Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Clanmariza
Congrats to Crippled Hunter for guessing my running joke: that Mariza the lesbian gets pregnant every time she has unprotected sex with a man. Although it’s unusual, women have been known to conceive less than a month after giving birth. Breast feeding can sometimes prevent conception, but like all forms of birth control, it doesn’t work 100% of the time. But at this point, it has been about six months since Širiža was born. She was born in Autumn. It is now early Spring. During this time she recovered from the birth and massive blood loss. I haven’t decided whether Mariza will start taking the totem-stregthening herb after the next daughter is born . . . it could be construed as ‘thwarting the will of Luna’. But too many children, too fast, would be bad for her heath and the more kids she has, the harder it will be for her to continue her journey . . . which has paused, not ended. (I still want her to meet her father and to see what her presence did to the Haratumoi)
I’m trying to keep everybody in something close to the same time. This means it may be a while before I get back to the Mara and Luna cliffhangers.
Notice that Mara and Mariza have had opposite reactions to similar traumas. Mara lost her faith and appointed herself the Devil. Mariza found her faith strengthened and appointed herself the Prophetess.
Clanluna
Chapter 69: Bad Wolf
Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling
Earth’s Children is owned by Jean Auel
When the Leader’s Mate, Zuragavaka, came to the hearth to tell Zurbgrana that it was time to bring Mariza and the two girls to the mating ceremony, Mariza turned to the two girls, touched each of their hands, as they clung to each other fearfully and said, in English:
“Don’t worry. Everything is going to be all right.”
Mariza then pushed past Zuragavaka, before going into that sensuous walk that she had seen Iga, Griga, Đučaviča, Ura and others do, many times before. She stepped so narrowly her legs almost crossed as she swayed her hips and walked out of the cave wearing only a red stained wrap around her hips and red stained soles of her feet.
“There will be No Mating Tonight!” waved Mariza, imperiously.
“That is not for you to say,” signed Zezbrakran. “You are just a Woman! This man is Leader! And This Leader has decided that you will be mated to Zurvgak.”
“No,” replied Mariza. “This Weech is not going to become anyone’s mate tonight and neither are those two little girls you stole from the Others.”
“Who do you think you are to tell the Leader what to do?” signed Zurvgav.
“This Weech is this Clan’s new clanluna, the personal representative of Luna, the Great Mother of all the world!” waved Mariza.
“How do you know this Great Mother of yours is real?” asked Zurbgun
“Because this Weech grew up in her cave, and was taught the ways of magic by her, personally, and by The Mog-Ur” signed Mariza.
Everyone present was starting to become mystified by Mariza. Their only language was Clan signs and telling a falsehood was impossible in Clan sign. So Mariza could only be saying these things if she believed them to be true.
“This woman’s mother was a Medicine Woman of the highest rank,” continued Mariza. “This woman was fully trained to become a medicine woman but refused the ceremony to become one. This woman has much to teach your current medicine woman. This Weech knows the secrets of the stars, the future, the plants and the animals.”
Mariza then raised a hand over her head. This was Zariz’s cue. She hoped that her son had been able to rouse the cave Bear from its’ hibernation, which should be ending now. Mariza held her breath as she stood them and waited. When the whole Clan gasped, she let it out explosively, but didn’t look behind her. She could hear Zariz riding up behind her on Međveđj’s back and as they passed her, she climbed on the Cave Bear’s back behind her son. The two of them rode a circuit around the Clan as Mariza signed:
“As your clanluna, this Weech is co-equal with your medicine woman and your mog-ur and this weech’s powers are similar to both, yet different.”
Mariza slid off the Cave Bear’s back and stood in front of the Leader, Zezbrakran.
“And as your clanluna, this Weech is TELLING you that you will release the girls and send them back to their people”
Zezbrakran stared at Mariza fearfully for a long time, gradually the look of fear gave way to anger and he lashed out at her with his fist, sending Mariza sprawling. Međveđj growled at him menecingly and he raised his spear at the Cave Bear, preparing to strike.
“No! No! It's alright,“ said Mariza in Đumbleđore, to the Cave Bear and her son, with her hand raised in a calming gesture, as she picked herself up off the ground.
“Release the girls! Send them back to their people! And there will be no more hitting of women!“ signed Mariza.
“Our new men need mates,“ signed Zezbrakran.
“Your men are not fit to be mates!“ waved back Mariza. “This clanluna will teach them of Luna's gift of Pleasure . . . of how to Relieve the Needs of women. Once they have learned this it will be much easier for them to find a mate. This clanluna will teach all of your men of Luna's gift.“
“Even if this gift for this Luna has value, there still aren't enough women,“ waved Zezbrakran, angrily. “The girls stay!“
“The girls have not even had 1st Rites yet!“ waved Mariza, realizing that a comprimise was needed. “How about this: The girls, stay and teach us their way of speaking with sounds. When this clanluna has trained the men of this Clan in Luna's gift of Pleasure, then she will chose one to perform 1st Rites on the one who is already a woman. When the girls have taught us enough of their way of speaking with sounds that we can ask them, they may choose a mate from our Clan, or to go back to their own people. But no one is to Relieve their Need in them until then.“
“There are still two girls, and many men who need mates,“ Zezbrakran signed. “And who will take care of you? Hunt for you?“
“This woman is perfectly capable of taking care of herself and can hunt for herself!“ signed Mariza.
