Lost Bloodline 3 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Despite the size of the bison that Arthene had brought down, Todd, Hannah, Sienna, and Netta processed it with surprising speed. Koda and Calandra did what they could to watch and learn, while Arthene seized the opportunity to bathe in the river and wash the blood off from having hauled the carcass back.

Arthene had tried to drag Koda off to help her wash, but Sienna had chased her away, insisting that Koda needed to learn how to process the game first so that he could provide for their little family. The logic of that argument surprisingly got through to the bear spirit and she sauntered off to wash without a complaint, though she demanded that Koda help her wash up after their next round of hunting.

The smoking racks the others had put together were quickly set to work. The long roasting pit was sectioned off, and they added just enough moist wood to provide plenty of smoke to treat the meat while the racks were set overtop of it. Hans set up several large slabs of flank steak to roast over the section that wasn’t covered by the smokers.

“The only complaint I have with these is there’s no backstrap,” the big, horned man said as he carefully impaled that night’s meal on trimmed sticks to cook over the open flame. “The hump roast is delicious, but deserves the low and slow treatment.”

“I never knew you were that much of a chef, Hans,” Sienna commented from where she was draping thin slices of meat over the green twigs of the smoker racks.

Koda couldn’t help but take a moment to admire the wild beauty of his redheaded lover as she worked. Sienna still looked just so damned attractive, even with blood covering her hands and smeared on one cheek.

“I’m not, but my mum was. When she realized I was likely going to be a bachelor for a good while, she taught me how to feed myself. Da was the hunter and used to hunt the plains,” Hans answered, turning a few of the sticks and shifting those that were cooking too quickly.

“Aye, I remember Ogam teaching me a few tricks too,” Todd said as he worked on the other side of Sienna on the smoking racks. “Just glad we came prepared this time. Arthene, are you sure that it’s going to be okay to leave so much?”

“Yup. You all take what you want and smoke what you can. Don’t hesitate,” Arthene chuckled from where she lounged on the pile of bedrolls, her hair still wet from her bath. “Anything you can’t get on the racks, I’ll finish so it doesn’t spoil.”

“That sounds so… gluttonous,” Calandra snickered from her spot, rubbing a mixture of salt and other herbs into the thinly sliced meat that she would then hand off to Koda to hang on the smoking racks.

“It’s practical. I could eat two or three beasts without hesitation. Don’t forget what I am, little Cal,” Arthene chuckled, shifting to roll onto her back.

This motion sent her large breasts swaying before gravity took hold of the delicious mounds and caused them to settle out to either side. Given that Arthene had just bathed, she was only wearing her skirt at the moment. Those not in a relationship with the large woman were avoiding looking at her ‘charms’ as she lounged, though Arthene made no effort to hide them.

Surprisingly, Koda didn’t mind Arthene blatantly showing off her body like this. He knew there wasn’t anything more to it than Arthene needing to dry off and wanting to tease him some. Arthene was his. Others might look, but she would suffer the touch of no other man but him. 

Calandra glared at Arthene, glancing down at her own full bust, which was nonetheless overshadowed by the much larger woman’s curves.

“I’m not that little,” grumbled Calandra, as she handed off the next slice of hump roast to be smoked.

“No, you aren’t,” Sienna reassured the smaller woman with the ease of familiarity. “Arthene’s just ridiculously oversized is all. She has to put all that food she eats somewhere, and she’s lucky enough that it goes to her tits and ass rather than her waistline.”

“You never need to worry about your waist, sweet Sienna. At least not until you catch those pups from Koda that you want,” Arthene teased, rolling over onto her front once more and shooting a wicked grin over at them.

Now it was Sienna’s turn to blush and look away, but from how her tail picked up speed, her opinion on that situation was very obvious.

“Okay, I think we have everything we can take off the carcass,” Netta said, carrying over another bowl loaded with sliced meat. “This should fill the smoking racks for now. Hannah is washing the sinew in the river and should be back in a minute or two. Hans, do you have enough for dinner and breakfast tomorrow?”

“Yup, gonna make a nice hearty soup for breakfast tomorrow,” the horned man nodded to the simple cutting board he had next to the fire loaded with meat that he’d cubed up. “We’ve got enough meat smoking that we could eat bison for a week without a problem, though.”

