Gargoyle
Clan of the Gatekeepers
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
- "That is true. Yet, I am not used to sharing a sleeping space with anyone else, except my cats. I don't think I am ready for that yet," Jade replied.
"Oh, No I didn't mean that. I wouldn't try to take advantage of you. I'm sorry if it sounded that way. I just asked for you to sleep in the same bedroll, and nothing else. I just didn't want you to have to sleep on the bare ground." Rastin explained.
Jade was always skeptical about any motives a man had towards her. It didn't matter that Rastin wasn't human. She felt that he was trustworthy, and yet she didn't feel comfortable, even just sleeping in the same bedroll with him, no matter what he said. So she voiced her concern to him.
"Rastin, you have been so kind to me. I do trust what you say, I just don't feel comfortable about it yet. I can sleep near you on the horse blanket. I am sure Chase wouldn't mind. He doesn't use it at night."
"If that is what you really want to do, then I will get you the horse blanket." Rastin paused as he was getting up.
He had a thoughtful expression on his face as he continued speaking.
"Except the horse blanket is not big enough for all of you to fit on. Are you sure that is what you wish to do?" asked Rastin.
"Yes, at least for now it is," Jade replied.
After they were done eating, and washed up from the pail of water Rastin had brought from the stream. He got the horse blanket and spread it out beside his bedroll. He had placed his bedroll and the horse blanket Jade would sleep on, further away from the rest of the hunters.He was hoping nobody would bother Jade from out here.Jade was still wearing her dirty torn up Jeans and T-shirt. It was hot out here and she wasn't used to being out in the heat for so long. She was spoiled by the air-conditioning she had been used to using in the summer when it was hot. It had been cool in the morning when she started off on her walk that morning."Was it really just that morning that I had been in my own world, before getting pulled through that Gate?" Jade thought to herself.
Now she was in a different world, hot, hurt, dirty, scared, and forever without her loving family.
Jade tried to curl up on the horse blanket but it was hard to do so. Whenever she moved even slightly, the blanket rubbed on her cuts, scrapes and bruises. She was a little comforted by Rastin's presence close by. Jade was very tired from everything that had happened that day, and finally fell into a deep sleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Jade felt something touching her, but she was so tired that she tried not to wake up. She didn't succeed, and it was a good thing that she did wake up. For Slasher was on top of her, and had her pants off as well as his own loincloth. He was moving her legs apart and was just about to rape her, as she woke up and screamed.
Immediately Rastin jumped up wide awake. He punched Slasher in the face and threw him off of Jade.Rastin was so powerful that Slasher landed 12 feet away from where Jade was. Rastin gathered Jade up in his arms protectively, not even thinking that she was naked from the waist down. Jade wasn't thinking about that at the moment either. She just cried in Rastin's strong arms.
Without even asking Jade, Rastin pulled her over into his bedroll with him. He wanted to keep her close where Slasher or any of the others couldn't get to her. Jade went with him willingly without a word of protest. She was glad to have Rastin's arms around her now. Jade trusted Rastin completely, now that he had saved her from Slasher a second time that day. Jade felt inside her somehow that Rastin would never do to her what Slasher had done, or almost had done.
Jade looked over at the horse blanket and saw her pants. She then realized that she was in Rastin's bedroll half naked. For some reason it didn't bother Jade so much now. She trusted that Rastin would not violate her in any way. Rastin kept his arms around Jade protectively all night long.
Rastin didn't sleep at all the rest of the night. He stayed awake from the adrenaline rush that he had gotten while springing to Jade's rescue. He also wanted to make sure Slasher didn't try anything. He wouldn't put anything past Slasher now. Jade was emotionally and physically drained, and eventually fell asleep feeling Rastin's protective arms around her. Rastin just held Jade close for the rest of the night.
As the sun rose, some of the hunters got up and started making coffee on the fire. They made a stew out of the leftover meat from the night before for breakfast.
