Wilds Born

Huh, apparently there wasn't sex four chapters in a row. Just, almost.

I liked this chapter for its introduction to the tribe that it does. Nu's return home went lots of ways, several of which ended in bloodshed, but when I finally sat down and got them all to do it for the written part Yao just slipped in there and did her thing and I was impressed.

Evera likely had a wonderful time, running from person to person and scribbling notes down as she went. She's been to the tribe's land before but not in the tree itself.

Read, Review and Enjoy.




Three more days in the healing room and with all sorts of tests being run. Evera packed many things and was quite excited about this trip that they were making into the wilds. She had been given permission to use her machines to catalogue and study those of the tribe who agreed to it.

Nu met El’s cousin, Yao’s older sister. She offered her hand to him to shake and he had stepped back, grimacing. Greyed passion oozed off of the woman, even in a place where no one else had a thought or a colour. The moment he stepped back from her, her mind was closed and he was locked out completely.

Along with them, and Alla, was no one else. El, Yao, Evera and the cousin whose name no one seemed to be able to remember. She certainly didn’t introduce herself to Nu but insisted on saying his name with every sentence she spoke in his direction.

“Nu, are you excited to be returning to your tribe?” the last word was almost spat out, like it was dirtied, the cousin smiled at him, “you know, Nu, you are more than welcome to stay-”

“Stop saying my name!” he blurted out suddenly, loudly, making several motions that, in his tribe, were threatening, “stop being rude. This one has no knowledge of this one so stop using this one’s name!”

She frowned, “well, I’ve never met someone so rude as you. I am trying to be polite.”

“In my tribe, father would dangle you from main branch and over the ground for using this one’s name without permission, this one has not given this one this one’s name.” Nu snapped out.

“Nu,” Yao said quietly, “you keep saying this one, and motions, are we supposed to translate that as. This one,” she motioned towards her sister, “meaning her and-” a motion towards him, “meaning this one?”

“Yes, what, what is wrong with this. No problem understanding Nu before, why problems now?” Nu growled as El shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The bright eyed male had been oddly quiet and sedated since the night in the Ishteshtin home and he had returned smelling of Layaent. Nu understood, he thought, what had happened, but what he didn’t understand was why El seemed to want to keep it a secret. So the two of them had coupled, people did that all the time.

“The rest of us,” Evera said, pulling her hair back and tying it in place, “are allowed to use your name, Nu, you’ve never spoken with one who was not properly introduced. We probably should have expected this, considering his reaction to El when El walked in and began talking to him as if they were well acquainted. It is very rude in his culture to speak his name when he has not given it to him.”

“Barbaric, that’s what it is,” the newcomer sniffed and turned her attention to a wall, “he is in our culture and should obey our rules, not his own. Snapping at me like that.”

“Shut up,” Yao said to her sister, “or I will make you shut up.”

“No worry,” Nu rumbled, feeling the annoyance crackling through his chest, “when in tree, will tell father and father will dangle her out tree. Then when she complains because he drops her on her stubborn head, will simply inform her that she is in my land and must obey my rules.”

The one in question was silent, staring distantly at the wall of the hollow bird that they flew in. The rest of the trip was made in quiet contemplation and when the bird settled down everyone breathed a sigh of relief. When the door opened, Nu was the first one to step off. They were in a small clearing, a piece of tame land that had in it two piles of rock and one little tree, growing ever upward.

Nu looked at the bird, then pointed to the little tree, the place where the new tribe would live once it was grown enough, “do not step on tree.”

“Are those,” Evera stepped up beside Nu, “graves?”

“Great-elder and great-elder’s mate lay at rest. Great-elder said that mate would grow up and touch the sky. All thought he had lost mind with grief but then little sapling started growing. This way, tree is this way.”

Nu led the way from the tame land and through a piece of wilds. A small path wound straight through a patch of trapdoor spiders. This he knew from his years there, and so he stepped off the path and walked around the dens, stick in hand. One den was out of the patch, out of where it was supposed to be. A new spider, a young spider. Nu slammed the pointed end of his stick through the door of the den and into the spider, thusly trapping it. It would starve to death and once it had died, mother would come collect the parts of it that the tribe could use.

This was how his tribe kept their home safe. By surrounding it with the dangers and cultivating them so as to create their own protection. The trapdoor spiders seemed to understand that building dens outside of the given area would result in death and so fewer and fewer were a threat to the tribe itself. To outsiders like Evera, Yao and El, certainly, but not to the tribe.

