Mirka awoke to the sounds of Apolo moving around the long house. She sat up, her movement drawing Apolo's attention.
"I am sorry if I woke you. I was just taking stock of things that need to be refilled before I leave again. I am Apolo, Nat's mate."
"I figured that since I don't see a knife sticking out of you anywhere. Can I help at all?" Mirka had a hard time looking at Apolo; she started to slide the charm on her necklace back and forth nervously; she was embarrassed when she remembered the images of him and Nat having sex.
"Sure, do you want to start breakfast? I think Nat might sleep in a little and I don't know when Rafa and Isabella will come for you."
"Alright, what do you want for breakfast?"
"There should be some bacon out in the smoker, so bacon and eggs sound good to me."
"Thanks." Mirka went out and got some bacon from the smoker behind the longhouse, and cooked up some bacon and eggs. As she was cooking she asked Apolo "Where have you been, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I went up the mountain. I am this tribe's star seer. It means that I can read what the stars are saying about what is going on in the cosmos. When I go up to the mountain I can be gone for weeks, but I know Nat can take care of herself."
"The women are not allowed to go anywhere with out an Adult centaur with them now."
"Why? What happened?"
"I am afraid it is my fault. The centaur Markus from the Folks tribe has taken a liking to me, apparently; he tried to make me kiss him. Blake came to my defense and punched him, but Markus said that this tribe should share their women with him and his comrades as that is how their tribe works. Juan Carlos doesn't want any more fights so he wants the women to stick to their mates I guess."
"That is not your fault. It was Markus's actions that caused it not yours; just like you watching us last night. I should have closed the curtain."
Mirka blushed at being caught. "I am sorry, I..."
"You don't need to say anything many women in your place would be interested. There is no shame in what you have done, but I would ask that you not look again. I am also going to make sure I pull the curtain next time."
"The next time what?" Nat asked as she came out from the back room. Her dress was hanging loose with the ties waiting to be done.
Apolo slipped behind her and kissed her neck as he started to tie her dress, "The next time we make love we will have to remember to close the curtain."
Nat blushed, "Yes, next time you should, you should have this time. I am sorry Mirka, when he comes home from being away he forgets his manners."
"It is fine. I could have looked away. Are you guys ready to eat? I think the eggs are ready." After they had eaten they walked over to Isabella and Rafa's hut. Mirka could sense the change in the tribe. Yesterday women had been moving from one task to another with laughter and with out any thought of where they were going, or who was around for they had been safe. Today, the few women who were out, stayed close to their mates and moved with a single minded purpose to get their task done and get back into the safety of their homes.
When they got to Rafa's house Mirka saw a woman clearly trying to avoid attention. When Rafa came out he quickly grabbed the woman and kissed her on the cheek. A surge of anger swept though Mirka at the thought that Rafa would cheat on Isabella while she was in such a delicate condition. She ran ahead of the others and started punching Rafa's side. Rafa gently put the woman down and side stepped the next wave of Mirka's punches as he quickly caught both of her wrists and gently held them. "What is wrong Mirka?"
"You cheating bastard! You have a wonderful mate who is risking her life for your baby and you are running around with this whore!"
Out of nowhere a kick to the side of Mirka's leg silenced her and took her down to her knees. When she looked up at who kicked her, she was surprised to see that it was Isabella. Mirka cowered at the sight of Isabella's rage. Mirka had the feeling that if looks could kill she would be dead several times over.
"Mirka, I would be proud to introduce you to my mother she will be staying with us while my father is away," Rafa said and Mirka could hear that he was trying to contain his laughter.
"Your mother? But you kissed her."
"Since when is it wrong for a son to kiss his mother on the check? By the way my name is Anna and you must be Mirka. I like you; another strong woman is just what Rafa needs in his life."
Mirka blushed at her mistake. Rafa rolled his eyes as he looked at Apolo, "Tell me you are going to take one of these women off of my hands."
"Actually, I was hoping for some time alone with Nat, so you are stuck." Apolo said with a chuckle.
"Then we are all going to go to the sparring field. Blake and I are going to be sparring with the Folks tribe, so there will be no one to watch over these three." Rafa had included Mirka in his count of women to watch over.
