Part 5

"So tell me," Jena said, turning to Raz and suddenly changing the mood. "Who is smarter, you or Pina?"

"Well, that is hard to say." Raz grinned. "Pina is a research scientist, and I am an engineer, or applied scientist. She discovers truth, and I explore the practical applications of that truth in our reality."

"What an excuse! My math scores are far ahead of yours, so I am smarter!" Pina laughed.

"All the rest of my scores are higher than yours, remember!" Raz retorted.

"Ha! Only marginally! Admit it! In all other areas we are about the same intelligence, and I am far smarter mathematically!" Pina teased.

"I would not call five to ten percent superiority in seven of eight core subjects to be a marginal difference!" Raz returned.

"Ha! You could not even think in my field!" Pina jibed.

"And you cannot achieve ANYTHING!" Raz yelled, losing his temper.

"Enough!" Naz insisted. "You both have a grade average of one hundred percent, so you are equally smart, as Raz initially inferred to his honor."

"Thank you, Naz-Father." Raz said haughtily.

"Yes, I know. I just love bothering him!" Pina giggled.

"Fine. But now we have all heard this conversation, and I have heard it enough in the past weeks to last me until you are adults! You will have many new fields to challenge each other in, so you will not have this conversation again, you understand?"

"Yes, Naz-Father." the twins chorused.

"Perhaps this would be a good time for Jela and Menak to give you two a hunting lesson, while I give Jena her first lesson in sexuality."

There was agreement to this all around.

"We meet back here in, two hours perhaps?" Jela asked.

"Tika's first opponent will arrive in one and one half hours. You will want to see the match." Davdan said.

"Yes, we will. Ninety minutes then." Menak agreed.

"What will you do while we are gone, Davdan?" Pina asked.

"There is always work, Pina." Davdan chuckled.

"Really? I always thought elders did not have to do much." Pina responded.

"Most do not, if by elder you mean a retired person over the age of seventy-five." Davdan agreed. "But if you mean Elder, with a capital E, one who is an elder and who holds a position of responsibly, such as my positions as an Elder Judge, an Elder Fighting Judge, and an Elder of the Council of all Tiger People, there is much to do. Every day there are about two hundred matters on my screen that seek my attention. Most days I do about half and delegate the rest, and most days I do as many things that were not on the list, like certifying for intoxicants last night and arranging Tika's match today. But there is always more to do. I will exercise, and see to matters that are my responsibility, while you are gone."

The children waved goodbye as the hunting party silently entered the forest on the east side of the clearing, while Naz led Jena to the west, toward the river.

"So, what will we do for today's lesson, Naz?" Jena asked brightly, while sliding her arm beneath his and rubbing her nubile breasts against his tricep.

"Today we will talk." Naz told her with a grin.

"Talk? Is that all?" she asked, crestfallen. "When will you make love to me?"

"I probably will not. I must prepare you to have the healthiest sexuality possible. The healthiest sex for you right now is with boys your own age, or a little older, after I have prepared you for it to ensure that you will do it well, and to ensure you will choose a boy who will give you good experiences."

"But boys my own age are so boring and stupid! I need a big, beautiful man like you right now, to make me a woman!" Jena giggled.

"That is because you are too familiar with the boys around here, and you are sexually fixated on me. When you have learned the first few steps, we will take you to gatherings for Adolescents. You will see some cute young lad who attracts you, and your feelings for me will almost disappear. That is the nature of being adolescent. Your feelings will be very powerful, but they will change quickly and often. A few weeks after you meet the first boy, one of you will fall for someone else, and the other will be heartbroken and devastated. Then a few days after that you will meet another cute boy who makes you crazy with happiness, and it starts all over again. It is nature's plan, to give you enough experience with relationships while you are an adolescent to ensure you can find happiness when you are an adult. Very few can make their first love into the great love of their life.

"Since all Adolescents have the contraceptive, and there has not been a new venereal disease in eighty years, the dangers of mating and sex are injury, heartbreak, embarrassment, frustration, lack of fulfillment, co-dependence, and relationship abuse. My task is to teach you how to experience the best of mating, love, and recreational sex, and to help you see the step ahead, so you will encounter problems as rarely as possible."

