by P. S. Power
It was like some kind of natural greenhouse, open to the sky, but filled with vegetation anyway. Trapped here, away from the rest of the world, a secret place that short of being one of Cam's people, or at least knowing one, wasn't something that a person could really reach on their own.
One woman, who seemed fairly familiar, for all Jake didn't know her name, was carrying Ginny on her hip, wearing loose clothing in bright colors. It was unusual, but festive looking. Everyone was dressed like that, ready for a party, except for him. He smiled though and tried not to seem as awkward as he felt. It was an intrusion, except for the fact that Cam was one of his people. Part of his family.
If she had something to celebrate, he did too.
No one really said much to him, though about half of the people were looking at him funny, as if letting him know they recognized him, but were too cool and relaxed to make a big deal of it. The rest of them did less than that, which was kind of nice. One too many "Ba-Dehists" that evening would drive him nuts. It was just after noon here though, early enough in the day that not everyone was busy playing, some actually doing work. Including cooking.
The women pulled off after a bit, no one explaining anything to him, probably because they didn't all speak English. He couldn't understand them either, but they seemed pleasant enough, the men that were left. A couple of the younger ones, who looked to be about nineteen or twenty tugged his arm over to a pile of wood and gestured to an ax. One of them smiled expressively, and waved at his clothing, then Jake's, which really made a lot of sense. He wasn't in his party clothes. It was warm enough for him to take his jacket off and the button up under it, a plaid thing that had seen a lot of hard use and wear. It had stains on it, both on the sleeves and front. Old blood. More than one person had bled on it too, including him. He draped both over a near-by rock and started on the rounds. Hopefully they were for the big fire later, or at least would help someone, and this wasn't just about some guy dodging his chores.
It was about three hours later that Tansy found him, her face looking a bit pale, like something was horribly wrong. The guy that had gestured earlier was dressed in the same clothing, and it still looked clean, though he was currently looking a bit crestfallen too.
"What are you doing?" Tansy looked ready to cry.
"Crud, I didn't cut up the special ceremonial wood or something, did I?"
"No..." Then she turned on the man next to her and started a string of words that Jake couldn't understand, but that didn't sound nice at all.
"Or rather, yes, but you shouldn't have been doing it, this... Paka, was supposed to get that done." She growled the last bit, as Jake went back to work. There were only two more rounds left after all.
Between swings he spoke, not out of breath, having measured his pace. It wasn't a sprint after all. They had time to get it done. Or he thought they did at least. He'd need to wash up before any kind of party... if he was invited. He hadn't thought about it, but it was a different culture. Maybe it was an all girl thing or something? The guys had colorful clothing on too, and it wasn't daily wear. Morris and Morten always wore black, or at least dark clothing to work in, going to meetings or whatever.
"He did get it done. Just be a bit here."
It was a little longer than that, but the other two didn't seem to need him for anything, arguing as they were. It was a little stressful for him, but he didn't let that stop the flow of work. He did laugh when he finished though.
"Done! Now, if you two will behave, or at least pretend to be friends again, maybe I could get to a bucket of water or something?" He was covered with wood splinters, bark and bits of dirt, and hadn't even stacked the wood anywhere yet. It was a lot too. Leaving it there probably wouldn't do the trick either.
"I mean, after I get it to where it needs for the fire?"
"No, Ba-Dehist. That is a job for the children. The splitting is a man's task." She said something to the guy next to her again, but this time translated for Jake's benefit as the man turned a deep beet red.
"I told him that it was well done by a true man. It's a bit insulting, since you're an outsider and can't remove yourself, but if he fails to realize that those things on your belt are weapons and that no one would doubt your ability to protect yourself, that isn't my fault. I don't think he realizes that I'm calling you Ba-Dehist even and not just invoking the name. I'm so telling his wife later. She's my sister. Passing one of the sacred duties to another is rather a... bad thing to do." She turned her back and made her voice go low, but smiled up at Jake, just a tiny bit, since they were about the same height.
"Though technically getting you to do it is a good... sign for Cam. She's alone in the world now..."
That got Jake to stop suddenly, shaking his head firmly.
"No, she really isn't."
It didn't sound mean. It was happy even. Peaceful. It was like his old self was coming back again, which could really work out for a party like this. He decided to let it, if he could. He noticed Tansy tearing up though at his words. It wasn't a sad thing though.
"She has a huge family, closer in many ways than most. It isn't the same as her mother and father, true, but she certainly isn't alone."
That got him a hug, and a leer from the man behind her, who he made a face at. The guy didn't do anything though, or say anything in his strange language, just smiling and walking away. Probably to tell on them, but it was an innocent enough thing. These people didn't seem hung up on things like that anyway, not from what he'd heard. Relationships were permanent, but more fluid than what he was used to. It was a different culture after all.
Which didn't mean he couldn't use a bath if people were going to be hugging him like that.
