A Quiet Strength - Chapters 8 - 21 free porn video

Like a frightened creature, changed female attempts to survive on her own. The young warrior Etu, sets out to find his Aponi Spirit. This is Chapter Eight to Twenty One. (This story will be released in chapters because of its length. It could easily be a book - and yes, it is complete.) A Quiet Strength By Anon Allsop -Eight- Each day the young female spent in her sanctuary, high in the hills, brought new changes to her young life. She had managed to create traps, kill and eat several types of the small creatures that dwell within close proximity to her shelter. As best as she could figure, it had almost been a full month since she was deposited on this planet by her body's former owner. Even though she was stuck with this form, she didn't have to like it. Unused to the small frame and appendages that seemed to just be in the way, she could only tolerate everything that seemed to come with being a female. She cringed each time she had to respond with the call of nature, it was so degrading and hard to accomplish being that she had spent most of her young life with quite a different outlook. She wasn't naive, she knew that at some point she would have a monthly visitor, all females do, and now that she was one... she could expect it any day now. It had become much warmer now; the heat of the day would build until it almost grew uncomfortable in the animal hide that she was wearing. Often she would remove it and slip into the water to bathe, but only when the moon was out and never in daylight. Tonight was one such night, it was warm and she had just finished eating half of a small creature that she had caught. As the stars high overhead began to dot the sky, she slowly slipped down to the stream below her shelter. There, she carefully made her way to the edge of the stream staying within the shadows. Pulling off the skins she slipped quietly into the refreshing water. She felt along the underside of her arm where the skin had begun to chafe her tender flesh. The cool water helped to take some of the soreness away. As she slowly swam, she heard several voices. As silent as possible, staying in the darkened vegetation that lined the edge, she made her way toward the voices. There were three strange looking warriors, their hair was closely cropped to their heads save for one band that ran right down the center of their head. She could understand nothing of what they were saying, although it was apparent that two of the warriors wanted to go in one direction and the third was arguing his point. She slipped under a low hanging plant, yet stayed in the water. She quietly dug some earth from the bank and spread it on her face, knowing how pale she was, their fire would most surely reflect off the alabaster of her fair skin. For a half hour, she stayed hidden and listened to their strange tongue, it was only as one of the men came nearby to relieve himself that she felt she should beat a hasty retreat. She hesitated as he dropped his breech-cloth before her surprised eyes and exposed his naked physique. She watched him with longing, envious of his being able to expel his bladder in such a convenient way...and sad for she no longer could. His stream carried out and into the water, until a chilly breeze began to blow it back onto his legs. He cursed or at least it sounded like it may have been one, and then scooped water into his hand and washed his leg off, then washed his hands. His penis was long and thick; probably something he was very proud of. Heck, she would have been had she still been 'Park' as she once had been. She looked down to the breasts she possessed, it was probably her only asset of which she could now compare; something that a woman might feel pride in. Although she truly would not know for certain. She held her hiding place silently as the warrior refastened his breech-cloth, thankfully covering himself from her now beautiful blue eyes. As soon as he returned to the fire, she silently stole away into the night to retrieve her own clothing. She picked her way through the darkness and she once again returned to her shelter on the mountain. With no fire to warm her, so fearful she was that her fire would attract those warriors...she shivered herself to sleep. Before she drifted off in slumber, she made a point to remind herself to stay close to the high shelter for a few days and allow them time to leave the area. *** Before daylight, the young blonde slipped down to check her closest traps. A rabbit had been caught in one and she quickly dispatched it. As it bled out, suspended from a rock nearby, she began to get a queasy feeling within the pit of her stomach. Perhaps it was the smell of the blood; perhaps it was of her gruesome task. Deep down though, she knew it was that damnable visitor that would soon be welcoming her into womanhood. She frowned as she carried the small carcass back to the shelter; her rolling stomach was not something she needed right at this moment. At the shelter, she gutted and removed the neck, peeling the hide off as if you were undressing a doll. It was then, once again, that the gamey smell from the creature began to work its way into her senses. Throwing the meat aside she crawled several feet away and spewed the contents of her stomach over the edge of a rock. She wiped the sweat from her brow and again felt her stomach lurch its contents onto the ground. Sinking beside her vomit, she leaned her head back and pushed the perspiration from her brow. For a third time she rolled to the side and lost what had once been yesterday's supper. After a few minutes of sitting, she began to feel better and again crawled back to where she had left the meat. As soon as she saw it, her stomach began to roll, so fearful that its smell would again cause her to throw up, she tossed the carcass over the side as far as she could. Staggering to her feet, she stumbled back to the little water hole beside the shelter. There she washed her face and rinsed her mouth of the foul tasting bitterness that remained. She gradually stood and returned to the shelter to lie down, fearing that her swim from last night may have brought on an illness. Rolling to her side she looked out through the tiny openings between the sticks, tears welling in those beautiful crystalline blue eyes, clinging to her long lashes. For in the back of her mind she recalled what that bitch Leigh had said, and if what she implied was really happening..it would not bode well for her! She only prayed that she was wrong and it was actually the onset of a simple sickness, a sickness that would run its course in a matter of days. -Nine- Etu started his search at the very last place he lost the young spirit female - the water's edge. The current would have been too strong for her to swim upstream, so the natural place would be to search downstream. Knowing your prey as a hunter is foremost to making a successful kill, and even though this hunt was nothing about a kill, he still must keep in mind his prey. A frightened animal would put as much distance between itself and a foe, always moving in a direction away from pursuit. Within a matter of minutes he was standing on the opposite bank, using a natural bridge known to his people. Slowly and deliberately he began to follow the river, ever watchful for sign. Like all prey he had ever chased, she was headed somewhere to hide...but where? Stopping for a drink, he crouched to cup cool water into his palms. As he sipped it, he noticed a mark in the mud. Shaking the water from his hands free, he took a closer look. A slow smile caressed his bronze face. He stood and began to scan the horizon, deep brown eyes searching for a logical path she might have taken. There was none. Again he turned his attention back to the print; beginning from there he found another about the distance of a tall man away. Further up ahead, he found what he was looking for, she had made egress from the river