Northwest of the village of Amberly lies the Native American Village of Makobla, it is a peaceful village of a dozen or so families.

They tend to avoid all contact with the white man, except for the trader named Hair of Fire, half Irish half French Peirre Dupree follows in the footsteps of his father, but he has taken a Native bride, prefering her and them to most of his own race, as some white people would say he has gone native.

"You have to come brother, I found a white man. He is hurt bad, broken leg, wounded head. They want to kill him," Kivak said looking afraid and much younger then his 11 years.

"What?" asked Sabban unsure he had heard correctly.

"They wish to kill the white man," Kivak repeated, "Nona has gone to get the chief but she might not find him."

"This is not a good thing. Kivak please tend my horse," Saban said.

Saban rushed to where the other men were gathered around.

What is this?" Saban demanded, seeing the white man lying on a blanket.

"My brother wishes to kill him," Daygleesha said glaring at Coren, she was holding a bowl a water she had been using on the man to try to revive him.

He is a white man, he would kill us," Coren said.

"Not this one," Saban said, "And how would you kill him, the Great Spirit says no murder in your heart or hand, only defend your kindred. This man would not kill you."

"How do you know that?" Coren asked.

"Because this is the little chief, the one who rescued me from the people of bad smells and big voices," Saban explained.

"You have nothing to say Coren, you can not take the life of this man," Crono said, and everyone left quickly except for Coren and Saban.

Saban looked up and saw the chief Crono, and beside him his mate and head of tribal council.

"I will go for Lunan, he needs medicine," Daygleesha said glaring at her brother.

"Your sister has the right idea his life belongs in the hands of the Great Spirit," Crono said, "But someone must take him into their lodge, he will be a burden for his injuries are bad I fear."

"I am sorry father, but a burden on the village . . ."Coren started.

"Do not speak in that way," Lyrah snapped, she had been scrapping hides with the other women when Daygleesha had ran and told them Kivak and others had came with a white man who was in tatters.

"I will take him, since I owe my life to him, the ones of bad smells would kill me had not he came to my side," Sabban said glancing at his mate Lyrah, she nodded approval.

She hurried to make a place for them in their lodge.

"Lyrah has sharp teeth in her words," Coren remarked softly.

"Lyrah is a good woman," Crono warned his son, Coren was on dangerous ground. Sometimes Crono wondered if Coren had what it took to be chief.

"Why not take him to Fire hair?" Coren asked, not realizing how close to the end of his fathers patience he was.

"He is not of Fire Hair's tribe," Sabban said.

Lunan didn't hesitate to give a prayer, he said, there was not much else he could do, but set the leg, and bandage the head.

This man was in the hands of the Great Spirit and all they could do was keep him comfortable. Daygleesha had done well by removing the tattered clothing and cooling him down.

"When he wakes I will bring medicine," Lunan said and looked at Kivak and the other boys who had been lurking with a couple of girls on the path. "He would have died if you had not gotten him here by travois."

"But we did not get a successful hunt," Kivak said, glancing at the other boys and the one girl.

"It was better then a successful hunt, now go swim before dinner." Sabban said smiling at his young brother, who he had charge of raising. The group of older children scattered to go for a swim, now that they had been assured they had done right.

Saban returned to his lodge and looked at Lyra, and said, "Soon as you are ready we will move the white chief to this lodge."

"I am ready, I will put our children on Kivak's side for now, until I can get the hides finished," she explained.

Kivak would soon go to the lodge of unmated young males then they would have more room, for the children to come.

Normally they would have not had so many hides, but right at the end of winter, a herd of elk had been driven by wolves into the herd of horses and they had taken all the young males, there had been mostly males, a few females and an older bull had been driven higher into the valley with the horses where they would be safe. Eventually the horses would return.

Spring had came before the hides could be finished, and it rained too much to leave them outside. There was planting and much work to be done and the hides had to be left in salted stacks in the lodges, until the women could tend them. Drying hides that had been scraped could be put in the rafters.

Jamie sat under a willow tree sipping medicine that was a bit like a tea with honey in it. It was spring again, a whole year had passed since he had been brought unconcious. He didn't remember that time, but Saban had told him it had been three weeks before he could eat and drink with help in a normal way. He had been very weak. It had taken him a month longer before he could walk on his own.

Jamie didn't remember much about that time except it had been dark and he had always seemed thirsty. He had bad headaches. Still had them like today.

He thought about Octavia, about how she had looked the last time he had seen her, dressed as a man, he had been in jail. He felt confused every time he thought of her. They had gotten married. But then the wheel had broken. George had bought a stolen horse. Those things were clear. How he had gotten here from England was not so clear. Two men Jack and Lewis, but all he could remember was faces and names. Kate a sweet dear girl, two elderly people, Chester and Maggie, he thought was their names and a boy named Quentin, but this part was all jumbled up like a dream, maybe they were just dream people.

