The Last Shaman

THE LAST SHAMAN

CHAPTER 3

BY ARTHUR

AUTHORS CONTACT:

Artcart65@gmail.com

AUTHROS NOTE:

PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THE NIFTY ARCHIVES WITH YOUR DONATIONS SO WE CAN KEEP THIS RESOURCE FREE FOR ALL.

The first light chill of evening was making itself felt as Ravenhawk and Antonio laid out the thick buffalo hide, Antonio decided it was his place to make the offer as he had been making full use of the hide all the time.

"Uhm, Ravenhawk, would you like to share the blanket tonight, it seems colder than before?"

"Yes, Brother, I will share with you, tomorrow we will have to make better time, I need to find a place to spend the winter, I feel the winter is going to be early this year."

"How do you know, is that why you go away from the camp each morning and say those words?"

"Yes, they are a prayer to the Creator, the one we call Wokan Tonka, he watches over us."

"He's like your god or something?"

"Yes and no, he is the one who created everything, the birds and animals and all the people, he gave us the Earth Mother to give us food and protection along with the Sky Father who changes the seasons so we can plant corn and hunt Buffalo when the time is right."

"Do you still believe in those old ways?"

"Yes, they have always been our way, what we believe is far older than the Whiteman's strange religion, theirs is like a lot of stories to scare children, they say one thing but mean something else, for me it looks more like only a few of their priests are allowed to understand the meanings so they can have power over others."

"But don't you have priests or Shaman or something like them?"

"We have Medicine Elders, Shaman is a Whiteman's word as is Priest, our Elders are the keepers of the Creators knowledge, it is their duty to pass their knowledge onto those who are willing to learn so that the Creator's protection and blessings continue to be bestowed on the people."

"So that is why you do those prayers every day?"

"Yes, it is to thank the Creator for his protection as we travel, but there is far more than that, I will tell you things as we travel if you wish to learn about our true ways."

"Yes, I think I would like that, it's far different than what I read in books or saw on the movies."

"You have to remember that those are the opinions of the Whiteman, very few really knew what they were talking about or what things truly meant when told about them, the Whiteman has no real spirit, or those that do cannot see past their own desires, we call them Sleepers."

Ravenhawk called a halt to the short lesson, they were both tired and tomorrow would be a long day and a faster ride, he had to find a good place to spend the winter months so they would both be safe.

By the middle of the morning on the next day, the two boys had made good headway, as they topped a low ridge line Ravenhawk pulled the Pinto to a stop and called Antonio up beside him, the Appaloosa stopping behind both riders.

Ravenhawk swept his arm out over the rolling land before them.

"What do you see?"

"Lots of grass and some birds high up in the sky, why?"

"Is that all you can see?"

"Well, uhm, yes."

"Ah my brother, you have Whiteman's eyes, look closely once again?"

Ravenhawk waited as Antonio looked out over the empty vista before them.

"Ah grass and birds, what's all this about Ravenhawk?"

"It's a small lesson for you, I have to open your eyes to all of Creators gifts, now look closely at the long grass out there."

"Well there's a lot of grass, what am I supposed to be seeing?"

"Do you see the tracks through the grass where it has been trodden down by passing animals?"

"Oh yes, I can see that now you point it out, why?"

"Those are the tracks of wild buffalo, if we come across them we can shoot one for meat and the extra hide will come in handy later."

"Buffalo, like real cowboy buffalo's, I thought they were like, extinct or close to it."

"There have always been buffalo but just not in the numbers of the past."

"How do you know the tracks are just not a large heard of cows or horses?"

"Because of the way the grass is trampled, you see how the smaller trails within the wider track are spread out over a wide area?"

"Yes so?"

"Both horses and cattle will travel closer together, their trail will be narrow and the grass will be close cropped in a narrow band, with the buffalo they spread out over a wider area and do not crop only in one place, and there is also the clue that I saw some buffalo hair caught on a scrub branch further back."

"You could see all that while we were cantering along at the speed?"

"Yes, it is easy to see when you know what to look for, now those birds high up there, what do you think they are?"

"That's easy, they look like Eagles but I've never seen so many in one place before."

"That's right; they are Eagles, now there are many things I can learn from them, firstly, they are flying in a clockwise circle, to me that means it is the beginning of something, secondly, there are far too many of them to be just a happening, they are all looking for a mate, the diving and then flying high up to once again stoop down at speed, is the male trying to impress the female that he is stronger than the others so would be a good mate."

"So what does that all mean?"

