Subject: Girltalk
Author: Lore Krajsman
Rating: PG13
Summary: the true story of Adam and Lilith from the mouth of the immortal Jo'lon
Disclaimer: I admit that I don't own Highlander or anything even remotely connected to it so please don't sue me for using its ideas. I know it's someone else's playground but please just let me have fun it it, will you?
Extra
-Dograi: Homo Neanderthal
-Koge: Cro mangnon human
-Liliaeth: Protector, guardian, ...
Characters:
Cassandra
Amanda
Jo'lon(OFC) aka Lilith
Lilin (OFC)
Adamas (OMC)
Short summary:
The girls are discussing rape and Jo'lon shares a personal experience with the subject.
(the story of Adam and Lilith from Liliths point of view -- just check your jewish mythology)
It had been a few months since Thomas Moore, a friend of Methos, had come to town. Things hadn't been the same since. Amanda had shown a friendship with Temlan and when Temlans wife arrived it was obvious the two immortals knew eachother. Then Cassandra got kidnapped. When she was freed, she stayed with her teacher Lilin, while she came to grips with what had happened. Methos had saved her life at great risk to his own. The old man didn't admit why, but the rest of them understood. Cassandra just didn't want to accept it yet.
He had changed. Maybe not into the hero some people wanted him to be, but into a man who'd left his life as a bullie behind him and was trying to make up for what he had done.
It left Cassandra in knots, not knowing what to think of the man now.
Jim had returned to Cascade. He said he still loved her, but that they both needed to think on their own for a while. Ellison still had some issues with Cassandra's immortality. With the Game.
The fact that the immortal witch did not actively involve herself with the killing helped, but still.
So thus they were brought together.
Four immortal women ready to shop till they dropped.
The mother of the Dograi, the thief, the teenage warrior and the witch.
Any Watcher would have drooled his eyes out, if Jo'lons people hadn't made sure that all Watchers had been left behind. It didn't do to let them see more of the Liliaeth than was absolutely necessary.
Even from an outsiders view they were something to look at. All four of them beautifull, all four confident about themselves. They sat down in a coffeesalon, their purchases on the floor beside them, blocking the passageway. They spoke in clipped, agitated tones. They'd decided to talk in an old Russian dialect just to be on the safe side. It wouldn't do to have the mortals around them know too much.
Jo'lon listened with a smile on her face as Amanda and Cassandra started a new round of 'Methos is bad, Methos is good'.
She noticed that Lilin was smart enough to stay out of it. Only stating a few direct replies to questions coming from the two others. Jo'lon realised how hard it must be on the girl. She'd been just as much a victim from the Horsemen as Cassandra had. Just because she'd been Kronos' slave rather than Methos' didn't mean she had to like the man.
To be honest, the only reason Lilin had allowed him to live this long was because the bastard was a brother of her husband.
Another one of Jo'lons children. And Temlan Ke Cha Jo'lon aka Thomas Moore actually liked him. Though the girl couldn't understand why. Thus she kept her cool and stayed out of the fight between the two younger immortals.
"I'm telling you witch. You're exaggerating.
Look I can understand rape and murder aren't something you just forget.
But it's been over 3000 years for crying out loud."
"It was yesterday," the witch answered the thief's outcry in a calm voice.
"Oh come on." Amanda decided to look for help with their two companions.
"Lilin please, I mean even Joey here forgave him after three millennia."
"She wasn't one of his victims," the apparent teenager stated.
"And just to state facts Amanda I've held the same grudge for half a millennia longer than Cassie has and I'm still not ready to let go of it. Even now that he has shown his allegiances elsewhere, I'm not ready to trust the man, yet."
"Joey?"
The ancient immortal lifted her head, still smiling.
"What do you think of it all?"
"Do you still need to ask."
"Yes!"
"My child please." She slowly stirred her tea. "I've said this before and I'll say it again." Then very slowly pronouncing each word separately.
"I do not choose sides."
"But ..."
"Methos is my son, Lilin my student and Methos did destroy a village under my protection. Aside of that, he also corrupted one of my favourite children.
So my dear girl, ask yourself, do you really want an answer to that question."
"Oh great so you're gonna hide behind that ancient charisma of yours again, are you Joey. You may be older than fire but I would like some straight answers from you for once."
