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writer-vaira · 1 year

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TRR: SABERTOOTH CLAN - PART 4

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Gurr

Reina made a really strong tea out of the bark before I was even dressed. She’s on a mission today. Was the wolf something she knew about? She asked endless questions after a breakfast of soup - what wolf? Where? How many? I thanked the ancestors we’d been working on conversation these past few days because there were just as many things she asked that I could not interpret. What was a seye-boreg? Or a Row-bought? She tested her leg and it held for only a little while by itself. It was better with her walking stick, but she insisted on bringing her whole pouch with her. She called it a ‘bach-pach’ but it slowed her down tremendously. Before we left the cave, she took a ‘pill’ from her bach-pach and swallowed it down with water. I had no idea what she was doing, really, but she was determined to come see the metal wolf.

I insisted on carrying the bach-pach, as she would be too slow to be safe if a predator came upon us. She resisted until finally relenting, clipping her leather covered knife to her hip, and her bow to her back with some long sticks on her other hip. Her furs were so strange, they fit against her body almost like they were shaped by the stars. It was so odd. Surely she must be cold? But no, she seemed warmer than I was.

They travelled slowly, stopping several times for Reina to rest. I wasn’t impatient, per se, but I was anxious to show her the body and leave. They could harvest more willow bark while they were there, at least. Once Reina’s ankle healed up, they’d be on their way back to Sabertooth. I missed his Mother and Father most dearly, and the idea of being back in the spacious cave, telling stories and seeing his friends? It pulled at his heart.

While taking a rest, I tried to teach Reina a few more hand signals. ‘Wait’ and ‘Slow’ and ‘Fast’. The ground beneath them was a little less slippery, though water pooled in many places, making his feet freeze when there was no way around. Reina’s feet were encompassed in the finest boots - she didn’t seem to even notice the wet land beneath her. I yearned for Reina to remember her clan name - or anything about the clan. She didn’t seem to understand the word or hand signal for clan and that worried him, for if she wasn’t sure of that then I wasn’t sure how to breach their communication gap - how could you explain the meaning of ‘clan’?

Ahead, the willow tree came into view. Finally, their journey was ending. I showed Reina how to scrape at the tree with a rock, and she did so with her metal knife, following his instruction. She pocketed the bark and asked once more where the wolf was. I was dreading this part. I led her farther upstream, keeping his head on a swivel. If there were more around…

“Oh sheet- oh my gawd-”

I kept watch while she fell to the metal creature’s side, inspecting it. She babbled along, and I couldn’t keep up with her words so I let her ramble, watching the trees for movement.

“Gurr, this is a metal wolf - oh fuck look at its teeth!” I glanced over to see she had pried the mouth open and was staring down the maw. “It’s so heavy, how are we getting this home?”

“Home?” I looked at her incredulously, “Metal wolf no home.”

“But Gurr, this is ah-maze-ing! We need to stuh-dee it!” She looked at its head again, pulling on an ear, before poking inside it “What does this do?”

The blue fire in the eyes stoked, and I pulled Reina back, growling at the metal monster… but the eyes were dark again.

“Gurr, it’s dead - I’m fine!” She grumbled while stepping forward once more, “It’s just the wiring that was misaligned. Maybe I can make a phashlite out of it?”

“Reina, what phashlite?”

“Oh um… It’s a fire on a stick. A fire you can walk with, fire that is not hot.”

She was making no sense. Fire that is not hot? Fire that does not burn? Was that how the metal wolf had fire in its eyes? From this cold fire? I stood watch, glancing down from time to time as Reina worked away. She seemed to know what to do with the metal organs, even if she hadn’t seen a metal wolf before.

“Reina?” I paused, “Reina hunt metal?”

“Uh…” She looked down, “No, never. I mean I’ve seen a few youtube videeohs but who hasn’t?”

I take that as a no then. I watched as she finally sat back, seemingly gaining nothing.

“No use, Gurr, I need tools.” She sighed, “But maybe we can meldt the metal down and use it to make a knife for you?”

“Meldt?”

“Melt - uh… metal soup. Metal soup gets cold and we make it into a knife.”

She clearly possessed knowledge I did not have, because metal soup? Making metal soup into a knife? I’d have to see it to believe it… or understand it. I shook his head before looking back at the treeline, scanning it. Nothing.

“Gurr, can we make a sled?”

“What sled?”

Reina frowned, cute little lines forming between her eyebrows. I reached out to touch them and they disappeared. I grinned as she frowned again - touching the spot once more.