Ravenhawk let a chuckle come from his lips as he looked right into Antonio's eyes.

"It means even Eagles get horny."

Ravenhawk loved the faint blush that came over Antonio's cheeks, the previous night with both of them sleeping close together had not led to anything even though, had each boy known, that the other was hoping it would.

"Come on, we still have a long way to go today, if we come across the herd we will stop to get one, they are not far ahead, perhaps two hours."

"How can you tell that?"

"See those droppings over there?"

Ravenhawk pointed to a pile of fresh buffalo droppings.

"Yes."

There are many flies over them, also the sun has been up for a long time and the top layer is dry but the smell is still strong so they were left only hours ago."

"But how do you know it is only two hours?"

"Because of a combination of all the signs I have been seeing and from my experience of tracking other animals, it is something you learn by doing, it takes time but you will learn if you want to, come on we must move."

Ravenhawk led them from the top of the ridge and increased their pace back to a rolling canter, Antonio no longer felt the pains of riding bareback, over the last few days he had got used to the feel and movement of the gelding and the blanket pad was now enough to ease his sore butt.

It was a few hours later when Ravenhawk called a halt, Antonio could even now hear and smell the herd of buffalo and, as they came up over another rise, Antonio saw the large herd for the first time, it was even closer than he thought it would be, not only that but the animals were far larger than he had ever thought they would be.

Having only seen pictures of buffalo in books or on the internet, Antonio was not prepared for the size of the beasts, he was also taken aback by the sounds and smells around him, he watched as Ravenhawk slid the large rifle from the fancy scabbard and jacked a bullet into the chamber.

"Stay here, don't come down until I call you, when they run you might get caught and they don't stop for anything in their way when they run."

Antonio nodded as he then watched Ravenhawk knee the small Pinto forward and down the rise towards the large herd, as he watched, he saw Ravenhawk slowly work his way to the edge of the herd, there was no yelling and galloping like he had thought it would be, Ravenhawk took his time to slowly work close, the buffalo seemed to ignore his approach.

Ravenhawk worked his way close to an old bull, it was not his way to take a prime buffalo, the old and infirm were his target so the herd would not be weakened by the loss of a good cow or bull.

Once he had selected the right bull, he worked his way close enough to make a sure kill shot, as the rifle recoiled against his shoulder, he saw the puff of dust from the shoulder of the old bull and it dropped straight away onto its nose as those around him startled and looked around for the sharp sound, to get them moving, Ravenhawk let out aloud warbling yell.

For Antonio watching up on the ridge it seemed like a switch had been pulled, as Ravenhawk's yell echoed in the still air, the herd seemed to go into action all at the same time, he watched as the controlled stampede took off far faster than he would have though a great lumbering beast could move, he now saw why he was told to stay out of the way, had he been caught down there he would not have survived the mad rush of the wild buffalo.

When the last of the buffalo had disappeared over a far ridge, Ravenhawk called Antonio down to where he was standing over the huge beast, it was going to take a lot of work to get everything from the dead bull, he would need all the help he could get from Antonio.

Ravenhawk looked around and set about working out how everything would be done, they would have to set up their camp here for a few days as it would take that long for the meat to be dried and the work to start on the hide, there were also the stomach contents to be worked on but first he had to do his prayer work for the spirit of the buffalo.

Ravenhawk took his medicine bag from the Appaloosa and went to the dead buffalo, he began the chant and sprinkled tobacco as he sang, Antonio stood back and watched the strange ceremony for the first time, something inside him stirred as he watched, Ravenhawk had told him it was to honour the buffalo and thank it for giving its life to feed and supply the two boys.

When Ravenhawk had finished his prayers and thanks, he turned to Antonio.

"Do you think you can ride alone, we need some willow branches, you should find plenty of them back where we saw the small stream, do you remember it?"

"Yes, about half an hour back, but how do I carry them, I won't get many in my arms?"

Ravenhawk went to the Appaloosa and removed the packs, from one he took a hatchet and then removed the horse hair lariat.

"Take these, when you have cut them down, tie them together and drag them back here behind the horse, they need to be about as round as your wrist and twice your height, I will start on the skinning while you are away."

Antonio nodded his head and took the two items from Ravenhawk's hand, with little thought he mounted the gelding and turned back on their trail, it was not far so he was sure he would not get lost, if he did he had his rifle over his shoulder to alert Ravenhawk.