That was actually arranged rather quickly, with him being taken to a portable shower set up almost immediately when he asked about it. It was a communal thing, but had a curtain, so he wasn't standing in the open naked doing his washing. He didn't have fresh clothing available, but when he came out wrapped in a towel he saw that his clothes had been taken away, and a pile of brightly colored things left in their place. A little too big, but the style worked for him there, his boney frame hidden in the loose folds pretty well. The top was in green and purple, but made of something like cotton and was heavier than he would have thought just to look at it, the inside being a nice practical black color. He nearly used that side, but realized that making himself comfortable and less ostentatious wasn't worth potentially ruining the event.
It was Cam's day. If the rule was for bright colors, then he could do that. If it was for somber black, he could manage that too, with a few minutes time and a bush for modesty. It was probably the colors for the day though, since that was what everyone else had on. When he came out, having arranged his short hair with a few wipes of a towel, a really nice one that was actually all the way dry, not having been used by anyone else first, he was met by an older woman he was pretty sure he'd met before. She didn't have little Ginny though so it was hard to tell.
Smiling she waved for him to go along with her. Jake followed, hoping it was the right thing to do, and that it didn't mean he needed to stay where he was or something specific he just didn't get. It was a lot more comfortable when he could understand others. That part was taken care of pretty fast at least, since he was led into a strange tent that hadn't been there earlier, a thing in slightly stained white, that looked used, and a bit run down, but that had things in it already. Carpets, a large chest, a single futon mattress with nice sheets and bedding, and in the middle of it, dressed all in silk, Cam. She giggled and tossed him a pillow.
"Like it? It's all mine. I'm supposed to decorate it myself now, but this is kind of the starter kit. I probably won't have a lot of time for that though, if I'm out traveling all the time, right?" She sounded a little wistful, but smiled at him and waved at the ground.
"Sit, Ba-Dehist. How did you know that I could do it? The best I've managed on my own before that was fifty seconds. Is it some 'Very Good Man' power?"
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br /> Jake dropped the pillow and settled on it smoothly, as if he'd done that kind of thing all his life, a move not missed by the girl in front of him at all. After thinking for a while he nodded.
"It is. You see, I have faith in you Cam. Oh, you could have failed, sure, but if it was within your ability to do it, you would. This time you kind of blew the whole thing out of the water though, didn't you? I hope you don't have to keep that ladle though, It's Lois's favorite you know."
Cam nodded.
"Why I took it. Right from her hand, too. Had to wrestle it from her a bit. I can return it though, after the thing tonight. Did you know that Morris is putting up my bride price? He's not even a relative." She sobered when the words came out, her voice going low and a tear coming to her eye now too.
It was probably a big deal then. She'd spent months having to service the police force of Westwood sexually, sometimes in ways that were physically painful, and hadn't shed a tear over that in his presence, even though she had a right too. All the women from there did.
"It's a quarter of everything he owns, Jake. He's powerful too, so it isn't just a few little things he collected when no one was looking. It's..." She shrugged.
"We don't have money now, do we? If it was a year ago it would have been millions of dollars worth of things. Maybe more. All to go to my future husband, if I pick one. If I don't, I'm on my own, of course. I probably won't for a while, but I can now if I want too. Or have sex." that was said with a flirty air to it, but it didn't seem to be real. She knew that he wouldn't sleep with her, not that way.
"Anyway, my friends are supposed to stand with me later, if they're adults. I asked Morris, and he said that it would count if they were that for their different cultures. Think anyone will show up? Morris went to get them from the House, but came back so they could get ready, if anyone wants to come. I mean, he's going to pick them up later."
She looked downcast about it though.
Did she not think she had friends or something? He shook his head, which she didn't see, looking at the rug in front of her.
"We'll see who can make it. I'm willing to bet it will be more than one or two." He sounded dry but didn't add anything else. He honestly didn't know if anyone could come. They were all kind of busy suddenly, weren't they?
About an hour later they were called out, he thought, when he heard a woman yelling loudly, at least Cameron got up and gestured for him to follow, walking to the center of the town, or whatever you called a collection of tents like this. There were rows of people, a lot of them, hundreds, that were all brightly clad and smiling, but on the right hand side, standing with Morris, his wife, Morten and Tansy, were Cam's other friends. It was a powerful message to the world, and he could see the symbolism clearly. These were the people that would stand by Cam. Two spaces had been left, which were obviously meant for her parents. She looked at it, then at the rest of the people that had bothered to show up.
It was more than a few. About a hundred more. Not all of them were people from the House either. Indeed, other than the fact that they were leaders of their kind and a few others that he might have seen around once or twice, there were just some that Jake didn't know at all. The Grand Comtrice stood by Lamont, and Julio Mendez was near the center, right next to Sammi and her "Uncle" Robert. Colleen was a few people down, so he moved in next to her, since that put him near Vicki, Tipper and Matilde. Half a dozen other Vals too. Including Stander and Yalla.
Powerful friends indeed.
There was a whole ceremony, which involved Cam speaking in a cracked voice for a while, sounding nervous as hell, but in her own peoples language, then going over it in English, and to Jake's surprise, in Spanish. The words weren't complex, but it was a nice speech.
