[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter four
Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading:
atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.
A/N: Hisashiburi! ^^/
It has been a while, longer than I had thought, but here I´m again with the new RW chapter!
It´s kind of relaxing one, but I hope you´ll enjoy it nevertheless.
I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.
Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three //
Changed
Loud yapping and occasional soft growls accompanied a furious ´fight´ of four siblings, as they kept jumping and snapping at each other tirelessly. The sounds of their playful match under a fallen pine resonated all around and made the small girl hiding in thick bushes smile. They were so cute it made her want to take one home, but she knew she couldn´t do that. Little wolves belonged to the nature and they were supposed to stay with their mother, who was surely not far…
“Beara! Where are you?!”
The Indian girl looked in the direction of a worried voice, frowning. Didn´t that stupid Chippewa know they were not supposed to make noise in the woods?
“Beara!!”
She sighed, when the unpleasant yelling also reached the tiny ears of furry cubs and hushed their play. Slowly, not to disturb them even more, Beara got up from her knees and carefully retreated from the wolf burrow. If her unwelcomed guardian kept shouting like that, it could summon only troubles.
Rushing in her soft, black-painted moccasins, Beara quickly climbed the short slope and appeared almost right behind a tall woman with a small basket in her hands. Probably hearing the steps, the young Indian turned so abruptly that her rich braids rose in the air for a moment.
“Here you be! I called! Why you not speak up?”
“We should not scream here,” pouted Beara, still kind of annoyed at the way the Indian from adifferent tribe talked, even though she had enough time to get used to it already.
The Chippewa woman frowned: “You lecture me, bear cub? I know that! But! You go so far away! Not safe!”
Beara lowered her eyes to the ground, upset about being scolded for her small adventure. Collecting various herbs for the whole day was so boring; even though she knew it was important. Her father needed to restore his supplies and she was happy to be able to help him out. But exploring the woods was much more fun!
“Come!” the Chippewa ordered her. “It is late and we too far from village.”
She wanted to stick out her tongue over that accusing tone, but suddenly, there came a sound which made Beara forget about anything else. Her companion stiffened as well, when a threatening growl resonated behind their backs.
Both tall and small Indian tensely turned, to see an impressive shape of a young wolf stepping outside the tree´s shadow.
The Chippewa grabbed Beara´s tiny shoulder: “You saw any wolf cubs nearby?” she whispered an urgent question.
Beara nodded, too scared to speak. The wolf in front of them was big and not cute at all, with saliva dripping from his muzzle full of sharp teeth. The beast was limping a bit, probably hurt from a fight, but that didn´t make it any less dangerous.
A curse escaped the older woman´s lips, as she pushed surprised Beara behind her. She didn´t know that Chippewa could use such words.
“Walk back. Slowly,” the woman instructed Beara, not looking away fromthe wolf, but avoiding meeting its eyes.
They both took two slow steps backwards, but that seemed to anger the beast only more, as its growling deepened. The Chippewa woman dropped her basket to the grass and instead she reached for the knife on her belt. But even Beara realized that such a small blade would be a little help against the animal´s strength.
Chippewa strained herself when the wolf prepared for the jump and terrified Beara hid her face into the woman´s skirt. How she regretted tracking the cubs now...
All the sudden, a clatter of hooves and loud neighing cut the tense atmosphere. Beara felt how her protector gasped for breath and curious about what was going on, she peeked out from her safe spot. And her eyes widened in surprise.
A brown stallion was stomping the ground between them and the now cringing wolf. The muscular Indian man jumped down off the animal in one swift move and stepped towards the wolf with a rifle in his hands. His voice seemed strangely familiar to Beara, when he made a loud shout. But the wolf hadn´t moved until a sharp shot was heard and a bullet hit the ground between the animal´s legs. Only then it retreated and disappeared in the bushes as a slim shadow.
When their rescuer was sure that the beast was intimidated enough, he lowered his gun and turned towards the Indian women.
Beara didn´t believe her eyes for a moment. But then she cried out in joy, rushed forward and within two seconds, she had her arms wrapped around the Indian´s neck, hanging onto him as if her life depended on it.
Chippewa woman just stared at their touching reunion, when the newcomer dropped the rifle and squeezed the little girl in his strong arms lovingly. And her surprise was only greater when two more unknown riders joined the scene in quite a rush. Probably startled by the gunshot, they calmed down only after checking entire surroundings. And when that cheeky Blackfeet child rushed to welcome them in the same manner as that impressive red man, Chippewa´s jaw hopelessly dropped at the fact that those two were Palefaces…
*
Kame didn´t worry about Liwan urging his horse forward, widening the space between them more and more as they got closer to the reservation. Not until that gunshot cut through the peaceful forest and disrupted his attempts to teach Jin a few useful Indian words.
Kuro was faster to react this time, so Ukushi reached the spot above the trough of the wide stream only after the stallion and already from Jin´s relaxed body position Kame could tell that there was no immediate danger.
Not to mention that Liwan´s rifle was forgotten in the grass, while its owner held a little girl in his arms. Kame didn´t have to see her face to know it was Beara. He had never seen the woman though and judging by the unfamiliar features of her quite pretty face, he guessed she was from another tribe.
With a smile, he slipped down from Ukushi´s back. Since the girl and the unknown woman were there on foot, they had to be very close to their destination now. Liwan was back home. And in a way, he was too.
Finally, Beara was willing to step back on the ground and only then she noted the other two incomers.
“Kame! Kame! Kame!”
The girl was so excited, that she almost pushed him out of balance, when she hugged him around his waist.
“Woah! You got taller, Beara!” Kame laughed.
