Tiopa Ki Lakota (19 page)

eeing and hearing the confusion, Anpo chewed her lower lip in thought. "I cannot think of a way to tell you,
winuhca

," she finally said with a chagrined look on her face. "He is your
tunkasi
and you are not to be close to him. It dishonors me if you are close to him. I would not be close to your
ate
for the same reason; he would be
my tunkasi
."

"Perhaps it is good enough that she knows not to do it," Gi spoke up. "She will learn the why of it as she learns our words."

Reluctantly, the young warrior nodded. "You speak truly,
ina

." Anpo reached out a hand and caressed the blonde's cheek. "I will not hurt you, Ketlin. Please believe it," she whispered.

Kathleen's heart went out to the young woman's, responding to the worried look she was given. She smiled and cupped Anpo's hand in her own. "I'm all right, Anpo. I'll try not ta be so scared of ye."

They searched each others' eyes for a few moments before Hca interrupted, handing a piece of frybread to the blonde woman. "Ketlin needs to keep her strength if you are to stare at her from dawn to dusk," she teased her sister.

Anpo rolled her eyes and pulled away. "Then I should feed you more, as well, when Nupa is here for meals." Satisfied that her mark had hit home, the warrior settled back down at her place and scooped up her discarded meal.

Accepting the bread with a smile, Kathleen was careful to not look at Wanbli.
Is it just because he's a man? Or because he's Anpo's father?
she wondered.
That must be the reason - he's her father.
The blonde nibbled at the bread as she thought, her eyes staring into the fire. She considered the other times that these people didn't look at each other - inside the tents, at the river when there was bathing. The fact that the man wasn't looking at her, either, accented the point.
P'rhaps it's as much that I belong to Anpo?

Unable to understand the cultural differences, Kathleen vowed to keep her eyes open and watch other families, as well.
Ye'll figure it out, lass. Yer mum and da always said ye were too smart for yer own good.

The two camps remained together for the better part of a week as they waited for the meat to dry and the skins to cure. Soon the day came that Wicasa Waziya Mani and his people collected their belongings and wandered away. Several natives gathered at the council
ti

ikceya

,
wishing the chief and his elders well in their travels. And then the people were on the move, slowly meandering towards the west and the future summer camp where they would meet again.

Kathleen watched them go with a mixture of sadness and joy.
I'll miss the children
, she thought. She'd even seen the little girl on the back of a horse with her mother and received a wave and a smile.
At least I don't have ta worry about Anpo givin' me back to him, though.
Pause.
Well, lass, it's not like ye've done anything wrong really.
The blonde turned to the tent that was under construction nearby.
The ti ikceya.

The last few days had been almost idyllic in comparison with the rest of her time with the native peoples. Aside from the occasional misunderstanding due to their differences, things had gone quite well. Her days were full of learning their language and ways, what a woman's duty was and how to go about it.
Pretty much no different than home.
Her nights were quiet and caring as she cuddled with her warrior and enjoyed peaceful sleep.

"
Han
, Hca!" Kathleen called as she neared the bare poles that would be her lodge. She smiled at her
stepan
who looked up from her task of sewing skins and waved at her.

"
Han

, Ketlin! Come and help finish your
ti

ikceya

." The dark woman scooted to one side to allow room for her sister-in-law to sit, handing her the bone awl and sinew. "This is the last piece. We are almost finished."

"And it will be as big as Gi's lodge?" the blonde asked as she aligned the two pieces of leather and bored a hole through them.

"
Ohan
, maybe bigger but not by much." Hca watched her pull the sinew through the new opening. "Do not pull it too tight or it will bunch up."

Kathleen nodded, smoothing the skins together. The dark woman began poking another hole. They worked in silence for a bit as the camp returned to its natural rhythm. The white woman could see her warrior and Wanbli at the council fire. Anpo's friend, Nupa, was with them.

Glancing sidelong at Hca, Kathleen spoke. "Is summer camp big?"

The young woman nodded though she did not look up from her task. "
Ohan

. Our people have seven council fires and we are but a small camp of one of them." Excited eyes glanced up at Kathleen. "There will be feasting and dancing and games! There will be a Sun Dance and ceremonies! It will be fun, Ketlin!"

The blonde smiled at Hca's enthusiasm. "Many handsome
koskalaka
?" she asked.

"
Ohan
!
Many
of those!" The dark woman gave a delighted laugh and glanced over at the council fire.
"Many
of those," she repeated.

"He likes you."

Hca's eyes widened. "I did not think you noticed." She shyly looked back to her task.

Laughing, Kathleen stopped her hands with her own. "Who could not? He is always at Wanbli's fire, his eyes all big and round and...." She waved impatiently and spoke a few words in her own language.

"I do not understand, Ketlin," Hca said with vague sadness. "But you have learned our words well."

"Wait." The blonde rose and pulled a stick from the fire. She drew a picture on the ground. "What is that?"

Hca frowned at the crude drawing. "An animal. But I do not know what kind."

"It has a white belly and a white tail." Kathleen tapped her foot in slight irritation. "I know! Our
cuwignaka
are made of its skin!" She held up a fistful of the leather dress.

"Oh! A
nigesanla

!" Hca thought back over the conversation.

"Is that what it is called?" the blonde asked. "
Nigesanla
." As she committed the new word to memory, Hca's sudden laughter interrupted her.

"You are saying that Nupa looks like
nigesanla
when he looks at me!?" The dark woman rolled on the ground, hooting, and her friend could only join her.

The two women giggled happily, garnering strange looks from others passing nearby.

