TARYN'S OTHERLAND: Chapter 13
The next morning broke early as it always did, especially away from the cave. I added wood to the fire and moved the coals around until it relit into flames. I roasted more of the bison meat while the wolves moved to the source and fed off the carcass. My gazed passed over the hide that I had worked so diligently to remove from the carcass. I wasn’t happy with the situation. The hide was big and heavy. I had little inclination at the moment to struggle with it all the way back to the cave. Yet, it was a nice hide and could be useful for a sleeping surface in the next winter. I disliked the idea of wasting a perfectly good hide.
I saw Grey pass in front of me slowly and I remember a sense from last night. It is common for me to stroke various of the wolves as I move around a camp, especially just prior to settling in for the night. Last night, while stroking Grey over her belly, I thought I felt something different. With the new light of day, I moved to her, my bear hide over my shoulders but not fastened in front. She was standing when I came to her side so I stroked her side and belly where she stood. It did feel bloated. I felt Ma and Dau to compare, but they seemed normal. They had all fed from the same carcass so I didn’t think it should have anything to do with a problem with the food. Then, it started sinking into me. Grey and the two newest males were unaware of our (my) plan to restrict mating during the heat. I had even recognized that the three of them continued mating right through the heat. Grey was pregnant; it had to be that!
This was intended to be an exploratory trip to this side and it had already been a huge success in terms of learning about the prairie and the types of game available. In fact, to my mind, it had been stunning what was found here. I hadn’t been in a rush to return to the other side to prepare for a longer summer – fall exploration here, but now it seemed imperative to return and the sooner the better. Wolf gestation is only about 8 weeks and by the time we reach the cave, we might be pushing that time limit. The cave would be ideal for birthing the young. It was warm and secure.
I had no way to explain my concern and feeling of a need to leave soon. Then, I saw Ma approaching Grey. She had been watching from a distance as I examined Grey, now Ma was seeing for herself and in some animal way, she apparently came to the same conclusion. Soon, all the wolves seemed to be aware.
Once the wolves had fed well, again, from the carcass, I prepared myself for leaving. I removed the hide coat, secured the quiver and bow over my shoulder and back, then put the coat back on but left unfastened. I took up the spear, started moving back toward the mountain when a sound come from the hillside just to the south. All the wolves reacted to it, also. Again, Bo, Uno, and Tre formed a line between us while Dos and Qua formed to the back, just in case I suppose. It was good defensive position certainly.
Then, I saw, and the others as well, what caused the disturbance. Maybe 300 yards away, coming from the trees at the bottom of the next hill, came a group of people, humans, natives, whatever. They had all the general appearance, from this distance, of the North American Indians in regards to clothing and weapons. What had the attention of our group was that they were moving at a fast walk toward us, shouting, and waving arms and weapons. I could not understand a thing they were shouting and it didn’t feel like a good time for a meeting, not when we might be at a disadvantage.
I agreed with Bo when he made a move to lead the pack away from them and to the mountains. I was toward the back to the pack and stopped to remove the coat to get the bow ready in case it was needed for protection from them. Bo stopped the pack and became aggressive with me to continue. I was still watching the people, notching an arrow to be ready. There seemed to be something about the way they were approaching us that seemed less than threatening, but not completely. It might only have been that I had developed the same defensive preference for solitude the wolf pack exhibited. It might be that I had lost some recognition of human intention by physical action.
They continued to approach and diverted their direction to adjust for our movement. I stepped to the back of the pack line and pulled up the bow as if to take aim. They immediately recognized the danger and stopped. I wondered then how long they might have been watching us. Had they seen the kill from yesterday? Were they aware of my abilities with the bow? Was there stopping a concession for that or coincidence?
