Taking Dai

Taking Dai

Dai is not pronounced "Day." The double vowel gives the single syllable the length of two syllables when said. Roughly "Dah-hi," kind of like "Diiii," but with a subtle "ah" before the "hi."
Goro is easy "Goh-Roh."

Dai jolted awake at the first scream. He rolled out of his hammock in the bachelors’ lodge and scrambled blindly for his spear as he shoved his loose hair out of his eyes. He didn’t have time to put it into a proper warrior’s braid before rushing out to see what the alarm was all about.

Women and children were rushing around with purpose and very little additional screaming. The women were holding their children close and seeming to have less trouble with their hair than he was. He just wasn’t used to it being down that often, usually putting it into a braid was the first thing he did every morning.

He ran in the direction the rest of the men were taking, his hair in one fist and the spear in the other when cloth settled down over his head, trapping his hand next to his head. Before he could turn or even drop the handful of hair, Dai felt a blow to the back of his head that stunned him. He felt his legs beginning to give under him as the spear dropped from his nerveless fingers.

He was hoisted and slung over a shoulder. The blood rushing to his head only made it worse. He tried fighting off the waves of nausea and disorientation, but found the world growing hazy around him until his whole existence consisted of his head rocking against a hard back in rhythm with every step his captor took.

Goro congratulated himself on being the first one in the raiding party to take a captive. He hadn’t believed his luck when he came up behind the calm straggler making no effort to hide or flee. It had been almost ridiculously easy to drop the cloth over the dark head and a light blow had done the rest. Now the lithe body was slung over his shoulder as he made his way home with his prize.

All the other men in the raiding party were still empty handed while he could take his prize safely home without further risk to himself. He could just image their surprise and praise when they recognized just what he had done. His chest swelled with pride as he envisioned having bragging rights at tonight’s celebration.

Dai was still struggling to get a firm grasp on his consciousness as he was eased to the ground. The tattered ends kept slipping through his fingers like his hair had. His ankle was grasped firmly and a hot coal was pressed into the ball of his foot just below his big toe. With a painful breath and a choked off cry, he sat bolt upright in disbelief. It couldn’t be true? That couldn’t be what had just happened. A mating raid? No! Please let this just be a nightmare brought on by that fermented drink that had been passed around the bachelors’ lodge last night. Please…

The cloth was slid off his head and the self congratulatory look on his captor’s face slipped a little. The other man reached out with a blank look on his face and pushed the hair out of Dai’s eyes and over his shoulder. The hand traveled hesitantly down his chest, confirming the lack of breasts. He must have still harbored hopes that Dai was merely a late bloomer, for that hand continued down into his lap. The dawning look of horror told the story as the man snatched his hand back like he had been burnt himself.

He had indeed been taken during a mating raid. Now that it was much too late, his captor was finally realizing his mistake in claiming another man as his mate. He had already been branded and now was the other man’s mate. The sick feeling that had been in the pit of his stomach ever since the blow to his head came clawing up his throat and he leaned over to retch. Fortunately he had not eaten since the previous day, and so did not make a spectacle of himself.

When he sat up, wiping his chin, he saw the other man, his mate, shaking his head. Disbelief written in broad strokes across his face. Dai had been carried over the man’s shoulder; surely he had noticed the differences then?

Goro stared at the man in front of him. That hadn’t been a digging stick that fell to the ground… Even faced with the evidence in front of his eyes, Goro couldn’t bring himself to credit that he had claimed a man for his mate. That brand couldn’t be undone. Originally done to ensure that the captive couldn’t escape before she was pregnant and her family would refuse to take her back, now it was the symbol of the captive’s new status as a member of her, or his?, new tribe.

Apparently his new mate had gotten tired of watching him stare, and was applying the bandage to the wound with a small hiss of discomfort. Next his mate bound all that lovely hair up into a warrior’s braid then cast around looking for a leather strip to hold it in place. Without thought Goro removed one from his own braid and handed it to him. Spirits! He was already sharing all of his property with him. Just as would be expected with a mate. What was he going to do now?

“I’m Dai. What now?”

It was a good strong man’s name. So much for any hope of this being anything other than the disaster it was shaping up to be. His mate wasn’t some green girl that would have to be allowed to ripen first. No, this was a sour fruit that he doubted he would ever be able to swallow.

His continued silence seemed to annoy the captive. Goro watched as anger spread across Dai’s face.

“I can’t very well go home like this,” he waved at his bandaged foot. “I refuse to be cast off by both tribes. It’s bad enough that you took me in your raid, but I will not be sent back in disgrace. They will never accept me back now that I carry the shame of being branded.”

