Two Rivers

by Zoe Saadia

  What gigantic creature would walk on these feet, and why upright? No regular bear, surely. Unless he was an uki, or a flinty giant, one of the Evil Twin’s creations that were reported to roam the land since the times immemorial.

  Shivering, Tekeni rose to his feet, his gaze glued to the smaller cavities left by the sharpest of claws, of that he was sure.

  “Seems like your friend did not leave the area after all,” said Two Rivers, measuring the print in his turn. “An impressive creature.”

  Tekeni just nodded, not trusting his voice to sound firm enough.

  “He has been around recently but not very recently, if all we have are those prints and nothing else.” The older man got to his feet. “Two dawns, I would say. Or worse.” He shrugged. “Well, let us hope we’ll manage to tempt him back.”

  “To tempt him?”

  “Yes, of course.” The large eyes measured him, flickering with challenge. “Let us hear how you would do that.”

  “I… well…” Tekeni frowned, trying to think. “We need meat. If he thinks he can get something to eat, he would come.”

  “Yes, a promise of a good meal would make it worth of his trouble. But,” the tall man looked around, frowning. “This is not a good place to ambush such a fast moving creature of much age and experience. Judging by the size of these prints, your challenge has both qualities and more, so we will need to outsmart him, if we want you to come back with its magnificent pelt and the claws, won’t we?” His frown deepening, Two Rivers looked around once again.

  “What’s wrong with this place?” asked Tekeni, mainly to prolong the conversation. Everything that kept them from proceeding seemed like a good thing to do now. “I can hide here in the woods or behind this cluster of rocks and shoot him when he comes.”

  Two Rivers licked his finger and brought it up in a showy manner.

  “The wind,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Coming the way it’s coming now, it will give your presence away before the beast will as much as glance at our offering. We don’t want it feasting on you instead, do we?”

  His stomach tightened so painfully, he almost shut his eyes, feeling his cheeks beginning to burn. However, the older man’s laughter rang lightly, encouraging.

  “Don’t feel bad. You are learning, and you are asking good questions. That’s why I explain it all and ask for your opinions. Not to ridicule you, but to make you learn. If I do it all by myself, you will not learn half of it.”

  He turned to study the print once again, and Tekeni appreciated the gesture, knowing that the man was allowing him to calm down in privacy, to think it all over.

  “What we would need is a more open space,” Two Rivers went on, as though talking to himself. “At least fifty or so paces from the woods. This way you will be able to see and shoot with nothing to obscure your vision. Like this clearing with the spring we left not long ago.”

  “But the clearing has no rocks, no cliffs. Where will I hide?”

  Fearing to hear that he would have no hiding place at all, Tekeni took a deep breath, preparing for the worst. This man had been so good to him since the trouble with Yeentso, helpful, supportive, kind. Yet, it was he who suggested that he, Tekeni, should go hunting the giant, grizzled bear instead of five deer. So maybe all he wanted was to see the show, the spectacular death of the stupid youth torn to pieces by the bloodthirsty monster. Could he really trust the man the rest of the town distrusted so openly?

  He bit his lips. At the time, it seemed like an appropriate solution, a beautiful alternative. Yet, most of the people thought differently, with Seketa being plainly terrified, shooting furious glances at the man through the whole discussion of details that interrupted the dancing. She clearly did not trust Two Rivers, or his judgment, and there were many who shared her doubts. Too many people were killed or injured by the fierce, bad-tempered grizzled bears, too many to count. And there were only a handful who owed the magnificent furs to soften their bunks and the beautiful necklaces of giant claws to adorn their chests, all of them grown-up, experienced hunters and warriors. No youth had boasted such possession.

  The thought of Seketa brought the familiar wave of warmth. What was she doing now? It had been five dawns since they had left the town, crossing the Northern River and wandering its western banks, seeking the creature. Five dawns of peace and quiet. They had been very careful, making sure to leave no marks, to listen intently, and not only because of the bear. The warriors’ parties may be lurking, on their way to this or that raid. Two lone hunters would be an easy target, maintained Two Rivers, as they hid their canoe in a small inlet. Armed with bows and knives only, they could offer no decent resistance. There was a reason why the hunting was done in large, well-armed groups.