Nupa glanced over at the pair as they laughed musically. Nudging his friend with a shoulder he pointed his chin at them and asked, "What do you think they are laughing about,
tanksi

?"

The dark woman peered past him, her mouth curling at the joy she saw in Kathleen.
She is so beautiful.
"You,
tiblo

."

"Me!?" The warrior stiffened and looked back and forth between his friend and the women. "Why do you say me?"

Anpo scooped up a twig, its end glowing red, and lit her pipe. "Look at my
cuwe

. She turns red when she looks at you and laughs the harder." She puffed the tobacco, bringing the smoke up and over her head with her free hand.

Studying the women with pursed lips, Nupa saw Hca do just that. He debated with himself for a moment before relaxing into a grin and accepting the pipe offered him. "She likes me." He repeated his friend's actions.

They quietly sat with the elders and listened to them speak of things, of hunting, of wars past, of times when they were young
koskalaka

.

"What is it like to have your own woman?" Nupa finally asked.

Anpo shrugged, her gaze flickering to the blonde as it always did. "It is... different." She puffed on the pipe as she reflected. "I feel lighter and heavier now. I am happy yet have more responsibility in my life. I have to look to the future and make decisions with someone else in my heart."

Her best friend nodded. "I have missed your presence with the herd at night."

"And I have missed yours,
tiblo
."

A long silence ensued, the voices of the elders lulling the pair. Eventually, Nupa spoke again. "It is strange that you would have a woman before me. I had always thought I would be the first to be joined." His dark eyes were serious. "It is strange that you would have a woman at all."

"I know. I find it strange, as well," Anpo agreed. "But you and I know that no man would have me." She tapped the ashes into the fire. "And I know that I would have no man." The dark woman shrugged and bundled up her pipe to put away. "It is best this way."

Nupa watched his friend place the pipe into a pouch.

Kathleen awoke first. She lay in the comforting warmth of their sleeping robes, the gentle thumping of Anpo's heart filling her ear.
Why did it never feel like this with Adam?
the blonde mused. She splayed her hand out over the dark skin, seeing the contrast even in this murky interior.

Memories of her short marriage filled her mind. Mornings of making breakfast for a husband who was kind, if not loving. Days of doing chores and speaking out loud to herself because there was no one else to talk to. Nights of intimacies that, while not forced, weren't exactly invited. Kathleen couldn't recall a single time she'd awakened with Stevens as she did with this young woman.
Anpo's... comfortable. Sweet. Safe, definitely safe.

Beneath her, the young warrior stretched and sighed, on the verge of wakefulness herself. The white woman used the movement to snuggle closer without disturbing Anpo's rest. She inhaled deeply of the woman's scent.
I just can't seem ta get enough of her!
she marveled.

Today was the big day. Today the
ti ikceya
would be finished. Today Kathleen would lead Anpo into her lodge and officially join with her. From what she could gather from Hca, the blonde was essentially offering marriage to her warrior.
Married. Ta a woman.
Kathleen burrowed further into the warmth of Anpo's body.
Aye, lass, now there's a quandary for ye. If ye ever make it home, how're ye gonna explain a wife?

But one thing was certain - Kathleen was far happier with the prospect of marrying her young warrior woman than when she'd married her husband.
Is this what I've been headin' for all my life? Is this what I've been feelin' was missin'?

Further thought was halted on the subject as the long arm wrapped around her shoulders tightened and a voice spoke her name. With a smile, the white woman peered up into the dark brown eyes of her warrior.

"Ketlin. Did you sleep well?"

"
Ohan

, Anpo. I did. And you?"

The dark woman grinned in return. "Very well,
winuhca
." She yawned and stretched before wrapping her arms around her woman and holding her close.

Kathleen squirmed a bit in discomfort.
My bosom is tender. Must be near my monthly time.
She resolved to quiz her friend on how the native women took care of the problem as soon as possible.

Once breakfast had been eaten, Wanbli and Anpo wandered off together with the idea of bringing in some fish from the river. They took provisions for the day and their spears. As soon as they had disappeared, the women began their preparations in earnest.

Kathleen found herself again in the shapeless dress she'd arrived in, her own beautiful one taken by Hca Wanahca to be cleaned. The older woman began a stew while the blonde ground a bone awl against a rock. Waniyetu Gi would occasionally stop her work to inspect the awl until it was sharp enough to pierce a piece of hide.

"Very good, Ketlin," the older woman smiled, setting the awl aside. "You work hard. You will take very good care of Anpo and honor me."

"Thank you." The blonde colored a bit at the compliment.

"Now, you and I will prepare your
ti

ikceya

for tonight." She took Kathleen by the hand and helped her up. Gathering together some things, she handed them to the blonde saying, "These will become yours now."

Dark blue eyes blinked at the older woman. "Th....
Thank
you,
uncisi

! You are so good to me!" Kathleen swallowed a lump developing in her throat.

A hand gently rested against a pale cheek. "You make my
cunksi
smile like the sun she is named after. I cannot do enough to show you my thanks."

What did I ever do ta deserve this!?
And then the tender moment was gone and Gi was once again businesslike.

"Come, Ketlin. You and I will prepare your lodge for your joining."

Kathleen was led off, her arms full of robes, her heart happy.

Anpo hefted a leather satchel full of fish, pulling the strap over her head and across her broad shoulders. Her father carried another bag, this filled with the remainder of their leftover meal, and led the way back towards camp. The river had been teeming with trout and the pair had speared many.

"
Ate
?"

"
Hau
,
cunksi
."

"How long have you and
ina
been joined?"

There was a pause as Wanbli Zi considered the question. "We were joined a winter before our first child was born."