"I have got to see that." When Apolo saw that Mirka was puzzled he explained. "Blake doesn't usually spar with others. As we grow up we are all trained to master the sword but then we also tend to get specialized in certain kinds of combat arms. Rafa is an all over fighter meaning that he is master at the sword and bow but he is also fight with spear. Feli is a Master at spears while his twin Moya is a master at the war ax. Blake, as a blacksmith, is a master at every form of armory you can have. That is because he has to test out ever spear, ax, war hammer, sword and anything else he might make for battle to make sure that the balance is right. He does not feel it is right to spar with any one besides the other blacksmiths because of his knowledge. I wonder why he is sparing now."
"I have a feeling he wants to spar with Markus after how Markus treated Mirka." Rafa replied in an off handed way as the started to make their way to the sparring field.
"I guarantee you that is the reason, both for the insult on our tribe and so he can tell Roger that he protected Mirka the best of his ability."
When they got to the sparing field Mirka noticed that the whole tribe had gathered to watch. Apolo lay down and they watched as Rafa talked with a small group of centaurs, then three of them drew straws. When Rafa drew the short one he came over and lay down at a slight angle so that he and Apolo made a V between them with both Nat and Isabella sitting cross-legged in front of them. "Moya and Feli also wanted to spar so we drew straws to see who got to stay in. I drew the short one so I get to watch."
Mirka watched as Anna sat next to Rafa and leaned into him placing her arm on his back to make her self comfortable. Mirka sat the same way next to Apolo. There was a slight chill in the morning air and she gladly accepted the blanket Isabella offered her, absentmindedly playing with her necklace as she and Anna spoke. The centaurs were talking amongst themselves about who was going to win.
The general consensus was that if Blake was pitted against Markus, Blake would win. The women were also talking to and waving at each other; it gave the day a festival-like feel. A groan of disappointment went though the crowd as the youngest of the three Folks centaurs came forward with Blake. "Apenimon," Rafa told Apolo, "I was told it means trustworthy in his tribe. Of the three, I would trust him the most. He seemed very embarrassed by Markus' treatment of Mirka. I have had the opportunity to talk to him. He does not seem to like how his tribe shares their women."
Every one went quiet as the two men saluted each other to begin the sparring match. They started slowly with simple strikes and blocks; then they began to speed up. While Blake was stronger and more aggressive, Apenimon was lighter and quicker. He landed a hard blow with the hilt of his sword in to the center of Blake's human back. Unfortunately it was at that exact moment that a young centaur came running down the mountain side. Apenimon took in the long hair and the leather vest, but what caught his attention was her voice as she called out to her mother. Blake had not been distracted by Maria. He, like the others in the tribe, had gotten use to her during the six months since her birth, but Apenimon's distractions cost him dearly. Blake swung his sword in a wide arc that should have been very easy to block, but in his distraction, Apenimon did nothing. Too late, Blake realized that Apenimon was distracted. Even as Blake tried to stop his strike, his sword cut deeply into Apenimon's chest. For one heart beat, there was complete silence as Apenimon fell to the ground. Isabella was already up on her feet moving to Apenimon's side as fast as her pregnancy would allow her.
"You have killed a member of my tribe when we came here on friendly terms." Markus started yelling as he stormed out on to the sparing field, "I demand that you hand over the girl as repayment." When he noticed that Isabella was kneeling next to Apenimon, he reached down and grabbed her by her hair. "Get this bitch way from him." He went to shove her away but instead found the tip of Rafa's sword in his shoulder. His hand went slack and Isabella fell to the ground.
A shiver of fear ran down Markus' spine as he looked in to Rafa's eyes; they were black with fury at how Markus had handled Isabella. "My mate can heal him." Rafa ground out between clench teeth. He nodded at Isabella, "Go ahead. We are already in trouble; we might as well be in it all the way to the hilt."
Markus watched as Isabella placed one of her hands on Apenimon close to the wound. She put the other on the ground. The wound started to slowly knit together as the grass touching Isabella's hand began to fall to the ground as if it had been cut.
"Blake, Isabella needs to speed up the process; she needs more skin contact. Can you cut the top of her dress off?"
Blake looked at Rafa for reassurance as he started to gently and slowly cut her dress. Rafa notice a look of desire come in to Markus' eyes as the dress exposed her full breast. "Look away pig or I will kill you." Markus glared at Rafa but did turn his face. Rafa watched as Isabella leaned over and placed her chest against Apenimon. A surge of anger washed though Rafa at the intimacy of the touch but the rage faded quickly as Rafa acknowledged the need for it.