“Women do not hunt!“ waved Zezbrakran, angrily.
“Amongst my people they do!“ waved back Mariza.
“Women are not allowed to touch men's hunting weapons!“ waved Zezbrakran.
“This woman is a woman-who-hunts and is the daughter of the first woman-who-hunts!“ waved Mariza. “and there are some hunting weapons that are ONLY used by women!“
“Let her try!“ signed Zurvragun. “Everyone knows women can't hunt. She'll soon be begging us for food!“
“Even if this Leader lets her hunt, who will take care of the new men. There are still many of them, each of them needs a mate!“ Zezbrakran.
“This clanluna will take care of their Needs until a woman can be found for them,“ signed Mariza.
“Men have been known to have more than one mate in the past,“ signed Zurbgun, the mog-ur. “If she wants to be mated to many men, let her.“
“No I will not be mating them!“ waved Mariza. “This clanluna will simply be taking care of them until mates can be found for them.“
“This mog-ur does not know a ceremony for that,“ signed Zurbgun.
“Since there will be no mating, there need not be ceremony,“ signed Mariza. “We just need a new hearth for the many (4) of us.“
“What is that sound?“ asked Zurbgun.
“It is a counting sound,“ signed Mariza. “In my peoples way of speaking we have many of them for more than two. This Weech will teach them to you, but we should learn the ones that the girls use.“
Zezbrakran seemed to the think for a long time before finally, he nodded: “It will be as you say, a new hearth will be set up for you and the new men and the new women.“
Mariza breathed a sigh of relief . . . then realized that she had to get to work. She looked at the faces of the three young men she'd be sharing a hearth with. They appeared both expectant and disapointed. She could see in their eyes that they were wondering what this Luna's gift of Pleasure was and how it would Relieve the Needs of women. Taking Zurvgak by the hand, she motioned for the others to follow. When they got to the back of the cave where Međveđj had hibernated the Winter Mariza signed:
“We need to set up a hearth here for all of us.“
With all of them pitching in, they'd soon set up boundry stones, and moved their things in. Mariza aranged things so that her bedding was in the middle, with a place for baby Širiža on her left. The three young men had their bedding to the right of Mariza and the two girls would sleep to Mariza's Left. Zariz and Međveđj would sleep across the fire from them. Mariza could tell nobody was happy to be sharing the hearth with the Cave Bear, except Zariz. The Wall of the cave formed a little shelf, where Mariza laid out the shrunken things from her pouch. They could stay there until the shrinking charms wore off. One of the things that wasn't shrunken was her firestone, so Mariza grabbed a flint knife and started making sparks onto some tinder. Everyone turned to watch her as soon as she struck the first spark.
“How did you do that?“ signed Zurvgak.
Crack! Mariza made another spark, which landed in the tinder. She ignored him and blew the spark into a flame. After added a few sticks, Mariza turned to see the shocked faces of the members of her hearth, shrugged, and put away her firestone.
Her non-Clan cooking tools were still shrunken, so they had to use Clan ones. The girls pitched in and helped Mariza cook a meal for them. It was fortunate that the three men had each made a kill that morning, as they now had share of meat for their hearth. Međveđj seemed disapointed that there was no bowl of vegetables for him, and curled up to sleep. He'd go feed himself in the morning.
After they had been feed, the girls were starting to relax and look a little less fearful. Not much progress was made in Learning their language. But Mariza did learn that their names were Vojkovica and Vezava and that their people were called the Vanthonoi. They were very relieved when they realized that Mariza would be sleeping between them and the men.
But bedtime, also meant it was time for Mariza to Redfoot. She had decided that she would teach a different man each night, starting with Zurvgak, tonight. But she'd underestimated how hard teaching them would be . . . or just how bad at Pleasures the three young men would be. None of them got to penetrate her before they were finished and Zurdaz was finished before it was even his turn! The clanlunae had made it look so easy! Mariza had grown up seeing adults Share Pleasures all her life. And as a woman, she knew what she liked. She thought that it would just be a matter of teaching them what she liked. She hadn't seen the years of training under the sungaeae that Iga had before Luna had rescued her. And amongst the clanluna, the redfooting had gone on at the Summer Gathering, inside a tipi. Mariza had heard it, but she hadn't seen what redfoots did to teach this to young men.
While she had been busy with Zurvgak and Zubgranev, the girls had paid rapt attention with shocked expressions on their faces like the couldn't believe what they were seeing! But Mariza didn't know what part of it they were shocked by.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
The next morning Mariza woke first. She woke her son and had him take Međveđ out. They couldn't make a habit of not feeding him. And the Cave Bear could feed inself when outside the cave. When she came back from the trench, Zuradaz was awake and staring at her. (Probably because she hadn't bothered to put on her wrap yet) He looked at her expectantly and gave her the Signal.
“No.“ Said Mariza.
