Primitive Instinct: The Journey Home

Now that we were actually moving along faster than a crawling snail, it didn’t take more than fifteen minutes or so to reach the village where all of that mammoth meat was being taken.

The hunter put me down on the ground when we reached the more packed snow on the outskirts, and I followed him through the village. The housing looked temporary, like the Native American tepees, but not at all similar. There were large supports that looked oddly like bone and probably were, considering the mammoths that had been hunted earlier, and the actual shelter was made from several sections of thick hide that were far too large to have belonged to anything I knew of. The hide was then attached to the bone supports and wispy trails of smoke vented from the top where a section of hide was lifted above the others slightly.

Children ran about in only pants, and I watched as the meat that was brought into the village was cut and placed into a few huts that were practically billowing smoke and more wood was stacked outside to be used throughout the time it would take to smoke all of that meat. Some people were cooking for immediate consumption and what I guessed to be seasonings were added to some of it.

Diesel’s nose was working hard, and my stomach growled loudly as we followed the hunter towards a very large tent with wooden poles holding open a large flap that served as a door, making it a covered entryway.

More hide covered the ground and I looked at my snow- and mud-covered boots before knocking them together to loosen the worst bits before following the hunter inside. Diesel stuck close to my side, and I put my hand into the thick fur at the back of his neck, appreciating the bit of warmth I found in the depths.

There was an older male here and a couple of what I assumed were young teens. The kids helped the man stand when the hunter entered and I watched as the hunter took a knee and turned his head, so his neck was exposed briefly before putting a paw on his forehead, effectively covering most of his face.

So, the old guy is the chief, I guess, I thought and lowered to my knees, keeping my eyes down. I wasn’t sure about the customs, but this is another one of those universal things. I was hoping it would translate into respect and the lack of neck exposure wouldn’t be taken as offensive. Having trained Diesel, I knew what exposing the neck meant and there was no way was I submitting like that.

The old man spoke, and the hunter lowered his paw, shifting until he was sitting cross-legged before the chief as the two teens helped the old male sit once more. One brought over cups of something steaming and the other placed a fur over the chief’s legs. After the chief took his cup, the hunter took one and passed it to me before taking another for himself. I sniffed the contents and tilted my head at the strange, but not unpleasant aroma. It was a tea of some type because I saw bits of leaves floating in it, but it had a minty, earthy smell and maybe something like an evergreen tree. Kind of like cedar or maybe pine, but way sweeter.

I took a small sip when the hunter did and coughed in surprise at how incredibly delicious it tasted. It was a bit strong for my liking, but still good. As it went down, it warmed me from the inside like I had swallowed a personal heater and I sighed blissfully as I drank a little more, holding the warm cup in both hands. The two males spoke for a time and Diesel laid beside me, intently focused on the conversation as if he could understand any of what was being said. I was trying to piece together what they might have been talking about based on their hand gestures and body language, but I was utterly lost.

I knew they were discussing me. Why else would the odd-looking creature be brought to the chief if not to be discussed? I figured they were trying to decide what to do with me and the tones between the two men were... well, not off-putting, but not very reassuring either. The chief, I think, was doubtful of keeping me around and the hunter was trying to persuade him otherwise. Obviously, I was rooting for the hunter to succeed in convincing his chief to keep me around because I was less and less convinced that there was any kind of advanced technology around here as I looked around the tent.

Everything was mostly bone or wood and some of it was probably stone. There was no metal to be found and what wasn’t made of a hard material was fur, hide, or leather. I had very little hope of being able to contact someone to get me back home now, since it was likely a very long trek to any place that might have a phone.

The talk stopped and I noticed the chief was looking thoughtful for a time before he spoke again. The hunter’s ear twitched and I couldn’t help but think it was a mixed bag of annoyance and victory before he placed his paw over his face again and set his cup down before standing.

I hurried to do the same and Diesel leaned into my leg as we followed the hunter out of the chief’s tent back through the village. A small-ish tent stood between the center of the village, which was the chief’s tent, and the outer dwellings, which seemed to be our destination. Compared to the other dwellings, this one looked almost... tiny. Tall, because it had to be, but not as wide. The hides that made the walls looked newer and I couldn’t help but notice there was no smoke leaving the top.

The hunter flipped open the entrance flap and ducked inside, holding it open for me and Diesel to follow him and I was incredibly shocked to find that there was a fire, just made so there was no smoke. There was a pile of furs on top of what was obviously a bed and bits of materials hung from wooden poles that helped support the heavy hide walls. There were some things that looked like tools made from sharpened bone or mammoth tusk.

