1 Spring - Sprit Man

She leaned over and looked at her reflection in the clear cold water. Her hair was in twin long black braids and shined of the bear grease she had used in it. They were held in place by the leather band that was around her head. She dipped the skins into the still cold stream. The water still had the icy feel of the melting snows from the mountains. The air in the early morning had the bite of the passing winter, yet it also carried the sweet smell of the coming spring.

Soon the land would be filled with new life and her people would eat well. Gone would be the days of dried meat and vegetables. The hunters of the village were already making new arrowheads and soon they would feast on venison and bear. The great feast would take place not long after the hunts.

The feast was when many of the tribes would gather in friendship, to talk, sing, dance, tell stories, and trade. She could almost taste the food and hear the dancing and singing of the great feast that was to come.

But this year was special for her, for this was the year that she could take a mate and take her place in adult society. It would mean leaving her home and village, since the people did not take a mate from within their small village.

The last few years she had looked over the young boys who would soon become hunters. Once they had proven themselves they would gift pelts to a girl's father as proof that he could provide for her and her children. But the choice of which one she would go with would be up to her.

Now that the skins were filled she lifted the heavy bags on her shoulders and started the trip back to her camp. Her mind was wondering on this find spring day. The day was warming up after the early morning chill, and the bags were heavy that they slowed her steps. Because of her slowed pace she saw the first flower of spring. It white petals shined in the sunshine. The flower would look so pretty in my hair, she thought.

She laid the bags down and stepped off the trail. That was when she heard the grunting sound. She froze listening; it could be a bear just waking up from it's winter nap, she thought as she began to look for a way to escape.

Then she heard the growl again, no it isn't an animal it sounds as if someone is in pain. Slowly she looked around the bare bushes. Following the now recognized sound of someone moaning, she came upon the blood covered figure.

She had seen many warriors hurt, but this person was unlike any that she had ever seen before. He was covered in strange looking skins that had been ripped and torn. But that wasn't what confused her the most. This creature looked like a man, yet his skin was as pale as the moon and his hair was the deep red of ripen berries. She wondered if this was a man or some sprit that had came upon the Earth.

But if he was man or sprit he was injured and it was not the custom of her people to leave one that was hurt all alone. She returned to the water bags and came back with one. She cupped a handful of cool water and began to clean his wounds.

His wounds were many but none would take his life. But he soon would have a fever and that would be harmful. He spoke aloud in his unconscious state. His words were unlike any that she had ever heard before. He must be of the sprit world, she thought. She lifted him up and tried to pour some of the water down his mouth.

"Do not worry, I shall go to my village and bring back help," she said. She may not understand his sprit words but surely he could understand the words of her people.

She ran to her camp and soon several of the hunters returned carrying the stranger into their camp. He was placed in the medicine teepee. The medicine man began mixing herbs for his wounds as he chanted his strange yet most powerful spells.

The day was slowly ending when the medicine man came to her. "Water Barer, his wounds are cleaned and I preyed to the great sprits to heal him. Now we must wait, but he must be kept warm during the cold night or the fever shall over take him."

There was no question that she would be the one to stay in the medicine teepee to make sure the fire stayed lit and kept him warm. It was her duty since she had found him and first given him aid. Her duty to him would not be over till he recovered.

She went to her mother's sister-daughter, who was her own age and her best friend. "I shall stay in the medicine teepee with the sprit man to tend to the fire tonight would you stay with me?" she asked.

Both girls had often spent the nights together telling secrets and talking of the young hunters and wondering what it would be like with them.

This was not the first time that the girls had tended one that had been wounded. As the sun set both girls went to the medicine teepee and enter the small room. There was a fire going in the center which made it very hot inside and some wood to the side to feed the fire so they wouldn't have to open the flips till morning. There was a skin stretched over the fire like a bowl with water and herbs in it. This warm water added a sweet steamy smell to the hot inside air. This would help aid the man in his recovery. There was a basket with a mixture of bear fat and herbs. This would have to be placed onto the wounds during the night.