Past the spiders, he stepped back onto the path and followed it closely. It ran through plemmer and silverback territory but if he stayed on the path, he would be fine. The silverbacks liked the fruit that fell from the trees that were slowly growing up under the canopy of protection that the tree created. Thus they gathered about the tame land. The great apes had quickly learned that if they picked a fight with a member of the tribe, they would not be permitted back onto tame land. It was because of this that Nu and his companions walked through wilds land unharmed.

Besides that little spider. Right. Nu plucked the blind spider off of Yao’s shoulder and bonked its head on a tree. These spiders had been coming around more and more and would need to be dealt with, one way or another. Bonking them on the head left them dazed enough to drop them on the ground, or in this case, the path, and drop a big rock on them. The spider went squish and no one got bitten and swelled up and went bright red.

More an annoyance than anything else, but just in case someone was born without the protection of a majority of the others, Nu squashed this blind spider and hopped on the rock a few times for good measure.

“What was that?” the third female asked, sounding horrified.

“Blind spider,” Nu responded calmly before he continued walking.

Through hanging bushes that looked like man eating plants and past the mushrooms that glowed when darkness fell, Nu walked without batting an eye. Finally he emerged in the tame land that the tree grew on. El’s tall building had nothing on his tree. It was wide, wide as could be, and tall with deep crevasses carved into the bark itself from time and splitting skin. Branches reached high into the sky and beyond the canopy of the rest of the forest. Its roots dug deep and rose above the ground in places, creating hollows and places for the animals of the tree to live.

Up above was a hoot. Nu responded instinctually, then leapt upward and caught the side of the tree. A hop, a skip and a swing upward and he was in the common area.

“Who,” was the growling question.

“One for the tribe and three for visit,” Nu said quietly, “my father. Is he alive.”

“Of course alive, worried sick as well, about this son of his who wanders off,” the growl came again and father appeared from behind a branch, “teach much and then goes off on spirit journey without a word.”

“I did not go on a spirit journey,” Nu frowned, “Syano beat me and we fell in the river. I was pulled under and taken down river. These ones climbing the tree found me. One is an elder, she will need help up.”

Alla huffed and pulled herself into the common area, “not that old yet.” she paused there, straightened her entirely white hair and breathed hard for a moment before she managed to compose herself, “Mysh.”

“A… Alla?” father squeaked, suddenly covering his ears, “no box, was good, was good.”

Alla waved her hand dismissively as Evera, El and then Yao climbed into the common area, “I am not here to box ears, Mysh. Mei!” she rushed off and towards the central hearth. Nu turned just as a startled Mei turned towards the sound of his voice. The elders eyes went wide at the sight of Alla.

And then Syano slid between Nu and the central hearth, “ah, the ring bearer is back from his journey.”

To which Yao stepped between Syano and Nu and stepped right on Syano’s toes as she turned to face Nu, “so, where’s this family you were telling us about?” Syano’s mouth opened in pain, he yanked his foot out from under Yao’s boot and glared at the little female, “where’s the male that you mentioned?”

“What male?” mother asked as she rushed up to them, “who are these people? Hello Evera. Who is this? He looks like … snake tribe. Why do you have a snake tribe? Oh, and what a lovely female, good hips on this one. I like your chest, your children will be well fed, won’t they?” as mother spoke, Yao went bright red.

“She compliments your blood,” Nu explained.

“Ah,” Yao gave her head a shake and motioned to Nu, “this one was found down river beaten and near death-”

“Rocks, when one falls in a river,” Syano grumbled.

“Someone beat him, he had fist shaped marks on him and his bones were broken. We used regeneration, not genetic mutations. He’s who he was when he left, blood wise, and we took a genetic sample and it has since been destroyed. He was quite eager to talk about everyone but one named Syano. I think Syano did it, so. Where is he?”

“Where is who?” mother asked, glancing at Syano.

“Syano.”

“I am right here, you rude little-” Yao flicked her hand as if trying to bat away a buzzing insect and just barely caught the tip of Syano’s nose, making the male flinch back and put a hand to his face. Annoyance played over the male’s features as El stepped right into Syano. The bright eyed male frowned and looked around Syano, through Syano, as if looking for whatever he had run into.

“Weird,” El gave himself a shake and stepped up beside Yao, “hello, my name is El.”

“My name is Taya,” mother responded quietly, “this is my male equivalent and the male contributor to roughly half my children, Mysh. Who is this female?”

“Yao,” Yao went a little red, “apologies, I seem to have forgotten my manners, my name is Yao. And-” Yao’s sister pulled herself into the common area, “that is Adraina, my sister.”