at this spot. He placed his foot at it and looked back toward where he had noticed the first smear. The two had been of her left hand as she tried to find a grip up the bank in the mud, the last, where he stood now was where she actually pulled herself from the water. Her tracks were heading away, directly toward a small stand of trees. Etu followed them up the hill until he too stood among the trees. Here and there were other sign convincing him, that the Aponi spirit had passed this way. All along the way he followed them, throughout the day and well into the afternoon. At first the sign were pretty prevalent; however it was toward dusk that he realized that he had lost her trail. With a heavy heart he bed down in tall grass, determined to backtrack if necessary be to pick up her trail once again. For nearly a three changes of mother moon, Etu had searched in an ever expanding pattern for any sign of the spirit; it was as though she had vanished from the face of the planet. He knew that she was surely somewhere within a day or two, but which way? Contemplating her whereabouts as he was picking his way through a small valley, he cautiously stopped at the edge of a wide meadow. Scanning the opposite distance he hesitated stepping into the open. The foreboding he was feeling caused him to falter. Something was amiss, and that feeling was causing him concern. The warm sun shining through the leaves of the trees he was standing under, creating a false illusion that all was well. He crouched down and continued to study the tree line; almost like a wary animal he sensed... danger. He held his position for quite a great length of time, nothing was moving, not even the birds. Slowly removing a formidable war club from his breech cloth, he cautiously moved away from the tree line. Gradually, as Etu closed the distance to the other side of the meadow, his sense of danger never left. He gripped the handle of the war club even tighter, raising it slightly in the ready. At the moment he raised it, a loud sound of something impacting against the heavy stone suspended at the end of his war-club, caused him to drop to his knee. A splintered arrow swung around and created a welt upon his arm, the club's shaft splitting in two. Etu dropped the useless club and quickly pulled his knife, the antler of a deer held a long sharpened blade. He quickly spun in a circle as six Algonquin warriors rushed him from every side. The closest warrior died almost instantly as his blade was forced between the ribs of the advancing warrior. As Etu attempted to retrieve his blade, it seemed to have become stuck in the bone of the dead man. He pushed the lifeless body onto the next closest warrior and quickly raced across the final few feet of the meadow. Algonquin arrows began peppering the grass and trees as he ran through them. At the last moment, when he felt he just might possibly elude them, he was struck from behind by a heavy war-club thrown by one of his pursuers that had been chasing him. The force with which it struck Etu almost caused him to collapse; blood began to course from the wound in his head. Etu fell against a tree and struggled to regain his balance. It seemed the trees were moving and swaying before the wounded warrior's eyes. A great roaring sound came to the injured man's ears, somewhere ahead was a river or waterfall... if he could just get to it before his Algonquin enemies closed in on him. Reaching back, he could feel a gaping wound on his head. As he brought his hand back around, he could see it was covered in blood. Redoubling his efforts, Etu staggered through thick brush. Like a frightened creature, he was hoping it would slow his enemy down. As he ran, the ground suddenly gave way and he rolled down a hill for several feet. Quickly scrambling to his feet he hazarded a glance up to the top of the hill, there a warrior was taking aim with his bow. Etu raced toward the sound, he created a zig-zag pattern, attempting to keep the trees between he and the Algonquin who were chasing him. Ahead, a stream opened up and Etu raced down a trail that ran parallel to the water. All the while, his pursuers continued to shoot at him from above. One arrow buried itself into the thick bark of a tree, narrowly missing his head by inches. A second hissed past his ear and disappeared into the thick weeds that grew along the stream. The sound of the waterfall grew until he could no longer hear the shouts of the Algonquin, just ahead he could see the water dropping over the edge...he would have to take his chances on surviving the landing. Deep down he knew that Grandfather had said his destiny and that of the Aponi was intertwined, he must survive for her! Planting his foot at the edge of the fall, he suddenly felt a blistering pain in his back. He grasped wildly at the shaft of the penetrating arrow, yet he couldn't prevent himself from falling, the waterfall's mist swallowing the injured man whole. -Ten- Etu opened his eyes slowly; the brilliance of the sun caused him to blink several times. As he tried to sit up, a strong hand held him in place. Fearing that he had been captured by the Algonquin, he struggled until he heard a voice speak in a language he understood. "Lie still warrior." Etu was lying on his chest; behind him someone was cleaning his wounds. The injured man turned his head toward the voice that had just spoken. "You are hurt bad, we are taking you back to our village." Etu recognized the speaker as Mohawk, glancing to the side was another warrior making a paste and began to pack his wound with it. "Algonquin.." "Grey Dog is watching them, they moved off after you fell from the the great place. That was two days ago." He pointed to the side of the waterfall. "We saw you jump." He smiled. "Did you think you were a bird?" "The Algonquin were trying to kill me," he whispered through his pain. "What would the Enemies of the Iroquois Nation want with a lone Oneida warrior?" He frowned and glanced toward his companion. "We will soon know, here comes Grey Dog." The other indicated with his head as he continued to change the dressing on Etu's wound. The one who seemed to be in charge stood up, he towered over the man they called Grey Dog. "The Algonquin are moving on, they want no part of a battle right here, with the Mohawk," the warrior said as he neared the small party. "How many?" Grey Dog asked. The other warrior never verbally answered, he just held up four fingers. Grinning, the young warrior finally responded, "There had been as many as the fingers on your hand, until one of them found my knife at his throat." He crouched down next to Etu, examining his wounds he added, "This brave killed one before it all started." "I am Etu of the Oneida. We are brothers of the Mohawk," he softly whispered aloud. "I am Kutkutuk, this is Grey Dog and the one working on you is Truaxe." Etu looked at each and nodded as they were introduced. "You will return with us to our village until you are healed." "I..I can not go with you. I am searching for an Aponi Spirit," he said trying to sit up, but Kutkutuk gently guided him back down. "Your journey will have to wait, Etu. If we left you here, you will die." He pointed to the injury to his head. "It grows harder for you to think the longer we remain here." Etu struggled slightly and when the pain became too unbearable he fell back onto the ground. The big warrior sighed. "We will have to make a drag, take turns pulling him until we get back to our village." The other two nodded and set about collecting the items they would need to create the drag. -Eleven- For nearly a month, the beautiful young woman dealt with the constant nausea and vomiting; and with an increasing degree of certainty, she no longer held out hope that what ailed her was a simple illness. No, that bitch Leigh was correct and not only stole Parker's body...but left him in hers. She looked down to where the stretched hide harbored a small but defined 