CHAPTER 8: They Both Knew
Ava was now struck with a feeling of doubt for the first time. 'Can Durcan really start a fire with rocks? His unwavering stance that he can start a fire in the blink of an eye is auroch crap, it has to be,' she thought. "Yes, a long and sweet kiss Durcan. So, go ahead and start your instant fire, or are you just stalling for some reason?"
"Pucker up and blink Ava." At that moment Durcan struck the two stones together. In his exuberance, he forgot to aim the sparks and they hit the dirt in front of the sun baked dried moss. Ava snickered when nothing happened. Durcan composed himself and struck the stones again. Several sparks flew directly into Jaradal's pile of moss and leaves. Smoke came first, then a flame came to life when Durcan gently blew on the smoking moss. The dried moss began to burn and the leaves and twigs quickly followed.
Ava stared wide-eyed when the fire appeared. She was both shocked and excited at the same time. Durcan was pleased, 'I just won a kiss,' he thought to himself. 'The finger size sticks will start burning now and I want Ava to add the bigger limbs to the fire just to rub in my win.'
Ava came to her senses and was thrilled. 'I win! I blinked when Durcan said to and he failed to start a fire. Granted, he followed up with a quick fire, but he told me when to blink and I did exactly as he had told me, and no fire came about.'
"When do I get that long and sweet kiss, Ava?"
"You don't get it at all. I blinked when you told me to and you failed to start a fire."
"Ya, but..."
"Sorry big man, three weeks ago I went Yabut hunting and killed every Yabut in the land.
"All of the Yabuts are dead and most have already been eaten by other animals. Those not yet found and eaten by predators will rot away and return to nature."
Durcan was crushed; he had started a fire as he said he could and now Ava was calling him out on a minor technicality; it wasn't fair!
"Ya, but ..."
"Durcan, the Yabuts are dead and gone, dead and gone... remember? Oh, and let me know when our food is ready." Ava was pleased with herself and smiled as she sat down.
To avoid the incessant smoke which irritated her eyes, Ava always tried to be upwind of any fire. Unfortunately, being upwind in this case also meant she could not smell the aroma of the seasoned rabbit meat roasting over the open flame.
Durcan had spiced the meat before putting it over the fire. Then he added spices to the greens he and Ava had found and washed. Ava had sensed a call from nature and had excused herself just before Durcan added the spices to the meat and greens. When the fresh greens and roasted rabbit were ready, Ava took a bite of the greens and her eyes grew big. "Greens don't taste this good!" she blurted out.
Ava then quickly tried a bite of Durcan's spiced rabbit and looked up with a look of surprise. Durcan was proud of himself. Hunters don't usually cook for themselves unless on the trail and very few of them know how to use spices. His mother had not only taught him how to cook with spices, she had also taught him how to identify spice plants, render the leaves, and blend the different spices. He liked cooking and his abilities were now well proven by the look on Ava's face.
"Ava, it looks like you like the way I cook."
"Durcan this is fantastic! I have never tasted anything so good. Clan food has no taste, no taste that is good anyway.
"I thought we were going to have regular rabbit meat tonight! What does a spiced animal look like? How did you learn to make greens taste so good? I am fully serious when I ask these things because food such as this is something I want as a part of my life from now on."
Not answering Ava's question, Durcan changed the subject. "I did start a fire in the blink of an eye didn't I... And we had an agreement didn't we?"
"Yes, we had an agreement; you told me when to blink and I did, but as I said before, I blinked when you told me to, and you failed to start a fire. Perhaps you should be more specific when agreeing on something." Ava was loving this. Durcan now realized Ava could be a hard woman to pin down.
"Ava, did I or did I not start a fire in the blink of an eye?" Durcan said this with a tone of certainty.
"Again Durcan, you didn't do it in the first blink as you agreed to. It took you two blinks to start the fire, therefore you are my man-servant for a full moon."
Using his wits, Durcan struck back. "Ava, look up to the sky, do you see the full moon?"
"I'm not blind, and yes, I see the moon is full."
"Good, we agree on something. I am happy about that."
