot crash down through the ice. The water is so cold it feels as though her foot is on fire. It’s not long before the rest of the ice around her shatters, bringing her other foot with her. She’s now in free-fall, as if being pulled down by an unseen force.

She flails her arms, desperately trying to cling to something but it’s too late. She’s fallen completely through the hole in the ice, deep into the frigid depths below.

~~~~

Chapter Nine

Razor sharp teeth are soon overlapped by his lavish pink tongue as he licks and laps at her skin. The action doesn’t make sense to her at first, but it means everything all in an instant. Her head jolts backward out of surprise and an unexpected sense of delight. She opens her eyes to see him. All the fear she once had is completely gone.

The wolf continuously licks at her face. He’s gently sporadic on her cheek, chin and ear, even her lips. It feels warm to her, soft and ticklish. Tanika does something she didn’t think she would do in a long time, if ever again. She smiles, and laughs.

She feels every ounce of her pain and torment, all of the stress and despair, All of the horrors she witnessed gone in this moment, from a simple act of kind affection.

He’s no threat to her. She knows it for certain now. He continues to hover over her, pausing and sniffing at her. She feels warmth radiating from him over her cold and shivering naked body. She laughs and winces when he licks at her broken nose. It stings but feels healing and the pain starts to vanish.

She wants to hold him, to feel his fur in her fingers. She extends her right hand. He becomes startled, backing away. She moves her hand away from him. He looks back at her cautiously and unsure. The moment seems to be ruined until he steps back into position.

Slowly and steadily she touches the back of his neck. His fur is soft and warm, parting between her fingers. He flinches as her fingers softly feel and trace down his back. She massages his skinny yet muscular features. He allows her human touch, as it seems his fear is now gone as well. He returns to his affectionate licking.

Both of her hands are now slowly petting and stoking him affectionately along his back. He responds to it well, as Tanika likely itches places he can’t reach himself. He licks at frozen drops and chunks of ice stuck to her skin. He moves methodically around her neck and shoulders. The sensation is invigorating to her and she can’t help but shiver and cling to him more for warmth.

He licks at her chest and breasts. Her skin is covered in goose bumps. Her nipples hard and shriveled already from the cold are reinvigorated by the surface of his wet warm tongue, gliding over and around both of them. The pleasure helps her slowly warm up as she welcomes it, regardless if it makes sense or not.

She watches him, studying the patterns in his fur. She traces her finger along his forehead, around a star pattern. “It is you.” She says out loud. She doesn’t even know if he understands but she continues anyway.

“I wondered if I would see you again.”

He only looks back at her with a puzzled expression.

She’s too cold to say much more. Each breath they both make sends clouded frozen mist into the air. She remembers her first hunt. It seems like ages ago but this wolf had remained fixed in her mind. She’s lost in his piercing blue eyes just as she was that day.

He steps back from her and lowers his head. Cold air sweeps over her in his absence. She covers her breasts with her hands as he moves lower. She watches him intently as he moves, now to her tummy.

Her heart is racing between shallow breaths. She feels a sense of trepidation as he sniffs at her crotch. She could easily push him away with her feet, but she doesn’t. His snout presses into her and his wet tongue once again laps her skin.

His tongue is long and warm as it parts her puffy and hairless vaginal lips. He tastes her again and again. The rough surface of his tongue clings to her skin a bit as it darts and moves all around her most sensitive areas. She can’t help but moan and open her legs more to him.

She scoots higher on the ledge to give him more access. Her fingers scratch and rub behind his ears as if to give approval. She wondered how such a thing could be happening. It felt so strange.

The pleasure is too intense to question. His tongue continuously clings and massages her clitoris. She can only give him more to feast upon, which he does. He seems to love her taste. He doesn’t stop. Is it out of instinct, lust, or out of love? It didn’t matter.

His tongue continuously makes long strides inside and outside of her. She breathes heavily. The pleasure is too great. It resonates through her like nothing she’s felt in her life, and her heart is pumping warmer blood through her body.

Her fingers cling to him. She closes her eyes. He makes a slurping chopping sound as he digs into her more. His teeth are getting too close for comfort and she has to push him away for a moment.

“No.. I can’t…no more, please.” She says to him. Her breathing starts to slow.

“I’m cold, please… cover me again.”

She pulls at him a bit to indicate.

“Come up here.”

He starts to understand and walks up her body. His hanging tummy fur traces up her bare skin.

“Yes.”

She says to him and scratches along his back, lower than before. His tail wags and she pets him more.

“I’m so cold.”

She wraps her legs around him a bit, pulling him closer. His front paws are firmly planted at either side of her, near her armpits. She wraps her hands around his back, hugging him closer to her. He looks back at her with a friendly, yet tempered ferocity. She’s attracted and intrigued by it.

She arches herself up the slope so she can press her body against his. She nuzzles her head close to his, pressing her cheek into the side of his neck. The warmth feels so good to her. His fur is warm and ticklish in a sensual way.

“Stay with me.” She whispers, stuttering in his ear.

Suddenly she feels him shifting and scooting close. His movements soon turn into a vigorous thrusting motion against her.

~~~~

Chapter Ten

The wolf humps and thrusts against her naked body. She tightens her legs around his back. She can feel his member poking and prodding, trying to find his mark. She reaches down with her hand, feeling his sheath as she guides him.

His member emerges through her fingers and presses against her tummy momentarily. His penis is unlike anything she’s seen, certainly different than a human’s. She finds it beautiful.

It’s half erect with a red-purple hue. A series of intertwined veins lead up the shaft to his pointed triangular tip. It drips warm pre-ejaculate onto her as it slides around her skin with his thrusting.

Her fingers remain gently wrapped around his furry sheath, allowing her to guide it however she wants. She moves it lower.

It shines in the moonlight momentarily as it retreats halfway back into his sheath. She manages to align the tip to her vaginal opening. He feels it and starts moving again. With a few short thrusts he parts her fleshy wet lips and he’s inside of her.

“Yes!”

She moans out loud.

He’s not fully hard but grows with each thrust. Her tunnel is very tight but welcomes him regardless. She can feel him growing inside of her, stretching her internally. He can’t help but thrust against her ribbed walls as they wrap around him, massaging and enticing more of his instinctual mating.

His powerful thrusts radiate up her body and bounce her young breasts. She holds him and breathes heavily. His paws move and scratch at her legs. He finds better footing with his front paws above her shoulders but collapses front first against her.

They are cheek to cheek once more, her breasts pressed against him firmly as she fully hugs him with her arms. Her ankles cross around his lower back, helping to guide with each thrust he makes.

His penis is now fully hard with a curious bulb at the base of his shaft, his knot. It’s a bit uncomfortable as he presses himself and his knot all the way in and out of Tanika. She continues it regardless. There’s not much to stop him, and she doesn’t want to. She wants more of him.

With a few more bucks and thrusts, his engorged knot slips all the way inside. Her outer lips stretch and wrap around it, swallowing it until they kiss the edge of his sheath. He’s completely locked inside of her now. The entirety of his penis fills her up internally, throbbing and pulsing. She can feel his warm pre ejaculate occasionally spurting deep within her.

He pauses his thrusting for a moment. She won’t let go of him, and moves her hips in a slow circular motion, enjoying his swollen knot as it rests against her g-spot.

She moans and kisses him, caressing him all over. His warmth is much needed and she feels more invigorated with each passing moment. He’s panting, eyes half closed in an expression of pleasure.

“Don’t leave me.”

She whispers in his ear.

“Don’t ever leave.”

She opens her eyes and examines her surroundings. The trees seem to slowly sway back and forth even though there is no wind. She examines them more closely. Now they seem to be growing, shrinking, then returning to their normal state.

It’s as if she is witnessing them phase shifting between different time periods. Even the rock that forms the precipice appears molten and flowing, then cools and solidifies. The dead tree behind them expands with life, and then shrivels again to decay.

“Am I in a dream?”

She wonders to herself.

But it must be real. Everything she’s seen and experienced has seemed real. Everything she’s felt has been real including him, and him inside of her. The pleasure from him certainly feels real.

She examines her hand. Amazingly she can start to see through her own skin. She can see her veins and tendons, her bones. She can see her own blood flowing through her, down to the microscopic level. Life is all around her. She inhales life into her lungs and exhales life back into the air. She starts to feel a sense of oneness with everything.

Tanika can even see into the wolf. She sees energy flowing through him and into her. She follows his circulatory system to a strong heart beating behind his rib cage. She can hear it beating, as well as her own. Both of them thump together in unison.

She looks down at her tummy and can see into her own womb. She can see her ribbed vaginal canal, soaking and clenching around his shiny swollen member as it continues to throb within. His enclosed knot prevents most of the built up fluid from leaving.

She sees his testicles. Inside they are beaming with life, seed yet to be released. She reaches for them and traces her fingertips gently around each one. The wolf responds in delight, shifting around his position as his scrotum shrivels to her touch.

She knows he enjoys her caress, because she does too. It’s in this instant she realizes she can feel what he feels, in addition to her own pleasure. She can feel her own fingers scratching where he needs to be scratched, and the relief it brings.

She can feel how good it is to be inside of her, as well as how good it feels to have him in her. They are both one.

His memories flood and blend into hers. She experiences his history and emotions. She can see his triumphs and failures, his victories and defeats. She can see him rising through the ranks of wolves to become alpha. She learns how they communicate with each other through body language and emotion, and their hunting tactics.

She sees them as they watch and study her tribe. They observed and knew more about her people than she ever thought was possible. She can feel them starving and scrapping for food, just as her own tribe did. She knows the attack on her people was made out of desperation.

She continues caressing and playing with his testis, as if to encourage them to produce more seed. He responds with more thrusting. The pleasure only increases throughout her body. She feels a high similar to the one she experienced during her first council meeting.

Her body is too small and tight for his knot to escape. His fully hard member is just grinding and bouncing within her.

“Don’t stop.”

She utters.

Her visions intensify as her climax builds. She can see atoms and microscopic life all around her. They form geometric patterns in the air, ground and trees. The stars above her move in synchronously circular motions.

The walls of reality crumble around her. She’s entered a sort of inter-dimensional energy plane. She can see the history of the world unfolding before her. An exploding star creates a new sun. She sees dust swirling in outer space, forming the planets. She witnesses every life form born and extinction of a species. Every evolutionary step unfolds before her in mere moments.

A history of humanity begins. People of all shapes, colors and sizes are all fighting and killing, and disappearing into dust. Out of all of the would-be rulers, poets, artists, craftsmen, warriors and lovers, she knows that she’s the first one to bond with a wolf in this way.

The next vision takes her beyond the solar system. She sees Mother’s Milk in all of its glory. She had no idea the vastness of this great collection of stars, each with their own planetary systems. There are too many to count, hundreds of millions.

Her own solar system is only one of many on the fringe of this great cluster. Soon she sees that even Mother’s Milk is only a speck among other countless specks of clusters flying past her face. This grand vision of the universe comes to a sudden end.

~~~~

Chapter Eleven

Back in the moment, the oneness with the beast. She’s not shaking from the cold anymore. She shakes from insurmountable pleasure. It’s unlike any sexual experience she’s had before, a kind of euphoria her very body and life was given to her for.

Tanika feels a strong sense of destiny, as though it could not have happened any other way.

She feels fully invigorated. All of the freezing coldness from before is completely gone as she’s warmed from the inside and out. The wolf’s breathing is heavy and warm against her.

His slippery bulbous knot is once again locked inside. He’s as far internally as he can go. His swollen member completely fills her, and continuously spurts warm ejaculate that only slowly leaks out of her, if at all.

He becomes tired from humping her once more. She’s happy to hold on and do her own thrusting. It doesn’t take much movement anyway; his pulsing member doesn’t have much room to move inside, just grind.

She’s unsure the number of times she’s climaxed, nor how long they’ve been lying here making love in the wild. Its still nighttime and the sounds of wilderness slowly fill her ears again.

She feels her climax building and she wants his release. She knows he hasn’t fully released either. She continues her working, slow circular thrusting combined with massaging herself. Her other hand is free to stimulate his testicles again, as she remembered how beaming with life they were.

She tightens her muscles around him with each movement, as if to slowly coax his creamy prize. She can see flashes of energy flowing from his penis through his body and to the pleasure center of his brain.

He whimpers in pleasure and twitches from each thrust she gives. A field of energy radiates from both of their genitals as she watches her tummy. The energy swirls and sparkles within both of them like fine grains of sand twinkling in the sun.

It builds within both of them with each pressing movement. She can see inside of herself once more. She loves the sight of his member engorged in her body. A welcoming fusion between species and they’re both the first to experience it. He must be thinking the same thing.

She sees it just in time. First, a beautiful sparked field of pleasure exploding through the wolf. Next is followed by the eruption of sparkling beaming life that is the wolf’s seed as it begins to spray.

He grunts and collapses, scratching on Tanika as he spasms. She holds him tighter. He leans forward into her more. The tip of his penis reaches the top of Tanika’s inside as it thrives and pumps forth semen. She can feel his ejections internally as warm jets.

She watches the seed fill her womb more and more.

“Yes!”

Her voice and moaning continually gets louder and echoes through the woods.

“Please give them to me…” She feels his orgasm as it resonates with her own. Continually she holds and rubs him. She feels nothing but love for him, and he for her. The explosive field of pleasure radiates through her now.

Her walls close around him in her spasms, as if to push him out, but his bulbous knot prevents his escape. This causes her body to milk every last drop of sperm from him.

He’s ejected everything deep into her. Filling her womb so much it’s nearly to the point of discomfort for her.

The feeling is too euphoric. She can feel and see his countless gametes swimming within her. His seed seems to add to her high, a craving she’s sure to want more of after this experience. It’s like a drug to her and she welcomes it, watching in awe as his sperm race toward her fertile eggs.

The wolf’s eyes are closed as he regains his breath. His heart beats strongly into Tanika’s breasts. The side of her cheek presses against his again. He’s not the only one feeling completely drained.

Tanika lost the strength to hold him as tightly as she was, she can only rest in their embrace. She traces his fur, lost in the afterglow.

“What is your name?”

She says, and kisses his face.

“What should I call you? I don’t know if a human has ever named a wolf.”

His member is still inside her, continually throbbing and spurting.

“Mmmm…”

She moans.

She traces around his fur and once again the star-like pattern.

“I will name you.”

She turns to nuzzle her forehead against his, looking in his eyes. He seems to be smiling.

“I name you…Nova!”

~~~~

Chapter Twelve

“Do you like that name?”

She says, scratching and rubbing his tummy playfully. He remains locked inside of her, continually panting in delight. He licks the side of her face as if to give approval.

She smiles again, and feels fully invigorated with a renowned sense of purpose. She feels true unconditional love radiating from him. Nova provided so much warmth during their lovemaking that Tankia finds herself sweating, even in the cold afterglow.

“I think we lost both of our tribes, Nova.”

She kisses his face and pets the side of his neck.

“At least we have each other.”

Nova stands up, trying to tug his penis out of Tanika’s body. Her genitals are still tightly wrapped around his knot. He walks in a semi circle around her. She pulls her legs away from his back, allowing him more mobility as he steps.

He lifts his hind legs up over her as he turns to face the opposite direction. Tanika keeps her legs spread as the wolf’s rear presses into her groin. His member continues to remain locked inside of her.

She learned from her visions that a wolf’s anatomy is able to swivel this direction without causing him any discomfort. He’s turned away not as a sign of rudeness. On the contrary, it’s so he can see any potential approaching predators. He is her true and loyal guardian.

His member slowly decreases in volume, allowing the slippery bulbous knot to pop free from her vaginal grasp. Tanika arches forward and watches the length of his shaft slide away.

Nova steps forward and the tip of his penis falls free from her. It shines in the moonlight from their bodily mixture. It folds between his legs like a swinging pendulum, radiating steam into the air between Nova’s wagging tail.

The organ continually spurts small drops of clear fluid.

Tanika feels a rush of excess semen spill out of her vagina. It trails down her body and flows like a waterfall into the earth below.

Nova continually scans the horizon, never forgetting his sentry duties. His dripping member throbs with his heartbeat between his micro-orgasms. He’s panting in total bliss.

She’s surprised when Nova flips around to face her. He quickly sniffs at her crotch before licking it clean, all over.

She moans again at the sensation.

Nova steps back and away, again scanning the horizon. Her eyes remain fixed on him. She watches his still throbbing, and ejaculating penis.

“Nova…”

She says to him.

“I want to taste you. I want to taste…us.”

She crawls forward toward him on her hands and knees, mimicking a wolf in a sexual way. She butts her head into his shoulder playfully before turning onto her back once more.

She scoots her head under his hind legs, placing her face near his hanging member.

One hand holds his lower back as the other finds a soft grasp under the base of his knot. Nova doesn’t object. Tanika guides his penis across her face. Feeling it’s warmth against her as it delivers clear trails on her skin. She lightly kissing the tip, and teasing it with her tongue.

“This is how our tribe does it, Nova.”

She grinds her tongue all around the features of his spurting tip.

“I don’t think other wolves can do it this way, Nova.”

She says as she teases the length with small kisses and licking. She opens her mouth and welcomes the tip. Her tongue slides down it as she feeds it in, parting her lips more and opening her jaw.

She bobs her head up and down, taking a bit more each time. Pausing for breath. With each plunge into her mouth, Nova delivers more fluid. She tastes and swallows it, drinking it in.

Occasionally the seed/saliva mixture oozes from her lips between plunges, trailing down her chin and neck. She presses forward as far as she can, trying not to gag as she lets Nova penetrate her throat.

She rubs herself again as she makes love to his organ. Her lips nearly meet the base of his knot as it travels within her.

She moans and hums into her sucking.

Nova begins to whimper as she feels his member pulsing an ejaculation of sperm into her throat. She tries to contain it all but can’t. She pulls his member free and coughs and spits his sperm out of her.

Nova continues to ejaculate onto her breasts as she regains composure.

“I told you that you’d like it.”

She says, caressing his penis up and down slowly with both of her hands. He slows his breathing, becoming more relaxed.

She pets him with her other hand, up the length of his tummy and his sides. His penis folds back into his sheath.

Their intimate moment is over, for the time being.

Tanika rests while she’s lost in the moment, occasionally looking up at the stars.
Moments pass as she scratches him sensually, and lightly traces both her hands up his hind legs.

He enjoys her touch until she reaches a certain point. Nova lets out a loud yelp and suddenly jumps away from her.

“What?” she yells.

She stands up quickly. Nova lays down on his side, turning to lick a wound on his hind leg. He can’t reach it. She sees something protruding from his upper leg, a bone.

“How did you break your leg? You couldn’t have!”

She gets closer to him. She follows a dried trail of blood up his leg to the point of the object.

“How did I not see this?”

She folds his leg gently to get a better view.

“You’ve got something stuck in you. How long have you had this?”

Nova quietly looks at her.

“Did you have this on the ice?”

Nova’s eyes look around. Tankia shifts her stance.

“You walked all that way, on the ice, with this injury?”

His ears fold back again.

“You traveled all this way..and you.. we made love and everything?” She folds her arms.

Nova hangs his head, sniffing and letting soft whimper noises.

She smiles.

“Unbelievable. You really are a true warrior, you know that?”

She unfolds her arms as his body language suggests acknowledgement. She reaches toward his wound again. His expression turns to defensiveness as he bares his teeth, growling at Tanika, loudly.

“Hey!”
She yells with force. He stops growling.

“Listen to me! I need to remove it, or it will get worse. You understand?”

She tackles him, pinning him in a headlock and using her weight to submit him to the ground. He scurries and tries to escape, whining. She folds her fingers across the bone. She closes here eyes. She pulls forcefully, and with one jerk the item is free.

Nova shrieks louder than before, and breaks free of Tanika’s hold. He limpidly scurries away from her, crying in pain. He looks at her in a pained and confused expression before running farther and farther away into the woods.

“Nova! Come back!” She yells, as loudly as she can.

“Now I’ve done it.” Tanika says regrettably.

She calls for Nova again, and waits for a response. She hears nothing.