Koda glanced back at the carcass. They had to have pulled over a hundred pounds of meat off of it, and had barely taken a quarter of the meat that was still there.

Too bad we don’t have time to do a proper pit roast. I bet the short ribs on a bison are damn tasty. Maybe we can do that with one of them, Koda thought, trying to keep his mind off of what he knew was potentially going on back in Silverstone. Knowing mentally that it was safest for him to be away right now was one thing, and it was entirely something else to know it in his heart and accept it.

“Well then, if you’re done, then I’m going to take my share,” Arthene chuckled before doing a press-up to get to her feet.

This motion sent another ripple of luscious action through her unbound breasts, making Hans choke on his spit, then shoot Koda a familiar jealous look. Koda returned it with a proud grin and wiggling eyebrows.

“Such a lucky bastard,” Hans grumbled while turning the meat on their spits once more.

“Don’t I know it,” Koda replied, bumping his hip into Calandra and shooting Sienna a wink, getting smiles from his other two mates.

“Arthene, don’t shift on the bedding,” Sienna called over her shoulder while she fought down her blush. “The last thing we need is you shredding the bedrolls with your claws.”

“I know, sweet Sienna,” Arthene replied with a laugh before she bounded to a section of clear ground, where her form began to ripple and change. Her mane of luscious brown hair flared outwards and raced to envelop her entire body, even as Arthene swelled in size to her dire bear form.

It took the spirit woman less than ten seconds to shift into the full majesty of her dire bear body. Over twenty feet long and standing eight feet tall at the shoulder, she was more like a furry bus than anything else. That same rich brown hair covered her entire form, and Koda knew it was as dense and strong as steel wire. Massive claws like short swords sprouted from each of her wide paws, and a head large enough to engulf his entire torso, were her weapons in this form and added to the intimidation factor.

“Beautiful, as always,” Koda murmured when Arthene tilted her massive head in his direction.

Love glinted in the bear woman’s yellow eyes as she huffed at him in amusement, swaying her head back and forth playfully before turning to amble towards the carcass.

Seeing Arthene shift between her normal amazonian form and that of her dire bear form was riveting, so everyone had been watching despite her half-dressed state. Everyone noticed when the amiable woman in bear form suddenly stiffened and whirled to her right, the fur on her back standing on end as she let out a deep, challenging growl.

The four hunters in the group stiffened at the fierce noise before immediately dropping their hands to their weapons. Arthene huffed and swung her big head back and forth for a moment before giving another loud growl of anger.

Surrounded, Arthene sent him through the bond that the primal spirit shared with Koda. Easily a dozen people in the bushes. I didn’t scent them earlier because of all the blood, but now I can tell they are there.

As Arthene continued to growl at the surrounding grasslands threateningly, Koda spoke as he stepped back, summoning his totemic gauntlets to his hands with a thought. He glanced towards the river to confirm Hannah was already hurrying their way, bow held tight in one hand and an arrow on the string.

“Show yourselves! I guarantee it will be far safer for you to come out now rather than stay hidden and have her come find you.”

“Koda, what—” Sienna began, before a rustling in the long grass preceded the appearance of several small clumps of people, maybe a hundred yards from their camp. They were in small groups of three or four, and at a quick count, Koda put their numbers at fourteen.

Their hands were raised in the air with weapons held in them, clearly signaling a peaceful approach. They glanced between the massive form of the growling dire bear and Koda’s imposing figure. He strode around the firepit to stand beside the massive creature, displaying the confidence of one who expected to be obeyed, a confidence he had developed during the intense fighting of the last few days.

At his back, the other six members of his group all held their weapons ready as they waited to see what would happen. The pride with which his group held themselves was another byproduct of the last several weeks of fighting. They’d faced far larger numbers than they currently did and emerged victorious, after all.

“I don’t know who you are, but if you mean us no harm, then I welcome you into our camp. Far better to be friends rather than enemies, right?” Koda called out after a moment of studying the group before him.

One and all, they appeared to be beastfolk, like most of his group. While the members of the Ivory Spear tribe were of varied origins, these people all had similar features. They had the pointed ears of cat beastfolk like Hannah, though the particular feline in their blood varied a bit.

Unlike his group, these people were dressed far more simply, wearing buckskins and other hide clothes decorated with small beads and polished stones. However, the quality of their weapons confirmed to Koda that they were not savages, just simpler people. Every one of them was staring at Arthene with eyes wide in surprise, save for one person.