'paunch'. Groaning, she realized that not only must she spend the remainder of her life as a female...but she was now pregnant. She sat on the edge of the mountain, where the water tumbled over the side and into the stream below. It would be so easy to simply throw herself over the edge, ending this strange life forced upon her once and for all. Again she looked down to where her child was now growing and sighed. This young one knew nothing of either of its parents, nor would it care. She slowly crawled back from the edge and returned to the shelter. She couldn't take her own life, even if she could, she didn't feel it fair to cut short the child growing in her womb. She gritted her teeth; she would be damned to let Leigh win. No, even though she didn't care for the mother prior to the change...the father... she had been quite fond of. She smiled at her own convoluted joke. Now in some sort of strange warped way, she was both the father AND the mother. Shaking her head she leaned back against the stone and gently rubbed her stomach. She hummed softly a familiar lilting tune she remembered from her past. The strange feminine voice she would never get used to, yet humming was the one thing Leigh didn't take from her. She tested her ability to speak; still no utterances of any word would come from her voice. Shaking her head, she went back to humming the lullaby she had been attempting earlier. She picked up a piece of dried fish and began to chew it, humming her song through each bite. She knew that at some point in the future, she would have to come down from that mountain and seek a better form of shelter. Once the weather would turn bad, it would be too late...and she will have more to think about than just herself soon enough. -Twelve- The comfortable days grew even hotter as time wore on for the young female, her predicament made all the more unbearable due to her condition. Smells made her stomach lurch, her breasts always seemed sore...was it this way for all women? She shuddered at the thought of thinking herself a woman, yet here she was in this form and getting used to it. Sadly she felt it was something she would just have to do for the remainder of her days. Often she would make her way down the steep incline to crawl into the water, its coolness helping calm the child growing within. Each trip down caused her to realize that as her middle grew, climbing up and down some of the more precarious rocks that were involved in moving about on her mountain, travel would soon become next to impossible. Each day would find her seeking just a bit further out, trying to find a suitable place with which she could raise her baby once it had been born. From seeing her shadow, and noting the gradual swell of her stomach, she knew she would have to find something soon. She wasn't sure at first if the fluttering of her insides was from her sickness or if it were the baby, but as it continued with greater frequency she attributed it to the child now swimming in her womb. Her womb. She sighed, gently caressing her stomach as she sat resting in the water. Often this young one she was carrying would be flip-flopping within her and the very moment she eased herself into the water, the baby would instantly calm down. She sat in the darkened shadows quietly caressing her stomach, wondering whether she was carrying a young male or female. Sighing heavily, she realized that as long as it is healthy she didn't care. Somehow her change with Leigh had created this pregnancy within her, and with it was a growing maternal... feeling. She could tell that with each day that progressed in her delicate condition, her attitude toward her child was changing. And with that maternal instinct, she was also accepting that she was becoming more and more female. Of course since she got onto this godforsaken land, she was a female, but only in body. No, at that point her mind was as male as it had ever been. Over time though, she could feel less and less of Parker and more and more of the female taking over. Far off, she heard a coyote crying, it set off several, but she was not afraid. She had become used to the night sounds by now, the animals that could do her harm were kept at bay with the long spear she had found and fixed. Slowly she pulled herself from the water and carried her clothing back to a temporary shelter of long branches that were leaning to a center live tree. Once inside this shelter she stretched out upon the grass. That she was now going to be a mother, a parent responsible for the life of another human was not lost to her. She would cry, knowing she was bringing into this strange world a child with no real way to provide or protect him or her. It was a frightening thought, and in this world could literately consume her.. and her child. She rolled to her side, tears changed direction as they rolled from her eyes. Deep sadness overwhelmed her as she cried for the predicament she found herself in. Fear clawed at her mind, questions boiled to the surface, casting doubt on her very existence and survival. She knew that she was completely unprepared to be a mother, having no concept on how to birth a child without help. But to do it alone she must, for she knew no one on this planet. She could trust no person other than herself. *** Sometime just before the sun had risen, she was already up and slowly working back toward her original shelter. The day was cloudy with a hint of rain; she could smell it on the early wind. Using the spear shaft as a walking stick, she slowly meandered her way up a unfamiliar side of her mountain toward her more permanent shelter. On a much lower level, as she was rounding a boulder, she paused, noticing a small hole along the face of the outcropping. Walking along a slight ledge, she carefully made her way to the hole. Pushing the spear in, just in case a wild animal were inside, she inched her way into the opening. As she inspected the entry, she realized that the cave went even farther back. Just within the opening she found that she could stand somewhat. Stepping aside, she allowed light to filter through the opening. This cave was probably the size of a very large room, the floor was remarkably flat. She looked up, trying to discern whether the ceiling was low or high. This was well above her outstretched hand. She could just barely touch it with the tip of the spear she held. Realizing that there was a natural opening close to the size of her head, she smiled. She knew that this would make a perfect shelter, she could have a fire inside and the smoke would be carried out the hole on the top. She felt giddy at her luck and for the remainder of that day, set about gathering her belongings from the first shelter and trucking it down to what she now considered 'the permanent' one. Also she tidied it up, cleaning the brush, dead leaves and loose rock, from the floor and making it very livable. Not long before dark, she had created a make-shift door, one that she could close and prevent most animals from entering. Satisfied, she set about to building a fire so she could cook a fish that she had caught in one of her many traps down in the river. Working the bow in the groove of her stone, it wasn't long before she had a nice little fire going. Bigger sticks had been thrown on the dancing flame until the interior of her cave was illuminated in a soft yellow glow. She began to cook her fish and as she did, her eyes were drawn to what looked like several objects drawn on the wall. Her heart jumped slightly as she moved closer to the image, it was almost like a story was being played out in the pictures. It was as though some ancient artist was speaking to her through the ages. Walking back toward her small fire, she gathered a stick and carried it close to the wall so she could see the drawing better. She sighed at the beauty of the illustrations of some long ago inhabitants of this cave. She threw several more sticks onto her fire, hoping to shed more light