Summary: Caveman AU. Man hunts. Man kills. Man clubs a thief to death. Man finds Woman.
Notes: Written for AHA's December Drabblefest 2023, for the prompt 'Write an era you have't written before'. I guess I only went slightly overboard in finding an era.
"Gggrrrnnnnhhhh!" grunted the caveman as he swung his heavy club towards the head of his nemesis. With a satisfying 'thwack' he made impact and watched as the bounder folded into himself and sank to the floor. He would not be rising again.
"Urrrhhhh" he said as he grabbed his own axe back from the bounder's hands.
The woman he grew up with, came closer, keening softly. She grabbed at the bounder's neck, loosening a string that held teeth, pieces of wood and small rocks. She put it around her own neck and turned away. The caveman returned to his victim, and took the furs, arrowheads and spear the dead man had carried. They were all taken from his own cave, he noticed. Stripped bare, he left the body behind for the predators and returned to the safety of the caves, not far away. There, he proceeded skinning and boning the deer he had killed this morning, before he had spotted the bounder leading away the woman who had grown up in his cave. Even though she was nothiswoman, he felt protective of her and she had not gone willingly with the other man, she had been dragged away, resisting as much as she could. It had lit a fuse in his prehistoric brain and he had gone after them as soon as he had secured his deer carcass.
Now he was back, and the woman was back inside the farthest cave, he could hear her familiar noises. But his mind was on another. A woman whom he had brought here, after he found her sitting by the body of an old man, the body still warm to the touch. She had been fending off scavengers, whilst packing the old man's furs and weapons onto an ingenious construction. She had a piece of wood with holes in it. Through the holes, she had strung a strong rope of some material, he guessed willow but was not sure. On this, she put everything she could not carry, then started pulling. The caveman was amazed and impressed and had offered her first pick of all the food they gathered or caught along the way, as a sign of respect. She had grunted appreciatively more than once, and while at first she had kept her distance, during their four-day walk back to his cave, she had gradually come closer to him.
Now, she was here and he wanted her. When he thought of her eyes looking at him, things happened underneath his sable fur loincloth. It made him feel warm and he removed his cape, now working dressed in only his loincloth, and he noticed her eyes on him more than once. As he prepared the deer skin, he made his plan. She was all he wanted and she knew things he did not. He also knew things she did not, especially about hunting and healing. Together, they would be strong and smart. He went into the cave and critically looked at his skins and furs, all cured to perfection. When he found the one that had belonged to the white deer, he grunted. This would be his offering, along with another string holding the prettiest rocks and teeth. He added the large sabretooth he carried around his own neck to the string, then went to look for his prize.
She was sitting, cleaning arrow heads.
"Hhrrnnhh," he said and she looked up. He put the string of teeth around her neck and she looked at it for a moment, before putting her eyes on him again.
"Njguuhh," she said. He grabbed her hand and helped her stand, then showed her the white deerskin and pulled it around her. She let him, uttering a soft 'Mmmmmmhhh' as he pulled her towards him. Now things were really happening underneath his loincloth and he held her closely, as he directed her back to his cave. Once there, he brought her to the warm furs, laid over leaves and dried moss, where he usually slept. He removed the white skin and the fur she had worn like a cape around her. He rasped 'RUUGHHHR' in approval as he laid her down on the furs and looked again at her captivating eyes. She was compliant, nay eager, he saw it and he smelled it. That was good, because he was eager himself and with a roar, he joined them together. It was bliss unlike anything he had ever known before and he held her close to him, she who had brought so much pleasure. He worshipped her almost religiously, she of beauty and brains and bright eyes. He held her as she slept, and when he also slept, he dreamt of generations to come, all smart, all strong, all beautiful and all with his woman's eyes.