Also smiling, Jin turned to Liwan: “Hey, Bear! What was the gunshot for? For celebration?” he asked, wanting to clarify the reason for that shot.
“There was a biiiiig wolf, Jin!” the shaman´s little sister explained, letting Kame go and reaching for Jin´s hand instead. “But my bigger Brother fought him off!”
“Oh, what a brave brother you have,” Jin noted amused.
“I do! And I also have you and Kame!” the girl was beaming with joy. “I do not let you go now! You must stay!”
“We will, don´t worry,” the older one assured her, as he winked at the younger one.
Liwan just shook his head over Beara´s lively excitement, obviously relieved to see her to be so vital and turned to other Indian.
“Who are you, woman? I don´t remember you,” he asked in his mother tongue.
“Migisi my name is,” the Indian introduced herself calmly. “My tribe moved and joined Blackfeet some time ago.”
“Are you daughter of our Chippewa brothers then?”
“Yes,” nodded Migisi. “Thank you for help. Wolf was wounded, but we could be hurt very seriously… You are?” she asked with a suspicious look towards Kame, who listened to their conversation.
“Liwan. Beara is my sister.”
“Oh, I know! She talked about you,” the woman nodded.
“And they are my friends,” Liwan introduced also the other two. “This is Kame and…” his words were interrupted by a joyful laugh, which made them all turn.
To Kame´s surprise, Beara was confidently seated in Kuro´s saddle now.
“Go, Kuro, go!”
Jin was holding the bridle, his face brightened up with a beautiful smile, which made Kame forget himself a bit…
Frowning Liwan considered his sister´s safety, but seeing Jin having a full control over his horse, not allowing it to move yet, despite the small Indian requests, he let it go without any comment. Instead, he summoned his own stallion and offered a ride to the Chippewa woman.
*
They set off towards the village with Liwan leading his horse with Migisi on its back, followed by Jin leading Kuro with excited Beara and with Kame on his side leading Ukushi. Relaxed pace was a fine change in comparison with their previous hasty travels.
On the way, Liwan kept asking the Chippewa woman about changes in the reservation, while Beara kept amusing the other two with her confusing narration about the same, only from her point of view.
“And then you came and rescued us from that wolf!”
“Wasn´t it a she-wolf?” Kame asked curiously. “If it was guarding those cubs…”
“No! It was male, I saw!” Beara denied.
“Really?” Jin looked at her with his eyebrows raised.
“He was hurt that was why he guarded,” the Indian girl explained carefully. “Their mother is surely hunting. The whole pack always cares for little wolves.”
“Wow… How do you know these things?” Jin seemed to be really impressed.
“Father teach me,” Beara smiled proudly.
“Oh, Cloud Dancing, right?” the older one remembered.
“How is your father doing?” Kame asked.
Beara´s face saddened a little: “He is often tired… But he will be so, so happy that Brother is back! That will cheer him up!”
“I´m sure you´re right,” Kame nodded, but her reaction made him worry for the old shaman.
“Wait! Not that way!” Beara called suddenly, interrupting the discussion between Liwan and young Chippewa.
“This is the shortest way…” Liwan looked at her confused.
“No, Beara is right. We avoid this way,” Migisi confirmed, even seeming to be ashamed that the girl was the first one to think about it.
“Why?” Liwan asked suspiciously.
“White soldiers. They like not when we leave the village,” the Chippewa woman explained. “Not want troubles, so we always go around.”
“Is that one of those new rules you talked about?” the young shaman was obviously not pleased with what he heard.
The woman nodded and Kame and Jin exchanged a curious look. Obviously, some things changed while they were gone…
***
The village of Blackfeet Indians was located in the middle of the territory, which was assigned to them in Montana. There were smaller, or even bigger settlements in a few other places within the reservation, farther in the north and in Canada. But the journey of three travelers ended in the valley under the mountain the locals called ´Rising Wolf´.
They found themselves almost three hundred miles away from Kame´s hometown - Bozeman, deeper and higher in the Rocky Mountains, but also further from the advancing white civilization…
Jin was surprised by the number of wigwams, which was spread around the crystal-clear lake, until Kame explained that so far, he had met only one of many tribes, which belonged to the Blackfeet nation, as did Siksika, Kainah or Pikuni. Under the continual pressure of United States government, they had no other choice than to gather in the reservation. Not to mention the increasing numbers joining them from other friendly tribes, as nomadic Chippewa.
Naturally, their arrival created quite a fuss. Once the word about Shaman´s son return had spread, Liwan´s Indian brothers and sisters gathered to welcome him back with loud whoops, while the members of other tribes also came to check on the incomers curiously. Kame was welcomed very warmly, while Jin attracted mostly the attention of Indian children, as there were a lot of them who remembered him from the time before they had moved their home.
Despite all that excited ruckus, Kame noticed that there were too many wigwams for the number of Indians, who gathered around them. And many of them seemed to be strangely tired. Something must have happened, not long ago, but he decided to postpone the questions for later, not to spoil Liwan´s homecoming.
Only one small hitch appeared, with the appearance of a current Tribal Chief, who obviously didn´t like any new white faces. Only after both Kame and Liwan guaranteed for Jin, Ninastoko, aka Big Brave, was willing to allow him to stay. Fortunately, since the Chief was young, only shortly over thirty years and judging by his massive figure and firm muscles also strong. Jin would rather avoid arguing with such an Indian.
After the hearty welcome, Liwan finally went to meet his father, with Beara accompanying him, while Jin and Kame personally took their precious animals to the small river feeding the lake, to let them rest and get acquainted with the small Blackfeet´s herd. Kuro had no big trouble to show any other horse who was the leader there, but Ukushi seemed strangely nervous, so Kame rather led her aside.
