Lovers in the Woods (16 page)

“I understand. Where did you come from,
Rakan?”

The old man squinted as if he did not get the
meaning of her question. He touched his bald head, smacked his lips
and asked his young son to bring him water.

“I’ve always lived here,” he said by a while.
“There is no other settlement around.”

“Yes, but there must have been a first
settler. Someone who came here in the beginning and carved the
first hut out of a tree.”

“It was no one I know of. All of the people
you see have lived here since they were born. And you? You had long
to travel to find us.” He nodded to himself. “But we are glad that
you did this traveling.”

“Yes.” Rayenne forced a smile on her face.
“I’m happy, too.”

The men around were glad to hear that.

* * * *

Enveloped in a soft material that smelled of
flowers and grass, Sajitar slept, feeling safe and sound,
undisturbed by pain or fear. He was floating comfortably in a warm
cloud and only his face was touched by a cool but pleasant breeze.
He knew there was peace around him and that he would live to see
old age and be happy for all time to come. Happiness would develop
from women and children, from success in hunting and the carving of
wood to pieces of art. He would be praised for his skills and
become a valuable member of a growing society. They would all love
him if he loved them.

The light of a new day and the small sounds
of birds around finally woke him. Clinging to the wisps of his
dream, he opened his eyes only to stare into the large black
compound eyes of a winged Horlyn twice his size. He cried out in
shock, freed his hands from the soft cover and tried to crawl
backwards. He put his hands on the rim of his makeshift bed, but
did not move an inch. The Horlyn tweeted and lowered its antennae
as if wishing him a good morning.

Panting, Sajitar divided his attention
between the calmly waiting Horlyn and his body. His chest and belly
were covered with a milky mass. He remembered the Horlyn applying
some cool liquid to the wound, but now it was hard enough to hamper
his movements. He could breathe, but not sit up, and when he clawed
at the cover he hurt so bad he let go. He was trapped in a warm bed
and watched by an insectoid that would certainly not allow him to
crawl away.

The Horlyn made no move so Sajitar dared to
take his eyes off of him and look around. Branches with thick
leaves shaded him from the sunlight. He saw a patch of blue sky
shimmering through. Realizing his situation, he made an effort to
turn sideways by using his hands to pull himself to the rim of his
makeshift bed.

The look down made him gasp. He was lying
on the crossing of branches in one of the giant trees like a young
bird in a nest. There was no telling how far up he was kept since
he could not see the ground. He struggled to get a tighter grip of
the rim, fighting sudden nausea. The Horlyn still waited patiently,
only watching his attempts without helping or hampering
him.

A helpless laugh escaped him. Even without
the presence of a winged Horlyn, there was only a snowball’s chance
in hell that he would make it down to the ground in one
piece.

Exhausted, he rolled back to stare at the
sunlit leaves. He felt no pain, no cold and under different
circumstances he would have been glad to be alive.

* * * *

“I brought her here, so why don’t you just
leave and I stay?”

“Because you’re but a youngling, Bajan,” a
deep voice answered. “You have to wait for your turn. I am
older.”

“Finders, keepers.”

“Don’t be
insolent! Now, leave me alone, will ya?”

“I won’t leave before she accepts my
present.”

Rayenne groaned. Bajan and that other man
were the fifth and sixth wooer standing virtually on her doorstep.
The other three women she shared the tree hut with giggled
softly.

“Go, collect
your presents and choose the man you want.”

“Is that necessary? I mean, I already told
the others that I have a partner. He’s my companion or however you
call the man in your life.”

Rahay shook her head. She had
beautiful red locks that framed a small, round face. To Rayenne,
she was the most attractive woman in this village, but, as she had
learned, attractiveness alone was not the most important attribute.
The two women bearing children were regarded as crown of
creation.
Probably until the next woman gets
pregnant
.

“
Your man is not here and
no one knows when or if he will return. In that time, all men of
age will come to you. I don’t grasp your
one-man-argument
. We all can have sex with whomever we want. The
village will grow with every newborn child.”

“Where I come from, a woman chooses one man
to live with. And she stays with him for her lifetime.”

“Maybe. But you live here now. And I ask you
to take what these men have to offer. They will not leave until you
do so.”

Sighing, Rayenne received the presents, made
no choice and returned to her small pallet. The flowers and a small
bowl with seeds were stowed away. She heard the men grumble and
then, later, walk away.

Rayenne lay awake for a long time, thinking
of Sajitar and praying for his return.

During the day, Rayenne took up every chore
that led her out of the village. She went to collect berries, she
fetched water from a nearby spring and she even volunteered to
fetch hot water from the well for the evening meal. It was hard
work and her help was appreciated. Everyone praised her and
especially the men watched her every step. She felt measured and
scrutinized in a unique way. Not every conversation was unpleasant,
yet she knew the men would not wait weeks to make a final move. The
other women had told her that mating was a common act among them.
There was not so much as an invitation that had to be accepted.

Though she had tried, there had been no
opportunity to go back and follow the Horlyn track. The villagers
advised her not to walk too far and she never left the village
alone. Even Bajan, who turned out to be a learned young man for his
age, kept her from searching for the Horlyns that had taken
Sajitar.

Every time Rayenne mentioned the Horlyns, her
companions smiled. In the hour before the meal was served, she
strayed away from the activity in the village. Thannis, who had
been too occupied with work until now to take much notice of the
newly arrived, followed her for a while without talking. When she
halted to look around nervously, he approached her with a
smile.

“They are friends, Ray, believe us. We have
to thank them for many things. We also exchange many things.”

Rayenne leaned against a trunk and lowered
her head. “You do?”