“Are you two,” mother motioned between El and Yao and both went bright red, “No? It is a shame, I think your children would be adorable. Nu. You’ve brought us many new people, but you’ve not explained why you were gone. Syano said-”

“Where is he, anyhow?” Father grumbled, looking around, “just saw him.”

Nu glanced around and realised slowly what was going on. All the tribe was very intent on what was being said and all of them were looking around, muttering Syano’s name questioningly. Not a question of his role in all this, but a question of where he was. None of the tribe could see him.

Through a few little words, through an action or two, Yao had rendered Syano all but invisible. It seemed that Nu was the only one who could see Syano, could hear the male protesting that he was right there, right there and why were they all ignoring him? He hadn’t done anything wrong, nothing wrong at all. Syano reached out and shoved El, who tumbled into Yao and then all but fell onto Nu.

“Sorry,” the bright eyed male straightened and smiled at Nu, “seems I don’t have my tree legs. I swear, it’s like the whole world is moving or something, I just can’t seem to stand still or walk straight.”

“It is fine,” Nu said, patting El’s arm, “we should find Syano,” he decided to go along with it, do as everyone else was doing, even as Syano protested that Nu was looking right at him, “he beat me with no provocation and when we fell in the river I kicked him. These others found me and helped me. Except for that one,” he pointed to the cousin, “she believes that one should abandon one’s culture and heritage and become like those who outnumber the one.”

“Oh! Your father has been wanting to test out his hip and see if he can still shake someone from a branch,” mother said, clapping her hands, “Mysh, there you go, an uppity female.”

“Save strength for Syano,” father growled, his face going that funny colour that it did when he was upset, “beat you? Beat you? Syano beats my son and thinks he can get away with it-”

“Father, really, it was probably a dominance thing that got out of hand,” Nu protested. The last time father had gotten that look on his face, he had cracked three skulls and ended up falling out of the tree and breaking his own hip.

“I will show him how dominance gets out of hand, and then I will drown that no good bastard of a brat. Where is his mother? Mally!” father hobbled off, leaving Nu with a sick feeling in his stomach.

“Syano told us that you went on a spiritual journey. He was hurt when he came to me, he said that he tried to join you, to follow you, but that he got hurt in the process and thus returned to the tribe,” mother said, getting the look she got that made the adults and elders flee from her, “we have allowed him to believe as he likes for too long. When he reacted so publicly about the ring, we should have nipped it in the bud, then and there, but we had bigger worries on our hands than some upstart male. Come, somehow you’ve made Mei cry, let us find out why.”

Nu nodded and followed his mother to the central hearth. There, Mei had his arms wrapped around Alla and was sniffling along to a story Alla was telling of Mei’s childhood. The elders sat in rapt attention, giving Alla the respect that was due to her because of her age.

“Alla.” mother said, settling beside the old woman, “do you remember me?”

Alla stopped her story and stared at mother for a very long moment before her eyes went wide, “little Taya? Look at you, look how you’ve grown!” Alla wrapped her arms around mother’s neck and launched into a new story about mother when she was a child. Nu settled beside his mother and listened to the tale, setting his hand on El’s knee when the bright eyed male sat beside him to show that El was welcome in the talk.

As the elders continued talking, attention slowly shifted from Alla to El. The tribe made no comment as they filtered in and settled around the communal hearth, to listen to what was being said, Syano wandered around the outer perimeter, growling and grumbling, shouting and going on as if people were paying attention to him.

“And you,” Papa settled behind El and Nu and between them. He set a hand on Nu’s arm and one on El’s shoulder, “little young one, who are your parents? The blood born ones, you look familiar to those of us from snake tribe but we cannot seem to place you.”

“I. Don’t know. My mother, Evera, saved me from a freezer, there are more of snake tribe there, children who never were born. My birth mother had my eyes and my father, my nose-”

“Ieya and Owei,” one of the elders murmured, nodding, “Ieya, you would remember him,” a motion to papa, who nodded in turn, “Ieya was our leader, he was good and kind and strong. Stood against the Meita when they came for the people. Killed many of them, washed the trees in their blood,” some of the elders nodded along, “Owei was his new mate. Old one died of disease, see, so Owei, her sister of the womb, chose to take Ieya as mate and cross the lines as the elders wished. They did not enjoy their duty, but they performed it. Owei loved Ooh,” a motion to papa, for that was his name, “but Ooh liked his own and she was set to be his carrier. Ieya loved Lahya. Pretty eyes Lahya had.” the elder paused and swallowed, “when the Meita came, Ieya stood between them and Owei. He protected her with his life and still they took her.”