"I stand here before the world, a child no more. I accept the duties of an adult, the burdens and the trials. I put away the things of my past that are unneeded, and hold dear those that stand with me. Those I shall never put away." She made eye contact with the crowd then, one by one. It took a while.
Then they started the fire, using most of the wood that he'd split, Morris coming up to him as he helped carry it over, a single piece in his own hand. It was neatly stacked in a complex design. All of her friends took one piece and placed it on the blaze.
"I hear that you stood her brother's duty?" He hefted the wood, to show what he meant.
"That... was to have been done by Misha. No harm I suppose. Has anyone told him that you're the Ba-Dehist yet? It should make for an amusing facial expression if nothing else. We should get front row seats for it, don't you think?"
Jake chuckled, waiting for his turn to place the wood, shaking his head.
"No. If I knew what it was for, I would have volunteered anyway. Besides you're standing for her father, aren't you? That's more important."
The man looked away, his head shaking ever so slightly, almost unnoticeably.
"I have no daughters of my own, but if I did, I wouldn't be prouder of them than of our Cameron. She's gone through so much, and done much with what she's been given. I feel miserly giving only the third daughters part, but to do more would announce myself her true father, which isn't the case. If it wouldn't shame my love, I'd do it anyway. Did you know that she's only fourteen and already the personal aid to the Ba-Dehist? It's an incredible thing. Youngest such in all history. There is only the one Ba-Dehist, but still, I was never the aid to such a person..."
The man sounded playful, but his face was serious enough.
It was Jake's turn to step up and arrange the wood. He didn't have to say anything, just try to get it to a place on the growing fire that wouldn't cause it to topple dangerously. The thing was huge. Hot too, he had to toss it in from a good five feet away. It made a nice thunk when it landed though and didn't slide.
Morris went next, then his wife, who was right next to him. Morten was a few people back. After that they wandered over to Cam and each gave her a kiss. Morris got one on the cheek, but she kissed Jake on the mouth, hard, but not using any tongue. About half the people laughed.
She whispered to him quickly, lips almost on his ear.
"Thank you." She didn't explain what for though.
Hopefully not for the party or anything, because that was all other people. All he did was the firewood. Well, maybe he helped her take the initial leap, but that wasn't really him either. She earned it.
There was a feast, which was plain compared to what they'd had for Christmas maybe, but was pretty special for the people at the House. Braised meat and vegetable kabobs along with a really nice cake for dessert. It wasn't too sugary, which was another part of the ceremony, since sweets were a thing of childhood. It was heavily spiced though, and held meaning. Plus expensive in the making, given everything.
"Morten collected the food himself. It took a while, I hear." Tansy was sitting away from him, but spoke loudly enough for him to hear, looking at Morris though, who was on a carpet next to him. It was a huge circle of people around the fire.
Colleen leaned into his side, her body warm against his.
"It's nice to see you smile again. Really smile, I mean. I missed the old Mickey. Not that I blame you, after all this, well, not this, but the other stuff." The end of the world.
He got the idea and leaned back a bit, just trying to be friendly. No one stared or anything, seeming not to notice at all.
"It's a good thing. Not the last of them either, maybe. We have a lot of work to do. In the morning though, I don't want to ruin things. People need to have fun every now and then, or they'll forget why they're alive."
It sounded nearly profound, and got a funny look from Morris, who actually blinked a few times before speaking in his own language. He had a cup of something that was sharply alcoholic in nature and had offered some to Colleen, who had a bit, but not to Jake. He was being served something else. A light fruit punch it seemed. No one mentioned it, but it was probably not meant as a slight. The juice was most likely so rare that they just didn't have
enough to share or something. The guy really seemed to be taking the whole "Ba-Dehist" thing seriously now.
Jake would have to watch out for kidnapping. It was the Teleporter tradition with his kind, he'd heard. That would get in the way though, slowing things down.
After the food and the first of the wine was done people stood at random intervals and sang, danced or told stories, which were mainly about Cam. Morten was the first one to go, telling the tale of how he teasingly pushed the girl to teleport with many people at once, only to find himself the butt of his own joke when she turned around and did it.
"Not two months ago. So it isn't a surprise to me that she's now an adult." He raised his drink high and called out loudly in his own language, but took a drink.
Stander called out after him, repeating the words in English helpfully.
"To Cameron, who walks between the winds!"
Jake took a drink then too, and so did everyone else.
There were other stories, ones he didn't know at all. About how Cam had taken a beating at the hands of several of the police to save one of the women from the old police compound from dying. It wasn't someone he knew, but she looked familiar enough.
"No one else would stand up for me by then, we were all too afraid, too worn down. But she did. It cost her to do it, a lot, but she never blamed me for it, even though I should have died before letting her be blamed in my place. She'd seen me take the extra food, it was for the babies, but..." She cried then, as Tansy translated for her.
The crowd got quiet then, many of the people looking confused, some pained, imagining the punishment. It was worse than they thought, Jake was sure. By that time the old Chief had taken to having women who disobeyed not just beaten, but raped over and over again. There was probably no way she'd avoided that. The women that had been there all knew what it meant though, and it showed on their faces... as shame.