According to Lunan he had substaned quite a blow from his fall. The boys and one girl, had been hunting when they saw the white men, they charged at them, and then saw one man pushed from the cliff.

This made Jamie afraid to go back to civilization as well as the thought if he was an indentured servant they would think he had ran away and he would face the law.

He knew their language now thanks to Kivak, as well as Lyrah and her children, Akima and Suna, as well as Daygleesha.

They had asked him to stay, but yet something made him wish to return. But every time he thought of the men pushing him off a cliff he would think he did not know these men that wished to kill him. If he went back he could be killed or jailed again.

Jayman, is what the people of the village of Makobla called him, because they had a hard time with his name, so Jamie had adopted the name. His head better he went back to working in the garden. He didn't remember how he had learned to tend plants but he had.

Some of the men laughed at him, but then Lunan pointed out, he is not healed yet, let him do the work of children, until he gets his man strength back.

Jamie liked the garden, it was quiet, the children were off doing other chores.

He could think here, he could try to untangle all the odd dreams and try to figure out what they meant.

Mostly he found himself thinking of Octavia, and how he loved her, but she was far away in England, except in his dreams she wasn't but this made no sense to him how could she be here in the new world. Obviously this was where he was. Nothing like this in England.

He had heard of red men, but these people were not red, more of a brown. There were men and woman who were darker brown here too. Jamie thought he had imagined it.

Because Jamie's skin burned easily Daygleesha had gotten some salve that Lunan made for young children and babies in spring to keep them from burning and rubbed it on Jamie's shoulders and back.

"Jayman I care for you, and wish to choose you if you would have me," she said, she had recently sent her mate away, after a heated fight he had slapped her something a white man could do without fear of censure, but in this village it was a foul deed and the woman could send her mate from her lodge and this was what Dayleesha did. She had a new baby son and was looking for a mate.

Jamie turned and kissed her, at first she was shocked, this touching of lips was something new to her.

She liked it, and started kissing him back hugging and holding were not new, rubbing ones cheek against another was common affection, but this joining of lips was new, and nice.

"What is that called?" she asked breathlessly.

"What?" Jamie asked unaware it was a new experience.

"This thing you do, joining of lips," Daygleesha said, and kissed him again.

"Kiss," he said, thinking of no translation for it, he had a smaller vocabulary then most the younger children, but he could understand more words then he could speak.

"Kith," she said, and nodded "I like this kith very much."

"Kiss," he repeated but she kissed him again drowning out the next word.

That night she invited him to her lodge, and he wanted to go, but he felt torn, he was married to Octavia. But logic told him she was far away and he would never see her again, and the need of a woman had been strong within him lately as his health was starting to come back.

She smiled at him and then went to fish with some of the women and older children. She turned and smiled back hoping he would come, he was very interesting.

That evening after dinner, but just before dark there was a small informal meeting of the men, most were hunters, but the chief sat in as did Lunan, who did hunt a little.

Jamie was invited to attend. Saban told him it was time for him to hunt.

Jamie didn't understand everything the men said, but evidently there would be a hunt, some yearling deer, most the elk meat had been dried, and one of the boys had brought home a small buck, but it wasm't much, and all it did was whet appetite for fresh meat.

Jamie had been practicing the bow with Akima, who was almost a full hunter now and he had gotten pretty good but he was not sure he was ready to hunt with the men. His balance had improved, he could now stay on the older mare Kivak used.

The horses were another thing that amazed Jamie, they were never fenced or tied, unless there was a hunt planned, they just wandered around the area like the dogs. The dogs looked more like wolves than dogs, were oddly unfriendly to him at first. He got on with all dogs he liked them a lot and cats too. Now they were tolerating him better but still would not play with him like they did the children.

It was dark now andthe head woman Spring happened to come over to the fire. She and some of the other women had been out berry picking and had just now returned, and she had wished some fresh meat.

Jamie was amazed at how different it was here, women leaders, and chosen leaders by the village. No Kings or Queens and women had as much rights as men.

No white woman would ever walk into a drawing room where men were gathered to discuss a hunt or other work and start talking as she did.

None of the white men would listen as she cooked meat on the fire, and told them about the deer she had seen when she and some of the older women had been berry picking.

But Jamie thought it was right, boys had to ask permission to speak at a meeting of men but they were too listened to and not dismissed as white men tended to do with children under the age of sixteen or so.

The meeting went on a bit longer after the headwoman left. They had decided that they would hunt near the berry patch.

The women then joined the group. Jamie had seen no signal given, but these people could signal others with gestures that he took as pushing hair back waving away a gnat or adjusting ones clothing.