“How is it,” mother said, turning to El, “that you are related to two snake tribe? They killed him and destroyed all genetic material.”

“My mother was pregnant with me when they took her from the forest,” El said, sounding hollowed out, “they took me from my mother’s womb and put me on ice. Then they did unspeakable things to her and finally killed her.”

Nu watched as specific elders lowered their heads and covered their faces with their hands. These were those that were from snake tribe. These were the ones that had been ‘gifted’ to great-elder by the snake tribe leader. Not enough females to go around and far too many males so some were given away. He had heard about the events, but the names had not been applied, the elders had been afraid that talking too hopefully about them would mean that they were dead.

And now they learned the fate of their family. Tortured and killed.

“Let the short people kill them all,” Papa said, blinking rapidly, “they should all just. Die.”

“How is that fair? Not all of them are bad, it was just the Meita family,” El protested.

“Do you think that they would bat an eyelash had it been anyone else? Do you think that the people of civilization care about us? No. They are more likely to call us names behind our backs and demand that we return to civilization because God forbid someone live in the wilds and not be restrained by stupidity. Tell me it is not true, tell me that no one has ever declared us wrong because we are here and they are there.” Papa said quickly to El.

El was quiet for a moment, “They do say that. But can you honestly say that you have a sustainable population out here? That you will not be inbred in four generations? You still need those from civilization.”

“And they have no need of us,” papa growled, “thus we are useless and what do they do with useless people? What do they do with elders who they should be listening to? Make slaves and servants of them. No thank you, not at all.”

“What’s all this about short people, anyhow?” El asked, “Nu mentioned them before and everyone seems to know about them except me.”

“They are a sentient race of war faring people who have grown, evolved and live in the wilds,” papa murmured, “the short people are the ones who will spell the end to the civilization. They have sharp stones on the ends of sticks.”

“Wow, that’s scary.” El growled, but he seemed to not mean his words. Nu looked to mother, confused as to what this emotion was.

“Sarcasm is hardly necessary,” mother muttered.

“Sharp stones on the ends of sticks are no match for our power, our intelligence, our weapons. We have biological warfare and moving machines, I’m pretty certain we can handle a few ruffians.”

“Ten thousand,” father said, stepping up to the fire to add another log, “nearby and at last count over two moons ago. That was just in our area. There are runners up and down the wilds. Someone has seen a sign in the stars and they move away from our tree. They do not care if it is the blood of a child or an adult. They will draw blood. Now it is up to us to decide if we shall join the fighting.”

“Protect-” El looked at father, then papa, “no, you intend to join the short people in destroying your own people? Why?”

“Who said anything about killing the people?” Papa asked, “we only want to take off the head of the beast, kill the government and keep them from stealing any more of our people or our land.

“Besides, it is still in the debate portion of the idea. More mutterings amongst the youth. Who, would be the ones to go into war. The elders and adults are of the mind of the civilized. Why fight them when we would be so good at it? Our children are the ones who will inherit the world, not us. It is up to them to decide their fate in this matter, and to decide build upon the foundations that we have given them.”

***

It was disturbing, meeting the tribe and realising that they were not the odds and ends of society as Nu seemed to imply. These were not the weak links in the societal chains, they were the strong ones. The healer and the leader. Government and medical linked together and as one. The nannies and the nurses, all carefully in their place and all happy with their jobs. The gatherers and hunters, each paired off. Cooks and midwives, teachers and soothsayers.

Each person had a place and each person was in their place. Content with it, even. The only ones who did not seem happy with their duties and their role in the tribe were Syano and Nu. One was the current ring bearer and the other was the one causing problems for the ring bearer.

The tribe was set up to remove the middle men, there were no gas pampers or underlings. Everyone was responsible for bringing in food and doing work that was important and meaningful to the survival of the tribe.

And then there was Nu, whose only job was. Was to be like a civilized person, removed from everyone else. A constant reminder of the world they had lived in before.

As the sun went down, the women handed out food. First to the women, the pregnant ones then the elders and the young ones who all seemed to be sitting in the lap of young men with arms around them possessively. The elder men were the first to eat of the men, then the gatherers and only at the last were the hunters allowed food. Syano was not fed.

The visitors were given a nominal portion of food. Due to their ability to slow down their metabolisms, this bothered no one but cousin, who growled about guests not being treated properly. El ate what was offered to him and was surprised to find that the people around him offered him more food. Except for Nu, who offered nothing to El but still ate little of what was offered to him.

“Nu, aren’t you hungry?” El asked quietly.