  “We return to our camp and hope to find something worth shooting at on our way.” Two Rivers was on his feet again, looking resolute.

  “A bait?”

  “Yes, a bait. We will offer your creature a good meal, served prettily and with a great reverence. He won’t be able to refuse.”

  “Will we drag it all the way to the clearing?” asked Tekeni, unable to even fake laughter, the memory of the giant prints clouding his mind, making it fuzzy, paralyzed with fear. Oh, Mighty Spirits!

  “Yes, we will drag it to the clearing, and we will build a small, unobtrusive fence. And we will make an offering to the spirits to make the wind stay the way it was for long enough.”

  Tekeni blinked. “A fence?”

  “Yes, a fence.” His companion’s face lit with an amused smile. “Unless you plan to face your projected adversary with no cover at all.”

  “Oh, yes, I understand.” Embarrassed, Tekeni busied himself with inspecting his bow. “I need to make sure it’s in a good shape,” he muttered.

  “Yes, you will have to make sure of that. A torn bowstring would see you dead very quickly.” Climbing the trail with the practiced skill of a good hunter, Two Rivers turned his head, grinning. “I know how you feel, but I do believe you can do it. I wouldn’t bother to drag you into this enterprise if I did not, would I?”

  “It can be quite a sight, they say,” muttered Tekeni, picking his step between the slippery rocks adorning the bank.

  “What?”

  “The bear tearing someone apart.” He studied the muddy ground, seeing the trails left by multitudes of smaller creatures.

  “Oh, yes, of course. I’ve seen this, too. That hunter did make it, though. He was a resourceful man, played it dead for the mighty bear to get over his initial rage, then used his knife when the creature paid less attention. By the time we had come within a shooting range he was still alive.” The man kicked a stone, grinning at the memory. “Bleeding mightily, I must admit, but living to sport quite a few impressive scars.”

  “Who was it? Do I know this man?” asked Tekeni, forgetting his own plight for a moment.

  “No, you don’t. He was killed by the enemies a few summers later. It was before you were captured.”

  For some time, they proceeded in silence, the light atmosphere gone again. On what side of the Great Sparkling Water was this man killed? wondered Tekeni. Must be on the other, his, side, judging by his companion’s suddenly hostile silence. He pressed his lips tight.

  “When you will be behind the fence, waiting for the bear to come, you will be scared out of your senses,” said Two Rivers, when they emerged from the woods and stood upon a high bank, facing the river. “It’s all right. Everyone would feel that, whether they would admit it later or not. The trick is not to lose your presence of mind. If you start to think of the ways to get away, you succumb to panic, and you are done for.” A glance shot at Tekeni was piercing but kind. “Concentrate on your mission. Remember what you came to do. Think about that and nothing else. Realize that there will be no way back. You came to kill the creature, and this is your only way out. Put all your thoughts into the first shot and think of nothing else. This way, you have a chance. The first shot is most likely to seal your fate. Or at least, spare yo
u a lot of pain and running around.”

  “Did you do this?” asked Tekeni, feeling his lips dry and quivering. Trying to appear as calm as he could, he kicked a stone and watched it rolling down the cliff.

  “Yes, I did. It was also a sort of a challenge, an attempt to prove my worth. But I wasn’t as young as you are. I’d been to a few raids by then, so I was sure I could manage.” A chuckle. “That confidence melted away by the time I was half way through the waiting.”

  “And then what happened?”

  “I shot it, and I still don’t remember how. I was too terrified to pay attention. But at some point, when the beast was roaring and charging toward me and I was sure I was done for, I noticed that it had been roaring strangely, in a sort of a gurgle because of all this blood gushing through its mouth. At this point, I realized that I was safe, safe to jump around and shoot all the rest of my arrows until it was dead. It was an incredible feeling, well worth the anguished waiting and the fear.”