They lifted up the skins looking at the now nude strange white man. Neither girl had ever seen a person so pale of color nor hair of red before. It was easy for them to believe that this man was indeed a sprit taking the form of a man. His wounds were ready to be cleaned so they took some thin skins and dipped them into the water and bathed the man down. Next they scooped some of the strong smelling grease and rubbed it across his body. They then washed the grease off their hands in the skin over the fire.

After they had cleaned the man both girls were now becoming hot in the steamy teepee. They removed their soft outer skins and walked around nude. There was no embarrassment for them. It was normal for them to strip down in the warm months or in the warm teepee. Often times during the warm months they walked around the camp wearing nothing more then a loincloth. Now they took a blanket and laid it across the strange man. Then both girls sit by the fire talking together as they had done many time before in the past.

"I wonder what it will be like to lay with a man," said Yellow Dear.

It seemed that more and more the girls main conversation revolved around the young hunters and what it would be like to have their own teepee.

"Do you think that you with take a mate during the great feast?" asked Water Barer.

"I might," said Yellow Deer. "I think that Flying High Hawk may ask you; I have seen him looking at you, but then so has Muddy Beaver."

Both girls started to laugh at the joke. Muddy Beaver was small and ran from any girl that came near him. Most of the girls had taken to calling him Scared Beaver. But their laughing stopped when the man let out a loud moan.

They lifted up the blanket and saw that the man was covered in a thin coating of sweat. Yellow Deer threw another log onto the fire and Water Barer placed more grease onto him. Both girls laid beside the man adding their own body heat to his.

Yellow Deer looked over to Water Barer and said, "when you laid with Scared Beaver will you rub him like you did the sprit man?" she asked.

Again both girls started to laugh as they laid next to the fevered man. Soon their laughter died as they fell asleep.

2 Spring - The Hunter

Cursed this land, he thought. He wondered why he had left England to come here and work from sunrise to sunset. The winter had been hard and what little they had grown had been eaten and now he had to go out and hunt to help feed the village. So far his luck wasn't very good and he was hunting in a strange land that he never had been in before. Not only did he have to look for game, he also had to look out for the Godless red devils that lived in this land. All these savages should be wiped off the face of the earth, they had no right to this land that was rightfully theirs by the law of both God and the King, he thought.

His thoughts blocked out the all thoughts and sounds and it proved to be a mistake on his part. He realized this when he heard the deep toughly sounds of a bear. He turned and fired his shot striking the beast in the chest. The monster swung one paw out hitting him in the chest. He felt the claws digging into his flesh and tearing into him. He fell and the beast came toward him, he smelled the foul breath on his face. The man placed his hand under the bear's neck trying to keep the teeth from biting into his own soft neck. With his other hand he pulled the knife out and began to stab the monster.

The bear was not fully awake from his sleep or else he was to weak from his winter nap. He backed off and went in search of easier prey. He looked at his chest and saw it covered in blood. I have to get out of here he thought. The bear may return at any minute.

He tried to stand and it felt as if his head was swimming. He ripped some of his torn shirt and tried to stop the bleeding. He tried to crawl away but he felt the strength in his body draining out. I'm going die here and no one will ever know, he thought.

Slowly he felt his life draining out of his body. He felt the sun beginning to warm his body. Then he heard the bear returning. Here I died, he thought.

As he laid there in pain he thought that he a voice from far away. Something cold and wet touched him touched him. In his fevered state he said, "our father who are in Heaven..." Now he thought something wet was running down his parched throat. Then the darkness over took him.

He seem to come in and out of consciousness. He felt as if he was lifted and carried. Now he thought he was in a dark and hot room. The air smelled sweet and moist. Am I dead, he wondered?

Now he heard voices that seem to be close and yet far away. He understood not a word. Angels he thought. He felt hand rubbing him with something greasy and warm on his body.

Now he laid listening to the sweet voices again. He want to scream out for them to come back to him, but the only sound was a groan of pain. They returned to him, and he felt hands all over his body.