Jamie was fascinated by their customs and traditions, and thought white men and women would be wise to pattern some of these for their own life.

Children were never hit or caned or slapped, their punishment instead was tailored to fit the crime, if a child talked during a ceremony in which they were to be quiet, that child was required to learn why silence was asked and to repeat the reason and why he had to do this to everyone he met and his parents before each meal, so no child wanted to be caught speaking out of turn. Because this was shameful to them to have to admit they were so rude and they had shamed their parents and village.

A child who lied had to walk around with his or her nose painted yellow for the day. Most children were well behaved.

Lyrah and Tulia had said something amusing to one another and the men were laughing, Jamie didn't catch the joke.

Then Lyrah said that Daygleesha wished Jayman to come to her lodge, and some of the men smiled, but Coren frowned, and Lunan said something about the moon, and Coren nodded.

Jamie went to the lodge, he knew where everyone lived, instead of kocking at the door like his people did, he called out softly, "It is I Jayman."

"To me Jayman, lay beside me here in my bed," she called.

And he did, and for a bit they talked about the fact he was going to hunt and he was nervous, it was his first hunt.

"I wish no more talk, I wish only many kiss, and talk of love," she said smiling.

"You shall not lay with a woman that is not your wife," his father's voice boomed in his head.

Then he thought of what Lyrah had said, and allowed Daygleesha to pull him into her arms, a woman and man are not created to be apart, they are made to be together like the moon and the stars. His heart pounded. His mind shouted Octavia.

Then she said something like my brains fall out for you Jayman, she kissed him and all thoughts but those of passion were driven out.

They were together as a man and woman for the first time, and Jamie forgot everything but her and the passion they shared.

The next morning as he sat with the other men and ate a quick breakfast of fruit and some kind of flat bread fried on rocks, he felt a bit guilty about spending the night with Daygleesha.

But none of the men commented except for Saban who smiled and said, "You should have gotten more sleep."

Kivak was as excited and nervous as Jamie, for it was his first official hunt. Like all boys and a few girls he had brought in rabbits, fur bearers, birds, and small deer, but he had never went on a drive or a hunt with the men. "Eat for it will be the last meal you see until after the hunt," Coren warned, he was the head of hunting.

So Jamie took his advice and ate all the fruit, frybread, and the small pieces of meat that had been smoked but not dried, it was too fat for his taste but he knew that was probably why it hadn't been dried.

Thhe women were absent as well as the children. They had gone to wash clothing by the stream, and the children had gone to gather reeds for making baskets and the boys willows for skewers.

In his old world, the women were expected to be there to see the men off, but they were more practical people.

Jamie felt good as they quietly made their way through the forest, it reminding him of a poem. Kivak had taken him out to hunt rabbits and squirrels and racoons, but they had never found anything bigger, and Jamie had been unable to help in the elk hunt because he had nothing to wear on his feet to keep from sinking into the snow.

"It is a good day to hunt," Kivak said softly.

Several grunted soft agreements.

Lokan had brought his dogs, to Jamie they looked more like wolves, he had expected them to set to howling and chase as his fathers hounds had gone for foxes, but they paded along quietly.

Suddenly the dogs froze and sniffed vigorously, it had been windy last night but it was calm this morning with an over cast sky and a smell of rain in the air.

"Lokan will lead, the rest of you, Saban, Kivak, Lunan, and Jayman stay back and wait until you hear the signal, the rest of the men follow Lokan and the dogs," Coren said.

Everyone nodded and it wasn't but a short time and the dogs started off the trail.

Coren signaled for the four to stay back, Kivak because he was young, Jayman and Lunan because they were slow. Saban was a good hunter, and they would need him if the the buck doubled back to them.

Lokans dogs will find a deer," Kivak whisphered. He glanced at Coren as he waited for the other men to pass him, he would go last as long as Lokan was working the dogs.

Jamie thought Kivak sounded deeply disappointed.

"Maybe buck double back and you will get him." Saban hoped, getting the first kill of a hunt especially a first hunt would be a coup for any boy, especially a twelve summers boy who had not yet had his manhood.

Quicky the men lost the dogs when they ran off yet another trail. Lokan took a grass blade and made a soft sound only the dogs could hear. If they had lost the deer they would come back if they were still tracking they would try to circle and bring them back.

Jamie saw some kind of fruit on a low tree, he had never seen anything like it, he was about to ask Kivak what it was, when the wind kicked up and blew the sweet scent of the trees towards him, but those branches weren't waving like the rest of the tree. Then it moved, he watched standing stock still. Like Kivak had shown him when they hunted before.

Was it the antlers . . . it was, not his imagination, but the rack of a buck.