“No? What do you mean, no?“ signed Zuradaz, with a look on his face that showed he was feeling heartbroken. “You can't say 'no'! This man is a man. You are a woman. This man has given you the the Signal. So now you have to Relieve this man's Needs!“
“Not any more,“ signed Mariza. “In the new way of doing things, this woman does not Relieve your Needs unless you Relieve this woman's Needs. Pleasures must be Shared. . . Do not worry. Tonight, this redfoot will teach you about Sharing Pleasures first. But today, we need to get things for our new hearth. You should go hunting with the men. This woman will take the girls foraging.“
After breakfast, Mariza took the two girls, Vojkovica and Vezava, foraging in a different direction than the rest of the women. She wanted some herbs that grew near the river and some time to spend alone with the girls. Mariza had no potion ingredients at all and needed to start gathering. She shown them which ones to pick and which ones were not old enough when she heard an animal running towards them. Mariza felt a mixture of fear and excitement as she wondered what this animal could be. Suddenly there was a bark and Mariza was knocked off her feet as Đak came bounding out of the bushes and leapt onto her chest, knocking her down. The girls squealed in fright as the blink-dog licked her was while apparating repeatedly in different parts of the same general vicinity. Mariza giggled as her companion animal tickled her with it's tongue until she was finally able to grab hold of him, long enough to push him away.
“Đak! I was so worried about you!“ said Mariza, in English. “Where have you been all winter?“
The blink-dog barked, started to run away, barked, ran back to her, barked, then ran in the same direction as before, and barked.
“What's there Đak? Show me!“ said Mariza as she rose to her feet and started to run after the blink-dog. When she realized that the girls weren't following, Mariza had to stop and motion for them to follow. Đak led them to a small cave under the roots of a tree. Listening at the entrance, Mariza could here a lupine whining sound, but she couldn't see in. The entrance was so small that Mariza would barely be able to make it through the hole. Đak stood by the entrance and barked at her.
“I'm going to just go in for a short time to see what's in there,“ said Mariza, in English as she pointed to hole. Then Mariza noticed that both girls were staring fearfully at Đak.
“What, Đak? He's harmless. He's just a big baby! Oh yes you are!“ said Mariza as she petted the blinkdog and it wagged it's tail and began apparating around again.
“Here, let me introduce you to him.“
Mariza help out her hand for Đak to lick, then petted him, then coaxed the girls into doing the same. Soon the were both gleefully playing with the blink-dog.
Mariza used the distraction as an opportunity to slip away and wriggle through the hole in the ground. It was a tight squeeze, but the passage soon opened up into a bigger chamber and Mariza found herself, face to face with a wolf! A growl started building up in the wolf's throat, gradually increasing in volume as Mariza maintained eye contact with the wolf that she could barely see and reached beside her to untie her wrap. Taking it off, she carefully rolled it up in the confined space and brought it around in front of her. By now, it felt like the wolf's growl was shaking her bones. But she also could detect in the growl that this wolf was injured. When the wolf went to snap at her, Mariza hit the wolf on the nose with her rolled up wrap and said:
“NO! BAD WOLF!“
The surprised wolf suddenly stopped growling, then tried to bite her again. Mariza hit the wolf again with her wrap before dropping it and grabbing the shut jaws of the wolf and holding them shut. With a quick twist, she'd turned the wolf on it's back. Mariza quickly crawled up so she was straddling the wolf with her head near it's tail and her rear, sitting on the wolf's head. She used her rear to pin the wolf until it stopped struggling and went limp. While she was waiting, she notices a wriggling sensation near her knees. . . this wolf had cubs! Once the wolf had submited to her, Mariza backed up so she could see the wolf's head again. She was still holding the wolf's head down but wasn't holding it closed. The wolf licked at the hands holding it. Mariza's eyes had now adjusted more, but it was still very dark in here. She started feeling around, examining the wolf, and discovered a greenstick fracture on a back leg. She fumbled around for the things that had fallen out of the folds when she'd untied her wrap and found a clan style knife. Just a flint blade. Using it to cut her wrap into strips, she tried it around the leg to splint it. She'd have to re-splint it with a stick after she got the wolf out of here. . . and how was she going to do that? . . .
Mariza backed out the way she came to find the girls still playing with Đak. Since they wouldn't under stand her, she had to use gestures to indicate that she wanted Vojkovica's tunic. With some coaxing she was able to get the young woman out of her long shirt. Mariza then, took the knife and began cutting the seems on one side, ignoring the young woman's protests. Once she was done, Mariza laid the tunic flat and rolled it up sideways. She then, crawled back into the cave. Mariza placed the rolled up tunic, lengthwise next the wolf and her cubs. She couldn't separate the wolf and her cubs, she have to take them out together. Getting the wolf and her cubs onto the unrolled tunic was a struggle. But pulling the wolf and cubs out of the cave by dragging the leather tunic was an even bigger struggle once she was out of the cave, Mariza was able to coax the other girls into helping. . . . until the wolf's head came out of the hole! Then it was back to pulling by herself, though, Đak did grab a part of the leather and try to help.