Tanika steps more into the moonlight, and examines the object she removed from Nova’s body. It’s an elk horn handle attached to a long black obsidian blade. It’s the same blade that was passed to Demur by their Grandfather.

~~~~

Chapter Fifteen

It’s Nova. His eyes continue to glow in the reflected firelight. He’s holding something in his mouth. He approaches her, still with a slight limp. He’s carrying the body of sizeable dead rabbit, which he drops by her feet.

“Did you bring this for me?” She says.

Nova barks in response.

“How thoughtful.” She scratches his head playfully.

His eyes close while he pants in delight, nuzzling her hands.

“I knew you’d return.”

Tanika takes the rabbit around to the other side of the fire pit. Nova seems apprehensive, keeping his distance from the flames. She finds the blade, and begins to skin the animal.

Nova paces around for a few moments until he finds a comfortable spot to lay and watch her. Tanika stretches the animal fur skin around a rocky protrusion on the rock wall.

“I don’t think you’ve tasted cooked meat before.” She says to him.

Nova moves his eyebrows and rests his chin on his outstretched front paws.

“I think a warrior deserves a warrior’s meal, Nova. I wish I had some spices…”

Tanika continues to prepare the animal, fastening it to a long stick. She builds a suspension structure around the fire. It’s a makeshift skewer she can rotate. She suspends the animal above the fire.

Nova looks puzzled.

“You’ve got to trust me.” She says to him.

The meat pops and sizzles as she thoroughly cooks it. The odor is sweet and her stomach rumbles loudly. Nova’s ears have perked up and he licks his chops.

“You’ve got to be patient, my friend.”

Nova barks.

After a fair time, Tanika removes the body from the fire, and rests it on a flat piece of outstretched bark. She carves out a tiny section for a taste. It’s perfect. She fights the urge to not devour everything herself, placing her hands on the body. She begins reciting a prayer out loud, closing her eyes.

“Sacred creature of the forest. You have given your life so that I may continue mine. Your energy is gone, but will be reborn within me. I will carry your nobility with me until the end of my days, when I will give my own body back to the Earth which I took from myself. I will never forget.”

Tanika begins to carve out all of the edible meat. She divides it evenly, placing half of it on a separate slab. She carries the slab over to Nova.

He stands up, wagging his tail and licking his chops. He whimpers and whines slightly in anticipation.

“Next time, tell me when you’re going to leave.” She says, placing the meal in front of him. He moves swiftly, barely sniffing it a moment before devouring the meal in only a few bites. Tanika laughs.

“That is good, yes?” Nova chews and licks at the slab.

Tanika can’t help but devour her portion in a similar manner. The meal is not much, but very welcome for both of them.

“Tomorrow we will explore. I’ll find healing plants for your wound.” She walks over to him again, placing the rabbit’s bones down for him.

“Let me heal it this time.” She adds.

Nova is distracted by his new treats.

The fire has died down, now mostly a series of glowing smoldering coals. She walks over to the alcove, making some final adjustments to her bedding. Nova walks across the campsite and follows her. She sits down, greeting him as he approaches.

He licks her face and lips. She smiles and strokes his neck fur. She opens her mouth like she was about to receive a kiss from a human. Nova understands and licks the inside of her mouth.

She continually moves her jaw to accommodate him. Her tongue darts and presses against his, massaging it. She moans into his mouth, leaning into him. He tilts his head, continually loving on her lips and mouth. She caresses her breasts with one hand. Her vagina throbs as they make out.

Tanika has to pause for a moment.

“Oh Nova…”

She crawls on her hands and knees, nuzzling her forehead against his shoulder playfully.

“Maybe I should deliver on my promise. What do you think?”

He walks behind her, loving the sight of her small-outstretched rear end.

She feels his snout as he licks her. His long tongue once again parts her vaginal lips, this time from behind. He makes long strides in and out of her, even making love to her anus.

She moans even louder, clenching around his tongue. She pets her own breasts more, squeezing around her hardened small nipples.

She feels Nova as he jumps up onto her back.

~~~~

Chapter Eighteen

She lightly touches Nova’s shoulder as if to say, “I’m ready.”

Nova looks into her eyes before turning to the right and running. Tanika grips her spear and runs as fast as she can in the other direction, to her left.

She makes more noise than Nova, snapping branches along her way. The Elk is startled, and looks up immediately. He traces the path of noise Tanika makes. He knows something is wrong. While he’s distracted, Nova circles around the other side, and catches up to the Elk, remaining completely unseen.

Quickly Nova leaps onto the Elk’s rear, standing on his hind legs as he sinks his teeth into his hide. The Elk cries out in terror, and shakes Nova free of his grasp. He retreats; running full speed in the same direction Tanika went.

She watches the action unfold in between trees whizzing past her as she runs, searching for a suitable ambush site.

She can hear his powerful galloping as Nova leads him toward her. She maintains a lead over both of them. Nova occasionally leaps up at the creature, nipping and snapping at him. The animal is terrified, and tries to evade Nova to no avail. He persistently chases the Elk, never leaving his side.

Tanika is sure footed as she runs through the forest. Up ahead, there is a large boulder before a clearing in the trees. It will provide the perfect sniping position.

She leaps up onto the boulder, standing atop and readying her spear. She can almost hear her Grandfather’s words in her mind:

“Do not fire your weapon where the creature is, fire your weapon where the creature will be.”

She can see and hear the two of them approaching her window of opportunity. She stands properly, aiming her spear ahead of the charging Elk.

She hesitates.

One problem, Nova is at the creature’s left side as he leaps and nips at him. Tanika fears she will hit Nova by mistake.

“Nova! Move away!” She yells.

“The other side! Hurry!”

She watches as both of them pass by, missing her opportunity. She curses out loud, and heads toward the opening, keeping her eye on both of them as they run by.

She reaches the opening on foot and aims her spear again. There is still another chance.

Nova switches sides and is no longer vulnerable.

She throws the spear as hard she can, and watches it fly right over the Elk, barley missing. She curses again and runs to retrieve her only weapon.

Nova bolts ahead of him, growling violently. He gets the Elk to turn around, and run back toward Tanika. She readies her spear again, her heart racing. She fine-tunes her aim, but the Elk is still too far away.

She steadies herself, slowing her breath. The Elk pivots and runs diagonally away from her. Nova compensates in his pursuit. She throws the spear.

Tanika watches in horror as the Elk kicks his hind legs. He strikes Nova. He yelps and rolls in the grass just as Tanika’s spear sinks into the Elk’s chest.

“No!” she yells.

Nova lies still, panting heavily and whining.

The Elk cries out in pain, running into the forest in the opposite direction, taking the spear with him.

She runs over to Nova. He’s whimpering, trying to stand but can’t.

“Let me see!” She gently rolls him onto his side.

She feels his body for broken bones. She can’t find any. She looks for blood but sees none. She can only see a nasty bruise where the animal kicked him. She feels a sense of relief.

“I think the Elk has taken your wind but nothing else. You’re going to be – ”

Before she can even finish her sentence, Nova springs back up and runs into the forest on the other side, perusing the Elk once more.

“Well…okay then.” She runs behind Nova.

She can see the traces of blood the Elk left behind. He will not be able to run far.

Tanika catches up to Nova, who is pacing around the fallen Elk cautiously. The spear is still inside. The Elk’s eyes are wide as he looks at both of them. He shakes with pain, fear and shock. He lies on his side, breathing shakily. She knows she must end his suffering.

She kneels before the creature. She covers his eyes with her hand.

“Shh…be at peace.” She pulls the spear out of him.

He doesn’t fight anymore.

She caresses him slowly with her other hand, finding his heart. It’s still beating strongly.

“Sacred creature of the forest…” Nova watches patiently.

“You have given your life so that I may continue mine.” His breathing slows as she points her spear.

“Your energy is gone, but will be reborn within me.” The Elk is completely relaxed. She thrusts the spear into him one final time.

“I will carry your nobility with me until the end of my days, when I will give my own body back to the Earth which I took from myself.”

She removes the spear, feeling his life force fade away.

“I will never forget.”

Nova doesn’t want to wait for a cooked meal this time. He digs in immediately at the rump of the Elk.

Tanika lets him feast as she cleans the blade and begins to skin the animal.

There is one hunter in these woods with an interest in this kill, besides Tanika and Nova.

He has remained quiet this whole time, but decides to make his presence known.

They both turn quickly to see him as he steps forward.

A giant brown grizzly bear.

~~~~

Chapter Twenty

Crack! The large rock impacts the sheet of ice and slides to the other side of the frozen pool. Tanika follows it. She picks up the rock and tosses it into the ice again.

This time, the impact shatters the ice into fragments. There’s no water flowing beneath, just another darker layer of frozen ice. She continues using the strength of the rock, breaking each layer.

Nova walks around and examines the pebbled expanse. He sniffs at the ground, occasionally pulling his head back with a look of disgust. Some of the pebbles are too hot to the touch, making him dance away and change directions.

Tanika digs through the broken ice layers until she finds the depth of her pit is suitable. Finally she throws the huge slabs of Elk meat inside of the pit and buries them with the broken ice shards. This will help preserve the meat.

Now that the work is over, she can explore the remaining springs. The whole area seems to have been untouched by any human presence. The next natural spring isn’t radiating steam but bubbles from the depths below.

She had seen Nova drinking from it earlier. She tosses a pebble into the water and watches it slowly sink. It disappears into the beautiful turquoise depths below.

The water is perfectly clear, as if the Earth had filtered it for eons. She kneels down, using both hands to scoop out a taste. The temperature is ice cold, hurting her joints a bit as she brings it up to her lips.

The taste is delicious, much better than the melted snow ice they were drinking before. She gulps it down, feeling instantly refreshed.

The adjacent pool bubbles with life, sending a copious amount of steam into the air. The boiling water spills out in all directions, forming mini streams in-between the stones. A large area nearby doesn’t have any rocks, just a blackened mineral mud pit where the boiling water has seeped into the ground.

As she walks closer the water’s edge, she makes the same discovery Nova did. The rocks themselves are much too hot to even touch. She nearly blisters her feet in the attempt. Tanika realizes she can use the hot surface to cook on, without the need for a fire.

A branch of the boiling stream leads her to the final water pit. She tiptoes around cautiously until she reaches it. The water is murky with grayish brown mineral silt flowing through it. The depth appears to be fairly shallow. She looks for Nova, who is busy marking his territory at the far end of the camp.

The entrance to this water pit is free of rocks, just soft mineral clay varying in multiple colors of swirling rust. The water itself is ankle deep and slowly slopes down into further depths.

She slowly steps into it until her foot is submerged. The water is perfectly warm. It seems to be an ideal fusion of the two prior springs. She rests her weight down, feeling the soft clay as it squishes between her toes.

She puts her other foot in and steps forward. The soft Earth squishes and bubbles around both of her feet, releasing much tension and ache.

She smiles, and reaches behind her back, slowly untying her top. She adjusts her shoulders and pulls it off her body, tossing it onto some dry rocks to the side.

Next she runs her thumbs along her waistband, bending forward slightly and wiggling her body as she pulls her bottom piece down past her knees. She points her right toes down as she lifts her leg up and over it. Next she uses her left leg to step out of her bottom. She tosses it next to her bra top.

Tanika feels eyes on her naked body. Of course, they are Nova’s. She turns around to see him nearby. He’s eyeing her up and down with dilated pupils. It seems he has missed the sight of her naked beauty. He licks his lips and pants.

She smiles in return, and turns around to pull her hair back. She walks forward until the water is up to her knees. It’s almost too hot but she can easily adjust to it.

Nova lies down, watching patiently.

She steps forward until her waist is submerged. The water feels so good. It bubbles and massages every inch of her naked body. She drops to her knees in the warm water, letting it cover her shoulders.

She turns to face Nova, and playfully splashes water on him.

“Nova! Come in! The water is perfect!”

He responds by shaking the water from his fur. He doesn’t seem interested.

She laughs and continues enjoying the mineral bath. She can feel all of the dirt and dried Elk blood leaving her skin. She closes her eyes, and plugs her nose as she completely submerges herself in the welcoming waters. She uses her other hand to scoop up some silt from below.

She raises her face from the water, floating on her back as she treats her arms and legs with the cleansing soil. Nova guards dutifully, watching for any approaching predators. Luckily there are none.

She runs her fingers through her wet hair, feeling built-up dirt and oil leaving it. She stands up; letting her upper half feel the cool air.

Her fingers easily move through her hair as she pulls it behind her back, wringing out the water. The cool air is inviting as she steps forward up the slope. Nova watches as she emerges from the water.

Steam radiates from her naked brown skin. He admires her full frontal beauty again as water drips from her feminine curves.

The pool is once again up to her ankles as she wipes the cool water droplets from her skin. Nova stands up and walks toward her clothing. He leans down and grips both items in his mouth, carrying them over to her.

She smiles.

“You are so helpful!” Tanika leans down to retrieve them from his grip. Nova jerks his head away, stepping back out of reach.

She steps forward to him again, and swipes her hand quickly trying to grab her garments. Nova is too quick and bolts away a few meters. He stands with his back toward her, but turns his head to meet her eyes.

Tanika raises an eyebrow. Nova drops the items down in front of him. He raises his head and looks at her flirtatiously as he pants.

“Hm…” she says out loud, folding her arms as she walks casually toward him. She quickens her pace slightly. His ears perk up and he closes his mouth, watching closely.

Just as she’s getting within reach, she leans down and extends her hand to quickly snatch the items.

Nova is one step ahead of her.

He quickly grips them in his mouth, looking up at her before bolting away. Tanika collapses to the ground in her attempt.

She’s laughing while Nova runs toward the forest.

“Nova! You are a scoundrel!” She yells at him. “I’m going to catch you!”

~~~~

Chapter Twenty-Two

Every night it’s the same. He leaves her to sound his mournful cry. Sometimes she can sleep through it, other times it’s more difficult. Each time he disappears, she knows he’ll return.

The two of them have become effective hunters. They mostly target smaller game, and only when it’s absolutely necessary. Tanika has converted her bow drill into an efficient hunting bow. The branches from the ancient tree make perfect arrows, and fly with incredible precision and speed.

She occasionally finds traces of the bear. She knows their alliance with it is fickle at best, and it’s always a source of tension in the back of her mind.

For every mistake she makes during the hunt, she learns and adapts on their next run. She and Nova communicate like a well-oiled machine. She even taught Nova a series of whistles. One for parry left, parry right, return it back, and ambush.

Nova’s howling is something she can’t quite grasp. Additionally, she feels an unknown sense of longing within herself.

Tanika sits by the rocky precipice, carving a ceremonial wood pipe. Nova carries his favorite toy, a half chewed up piece of driftwood, toward her. He drops the item by her feet, looking up at her.

“Not now, Nova.”

He barks in response with a soft whine. She ignores him.

Nova nuzzles his head under her hands as she continues carving. Tanika impatiently turns away. Nova doesn’t give up easily, taking the toy in his mouth and half jumping up in her lap.

“I said no!” She yells, pushing him away.

Nova drops the item, pausing to look at her with a puzzled expression. She refuses to meet his eyes. He walks away and slumps down, letting out a sigh while he rests his chin on his front paws.

She can only continue carving for so long. She drops her tools to examine the chewed up driftwood.

“Nova!”

His ears perk up as he looks up at her. She stands up and throws the wood in the air as hard as she can. Nova arches his head, tracking it as it sails across the enclosure.

He springs into action, chasing it with great speed. She watches him leap into the air and catch the item in his jaws gracefully. He shakes his head playfully when he lands, then trots back toward her.

She starts to sob as he drops the item by her feet again. She kneels down to meet him, gently petting the soft fur of his ears.

“I’m sorry.” She says, sniffing.

Nova licks the tears off her cheek without hesitation.

“I don’t know why you stay with me.”

She’s easily forgiven. His love for her is truly unconditional. She spends the rest of the late afternoon with him. They run together and play fetch until hunger starts to catch up once more.

As the evening starts to encroach, she decides to build a fire. She will prepare a delicious meal with blended vegetation, herbs and spices. While the meat cooks, she ignites the traditional herb in her newly forged pipe. It’s the first time she will partake of it since her first council fire.

Nova nips and chases the smoke when she exhales it from her lungs, making her laugh. She can feel the welcoming high and her heightened senses overcome her.

Nova becomes increasingly playful and silly. She adds the finishing touches to his dish, making sure it’s perfect. He wags his tail and sniffs at it before he feasts. She can tell he approves.

She sits by the fire and begins her meal. The taste is incredible as she gazes into the dancing flames.

“Nova, do you want to leave? Are we in danger here?”

He tilts his head at her while he licks and chews on a rib bone.

“I don’t know the answer.” She says thoughtfully.

Darkness surrounds them and the sounds of the night fill the air. The fire has died down to glowing radiating coals. Tanika yawns and stretches her arms. She walks toward their sleeping area.

Nova runs ahead of her. He blocks Tanika from her bedding.

“What?” She asks.

He responds by simply burying his snout into her crotch. He sniffs before pawing at her loincloth, trying to remove it.

“Oh…” she says and smiles.

She seductively and slowly slips it down her knees, making her genitals available to him. His tongue is quick to lap them. She notices the feeling right away; it’s different this time. Her loin is more sensitive; the pleasure is twice what it normally is.

His tongue lavishly laps her, even as she lies down. He follows her while she lays and parts her legs. The pleasure is intense as she grips and holds his fur.

“Nova…stop. It’s too much…”

He doesn’t obey. He just growls as he sensually eats her. She moans louder than before. Her orgasm is twice as long and intense. She squeezes her thighs around him as she uncontrollably convulses. Every detail of his long tongue radiates through her.

It must have been the herbal smoke; even her sexual senses are heightened. It seems to have the same affect on Nova. Their lovemaking is drawn out throughout the night.

Both of them shake and convulse like never before, even as they mate.

“We need to do this more often…” She says as she trails off into sleep.

Nova falls asleep along with her as he finishes. His engorged knot remains deep inside of her body as both of them slip into unconsciousness.

Later, an otherwise perfect evening is contrasted by an intense nightmare.

Tanika grimaces in her sleep. She hears people screaming. She feels terror as they run around her. She calls out to them with no response. Soon the people are on fire, and all of the shelters around her ignite. The entire village in her vision goes up in flames.

Tanika screams as she bolts up from her sleep. She drips a cold sweat, breathing heavily.

Nova is by her side. He whines in concern, sniffing at her face.

She stands quickly, throwing on her thick Elk furs and shoes. Nova stands and paces around nervously. She gathers her weapons and other supplies, quickly slinging them over her shoulder before she runs into the forest, leaving their camp behind.

Her eyes adjust quickly to the darkness as she makes her way through the woods. Nova loyally follows. The two of them comb their way through the thick obstacles, finally making their way to the frozen beach.

She stumbles onto her knees in the fine white sand, breathing heavily as she looks onward, across the frozen ice field.

The wall of fog separating the island from her home continent has lifted. She can see far into the vast distance.

Her heart sinks dreadfully.

In the sky, the Moon is dark and blood red. It casts an eerie orange glow in the clouded night sky. A column of black smoke, rising from the distant mountain range, divides the glowing sky.

The smoke is not coming from her home. She knows its origin.

It’s the P’tauli village.

“Nova…” She utters between heaving breathing.