Goro hadn’t thought that far ahead. He was still caught up in trying to figure out how he had gotten into this mess. Both tribes only wore a loin cloth regardless of gender and the only identifying feature from the back was whether or not the hair was worn loose or in a warrior’s braid.

He could only imagine what the other tribe members would be saying about him now. He had been so proud of his prowess and the ease with which he had captured a mate. He had even planned on bragging about being the first to do so. Now he only wanted to hide his shame.

As if the thought had been a summons, his mother entered her hut to see the new mate her son had brought into her home. Goro thought that this mate he could have taken back to the bachelors’ lodge after all. No broken taboos.

She looked expectantly at Dai. Then her eyes narrowed as she took in first the braid and then the lack of breasts. The look she turned on Goro was full of shock. Only then did it occur to him that she might be thinking that he had taken Dai on purpose!

“No! His hair was down and I saw him from the back. I swear I thought him a woman!”

Dai flushed red and if possible looked even angrier. He opened his mouth to make a likely scathing reply, but Goro waved him off.

Goro’s mother looked at the bandage on the captive’s foot and looked pointedly at her son. “And I suppose you still thought him a woman when you did that?”

Now it was Goro’s turn to flush and hang his head in shame. “I didn’t think I needed to make sure he was a woman before I branded him. I only realized that after,” he mumbled. He knew that his mother considered him rash, but how he hated giving her even more reason to think that.

“You will have to make your own hut. He can’t stay here with me!”

“Yes, mother. If he had been a woman, we would have only stayed here until I had my own hut. There is no reason we can’t go to the bachelors’ lodge now…” Goro was only looking for a way to escape at this point, a way not to see that look in his mother’s eyes that said she was wondering if he would ever outgrow the impetuous child she still considered him to be.

Dai accepted the hand offered to help him to his feet. But he dropped it and followed his new – mate? – haltingly to the bachelors’ lodge. Several men lounged around the fire pit, consoling each other on their lack of success. They looked up when Goro entered with Dai trailing awkwardly behind him. After one look at his braid combined with the bandage on his foot the others appeared to draw the right conclusion. Dai was getting entirely too fed up with the stunned looks and sly smirks at his expense.

“Goro, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be keeping your mate at your mother’s hut, safe from us?” The big man’s shoulders shook with mirth.

“Shut up, Masa! There’s no reason he can’t be here.” Goro grimaced and waved Dai to his hammock.

Dai was glad that he would not be expected to crouch at the fire pit with the others.

Dai settled into his mate’s hammock with the wounded foot propped up on it and allowed his eyes to drift shut. He had been through a lot today and running wasn’t even an option. It would be a double handful of days until he would be up to more than hobbling, much less running. And by then his tribe would have more than given up on him. He would never be able to live down the shame of what had happened to him. It would be better to remain here as Goro’s mate. At least the other man was now responsible for him while he healed.

Knowing that he had nothing to fear, Dai allowed himself to sleep in the hammock that was now as much his as it had ever been Goro’s. Tomorrow he would worry about more mundane things like just what they were going to do with their new relationship.

Goro fended off the worst of the hazing about being in such a rush to get a mate that he would take anything. Most of it was good natured, but some of the needling got to be too much. When he looked up again Dai was asleep in his hammock. Now what was he going to do tonight? All the other successful bachelors would be returning here to sleep, leaving their mates in their mother’s huts until they had built ones of their own. Looked like Goro would be building a hut, too.

When the others returned the fermented juice began to make its way around the fire. Goro drank his fair share on each circuit. As he relaxed with each successive circle, he had to admit that while it wasn’t what he had wanted, at least it wasn’t a total disaster.

As the other men that he had been living with for the past several years began seeking their hammocks, Goro went to his. His mate was sleeping peacefully. All the anger, mortification and shame had been smoothed from his features and Goro could admit that he was a good looking man. He shifted the sleeping man and slid into the hammock with him. It was a bit close, but really what else was he to do? Maybe they would make another hammock tomorrow and worry about the hut after that.

Dai awoke in Goro’s arms. For a moment he didn’t know what to do, but chose to ease out of the hammock and limp out of the lodge instead of making a big deal out of what had merely been necessary. He watched a couple of the other men wandering away from the village in the same general direction so he followed them under the assumption that they were going to relieve their bladders, something he was also in need of.

He returned to the lodge and sat cross-legged near the fire pit. Goro got up and handed him some more bandaging materials and a small leather pouch on his own way outside.

