Rocky's New People (Rocky)

'My friends,' Thunder, the leader says as he stands in front of the roaring fire we've built outside.

The leader and also the mate of my new mother.

'Tonight,' he says. 'Tonight, we celebrate the start of summer. This, our last night in our cave before we go to the summer meeting, is a time for jubilation. For happiness. Tomorrow, we have a hard journey to make, that will take many days and face us with much danger. But this is our way of life, to suffer, to face dangers so the things we enjoy, the things we want to do, are so much the better. Without hardship can be no life.' He raises the wooden cup he's got in his hand. 'To our people,' he says. 'To our people and the summer meeting of the Ambes.'

Everyone cheers, me included. Someone hands me a drink. I stare at the slightly bubbling liquid, amber in the approaching gloom of night.

I look up and see my mother nodding at me. Giving her agreement that I may drink it.

If I want to.

I am almost a man, and with that as well as many demands comes pleasures. One of which is the drinking of Boozing. The amber liquid that some say the Mother, Amber herself, gave to us to enjoy.

I take a sip, and start to choke.

And I hear laughter.

Someone smacks me on the back, not hard, friendly, and I look around to see the mate of my mother, the man of my hearth, the leader. The man they call Thunder.

He's got a big grin on his face.

'Boozing is an acquired taste,' he says. 'You will get used to its strange flavours, but now you are on the cusp of manhood, you must know that too much gives a very sore head in the morning.'

I nod. 'I was only going to have this one cup,' I say, though truly, I don't think I even want to have that.

'Good boy,' he says, and then laughs again. 'Or should I say, good man?'

I feel my chest puff out with pride.

Pride that this man in front of me, this giant of a man, with thick cords of muscles in his legs and arms, with a chest that's strong, and a stomach rippled with muscles, that this man who could rip a young tree out of the ground, is calling me a man. And looking at me, his face framed by wild masses of long white blond hair, which is starting to go grey, with some of the kindest blue eyes that have ever existed, or ever will.

I smile at him.

'Enjoy the celebration,' he says as he puts an arm around me, hugs me and then leaves.

I watch him go. See that he limps ever so slightly. An old injury from when he was my age and out hunting. Attacked by a lone wolf. A lone wolf, whose fur no adorns the wall of our shelter. He killed it but not before it nearly killed him.

But now, as he gets older, I can see that it is starting to trouble him. And at night, I have heard my mother as she rubs an ointment of it for him. She tells him to slow down, to let the younger men do more, but he just laughs and then makes her squeal.

I blink. I really do not want to think about what Thunder and my mother, Ocean do at night.

I stare at the amber liquid in my cup again and raise it to my lips. This time it doesn't make me choke. I'm expecting the burn. Though I must say, I'm not to fond on the taste.

But when I swallow, it leaves a burning trail down my throat and I can almost feel its heat in my stomach.

A comforting heat.

I take another sip.

'Hey,' someone says, and I turn around.

A boy, my age is stood in front of me. He also has a cup, though seems to have drunk more than I have.

Though that is not surprising.

I know for a fact that Storm has drunk Boozing before tonight. Not that he was old enough, just that he'd snuck into the Boozing stores one night and got drunk.

I grin as I remember him rolling around on the cave floor.

He'd drunk so much, that he couldn't get up. When he's tried, he's staggered to the cave wall, and shouted, oh so loudly, that the cave was on top of a river, and he could feel the waves.

I'm not sure if he meant the sensation of waves or if he's wet himself.

I never found out, before Thunder has come then, and led him off to his mother.

She wasn't very happy, neither were many of the people in the cave. He was punished and then all the young people were told in so uncertain terms that they were not to touch the Boozing until the night before they left for the summer meeting in their thirteenth year, and even then, they were never to help themselves.

And that anyone found drunk before then, would be tied to rock in the river until they'd sobered up.

Though, I don't think they'd really do that. When everyone else was looking scared, and the adults worried, I'm pretty sure I saw a small grin on Thunder's face.

Storm puts his arm around my shoulder.

'How ya doin' Rocky?' he slurs. 'I see ya's got some of the amber liquid. Good ain't it?'

'Um.'

He frowns. 'Ya don't like it?'

'It is an acquired taste,' I say, remember Thunder's words. 'I think I like it.'

'Just drink it.'

'I am.'

'Don't sip it light a girl,' he snorts. 'Gulp it down like you're dying of thirst.'

'But…'

'Just do it.'

I put the cup to my mouth and tip a mouthful into my mouth, swallow, and then start to choke again.

I look up at him with watering eyes.

He laughs. 'That'sa bit better. Now, I'm gonna go and get another drink, I'll get ya one too.'

'I don't…'

But he's already walking to the Boozing man.

I sigh and look back at the remains of the Boozing in my cup. Now the gulp has gone down, and my eyes have stopped watering, I can feel a ball of heat in my stomach. Before I can think about it, I lift the cup to my mouth and gulp down the rest of the liquid.

And choke again.

I'm still coughing a bit when he comes back and pushes another cup into me hand.

'I don't…'

'Drink it.'

'But I told…'

'Ya nearly a man now,' he says. 'Men don't let others rule them.'

'What about Thunder? He rules the other men.'

Storm nods his head. 'That's different.' He gulps down half of the drink in his cup. 'He's in control, but promising your mother you won't get drunk, well…'

'Actually, my mother didn't say anything. It was Thunder who I promised…'

'Oh, in that case,' Storm takes the cup off me, hands me his empty one, and drains mine in one go. 'One thing that a man must always do is obey the leader.' He laughs. 'I'll drink ya share of the Boozing. You can drink the fruit juice with the other old women.'

I widen my eyes.

And he laughs. 'Ya know I'm only kiddin ' ya don't ya Rocky boy? Ya me best mate.'

'Yes, and I will probably be helping you walk tomorrow,' I say. 'Or carrying you over my shoulder.'

'I promise not to spew down ya back.' He grins and starts to head back to the Boozing man.

'No, you won't,' I say. 'Because you're not going to have any more Boozing.'

'What?'

'You heard me. You've had enough. Come on, I'll get you a nice cup of grape juice.'

'Fermented?' His eyes gleam.

'No, not fermented.'

'Oh ya no fun,' he says. 'I'm going to be stuck in a tent for the summer meeting with someone who's no fun.'

'Oh, we'll have fun,' I say. 'I guarantee that, but our fun won't be found in the bottom of a cup, or by getting so drunk that we can't do anything but sleep. This summer meeting is going to be the best yet.'

'Yep,' he agrees. 'Our first as men.'

'Well, young men.'

'Young men,' he says and nods his head.

'But first we have to get there, and I really think you'll find it a lot easier if you don't wake up in the morning with a momentous headache.'

'I guess. Okay, fruit juice for me. I wouldn't want to fall down a hill or anything.'

'No.'

'And we're going to have fun at the summer meeting.'

I nod. 'We are. It will be our first step of not being children anymore.'

'And not ruled by our mothers.'

I nod my head as I drag him toward the table where the fruit juice bag is. 'Not ruled by our mothers,' I repeat, and grin.