Jo'lons mouth still held that irritating smile.
"So tell me oh ancient one have you ever and I do mean ever held a personal grudge for that long?"
"A grudge? In general?"
"Yes, ... no."
The three waited for the youngest member of the group to come to a point.
"What I really mean is, have you ever held a grudge against anyone who raped you.
I mean I can't think about a single immortal, especially the women, of over 500 who's never been raped. Can you? Cassandra? Lilin?"
"That depends." The ancients calm tone really started to get to Amanda's throat.
Then Lilin decided to intervene.
"Really Jo'lon, no need to dance around it.
Mine and Cassandras first times were at the hands of the Horsemen. Amanda?"
"On the streets when I was 9."
"So my dear mother in law, what was your first time? A roll in the dark with a few hostile neanderthals? An evil husband forced on you? Some worshippers taking their worship a step too far?"
Jo'lon es Liliaeth an Dograi gazed back in deep introspection.
"I can't really think of even a single occasion to be honest."
Then as an afterthought. "I've never been raped in my life. Not really."
"Define really."
"Well, one man, a koge or human tried once but I was able to beat him off."
"You just can't be real!" Amanda's words were almost shouted. Almost. The thief had too much class to make that kind of a spectacle of herself. For once Cassandra and Lilin shared her look of disbelief.
"Do you honestly want us to believe that in over 42.000 years you've never been raped?" Lilin asked.
"Not even once? And on top of that that only one man even came close to trying."
All three younger women seemed almost in shock at the prehistoric womans words.
Jo'lon just nodded.
"It was different for me." When she saw that that didn't settle it for the other women she just brought her cup to her lips and gently sipped it. Enjoying the others patience or lack of it.
"Remember girls I was and still am the Liliaeth an Dograi.
I've had bodyguards almost since my first death. My tribe saw me as a spirit. A higher being. It took me generations before they believed I was actually willing to marry one of them. To harm me ... it would have been sacrilege.
You know what the Dograi are like around me Lilin. To them I'm not just a person with a long life who's harder to kill. I am the symbol of their very soul. Any man or woman for that matter who would have touched me against my wishes would have ended up regretting it. Like I said it has some annoying side-effects , but it has also protected me from most harm.
And later on by the time our battles with the koge, the humans took off. ...
Well let's just say that I wasn't left alone with anyone ... hostile.
It's a part of who and what I am."
"But for over 40 millennia?"Amanda dared to ask.
"I did learn to defend myself my dears."
"And what about that one guy?"
"His name was Adamos."
"Adamos? Adam!! The Lilith-myth. So the only one who ever tried to rape you ended up ..."
"Believed to be the first man. I know. Things change.
The Dograi tend to tell myths about me and my children and the one about me and Adamos was one of them.
Humans later copied some of the stories. Turning things around to fit their ideas. Thus the first immortal I ever met became known to be the first human."
"What about Eve."
"That human imagination in effect I guess."
"So what happened?Really happened I mean."
***Stone Age***
The Dograi carefully approached their enemies.
Most hid in the shadows while the Koge sat around a big fire. The stench of reasted flesh assaulted theDograis senses. It was one of many things the Dograi despised them for. The way these Koge abused the fire spirits to do their bidding. Silently they headed in the koges direction. Their fierce attack was completely unexpected.
Unlike humans the Dograi used only the most bare essentials of weaponry.
Their attack was more one of claws and fangs than anything else.
They bit, growled and clawed their way through the stray band of humans.
At the end of it they were covered in their victims blood. The remains of their enemies were left to rot. Vengeance was finally theirs for the hunting group the Koge had slaughtered only a few days ago.
The last of the Koge to still stand was the tall fire-haired one who'd been their leader. The Koge had fought valiantly, but against a troup of Dograi warriors that didn't help a thing. His every effort to keep the Dograi away from him was useless.
Finally one of them managed to get through his defenses and ripped his throat open with his fangs. After that his victor let out a cry of victory.
They took some of the Koges tools and threw them as offerings to the fire-spirits before they released the friendly spirits by extinguishing most of the flames. The last remaining bits of the fire were taken up and placed in a clay pot.
