Chapter 45

I had looked for suitable saplings since we started and had to settle for rocks which I now carried. Nearer the river though I found some small trees satisfactory for making a bow or a spear.

"What do you want with that?" I heard.

"I cannot match your fighting ability but I can make weapons. If there is something to eat in the water then we have to catch it. Either we spear it or tickle it." The last part needed an explanation about letting a fish come into our grasp as it searched for food.

With some unexpected cooperation, New Leaf pulled the three saplings out of the soil that I wanted. Rocks were easy to find. Some had flaws in them that I used to split them. The sharper edges made cleaning the saplings much easier.

I saved three of the stones in my pockets and now carried two spears and a staff. It was not easy but I cleaned the bark off the spears except where I would hold them when throwing. Making points was much harder. A fire would do a much better job.

When we got to the river I explained about the wildlife that could be in it. I was able to see some area with fry and suggested that the queen stand in this area and wait for some larger predator to come to her.

"What are you going to be doing?"

"I am going to find a similar spot and try to spear a fish." Again she did not respond.

I went upstream as I looked into the water. There were some large fish but no way of getting them. I did pass some berries and sampled them. They were not quite ripe but they were the same ones we enjoyed in Toxlo.

The water was cloudy with suspended matter. My footsteps chased some fish into deeper water and I just found a spot that had been vacated then I waited. In the meantime I though about the queen. She reminded me of a child that desperately needed her bottom spanked. Her thoughts were clear but I had no idea how intelligent she was. I also knew now that there was a lot more to the Wikki than I thought.

One fish about sixty centimetres came near. It probably came back to the area I had chased it from. My spear was ready when it settled and I drove the spear down. It thrashed for only a few seconds before remaining still. The head was almost severed, so I let that stay in the water and threw the remainder onto the shore. The smell of blood brought larger predators. A clova that was a metre across the main shell came near and I studied it to see how I could tackle this prey. Its shell was proof against my crude spears.

Very carefully I used the spear to pick up the fish head and move it toward the shore. In a few minutes, the crab like animal came to the fish head and I used my spear to flip the back portion of the clova out of the water and hopefully on its back.

The clova was very heavy and I had difficulty moving it. The startled creature used its powerful tail to get it back into deeper water and this threw its balance off. I compensated enough to throw it sideways. Moving closer as quick as I could, I used the spear again to hook under its body and threw the heavy animal into an even shallower area and luckily on its back.

I saw its small brain and drove the spear into this area. It gave off a high pitch squeak and then did not move apart from the tail slowly moving back and forth.

There was far more food here than I needed. "New Leaf, I have a Clova her for you. They are good tasting."

There was no answer. I looked through the brush to where she should be and saw her looking intently into the water. I pulled the clova much further from the water and put the fish beside it and walked to New Leaf.

I looked under her and found nothing, not even the fry. Behind her I saw a mound of something that had not been in the water before. "The fish must sense you. They have not returned."

"Where is your prey?"

"Upstream a hundred metres or so. Would you like to come and share my catch?"

She looked at me with anger now and I wondered why until I remembered that she had not got anything yet. She did get out of the water and I saw a stain on top of the water similar to oil.

"New Leaf, you are a good hunter but perhaps fishing is new to you. Did you piss or shit in the water as you waited?"

"Why?"

"If you did, you released your scent into the water. The fish may not want to come near then. Fish are very good at smelling."

I got no reply but I knew that she knew now.

New Leaf could smell my catch and hurried to it. When I got there, she had eaten the fish and was busy dismembering the clova. Her front appendages were strong. They ripped apart the carcass and she fed. She was a poor guest and ate everything. I went back into the water and used the fish head again.

She looked at me for more and I said, "The claws have very good flesh in them." She went back to her inspection of the carcass but could not rip the claws apart. "Pick a claw up and strike it against a rock to crack the shell then pull it apart."

I noticed that this girl was packed to the gills with food now. The amount of food she had eaten reminded me of a shrew. She was probably frightened silly and eating to compensate.

She did as I suggested and then crouched down to watch for more food that I would get for her. "There are some berries behind you. They are good to eat. Grotto has tried them and liked them."

"I want flesh."

"Is that instinct or are the females of your race strictly carnivorous?" She didn't answer and I just waited for a fish to come near.

Another fish came near eventually and I speared it like the first. This time I kept the fish in my hand. I used a sharp rock fragment to cut off what I wanted and handed the rest to New Leaf. She just grasped to portion offered and ate it quickly.

