Snatched by cmsix

Chapter 29

Breezus had provided a surprise, big time, but there was nothing we could do but get over it. It didn't bother me so much and I knew nobody would complain, but it was a little unsettling for some of them.

Jonalton had been waylaid by the spirit, and it didn't take long for Janita to find him. She was bitten just as hard as he'd been, and things progressed as they normally did.

I learned that it wasn't so much out of the ordinary for a man who hadn't joined the Calak already to be mated with one of its women. I remembered that no one had remarked on it when it happened to me, but I hadn't thought it through yet. Turns out I didn't have to, because Caloe came over and clued me in.

"Carl, Shaton is not well enough to fight yet, so someone from the Calak must do it for him," she said.

"Fight who?" I asked, letting her know I was not as smart as Lanita claimed.

"The loner must fight his way into our Calak, or he and Janita can not stay after they are mated," Caloe said, speaking slowly and distinctly, as if to a child.

"I'm guessing that means I'm elected," I said.

"Who else. You bested Shaton after all," she said.

"Very well. How hard should I fight him?" I asked.

"Breezus has made his wishes clear. Still, I don't think it means you should let the loner become leader of our Calak," she said.

"Do not worry about that. He will not win. I guess I will just let him try as long as he wants to, and do my best not to hurt him. I can't afford to have him limp to his mating," I said, and it made her laugh.

Finally things settled down enough for breakfast to take place. I even tried to restrain myself to keep from being stuffed during the fight.

Things were pretty civilized after that. The whole Calak turned out to watch, of course, and my mates fretted over me for a while, but eventually Jonalton and I were facing each other in a clear spot not far from camp. I waited for him to attack, since he was the one that had to fight.

His act was remarkably like Shaton's and Denac's had been. He came charging at me, and I sidestepped and tripped him. He tried the arms held wide charge and got more of the same. Hell, I wasn't even getting winded, so I let him keep it up as long as he would, and finally, when he was nearly too out of breath to keep going, I grabbed an arm when he came at me again and threw him over my hip, ending up sitting astride his belly and holding his arms to the ground above his head.

"It was a good fight Jonalton, but you lose. I'm sure you did enough to join us though, so catch your breath and get back to your new mate to be," I said, and then grinned at him.

I didn't think much more about it, and went to find Denac so we could get back to the cashda. We'd pretty much put them on hold during the great smokehouse erection. He surprised me as soon as I found him.

"You really are a much better fighter than any of us, Carl. I should have known more than anyone, but I guess the bump on my head kept me from realizing it," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"It was easy to see while Jonalton was doing his best to earn his way into the Calak. He never had a chance of even knocking you off your feet once, did he?" he asked.

"No. I didn't want to be knocked off my feet."

"I saw that, and so did everyone else. All of the loners paid very close attention, and I'm sure they know now they'll need to do more than just fight to get in," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"No man that watched the fight can have any doubts. You can't be beaten in that type of combat, probably not in any kind if it's one against one," he said.

"I hope I can't be. As I said, I'm a very experienced fighter."

"I know now that you meant it. I'm anxious to see how the others will do today?" he said.

"What?"

"Now that they know there is no chance of winning while trying to fight their way in, watch them. They will work twice as hard as they have been," he said.

"I thought they'd all been doing a good job as it was," I said.

"They have been, but watch today, they will work even harder. Not only do they know it will take more than fighting to get in, they also know that they will be allowed a chance to enter," he said.

"If you say so. In fact I hope they are all allowed in sooner or later. I think we've rid ourselves of the bad ones already. No doubt the others are guilty of some bad things, but I think they are over that foolishness now," I said.

"You are probably right, and none of them are slackers. Good leadership was probably all they needed to start with," he said.

Buster, Candace, Gertrude, and Matilda had all done a little log skidding while we'd worked on the smokehouse. Red was the only one that had taken those days completely off. He'd done nothing but graze and provide more horseshit. He showed me that he was feeling a little frisky when I saddled him, but didn't give me any trouble otherwise.

Lanita came over just before Denac and I mounted up.

"Daddy, I think today is the day I should start learning to ride Jeffry," she said.

"Very well my princess. Denac and I will go over to the ranch and fetch your charger. We'll be back with him shortly and I'll start with your lessons," I said.

"Maybe you'd better take me with you. He will follow me better than he will follow you," she said, and it made perfect sense.

We were over, and back with Jeffry in what seemed no time. Jortah had the others going on gentling and training cashda again, and it did seem like they were working even harder at it than they had been.

Of course, when we got back with Jeffry, and it became obvious that Lanita was about to get riding lessons, we drew a crowd. Right up front were three anxious mothers to keep a close eye on things, not to mention the equivalent of two anxious grandmothers.

The halter and leading were first on the agenda, but it was hardly needed. Jeffry would follow Lanita without the halter and lead rope, and he was perfectly willing to go when she clicked her tongue and stop when she said whoa. I had her lead him around a while anyway, just for appearances.

Lanita had to have help with saddling, because she wasn't strong enough to lift her saddle yet. Still I made sure she knew exactly what to do and how to do it. After Jeffry was dressed properly for riding I had her lead him around some more so he could get used to the saddle.