'Where is he going with this?' Ava wondered. "So, what is your point, big man?" Durcan liked it when she called him 'big man,' even when it was in a mocking tone.
"We agreed that I would be your 'man servant' for a full moon and..." He now pointed to the moon… "And right there is a full moon, I have now fulfilled our agreement."
"Durcan, I meant a full moon CYCLE."
Durcan smiled, "Ava, perhaps you should be more specific when agreeing on something." He had managed to throw Ava's own words back at her and relished doing it.
Ava was extremely quick with her response, "You haven't yet fully fulfilled our agreement Durcan. You agreed to do whatever I say for that moon. I order you to say aloud that I won our agreement. Say it Durcan, say I won." She knew she wasn't being fair in the matter but wanted to best Durcan.
Durcan now found himself struggling for a reply. Flustered, he blurted out, "We didn't agree on what would happen if I reneged on the agreement." He quickly realized what he had just said was definitely the wrong thing to say.
Ava responded just as quickly as Durcan had. "Go ahead and renege Durcan. It will tell me you can't be trusted, and I don't kiss men I can't trust." The reality was that Ava had never kissed a man other than her father and Ava was the one reneging. At the onset of the bet, her spoken words were: 'all right Durcan, let's get the wood and brush and if you can truly start a fire with your rocks, I'll give you the kiss you want...'
Durcan was about to remind her of what she had said but decided against it. The friendly conflict was turning serious and smiles were no longer present. One more statement and the following reply could mess things up forever. Durcan quickly decided accepting a loss would be far better than claiming a win. "Ava, you have won. I will not crouch myself in the technicalities of our agreement, but I want you to know something; I have never reneged on an agreement and I never will."
Ava was briefly shocked, 'Durcan truly won, yet here he is, willing to admit a loss. No Clan man would EVER do that. He is giving up a rightful win to avoid a conflict between us.' "Durcan, I order you to stand still."
Ava walked the three steps between them and now stood directly in front of Durcan. Reaching out, she held his head with both hands then leaned into him and placed her lips on his for a long, sweet kiss. Durcan was now the one being taken aback. He instinctively responded to Ava's kiss and the delightful feelings that occurred were somewhat a shock to both of them; there was definitely something here. He knew... She knew... They both knew.
Somewhat like Folrian, Artibon's sister, the Zelandonii women seemed to chase after Durcan as if he were a prize; he and his family were high status. To become Durcan's mate seemed to be their singular goal. Ava was a different story; he was finding great intrigue in getting to know her.
Ava was intelligent and she was also very good looking but was seemingly unaware of it. This was much the same as his mother was. Having lived twelve summers with her parents who were 'Others' of the Karren tribe, Ava was also 'of the Clan' just as his mother was. Ava was just as fluent in Clan signing as Durcan and the two were the same age.
'The women at home seem catty with each other and vain as well. I don't like that. Ava has a good mind and shows an independent nature that I appreciate. I want Ava to like me.' Durcan's thoughts told the story. He was also struck by Ava's red hair, perfect body, and the prettiest face he had ever seen. The fact they were the same age and that she put true feelings into their kiss appealed to him.
He remembered it was Ava who suggested putting Jaradal's things on the cart. Doing that indicated thoughtfulness and a kind heart. 'Ava is easy to talk to, intelligent, and…and she would be a wonderful mate and a good mother.' He was surprised at his own thoughts. As they were walking together the two came upon a pond. "Ava, let's go for a swim! The water should be cool, and it would feel good to wash away the dust and sweat."
"I can wade into the waist-high willows and rinse out my hair, and I can rinse the dust and sweat away but I have never learned how to swim."
"I can teach you how to swim if you want to learn." Durcan began teaching Ava how to float on her back while gently scissoring her legs. It turned out getting Ava to relax enough to float took longer than he expected. That was okay. He would teach her for as long as it took.
"Durcan, I am pleased to learn how to float." Ava was enjoying Durcan's touch.
"I am pleased to be the one to teach you." Durcan now stood in the shallows and watched as Ava practiced floating on her back. Something deep inside him was awakened. It was something he had never felt before and was something strong.
