laughed.
"Why not?" I asked curious.
"It is the woman's decision as to who fathers her babies," Rees told me. "Rain is our father, because he raised us, but Striker is Hans's sire. Some men will get upset if they catch another man in bed with their woman, but that's more because sleeping in another man's bed without his permission is considered quite the insult."
I thought about that. It was different from what I was used to, but I was hardly one to be judging other people's social mores.
"So, how do you get along with your sire?" I asked Hans.
"He died in battle when I was still a young child," Hans said.
"Sorry to hear that."
"He died protecting the People, which is why Father is proud to have me as his son, because my sire was not afraid to sacrifice his life when the time came."
"Yes, father is very proud," Rees said and nodded. "Striker was a good friend of his."
I filed that away to consider later. Especially as their sister was now chasing me rather earnestly. Of course she wasn't the only one, and my perceived lack of interest had made it into something of a game for all of them. Truthfully I was interested, but I didn't want to do anything that would cause problems for Fel's priests.
Also I was still giving some thought to my own behavior these days. It was starting to occur to me that I would probably live a very long time, and this left me feeling a bit conflicted at times. I wanted to make a lot of good memories with Rachel and Darlene, and I wasn't sure I wanted to ruin those by too much dallying with other females.
Of course those parts of me south of the border were more than willing to entertain ideas about every female to express an interest, and neither Rachel nor Darlene really seemed to care about any straying I might do. Just as long as I always came back to them.
"Deep thoughts?" Henry asked me as I considered what I had learned.
"Just a bit surprised at all the interest I'm getting," I sighed.
He shrugged, "If it were me, I'd be enjoying it while it lasts. Most guys would say you're pretty lucky."
I shook my head, "I know, right?" I smiled, "So what's with this party tonight?"
"Oh," he said smiling. "A large hunting party from one of the other tribes has come to visit. From what I've heard, this is more of a match-making expedition, this is how young men and women from other tribes meet and marry."
I nodded, it made sense.
"So there will be stories, dancing, food, and drink." Rees said.
"And smoking," I warned Henry. "Watch out for that. I hear that they have some pretty potent stuff."
Henry laughed, "I've tried it a few times already. I wanted to get an idea of how it affects people."
"And?" I asked.
"It's different than drinking, can't say I care for it much."
"And you, Steve?" I asked turning to look at where Steve was repairing some piece of his vestments.
"Not interested. Too much like drinking." He grumbled without looking up.
"Have you ever had a drink?" I asked, "Not complaining mind you, just curious."
"Once. Tried it, didn't like it."
"Okay, just remember, no making friends with wild animals or ending up in bed with married women."
Henry, Rees, and Hans laughed, and Steve just grumbled.
The party was actually quite the affair. It started off with contests of skill, and some of those were pretty impressive. Tom really was amazing with tomahawks, and proved it by riding his wolat around a rather twisting course while hitting targets tossed into the air with them.
There were archery competitions, several wrestling matches, and quite a few games that revolved around both spear throwing and spearing targets on the ground, all while riding wolats of course. Those competing weren't solely the males either; a lot of the women also hunted, and were pretty skilled at using spears and tomahawks as well.
I watched the byplay between the locals and the visitors of the opposite sex as all this went on. It was pretty interesting, and sometimes downright funny.
Rees was
"Why not?" I asked curious.
"It is the woman's decision as to who fathers her babies," Rees told me. "Rain is our father, because he raised us, but Striker is Hans's sire. Some men will get upset if they catch another man in bed with their woman, but that's more because sleeping in another man's bed without his permission is considered quite the insult."
I thought about that. It was different from what I was used to, but I was hardly one to be judging other people's social mores.
"So, how do you get along with your sire?" I asked Hans.
"He died in battle when I was still a young child," Hans said.
"Sorry to hear that."
"He died protecting the People, which is why Father is proud to have me as his son, because my sire was not afraid to sacrifice his life when the time came."
"Yes, father is very proud," Rees said and nodded. "Striker was a good friend of his."
I filed that away to consider later. Especially as their sister was now chasing me rather earnestly. Of course she wasn't the only one, and my perceived lack of interest had made it into something of a game for all of them. Truthfully I was interested, but I didn't want to do anything that would cause problems for Fel's priests.
Also I was still giving some thought to my own behavior these days. It was starting to occur to me that I would probably live a very long time, and this left me feeling a bit conflicted at times. I wanted to make a lot of good memories with Rachel and Darlene, and I wasn't sure I wanted to ruin those by too much dallying with other females.
Of course those parts of me south of the border were more than willing to entertain ideas about every female to express an interest, and neither Rachel nor Darlene really seemed to care about any straying I might do. Just as long as I always came back to them.
"Deep thoughts?" Henry asked me as I considered what I had learned.
"Just a bit surprised at all the interest I'm getting," I sighed.
He shrugged, "If it were me, I'd be enjoying it while it lasts. Most guys would say you're pretty lucky."
I shook my head, "I know, right?" I smiled, "So what's with this party tonight?"
"Oh," he said smiling. "A large hunting party from one of the other tribes has come to visit. From what I've heard, this is more of a match-making expedition, this is how young men and women from other tribes meet and marry."
I nodded, it made sense.
"So there will be stories, dancing, food, and drink." Rees said.
"And smoking," I warned Henry. "Watch out for that. I hear that they have some pretty potent stuff."
Henry laughed, "I've tried it a few times already. I wanted to get an idea of how it affects people."
"And?" I asked.
"It's different than drinking, can't say I care for it much."
"And you, Steve?" I asked turning to look at where Steve was repairing some piece of his vestments.
"Not interested. Too much like drinking." He grumbled without looking up.
"Have you ever had a drink?" I asked, "Not complaining mind you, just curious."
"Once. Tried it, didn't like it."
"Okay, just remember, no making friends with wild animals or ending up in bed with married women."
Henry, Rees, and Hans laughed, and Steve just grumbled.
The party was actually quite the affair. It started off with contests of skill, and some of those were pretty impressive. Tom really was amazing with tomahawks, and proved it by riding his wolat around a rather twisting course while hitting targets tossed into the air with them.
There were archery competitions, several wrestling matches, and quite a few games that revolved around both spear throwing and spearing targets on the ground, all while riding wolats of course. Those competing weren't solely the males either; a lot of the women also hunted, and were pretty skilled at using spears and tomahawks as well.
I watched the byplay between the locals and the visitors of the opposite sex as all this went on. It was pretty interesting, and sometimes downright funny.
Rees was
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