Now that they were out, Mariza realized that this wolf was an albino and her cubs were all part blink-dog! Luna had blended Đak's spirit with a wolf! Mariza took this as a sign that she was right to help the wolf. She broke off a stick and resplinted the wolf's leg. The girls look both facinated and terified! Mariza showed them how to let the wolf sniff their hand in greeting. But then had to grab Vezava by the wrist and drag her over to meet the wolf. She relaxed a little after the wolf licked her hand. Mariza then coaxed Vojkovica into meeting the wolf. That done, Mariza had to crawl back into the cave and retrieve the things she had dropped in the cave floor when she untied her wrap. Backing out, Mariza cut cut a couple of poles to make a travois and tied the corners of what used to be the tunic to it. So they could drag the wolf back. By now, Mariza was covered in mud and sweat. So she took a quick dip in the river to wash the grime off before she picked up the ends of the travois and started dragging.
By the time they had returned to the cave, the girls had overcome their fear and were helping to drag the travois. Đak was happily running around them and would help them when they frequently had to stop to retreive a runaway cub. As they drew nearer, Zuradanak and Zezbrakruk came forward with spears raised threateningly at Đak.
“NO! Stop trying to hunt my friends!“ signed Mariza as she run foward and hugged Đak. The blink-dog wriggled and blinked as her licked her chin. “This animal is not for hunting. This animal is a friend! And so is this wolf!“
“Wolves are dangerous!“ warned Zuradanak.
“These wolves are not! This clanluna will train them to live with us and help us!“ signed Mariza.
“Zezbrakran will not allow it!“ warned Zezbrakruk.
They found the cave empty when the pulled the wolves in to a place next to Međveđj and Zariz's bed. Mariza had been planing to make some clothes for herself when she had obtained some hides, but promissed she'd replace Vojkovica's ruined tunic first. In the meantime, she took one of her bedding furs and draped it around the young woman's shoulders as a cloak. Vojkovica said some that Mariza guessed must be a thanking word. Mariza then cut a piece off another fur that she would have to use as a wrap to replace her lost one.
She then turned her attention to feeding the Wolf. The cut up some meat and set it in front of the wolve. The wolf lapped it up greatfully. They were still taking care of the wolf when the men returned.
“WOLF! There are wolves at our hearth!“ waved Zubgranev.
“Đak is not a wolf, he a blink-dog,“ defended Mariza.
“This man does not care what you call it, it is still a wolf!“ waved Zurvgak, as he raised his spear.
“No!“ said Vezava, as she stood up and shielded the wolf with her body.
“Zurvgak!“ called out Zezbrakran as he aproached the hearth. “There are wolves at your hearth!“
“This man just returned,“ explained Zurvgak. “The women want them to stay.“
“Animals can not live in the cave!“ signed Zezbrakran.
“These animals will!“ signed Mariza. “They will live with us and help protect us from other animals. This Weech even thinks that she can teach them to help us hunt.“
“Animals can not live in the cave!“ signed Zezbrakran.
Just then, Zariz came up behind him riding on the Cave Bear.
Vojkovica (14) – Other, of the Vanthonoi, abducted by Zorg's Clan
Vezava (13) – Other, of the Vanthonoi, abducted by Zorg's Clan
Mariza (19) - Other, (Golden blonde hair, sky-blue eyes) Ayla’s daughter, Weech, , Đučaviča’s former 2nd mate. clanluna, redfoot, N: Cr,H,R,Div, Care prodigy (Stork totem)
---Zariz (4) – ¼ Clan son of Mariza, Weez-ur
---Širiža (0) – Other, Mariza’s daughter, Weech
------Đak (5) – blink-dog
------Međveđj (3) Cave Bear
Zurvgak (14) - 1/16 Clan son of Zurvgakava, future mog-ur's acolyte
Zubgranev (14) – 1/16 Clan son of Zurbgrana
Zuradaz – (14) - 1/16 Clan son of Zurvgakaza
Zezbrakran (40) – 1/16 Clan son of Zezbraka, Leader
---Zuragavaka (33) – 1/32 Clan daughter of Zuragava, mate of Zezbrakran
Zurbgun (53)-1/8 Clan son of Zurbga, mog-ur
Zurvragun (38) – 1/16 Clan son of Zurvraga, mog-ur's acolyte
---Zurvgakava (29) - 1/8 Clan daughter of Zurvgaka, mate of Zurvragun
------Zurvgakun (11) - 1/16 Clan son of Zurvgakava,
Zezbrakruk (37) -1/8 Clan son of Zezbraka
---Zurbgrana (37) – 1/16 Clan daughter of Zurbgra, medicine woman, mate of Zezbrakruk
Zuradanak (35) -1/32 Clan son of Zuradana
---Zurvgakaza (32) – 1/8 Clan daughter of Zurvgaka, mate of Zuradanak
------Zuradan (17) – 1/16 Clan son of Zurvgakaza
Zuradavun (35) – 1/32 Clan son of Zuradava
--- Zuragakada (31) – 1/16 Clan daughter of Zuragaka, mate of Zuradavun
------ Zuragakadava (13) - 1/32 Clan daughter of Zuragakada, mate of Zuragavab
Zurvgav (34) – 1/8 Clan son of Zurvgava
--- Zuragakaba (28) – 1/16 Clan daughter of Zuragaka, mate of Zurvgav
------ Zuragakabaza (13) – 1/32 Clan daughter of Zuragakaba
------ Zuragakabava (10) – 1/16 Clan daughter of Zuragakaba
Zuragavaz (18) – 1/64 Clan son of Zuragavaka, future Leader
---Zuragakadaza (16)– 1/32 Clan daughter of Zuragakada, mate of Zuragavaz
------ Zuragakadazad (1) – 1/64 Clan son of Zuragakadaza, future leader
Zuragavab (15) – 1/32 Clan son of Zuragavaka
---Zurbgranaza (17) – 1/32 Clan daughter of Zurbgrana, medicine woman, mate of Zuragavab
------ Zurbgranazaga (2) 1/32 Clan daughter of Zurbgranaza
I’m trying to keep everybody in something close to the same time. This means it may be a while before I get back to the Mara and Luna cliffhangers.
