Native Soil
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: 'Dreams, then, are bubbles, insubstantial globes of of waking matter, by their nature rising buoyant through the enveloping element of sleep'.
***
Hazah to my reviews. And it's snowing here, yey! Curse my love of watching snow, it's very distracting....but so pretty. Anyway, I now mess up the Demon Bear saga the only way I know how ;D
****
Chapter 7 - Inner demons
****
Dani blinked as she found herself standing on the top of a cliff. Two figures walked ahead of her, it didn't take her long to realise they were her parents:
"Náhko'e!, Ného'e!", she called out. [1]
They turned to her and smiled, waving. Danielle smiled back, opening her mouth to speak again, only to have it cut off by a huge roar. Dani spun around in shock, seeing a huge, black bear lumber out of a patch of forest. It roared again, bearing huge, sharp fangs.
"Look out!!!!". Danielle screamed to her parents.
They turned to see the bear and headed towards her, intent on protecting her.
"Forget about me!!!", Dani said, shaking her head, "I can protect myself".
The bear, however, noticed her parents and charged towards them.
"No!!", Danielle screamed, "leave them alone!!!"
She suddenly felt something in her hands, she looked down to notice she was holding a bow...where had THAT come from?..and why were there no arrows? Out of instinct, she raised the bow, blinking in suprise as an arrow, made of glowing light, appeared in the bow, ready to be fired. Danielle didn't think twice, she shot the arrow at the bear, clipping it on the ear. The bear turned from where it had cornered her parents to growl at her. It gave what Dani could have sworn was a sneer, before raising a huge clawed hand and bringing it down. She closed her eyes, unable to watch.
"No!!!!", she screamed, then opened her eyes to find her parents had vanished.
The bear stood up on it's hind legs, walking towards her. Dani went to raise her bow again, only to descover it had gone. The bear dropped onto all fours once it had reached her, it's face within inches of her own.
"Little Spirit, help us", came a voice from within the bear..her fathers voice.
"We're trapped!!!", came her mothers.
The bear blinked at Danielle before roaring again, rearing up and raising a paw. Danielle braced herself....the killing blow never came. She shot her eyes open to find herself back in the cave, a concerned Forge pushing her gently.
"Dani", he breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed her wake up, "geez, Kid, don't scare me like that again. I thought you'd gone back into the hibernation thing".
Danie groaned, putting her good hand to her head.
"Forge?", she said, "where?....".
"I followed you", he admited, "hey, I may be stubborn, but I'm not completely irrisponsible".
"Oh", said Dani quietly, shutting her eyes and opening them, "I...I had a strange dream..it was almost real....I saw my parents get killed...the bear. I tried to save them...but..but I couldn't...I couldn't".
She gave a small whimper, then suprised Forge by burrying her hed in his chest, sobbing quietly. Forge blinked, before sighing, giving her a gentle hug and rubbing her back.
"Hey, shh, It's okay", he said gently, "it was just a dream"
"But...it was so REAL", said Dani, pulling away, tears dripping down her cheeks, "and...it was like my parents were...were IN the bear".
Forge arched a brow.
"IN the bear?".
Danielle paused to really consider this.
"Okay...maybe I've been out in the sun too long", she said, before wincing as her arm stung, "oww".
"What'd you do?", asked Forge.
"Oh..it's nothing", Dani lied, "I just hurt my arm when I fell down here..that's all".
Forge shook a disbelieveing head, taking her injured arm and looking it over.
"It's okay, it's just dislocated, I can fix it for you, you just gotta be brave while I pop it back in, huh?".
"...So..you're a doctor now?", said Dani, the opportunity to tease Forge making her feel a little better.
"No, but I'm a shaman, remember?", said Forge, "keep still".
"No, it hurts!", said Dani.
"Just take a deep breath", said Forge calmly, taking hold of her arm, "it'll only hurt for a second, I promise".
"No!", squeaked Danielle, pulling her arm away then wincing at the pain moving it brought.
Forge sat back and thought for a moment.
"Okay, look, I have to fix this for you", he said, "think of something else, huh?"
"Like what?", whimpered Dani, "I can't!!!".
"Just try", said Forge.
He carefully took her arm again, but she was still flinching too much, he needed to get her mind off it. He pondered on this for a second, then remembered an action his mother had taken, way back when he was just a kid. He was just getting used to not having his right arm anymore..well before he had made his bionic one...and it hadn't exactly been an easy transistion. He took a deep breath and sung quietly.
"Praise for the red dawn, Grass that we walk upon, Praise for the river's whispered tune", he sang, then looked at her, "come on, you know it as well as I do, sing with me"
Dani opened one closed eye, recognising the song. She shut her eyes again, but loosened a little, singing along nervously to the ancient tune.
"Praise for the wind brother, Praise for the earth mother, Praise the father sun, And sister moon". [2]
There was a small pop. Dani opened one cautious eye.
"Is it done?".
"It's done", said Forge, "well done, kid".