Once they stopped, I picked up the spear, pointed in the direction of the carcass, then to them, and repeated the motion. They seemed to discuss among themselves, one ran in the direction of the carcass, jumped into the ravine and came out holding up the hide. I nodded, pointed to it and them. When they waved in response, it felt friendly, not the aggressive action I perhaps mistook their running towards us as. None the less, we still left at a trot and quickly lost line-of-sight with them over the next rise. I kept the pace at a trot until we had achieved the slope for the mountain on the west side. At that point, Bo led us up along the same trail we had taken when we arrive only a few days earlier. I stopped and the pack waited as I surveyed behind us. The people were not following. In reflection, I doubted that they were being aggressive at all, but were likely merely wanting to make contact with us, or me.
Turning to continue up the mountain slope to the low pass to our narrow valley, movement to the south grabbed my attention. I nearly wrote it off as another part of the herd moving north, but it wasn’t. What was coming from the south was a large group of humans, many pulling travois loaded belongings. Men and women alike were pulling these with young and old mixed in among them. I saw the group from earlier move out to intercept them. I looked down at the people loaded with belongings moving across the valley, which reminded me of the nomadic life of North American Indians on the plains. I looked out beyond them to the massive herd, remembering the horses mixed in with the other grazing animals. Could it be that the horse was no more to them than another animal? Perhaps even just another animal to be killed for food?
Our return to the cave turned out to be very fortuitous. Grey had been pregnant and she gave birth to five pups; unfortunately, one died at birth. If anyone had wondered about the effect on animals is of a birth death should have experienced what I saw in that cave. I had used my bear coat for Grey to give birth on. A soft and warm surface for her and the pups was a hope for a good birthing experience. Even so, she lost one. And, it was felt by the entire pack as the births began and ended. When I had to take that pup outside to discreetly bury it while the rest of the pack watched over the pups and mother, I felt it in them, I felt it from them, and I felt it for them.
The pups are born blind and deaf; their weight is barely a single pound. They are, as a result, extremely vulnerable at this stage and the mother doesn’t leave the safety of the cave for the first several weeks, at which time the pups are agile enough to maneuver and have some chance of escaping a predator. Our unique situation with the warm and protected cave, allowed a more secure and leisurely start to the pups’ lives … and for Grey. The entire pack seemed to pitch in to assisting Grey with the pups, bringing in food for Grey as she nursed and managing the little ones as they began the exploration around the cave and the patio. All it took was for one of the adults to sit or lie at the narrow opening out of the patio to provide a safe environment for them.
In due time, the pups were ready for the trek to the valley and prairie on the other. In old, established packs, the elderly wolves will often be in the front of the line to set the pace for the rest of the pack. This assures that they won’t be left behind and unprotected from other predators. In our case, though, Grey and the pups were placed in the middle of the line so they would always be surrounded. It was decidedly slower than the previous time we crossed the pass.
Once we were over the pass, however, I could see the same sight as before. The main herd may have moved further north, but the number of animals in front of us was still spectacular. When we left the valley and prairie, the mass of people was moving north. It now seemed that these people were at least in some ways nomadic in their nature, perhaps moving north for the summer and back south for the winter. Maybe, there was a better winter grounds to the south. Perhaps more protected but with still an abundance of food source. Off to the north, I could detect the smoke from many fires rising into the sky. I couldn’t see the camp with the people, but I could see where they were.
I was too curious and moved along the mountainside in that direction. The pups were having a tough time with their little bodies and short legs and not walking on a trail. Then, we did intersect a trail, undoubtedly made by moving deer or elk along the mountain. That made our progress much easier and I soon had the vantage point I was hoping for, high up on a ridge with the village of people below us. The number of people was impressive and it made me wonder how I could have missed it last year when Bo and I came over investigating. But, I reminded myself that my expectations were entirely different, not intent on small signs of human life, but the big, obvious signs that was so evident in my previous existence. There were teepees all over the place! The number of people moving around and busy surprised me. I had seen a large group moving before but I wasn’t ready for this number. The items found in the cave seemed like pre-Columbian and the appearance of the group below seemed to reinforce that assessment.
We stood in a line along the ridge, the wolves standing or sitting, the pups moving around and among us. I was now dressed in what I had fashioned for warm weather, which consisted of a cape-like article that would normally be fastened at the neck or could be pulled around my body and fastened with a belt using slits for my arms if the weather dictated more protection. I was barefoot now. For nearly a year I had been toughening my feet, now the use of moccasins with the thin soles were no longer needed.
