30 - Run, Guy, Again
Guy looked left and right at the sasatch equipped with spears, and Feli and Cani next to him. 'Ready?'
Cani stretched. 'I don't think I can be more ready after hunting these hirri during the last couple of days.'
Feli loosened her feet. 'I have to agree. I didn't think I'd become used to running around this quickly.'
Egra and Thekka were the sasatch in charge of the others, and gave a nod.
'All right.' said Guy and looked once more over the map before signalling to the sasatch to head out.
They split up into two groups and moved out to the left and right of the herd located in the stretch of forest between the settlement and the grass plains they stood on.
'Be careful, you two.' Guy said.
Cani grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 'If I'm not, will you come with me to keep me safe?'
Guy chuckled. 'I doubt I could keep up with you. But don't make me have to nurse you back to health.'
She kissed him and giggled. 'I'll try, even though it's tempting just to have you take care of me.'
Feli shuffled with her foot and blushed. 'I make sure I won't be hurt anyway.'
Guy smiled and kissed her. 'I'm glad to hear that.'
She smiled quickly, then walked towards the herd. 'Come, Cani, we have a job to do.'
Cani sniggered and skipped after her. 'Yes, coming.'
They moved slowly to give the sasatch enough time to form two lines on either side and flank the herd, and halted when they caught sight of the nearest grazing hirri. They kept still until they were sure the animal hadn't noticed them. Cani took a deep breath and let it out. 'Ready to play the hound?'
Feli chuckled once. 'It doesn't lessen my feline dignity, so let's do this.'
They jogged towards the hirri with a little distance between them and enough noise for the animal to notice them. It looked back at once from grazing on a tree, saw the two by now familiar predators, and bolted while bleating its alert call.
Feli and Cani matched its speed and kept at a distance as they ran after it, and more bleats ahead of them revealed the whole herd was on the move. When it moved to the left, Thekka's group of hunters moved and made noise, and when it moved to the right, Egra's group chased them back.
The herd ran the way it was intended to until one stag bleated loud, turned back, and charged at Feli. 'Watch out!' she shouted when she dodged its head-on attack while the stag kept running.
Guy, who had followed his girls, gazed at the animal charging towards him with growing eyes. 'Oh shit.' he said as his adrenalin spiked at the sight of its large and painful looking antlers. He bolted at once.
The rest of the herd turned around and Cani grumbled. 'Run, Guy! We have to keep the herd in check!' she said and barked and growled to stop the animals from passing her while Feli hissed and roared at the hirri heading her way.
'Try going around and lead him back to the herd!' shouted Feli.
'I'll try!' Guy shouted with the stag breathing down his neck. 'If I'm not stabbed and trampled into the ground before that.'
He made a feint to the left, then took a sharp right around a very thick tree. The stag didn't fall for it though, and Guy double backed the other way around the tree.
They circled the tree several times before Guy saw an opening through the herd leading towards the corral behind the scattered herd, and dashed towards it, hoping the other hirri would distract the persistent animal from chasing him.
Feli, Cani, and the sasatch regained some control of the herd again when Guy ran past them, muttering curses under his breath. The hirri blinked in surprise as he ran through the herd with the stag, but their instinct to follow their leader kicked in again and they ran after the two.
'Way to go!' shouted Cani. 'They're coming after you!'
Guy increased his pace. 'Just one is bad enough thank you!'
He ran through the gap of the corral's rope and wood fence in front of him, dodged trees, circled the area with the stag and the herd behind him, and ran through the fence gap again where everyone was waiting for him. The stag braked hard in front of the sasatch who blocked his way with spears, and exhaled hard in frustration through his nose while stomping its hooves into the ground.
Feli and Cani hurried up to Guy and caught him before he fell face down on the ground, and he gave them an exhausted grin. 'At least it wasn't a bear this time.' he panted hard.
The sasatch finished the last work on the fence to keep the herd secured while Guy caught his breath, and he addressed the whole group with a few words he had learned and gesturing. 'Great work, everyone.'
The sasatch cheered. They had gained a reliable source of food and materials that didn't require them to walk far distances when the herd had moved away, as they did with the change of seasons. It saved them time which they could spend on other important tasks.
***
After a long break, Guy walked up next to Pierre, who was observing the sasatch wade through a nearby small river with their newly made nets. 'How're they doing?'
'Good.' said Pierre. 'They're becoming better at using the nets to trap the fish.' He gestured at two sasatch gutting and cleaning the pile of fish they'd already caught. 'It's going to be a feast tonight.'
'That's good news.' Guy said and observed a young sasatch girl collecting the fish guts in big leaves. 'What's she doing with that?'
Pierre looked at the girl. 'Oh, they just throw it away in the bushes over there.' he said as he gestured at a spot further away at the edge of the trees.
The girl picked up a load, but the slippery leaves caused it to fall and she barely kept the rest together. Guy moved up to her and gestured at the mess and at himself. The girl understood and smiled. He repacked the remains in the leaves and picked them up. 'I'll dump this.' he said, and went up to the trees. The fish smell guided him to the spot to throw it all away, and he tossed it unceremoniously over the low undergrowth.