A petite woman who stood amongst the closest group was darting her eyes between Koda and Arthene’s bear form, her tall feline ears flicking amongst a short mane of dirty blonde hair. The black, tufty tips of her ears wiggled in curiosity.

“We will approach if we have the blessings of the god-beast and her promise of safe passage,” one hunter called out. He was an older male, with the rounded ears of a cougar and a weatherbeaten face that looked like sun-tanned jerky.

The words of my mate should be enough, growled Arthene in his mind, her mental voice accompanied by an actual growl a moment later.

“Easy, my mate,” Koda said, reaching out to pat Arthene on the shoulder to calm her. The gesture silenced the growl and Arthene leaned into his touch a moment before going back to glaring at the speaker.

Koda turned back to the speaker to relay what Arthene had said to find the man staring at him in shock, eyes wide. Beside him, the fuzzy-eared woman was now peering intently at him, her brilliantly green eyes twinkling in the late afternoon sun as she studied him in fascination.

“You claim the god-beast as your mate?” the older cat man asked, and Koda snorted in amusement.

“She claimed me first, but we regularly trade off on that. Her name is Arthene, though, not ‘god-beast,’ and I’ll repeat my earlier statement.” Koda began, but before he could give voice to that repetition, the group of cat beastfolk all surged forward to bow in front of Arthene, moving bare seconds after he spoke her name.

The sudden surge of movement drew another challenging growl from Arthene, but she didn’t move beyond stamping the front leg that Koda wasn’t rubbing reassuringly. The Ivory Spear warriors all tensed, but when the other group went into deeper bows of submission, they froze.

“What are you doing?” Sienna asked, coming to stand beside Koda with her spear held ready. Koda didn’t need to look to know that Calandra was on her other side, the quiet grumbling of the dwarven woman enough to track her movements.

“We honor the Den Mother and her mate.” This time it was the curious woman who spoke, leaning back just enough to look up at them, her green eyes shimmering in wonder as she took them in. For all the world, the woman looked like she was seeing a god made manifest.

I suppose she is, though, Koda thought in surprise as he shared a glance with Arthene, who had stopped growling when she recognized their bows. But how do they know of Arthene?

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It took a bit to get the newcomers to rise from their respectful bows and explain themselves, but once Arthene returned to a form that could speak, they were quick to obey.

Koda stood beside his annoyed mate, helping to keep her calm as these beastfolk explained themselves.

Their leader’s name was Cyrus, and he was quick to answer any questions that were put to him by Koda and his mates once Arthene confirmed their status. This was good, because Arthene was growing grumpy at their interruption of her plans for the evening. Though she didn’t have to say it aloud, Koda knew that what bothered Arthene was how close these people had gotten before her senses had picked them up.

“We apologize for spying upon the Den Mother and her people,” Cyrus explained once everyone had gotten comfortable once more.

Koda’s people got back to work finishing up with the smokers, and Hans saved their dinner from being burned. At Arthene’s grudging request, the newcomers had gone to the carcass and cut off several roasts for themselves, before setting up a pair of fires to cook their own dinner while Cyrus explained.

“We are hunters for our tribe and had been tracking that herd of bison. We were unaware of your group’s presence here until Samira witnessed the Den Mother taking down an animal bare-handed.”

Koda had to fight the urge to snicker at the unwitting pun the older man had made. The effort was worthwhile, as no one else in their group laughed while Cyrus continued.

“Since we did not know who you were or why you were hunting in these ranges, we observed in order to learn if you were a threat to our people. Anyone able to bring down one of the great bison with such speed is definitely someone of whom to be wary.”

“All three of my mates could do the same,” Arthene grumbled from her spot next to Koda, her eyes darting towards the carcass, where it hung by the river still. “One bison is nothing to them.”

“I don’t know about that, Arthene,” Calandra hedged, but the big woman cut her off with a gesture of one hand.

“You are a mage now, little Cal, just as our sweet Sienna is. That power is not something to be taken lightly. Trust me when I say that you could do it with ease.”

Calandra grumbled at the ‘little Cal’ name again before the rest of Arthene’s words sank in. She grunted in understanding before going thoughtfully silent. While Koda hadn’t seen Calandra really using her magic much yet, if Sienna was any indication of how quickly one could pick up the magic under Arthene’s tutelage she was just as dangerous as Arthene suggested.