Rastin stayed still and let Jade sleep as long as she could. He saw the dark piercing stares they got from Slasher and some of the other hunters. He didn't say anything to any of them. Instead he just tried to ignore their stares and hateful mutterings. Jade finally started to wake up. She felt Rastin's arms still around her from behind. She leaned back into him, liking the feel of his strong protective arms surrounding her. Jade turned over in Rastin's arms. She laid her head on his muscular chest and hugged him. She felt very lucky to have fallen at Rastin's feet instead of someone else's, and to now have him as her protector and friend. Jade lifted her head and looked down into his eyes that were looking up at her. Jade didn't understand the emotions that were going through her at that moment.Her mind said that he was a gargoyle and that she should not get too attached to him. Her heart was starting to feel something very different. Even though she had just met him the day before, she felt like kissing him. She didn't want to let her feelings be known to him at that time. She thought that she might just be feeling gratitude for him saving her, so she just kissed him on the cheek and said,
"Good Morning." as she smiled down at him.
Rastin wrapped his arms around Jade just a little tighter, and replied with a big goofy grin on his face,
"Good Morning to you too."
"So how are we going to get you dressed again with your pants over there on the horse blanket, and you under here with me?" Rastin said with a smile.
Jade blushed a deep red, and replied,
"Well I was hoping you would go get my pants and bring them back to me. Then I could put them on under the covers. Will you please get them for me?"
Rastin kissed Jade's forehead as he sat up. He turned Jade over on her back and got out of the bed roll as he pulled the covers up to her chin. He went over to where Jade's pants still lay on the horse blanket. He brought them back over to Jade, and she pulled them on under the covers.
Jade was very sore and stiff, from yesterdays tumble down the hill. So even after getting dressed she still sat on the bedroll.
Rastin brought two bowls of the stew over to the bedroll for breakfast. Jade was hungrier than she thought she would be for stew. She was not used to eating anything but breakfast food for breakfast, but was hungry enough to eat the stew this morning. They ate in silence for a while as they watched the others move about the camp.
"We are one day away from the place where we hope to find a herd of Bison or Deer. We will only kill what we need. We don't ever take more than we need. There are rules about what types of animals can be killed at what times of year and how many. That way we don't lessen the herds much and there are always enough animals left to continue breeding." Rastin said to Jade.
"How do you get the animals back to your Clan, after you hunt?" asked Jade.
"We make a travois to pull behind a horse. They are made out of two young sapling trees that are sharpened at one end. Then we attach a deer skin in between the polls. We have attachments that fit on each side of the saddle for the polls to fit in. The animal is then put on the travois and is pulled behind a horse. We have the hides to use to make them, we just need the saplings to make a travois for each large animal we kill. We wash and re-use the skins we make the travois with." explained Rastin.
Rastin cleaned their bowls and spoons in the pail of water and put them in his saddle bag. He led Chase to the stream to get a drink and fill up his water skin. He saddled Chase as Jade rolled up the bed roll and tied it closed. Rastin then secured it behind the saddle bags. He emptied the water pail into the fire to put it out, and secured it on his pack horse. They mounted Chase and started off on a long hard day of riding. It was a long hot trek through the forest that day, and they all kept to their own thoughts while riding.As the sun started to go down in the sky a scout came back with news of a campsite being found for that night.When they were setting up the camp Jade told Rastin,
"I think I want to sleep in your bedroll again, if you don't mind. I am afraid that Slasher will try again what he did last night if I was to sleep alone."
"Of course you can sleep with me again, It would be my honor to protect you again." Rastin said as he smiled at Jade.
He put his arms around Jade protectively pulling her into his embrace, as he said,
"I will not let any of them hurt you!"
"You are my gallant knight in shining armor!" Jade said as she smiled up at Rastin.
Slasher watched Rastin and Jade from a distance with a scowl on his face. He hated having to obey Rastin about the human woman. He ached to hurt them both, especially the human woman. He couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing in their faces. It looked to him as if Rastin had a thing for this human. How could he, humans are the enemies of gargoyles! Even though Rastin only held the woman and smiled at her, Slasher saw more in their eyes than just a helpless woman and her protector. They actually cared for one another.