At hearing Durcan's statement, Ava thought to herself, 'I feel an attraction to Durcan, and I like the tingle I feel inside and the shiver I get when I see him coming.' These were feelings Ava had never experienced before. 'I want to know Durcan better and I know I really like him, and I certainly enjoy the feeling I get whenever he touches me. Is this what loving a man feels like? I like the feeling.' Ava's mind was working on the thought constantly.
The following day, the two came across another pond; Ava was the first one in the water. "Ava, after you do a little more practice in floating on your back, I will teach you to float with your face in the water because you need to be comfortable with it. Then I can teach you how to swim. Knowing how to swim can save your life and I know you can do it."
"Yes, I would enjoy that." She watched Durcan as he demonstrated how to float face down and how to breathe while floating. Soon comfortable with having her face in the water when floating, Durcan demonstrated the arm and leg movements needed for swimming. Ava felt a tingle at seeing Durcan's body cut through the cool water. 'Why am I thinking about wanting to kiss Durcan again?' Ava was asking herself the question repeatedly.
Durcan was feeling an awkwardness he thought he had matured past. He had shared kisses with other women, but Ava was different. 'Ava hasn't shared kisses with any man other than maybe her father. I know that from her background in the Clan. She conveys her awkwardness in little ways that are hard to describe and her sharp comebacks to my remarks show it as well. 'She has a Clan background similar to mother's, but Ava is certainly different in many ways. She doesn't hunt and shows no desire to lead others. She doesn't know how to cook edible food, and she looks at me in ways that excite me.' Durcan's thoughts centered on Ava looking at him.
In a moment of introspection, Durcan realized just watching Ava breathe could cause excitement. 'Even if she has kissed other men or had shared other pleasures in the past, what is in her past is of no matter simply because it is just that; it is in the past... I have a past, and I certainly can't fault her but that I fault myself.'
That evening, as Ava was falling asleep, her thoughts turned to her Clan past. There were no male Others within her Clan, and she knew little about men. Barrie would have likely had answers to her questions, but Ava didn't want to ask her little sister about certain matters. Three years ago Ava had ventured to a group of three Clan women and began asking questions. She achieved a great leap forward in her personal knowledge, maturity, and understanding that day. Now with Durcan, Ava's thoughts were of him. She was smiling as she fell asleep.
During the final day of the trek to base camp, all Durcan could think of was Ava. Such was evidence of being a man. "Ava, I can teach you how to use a sling to hurl rocks if you like." The fact Durcan was wanting to show his expertise in using a sling told Ava he was interested in her and wanted to impress her. At the onset of puberty, Durcan had discovered new feelings towards girls and he wanted to show off to them. Now here he was with Ava, a full-blown woman, and his desires were somewhat different. 'I want to impress Ava, but I also want to know her mind. What are her likes and dislikes? What things has she learned?' These were things Durcan had never wanted from any girl or woman before.
"Durcan, using a sling to hurl rocks sounds like fun! I accept your offer." There was an innocent deception in accepting Durcan's offer to teach; Ava's father had introduced her to the sling when she was seven summers and by the time she was nine summers her skills were impressive. Ava was extremely good at using the sling just as Durcan was but decided to act as if she were a total novice to the weapon. Durcan enjoyed teaching Ava the basics of using a sling if for no other reason than he wanted to be close to her and lately he found himself wanting to be close to her all the time.
While living with the Clan, Ava had convinced Kregg, the Clan's leader, that her playing with a sling was not hunting. "Kregg, it is just something I enjoy playing with. "I wouldn't want to kill a little rabbit or cute little squirrel anyway." What she said was true; she did enjoy the sling and she didn't want to kill animals. Ava's playing with a sling kept her busy and out of Kregg's hair. She contributed to the community as all women did and helped the weavers and sewers when needed. Kregg decided that allowing the ugly Others girl to play with rocks and a piece of leather would be permissible so long as the female acted as all other Clan women were required to act.