I thought we were innocuous in our location of observation, but in short order we had drawn the attention of some of the people. I should have guessed that they would be very alert to anything new or different around them. They lived a life in the wilds and among beasts of a wide variety. They couldn’t afford to be surprised.
I had already decided that with the very young pups, any aggressive action from the people like the last time would cause us to leave at once. At seeing that we were noticed, I was already tensing to leave, but the people made no move to exit their camp. A large number of people were gathering at the edge, but they stopped there. I saw shortly after being noticed that a young boy ran deeper into the camp. But, the people came no further towards us than the edge of the camp. Then, I saw a group of people, some men and some women moving in a group with many more following. The grouping of people at the edge of the camp parted and allowed this new group to pass through and they, too, stopped. Two women moved a few steps further, but no further. An older man and several others would say things to them and the two women would respond, but all the while keeping their gaze on us. Then there was a discussion between the two women and I could see that one was considerably younger than the other. The discussion seemed to move from discussion to argument, but it was clear to me that the argument lacked anger. Perhaps it was more concern and uncertainty.
The cause became clear when the younger woman steps away from the rest and moved deliberately, if slowly and carefully, to the slope leading to us. She stopped and turned to the other woman who came half way to her. They held up their right hands to each other as if the gesture had some meaning to them. When the younger woman turned back to us and started up the slope, I knew I was going to have my first human contact since arriving here … if I stayed. I was torn between allowing my concern for the pack lead me to leave and my curiosity about these humans to stay. The wolves weren’t torn, however. They were obviously agitated at the sight of the approaching human. Bo noticed it, also. He looked to me, however, for a determination of stay or leave. I needed to know, so we stayed.
Some of the men of the camp were inching forward. I could sympathize that they must have some concerns for the woman’s safety. Whoever this approaching woman was, she must be a person of some importance and respect among the camp. But, the other woman below had apparently even more as she brought the men to a stop and they responded immediately. I had not been idly just waiting to see what might happen. My bow was in my left hand, an arrow notched in the string, and at the ready. My spear was stuck in the ground next to me, also ready if needed. The large knife strapped to my right thigh visible on my otherwise naked body under the cape.
The wolves, especially the males, grew increasingly anxious the closer the woman came up the slope. For them, it was not a fear based anxiety, it was a protective anxiety, having females and pups under their protection. The males were lined up on either side of me with the females and pups behind. I took a few strides forward, separating myself from them and waiting for the woman. She came confidently, but as she got closer and closer, her eyes flitted from me to the wolves lined to each side. While Bo had more trust in my judgement of human contact situations, the other males were displaying their agitation and posturing for warning. I called back to calm them, then looked back to command them to ‘sit’, one of the few control commands I had tried to employ with them, but felt necessary in strategic situations for surprise around game. The woman stopped as she took in the responding action from the wolves, undoubtedly to her, just wild beasts.
I heard a murmur from below as the wolves followed my command. I quickly glanced down to see the lead men directing their comments to the other woman. I could see her smile. She apparently was deciding the young woman had good instincts that she was right to approach us. I had no idea what was expected to come from this encounter. I was not going to understand anything she said and the same would be true for her understanding me. But, this was a monumental moment for me. There were humans here, humans who functioned within a large group with structure and respect. This and coming interactions would be the basis for any impulse on my part of having anything to do with them in the future or long-term. There was a part of me that was almost disappointed to discover them and that they were interested in contact. There was another part of me that was intrigued by that contact. Even if many thought of me as being largely unsocial, social was always a part of my prior existence, something that was impossible to escape, something that I had longed to escape. Now that I had that escape, that part of me wondered immediately if complete separation from humans was what I really desired. Time would be the teller.