"How could a human woman even feel affection for a gargoyle? There had never been any reports of any gargoyle and human even becoming friends, let alone caring for each other like that!" Slasher thought.
It just didn't make sense to Slasher, and it made him mad to see it happening with Rastin.
"Rastin is the leader of the Clan; he is supposed to set a GOOD example for everyone else. Instead he gets attached to a puny human woman!" Slasher mumbled angrily to himself.
Slasher's hate fumed inside him as he watched Rastin and Jade arrange the bedroll and sit down together.
Later that night when Jade climbed under the covers with Rastin, she took off her pants and left on her underwear. It was too hot to wear her Jeans, plus they were very uncomfortable to sleep in. She took her ripped up T-shirt off too. It wasn't much covering any more anyway. Jade folded her tattered clothes at the head of the bedroll on the ground. Jade felt that if she wanted to she could take off everything, and Rastin would only hold her, and not violate her. She didn't go so far as to test her theory though.Rastin held Jade protectively in his arms while they slept.
Around mid afternoon the next day, they spotted the herd of deer they had been looking for. Jade stayed with the packhorses while the hunters rode out with their long bows and killed the amount of deer they had decided was the need for the Clan. Jade was a bit nervous being away from Rastin, for the first time since her arrival in this world. She was able to watch them from the tree line where the pack horses were picketed.
Even though she hated seeing the killing of innocent animals, she understood that the Clan needed them for food. She also didn't want to take her eye off of Slasher or one of the others, just in case they were going to try to hurt her without Rastin around. Jade cried for the deer as they were killed. She watched as a travois was attached to the back of each pack horse, so it could carry an animal back to camp. Soon it was over and all the deer that were killed were back in camp where Jade couldn't get away from the smell of blood.She buried her face in Chase's mane as he stood at the edge of camp. She could stand the smell of horse sweat much better than she could the smell of all that blood. One of the deer was butchered for meal they had that night in camp. The other deer were gutted and prepared to take back to the Clan. There were twice as many sentries posted on guard that night than was usual. They were there to fight off any predators that might be attracted to the smell of the blood. It took the hunting party two days to get back to the Clan.As they came up on top of a hill Jade saw the Clan village down below. She had been getting more and more nervous about going into the Clan village. She knew there were a lot more gargoyles there that would hate her just because she was human. Jade clung to Rastin's arm that was around her waist as they rode nearer the Clan village. Rastin tried to comfort her, but wasn't able to be very comforting. He was just as nervous about bringing Jade to the Clan as she was of going.If someone tried to kill Rastin for bringing Jade to the Clan and they succeeded, he had no heir to take his place. Rastin hoped no one would even think to kill him or Jade, but he knew how gargoyles hated all humans, so knew the possibility of it happening existed.
Rastin told the hunters that were leading the pack horses go out front as they went down the hill. He figured that they would serve at least as a buffer between Jade and himself and the crowd gathering below.
It was a good thing that the hill was long and sloping and not steep. It would have been hard on the horses to pull the weight of the deer down the hill if it was steep. So since it was a long sloping hill it took longer to get down, but it was safer. The Clan was able to see the hunting party long before they reached the village. So the whole Clan had had time to gather together in the center of the village waiting to see who it was that Rastin had brought with him.
Rastin didn't know how safe he would be once the Clan spotted Jade sitting in front of him on Chase. As they got closer to where one of the houses were, Rastin pointed to one of them and said,
"That is my house there. The huge stone one on the left that is off to its self. We will not be going there yet. We will take the deer to the village center first. There the women will take the deer and prepare it. Rastin explained as they rode ever closer to the village.
Jade sat up straighter an tried not to look helpless. Although with her torn and dirty clothes, she knew she looked bad. She was scared stiff as she saw the looks on the villagers faces as they saw her. They were mean and angry looks. Rastin put his mouth to her ear and said,
"I've got you, I will not let anyone hurt you!"
