a bit of a late birthday present as well as a valentines day gift for my friend Ratty over on Tumblr.
It was an easy jump from the low branch onto a big rock, then a stump and then Ratonhnhaké:ton hit the ground on his shoulder, rolling and popping up, panting slightly. Once he stood up he looked over his shoulder. He could see Kanen'tó:kon moving on the ground behind him, moving rather slow in the thick summer undergrowth. "C'mon Kanen'tó:kon," Ratonhnhaké:ton called back to him.
"I'm coming," his friend called, sounding out of breath. Ratonhnhaké:ton sometimes felt bad for his friend, not because he was big, he liked Kanen'tó:kon like that, he was a warmer spot in the long house to sleep next to when it got cold. He felt bad because he was always faster than his friend. Kanen'tó:kon moved through the forest like a boar at times, and not a particularly quiet one, overturning rocks and snapping twigs, alerting every animal around to his presence. When they hunted together Ratonhnhaké:ton preferred to set Kanen'tó:kon up in one of the tree watch posts to shoot game from afar and Ratonhnhaké:ton would collect it with his own game. While he didn't always like to admit it, once Kanen'tó:kon had actually learned to shoot a bow he was a better shot than Ratonhnhaké:ton was.
Ratonhnhaké:ton turned away from Kanen'tó:kon and unslung his bow and quiver, putting them on the rock along with his knife and tomahawk. He followed it with his buckskin tunic and his belt. He was tugging his boots off when Kanen'tó:kon finally caught up with him, not puffing, but needing a moment to catch his wind regardless. Kanen'tó:kon eyed the glittering river with reservations. He wasn't a strong swimmer and sank like a stone without an ounce of buoyancy.
"You sure you don't want to do something else?" Kanen'tó:kon asked him as Ratonhnhaké:ton took off his pants.
"It's the middle of summer," Ratonhnhaké:ton said without apologies since it was very hot in the valley. A heat wave had struck them and made sleeping in the long house nearly unbearable at night as the heat sank down into the low points of the earth like a blanketing mud. The river was clean and clear and much cooler in the middle of the hot day. "It'll feel good," Ratonhnhaké:ton gave Kanen'tó:kon a light grin and walked to the river. He felt Kanen'tó:kon watching him with some reservations.
The water felt cool on Ratonhnhaké:ton's skin and the mud soft and forgiving between his toes. Here the river was deeper than it was closer to Kanatahséton, enough to go up to your shoulders about a hundred feet further up river. Here though it only came up to Ratonhnhaké:ton's chest. He left his fingers slide through the clear water and dropped down contently, the river flowing past him slowly. They were at the low point of the valley and here the water flowed barely faster than a brisk walk.
Kanen'tó:kon was still on the bank, frowning, a rare look on his friend's face. "C'mon Kanen'tó:kon, the water feels nice," Ratonhnhaké:ton called, beckoning.
"I don't know," Kanen'tó:kon said.
"I'm here," Ratonhnhaké:ton reminded him, "I promise I won't let you get swept away by the current." Kanen'tó:kon pouted at him a moment and then turned away from him and put his weapons down next to Ratonhnhaké:ton's.
Ratonhnhaké:ton grinned to himself and sunk down so his nose was just barely above the water watching Kanen'tó:kon undress. Ratonhnhaké:ton waded into waist height water when Kanen'tó:kon stood naked on the bank looking uneasy. "The water isn't going to bite you," Ratonhnhaké:ton said.
"I know," Kanen'tó:kon said. "Still you know I don't like to swim."
"It feels nice. When we're done we'll go do something you wanna do. Deal?"
There was a brief silence, "Deal," Kanen'tó:kon said, nodding, and stepped into the river. Kanen'tó:kon made it up to his waist and with a cunning grin Ratonhnhaké:ton smacked his hand across the water splashing Kanen'tó:kon. "Ratonhnhaké:ton!" he howled and Ratonhnhaké:ton jumped back laughing when Kanen'tó:kon made to grab at him. He slipped on some algae covered rocks and caught himself only when he was under the water and came to the surface sputtering.
He wiped water from his eyes, "See now I'm even wetter than you," he grinned. Kanen'tó:kon still splashed him for good measure. Ratonhnhaké:ton splashed him back and soon they were both so thoroughly soaked it didn't matter who had started it.
When it was over Ratonhnhaké:ton floated on his back in the water, holding onto a few of Kanen'tó:kon's fingers. Kanen'tó:kon didn't float and was happy to sit a bit closer to the bank, the water almost up to his shoulders, and enjoy the water. Ratonhnhaké:ton watched the clouds, his face growing more serious as he did so, thinking again. Maybe thinking too much. "You think so loud Ratonhnhaké:ton," Kanen'tó:kon suddenly announced.
Ratonhnhaké:ton turned his head to Kanen'tó:kon, "Huh?"
"Your mind, it's so loud and busy."
"You can read my mind?" for a moment Ratonhnhaké:ton was actually worried.
"No. But I know when you're thinking too hard," Kanen'tó:kon pulled him over to the more shallow water and Ratonhnhaké:ton righted himself to rest on his knees in front of Kanen'tó:kon. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"What I saw in that vision," Ratonhnhaké:ton said. He'd been thinking about it a lot. About leaving, to seek the symbol. The Clan Mother had already given her blessing to find it, like his mother had sought to find it. But, he didn't know. He felt he should, because his mother had, and he'd seen that symbol before, in that book. But it meant leaving Kanatahséton and Ratonhnhaké:ton had never been outside the valley. The last time he really had… had been the fire. He blinked to clear the memory.