The sun was slowly setting behind the strangely shaped mountain and its shadow was gradually covering one wigwam after another.
After making sure that Kuro had all he needed, Jin hid the saddle in the small shelter usually used only for horses´ food, just as Kame before him. Then he took his hat off and with quite a relief, he ruffled his damp hair in the evening breeze, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He found the younger one sitting in the grass on the short slope above the lake.
When Jin approached him, Kame´s eyes were looking towards the village and were somewhat absent-minded. He hadn´t moved, when the older one sat down next to him and his expression was not of that kind Jin would have expected…
“Aren´t you happy to be back?” he asked quietly.
Kame glanced at him shortly and sighed: “Yes... and no.”
Jin eyed him even more curiously now, but patiently waited for the younger one to continue.
“It feels… strange. I´ve always considered myself to be at home when I was with Blackfeet, but… It´s different now. It doesn´t feel like a place I belong to anymore,” he stated a bit sadly.
“Well, much has changed,” Jin assumed carefully. He didn´t want to stir much those horrific events, which affected Kame´s second family last year so greatly, that it could never be the same.
“That´s true, but no matter that I´m still obligated to them and I should… I don´t know,” Kame complained helplessly. “I didn´t expect to feel so… confused once we´ll be back here.”
Jin plucked a haulm of grass and started playing with it thoughtfully: “I don´t think you like them any less than before, Kazu. It´s just maybe…”
The hazelnut eyes turned to him: “Maybe what?”
“You have more people to care about,” Jin spoke hesitantly, not even knowing how he came to such an idea.
Kame stared at him somehow inquiringly.
“You´re not only the white brother of these Indians,” the older one continued hastily, not intending for Kame to misunderstand him. “You´re also Black Rider now and…”
“And?”
“My awesome lover,” Jin finished in a quieter, deeper voice.
The younger one´s tense and a little dark expression melted into a flattered smile: “You know how to sweet-talk to me, right?”
“I mean it, Kamenashi,” he frowned. “Don´t you dare to make light of my words.”
“That sounded like a threat…”
“You can bet.”
Still with that shining smile, which let Jin know that his attempt to cheer Kame up was successful, the younger one leant forward and gave him a short, tender kiss.
“You´re pretty good yourself,” he informed Jin then.
Jin slipped with his hand on the back of Kame´s neck: “Don´t say… And here I thought you will never admit it.”
Kazuya laughed: “You bighead.”
This time, Jin locked the other´s lips with his, kissing him deeply.
“Are you sure we don´t have to watch our backs here?” he asked hoarsely a sweet minute later.
“Pretty damn sure,” Kame confirmed without even opening his eyes.
They ended up in a close, tight hug, trying to steal each other´s breath, finally allowing themselves to completely forget their surroundings…
“Here you are!!”
Unpleasantly disrupted by a cheerful voice, they tore apart to see Beara running towards them.
“Jin! Kame! Come!” she reached them almost out of breath and started to drag Kame up on his feet.
“What is it, Beara?”
“Come!” she repeated stubbornly and danced around until they both got up.
Only then they noticed Liwan standing near the closest wigwam, obviously waiting for them. Beara kept running around them as they walked to him, Jin with quite a sour face.
“My father wants to see you,” Liwan said, and Kame could not fail to notice that the corner of his mouth was twitching in a suppressed smile. His blood brother definitely saw what they were up to back there on the slope and yet, he sent Beara to get them. Sometimes, Liwan was surprisingly gleeful and Kame noted for himself, that he must repay him for this sometime.
“I would like to meet him as well,” he nodded.
“And Jin will play with me!” Beara jumped up in the air, but her brother grabbed her shoulder sooner than she could drag the older one anywhere.
“No,” he informed her strictly.
“But why?!” pouted Beara.
“He wants to see them both,” Liwan refined his previous statement.
*
The shaman´s wigwam stood a little aside from the rest, being the farthest one from the shore of the lake and easy to recognize, as its leather walls were decorated with various talismans and charms rattling over each other in the wind.
Jin flipped off the tanned leather covering the entrance and let Kame go inside first, before he followed him with a strange feeling in his stomach.
Their senses were immediately attacked by the mixture of smell from the mysterious potion above the small fire and by fragrance of drying herbs hanging on many strings, which crossed the space above their heads from one side to another. It took a few seconds for their eyes to accustom to the darkness inside and to recognize the sitting figure of Cloud Dancing.
Kame didn´t say anything and just sat down opposite the old man on the comfortable fur, crossing his legs, so Jin instinctively followed his example.
The old shaman remained motionless for a while, before he leant forward a bit, as if he wanted to observe them better in the weak, goldish light. Only then Kame could see that his worries were justified.
Even partially covered with clothes and thick fur, it was painfully visible that Cloud Dancing was very skinny. His hair had turned completely white and his skin was unnaturally pale. Only his eyes remained the same. Shaman of Blackfeet was studying the two young men with the same urgency as before, his look full of aged wisdom.
“I am grateful to Manitou that he safely led your steps to our tribe,” he welcomed them warmly in English and his firm voice calmed worried Kame down a little. “Welcome back, Kazuya. Also Akanishi.”
“Thank you, Cloud Dancing,” the younger one lowered his head.
“Not sure if it was Manitou´s credit, but I´m also grateful we made it here,” Jin reacted seriously. “And I´m glad to see my dear Indian doctor again.”