on the caves interior, all around her there were pictographs. There were the outlines of hands, drawings of animals she recognized and several she didn't. She sat back on her haunches, smiling at all of the art in front of her. Any man who could have witnessed that heavenly smile, would have fallen in love with her in an instant. The ancient paintings gave her the new found feeling of home, more than anything she had come across since she arrived on this godforsaken planet. For once she didn't feel as though she was alone. -Thirteen- A kindly old woman gently bathed Etu with a thin piece of leather; she lowered it into a clay pot and rinsed the sweat from it. The young warrior heard her squeeze the water back into the pot only moments before feeling its refreshing coolness once again dab at his fevered face. She smiled as she noticed him watching her, yet continued with her ministrations. "You seem to be feeling better?" Etu licked his lips and tried to talk. His tongue seemed thick, his mouth dry. The older woman gave him a small swallow from a translucent bag, most likely a stomach from some animal. He swallowed, eagerly until she pulled it back. "How long have I been here?" he asked, his voice raspy. She smiled. "You have been in my care for a half moon. You were very bad when Kutkutuk brought you to me, he is my son. They pulled you in a travois for many days themselves. I honestly did not think you would survive." He groaned and looked up into the roof of the lodge. "Almost two moons?" He tried to sit but she pushed him back down. "I have to find the Aponi spirit!" "You have to allow the great spirit to mend your body first, the Aponi spirit can wait." She pulled the blanket covering him down and examined where the arrow shaft had been pushed through his shoulder...it was the only way to safely extract the arrowhead. He winced as she touched the area around the hole. "It is mending. You will probably live." Etu tried to raise his head; the severe pain caused him to become dizzy. She turned his head so she could inspect where he had been hit with the war club. "I am sure the Algonquin who attacked you broke your skull. You should have died." "I thank you and your son, Kutkutuk for helping me, that I did not...how much longer do you think I will need to remain?" He closed his eyes tightly until the pain in his head subsided. "You will be ready when you are ready... and you are not ready," she replied bluntly. "I have seen men in better shape than you, die from being hit with a war club. Something happens on the inside, they seem just fine and then... they are dead." Etu relaxed, even he knew he was too injured to try and leave. He sighed and closed his eyes, praying silently to the Great Spirit for his healing medicine; and for the protection of the Aponi Spirit. *** Almost another full moon had passed Etu, before he felt well enough to began moving about. His head still throbbed when he stood, but he could feel that he was slowly getting stronger. It angered him that he was taking so long to get back to himself. Between the fever and the actual injury he felt he was losing valuable time. He sat down on a log and quietly watched the people of this Mohawk tribe. "You are feeling well, my Oneida Brother?" Etu turned his head; just that motion caused him to wince. "Ah, my friend Kutkutuk," he said with a smile, attempting to conceal the pain he was in. "Mother says you are doing well. She says you will be able to go before the leaves capture the Spirit Sun's colors." He smiled and reached behind himself to scratch his lower back. "We are planning to make war on the Algonquin. If you are better, would you like to come?" Etu thought of his responsibility to the Aponi spirit, but nodded anyway. A warrior must first repay his debt to the people who saved him. "I will help you make war on the Algonquin." Kutkutuk grinned, he held out his huge hand and as each grasped his new friend's wrist. "How soon will you make war?" asked Etu. "We will wait for the dark moon, we will move on their tribe the following morning." They both stood, he was almost a full head taller than Etu. "Heal well my friend, Etu. Heal well." -Fourteen- As the sun came up, the beautiful young girl sat above her new cave. Having found the exit where the smoke from her fire would ventilate, she created a labyrinth of sticks in an attempt to diffuse any smoke from attracting unwanted attention. It wasn't too elaborate, just purely functional. From any passersby above, they would just think it were some twigs that had become lodged in rocks. April, as she had been referring to herself since that was the month she had been transformed, sat and looked out over her new domain. She reluctantly began to scoot herself down from the cave top, until she could gain better footing. Carefully she picked her way back to the mouth of her cave, picking up broken branches and any burnable item as she walked. Once inside the safety of her cave, she stacked the wood to use at a much later date. From the shadow she cast upon the wall, April realized that there could be no denying that that bitch Leigh was telling the truth. She watched as the feminine shadow upon the wall turned slightly and gently caressed the slight unmistakable swell of her belly. The image caused her to sigh, she was destined to carry a child whether she wanted to or not. It was fear though that raced quickly through her extremities, always reminding her, that here she was alone. She knew that millions upon millions of humans have bore their young, she would just add to it, becoming one more of that vast number. Thinking of the bitch Leigh in his former body, doing god knows what in Park's name. She frowned and gritted her teeth. As insane though as it may sound, she hoped that Leigh would find herself on the business end of a dagger. Knowing her...him the way she did, deep within she felt that he would piss someone off and within a year, be dead. She again looked down; this time her hand gently cupped a sore breast that was confined within the deer hide. She tried to imagine how it would have been to have a child placed within her womb in a traditional way. Closing her eyes she drew upon all the memories she had had when she was Parker, only she was now the female and the man who was bedding her was the big man she watched relieve himself in the stream. How strange it would be to feel the steady climb of an engorged penis against your body and it not be yours. How you part your soft knees to expose your feminine parts to a male suitor, and actually WANT to be filled. She felt a chill race down her spine as her imagined partner began to penetrate into her willing womb. She could feel her body rocking against the soft, lush grasses next to the river. Faster and faster he pumped his hips, pinning her willingly beneath his bronze body. Several times since she saw him, had she allowed her mind to ponder over that scene, but never before had it affected her so. She felt her legs twitch and before she could do anything to quell the strange feeling, odd little jolts of pure energy coursed and throbbed between her parted thighs. She stifled a grunt and quickly clutched her vagina, embarrassment coursed through her. Realizing what had just happened, she groaned and looked up..somehow just touching herself, thinking about having sex has caused her to climax as a female. As her body climbed back down from its sensual overload, she dejectedly stood and cried. Here was another example of just how female she had become. Wiping her tears, she straightened up as best as she could, picked up her spear and headed out. Her next stop would be a bath to cleanse the impurities from her soiled body and garments. -Fifteen- Kutkutuk caught up with Etu several days later. His face harbored a concern to which Etu noticed. "What is the matter, Kutkutuk? Your face grows long like the late day shadow." The bigger man sighed. "Our war has been put off. The Great Father