“We must cross the ice.”

~~~~

Chapter Twenty-Four

Warriors surround them, pointing their weapons aggressively close. The spear tips are Clovis points made from a cloudy translucent material. She’s never seen it before. Tanika uses her limited range of movement to swing her spear at them, then thrusts her weapon forward at the closest man.

Someone in her blind spot grabs her spear, forcefully twisting and pulling it from her grasp. He nudges her off center, and she falls on her backside. The other warriors tighten the netting around her.

The man who took her spear is looking at it intently as he slowly steps into her view. He has a masculine look, red and black war paint striped all over his body and face. He wears a ceremonial necklace with eagle feathers jetting from his long black hair.

He looks distinguished between the other men in the party. A long leather shroud wraps around his right arm. He’s lean and muscular, shorter than Tanika. He seems to have a commanding presence as he runs his finger along Tanika’s ceremonial obsidian blade.

“Kill the beast!” One of them yells.

“No!” She returns defiantly, struggling in the netting.

She manages to roll in front of Nova as a shield. She spouts a colorful barrage of threats and curse words at the men.

The leader points a clenched fist in the air and shakes his head in a ‘No’ motion, never taking his eyes away from the black blade. Tanika hurls her insults at him, which escape his ears as he continues to ignore her.

Nova growls a deep guttural ferocity as he chews on the netting, eyeing the men. The warriors step backwards nervously, but keep their spears aimed. The leader hands over Tanika’s spear to a man next to him, asking him to examine it. Then the leader hunches down and meets Tanika at eye level.

“You’re ungrateful.” He says smugly.

“What?!” She snarls. “Give that back!”

He continues. “My men saved you from this beast, and this is the thanks we receive? And you won’t even let us kill it? Shame.”

“Listen! ‘It’ is named Nova! He is my ally! You saved me from nothing. You are a fool!” She retorts.

The leader seems to grin. He tilts his head.

“Allies? Allies! Ah Ha Ha!”

His tone is jovial and booming. He stands up and folds his arms. He looks down at her before arching his head backwards in another of his exaggerated laughs.

“Ha ha ha!”

The other man returns the spear to the leader and nods his head. The leader thrusts the end into the ground in a dramatic motion. He pulls out a small wooden whistle, pressing it to his lips. It doesn’t seem to make an audible noise, but Nova reacts to it. He places his whistle away and extends his right arm horizontally.

Within a few moments, a gust of wind swirls around the leader. A mild tornado of debris twists in the air as the source of the wind gust comes into view amongst the flurry.

A large golden eagle, the one which had been circling high above, swoops down and grips the leather arm shroud with its mighty talons.

The eagle stretches his wings out as he lands, giving the leader an almost angelic appearance before it finds its balance and folds its wings away. It shines dark brown feathers with lighter golden-brown coloring along his napes. The eagle has additional white markings along his and tail. It looks down at Tanika, tilting his head and blinking its predatory yellow eyes.

The leader feeds it a piece of meat before slipping a small leather hood over its beak and head, blinding it. He moves the eagle up to an unseen perch along his shoulders.

“Allies. Ha!” The other warriors seem to find his performance entertaining.

He steps to the side, hunching down to meet Nova.

“What is this word…’Nova?’ I have not heard this word.” He says to Tanika.

His eyes remain fixed into Nova’s, as they have staring match.

“It means ‘star birth.’” She replies.

Snap! Nova lunches forward with a slight growl, nipping in the air toward the man’s face. He flinches instinctively backward, startled. The eagle flaps his wings as it regains its balance. The man can only respond with a nervous laughter to save face.

“Star Birth! Fascinating… I don’t thinking our netting will contain a Star Birth. Sorry men, you will be killed first when he breaks free. But…when I fight Star Birth and win, he will make a fine fur coat.” He folds his arms as he stands, seemingly analyzing how Tanika will respond.

“It’s your skin he will wear as a coat!” She hisses back at him.

“Good one!” He says before pausing. The men around him seem to look concerned. The leader continues.

“No. It’s your people who wear wolf skins. Not ours.” He pulls Tanika’s spear from the ground before squatting down to meet her at eye level once more.

“What are you taking about?” She quips defensively.

He points her spear tip toward her. “Why do you approach our village with weapons of war??” He says inquisitively.

“They are not weapons of war! I am a hunter. Release me at once!” She replies.

“Ha! A girl hunter… with a wolf as an ally…now I’ve seen everything! I think if I release you, you’ll finish the attack your people started and kill us all.” He inhales slowly through his nose.

“I am no warrior. I don’t know what happened…I came here because I want to help. I have seen the black smoke!”

“You’ve seen nothing.” He retorts. “You wish to help? You’re too late. I think you led your people here.”

“I did no such thing! I have been exiled. I am no leader.”

“A likely story!” He injects sarcastically. “A girl hunter arrives holding a leader’s blade, with weapons of war, all after a sudden attack on my people? If I’m to believe you…can you command the wolf to spare our lives?”

“I can try.” She says ominously.

“You can try?” He replies. ”Good enough! Let’s try it.” The leader says confidently.

“Are you crazy?” One of the men blurts out.

“Of course I am, but what more do we have to lose? Set the wolf free!” He booms toward them.

“Release me first!” Tanika demands.

He eyes her up and down. “Hm. Very well. Put your arms behind your back.”

She does as instructed. She shifts her shoulders to move her arms in the constrictive netting. A warrior lifts the netting up behind her and begins to tie Tanika’s wrists together.

“If you attempt anything, you and your wolf are dead.” He says matter-of-factually.

“Fine. If you or your men do anything to Nova or myself, I will show you what I can do with restrained wrists.” She says with confidence.

The leader grabs her netting and lifts it up over her. The other warrior stands her upright once he’s done tying her wrists together.

“Someday I would like to see what you could do with restraint.” He says with a grin. “Please, see to your ally.” He motions his arm over to Nova.

She walks around to Nova, still tangled in his own netting. Seeing him trapped this way makes her angry. She hunches down to see him.

“Nova, it’s alright. I’m alright.” He whines a confused tone as he tries to lick at her face. “We have to trust them…for now. Do not attack!”

“Why do you speak words at it?” One of them blurts out. “It won’t understand. It’s just a beast.”

She looks over at him. “He most certainly understands words. Don’t interrupt!”

The leader nods his head. “Continue.” He says to Tanika.

“We’re going to be alright.” She says to Nova.

He seems to understand despite his confused expression.

“Release the netting.” She says to them.

It takes a moment for one of the men to be brave enough to step close. He leans down and grabs the net, pulling it away from Nova and swiftly stepping away. He quickly aims his spear in a defensive position. The rest of the men aim their spears in a synchronized militant fashion.

“Put your weapons away! Now!” She yells.

The leader motions for them to comply. They each holster their weapons, reluctantly. Nova growls and sidesteps, looking each man in the eye. He turns completely around to guard Tanika.

“Nova! It’s all right. Be at peace!” He slows his breathing, never making himself vulnerable as he moves around her. He sniffs at her wrist restraints before nipping at them, trying to free her.

She scoots away. “Not now. Stay with me.” He whines in anxiety but keeps by her side.

“Fascinating.” The leader says. “I never thought I would see such a thing. So far, you have spoken truth. What is your name, girl?”

“I am Tanika.” She straightens her posture. “What is your name?”

“I am called Anax.” He replies. “I am leader of the mighty P’taul. We will lead you and Star Birth to our village. Our elders will decide if the rest of your story is the truth. You will remain restrained, and walk ahead of us. We must move now, before nightfall.” He points his finger at the trailing black smoke.

“I agree, Anax.” She motions to Nova, who starts walking ahead of her. She follows him as the rest of them slowly gather behind, aiming their spears once more. They remain mostly silent as they trek forward.

One man behind the party is holding Tanika’s pack around his neck. He doesn’t carry any weapons. His right arm is missing from the elbow onward. He uses his left arm to open her pack, and sift through her belongings. He puts something in her pack up to his nose, and makes a peculiar expression.

“What are you doing, Protis?” Anax barks.

“She carries a stink weed. I’ve never seen it before.” Protis replies.

“Don’t put that in your mouth! It could be poison.” He pulls it back suddenly, still looking at it as they walk.

Tanika turns her head back. “That’s not poison! It’s sacred. It’s meant to bring tribes together!”

“I trust her. I will taste it!” He says jovially.

“It’s not meant for eating, it’s meant for smoking. It’s not yours it’s for everyone. Maybe I will share it, if you spare our lives!” She yells back.

“Enough! No talk. Put it away Protis!” Anax sounds a bit irritated.

Protis sighs and returns it to her pack. “You’re no fun, Anax. Can I at least touch the wolf’s fur?”

“If you wish to lose your other arm, you can try it!” Another man yells jokingly.

“What is an arm for, if not to lose it?” He quips back. The men start laughing.

“Enough!” Anax injects. “Keep walking.”

They don’t have to travel much further until the village comes into view. A huge mountain of glacial ice surrounds an enclave. The glacial ice slopes down, blinding the source of the billowing smoke, which lies around the bend.

There are makeshift structures built up around the edge of the ice wall. Burned shards of wood and debris are scattered all around. Tanika squints her eyes to see people, which she can’t.

Nova stops and appears cautious.

A familiar and faint voice carries down to her.

“Tanika! Tanika! Is that really you?”

~~~~

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Nova walks into the cave as Tanika lowers her head to enter. She traces her hand along the melted frozen structure of the ice wall.

“The air feels warm! I was not expecting that.”

The end of the tunnel appears to connect to a larger opening.

“This place was discovered by Protis.” Anax explains. “The ice holds many mysteries.”

Nova confidently trots ahead into the larger area, sniffing around the edges.
Her eyes widen as she enters the room after Nova. It’s a large nexus with other tunnels diverging in different directions. Many of them seem to be constructed by the P’taul but have been left unfinished.

The ice varies in height as it forms natural steps and slopes nearing each pathway. Stalactites and Stalagmites are richly formed and spaced apart throughout the spacious area. The walls stretch upward to great heights, shifting from blue and green hues into a white ceiling high above. The ceiling has a cloudy translucence that allows enough sunlight to illuminate the entire area.

Nova’s steps echo throughout the room as he disappears down one of the offshoot tunnels.

“What is this place? It’s amazing!” Her voice swirls around the vast cavern walls like fluid.

“We P’taul have an appreciation for the ice. There is much to learn from it before it melts away.” Anax folds his arms as she walks around in admiration.

Tanika walks to the other side of the room, tracing her fingers along a peculiar ice formation. Within the ice wall is embedded a series of green vines, artistically weaved around other green vegetation. The frozen plant life appears to be intentionally placed as it weaves between multicolored flowers.

“What is this? It’s beautiful.” She says to Anax. “Did you find it this way?”

Anax points down a tunnel to their left, the one Nova disappeared into.

“Do you hear it?” He says to her.

She leans in to listen. The subtle sound of running water echoes throughout. Tanika follows the winding tunnel until the sound gets louder. She enters another beautiful blue area with a small waterfall intermittently pouring into a deep green pool of water. Nova sniffs at the edge, walking around a complex ring of stones placed there to contain the pool.

“Star Birth is wise to not drink of that water.” Anax says as he enters the room with them.

“How come?” She replies, cautiously looking into the green pool and at her own reflection.

“This water will freeze anything it touches. Have you ever wondered how Protis lost his arm?” He says, nodding his head toward the pool.

“It was this water?”

Anax nods. “Protis was curious and touched the water. In an instant, his arm was completely frozen. He was amazed by it, but as he displayed it to us he hit his arm along the glacial wall. It shattered and became as dust.”

Tanika raises her eyebrows. Anax chuckles.

“I told him I would put his arm back together, but I cannot find all the pieces.”

Nova moves away from the pool and treks onward through the labyrinth of tunnels.

“Nova, don’t go too far.” She says to him.

“All tunnels lead back to the center, don’t worry. There is a second fountain much like this one, on the other side. Let me take you there.”

Tanika and Anax walk beyond the green pool. He leads her through a similar cavern, not too far away. The next room they enter has a waterfall similar to the green one. This one emits steam but doesn’t seem to have an affect on the ice around it. The water is cloudy, with a white milky consistency.

“This pool will melt anything. Another one you don’t want to touch.”

“What is the purpose of something like this?” Tanika asks with curiosity.

“We are not sure, but Protis and the elders were studying it. You see, when the waters of this pool meet the waters of the other one, you can do some amazing things.”

Anax leads her down another tunnel. She can hear Nova’s footsteps in the distant tunnel system. Along the walls she sees various hand crafted tools frozen within.

“It’s difficult to get the right mixture, but once you do, you can suspend life within the ice.”

As they keep walking, Tanika studies each frozen object embedded within. There are miscellaneous animal bones and plants each lined up in various stages of growth. Another section contains a large school of fish. She looks down, studying each of them.

“We can preserve anything and forge it into a block of ice. That’s how we made these walls.” He says to her.

“It’s amazing. Did my Grandfather know about this place?”

Anax nods. “I took him here personally. Remember when I told you about my people hunting the mammoth?”

“Yes, I still don’t know if I believe it.” She quips.

“When my people were leaving mammoth bodies to waste away, I had the elders preserve the meat in secret. Down there.” He points down another great tunnel as they reach the nexus.

“I told your Grandfather that we were going to solve the famine. We did.”

“You have a collection, of everything?” She asks him.

“Not everything, but enough to feed a tribe for many sun voyages. We have a collection of seeds, but no decent soil to plant them. Your Grandfather said our tribes could trade, and we could use your sacred meadow. A shame that will no longer happen.”

“Yes, a shame. Our meadow stopped bearing food.” She says while examining a strange object in another ice wall. It’s a section of tree bark with a series of strange carvings colored with dark ink.

“What is this?”

“I was hoping you could tell me.” Anax replies.

“Me? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Anax folds his arms. “Strange. We found them near your village.”

“There are more?” She asks eagerly. “And they were found near us?”

Anax nods. “We think the symbols represent words. It’s always the same message.”

“What does it say?”

Anax leans forward and traces his finger along each symbol. “We think this symbol represents ‘father’ and this symbol is ‘eternity.’ This one is ‘gift.’ This other one is ‘sun’ or ‘power.’”

Tanika nods as he continues explaining.

“We think this message says: ‘Here is a gift to eternity Father. Eternity Father gift me the Sun in return.’”

Tanika’s face is flushed. “Demur! It came from Demur!”

Anax pauses with a look of concern.

“What?” She asks him eagerly.

“There is more. These messages…they were found with dead boys, usually very young. Hunters…they were tied to a tree, usually with a wound in their chest or heart. We thought it was a member of our tribe, but we never found the culprit.”

Tanika collapses to the ground. She covers her face before punching the ice as hard as she can. The loud thud echoes throughout the cavern. Anax places his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

“We thought we were losing our hunters to the beasts of the wild…but it was just a ritual. A pointless evil ritual! What a fool!” She stands up with force, brushing herself off.

“Are you alright?” Anax asks.

“I’m fine.” She says sniffing.

“Walk with me.” He says calmly, guiding her down the final passageway.

“Did my Grandfather tell you… that we were to bond?” She asks him, trying to change the subject.

Anax sighs. “I knew I was supposed to bond with a woman…But I never wanted to.” Tanika looks at him curiously.

“You didn’t?”

“Well, no. You see, I never…”

“Never, what?” She asks insistently.

“I never…well, I prefer other… men.” Anax says with a hint of reluctance.

“And…what?” She responds.

“And…your tribe doesn’t find this wrong?” He asks with puzzlement.

Tanika laughs slightly. “No. It is not wrong in our eyes.”

“Well it is a great shame in my tribe. Auctor and I must keep it a secret.”

The two of them enter another large room. It has a pool in the center, with handcrafted waterways converging from two directions.

“This is where we forge life into the ice. We’ve constructed channels for the two water sources. Mixing the two is not easy. It is a craft that may be lost to us, since Demur slaughtered most of elders that studied it.”

Tanika turns her head as she hears Nova approaching from another tunnel. “Auctor is your other?” She says with a smile. “You hide it very well.”

Anax smiles too. “Auctor is threatened by you. I can read him. He is jealous even though he has not said it.”

Nova pants happily as he approaches Tanika. “Tell Auctor not to worry, I have my own other.” She says while gently scratching the top of Nova’s head.

“I want you to know that trust you to keep these secrets.” Anax replies.

“I will keep your secrets, if you keep my secret.” Tanika says gently.

“Thank you. But, you have a secret?” He says inquisitively.

“Yes.”

She smiles, placing her hands on her tummy. She looks down at her hands.

“I am carrying a child.”

~~~~

Chapter Thirty-Three

The hunting party finishes adhering the final pieces of camouflage to their clothing. They will use dried grass and dark face paint to blend into the surroundings. The large flat plain before them slowly slopes upward. A snowy mountain range is seen in the hazy distance. Although the grass is mostly dried, a few green blades sporadically jet up amongst the field. It’s not hard to imagine a large herbivore exploring the tundra here.

The hunters will have to split into two teams, and then converge on the Mammoth from opposite directions. Ideally, they would approach an entire herd. They would frighten them, and use their fear to lead them in whichever direction was most suitable. The slowest of the bunch would become the primary target. Other more grisly tactics included leading a herd into a narrow pass before rolling large boulders onto them from above. Today’s landscape doesn’t afford them this tactic.

Since arrows have little to no affect on the animals, they have always had to use spears. P’tauli spears are specially designed. Not only do they have sharper points, but also they have a two-part chute system to allow for greater force and distance. Even with these advantages, close range is still a necessity and having a single target instead of a herd will provide a unique challenge.

Anax makes a few more gestures directed upward at Bunjil. He responds by banking his flight pattern to the left, then to the right before he continues circling high above the great Mammoth in the distance. The hunting party’s position on the slope continues to keep them obscured from view.

“That is good.” Anax whispers aloud.

“What is good?” Tanika responds quietly.

“There is a watering hole. Water means mud. Mud we can use to slow her down, or get her stuck.”

Tanika thinks a moment. Her request to spare the animal has sadly fallen on deaf ears, as the hunters desire a fresh kill.

“Bunjil told you all of that just now?” She asks.

“Well, just the first part.” Anax shrugs. “The rest I learned from observation. What else are allies for?”

“I am ready. I want to be the tip of the spear.” Raj says with certainty and confidence. Anax turns and puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Soon enough. I think wolf-girl would have my head if anything bad happened on your first Mammoth hunt.”

“Anax is correct!” Tanika says to Raj, nodding up and down. Anax scrunches his eyebrows.

“…Regardless, we will need to attack from two different directions. I need a better look.”

He crawls on his stomach up the slope slowly, using his forearms to propel forward. Tanika and the others follow up behind him.

“Keep your heads down.” Anax commands in a harsh whisper.

Slowly each member reaches the top of the slope. They gaze into the distance to see the silhouette of the great mastodon.

It stands with its back facing the hunting party in the near distance. Sure enough, there is a large collection of glacial melt forming a small lake that dissolves into a sizeable stretch of mud. The lumbering animal leans down, touching its trunk to the water. Bunjil continues to circle above it, his reflection likely appearing in the water beneath.

Anax scoots back down the hill.

“Perfect. She is here…” He begins an illustration in the ground with his finger.

“Toward us, there is a stretch of mud. I want our second half to move over there.” He points along the slope, motioning further down.

“Do you see?” He looks back at the hunters, making sure everyone is paying attention. Each member nods in agreement.

“Can Star Birth direct her into the mud?” He asks Tanika. She nods confidently in response.

“Good. Once she is in the mud, I want the tip of the spear to attack first. Then the second half will join with us from the opposite direction.”

Raj scoots in closer. “I understand.” He replies.

Anax smiles. “I know where you think you’re going, but I want you in the second half.” Raj sighs and slumps down. Anax looks down into his eyes.

“Next time. I promise you.” He points out a few warriors. “I want each of you to know that Raj is your commander.” He says with a wink. They smile and nod. Raj seems to beam back to life again with a grin.

“Move into position. Go!”

Raj and the second half of hunters quietly move along the slope down to the ambush point. Anax watches until they are far enough away to his liking before signaling them to stop.

“Alright wolf-girl. Show us your magic, like you did before.”

She scoots down the slope to meet Nova. She pets along his fur gently resting her hands on the back of his neck as she looks into his eyes. She guides him up the slope and points to the Mammoth in the distance.

“Just like before. Go get her!” She pats him and motions for him to run. Nova remains in place, looking at the Mammoth and then back at her.

“Go! Now!” She commands.

He pulls his ears back, whining with hesitation.

“What are you waiting for?” She repeats the motion.

“Come on, Nova…”

The hunters look at each other and then to Anax as he folds his arms. Nova looks onward. He pauses, taking a moment to gather up his nerve before he leaps up and bolts over the slope. He runs across the field as fast as he can toward the Mammoth.

The hunters quietly scoot up the hill, keeping low and silent as they watch the action unfold. Nova keeps his target in sight, never missing a step. An unfamiliar pungent aroma starts to fill his nostrils, as he gets closer. The hunters watch eagerly as Nova becomes smaller in the distance.

As Nova gets closer, the Mastodon’s towering height becomes increasingly intimidating. Regardless, he approaches the beast with the confidence that he has a thousand wolves behind him, even though he doesn’t. He slows down and enters the Mammoth’s shadow.

The elephant-like creature has a dark brown colored fur, which is matted and tangled in areas, with much dirt and oil. Flies swarm around the coat in sporadic areas. The source of the pungent aroma is clear to Nova, as the Mammoth must certainly have seen cleaner days.

The miniature lake is perfectly still, reflecting a perfect mirror image of the sky above before the Mammoth trunk touches it, sending concentric ripples throughout the image as it slurps up the delicious clear water. Nova pulls his ears back and begins his aggressive dance around the animal. He growls and snarls with much ferocity, making himself known and circling around to the edge of the lake.

She slowly coils her trunk upward, turning her massive head toward Nova. He barks up at her in an animated fury. She points her tusks right at him. They are pearl white, thick at the base then twisting to a fine point. Each tusk is longer than the length of Nova’s body. She could easily gut him in one swipe, though the great beast remains still. She slowly lowers her head and looks on him with giant hazel eyes, larger than grapefruit.

The mammoth inhales slowly. The air flowing into her lungs whistles and sounds similar to wind blowing through a rocky cavern. She blinks twice, turning her head away from Nova and returning to the lake for another drink. Nova tilts his head in puzzlement, and then continues his bark.

He nips at her front feet, not taking too kindly to being ignored. She lifts her front foot up as if to relieve a scratch while she sips the water. Nova runs around to her backside, leaping up and sinking his teeth into her rump. He receives a swat from her tail and the sting sends him back to the ground whining. He’s no more a nuisance than one of her flies.

Nova continues his assault, weaving under her massive hind legs. He leaps up at her stomach and sinks his teeth into her hanging tummy fur. He growls as he hangs on with his powerful jaws. He whips his head back and forth and his body twirls as he hangs on, suspended in the air. Nova’s hind legs aren’t even touching the ground as he continues to cling to an unresponsive mammoth while she takes another drink.

Anax loses his restraint and bursts out laughing. Tanika can only look on in bewilderment. Auctor grins as the rest of the men join Anax in a chorus of laughter. Nova drops to the ground and runs back to the front of the giant beast. He blocks her path to the water, growling and barking up at her fiercely. She responds by pointing her trunk at Nova. Soon a torrent of water sprays the noble wolf like a firehouse.

Nova is overwhelmed as he rolls away from her, carried by a stream of water and mud. He stands up, shaking and dripping wet. He watches as she turns away from him once more and takes another sip from the lake. Nova pulls his ears back, whining in defeat before running back toward the hunting party.

Anax wipes his eyes, chuckling as Nova approaches. “Oh star birth…that was good. That was a good show.”

Tanika reaches her hand out to him.

“What happened Nova?” She asks with a smile. He licks her hands, whimpering a little in humiliation.

“Oh, but that was so fierce! Who could resist such an attack?” Anax says mockingly.

Nova walks over toward him and shakes his fur, sending a barrage of water droplets at him. Everyone raises a hand to block the spray.

“I told you she was stubborn. We need a new plan.”

Everyone huddles together quietly as Anax animates a new strategy with his hands.

“The tip of the spear will need to guide her toward the mud pits. Then we’ll call for the second half, and strike together.”

He motions for Auctor to go explain it to the second half. He nods and runs quietly along the slope toward them.

“Do not pierce the animal with your spears until we are reunited with the second half. Only our combined attack will bring her down. We will only guide her, do you understand?”

Tanika and the other hunters nod in approval. Auctor comes running back, giving the signal that the other team is up to speed. Anax nods.

“We go now. Stay low.”

Anax climbs swiftly over the slope, remaining hunched down as he quickly and quietly charges toward the distant mammoth. Tanika, Auctor, and the rest of the hunters follow suit, each of them gripping their hunting spears. Their pace quickens as Anax presses forward.

The Mammoth hasn’t noticed the party charging toward her. They continue on a path that remains in her blind spot. Nova paces along side everyone, ready for a second encounter. Tanika’s heart pounds furiously the closer they get to their target. Just as they are about to be within reach, Anax stumbles to a stop. He signals for everyone else to stop, holding up a fist while he turns back at the group.

Tanika looks at him with a puzzled expression. Anax reaches for his whistle, looking up at Bunjil and blowing it before holding his arm up. His fingers are flat, pointed like a horizon line before he dips his fingers to the ground and moves his hand in a dive motion.

Everyone watches as Bunjil folds his wings in, diving straight down toward the mammoth. He falls toward it with incredible speed before opening his wings, flapping them to cushion his landing. The elegant predator grips its talons around the edge of one of the Mammoth’s tusks.

Bunjil opens his wings again, squawking loudly as he and the mammoth meet face to face. She lets out a startled bellow and shakes her head, freeing the bird. Bunjil flies up to land on top of her head, nipping his beak on her fuzzy ear.

“Now!” Anax yells.

He runs in front of the giant beast waving his arms and jabbing his spear toward her face. Tanika does the same thing, joining in at Anax’s left side. She yells at the Mammoth and jumps up and down slightly, waving her hands. Nova approaches the other side, barking furiously. The Mammoth’s eyes scan all around as she sees more and more hunters approaching her. She starts to panic, letting out a great roar.

“It’s working!” Auctor yells as he joins the fray.

The mammoth stands up on its hind legs. She kicks her front feet, as she gets taller and taller.

“She’s turning!” Anax yells as he shifts to the other side.

The Mammoth’s mouth is open wide in terror as she swats up at Bunjil with her trunk. Tanika finds herself lost in the moment, in awe of the great towering creature, even as its vast shadow falls right over Tanika. The giant Mammoth starts to pivot as its front end comes crashing down, directly toward Tanika.

