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FF: Whither Thou Goest 2/?
Author: Connecticut Mcphee
Rating: R - Adult Situations
Pairing: A/O SVU
Summary: SVU is out the window. It’s just Puritans, Indians and the New World. Big buckles on shoes, funny hats, longhouses, peace pipes and two chicks having sex. Oh why wasn’t I born in the 17th century?
The camp awoke with the sunrise and began to pack up in preparation to head back to the village. They had been hunting to bring back game for their families and were now burdened with a very successful yield.
“Natane, you stay behind to breakdown camp and insure we are not able to be tracked.”
“Yes, Father.” Nantane replied as she watched her father, brothers and friends head back toward camp with their litter of game. When they were out of site she sat back down on the ground and removed a moccasin. It needed mending and she decided to tend to it before she broke up camp.
The sun was a quarter of the way up in the sky before she began removing any trace of their presence at the campsite. She knew that very few of the white men were skilled enough in the ways of tracking to be able to detect that they had even been here after she finished. Once the job was complete she turned to head back to her village. A flash of the yellow haired woman went through her mind and she felt herself pulled back toward the white’s house.
It was a greater risk to go there during the day but she had confidence in her ability to remain hidden. She decided she would make one more trip to observe the yellow haired woman in the daylight.
Alex and Ruth woke up well before sunrise. Before Caleb left for town he had built a wooden tripod outside for Alex to hang their large kettle from so they could boil tallow for soap. They built a fire under the kettle and kept it as hot as possible. They were so busy tending to the fire that neither of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them from behind the cover of the forest.
Nantane watched with fascination as the two women worked. She wasn’t sure exactly what they were doing but it didn’t look much different from the various chores and cooking that the women did in her village. The younger, smaller girl that worked alongside the yellow haired woman seemed more at ease both in the environment and with the work that they were doing.
The yellow haired woman seemed somehow out of her element. It was a subtle distinction that Nantane wasn’t entirely sure how she was aware of it at all. She lingered for a long time, watching the women go about their daily chores before she headed back to her village.
In the next few weeks, what started out as innocent curiosity had become a habit. Nantane made a trip to the house of the yellow haired woman at least once a week to watch her from the woods. There were moments when the woman would stop what she was doing and pause. Nantane, who was a hunter and warrior by nature, could tell that the woman in those moments, knew she was being watched but not from where or by whom.
One night, upon returning from her weekly visit to the house of the yellow haired woman Nantane entered the village and found Apiatan still awake and smoking outside their longhouse. He didn’t even look up at her when she approached. Instead, he only spoke, “Nantane, you have been to the English house again.”
“Yes Father.” She replied her head hung low.
“You go there often. I know because I have heard you return.”
“I’ve tried to be quiet Father, I am sorry.”
“You may be the softest foot in the village but it is only because I taught you this. I can always hear you daughter.” Still without looking at him, she nodded her head in understanding. He regarded her for long moments. “Sit with me, smoke, and tell me about what you have seen.”
Nantane moved to her father and sat down next to him. He handed her the pipe and she took a long thoughtful smoke before she began talking, “They seem to be simply trying to live, just like us.” She began. “They are constantly busy with chores and labor. The men break their backs all day on the earth, they want to grow so much.”
Apiatan sighed, “And what of the yellow hair?” he asked knowingly.
Nantane felt her stomach tighten at the question. She could never hide anything from the wise man. She sighed as well, more in a gesture of defeat before answering. “She and the brown haired woman busy themselves with cooking and the making and mending of clothes mostly.”
“If that is all the yellow hair does then why do you keep going back there?” That was the question he had intended to ask from the start of their talk but the man always got to things in his own time. Nothing was ever rushed.
“I don’t know. I like her I guess. I want to know more about her.”
