In the early morning, a soft rumble rolls through the village. The ground shakes beneath me - I wake instantly, struggle to my hooves amid my pile of sleeping skins, and stumble out of my home into the bright sun of the savannah. Our village rocks violently with the Earth below us, thatched huts collapsing to my right and left. At the forefront of our village, my sires' hut caves in, a cloud of dust rising out from the roof and walls.
"Father!" I cry, racing to the still-shifting rubble.
Out of the dried mud, straw, and cobbled stone, the Chief of our settlement emerges from the rubble, gasping.
"Father!" I yelp, bending to help him up. "Oh, Father..."
He stands, wobbling, and clutches onto my arms. "Your mother," he rasps urgently. "Your mother!"
Other males press in around us, digging with their hooves and hands. With a cry, one of them steps back. Mother is unearthed, dead. My infant brother is held tight in her arms, but he is also still. Blue blood trickles from her mouth and nose. The warriors pull her free, lifting her so Father can hold her woman-body. Our heads bow as he cries against her.
...
Her funeral procession was in the evening; our women and I washed her body in sweet water, adorned her flowing tail with flowers, and painted the rites of passing-into-death on her sides. My father dressed my brother, washing his tiny form and painting him to match Mother. We nestle him in Mother's arms and carry her on a sling in the procession to the burial grounds: as Chief and his daughter, Father and I walk before the crowd gathered, stamping out any evil spirits that may challenge us.
We arrive safely, and the ground consumes Mother and Brother. It is a sad day, and only songs of grief are sung around the fire. We fast until morning.
I go to my bedding with a great heaviness in my spark. I did not weep at the procession, tears would not come then. I send away my handmaids and bed down. Lying on the fresh straw and familiar sleeping skins reminds me of Mother and I cry until the darkness takes me in sleep.
...
After the passing of Mother and Brother, the days blur together. Our village is repaired and begins to grow again, but the hole Mother and Brother made is still gaping and empty. My hunting partner and best friend, Flowing Water, visits me often, but even a fresh rabbit skin does not lighten my mood.
Days blend into weeks, weeks to lunar cycles. Many new moons pass before the Titans come to our village for the first time in my memory.
...
He is blue. Blue, and large, and two-legged. He walks into our village with an air about him... something is different, aside from his physical appearance. His words are strange. I do not understand him. Father knows the language of the Titans, so he speaks with the stranger. This Titan looks at us strangely, at our females nursing children and males guarding them nearby. The blue Titan speaks to Father, who beckons me over.
"This is she," he says. "You will go with him, to learn the language and the ways of the Titans... so we may connect our people in peace. He is a close friend of mine, and to the tribe. He wishes this-"
This angers me. "Peace?" I demand. "Where have these negotiations come from? Why was I not included? You want me to go speak of peace? We have peace! It was told that Titans brought the war to this land, they don't want peace! Think of Mother!"
"It is decided," he says firmly, eyes growing brighter with more emotion. "This Titan is named 'Ultra Magnus'." He speaks the name in their tongue.
" 'Ultra Magnus'," I repeat. "A demon's name."
"A Titan's name," Father corrects. "You are his to instruct, so swallow this decision silently. Gather your things, he leaves soon."
Looking from him to the Titan intruder I stamp my feet, turning and storming towards my hut, angry and mad at Father. We have lost Mother and Brother, now he just expects me to leave without agreement!
Gathering my sleeping skins, I wrap them in a large leaping-deer skin and make a parcel, tucking my other, smaller treasures inside. A carved peace of ivory from Flowing Water, a tail-comb from mother. A satchel of rabbit-skin gifts from Flowing Water. A small flask of mating-scent, something Mother had made for me as a coming-of-age gift. I tuck my bow inside the leaping-deer skin, along with a quiver of fifteen fletched arrows.
I pack my decorative skins and other items inside my hut into another skin. Standing, I look around my hut, and sigh. Is this the last time I would see it? I turn and exit, after pulling a snowcat pelt over my back. Mother always said it made my legs look strong...
The Titan stands in the middle of our village, hands clasped patiently in front of himself. Looking from the side, his midsection looks a bit rounded. Was he sick? We were all flat, except for a woman's chest. A pleasant smile graces his lips as he sees me. He says something, but it is in his language and I don't understand. Father comes to my side.
"He welcomes you," Father translates. "He would like you to follow him and begin your learning."
I rumble in my chest and stamp a hoof. "I do not like this."
My Father, who has always been warm and understanding, now looms over me. "I do not care," he growls, eyes bright. "You will learn his ways and apply them to your life. Go now."
I look up at him and slowly sink down. Ultra Magnus walks past me and turns to the dirt path out of our village. With Father staring me down, I follow him, effortlessly catching up to the Titan.
A short walk out of our village, he halts.
"Ultra Magnus," he says, sticking a hand out.
I stare at him. "Ultra... Magnus..." I repeat. He nods, then his hand drops to my own, taking it in a gentle grasp.
I study his arm. I expected it to be smooth and gentle as was his appearance, but as he grips my hand I see and feel thick muscle tied underneath his skin.
"Why are you holding my hand?" I ask, looking up at him.
He meets my gaze and starts to laugh. "I have learned the language of the People as well," he speaks, directly in my own tongue.