Kame glanced at the older one surprised by his somewhat cheeky words, but Cloud Dancing didn´t seem to be insulted, more like amused.
“Niitá… It is good to see you two, ista,” the shaman nodded. “It was long waiting… For helping my son, obrige tamaši.”
“No need to,” Kame assured him quickly. “Liwan got into troubles because of me anyway…”
Cloud Dancing pierced him with a sharp look: “That is not what my son said, but I am sure your point of view is different…”
Kame lowered his eyes, not replying.
“Kazuya tends to blame himself from everything,” Jin noted, not reproachfully, just reminding the younger one not to do it.
Shaman´s eyes focused on the older one so suddenly and sharply, that Jin flinched a little and wanted to avoid that look. But he couldn´t, until Cloud Dancing moved his eyes from him back on Kame.
“You fought Evil Spirit again… And you won,” Shaman said suddenly in a deep voice, surprising them both.
“Liwan told you?” the younger one asked quietly.
Cloud Dancing shook his head: “There is no need to tell me… I see it in your eyes. That fight left scars in your hearts.”
Kame stiffened hearing those words. He was not exactly eager to bring Grenet topic up, but Shaman continued right away: “But those scars can heal completely if you let them. Together, you will be all right.”
Jin gulped down heavily, suddenly feeling too hot and somehow tense. He wasn´t into spiritual things much, but anytime he had anything to do with this Shaman, it was like the real world was upside down. He understood what Cloud Dancing meant, he just couldn´t accept the old Indian´s certainty. How could he know such things?
He looked at Kame, to find out if he was affected the same way. And seeing his shining eyes and clenched fists, he assumed that even more than himself…
*
Kame´s heart shivered at Shaman´s words.
Together… All right…
Yes, he knew that now, too. Without Jin, he wouldn´t have overcome nightmares and inner depression, which threatened to swallow him after that incident with Math Grenet. Without Jin, he wouldn´t be the same. And he didn´t want to know what kind of a person he would have become in case that the handsome gunslinger would not have been by his side…
*
When they stepped out of the shaman´s warm abode, the sky above the reservation was already dark and the number of flaring fires in the village significantly increased. Kame looked up almost at the very moment, when the first star appeared. He observed that distant, flickering light lost in strange thoughts.
Jin was trying to recognize the expression on his boyfriend´s face, but it was unreadable. Kame was standing right next to him, but it was as if he was too far away, almost unreachable and Jin didn´t like it. He reached out and squeezed the younger´s shoulder, making him tear his eyes off the sky. They were unusually dark, though it might have been only by the lack of light…
Suddenly, Jin felt cold, unpleasant shivers running down his spine. Not saying anything, as there were no words on his mind in that moment, he just pulled Kazuya into his arms and hugged him. It felt like a right thing, which he simply needed to do; to let his lover know that he was there with him and for him. No matter what.
Kame was strangely tense at first, but then he loosened up and circled both arms around Jin´s body no less lovingly…
*
They reached the wigwam, from which could be faintly heard Beara´s laughing and Liwan´s voice, in silence and hand in hand.
The Indian girl jumped up as soon as they appeared inside and proudly showed them their places to sleep, which she had prepared herself. It took some time before Liwan managed to persuade his overly-excited sister to lie down under her blanket, and yet she kept opening her eyes, peeking out at them, as they settled around the fire for modest dinner.
The shaman´s son observed the two no less closely than his father. He seemed as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end, he reconsidered…
“Tomorrow, you get your own wigwam,” Liwan informed them. “I will ask our women to prepare it.”
Kame raised his eyes from the water container in his hands: “I´ve noticed there are plenty of empty ones… Why is that?”
His blood brother´s face darkened and short silence fell onto the wigwam. Even Beara finally turned on her other side, away from them.
“I wanted to ask your father, but… we didn´t get to it. What happened here, Liwan?” the younger one insisted on the answer.
“There was…” Liwan hesitated. “Isttsíístom iksikkiowai…” he used his mother tongue, not sure about the correct word.
“Epidemic?” Kame breathed out heavily. “When?”
“Recently. Just two days ago they buried the last dead brothers in the mountains,” Liwan replied darkly. “Manitou decided to take also many children away… And Hawk Eye,” he completed with deep sadness in his voice.
Kame sighed and half-covered his face.
“Shit…” Jin whispered, closing his eyes. He remembered that boy; he was one of very few who survived the massacre of Blackfeet Tribe months ago. And now, he fell victim to the white men illness.
“That is also why we need to purify all affected wigwams,” Liwan continued heavily. “I talked to Ninastoko. We do not know how the… epidemic started, but he said that white soldiers come here often now. Patrolling us, they say.”
“It always comes from white immigrants. Always…” Kame reacted darkly.
The young shaman frowned: “I agree with you, my brother. Moreover, we do not get enough rations. Not as much as Great White Father in Washington promised. And still, they do not allow warriors to go hunting.”
“It was a problem even before we left for Colorado,” the younger one reacted gloomily. “Were your brothers on the buffalo hunt secretly again?”
Liwan nodded: “Yes, and it was successful, otherwise the tribe would starve. Anyway, I want to go to white soldiers tomorrow. To ask them for… remedy.”
“After our previous experiences I´m afraid you´ll have some difficulties talking with them,” Jin expressed his opinion.
“I expect that,” Liwan reacted calmly.
“Then I´ll go with you,” not surprisingly, Kame decided right away.
“I will be glad if you are with me,” his blood brother nodded.
Jin didn´t have any objections against helping their red brothers a bit either, but he had a gut feeling that it was better to discuss it with Kame in the morning…
- To be continued -
Credit for banner:
witchann2
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading:
atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.
