I whimpered softly and moved backwards as he stepped towards me, causing him to stop and hold up his hands, slowly sitting down where he stood. The two of us silently examined each other before the man motioning to himself and said something. I cocked my head as the man struggled to say something.
"K-kic..." the man gave me a look as he tried to say the word. "Kick?" I offered softly. The man nodded with a smile before standing and making a kicking motion, moving his hands as if asking for more.
"Kick, kicking?" I offered, causing the man to nod again before motioning above us. I glanced up to see many mounted birds adorning the top of the lodge.
"Mount? Animal?" I offered, trying to guess at what he was implying, my head still not cleared fully.
The man shook his head before whistling a tune I knew well, motioning to one of the birds above us. "Bird? Kicking Bird?" I asked, confused as to why he told me this. The man nodded and motioned to himself.
"You're Kicking Bird?" I asked again. The man nodded before motioning to me.
"My name? Oh, my name is Arise." I told him softly, sounding my name out.
"Ari..." the man tried, struggling with my name.
"A-ri-se." I sounded out encouragingly.
"Ari-Arise." the man tried again.
"Yes. My name is Arise." I told them man gently.
He nodded and smiled back. "Where am I?" I asked, motioning around before pointing to myself.
The man studied me for a moment and I repeated my question before nodding. He motioning around as well before placing a hand over his heart and placing his other on the ground.
"Your home?" I asked, the man nodding. I spent the next hour trying to communicate with the man before I heard a loud commotion outside and the man motioned for me to follow him. I slowly did so and when we exited the tent I saw my father approaching the Indian camp carrying a woman.
The man next to me motioned to the side and I turned to see Nightmare standing there quietly. The man motioned to the mare again before motioning to myself and to my father.
"I can go?" I asked. The man nodded and helped me onto Nightmare, being gentle so to not hurt my leg more before leading her forward. I swayed slightly, my body not wanting to cooperate very well as I sat on Nightmare's back, trying to keep from falling as the man stopped at the front of the group facing my father as one of the Indians pulled the hurt woman away from him, sitting her on the ground in front of some of the other women.
I stiffened slightly when I saw it was the Brave that had grabbed me at the fort when his eyes met my own. The man holding Nightmare's bridle said something to the man causing him to glare before taking the reins from him and leading Nightmare to my father, keeping one eye on me and making sure I didn't fall off.
"Arise, are you okay?" father asked as the man shoved the reins into his hand and moved away with a sour look on his face. I shook my head in response and leaned against Nightmare's neck as my head spun before I felt my father gently tug me onto Cisco in front of him before feeling the large horse turn.
As my eyes started to droop again I caught a glimpse of three familiar shapes heading for the village. My bright blue eyes met a pair of confused and worried brown eyes before darkness claimed me again. The next few days my father watched me like a hawk, a bit afraid I think that the Indians would come back and steal me again. I really don't think they meant any harm to me, they were just showing him how easy it would be for someone to take me away.
All I know is that I had a terrible headache for the next few days, but I didn't fall back into a deep sleep like I did when I was taken by the Indians or when I was given back to my father. Everything was a bit tense and it didn't help any when a few days later a group of the same Indians appeared on the crest of the hill in front of the fort.
I sat quietly in the cool shade against the side of my quarters, Two-socks laying across my lap as I read a page from my book to him, gently rubbing his ears before hearing a soft blustering of horses and the clinking of metal or beads. I glanced up to see the older Indian man and the Brave that had given me back to my father approaching, a group of Indians behind them on the hill.
"Hey dad. Dad!" I called, yelling when I didn't hear an answer. I heard a loud thud and some muffled curses before seeing my father stumble from his quarters, holding his forehead.
"What?" he called. "We have company." I called back moving around the small building to stand beside him as the two Indians rode up, my leg protesting a small bit at the quick movements, still not fully healed.
"I see." father replied, gently nudging me under the cover of his quarters. As the two Indians stopped in front of us, the older one I had spoken to offered a small smile to me and raised a hand in greeting. I smiled back to him and responded in the same, raising my hand.
"What is that?" dad asked looking confused as the two Indians looked at him.
"Its a greeting. They just want to talk. I remember one of the translators talking about it." I replied.
"Oh." dad replied as he turned back to the Indians an raised his hand in greeting. The two men slowly got off their horses and moved over to sit down after my dad invited them to do so, myself taking a seat on one of the empty wooden barrels, quietly playing with my hair.
After a few minutes I was red in the face and covering all but my right eye as my dad sat on the ground, doing some type of dance or something. I felt the eyes of the two men on me from time to time and I couldn't find the strength to look them in the eye as my dad continued to try and tell them something. I heard the younger man mutter something and the older one respond before I had enough of the embarrassment and walked into the quarters, trying to calm down my blush.
After getting my blush under control I stepped back outside to see my father still on the ground, but he now had his hands held up to his head, motioning to the ground with them like they were horns. I heard the two Indians mutter something again before the older one had a look of realization cross his face.
"Tatonka." he told the younger Brave, pointing at dad.
"No, no, buffalo. Buffalo." dad corrected making the motion with his head and hands again. The man simply nodded firmly and pointed at dad, mimicking his movements.
"Tatonka!" he insisted again.
"Okay, yes Tatonka. Tatonka." dad replied with a smile, taking his jacket out of his shirt and standing.
I shook my head at him before noticing the younger Indian was watching me with his intense brown eyes. I blushed slightly again and reached up, fingering the feather in my hair nervously as I quietly sat back down on my barrel. My father tried to talk with the two men for a while longer before they looked out at the sky and rose.
I hopped off my barrel as they did so and moved over to their horses, patting them on the neck and nose as the two men thanked my father. I stepped back as the two men mounted their horses, the older man smiling and holding his hand up to me in farewell while the younger fiddled with something before moving his horse closer to me, holding out another braided strip of leather with a pretty stone arrowhead on the end, also adorned with small blue beads.
"T-thank you." I told the Brave softly as I accepted the gift. The man simply nodded in response before turning his horse, seeming to remain stoic as he did so, but I saw the small blush on his face and smiled.
"What is it with you and getting all these little trinkets?" dad asked as I walked back over to him. I shrugged in response and simply turned to watch the Indians leave.
"They'll be back tomorrow. That's what the older one said I think. I guess if they arrive in the morning I'll offer them some coffee and sugar." I heard dad say as I sat down on my barrel and called Nightmare over to me.
As dad started making some supper I braided the mare's mane adding the trinket given to me by the young boy, attaching it by clamping them onto her hair tightly. I quietly ate with dad that night, giving Two-socks his share of the grub in a small pan before heading to my quarters, feeling a bit tired after the emotionally trying day.