It was two deer, a buck and a fat doe. Kivak saw Jamie quietly knock an arrow into his bow. Silently he crept to the edge of the hillock Jamie had stood on and saw the doe.

Jamie's throat went dry and his heart pounded. They were coming straight at him, the wind was in his face, they couldn't smell him.

"No not the doe," Kivak whispered, but Jamie didn't hear him. They weren't supposed to take does, especially in spring. She was going to fawn any day.

Kivak looked to his brother and Lunan but they were climbing higher to see if they could spot the others.

Jamie watched the deer walking straight for him, the doe had gone more towards the north and he was glad.

Kivak watched as Jamie tensed not knowing what to do, Jamie was so close to the edge if he tried to grab him he might unbalance and go down, he still limped very slightly and had balance problems. Kivak watched the arrow, sing through the air.

The doe trotted off at the sound. Kivak sighed with relief but realized Jamie was notching a second arrow. The doe was clearly out of range, but Jamie fired again, but not in her direction. He really needed more practice Kivak thought.

"We don't kill does," Kivak said as Jamie relaxed

"I know it was a buck," Jamie said, and Kivak moved out and saw the second deer, a huge buck down.

Either Coren had heard the crash when the buck went down, or he had just came back to see if any deer had been driven back by the dogs, when he came upon them trying to carry the buck to the big tree.

"Good kill Saban," Coren said.

"Not mine," Saban said with some amusement.

"Lunan," Coren said looking at the powerfully built medicine man.

"Not mine either," Lunan said trying not to laugh, knowing it would anger Coren.

"Well Kivak your first kill," Coren said.

"It was Jayman," Kivak said almost proudly.

"Jayman, hmmm, well it was a lucky shot," Coren said dismissively.

The men pushed and pulled until they got the deer into the tree that Lunan had climbed and used his strength to pull it up and Kivak had the job to tie it there, so it could bleed out and no preditors could get to it.

Then the women could come and butcher it and hall it back to camp.

They joined the rest of the party and another buck had been bagged. This one had been taken by Chayton, Toma's son, who was a year older then Kivak and a friend of the boys.

"Jayman got the first deer," Coren said, he was a bit jealous of Toma because he had all sons.

"I have something for you then Jayman," Toma said, and gave him a amber stone with a small fern captured inside it.

"I am very greatful." Jamie said and he was touched. Toma was a kind man who enjoyed games and contests.

"Kivak you lead the men back towards camp. Toma, Lunan, and Lokan will stay with me to field the dogs, we will be along soon." Coren ordered.

It had been a long day and Kivak was sad and tired as he trudged along. His new deer bow, given to him by his brother still never fired, and seemed to weigh almost as much as a deer hindquarter in his hand.

He knew his brother was disappointed with him. He was disppointed in himself, he should have been looking around for deer not pouting about being left behind.

Suddenly he started looking around, it wasn't too late, the hunt would not end until the broke their fast. He knew where they were going and their would be food waiting and that was all the others were thinking of, it would be night fall soon.

Then he heard it, deer breaking brush and running, he knocked an arrow into his bow, which a bit ago had felt like it was as heavy as a deers back quarter.

The dogs chased the buck right towards the men, but no one was ready but Kivak, his shot took the small buck down with ease, and he sighed with relief as Jayman and the others went to help him prepare the kill.

He sent to dogs back to Lokan, and after the deer was secure, he almost danced on to the little meadow where the young women had left food for them, he heard them giggle as they ran to tell the others the hunters were successful.

Jamie had not thought after taking care of the two deer he would be able to eat, but eat he did. He was ravenous, and nothing tasted as good as this food, all the hunters favourites had been prepared, fish flaky and smokey with seasonings unfamiliar but delicious to Jamie.

Coren returned but had not touched any of the food.

"Why does he not eat?" Jamie asked softly.

"Not everyone is here, he is the head of the hunters, he will not eat until Lunan, Chayton, and Toma arrive," Kivak answered.

Jamie looked at the man standing with his back to the others. He realized he had a lot to learn yet.

Finally the others arrived, and Chayton went to Kivak and said, "I had a kill before you, it will be another summer before you make one I wager."

"Perhaps not," Kivak said, and allowed Chayton to boast and tell his story.

"I already have my buck, he is small but I will do better next time if the Great Spirit thinks I have traveled in a good way," Kivak said calmly.

All the men including Jamie laughed, as the jaw of Chayton hit is chest, as others nodded it was the truth, Kivak had killed a deer.

Later Kivak told Jamie the real reason he had wanted a buck so badly. Women liked a man who was a good hunter and he wished either Wenday or Nona would pay attention to him, they were so beautiful and he liked both of them so much, they had been friends since they had played in mud as toddlers. But they pretended he was not there most of the time.