wants to create an union with several tribes before we turn our attention to the Algonquin." "An union?" Etu studied his friend as he asked. "Which tribes?" Kutkutuk began naming them off. "Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca." He raised his eyebrows and gave a quick tilt of his head. "We will become a powerful nation." Etu thought of what this might mean for his people. No longer would they have to fear the Algonquin, instead it may be the other way around. "What will we call ourselves after we become one great nation?" "The Great Father is calling us 'Goano'ganoch'sa'je'seroni'." Kutkutuk smiled as he nudged his friend. "The Big Roof People?" Etu chuckled as he scratched his head. "We will strike fear into the Algonquin...fear of our large lodge roof." The comment caused Kutkutuk to openly laugh, his straight white teeth contrasting against his bronze skin. He shook his head in the negative toward his friend. "I think...the Great Father is thinking of many nations together as one." Etu nodded. "Let us hope so." He again smiled and caused Kutkutuk to laugh. "A roof will not strike fear in an enemy's heart... unless it happens to fall upon his head." The humor did not fall short as Kutkutuk grinned. "You are a funny man Etu, you are always good for a laugh." -Sixteen- The two young friends stood close to the front as all chiefs from the five Indian nations sat in council and contemplated the foraging of one great nation. The Great Father stood and addressed those assembled; in his hand he held a single stick high overhead. "You there, what is it they call you?" He pointed to Kutkutuk. "I am Kutkutuk, warrior for the Mohawk," he spoke as he stepped forward, then gave a reverent nod to the Great Father. "Kutkutuk is like all warriors of our great Confederacy, the Mohawk, the Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca! Strong, powerful and proud." He gestured to each of the tribes as he spoke; finally he faced the man who stood before him. "Alone, we each are like this stick." He held it aloft and then placed it into Kutkutuk's hand. "When our enemies attack, we are often powerless to defend our women and children." As he nodded, Kutkutuk's powerful muscles flexed and easily broke the stick in half. The old warrior then again approached the tribal chieftains. He walked over to the first chief and spoke for all to hear. "My brother the Mohawk, what say you?" "The Mohawk will join." The man stood, handing him a stick similar to the one that Kutkutuk had broken. He again walked to the next chief and again spoke loud, his voice carrying so all could hear. "My brother's the Oneida and Onondaga, what say you?" In unison, they each stood proudly saying, "The Oneida will join! The Onondaga will join!" One by one each of the Chiefs offered up their symbolic sticks to the Great Father, he slowly carried them to where Kutkutuk stood. The young warrior accepted them, and as he held them out, the Great Father took up a thin piece of leather and tied them together in a bundle. "The hide is our union; it is what binds us together as one. Where one stick is easily broken, five are not!" He held out his hand to Kutkutuk, who began to flex his powerful muscles. The bundle only would bend, he could not break them. "Until Grandfather Sun sets forever, we have become the most powerful nation; a nation to be feared by our enemies! We stand before the Great Spirit as the Iroquois Confederacy!" A great cheer rose from the throats of the warriors and women alike. For once, all felt as though they could live without fear. Several warriors were boisterous and eager to set upon the Algonquin and shouted as much to the Great Father. Like a great conductor, he held out his hands and the crowd settled almost instantly. "No! No! NO! We are not going to set out to destroy our enemies, overwhelming them with our power." He slowly lowered his hands, rotating his palms up. "Our enemies will know what we are capable of... that is what will protect us! We will become a league of peace and power!" Several of the younger warriors exchanged glances, for in their blood, they wanted to scrub the Algonquin from the earth. The Great Father shook his fist as he still held one palm up. "If our enemies do not respect our peaceful ways, then they will come to fear the Iroquois Nation!" He suddenly brought his fist down into his palm, the smack could be heard far back into the crowd. As fist struck palm, the entire body of Iroquois as they would collectively be known, erupted in great cheer and boisterous glee. Etu glanced to Kutkutuk and raised his eyebrows, both were pleasantly surprised by the decision of their Great Father. -Seventeen- It was dark, the moon was but a sliver in the sky, the young female sat in water up to her chest. It had been an incredibly hot afternoon and the comfort she felt from the cool water was very welcome. All about her was a multitude of night sounds, crickets, frogs and night birds. Their constant cacophony and the moving current was hiding any sound she made quite well. She was sitting in a particularly dark bend, and had no fear of being seen. Low hanging trees and reeds seemed to conceal her from view, blocking the naked woman from the unwanted eyes of potential harm. With her long blonde hair pulled back, braided in a hap-hazard way. She quietly washed the sweat from her body, paying close attention to her sore nipples. She held no doubt now that she was well on to her way of becoming a mother, even if she desired it not to be true, she knew. She cleansed her skin using a small flat reed-woven cloth she made herself. It was slightly rough, but when soaked just enough it worked rather well. As she ran the 'cloth' over her slowly expanding belly, she marveled at the thought of a real human growing inside. Throughout the heat of the day, the tiny child inside of her womb seemed to be quite active. Now though, the cool water seemed to give the little one some buoyancy, it had settled down almost as soon as she lowered herself into the stream. 'How could this be possible?' she thought to herself as she chased a flutter across her stomach. She had been forced to accept the fact that she was now a female and a mother to be. She let her mind dwell upon that fact... mother to be. She knew, though unwillingly, she had been transformed into an exact duplicate of Leigh. She also knew that as part of the transformation process, the semen from her former testes had somehow been absorbed into this fertile feminine body. Even though she hated Leigh with a passion, for stealing her identity, she could take some solace that part of her former self would live on. Albeit through her offspring. She studied her feminine curves in the soft light of the moon, Leigh was despicable...but she was also very lovely. At least if she was stuck until death, she would be beautiful. The young mother sighed. Frustration grew in her as she cursed aloud, yet all that came to her ears was a guttural noise. As each day progressed, she could not create words because of whatever Leigh had forced down her throat. As far as she could tell, she had been deposited on this godforsaken planet for nearly 6 months. She again tried to whisper, but it came out sounding like a deer in rut. Gritting her teeth, she sank lower in the water until her head was completely under. With a shake of her head, the braid came loose and copious amounts of platinum blond hair began to drift about her face under the water's surface. Once again, as she rose to the top, she quietly pushed her hair back and blinked the water from her rather long lashes. Slowly she stood, yet stayed concealed within the darkness of the shadows. Her eyes, accustomed to the light, searched out for any danger lurking in the wood. There was none. Quietly she retreated to the bank and watched as thin little droplets of water rolled down her womanly body. Again she sighed, for as much as she had seen, she was still not used to seeing it on her. She felt the underside of her baby's bump, guessing that she was now somewhere near to six months along. The ever growing child within her body, was causing a pull upon her back. She could tell as well that there was a slight expansion of her breasts, for the hide was becoming more and more tight with each day. 