Ravenhawk took his knife out and checked the edge, next he readied his spare lariat made from ordinary rope and set about the skinning, first he cut around the hocks of the four legs, next was the cut down the inside of the legs to meet at the centre, another long cut down the belly of the buffalo and he was ready for the real heavy work.

Ravenhawk fashioned a loop in the rope and placed it over the neck of the Pinto, he then cut a small hole in the thick neck hide and tied the lariat through it, once that was done, he made the horse walk forward until the rope was tight and pulling on the hide, it was now time for the hard part, as the horse pulled steadily on the rope, Ravenhawk would slice through the sinew and fat holding the hide to the carcass.

It was a long hard and laborious job but slowly the hide came away, once one side was clear, he used the rope on one leg and turned the beast over on its other side to continue.

It was getting dark when he heard the soft pad of Antonio and the gelding returning, he had stopped working long enough to gather dried dung and small sticks for the fire which was now burning near the almost finished skinning, with the arrival of the dim light of dusk, the flies had disappeared and it was easier for Ravenhawk to work without having to shoo flies away from the fresh meat.

When Antonio made it to the fire, Ravenhawk saw he had cut a large bundle of willow stakes, there would be plenty for the work yet to be done, Ravenhawk smiled at Antonio as the boy looked at the blood covered arms and torso of his new friend, Antonio felt a little shudder run through him, he had never seen so much blood in real life.

There was the small pot of water heating on the fire and a flat stone close by; the heat from the fire was warming the stone.

"What's the stone for Ravenhawk?"

"That, my brother, is a Redman's grill, tonight we eat fresh meat, release the rope and let the horse feed, there is still a lot to do yet, we may be working all night."

"Why do we have to do it all tonight, won't it be alright until the morning?"

"If we leave the meat to sit all night it may be taken by wild animals, it is also disrespectful to the spirit of the buffalo to ignore its gift to us, come on let's get started. Let me see your knife, it must be very sharp and I will show you which places to cut and how to do it so we don't waste this gift."

Ravenhawk checked Antonio's knife then set about teaching him how to make the right cuts, after he had removed the long thick tender loins from the back, he cut them into thick slices and set them on the now hot stone to cook while they worked on.

The smell of fresh meat cooking, filled the still night air, the two boys worked with the aid of the firelight until Ravenhawk thought the meat was cooked enough to start eating, both of them were very hungry from the hard back breaking work of carving the meat from the huge bones, Antonio had almost thrown up when Ravenhawk had cut open the belly and he saw the mass of hot innards as they fell out of the cut.

Ravenhawk inspected the liver and heart closely before setting them aside, next he began to pull the intestines in long never ending ropes and lay them aside, it was a dirty and bloody job but Ravenhawk knew there was much they could do with all the buffalo had offered them.

The boys used fresh grass to clean their hands before they went to the cooking meat and began to eat; Antonio had never enjoyed meat so much, the cuts were tender and juicy, nothing like the meat his parents used to buy at the supermarket, he could feel the juice run down his chin as he chewed on the strong tasting meat.

After their bellies were full to bursting, Ravenhawk got to his feet and pulled Antonio along, they still had a lot of work to do, Antonio noticed that Ravenhawk had slung the large rifle over his shoulder, Antonio followed suit even though he did not know why but he had got to know his new friend quite well and knew he would have a reason for doing it.

Twice during the night they stopped to eat, taking only short rests as they worked on the large beast, Antonio saw that Ravenhawk would even lay out the large bones for later cleaning, just about everything was going to be used, the only thing Antonio could not understand was, how were they going to carry all the meat and items taken from the huge beast.

It was in the early hours of the morning when Ravenhawk called a halt, rebuilding the fire up he told Antonio to get some rest while he kept watch, in the far darkness of the night Antonio had heard strange sounds, he was told they were scavengers that wanted to get to the meat so Ravenhawk would keep watch until dawn.

For the next three days the boys worked on the carcass, the intestines were cleaned out and then set aside to dry, large bones were scraped clean and set out in the sun to also dry, the willow had been made into wracks to dry the huge pile of meat on after Ravenhawk had salted it down, they spent all day on cleaning the hide of fat and sinew then covered it with a mixture of salt and ash to preserve it until Ravenhawk could properly cure it for use; it was then stretched out on a frame made from some of the willow branches to dry

It was hard work taking many long hours to do, Antonio had never worked so hard in all his short life but, at the end of it, as both boys lay back looking at the results of their hard labour, Antonio felt a measure of satisfaction in what he had helped to do, it had been the first time he had ever seen what it took to survive in this new world without stores.