"Hopefully not at all." Jena said.

"Hopefully not at all." Naz agreed.

"So, you will not actually be sexual with me at all?" Jena asked.

"Of course I will! I cannot have you fumbling clumsily with your first boy, so I will have to teach you the first skills you need firsthand, so to speak. But it is expected that I will try to refrain from having coitus with you." Naz pointed out. "I say this: If you learn well for an hour, I will teach you to reach orgasm today."

"Yes!" Jena agreed, bouncing as she walked.

"All right. There is endless variety in the way males and females behave toward each other, but most of the time our mating behaviors have four characteristic phases; courtship, arousal, sex, and bonding, or love.

"Courtship begins when you are attracted to a boy, and he is attracted to you, and may last days, weeks, or even months. At first you know you are attracted to him, but you are not sure if he is attracted to you, or whether you will like him. This generally leads to nervous and inconsistent behavior, and conflicting emotions of aggression, fear, affection and attraction. However, the more you are attracted to each other, the more you will send out mating signals with your facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. If the signals you both send are strong enough, your attraction will grow and your reluctance will fade. You will grow more confident and comfortable around each other. You will begin spending more time together, walking and talking about unimportant things in intimate tones. Initial contacts are made, beginning with holding hands, then walking arm in arm, then putting one arm around each other, then fully hugging and cuddling. Kissing begins on the face and neck, then progresses to mouth-on-mouth. During this time you will often both feel sudden spontaneous urges to play like a child, you will run and jump, dance, chase and catch and tickle each other, and wrestle affectionately. You have passed the courtship phase, the pair bond at least temporarily established, when the pair have done these things and begin to feel a need for privacy to continue farther."

"Like right now?" Jena asked impishly.

"No. It is common, and preferable, for Adolescents to feel a strong attraction to their sex trainer, and for that feeling to be returned. We must genuinely like each other at least. But most Adolescents never copulate with their trainer. You will find that there is an infinity of pleasure to be had, and given, with oral and manual stimulation." Naz explained.

"Crap on that!" Jena retorted with a laugh, reaching over to rub his thickening penis as they walked. "I will get your big, thick, beautiful cock inside me before my sex training is done, I promise this!"

"Ahh, it will be no disaster if you do. About ten percent of sex trainers copulate with their students. Mostly because they cannot resist the temptation, but a few do it to teach advanced techniques to those students that wish to know them."

"There, that is what I want!" Jena giggled. "You will fuck me to teach me the advanced techniques! If you know any!"

"Do not tease me, Jena, for I know all the techniques! Besides, you are being too brave. Look at you, you are twelve! And very small for twelve! You were just barely ready to be given your Adolescence, and some Elders would have made you wait another six months at least. You barely have pubic hair, and barely have breasts!"

"Hey! They are small, but they are rounded already! Are they not soft? Are my nipples not as hard as any woman's? You know, most find them beautiful." Jena rattled off defensively, sounding a little hurt.

"They are very beautiful." Naz said, caressing one of her tiny orbs a moment. "But look, now that you have made my cock hard. It is almost as big as your forearm! Right now you have room inside your flower for two of your fingers at most, and that is if you are very excited. Having my cock inside you would hurt as much as any wound you have taken. Do you not think it would be better to have your first ... Hey, what is wrong?" he asked as Jena stopped walking and sank to one knee in the path.

"My ... my legs are not working right." Jena stammered, still staring at his erection. "And my flower is ... wet. Huuuhhhh." she groaned as one hand went between her legs, the other to the path to steady herself.

"Hmm. I can see why the Elders did not wait to grant your Adolescence." he said to himself, rubbing thoughtfully at his close-trimmed beard. He sat down cross-legged on the path beside Jena, picked her up effortlessly and placed her sitting sideways in his lap.

She shook like a leaf as he gently caressed her delicate breasts, and she was amazed to see them swell visibly at his touch.

"They are getting bigger!" she gasped.

"Yes, that is normal for many females when they are aroused." Naz murmured, nuzzling her neck. "Now I will bring you to climax, for you are too aroused to learn anything else right now."