'Six months pregnant? I could just die!' she groaned to herself, as she thought of the impossibility that she was living through. She straightened up and set her jaw, she wouldn't let this destroy her. Her own mother had carried a child in this way several times, and he... she, always thought of her mother as weak. Now as if a veil had suddenly been removed from her beautiful eyes, for the first time she saw her mother as a very strong woman. Not Leigh's mother but Parks. Somehow she realized that the inner strength of a woman is something that she was going to have to discover, tapping into a vein, all of her own. She knew she could, she was strong and felt the power flow within. The young beauty picked up her belongings and retrieved her spear from the tree it had been leaning against. She would be a survivor, for only the strong survive! She headed back toward her mountain, imbibed with a strange certain sense of raw feminine power... a quiet strength if you will. -Eighteen- Etu stood at an unfamiliar edge of a meadow; he was preparing to hunt for deer. The area he was in was new to him, for it was directly in the middle of a very thick wood. Animal trails crisscrossed the entire open area, and he felt as if he were patient, a sturdy young buck might pass within a relatively close distance. It was his way of trying to repay Kutkutuk's family for their kindness, and for nursing him back to health. He noticed a game trail that crossed the meadow and then slowly skirted the woods. Scouting the trees, he found one that would be easy enough to climb, allowing him to scale perhaps the distance, high enough above ground, where he could use it to his advantage. He sat quietly in a low hanging limb, perhaps the height of two men upon each shoulder from the ground. He was watching the outlying area for any movement that would alert him that deer were in the area. At the far end of the meadow there were three deer quietly nibbling at the green shoots. Etu quietly removed an arrow from his quiver, placing it at the ready in his bow. There would be time before they reached his area. He patiently made himself comfortable and enjoyed the early morning sun. He allowed his mind to wander slightly, wondering if the Aponi female was still in the area. It chagrined him greatly, knowing that he may have missed his chance to locate her due to his ambush and injury by the Algonquin. He watched a small white sky dancer or aponi as he knew it, flitting among the trees around him. It only landing for a brief moment before taking flight once again. His eyes followed it and he thought back to that day when he first saw the Aponi Spirit. It was as only yesterday when he saw her emerge from within the cloud of tiny white aponi, completely naked and quite beautiful. The sun filtering through the treetops, dappling her in splendor. He caught himself sigh deeply, and for a brief moment he recalled their eyes meeting there in the woods. It was the first time at seeing an Aponi spirit, and she was forever burned into his memory. So beautiful... so untouchable. Although it was rare to see the white humans, he recalled one such person who had traded with his people years ago when he was but a child. That man smelled foul, like dead animals, his face was covered with hair like a wild dog. Etu remembered him bringing items with him to trade, up to that time the Oneida could only dream of. He spoke a strange language and although he did know how to communicate to his people, but spoke that with an odd accent. As a child, Etu remembered hearing him tell someone that he was from the 'old country.' Etu laughed to himself, it was such a silly thing for the little man to say... in his opinion, no country was older than his own. Yes, under the grime that man was of a similar color to the Aponi Spirit, although his had been burned from the sun and wind. The Aponi female's skin was flawless and pale; it appeared to be soft and supple like that of a newborn. Her long hair was very pale, much like the strands of the maze his people grew. Etu admonished himself as he realized that he had been daydreaming when he should be paying attention to the deer. They had moved slightly closer, yet were still too far off to shoot. He watched as the bigger female deer kept looking back beyond her young fawns, as if waiting for something. The warm sun was shining down on her rust colored coat, the top of her back and those of her offspring were almost black in color. He marveled at the graceful way she moved, her beauty paled in comparison to that of the Aponi Spirit though. He couldn't imagine any creature, two or four legged that was as gloriously beautiful, as the young lithe creature he spied those long months ago. Though here he was, hunting animals instead of the creature that seemed to capture his every waking moment, and most of those while he slept. His eyes were drawn to the area behind the deer, another bigger one was slowly making its way into the meadow to feed. It was keeping in the shadows yet he could tell that it was most likely the great stag. As it slowly emerged from the shadows, he could see the antlers of the bigger deer. It cautiously moved out into the opening and began to feed off of the tender grass. The buck raised its head and began to scan the side of the woods, directly opposite from Etu. The young man's eyes traveled to the area they were all watching now, ears twisted forward alertly. There was nervousness evident in the smaller deer, the bigger male raised his foot and stamped it down hard. This motion caused the doe and two young ones to flee instantly into the woods behind the big male. Again the male stamped its foot and for the first time blew, the sound echoed off the trees. Etu slowly slipped behind a larger part of the tree. If they were concerned, he felt he should be too. Etu watched the remaining deer as it warily gazed upon the opposite stand of trees; it bobbed his head, almost as though it was testing the wind for scent. It suddenly wheeled and bounded into the trees, approximately three jumps took it well beyond sight of the hunter. He frowned as he studied the area the deer had been intently watching; movement in the shadows drew his attention. Cautiously emerging from the shadows was an Indian, he was leaning forward and staying low, in his hand he carried a fearsome war-club. Etu watched from between the branches as another and another emerged, from their dress, he knew them as Algonquin. From his place of hiding, he watched fourteen warriors cross the meadow in a stealthy manner. Their path took them within a few paces of the concealed hunter; they were heading toward the Mohawk village. This was a raiding party, it was quite evident to Etu, that they were not seeking game. The raiding party slowly melted into the woods and as soon as they were far enough away, Etu dropped to the ground and slung his bow over his shoulder. At a dead run he took a path that would allow him to bypass the party and hopefully get him to the village before they arrived. Racing like the wind, Etu hurtled logs and small streams as he attempted to beat the warriors to Kutkutuk's village. He even dared to pause, just to make sure they were actually heading toward the Mohawk lands. He met his friend at the near side of the tribal ground. "Ho, my friend Etu, what is your hurry?" he said with a smile as the panting warrior caught his breath. "Algonquin war party..." He pointed as he gasped for air. "They are not far away!" Kutkutuk quickly called another brave to him and relayed the message. Soon about thirty young stalwart braves set out to meet the Algonquin