A/N: Hisashiburi! ^^/
It has been a while, longer than I had thought, but here I´m again with the new RW chapter!
It´s kind of relaxing one, but I hope you´ll enjoy it nevertheless.
I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.
Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three //
Changed
Loud yapping and occasional soft growls accompanied a furious ´fight´ of four siblings, as they kept jumping and snapping at each other tirelessly. The sounds of their playful match under a fallen pine resonated all around and made the small girl hiding in thick bushes smile. They were so cute it made her want to take one home, but she knew she couldn´t do that. Little wolves belonged to the nature and they were supposed to stay with their mother, who was surely not far…
“Beara! Where are you?!”
The Indian girl looked in the direction of a worried voice, frowning. Didn´t that stupid Chippewa know they were not supposed to make noise in the woods?
“Beara!!”
She sighed, when the unpleasant yelling also reached the tiny ears of furry cubs and hushed their play. Slowly, not to disturb them even more, Beara got up from her knees and carefully retreated from the wolf burrow. If her unwelcomed guardian kept shouting like that, it could summon only troubles.
Rushing in her soft, black-painted moccasins, Beara quickly climbed the short slope and appeared almost right behind a tall woman with a small basket in her hands. Probably hearing the steps, the young Indian turned so abruptly that her rich braids rose in the air for a moment.
“Here you be! I called! Why you not speak up?”
“We should not scream here,” pouted Beara, still kind of annoyed at the way the Indian from adifferent tribe talked, even though she had enough time to get used to it already.
The Chippewa woman frowned: “You lecture me, bear cub? I know that! But! You go so far away! Not safe!”
Beara lowered her eyes to the ground, upset about being scolded for her small adventure. Collecting various herbs for the whole day was so boring; even though she knew it was important. Her father needed to restore his supplies and she was happy to be able to help him out. But exploring the woods was much more fun!
“Come!” the Chippewa ordered her. “It is late and we too far from village.”
She wanted to stick out her tongue over that accusing tone, but suddenly, there came a sound which made Beara forget about anything else. Her companion stiffened as well, when a threatening growl resonated behind their backs.
Both tall and small Indian tensely turned, to see an impressive shape of a young wolf stepping outside the tree´s shadow.
The Chippewa grabbed Beara´s tiny shoulder: “You saw any wolf cubs nearby?” she whispered an urgent question.
Beara nodded, too scared to speak. The wolf in front of them was big and not cute at all, with saliva dripping from his muzzle full of sharp teeth. The beast was limping a bit, probably hurt from a fight, but that didn´t make it any less dangerous.
A curse escaped the older woman´s lips, as she pushed surprised Beara behind her. She didn´t know that Chippewa could use such words.
“Walk back. Slowly,” the woman instructed Beara, not looking away fromthe wolf, but avoiding meeting its eyes.
They both took two slow steps backwards, but that seemed to anger the beast only more, as its growling deepened. The Chippewa woman dropped her basket to the grass and instead she reached for the knife on her belt. But even Beara realized that such a small blade would be a little help against the animal´s strength.
Chippewa strained herself when the wolf prepared for the jump and terrified Beara hid her face into the woman´s skirt. How she regretted tracking the cubs now...
All the sudden, a clatter of hooves and loud neighing cut the tense atmosphere. Beara felt how her protector gasped for breath and curious about what was going on, she peeked out from her safe spot. And her eyes widened in surprise.
A brown stallion was stomping the ground between them and the now cringing wolf. The muscular Indian man jumped down off the animal in one swift move and stepped towards the wolf with a rifle in his hands. His voice seemed strangely familiar to Beara, when he made a loud shout. But the wolf hadn´t moved until a sharp shot was heard and a bullet hit the ground between the animal´s legs. Only then it retreated and disappeared in the bushes as a slim shadow.
When their rescuer was sure that the beast was intimidated enough, he lowered his gun and turned towards the Indian women.
Beara didn´t believe her eyes for a moment. But then she cried out in joy, rushed forward and within two seconds, she had her arms wrapped around the Indian´s neck, hanging onto him as if her life depended on it.
Chippewa woman just stared at their touching reunion, when the newcomer dropped the rifle and squeezed the little girl in his strong arms lovingly. And her surprise was only greater when two more unknown riders joined the scene in quite a rush. Probably startled by the gunshot, they calmed down only after checking entire surroundings. And when that cheeky Blackfeet child rushed to welcome them in the same manner as that impressive red man, Chippewa´s jaw hopelessly dropped at the fact that those two were Palefaces…
*
Kame didn´t worry about Liwan urging his horse forward, widening the space between them more and more as they got closer to the reservation. Not until that gunshot cut through the peaceful forest and disrupted his attempts to teach Jin a few useful Indian words.
Kuro was faster to react this time, so Ukushi reached the spot above the trough of the wide stream only after the stallion and already from Jin´s relaxed body position Kame could tell that there was no immediate danger.
Not to mention that Liwan´s rifle was forgotten in the grass, while its owner held a little girl in his arms. Kame didn´t have to see her face to know it was Beara. He had never seen the woman though and judging by the unfamiliar features of her quite pretty face, he guessed she was from another tribe.
With a smile, he slipped down from Ukushi´s back. Since the girl and the unknown woman were there on foot, they had to be very close to their destination now. Liwan was back home. And in a way, he was too.
Finally, Beara was willing to step back on the ground and only then she noted the other two incomers.
“Kame! Kame! Kame!”
The girl was so excited, that she almost pushed him out of balance, when she hugged him around his waist.
“Woah! You got taller, Beara!” Kame laughed.