A sob escaped her as she opened her legs for him a bit, and his hand slid down her tummy and over her pubic mound. Moments later her cries seemed loud in the quiet forest.

A few minutes after that Naz returned to Tira's clearing, Jena's sleeping form cradled in his arms. He sat on the other end of the logs from Davdan, who was whispering to her screen, to give her privacy.

Neither had moved forty minutes later when Tika and Tira emerged from their den.

"What's wrong with Jena?" Tika asked quietly.

"Nothing. She is sleeping. I will wake her when the others return." Naz replied.

"Why does she sleep? We slept a lot last night." Tika persisted.

"She has had an experience that made her sleepy. I am sure she will want to tell you about it herself when she wakes." Naz said, rubbing Tika's head playfully. "And you? You feel better?"

"Yes. I am still sad that it will not be competition when Tira-Mother fights me..."

"Competitive." Tira prompted.

"Yes. Our fights will not be competitive. But Tira-Mother says it is the right time, and now I feel like it is. Today I fight new people that Davdan brings, so it should be fun."

"I am curious. What did you think when you practiced with the eight inch training knife?" Naz asked casually.

Tika was about to answer when Davdan held up her hand and said: "Hold on."

She waited while Davdan whispered a few more words to her screen to conclude that piece of business.

"Thank you." Davdan said as she rose to sit beside Naz. "I would like to hear what you were going to say."

"Umm. All right. I used the big training knife, and it felt ... very different, heavy, and I had to stop and think. That made me think about what Tira mother had said, about how she beats me, and how I never pause, and I never wait at the beginning.

"She never said that before, and I thought: Why do I not pause, and if I paused, what would I do while I was waiting?

"And I thought: When I fight with Tira-Mother, I fight for fun. I am trying to beat her, but I do not fight her the way I would fight her if beating her was most important, I fight her the way that is most fun. That is why I do not pause.

"And I thought: If I paused, I could watch my opponent and see what she was going to do next, and while I was waiting I could think of all the moves I could do just then.

"Then I knew I would be more dangerous if I fought like that. And then I knew it would be like sluffing to fight the way I fought before. And that Tira-Mother could not beat me anymore, and I got sad. Tira-Mother says I have discovered strategy.

"I thought some other things, too, but I think that is what you want to know. So I tried it on Menak, and it worked. I want to fight today, Davdan. I hope it will be fun, so I will not feel so sad." Tika finished, and turned to hug her mother.

"I am glad that you and Menak are here, Davdan." Tira said. "I fight with the moves from the formal styles, and I have developed strategies that helped me to deal with Tika's gift until today, but you know my style is to fight on feel. I doubt I really know much more about strategy than Paginna, who fights like an animal. I would have difficulty training Tika to her potential by myself, after today."

"Ah, you need us here, but it is our being here that has triggered the events that created the need. Reality unfolds as it will, Tira, and I am glad to be here. There will be interesting days ahead." Davdan chuckled.

"Tika! You feel better?" Pina called joyously as the hunting group returned to the clearing. She ran up to Tika and gave her a hug. Her joy was infectious, and Tika found herself returning Pina's grin.

"I feel much better, my friend Pina. Today I have my second real fight! Very soon, Davdan says! Did you have fun on the hunt?"

"Oh yes! We did not actually hunt, but Jela and Menak showed us many amazing things, things I had looked at all my life and never really seen! Suddenly the things I learned in biology have become interesting, and I see the greatness of the web of life in the forest!"

"Well said, my sister." Raz agreed, grinning. "I could not have stated it better myself."

"And Jena," he said, turning to where she lounged on the ground, leaning against a log. "Did you enjoy your sex lesson? You look like you just woke up!"

She merely grinned and stretched luxuriously for a moment until the entire group was gathered around the fire pit.

"I did just wake up." she stated coyly, and stood.

"Jela-Mother, today Naz gave me my first orgasm." she announced proudly.

"Congratulations, my love! That is beautiful!" Jela said, sweeping her daughter up in a warm hug.

Everyone congratulated her on her accomplishment, then Davdan spoke.