Rastin also squeezed his arm around her waist to let her feel his protective strength. The hunting party pulled to a stop as some of the village men came to take the deer and arrange them in a central area where the women would prepare them.
Rastin was bombarded with yells and screams from all sides, demanding that he kill the human or else they would. Rastin would protect Jade with is life if it came to that. He commanded his hunters to quiet the crowd so he could speak. Rastin sat with Jade on Chase quietly, without answering one question, until the crowd was quiet and ready to listen to him.
Rastin told the crowd of how Jade came through the Gate and landed at his feet. He said that she was from a world that didn't have gargoyles. He said that some might have gotten trapped by the Gate, in her world centuries ago since there were stone gargoyles on buildings. He told how on Jades world the stone gargoyles were created as part of the buildings as protectors, not something the humans hated. Rastin told them of how Jade had seen the carving of a gargoyle on the pillar of the Gate in her world. He told of how Jade had reached out to touch it's face since she liked gargoyles. When Jade did so she had been taken by the Gate in her world and brought to this world where she is trapped away from her family and all she knows. Rastin told the crowd that he made himself Jade's protector and brought her here to live together in peace with the Clan of the Gatekeepers.
In
the deep woods of Sardis, Arkansas lives a woman named Jade. She's
5'
8",
140 lbs, and has dark brown hair that is almost black, with brown
eyes to match. She lives alone with only her cats Percy and Jethro
to keep her company.
On
the first day of October 2004, Jade awoke from a deep sleep, with an
urge to go for a long walk in the crisp morning air. Jade liked to
go for walks in the woods as often as she could. On this morning as
Jade was walking on the path she normally took through the woods,
she saw out of the corner of her eye a small path off to the side of
the road that she had never noticed before. Her Grandpa must have
cut down some trees that uncovered the path on his land where she
lived, so she was able to see it.
Jade
was curious as to where this path went, and since she had time to
explore that morning, she turned down the unknown path that would
change her life forever.
This new path that Jade took was much narrower than the paths she usually took. It looked as if it hadn't been used in a very very long time. Grass & weeds were grown up almost covering all of the path. Vines had grown up over the trees & over the path making it very very difficult for Jade to pass through the path.
This new path that Jade took was much narrower than the paths she usually took. It looked as if it hadn't been used in a very very long time. Grass & weeds were grown up almost covering all of the path. Vines had grown up over the trees & over the path making it very very difficult for Jade to pass through the path.
Jade
had a butterfly knife shaped like a Dragon in her pocket. She used
that to cut the vines and tough grass to get through the path. Jade
had been walking down this path for 15 minutes when she came across
something very unusual. It looked like two twin stone pillars that
were side by side and 4 feet apart. As Jade got closer she noticed
that something was carved on them. She tore the vines off one pillar
so she could see the carving better. It was a Gargoyle that looked
as if it was guarding something.
Jade
had always loved the Gargoyles in buildings and artwork she had
seen. She reached out and touched the face of the Gargoyle.
Instantly
she was in darkness and felt as if she were falling. Only seconds
later she landed on a steep hill and rolled down it head over feet.
After what seemed an eternity to Jade, she stopped rolling when she
hit something. She was very disoriented and hurting all over, as she
looked up to see where she was.
Staring
down at her with his knife drawn was a real live Gargoyle!
As
soon as Jade hit the ground in front of his feet Rastin drew his
knife out of its sheath pointing it at Jade, in a defensive reflex.
Because Rastin drew his knife the rest of the hunters did too. They
were all surrounding Jade with their knives pointing them at her.
"What
is your name?" Rastin asked.
Jade
crawled backwards away from the knives that were pointed at her.
Jade was still stunned by all that had just happened to her and
didn't understand what the Gargoyle had said. So she said weakly, "I
can't understand you".
Slasher,
one of the other hunters quickly bent and put his knife to her
throat and said,
"Why are you here in our territory? This forest is forbidden to humans"!