Notice that Mara and Mariza have had opposite reactions to similar traumas. Mara lost her faith and appointed herself the Devil. Mariza found her faith strengthened and appointed herself the Prophetess.
Clanluna
Chapter 69: Bad Wolf
Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling
Earth’s Children is owned by Jean Auel
When the Leader’s Mate, Zuragavaka, came to the hearth to tell Zurbgrana that it was time to bring Mariza and the two girls to the mating ceremony, Mariza turned to the two girls, touched each of their hands, as they clung to each other fearfully and said, in English:
“Don’t worry. Everything is going to be all right.”
Mariza then pushed past Zuragavaka, before going into that sensuous walk that she had seen Iga, Griga, Đučaviča, Ura and others do, many times before. She stepped so narrowly her legs almost crossed as she swayed her hips and walked out of the cave wearing only a red stained wrap around her hips and red stained soles of her feet.
“There will be No Mating Tonight!” waved Mariza, imperiously.
“That is not for you to say,” signed Zezbrakran. “You are just a Woman! This man is Leader! And This Leader has decided that you will be mated to Zurvgak.”
“No,” replied Mariza. “This Weech is not going to become anyone’s mate tonight and neither are those two little girls you stole from the Others.”
“Who do you think you are to tell the Leader what to do?” signed Zurvgav.
“This Weech is this Clan’s new clanluna, the personal representative of Luna, the Great Mother of all the world!” waved Mariza.
“How do you know this Great Mother of yours is real?” asked Zurbgun
“Because this Weech grew up in her cave, and was taught the ways of magic by her, personally, and by The Mog-Ur” signed Mariza.
Everyone present was starting to become mystified by Mariza. Their only language was Clan signs and telling a falsehood was impossible in Clan sign. So Mariza could only be saying these things if she believed them to be true.
“This woman’s mother was a Medicine Woman of the highest rank,” continued Mariza. “This woman was fully trained to become a medicine woman but refused the ceremony to become one. This woman has much to teach your current medicine woman. This Weech knows the secrets of the stars, the future, the plants and the animals.”
Mariza then raised a hand over her head. This was Zariz’s cue. She hoped that her son had been able to rouse the cave Bear from its’ hibernation, which should be ending now. Mariza held her breath as she stood them and waited. When the whole Clan gasped, she let it out explosively, but didn’t look behind her. She could hear Zariz riding up behind her on Međveđj’s back and as they passed her, she climbed on the Cave Bear’s back behind her son. The two of them rode a circuit around the Clan as Mariza signed:
“As your clanluna, this Weech is co-equal with your medicine woman and your mog-ur and this weech’s powers are similar to both, yet different.”
Mariza slid off the Cave Bear’s back and stood in front of the Leader, Zezbrakran.
“And as your clanluna, this Weech is TELLING you that you will release the girls and send them back to their people”
Zezbrakran stared at Mariza fearfully for a long time, gradually the look of fear gave way to anger and he lashed out at her with his fist, sending Mariza sprawling. Međveđj growled at him menecingly and he raised his spear at the Cave Bear, preparing to strike.
“No! No! It's alright,“ said Mariza in Đumbleđore, to the Cave Bear and her son, with her hand raised in a calming gesture, as she picked herself up off the ground.
“Release the girls! Send them back to their people! And there will be no more hitting of women!“ signed Mariza.
“Our new men need mates,“ signed Zezbrakran.
“Your men are not fit to be mates!“ waved back Mariza. “This clanluna will teach them of Luna's gift of Pleasure . . . of how to Relieve the Needs of women. Once they have learned this it will be much easier for them to find a mate. This clanluna will teach all of your men of Luna's gift.“
“Even if this gift for this Luna has value, there still aren't enough women,“ waved Zezbrakran, angrily. “The girls stay!“
“The girls have not even had 1st Rites yet!“ waved Mariza, realizing that a comprimise was needed. “How about this: The girls, stay and teach us their way of speaking with sounds. When this clanluna has trained the men of this Clan in Luna's gift of Pleasure, then she will chose one to perform 1st Rites on the one who is already a woman. When the girls have taught us enough of their way of speaking with sounds that we can ask them, they may choose a mate from our Clan, or to go back to their own people. But no one is to Relieve their Need in them until then.“
“There are still two girls, and many men who need mates,“ Zezbrakran signed. “And who will take care of you? Hunt for you?“
“This woman is perfectly capable of taking care of herself and can hunt for herself!“ signed Mariza.
“Women do not hunt!“ waved Zezbrakran, angrily.
“Amongst my people they do!“ waved back Mariza.
“Women are not allowed to touch men's hunting weapons!“ waved Zezbrakran.