"Some people will be arriving by flyer with the one who is to be Tika's opponent. They will be here in less than a minute. They are from the forests of China, and speak Chinese. All of you must set your screens for 'Coordinated Translation', and enter the names I will flash you at the 'Terminals Included in Conference' prompt. Our guests will rely on our screens to translate their words, and their screens will translate our words. Remember, in Chinese tradition, their first name is their family name, and their second name is their personal name. And remember to speak one at a time."

All eyes turned to the treetops, and all ears strained for the sound of the approaching flyer. They were soon rewarded as they heard the sound of a large flyer decelerating from high speed. By the time the red, eight-door flyer came into view, it was moving slowly, and settled almost ponderously in the relatively small confines of the clearing, it's fans raising an incredible wind. Its motors were turned off before the fans had spun down halfway, indicating that the pilot would wait there till his passengers were ready to leave.

Six Chinese Tiger People emerged from the flyer; a female elder, a man, a woman, two male adolescents of about seventeen years, and a female child of about eleven. They walked to the firepit, the man in the lead. For Tiger People, they stood and walked with very formal posture.

The man seemed irritated. He spoke in Chinese, and their screens gave the translation a fraction of a second later.

"Greetings. I am Chan Chen. I am here at the request of the Great Elder Davdan."

"I am Davdan." she said as she rose, and Chan Chen's screen translated her words to Chinese. "I greet you and welcome you all to the Great Indian Forest."

Chan Chen spoke rapidly in Chinese, quietly enough to allow the translation to be heard. "Honor to you, Great Elder. The message I received from you yesterday was so unusual that I had it checked to be sure the translation was accurate. That you wished to find a worthy opponent for a Child of seven, under-ranked at Serious, who has had one fight, who you would test within the week for the rank of Excellent. That you wished for her to fight Kwan Mei here, who is also a Child ranked as Excellent.

"Your message of today was even more unusual, that you had underestimated your fighter, and now wished her to fight an Adolescent who is Magnificent.

"I have checked the identities of those gathered here, and what I learned was also unusual.

"It is said in my country, that when a Great Elder does a thing, it accomplishes twenty objectives. I think that there may be more happening here than I can see. With your permission, I have asked the Great Elder Shan Len to speak for me."

"Ahh. And what did you learn of this group?" Davdan asked.

"That you are the Great Elder Davdan, five times Grande Champion, holding the title for twenty-eight years in total, first among fight officials for all Tiger People, third in power among the Elders of the Tiger People of India. That he is Menak, Magnificent, among the top hundred fighters of Tiger men. That she is Tira, Magnificent, among the hundred fighters of Tiger women. That she is Jela, Excellent, that he is Naz, Hazardous, that she is Jena, Serious, and she is Tika, also Serious, declared so after one fight. Those are Prey." he finished, negligently indicating Raz and Pina.

Davdan smiled. "I think you were wise to find another to speak for you."

Chan Chen flinched a little at the subtle insult, and turned to the Elder who had accompanied him. "I present the Great Elder Shan Len, Grande Champion for three years, fourth among Fight officials of the Tiger People of China, first in power among the Elders of the Tiger People of China."

"Ahh, Shan Len! It is good to finally meet you!" Davdan said.

Shan Len waited for the translation, then responded with a smile. "Yes, it is good we meet. It surprises me that we have not.

"You have met my grand nephew Chan Chen, Magnificent, one of the top hundred fighters among Tiger Men, Lead Trainer of The Academy for the Training of the Young Fighters of the Tiger People of China. Known among fighters, in simpler terms, as The Academy. This is Ling Rel, Magnificent, among the best hundred fighters of Tiger women, also a trainer for The Academy. These are their students Chan Jeng and Chang Pak, both Magnificent, the two best Adolescent fighters among the Tiger People of China. This is Kwan Mei. She is Excellent, and the finest Child fighter among all peoples in China."

"Ahh. You know we do not rank our young here?" Davdan asked.

"Yes. It gives you an unfair advantage, as only your Elders know their rank. And I am sure you do know the rank of your best young, do you not, Davdan?" Shan Len asked, a touch mischievously.