As they were readying to leave a young Dograi turned around.
He'd heard something. A sound that wasn't supposed to be there. He was wondering whether the sound had been real, but then one of his elders heard it too. The beating of a heart. Then a sudden grasp for air and suddenly the human leader sat up again.
All Dograi stared in surprise and turned their full attention to the ... koge.
He tried to get away, but once again his strength proved in vain against a troupe of Dograi males.
After carefull consideration the groups leader dedided not to kill him. They tied him up on a carrier and took him along. The Koge, if that is what he was, kept wrestling with his leather bonds, even spitting in his guards faces.
The sun was already starting to rise by the time they got to the caves.
The Dograi placed the carrier with the human on it against one of the walls. Not bothering to release his bonds.
Two warriors were placed next to him to keep him under close guard.
He kept insulting them in the harsh tongue that the Koge tended to use. The Dograi came close to tying something in his mouth or just killing him again, anything to get him to shut up.
It was almost a surprise to them when he suddenly stopped his tirade and shrieked as if in pain. The Dograi around him were startled by his actions. Then they saw the Liliaeth approach them. Had his action been as a response to her presence?
They had to presume it was because as soon as the sacred spirit came near, she too grabbed her head in pain and almost crumbled under it.
"What are you?" She asked the human in his own language.
"I am Adamas son of Grue the sungod." The man boasted proudly.
Then he really turned his attention to her. "And who might you be demon."
"I am Jo'lon the spirit guardian of the Dograi. I am their Liliaeth."
Unconcerned by either his size or his boasting voice she took her knife from her belt and cut the bonds tying him up to the carrier, making sure the Koges hands stayed together.
"Why did your people kill my children?"
"Your kind is a blight on the earth, demon."
"My kind?"
"You know, them." he pointed at the Dograi.
"We are not these Demons you call us." she stated with a hint of curiousity in her voice. "We are the Dograi. The children of the moon."
The man snorted in contempt. "You're nothing but monsters that lurk in the darkness to steal small children. Well I'm not small and I'm not a child. So I'd better think twice about what you do to me demon."
"We do no more than defend our own. " She hurks beside him while saying this. Turning her head to his. Obviously not impressed as she closely examines him.
"What is a god?"
"Something more even than humans."
"That's easy." Jo'lon states in Dagala.
"Like Dograi."
The man scows at the obvious insult. "Dograi are monsters." he shouts. "The Gods are the ones who created the world."
"Ah the spirits."
"No not spirits. The gods. Our gods."
Jo'lon just laughs, amused at his vehemence. "And one of them is your father?" she asks in a friendly manner.
"That's what the priest said when I first rose from the death."
Jo'lon blinks back to her own death.
"And you have not aged since that day."
"Yes. What did you do to give me that pain. I'd never felt anything like it in my life."
"Neither have I. Maybe we're more alike than you think, child."
He takes a closer look at her.
"Who are you calling child.
I'm an elder of my tribe. Over 10 generations.have lived since I was born. Can you say the same."
Jo'lon raises at her full height.
"I did not count."
"You didn't count. How stupid can you Dograi be."
Jo'lon continues as if nothing had been said.
"Time. It's a cute human invention, but what's the use of it.
I know that the cycle of life has made many turns since I was given to my tribe. But why should I remember how many."
The man seems almost unbelieving that the womans has so little regard for the passage of time.Muttering 'stupid demons' under his breath.
"I know of a time when no human had ever set foot in the spirit forrest. When the trees were free. Though I saw them feed the fire-spirits on several occasions."
The man realises she's talking about fires that have burned down the trees. But he couldn't remember any stories of fires.
"I remember when the prey was plenty and the fruit trees were full. When our people had to go no further then the nearest groove to feed the tribe."
A longing to the time of the past appears in her voice.
"I remember a time when the humans did not yet live here. When our hunters needed not fear to be hunted by your kind.
When the only Koge we met were lone travellers that were easily sent back. Since that time many children have been born and have given birth to children of their own. I have seen many grow old, while I stayed the same.
That boy is all I need to know."
"That can't be. These lands were ours. You stole them from us."
"You may believe that if you wish Koge. You're so arrogant. And mostly without cause.