Ravenhawk had promised to show him how to use the large rib bones to make a bow and how to boil the rest of the bones to get the marrow out of them, they would also boil the hoofs, ears and other parts for the gelatine to make a glue, Ravenhawk also told him about the greatest delicacy of them all, buffalo tongue, Antonio had thought his friend was totally mad, why would anyone want to eat an animal's tongue when they had all the meat, Ravenhawk just smiled and finished cutting the tongue free.

Midway through the fourth day, Ravenhawk looked happy with what they had accomplished, he had stacks of dried meat that resembled long strings of jerky, the hide was dry enough to take off the frame, the long intestines had been cleaned, salted and dried then rolled into coils and the dry bones were ready to be worked on.

Antonio looked at the mountain of meat and other goods, how on earth did Ravenhawk think they were going to carry all of that on a couple of horses, it seemed they would have to leave a lot of it behind, he was about to see what Ravenhawk had in mind.

"It's time for us to move on, we still have to find a winter place and I want to look for another town to gather other things we need, we are almost out of salt and sugar."

"How are we going to carry all of this meat and other things, there's only us and the horses?"

"That's plenty, wait and you will see."

Antonio watched as Ravenhawk began to gather up the used willow branches, once he had four long poles, he began to tie the ends together of two of them then made a second set, next he took two smaller branches and laid them across the longer ones, suddenly Antonio caught on, he had seen the same thing in books, Ravenhawk was making two travois.

Once the frame work was done, Ravenhawk took the two buffalo hides and laid them over the frames then tied them down; they now had two large platforms to pile the meat and other things on.

Much to Antonio's surprise, Ravenhawk called up the Appaloosa and fixed one of the frames to it with some of his rope, next he did the same to the gelding leaving the Pinto without a load, Antonio saw that he would have to sit in a new position with the travois now on the gelding.

Once the horses were fitted with the travois, the boys began to carefully load up their supplies, Antonio saw that Ravenhawk placed the two large packs from the Appaloosa onto the Pinto, the smaller horse was better able to handle the packs than the long travois and the heavier weight of the meat and bones.

By midday the boys were quite a distance from their temporary camp where they had slaughtered the great beast, Ravenhawk was riding well in the lead by a hundred yards while Antonio rode a little uncomfortably behind with the Appaloosa just behind him, the horses seemed little bothered by the travois behind them.

They travelled on through the day not stopping to make camp, as they grew hungry, Ravenhawk would take some of the freshly dried jerky and chew on it while they moved, Antonio found he was beginning to like this type of eating.

Just after the middle of the afternoon, Ravenhawk led them down onto a river bank, there he called a halt, they would make camp and Ravenhawk promised a special dinner.

Antonio by now knew his first job was to gather firewood while Ravenhawk set up the camp, while he was waiting for the wood to be gathered, Ravenhawk released the travois from the two horses and let them wander away to feed and drink, the camp was quickly set up and Antonio returned just in time to see Ravenhawk wrapping the long thick tongue of the buffalo in some wet clay from the river bank.

"What are you doing?"

"Cooking dinner."

"No, I mean with the mud and the meat?"

"Redman's pressure cooker."

"Ravenhawk, seriously, what are you doing?"

"You see those plants over there?"

Antonio looked to where Ravenhawk was pointing.

"Yes."

"They are wild onions, I wrapped the tongue in the tops to cover it completely, next I put this thick layer of river mud to cover it completely then place it in the fire, the moister of the mud and onion tops helps to cook the tongue like in one of your pressure cookers, when it is done we will eat like one of your kings."

Antonio dropped the second load of dry sticks and branches beside where Ravenhawk had made a fire ring of stones, he then watched as his new friend took out a packet of fire starters and lit the fire, once it was nicely alight and forming a good bed of coals, Ravenhawk slid the round oblong ball of mud into the base of the coals.

With dinner in the fire, Ravenhawk looked at Antonio and smiled.

"We have time to have a swim and wash then find our breakfast for tomorrow, ready to get wet?"

Antonio laughed and started to strip off his now bloody clothes although they were dried, he could see he was going to have the devil of a job to get them clean again, unlike Ravenhawk who only had his small breechclout to clean, Antonio now understood why the young teen had stripped off most of his clothes while they butchered the buffalo.

The two boys dived into a deep hole in the river, then began a lot of playful pushing and shoving as they swam and washed the dried blood off their skin, Antonio's clothes then came next, Ravenhawk helped to show him how to get the dried blood out and also help to wash the bloody jeans by using a large rock on the riverside.