"You have me there, though we like to think it helps prevent adults from pressuring their young to fight more than is healthy. Besides, you Chinese always seem to know the relative rank of our most dangerous young anyway." Davdan chuckled, and turned to her group.

"You would know of Tira and Menak?" Davdan asked.

"Yes. I was among those who judged Tira's fight yesterday, and ranked her upward. I attended Menak's last tournament match."

"I was Tira's guardian and trainer during the second half of her Adolescence, and Menak is my great-grandson." Davdan said.

"I did not know that." Shan Len admitted with a smile and a slight nod to the two indicated.

"Jela and Naz are Tira's neighbors, and they have all agreed to train their children together. Their children are all unusually talented, and it is thought that they will keep each other well rounded. Jena could be judged as a hunter within the week, at the age of twelve, while her mother may take the test for Great Hunters. Pina may be the finest theoretical cosmologist among all the youth alive, wild peoples or techs, her brother Raz is equally talented at construction engineering. If there was a rank for finding joy in life, Naz here would be in the top five. Menak has trained as an elephant man, and has courtship with Tira. And I have taken this group under my responsibilities."

"Ahh, Davdan! That is very interesting! Ho ho! And funny! You know, there were some who thought that this must be a school for training fighters! But it is more interesting than that." Shan Len chuckled.

"Yes it is. You know of Tika?" Davdan asked.

"I have watched the recording of her test for Serious last year, against Jena there. The only one to be judged so on her first training fight. And that test has been her only fight. It is also the only recording of her that has been released." Shan Len said.

"Yes. Well Tika is ... unique. She has a Gift. Before I go farther, I propose a ban on the release of any recordings made here today." Davdan said with a look to Chan Chen.

"I agree. I prefer that my students are not scouted." Chan Chen responded.

"Good. Tika has a Gift that is new to the records. She can think and react very quickly, and has exceptional kinetic intelligence. She fights only for fun, and only against her mother in training fights before today, and she had beaten Tira twice. Today she had a breakthrough, and beat Menak and then Tira with practice knives in two moves each. Cleanly and thoroughly. She was sad that it would not be fun to fight her mother anymore, since Tira could no longer win."

There was a moment of silence after the translation finished

"I cannot believe it!" Chan Chen burst out angrily. "I would not doubt your honesty, but it must have been a fluke! It is inconceivable that this seven year old, this undersized seven year old who has had only one real fight, unarmed, could beat even Kwan Mei here, even one match in one hundred! Kwan Mei is four years older, has had seventy-five unarmed combat matches, nineteen matches with blades to second level injury, and has lost only five times! She is the finest child prodigy in all of China! If you seriously wish this Tika to fight her, then let it be finished and we will leave!"

Everyone stared at him for a moment, then Shan Len spoke. She did not look impressed. "You had wisdom when you asked me to speak for you here. You should have maintained it."

Shan Len turned and spoke to the group. "Davdan is the senior official. She will judge the fight." Then she walked over to the nearest log and sat down.

"You are both children, so you will fight unarmed to third level injury." Davdan pointed out. "Prepare yourselves."

Tika and Kwan Mei removed their packs and knife belts and began warming up, while the others moved back to clear a space.

Tika finished her warm-ups and took her stance. Kwan Mei finished her warm-ups a moment later, but simply stood, looking at Tika.

"Kwan Mei, do you wish to say something?" Davdan asked.

Kwan Mei stared at the Elder a moment, then slowly looked around the group. "This is wrong." she stated quietly, accompanied by the translation. "I feel I am only a knife in the fist of another.

"I look at you, Great Elder, most senior of the fighting officials of all the Tiger People, and I see that you know she will beat me, you have no doubt. I look at her," she indicated Tika, "And I see she knows she will beat me. She knows she will beat me. Everyone here, even Shan Len and Ling Rel, knows she will beat me, except my trainer and his two foolish nephews. I will not fight her. I Decline."

"You cannot Decline! This is not a tournament round, and you are a child!!!" Chan Chen yelled in anger, seeming on the edge of his self-control.

Kwan Mei was not fazed. She paused and thought for a moment, then spoke quietly and determinedly. "We are not being treated with respect. Since this fight was arranged for us, and we did not choose to challenge each other personally, we have the right to see the other's recent recordings."