Dropping his hand, I step back and glare at him. "What are you?" I demand.
"Your people call us Titans," he says. "But we are more than that. We are not that different... your kind are related to us."
"Falsehood!" I snap, stamping my front feet. "We are not alike! You have brought famine and misfortune wherever you go, killing the Earth-Mother beneath your feet! We want to nurture and take care of the Great Mother!"
Ultra Magnus looks down at me with hurt eyes. "We have done wrong," he says slowly. "But the war is over. Peace is now, no more will your homes be destroyed, or your people killed."
"Then why have you come?" I demand.
"We seek peace. To unite our two peoples so we might look upon one another with favor and peaceable intentions... not harm."
I look up at him, then shake my head. "It does not matter," I sigh. "Father has decreed I go with you, whether I care for it or not. Let us go wherever you have planned. I do not care."
Ultra Magnus looks me over, then his eyes sadden. Nodding once, he turns and resumes walking. I watch him walk for a moment and then adjust my fur. Following after him, I watch my hooves stir up small clouds of dust.
He leads me on for quite a while, passing herds of many animals, and a running cat and her chirping young. When we exit the forest, and he stops. Coming to his side, I instantly shy back. One of their sky-fliers sits on the ground, much more massive than Ultra Magnus or myself.
"You are safe," he says. "Come, I will show you your living space."
Grumbling, I follow him into the flier. It smells like the Titans and foul things, and the farther we go the worse it becomes. Ultra Magnus leads me down a long hall silently before he finally stops before a door.
"Your quarters," he says, pushing the door open.
The room is bare, dim, and smells even stronger of Titan. A male stayed here before me. There is a faded blue stain on the floor, and a shelf in the far right corner. A slab lies in the middle of the room, taking up much of the space.
"It is unclean," I say. "This place smells of another male, it is not my place to enter unannounced."
"These are your quarters," he says. "They are yours now."
I turn to him, but his face is unreadable.
"So be it," I growl, entering the room. "What is this slab for?"
Ultra Magnus peeks into the room. "The... berth?"
I stride inside, putting a hand on the slab. It is slightly squishy, soft even. "This."
"You sleep on it," he says. "Your people do not use berths?"
"We sleep touching the Great Mother," I reply. "I wish this berth removed."
From behind Ultra Magnus a four-armed Titan appears, walking in and tipping the berth up on end before removing it. I watch it be pushed out, and Ultra Magnus looks me over.
"Get some rest," he says. "We will begin teaching tomorrow, or late this evening."
He reaches out and shuts the door - I am alone. I look at this empty room, and sigh. Unrolling my parcel, I spread my sleeping skins in the corner, leaving my treasures wrapped in the leaping-deer skin. I remove my snowcat pelt and let the fur run through my hands... it reminds me of Mother, and the day she gave it to me. Carefully I tuck it inside the leaping-deer pelt, then underneath a sleeping skin. Laying down on the pile of skins, I sigh and allow my mind to wander.
...
The world comes back into light as someone pounds on the door.
"Rain Dancer, there is someone here for you," Ultra Magnus calls. "Outside the ship."
I stand up slowly and stretch, then open the door. Ultra Magnus leads me to the outside, where Flowing Water beneath the sky-flier, holding two rabbit skins. He wears his lionskin pelt over hid back - still, the cat's pet touches the ground. It was always too big for him.
"Rain Dancer!" he cries, racing up to me, embracing me in a hug. "I was out of the village when you left, your father told me you were gone!"
"He has sent me away," I mumble, pushing into Flowing Water's familiar chest. His arms encircle me.
"For what reason?" he asks, rubbing my shoulders gently.
"The Titan called it something else, but they... they want me to be a peacekeeper. 'Unite our people', he told me."
"Oh..." Flowing Water murmurs. "I brought you two rabbit skins... I made hand covers so you won't get cold if you're going somewhere else."
He presses the soft, downy fur mittens into my hands, and I slip them on. The outer leather is tender and smooth, the fur inside very warm.
"They are beautiful," I whisper, looking up at him.
He gives me a kind smile and pulls me in again. "I'll wait for you," he whispers, arms tightening.
Behind us, the 'ship' begins to hum.
"We are leaving," Ultra Magnus calls from the entrance.
Flowing Water pulls back, looking down into my eyes. "Be safe," he whispers, leaning in and hesitantly kissing me. This surprises me. A... kiss? His lips are warm and soft, and before I know it the kiss is finished, Flowing Water stepping back.
His eyes burn, watching me, and he backs up as Ultra Magnus descends from the entrance to the ship to put a hand on my arm, tugging me away. I sadly follow, turning to look at Flowing Water as I am forced up the ramp. He had taken cover in the trees, and watches closely as I am dragged up the ramp. The ramp comes up and slides shut, and everything is dim and quiet again.
"I apologize for the roughness," Ultra Magnus says, stepping away. "You did not heed the call to return to the ship."
"I did not want to return to the ship!" I cry, lashing out and pushing him back. "I want to go home!"
Turning, I race down the hall, searching for my room. Finding it, I throw open the door and dash inside, slamming it hard. Turning the lock, I go to my bedding and flop down, pulling off the rabbit-fur gloves to breathe in their scent. They smell like Flowing Water and that is a great comfort. Drawing my sleeping skins up I will myself to sleep.