“Are you making fun of me?” She finally chuckled after his third brow touch, “Okay, you’re right. Let’s leave it.”

She threw her hands at the robot, dismissing the idea.

“Maybe when we get to your peepole.”

“Pee-pole?” “It’s…” Reina frowned a moment before leaning away from him and smiling as his hand reached up towards her face, “Reina people, Gurr people…” She pointed at the creek, the trees, the earth, repeating “No people”

“People… Gurr people?” I tilted his head, “Reina come to Gurr people?”

“Yes! Reina come with Gurr.”

Reina

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about his smile. The way back to the cave was a bit easier if only because I knew what to expect. But of course I had a lot of time to think, if only because of the language barrier they had. I knew a lot more than I thought I would within the… week? Wow. The week I’d been here

He looked… younger when I smiled. I couldn’t help a huff of laughter whenever I recalled him poking my furrowed brow. What a nut. It was kind of cute, like I wanted to chase away what was bothering me. I stumbled over a root, ending up on my ass - and Gurr lent me a hand getting up. The caveman seemed to genuinely care about me - not just as a person in need of assistance, but as a person.

What would I look like if I was cleaned up? I was stronger than anyone I’d met before, practically lifting me up off the ground with his non-dominant hand. I was filthy, of course, but then I wasn’t exactly smelling fresh myself. I’m not washing in the icy creek, that’s for damn sure. He let me set the pace, following just a step behind or beside me, and guiding them with his spear if I veered off course.

He wasn’t tall, were any cavemen tall? But he still stood higher than me by a good few inches. Gurr had chestnut brown hair that was really matted and fell to his shoulders, and his skin was a reddish-brown - at least the skin I could see with all his furs.

Seeing him by firelight wasn’t super helpful either, it made his skin almost glow orange when they were in the cave together. I specifically looked at the cave walls when they got ready for bed now - it was his thing to sleep naked, I was sure it was a body warmth thing but… I was not going to look at him like some kind of lecher. His nakedness seemed to just be a thing that existed - a non-issue for him.

If I grew up out here, I was sure I’d be the same.

Still. I wasn’t going to look.

Not that I want to! I shook my head, it’s Gurr! Not… like… a celebrity or someone I was attracted to. Of course not.

“Reina-” Gurr stopped, whispering my name with a finger to his lips.

I looked to where I indicated with his spear. A ptarmigan was in a low tree branch, preening itself. I pointed to me, then the bird.

I grinned. I was trusting that I could do it! I nodded and carefully took my bow off my back, notching an arrow. I looked away from the ptarmigan as I lifted my bow, drawing it. Out of the corner of my eye the bird was watching me. Breathe in… look at the bird and release!

The bow twanged and Gurr jumped at the sound before spinning in place to watch the bird fall to the earth. I whooped, running to retrieve my kill. The shot was good - I got a bit of the arrow in its neck - and the best part was when Gurr held it up in one hand, and held my hand up in the other.

“Reina hunt!” I bellowed, surely scaring off anything else in the woods with his jubilation, “Reina hunt!!!”

Laughing I joined his chant, wobbling when I finally let my arm go - I seemed just so happy for me, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.

“Gurr cut meat,” I nodded, “Gurr make soup, Reina sleep.”

“Thanks, Gurr.” my ankle wasn’t doing great, but it wasn’t as painful as I’d expected… the rest would still be appreciated.

By the time they were back at their cave, I was exhausted and leaned heavily against the side wall as Gurr started the fire up. Pulling off my gloves, I massaged warmth back into them as the light grew. I watched Gurr instead of the bird I was dissecting. Yeah, if he got a good haircut and maybe a beard trim he’d look much nicer. my mind moved on as I looked at a flatter piece of wood.

“Gurr? Can I have that?”

He waved his hand while nodding, going back to his food prep. I looked at it from a few different angles. Maybe I can’t carve bone for shit, but I might be able to make a comb? The more I thought about it the more I settled on the idea. I needed to be able to do something with my hands to keep busy. Anything to not think about the size of the giant robot wolf. Annddd I thought of it again. Yup, time to carve. While I had my own comb it was far too thin toothed to work with Gurr’s mess. Plus it was plastic, if it broke it would be good for nothing at all…

The night came on fast and by the time the sky was dark, I’d made a good approximation of a handle-less comb. The sanding would have to be finiId in the coming days, my hands already cramping. The ptarmigan soup was welcome, but I couldn’t help but yearn for some spices. It was just a meat soup with no real flavour to it. If I’m stuck here forever I’m going to have to find some garlic at the very least.