~~~~

Chapter Thirty-Four

She feels something grip her arm painfully and jerk her away. She finds herself embraced in a hug with Auctor as they stumble and roll away. They look at each other intently for a moment before the Mammoth’s front feet return to the earth, right where Tanika was standing.

The impact of the Mammoth’s landing shakes the ground, causing everyone to lose his or her balance. Even Nova stumbles awkwardly, trying to regain his footing.

Anax lays on the other side of Tanika, looking at her and Auctor. “That was too cl..”

His eyes widen in fear. Anax yells a curse word before pressing both Auctor and Tanika’s face into the mud. Anax presses his own face down as well, just as two giant tusks sail over the top of them.

The Mammoth swings her head down and around as she turns, barely missing the trio as they lie face first on the ground. Anax springs to his feet and pulls both of them up with him as they quickly stumble out of harm’s way.

“Are you still with me, love?” Anax asks.

Auctor coughs and wipes his muddy face. “Always and forever, love.”

Tanika laughs nervously as she tries to regain composure. The other hunters continue jabbing their spears at the Mammoth, dancing around it strategically.
Bunjil continues to fly around the animal as a distraction. Anax composes himself and joins the other warriors.

“It’s working! She’s almost facing the mud!”

Tanika and Auctor grab their spears and rejoin the party, ignoring their muddy faces. The great Mammoth lets out another frightening roar and begins to retreat.

“Chase her!” Anax commands loudly.

Everyone jogs alongside the startled creature as it gallops toward the thicker mud stretch. Nova runs faster than the others, jumping alongside the Mammoth, nipping in the air. The hunters re-group with even numbers on both sides of the Mammoth.

“That’s it! Guide it to the mud!” He yells, trying to maintain order.

Nova runs between the creature’s massive legs as it gallops. The shaking ground causes everyone to stumble but they maintain a safe distance and speed.

“Careful Nova!” Tanika yells between heavy breathing.

She looks ahead as the ambush spot draws closer.

“We’re almost there! Don’t let her pivot!” He barks.

The Mammoth swings her head to the right, knocking three of the hunters to the ground. Auctor stops to help them up. Anax looks back at them as they pass, but presses forward with the rest of the men. Below his feet, the ground starts to feel thicker and sloppier.

“Stay to the side! Don’t get stuck! We’re nearly there!” He yells at them. The fallen hunters try to catch up once they regain footing.

“Second half! Get into position now!” He yells.

By the time they get to the ideal spot, their combined attack will conclude the hunt. Everything is going according to plan as the panicked Mammoth starts to slow down.

“Tip of the spear! Get on the right side!” The hunters dart around, and regroup to prepare for the final strike. The ambush sight comes into view.

“Second half! Begin your attack!” Anax yells, gripping his spear.

The hunters in Anax’s party aim their spears, waiting for Anax’s command. Tanika runs alongside Anax, keeping her eyes on Nova as he continually darts back and forth. One of the hunters falls down as the mud becomes too much for him. Soon, another one falls behind. Strangely, the Mammoth has not slowed down. The mud is proving to be more of a challenge to the hunters.

“Second half! Attack now!” Anax looks around, noticing a surprising lack of support. He curses out loud at the men.

“Tip of the spear! Attack!”

His command is too late. The hunters who have maintained the chase are ineffective as they toss their spears at the Mammoth. She shrugs away the few weapons that sink into her shoulder. Many of the men have lost their stamina, out of breath and exhausted after running in the mud. The Mammoth ends up running out of reach, and into the distance. Once again escaping Anax’s hands.

He stops running to catch his breath for a moment in frustration. Tanika and Nova slow down and approach him. As the Mammoth disappears, he turns to face his men.

“Second half! Where were…” Anax’s tone begins in anger, but trails off as he looks at the ambush sight with a stunned expression.

“Anax?” Tanika asks in bewilderment.

Anax drops his spear and runs toward the spot. Nova runs with him.

“Anax!” She yells, running to catch up.

She watches as he slumps to his knees next to a fallen body. Tanika quickens her pace to catch up. Auctor begins running along side her. The rest of the hunters join in. She stumbles to a stop, gasping as she sees the body. Several arrows jet out of the young hunter’s back.

Anax stands up, looking at the blood on his hands. Blood stains the ground all around them, in giant pools. One by one she sees more dead bodies. Nova frantically weaves around each young hunter’s body, licking their faces in vain as he tries to wake them up. He whines a mournful confused tone as he looks at Tanika with sad eyes.

Each member of second half has been slain. Then it hits her.

“Where is Raj?!”

She walks frantically around the massacre site, turning over each body.

“Raj? Raj!” Tears are streaming down her face as she passes over them one by one.

Auctor checks each of the hunter’s pulses but doesn’t find anyone alive.

Nova’s sad whine turns into a viscous growl. He bares his teeth and pulls his ears back violently. Tanika turns to face the direction he’s pointed. Across the plain, off in the distance, three horse riders stare back at Tanika. They remain perfectly still.

She squints her eyes to get a better view. Two of the men sit atop their horses while the middle one stands next to his. She steps forward and covers the sun from her face to get a better view.

There is a fourth figure, much smaller. He’s on his knees with his hands tied behind his back. A look of fear is stricken across his face. Another restraint covers his mouth.

“Raj!” Tanika screams. Her voice echoes across the tundra.

The third figure pulls a hood over Raj’s face, and then picks him up. He slowly carries him over to his horse and slings him over it like a piece of meat. Raj lets out a muffled, barely audible scream. The man swiftly seats his horse before pointing his finger directly at Tanika.

The horse riders’ clothing appears to be made of bones and skin, giving them an almost demonic appearance.

Tanika scowls. “Demur!” She screams viciously.

Her forcefulness maintains across the plain as her voice reaches the men. The rider lowers his pointed finger, as he slowly pivots his horse away. The other two riders follow suit, then the three of them gallop away.

Nova darts after the horse riders at full speed, on a direct path to save his friend.

~~~~

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Tanika stands at the bow of the ship. She assumes a confident stance, the pose of a mythical figurehead, bound and determined. She looks onward toward the setting sun, watching the watery horizon as though she had complete command of it. The vessel carries them along the coast line which is on their left, through mostly calm waters. Their boat leaves behind a chevron shaped wake, radiating in all directions.

The P’tauli warriors, both young and old, routinely steer the boat with their oars. They are all painted for war, with black and gray stripes hand marked across their mostly naked bodies. Their wrists and ankles are wrapped in dark stained shells forming sections of armor. A cool ocean breeze rolls over the group much to their delight, as they build up a sweat from rowing.

Tanika wears a Mammoth fur garb along with the same armaments around her wrists and ankles. Her face is painted with a single black stripe wrapping around her eyes, which seems to illuminate them. Smaller gray stripes outline the single black one, giving her an almost wolf-like appearance. A small white star is painted on her forehead, with black and gray stripes lining her arms and legs.

The occasional floating ice chunk knocks into the hull of the ship, the thud squeaks the fine mesh netting that encompass the vessel, rattling Tanika’s nerves. She can not show it though, not in front of the men.

When Auctor and the warriors slid the boat into the sea earlier, she had to be the first one to board it. Having never been on a ship, plus her recent phobia of drowning, in addition to everyone watching her, meant that she didn’t have most sea-worthy of legs. She fell over a couple of times as she tried to find her balance, once nearly capsizing the vessel.

The warriors laughed. One of them joked to the man next to him that Tanika’s stumble meant that it would be easy to rape her on the boat. He thought he had said it quietly enough, but he didn’t. The only thing she had to do was whip out her beautiful obsidian blade, displaying it to everyone before casually using the point of the blade to clean her fingernails.

“Go ahead and try it.” She says shrugging. “It’s been a while since I’ve tasted human blood. I miss it dearly.”

The blade, in and of itself, was enough to command authority. However, it was the certainty and inflection in her voice that left the warrior feeling genuinely disturbed. The rest of the men fell in line immediately after that. Auctor smiled, knowing she would be just fine in his absence. She knew she couldn’t look weak, not if she was about to lead the men into a potential battle.

She had decided from this point onward, she wouldn’t be controlled by her fears any longer. If she was meant to drown, she would let go and embrace it. Grandfather had once told her that it is far worse to fear doing something than to actually do it. She tried to repeat those words in her mind during the difficult times when she needed to hear it.

It was this kind of defiant attitude which allowed her to face her fear of the wolf. Once she did that, things turned out much differently than she had expected. She thought of the love that Nova had shown her, and given to her.

She thought of love he displayed when he ran after Raj without a moment’s hesitation. It made Tanika love Nova that much more. She knew the priority of the mission was to rescue Raj and get out of there quickly, but she secretly hoped she could find Nova and bring the pair of them home. At the very least, she hoped to find answers.

The sky turns into a golden red as the sun gets smaller and smaller in the distance. They continue to press onward, they should reach their destination well into nightfall. This was a new experience for all of them, not just Tanika. It had been many sun voyages since the P’taul had used shipping vessels at the motherland.

The warriors did as the elders instructed, and performed well. As long as the crew stayed near the coast, they could travel up and down the landscape without catching a cross-current and being swept out to the sea.

The ship itself was speedy, but it would still be quite some time before they found the river, in addition to navigating it to the insertion point within the sacred meadow. Tanika hoped the dam would be broken as Auctor had predicted. Otherwise, it would be a long walk to her village. They would have to consider abandoning the mission, something she was increasingly determined not to do.

She eyes the features of the steep coastline that they travel along. With the small amount of remaining sunlight, she examines a familiar looking slope. It looks just like the one she had tumbled down, during the night of the pursuit. To her right, she should be able to find her island. The visibility is very clear this evening as she looks down an empty ocean until it meets the clouds in the horizon. She squints her eyes analytically.

“It must be here,” She thinks to herself.

“I know I’m not crazy.”

The voyage continues. Day transitions into night. The Moon trades places with the Sun, and the ocean turns from a deep blue into a deep black. The vessel parts through endless fields of floating broken ice, yet continues to remain intact. It’s a fine example of P’tauli craftsmanship.

The men continually joke and banter among each other as they row. They speculate about rescuing some of the captured P’tauli women, and how there would be a “reward-orgy” on the boat ride home.

“Maybe we can rescue a couple of them from the wolf-girl’s tribe!” One comments.

“Not for me! My cock only works inside of P’tauli pussy.”

“We can’t have sex on the boat because the movement would capsize us! It won’t work.” One of the men adds. “..And who would be left to row the boat if we’re all making love?”

“You will row us, since you are the most ugly.”

“No, no. All of you have it wrong! They will each sit on our laps, and we will all row as we fuck them!”

“Don’t you know that rowing while fucking only makes you cum harder?” Another adds, to much laughter from the group.

Tanika smiles and shakes her head. Some things never change, no matter which tribe you belong to, she concludes. At least it keeps them focused, and distracted from potential death.

“Up ahead!” Tanika yells, silencing their filth. “This looks like our channel! Take us in.” She commands.

The coastline levels out and opens up to a partial reservoir. The warriors steer the vessel into it. The further they go down the channel, the more she can see the remains of a broken dam. Auctor was right.

Tanika had wondered if this dam was used to make a lake, or perhaps a fishing hole, anything but the grisly image Auctor had painted. The dam looked as though it had fractured the stream, sending it in multiple directions, which only eroded this portion of land into a marshy mess. Those days are over now, as the river seems to have taken back its original shape from long ago.

“It really looks like it…that it was made to starve the land, and us. My people. But..why?” She muses out loud. “If the stream had continued, we could have at least managed through the drought..How did we not know about this place?”

How could Grandfather not know? She thinks to herself. Each warrior struggles to form an answer to her questions, so they opt to remain silent.

Grandfather must have had more pressing issues, like peace with the P’taul, Tanika concludes to herself. This dam is also in wolf territory, many wouldn’t want to venture.

She was always told that the river had dried up from natural causes, but that is no longer true. They were also told the young hunters were being killed in the forest by the wolves. She remembers the inscription from Demur that the P’taul found, and how it alluded to him sacrificing a child to gain power.

Is that what this was about? Sacrificing the land too? She didn’t know what to think anymore. Much of what she had learned was a lie. She knew the old ways were good, but she was the last of the old ways, her and Raj. The rest had died in the purge, which now seemed so long ago.

“Look!” One of them whispers, pointing at the river bank.

They each remain still as the boat slowly carries them by a human skeleton laying out along the shoreline. This was a detail she had hoped Auctor was wrong about, but there it was, staring back at her. More and more bones come into view, on each side of the channel. The skeletons vary in shape and size, but they have all been arranged in a symbolic, ritualistic fashion. The display is unknown, but clearly intentional.

“This is a bad omen! We must turn back!” One of the men yells loudly.

Tanika turns back at him fiercely. “We are not turning back! Steady forward!” She commands before turning to face ahead. “Ready your spears. Keep silent until we reach the Sacred Forrest.” She finishes.

Each man rows the boat quietly as they leave the valley of death. As they press on, walls of fog slowly drift across the river. The ship passes through a thick blanket, obscuring their visibility and surrounding them in the color gray.

They exit the patch, only to enter another smaller one. This patch of fog is shallow as it bubbles and rolls across the river, barely covering the water. It gives a peculiar illusion, as it appears as though the ship is being rowed through clouds in the sky.

Tanika remains fixed on the path ahead. In the far distance, the clouded skies are lit up with red. She holds the point of the ship as she leans forward right over the water, examining. “It can’t be dawn already…” She whispers aloud.

“Do you smell smoke?” One warrior asks, quietly.

Tanika scrunches her face. “Yes, I can. They are having council fire!” She replies to them. “It means we can circle the village and not be seen.”

“Good.” He replies.

Tanika continues. “I think we can start looking for Raj in the…Oh, No!” She yells.

“What? What is it?”

“They might be…He’s having a trial! Like they did for me and, Delwyn and..and…” She turns to face them, looking each man in the eye one by one. “Row faster! We might be too late!”

They move efficiency, building momentum with each row as the vessel gains speed. The men arch back and forth faster than before to propel the ship onward. Tanika squints her eyes as the wind blows her beaded hair backwards.

They fly down the wide riverbed until the ship penetrates another wall of obscuring fog. This time, the fog stings Tanika’s eyes. She’s forced to close them and turn her head away. The other men are doing the same thing as the vessel slows down. The men start coughing as they choke on the intense aroma of smoke.

Tanika tries to catch her breath, covering her mouth and rubbing her eyes.

“Too much smoke for a council fire, lady wolf! This is something else.” One manages to blurt out.

The vessel slows to a near stop, mildly gliding along the slow river current. Tiny white flakes start to slowly drift down on them.

“It’s snowing!” One of them exclaims.

“It’s too warm to be snowing! Can’t you feel how warm it is?”

“Of course it’s warm! You’ve been rowing the whole time!”

“Shut your mouth fool!” He barks back.

Tanika feels it too. “Press forward!” She chokes at them. “Row!”

The men slowly and inefficiently come together, rowing and coughing, trying to cover their mouth. It seems to intensify the further they go.

“Do you hear, a rumbling? like a grinding or churning?” One asks.

“Press forward.” Tanika responds.

“It’s not snow, it’s ash.” A man says out loud.

The vessel finally emerges from the wall of smoke. Each of them open their eyes to the source of it all, a vast and tall forrest fire. It stretches from left to right, across the distant horizon. They each feel the heat instantly, as though they were standing directly in front of a camp fire.

Tanika feels her heart sink a bit. The sacred forrest, where she had spent her childhood, was being destroyed before her eyes. She remembered the secret swamp she and Amissa had found, and the tree shelter where they first met Delwyn. She remembered the meadow the deer would graze in, back when the deer were not hunted and they trusted people. All of it gone.

“Demur is a fool.” She says through her gritted teeth. She turns again to face the men.

“Press forward.”

“We can’t go through that! It looks like it goes right across the river!” A man yells at her in a protesting tone.

She remains vigilant. “We will make it. Press forward!” She barks at them.

“Have you completely lost your head?!” The man yells back as he stands up. “We will all be cooked alive if we go into that!” He points viciously at the horizon while looking in her eyes.

Tanika pulls out the black obsidian blade in her right hand, pointing it at the man. Everyone jumps back a bit, startled. Tanika smirks slightly before slowly turning the blade, pointing the tip at her neck. The men look at each other in confusion as Tanika grabs a fold from her Mammoth skin garb with her left hand.

She slowly glides the tip of the blade down her clothing, splitting it open. She slips her left shoulder through the opening, exposing her left breast to everyone.

“The hotter it gets, the more clothing I’m going to need to remove. If anyone wants to see, I suggest that you…press forward.”

The man who was standing up protesting nearly loses his balance as the ship springs forward. He looks down around him, a bit bewildered. He expected to see everyone refusing to row, but instead he sees every man rowing in unison except for him. He looks back up at Tanika, who smiles before turning around to face the forrest fire they are headed into.

The man sits back down, staring at the floor in contemplation. A few moments pass before he snaps out of it, grabbing his oar and joining in with the rowing.

~~~~

Chapter Thirty-Eight

“…Are the two of you trying to overthrow me?!”

Tanika and Auctor sit in the confined corner of the room like the captive prisoners that they are. Auctor projects the image of a boy being scolded by his parents. Tanika assumes a more indifferent posture, sitting straight in her seat, as the interrogation continues. She maintains eye contact the entire time. Part of her thinks he’s joking, but she remains unsure. He was always good at masking his true emotions.

“No.” Auctor finally answers him. “We just wanted to return the boy.”

“Well, that’s what I want too. I want to hear it from her, though.” Anax replies with authority, turning to Tanika. “Tell me what happened next.”

“We continued up the river.” She replies, matter-of-factually.

Anax folds his arms. “Now, at this point..were you completely naked, or just partially?”

Auctor accidentally releases a slight chuckle, followed by a sting of a look from Anax.

“I was naked.” Tanika replies without hesitation.

The corners of Anax’s cheeks hint at a smile. “Well, that’s one way to motivate your warriors. Continue. I’m sure you have a captive audience.” He says with another look to Auctor.

“It was very hot and – ”

“I’m sure it was!” He cut’s in sarcastically. She rolls it off and continues.

“…And we were choking on the smoke, but we kept on regardless. The wall of fire got closer. As long as we went through the bend, we could make it to my village. I could see the path ahead, even when the others could not.”

Anax nods slowly. “Let’s say you and your team made it to the village.. But the fire gets worse. You rescue the boy, but when it’s time to escape…your only exit is cut off by the intense flames. What were you going to do in that instance? What was your plan then?”

“It wasn’t…I had no plan.”

He leans backward. “Ah, no plan.” He clears his throat before standing up. “Alright. Continue the story. The one about the naked pregnant warrior, leading her troops into a Forrest fire.”

Anax steps away from the pair, and walks over to a ship which has been overturned and set aside on the ground. He runs his hand along the flame charred and fractured wooden hull. His hand stops when it reaches two arrows embedded within the ship.

“That story has a nice beginning, but not so much the ending.” Anax says, looking back at them.

“It could have been a lot worse, you know.” Auctor blurts out over the top of him.

“We’ll get to your role in this whole thing later.” Anax darts back, motioning to Tanika with his arm.

“…Once we made it to the wall of fire, that’s when they showed up. Several horse riders, on both sides of the river. They surrounded us.” Tanika recants.

“Did you attack them?”

“They attacked first. There was a lot of confusion. I fired my bow and killed two of them. The men threw their spears and killed at least one more. Then they set our ship on fire, and we had to retreat.”

Anax takes a deep breath, then turns again to Auctor. “I seem to remember telling you that I was going away to track the wolf, and I want you to stay with the village. I seem to remember saying we would plan a raid when I return. Do I have false memories?”

“It was my idea.” Tanika cuts in boldly.

“Sure it was. Now what? You barely return home with injured men, and a broken vessel? Now our enemy has some of our weapons. Now our enemy has knowledge of our ships. The element of surprise has been spent. What did you gain from it? No rescue, No Raj. You killed a few of their men. If they weren’t justified in another attack on us before, they certainly are now.”

Tanika stands up, kicking her chair over. “What do you want me to say? Anax? They were going to kill Raj! He might already be – ”

“You don’t know that. You are letting your emotions get involved. Maybe you shouldn’t be involved..And you.” Anax shakes his head at Auctor. “Going behind my back like that. What were you going to do if the tribe had been attacked, while all of your warriors were out on a boat?”

“I would have faced them.” Auctor says with confidence.

“Ha! I’m surprised. Usually it’s Protis who shows such boldness. You’ve been talking to him too much! Him and this one, with the wolf’s blood.” He points at Tanika without looking at her. She folds her arms.

“Shit! That’s a bad combination right there. Enough to give anyone a headache! Have I reamed both of your asses enough? I really just want us all to work together. Do I have your trust?”

Both of them nod.

“Now we are in the great chase. We cannot afford to stumble. I will tell you what I learned from the wolf tracks. It’s not great. Please sit down.” Anax says. He waits for them to sit before he slumps back down with a sigh.