Rastin pulled Slasher back as he lowered his own knife. It was clear to Rastin that the woman had come through the Gate that was up on the hill. Slasher should have known that too, but his hate of humans was so strong that it made him not think clearly when close to a human.
"Everyone sheath your knives your knives, NOW!", Rastin commanded of his hunters as he sheathed his own knife.
Rastin reached out and touched the woman's arm.
"Why are you here in our territory? This forest is forbidden to humans"!
Rastin pulled Slasher back as he lowered his own knife. It was clear to Rastin that the woman had come through the Gate that was up on the hill. Slasher should have known that too, but his hate of humans was so strong that it made him not think clearly when close to a human.
"Everyone sheath your knives your knives, NOW!", Rastin commanded of his hunters as he sheathed his own knife.
Rastin reached out and touched the woman's arm.
She
tried to pull away but he had a firm hold of her. Rastin was using
some of the magic he as the Clan leader had learned from his father,
it was used for trading purposes with those who didn't speak his
Clan's language.
With
his touch and a little concentration he magically gave the woman his
Clan's full language. He let go of her arm and again asked,
"What
is your name?"
Now able to understand the question the woman answered,
"My name is Jade."
Rastin reached out his hand to help Jade in standing up, as she had just fallen down the big hill & was hurt. As he did so he said,"Hello Jade, I'm Rastin Chief of the Clan of the Gatekeepers." Rastin helped steady Jade on her feet & supported her with his arm.
"I'm sorry I drew my knife on you. Your sudden arrival at my feet just startled me a bit. I am afraid my hunters are so used to following me that they drew their knives on you just because I did. Please don't be afraid, I will not hurt you nor will I let them."
Now able to understand the question the woman answered,
"My name is Jade."
Rastin reached out his hand to help Jade in standing up, as she had just fallen down the big hill & was hurt. As he did so he said,"Hello Jade, I'm Rastin Chief of the Clan of the Gatekeepers." Rastin helped steady Jade on her feet & supported her with his arm.
"I'm sorry I drew my knife on you. Your sudden arrival at my feet just startled me a bit. I am afraid my hunters are so used to following me that they drew their knives on you just because I did. Please don't be afraid, I will not hurt you nor will I let them."
Rastin
said pointing to the other hunters, then continued
speaking.
"Slasher has a great hatred of humans, as most gargoyles do. On this world humans are the enemies of gargoyles". Rastin explained.
Rastin helped Jade over to a big rock so she could sit down. Slasher was mad that Rastin was being so nice to the human, so getting in Rastin's face he said,
"Slasher has a great hatred of humans, as most gargoyles do. On this world humans are the enemies of gargoyles". Rastin explained.
Rastin helped Jade over to a big rock so she could sit down. Slasher was mad that Rastin was being so nice to the human, so getting in Rastin's face he said,
"Rastin
why are you being so nice to that human? She is a vile human &
deserves to die"!
"Why do you think she deserves to die?” Getting right back in Slashers face!
“Because she just happens to be human?” Rastin now Grabs Slashers shoulders and peers into his eyes Challengingly.
“Or because she has done something to you that deserves DEATH?" Rastin exclaimed.
Slasher scowled at Rastin and said hatefully,
"She deserves to die because she is a human!"
"Why do you think she deserves to die?” Getting right back in Slashers face!
“Because she just happens to be human?” Rastin now Grabs Slashers shoulders and peers into his eyes Challengingly.
“Or because she has done something to you that deserves DEATH?" Rastin exclaimed.
Slasher scowled at Rastin and said hatefully,
"She deserves to die because she is a human!"
"Slasher,
THIS human is NOT our enemy!" Rastin exclaimed
"How can I get Slasher, such a hateful gargoyle to come to his senses about this human?" Rastin thought. Then he said,
"This human came through the gate from another world. She has not been hunting us like the humans of this world do. Why can't you just let her be? She has done nothing to you, to deserve death!”
"How can I get Slasher, such a hateful gargoyle to come to his senses about this human?" Rastin thought. Then he said,
"This human came through the gate from another world. She has not been hunting us like the humans of this world do. Why can't you just let her be? She has done nothing to you, to deserve death!”