Also smiling, Jin turned to Liwan: “Hey, Bear! What was the gunshot for? For celebration?” he asked, wanting to clarify the reason for that shot.
“There was a biiiiig wolf, Jin!” the shaman´s little sister explained, letting Kame go and reaching for Jin´s hand instead. “But my bigger Brother fought him off!”
“Oh, what a brave brother you have,” Jin noted amused.
“I do! And I also have you and Kame!” the girl was beaming with joy. “I do not let you go now! You must stay!”
“We will, don´t worry,” the older one assured her, as he winked at the younger one.
Liwan just shook his head over Beara´s lively excitement, obviously relieved to see her to be so vital and turned to other Indian.
“Who are you, woman? I don´t remember you,” he asked in his mother tongue.
“Migisi my name is,” the Indian introduced herself calmly. “My tribe moved and joined Blackfeet some time ago.”
“Are you daughter of our Chippewa brothers then?”
“Yes,” nodded Migisi. “Thank you for help. Wolf was wounded, but we could be hurt very seriously… You are?” she asked with a suspicious look towards Kame, who listened to their conversation.
“Liwan. Beara is my sister.”
“Oh, I know! She talked about you,” the woman nodded.
“And they are my friends,” Liwan introduced also the other two. “This is Kame and…” his words were interrupted by a joyful laugh, which made them all turn.
To Kame´s surprise, Beara was confidently seated in Kuro´s saddle now.
“Go, Kuro, go!”
Jin was holding the bridle, his face brightened up with a beautiful smile, which made Kame forget himself a bit…
Frowning Liwan considered his sister´s safety, but seeing Jin having a full control over his horse, not allowing it to move yet, despite the small Indian requests, he let it go without any comment. Instead, he summoned his own stallion and offered a ride to the Chippewa woman.
*
They set off towards the village with Liwan leading his horse with Migisi on its back, followed by Jin leading Kuro with excited Beara and with Kame on his side leading Ukushi. Relaxed pace was a fine change in comparison with their previous hasty travels.
On the way, Liwan kept asking the Chippewa woman about changes in the reservation, while Beara kept amusing the other two with her confusing narration about the same, only from her point of view.
“And then you came and rescued us from that wolf!”
“Wasn´t it a she-wolf?” Kame asked curiously. “If it was guarding those cubs…”
“No! It was male, I saw!” Beara denied.
“Really?” Jin looked at her with his eyebrows raised.
“He was hurt that was why he guarded,” the Indian girl explained carefully. “Their mother is surely hunting. The whole pack always cares for little wolves.”
“Wow… How do you know these things?” Jin seemed to be really impressed.
“Father teach me,” Beara smiled proudly.
“Oh, Cloud Dancing, right?” the older one remembered.
“How is your father doing?” Kame asked.
Beara´s face saddened a little: “He is often tired… But he will be so, so happy that Brother is back! That will cheer him up!”
“I´m sure you´re right,” Kame nodded, but her reaction made him worry for the old shaman.
“Wait! Not that way!” Beara called suddenly, interrupting the discussion between Liwan and young Chippewa.
“This is the shortest way…” Liwan looked at her confused.
“No, Beara is right. We avoid this way,” Migisi confirmed, even seeming to be ashamed that the girl was the first one to think about it.
“Why?” Liwan asked suspiciously.
“White soldiers. They like not when we leave the village,” the Chippewa woman explained. “Not want troubles, so we always go around.”
“Is that one of those new rules you talked about?” the young shaman was obviously not pleased with what he heard.
The woman nodded and Kame and Jin exchanged a curious look. Obviously, some things changed while they were gone…
***
The village of Blackfeet Indians was located in the middle of the territory, which was assigned to them in Montana. There were smaller, or even bigger settlements in a few other places within the reservation, farther in the north and in Canada. But the journey of three travelers ended in the valley under the mountain the locals called ´Rising Wolf´.
They found themselves almost three hundred miles away from Kame´s hometown - Bozeman, deeper and higher in the Rocky Mountains, but also further from the advancing white civilization…
Jin was surprised by the number of wigwams, which was spread around the crystal-clear lake, until Kame explained that so far, he had met only one of many tribes, which belonged to the Blackfeet nation, as did Siksika, Kainah or Pikuni. Under the continual pressure of United States government, they had no other choice than to gather in the reservation. Not to mention the increasing numbers joining them from other friendly tribes, as nomadic Chippewa.
Naturally, their arrival created quite a fuss. Once the word about Shaman´s son return had spread, Liwan´s Indian brothers and sisters gathered to welcome him back with loud whoops, while the members of other tribes also came to check on the incomers curiously. Kame was welcomed very warmly, while Jin attracted mostly the attention of Indian children, as there were a lot of them who remembered him from the time before they had moved their home.
Despite all that excited ruckus, Kame noticed that there were too many wigwams for the number of Indians, who gathered around them. And many of them seemed to be strangely tired. Something must have happened, not long ago, but he decided to postpone the questions for later, not to spoil Liwan´s homecoming.
Only one small hitch appeared, with the appearance of a current Tribal Chief, who obviously didn´t like any new white faces. Only after both Kame and Liwan guaranteed for Jin, Ninastoko, aka Big Brave, was willing to allow him to stay. Fortunately, since the Chief was young, only shortly over thirty years and judging by his massive figure and firm muscles also strong. Jin would rather avoid arguing with such an Indian.
After the hearty welcome, Liwan finally went to meet his father, with Beara accompanying him, while Jin and Kame personally took their precious animals to the small river feeding the lake, to let them rest and get acquainted with the small Blackfeet´s herd. Kuro had no big trouble to show any other horse who was the leader there, but Ukushi seemed strangely nervous, so Kame rather led her aside.