“What is it?” The two of them ask over the top of one another.

“I went to the place we last saw him. The place we last saw star birth. I followed his tracks, and I read the Earth.”

“What did you find?” Tanika asks with eagerness.

Anax pauses. “The wolf chased the horse riders for a long time. I could see where he confronted them, all three. He spooked them real good. Lots of tracks, lots of movement, lots of confusion.” He says, nodding before continuing. “He led the horses all over the place. But then at one point they each started circling him, and that must have been when they started firing their arrows.”

Tanika finds herself holding Autcor’s hand and covering her own mouth with her other one. She braces herself for worse news.

“There were arrows in the ground but no blood. I don’t believe they hit him, at least not that I could see.”

Tanika breathes a slight sigh of relief.

“Before I tell you what happened next, there’s a lot I don’t know..A lot I can’t read.”

“Tell me.” Tanika demands.

“Well, there’s something that happens that spooks everyone. Perhaps another animal. Everything gets confusing and jumbled together. And the wolf tracks.. they change. The gate is different – the spacing. Perhaps star birth is injured here, but again there’s no blood. The horse riders continue on, but the wolf tracks go back into the rocks where I cannot read them. I don’t see human foot prints either. I don’t think he freed Raj.”

The sound of footsteps gets louder and louder until a man comes running into the room, diverting everyone’s attention. It’s Protis.

“Anax! Everyone get your weapons! We need you now!”

“What is it?” Anax booms back at Protis.

“There’s an intruder.”

Anax nods in agreement, standing up. Auctor starts following Protis down the cavern.

“Auctor, get my bow!” Tankia yells after him. He nods in agreement before disappearing.

Tanika pulls out her obsidian blade as Anax finds his spear. She feels Anax’s hand on her shoulder and turns to him.

“Tanika, those tracks I read…and thing that spooked everyone..” He says to her.

“Yes?”

“…I think it was another wolf.”

~~~~

Chapter Forty

To Demur: Son of Abrian and Kenelm

Behold! I am your great Eternal Father. I bring you this message from high above, because I am displeased with your actions! Demur has been a bad boy! Very bad!

You have taken innocent life, spread destruction across the land, and killed members of your own family. You’ve committed these abominations in my name, for your own selfish desires, and the pursuit of power.

For these reasons, I have given your sister Tanika rebirth. In her second life, I have given her the roar of the bear, the eyes of the eagle, the strength of the mammoth, and the blood of the wolf.

You will no longer harm the child you have stolen. You will return him to his people by sundown of this day. You will make peace with the P’taul. They have food, and you may establish peaceful trade with them. You will not make war with the P’taul. They are few in numbers, but their footsteps will shake the Earth.

Verily I command these things to you, my loyal servant Demur. Disobey my instructions, and you will face my judgement!

—-

Auctor scrunches his face critically.

“What?” Tanika asks.

He scratches his neck, maintaining his scrunched brow. “It’s just…are you sure the creator of the universe would call him a ‘very bad boy?'”

“Well, I – ”

“And the tone of it – it seems…”

“What does it seem like?” Tanika asks again.

Auctor straightens his posture, stepping away from the council fire as it pops. The embers soar upward and illuminate the mostly empty circular amphitheater. “It seems like you’re mocking him.”

“I love it! It’s perfect.” Anax quips with a slight smile.

Tanika folds her arms. “Maybe we can change some of the words.”

“The creator of the universe puts the wrong words down, then changes them?” One of the elders ponders.

“We’ll write a new one.” She answers back.

“We don’t have unlimited leather hide, you know.” Auctor shakes his fine pointed instrument in his tired hand.

“Enough! Don’t you see I have a hungry bird that’s ready to fly? It’s a long journey ahead.” Anax says, booming over them. Bunjil stretches his wings, changing his footing slightly along Anax’s shoulder.

“I think he just shit down my back. Give me the message.” Anax stretches his open hand to Auctor. He sighs and rolls up the message. It looks like a scroll as he fastens the ends of the hide leather hide together.

Anax presents the scroll to Bunjil. He arches down, looking at and tilting his head. Anax moves the coiled message lower, by the eagle’s feet. Bunjil turns his head away, seemingly uninterested. Anax shakes it a bit.

“Come on, take it!”

Bunjil extends one of his powerful claws, grasping the scroll for a moment before dropping the message on the ground. He looks back at Anax with another titled gaze, blinking.

One elder turns to the other. “Is this even going to work?”

Anax bends down, lowering to pick up the message. Bunjil flaps his wings and shifts positions along Anax’s back, finding balance with a squawk.

“He’s only helped me hunt, nothing like this. Give me a moment.”

He holds the scroll out again. Bunjil grips it with a claw as Anax motions a few hand signals. They look at each other a moment with no reaction from the eagle. Anax raises his eyebrows and with wide eyes nods back at him.

Bunjil lets out a final squawk, flapping his wings as he leaps from Anax’s shoulder. He grips the message with both claws. With a few great thrusts, he soars over the council fire and flies high into the deep dark night.

“He will arrive to your village before sunrise.” Anax turns to face everyone. “Now we wait.”

It’s a dramatic end to another council fire as everyone heads home. Attendance was again small, but not the overall feeling of angst. The P’taul seemed to be stretched thin increasingly on a daily basis. Those who were more able-bodied were in high demand for guard-shifts or search parties, routinely combing nearby forests for signs of Raj.

The latest buzz of the village, however, was the return of cocoa leaf. Protis had spent much of the day giving small horse rides for the children. It was clear cocoa leaf hadn’t received much attention in a such a long period of time. The whole event seemed to be mutually therapeutic for everyone involved, a good distraction from all of the tension and loss.

Tanika had watched Protis from afar as he held the activity. He and cocoa leaf displayed a genuine rapport. She could tell they shared a bond as strong as Anax and Bunjil, or even as her and Nova.

Tanika has become increasingly determined to find her wolf companion. She’s convinced she can ride horseback at night, and cover a vast distance. She trusts Anax, but wants to examine the wolf tracks herself. Maybe there was something she could find on her own, or perhaps he was keeping something from her about the whole thing. While everyone heads home, Tanika walks to the collection, to find Protis.

The halls of the collection always radiate a soothing warmth, despite being made completely out of ice. Tonight it was no different, even as she traveled down the iridescent path toward protis’ forbidden section. She calls out his name as she approaches the first open chamber. She pauses and listens closely for a response, but only hears her own voice echoing into the glacial infinity.

She cautiously steps into the open chamber. The smell is difficult to bare, and she covers her mouth. The entire enclave is strewn with various animal bodies. Some of them had missing skin or limbs, or had been cut open. Tiny vines wrap around preserved intestines, and were occasionally connected to bubbling vats of natural glacial water. The entire place looked like an area for food preparation after a hunt. With no one in sight, she promptly exits. No wonder she had received such a stern warning before.

The hallway is tall and wide as it stretches onward. The sound of flowing water echoes through the stretch. Tanika passes by other connecting rooms which are either empty or in various stages of abandoned construction, with frosted ends of wood supports jetting throughout.

Soon she nears the source of flowing water. The end of the hall finally connects to another vast open area, similar in size and scope to the large boat docks at the other end. The room radiates a warm luminous green tone. Large boulders are strewn throughout, formed from a type of molten conglomerate. The source of green light becomes apparent, as the ice walls contain vast stretches of alfalfa, along with wheat, barley, and various grains. It seems to go out forever, like endless fields. The construction of the walls must have taken many hours.

Two streams of water outline the edges of the room, which are held in place by another short wall made from smooth river stones. The flowing water looks clear and drinkable, unlike the chemically murky compound she had seen when she first entered the collection. Wooden panels are evenly spaced from the water, separated like stalls. Dried straw litters the floor. The whole place seems to be designed to house a number of animals, likely horses.

The stalls are all empty except for one at the very end. It’s occupied by a beautiful paint horse, cocoa leaf. She casually eats from a pile of green hay.

Tanika steps around one of the large boulders to get a better view. She sees protis. He appears to have a type of brush in his hand, running it along cocoa leaf’s body. She can also see that he’s applied some type of green ointment to portions of her, likely to treat her burns.

“Protis!” she yells, cupping her hands over her mouth.

Her voice is drowned out by the frequency of the roaring waterfall behind protis. The cascade of water flows from a natural chute of an opening in the ice ceiling. The blue glow of the chute above illuminates the water until it shifts to a natural translucence as it splashes below. The water collects into a great pebbled aquifer that diverts into the two streams which outline the room. The crashing water creates a misty field that carries throughout the area the two of them stand.

Protis finishes brushing the horse. He steps onto a ledge of the aquifer, near her rear. Tanika watches as the horse moves her tail to the side while he runs his hand along her muscled hind leg. From tanikas perspective, it looks as through Protis stops a moment, his hand and fingers tracing and gently penetrating her genitals.

~~~~

Chapter Forty-Three

“Ha! What’s wrong with you?”

Anax waits for a response, but only gets a disjointed sigh from Tanika as she lays on the ground.

“What’s wrong with her?” He says while turning to Auctor, who hunches down to inspect.

“She’s holding herself, and moaning. Don’t you see? It’s completely obvious…she’s sick.” He says to Anax.

“Sick?”

“Yes. I told you not to go in that room!” He beckons down to her. “The smell gets me every time.”

“Let’s give her some privacy for the sake of the ice!”

Tanika slowly returns to reality, gradually waking in a foggy haze. She sits up and holds her head, eyes closed. She folds her knees to her chest and yawns.

“How long have I?…Ugh. What are you two doing here?…” She says, rubbing her eyes.

“We came for the horse. What are you doing here?” He asks, folding his arms.

Tanika stretches. “…I came for the horse too.”

“Sounds like we all want the same thing! Where is Protis?”

“You are not taking her!” Protis booms to them from the middle of the room as he walks toward them, fully clothed. Anax quickly steps around the boulders to see him.

“Ah! There’s the man. You are aware of the crisis concerning the boy, correct?” Anax says to him. They both approach a comfortable personal space.

After a pause, Protis responds. “Yes.”

“The time is near for the wolf skins to return him. I sense something is wrong.”

Protis leans back, slowly inhaling through his nose. “And?”

Anax leans toward him. “I will only take her as far as the mammoth fields. I will retrieve the boy there, and we ride home together. I don’t want them any closer to the village than they need to be. I will go alone, and your horse will not be harmed. You have my word.”

Auctor is quickening his pace to the two of them. “We agreed to go together!” He yells at Anax. Tanika is not far behind. “If you are going, I am going too! Raj is my…”

“Silence! Both of you!” Anax snaps. “This is between the two of us only!”

“I’ve been the one to treat her wounds. I know everything she’s been through. More than any of you!” He points to each of them with his limb. “She didn’t return only to become everyone’s transport. Don’t you have boats? And don’t you have wings for that, Anax?”

“The time for Bunjil’s return has long passed. He is likely dead.” Anax states coldly. It’s the first time Auctor and Tanika have heard this. “The light is short. The mare tried to bring him home once. Let her finish the job. Will you help us, or not?”

“She’s seen enough war. The answer is No.”

Anax slowly nods. “Hm. And shall we count you out of everything else too?”

“Yes, please do.”

He wasn’t expecting that answer. “Well…I won’t!” Anax turns away in a slight huff. “Get your weapons.” He barks at the pair. “We depart now.”

“Now we’re going with you?” Tanika inquires.

“No time.” Anax heads toward the exit with intent, with Protis returning to the waterfall at the other end of the expanse. Auctor and Tanika walk briskly to keep up with Anax.

“I will leave special instructions for the elders. If only I return…or, if only the two of you return they will….ugh! Why am I explaining all this to you?!” Anax quips, with confused looks from the pair. “The only important part is…I need you two to witness if I get killed or not. You two will need to stay behind, witness, and return here if anything goes wrong…no negotiating! Are you with me?”

~~~~

Chapter Forty-Four

“Shouldn’t we be going with many, many more warriors?” Auctor snarks.

“And the two of us, we came to witness? It sounds kind of..”

“Stupid!” Auctor snaps over Tanika.

“I was going to say ‘sacrificial.'” She says conclusively.

“I will remind you both that my original plan included a horse!” Anax finally grunts back to them as they trek forward. “There is still time to prevent war. I will negotiate the release of the boy.”

“With what? Your charming words and smile?”

“Yes.”

“You must have smoked all of Tanika’s stink weed to think of something like this!”

She laughs. “Anax must have a smoked mind to think the two of us will stay behind, especially if he’s in danger!”

“Everyone else is running toward death, why can’t I? You will both stay behind. Trust me.”

“Yes.. And if you get killed for your smile, What if we are run down by their horse army?” Auctor adds.

“You won’t. You two are clever.”

“I like your confidence…”

“This has always been about me. That’s why they killed Bunjil.” Anax says clearing his throat.

“You think…they took our Eyes, and you still want to negotiate with them?”

Tanika listens in on them, intently.

“They may also have the girl’s wolf. Don’t you want to see?”

“They don’t. Nova is free. Nova is alive.” She says with certainty.

Anax stops and turns back to her. “Have you spotted some tracks?”

“No. I feel it. I sense it.” She holds a clenched fist over her heart. “I know it.”

There’s a brief pause as Auctor turns to look at Anax.

“And you think I have a smoked mind? Enough talk! Save your breath for the journey ahead.”

The three of them don’t speak much further as they forge into the arduous trek. They have not visited the fields since the day of the ambush, and it’s likely the three of them feel the same heaviness increasing as they near the site. Tanika will search for Nova when the time is opportune.

“Here we are.” Auctor says quietly, as they each uniformly stop for a break.

“Not much has changed, has it?”

Aside from vast melted patches of ice, the area remains eerily undisturbed. Anax scans the horizon with his fingers arched above his brow. “There is no life here. We must have beat them.”

A mild humidity coats the air through the fields. The vast view, which would normally stretch to the distant mountain range, is muddled by a churning fog. It bubbles like caldron in slow motion, blanketing the scenery into obscurity. It creepily rolls toward them from the distance, a grim gun powder grey that seeps into the clouds above, dulling the colors around.

Despite the thickening grey, the late afternoon sun finds a way to pierce through and shine into Tanika’s face. She shields the light in the same manner as Anax as she looks away to her left. The glacial lake from which the mammoth drink from, has increased in size from the melt.

“What do we do now?”

“We wait.”

Hours seem to pass as they quietly listen to the still cool breeze, scanning all directions routinely. The setting sun starts to golden the surrounding mist.

“What if they did not get the message? What if this all in vain?”

Anax turns to Auctor. “Perhaps Bunjil took your message and tossed it in the stream! Then he flew away, saying goodbye to mankind! Is that what you want me to say?”

“There’s no one here!”

“Could they have gone another way?” Tanika chimes.

“They must cross these fields to reach our village. The only other way, would be the stupid way that you came.”

“The ‘stupid way?'”

“Yes. No one can go the stupid way now that the ocean is returned. This is the only way. I intend to meet them here.”

“Must you use that word? It’s not, ‘challenging’ or ‘courageous?’ Tanika went the challenging way..” She says, trailing off as Anax looks away. He pretends not to hear her.

“Wait, don’t you feel it?” Auctor says pointing to the ground.

Anax leans down, lightly pressing his cheek into the tundra.

“Horses! They’re…here.”

Anax stands up and promptly gazes across the field. The setting sun casts a red hue, and the crimson fog seemingly parts ways on cue for a single horse rider, emerging from a thicket of dead aspen trees.

“I can’t tell if it’s Demur. It could be a scout. Too far away to see for certain..”

“This is where you two stay.” Anax says abruptly.

“I don’t think so! We face them together!” She snaps back.

Anax answers calmly. “There are some things only a tribal leader must see, and decide. When Demur attacked us, I did not face him. When I took Raj on the hunt…I told him to stay in the wrong hunting party. It was my decision that got him captured.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Anax!”

“I bare the responsibility, So I will trade my life for his.” He states matter of factually.

“Tanika, you are to rule in my stead. That is why you two are to remain behind. I have told the elders. Once the exchange is made, and they have taken me, then -”

“No!” Auctor cuts in. You’re not going through with this!” His lip quivers a bit. Anax puts his hand on Auctor’s cheek.

“Old friend. You know it must be this way.”

Tanika is surprised. “I’m not..I can’t rule. I’m not P’taul! We need our leader. We need you!”

Anax shoves Auctor away. “Be strong!” He yells before drawing his spear, seemingly on them. Tanika’s eyes widen.

“She will need your wisdom. Do you understand?” Auctor sniffs as he nods in agreement. Anax holds the spear a moment before throwing it to the ground. “You two must be the ones to escort Raj home.” He reaches behind his back, removing a bow and arrows as well as other concealed knives around his ankles. He tosses it all into a pile at Tanika’s feet.

“And you..” He jabs his finger into Tanika’s shoulder. “You hunt the Mammoth! You are P’taul!”

Anax raises his arms above his head. “Now both of you get down and be quiet!” He takes one last look at the two of them before saying “So long.” He turns away and walks up the mild incline. He heads toward the tundra expanse, with the horse rider on the opposite end. Anax yells toward the rider, easily cutting through the quiet mist.

“Out for an evening ride?”

The distant rider spots Anax, and turns slowly toward him.

“A joke! I am alone! Do you see my hands? I have no weapons! I will approach you slowly!”

The horse rider changes course, and casually approaches Anax from afar. He can see that both the rider and horse are adorned with various skeletal remains. They clank together as the horse slowly trots, slumping in its stride from all the weight.

Auctor is overcome with emotion. Tanika leans into him.

“I will not let them take our leader’s life! Do you understand?”

Auctor nods up and down sniffing. “Yes. I’m glad we’re thinking the same thing. What is your plan?”

“I will take that ridge directly over there.” She says, pointing with her finger. “I can get there without being seen. You can take position by those rocks. We’ll be able to see each other.”

“Good. Where are your bow and arrows?” He asks concerned.

Tanika shrugs. “I will only have one shot. You will have to cover my blind areas as I retrieve my spear. There must be more beyond the haze. We can use the fog and confusion to hunt down every last one of them. I will not risk harming Raj, so we’ll only attack if Anax is killed. Is your head clear for this?”

“Yes. Anax will not be happy.”

“Then he shouldn’t have made me leader. Do you remember our hunting hand signals?”

Auctor takes his turn to shrug.

“Remember them quickly! We should go now.” Tanika grips her spear.

They nod to each other, departing silently. Tanika heads for higher ground, while Auctor stealthily moves toward the lower rock ridge. Both of them will have an equal vantage point to the middle of the tundra, where Anax and the horse rider are set to meet.

“Demi, is that you?” He beckons to the rider, who remains silent.

“If it is you…or, if it is your Voice, let me tell you something!”

Tanika crawls along the upper ridge, finding a good position out of view. She looks down on them, breathing heavily as she readies her spear like a javelin. She eyes Auctor as he readies his own bow and arrow. She follows the rider with her intense aim.

Anax continues in his slow stride. “Demur’s Grandfather and my own Father, used to meet in this very field! The one you and I are standing in right now! Do you know what their one agreement was?”

The rider continues, silently.

“…They agreed that the conflict would remain out there! Not in these fields! In that spirit, I invite you here now! For an understanding!”

The horse rider then stops in his tracks, as does Anax. They are close enough to see each other. Anax cringes from the decayed smell. Beneath the smattering of bones, both horse and rider seem to be lathered in a dripping black tar. Only the whites of the rider’s eyes can be seen through the mask, like a twisted samurai. The horse exhales the same red mist that permeates their foggy crimson surroundings.

“I am Anax, leader of the P’taul! There is no army behind me, and I have no weapons. Allow the boy to approach me. When I see that is he is not harmed, and I see him walk over that ridge behind me, I will give myself over to you.”

The rider stares back with a blank expression.

“Isn’t this what you wanted? Let’s solve this as men, here and now!”

The leather squeaks as the the rider begins to dismount. He hits the ground with force, and turns with a military precision to unfasten the load behind his horse’s saddle.

Tanika signals down to Auctor to lower his weapon, which he misinterprets. Auctor draws his bowstring back as Tanika waves frantically for him to stop.

The rider slings a large item over his shoulder, which he carries and lays on the ground before his horse. It’s a large bag of some kind. Anax glares at him, puzzled and angry. “What is the meaning of this?”

The rider bows with his arms open, before turning and stepping up onto his horse again. He quickly turns the horse, and trots away in the opposite direction.

“This is not what we agreed!” Anax yells back.

“I’m talking to you! Not your horse’s ass!”

The horse rider simply gallops away, into the thick of the dead aspen trees. The notches in the trees look like giant eyes, an endless field of them, each following Anax’s every move as he slowly approaches the bag. He can faintly hear warriors whispering to one another.

With a shaking hand he slowly opens the bag. It looks like the one Raj was captured in. He closes his eyes before slowly opening them to reveal what he most feared. It’s the mangled remains of a dead young boy, unmistakably Raj. It hits Anax hard. He falls to his knees, paralyzed.

Tanika drops her weapon. She covers her mouth, turning away to emit a muffled shriek. Auctor slumps down in disbelief.

Anax cradles the body. He’s in shock. “I’ve failed.” He can only hold back the tears so long. He takes a few moments to compose himself before he inhales abruptly, sealing the bag. Then he screams a bone chilling war cry, silencing the hundred pair of eyes he feels are watching him from the mist. He raises up with clenched hands, quickly reaching for a leather pouch. He uses it pour oil onto the bag.

With a quick strike of a flint, he ignites everything. The flames help to radiate Anax’s consuming anger. Finally a delighted, sinister laughter echoes back at them through the trees. It seems to relish in their sorrow.

Anax finally turns away, marching across the massive field. Tanika and Auctor run from their positions to meet him. They are all crying, confused and angry.

“Anax! What now?”

Anax throws a piece of scrap leather onto the ground. Auctor stumbles and slouches down to investigate it.

“It’s a message that was included with the body.” Anax explains. “I cannot read the text. But it does not matter.. It does not matter what it says. I can tell you what it means.”

“What is it?”

“We are going to war. And we are all going to die.”