I cleaned my own portion and ate it raw. It rained a lot but not all the time. The natives used fire but usually had to find a sheltered spot for the fuel to dry. Most of the time food was eaten raw. It was not my favourite way but I was in the equivalent of Rome now. Besides I had no fire.

We continued on our search for better trees. When it was getting dark I said, "Let's camp here tonight. It is as good as any other place near here."

New Leaf studied the tree for a few seconds and scurried up it as if she were walking on level ground. There was a vine on this tree and this is why I chose it. I was able to climb the trunk with one spear until I got high enough to get onto a branch. I went higher until I found a more comfortable spot to spend the night.

I said in the direction of my family, "I am doing fine. The queen is a pain in the ass. This negotiations may take a long time. Tell Grotto that I am going to take care of her if I can. I love you all." I could not hear a reply but I felt warm nevertheless.

New Leaf was higher in the tree and over to one side. The wind rocked the tree during the night but strangely it felt comforting.

I woke up during the night but there was no serious problems. When I got up I looked at New Leaf and saw her as I had seen her during the night. I could feel elation, fear and triumph, all in the course of a few minutes. I guess she was dreaming now. When I tried to listen closer was when I found the thick layer of fear under everything she was doing.

Trying to look at the situation from her point of view was difficult. The fact was that she was kidnapped and forced to live in a dangerous situation with an alien that looked very odd to her was stressful. This was a far better alternative to what she had planned for me and our world.

I stood and stretched my muscles then did it again and again before I decided to look around for breakfast. There did not seem to be any predators about but there were some paskas. They were similar to large rabbits. They served the same purpose in the food chain.

When I got to the ground I found a place to take a dump. I dug a hole with the spear and used leaves to clean up after. There were other types of berries nearby and I spent half an hour gorging on the fruit. Eventually the wind shifted and I smelt the Wikki shit that New Leaf must have dropped during the night came to me. It would be easy for a predator to follow that scent if they chose to do so.

I heard some leaves move and saw New Leaf climbing down. I picked some additional berries by the time she came near. I handed her a double handful of berries and said, "These are good."

She actually struck the back of my hand and the berries flew away. "I will not eat that."

I was pissed off now and said, "Well go and hunt for what you want. I am not going to stop you."

I detected the anger again and she prowled around looking for game. I recovered my other spear and staff then ate a few more berries before I headed in the direction of some thicker growing trees.

New Leaf was not successful in hunting and I saw her eating berries when she figured I could not see her. During the afternoon, New Leaf came close as if looking for me to gain her food. She was hungry but I think it was still a case of nerves for her.

I was not a great hunter but I explained about sound, the direction of the wind and scent. She did not want to listen but she did. I explained a lot more about patients and the necessity of learning the habits of the prey or the enemy. It worked better the latter way and I talked about the Chlorins, Khartts and the Procent.

"Where did you learn about these races. I was told that you did not know of them."

"The All Mother looked into your computer before she talked to you. I was given an upload of the data that was found. I also gave Captain Grotto a list of improvements that will help you in your efforts to fight your enemies."

"Our enemies are the Aristis too."

"Then use the weapons on them. I feel that with better leadership they would not bother you again."

"How did your All Mother defeat our screen, encryption and the computer itself?"

"I believe that the All Mother and her sisters are actually the subconscious manifestations of the Tomma mind. I am a human but I love the Tomma. Their subconscious may have taken the information about technical subjects from my mind but the Tomma are learning to make ships and computers by themselves. The improvements I suggested were actually arrived at from the information in your own data banks."

"How is that?"

"We do not know of the Khartts or the Procent. When your observers put their information in the computers, we deduced how your enemy must be able to make their weapons. From that point, we made a few improvements to them."

"You said that your All Mother took this information when she attacked. How could you make improvements in the design never mind finding the underlying principles?"

"You forget that we have Wyatt on the planet and our other computers nearby. All of them are linked by ultrawave. Those boys are smart. I give them all of the information I find and they see if there is a way to use it to further our knowledge."

"Our computers cannot do that."

"The Wikki have their communal mind. It is a good method of communicating. You do not make adequate use of computers though and you have very few powerful units. The fact that you have so few powerful computers, restricts your ability to manipulate data like this."

"I was told that you were exceptional in your ability to change crystals."

"For some reason that is true. It has to be luck because nobody on earth was aware of the ability nor even the ability to communicate with our minds."

"I remember you saying that you would help the Wikki people."