You're weak., slow and defenseless." She demonstrates with a simple move of catching a fruit before it's even fallen an inch.
"You have no claws, no fangs. Even one of our children is stronger than you are.
Why would you even think you are more than us who are the children of the spirits?"
The man snorted.
"You're only stronger than us because you're monsters, unnatural.You're nothing more than a bunch of animals.
Why should you be proud of the very thing that makes you inhuman. We don't need fangs and claws. We can hunt quite well without then. Our bows and spears can see to that. When you fight, you bite and growl like the animals you are, we call out the name of the gods and use traps."
Jo'lon just turned her face away for a second. "You use deceit, because you're not strong enough to win a fight fairly."
"We are humans. Created by the gods to be like then and live in their service. The only reason animals exist is to feed and cloth us. This whole world was created as a place for us to live on. Why shouldn't we enjoy it."
Jo'lon just shrugged. When a woman interrupted them to bring in some food she immediately grabbed in and offered her koge-guest/prisoner some of the goodies. He seemed strangely repulsed by it.
He took one look at the raw meat and snorted disgustedly. Jo'lon took a closer smell but couldn't find anything wrong with it.
"How can anyone walking on two feet eat their meat raw."
Jo'lon couldn't understand the man. She took a quick taste and according to her it was just fine.
The women had cut it up and covered it in the deers own blood. They'd even sprinkled some berryjuice and herbs on it.
She gave the man another look and when she saw he wasn't likely to take any of it she took his portion as well.
Dograi were like wolves in that respect. When they had food, they feasted on it as much as possible. That way when the times were harder they had some reserves to fall back on.
As she looked up, her lips still covered in the animals blood she noticed a strange look in the Koge's eyes. It was almost like if he were angry at her for her behavior. Jo'lon couldn's see why. She'd followed every rule of hospitality. She'd given him a comfortable place to rest. The first pick of the food.
Giving him fair chance to take the bigger and juicier peaces.
It had only been after he'd refused her offer that she'd taken his part of the meat.
Why did he behave like this?
The man shivered. He wasn't used to being out of the open like this and the cave felt a bit to clammy for his taste. His eyes couldn't make out a thing in the total darkness that surrounded them. In contrary to the woman in front of him. He still smelled the stench of the 'food' they'd tried to make him eat. The smell alone told him it was still raw. He could see (barely) how several drops of blood fell from the womans mouth. She just licked them up with her tongue.
He shuddered at the thought of being held prisoner by these things. They apparantly didn't even know how to use fire.
He tried to get a better look at the woman with him. She was obviously well-formed, he could see her silhouette and there was nothing wrong with it. (That he could see) She'd even looked pretty good when he'd seen her approach him at first. Almost human even. He wondered about her. She seemed important, but she didn't wear any juwelry or insignias of the gods that would mark her as a priestess.
Jo'lon sat down on a perch next to him. She noticed how the Koge kept glaring at her. Trying to get an image of her. It wasn't any kind of look she remebered receiving ever receiving in her life. A sort of hungry look, like a combination of anger and desire. For what, she couldn't understand. Still she invited the Koge as her guest. If that was what he was. He looked like a Koge, he even smelled like one, but he was the first one she 'd ever met who was like her. Someone for whom dead wasn't permanent. Inhabited by the spirits. The first one who, like her, didn't follow the cycle of life and stayed the same.
She was fascinated in a way. There weren't many things left in the world that could do that.
10 generations he'd said.
She couldn't really remember how many there had been for her. She looked around at the spikes on the ceiling and remembered seeing them grow, breaking them off and seeing them grow all over again. It had been a long time but how long?
She didn't really care. There was no reason for it. Sure some little things changed, faces, names, but generally not much ever changed amongst her people. It was a stable holdon point.
In the next few days she talked as much with the koge as she possibly could. She had the time. They talked, argued and ate together. She tried to placate him by having the women heat his food. He didn't seem to mind it so much after that.
The stench of it in her nostrils disgusted her somewhat but she didn't want to risk having him die on her.
Soon she learned that beside being rude and unmannered Adamas also had a total lack of respect for women. The fact that the Dograi had a woman for their leader was according to him another proof of their demonic nature.
He couldn't understand their respect for the one they called the Mother.