I looked around at the dwelling and it looked... useful. Not decorative in the slightest, like the chief’s tent had been with the carved pieces that were obviously meant to be art. If you took up most of your living space, you probably didn’t waste more of it on things like trinkets.

Diesel and I stayed near the entrance as the hunter moved things around, rearranging his dwelling before he started laying down hides near the fire and put a fur over top of it.

“He made a bed for us,” I sighed, then looked at my feet. They were filthy and this tent might have been primitive looking, but it was clean, and I wasn’t going to be the type of guest that created a mess when it could be avoided.

I crouched down and unlaced my boots, slipping them off and placing them against the wall near the door, tucked out of the way. The hunter stared at my feet and frowned as I walked over and sat on the bed, he had made for me as Diesel found a spot near the fire to lay down, watching carefully.

The hunter crouched and kind of sidestep, crab walked closer before hesitantly reaching a paw out towards one of my hands. It took me a second to figure out that he was asking to look at them and I put my hand in his paw carefully. He touched my fingers and wiggled them around, turning my hand this way and that way before pushing the sleeve of my jacket up slightly and making a sound like a snort or a scoff.

I twisted my mouth at his clear disapproval of my lack of fur before taking his paw and doing the same thing he did to my hand. The digits were shockingly prehensile and were longer than they looked. The pads were where the top two joints of my fingers would be and when I squeezed them, because who can resist toe beans, a claw poked out and I felt my eyes widen as I pushed harder and touched the tip of the sharp nail that poked out.

A small flex and five sharp claws were fully extended, and I was gaping and eagerly inspecting the new development, which made the hunter chuckle before using his other paw to touch the nail on my finger.

“Yeah, I know. Not at all impressive,” I rolled my eyes and let his paw go. He looked at my foot then back up to me, lifting an eyebrow and I frowned, trying to put the pieces together. “Oh! Socks.”

I pulled my socks off and he started laughing before he sat down and lifted up his foot, wiggling his toes.

“Show off,” I laughed with him and shook my head. “Clearly, I’m not adapted to living here.”

He smiled a toothy grin and I blinked, seeing fangs. Small, compared to the rest of his size, but clearly pointed teeth like Diesel’s or maybe a cat. I pointed to his teeth and then showed him mine, making him tilt his head slightly before shaking it.

My stomach growled loud enough to make Diesel look up as I took off my pack and dug out a hair tie to attempt to tame the mess that it undoubtedly was now. I felt a rough pad touch my ear and I turned to see at the look of wonder on the hunter’s face.

“You think I look strange,” I lifted an eyebrow before looking up at his ears.

One flicked and the hunter smiled before moving away to move more things around. After a few minutes, he held out a large strip of dried meat, like jerky, and I sighed gratefully before gnawing at it until I chewed a piece off. He nodded, clearly relieved before he took another piece over to Diesel.

I watched, kind of amused as the big hunter tentatively held the meat out to Diesel who, being the good boy he was, gently took the offered food between his front teeth then holding it in his paws to gnaw at it much more effectively with his teeth made for a diet that consisted mostly of meat.

“Oh,” I whispered touched my jaw. “You were worried I wouldn’t eat meat. Blunt teeth are meant for plants.”

The three of us ate silently and I warmed up incredibly well by the time I was mostly done with my chunk of meat and tossed the rest to Diesel, who was staring at me and drooling a little bit. I took my jacket off and pushed the sleeves of my shirt up, wincing when I found a bruise I hadn’t noticed, thanks to being numb with cold until now.

Diesel whined and lowered his head at me, making me wonder what he was smelling about me that I didn’t know. He’s done the same thing a few times before, usually when I stub a toe and don’t notice I’m bleeding or when I’m about to get sick.

I frowned and looked at the impressive mix of black and blue that was my forearm then back to Diesel, who was looking at me with a slightly tilted head.

“Where is it, boy?” I asked and he came over, poking his nose at my back near my right hip bone.

It took a bit of twisting before I was able to see what he was pointing out and I hissed, seeing the deep tissue bruise and finally noticing the pain through the tingles of feeling returning to my body, thanks to having heat finally.

The hunter moved quickly, and I felt his paw on my skin before I could drop the bottom of my shirt. He, too, hissed at the injury before moving away again and looking thoughtful. After a moment, he held up a paw before leaving the tent and I looked over at Diesel as he laid down, putting his head on my thigh, looking up at me.

“Smarty pants,” I smiled softly and petted him.