  “So you do have a magnificent fur adorning your bunk?” asked Tekeni, breathless.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “And the claws?”

  The man shrugged. “I do have a double row of those, but I don’t wear them. Something to do with a certain dream and my guiding spirit.”

  “Oh.”

  He watched the river raging far below. Would he ever cross it again? Would he live to see more than a few more dawns, until they managed to shoot something to lure the bear?

  “If you manage to do that and live, you will take a great step toward the acceptance of the town.” The man seemed to be also immersed in studying the opposite bank. “Five hides are just a payment. Not a step into bettering your life. While a fur of a huge brown bear is a statement. A statement of a proud person who would not be put in his place. They keep saying that you are in the wrong, because you don’t follow the rules, but let me tell you something. You are not in the wrong, because this is who you are. You cannot change. You are not a person to just blend into the background. You are standing out, and this is what angers many people. Your origins are only a part of the problem. Had you been humble and quiet, anxious to belong, you would have blended nicely, accepted like any other average person, local or not.”

  A mirthless grin stretched the man’s lips, but his eyes still wandered the distant shores.

  “You are not that sort of a person, and people like Yeentso or those youths, who tried to pick a fight with you on the day of the ceremony, and many, many others, even your Clan Mothers, are sensing that, and oh, Mighty Spirits, it angers them greatly. They are desperate to put you in your place, by all means they have.” The measuring gaze turned to Tekeni, resting upon him, reflecting half amused appreciation. “Well, take this advice from me, boy. If you can’t blend, don’t try. Stand out and be yourself. They wanted you to get them five hides, counting on you exhausting yourself by trying to comply with the request, remaining poor for some summers, paying your debts instead of gathering possessions? A sure way to put you in your place. A good solution. Well, they won’t get this! Instead, you are going out and bringing them the magnificent fur of the huge, grizzled bear. A payment worthy of your crime. You almost killed a man, a man older and stronger than you, and you go and kill a bear, another worthy adversary, to pay for this crime. People will hate you all the same, but they will be afraid of you now, too, because you will not be a foreign cub of no significance anymore. After this, many would pause to think before crossing your path. Those youths from the ceremony, and the cowards like Yeentso, too.” The piercing gaze bore at him, full of meaning. “You will not be loved and cherished, but you will be respected. And admired, too, if you will go on proving yourself the way you feel fit, and not the way they want you to do it.”

  Shaking his head, the older man turned back toward the river, kicking a stone in his turn.

  “You have potential. And your path will be different, more difficult to walk, but you should walk it proudly, with no misgivings, because this is what you are.” The smile was back, with a twinkle creeping into the dark gaze. “And it will make it easier to get the prettiest girl, too. Now, this Beaver Clan girl is not a coward like Yeentso or those boys who are coveting her. She is smart and courageous, and she had evidently been sensing the same qualities in you, arriving to her own conclusions. Some women are good at that, you know? They can smell it in the man, can see who would make a good father to their children.” Laughing, he raised his hands as Tekeni tried to protest. “Don’t turn all red on me, protesting your innocence. I heard what she said, admonishing this other youth, and you’ve been evidently watching her while she danced. That youth was pissed for a reason.”

  “Many are watching her,” muttered Tekeni, his throat dry, lips having difficulty forming the words.

  “Oh, yes, she is a pretty little thing and very upright. I would advise you to keep away from trouble, because she will bring you trouble all right. But this would go against my previous advice. Don’t try to blend into the background. Kill the grizzled bear, court the prettiest girl, fight for her if you have to. You can’t pretend to be an average person because this is not what you are.”

  Tekeni’s head reeled, and he welcomed the wind as it tore at them, strengthening with the sun rushing toward its resting place.

  “You are like this, right?” he said quietly, watching the deepening shadows. “You are not blending. But…” he bit his lower lip, compelled to say it, but afraid all the same. “You are not happy. You are standing out, and you are following your truth, but… Is it worth it?”