~~~~

Chapter Forty-Five

Anax sits at the edge of a plateau. A vast chasm lies before him. The stream which carved this steep canyon through the eons of time, is now a path of frozen ice at the end of the long drop. The other side is a jagged rock wall, too steep and too far for anyone to dare leap toward.

He sits cross-legged with his hands on his knees, and a straight posture. He meditatively breathes in the cool night air. A half-moon hangs in the sky, dimly illuminating the rocky detail all around. He listens intently for a moment. The whistle of the flowing air in the canyon below resonates through him before he opens his eyes.

“Your tracking skills are improving.” He says out-loud.

Tanika slowly steps behind him, out of her concealment. “I wasn’t spying on you.” She says while finally sitting next to him on the edge.

“We call this place ‘The valley of Wings.’” Anax explains. “If you are hunting in the wild, and you get separated from your partner, it is agreed that you will return to the place that you last saw each other. This is the place I found Bunjil for the very first time. We would meet here if we ever got separated in the mammoth hunt.”

“Have you seen anything?”

“What was that old story…about the eagle leaving because mankind used fire the wrong way? No. I have not seen him and I don’t expect to.”

“Forgive me for saying so, but you don’t seem very upset by it. He was your ally.”

Anax interlocks his fingers, shifting in his position. “My father was one of the last of a generation. I always wanted to be like him. I wanted to hunt, and to ally with the eagle as he did. He wasn’t known for giving gifts, but one day when I was seven or eight voyages old, he brought me a gift from a hunt.”

“Oh?”

“It was a baby rabbit. It had brown fur, white stomach. Spots. Very soft. I loved him immediately. My father said, ‘Take care of him but do not give him a name.’ Well, the rabbit would always stomp his feet, and of course I gave him a name.”

“That’s sweet. What did you call him?” She wraps her arms around her folded legs, resting her cheek on top of her knees.

“I gave him the name ‘Two Sticks.’ One day I went to feed Two Sticks and he was gone. I called his name, I searched the forest, I asked everyone in the village and we could not find him. After much searching I went to my father, and I told him what happened. He only said, ‘Now you are ready for the hunt.’ I wish I had known what he truly meant by that.”

Tanika pauses. “What did he mean by it?”

“Well, he took me on the hunt like he promised. I felt honored! I was the youngest one in the party. My father lead it, with the older boys and their fathers. We stopped to rest along a path, and the boys started hitting the bushes very hard with sticks. I remember thinking, ‘What are they doing? What are they doing?’ Then, I see the rabbits running into the path…scared. And that is when my father sent his hawk. Woosh.”

Anax moves his right hand forward like a bird.

“I never knew a rabbit could scream until that day. I never heard such a thing. Suddenly, the hunt was not so…pretty. And all I wanted to do was run down that path, and kick that stupid bird as hard as I could. My father knew it, and he held me in place. He made me watch the worst thing I had ever seen. Then he said, ‘This is what happened to your Two Sticks! This is the way of the wild. This is why the P’taul do not give names to animals!’ I didn’t say anything. I just turned around and started hitting him has hard as I could. The other fathers were laughing, the boys were laughing. I thought the whole thing was horrible. My father would beat my ass if I ever hit him like that. This time, he just sat there while I attacked him with all my child fury until I could not any more…and as I lay there in the dirt, out of breath, he says to me; ‘Pain is weakness. Leave it behind.’”

Tanika frowns. “I’m sorry. That must have been difficult for a child.”

“It is the P’tauli way.” He tosses a small rock into the great void. “Bunjil did not want to go, I knew it. I sent him anyway. Now I am the last of that kind, with no son to pass on the knowledge. It would have been Raj.”

She turns to Anax. “Why did you burn him?”

“What?”

“Why did you burn his body?”

“Did you come here to talk about this?” He says, closing in on himself.

“Just answer me Anax! I saw my friends die that way. Raj deserved better!”

“When I said there are certain things that only a leader must see, that is what I meant. It was something that I knew Demur wanted [I]you[/] to see, and I did not want him to win.”

“I saw Raj in that bag.”

“I know.” Anax says, unfolds his arms. “For the P’taul…It is the highest honor to reach the Sun. Fire is the closest thing we have to the Sun, since it is so far. We burn our bodies to return to our true mother, and I gave that honor to him. To undo what Demur did.”

“But…how are we to give back to the Earth if we are just ash?”

Anax ponders her question carefully. “Do you bury your dead?”

“Yes, to return to the Earth.”

“In our eyes, it is repulsive to be in the ground.”

“Well, I hope you don’t have control of my body when I die.” She says assuredly.

“As do I.” He says looking at her. He throws a rock into the void, a bit harder this time. They both listen as it smashes into the cliffside, chiming and tumbling into the great depth below.

She shakes her head and huffs. “Why did we come here?”

“What?”

“I mean, why did our people come here? So long ago…Both of our people came to a new world, to start again. But here we are, playing the same game, destroying one another.” She pauses. “I was once told by a mystic that I would unite our tribes, not bring them to war. How silly, It didn’t come true.”

Anax contemplates for a moment. “Perhaps the mystic meant another tribe.”

“What other tribe?” She asks.

He shrugs. “What of your ally? Have you found your wolf?”

“I Don’t think I want to.”

Anax seems puzzled, so Tanika elaborates. “If we are to go to war, I know that Nova will not leave my side. I could lose him, and I don’t want that to happen. I would rather go alone, without him.”

“The army we face is much greater than ours. We are but a band of inexperienced youth and ailing elders. Empty ships without warriors. If we are to stand a chance, we need all the help we can get. You are leader now, the choice is yours.”

“You will always be my leader.” Tanika says looking at him.

“As will you.” He returns.

She smiles. “Are you so certain that Bunjil is gone?”

“Yes.” Anax stands up, keeping his eyes fixed at the void. He pulls up his weapons and holsters them around his shoulder. “There were golden eagle feathers in that bag.” He says, looking down at her. “We don’t have much time.” He concludes with finality while he turns away from her. He briskly walking down the steep which lead to the plateau. She remains fixed at the hypnotic black canyon pass, contemplating her next move.

The cold night air passes over her as she heads down the path after Anax. He heads toward the P’tauli village with determination. It’s likely Auctor has already arrived there, and informed the elders of the events. Naturally there is no trace of Anax to be found, and he’s likely a considerable distance ahead. She has no fear walking alone, but finds the incomprehensible silence unbearable. It seems as though not only every night animal, but the insects have abandoned the land.

Tanika stops in her tracks. Her frozen breath is illuminated from behind. The half-moon that was shining on her back during this walk is beginning to disappear on the horizon behind her.

“I know where I must go.”

She remembers exactly where the site is. He had guided her there, and it was the last place they made love. The ancient wolf den. Even though the moon has disappeared, her night vision works flawlessly. Tanika fights her way through a seemingly endless field of dead tree branches.

“It wasn’t this difficult before!” She yells, her hair frustratingly tangles in the vast web. Finally she breaks free.

The entrance of the old den is littered with signs of a fresh kill. Tanika hunches down, inspecting a bloody ribcage. She sniffs at it.

“Deer?” She says, looking up.

She’s met face to face with a pair of angry yellow eyes. A brown wolf is staring her down. Even in the dark she can tell it’s a beautiful golden shade, radiating a similar tone to Bunjil’s color. The wolf emits a low warning growl, never blinking in its close-range ferocity.

“You are fierce, but you do not frighten me, boy!” She yells at it. The brown wolf quivers its lips around perfectly white and fierce teeth. Another wolf growls in return from the shadows.

“Ha! I know the sound of that one!” She responds. Soon enough, Nova leaps onto her, and she rolls onto her back with him on top of her. The brown wolf quiets down as Nova attacks Tanika’s face with his tongue. She’s laughing and clinging to him tightly. “I knew they could never take you! I missed you so much!”

Soon enough she’s opening her mouth and sucking on his tongue between deep breaths. Nova is happier to see her than ever, and emits a wine as they make out. The other wolfcautiously approaches, sniffing at Tanika but keeping it’s distance as she sits up.

“Nova! did you make a new friend?” She turns to the brown wolf. “Are you the other Anax spoke of?”

Something snaps on the ground the left of her, followed by footsteps. Tanika then see’s the figure move like a shadow. Instinctively, she draws hers knife. Nova and the brown wolf turn to look, but are not concerned. Tanika squints to look in the dark. Another pair of eyes comes toward her, this time they are pure white. A third wolf steps closer, no wonder it seemed invisible. It has a pure shiny black coat.

Tanika puts her knife away just as a fourth wolf appears. This one is pure white, seeming masking the black wolf like a shadow.

“Another!”

She looks closely again at the black one. “I know you!”

It blinks in response. Each wolf seems to be studying her intently, even Nova.

“I know each of you! But…where?”

Then she realizes it. They are each the surviving members of Nova’s original wolf pack.

~~~~

Chapter Forty-Seven

“You have the color, and purity of our Earth mother. That’s what I name you, Earth.”

Tanika sits crosslegged with the brown wolf, Earth, resting comfortably in her lap. Earth lays relaxingly on her back while looking up at Tanika with expressive eyes. Tanika breathes heavily, feeling absorbed into Earth’s gaze. She sees her own reflection in her radiating eyes, even in the dark. Her heart races, and her nipples harden as she gently strokes Earth’s many breasts.

The action reminds Tanika of a time of naive experimentation with her best friend, Amissa. Eventually when the two of them were brave enough, they introduced Delwyn into their exploration. It was a bond the three of them had which they never told anyone about. It seems like only a brief moment before Amissa and Delwyn were more interested in boys and Tanika became interested in more practical skill sets. If only Tanika could return to such a simpler time, before everything changed.

“I told you I was a friend.” She says softly, as both of her hands caress Earth’s rubbery protruding nipples up and down. Earth is in heat. It’s a fiery lustful season that resonates through Tanika as she wanders her hands sensually over the wolf’s body.

“You like it, don’t you?”

Earth sniffs in delight with half-closed eyes, thrusting her hips provocatively upward. Tanika accepts the invitation, moving her hand soothingly over Earth’s aching groin. A few circular motions from her palm make Earth thrust and kick with her feet in pleasure. Tanika smiles, and gently presses her fingers down and to the sides, opening her vagina. Earth’s pink flesh glistens as it’s exposed to the night air. Her scent drives the other three wolves into an even higher sexual frenzy.

Tanika licks her lips before thoroughly moistening her index finger in her own saliva. She returns her lubed digit to Earth’s spread opening. After a vigorous circular rub around the wolf’s swollen clitoris, Tanika carefully inserts it welcomingly into her sex. Tanika pulls her other fingers away, allowing Earth’s lips to fully seal around her finger, as far as her second knuckle.

Tanika moans as she feels Earth’s inner warmth. She imagines the pleasure a male wolf must get from such an encompassing, and intensely warm interior. Earth wags her tail as she thrusts into Tanika’s prodding finger. She forms a hook shape and twists it in and out of her. Earth leans back into Tanika’s chest in euphoric spasms.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult for Nova to wrangle the other two wolves. The three of them are now circling Tanika and Earth like a pack would circle a downed prey. Nova emits a slow guttural growl as he paces after the white and black wolves. They increasingly ignore Nova’s commands as they tighten their prowling circumference around the pair.

“You have been mated recently. I can feel the seed within you.” She says, prodding for Earth’s g-spot. The wolf loves her touch, and whines in pleasure while gyrating her body accordingly.

“Was it my Nova? Or, one of them? I’m guessing they are male?” She ponders out loud playfully, continually twirling inside Earth. She eyes each wolf intently as they pass in their concentric circles. Certainly enough, the pure white wolf and the pure black wolf both have sizable, throbbing erections. The pure white one has a bright red hued member, while the other is a faint purple. Both of them have complimentary shades compared to Nova’s which seems to contain both of their colors.

Each wolf walks with a fully erect, knotted member protruding from their sheaths, swaying back and forth to their strides. Tanika can’t tell which is dripping more, their dangling members or their perverted drooping tongues. She imagines they must be creating an invisible trail as they slowly spiral closer toward them for the kill. She eyes each wolf seductively as they pass.

“…Or, maybe you had all three of these wolves?”

With each pressing movement, Earth thrusts into Tanika’s finger, sending it deeper within. She’s bold enough to add a second finger inside, stretching Earth’s tightness.

“All three of these wolves? And you still want more?”

Earth snorts and spasms her head in pleasure. Tanika smiles and leans forward, keeping her eyes locked on the encroaching pack. With her other free hand, she pulls at the neckline of her own clothing. The thick mammoth hyde of her clothing is difficult to tear, but the fine stitching comes undone down the front. She pulls it down until the opening is large enough to free her breasts.

“I can’t say I blame you..” Tanika says, as she places Earth’s head between between her dangling bare breasts. Is it her imagination, or have they become fuller? Heavier? Either way, it feels great having them pressed into an affectionate wolf’s face. She moves her shoulders back and forth, looking seductively at Nova as her sensitive nipples graze Earth’s ears and snout.

“I would want each of them too.” She says finally, before moaning loudly. She feels Earth’s tongue start to cling to her dangling mounds. Tanika responds with more vigorous up and down movements within Earth’s increasingly slick tunnel.

“I want to find out which of you made love to this beauty.” She says, pulling her two shiny fingers out of Earth’s inside. She then uses the slickness to coat Earth’s exterior, sensually massaging her outer lips circularly. Tanika scoots back, laying Earth on the den floor. She never takes her hand off of Earth’s quivering vagina, even as she crawls slightly on her hands and knees, hovering over the panting brown wolf.

The pure white wolf slowly steps closer to the pair. He hangs his head, slowly pressing his snout closer and closer to Earth’s spread legs. Tanika’s knees are at either side of Earth’s head. Her ass raises as she leans across Earth’s body to meet the white wolf face to face while he licks his lips.

“No!” She yells at him. “Mine!”

The black wolf follows Tanika’s lead, turning to bark at the white one. Soon enough Nova is barking and charging at him as well, and he whines and pulls his ears back. He hangs his head down as backs away from the charging wolves in confusion.

Tanika giggles.

Soon they are too close for comfort, and the white wolf bares his teeth at them, erupting in a barking match with all three sounding progressively more violent over one another.

“Hey! Relax!” She yells back at them. Her tone commands each of their attention as they all turn to look at her in near syncronisity. She smiles while gently parting Earth open again with her fingers.

“We’re only just getting started.”

Nova is the first to turn and walk back toward the girls, followed closely by the black wolf. Both of them are panting happily, while the white wolf hesitates to rejoin the circle.

She smiles. “Don’t scare him away quite yet.”

She turns her attention downward. Tanika extends her tongue before pressing her face into Earth’s mound. She moans into it as her breasts grind down against Earth’s. Tanika’s tongue circles her clitoris and she clings to Earth’s lean convulsing body. It sings in pleasure, and she moves as though running through the plains in a dream. Tanika tastes her all over, and darts her tongue back and forth in a vigorous massage. Her long black hair drapes over Earth’s squirming hind legs. She uses one arm to prop herself up, while her other hand is free to caress Earth’s chest more heavily.

She pauses to take a breath, looking back toward a blissful wolf expression. “I know this taste anywhere.” She says down to her, circling her fingers over her twitching exterior. She turns back to deliver soft kisses to her velvet lips. “This is my Nova.” She concludes before her tongue sinks further into her pink flora.

It really tastes sweet to her, like a nectar Tanika craves. She tries to mimic what Earth did inside of her moments ago, repaying the affection she had been shown. “The two of you really do make a fine mixture.” she concludes as she kisses her way up Earth’s chest, gently sucking gently and sensually on each nipple she finds. Her fingers gently pinch and massage the others as she teases with her tongue.

Out of Tanika’s field of view, an encroaching wolf dramatically interrupts the intense pleasure. He bares his vicious teeth quickly before sinking them into Tanika’s body.

~~~~

Chapter Forty-Nine

“Come closer, Night.”

The black wolf steps toward to her, meeting her at face level, to a signature inviting smile.

“Yes, the night of all nights. The one I needed you the most…I don’t think I’d be here now, if it weren’t for you.”

The black wolf, Night, is now the third wolf to be touched by a human. Tanika’s hand is a warm welcome blanket as it graces across the dark wolf’s shiny black fur. She pets him across his cheek, without worry he’ll remove her hand with his sharp teeth. She leans forward to scratch his head and ears, then down his neck.

“Yes, Night. You understand! Nova knows that you saved me as well.” Her hands are both itching his shoulders. Neither of them break their eye contact with each other, although Tanika’s soothing fingers have a way of melting a fierce warrior’s intense expression. Tanika looks over her shoulder to see Nova busy relating a very relaxed Earth.

“You helped me escape…before Nova took Demur’s blade. That’s why Nova is letting me touch you now.” Tanka crawls away from the pair of wolves, on all fours, closer to Night. She keeps one hand running along his lower back while moving slowly and seductively along the side of his body. He sniffs at her hair, and sweaty skin. He licks his lips, delighting in the salty aroma.

“Wounded, but so strong. If I could heal your scars, I would.” Her hand rubs along his side. She feels his breath on her raised ass, wiggling it as though she had a wagging tail for his amusement. Every movement mimicking a female wolf, or at least how Tanika thinks a horny wolf would behave. Either way it works. Night is completely comfortable with her touch, even as she grazes down to his throbbing exposed member.

The moment she feels Night’s penis, she receives a jolt of pleasure herself. Once again, a lavish wolf tongue laps at her exposed groin. She moans Night’s name, not knowing it’s actually the white wolf feasting upon her now. Night growls at the white wolf as Tanika feels his erect, warm member in and. She strokes it gently, encouraging the tiny clear spurts of precum jetting out in response to her touch.

Tanika mistakes Night’s hostile growling at the white wolf as groans of pleasure from her touch. Soon enough, her lips meet his aching member and the wolf’s growling quiets. Night closes his eyes and pants in bliss, allowing the white wolf to lather away at Tanika’s body. She loves feeling his warm member in her mouth, knowing she could pleasure him in this way after what he did for her. Her muffled moaning is sure to send soothing vibrations through his body.

Every few moments she has to open her mouth and pour out her saliva and wolf ejaculate mixture, before plunging Night’s massive penis back into her mouth again. She sucks him as hard and as deeply as she can, gently holding his bulging knot. At some point the pleasure becomes too much. One tongue on her skin starts to feel like two, and then three. Sure enough, Nova and Earth have scrambled to their feet and compete with the white wolf as it licks at her. All three snort and breathe in, nudging one another to the side as though they were wolf pups again competing for food in the same litter.

For Tanika, it feels like some kind of never ending warm lather machine. Each tongue working in unison to cover every sensual part of her naked body. It really is too much to bear, her body shakes in pleasure and she nearly collapses to the ground with Night’s member in hand. Earth is pushed away by the remaining two males. They cover her body as Earth seems to pace back and forth looking for an open area to lick. Night continually remains in bliss, spurting his juices on Tanika’s cheek as she moans out in ecstasy.

Earth crawls down a bit to nuzzle her head under Tanika’s swaying breasts. She really seems attached to them, and Tanika doesn’t complain. Earth wags her tail furiously, nipping and lapping her tongue on Tanika’s hard nipples.

The familiar feeling of a wolf’s paws are gripping at Tanika’s sides now, finding placement along her hips. The tongues that had been lapping at her flesh have stopped. Tanika thinks it must be Nova attempting to mount her, until she feels it start to enter her. The wolf’s weight and size are different, as well as the balance. It’s the gentle humping motion of the white wolf, eager to enter Tanika, that gives him away. Nova seems distracted with Earth at the moment, and the two run away playfully.

She continually strokes Night’s penis. It keeps him distracted as the white wolf slides the rest of his member into Tanika’s body. He has a playful way of mating with her, and she welcomes it in delight.

“I meant to start with Night…”

Even though the white one was brazen in his approach, she can see now that he and Night both work as a team. Tanika has an intense flash as their bodies connect. It’s a cool pleasure she feels, and she finds herself gasping for air. The white wolf’s penis makes her feel as though she were instantly on top the tallest mountain peak in the coldest month of winter. With each bucking thrust she gains more insight into him.

When Raj was missing and Anax told her about the wolf tracks, it had been him. Nova was outnumbered and it was this wolf that appeared. He had confused the wolfskin horses, and allowed Nova to escape. It all made sense now.

“You saved my love…I owe you as much as I owe him.”

Tanika’s wet vaginal lips part way to embrace his member more and more, until he is fully inside of her. He’s the fourth wolf to be touched by a human, as the two become one. Tanika scoots his paws up her body a bit and wriggles her shoulders to push him up while he bucks and thrusts. She nuzzles into his face and scratches the other side of his neck. She knows it’s been a long time since he’s mated, and the excitement of trying a human is too irresistible to him.

“You took away my breath, like the wind. I will call you Wind, for now…”

She moans in lust, loving sex with Wind. She urges him to completion, begging for his sperm inside of her. She’s careful to keep him from knotting inside of her, as she’s hungry for Night’s sperm as well. She nudges Wind off behind her.

“Your turn!”

Night happily accepts her invitation. He is onto and inside of her without hesitation. she moans feeling the second new wolf penis penetrating her. Where as wind felt like a frozen storm, Night makes her feel like burning embers from a long fire, just the right warmth. It’s a nice compliment to the intense cool that Wind seemed to provide. Tanika feels a sense of invisibility as well, as though she were absorbing the wolf’s ability to hide in the shadows, to move invisibly through the night.