Apiatan was silent as he stared up at the stars letting their intermittent twinkling fill his heart with reverence. “Nantane, you do not know how special you are. That could get you into trouble one day.” He let the statement hang in the night air between them. He knew enough to know that to say anymore to his daughter would fall on deaf ears. After a few more moments of enjoying the night and the presence of Nantane, he stood and headed back into the longhouse.
The next day, Alex took a basket and headed into the north field to gather blackberries. Ruth offered to go with her but she told her to stay behind. She wanted some peace and alone time. Despite the isolation of their land and farm Alex found herself constantly surrounded by the small group that worked there. If it wasn’t Ruth who was her constant companion it was Caleb or one of the other farm hands. Though she valued their presence and knew she would be in an even more desperate position without them sometimes she just needed to be alone. It was part of her nature. So she seized the opportunity that morning to journey to the north field and be alone with her thoughts and the wilderness.
The vast bounty of berries growing wild impressed her. She quickly went about picking as many as she could her mouth already watering as she thought of the jam and pies she would make. Her basket was about halfway full when she heard the sound of heavy footfalls and even heavier breathing. Her body froze as her mind knew what it was before she even turned around. Ever so slowly, she turned her head. Lumbering towards her was a large, hungry black bear. He was the size of a boulder with black beady eyes and froth dripping from his mouth as he moved slowly towards her slack-jawed. Her heart began to pound in her chest and she felt trapped. She knew she would never outrun the animal. Suddenly, he lurched into action as his giant paws with razor sharp claws pressed into the earth propelling him toward her.
Her mind raced with thoughts as she realized she was about to be attacked. She screamed in fear but there was nothing else she could do. It was inevitability that the animal would kill her. Her entire body shook with fear and she desperately prayed to God that he spare her from a painful death. The bear exhaled loudly spraying spittle as he moved toward her. Her eyes snapped shut as she steeled herself against the impending attack.
Then, the sound of a high pitched whoosh tore through the air followed by a thud as an arrow embedded itself deep into the soft-fleshed back of the animal. He wailed, rearing up on his hind legs, mouth wide open and front paws flailing. Before Alex could move or realize what was happening a figure appeared behind it. With incredible accuracy and dexterity the figure jumped on top of it from behind and in one quick motion managed to stab it in the neck and pull the knife hard across slitting the animal's throat and making it collapse to the ground, dying almost instantly.
Alex was so dazed that she just looked up at her savior blankly; the fear leaving her body slowly and the adrenaline still pumping steadily. What she saw surprised her. There, in front of her, stood a savage, wearing well worn dark brown moccasins that were bound at the calf. Soft, chestnut leggings gripped strong thighs tightly, a small apron like decorative flap hung down from around the waist. The figure wore a shirt that looked European it was or at least it used to be white, but from constant wear was now darker in color. It was clearly too big and was bound to the figure by leather strapping at the waist and from the right shoulder to the hip. There was also a beaded sash over the right shoulder. As Alex's eyes trailed up to the face she felt her stomach instantly clench when she realized that the person who had just saved her life was a woman. Her skin was a deep tan brown, her eyes the color of the earth and her short cropped hair almost belied her gender were she not the most beautiful woman Alex had ever seen. The woman's chest was heaving with exertion as she moved to Alex and knelt down beside her. Her right hand still held the knife she used to slay the bear but her left hand went to Alex's shoulder gripping her securely as she asked with pleading eyes if the woman was okay.
Alex took a deep breath as she nodded and stood saying, "I'm alright. I'm alright." She stood carefully on shaky legs as the woman stepped back giving her room to stand. Her body was still shaking for a hundred different reasons as she looked down at the massive beast that now lay dead before her. She watched as the short haired savage wiped the blood from the knife on the ground before sheathing it inside one of her moccasins at the calf. When her weapon was away, she looked up at Alex again the expression on her face unreadable.
Alex felt compelled to say something to the person who had just saved her life though she was infinitely confused by her for so many reasons. "You saved my life. Thank you so much." She said unsure as to whether or not the woman would even know what she was saying.
