Chapter 6

I woke up well before sunrise. The camp was dark and silent, no one seeming to have gotten up yet.

I'd slept reasonably well, but was really missing my soft, warm, comfortable bed. Getting up and stretching out my muscles made several of my joints pop.

Nope, no more sleeping on the ground for me, as long as I could help it.

Add to that, my lower back where that asshole Secit had tried to stab me was hurting like hell. I lifted up my shirt and took a look at the damage, something that I really should have done earlier. I saw a large purple bruise about the size of my hand. It sure hurt, but I doubted if there was any permanent damage.

A vindictive and petty part of me was really regretting leaving him alive.

I shook out and rolled up my sleeping bag and pad, and then stowed it away back in my cart. While I was there I took out my first aid kit and took a couple of aspirins for the pain and applied some ointment to my back to break up the bruise and help along the healing process.

Next, I went looking for a convenient bush to water a bit outside of camp. They probably wouldn't have been upset if I'd gone closer, but I really didn't want to gain any bad habits.

Surprisingly, by the time I made it back to the camp, there were a few people out and about, stoking the fires and seemingly preparing the morning meal. Amongst them was Modon, waiting for me by my cart. He was alone, with a large and heavy looking fur cloak over his shoulders, his own very impressive collar of animal fangs and claws, and a heavy flint-tipped spear in hand.

All in all, he had the whole "noble savage" look down pat.

I slowed down and approached a bit warily, but relaxed some when he smiled at me, nodded and motioned his head for me to follow him. Hopefully, this was just part of the whole mating ceremony.

He led me out to the river's edge in silence. The water was crystal clear and slow moving, with fish plainly visible under its gently flowing surface.

'I should have asked for some fish in our trade, ' I idly thought to myself. 'I could use and eventually appreciate the variety in my diet. Oh well ... something to keep in mind for next time.'

Standing there by the water, we spoke for a while. Actually, Modon spoke while I just listened respectfully, nodding whenever appropriate.

In what sounded like a pre-prepared speech, he told me what was expected of a man who takes on a mate – his duties and responsibilities. It went on for a while, back and forth, but it mostly boiled down to "care, provide for and protect her and any children she might bear you". All pretty simple and self-evident in my opinion.

When he finished, he stared solemnly into my eyes and asked, "Do you understand Jon?"

"Yes I do," I answered just as seriously, not breaking eye contact.

We had our little stare-down for a moment or two. In hindsight, he was most likely seeing how seriously committed I was in this – if I would be a good mate. He eventually smiled slightly and nodded his head, satisfied at whatever he saw within me.

Next followed some more informal and friendly personal advice for "sharing your tent and furs with a woman", as he so poetically put it. Patience and forgiveness would be key, especially as we first got to know each other; be generous with kind words and caring gestures; listen to your mate's counsel, for she is your first and greatest supporter; it is sometimes better to lose an argument in order to keep the peace; treat her as you would want to be treated, and much more.

It was really quite amusing to see how little personal relationships between men and women had changed. I had to struggle to keep from laughing out loud, but there was no way I could wipe the stupid grin off my face.

Modon looked at me funny a few times, but I think he just put it down as mating-day jitters.

He was about to drop yet another one of his pearls of wisdom, when his voice cut off and he looked past me over my shoulder. I followed his gaze back toward the camp. Though still dark, the sky had started to lighten enough to see Jena approaching, led by Modon's own mate Nerti.

"Come my friend. It is time," he said, clasping my shoulder and leading me uphill.

I followed and shortly found myself in awe of the sight I found before and around me. Yesterday, I'd been so entirely focused on examining the camp and the tribe's activities that I had completely ignored this close by area. Of course, the two dozen or so trees obscuring the site certainly helped.

There were a dozen large stones, each one at least three times my height, arrayed in a large circle. They were all standing perfectly vertical, and somewhat rounded in shape, looking almost like giant granite fingers, erupting up from the earth. I wondered if they were set up to keep track of the movements of the stars, sun and moons, like many stone circles found back on Earth.

As I passed by a couple of the megaliths, I saw that what I had first thought was simply a rough texture, was in fact complex engravings. I glimpsed simple spiral patterns, concentric circles and complex knot designs, mixed in with depictions of men and a wide variety of animals. While some clearly looked worn from age, I saw one stone that seemed to be only partially covered, and what was there seemed quite recent. A work in progress then. Completely understandable, seeing as it all had to be done with tools made of stone, wood and bone, and no draft animals to carry the heavy loads.

It might not have been Stonehenge, but I was really impressed with what they had achieved nonetheless.

