The Cusp, Part V

“The women want us to bathe before we eat and settle in for the night.”

“I imagine we smell pretty bad.”

“Your mother said we smell like a herd of old goats.”

The men went to the river and bathed. They used handfuls of sand to scrub off the dirt and blood. They squeezed the water out of their hair and beards and sat in the sun to dry. It was a time of not talking. When they had dried, they climbed up to the overhang. The women were gathered in the front of the overhang. They had cut hair from the lion’s mane and twisted it into cordage. They were plaiting the cordage into a band, two fingers wide tapered on each end. The woman approached him.

“Here is your part of the lion skin.”

“It turned out well.”

“My mother used to plait me and my sister’s hair, she is good at it.” She handed him the band. He examined it closely.

“It is not as ornate as some I have seen.”

“How many have you seen made from a lion?”

“None.”

“Nor I.”

Her older brother spoke.

“Put it on her wrist already, I’m starving.”

He blushed and everyone laughed. She extended her left arm. He looked into her eyes, the grey eyes that had captured a part of him the first time he saw them and tied the band around her wrist. Everyone cheered.

The women had heated a flat rock and were making flatbread. The woman’s father spoke.

“I believe that I could eat an aurochs by myself.”

“The young ones have worked hard for two days, we made plenty,” said the woman’s mother.

The food was well cooked and filling. They soaked up the liquid with pieces of bread. His mother went to her pack and brought out a package wrapped in large leaves. He looked up as she opened it.

“Your favorite,” she said.

It was a mixture of cooked grains, dried fruit, and nuts mixed with honey. He gave a portion to the woman who would be his wife. She closed her eyes as she chewed, making an mmm sound.

“This is amazing, will you show me how to make it?”

“Of course.”

The leaf was passed around the fire. Everyone got to sample the contents. The girl cousin added wood to the fire, and everyone got comfortable. The girl cousin asked for stories. His father told the story of how first man and first woman came to be on mother earth and how they were told that they were being trusted to use her gifts wisely. Other stories were told. Songs about life and love were sung. Silence settled as full darkness descended. The woman who would be his wife spread her sleeping robes next to his. Since they were betrothed custom allowed them to share robes. They were barred from intercourse until they were wed, but the people had long learned about other ways to give pleasure. Occasionally a couple was unable to refrain. The old women would laugh about how healthy a baby was for being born months early. He and the woman he would marry stripped to breech clouts and got under the robes. They had listened well about ways to give pleasure and fell into a deep sleep after.

He awoke in the false dawn before sunrise. The woman lay next to him in a fetal position with her back against his. He rolled over and formed his body to hers, his chest against her back, right arm along her side so that his hand cupped a breast and pulled her close. He breathed in the scent of her, and she pressed more firmly against him in her sleep. It was a position that they would enjoy for the rest of their life together. They were warm and secure with each other. His father rose and added wood to the coals of the fire. The air was cold but the overhang soon warmed. They all soon arose and relieved themselves in the bushes around the overhang. They were eager to get started; it would be hard work dragging the heavy packs back to the woman’s band’s camp. They put together their packs and lashed the poles together to make drags. It would be a long day but much of the terrain was flat. His mother had brought the hunter food that she made for long hunts and when they were traveling. Everyone took a handful. They filled their water skins and began walking as the sun came over the horizon. They hoped to reach the woman’s people’s camp by afternoon.

The day had warmed and they talked as they walked. Normally one or more of the hunters would scout ahead looking for game or danger. Because the route was well traveled and there were several of them there was little danger from animals. The drags were made so that two people could pull them together walking side by side. Since there were only two points of contact with the earth it was much easier to move the heavy loads. The woman’s youngest brother paired with the girl cousin on a drag with a smaller load. The group stopped to rest as they tired and there were trees for shade. The hours went by quickly and they smelled the smoke from the fires of the woman’s people’s camp. They crested the final rise, and the shelters came into view. The woman’s family shouted a greeting and people trotted out help pull the meat and hide the rest of the way. Everyone rested in the shade of the woman’s family shelter. The rest of the camp came by to look at the packs. The woman was uncharacteristically shy when the women and girls commented on her betrothal band. The hunters recognized what it was made from, the story of the lion had reached them. After they had rested the woman’s father spoke.

“We need to divide the meat from the aurochs.”

“I was hunting with your family I have no claim on the meat.”

The older brother spoke.

“We share meat here. The three who stood watch should also have a share.”

“We have a tradition to make sure a kill is divided fairly,” said her father.

The brothers brought the three hunters who had stood watch to the shelter. All of the meat was placed on a hide. Some was taken to the elders. The rest was divided into piles. There was a pile for each of those who had hunted and stood watch. The piles were of more or less equal size. The woman’s father asked for a young one to come forward. A boy who had recently had his naming day was selected. He stood facing the group who had hunted and stood watch with his back to the piles of meat. The woman’s father called the girl cousin forward. He told her to point to the piles one after another in no particular order. As the cousin pointed, the woman’s father asked the young one who the pile belonged to. The young one would point to one of the group. The process was repeated until the young one pointed to the last of the group.