The woman stopped completely about 20 yards in front of me. Her eyes nervously, but excitedly, moved along the line of male wolves just behind me and the activity further back as females and the others moved to keep the pups under control and away from possible danger. She then turned her eyes to me and steadily on me. She put her right hand on her chest, “Wachiwi”. She repeated it several times. I knew, of course, that she was indicating her name, but I was curious what she would do next when I didn’t respond. I chuckled, which took her by surprise. She repeated her name louder and louder, each time indicating herself. Funny, it must be a universal response to increase the volume to make someone understand what you are saying.
I put a finger to my upper chest, “Taryn”. I then went down the line of male, fully adult, males, giving each of their names. I saved Bo for last and put my hand on the side of his head as I stated his name. She nodded as though understanding and I wondered what that meant, but it was as though a connection was made between me and my big, black wolf.
She took several more steps closer and the wolves reacted, requiring me to calm them, again. I was curious about the other woman, so pointed my arrow at her and put what I intended to be a puzzled expression my face. She looked behind me and the males and pointed. I turned to find Grey further back with the pups. I touched her with arrow, then pointed to the pups, pointed to Grey and then the woman below. This woman nodded enthusiastically. Communication. Painful, but communication.
She then pointed to the camp and indicated to go down. I shook my head ‘no’. She indicated the entire pack and I shook my head more emphatically. I didn’t know about the people, but I didn’t know if the wolves could be trusted if they became threatened, even unintentionally. I emphatically rejected the suggestion. She stood looking at me, at my body, the wolves and the young, then me, again. She put up her hands to indicated a ‘wait’. The same physical motion universally used by people.
She ran down the slope, looking over her shoulder every now and then to verify that we didn’t leave. She was in good shape, good enough to maintain her balance and control running down a slope of irregular surface. Once at the bottom, she talked, pointed, and argued. I woman I now knew to be her mother was doing the same. I had the sense that there was trust and respect between them, but also concern. Whatever the young woman was proposing had the other woman and the men arguing. Finally, after much back and forth, Wachiwi pulled her mother away from the others and talked only to her and the discussion became a discussion and less of an argument. The mother looked up at us for a while, then talked more. Then, the two women hugged and Wachiwi came running back up. This would be the true indication of what kind of condition she was in. Running up a slope is much more difficult on the lungs. She did slow to a walk eventually, but she made good progress back to us.
Panting and gasping, she patted her chest, pointed to me and the pack and then out across the prairie. I looked at her, wanting to understand her excitement and true intention. She repeated the motions. I thought I knew. If we wouldn’t go to the camp, she wanted to be with us. I looked at her hard, I pulled her by the arm between Bo and Dos. She flinched when they moved to give room. I put my hand on her shoulder, the other holding the bow and arrow and it waved over the general pack, and then pointed out onto the prairie. She nodded, ‘yes’. I smiled. I had no idea what was in this woman head, but I was again too curious. I held up my bow, indicated it and pointed to her camp. This time she was trying to understand me, then her eyes brightened and nodded. She just looked at me so I pointed to the camp and she ran off, again. I yelled to her and pointed to the valley away from the camp and the pack made our way down the slope. I was now shaking my head. What was I doing? We had a nice pack situation, why interfere with that?
I couldn’t really answer that question, but it no longer mattered. It was done. We were at the bottom of the slope, heading out into the valley and the prairie beyond when one of the wolves stopped and watched behind us. I looked, but knew what I would find … the young woman, Wachiwi, was coming after us at a trot. Like I thought before, I was impressed. I had lived with wolves exclusively for almost a full year and I was no longer easily impressed by humans.
She didn’t fit into the group, obviously. She was a square peg with a board full of only round holes. But, to her credit, she appeared to realize that she was the odd one and exhibited a great deal of patience. For the first several days, there was hardly any attempt at communication. She followed the lead of the pack, ate when I ate and what I gave her to eat. She initially seemed uncomfortable going a full day without eating anything but saw that the entire pack was operating under the same conditions. So, she started eating more when we did it and ignoring what might have been normal social practices of restraint when another meal would be following in hours away. Here, when the next meal would come was always a bit of a mystery.
