Totem of the Bear - World of Ranicke 1

Chapter 5

He listened to them for most of the morning and did his best to learn some of the new chording on the Gitturn before his shoulder started aching and he was getting tired.  “Sorry but I need to get something to eat and lay down for a while.  My shoulder is starting to ache.  Can someone show me to Sorrel’s tent please?”  Jim carefully stood up and handed the instrument to the boy who had loaned it to him.  “Thank you and I enjoyed this morning.”

The two little Inu boys hopped up and one grabbed a hand.  “We’s can show you to the food tables and then to her tent if you want.”  Their tails were wagging and their floppy ears were all the way forward when one said that.

“Okay you two though I have a feeling that you really want to get to the tables and some food.”  It was close to noon as best he could tell and grinned when they gave him a sort of toothy grin.  “That is what I thought.  Lead on you two.”  He followed them to the food tables and grinned as they grabbed some small plates and grabbed what they liked.  Keeping in mind what Sorrel had said about his needing lots of protein he made sure he had plenty of meat as well as fruits and veggies before they led him to her tent.

After carefully sitting down he started eating and was for the most part enjoying the food.  Some of it was sort of odd but mostly edible.  The fruits and veggies were pretty good though he did find one fruit that almost made him gag.  “Ugh, not getting that again.”  He moved it off to one side and frowned when the two boys snickered at him.  “Next time tell me or I might have to growl at you.”

Both boys snickered at him when he grumbled at them.  They thought it was pretty funny that he almost choked on the fruit.  Only a few liked it even though it was full of good for you things.  They kept eating and about the time they were done a woman walked up and frowned at them.

“So here you are you stinkers.  You should have come back to the tent and let me know.”  She could have been their mother from looking at her.  She had a similar coloration and ears as the boys but something told him she wasn’t their mother.  She was dressed in clothing similar to everyone else only in her case it was dark browns and tan’s that blended with her coloring quite well.  She had short fur on her face and the parts he could see of her.

“Sorry ma’am but I asked them were the food was and where Sorrel’s tent was.  I was getting tired and they showed me.”  His arm was back in the sling as best possible though he was using it to eat with.  He looked at her and she wasn’t too bad looking though she had some canine features in her face including a short muzzle and the black fur on most of her face though there were tan highlights down the front of her neck and on her arms.

She nodded to him but frowned at the pups.  “They know better and they know they need to check in with me throughout the day.  I would hate to tell their mother than I didn’t know where they were.”  She glowered at them and they lowered their ears to show they were sorry.  “So you are the new human huh?  Welcome to the tribe.  If you would like feel free to come over to my tent and enjoy a meal.  I tend to do some of the cooking myself since I tend to keep an eye on a number of pups of all ages.”  She smiled at him and then looked at the two boys.  “Come on you two.  Your mother is looking for you since you have a few chores to do at home.”

Jim nodded at her.  “I am the new human and thank you for the offer.  I might take you up on that in a few days when I am feeling better.”  After they left he placed his plate on the small table and stripped down to the loin cloth and rolled into the bed and shortly was asleep.  How long he slept he wasn’t sure but when he woke he found Sorrel sitting at the table and it looked like she was cleaning some nuts.

The last few days had been much the same for him as he finished healing.  In the morning he would take a bath with Sorrel and then settle down with the boys who were learning music.  Once that was done he would get something to eat.  Then as best possible he was working with some of the warriors to regain some of his strength.  That was interesting since they were trained in such a different manner than he had been.  To them their job was to protect the clan and that was how they were trained.  His training had been to kill and then not worry about them coming back.  He was doing his best to try and learn their style and not teach them his.