Half an hour later, when I lifted her aboard, it was a non-event. Jeffry took off walking when she clicked her tongue and it only took him a couple of tries to learn what she wanted when she pulled on the reins. I wasn't even sure whether she was training Jeffry or he was training her. They were getting along well, no matter which way it was going though, and Nosey was right with them most of the way.

By the time lunch rolled around Lanita was on her way to being an accomplished horsewoman. She'd wanted to ride over to the ranch and we had. Since Jeffry was so much shorter, I thought she'd probably get wet during the crossing, but she surprised Denac and I by standing in the saddle as he waded to the other bank. The saddle skirts got a little wet, but she stopped on the other side and pulled up grass to dry the stirrup, fenders, and the other wet parts.

She surprised me again when we got over in the pasture.

"You two might as well pick out horses for my mommies and aunt Jekaycey while you're here. They will all want to learn to ride after lunch," she said.

"Your wish is my command my princess," I said.

"You'll do fine as long as you remember that attitude, Daddy," she said, and then laughed with Denac.

The guys had about half the quarter horse mares trained to lead now, and most of them would even carry a rider, though they didn't know much about it yet. I picked what I thought were the four best, including the lead mare, and Jortah came with us while we all led one back across the river, even Lanita.

At first I was skeptical about her leading a cashda across the river while standing in the saddle, but she managed it with no trouble. We even had time to teach all the new mares about hobbles before lunch.

Denac, Lanita, and I could do no wrong at lunchtime and it was obvious that the women involved made sure we had plenty to eat. I could tell they were all excited about what they figured was coming and I was happy about it. I knew that once they were riding, everyone else would want to do it too. I just didn't realize how strongly the urge would take hold.

After we'd eaten, the lessons began, but the four students weren't the only ones with us. Shaton was almost completely well by now and he was also in attendance. Of course Matatu had figured out that the next time we tried to find his vision camp we'd be riding so he was there, along with Caloe, Shata, Jagbac, Matita, Caltort, and several others. I was glad in a way, since if they were paying attention it wouldn't take as long for them.

Jekaycey and Nita did acceptably well and I really couldn't find anything to complain about, but Katia and Shaeta were outstanding. It was almost as if they knew what their mount was up to before it did. I was very pleased with the afternoon's lessons, and I even had a tentative schedule for my next five pupils. Shaton, Matatu, Caloe, Shata, and Caltort were dying to get their chance.

The only thing that slowed the riding lessons during the next six days was the lack of saddles. All those we had were pressed into constant service. Moved from horse to horse as we went. The hostlers across the river were turning out riding stock at a good pace, and after the first day of training, there were several more women, and a few men working on making more saddles, and they were doing a damned good job.

The first saddle they finished was for Shaton, and it was well made, if not as cosmetically perfect as the ones that had come from afar. It was perfectly serviceable though, and since it had been modeled after Denac's it was just right for Candace and Shaton to come to an understanding.

The only slow day was the day after the mating drunk. With all the new members and near members there were plenty of hangovers again, and there were few around who wanted riding lessons that day. Still, the very next day we were back in full swing.

Three days after the hangovers, I decided it was time to take Matatu to look for his vision site. Summer was beginning and if we were going to move before winter, it was time to see where we were headed and make sure it was going to be suitable. There was no real problem, since we could easily winter right where we were, but Matatu was sure the new site would be better.

I spent the next day getting things ready for our trip. Darita knew how to use the penicillin now if she needed too, and she knew where I kept it. I split the supply and took half with us, just in case.

Shaeta and Katia would be staying while Nita was coming with us. Lanita would stay too, and she promised that she wouldn't give Shaeta or Katia any trouble. I could tell that she wanted to come with us, but knew that wouldn't be sensible.

Two days later we left right after breakfast. Denac was on Buster, Shaton was riding Candace, and Matatu rode Matilda. Gertrude was pulling a travois loaded with our bedding and some food. I rode Red, and Nita was on Bessie, the lead mare from the bunch of quarter horses. As we trotted mostly, I could tell that we were traveling a little more than twice as fast as when we'd tried the trip earlier on our feet.

Our path took us exactly over the place where we'd been attacked before, but we didn't even slow down there. None of us saw any need to travel by the place the loners had been camping either. On the second afternoon of traveling we found the place Matatu was seeking, and it was even better than his vision had told him.

It was just too perfect for us to have happened naturally, but I didn't care and I didn't mention it. There were two very large caves and they were only the beginning. The whole thing was in a large canyon/clearing type area, with low rocky hills surrounding it. One set of them off toward the side of the largest cave would make a perfect place to keep the cashda and thaka herds we were accumulating and it was basically another blind canyon affair, enclosing what had to be five hundred acres of mostly clearing with maybe fifty to a hundred acres of wooded area near the rear part. We'd only need to build about two hundred yards worth of fencing to make it secure.

The cave that was perfect for our use as housing was easily large enough for three times our number. It would need some serious cleaning inside, since several different types of animals had used it on and off in the past. It would be a hell of a lot better for us during the upcoming winter though. Hell, there was even a small stream running through over on one side. Naturally occurring or not, Matatu had found us one hell of a great location.