Her true mastery of the sling was an effort to be self-sufficient. 'Someday I will leave Kregg's Clan. They don't own me and the ability to use a sling to hit a specific leaf or small limb will translate into the ability to kill boar, rabbits, squirrels, pigs, ptarmigan and any number of other animals, not to mention using it for protection.' Ava's thoughts showed common sense.
After several of Durcan's teaching sessions, Ava would generally get within five or ten feet of a target. Of course, she could hit any target 'spot on' if she wanted to. The innocent deception was thoroughly enjoyable to Ava. Durcan felt his teaching was taking hold. "Ava, with practice you'll be nearly as good as me!" Ava noted a condescending tone in Durcan's voice and decided it was now time to teach her instructor a lesson.
"Durcan, I have never had a true need to use a sling, and I may not be as good with it as you are, but I learn fast and I have lived another life where I was very good with a sling."
Being taken aback at Ava's statement, Durcan thought, 'There is no way she can hit the broad side of a forest with any true sense of accuracy and her statement of living another life is auroch crap as well.'
"Ava, I think you are overestimating your newfound abilities."
'Again, with the condescending tone,' Ava thought. "Okay 'Master of The Sling,' are you willing to bet on it?"
"Yeah, let's bet on it, but it is going to cost you a steep price when you lose."
"And just what would that steep price be?" She replied.
"If I win, I get to kiss you five times," Durcan said this in a somewhat sheepish tone.
"...And if I win, I get to kiss you six times." Ava knew her answer would reveal her desires just as Durcan's suggested bet revealed his. The contest had come about and now it mattered who won. 'I want the six kisses and the right to claim the win and rub it in.' Ava also wanted to see if Durcan would throw the contest so he could get the extra kiss. 'Character matters,' she thought.
Finding targets was easy as there were plenty of fist-sized rocks in the area and pinecones were plentiful as well. The contest Durcan and Ava devised was in three segments. The first segment was merely hitting five stationary targets. Durcan would take five shots, then Ava would take five after resetting the original targets. Durcan hit with four of his shots, Ava hit with all five. Now chagrinned, Durc figured he would buckle down on the moving target task.
The next volley of five was hitting a moving target. That target was a fist-sized piece of leather cut in the shape of a deer, which Ava had made for herself as a good luck necklace. The sinew neckband was draped over a small tree limb and the target was now blowing around randomly in the breeze. Durcan hit the moving target four times; Ava hit the target three times.
The last segment was distance throwing with accuracy. Ava felt this was her specialty as she had worked on distance accuracy for two summers. Durcan won this competition by one hit.
"You win Durcan, thirteen hits in total, and I only have twelve." Ava hadn't purposely let him win the distance throwing. 'I don't want to hurt his pride, so his win was a good thing,' Ava thought. Durcan had not attempted to throw the contest and in Ava's eyes, this was in his favor. Durcan was pleased Ava had declared him to be the winner. Smiling, Ava could read his thoughts and was trying to come up with another plan.
Her first plan had worked out well. "Your five kisses start tomorrow Durcan and unlike SOME PEOPLE, I fulfill my obligations." Ava emphasized 'some people'. She had no idea what kind of plan she could come up with and was pondering different ideas as they came up. Some were a bit dangerous, some were whimsical. Beyond that, some were far too involved and required more time to prepare than was available and some were too ridiculous to even attempt.
"Ava, you said you have never had a need to use a sling and I saw no lie in what you said. How is it that you nearly won our contest?"
"I said I have never had a NEED to use a sling, not that I didn't know HOW to use one. The other life I spoke of was my life within the Clan. I was exceptionally good with a sling by the time you came along." Ava knew she was showing a bit of smugness in her comment; in effect it was another tease.
Thinking for a moment, Durcan realized Ava had somewhat conned him on her abilities with a sling. 'I should have realized something was going on when Ava pulled out her own sling.' Now he wondered if she had purposely missed the targets on the distance part of the contest. That thought was quickly discredited because it was Ava who suggested six kisses in her part of the bet.
