CHAPTER 4
They would sleep through the night. She could go get her berries and go to the cave for the night. Careful not to lose her balance in the pitch dark she moved cautiously using her years of experience to help her move safely through the night forest. It wasn't long before her eyes adjusted and she could make out the shapes of the trees and the small movements of the animals that came out after dark. A shadow passed quickly over the ground, a winged hunter looking for squeakers. An inky shadow moving fluidly through the bushes and ferns, a big cat. After so many years alone her mind automatically cataloged what she heard and saw so that many times she made decisions without ever consciously thinking about it. Tonight she traveled in the trees as much as possible.
Two hours later she was snagging her bag of berries from the tree branch. She opened the bag and grimaced, the little ones and gotten in and ate half her berries. She sighed. Enough for tonight and first meal. She headed for the cave. She actually felt safer at night. The big cats were out, but the green meat-eaters, big and small, were asleep and the cats had learned to stay out of her cave where the hot light lived.
She ate some dried meat and berries too tired to make a stew and drank thirstily. She did however build the fire and used vines to tie the growing vegetation down on each side before curling up on her bed. What were they doing here? What did they want? Questions tumbled inside her head and something else tugged at her as she was falling asleep: loneliness. Perhaps they would not be eaten. Perhaps with their loud things they would survive. Maybe, maybe she would not be alone anymore.
The next morning she took her water containers with her to the falls and filled them with fresh water. With a grin she dove into the water. Nothing bad lived in the water and the meat-eaters all hated getting in it. She swam. Long, languid strokes that carried her across the pool and back until she flipped onto her back and floated lazily.
She sighed as she thought about the day. She needed to hunt. Small game would do today since she wanted to keep an eye on the strangers, but before long she needed to take the time to kill something big that she could smoke and save deep in the cool cave. She should go back to the berry bushes and get more for tonight and if she wanted a stew she needed to dig up some root vegetables.
She dropped the water back at the cave, banked the fire. She figured they would be awake and moving by now. Surely, though, they would be extra careful today.
She was hunting the small grass eater when she heard sharp sounds from the direction of the Circle, but very close. The strangers! She hadn't thought to check on them today with her belly growling. She ran toward the sounds. She skidded to a stop. The strangers were being chased by the littlest, but vicious meat-eaters. She could not help them against these things. The only thing to do was outrun them or get high in a tree.
Every so often two of the strangers would turn and point things at the meat-eaters and loud, fast sounds would come from them and some of the meat-eaters would fall down and not get up. Then the male tossed something at them and there was a huge ear hurting sound and meat-eaters flew through the air and landed, dead.
The strangers raced on out of her sight. She stayed where she was until her ears quit ringing and she could hear rightly again. Who were these strangers? She had never seen anyone like them or their things before. Nor had she ever seen so many at one time. One or two came through the Circle. Some lasted a few days, but most no more than two or three days before they were killed by the meat-eaters.
She went the way they went. She stopped at the edge of her clearing. Trepidation rose inside her when she realized they were in her cave. How long would they stay there and dare she return even after they left. If they caught her in the cave, she would be trapped. She hunkered down inside a large bush and prepared to wait. She was about ready to go hunt something to eat when she heard loud angry sounds and the tallest stormed out of the cave and stalked off into the forest.
He was fierce looking reminding her of the big cats with his deadly grace and direct gaze. Not wanting to risk him spotting her she stayed where she was. The vines had been pushed aside slightly when he had left and she could see into the cave slightly. She saw the shortest walk to the cave opening and then collapse. The other two appeared quickly and the other male poured something down his throat.
Soon the short male was sitting up making disgusted sounds. They propped him against the cave wall and gave him something small to eat. He needed more food than that. She began to back out of the bush. The tallest appeared without warning at the edge of the glade causing her to freeze with a small sound of surprise. He looked around as if he had heard her and then shook his head and went into the cave. She noticed he was carrying a small skinned animal. Good food for the shortest. It would give him strength. She would gather sweet berries and leave them in the open for them to find.
She hurried to the berry bush and filled her small bag. Her fingers were stained a deep purple by the time she was finished and her belly was full as she ate almost as many as she bagged. She returned to the cave and slithered to the edge of the ferns. She pushed the bag into the opening. How to get them to come get the berries? She gnawed her lip. She didn't want to get to close, but the shortest needed fresh food and the sweet berries gave you energy.
She stood up slowly between two huge ferns. She saw one of the strangers spot her and then the female was looking at her. Turning she slipped into the forest. She hurried around the clearing and over the hillside. She was going to circle around and come at the cave from the other side when she realized she was leaving very clear footprints. Not wanting to be caught, she weaved between the trees in wide arcs, sometimes she would clamber up on a boulder and leap as far as she could or climb a tree when several were close enough to cross over before dropping to the ground.
Then she returned to the cave. Sure enough, they were gone. She scouted the area in the concentration of someone who had eluded the meat-eaters for years before entering her home. She looked around, but they had taken all their things with them. Sighing, she ate some of the berries then she stopped chewing.
Slowly she arose and approached the strange item on her food container. It was some of the strangers food. She turned it over and over in her hands. She sniffed it, but it didn't smell like food then she remembered that the short stranger had tore the covering off before he ate his. Carefully, she tore open the covering and sniffed. Her eyes shut in pleasure as the strange, but wonderful smell filled her nose. She nibbled the food and gasped at the amazing taste. She had nothing to compare it to, but she liked it.
Grinning widely, she took another bite. The short male understood gifting. She gave them berries; he gave her this food. She took the rest of her dried meat and some of the berries and put them in her other small bag. She needed to leave before they returned. Just because he gave her a gift didn't mean she wanted to be trapped by them.
She headed toward the waterfall and the cave behind it. Not her favorite place to spend the night. The roaring water not only deafened her, but it also left her damp and chilled by morning. Well, her other choice was to sleep wedged high in the split trunk of a tree. She would take damp over wedged.
She dangled her feet in the water as she sat on the ledge behind the falls and thought of the gift-giver. Brave and smart and alert enough to keep them from being surprised by the meat-eaters and generous. She took the last bit of strange food and chewed slowly. Yes, with the gift-giver helping them perhaps this time the strangers would not die.