Native American Short Stories

Dakubetede Tribe (Part 4)

Judging from the horrific look on her face, Nosh knew the time had come to put an end to the bitter feelings he and the other boys had begun to harbor over the small mishap.

Shaking his head, his eyes met with Miakoda's; both of them made a quick, simultaneous pivot, placing themselves at either side of their friend.

"Here, let me help you," Mia offered, an arm wrapping behind her back and around her waist. "Why did you keep silent about your pain? This looks serious," she glanced at Nosh.

Hausisse shook her head, shrugging her shoulders; grimacing, she only glanced back at them and continued hobbling.

Nosh whistled before letting out a breath.

"Chogan! Wait, come here."

Although many long steps ahead of the rest, he reluctantly turned around, a discontented frown turning to a look of concern once he realized a problem had arisen.

"What happened to you?"

He dropped to one knee and lifted the tunic a bit; gasping, his teeth showed under a second look of surprise at the discoloration.

"This cannot be good, Hausisse! Why did you not alert us before now?"

Pursing her lips together before answering, she shut her eyes momentarily. "I did not want to be a bother. We have already caused enough for now," she apologized.

"No," Chogan insisted. "This is different. This is not a bother; we need to get you back home!"

Calling to the others, the boys decided to take turns carting their friend on their backs ... when this idea failed miserably, Hausisse laughed at them and suggested an alternative method of getting her home.

"If we can make pair of walking sticks, I'll let you take turns making faces at me as I shift my weight on them," she teased. "It burns a little – I may sit while you find those sticks."

Miakoda helped her friend to a large stone, treating her as though she had suddenly come down with a fatal disease.

Hausisse chuckled at this; "You are silly, Mia. Just help me get home before my parents arrive and I will be fine."

Mostly ignored, the first few drops of rain brought the group's conversation to a slow mumble; the village would not be reached until after nightfall at the pace they currently kept, and if rain settled in, the injured one would require even more assistance.

Feeling her own pressure to liven the spirits of her friends, Hausisse inhaled one large breath and shouted in a sing-song manner, " I may be broken but I cannot fall. With the help of my friends, I will stand tall."

She craned her head a bit until she met Miakoda's smile; this was a game the girls played all the time when they found themselves bored or trying to cause a distraction.

Joining in right away, Mia added her own words to the song, eyeballing Nosh and Chogan until they finally gave in and decided to follow along in their play.

Only one of the boys opted out,claiming his voice and sense of word choice would only ruin the fun for everyone else. Nosh only poked his friend a couple of times in hopes of persuading him to change his mind, but stopped once he realized his friend had settled on the verge of a terrible bad mood.

He understood. He also knew he and the others would reach their destination in the same amount of time whether they were upset or in a pleasant frame of mind; Nosh generally chose the latter whenever possible – and with Miakoda next to him, he saw nothing to be upset about.

Taking her position next to the one she knew favored her, the pair trudged forward while Hausisse rolled her eyes each time Mia glanced up at Nosh through her rain-soaked hair.

At least, she had to grin, the sight of those two kept her mind off her foot ...

The sun gone – as well as the last of their food provisions – the group at last rounded the final batch of lopsided madronas before their village popped into view, a smallish plank house belonging to the tribe's oldest couple to be the first one to peek out at them.

Chogan's chin lifted slightly,indicating to his friends they aught to wait for the girls to catchup, fully expecting that in the morning, he would be expected to deal with parental scowling from Hausisse's home as well as his own.

Moments later, the familiar sound of walking sticks scratching against the muddied earth alerted the boys to the fact that their journey had come to a close.

"So," Nosh grinned, "who will be the one to explain to my uncle why we have no pelts to show for our time away from the village? He has no soft spot for female intrusion," he reminded them. "and I did promise to bring him two for taking care of my chores while I was away."

His uncle was not one to play with,from what they heard tell of the man.

"This is my fault," Miakoda spoke up as she and Hausisse slipped in behind him. "If he will accept a new skin bag instead, I will be happy to dye and decorate my share of the shells and make him the most beautiful bag in the village. This is what I would like to do; you would have those pelts if it were not for my -"

He cut her apology short of becoming a self-condemning rant as one open palm rested on her shoulder.

"I will try to reason with him. Thank you for the offer, I will present it to him," he nodded. "For now, though, you must help Hausisse to her bed. She must be even more exhausted than the rest of us."

From the corner of her eye, Mia watched as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

"Yes, she must rest for a few days; I will tend to her chores while her foot mends." Grinning, she mentioned, "Never again will I feel the urge to river-search for shells – perhaps shells from bird's eggs will serve a purpose well enough."

He shrugged, joining her attempt in making the best of the situation.

"Oh, I do not know; perhaps one day we will go back," he winked.

Coughing to break up the conversation, Chogan yanked playfully on his friend's arm.

"Tomorrow you will have time to make your plans. Goodnight, girls," he nodded his chin and turned away.

Hobbling forward toward her home, Hausisse swung an elbow into Mia's rib cage.

"I thought you had no intention to marry that boy," she grinned.

"Oh, but that was before he made plans to take me back to the river ... a girl has to replenish her shell collection, you know."