"I did. I see the vast majority of the Wikki as good people. The babies are animals and that, in a way, is similar to humans. I did not know of the complicated interactions at the leadership level." I felt her anger and added, "Humans are much the same. Deals are made that are not in the best interests of the race. Tell me about the world of a queen or a would-be queen."

"Why should I do that?"

"Because I asked. I am trying to understand you. If we truly understand each other then we can see how we can help each other."

She thought for a few minutes and I waited. "That information is not something that I will mention."

"Then tell me about yourself. You sound young."

I felt more anger and she said, "Why do you say that?"

"Right now I felt anger coming from you. A young person does not always put much thought on a subject before they react. An adult would think about the reasons why the person asked that question and try to see the idea from the other's perspective. Being young is not bad. It just means that you are starting to gather information so you can use it effectively later. My children are young and they ask questions. I still ask a great many questions myself. Some are to biological people and some are computer people. Anger plays very little in how I react."

"We show anger to get quicker results."

"That may work and may work well with your race. The problem as I see it, is that your anger is so strong. The next logical step is to kill. If you showed less anger then you have room to get more angry and refrain from killing."

"Many Wikki die. It makes us strong. The weak or stupid are removed from their posts."

"It may do just that but you need competent people to fight for your race. If they are all killed then you are defenceless. A study of how the Wikki act would be a good thing to start. You may find others ways of getting the most out of people without killing them and you have the added benefit of allowing them to live and continue to serve you."

We continued our dialogue as we walked. I told New Leaf about humans, Aristis and Tomma. Nadac's memories had a lot about the drives of an Aristis from a psychiatrist's point of view. New Leaf after a while told me more about the Wikki as she saw them.

We crossed streams as we hunted for food. The large Wikki I found out needed some flotation device because they could not swim. New Leaf had never had a chance to learn this before.

I used my rocks to take down small game so I could feed us. New Leaf still did not understand that I had to have some food too. I felt that she was spoiled but she also may not know any better.

When we had to travel through a muddy area, I had to get behind her and remove large leaches before they could become attached. The larger ones New Leaf ate herself.

Later I asked, "The human body is not an efficient converter of food energy to mechanical energy. I was wondering about your appetite, New Leaf. You eat a lot. Is it to grow or is it because you need so much to just get by?" New Leaf did not answer as if she had not heard me so I let the matter drop until later. I knew that the other Wikki only ate from the food synthesiser apart from the chocolate that now came our way. The leadership must eat their food the same way that humans did apart from it being raw.

The Tappic found us later in the day. We had disturbed a group that had just fed on a large animal. That did not stop nearly a hundred adults from chasing us. I had difficulty getting up a tree in time until New Leaf reached down and grasped my clothing and pulled me up to a branch out of reach of the Tappic.

"Thank you New Leaf. I would be dying by now if you had not pulled me up here."

She did not acknowledge me and said, "What are we going to do now?"

"The Tappic will go back to their last kill while a few wait here. We are just going to have to wait for them to leave. I can kill a few from here but you will have to go down and bring up the animals."

"I can kill my own food," she said hotly.

We waited over an hour for the majority of the birds to leave for their kill. Over the next hour more and more left. It was getting dark now and New Leaf dropped to the ground on top of one of the Tappic and bit it. She ran to not away from those near until she killed seven more. She got four up into the tree before the main flock came back.

"You did that very well. I might have matched you if I had a very good spear or a sword but I would not be able to do more."

"You would match me?" She was angry again. "I used none of your weapons or tools to do what I did. You could not match me or any Wikki."

I debated whether to reply or not, then said, "Humans are weak. There is no denying that. It is the fact that we are weak that cause us to find ways of making tools to help us. An experienced human warrior with the right tools can do a great deal. It is the brain that we have to fight with, not our bodies."

"The Wikki could defeat your people easily."

"That is true but you too must use tools. First you have to come to our planet. Then you must use your ships to kill because if you use your hand weapons on the ground we would be able to do the same thing. Your people are fast but humans would kill a great number of you too."

"We would kill more."

She was talking like a child.

"New Leaf, you are intelligent. I did not speak of fighting the Wikki. I mentioned how much of a warrior you were and how a human had to be good to start with then have to use high quality weapons to try to match you. If there were more Tappic on the ground the human would die while you would survive. I am not competing against the Wikki."

She looked at me but this time the anger was less. She ripped into the carcass of the Tappic. As she ate, she threw the portions she did not want at the birds below. She was contemptuous of the birds and I guess me too. The birds ate the offerings but made a lot of noise because they wanted us too.