Over dinner I tried again to ask Gurr about his people. It was a far walk, apparently. Three sleeps, give or take but for me? Gurr guessed about five. The two sat with this for a little while, a companionable silence between them. I worked the problem out in my head, sipping on the last of the soup. Five nights in the wild with no way to know for sure about food or shelter. They’d been lucky with the amount of meat they’d been able to obtain, Gurr making sure to smoke most of it, but would it last two adults going at a hard pace for that long? They could hunt on the way but if they were to make any good time their heavy footfalls would undoubtedly scare off game before they could spot it.

my mind fell back to the sled idea I had for the wolf cyborg. If I could make a sled with Gurr’s help, they could carry all the furs with them. And if it were sturdy enough, they could sleep directly on the sled too, keeping them off the frozen ground. Idly I started drawing in the dirt floor, wondering what shape would be best.

If we put tall posts on the corners, we could throw a fur on top in case it snows… but that would make it heavier… Gurr came over, taking my discarded bowl to wash it. I murmured my thanks while looking intently at my doodles. A travois would be the easiest to make, only two logs and a fur lashed to it to make a triangle shape, but it wouldn’t be very good for much else other than carrying furs. Getting to any semblance of society totally outweighs a week of stress, I thought, though we do need to arrive alive… maybe the first style? But how will we stick it together? Maybe a toboggan instead? Like a canoe… but flat on the bottom. But that would take forever…

Gurr sat next to me on the opposite side of my drawings, stepping gingerly to avoid smudging them. He looked them over, before looking at me with a raised brow. He looked so… modern with that expression.

“I’m thinking of making a sled.” I tapped my head on ‘thinking’, “but I’m not sure what the best way to do it will be.”

“Sledd?” Gurr looked back at my doodles, tilting his head slightly, “Make sled?”

“Yeah, it’s like…” I looked around the cave before spotting his bowl, and picking it up, “It’s like a bowl for carrying the furs in…”

I paused, turning Gurr’s bowl over in my hands and inspecting it. Inspiration struck like lightning.

“Gurr, you made this bowl?”

“Make bowl, yes.” He pointed to himself with his thumb, a crease starting to appear as he tried to follow my train of thought, “Sled is… bowl?”

I chuckled, reaching over to poke between his brows like he did to me earlier, making him grin. His voice was soft and awestruck as he said my name in reverence. I felt my cheeks heat at the sound, and cleared my throat.

“Right, a sled is a bowl - a big big bowl. Cave sized - can we do that?”

He watched me a moment before giving a small nod of his head, “Gather big stick.”

“Right, a big tree trunk… We can use my axe… flatten the bottom…” I tried drawing what I meant as I said it, and Gurr soon joined in. His lines were simple but very legible - though some of what I tried to draw was beyond my capabilities. I ended up grabbing a large stick and showing Gurr in miniature what I meant. It wasn’t long before Gurr started banking the fire and I realised how late it had gotten.

“We’ll start in the morning? Sunrise?”

“Sun.” Gurr nodded, “Sun we gather the tree.”

I smiled as he puttered around cleaning up the cave while avoiding their doodles. He really is sweet… if he’s cleaning I can make the bed more comfortable at least. A rock had bit into my side a few times and I was determined to find the sucker and get it out of the house. Rolling the furs to one side of the wall I noticed how many more pebbles were on Gurr’s side and my heart broke a little. He took the bad side… Sweeping the rocks out of the way with my least favourite fur (why is it so damn itchy?) I made sure that was the one on the very bottom, fluffy side down. Finally happy with my work once the furs were arranged nicely, I turned to ask Gurr if he had a favourite fur for his pillow.

He was already naked, stretching to the side avoiding the ceiling. He was thinner than I pictured under all those furs, but every inch was just corded muscle. It was the end of winter, so I could imagine how he’d look with proper food. my eyes drifted lower without meaning to, his shaft nestled between his legs like a mountain among plains. I looked away quickly, holy fuck. Watching the back of the cave, I asked him which fur he wanted for his head, and he came over and grabbed one, handing it to me.

“Gurr sleep now, Reina sleep?”

“Yeah, I’m super tired.” I lied.