When the clothes were hung on a bush to dry, Antonio suddenly realised he had nothing to wear except the wet clothes, the look that came over his face as he looked at the sodden clothes must have alerted Ravenhawk to his predicament.

"What's wrong, my brother?"

"Ahm, no clothes, like I am naked again and these won't be dry by the time it gets dark."

"Why are you worried?"

"Ah, hello, naked boy."

"You are not naked; you are dressed in the Creators clothes."

"Very funny, Indian savage, what am I going to do until they are dry?"

Ravenhawk looked down at his own nakedness, he could feel himself getting hard.

"You could always cuddle up close to me for warmth, White Eyes."

"Yeah that could happen but things might not work out how you think if I do that."

"How do you know until you try, perhaps this Indian boy has something you need?"

By this time both boys were standing only inches apart, the banter was light but there was an undertone of something far more urgent in the air, the reactions of both their bodies told their own story, it only needed the two boys to take the next step but both of them hesitated to be the first to voice what both were thinking.

It was Ravenhawk who was the first to break the spell they had both come under, turning from the close encounter, Ravenhawk said.

"Come, I will show you how to get our breakfast for tomorrow."

Antonio let out a long breath, he suddenly realised he had been holding his breath for a long time, turning he followed Ravenhawk back to the river bank, once there he watched as Ravenhawk selected two long, firm sticks from one of the trees, next he smoothed off any small leaves and branches and then sharpened one end to a fine point.

Antonio now saw they had two crude spears but Ravenhawk was not finished yet, taking both spears to the fire , he set the sharpened end into the fire until they began to burn, he then carefully rubbed the burnt ends on a nearby stone until they were once again sharp but now were a lot harder than before.

"Come White Eyes, let's go fishing."

"With wooden spears?"

"Do you see any fancy Whiteman fishing rods hanging in the trees?"

"But I've never thrown a spear before."

"So, now is a good time to learn, just think that if you miss you go hungry in the morning, you will soon have a good eye."

Antonio shrugged his shoulders and followed the bare butt in front of him, his thoughts were far from fishing as he watched the slender narrow hips and small globes work as Ravenhawk took each step, his own groin just continued to feel the heat as he watched, Antonio was fifteen and had the normal urges that any teen had at that age, it was becoming like torture to be so close to Ravenhawk and not be able to carry through with his thoughts.

It was not long before they came to a still pool at the bend in the small river, here Ravenhawk, held his finger to his lips and then pointed to Antonio's feet, he then took a careful step to show Antonio how to move without making any sounds or vibrations, slowly they crept up to the edge of the pool and carefully peered over at the deep pool below.

Antonio thought he saw some movement in the water but the last rays of the sun gave off reflections on the surface so he was not sure, not so for Ravenhawk, with a movement so fast that Antonio almost missed it, Ravenhawk released his own spear, as though he already knew he was going to hit his mark,. Ravenhawk leapt into the water right after the spear.

Antonio could only stand and stare as Ravenhawk resurfaced holding the spear with a large trout impaled through the gills.

"One for my breakfast White Eyes, you better get busy or you will be hungry tomorrow."

For the next half an hour Antonio became more and more frustrated as he tried to spear one of the many trout in the large pool but with no luck, Ravenhawk sat back on the bank with the now gutted fish by his side as he watched the efforts of his new brother, he found it hard not to laugh out loud at some of the antics Antonio went through trying to spear a fish.

The sun had set low enough for there to be no more reflections on the water, they had about half an hour of light left, Ravenhawk finally had had enough fun and decided he had better show Antonio how to fish, the large trout he had speared would have been enough for both of them but he needed Antonio to feel as though he was helping and the boy may also need the skill sometime in the future.

It was just on dark when Antonio finally got his fish, not as big as the first one but enough to add to their breakfast, he then was shown how to clean it and then the two boys made their way back to the smouldering fire, Ravenhawk said the tongue would be nearly ready.

After hanging the two fish in a tree for the night, Ravenhawk went to the fire and began to lightly tap the clay bundle in the embers, after listening to the taps for a few seconds, he turned to Antonio.

"Just a few minutes more, are you getting cold?"

"Yes but my clothes are still wet."

"Come over here close to the fire, I'll get the hide to wrap you in."

Antonio went close to the fire and hunched down with his arms around his knees, within seconds, Ravenhawk had returned with the buffalo hide blanket after taking it off one of the travois, wrapping it around Antonio's shoulders, he sat down close beside him, their shoulders touching as they watched the fire finish cooking their dinner.