"I see," Kanen'tó:kon said slowly, knowing what Ratonhnhaké:ton was going on about. "Are you going to go?"
"I think… I will?" Ratonhnhaké:ton didn't have an answer himself. It was so confusing, what he wanted, what he should do. The spirit had told him to seek the symbol and he knew the importance of spirits and their guidance. If she said he should then he must. Right? He looked towards the direction of Kanatahséton, "I will miss home if I leave," he said, frowning.
"Then don't," Kanen'tó:kon said. Then he stood up, "I'm getting wrinkly, lets dry off," he said. Ratonhnhaké:ton nodded as Kanen'tó:kon headed towards the bank and flopped down on a patch of grass. Ratonhnhaké:ton followed and watched Kanen'tó:kon undo his hair, letting it fan out around him to let it dry. "Once we're dry, we do what I want to do," Kanen'tó:kon said.
"I said we would," Ratonhnhaké:ton agreed, lying on his back and glancing over at Kanen'tó:kon.
"You need to help me with my hair first," Kanen'tó:kon added.
Ratonhnhaké:ton laughed, "When are you going to learn to do it yourself?" he asked teasingly.
"Why should I when you do it so well?" Kanen'tó:kon challenged right back. Ratonhnhaké:ton just grinned and stretched his arms out to soak up the summer heat and sun. Kanen'tó:kon tangled his fingers together with Ratonhnhaké:ton's. Lying there, waiting for the coolness of the river to be leeched from their skin, they played games in the sky, spotting shapes of animals and objects in the clouds. Kanen'tó:kon was better at those games than Ratonhnhaké:ton ever was. He had a broader imagination and seemed to see the beauty in everything, even the tiny things. Ratonhnhaké:ton loved that about Kanen'tó:kon.
"So what are we going to do?" Ratonhnhaké:ton asked, taking his hand from Kanen'tó:kon's to touch his hair to check if it was dry. It was.
"I wanted to practice shooting," Kanen'tó:kon sat up, his long black hair falling down his back almost perfectly except for a few pieces of grass stuck in it.
"You do?"
"Yes."
"Why? You're already good at it."
"Not good like you," Kanen'tó:kon said, sort of pouting.
Ratonhnhaké:ton just gave him an amused look but decided to not correct him. Kanen'tó:kon was always undermining his own skills. "Okay," he said. It was a good idea to practice though, you could never practice enough. Ratonhnhaké:ton moved to sit behind Kanen'tó:kon, Ratonhnhaké:ton's legs on either side of him and started by working his fingers through Kanen'tó:kon's hair.
He carefully removed all the little pieces of grass and stems and twigs that had been caught in Kanen'tó:kon's hair before separating it into two bunches. Kanen'tó:kon's hair was soft and smooth in his fingers, like corn silk the color of crow feathers. Kanen'tó:kon hummed a little as Ratonhnhaké:ton separated one of the bunches into three pieces and started the pleat close to his scalp but not too tight.
He remembered helping his mother braid her hair, before she'd died. It was calming and soothing to him, reminding him of a happier time. After the fire he'd had panic attacks and lots of nightmares. Kanen'tó:kon's family had sort of taken him in as his grandmother was too old to raise a little boy on her own. Kanen'tó:kon wasn't his brother, just his friend, one who was always there for him. He'd started braiding Kanen'tó:kon's hair after Kaniehtí:io had died, because it made things a bit easier. Kanen'tó:kon liked the attention and Ratonhnhaké:ton had a feeling his friend, even back then, had known what the simple task had done for Ratonhnhaké:ton psychologically.
Kanen'tó:kon was doing it right now too. He knew Ratonhnhaké:ton didn't need words. He just needed Kanen'tó:kon to be there for him. Ratonhnhaké:ton knew the other boy always was but there was something grounding about twisting Kanen'tó:kon's hair into the two long braids that made everything seem better than it had been. It made Ratonhnhaké:ton decide.
Ratonhnhaké:ton tied off Kanen'tó:kon's second braid but didn't get up. He leaned forward and pressed his face into Kanen'tó:kon's wide back, wrapping his arms around Kanen'tó:kon's stomach. Kanen'tó:kon was warm and smelled like the summer sun and Ratonhnhaké:ton just rested his cheek against Kanen'tó:kon's spine. Kanen'tó:kon said nothing but put one hand over Ratonhnhaké:ton's and Ratonhnhaké:ton let their fingers twine together. Ratonhnhaké:ton let of a soft sigh of a breath and turned his face inward, forehead to Kanen'tó:kon's back. "Thank you," he told Kanen'tó:kon.
"For what?" and of course Kanen'tó:kon just pretended to not understand. He knew. He didn't ask for thanks. Ratonhnhaké:ton would do the same for him if he needed it.
"Nothing," Ratonhnhaké:ton shook his head against Kanen'tó:kon's back and then kissed his skin, first on his spine and then up on the back of his neck between his braids. Kanen'tó:kon squeezed his hand. "Lets go practice," and Ratonhnhaké:ton disentangled himself from Kanen'tó:kon and stood up. He heard Kanen'tó:kon get up behind him as he grabbed his pants and shoved his legs through. He'd tell Kanen'tó:kon later that he was really leaving. He didn't want to ruin the rest of the day. One of the last real days they'd spend together in a long time he knew.
-fin-