Slasher
put his fist in Rastin's face, but did not hit him. Instead he just
said in a very hateful tone,.
"You will be sorry you ever helped this human!" Then he huffed off in the direction the hunters were going before Jade came through the gate. The other hunters followed him.
Rastin
stayed by Jade knowing she was very weak, & vulnerable. He felt
protective of Jade and didn't want to see any harm come to her from
any dangers that she may face.
"Where
am I, and how did I get here?" asked Jade.
Rastin
smiled at her, pointing up at the Gate on the steep hill and said,
"See
that arch on the top of that hill?"
Jade
nodded as Rastin continued.
"That
is what we call a Gate. It is a magical doorway between alternate
realities. This is still Earth, but it is a different reality than
yours is. You came through that Gate when you somehow triggered a
Gate in your world."
Knowing what he had to say next would be very hard for Jade to listen to, Rastin placed his hand on Jade's shoulder, to try and comfort her as he continued talking.
Knowing what he had to say next would be very hard for Jade to listen to, Rastin placed his hand on Jade's shoulder, to try and comfort her as he continued talking.
"Unfortunately
as far as we know going through the Gate is a one way trip. No one
alive knows where one would end up if someone tried to go through
the Gate. I am very sorry Jade, but you can't go back to your world.
You might end up somewhere much worse than here, if you tried to go
back through the Gate." Rastin explained sadly.
Jade
hung her head and cried. The salt from her tears burned her cheeks
where she had scrapes and cuts from her fall down the hill. It was a
painful reminder that this was really happening to her.
She
thought back to all her family at home. How could she live without
her family? She was very close to her Mother, Sister and
Grandparents. Jade had lived next door to her Grandparents for the
past two years and close by to most of her Aunts and Uncles and
cousins. Jade couldn't believe that there was no way for her to go
back home. Knowing now that she would never see her family again was
too much for her to bear alone. Jade leaned into Rastin and he
wrapped his arms around her to comfort her as she cried on his
chest. When Jade had cried herself out she lifted her head up to
look into Rastin's eyes as she said,
"Thank
you Rastin, for being here for me even though you don't know me. You
said that most Gargoyles hate humans, and yet you don't act like you
do.
You
could have just left me here, and gone on with the rest of your
group, but you didn't. Thank you!"
Rastin
gently wiped away the tears on Jade's face and smiled down at her as
he said,
"You
are very welcome".
Like most gargoyles he had been raised to fear and hate all humans. Gargoyles were hunted down and killed by humans for sport. Yet this human woman did not fear him, nor intend him harm. She seemed to trust Rastin enough to allow herself to be held and comforted by him. These were new feelings for Rastin. He was close with his sister, but as of yet he hadn't found the right person.
Jade without knowing it was mind-sending her sadness, trust, and whatever emotions she was feeling to Rastin. He didn't know that was the reason why he was feeling this way towards her.
As Rastin looked down at Jade he really looked at her, and saw all the cuts and scrapes on her face and arms. He walked over to his horse and opened up his saddle bag. He got out a skin of water, with a soft buckskin rag and took it over to where Jade sat.
Rastin sat down next to Jade, then poured some water on the rag and gently washed the dirt out of Jade's wounds.
Luckily none of the cuts were very deep, and should heal up okay. Rastin is not a healer like his Sister Serina, yet he had learned a few tips from her incase anyone of his hunters or himself got injured during a hunting trip.
Rastin decided that he would take Jade with him to wherever they camped for the night. He knew the others wouldn't like it, but he just couldn't leave Jade here alone, hurt and defenseless. He was the leader of the Clan so the other hunters could complain all they wanted, but what Rastin said would be obeyed even if it was grudgingly.
"Jade, I don't want to leave you here alone. I also know that if I take you with me the other hunters will really not like it, and will probably be hateful towards you." Rastin explained.
"I would like to take you with me to where my hunters and I will camp for the night. I will protect you from the others. Do you want to come with me?" Rastin asked.