The most uncomfortable times came when the wolves mated, generally at night. I watched her closely and was surprised that she wasn’t more upset. In fact, it was almost like she was prepared for the pack to indulge in mating with each other. I was shocked, though, when she pointed at me and then the animals. Bo had approached one of the females but had picked up on my reluctance and was leaving me alone. I didn’t want to make it any more difficult for the woman, but if she was going to spend any amount of time with us, it was eventually going to happen. And, when she pointed at me and then at Bo, I wondered what she knew about us … and how she knew it. She repeated the signals several time, but I knew from the first what she was indicating. She was wondering why I was not mating with Bo. I wondered if she had seen more than I thought. She was among the group that we saw that morning we left for our valley and the cave. What if she … and others … had watched us the night before … when we were mating by the fire, by the light of the fire. I couldn’t keep the smile from crossing my face; she was aware of more about us than I had presumed and she still wanted to come with us. She had a strong drive to learn more about us and I wondered what her role in her village was that might create such a drive.
I decided, what the heck, she was as much as saying it was okay with her. I patted Bo on the shoulders and went to my hands and knees. I had been next to the woman and I didn’t create any more space when I decided to go for it. This neither shocked or seemed to upset her. She half turned to be able to watch better and still have something of a view of the others who were by now well in the mating process. It didn’t take Bo and me long to make up for the lost time, though. He gave my ass and pussy a number of appreciative licks that generated moans and sighs from my mouth. But I wanted more from him. I slapped my ass and he reacted immediately, moving his head from my crack to over my ass and he leapt onto my back. I slipped my hand between my legs to assist him and I groaned as his cock slid into my wet pussy. He released the grip of his legs around my waist, only enough to reposition himself by thrusting deeper into my pussy. I arched my back into the belly of Bo and moaned my pleasure at the same time.
I sensed a movement next to me and saw Wachiwi shifting her position to better witness what I was doing and the enjoyment I was receiving. It occurred to me that she might still be a virgin, but regardless of that, she was not upset or offended by what was happening. Instead, she was watching closely, as if she was intent on understanding the details and intricacies of the mating process. And, though she paid attention to the mating of the wolves, she was far more focused on the activities of Bo and me.
Then, I was past considering her interests or motivations, it was all me and what Bo was giving me in the way of one of his wonderful fuckings. My back was arching and dropping, my pelvis rotating, and my breasts swinging as he thrust in that unique canine frenzied way. When his knot stretched my pussy opening and finally drove inside me, I cried out and nearly came. The combination of what Bo was giving me AND the stimulation of being watched so intently by another human being … something I wasn’t sure even existed not that long ago. My orgasm was quick and powerful, bringing climax to Bo in response, his knot and cock growing, jerking, and shooting inside of me.
I felt a touch on my shoulder, which brought me out of the glow of my orgasm. It was Wachiwi, of course. She pointed to Bo being behind me, that he had turned causing us to now be ass-to-ass rather than him on top of me. I felt it, naturally. It is a strange feeling when the animal turns, his cock remaining embedded inside, twisting with the turn of the body outside. It is another of the delicious feelings of mating with a canine that is completely different and exotic compared to a man. I reached behind and raised Bo’s tail and she came closer for a better look. Bo reacted to the touch and her moving closer, but he relaxed immediately at seeing it was my hand holding his tail. I held my hand up in a fist, trying to indicate a ball, and pointing to the place of our junction. Bo pulled, feeling some discomfort from the close attention, even if it was under my control.
She came even closer and it all took on a sense of obscenity to me. I was tied to a wolf and the young woman, who only days before meant nothing to me, was closely inspecting my knot and cock filled pussy, seeing how the knot was causing my pussy lips to bulge outward from me. Despite the lack of effective verbal communication, she seemed to understand what was happening and seemed all the more fascinated with it. It was then that I knew she would also be mated by a wolf, that her earlier reluctance wasn’t from a lack of willingness, but rather needing to understand the process and to see my reaction to it.