The sun was slowly setting behind the strangely shaped mountain and its shadow was gradually covering one wigwam after another.
After making sure that Kuro had all he needed, Jin hid the saddle in the small shelter usually used only for horses´ food, just as Kame before him. Then he took his hat off and with quite a relief, he ruffled his damp hair in the evening breeze, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He found the younger one sitting in the grass on the short slope above the lake.
When Jin approached him, Kame´s eyes were looking towards the village and were somewhat absent-minded. He hadn´t moved, when the older one sat down next to him and his expression was not of that kind Jin would have expected…
“Aren´t you happy to be back?” he asked quietly.
Kame glanced at him shortly and sighed: “Yes... and no.”
Jin eyed him even more curiously now, but patiently waited for the younger one to continue.
“It feels… strange. I´ve always considered myself to be at home when I was with Blackfeet, but… It´s different now. It doesn´t feel like a place I belong to anymore,” he stated a bit sadly.
“Well, much has changed,” Jin assumed carefully. He didn´t want to stir much those horrific events, which affected Kame´s second family last year so greatly, that it could never be the same.
“That´s true, but no matter that I´m still obligated to them and I should… I don´t know,” Kame complained helplessly. “I didn´t expect to feel so… confused once we´ll be back here.”
Jin plucked a haulm of grass and started playing with it thoughtfully: “I don´t think you like them any less than before, Kazu. It´s just maybe…”
The hazelnut eyes turned to him: “Maybe what?”
“You have more people to care about,” Jin spoke hesitantly, not even knowing how he came to such an idea.
Kame stared at him somehow inquiringly.
“You´re not only the white brother of these Indians,” the older one continued hastily, not intending for Kame to misunderstand him. “You´re also Black Rider now and…”
“And?”
“My awesome lover,” Jin finished in a quieter, deeper voice.
The younger one´s tense and a little dark expression melted into a flattered smile: “You know how to sweet-talk to me, right?”
“I mean it, Kamenashi,” he frowned. “Don´t you dare to make light of my words.”
“That sounded like a threat…”
“You can bet.”
Still with that shining smile, which let Jin know that his attempt to cheer Kame up was successful, the younger one leant forward and gave him a short, tender kiss.
“You´re pretty good yourself,” he informed Jin then.
Jin slipped with his hand on the back of Kame´s neck: “Don´t say… And here I thought you will never admit it.”
Kazuya laughed: “You bighead.”
This time, Jin locked the other´s lips with his, kissing him deeply.
“Are you sure we don´t have to watch our backs here?” he asked hoarsely a sweet minute later.
“Pretty damn sure,” Kame confirmed without even opening his eyes.
They ended up in a close, tight hug, trying to steal each other´s breath, finally allowing themselves to completely forget their surroundings…
“Here you are!!”
Unpleasantly disrupted by a cheerful voice, they tore apart to see Beara running towards them.
“Jin! Kame! Come!” she reached them almost out of breath and started to drag Kame up on his feet.
“What is it, Beara?”
“Come!” she repeated stubbornly and danced around until they both got up.
Only then they noticed Liwan standing near the closest wigwam, obviously waiting for them. Beara kept running around them as they walked to him, Jin with quite a sour face.
“My father wants to see you,” Liwan said, and Kame could not fail to notice that the corner of his mouth was twitching in a suppressed smile. His blood brother definitely saw what they were up to back there on the slope and yet, he sent Beara to get them. Sometimes, Liwan was surprisingly gleeful and Kame noted for himself, that he must repay him for this sometime.
“I would like to meet him as well,” he nodded.
“And Jin will play with me!” Beara jumped up in the air, but her brother grabbed her shoulder sooner than she could drag the older one anywhere.
“No,” he informed her strictly.
“But why?!” pouted Beara.
“He wants to see them both,” Liwan refined his previous statement.
*
The shaman´s wigwam stood a little aside from the rest, being the farthest one from the shore of the lake and easy to recognize, as its leather walls were decorated with various talismans and charms rattling over each other in the wind.
Jin flipped off the tanned leather covering the entrance and let Kame go inside first, before he followed him with a strange feeling in his stomach.
Their senses were immediately attacked by the mixture of smell from the mysterious potion above the small fire and by fragrance of drying herbs hanging on many strings, which crossed the space above their heads from one side to another. It took a few seconds for their eyes to accustom to the darkness inside and to recognize the sitting figure of Cloud Dancing.
Kame didn´t say anything and just sat down opposite the old man on the comfortable fur, crossing his legs, so Jin instinctively followed his example.
The old shaman remained motionless for a while, before he leant forward a bit, as if he wanted to observe them better in the weak, goldish light. Only then Kame could see that his worries were justified.
Even partially covered with clothes and thick fur, it was painfully visible that Cloud Dancing was very skinny. His hair had turned completely white and his skin was unnaturally pale. Only his eyes remained the same. Shaman of Blackfeet was studying the two young men with the same urgency as before, his look full of aged wisdom.
“I am grateful to Manitou that he safely led your steps to our tribe,” he welcomed them warmly in English and his firm voice calmed worried Kame down a little. “Welcome back, Kazuya. Also Akanishi.”
“Thank you, Cloud Dancing,” the younger one lowered his head.
“Not sure if it was Manitou´s credit, but I´m also grateful we made it here,” Jin reacted seriously. “And I´m glad to see my dear Indian doctor again.”
