Stories from the Birthing Lodge

Part 3: Population Explosion

"Has anyone seen Nita?" asked Nikan. "I wanted to give her the blankets I just picked up in Edan."

"No," said Shiloh. "As a matter of fact, I haven't seen her for some time." She looked guilty about that, like she should have paid more attention.

"She is probably just going off to have her child," suggested Coltec.

Squanto had just walked back into the camp, his morning hunt obviously successful since he carrying two large game birds. "Who is having her child?" he asked. "Is it Nita?" He was the father of her child, but as of late, she was spending more and more time with Nikan.  Squanto was a little sad that it hadn’t worked out to be a more permanent relationship between him and the playful little bear fae, but he respected her choice.

"We assume so," said Shiloh.  At that moment, Echo came back to camp from a tramp in the woods.  At her heels were her pet wolves, and on her back was her baby, wrapped in a papoose.

"The bear-woman took off that way," she said, pointing.

"That's not where the birthing lodge is," Squanto said with a sigh. "Someone should check it out though, just to be safe." Ula, who was almost as round as she was tall now that she was ready to give birth anytime herself, volunteered. The father of her baby, Tahoma, said he would go with her. He had been keeping a close eye on her lately.

Echo agreed that Nita was not headed toward the birth lodge, though she seemed to think there was nothing odd in it.  Ula said, "We'll check, just in case."  As they went after the bear fae, suddenly Ula stopped and said, "Oh no.  I have to get to some water!"

The young warrior swept her up into his arms. "There is a small beaver pond next to the birthing lodge," he told her, carrying her there as fast as he could. She had told him one time that she would have preferred giving birth in the sea, but any water would do.

Tahoma meant "edge of the water", so the child was doubly called to it.  Hers would be a half human child with strong fae tendencies - and its own natural form! As soon as they reached the beaver pond, which was half the size it had been before Archie had drained part of it, Tahoma waded in and then lowered Ula so she could stand in it. The water was about thigh deep on her.

"This will do," she said.  "Your son is anxious to come out.  But don't get freaked out - he may look strange at first!"  Sure enough, a moment later she gave birth to a fish!

Tahoma's eyes widened. He had heard that Mika's twins had been born as raccoon kits so he wasn't too concerned. They were two normal, healthy children now! "Uh... what now?" he asked as he watched the silvery fish dart around their legs.  Ula just laughed and told him to catch his son.

When he did, the fish turned into a child, though it did not seem to need air, even after it changed.

"Spank his bottom," Ula chuckled. "That will force him to use his lungs.

And so the new father did. Immediately the child cried, he lifted him out of the water, and the baby breathed the fresh, cold air!  By this time, some of the women from the camp had arrived, and took over, wrapping the baby in some warm blankets. Tahoma helped Ula out of the pond, still a bit bemused by it all. "Shall we call him Little Fish then?" he asked.

"Yes.  He shall be Atsadi.  It is a good name."

While they headed back to the camp, the others were still searching for Nita. Every hole in the ground was examined. Three sleeping bears and an angry wolverine had been discovered, but no bear fae. By this time, Squanto and Nikan had split up and were looking for Nita in opposite directions.

While searching, Nikon found another bear in a small den, but this one was awake.  It appeared to be a new mother bear. As soon as he stuck his head in the den, he was greeted by a rather grumpy growl. It was a growl that he had heard before. With winter now on them, Nita was hard to get up in the mornings. "Hello, Nita," he said with a smile. "Is everything alright?"

She was holding her cub protectively.  But when she saw who it was, she consented to let him see the newborn. It was a bear cub, of course. A healthy little male cub!  Nikan asked if she needed to rest before changing back to a human, she growled softly and then curled up to sleep, content to know that Nikan would watch the entrance to the den, keeping herself and little Liwanu safe and sound.

And this he did, of course, though he needed to tell the camp that she and their son were safe.  So he whistled a special sort of noise that others would hear and recognize.

Minco showed up a short time later.  "I will tell the others," he told Nikan. "Another boy? That is a good thing."

"Yes.  We seem to be having a camp of good, strong sons!" He wasn't the father of Nita's boy, but he was proud of him just the same. His own child was a beautiful girl child. But since Namid lived with Wyoming and her mate Tom Kirby in town, he didn't get to see her as much as he would have liked.

Minco went back to the camp, where he passed on word that Nita and her baby were found and healthy.  "Nikan's watching over them," he told Wenonah, one of the newer members of the camp.  She and her tribeswoman, Tala, had been rescued during the recent raids.  One came from Sadaam, and one from Hadez, but both were women Koren had given up after the Gamila raid.  They were of the same tribe as Dyani and the girls she helped save. Seeing them gave Dyani hope that some day her mother would also be found!

As word got out that the populations of their camp had been increased by the birth of two male children, everyone relaxed. There would be a feast to celebrate the occasion once Nita returned.

*****

Meanwhile, Squanto was a good distance away from the camp with his hands full. In his search for the missing Nita, he had run into a group of women and children huddled together in a cave, trying to stay warm!