A sharp hiss and yowl startled him.
His heart pounded as he looked over the top of the bush and straight into the fierce eyes of a very irritated feline. It was as big as a medium sized dog, and fish guts dripped from its body and unmistakable angry face.
'Not again!' he shouted as he ran with the hissing feline on his tail.
Pierre pointed quickly at the river. 'Try losing it in the water!'
"Water?" thought Guy. "Yes!" He turned towards the river, sprinted with all his might to avoid the feline's claws slicing his calves, and ran into a shallow part of the river while the sasatch gazed at the spectacle.
A splash sounded behind him, and he yelped when the feline still came after him, undeterred by the water. He waded quickly into deeper water, but the feline still followed and glared at him, wading with its head barely above the surface.
'I'm sorry, all right?' he said, thinking of what he could do to calm the feline down. He noticed silver flickering around his feet and thrust his hands into the water. 'Here! Does this make up for it?' he said as he held out a fiercely flopping big fish by its tail.
The feline stared at the fish, then at Guy, and back at the fish again. It chomped on the fish and snatched it from Guy's grip. He watched in relief as the feline returned to the river bank with its tail held up high and walked away in dignity.
Pierre chuckled as he approached Guy wading out of the river. 'So, was that offering of food a spur of the moment idea, or experience in dealing with furry creatures?'
Guy groaned. 'I certainly hope that wasn't an automatic reaction on my part.'
***
Guy arrived at the field the sasatch had tilled and planted with more plants foraged from the forest later, and stroked Mami's back while she inspected the work. 'How's it going here?'
'I calculated a little, and I think this should be enough for twice the harvest that they need, so even when some crops are lost, there should still be more than enough left to feed everyone all year round.'
'Nice.' Guy said. 'With the herd and the fishing, they won't have to worry about food shortage soon.' He strolled through the patches where sasatch planted and tended the various plants they had gathered, and noticed movement in a patch filled with low shrubbery and a young tree in the middle. He noticed a couple of rabbits sitting up straight close by. 'Oh no, you're not going to feast on this.' He went over to the shrubs and shook them with his hands. 'Shoo! Out of here! Or I'll make rabbit stew out of you!'
A shout from a nearby sasatch grabbed his attention. The man waved quickly with his arms and said something that sounded urgent, but he didn't recognise it. The cacophony of whistles and fluttering wings was the next thing that grabbed his attention, and he stared at a flock of fist sized brown birds with red chests rising from the shrubbery.
'Guy!' shouted Mami. 'Run! Those birds are aggressive when you agitate them!'
Guy let go of the shrubbery. 'Oh no. More angry animals.' He bolted from the garden with the flock in close pursuit of him.
Mami pointed at the edge of denser forest nearby. 'Try losing them in the thicker forest!'
He ran into the forest, but the agitated cloud of feathery balls of fury still followed him in, zipping between the trees and through the branches. There was only one other nearby possibility Guy could think of as he looked back over his shoulder for a moment. He changed course at once.
Pierre and Anah gasped when Guy stormed out from the trees and jumped into the river again, this time followed by a wildly fluttering and fiercely chirping brown flock twirling above the water.
The birds flew around for a while, then gave up and returned to the trees.
Guy's head rose through the surface cautiously, and he spit out water as he looked around. 'They're gone now?'
Pierre and Anah laughed as he waded out of the water for the second time in the day. 'I didn't know you enjoyed swimming that much.'
Guy shook his arms and legs and sighed. 'Yeah, I'm a big fan.'
***
'Oh, that looks great.' said Guy when he noticed the pile of red, blue, and black berries collected in a round piece of hide. He had decided to stay away from the garden and river for a while and head over to see how Avia was doing with the sasatch foraging for fruit and other edibles, and was glad the weather was warm enough to dry his clothing quickly every time.
Avia put the few berries she held in her fingers into his mouth. 'These are really good.' she said, and he hummed in agreement as he ate them. She gestured at a basket full of light green fruit, shaped like thick, short sausages nearly the size of a hand. 'Those things are something between green apples and pears. A light sweet and sour taste.'
Guy looked curiously at the fruit. 'Interesting. I wonder if we could take some home and grow them there.'
Avia gestured at two sasatch women moving around an open area filled with shrubs reaching up to their hips. 'Have a look over there. They're gathering another type of berry.'
'All right.' he said, and headed over to where they were busy picking from the dark green and red coloured bushes. He noticed the light green-yellow berries they picked and looked around for more of those. One bush was filled with them and he moved towards it, and picked a berry to taste it. The soft, sweet flavour exploded in his mouth when the berry burst as he bit it, and he hummed at the refreshing taste. He turned towards Avia. 'Avia, it's really good!'
Shouts from the sasatch and their wild gesturing towards him surprised him, then sparked a familiar suspicion in him. 'Please let me be wrong.' he muttered.