  The amused smile was back, stretching the man’s lips, filling the large eyes with a spark of appreciation. “Oh, this is a difficult question to answer. But yes, it has its price, not to be just an average person.” A shrug. “Is it worth it? Maybe yes, maybe not. Depends on what you want out of life. You are still very young, and you have time to think, to sort yourself out. I don’t think you will be like me, but who knows.” Another shrug, a widening grin. “I’m a mess, boy. Much worse than you are. You had a happy life and happy family back with your people. I can tell. Your troubles began with your captivity. But mine? Oh, mine began before I was born.”

  “How so?” Wide-eyed, Tekeni peered at the man beside him, taking in the proud profile, the strong cheekbones, the high brow, the long, eagle-like nose. Good hunter, good warrior, a prominent man everyone talked about, and yet a strange person that not many liked or trusted.

  “Oh, it’s difficult to tell. There was a prophecy, a dream of a girl who conceived without having a man in her life. The Turtle Clan accepted it, but she kept insisting, her dreams getting more powerful, until people started to believe her. The child was supposed to belong to the Great Spirits, conceived miraculously. They say the Grandmother of the Clan tried to get rid of the baby when it was born. She was not successful. She came back, awed, refusing to tell anyone about what happened.” The mirthless grin was back. “Try to grow up surrounded by such an air of mystery and stay sane. With everyone looking at you, awed and suspicious, expecting you to do what? To perform a miracle? Not the childhood I would wish on anyone. And it doesn’t get any better.” The man’s eyes left the darkening bank, traveling downwards, following the strong current below their feet. “I wish I didn’t have to return every time I leave. I wish I could start anew, in a place where no one had heard a thing about me.”

  Mesmerized by the toneless voice, Tekeni shivered. “What did the prophecy say?” It seemed that the man was relating someone else’s story.

  “Nothing that you, or anyone else, would care to hear or understand.”

  “It must be important if they are still expecting something from you.”

  “They are expecting from me nothing but to fit, to do as I’m told, to be the part of the herd, going after our leaders, asking no questions. They want me to swallow their lies and thank them humbly, time after time. That’s all that is expected from me. Nothing to do with prophecies.”

  “They want that from
everyone.”

  “Yes, they do.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing, except that our leaders don’t know what they are doing, rushing from one thing to another, warring on everyone, eager to take offense and make more enemies. They are behaving no better than youths of your age, grabbing their knives, or their playing sticks, at every opportunity.” The fleeting smile was amused again, gone before noticed. “They are as mindless as a forest deer, and they can’t see beyond the tips of their noses.”

  “The leaders of the town?”

  “Of the whole nation!” Two Rivers flopped his arms in the air, exhaling loudly. “And the Rock People are no better. And the others too.” He glanced at Tekeni, his grin back in place. “But don’t feel too good with yourself just yet because I’m sure your people are no better. You said they war on each other, too.”

  “They don’t war on each other, no clan against clan, or town against town. But if by 'my people' you mean all the people from the other side of the Great Sparkling Water, then yes, of course, they war against other nations.”

  “Stupidly at that!”

  Tekeni felt the air escaping his lungs. “Not stupidly. They war against the enemies, against the people who want to destroy their towns and their fields and their way of life.”

  “What’s different about their way of life?”

  “Oh, well, there are differences.” He clenched his teeth, enraged by the open amusement the man’s grin radiated. “There are! We are the People of the Flint, but our neighbors, the People of the Standing Stone, are such an annoying nation. It’s like having a bunch of cheeky squirrels by one’s side, always there, trying to steal, ready to bite. And then, there are the Onondaga, the People of the Hills, such violent, arrogant people!”

  “And they are different from your Flint People how?”

  “I don’t know. But they are, they are different. And they are evil, too.”

  “You don’t know how, but they are different and evil.” The glance shot at Tekeni was openly derisive, the lifted eyebrows making him want to break something. “It seems to me that you are ready to be a part of the herd, treading as mindlessly as the next person, repeating what is said to you, asking no questions.” Turning away, the man shrugged. “Good for you.”