The woman didn't give any indication either way. Instead, she just smiled and looked down for a moment before walking over to the basket of blackberries. She picked it up and handed it to Alex. When Alex took it she pointed to the berries and then to the bear. Her gestures seemed to indicate that she thought that was the reason why the bear had attacked her. Alex nodded in understanding not knowing what else to do or say.
Their moment of contact was interrupted when the short haired woman's gaze suddenly moved beyond Alex. The blond turned to see what she was looking at and saw Caleb and two of the hired hands about thirty yards away running up the hill toward her. They had no doubt heard Alex scream and feared for her safety.
Alex turned back toward the woman but when she did the woman was gone. Her eyes darted all around as she looked for any trace of her, a swaying branch or the sound of retreating footfalls but there was nothing. Had there not been a three hundred pound dead bear at her feet she might have thought she made the whole thing up.
When Caleb and the men reached her they stood in awe of the massive animal in front of Alex. Caleb gathered his wife up in his arms as he exclaimed, "What miraculous intervention of God kept you safe from this creature? We heard you screaming."
Alex returned the hug and when they separated from the embrace she answered her husband. "I was picking blackberries when this bear came out of the woods. I think it was after the berries as well. It made a move toward me when suddenly it was shot from behind and a savage appeared out of the woods and saved me."
One of the hired hands knelt down by the bear investigating. "The throat is cut. He must have shot it in the back with the arrow first and then finished it off at the throat." He stood whistling through his teeth and added, “I’d like to meet the man that did that.”
Caleb brow furrowed as he exclaimed, "Rarely have I heard of such tremendous skill and bravery. Where is the savage now?"
"Ran when he spotted you coming. I'm not sure why." Alex replied unsure why she was keeping the truth about the native’s gender from her husband.
"Did you recognize him from the party we encountered a few weeks ago?" Caleb asked.
"Um, no I did not. Though, from my vantage point it was hard to see any of them that day."
"Well the next time we see our savage friends we will have to thank them for their protection. It is an honorable thing to protect a man's wife. Come my dear, let us go back to the house so that you may rest from such a terrifying ordeal."
She obeyed even though she did not require rest. The incident though frightening, had the opposite effect on her. She found herself invigorated rather than exhausted and was compelled to busy herself as much as her mind busied itself with rampant thoughts about the mysterious native woman who saved her.
She couldn't believe how physically impressive the woman was. Her body was powerful and muscular and her hair cropped short was a style she had never seen on a woman. Her skill, strength and dress were nothing like any woman she had ever encountered and yet her body was wholly feminine with subtle curves that could not be hidden under any amount of male dress. And her eyes, there was something about them; something about the way the woman looked at her, her deep brown eyes seemed to bore into her soul. They had only encountered each other for a few minutes but it was like the woman's eyes penetrated her and saw her completely. Even if she couldn't speak a word of English to her, she knew her. It was simultaneously unnerving and fascinating. No one had ever looked at her like that before. She didn't know what it meant but she knew that the encounter would haunt her for a long time.
"You were lucky you know." Ruth said as she stirred the pot of soup cooking over the fire.
"I know," Alex began, "that bear should have killed me."
"Not just the bear." Ruth replied, "That savage could have done worse to you."
"What could be worse than being killed?" Alex asked.
"There are much worse things that can happen out here." Ruth statement was dark and suggestive as she continued with her work. "There is godlessness beyond that tree line. The devil dances with those people."
"I don't believe that." Alex replied feeling suddenly angry at the girl's statement. She knew her anger would seem strange and unjustified so she fought to suppress it.
A week passed with Alex still thinking constantly about her bear encounter. It wasn't the actual encounter with the vicious creature that was still plaguing her mind; it was the mysterious woman who saved her. Not just in her waking life but in her dreams the woman kept appearing, her dark eyes boring easily through her. She found herself casting frequent gazes toward the north field hoping to catch a glimpse of her though there was no indication that she would ever appear there again.
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