She moans with each buck and thrust while the expended Wind lays to the side, lazily watching their mating with a panting, pleased expression. As Tanika bonds with Night, she can feel that Nova and Earth are mating nearby. She wishes they were closer so she could watch, but regardless she feels everything Nova does.

Once she feels Night deposit his seed, she greedily rolls on top of Wind, playing with his still erect and throbbing member. She craves more, and sits on it. Carefully she bounces on him, sinking all the way down to his knot and back up again.

“Yes…”

She rides him like she would ride a man. This time Night becomes the observer, laying blissfully in his afterglow.

Tanika know’s Nova is close to releasing his sperm inside Earth. She imagines it while she bounces up and down on Wind. She wishes she could be there, and somehow ensure his seed stays inside her body. It’s this idea that has her body craving wolf seed from every member of the pack. She wants that unity, that oneness.

Eventually both wolves stand up. Tanika finds herself stroking both of their penises in unison. It’s as though both wolves had been ready for this opportunity. Each pf them spurt semen onto Tanika’s left and right breast with her moaning as the clear fluid drips off her pointed nipples.

Her mind floods with lustful desires, like having both of them inside her at the same time. Could they both fit inside of her vagina? She wanted to find out. Wind was the one that wanted to lay on the ground, with her straddling him. If only Tanika could encourage Night to mount her at the same time.

After a few tries, she’s able to guide him inside. she feels her walls stretching to their limit as both wolf members are pressed together inside of her. She moans as she feels her incredible tightness encompassing them both at the same time, and the combined juices making them slip and tangle within her.

Once Earth and Nova return, Tanika gets her turn with him once more. Her body aches from all the wolf pounding but she craves countless orgasms. She loves feeling Nova inside of her again, knowing which spots to hit in just the right way. As her lover mates her once more, she watches Earth and the other two enjoy their own sexual exploration.

“What a greedy bitch.” Tanika says, laughing.

The five of them fall asleep together, each basking in their own euphoric bliss. Tanika is the only one awake, softly stroking Nova’s head. Tanika feels each of them running in their sleep, and wonders if they are each sharing the same dream.

It’s unknown how much time has passed, yet Tanika knows it’s time to return to the village, to her people. It’s hard to break away, knowing she’s now part of the pack.

“You don’t belong with us and our problems.” Tanika says to Nova.

“Don’t follow me back to the village. Stay here until it’s over.”

This time she says it to every wolf, as she begins the difficult task of moving away from them without disturbing their sleep. Quietly and carefully she exits the wolf den without so much as an interruption. Once she passes the row of thickets, she turns back only to see those familiar glowing blue eyes. She knows in her heart there’s no convincing him not to follow her. They stare intently at one another before Tanika turns away, and heads toward the P’tauli village.

Her entire pack follows directly behind her.

~~~~

Chapter Fifty

Anax sits beside Auctor. Their weapons lay near the temporary firepit while they stare down at the burning embers, fading leftovers from the emergency council fire. Auctor is the first to see Tanika approaching. She’s naked, scratched, and bruised, along with bits of multicolored wolf fur sticking to her skin. Her frazzled hair remains in place as she struts along. Anax finally notices Auctor in his confused gaze, then turns to see the object of his attention, finding her feminine figure in the dim light. He springs up to meet her, while uttering a smattering of p’tauli curses.

“What did they do to you?! I knew I should have guided you home! Auctor, get her something to cover herself up in. Those animals.. our enemy raped her!”
Auctor scrambles to find mammoth furs while she bursts with laughter.

“She’s in shock.” Auctor says as he drapes the furs over her shoulders. Tanika shrugs them off her body.

“No, I don’t need them. And I’m fine! It’s not what you think.” Auctor looks increasingly puzzled.

“What’s wrong? My body? You don’t desire women anyway.” She adds sardonically.

“That’s not entirely true..” he says, trailing off. Tanika raises an eyebrow.

“Star birth!” Anax blurts out. Each of them hear the soft sound of running feet before Nova sprints up to him gracefully from the darkness. Anax squats down on one knee and Nova licks his face affectionately. Anax scratches behind Nova’s ears as they reunite.

“You found your ally! Where did you go, boy?”

“More than one, it seems.” Auctor points out the three pairs of glowing eyes, staring at them from the dark beyond.

“What the…”

One by one, the other wolves cautiously approach the three humans, keeping a respectable distance.

“You said you needed more warriors, Anax. I suppose I found some for you. They will go wherever Nova will go.”

“You will never stop surprising me, wolf girl.” Anax says, rubbing the top of his head. Auctor places his hand on Tanika’s shoulder.

“Tanika, Anax is ready for war..but there is another way. A path to end this blood.”

“Tell me.” She says back at him.

“The island you were living on, we have enough ships to get our people there. We can take the way that you came to us, the ‘stupid way.'”

“Now you believe my island is there?”

“If we can’t find it, we can return to the motherland.”

“Our ships are meant for short distance.” Says Anax, cutting in. “They will break apart in the violent sea. I can think of better ways to die. If all of you want to leave, so be it. I will die here on this land, with honor.”

“You will not! You go where I go.” Auctor blurts before turning back to her. “Think about it.” He says with sincere eyes. “It’s almost morning, and they are on their way. If we are to leave, it should be now.”

“They are not heading this way.” Tanika says with certainty.

“You didn’t see or hear them?” Anax inquires swiftly.She shakes her head.

“They must be biding their time. Planning…we can’t be sure.” Anax muses aloud.

“What is that?” Tanika asks, pointing at a large object in the center of the amphitheater. Anax turns to it, smirking. Nova collapses at the edge of the makeshift fire pit, resting his head on his front paws, tired from the journey. The other wolves rest along the edge of the village. They will protect the village in shifts throughout the rest of the night, despite not being fully acclimated with the P’taul.

The two men escort Tanika to the center of the amphitheater. As they descend, the object becomes increasingly more visible in the dark. It’s a giant black stone tablet, with A round base which molds up to the smoothly polished and flat surface.

The tablet itself is semi rectangular with tapered edges, the width and length of an average man. The centerpiece is knee high to Tanika. She runs her hands along the slightly angled tablet, feeling along the inscriptions covering the entirely of the flat surface. Since the P’taul have no written language, they have carved detailed pictographs representing an outline of their history.

“It’s beautiful.” She says, remarking at the numerous man hours it must have taken to carve out the massive ornament.

“You wouldn’t say that if you had seen this in the daylight.” Anax says with a snap. Tanika looks to him for an explanation.

“This stone is stained with blood. Too much for all the rains of time to ever wash away.”

“This was a monument of sacrifice.” Adds Auctor. “We used to bind animals, and people. Our enemies..even your people, in the early days.”

Tanika pulls her hand away. “How did it work?”

“See the holes in the top and bottom?” Auctor says, pointing. “That’s where we would bind their hands and feet, before we…before they, would slowly kill the sacrifice.”

“Now you can see why Auctor and I buried the wretched thing.” Anax adds with a slight disdain.

“Your father was so angry when you told him you lost it!” Auctor adds, laughing.

“He was so proud of it!”

“Do you know how many men we lost bringing this across the ice?!” Anax says, impersonating his father. Both of them laugh.

“Meanwhile, he stood over it every council fire without even knowing!”

They continue laughing while Tanika smiles and sits down on the lower edge of the tablet, crossing her legs.

“Why have you unearthed it now?” She asks Anax.

“All of us have bad history.” He explains. “If the P’taul are to be no more, then the history we leave behind should be complete. Even the history I hate. Besides, it gave the children something to do when they were worried about Raj.”

“Anax told them there might be ancient treasure buried there. They dug with such enthusiasm. You should have seen their faces when they found it!”

“I hope you didn’t tell them its true meaning.” says Tanika, while she opens her legs and lays down on her back, shuddering as her bare skin meets the cold stone surface.

Anax nudges Auctor. “Don’t get any ideas!” He looks back at Anax with a smirk, then sits down on the lowest row of seating at the bottom of the amphitheater. Tanika raises her feet to the surface, using her legs to scoot her body and head to the top edge of the stone slab. She lays in the same position the sacrificial victims must have been in. She looks up at the stars for a moment in silent contemplation. Anax begins a slow pace, stepping around the monument slowly. He rummages through his leather pouch.

Tanika turns to her side, propping her head up with her right hand and resting her left hand on her raised hip. She faces both men in a feminine and seductive pose.

“You know, I had a dream about you two.” She says softly.

Auctor leans forward with interest, while Anax is focused on his task. Tanika notices Anax is holding her sacred blade. He extends his arm wearing the leather shroud, which protected his skin from Bunjil’s talons. Underneath the shroud, he cuts at the thick black twine which secured it in place.

“That blade doesn’t belong to you!” She barks at him.

Anax doesn’t answer, and continues cutting. He makes his final incision, and the shroud falls off his arm and to the ground. He removes the twine, which leaves behind red grid like patterns on his skin, like scars.

“Maybe you should come and take it.” He replies, holding the knife out, tauntingly.

“In time.” She says, stoic.

He smiles back at her, flexing the fingers of his bare arm. He uses the blade for one final act, reaching behind his back to cut free the secondary perch for Bunjil that ran along his shoulders. It falls to the ground next to his leather arm around. Anax grunts and stretches in delight. Those items had been a part of his body for so long, he had forgotten how good it felt to be free of them.

“What was your dream?” Auctor asks, trying not to sound demanding.

“Did we mate?” Anax adds.

She laughs. “You would ask that.. and In that way.”

“Well.. you’re telling us about a dream, laying the way you are. Why not?”

“Let her explain!” Auctor whines.

She lays back down, with her hands behind her head and elbows up, looking at the stars again.

“In my dream, we became blood siblings.”

“What is that?” They both ask at once, then look at each other.

“We cut our hands and held them together. Just like I did with my best friends..only it was me, you, and Auctor. We became one this way.”

“I like the sound of that! But Auctor can’t handle pain. Also, His hands are too precious to him.” Anax quips while he rolls the black twine in a circle. He walks behind the monument.

“Not true!” Auctor snaps back.

Anax begins to loop the black twine through the roughly drilled holes in the stone slab.

“Give me your wrist.”

Tanika slowly extends her right hand back toward Anax. He loops the twine around her lower arm, then ties a knot, synching it beneath the slab.

“Now your other.”

~~~~

Chapter Fifty-One

Tanika grins, and gives her left hand to him.

“Stop messing around!” Auctor snipes. Anax ignores him.

“What was it you said to me? When we first met?” Anax asks her, as he tightens her left wrist to the slab. She pauses to recall.

“I remember! You said you would show me what you could do with restraint.” He says, grinning.

“I knew then, at that moment, there was a warrior inside you.”
Anax takes Tanika’s blade and glides the point across her bare skin. He’s slow and methodical, carefully not pressing hard enough to cut, with the goal of being sensual. It’s working. Tanika’s heart races as she breathes deeply, shuddering while she bites her lower lip.

Auctor stands up in a huff. “Anax, it’s late. If we’re not going to leave, we should get some sleep before the battle.”

Anax pulls away, walking to Auctor. “I think it’s safe to say, dear one, with everything we’ve been through..and everything that awaits us, not one person here will be getting sleep tonight.”

He steps closer slowly until they are face to face.

“Not you..” Anax says, before kissing Auctor’s lips, then he tilts his head.

“Nor I..” he says, kissing the side of Auctor’s neck.

“..and not one man guarding the ruins right now, will get a moment of rest this night.”

Auctor shudders as he feels Anax’s hand move down his waist and into his lion cover.

“So…why don’t we spend this night, the last night we’re alive, doing what we love?” Anax concludes and wraps his fingers around Auctor’s already hardened penis.

Tanika tilts her head to get a better view, enjoying the show. Auctor moans a bit as Anax gives a few affirming strokes up and down.

“I see you are already ‘on board’ with this idea, love.” Anax says with a smirk, removing his hand from Auctor’s genitals. Anax takes Auctor’s other hand and interlocks his fingers with his.

“I want to add something.” Tanika says, interrupting. The two men turn from their gaze and look at her.

“If you want to erase the history of this tablet, perhaps the best way is to use it for something else.”

Anax points the sacred blade toward Tanika, smiling. “See? You see…she has the right idea!”

With his other hand interlocked in Auctor’s fingers, Anax leads him back toward Tanika. He pauses momentarily, squatting down to place the sacred blade on top of the belongings he freed earlier.

Her eyes follow the two men as the approach her from the side. Anax frees his hand from Auctor’s grasp, but not before guiding it to Tanika’s left breast. Anax steps around the slab, feeling her hair before cupping both hands over her right breast.

“Anax, we shouldn’t. Not while she’s restrained.”

Anax smiles, pulling his hands away from Tanika. He removes the leather pouch which was bound around his waist.

“She’s not restrained.” He says, climbing onto the tablet. He sits on her waist with his knees on either side, straddling her. She can feel his hardness beneath his last bit of clothing.

“She could free herself at any moment.” He adds, returning his hands to her breast, massaging it.

“You forgot to bind my feet.” Tanika says with a hint of rasp. He turns again to Auctor.

“See? Nothing to be afraid of.”

Tanika uses her feet to scoot forward slightly, grinding against Anax. She raises her knees, touching them against his back.

“I’m very flexible.” She says, stretching her legs upward, then running her toes to the back of his neck. Anax leans back.

“Oh?”

She nods, biting her lip. She bends her feet to cradle Anax’s jawline on both sides.

“I could snap your neck like a twig.”

He smiles. “Mmmm.. my kind of woman.”

“Or maybe.. I could squeeze the air from your lungs with my thighs.”

“It’s a better way to die than drowning in the sea. Don’t you agree, Auctor?”
Auctor nods before lowering his head, forming a seal around her hardened nipple, then sucking it gently.

“Mmmm and I thought you two had no interest in women, Only men. Or rather, each other.”

Anax feels from her other breast down her body as Auctor continually teases the other with his tongue and hands.

“Every man has an idea to try something new.” His fingertips trace around the wolf scratch marks outlying her body. “You know about that, don’t you? Trying something…new?”

Auctor takes a break from sucking. “It’s a pity we didn’t try this sooner. Don’t you agree, love?” He kisses the nape of Tanika’s neck, feeling over her chest. Anax scoots backward, slowly folding her legs back down onto the flat surface.

“Only when we’re facing death do we wish to live like there’s no tomorrow. Pity.” Anax muses, resting on her knees and caressing her thighs. Auctor caresses both of her breasts in a circular motion.

“Imagine being like this.” Anax continues, brushing her legs. “So helpless. Vulnerable. Naked..” his hands move proactively close. “Facing death…then something else happens.”

Tanika refrains a moan as she feels Anax tracing his fingers around her vaginal lips, teasing her.

“Have you ever been in such a situation?” He asks slyly while gathering enough of her wetness on his index finger to begin probing it inside her slowly.

“No.” She says with a deep breath. “Never…” She finishes, sarcastically.

“Didn’t think so.” Anax moves his finger beyond his second knuckle, pressing until it’s all the way inside of her. He hooks it within, twisting into her ribbed walls.

“Mmmm…” She moans. “Better make it two…”

“Anything you say. If you tell me to stop, I might think about it.” Anax removes his finger as Auctor returns to sucking her breast again. He moves his hand down to her groin, circling his fingers flatly against her swollen clitoris.

Auctor takes his turn playing with her sex, and Anax scoots back further down her legs, then leans forward. He uses his right hand to prop himself up. Tanika opens her legs more as he uses his left hand to enter her again, this time with his index and middle finger. He lowers his face to her abdomen, kissing it softly and slowly moving up her body as he probes her. She moans and breathes heavily before he pauses.

“What about when you took the ship? And those warriors..”

“Anax.. any more from the two of you…and I won’t be able to answer anymore questions.” She breathes deeply as Auctor’s tongue twirls around her areola.

“Besides… I thought we weren’t speaking of it again. You were so angry..”

“Well..” he pauses for another kiss.” I think I’m over it.” He delivers another before continuing. “You must have felt something. Having all those men behind you, each of them ready to die for you..each of them wishing they could fuck you.”

Anax twists his fingers within her. His braided hair brushes her skin as he gets closer to her other breast.

“How did you know they wanted to…”

“To fuck you?” Anax says, with a few pumps from his fingers within her. She nods with a few heavy breaths, eyes closed. Auctor notices a scar on Tanika’s shoulder. He feels it for a moment with contemplation, wanting to ask but remaining silent.

“I know my men.” Anax answers. “And I know what they want.”

Finally Anax reaches her other breast and both men suck on each at the same time. Tanika moans and squirms in delight as both of her hardened nipples roll around their tongues at once. It takes time but she finds a moment of composure.

“Thinking about it now makes me feel sadness.” Tanika gasps with a slight shudder. Anax stops with his fingering, pulling them slowly out of her body. Both men stop their oral pleasing and Anax looks down at his fingers. They each glisten from her wetness, a sparkle from the reflected moonlight. He feels the moisture with his thumb before looking back in her eyes.

“Why sadness?” Auctor stops to await her answer too.

“Sadness.. to think warriors are old enough to fight and die, many having never known a woman’s touch. If they are going to give their lives, they should feel a woman’s love at least once.” Tanika answers with finality.

Anax gives a slight smile, raising his wet fingers to his lips. He inhales deeply, filling his nostrils with her aroma, before pressing his fingertips to the corners of lips to exhale a loud piercing whistle which echoes into the dark. A sleepy Nova perks his ears up, and the other wolves take notice at Anax.

“What was that for?”

Anax doesn’t answer, and instead looks behind his shoulder. The three of them listen to the faint sound of drums. Auctor nods and stands up, removing all of his clothing.

Her heart beats with anticipation as the drumming gets closer, and louder. Anax stands up, turning his back to the sprawled Tanika as he removes the last bit clothing he was wearing.

Soon enough, the source of the drumming becomes clear. Two figures emerge on each side of the upper levels of the amphitheater. They each carry a large drum, secured to their bodies with leather straps forming an x shape around their muscled backs. They descend each level slowly, maintaining a deep pulsating rhythm as they beat their drums with padded mammoth bones.

Once the two warriors descend into the middle row of seating, two additional warriors begin their descent from above. They each carry a pair of smaller, higher pitched drums. They add poly-rhythmic fills to the lower bass of the pulse pounding sequence. It becomes clear that the men only have the drums covering their nudity. War paint covers their muscles, with brightly dyed feathers adorning their black hair.

Anax and Auctor stand naked at either side of the sacrificial altar as the drum-line enters the bottom pit with them. Each warrior slowly walks in a clockwise formation, maintaining perfect synchronicity and military precision. The rest of the P’tauli warriors slowly descend into each row, one after the other, carrying lit torches. The flickering firelight illuminates their toned naked bodies, additionally covered in multicolored warpaint. The drumming warriors form a square around the altar. They continue drumming until each torch bearing warrior has filled the rows of the amphitheater.

The four drummers complete a final sequence then yell out a guttural war cry.

“Ooohh ahh!”

The men in the auditorium rows clank their torches against the stone seating before raising each light into the sky. They each yell the same chant, “Ooohh ahh!” Back at the drummers even louder, sending chills through Tanika as the men remain militantly frozen in silence. Anax turns back to face her.

“Do you feel sadness now?” He asks slyly.

Tanika takes the slack from her bound wrists, moving each in a circle, and wrapping the cords tighter around them.

“I feel resolve.” She says, using her legs to raise her groin upward.