It was only after New Leaf had finished her meal that she offered me any of it. I was not about to go to the carcass though. She had used venom to kill and this may do the same thing to me. I was also thinking of revenge in the next few days by hunting for just my own needs until she learned but she was alien and had her own set of morals.

I could still not detect anybody other than New Leaf but I gave my report and sent my love. I mentioned my fuzzy feeling but not being able to receive. I told them that I felt that I was getting somewhere with New Leaf but it was like pulling teeth.

Later that night I heard more than the wind blowing in the boughs of the tree. I looked around with my sight and saw a full grown dossla coming down a branch from a neighbouring tree. They were the size of a Bengal tiger and well suited for climbing with the claws they had. They did have the reflexes of a cat but they had been domesticated by the Tomma like dogs were on earth.

New Leaf was asleep. I yelled and banged my spear against the tree now. The cat and the Wikki were now very alert. "There is a dossla coming down the branch after your food. I would appreciate it if you did not kill it. Let it have the food you do not want or chase it away."

New Leaf wondered about my words and the dossla had just stopped to review its strategy. New Leaf made her decision and bounded after the cat and the cat turned tail to run up the tree and then jump to the one it had come from. New Leaf ran the same way but stopped before she could leave the tree. The dossla had seen that it was pursued and kept going to another tree but then waited as if prepared to take a stand there.

I remembered the tales about the animals. From my experience with animals, I had to guess that the dossla was smarter than a dog. They were seen in the Tomma villages. The Tomma used them like watchdogs and for hunting. Their appetites were their only bad point as the village had to feed them. If they had to fend for itself, they reverted to the wild and left. The animal though was omnivorous and was able to eat fruits or cultivated vegetables. The latter worked better if the vegetables were cooked to aid digestion.

The animal did not come back that night. I felt anger again but it was not directed at me. New Leaf now felt that she had to perform guard duty and I let her have all of it. I got some more sleep and felt comforted about my protector.

New Leaf was surly in the morning. The Tappic had moved on looking for food they could run down or trap. The dossla I could not find. New Leaf dined on Tappic while I went to the ground to find something for me to eat for myself.

We left later but New Leaf was monitoring the branches in the trees as well as the ground. There was a lot of meat left in out old tree. The dossla may be able to eat the Tappic even though the animal was killed by Wikki venom. I would ask New Leaf what she knew about the subject but I felt that very few outsiders had a chance to be fed from a Wikki hunt.

It rained again that day but we kept walking. The water poured off of New Leaf's body easily and I did not feel any extra anger beyond the low level amount she felt at our situation. I hit a paska with a rock and ate the animal without looking at my companion. There was enough in one animal to keep me going today when you factored in the berries, nuts and grain I came across.

It was later that afternoon I was more lucky and took a deer like animal. I used a flaked rock to cut up the carcass and gave the majority to New Leaf. The intestines I cleaned at a stream and proceeded to put a stone head on one of my spears. When I was done, I took off my clothes and washed my body in the rain before putting the wet clothes back on.

New Leaf said, "That thing between your legs, is that used to impregnate females?"

"Yes. In a human, blood fills the organ to make it stiff. The Aristis modified their body to change this to a muscle that can be much stronger."

"Show me how it works."

"I would, but I asked you if you would talk about your people and you refused. Why should I be the one that gives the majority of the information?"

"I am a queen."

"We went over this before, I am a king and at least your equal in responsibilities."

The anger was not as strong. "Tell me about that animal that climbed into the tree?"

I gave a description of the cat and what it was capable of. I was not shy about telling her that the cat stood an equal chance of killing her too. The fact that the cat was unsure was all that kept us safe last night. Then I gave how it interacted with the Tomma when it was domesticated and when it was not.

"Why do they want such an animal around them that they will not eat?"

"That is a good question but I have to go into the mind of a mammal. Instinct compels us to nurture our young. The young dossla are malleable in that they will live in a Tomma society as if it were their own. They think that they are a Tomma or that the Tomma are one of their kind.

"The animal will hunt with the Tomma to feed the group. By then it will have known that it is not in the dominant position. It is smart enough to obey simple commands. The villages my mates came from have a few of the cats. Humans have in the past domesticated an animal similar to the dossla. It worked out very well for both species. The human animal was called a dog. It could not climb trees and was not as supple as what the Tomma have.