Durcan's mind was a whirlwind of random thoughts centering on Ava; 'She is a challenge to compete against... She is tricky and doesn't act like the other women I know... I like her soft lips, red hair and pretty face... She knows Clan signing and Clan ways and she's certainly not a child... She is smart and feisty too... I want to be close to Ava; I want to mate with her...'
This last thought stuck in his mind. He had never considered mating before and found his mind was truly scrambled by the dreaded Ava fever, and the fever was rising. Ava fell asleep without a plan, Durcan fell asleep thinking of Ava. To a degree, Ava had tricked him, she knew the sling well.
'Why is it taking so long for the sun to rise?' Durcan was wide awake well before sunrise. 'At least I taught her how to swim,' he thought. Just then a second thought hit him, 'Or did I?'
This was crazy. It was also fun, pleasurable, exciting, intriguing and a host of other things. 'Why isn't the sun rising yet?' he asked himself again. The anticipation of the five kisses Ava owed him was filling his mind.
Ava woke with the sun and found Durcan was up and already had a fire going; he wanted his kisses to have a proper setting and felt the cool morning air and the warming fire would provide it. "What's our morning meal Durcan?"
"You have your choice, either succulent venison steaks cooked to perfection, or two travel cakes." Ava knew the venison steaks were a tease.
"I would prefer travel cakes because the way you cook means tasteless and burnt meat even carrion buzzards wouldn't eat." Ava had rehearsed this morning comment to offset her enthusiastic comments from the prior day.
"That's what I thought you would choose so I burned the travel cakes. I wanted to surprise you with travel cakes like you would make for yourself." Durcan had nothing rehearsed but anticipated he would hear something like this in the morning and had decided to rely on his wits.
"I don't burn my travel cakes."
"From what I hear, you probably should. It would reduce the amount of sickness in the surrounding region."
"...And MY cooking tastes just fine." Ava was defending her limited abilities.
"Ava, is 'just fine' the best you can do when cooking?
"Someone told me recently that my spiced meat and greens were... what was the word?... Oh yes, 'fantastic' was the word."
Ava knew when she was beaten and resignedly said, "Durcan, I would like two of your less burned travel cakes if I may please." Durcan reached into his travel pouch and came up with two light golden-brown travel cakes and handed them to Ava.
"I am sorry for burning the cakes so badly and I will try to do better next time." 'This is fun' he thought, '…and when our morning meal is done the kissing starts.'
'You're gonna get yours Durcan, just when you least expect it, you'll get yours,' Ava thought. One way or another she would get the best of him, she had to. Then she realized the answer was in her hands.
She began to nibble on the first travel cake half and would nibble and chew a crumb thoroughly then swallow, take a sip of water and then repeat the process. She figured the two cakes cut in half could last until her midday meal and then her midday cakes could last until the evening meal and then...
Durcan was getting anxious. "Ava, are you going to nibble on those cakes all day?"
"Oh Durcan, I just don't want to eat quickly. I fear my stomach would get upset if I did. You wouldn't want me to have an upset stomach, would you?" This was said in a questioning, yet mocking tone.
Not answering, Durcan was chomping at the bit and thinking. 'This is unfair, and Ava knows it. Two can be devious, and now Ava is going to meet her match.' Ava's two cakes had been split in half, so she had four cake halves. Durcan hadn't eaten any of his two cakes yet and they were still in his carry pouch.
Sitting next to her, he reached behind Ava's back and 'borrowed' two of her travel cake halves. He then began to eat them as if they were his cakes. Ava thought nothing of Durcan eating his travel cakes.
'I will eat my travel cakes very slowly and take the time to savor all the flavor in each nibble.' This thought pleased Ava to no end. Jaradal was in the near distance and knew it was about time to leave. He started pouring a bladder of creek water on the protection fire. This made a hissing noise and created a plume of steam that attracted Ava's attention; the third cake half was now gone.
Durcan stood up as Ava put the last crumbs of her first cake half into her mouth. Already finished with eating the remainder of Ava's cakes, he was ready to start the kissing. Ava finally swallowed the last crumbs of her first cake half. Now reaching for her next travel cake half she jumped up and spoke in a loud and accusatory tone. "Duur-cann, I want my cake halves!" She already knew what happened; her statement showed she was not fearful of confrontation.