With careful fingers, he gingerly removed the bandage and looked at the damaged skin. There was a large blister with an even larger reddened, swollen painful area encircling it. Having seen the results of other bachelors’ mating raids, he knew better than to open the blister as long as it could be avoided. He was going to have to forgo walking as much as possible. Dai dipped his fingers into the leather pouch and gently spread a layer of herbs mixed in honey over the wound and carefully padded it before rewrapping the whole thing.

By the time he had finished, Goro had returned with the morning meal on a large banana leaf that he placed between them. He gestured to it and waited for Dai to begin eating. Seemingly there would be no skimping on the traditional gestures and attention to the new mate’s needs. Only fair considering he wouldn’t have needed any help if Goro hadn’t claimed him.

When they finished eating, Goro got up and returned with an armload of rope. He sat back down and began fashioning another hammock with Dai’s assistance. Dai was glad for the help because he didn’t think he would have been able to do it on his own without harming his foot even more. Most of the conversation centered on the project they were working on as they both tried to get to know each other a little bit before moving on to the serious topic that they would have to broach.

When they tied the final knot on Dai’s new hammock, Goro once again offered his hand and helped him to his feet. He turned to collect his own hammock before leaving the lodge, but looked over his shoulder to say, “I thought that you might like to see where the new hut is to be built.”

Dai followed Goro. He was glad that Goro went slowly instead of getting ahead of him and then waiting for him to catch up. They walked together to a spot that was close to Goro’s mother’s hut. They were in the outer ring of dwellings, but once he healed that would only mean that two warriors were between her and the surrounding rainforest.

It was a good location, and Dai found himself nodding in agreement with Goro. He wouldn’t mind living here. Off to one side, several of the bachelors stood near a pile of posts and banana leaves for thatching. It would seem that Goro was popular enough with the others to rate help setting up his own dwelling.

The morning was spent in sinking the posts into the ground for the outer walls. The men had a good time ribbing Goro about no longer being a bachelor. They didn’t take it too far and never once made Dai feel uncomfortable with his part in that new status. They treated him as a warrior new to their tribe. He had been concerned that they would try to relegate him to the status of a woman. When that didn’t happen he relaxed and began to hope that his new life would be more pleasant than he had feared.

He sat in the center of the new hut and began to prepare the fire pit with a digging stick. It took some while to hollow out the hole, but someone must have been watching because, just about the time he needed them, rocks were placed within reaching distance for him.

They went to have lunch with his new mother-in-law. She had obviously been thinking about her son’s situation and this time took it all in stride. She even insisted that Dai call her “mother” and gave him a stack of woven baskets and two wooden bowels for the new hut. He was touched that she wanted him to have the presents instead of taking days to make them himself. He ran his fingers over the wonderfully smooth surface of the bowls. A thorough sanding and lots of use had made them priceless.

“Now, Dai, is Goro taking good care of you?” she wanted to know.

“Yes, mother. I already have a new hammock and the hut may be finished today. Your gifts will also save me a lot of time. Thank you.” He placed his finger tips on her thigh and leaned forward to bow to her.

She threw an embarrassed laugh to Goro. “What nice manners. Goro could learn from you.”

“No, mother. He has very nice manners with me.”

Goro beamed at Dai. “See, mother, I am a good son.”

Thinking to save Goro more embarrassment, Dai stacked the bowls in the baskets and stood with help from Goro. “We must finish building. Thank you for feeding us, mother.”

Goro carried the gifts for him and allowed him to hobble along at his own pace. Once again, Dai was grateful for the courtesy.
None of his friends had yet returned to resume building. Goro felt this might be the time to take advantage of the opportunity to talk without anyone overhearing. Yesterday, there was no getting away from everyone who wanted to “congratulate” him. But now they would be alone for a little while and there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t be in the bachelors’ lodge again tonight.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do this to us.” He heard Dai settle to the floor and turned to look at him.

Dai didn’t look at him either. “Yeah, with my hair down, you must not have realized that I am a warrior,” he muttered. “It just happened. No one’s fault. We just need to decide how we are going to deal with it.”

Taking his lead from Dai, Goro replied, “You’re a warrior not a woman. Anyone can see that and they are treating you as one. I won’t try to change that. This will just be a smaller bachelors’ lodge. Our friends will be able to visit without worrying if I am present first. We’ll both take turns with the chores like we have always done.”

Dai nodded. “I would like that. I don’t want to try to figure out how to be anything other than a warrior.” He paused and might have said more, but just then Goro’s friends returned with much fanfare.

“Hey, old man!” Masa slapped Goro on the back as he walked up to the pile of banana leaves. “Let’s get this thing thatched before the rains drench our newest warrior.”