Nu was watching the area where Syano was pacing. The little male didn’t look pleased with what he saw. When they had first climbed into the tree, Yao had pointed the male out almost immediately. El had been all for breaking Syano’s legs and throwing him out of the tree. Yao had told El to stand back and watch how to handle a larger male who caused problems.

El had heard about such treatment before. A psychological study done some years previous over children had learned that children controlled their fellows through means of attention. Children were not allowed to scream at one another, were not allowed to swear. They could not push or shove each other in the modern age. The only thing that children could do to one another was give or take attention away.

If one child ignored someone, if that child could get a few others to ignore that one, or believe that that one was invisible, soon they would all believe it. They would all look through the person or around them until they behaved or until the original child chose to pay attention to the offending one.

And just like that Yao had taken control of Syano’s life. She had Syano firmly by the balls, as mother would have put it.

After the meal was given and eaten, the elders moved away from the fire and the younger children and youths followed. These ones settled in a group where the elders began teaching them about astronomy and mathematics and meteorology and biology. Not each group was taught a different thing, six different elders sat down and each one began talking about a different thing. All the youths and children sat and listened in rapt attention, some of them were asking questions and being answered before the elders continued on.

“Multi-learning pathways, of course,” mother muttered, watching the teaching group before she turned towards the women, washing dishes and teaching the young girls just entering puberty about duties, their bodies and babies, “how else could he learn so much in his young age?”

Mother wandered off to her pack and moved from group to group, using her various machines on those who agreed to it. Taking in information. Yao turned from one group to another, to another, chatting here and there and joining in debates where she could. She slid easily into the life of a tribe member and she spoke at length with many people. About their lives and their aspirations.

One minute Nu was sitting beside El, the next he was gone. El was forced to wander the groups and inquire as to where Nu might have gone. The young men were the least helpful, they huffed and turned their noses up to him. He, in turn, expressed dominance over one by using the move that Nu had used on him. The young male went down, howling, and the others backed off but wouldn’t give him any information.

The elders, teaching their children, paused when he asked. The children giggled as if they knew something and the elders blinked at El. One, then the next, then the next. Each looked to the other, then back to El and shook their heads, not understanding apparently.

The women were the most helpful, though they teased El mercilessly. The older women saw him coming as he did so, they smiled knowingly and turned to their washing. Younger women batted their eyelashes and attended their tasks while trying to catch his attention. Ones old enough to have children, to be mated, nudged each other knowingly. This group told him to climb the branch that looked like a solid wall and led almost straight up.

This he climbed, past the second level of the tree and to the very top. At the top, Nu lay curled on a blanket of some kind, face pointing east as if waiting for the sun to come up.

“Nu?”

The young man straightened immediately and looked at El, “Oh, hello.”

“Your home is the most awesome thing that I have ever seen,” El said, walking to Nu, “your people. Well, they’re different, that’s for certain.”

Nu patted beside him and El settled on the blanket, their knees touched but El had sat exactly where Nu had told him to. There they sat in quiet for a little while as the stars moved ever so slightly overhead and the moon rose. A crescent in the sky, it gave them a little light to see by. As the moon rose, Nu’s eyes changed. The young male lost his natural look and took on an inhuman personal. Pupils split into crosses and glinted in the moonlight, like a wild animal’s.

Or maybe it was just being in the tree.

El shifted close to Nu, “I am cold.”

“Oh,” Nu reached to the side and grabbed something, dumping it in El’s lap.

A. El touched it, blanket of some sort made out of fur. Sighing, El unfolded the thing and wrapped it around himself. Then, because he really didn’t think Nu got the point and he felt like being a bit of a jerk, he then proceeded to wrap it around Nu’s shoulders as well. Nu frowned, but tugged the blanket closed and looked up at El.

With little else to do, El snuggled close to Nu.

“What are you doing?” Nu asked quietly, “do you need attention?” the young male slid into El’s lap and wrapped hands, then arms, around El’s neck. El’s face was level with Nu’s chest and without air filters, without others between them, nothing but air and nature, El could smell Nu.

Not in a bad way, but it was odd, to smell nothing and then to smell the musk of another male. El leaned towards Nu and pushed his face against Nu’s shoulder. He darted his tongue out and tasted that skin, the salty tang of sweat mixed with fresh air made his heart race.

“Hey,” Nu adjusted his hips, grinding himself against El as he moved, “licking is not part of socialization. Have you not-” the little male made a little sound at the back of his throat as El began running his hands up and down the skin. Not perfect skin, not any longer, but it was sturdy and recuperating, nearly healed. The heat. The smell.

He wanted Nu.

.