Kame glanced at the older one surprised by his somewhat cheeky words, but Cloud Dancing didn´t seem to be insulted, more like amused.
“Niitá… It is good to see you two, ista,” the shaman nodded. “It was long waiting… For helping my son, obrige tamaši.”
“No need to,” Kame assured him quickly. “Liwan got into troubles because of me anyway…”
Cloud Dancing pierced him with a sharp look: “That is not what my son said, but I am sure your point of view is different…”
Kame lowered his eyes, not replying.
“Kazuya tends to blame himself from everything,” Jin noted, not reproachfully, just reminding the younger one not to do it.
Shaman´s eyes focused on the older one so suddenly and sharply, that Jin flinched a little and wanted to avoid that look. But he couldn´t, until Cloud Dancing moved his eyes from him back on Kame.
“You fought Evil Spirit again… And you won,” Shaman said suddenly in a deep voice, surprising them both.
“Liwan told you?” the younger one asked quietly.
Cloud Dancing shook his head: “There is no need to tell me… I see it in your eyes. That fight left scars in your hearts.”
Kame stiffened hearing those words. He was not exactly eager to bring Grenet topic up, but Shaman continued right away: “But those scars can heal completely if you let them. Together, you will be all right.”
Jin gulped down heavily, suddenly feeling too hot and somehow tense. He wasn´t into spiritual things much, but anytime he had anything to do with this Shaman, it was like the real world was upside down. He understood what Cloud Dancing meant, he just couldn´t accept the old Indian´s certainty. How could he know such things?
He looked at Kame, to find out if he was affected the same way. And seeing his shining eyes and clenched fists, he assumed that even more than himself…
*
Kame´s heart shivered at Shaman´s words.
Together… All right…
Yes, he knew that now, too. Without Jin, he wouldn´t have overcome nightmares and inner depression, which threatened to swallow him after that incident with Math Grenet. Without Jin, he wouldn´t be the same. And he didn´t want to know what kind of a person he would have become in case that the handsome gunslinger would not have been by his side…
*
When they stepped out of the shaman´s warm abode, the sky above the reservation was already dark and the number of flaring fires in the village significantly increased. Kame looked up almost at the very moment, when the first star appeared. He observed that distant, flickering light lost in strange thoughts.
Jin was trying to recognize the expression on his boyfriend´s face, but it was unreadable. Kame was standing right next to him, but it was as if he was too far away, almost unreachable and Jin didn´t like it. He reached out and squeezed the younger´s shoulder, making him tear his eyes off the sky. They were unusually dark, though it might have been only by the lack of light…
Suddenly, Jin felt cold, unpleasant shivers running down his spine. Not saying anything, as there were no words on his mind in that moment, he just pulled Kazuya into his arms and hugged him. It felt like a right thing, which he simply needed to do; to let his lover know that he was there with him and for him. No matter what.
Kame was strangely tense at first, but then he loosened up and circled both arms around Jin´s body no less lovingly…
*
They reached the wigwam, from which could be faintly heard Beara´s laughing and Liwan´s voice, in silence and hand in hand.
The Indian girl jumped up as soon as they appeared inside and proudly showed them their places to sleep, which she had prepared herself. It took some time before Liwan managed to persuade his overly-excited sister to lie down under her blanket, and yet she kept opening her eyes, peeking out at them, as they settled around the fire for modest dinner.
The shaman´s son observed the two no less closely than his father. He seemed as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end, he reconsidered…
“Tomorrow, you get your own wigwam,” Liwan informed them. “I will ask our women to prepare it.”
Kame raised his eyes from the water container in his hands: “I´ve noticed there are plenty of empty ones… Why is that?”
His blood brother´s face darkened and short silence fell onto the wigwam. Even Beara finally turned on her other side, away from them.
“I wanted to ask your father, but… we didn´t get to it. What happened here, Liwan?” the younger one insisted on the answer.
“There was…” Liwan hesitated. “Isttsíístom iksikkiowai…” he used his mother tongue, not sure about the correct word.
“Epidemic?” Kame breathed out heavily. “When?”
“Recently. Just two days ago they buried the last dead brothers in the mountains,” Liwan replied darkly. “Manitou decided to take also many children away… And Hawk Eye,” he completed with deep sadness in his voice.
Kame sighed and half-covered his face.
“Shit…” Jin whispered, closing his eyes. He remembered that boy; he was one of very few who survived the massacre of Blackfeet Tribe months ago. And now, he fell victim to the white men illness.
“That is also why we need to purify all affected wigwams,” Liwan continued heavily. “I talked to Ninastoko. We do not know how the… epidemic started, but he said that white soldiers come here often now. Patrolling us, they say.”
“It always comes from white immigrants. Always…” Kame reacted darkly.
The young shaman frowned: “I agree with you, my brother. Moreover, we do not get enough rations. Not as much as Great White Father in Washington promised. And still, they do not allow warriors to go hunting.”
“It was a problem even before we left for Colorado,” the younger one reacted gloomily. “Were your brothers on the buffalo hunt secretly again?”
Liwan nodded: “Yes, and it was successful, otherwise the tribe would starve. Anyway, I want to go to white soldiers tomorrow. To ask them for… remedy.”
“After our previous experiences I´m afraid you´ll have some difficulties talking with them,” Jin expressed his opinion.
“I expect that,” Liwan reacted calmly.
“Then I´ll go with you,” not surprisingly, Kame decided right away.
“I will be glad if you are with me,” his blood brother nodded.
Jin didn´t have any objections against helping their red brothers a bit either, but he had a gut feeling that it was better to discuss it with Kame in the morning…
- To be continued -
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witchann2