Dani tested her arm nervously, okay, it hurt a little, but she could move it now.
"T....thank you", she said quietly.
"You're welcome", said Forge, standing and helping her up, "now lets find a way outta this cave, huh?".
"Yeah, no more caves for me", said Danielle, following after him.
The cave Dani had fallen into led into a much bigger one. A hole in the roof allowed the morning light to shine into it, illuminating hundreds of cave paitings.
"Whoah", said Dani in awe, "have you ever seen this place before?"
"No", said Forge, glancing around, "this is a new one for me"
"This place is SO cool!", said Dani, running over to one wall with the Cheyenne flag next to it, "these things must be ancient!".
She looked at a Cheyenne inscription beside the flag.
"A nation is not conquered, Until the hearts of its women are on the ground.Then it is finished, No matter how brave its warriors, Or how strong their weapons", quoted Danielle, then grinned, "oooooh i like the way our ancestors thought" [3]
"You would", smirked Forge.
"Everyone who's ever been here has made their family mark!", said Dani, "i mean, wow, some of these must have been here for GENERATIONS!".
She put her hand over a painting of a moon on top of a star.
"Wow look, here's mine, Moon-Star, you see it?", she said excitedly
"Yes", said Forge calmly.
Dani jumped over to another with a Sun over a River.
"There's my friend Haley SunRiver...back at the reservation!", she paused looking at Forge's, "where's yours".
Forge was silent for a minute, his eyes following the patterns to one particular one. He looked at it before sighing, turning his head away.
"I don't see it", he said quietly, walking on, "come on".
Danielle blinked, before sighing and following after him.
"I'm sorry", she said quietly.
"For what?".
"For bringing up your past like that....I know you don't like to think about it", said Dani, "sometimes I forget that you're not as proud of our heritage as I am"
Forge sighed, stopping to look at her.
"It's not that", he said, "I'm proud of who I am, and where I come from. It's just..difficult sometimes. My mutant powers and my...other powers contradict each other, it's kinda hard to keep them in balance".
"Oh", said Dani, "....well...I'm still sorry"
"Don't worry about it", said Forge, continuing walking, "hey, there's an exit".
**** [1] - Náhko'e - Mother, Ného'e - Father
[2] - Mercilessly stolen from the movie Balto II
[3] - Apparently, this is a real Cheyenne saying, nifty, huh?
And there's another chapter down, with quite a few more to go yet. Most of the bear stuff I got from the demon bear saga and changed it....because it is a really, really bizare storyline. Do review. Until next time..
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: 'Dreams, then, are bubbles, insubstantial globes of of waking matter, by their nature rising buoyant through the enveloping element of sleep'.
***
Hazah to my reviews. And it's snowing here, yey! Curse my love of watching snow, it's very distracting....but so pretty. Anyway, I now mess up the Demon Bear saga the only way I know how ;D
****
Chapter 7 - Inner demons
****
Dani blinked as she found herself standing on the top of a cliff. Two figures walked ahead of her, it didn't take her long to realise they were her parents:
"Náhko'e!, Ného'e!", she called out. [1]
They turned to her and smiled, waving. Danielle smiled back, opening her mouth to speak again, only to have it cut off by a huge roar. Dani spun around in shock, seeing a huge, black bear lumber out of a patch of forest. It roared again, bearing huge, sharp fangs.
"Look out!!!!". Danielle screamed to her parents.
They turned to see the bear and headed towards her, intent on protecting her.
"Forget about me!!!", Dani said, shaking her head, "I can protect myself".
The bear, however, noticed her parents and charged towards them.
"No!!", Danielle screamed, "leave them alone!!!"
She suddenly felt something in her hands, she looked down to notice she was holding a bow...where had THAT come from?..and why were there no arrows? Out of instinct, she raised the bow, blinking in suprise as an arrow, made of glowing light, appeared in the bow, ready to be fired. Danielle didn't think twice, she shot the arrow at the bear, clipping it on the ear. The bear turned from where it had cornered her parents to growl at her. It gave what Dani could have sworn was a sneer, before raising a huge clawed hand and bringing it down. She closed her eyes, unable to watch.
"No!!!!", she screamed, then opened her eyes to find her parents had vanished.
The bear stood up on it's hind legs, walking towards her. Dani went to raise her bow again, only to descover it had gone. The bear dropped onto all fours once it had reached her, it's face within inches of her own.
"Little Spirit, help us", came a voice from within the bear..her fathers voice.
"We're trapped!!!", came her mothers.
The bear blinked at Danielle before roaring again, rearing up and raising a paw. Danielle braced herself....the killing blow never came. She shot her eyes open to find herself back in the cave, a concerned Forge pushing her gently.
"Dani", he breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed her wake up, "geez, Kid, don't scare me like that again. I thought you'd gone back into the hibernation thing".
Danie groaned, putting her good hand to her head.
"Forge?", she said, "where?....".
"I followed you", he admited, "hey, I may be stubborn, but I'm not completely irrisponsible".