That thought did something to me, it turned up my excitement to another level, and it made me even more curious about this woman. Still tied to Bo, I reached my hand out to Wachiwi, pulling her head to mine, then while looking into her eyes, I brought my lips to hers, kissing her so she knew it wasn’t a friend kiss. She pulled back but not before returning the kiss to me. She brought a finger to her lips, her eyes searching mine. I smiled at her and taking her fingers from her lips, she returned the smile and brought her lips back to mine. It was in the midst of that kiss that Bo pulled and separated us, my moan at the release escaping my mouth into Wachiwi’s. She pulled my head into her and mashed my mouth with hers. I slipped my tongue out and probed her lips. She pulled back inches and searched my face, again. Mmmmm … so much to teach this one …
I came to my knees in front of her and fumbled with the tie of the belt to her gown. Her eyes weren’t watching me, though, they were focused on Bo as he licked his cock clean. Her mouth opened as if to say something and her eyes were large, staring at the size of cock and the knot. Of course, the knot was much reduced to escape my pussy. She would discover that feeling herself.
Her attention was brought back to me as I continued to struggle with her dress, not figuring out how it held together and where it separated. She pulled at a couple location and pulled the garment over her head. Her hair was long and shiny like mine, but her body hair was thicker and very pronounced. I didn’t think any of the animals were going to mind. I cupped her breasts and gave each a gentle squeeze. She looked awkward and shy now. Before, while watching me, she seemed confident in her desire. Now, faced with the looming reality, she seemed pensive, not reluctant or apprehensive, just more cautious or careful.
She put her hand out and touched my breasts, feeling them, and cupping them. I smiled at her and she returned it to me. I pointed to Dos, who had been circling around the group, waiting for the next female that would be willing. I patted my hip to get his attention and he pranced over quickly. He wasn’t the only male waiting. I put my arms around his neck and kiss the side of his snout. I motioned with my head for Wachiwi to come and duplicate my actions. She crawled to the other side of Dos, encircling his neck, hugging him, kissing his face and snout, and holding his body against her naked body. I watched as her face took on a look of softness, eyes closing, and her hands never stopped stroking the beast.
I touched her arm and gave her a look that I hoped indicated a question, ‘Ready?’ She looked at me, then at Dos, her hands never stopping her stroking on the animal. When she looked back to me, she simply nodded. There were no words being passed between us, we didn’t have the language, but the looks from one concerned woman to another seemed to be all that we needed. I moved to my hands and knees like I had been before. She duplicated my position, but Dos moved quickly to me. I sat down, not allowing him to begin probing with his partially protruding cock. I patted Wachiwi’s ass and Dos looked at me suspiciously. It hadn’t occurred to me, but they had accepted me as one of them, but now there was another human female? I acted as though it should be normal and okay, I patted her ass, again. This time he went to her, sniffing her ass and between her legs. I was sure she was ready and I knew he was. He licked her, slipping his tongue along the crack of her ass. She flinched slightly and gave a sigh that signified her pleasure at the touch. I patted the insides of her knees and she opened them a little more. Dos’ next swipe of his tongue caught the entire length of her pussy and she moaned. The licks came quicker now and her pelvis was moving in response, rotating up to make herself more available to his tongue.
I encouraged Dos to mount her and he did after a final swipe of his tongue. I moved to her rear to assist Dos in penetrating her. Soon, I would teach her about using her hand, but for the first time and not being able to verbally communicate directions, I did it for her. I slipped my hand between Dos’ rear legs, slid it under his exposed cock, found her mound, and guided the cock into her. She cried out at the moment of deep penetration and it wasn’t until that moment that I wondered about her condition. If she was a virgin, was her hymen still intact. Her reaction, though, seemed to indicate quite the opposite. Her head sank down until it was merely hanging on her neck and her mouth sputtered out moans, groans, and gasps. All were from her reaction to the suddenness of the penetration, the depth, and the incredible union of their organs. I knew how she felt, it was the same for me. It wasn’t a cry of wrenching pain and shock from her body, which might occur if her hymen has suddenly been torn.