“This woman is a woman-who-hunts and is the daughter of the first woman-who-hunts!“ waved Mariza. “and there are some hunting weapons that are ONLY used by women!“
“Let her try!“ signed Zurvragun. “Everyone knows women can't hunt. She'll soon be begging us for food!“
“Even if this Leader lets her hunt, who will take care of the new men. There are still many of them, each of them needs a mate!“ Zezbrakran.
“This clanluna will take care of their Needs until a woman can be found for them,“ signed Mariza.
“Men have been known to have more than one mate in the past,“ signed Zurbgun, the mog-ur. “If she wants to be mated to many men, let her.“
“No I will not be mating them!“ waved Mariza. “This clanluna will simply be taking care of them until mates can be found for them.“
“This mog-ur does not know a ceremony for that,“ signed Zurbgun.
“Since there will be no mating, there need not be ceremony,“ signed Mariza. “We just need a new hearth for the many (4) of us.“
“What is that sound?“ asked Zurbgun.
“It is a counting sound,“ signed Mariza. “In my peoples way of speaking we have many of them for more than two. This Weech will teach them to you, but we should learn the ones that the girls use.“
Zezbrakran seemed to the think for a long time before finally, he nodded: “It will be as you say, a new hearth will be set up for you and the new men and the new women.“
Mariza breathed a sigh of relief . . . then realized that she had to get to work. She looked at the faces of the three young men she'd be sharing a hearth with. They appeared both expectant and disapointed. She could see in their eyes that they were wondering what this Luna's gift of Pleasure was and how it would Relieve the Needs of women. Taking Zurvgak by the hand, she motioned for the others to follow. When they got to the back of the cave where Međveđj had hibernated the Winter Mariza signed:
“We need to set up a hearth here for all of us.“
With all of them pitching in, they'd soon set up boundry stones, and moved their things in. Mariza aranged things so that her bedding was in the middle, with a place for baby Širiža on her left. The three young men had their bedding to the right of Mariza and the two girls would sleep to Mariza's Left. Zariz and Međveđj would sleep across the fire from them. Mariza could tell nobody was happy to be sharing the hearth with the Cave Bear, except Zariz. The Wall of the cave formed a little shelf, where Mariza laid out the shrunken things from her pouch. They could stay there until the shrinking charms wore off. One of the things that wasn't shrunken was her firestone, so Mariza grabbed a flint knife and started making sparks onto some tinder. Everyone turned to watch her as soon as she struck the first spark.
“How did you do that?“ signed Zurvgak.
Crack! Mariza made another spark, which landed in the tinder. She ignored him and blew the spark into a flame. After added a few sticks, Mariza turned to see the shocked faces of the members of her hearth, shrugged, and put away her firestone.
Her non-Clan cooking tools were still shrunken, so they had to use Clan ones. The girls pitched in and helped Mariza cook a meal for them. It was fortunate that the three men had each made a kill that morning, as they now had share of meat for their hearth. Međveđj seemed disapointed that there was no bowl of vegetables for him, and curled up to sleep. He'd go feed himself in the morning.
After they had been feed, the girls were starting to relax and look a little less fearful. Not much progress was made in Learning their language. But Mariza did learn that their names were Vojkovica and Vezava and that their people were called the Vanthonoi. They were very relieved when they realized that Mariza would be sleeping between them and the men.
But bedtime, also meant it was time for Mariza to Redfoot. She had decided that she would teach a different man each night, starting with Zurvgak, tonight. But she'd underestimated how hard teaching them would be . . . or just how bad at Pleasures the three young men would be. None of them got to penetrate her before they were finished and Zurdaz was finished before it was even his turn! The clanlunae had made it look so easy! Mariza had grown up seeing adults Share Pleasures all her life. And as a woman, she knew what she liked. She thought that it would just be a matter of teaching them what she liked. She hadn't seen the years of training under the sungaeae that Iga had before Luna had rescued her. And amongst the clanluna, the redfooting had gone on at the Summer Gathering, inside a tipi. Mariza had heard it, but she hadn't seen what redfoots did to teach this to young men.
While she had been busy with Zurvgak and Zubgranev, the girls had paid rapt attention with shocked expressions on their faces like the couldn't believe what they were seeing! But Mariza didn't know what part of it they were shocked by.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
The next morning Mariza woke first. She woke her son and had him take Međveđ out. They couldn't make a habit of not feeding him. And the Cave Bear could feed inself when outside the cave. When she came back from the trench, Zuradaz was awake and staring at her. (Probably because she hadn't bothered to put on her wrap yet) He looked at her expectantly and gave her the Signal.
“No.“ Said Mariza.
“No? What do you mean, no?“ signed Zuradaz, with a look on his face that showed he was feeling heartbroken. “You can't say 'no'! This man is a man. You are a woman. This man has given you the the Signal. So now you have to Relieve this man's Needs!“
“Not any more,“ signed Mariza. “In the new way of doing things, this woman does not Relieve your Needs unless you Relieve this woman's Needs. Pleasures must be Shared. . . Do not worry. Tonight, this redfoot will teach you about Sharing Pleasures first. But today, we need to get things for our new hearth. You should go hunting with the men. This woman will take the girls foraging.“
After breakfast, Mariza took the two girls, Vojkovica and Vezava, foraging in a different direction than the rest of the women. She wanted some herbs that grew near the river and some time to spend alone with the girls. Mariza had no potion ingredients at all and needed to start gathering. She shown them which ones to pick and which ones were not old enough when she heard an animal running towards them. Mariza felt a mixture of fear and excitement as she wondered what this animal could be. Suddenly there was a bark and Mariza was knocked off her feet as Đak came bounding out of the bushes and leapt onto her chest, knocking her down. The girls squealed in fright as the blink-dog licked her was while apparating repeatedly in different parts of the same general vicinity. Mariza giggled as her companion animal tickled her with it's tongue until she was finally able to grab hold of him, long enough to push him away.