warriors well outside the village, and with them was Etu. -Nineteen- At seven months along, she knew that her days of climbing up and down the mountain side were numbered, even at this lower level. Her belly was round and protruding quite a bit. Her growing middle forced her to construct a practical gown from pelts from the animals that she had trapped. Mostly it was made of rabbits, but there were a handful of others within the garment. She had skinned them, and using a scraper she had fashioned from slate she had found not far away. She removed every bit of fur from them, using tools much like her own ancient ancestors, she sewed the pelts together with sinew from the very same animals. She stood behind a boulder and watched a young deer walking along the stream, and frowned knowing that to bring down such a creature would have to involve something more than the spear she had. At the distance she was from the deer, it would take a Herculean throw, and she no longer possessed the muscle or accuracy to cast it that far. For now, all she could do was watch and wish, sighing she thought back to the primitive life she had been forced to live. Having to forage and learn on the fly just to survive. She thought back to her days at the academy, all of what she had learned was being wasted. Technology was a complete joke here, it was as if she had been thrown backward thousands of years from her own time. She had been calculating what it would take to consistently bring down one of the larger deer that she watched each day. She knew it would have to be fast and able to strike from a distance away. She took a stick and began to scratch in the ground an ancient device she had remembered once when she had still been in school. Locating a green piece of wood, almost half her own hight, she began formulating her idea. The stick was soaked for a half day in the water and she bent it around a rock until it held a slight curve. When she was satisfied, she slowly bent the ends in an opposite curve as the overall shape. It took a full day to hold onto the curve, but as it dried slightly she could see it would work. She was making an ancient looking bow. For two days while she had been working on the stick, she was studying the area for a place of which she might have the best chance for a deer. She particularly noticed that one passed a brushy area at almost the same time each day, perhaps if she could hide herself there she might be able to ambush one as it passed, perhaps by thrusting her spear into its side. She carefully began plotting a hunt for the morning, using the time when she noticed them moving down toward the water. Waking long before daylight, she made her way down to the stream and striped down until she was entirely naked. There at the waters edge, she coated herself with mud and covered every inch of her body in an attempt to mask her scent from the wary animal. Hiding within the foliage she waited patiently for the young deer to walk by, nor did she have long to wait. A moment just after sunrise, she heard a twig snap to her left, she froze and only her eyes moved toward the sound. It made a low guttural sound, almost like a belch, but only seconds before it came into view. She gripped her spear tighter and held it in the ready. As soon as the patch of reddish brown passed in front of her, she drove forward with her spear, burying it deep into the unsuspecting creature's chest. It was only able to run a short distance before falling dead upon the ground. She was a mix of pride, sadness and horror as what she had just done sank into her mind. Tears streamed down her face as she cleaned the animal of its insides, but she knew it was something that had to be done. She drug it nearer to the stream where she rinsed the blood from the carcass and herself, as well as the mud that worked so well at masking her scent. Anchoring the animal beneath a log, she used the movement of the river to wash the insides of it clean. After placing her dress back upon her body, she gathered what she could of the internal organs that she knew how to prepare, and carried those back toward her cave... nothing was wasted. Almost two hours later she returned to the kill and began the long trek back up the mountain, struggling with the heavier animal. The exertion that her small, weaker body took trying to get the small deer up to her cave was beyond comprehension. She pushed, pulled, lifted and drug the carcass for a half day up the side of that mountain until she collapsed. Her muscles ached, and for once became concerned for what she may have done to the child she carried. Fear began to permeate through her mind; worry ate at her as she thought of all the horrible scenarios that could happen to her child. Movement within her stomach allowed her to relax, until once again she felt confident that everything was alright. She realized though, that she wouldn't be able to exert herself in this manner any more. She also knew that she must begin to gather up food items for the duration of her pregnancy, because as she grew, much of what she had just done would not be an option. That evening, although quite tired, she ate well. For the first time she had something other than small game. She skinned the animal as it lay on the ground within her cave, but kept its hide under the animal to keep the meat clean. For almost half the night she cut small strips of meat from the larger portions and allowed them to dry. Only then did she lay back and rest until the morning sun filtering through the cave opening awaken her. She began to strip thin threads of sinew from the long hind legs, once she had several; she braided them together as one long thin strand. This long strand she fastened to each end of the stick in little notches she had made. She sat the bow out in the sun. She kept watch, her beautiful crystalline blue eyes paying attention to her duties as well as to the string drawing her bow tighter and tighter. Often she would run some deer fat or tallow along the length of the string to keep it malleable. Near nightfall, she gathered most of the bones, the ones she had no use for and carried them to the edge of a cliff. Carefully she tossed them into a gorge that would deposit them far enough from her so that predatory animals would not be lured near to the cave. She kept alert, paying mind to her safety as well as to the string drawing her bow tighter and tighter. The last thing she needed was to have someone catch her unready, or her bow to crack from not being attended to. Often she would run some deer fat or tallow along the length of string to keep it malleable. It was growing ever tighter as it dried, pulling the ends of the bow together more and more. The outward curve at each end was working against the draw of the string, once done, she would have a very formidable weapon. The string being as tight as one of the ancients instruments she had seen in a Dulvinian lounge she had visited often in her former life. The following morning, she began to cut and dry out the meat. Every place where she could safely hang it to dry was used; even several spots where she had to drape it over a boulder had been utilized. Carefully she drew closed her make-shift door, hoping that it would prevent any hungry animals from entering and eating her supplies. She turned and headed down the mountain in search of straight sticks suitable to use for arrows. The sun was high overhead when she thought she had found enough sticks to make the shaft for her arrows. She tied the bundle together and carried them over her shoulder as she returned back up the mountain. The trip made more and more cumbersome because of her ever expanding middle. She found herself humming a quiet little song as she walked, not sure if it soothed the child she carried, but it helped her pass the time. Often she would try to use her voice, as yet no intelligible sound would come forth. It was strange to her that she could hum but not speak, it seemed impossible that they not be connected in some way. Hopeful, she felt that perhaps the liquid that Leigh had poured down her throat might just be wearing off, little by little. With each step, as she thought of the person who stole her body, she grew angrier. Her bitterness to Leigh instead made her cry, she wanted so desperately to be able to talk again. 