Antonio watched as Ravenhawk removed the now dry mud bundle from the embers, with a practiced ease he tapped quite hard down one side of the mound, Antonio saw it begin to split, Ravenhawk then peeled the dried mud and unwrapped the now wilted green stalks of the wild onions, underneath was the large cooked tongue.

At first sight of the large slab of meat, Antonio was not quite sure if he could eat it, Ravenhawk took his sharp knife out and began to slice through the tongue, he carved only two pieces off and handed one to Antonio, the first bite was enough, Antonio forgot it was a tongue and began to eat greedily, it was far better than he thought it would be.

By the time they had eaten just over half of the large piece of meat, the boys were full, Ravenhawk set the rest aside for later, now that it was cooked it would not spoil for some time to come, he had done the same with the huge liver and now had plenty of cooked meats of all types to select a meal from.

The fire was built up with a thick log as the boys settled into the warm hide blanket, both boys almost forgot they were still naked as the body heat built up, as Antonio's eyes grew heavy and the long day was finally catching up with him, he felt something hard push lightly against his naked butt, a shudder went through him at the touch, his own boyhood was also now getting hard, he wriggled a little until the protrusion behind him felt more comfortable, he heard a soft sigh as his eyes closed and sleep took over, it had been a long and eventful day.

Antonio's eyes began to open as the first flush of dawn was filling the sky, there was a nice warmth surrounding him, it took a minute for all his faculties to understand what was happening, Ravenhawk had somehow slipped on arm under his head and the other was holding him around the waist, Antonio was spooned it tightly to Ravenhawk and he could once again feel the hardness behind him but this time it was firmly placed between his cheeks, it felt nice and somehow comforting.

Ravenhawk stirred in his sleep, he could feel the nice warmth of a body in front of him and his boyhood was nestled between something warm, unconsciously he pushed forward a little, it felt good to have his man weapon sitting in such a warm place, a soft murmur from in front of him made him open his eyes, the first thing he saw was the black silken hair of his new brother.

Now' thought Ravenhawk how do I get out of this one, or do I really want to get out of it'

Antonio made no move to get away from Ravenhawk, he was actually feeling happy about being held close and feeling that special muscle pushing against his butt, perhaps this time they would go a bit further, from that moment on it was pure teenage hormones that took over for both boys, being a first time for both of them did not help to make the first time perfect but they worked on it for over an hour until both were happy with the result.

Finally, when Ravenhawk rolled off Antonio's back where he had discovered something new and pleasurable, Antonio rolled over on his back and looked into the soft eyes of Ravenhawk, what they had done had been a little painful but he was happy it had happened, he felt somehow complete now that they had made that one big step.

Ravenhawk ran a hand over one of the warm globes he had been bouncing on only minutes before as he asked Antonio.

"Are you alright, did I hurt you?"

"No, I'm Ok, just a little bit tender but I should be able to ride Ok, I think next time we should find something to make it slippery, it was sore going in like that."

"I will find something to make it easier on you, I'm sorry; I did not know it would hurt you so much."

"It's Ok, really, I liked what we did, I want you to do it again just not right now, let me up, I need to piss something terrible."

Ravenhawk laughed and rose from their bed by the now dying fire, he too had the need to piss, the fresh morning chill would wake them up.

Once the needed was done, Antonio went to check on his clothes but found they were still damp, with his now tender butt he did not relish having to wear the coarse denim jeans, he turned to Ravenhawk.

"My clothes are still damp; do you have anything else to wear?"

"I have another breechclout, would you like to try that on, they are far more comfortable than those heavy jeans."

"Yes, yes, I think I would like to try it."

Ravenhawk went to one of the packs and took out his spare breechclout, walking over to Antonio he turned the boy around and carefully looked inside the slightly red butt cheeks to make sure the boy was not hurt, once sure everything was Ok, he showed Antonio how to put the small breechclout on.

Ravenhawk stood back while Antonio put on the long moccasins, next was the last checked shirt Ravenhawk had in his pack, he smiled as he looked Antonio over, the boy could easily pass as one of the people, he would tell his new brother to let his hair grown long, in no time they would both look much alike, he had so much he wanted to show and do with Antonio.

It took Antonio a while to find a comfortable place for his sore butt when sitting on the gelding but by midday he was feeling a lot better, he was even thinking about what might happen again in the coming night, a small smile broke out on his lips as he thought about being held tightly by Ravenhawk once again.

TBC.

arctart65@gmail.com