Gurr

Reina said she was tired, but as I curled around her last night, she was as stiff as a board. She hadn’t been that tense since the first night we shared furs. I watched her now as she adjusted her bow on her back. She had given me a bright pink pouch that held her clothes inside, and instead put some jerky in yet another metal bowl of hers. It clicked shut with these clips on the sides. It was so simple and yet masterfully done. Reina had her knife and arrow holder at her side - a qwee-verr as she says - and I have to carry the pouch with her far superior cordage and our jerky box inside, the other metal box she collected some of the coals from the fire and wrapped the box in furs before putting it in the flower pink bag.

I also have the honour of carrying her Axe and Saw. I am excited to use her tools - but I am also concerned with her leg. We pushed pretty hard yesterday, and to get to a tree of the girth Reina is requesting… might take awhile. She had some willow bark tea again, but I’m still concerned. If she falls again that might put her recovery at an even slower pace… perhaps even halt it. But my mate will not take no for an answer, and I respect her wishes even if I do not agree.

“Gathering time.” She sang as she followed behind me, making sure the leather flap was firmly in place at the cave’s entrance.

“Gathering, yes. Bowl… cave size?” I hummed, considering the options I thought of last night, “Bowl smaller?”

“We can get away with smaller I think, yes…” Reina scanned the treeline, “It’s mostly to carry things and to sleep in, so we want to at least be able to lay side by side.”

“Sleep in bowl…” I thought for a moment, “I know tree.”

“You know the tree?” Reina smiled, the motion lighting up her face, “Perfect, lead the way.”

She gestured for me to go first, and I led her through the shortest path I could make - though I did forget some bushes along the way that we had to skirt, Reina never once complained. A hiss of pain once in a while, but that was it. She was such a strong person, I doubt I’d be moving as much with a similar injury. Though, I would have the clan to lean back on and we don’t have that luxury. Not yet.

When we reached the tree I thought might suit Reina’s needs, I stood back to let her inspect it. I think I know what we’re doing - making a bowl to carry things to the clan - and sleeping in it instead of having to find shelter every night. The ideas she comes up with… Truly spectacular.

“Gurr, I think this will work!” Her smile was broad, “It’s a little rotten on one side too!”

I grunted, that was the other part of choosing this tree, if part of it were able to be removed without coals, then we’d have less waiting around to do with the controlled burn. Reina came to me and asked for her axe - walking around the tree to determine where she wanted it cut.

“Here goes nothing.” She swung and it barely bit into the wood, again and again. I watched for a moment, the chill wind brushing my face before deciding to step in. She could do it by herself of course but it would be a lot faster if I did.

“Reina, make fire?”

“Oh! Duh!” Reina swapped the axe for the bright pink pouch, and walked away, far enough that should the tree fall her way accidentally she would be out of reach. I watched briefly as she started setting up a fire before turning to my task. If we were to sleep in this, it would be snug, but I would not mind. Curling up next to my mate? Hardly a chore. But this… I adjusted my grip on the axe the way Reina showed me. We felled trees for fuel at times, but usually not this large. It was difficult work, and I was glad that Reina was no longer working on it herself.

I called out as the tree fell, Reina whooped and joined me, scoping out our giant bowl-to-be. I surveyed it with her, though mostly I watched her expression. If we’re making a giant bowl, the hollow in the tree will cut down the work time tremendously. My mate took off her bow and measured two lengths from the center of the hollow. This is going to be… large. Well, she did say ‘cave size’. Reina had a piece of charcoal that she made marks on the trunk with, including a curved line that went from the bottom to the top like a mammoth’s tusk. She nodded, seemingly satisfied before looking up at me.

Her eyes softened a little and she looked away, clearing her throat. The snowy skin on her face turned redder than the cold bite she’d just had. Was she… blushing? Oh no… tears were slowly accumulating in her eyes.

“Reina?” I reached toward her, and she laughed, letting me put my arms around her - the strange clothes she wore were puffy and felt odd where my skin touched them, but she curled into me and could not care any less about her strange furs.

“Sore-e Gurr, I’m just oh-ver-welmed about ev-erry-thing.”

“Reina fine.” I rubbed her back like my mother used to when I was sick, before I claimed a cave of my own. “Reina fine… yes?”

“I… I think so Gurr. I’ve just had ev-erry-thing taeken from me.”

“...Tae-ken?” I hope it’s not what I think it means…

“Taken… like…” She stepped back, rubbing her face, before looking at the axe in my hands, before grabbing it forcefully, “Taken.”

“Gurr, taken from Reina.” I grabbed it back - “Taken?”

“Yeah…” She rubbed her arms before shaking her head, “Let’s fire this tree up.”