'Damn feminine hormones,' she thought bitterly. She wiped her tears, unable to fathom bringing life into the world and not be able to speak would be like. She worried that her yet unborn offspring would be slowed in development if his or her mother could not speak. She knew how a child's early years were so important to development, how would it learn if it's mother could only grunt? She sighed desperately as she began her long walk back up to her cave, its winding and twisting way, taxing upon her already aching body. Often her way was nothing more than a thin trail, broken by strenuous climbs around large boulders or fallen rock. As darkness began to fall, the exhausted girl pushed aside the door to the cave. The flexing sticks that made up the door gave way to her efforts, grated against the cave floor as she bent low and crawled to the sanctuary inside. Carefully placing the bundle aside, she pushed closed her door and pulled the stomach skin of water from her shoulder and sat it up so it would not drain out. Unrolling a rabbit pelt, she removed a dried piece of meat and began to chew it. As she struggled through the meat, she thought back to her childhood. How she missed the foods that her mother had made, warm foods... cooked foods. She leaned her head back as she continued to chew, her tired mind thinking back to a bygone day. The emotions overwhelmed her and she began to cry, tears rolling down her pale cheeks. -Twenty- She could hear a mother's voice, calling from somewhere in the distance. A young boy raced across the lawns and up the steps of the older home. The kindly woman that stood there was smiling, her arms open and inviting. From the house the boy could smell wonderful food cooking, its enticing flavors meshing into one heavenly aroma. He was ushered indoors, across clean carpets toward the kitchen. As they rounded the corner her perspective changed. Now she was the mother, the youngster in front of her was a filthy child, hair unkempt and in a disarray. The wonderful aroma that she had smelled had suddenly changed. On the ground before her child was a bloody carcass, the child fell on it like he was an animal, tearing huge chunks of meat from it with each bite. He looked back toward his mother, his dirty face streaked with dripping blood. She screamed, the bloodcurdling sound caused her to bolt upright, the dried meat she had been chewing falling the rest of the way to the cave floor. The young woman rolled onto her side and sobbed deeply into her arm, this forbidden planet was no place to raise a child. She must find a way to bring some sort of civilization to this young child she carried... or she would die trying. Wiping her tears away, she sat up straighter, she was determined that her child would not become an animal. She was better than that. She thought to her dream and realized that she did have a mentor to help her with this baby. She smiled, knowing that the nightmare she had was only that, and most questions she would have, she could easily draw the answers from her own mother. -Twenty One- As they raced to meet the Algonquin raiding party head on, Kutkutuk signaled for half of the Mohawk defenders to split and flank the invaders from the side. Etu, the only Oneida with them, stayed beside his friend. The entire Mohawk surge slowed as they neared their foe, allowing the flanking maneuver to quickly close the Algonquin in on two sides. To Etu, it was a marvel of beauty, impressing upon the young warrior his friend's cunning at the art of war. At the very last moment, an Algonquin warrior saw that a large contingent of Mohawk's were coming right into the teeth of their invasion. It was as the two combatant armies collided that a few Algonquin realized that they had been flanked. Though they fought hard, only one of the enemy had survived. Battered and bruised, he was drug back into the village. The chief scowled as he looked upon the Algonquin warrior. He stood proud until he was struck in the back by a club and brought to his knees. "What reason do you have for attacking our village?" The proud warrior slowly looked from one elder to another, then returned his haughty expression back toward the chief. "We are in search of new hunting grounds." The older man crouched down so he could look directly into the eyes of the Algonquin. "Since the time of my father's father, your people have pushed the five tribes of the Iroquois south, stealing our land, murdering our peoples each and every time." He motioned for Kutkutuk to raise the Indian to his feet. Now standing eye to eye, the old chief held up his hand. "The five fingers of the Iroquois have spoken, if the Algonquin wish for peace. We will offer our hand to them...but if the Algonquin wish for war, the five tribes will be as a great fist." He slowly closed his hand for emphasis. To Kutkutuk he addressed, "Take some braves with you, escort this warrior to the edge of our lands, and turn him loose. Let him go back to his people and give them our warning." His dark eyes once again settled upon the battered warrior facing him. "Now go. But be warned, should you return to our lands again, you will be killed in a most terrible way." As the old one started away, he motioned for Kutkutuk to walk with him for a bit. The Algonquin just stared at the chief as he turned his back on him, trying to be proud and yet bitter to be the last one alive from his raiding party. Kutkutuk signaled for several to escort the warrior toward the edge of the village and wait. He began to walk with the chief. "Who alerted you about the Algonquin?" The chief smiled and looked upward at the bigger man. "It was my friend Etu, of the Oneida." He motioned for Etu to come over so the chief could see him. Etu stepped up beside his friend. "I am Etu, great one." He lowered his face slightly in honor. The old one eyed him for several long seconds. "You have done well, Etu. Our village owes you a debt of favor." "Your village owes me nothing. I was almost killed when Kutkutuk brought me here to mend. His family has taken care of me well. I was doing something that I would have done for any of my brothers." The old man smiled and grasped Etu's shoulder in a friendly manner. "The Great Spirit will bestow you with kindness...I can see it already. May your parents be honored." Etu bowed his head forward. "Thank you great one." He then looked up at Kutkutuk. "Take Etu with you, see that the Algonquin warrior is not harmed so he will relay my message." The big Indian nodded and turned, he and Etu caught up with the others who were surrounding the Algonquin. His hands were tied and wore a collar around his neck, there were two stiff poles in stout warriors hands that were tied to the collar. The two warriors could control the Algonquin effectively without getting too close to him. Several days they marched, always headed to the north. As they neared the lands of the Algonquin, the air turned chilly. Here and there were signs that the change of seasons were near. Etu admired this beautiful country, its pristine lands and thick tree canopy. For one full day they began their march inside the Algonquin lands, yet they were far enough away from populated land that they had no fear. Soon they would divest themselves of this burden and return back to the familiar lands of home. Kutkutuk pointed to a valley below them, the trees created a grand hue of yellows, golds and reds. Here and there were the tops that had not yet been affected by the cool evenings. "This land once belonged to my people, until the Algonquin chased us off it." The Algonquin warrior glanced bac