Thannis kept a
formal distance and spread his hands. He had short black hair
turning grey in spots and his voice was as gentle as were his light
brown eyes. His smile told of warmth and equanimity and for the
first time Rayenne felt at ease. She could not tell why Thannis was
different, yet she cherished his presence. When she slid down to
sit, Thannis lowered himself on the ground, Indian style. He
pointed at a weed that carried small orange fruits at the outer
leaves.

“For example, we give them cooked nuts and
receive some creamy powder in return that’s truly delicious.”

“Couldn’t you find that by yourself?”

“Why should we if they support us? And it’s
not that we just wait for them to bring food. Not like Rakan said.
Since the village is growing with every season, the Color-changers
expect us to take care of ourselves while the trade still goes on.
It is a true exchange. They also give us tools or show us places
where to find seeds and soft grass to weave baskets.”

“You mean symbiosis.”

He pursed his lips and then, as if he had to
ponder long, nodded.

“Yes, I think you could call it like that.”
He laughed suddenly and scratched behind his prominent ear. “Not
that I would call us small animals that live off a bigger one. I
still think of us as higher beings.”

She shook her head.

“By what I have
heard these beasts attack men and abduct them so that they never
find home again. Or they do things to them so that they go mad.
There was much talk about that when I got to Belthraine.”

“No, that’s not true.” Thannis still had his
hand open, palms up, searching for words. “That’s not their way.
They are peaceful. They eat bark and fruits and what we bring
them.” He shrugged and cocked his head. “Maybe they only try to eat
it because they want to know what we eat. However, I’ve never seen
them eat meat. Did you see them do this?”

She wanted to answer, but the
same moment thought that she had never watched a Horlyn swallow an
animal or gnaw on bones. Every encounter on their journey had ended
with the Horlyns leaving quietly. They had not even attacked the
B-horses, though they had grazed close by.
Maybe that was the reason why the
B-horses did not run away.

Thannis lowered his chin.
“I can tell of the
fight within your soul. You ask what you shall believe. It is not
unheard of that convictions can be overcome. Even by the
truth.”

Rayenne frowned and bent forward to look
in his eyes. “Did you experience the same? Were you brought here
from another place?”

“Why do you ask?”

Rayenne took his sudden squinting as a
sign. “Call it a hunch. All of the settlers claim to have lived
here forever, even old Rakan. But how can that be? There must have
been some men and women who once started the village. Some must
have made the decision to come into the heart of Emerald Green and
found a village. They didn’t fall from the sky!” And when he did
not reply, she asked, “Are you one of them? Please, Thannis, all of
this around here is too…strange to be true. Help me
understand.”

He looked at her, mild amusement in his
eyes.

“
Only because I pour my wisdom out over you
does not make me a traveler. I have lived here as far back as I can
think. If I had ever lived elsewhere it was beyond that day and I
can’t remember it.”

She hit the
ground with her hands, angered by his mild tone.

“
Why does everybody lie to
me? Animals as well as mankind develop over centuries, millennia.
Men
have only been known on Belthraine for a day more than a
hundred standard years. So if you claim to have lived here forever,
there must be a reasonable explanation.”

“None that I can give.” He took a deep
breath, closed his eyes and when he opened them again, his
equanimity spread to Rayenne like a soothing wave. “You have to
change your view of this world. The Color-changers are friends and
friends must not be insulted. They are strong and wise. Both traits
should not be meddled with.”

“It’s just—” She lacked the words and Thannis
nodded, understanding her inner turmoil.

“I don’t know where you come from and what
you learned, Ray, but here, the Color-changers are the guardians of
our village. We cooperate with them. We accept what they are and
they reward us for our friendship. That’s all we need for a
peaceful life.”

Rayenne felt her fears
abate.
Had
there been reasons to be afraid at all? The Horlyns are friends,
aren’t they? Then why did Sajitar send me away? Had he known that
the Horlyn would take him?
She hung her head, sunken into misery.

“You will find peace here, too,” Thannis
consoled her, “no matter if your partner returns or not. We have
good people here. Let them love you and love them in return.”

She opened her mouth for a
reply, but it did not come. A Horlyn showed up and Thannis turned
around and greeted it with a wave of his hand. For a flitting
moment, Rayenne expected the creature to wave back, but that would
have been asking too much
.

Chapter
Eight

The sun had already set and the
intens
e smell
of herbs lay in the air. Around the large, flat stone in the
village center Kalyssa and two young women sat and sang,
accompanied by the high notes of a wooden flute Bajan played. The
song was lively and told of the woods and animals and how life
relied on the peaceful coexistence of all inhabitants. Other women,
children and a few men joined the song’s refrain and Rayenne
clapped her hands with them, content and at peace with herself. The
daily chores were done and the gathering at nightfall belonged to
the settlers’ many rituals.

For ten days she had learned of the daily
duties, how the villagers harvested herbs and fruits and how they
plowed their little fields to grow grain. Some men went hunting.
Some undertook the longer journey to a small river to fish and were
not expected back for another two days. Bajan had complained and
quarreled to join the hunting party, but was considered too young
and inexperienced to be among the grown-ups. His comments had been
multi-colored for a village youth, and Rayenne understood his
disappointment. After all, he was no small child and she would have
accepted his company at once, even if he continued wooing. Most men
of the village had let her know of their interest and so far she
had friendly, but distinctively told them to stay away. Right now
she felt many eyes resting on her, maybe searching for a sign,
maybe just curious. Since there were fewer women than men, their
lasting interest was understandable.

The song ended
with cheers and applause. The women accepted the praise, laughed,
and began another tune. Two men stood to dance and, after
introducing themselves with an exaggerated bow, turned clumsily
around each other, shaking hands and finally ending in an embrace.
The settlers laughed heartily, clapped louder and cheered the
dancers into another, equally silly performance.