In the end he decided upon the idea that the Dograi must have kidnapped this daughter of the Gods and were using her for their own purposes. He couldn't keep himself from noticing her beauty and it seemed totally at odds with what he knew of them. The more he thought about it the more he became convinced that she'd be the perfect woman for him.
The very reason why he'd never been able to create children with any of the mortal women he'd had.
It was on one such day that he decided to take what he felt was his.
When he saw Jo'lon aproach him he smiled at her and offered to take her to a place that was holy to the gods.
Jo'lon was still very much interested in these gods. To her own Dograi-mind they seemed needlessly cruel and arrogant but that could be just the way Adamas portrayed them. Adamas told her she couldn't take any Dograi with her when they went to visit the sacred grounds. They would desacrate the place.
The tribe-elders disagreed. They didn't want the Liliaeth to take any risks in going with a koge, but Jo'lons curiousity won out. It wasn't exactly her best charactertrait as she'd noticed before. (Like when it had lead to her first death) She convinced the elders that she'd be safe. There was no way that a mere Koge could be a threat to her. And so they left.
They'd been traveling for two days straight. During all this time Adamas could hardly keep his eyes of the beautiful woman in front of him. He'd noticed he could hardly follow her pace and that he tired much sooner than the Dograi, but was unwilling to show this. Then they arrived near a groove. Jo'lon recognized the place. It was near the cave where Azh'ra had received her from the spirits. The Dograi tended to avoid it. Seeing it as the purest of the sacred grounds, dedicated to the spirits. It pleased her in a way to see that the koge understood the sacredness of the caves as well.
Adamas immediately started making camp outside of the cave. He wasn't willing to seek shelter in another damn cave if he could avoid it. Jo'lon threw him a disgusted look as he started making fire. There was no need for it. The night was cool, but definitely not so much as to be uncomfortable or anything. To just summon the firespirits like that was an insult to them and to the ground they were on. But still she didn't bother to point that out to him.
They were sitting around the fire when he suddenly grinned at her. It was once again one of those smiles she didn't really understand. "Why don't you sit a bit closer to me. It's cold out here in the night."
Jo'lon couldn't imagine what coldness he could possibly be talking about. The night wasn't any cooler than it usually was.
He didn't seem all to happy with her refusal.
That night they both laid down on their own side of the fire. Adamas had tried to get her to come ly down with him, but once again Jo'lon had refused. The mans inability to die might have fascinated her, but come on he smelled. No, he didn't just smell, he stinked. Compared to that of a Dograi his physical hygiene was practically non-existant.
Jo'lon had nearly dozed of when she suddenly heard something. It was Adamas he was standing over her. Ropes in his hands. Before she could resist he'd tied her hands behind her back. She tried to resist him but he just pushed her down. He pulled away his cloth and sat over her, grabbing her breasths while doing so.
For a moment Jo'lon was to shocked to respond but then she called on the spirits as Az'hra had taught her.
"Dohon Maher Tttage'eneese." All of a sudden the big Koge felt himself pushed back. He heard his spine snapping as he hit a big treetrunk. He watched as he saw the ropes holding Jo'lon down, burning of her.She easily snapped them.
He was trembling by this time. Unable to move away when she came at him. She threw him one last disgusted look and ran away. The last thing he saw of her was that she jumped off the cliff and practically flew away.
***Present***
"You flew." Amanda nearly bursted out laughing. "Joey I'll believe a lot, but flying?"
"It's levitation actually." the ancient calmly replied.
"Why didn't you just kill him?"
"How?"
"You know by cutting his head of." Lilin said.
"Lilin dear, haven't you forgotten one little thing."
"What have I forgotten, the man was an idiot."
"Yes, but he was also the very first immortal I ever met. Try and imagine that."
"The first? But ... "
"I'd never had anyone explain me about immortality, what it meant and such and I'd certainly never figured out how one of us could be killed. I'd never seen it happen before. Noone had ever been able to tell me that beheading would kill one of us. As far as I knew, we were truly immortal."
"Did you ever meet up with him again?"
"A few milennia later. Adamas was fortunate the Game hadn't really begun yet. He tried to attack me again, but this time I knew what would kill him and I did. I threw his body to the sea."
The three younger women smiled at that.
The End