“Đak! I was so worried about you!“ said Mariza, in English. “Where have you been all winter?“
The blink-dog barked, started to run away, barked, ran back to her, barked, then ran in the same direction as before, and barked.
“What's there Đak? Show me!“ said Mariza as she rose to her feet and started to run after the blink-dog. When she realized that the girls weren't following, Mariza had to stop and motion for them to follow. Đak led them to a small cave under the roots of a tree. Listening at the entrance, Mariza could here a lupine whining sound, but she couldn't see in. The entrance was so small that Mariza would barely be able to make it through the hole. Đak stood by the entrance and barked at her.
“I'm going to just go in for a short time to see what's in there,“ said Mariza, in English as she pointed to hole. Then Mariza noticed that both girls were staring fearfully at Đak.
“What, Đak? He's harmless. He's just a big baby! Oh yes you are!“ said Mariza as she petted the blinkdog and it wagged it's tail and began apparating around again.
“Here, let me introduce you to him.“
Mariza help out her hand for Đak to lick, then petted him, then coaxed the girls into doing the same. Soon the were both gleefully playing with the blink-dog.
Mariza used the distraction as an opportunity to slip away and wriggle through the hole in the ground. It was a tight squeeze, but the passage soon opened up into a bigger chamber and Mariza found herself, face to face with a wolf! A growl started building up in the wolf's throat, gradually increasing in volume as Mariza maintained eye contact with the wolf that she could barely see and reached beside her to untie her wrap. Taking it off, she carefully rolled it up in the confined space and brought it around in front of her. By now, it felt like the wolf's growl was shaking her bones. But she also could detect in the growl that this wolf was injured. When the wolf went to snap at her, Mariza hit the wolf on the nose with her rolled up wrap and said:
“NO! BAD WOLF!“
The surprised wolf suddenly stopped growling, then tried to bite her again. Mariza hit the wolf again with her wrap before dropping it and grabbing the shut jaws of the wolf and holding them shut. With a quick twist, she'd turned the wolf on it's back. Mariza quickly crawled up so she was straddling the wolf with her head near it's tail and her rear, sitting on the wolf's head. She used her rear to pin the wolf until it stopped struggling and went limp. While she was waiting, she notices a wriggling sensation near her knees. . . this wolf had cubs! Once the wolf had submited to her, Mariza backed up so she could see the wolf's head again. She was still holding the wolf's head down but wasn't holding it closed. The wolf licked at the hands holding it. Mariza's eyes had now adjusted more, but it was still very dark in here. She started feeling around, examining the wolf, and discovered a greenstick fracture on a back leg. She fumbled around for the things that had fallen out of the folds when she'd untied her wrap and found a clan style knife. Just a flint blade. Using it to cut her wrap into strips, she tried it around the leg to splint it. She'd have to re-splint it with a stick after she got the wolf out of here. . . and how was she going to do that? . . .
Mariza backed out the way she came to find the girls still playing with Đak. Since they wouldn't under stand her, she had to use gestures to indicate that she wanted Vojkovica's tunic. With some coaxing she was able to get the young woman out of her long shirt. Mariza then, took the knife and began cutting the seems on one side, ignoring the young woman's protests. Once she was done, Mariza laid the tunic flat and rolled it up sideways. She then, crawled back into the cave. Mariza placed the rolled up tunic, lengthwise next the wolf and her cubs. She couldn't separate the wolf and her cubs, she have to take them out together. Getting the wolf and her cubs onto the unrolled tunic was a struggle. But pulling the wolf and cubs out of the cave by dragging the leather tunic was an even bigger struggle once she was out of the cave, Mariza was able to coax the other girls into helping. . . . until the wolf's head came out of the hole! Then it was back to pulling by herself, though, Đak did grab a part of the leather and try to help.
Now that they were out, Mariza realized that this wolf was an albino and her cubs were all part blink-dog! Luna had blended Đak's spirit with a wolf! Mariza took this as a sign that she was right to help the wolf. She broke off a stick and resplinted the wolf's leg. The girls look both facinated and terified! Mariza showed them how to let the wolf sniff their hand in greeting. But then had to grab Vezava by the wrist and drag her over to meet the wolf. She relaxed a little after the wolf licked her hand. Mariza then coaxed Vojkovica into meeting the wolf. That done, Mariza had to crawl back into the cave and retrieve the things she had dropped in the cave floor when she untied her wrap. Backing out, Mariza cut cut a couple of poles to make a travois and tied the corners of what used to be the tunic to it. So they could drag the wolf back. By now, Mariza was covered in mud and sweat. So she took a quick dip in the river to wash the grime off before she picked up the ends of the travois and started dragging.