Shan Len chuckled. "She has you there, Chan Chen. It is within her rights, even as a child, and you will allow them to see the recordings."

Chan Chen angrily took out his screen and transmitted the recordings to the screens of Davdan's group, while Jena transmitted the recordings she had made of Tika that day to the Chinese group.

Kwan Mei finished watching the recordings of Tika's four fights from earlier that day, and straightened with determination. "I will not fight her." she said to Chan Chen. "If you try to make me fight her, I will ask Wan-Mother to find another trainer for me."

Chan Chen stared at her a moment, purple with rage, then whirled to growl at the larger of the two adolescent boys with him. "Chan Jeng, you will fight her! Watch her recordings if you wish, and flash her yours!"

The boy stood and stretched, grinning cockily. "I do not need to watch her recordings, honored teacher. I will beat her for the honor of The Academy."

Tika stopped watching the recordings of Kwan Mei, and spoke to the other girl. "You are beautiful and dangerous, but you cannot beat me, because you are too slow."

She turned to Chan Jeng and looked for a moment at his perfectly developed form, almost six feet tall, over one hundred and eighty pounds. She grinned. "If you will not watch my recordings, I will not watch yours either."

He grinned down at her and spoke in heavily accented English. "That is your loss." he laughed cruelly.

"Tika," Davdan said, "He is an Adolescent. You must challenge him if you are to fight him. You will fight with blades up to six inches in length, to third level injury. Do you agree?"

"I do." Tika said, and turned to Jeng. "Chan Jeng, I challenge you to combat, with honor, for status."

"I accept your challenge, with honor, for status, though I will gain no status from beating you, as you have none." he returned sarcastically, and gave her a low bow that was obviously mocking.

"Tira, you must give your permission for this." Davdan said, turning to her.

"I give my permission." Tira stated easily. "And we should alert the med."

"I will." Jena said, and placed the quick call.

"Prepare yourselves." Davdan said.

Chan Jeng drew his knife and assumed his stance.

Tika put her screen back in her pack, and drew her four-inch fighting knife.

"You can use my six inch knife if you wish, Tika." Jena offered.

"No thank you, Jena. I will use this. It is what I am used to." Tika said, and took her stance, a three quarter position like a boxer with her knife held out in front of her.

"Begin." Davdan called.

Tika darted forward as soon as Davdan started speaking the word. She slipped easily past Chan Jeng's defense and swung an overhand right at his face. He started to dodge, she corrected her swing, and smashed his nose into his face with the butt end of her knife. She bounced back out of his range and waited for a moment.

"Arrrr!!" Jeng yelled in pain and frustration as blood and tears began to pour down his face. He swung his knife wildly at Tika, who dodged easily.

"You should submit. You are blinded by tears." Tika stated calmly. "And even if you were not, you cannot beat me, because you are too slow."

Chan Jeng yelled in incoherent rage and leaped at her, a move designed to be hard to dodge, and to tackle her to the ground.

Tika dropped to her back and to one side a bit, and smashed his nose with the butt of her knife again as it flew by overhead. He screamed and rolled to his back as Tika leapt to her feet. She jumped at him, landing with both knees on the fore-arm of his knife hand. A bone broke with a loud crack, and she held her knife to his throat and wiggled it a bit to draw some blood.

"You should submit." she said quietly.

He tapped out on the ground with his free hand, shaking from the pain of his wounds.

Ling Rel ran over and began administering first aid to Chan Jeng.

Tika walked back to the group sitting on the logs. "That was fun." she said with a grin. "It was easy, but it was fun. I did not even have to use strategy."

They were about to congratulate her when Chan Chen began screaming at his fallen nephew. The screens were unable to translate his first few words, but his next sentence was: "How could you let that baby defeat you with a four inch knife, you weak and useless shit?!"

Tika turned and walked to within three feet of him. "Chan Chen, I do not like you. You are not a nice man. I have seen a recording of one of your fights, and you cannot beat me, because you are too slow. I think it would be very fun to beat you, because I do not like you. I challenge you for status. I want to smash your nose in like I did to Chan Jeng."