In the center of the circle there was a large, unadorned and mostly flat, waist-high slab of rock. Some sort of platform or altar. I dismissed the errant and disturbing thoughts of "sacrifices", seeing as there were no visible bloodstains.

I was distracted from the place's beauty by the women joining us. And what a pleasant distraction they were – Jena most of all.

My God, was she gorgeous.

Instead of the kilt and tunic she had been wearing yesterday, she now wore a one-piece dress made of very supple looking, light tan colored and incredibly form-fitting leather. Though it reached down well below her knees and the neckline was high, with no hint of cleavage, it was slit all the way up to her armpits at the sides, giving ample view of her shapely legs and the sides of her firm, bountiful breasts. The only thing that kept it from flapping completely open as she walked and from the slight breeze, was a braided leather belt high around her waist.

I don't know if it was like that because there wasn't enough time to properly sew it together, or if they knew just how damn sexy it looked, but I certainly wasn't about to complain.

I couldn't help but smile at her and she happily returned the favor.

Modon motioned us to take up specific positions around the center altar, Jena and I side-by-side on one side, while he was on the other. Nerti and Jena hugged each other warmly and then the chief's mate left, supposedly returning to camp. It was just me, my future mate and Modon now.

"Is no one else coming?" I asked, a bit confused.

"The mating ceremony is for you two alone," he said looking meaningfully at Jena and me. "Everyone will help to celebrate after."

For the first time, I felt nervous. For all intents and purposes, I was getting married! Married to woman I had just met and who I had simply traded for! How crazy was that!

It was nothing like my previous marriages. My first, on one hand, had been a really small and quick affair at the Justice of the Peace, with our parents and a couple of close friends in attendance. All very businesslike, completely unromantic and more than a bit forgettable.

I wonder if it somehow set the tone for the rest of our marriage.

On the other hand, there was my marriage to Susie, a big church wedding, packed full with guests. Though it was certainly romantic and special, it was one of the most stressful times of our life, and it truly tested our commitment and love. Coordinating a horde of friends and family, arranging countless details, and dealing with hundreds of unforeseen problems had nearly given my bride a nervous breakdown the day before the ceremony. We had a great honeymoon afterward, mostly thanks to the vast relief that the ordeal was finally over and done with and we both could get on with our lives.

Here and now though, there was no worrying about the church, family, invitations, seating arrangements, the menu, flowers and decorations, the band ... there was just my mate and I in an intimate ceremony.

I definitely liked it. It felt ... right somehow.

Modon's whole demeanor suddenly changed. His friendly face lost his smile and became solemn; he straightened his back and pushed out his chest, and threw out his arms straight to the sides.

In a loud and deep voice, almost as if he was speaking with the heavens themselves, he started in on his speech. He explained how the mating ceremony not only bound together a man and woman, but also bound together all the people of the whole tribe. Within it man and woman found not only safety and survival, but peace and happiness. He then went on to ask the various spirits of the world, as well as the sun, stars and moons in the sky, to watch over and bless our union and future children.

It truthfully sounded a lot like many other wedding ceremonies I'd heard back on Earth, only much shorter - no longer than five minutes – and without any bible verses.

Thank God for that!

Modon, speaking to both of us directly now, asked if we truly wished to be mated, to stand together through life, death and whatever would come afterwards.

We both said that we did, without hesitations.

After a few seconds pause, he spoke again in an almost whisper, "You are now mated."

I'll say this for the man ... he had some grade A timing and showmanship. The second he'd finished speaking, the sun broke over the horizon, bathing us in bright and warm sunlight.

Modon hadn't said anything about "kissing the bride", so I took it upon myself. I took Jena's hand in mine, pulled her close against me, wrapped my arms possessively around her and kissed her deeply, putting everything I had into it. She was a bit overwhelmed and hesitant, obviously not really understanding what my tongue was doing so far in her mouth. I'll say one thing for my mate though ... she's a real fast learner. In no time, she was moaning appreciatively and enthusiastically giving as good as she was getting.

One hell of a magical moment, all things considered.

Too bad we didn't have a photographer to capture it...

Several minutes later (making out for some time and then eventually catching our breaths took a while) we walked back into camp, hand in hand, with a beaming Modon trailing behind us. If not everyone, at least most of the tribe was awake by now and greeting us with happy and congratulatory cheers.

I noticed that someone had been doing some early morning hunting and a freshly killed small horse had been dragged into the camp upon a travois. I initially balked a little at the idea of eating horse meat, but I shook it off quickly enough.

On this world, you can't exactly go around refusing food. Not only was that impolite, it was damned impractical.