By the time they had returned to the cave, the girls had overcome their fear and were helping to drag the travois. Đak was happily running around them and would help them when they frequently had to stop to retreive a runaway cub. As they drew nearer, Zuradanak and Zezbrakruk came forward with spears raised threateningly at Đak.
“NO! Stop trying to hunt my friends!“ signed Mariza as she run foward and hugged Đak. The blink-dog wriggled and blinked as her licked her chin. “This animal is not for hunting. This animal is a friend! And so is this wolf!“
“Wolves are dangerous!“ warned Zuradanak.
“These wolves are not! This clanluna will train them to live with us and help us!“ signed Mariza.
“Zezbrakran will not allow it!“ warned Zezbrakruk.
They found the cave empty when the pulled the wolves in to a place next to Međveđj and Zariz's bed. Mariza had been planing to make some clothes for herself when she had obtained some hides, but promissed she'd replace Vojkovica's ruined tunic first. In the meantime, she took one of her bedding furs and draped it around the young woman's shoulders as a cloak. Vojkovica said some that Mariza guessed must be a thanking word. Mariza then cut a piece off another fur that she would have to use as a wrap to replace her lost one.
She then turned her attention to feeding the Wolf. The cut up some meat and set it in front of the wolve. The wolf lapped it up greatfully. They were still taking care of the wolf when the men returned.
“WOLF! There are wolves at our hearth!“ waved Zubgranev.
“Đak is not a wolf, he a blink-dog,“ defended Mariza.
“This man does not care what you call it, it is still a wolf!“ waved Zurvgak, as he raised his spear.
“No!“ said Vezava, as she stood up and shielded the wolf with her body.
“Zurvgak!“ called out Zezbrakran as he aproached the hearth. “There are wolves at your hearth!“
“This man just returned,“ explained Zurvgak. “The women want them to stay.“
“Animals can not live in the cave!“ signed Zezbrakran.
“These animals will!“ signed Mariza. “They will live with us and help protect us from other animals. This Weech even thinks that she can teach them to help us hunt.“
“Animals can not live in the cave!“ signed Zezbrakran.
Just then, Zariz came up behind him riding on the Cave Bear.
Vojkovica (14) – Other, of the Vanthonoi, abducted by Zorg's Clan
Vezava (13) – Other, of the Vanthonoi, abducted by Zorg's Clan
Mariza (19) - Other, (Golden blonde hair, sky-blue eyes) Ayla’s daughter, Weech, , Đučaviča’s former 2nd mate. clanluna, redfoot, N: Cr,H,R,Div, Care prodigy (Stork totem)
---Zariz (4) – ¼ Clan son of Mariza, Weez-ur
---Širiža (0) – Other, Mariza’s daughter, Weech
------Đak (5) – blink-dog
------Međveđj (3) Cave Bear
Zurvgak (14) - 1/16 Clan son of Zurvgakava, future mog-ur's acolyte
Zubgranev (14) – 1/16 Clan son of Zurbgrana
Zuradaz – (14) - 1/16 Clan son of Zurvgakaza
Zezbrakran (40) – 1/16 Clan son of Zezbraka, Leader
---Zuragavaka (33) – 1/32 Clan daughter of Zuragava, mate of Zezbrakran
Zurbgun (53)-1/8 Clan son of Zurbga, mog-ur
Zurvragun (38) – 1/16 Clan son of Zurvraga, mog-ur's acolyte
---Zurvgakava (29) - 1/8 Clan daughter of Zurvgaka, mate of Zurvragun
------Zurvgakun (11) - 1/16 Clan son of Zurvgakava,
Zezbrakruk (37) -1/8 Clan son of Zezbraka
---Zurbgrana (37) – 1/16 Clan daughter of Zurbgra, medicine woman, mate of Zezbrakruk
Zuradanak (35) -1/32 Clan son of Zuradana
---Zurvgakaza (32) – 1/8 Clan daughter of Zurvgaka, mate of Zuradanak
------Zuradan (17) – 1/16 Clan son of Zurvgakaza
Zuradavun (35) – 1/32 Clan son of Zuradava
--- Zuragakada (31) – 1/16 Clan daughter of Zuragaka, mate of Zuradavun
------ Zuragakadava (13) - 1/32 Clan daughter of Zuragakada, mate of Zuragavab
Zurvgav (34) – 1/8 Clan son of Zurvgava
--- Zuragakaba (28) – 1/16 Clan daughter of Zuragaka, mate of Zurvgav
------ Zuragakabaza (13) – 1/32 Clan daughter of Zuragakaba
------ Zuragakabava (10) – 1/16 Clan daughter of Zuragakaba
Zuragavaz (18) – 1/64 Clan son of Zuragavaka, future Leader
---Zuragakadaza (16)– 1/32 Clan daughter of Zuragakada, mate of Zuragavaz
------ Zuragakadazad (1) – 1/64 Clan son of Zuragakadaza, future leader
Zuragavab (15) – 1/32 Clan son of Zuragavaka
---Zurbgranaza (17) – 1/32 Clan daughter of Zurbgrana, medicine woman, mate of Zuragavab
------ Zurbgranazaga (2) 1/32 Clan daughter of Zurbgranaza
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