“That is a fair way to divide a kill,” said his father.

“It lets the whole band see that the hunters are not greedy and is a lesson for the young ones,” said the woman’s father.

His parents and the girl cousin would stay the night at the woman’s family’s shelter before heading back to their band. He gave his share of the meat to his parents and asked them to give some to the old tool maker.

“You are not returning with us?”

“I promised the younger brother that I would teach him about archery.”

“And that’s the only reason you want to stay?” said his mother with a smile.

“There may be someone else I want to spend time with.”

“Bring her with you when you return. The rest of the band will want to meet her.”

They spent the rest of the day meeting people in the woman’s band. The young ones were curious about the visitors. The women of the band spent time with the woman talking about her wedding ceremony at the gathering. There was still daylight, so he opened his pack, removed his tool kit, and went to the edge of the camp. He had recovered his arrow from the aurochs, but the point had chipped on the rib bone. He cleaned the arrow and took out an antler flaker and began to sharpen it. The younger brother joined him and watched as he worked. Most hunters and many women could make serviceable tools but often bartered with a master tool maker for the best weapons. The younger brother spoke.

“What type of stone is that?”

“Obsidian. I have to trade for it.”

“I have not seen that color before.”

“This is green. I have heard that it is also brown or sometimes yellow. I prefer to work with black, but I can’t always get it.”

“Where does the black come from?”

“Far to the west, I am told.”

The younger brother watched as he applied just enough pressure on the edges of the arrow point to remove tiny flakes leaving a wickedly sharp serrated edge. The woman approached and stood watching. She spoke.

“Do you make drills?”

“Of course. Whatever is needed.”

“Can you make me a small drill?”

“How small?”

The woman held her fingers apart to show him.

“I would like a small sharp point, if you can do that.”

He removed some stone from his tool kit. Flakes that had been left from other projects and a few broken arrow points. He selected one and began to work it with a small hammer stone and an antler flaker. The woman and her brother watched. In a few minutes he handed the woman a drill half the length of her small finger that tapered to a needle point.

“It will be fragile being so small. Any side pressure will cause it to snap. Do you want me to mount it in a spindle for you?”

“No, I will just hold it.”

“Do either of you have tools that need sharpening?”

The woman and her brother brought arrows and tools for him to sharpen. Soon others from the band joined them. He sharpened most of the knives and dull arrow points that the group had. By then it was getting too dark to work. The three of them returned to the woman’s family shelter. Their mothers had started soup in a tightly woven basket. The basket would fold flat for traveling and was much lighter than a clay pot. The basket would hold water. The soup was heated by dropping hot stones into the liquid. A skilled cook could maintain the temperature by adding hot rocks and removing the ones that had cooled. They sat down near the fire. The air was cooling and the woman spread a robe over their shoulders and sat with her leg touching his. Their mothers smiled. When everyone was settled in the meal was served.

After they had eaten, others from the band came and visited their fire. Babies were passed around and toddlers wandered from lap to lap. The children were fascinated by his tattoos. When one would touch the boar, he would mimic the sound of a boar’s grunt and grab them for a tickle. Soon he was swarmed with small ones wanting their turn. He tickled and laughed with them. They formed a mass at the edge of the fire. The woman smiled. She had not seen him laugh so much. The girl cousin saw her, moved closer, and spoke.

“He isn’t always so serious. He likes playing with the young ones.”

“They like his tattoos.”

“He was one of the youngest to ever get them. It is an honor among the people.”

“How did he get them?”

“How are they made?”

“No, I know how they are made. I mean why does he have them. I thought it was just something he chose to have done.”

“No. Among the people a man who is recognized as a good hunter and a good man can be asked to join a society of hunters. They are chosen for skill and character. They must put the needs of the people over what they want. His father is a member and two of his uncles, but just because someone in your family is a member doesn’t mean you will be.”

“He never mentioned that.”

“He doesn’t brag or talk about himself.”

“I have seen that part of him.”

“He will be a good father for your babies.”

The woman blushed slightly and spoke.

“You know about babies?”

“I know how babies are made and I help with the young ones in our group. When I was small the older children spent time with me and kept me out of trouble. My mother couldn’t watch me all the time. I am giving back and learning so I can be good with my babies someday.”

“I think you will do well as a mother small one.”

“It will be a while. I will wait for the right man and I need for my breasts and moon blood to come. I am glad my cousin is betrothed to you.”

“I am glad we chose each other.”

“There were women from other bands who were interested in him. They pretended to be dumb or weak; he didn’t like that. He was always polite to them, but he never encouraged anything. He talked about you to my father and his family. The woman with gray eyes that looked at him as a fellow hunter.”

He untangled himself from the pile of children and sat beside the woman.

“You two look like you have been talking about woman things.”

“Your cousin was telling me about you. She told me things you have not.”

“Have you asked me?”

“Most men want to talk about themselves all the time.”

“Some are like that. Walk with me tomorrow and you can ask me what you want to know.”