Koda wondered for a moment why Arthene had mentioned the two of his wives that were mages in front of strangers, but after a bit of thought on it, realized that Arthene must have intended it as a statement of strength. Not that these people would underestimate them with the incarnate spirit around, but an extra insurance wouldn’t hurt.

“You claim two mages amongst your family?” Cyrus asked in awe, and Arthene turned her grumpy gaze back to him.

“Yes, and more. But that is not for this. Who is this Samira who was spying on me and evading my notice while I hunted?”

“That’s me!” chirped the inquisitive blonde woman from where she squatted behind Cyrus. A thin rope of blonde fur wriggled behind her, emerging from the seat of her buckskin pants.

Koda took a moment to study the woman while Arthene gave her a rather intense once-over. He knew from earlier that she was petite; he’d put her barely at five feet in height, but she had the corded muscle of a huntress, reminding him of Sienna. Unlike his wolfish lover, however, Samira’s breasts were smaller and more compact, just big enough to fit her smaller frame without being overly large like Calandra’s, held in place by a midriff vest of the same buckskin as her pants. Caramel-colored skin went well with her meticulously maintained mane of dirty blonde hair. A quiver of javelins protruded from behind her back and she had a pair of shortswords sheathed at her waist.

More telling than her looks, the woman was studying all four of them inquisitively, rather than darting awed glances Arthene’s way, like most of the others were doing.

“Hmm,” Arthene rumbled after a long handful of seconds. “You pass. You must have some skill if you could evade my notice.”

“I just happened to be looking in the right direction from far enough away, Den Mother,” Samira chirped, her black-tipped ears flicking, their tufted tops swaying.

Those ears look so distinctive… is she part caracal? Like how Sienna is not just a wolf but a red wolf, and Hannah is part panther? Koda wondered while the two women exchanged comments. Pretty sure those are the floppy ears of a caracal, if I remember that nature show correctly…

“So, you watched us to see if we were a threat. What is your assessment?” Arthene asked pointedly, reminding Koda that he needed to help soothe his blunt mate. While Arthene was loving and affectionate with him, she wasn’t the most tactful person with others.

Cyrus spread both his hands out wide and inclined his head respectfully to Arthene.

“Den Mother, you are a threat to anything that draws your ire. That is a fact as true as the color of the sky or the flavor of water. I simply pray that my people do not draw such attention from you. We have enough troubles already as it is.”

“Troubles?” Koda used that opportunity to step back into the conversation while laying a reassuring hand on Arthene’s knee. She twitched but relaxed into his touch a moment later.

For his part, Cyrus grimaced and hesitated, clearly not having meant to bring that point up yet. Thankfully, Samira had no such reservations.

“Our tribe roams the plains for part of the year. Our hunters return to our village to lay in supplies to prepare for the winter, while our elders and young stay there full time. Unfortunately, we were driven out of our village recently and are struggling to feed our people. That was why we were hunting the bison.”

Samira’s quick answer got her a glare from Cyrus that she promptly ignored, her tufted caracal ears twitching while her nose wrinkled in concern.

“So, your people need food?” Koda asked. He wanted to delve more into the problem, but he had an inkling that if he asked directly, Cyrus would clam up rather than explain. Samira had given him a foothold that he needed to exploit.

“That is the most pressing concern, yes,” Cyrus said grudgingly, his eyes darting to Arthene before his expression turned thoughtful. “We would hunt some of the bison, if the Den Mother permits it.”

“I think we can do one better than that for you, actually,” Koda suggested. “But first, we should all eat. I know my mate would like to have her dinner as well, and it might improve her mood.”

Arthene’s grumpy expression melted into a smile so wide it made her eyes squint when she turned it on Koda.

“You know me well, my mate,” Arthene rumbled happily, bending to press a kiss to Koda’s lips. “Do you have this?”

Koda darted a look at Cyrus, who was staring at Koda like he had just grown a second head and started singing shanties.

“Yeah, I think I have it. You go enjoy, love. You’ve been patient and shared enough of your kill already,” Koda answered. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining the amusement and curiosity he saw in Samira’s eyes as the caracal woman watched his interaction with Arthene in interest.