The room seem to get hotter then he felt the angels beside him. They both felt so soft he thought as he drifted asleep.

3 Spring - A New World

He awoke when he felt something moving beside him. His eyes was unaccustomed to his surroundings. The he saw the forms getting up; they were two young girls. They were nude and seemingly unashamed of their nakedness as they moved around the, where was he, he didn't know this place?

One of the girls came over to him and pulled the blanket from his body. He realized that his clothes had been removed and that he was naked as well. The girl looked at him and said something that he did not understand. Fear now grip him, she was a red skin savage! She then took something and began to rub it on his wounds. What evil had they plan for him he thought!

He could not however remove his eyes from her. In his eighteen years he had never seen a woman naked before. His body responded to her touch. He could not cover his shame.

The one that was rubbing the greasy stuff on him said something to the other in her strange tongue and both of them started to laugh.

The other girl came over to him and gave him some water from a water bag. Then both girls slipped on their clothes and left the teepee. He wanted to leave also, but he felt to weak to move.

Soon an old man, dressed in a loincloth with an animal head on his own head enter and began to shake a snake ratter at him. Then he gave him a bitter tasting liquid.

The son of a bitch poisoned me he thought as he again lost consciousness. That night the girls returned with a thin soup for him. He drink it down, never had any food tasted so good he thought.

Now the girls once again exposed his body. They took small skins and dipped it in the warm sweet smelling liquid. They bathed his body with the warm herb sensed water. He wanted to resist them. Savages, didn't they know that a mixture of dirt and sweat protected the body from infection.

Both of them talked to the other in their evil language. They laughed as if they had some god forsaken plans for him.

After they had finished his bath they rubbed some more of the greasy stuff on him, covered him and went to the other side of the fire. For a time he watched hoping they would once again remove their clothes. He fell asleep listening to their voices, disappointed.

Tonight the girls both enjoyed themselves with the sprit man. When they enter the medicine teepee they noticed that he was awake and watched them as the tended the fire and checked on the water and medicine. He ate the soup licking the bottom of the wooden bowl. That is a good sign, they though. Then when Water Barer removed his skin to check his wounds they saw that he was healing up fine. They once again bathed his wounds washing away the poisons. It didn't take the man long to show that he was feeling much better.

Now the girls sit off by themselves talking. "I think that the sprit man likes you," said Yellow Deer to Water Barer. "He seemed to like it when you washed him and I saw you touch him," she joked.

Water Barer was embarrassed by these remarks and tried to act as if she didn't know what Yellow Deer was talking about. But the truth was that she was looking at the sprit man and she had marveled at his man thing. She had often wondered what it must be like. She wonder what it must feel like for it to be so small then to suddenly have it grow so big and hard. It was truly endowed with great power, she thought.

"I was only cleaning him off when I brushed against it," she replied.

"I knew you touched him," said Yellow Deer. "Well, it best if you stay away from him, he is after all from another world."

For the first time in her life Water Barer felt jealously toward Yellow Deer. Was she trying to take the sprit man for herself, she wondered?

Over the next few nights the girls came in and tended his wounds and left. He was deeply disappointed since he did not get a chance to see them undressed again. Even those they were savages they still had the curves of females. Then on the six day he thought, he had lost track of time in his fevered state, the girls came in with a loin cloth for him. They seemed to want him to go outside. He wondered if he was going to his death.

After the warmth of the teepee the air felt cool to him. The old man ran up and placed a thin skin around his body as he jabbed something in the devil's own tongue.

He saw that there was six teepees and around fifteen people. Everyone seem to be working, not much different then back home he thought. The girls that cared for him were walking out of camp, both carried skins with them. For a second he was afraid being left along with these savages. Then he thought that during the day he had only seen the old man, they must have gone off. Later one of them returned with her skins full of water. The other girl he never saw again.

The sprit man's wounds had begun to heal nicely and he no longer required the girls to sleep in the teepee. Both the girls had other work to do and for a few days their life returned to almost normal.