I nodded, my mate was very no-nonsense, but we would talk about this later. The language barrier was becoming less of an issue but there is so much I would tell her if I knew the words. Reina’s people seem to have words for everything - and the words can change if it’s now or in the past - what an odd concept. Words with ‘en’ seem to be past words, at least - so far. She’s told me the present of the words too when I ask but it’s a lot to remember. Now was not the time for a language lesson, even if she wasn’t hurting inside… we had a lot of work to do.

The day passed swiftly, and I was grateful for my mate’s treasures - the metal boxes that held the jerky meat were very impressive. Strong and light. I’ve been trying not to think of the metal wolf too much - but if my eyes linger on the treeline longer than normal I don’t think anyone would blame me. The metal wolf’s call went unanswered, but that might have been a fluke, or its clan might have been too far for the call to be heard. It was injured after all, and perhaps the metal family moved on.

How sad.

At least it was no longer dragging itself around and posing a danger nearby. It was… I shook my head, no - not thinking of it. Luckily my mate had many questions about the burning techniques, and had many ideas that kept me busy. When asked how long this would take… I had to do a few calculations. Something of this scale would take several days without the hollow in it… but seeing that the tree fell without splitting the hollow… I held up five fingers, keeping in mind that Reina wanted to carve off the bottom and make it smooth. She frowned, looking it over, mumbling something before stepping into the hollow and trying to lay down. It was tight lengthwise, but width wise was more than ample.

“Gurr,” she motioned me forward, “come lay for sleep.”

I did as instructed, and it was very close quarters, I was only just able to fit - pinching and painful. I grit out her name and she conceded, “What if we…”

She turned on her side a bit more, putting her face at my neck and twineing her legs through mine. The pressure on my back eased a bit and my cheeks heated. This was… it felt intimate. This feeling of being pressed together face to face - more or less - and having her legs wrapped around mine… This wasn’t a survival huddle… this felt like more.

“How many days now?”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat trying to focus on my words instead of the feeling building by my hips, running a hand closer to her face and holding up three fingers. The bulk of the work, if we were to sleep like this - ancestors save me - would be done. It was just the shaping of the bottom and the front mammoth tusk edge - which we could work on at the same time.

“Perfect, 3 days, let’s do that!”

I grunted, waiting for Reina to get up so we could get to work.

…

She wasn’t moving out of the tree. She just rearranged her legs slightly, putting less pressure on my lower back. This was pleasant. I rubbed my hand up and down her arm, and she pressed closer. This was it. I knew Reina was my mate before but… perhaps she knew it too now?

“Gurr this mite be hard to x-plane.”

“X-plane?”

She let out a breath, and I winced inwardly. I wish I knew more of her words so badly. Explain meant to teach with words. Ok, that I could understand.

“What hard to explain?” I wouldn’t let my ignorance stop her from getting whatever it was off her chest.

“I’m here because of… mah-jick, I think?” She sounded frustrated, so I kept up the arm rubs, which she seemed to enjoy.

“Reina here with Gurr, yes - Reina want explain why, yes?”

“Yes.” She sounded relieved, and I preened, happy with my assessment. She continued, voice low, “I am from… hmm… You know when this bowl is done?”

“Tree days.”

“Three, yes. So when the bowl is done, that is the future.”

“Future… future is in sleeps to come?”

“Yes! Sleeps to come, perfect anna-oh-gee.”

I skipped that last word, “So bowl done in future. What future with Reina do?”

“So I, Reina, am from the future.”

“You…” Perhaps something was not translating well. “Reina… from sleeps to come?”

“Yes, many many sleeps. Many winters.”

Many winters?! I choked a little, “Explain?”

She huffed a little, her voice coming out bitter, “I don’t know. I can’t explain. One day I was wor---” she paused, “One day I was gathering, and then I woke up here, in many winters past.”

I frowned, that sounded… insane. But Reina didn’t seem to be joking, and she was of sound mind. What if it was true? It would explain a lot - her odd furs, how she seemed to know a lot but also didn’t know basic things… how her technology was so advanced. It was from… many winters in the future.

“How many winters?” I held up my hands, perhaps this was within the grasp of our people, maybe our children’s lives.

Reina shook her head before finally struggling to sit up. I joined her, and it was actually fairly comfortable to sit facing each other. She sighed, looking around.

“How many winters?”

I nodded, and she gestured to the land around us, face pained.

“As many winters as there are trees.”

My heart stopped.

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#TRR #original works #original writing #time rift romance #time rift #caveman #interspecies romance #interspecies #Sabertooth Clan

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