I put my hand on her shoulder and she turned her head to me and said something, words I didn’t understand, but her face expressed everything I needed to understand. She was in bliss, beyond bliss, and into ecstasy. I smiled back at her and slipped my hand underneath to take hold of one of her swinging breasts. Dos was full into pumping furiously into her now and her expression went from surprise, to delight, to lusty wantonness, and back through the cycle all over again.
Her head rose sharply and a soft cry came out. I knew without even seeing that the knot was pressing against her opening, spreading her opening and demanding entrance. She looked at me and I saw a glazed look in her eyes. I used my hands to indicate pressing back and she did. She gritted her teeth and pressed back on the impaling cock, pressing against the knot. Her mouth was open wide and I knew the knot was stretching her wide, stretching her to the point that she feared being torn, but also knew that I had taken a larger wolf and I was slightly smaller than she. She pressed back harder and then her body moved sharply back a few inches. She had taken the knot inside and I watched as Dos tried to pump fiercely into her but was restricted by the knot. My mind registered it all and for the first time I was seeing what it was like rather than only imagining what it would look like.
She curled in my arms that night, very content and very satisfied. I had never wondered about bi-sexuality; I never had the situation arise where I might. It felt good to snuggle into her and have her snuggling into me, peacefully content with my arms around her, my hands on her body, my curious hands, but not wanting to wake her after her first experience.
The following days and weeks were aimless and delicious. We had no destination, we merely chose a direction and roamed, discovered what the land around us contained. Some days we moved quickly or at least as quickly as the pups allowed. Other days we moved slower, more deliberate. Wachiwi was fitting in. I wasn’t positive, but it seemed that her participation in the mating was helping her acceptance into the pack. It was clear to me, though, that her participation was temporary. Her goal was to learn and experience, but she held nothing back, she gave as much as received.
Along the way, my education was constant, also. Wachiwi and I stumbled with communication and I realized that I needed to learn her language. I was more dominant and stronger-will than she, but if communication was to occur with these people, I was not going to school them in my language. I was never thought to be good with languages, but it was something that I was now constantly exposed to. Our ability to communicate, beyond hand signals, grew steadily. At first, it was just a significant word or two, but the number of words and action increased.
We made several visits to the people’s camp. Each time, the pack and I would stay at the edge of their camp while Wachiwi went in. Often, she returned to us with her mother and occasionally with others to describe what we had seen and what she had learned. She would look to me to assist her in describing thoughts and impressions that we had shared. She never mentioned anything about mating with the wolves, but her mother would look with interest at them, me, and her daughter. I suspected that she too might know more about us.
At about the middle of summer, we were looking for a kill for the pack. It wasn’t difficult, especially now when we had two bows available. We had routine success with deer, elk, and bison. Bison, though, took more planning and consideration. I was always aware of the dangers of the kill and the bison was a higher risk, unless all those considerations were accounted for. We had NEVER even attempted to take a Mastodon. They were magnificent beasts, but their tusks were killing weapons.
I was letting Wachiwi select the animal for our kill when I realized she was targeting a horse. I put my hand on her arm and she loosened the tension on the bow, looking to me as I shook my head. She looked at me puzzled. Her people apparently looked upon the horse as just another grazing animal that was merely a source of food. Our verbal communication wasn’t advanced enough to help me, so I resorted to crude drawings. I had never considered myself an artist so this was going to be a very big challenge for me. I used my knife, which she found fascinating, not to mention the material my bow was made from. I drew a profile view of what I could represent as a horse and indicated the animal in the prairie. She nodded. I then added some lines to indicate a travois and things carried on it. I drew the top view and the combination seemed to sink into her. She looked at me in wonder. I then did the same thing but added a figure of a person sitting on the horse. When it occurred to her what I was indicating, her eyes got big and she shook her head.
I indicated more than told her that we needed a long length of rope and she nodded. I motioned to Dos and Ram and they took off to protect her. We were a considerable distance from the people’s camp. She had taken to dressing like me in just a cape-like garment. I wondered how that would be received when she entered the camp.