Jade looked up into Rastin's eyes and smiled warmly. She reached up and touched the left side of his face as she said,
"I would be honored to have your protection. Thank you."
Rastin smiled back at her, glad that she was willing to go with him, even though it would probably cause trouble.
Rastin
went over to his horse and brought it over to where Jade sat. “This
is my horse Chase”
“Hi
Chase” said Jade.
He
gently lifted her up and put her on the horse. Jade patted Chase and
talked to him so he could get used to her.
Then
Rastin swung his leg up and got behind her.
Turning the horse around Rastin started the horse off in the direction that Slasher and the rest of the hunters had gone.
Rastin followed the hunters tracks he saw in the dirt. About 20 minutes later they came upon the camp that the hunters had set up.
Turning the horse around Rastin started the horse off in the direction that Slasher and the rest of the hunters had gone.
Rastin followed the hunters tracks he saw in the dirt. About 20 minutes later they came upon the camp that the hunters had set up.
They
were greeted with cursing, shouting and grumbling because Rastin had
brought Jade (the human) into their camp. Rastin told Jade just to
ignore them, and he did the same.
Jade stayed close to Rastin as he unsaddled his stallion Chase. Rastin started to rub him down and brush out his coat before he tethered him for the night. Jade helped brush out Chase's mane, and was comforted by the touch and smell of the horse. Jade loved horses, and was very good with all animals.
Jade stayed close to Rastin as he unsaddled his stallion Chase. Rastin started to rub him down and brush out his coat before he tethered him for the night. Jade helped brush out Chase's mane, and was comforted by the touch and smell of the horse. Jade loved horses, and was very good with all animals.
Jade
talked to the horse as she helped brush and rub him down.
Chase seemed to like being talked to. His ears were moving back and forth trying to pick up the sound of Jade's voice. Rastin noticed how good she was with his stallion and was very pleased. His stallion didn't usually like anyone except Rastin. Chase would tolerate others, but didn't generally truly like them as he did Jade. Finally when they were done brushing and rubbing down Chase, they took him down to the stream that was near the camp.
Chase seemed to like being talked to. His ears were moving back and forth trying to pick up the sound of Jade's voice. Rastin noticed how good she was with his stallion and was very pleased. His stallion didn't usually like anyone except Rastin. Chase would tolerate others, but didn't generally truly like them as he did Jade. Finally when they were done brushing and rubbing down Chase, they took him down to the stream that was near the camp.
First
Rastin got water for themselves in skins and in a pail. Then he let
Chase get his drink. When they were back near the edge of the camp,
Rastin tethered Chase for the night. He then showed Jade how to put
the feed bag over Chase's head so he could eat.
Some
of the other hunters had come back with some game for their dinner.
It was on a spit over the fire. The hunters were very reluctant to
share what they had just caught, with Rastin and Jade.
They
did so with much grumbling and complaining.
Rastin unrolled his bedroll so they would have something to sit on while they ate, besides the bare ground. As Rastin sat eating on the bedroll it made him think of their sleeping arrangements. There were no extra bedrolls, so Jade didn't have her own place to sleep. He didn't want her to have to sleep on the bare ground, and neither did he. He decided to bring it up to Jade and see what she wanted to do. So he asked her,
"Jade, we only have enough bedrolls for each hunter. I am taller than most of the others so my bed roll was made extra large. I will share my bed roll with you, if you want. It is better than sleeping on the bare ground."
Rastin unrolled his bedroll so they would have something to sit on while they ate, besides the bare ground. As Rastin sat eating on the bedroll it made him think of their sleeping arrangements. There were no extra bedrolls, so Jade didn't have her own place to sleep. He didn't want her to have to sleep on the bare ground, and neither did he. He decided to bring it up to Jade and see what she wanted to do. So he asked her,
"Jade, we only have enough bedrolls for each hunter. I am taller than most of the others so my bed roll was made extra large. I will share my bed roll with you, if you want. It is better than sleeping on the bare ground."