"The cat has a smooth fur like yours. When the dossla fur is stroked, the animal thinks that it is being licked by its mother. The animal enjoys this and makes a noise to show that it is happy. The sound and the pleasant feel of the fur make the Tomma happy too.

"The cooperation between species is good. Both groups will protect the young of the other. Each group can do something useful the other group cannot do."

New Leaf was quiet now and I hoped she was thinking.

We made camp earlier and I tried to get both spears altered. New Leaf did not talk but she did watch what I did. When we made a place to sleep I noticed that New Leaf did not go as far away as she had done the other nights.

The next day we were caught in the open when a very large flock of Tappic came upon us. They did not worry when I killed them with spears because they were thinking of the group. New Leaf and I retreated to a small river and I used my staff to keep us safe. New Leaf was at a disadvantage here but the Tappic were even more so.

As we both fought side by side with us standing in a metre of water I said, "We have to get across the river. The birds are swimming around us."

"I can't swim."

"Hold your breath and I will pull you across."

"I can't do that."

We hacked at the Tappic but I had to now move to deeper water to keep our backs safe. There was at least a hundred on the water now and swimming toward us.

I must have killed or rendered unconscious, fifty of the animals while New Leaf got an equal number. The bodies drifted downriver or drowned and did the same thing.

I said, "Are you willing to trust me now?"

She was hard pressed at the moment and the water slowed down her movements. "I will try."

I threw my staff at some of the birds and grabbed New Leaf. She wrapped her legs around me. I could hardly move and she was not releasing me. I sank below the water and she had to abandon me as she pushed me down so she could shoot up.

I came up for air then went to her once more. The Tappic were striking us with their beaks but now New Leaf was using them for flotation devices. I got close again and pulled one of her legs into the faster moving water. She fought off the swimming birds as I towed her to a small promontory that was protected by a dense thicket of small trees.

The birds were drowning and New Leaf grasped for more. Many times she was underwater until a bird came close. When I got close and she clung to me and tried to climb up. I just sank underwater until she abandoned me and we tried it again.

When she came up the third time she was almost ready to bite me. "Why do you do that?"

"Do not climb on me. I will not let you drown. Use the Tappic to float or hold your breath." New Leaf still tried to climb up and after one more dunking I got her across the small river.

I got to shore and used rocks to strike the birds. New Leaf was beat but tried to defend herself. The birds got to shore but could not get behind us or even come on our flanks. The flock was being decimated.

After enough time the birds pulled back but had to work hard to stay in position because of the current in the river. The ones on the water got too tired and drifted downriver and a while later those on the shore followed.

New Leaf looked to be very tired now but angry enough to overcome this and attack me. She stood as if ready to fight. I said before she could decide what to do, "You are a foolish Wikki. Your actions would have killed me and then you would have died in the water. I know it was instinct for you to try to save your own life but your rational mind has to overcome those type of fears."

"I could have died. You made me go into the water."

"If you had stayed on the shore, you would have died by now. I am trying to keep you safe but I had to fight. Later I needed both my hands to pull us to this spot."

"I should have left you and ran to a tree."

"That is an option we may have to use one day. I may have survived on my own but I cannot climb all of the trees. We have to make compromises in life. We are both in danger. I know that we are stronger as a team than if we are separate. Do you still wish to stay with me?"

With some difficulty she said, "I wish to kill you."

"Then we have a problem. You let your anger rule you and you lose an ally. That is not that bad except you are the leader of a portion of your race. If you choose wrong then not only you suffer but so do all the Wikki."

New Leaf seemed to come to a decision and just turned quickly and started to feed on the nearest bird as if she were attacking me. A half hour later I swam back over the river. When I got out I saw New Leaf watching me. This time I felt fear once more but it was different. I recovered my two spears before the birds that came back to feed on the dead.

I swam back dragging the two spears and the birds followed until I got near New Leaf. They had learned and didn't come any closer. It took an hour until we managed to slip away from the Tappic. We hurried away so we would be out of sight if the birds looked our way.

Two days later I realised that I did not see any Tomma in our travels or even their villages. The highlands had a higher proportion of the population because it was relatively dry. Farming was not extensive but I saw none of the plots. I did find some of the old roads but even these were mostly washed out in the intervening centuries.

New Leaf did not seem to have recovered from her swim and was even more standoffish. She was gaining weight I could see but also some muscle too. We came to a small mountain range that we had to climb or we could just stay put. It was more fun to travel though, at least for me. There were some caves and also some dry wood. We had our first fire and New Leaf simply stared at it as if mesmerised.