"Ava, did you know there is magic in kisses?"
"Give me back my cake halves."
"Things can magically happen when a kiss is shared."
"I want my cake halves; you took them, and I want them back."
"Jaradal," Durcan called out. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, I am ready, do you want to lead, or do you want me to lead?"
"Jaradal, you can go ahead and lead. Ava and I will follow your path." Durcan now killed his worthless 'atmosphere' fire. "Ava, it's time to go."
Ava was now standing in a hunter's stance; her arms bent, fists on her hips, legs spread wide and shoulders back. "I'm not going until I get my travel cakes back. You stole them and I want them back and I'm staying right here until I get them."
"I didn't 'steal' them at all, I just 'borrowed' them for return at a later time," He now turned and began the day's trek. The size of his smile after he turned away would have infuriated Ava had she been able to see it. Ava was true to her word; she didn't move or even change her stance. Jaradal had gone in the lead and both men had soon disappeared into the trees and bush.
'I'm going to stand right where Durcan left me. He will be back; he won't leave me alone... in a forest... with no food... with predator animals around...' Ava quickly caught up to Durcan. Nothing was said and Ava knew she had lost this round.
"Durcan, may I have my travel cakes now?"
"Ava, did you know there is magic in a kiss? It's true you know. Things can magically appear after a kiss." These words were similar to what he had said just a bit ago.
"Things like travel cakes Durcan?"
"Exactly Ava, things like travel cakes."
"Okay… You win." Ava now walked three steps to Durcan and began a long, sweet kiss. He responded to Ava's kiss in a natural way and ended the kiss in a like manner.
"Ava, I'm sorry for stealing your travel cakes."
"I'm not." Both Ava's two-word statement and the second kiss she began to give him took Durcan by surprise. Slowly ending the sweet kiss, the two stood forehead to forehead and were breathing the same air.
"I'm not really sorry for stealing your cakes."
"I'm glad you did Durcan," Now a third kiss began. Jaradal was getting too far ahead and the two knew they would need to run to close the excess distance. Ava did one last thing before she ended her kiss. Wanting to both play and 'punish' Durcan, Ava bumped him with her hip as she had before.
She now spoke as if she were consoling a small child. "Durcan, we need to hurry, we don't want to lose Jaradal now do we?" Turning, she began to walk away from a surprised man. Her walk quickly changed into a run as she let out a squeal of laughter.
Durcan was standing in shock and then began to run after Ava. "That was unfair," he shouted. Catching up to her he repeated his statement.
"Ava, that was unfair, and you know it!"
"Didn't you enjoy the bump Durcan?"
"Ya, but..."
"Listen, I am just as sorry about the bump as you are sorry for stealing my travel cakes. I want my cakes now please."
"Fine," Durcan said in frustration as he pulled two travel cakes from his carry pouch and handed them to Ava.
"You can learn from this big man."
"Ava, now I see where this is going. You called me 'big man.' Thank you for being so honest and forward. I appreciate such a truthful comment."
Being quick-witted, Ava looked directly at Durcan and smiled as she put him in his place. "Durcan, we have kissed, but I can put an end to that."
"Ava, after leaving Kregg's Clan you said, 'Stay away from me and you won't get hurt.' I respected your request not out of fear, but out of honor. Every kiss we have shared was a kiss YOU instigated."
Ava was delighted to know she had found an unexpected power over Durcan. 'I feel more confident in dealing with certain matters now. I hope Durcan knows how I truly feel about him. If he doesn't know, I will tell him. Then again, the way he returned my kisses tells me he already knows.' Ava's thoughts pleased her, "By the way Durcan, you evidently forgot I killed all the Yabuts"
All of what had happened since leaving Kregg's Clan was new to Ava; She had been forced to leave her sister, bartered for by a male Other, been handed over to a stranger and led from Kregg's Clan into a forest. Topping it all, she was a captive of a new owner and feared she may well be a servant or a slave to her new master or whoever he might sell her to.
Things had worked out differently from what she envisioned; she was happy.