"Oh", said Dani quietly, shutting her eyes and opening them, "I...I had a strange dream..it was almost real....I saw my parents get killed...the bear. I tried to save them...but..but I couldn't...I couldn't".
She gave a small whimper, then suprised Forge by burrying her hed in his chest, sobbing quietly. Forge blinked, before sighing, giving her a gentle hug and rubbing her back.
"Hey, shh, It's okay", he said gently, "it was just a dream"
"But...it was so REAL", said Dani, pulling away, tears dripping down her cheeks, "and...it was like my parents were...were IN the bear".
Forge arched a brow.
"IN the bear?".
Danielle paused to really consider this.
"Okay...maybe I've been out in the sun too long", she said, before wincing as her arm stung, "oww".
"What'd you do?", asked Forge.
"Oh..it's nothing", Dani lied, "I just hurt my arm when I fell down here..that's all".
Forge shook a disbelieveing head, taking her injured arm and looking it over.
"It's okay, it's just dislocated, I can fix it for you, you just gotta be brave while I pop it back in, huh?".
"...So..you're a doctor now?", said Dani, the opportunity to tease Forge making her feel a little better.
"No, but I'm a shaman, remember?", said Forge, "keep still".
"No, it hurts!", said Dani.
"Just take a deep breath", said Forge calmly, taking hold of her arm, "it'll only hurt for a second, I promise".
"No!", squeaked Danielle, pulling her arm away then wincing at the pain moving it brought.
Forge sat back and thought for a moment.
"Okay, look, I have to fix this for you", he said, "think of something else, huh?"
"Like what?", whimpered Dani, "I can't!!!".
"Just try", said Forge.
He carefully took her arm again, but she was still flinching too much, he needed to get her mind off it. He pondered on this for a second, then remembered an action his mother had taken, way back when he was just a kid. He was just getting used to not having his right arm anymore..well before he had made his bionic one...and it hadn't exactly been an easy transistion. He took a deep breath and sung quietly.
"Praise for the red dawn, Grass that we walk upon, Praise for the river's whispered tune", he sang, then looked at her, "come on, you know it as well as I do, sing with me"
Dani opened one closed eye, recognising the song. She shut her eyes again, but loosened a little, singing along nervously to the ancient tune.
"Praise for the wind brother, Praise for the earth mother, Praise the father sun, And sister moon". [2]
There was a small pop. Dani opened one cautious eye.
"Is it done?".
"It's done", said Forge, "well done, kid".
Dani tested her arm nervously, okay, it hurt a little, but she could move it now.
"T....thank you", she said quietly.
"You're welcome", said Forge, standing and helping her up, "now lets find a way outta this cave, huh?".
"Yeah, no more caves for me", said Danielle, following after him.
The cave Dani had fallen into led into a much bigger one. A hole in the roof allowed the morning light to shine into it, illuminating hundreds of cave paitings.
"Whoah", said Dani in awe, "have you ever seen this place before?"
"No", said Forge, glancing around, "this is a new one for me"
"This place is SO cool!", said Dani, running over to one wall with the Cheyenne flag next to it, "these things must be ancient!".
She looked at a Cheyenne inscription beside the flag.
"A nation is not conquered, Until the hearts of its women are on the ground.Then it is finished, No matter how brave its warriors, Or how strong their weapons", quoted Danielle, then grinned, "oooooh i like the way our ancestors thought" [3]
"You would", smirked Forge.
"Everyone who's ever been here has made their family mark!", said Dani, "i mean, wow, some of these must have been here for GENERATIONS!".
She put her hand over a painting of a moon on top of a star.
"Wow look, here's mine, Moon-Star, you see it?", she said excitedly
"Yes", said Forge calmly.
Dani jumped over to another with a Sun over a River.
"There's my friend Haley SunRiver...back at the reservation!", she paused looking at Forge's, "where's yours".
Forge was silent for a minute, his eyes following the patterns to one particular one. He looked at it before sighing, turning his head away.
"I don't see it", he said quietly, walking on, "come on".
Danielle blinked, before sighing and following after him.
"I'm sorry", she said quietly.
"For what?".
"For bringing up your past like that....I know you don't like to think about it", said Dani, "sometimes I forget that you're not as proud of our heritage as I am"
Forge sighed, stopping to look at her.
"It's not that", he said, "I'm proud of who I am, and where I come from. It's just..difficult sometimes. My mutant powers and my...other powers contradict each other, it's kinda hard to keep them in balance".
"Oh", said Dani, "....well...I'm still sorry"
"Don't worry about it", said Forge, continuing walking, "hey, there's an exit".
**** [1] - Náhko'e - Mother, Ného'e - Father
[2] - Mercilessly stolen from the movie Balto II
[3] - Apparently, this is a real Cheyenne saying, nifty, huh?
And there's another chapter down, with quite a few more to go yet. Most of the bear stuff I got from the demon bear saga and changed it....because it is a really, really bizare storyline. Do review. Until next time..