“But I want you inside of me first.”

~~~~

Chapter Fifty-Two

“You must hear my thoughts!” Anax says to her.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He crawls on his knees between her legs on the slab, then places his hands underneath her, squeezing her ass as he helps hold her upward. His swollen penis tip rests on her clit as he prepares to enter her.

“Don’t just jab it in like you’re killing a Mammoth!” Auctor says insistently. The men start laughing as Anax traces his member up and down her lips, soaking up her moisture on his pulsing tip.

“What do you think I am? Primitive?” Anax quips back. “No. I am.. polite.” A gentle thrust from Anax allows his tip inside of her. Tanika clenches around it and her welcoming tunnel helps fold his foreskin downward, forming a ring as he slowly presses half of his member inside.

“Uhh..” She moans.

“Good.” Auctor says, walking behind the stone slab. His fingers trace down her outstretched arms down to her shoulders. He leans down to her, using his hands to tilt her head to the side as he meets his lips with hers.

Auctor is a good kisser, perfectly sucking her lips in between breaths. His tongue parts her lips and meets her own, just as Anax slides all the way inside of her. He hold her hips, guiding her body against his own until her secondary lips kiss his testicles. She moans into Auctor’s mouth as Anax arches upward, breathing heavily at the night sky.

Auctor squeezes both of her breasts while Anax begins a slow rocking motion. Tanika feels her walls wrapping around his sliding shaft as she continues kissing Auctor passionately. He moves one hand away from her breast so he can stroke his own penis at the same time.

With that, the drummers begin a new rhythm, fast and rolling. It projects images of running through the forest in Tanika’s mind as she feels Anax quicken his movement. Each thrust he makes soaks in more wetness from tanika.
Warriors in the amphitheater have secured, or even dropped their torches so they can masturbate.

Others watch intently, hoping for a turn. One warrior can’t help himself, and runs up to the slab from the front row. With one hand, he contains Tanika’s bouncing breast, but can no longer hold back the fierce essence building within. After some quickened stroking, he grunts while his creamy ejaculate sprays a white line across Tanika’s heavily breathing tummy.

He breathes heavily, nearly collapsing on her as another man approaches on the other side. He moans and sprays a secondary line going the other direction, forming a semen shaped ‘x’ across her body. Their seed drips down her sides and collects a few drops on the stone surface. Tanika breaks from kissing Auctor.

“I hope that’s not all you have to give me. I expect more.” She says to both of them. They look at each other and return to their seats with excited expressions, working on themselves to create a new supply.

Anax doesn’t stop. He bucks into her with increasing ferocity. His body builds a sweat, both from working her and the collective torchlight in the arena.
He opens his eyes to look at Auctor, who smiles.

“Give it to her!” He says with coy over the drums.

“Not without you.” Anax says back to him with heavy breaths. He looks down at Tanika. “Should we make it..two?” She bites her lower lip and nods. He thinks for a moment while resting deep inside of her.

“Auctor…lay how she is, beneath her.”

He nods in acknowledgement. Tanika unwinds her wrists, creating more slack in the chords. Anax slowly and reluctantly pulls out of her and they both moan in delight. His erect penis glistens with her juices, twitching precum as it leaves her.
Anax scoots back on the edge of the slab, once again using his hands to support her from beneath. He places her legs over his shoulders and lifts her upward to make room for Auctor.

“Don’t steal the air from my lungs.”

“I can’t promise that.” She replies, loosely wrapping her legs around Anax’s neck.
Auctor uses the moment to lay his back on the stone slab. He can feel the heat from her body resonating as he wriggles his head back beneath her outstretched arms. He helps support her body upward as Anax presses his face into her opening, licking and kissing it passionately.

She moans and convulses uncontrollably while he teases her sex, taking his time to lower her down onto Auctor’s awaiting body. He pulls his head back to take a breath.

“Auctor.. this will be your first woman. Don’t jab her like you’re killing a Mammoth!”

“Very funny. I’ll do my best.”

Anax guides her downward so her back will lay on Auctor’s chest. His chin rests on her shoulder as Anax finally Rests her backside onto his waist, pulling away from the pair. He takes Auctor’s erect penis in his hand pointing the length upward so Tanika’s vagina can gladly accept it, which she does. He moans as he feels her internally.

“Auctor is sizeable enough I knew this would work. How does he feel?”

Tanika simply moans as he kisses the side of her neck and ear. Her legs dangle over the sides of the altar as Auctor grinds and wriggles beneath her, loving the feeling of her encompassing warmth.

“Guess that answers my question. Room for one more?”

“Yes…” She says lustfully. Her wetness oozes down his shaft and body as he hands caress her breasts once more.

Anax climbs on top of the pair, straddling Tanika once more. He digs his penis against Auctor’s, prodding his swollen tip along the vein of his shaft, until it meets her clasping outer lips.

Although it’s a very tight fit, he manages to press his way into her vaginal tunnel at the same time Auctor is inside. Both organs throb and writhe within, massaging each other as Tanika’s warm ribbed tunnel coats them both at once, forming a very tight seal.

The men around them are intrigued by such a sight, having never witnessed such an act. The drummers keep pounding away, sweat dripping down and bouncing into smaller droplets on the thin Hyde that resonates their intense tones. Some men ejaculate onto themselves, perhaps too shy to approach the trio as they become one.

Anax moves on top of them such that Auctor will remain inside. Even though it’s a slower rythmn, the tight bond is incredible. P’tauli warriors cheer them on, but the sound is drowned out to the trio, engrossed in their lust. Unknown time passes before them.

Anax hunches over, resting his chin on her shoulder opposite of Auctor. Tanika hears and feels male heavy breathing in stereo, and four hands roaming over her naked body.

Both men seem to throb within her to a single, unified heartbeat. Tanika is the first to climax, wrapping them both in a warm rush. She gasps as she convulses around them, triggering Auctor to release a large deposit of sperm deep within her. Anax feels it swirling within, coating his own organ while Auctor’s member writhes in delight. The feeling forces Anax to surrender his own. He thrusts until he can’t move, adding his own seed to their creamy coalescence. His heightened testicles rest own onto Auctor’s own, massaging them as Tanika’s body milks every last drop from the pair, still embedded within her.

Both penises are not enough to block the flow of their seed, which now drips down Tanika’s spread legs, forming a small pool beneath them on the slab. She relaxes her tension as Anax finally pulls out of her.

The men drumming slowly become offbeat in their rhythm. One by one they slowly stop playing, both from exhaustion and eagerness. One by one they loosen the drums and drip them in the dirt, revealing their hard naked bodies.
Anax holds her up again, letting Auctor scoot away before laying her down again. He looks to the crowd with open arms.

“Who’s next?”

The four former drummers encroach on the ceremonial altar.

“Did you even need to ask?” Auctor says, finding his place next to Anax. He takes his hand in his own, intertwining their fingers. Both men face each other, openly hugging and pressing their naked glistening genitals together, enjoying the afterglow. The warriors seem bewildered by this. Anax turns to them.

“Oh, like you didn’t know!” He yells.

“We kept it a better secret than we thought.” Auctor adds.

Tanika pulls her two wrists together, and the chords finally snap her arms free. She gleefully wraps her free fingers around a penis on her left and her right, slowly stroking the two muscled drummers on those sides of the altar. A third drummer presents his member near her mouth and she turns her head, playfully nipping at it with a smile.

The fourth drumming warrior squats onto the slab in the same position Anax was just in, between Tanika’s legs. He readies his hardened organ to enter her gooey opening. A line forms behind him, of eager men and virgins awaiting their turn with her.

“Was it what you thought it would be?” Anax asks.

“Even better.” Answers Auctor as the pair sit together on the first inner row of the amphitheatre.

“I’m glad you convinced me to try it.”

“The important thing is if she is enjoying it.”

“Do we even need to ask?”

The two men converse as she becomes engrossed in male bodies. A feast of flesh as she collects p’tauli seed from each man, some more than once. Each one leaves his sperm to lubricate the next man, only to deposit more. Endless hands and fingers, touching every inch of her. A sea of faces, moaning and grunting in carnal delight.

“You told me she was with child. She doesn’t look it.” One man says to another.

“Does it matter? The end is near.”

Tanika feels the onset of soreness from all the men inside her, but she craves it all the same. The pleasure is too great. The sacrificial altar is covered with love, rather than blood this night, all thanks to her.

In the midst of a long line of countless orgasms, she has a mystical premonition.

“Anax!”

She tries to yell it, but something blocks her voice. She has to remove the young warrior’s penis from the back of her throat.

“Hey, no biting!” He whines as she turns her head.

“Anax! They’re coming!” She yells with a free breath.

“They certainly are!” He yells back.

“No, my people! They are here!” She forces over everyone. Anax stands in a hurry, raising a clenched fist.

“Everyone, quiet! Listen..”

“Where are the wolves?” Auctor asks. He looks up at Anax with concern, holding his arm.

Anax looks around intently, seeing no trace of them. Tanika sits up, worried. The p’tauli warriors quiet down, scanning all directions.

A faint wolf growl breaks the silence. The sound of many horse hooves is getting louder, closer.

“Men of the P’taul! Drop your dicks and grab your sticks! Time to fight!” Anax yells in a deep commanding tone.

The men scatter, bumping into one another as they scramble for weapons and torches. Tanika feels eagerly on the ground, searching for her blade between everyone running around her. She finds it, and whistles to Nova without a sight or response.

“Are we a bunch of clumsy fucks?!” Anax yells with intense force.

“No!” The warriors yell in booming unison.

Anax runs to the top of the amphitheater. He scans the horizon, watching the dark, blurry horse riders drawing near. He turns back, looking down at everyone.

“Destiny has arrived to erase the P’taul! Will you let it?”

“No!” They boom again.

“Are we one?!”

“Ooohh ah!” They yell at once, even louder.

“Show me!”

“What are you waiting for?!” Auctor yells. “Join your leader! Fight to the death!”

“To the death!” They each yell, raising their spears. They split uniformly, running up the isles to join Anax. They yell with rage and adrenaline.

“Cover all points! Those without weapons, meet them with your fists! Have no fear!” Anax commands.

Tanika’s heart races as she grips her blade tightly. Auctor touches her shoulder.
“This is it. Stay low. Find your wolves.” He instructs. She nods. Both of them follow the last of the p’tauli warriors up the steps as the men in front aim their spears at the encroaching mob.

“They will surround us! Stay here! Attack on my command!”

“Ooohh ahh!” They bellow with acknowledgement.

A single wolfskin rider leads a large group of additional horse riders behind him, roughly twenty. They ride in a tight formation as they head speedily toward the P’tauli amphitheater. Each one is adorned with the same clanking bones, overpowered by the deep clopping of the galloping hooves which scoop away the thick tundra.

“Find your target now! Steady..” Anax commands.
Warriors surround Anax, forming a protective barrier. Those with short range weapons hunch down on one knee. Those with long range spears draw them back, preparing to throw. Auctor and Tanika run up to either side of Anax. Auctor aims his bow as Tanika whistles again for Nova. No response.

“Fire!” Anax screams, throwing his arm down as the galloping horse brigade gets within range. With that, a volley of long range spears fly toward their intended targets.

“T’eska m’untrei!” Screams the lead horse rider. The wolf skin warriors quickly reach behind their backs. They pull out some large interwoven shields, holding them in front of their bodies as they ride. They are quick enough to absorb the impact of the incoming P’tauli weapons. Anax looks bewildered, as P’tauli sparkstone will pierce mostly anything.

Nevertheless, the wolf skin riders find their shields with the protruding spears to be too heavy, and toss them to the ground. This leaves them vulnerable to a second attack.

Anax instructs the close range warriors to form a circle around the amphitheater, protecting the long range fighters as they resupply. Auctor loads another arrow to his bow. He closes his eye as he aims.

“Where are their weapons?” He asks Anax. He shrugs in response, intently watching the invading horde as they start to encircle them, just out of range.

“Where is YOUR weapon?” He asks him again with urgency.

“I’ll worry about that later.” He responds calmly.

“You’ll be the death of me.” Auctor retorts, tracing the lead horse rider with his arrow. He fires, but misses.

Nova and Earth leap from the shadows, growling viciously at a pair of horses. They dance around both of them, viciously barking and barring their teeth. One horse darts away in sheer panic. The other rares upward, kicking its front hooves in the air with a fearful whinnie. The wolf skin rider is nearly thrown off backwards as he attempts to regain control.

The horse rider that darted away has looped around, and charges back toward Earth and Nova in an attempt to trample them both.

“Nova!” Tanika screams helplessly.

Night makes his appearance, and in one swift bound he leaps over the horse, sinking his teeth into the wolf skin rider, sending him to the ground with a thud. Wind speedily chases the stray horse away in the opposite direction. Night regains his footing and climbs on top of the fallen rider. He shrieks in terror, covering his face while Night bites into his skeletal armor, snapping the bones with his powerful jaws. The man furiously tries to push him away.

The whole commotion disrupts the flow of the wolfskin formation, as more spooked horses dart away. Nova and Earth peruse them, herding the riders into more confusion.

Tanika makes a break for it, sprinting into a hole in the battlefield. She steps on a wolfskin shield, struggling to pull a p’tauli spear free.

“Something is wrong. They could have easily trampled us by now, but they haven’t.” Auctor mentions to Anax, flowing his bow. Anax remains silent in fierce concentration.

The lead horse rider barks unknown orders at his men, waving his arm in the air. Half of the riders regain control as Earth and Nova scatter away.
The fallen rider stands with Night clenched around his wrist. He struggles to free the vicious wolf from his armor. Wind is running at them, ready to join in the tug-of-war.

The commander and his men head toward the fallen rider in an attempt to rescue him. Night and Wind see them approaching, and retreat just in time. The lead rider demonstrates his skill, leaning to the side with an open hand. The fallen man catches it, and is hoisted aboard the galloping horse. A few men break away to retrieve the spooked horse as everyone else regains formation quickly.

Tanika finally frees the spear, readying it in one hand while gripping her sacred blade in the other. She stands ready to fight, but watches the horse riders gallop away.

“You’re right.” Anax says to Auctor. “They’re retreating.”

“What are they doing?”

The wolves have reunited. They approach Tanika on the battlefield. She sets her weapons down as Nova approaches, panting.

“Good work boy. Don’t scare me!” She says to him, giving a reaffirming scratch behind his ears. He eagerly sniffs at her crotch before licking it.

“Mmmm not now.. Alright, maybe a little.”

Anax is focused on the army. “They’re testing our defenses. They’ll make a second
pass.”

“They’ve stopped. See?” Auctor says back.
Tanika and the wolves run back to Anax and Auctor.

“How many dead?” She asks, catching her breath.

“None.” Auctor answers.

The wolves form a circle of protection around the trio, even going so far as to snap and growl at their own warriors standing behind them. The men back away, startled.

“How many of them did we kill?” Anax asks her.

“None that I saw.”

“Look! He’s dismounting.” Auctor says, pointing.

The lead rider steps off his horse, motioning for his men to hold back. He walks alone toward the P’tauli encampment.

“What’s he doing?”

“I don’t know.”

“He intends to talk! What should we do?”

“I should meet him.” Anax responds with certainty.

“Is that wise?”

“Not at all. But I’m going to do it.”

“Well, what should we do?” Auctor asks with concern.

“Stay here.”

Anax walks out of the circle of warriors, slowly heading toward the leader as he approaches. The stars slowly disappear as the sky changes into a hue of dark blue, the beginning of pre-dawn. Both parties remain still, watching intently as their leaders strut toward each other.

Anax walks with his head held highly in confidence. He’s weaponless, and completely stark naked as he stops in his stride.

“That’s close enough!” Anax yells at the man, with his hand out.

The wolfskin leader complies, keeping a respectable distance. In contrast to Anax, he stands in complete wolfskin regalia with outer bone infused armor. He slowly looks Anax up and down in silence as he stands before him with clenched fists resting on his hips.

“See anything you like?” Anax asks sarcastically.

The man responds by removing his helmet. He looks down as he places it in one hand, holding it to his side. He looks up and gives his hair a shake, revealing his face. He blinks, revealing that his left eye is completely white. A deep scar runs down that side of his face, from his forehead to his cheekbone. The rest of his face is bubbled from apparent burn scarring. He is quite handsome despite this deformation.

“I am called Jolon.” The man finally says. “Second in command to Demur.”

“I am called Anax. Wish I could say I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Demur told us the P’taul are nothing but gluttonous, lust indulging fools.” He replies.

“One of those statements is correct! Pity you didn’t arrive sooner. You missed our party.” The man steps closer to Anax, causing him to tense up.

“My men and I have traveled a great distance.”

“I told you to stay there!” Anax yells. Jolon ignores him and steps within striking distance of Anax. He extends an open hand.

“We have abandoned Demur. We’re here to join you in your fight.”

~~~~

Chapter Fifty-Three

Anax is looking down at Jolon’s extended hand. He shifts upward to Jolon’s eyes with a blank expression before pivoting his back to him, and walking toward the p’tauli amphitheatre. Jolon slowly returns his hand, forming it into a fist and down to his side, offended as he watches Anax return to his people.

A second wolfskin horse rider gallops toward Jolon, who keeps his gaze aimed at Anax. The rider stumbles to a stop near his side.

“What happened? What’s he doing?” The warrior asks down to Jolon. His horse paws at the tundra and snorts.

“I don’t know. I think he needs to talk to his people.”

“I don’t like this, and the men are worried. We should leave.”

“Give it time, Das. Go back to them now, it should only be me here.”

“Demur never said they’d be naked.” Das retorts.

“No he did not.”

“Ya!” Das yells out, while he kicks the sides of his horse, steering it in a circle before galloping back to the other wolfskins. Jolon remains steady.

After some incoherent discussion, Anax and Tanika walk back toward him. Nova follows closely to Tanika’s side and the three wolves keep further behind.

“Do you know this man?” Anax asks her, pointing.

“Not intimately.” She replies. Nova sits down, staring at Jolon. The blue dawn seems to amplify his eyes.

“I know him.” Anax says confidentiality but with a hint of disdain, folding his arms.

“He and his men nearly killed us all.”
Tanika looks puzzled, thinking Anax is talking about their recent skirmish.

“He came before, with Demur. They are the ones who collapsed our homes and took our horses.” He finishes staunchly.

“Is this true?” She says to Jolon.

“Yes.”

“And you’re here to finish the job?” She asks concurrently.

“No. We’re here to return the horses and fight by your side.”
Tanika turns to Anax, trying to read him. He returns a skeptical gaze. Jolon slowly squats down, keeping eye contact with Nova.

“It seems the whispers are true!” Jolon says loudly.

“What whispers?” She asks, turning to him.

“There are whispers in the village that Demur’s sister is alive. They say… That she lives in the wild and hunts with a wolf that no man can kill. They say, that she will return one day to restore balance…and free her people.” Jolon finally looks away from Nova, meeting her eyes.

“You are Tanika. Aren’t you?” He asks, slowly standing.

She has a hard time hiding a smile in the corner of her mouth. Anax rolls his eyes before rudely interrupting.

“He’s trying to appeal to your vanity. Don’t let him!”

Tanika straightens her posture, and her expression, then clears her throat.

“Why have you abandoned Demur? And why have you come to us now, on the eve of battle?” She asks him more intensely.

Anax furrows his brow, then rubs his chin as he studies Jolon.

“You have no reason to trust me, I can’t convince you.” He pauses. “But.. it was how he treated your captured women, and what he did to the boy..it was too much for me to follow.”

Anax tightens his knuckles. “You will give us all of your weapons, right now. And our horses.”

Jolon hesitates. He looks back at his men. “How do I know you won’t kill us all once we surrender them to you?”

“You don’t.” Anax replies, swiftly.

“I know what Demur is planning. My betrayal will have angered him greatly. I can give you valuable information but time is fading. Me and my men will not be treated like prisoners.”

Tanika takes hold of Anax’s hand, pulling him aside. She speaks to him too quietly for Jolon to hear.

“This is exactly what we need!”

“Yes, just in time.” Anax says, looking back at Jolon with a slight smile.

“We need to find out what he knows.”

“Once we do, and have our horses, we will bind the men and throw them into the sea.”

“What? Anax!” Tanika hits his arm.

“Hey! You don’t actually believe him, do you?”
Jolon folds his arms, leaning in to attempt to decipher what they’re saying.

“I’m not certain but I know enough to see that he’s not lying.”

“This is part of Demur’s plan. They will lead us to our death!”

Tanika struggles to top his argument, remaining silent. Anax turns back toward Jolon.

“You will give us your weapons but remain on horse back!” He says booming over to him. “I will talk to my tribe, and convince them not to kill you, for now. Wash’te?”

Jolon pauses and rubs his chin. “Fine. Wash’te.”

“Great! Once you have given us your weapons, you can join us for first meal. I’m sure everyone is very hungry.” Anax motions for Auctor.

“Where do we tie the horses?” Jolon inquires white unlatching his armor.

“You may tie them up at the ruins, so you can marvel at your accomplishments.” Anax says with his back turned once more.

Jolon sighs. “As you say.”

“He’ll go in the sea first.” Anax mutters to Tanika. She responds by hitting his shoulder once more.

~~~~

Chapter Fifty-Four

“What is this shit?” A burly wolfskin groans. His guttural voice and inflection would intimidate the average spectator. Each tribe of warriors have filled the P’tauli amphitheater, but continue to remain separated. Even in this time of union the tension is as palpable as the meal being served.

“This ‘shit‘ is a delicacy you have yet to taste!” A P’tauli warrior cackles back. “You should be more grateful. Mammoth meat is something you would never eat otherwise! Your people can’t even hunt them like we do.”

The wolfskin throws his gigantic hunk of meat to the ground. “If your hunting is as good as your fighting, you’d all be dead! And I’ll die if I eat this. Feed it to the wolves.”

“I’ll show you that my aim is true. I can hit you in one throw of my spear!”

“Try it!” The men are laughing and encouraging them on.

“Enough!” Anax shouts over everyone. “We’re here to find an understanding, not to trade insults.”

Jolon seems to smile as he chews on a giant rib bone.

“Will Demur strike today?” Auctor asks him.

“No. Demur wants you to come to him.” Jolon answers, with a mouthful.

“Why?”

“He plans to lead his people further into the new land. He believes they are in danger.”

“From us?”

“No. You are a danger, yes, but there is a greater one. He doesn’t want to waste time invading p’tauli territory. He just wants your resources, which is why he was hoping the fight will be in his land.”

“What danger?” Tanika injects. She feeds Nova and he licks her fingers.
Jolon swallows his food before answering. “A drop of mother’s milk will fall from the sky, onto our valley, turning all men to dust and all dust back to the sky with it.”

The men look at each other with confused and skeptical expressions. “It’s the last thing the mystic said to us before she was killed that night. I’m sure you know the night I speak of.”

Tanika ponders for a moment. “Yes. But.. Demur doesn’t believe in the old ways. He wants to destroy them!”

“It’s true. But he believes this one thing.”

“Hypocrite..” she mutters.

“If your people trek into the new land, without food or warmth..you will all certainly freeze to death. There is still too much ice, I’ve charted it all.” Auctor adds, leaning in with conviction.

“Yes. Many of us know he has lost his mind to madness. If we strike the village in a way he’s not expecting, we can cause an uprising. We might have a chance to defeat him.”

“If we follow your words, you could lead us into Demur’s hands, and give him the victory. You might be working with him, even now as we speak.” Anax says insistently.

“I know we can’t erase what we’ve done. I know you have no reason to trust us. If you prefer, I can take my men and leave. We will find our own way, and my words can flutter in the air, never entering your head.” Jolon stands up abruptly, and his warriors follow suit. “We thank you for a good meal.”

Tanika stands with her arms out between to two tribes. “What Anax is trying to say is we need more information about where to strike. We have detailed maps we can review together, if you choose to stay.”

Anax gives Tanika an irritated look.

“I want an assurance that we are working together, and not against each other.” Jolon retorts.

Everyone looks down at Anax, seemingly pitting him on the spot. Anax looks around, reading his people along with the wolfskins.

He hesitantly replies, “You have my word.”

~~~~