The caves and the natural cattle/cashda pasture weren't the only things in this location's favor. There was another big clearing on the side away from our prospective cattle keep, and it was surrounded by a thickly forested region. I was sure that the game would be thick nearby. We would have turned around and headed directly back to spread the good news if it hadn't been late in the day.

We cleaned off a nice spot in the cave we were going to move into and built a fire to warm up supper, and then spread our sleeping furs for the night. We went almost directly to bed after eating, since we were all anxious to head back first thing in the morning.

Even though we were anxious to leave soon after first light the next morning, we got a late start. The cave kept us from seeing first light. Of course the sun was closed out of our huts too, but not nearly as completely as it was in this cave. We woke, but the sun was well up before we did.

We ate quickly and headed out for home, antsy the whole way. When sunset came none of us wanted to stop for the night but riding on in the dark, even with the two moons would have been foolish, and for nothing besides. We rode until sunset and then made a fire to warm our supper, going directly to the furs after we'd eaten.

We weren't late waking the next morning and we ate and left in a hurry, making excellent time on this last leg of our trip. We were back at camp to spread the news two hours before supper.

Lanita ran to me as soon as I'd unassed Red and I picked her up to swing her around and give her kisses while she giggled.

"What did you find Daddy?" she asked.

"We found a wonderful new place to live, and I think we'll be staying there for many years," I said.

"What is so good about it?" she asked.

"It has two large caves and a nice big place to keep the cashda and the thaka. They will have plenty of grass and we'll only need to build a little bit of fence to keep them from wandering off. There is even a big cave they can get into when the weather is bad," I said.

"It sounds wonderful. When will we start moving?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but it will take longer to get ready to go now. Everyone will need to finish their riding lessons, and we will have to teach the thaka how to travel together without wandering off," I said.

"How will you do that?"

"Mostly we will have to practice driving them with cashda. At least we can get started on it while they are in their big pasture across the river."

"I hope it doesn't take too long," she said.

"I don't think it will. In fact, maybe we should drive the thaka there first, and leave some of the younger men to watch over them while we move everyone else. It might not be best for us all to try traveling at the same time," I said.

"I thought Calaks always moved all at the same time," she said.

"I think they always have before, but I'm not sure it will be best this time. At least I'm not sure we should try to take all the thaka with us. Maybe we will leave them here with a few to watch over them until everyone else has moved," I said.

"I'm sure you will find the best way to do it," she said, "If you can't figure it out I'm sure the women can tell you the best way."

"Maybe I'll just let you and Jeffry take the thaka," I said, tickling her.

I knew who would really decide the way we moved though, and I was pretty sure she would get my opinion first. Caloe would make the final decision, and then she'd have Shaton announce it like it had been his choice. That was fine with me, because she knew more about moving a Calak than I did.

Most of the rest of the day was spent in small groups of gossiping. Shaton was able to speak to only a few people before Caloe had him in their hut and was no doubt giving him the third degree. Katia and Shaeta did the same for Nita and I for about an hour, and then we were called in for a few words with Caloe too.

"Tell me about it Carl. From what I've heard so far these caves sound like a better place for us than this one," Caloe said, as soon as Nita and I were in the hut.

"They are a much better place, and not only for the people. There is a larger place to put the thaka and cashda and even a cave they can get into when the weather is bad.

"There will be many advantages to living in the caves. They are cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than huts can ever be. The thaka and cashda will also be closer to us and easier to take care of there. Also, it seems that the forest there will have even more game than here," I said.

"How are we going to move all the thaka?" she asked.

"We will have to drive them there with men riding cashda. It will be bothersome but we only have to do it one time. I do think we should move them either before or after we move everyone else though," I said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"There will be too many problems if we try to do it all at once, and too much confusion. We can either drive the cattle first, and leave some men there to watch over them until everyone else makes the move, or we can all move first and leave a few men watching the thaka where they are, and come back for them after we have moved."

"I see, and I think you are right. I think we should move ourselves first though, and then come back for the thaka," she said.

"You are probably right. Everyone will be even more familiar with riding the cashda after they have made the move," I said.

"We will also need a few days to pack up everything and to get it loaded onto the travois," she said.

"Not only that, we will need to fit many of the cashda with travois and I need to make my two wagons also," I said.

"You have mentioned them before, but I still don't understand what they are and how they can carry as much as you say they will," she said.

"The best way for you to understand is for me to build one. I will ask Caltort if he can help me tomorrow and we will try to get one ready for your inspection," I said.

"You might just as well go ahead and make both of them. There is no need for me to inspect them. If you say they are worth the trouble I do not need to understand. I will just see what they do when they are doing it," she said, and after a few more minutes we were turned loose.

Supper that day was a little late, but the time waiting for it was not boring. I think I did more talking in those few hours than I had the whole time I'd been here. It wasn't so much that there were a lot of details to explain, it was that everyone seemed to want to hear them in person. Denac, Nita, and I were talked out by the time the food came.