They removed Blainey's body from the camp as dawn was breaking. They wrapped her in an old fur, and two of the girls carried her for several hours, until their arms were aching. Then they left her on the ground.
Panthers aren't sentimental about dead bodies. Blainey would return to the forest.
Back at the camp, they divided up the dead girl's few possessions. As her conqueror, Snow got first choice, but she wisely refused to be greedy. She only took a blanket, and a single gold bracelet.
Well, for Blainey it had been a bracelet. The much smaller Earth girl had to wear it around her ankle.
"To remember her," Snow said as she clicked the band of gold into place, and there were nods of approval.
She rose painfully to her feet. They had put some healing salve around the burn on her thigh, but it was still stiff and aching after a night's sleep.
"What's this?" she asked the group, bending to pick up a long, black object.
"That's Blainey's war hammer," one of the Panthers replied.
Snow gave it an experimental spin. It was different from the fighting pole she had lost when she was brought to the Panther camp. One end was much thicker than the other, and had rows of small, sharp spikes jutting out. The club was almost as long as Snow was tall, but surprisingly light.
"I think I could make use of this," she said simply. Then she limped away, letting the rest of the Clan argue over who wanted and deserved the rest of Blainey's weapons, clothing and baubles.
Ally joined her, a bowl in her hands.
"Eat," she said, and Snow chuckled softly.
"Yes Mother," she smiled, and began spooning the porridge into her mouth with her fingers. Usually this kind of food was pretty tasteless, but after a couple bites, she looked at Ally and grimaced.
The Panther made a face. "Yeah, I know it's a little bitter. There's a root ground up into it. It will help with the pain, but it doesn't taste very good."
Snow sighed, but finished her meal. She took a few big gulps of water, then Ally insisted she lay down.
"We'll put you to work tomorrow, if you're up to it," she said when Snow tried to protest. "For now, you need to rest and let that leg heal. You're worse than useless to us if you're crippled."
Snow started to say something more, but was interrupted by a gigantic yawn. Ally smiled gently and stroked her forehead.
"Anyway, that root will make you sleepy. Rest, little barbarian."
Ally was right. Snow spent the day either sleeping or in a drugged haze. Whenever she did wake up, Ally would flex and bend her leg, gently keeping it from stiffening. In the afternoon, she had another bowl of the bitter porridge, and slept some more.
By the time she was fully conscious again, it was near dusk. She yawned and stretched, then gently pressed her hand against the bandage wrapped around her thigh.
"How's it feel?" Ally asked.
"A little stiff, but not too bad."
"I changed the wrap while you were asleep. It seems to be healing ok."
"Let's find out," Snow said, and struggled to her feet. Her leg was sore, certainly, and she limped noticeably until the muscles loosened up, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as she'd feared.
While the two walked around the camp, most of the other girls gathered in a semi-circle around Shan and her bodyguard. They were serving the evening meal, and the smell of cooking meat made Snow's mouth water.
Ally noticed the longing in the Earth girl's eyes and laughed softly. "Come on," she said, taking Snow by the arm. "Let's eat."
Shan looked up as they joined the group, and waved them over. "Come sit by me, Earth girl," she said with a little smile. "We would learn more about you."
A couple of the girls passed out bowls of a kind of stew, along with hunks of coarse bread and crude spoons carved from animal bones. The stew was thick with meat and vegetables, and Snow ate with gusto.
There was quiet conversation as they ate, and many glances her way. The general attitude of the rest of the Panther clan towards her seemed to be skeptical, but not overly hostile. The girl Snow had killed the day before hadn't been very popular--Bailey had been loud, cruel, and often a bully. None of the other girls had considered her a close friend, but she had been a valuable asset in a fight.
Few thought the clan was better off with a tiny barbarian girl taking her place.
Goreans invariably look down on Earth natives. They consider them soft, spoiled and mostly good only as slaves. Snow may have gotten lucky in one fight, but it remained to be seen if she could handle the hardship and deprivations of daily life in the forest.
As the meal continued, Shan began asking Snow questions, encouraging her to talk, drawing out her story. The other Panthers quieted and listened as she told them about her childhood on Earth, her marriage to Maxwell, and how she was brought to Gor.
There was a great deal of speculation about exactly what city her kennel had been in, and she answered a lot of questions and wracked her brain, trying to remember every detail. Eventually they narrowed it down to a three likely cities.
There were fierce nods and grim smiles as she told of her escape from the first male that had tried to hold her prisoner outside the City walls, but she got a lot of uncertain looks when she told the story of killing the Tarn rider.
"Wait a minute," one of the girls interrupted. She was a slim girl with black hair and olive skin who called herself Darkness. "You expect us to believe you brought down a tarn by throwing rocks at it?"
There were a few chuckles, but Snow held the other Panther's gaze.
"No, I didn't bring it down. At worst I just stung it. And I didn't throw rocks--I used a sling."
That brought forth a torrent of questions, and Snow did her best to explain how a sling worked. As she spoke, Shan called a girl over and whispered in her ear, and the girl slipped out of the camp.