Dai smiled at his words and started cutting the notches into the central supports to hang the hammocks on. He carefully stored the new baskets and bowls out of the way and hung one hammock on each side of the fire pit. Later he would make a second fire pit outside the hut for those times when it was just too hot to do any cooking inside.

He had finished up and was resting his foot in his new hammock when the last of the thatching was tied in place. The roof looked very water tight and likely to stand up to most winds. Later he would make mats to cover the spaces between the outer posts for the rainy season. He didn’t want to have all their belongings getting wet. Even sleeping with the rain slanting in was uncomfortable without walls to protect them. Most of the time walls weren’t necessary, but in a couple of months they would be.

Goro flopped down in his hammock with a groan. “This is nice. I didn’t think we would get it all done today. I’ll get the rest of my stuff from the lodge and then we’ll eat with mother again. We should be ready to do our own cooking tomorrow. Hope you like bachelor fare!”

Dai gave a tired chuckle of his own. “That will be fine. I’m used to it. Wouldn’t mind some meat…”

“I’ll see what I can do about that tomorrow.”

Dai looked at him sharply. “I didn’t mean you had to go hunting.”

“No, that’s alright. I want some too. I’ll get enough for mother. She is a widow and it will be good for her to have sons to look after her.”

Dai nodded. “You get it and I will look for some herbs to cook it with.”

“Why don’t you go over to mother? I’ll get my stuff and meet you there,” Goro stood up and reached for one of the baskets.

Dai used the post to ease out of his hammock. Walking the short distance back and forth to mother’s dwelling shouldn’t be beyond him. Yet another sign of Goro’s consideration for him. He had never been treated as well in his own village. He had never really fit in without a father to teach him many of the things that he had needed to know as a bachelor. Maybe if the man had not died when he was so young or if there had been an uncle to take them in, he would have learned everything and not fumbled so badly when he had first entered the bachelors’ lodge.

But now he had learned those things on his own by watching the other bachelors, and no one here knew about his past. He was an accomplished warrior now in his new village. The unfair awkwardness was behind him and never need haunt him again.

Dinner was laid out when Goro returned with the basket full of his belongings. They would have to craft some new items for Dai. He had only what he had been taken in. Even his spear was left behind. Goro cataloged the items they would have to craft for him over the next several days: a spear to replace the one left behind, another loin cloth, some leather ties for his hair, another digging stick, and a couple of mesh pouches to carry his catches in. The rest of the household goods could be accumulated over the next few weeks, but Dai really needed his own kit. They could share the comb and the clam shell for plucking the inconvenient facial hairs that sometimes sprouted, but Dai should have a set of those items for himself.

He would have to go hunting tomorrow, not just for the meat, but for the leather as well. With that settled he sat next to his new mate and ate the meal that his mother had prepared.

“Mother, we would like you to share the first meal in our new hut tomorrow evening,” Dai’s head was lowered as if he weren’t sure she would accept.

“It would be my honor to eat what my sons have made. I want to see if you know some tricks that I don’t, Dai. Wouldn’t hurt to spice up some of the meals.” She smiled broadly at Dai and patted his knee to make sure he looked up to see the smile.

The answering smile reached his eyes as well and made him look radiant. Goro was surprised to see such a happy expression on Dai’s face over such a little thing. He resolved to see that Dai had as many opportunities to smile as possible. He wanted them to be as comfortable with each other as they could be under the circumstances.

“You two must be tired after everything that you have done today. You do not have to stay any longer. Goro, take him home before he falls asleep here!” She chuckled.

Goro looked at the gently swaying form of his mate, and smiled at his obvious attempts to stay awake. “I’ll take him home now, mother. Thank you.”

Goro pulled Dai to his feet, but this time wrapped an arm around him and helped him stumble and weave home. Trying to keep the damaged part of his foot off the ground turned out to be harder than he would have thought. No wonder the wounded warrior was so tired.

He settled Dai into his hammock and despite Dai’s objections set about removing and replacing the bandage. The blister still seemed intact. But Goro felt a twinge of guilt over being the cause of the pain even if it was the traditional way to claim and prevent the captured mate from returning to her, or his, tribe. He was glad he would never be doing it to another person.

He could hear Dai’s gentle snoring, before he had even put his possessions up. They would organize everything tomorrow after he went hunting and then start making Dai’s new items. It would be a busy few days ahead of them, but all very necessary and once it was done they could rest for a few days. Goro settled back in his hammock and fell asleep, thinking of the best way to get everything done.