Page 48 of My First Time Fling
“Shaman Vram’az said the same before he died. That means that his tribe knows it. But we shall go and see the Tretter on our way… elsewhere.”
“They like me more than the Borok, anyway.”
I grab her thigh. “The Tretter will want to know why I’m no longer the chief of the Borok and why you and I can’t stay there. And I will tell them.”
She nods. “That is the honorable thing to do.”
“I can hear there are women and men of honor on Earth, too.”
“There are many,” Bryar says as the food is served and we start to eat. “Maybe one day you’ll see it yourself.”
We eat for a while, and many tribesmen come to talk. It’s their way of saying goodbye, possibly forever. After a short while all the men in the village are standing quietly around us, every one of them wanting a word with me in private. There’s a lot of laughter as we remember things from the old days.
Finally Bryar gets to her feet and comes in to hug me. My face gets wet from her tears.
“You can still change your mind,” she whispers hoarsely. “You giving up so much.”
“It’s been a good life,” I admit. “But it’s about to get even better.”
She squeezes me. “I’ll go up to the cave.”
“I’ll come with you,” I tell her.
She puts a hand on my shoulder and smiles at me through tears. “You need this. I’ll come down for the celebration when the drums start. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere tonight.”
She walks away quickly. The crowd ignores her, but also parts for her as if she were a rekh. It’s obvious they think she’s stealing me from them.
Time goes by fast, and at sunset more food is placed on the table. Big fires are lit, and the drummers start playing.
Bryar comes down from the cave. Again the men move well out of her way until she sits down beside me.
I embrace and kiss her with all the passion I feel, which is a lot.
“She’s not dangerous!” I tell the men. “She can do you no harm, and she’s not the Darkness.”
“I don’t think they believe you,” Bryar whispers. “I’m taking you away from them.”
“Good,” I reply and nod towards the totem wall. “As someone once said, my life is not here.”
We stay there for a little while longer, while Bryar picks at the food and I come to terms with this not being my tribe or village anymore.
Finally we walk up the stairs to the chief’s cave.
“Breti’ax will never use this place,” I tell Bryar when we’re standing on top of the Mount, looking out at the dark jungle. “He can barely climb the stairs.”
“He should. It’s the best place on Xren.”
I squeeze my wife. “The best place on Xren is where my wife is. And now I want the best place on Xren to be the furs inside the cave. Come on.”
She grins, and it makes me happy to see. “I wondered why you left the party so early. I should have known you wanted to Mate.”
“You really should have known,” I agree. “Because I always want that.”
We Mate while the drums play down in the village. This time we’re louder than ever, especially Bryar.
“Not a bad revenge,” I say drowsily when I finally lift myself off her. “They know they will never hear anything like that again.”
“I don’t need to get revenge on your tribesmen,” Bryar yawns. “They’re doing what they think is right for the tribe.”