It took several days for them to find their way back to us. She said, in our broken language, that the people enjoyed my idea with much laughing. I could only smile. I knew horses would become beasts of burden and riding, but I didn’t know how they got to that point. In my world, horses migrated from North America and became extinct in North America about 10,000 years ago. They came back to North America only after the Spanish brought them in their conquest through Central America. What happened in between I had no idea. But, I was about to try domesticating a horse myself.
The wolves were effective in corralling the animal, then it was up to Wachiwi and me to get the rope around the animal’s neck. I would like to say that it went smoothly, but it didn’t. I think she was becoming convinced that I was out of my mind, but I persisted and to her credit she continued to help in my efforts. I wasn’t a horsewoman, so even after capturing one of the horses, I didn’t know what I was doing. I only knew that horses would become very useful animals to humans and it might as well be now for these people than later. I didn’t know the history of the domestication of the horse. Sometime in there, the horse began being used for other than the meat and hide that it could provide.
It took us several weeks to get the animal used to being handled enough to attach a travois to. Suddenly, it became clear to Wachiwi just how useful this animal could become to her people. We loaded up the travois with hides we had taken off animals, along with meat from another recent bison kill. When we led the horse pulled travois into the village, followed by the pack of wolves, we created quite a stir. Wachiwi explained to the leaders the use of the horse and explained that I thought they could be used to ride and in such a way be able to travel greater distances in the same amount of time. It took nearly the entire summer before the first horse was successfully ridden and not by me. It was discovered that one of the men had an innate ability to stay on a skittish horse. He was able to train several horses after accomplishing it the first time.
By the time summer had changed to fall, major changes had been accomplished with Wachiwi’s time with the pack. She and I had developed a crude communication. I had a long way to go to be able to effectively communicate with others, but she had the interest and devotion to the effort that my stumbling and errors didn’t seem to be a problem for her.
As the people made their preparations for the migration south, I made my own preparations for returning over the mountain pass to our home in the cave. Both Wachiwi and her mother applied some pressure for the pack or at least me to stay with them over the winter. I knew that wasn’t going to work and I had no desire to influence the pack into a situation they weren’t going to be comfortable in. I had one of the horses to haul the hides, dried meat, and other food stuff the people were sending with us. I was surprised by my reaction, but I going to miss these people and especially Wachiwi. But we did part company, they moving south along the range and we moved up the mountainside for our narrow valley. I was more than a little curious what we would find once there. Had the cave been taken by other animals in our absence? Could we dislodge them, if they had?
I found the cave in the same condition as when we had left it in late spring after the pups were able to make the trek over the pass. I wondered what the next spring would bring us. We had enjoyed a full summer of interactive sexual play and added another human female into the mix with Wachiwi. I wondered what she was doing at that moment. I wondered if she was also thinking of us, what we were doing, or … maybe that summer was merely an interesting learning experience and she had moved on in her life. It would have been easier to think the latter, but I knew it wasn’t the case. A connection had been made and not just between she and I, but with the wolves, also.
We re-entered into our routines of living in the valley; we hunted as we needed, retreated to the cave for protection and warmth as the winter temperatures dictated. The early winter months came and the pack was full into our existence in the warmth of the cave and sojourns into the valley as needed to ensure our territory and the kills we needed for food. I renewed my rhythm of creating garments for myself, modifying the style and pattern from the experience of the past summer. Within the next month I was completed with that task when it had taken me so much more time before. I then searched to create more activities to keep me busy, my mind as occupied as possible.
One morning, sometime in the dead of winter, I came awake. I was clear headed and aware. The cave was quiet, only the sounds of animals sleeping, the peaceful breathing and sounds of contented beasts. Some were apparently in the midst of a good chase, but most were quiet, gently breathing in REM sleep. I smiled at the thought of the pack so peaceful. But, as I lay there, alone in my thoughts, I realized clearly why I had awoken. There was nothing wrong, no danger or threat. I had kept my mind busy to avoid this thought, this realization, this recognition. I was lonely!
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Continued in Chapter 14 (Final)
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