One of the children raised a stick, obviously willing to fight to protect the others. Squanto held his hands out to show that he came in peace. “I will not harm you,” he said softy. “My name is Squanto. Here, let me help get a fire started so you can warm up.” There were three women there, and with their help, they gathered wood. Using flint and steel, he soon had a fire going. The children moved in closer, shivering. Taking off his fur robe, Squanto wrapped it around as many of the older children as he could. Then, reaching into the leather pouch he carried at this side, he pulled out some travel rations and passed them around.

“Thank you,” the woman said in a relieved voice. She moved a cradleboard closer to the fire. In it was a young baby, maybe three or four months old. That was the only infant in the group. The rest of them ranged in age from six to three years of age. “I am called Blackwing.” She then introduced the other two women as Olathe and Kajika.

“And who is this mighty warrior that would have surely chased me away if I meant any harm?” Squanto asked with a smile, looking at the boy in question. He was one of the older ones, tall and slender. He still had a look of distrust on his face and had not let go of his stick.

Kajika spoke up for the first time, a mother’s pride evident in her voice. “His name is Tahkeome. He is my son. He wanted to stay and fight with the men when our camp was attacked by the white eyes, but I told him that we needed him more.”

“Attacked?” Squanto asked, fearing what he would be told. From the way that they were all dressed, they had been in the middle of a celebration of some sort.

The story came out, bit by bit.  It had been a sneak attack, and their men unprepared. As they desperately tried to fend off the invaders, the women and children had fled into the woods. These three women had grabbed every child they could as they ran from the camp. Three of the nine actually belonged to the women, but the rest had lost their families when they had crossed over from the old world to Edan. Finding themselves in unfamiliar territory during the middle of winter, they women had immediately sought out shelter from the elements.  They had been afraid to start a fire, fearing that the raiders would find them.

“You have nothing to fear from the white eyes near here,” Squanto told them. “The Great Spirit saw the bravery in the heart of your small warrior here and sent you with his magic to a place of safety. My camp is made up of many such people, who have been brought to this world for one reason of another.”

“Can we go back to see if any one survived?” Olathe asked, her beauty obvious even with her dirt smudged face.

“No,” Squanto said, shaking his head sadly. “It is unlikely there are any left alive, even if you could. Mourn for them here and now so that when I take you to you new home, you will not greet your new family with sad hearts.”  He joined the women in holding the children as they wept for those left behind. Squanto knew all about loss. His whole tribe had been wiped out by disease! He had been the only survivor.

By the time the heartbroken sobs had become soft whimpers, it was dark. Squanto left the cave and killed a couple of large winter hares for them to eat.  Once their bellies were full, the children drifted off to sleep as Squanto told Blackwing and the others about the new world that they now would call home. When morning came, there was the smell of fish roasting over the fire to wake them. Once they all had been fed, Squanto led them out of the cave, carrying several of the younger children in his arms.

By the time they made it to the camp, the youngsters were all tired, cold and hungry again. As they walked into Singing Creek Camp, the members of it rushed out to greet them.  They were soon wrapped in blankets as they sat around the fire in the largest lodge, the one that Coltec and Ed lived it. It was used not only for ceremonies, but also as a gathering place when the weather did not permit outside activities.

As the newcomers relaxed and got to know their new family, Nikan and Nita returned, and Squanto got to hold his son for the first time.  “What is his name?” he asked.

“Liwanu,” Nikan chuckled. “Was I not greeted by the growl of a bear when I first saw him?”

“It is a good name,” Squanto said, handing him back to Nita. “And he will be a strong warrior someday!”

Blackwing was watching this, a little confused. If the baby was Squanto’s, why did the child’s mother obviously belong to another man?

Once the excitement caused by Nita returning died down, Joseph and Coltec went off to the side and spoke quietly with each other. They returned to the fire a few minutes later. “Our home is now your home,” Joseph told them. “When the time is right, Coltec will conduct the Making of Relatives ceremony.  For now though, we need to get you all a place of your own, and families for the children who will need new ones.”

Shiloh and Buck exchanged looks. One of the two boys that had escaped the carnage of their village was a three-year-old named Elso, or Flying Falcon. He was sitting on Buck’s lap, half asleep. “We can take Elso into our lodge,” Shiloh offered. “He will be a good brother for Montana and the child that I am carrying.”

Coltec nodded in approval, glancing at the three women who had come with the children.  They had no problem at all with that arrangement. It was plain to see that Elso liked Buck already!

 There were more soft murmurings amongst the various couples gathered around the fire.  Archie looked over at the Mosi, who was holding the orphaned bobcat kitten that he had found a few days ago. “Totsi and I would like to take Mosi into our home and hearts,” he offered. Again, Coltec and the women from the little three-year-old girl’s old village had nothing against it.

Mahala and Minco spoke up next, offering to take one of the older children, a beautiful five-year-old girl named Chimalis, or Bluebird. Nita looked at Nikan, who nodded. “I am now Nikan’s woman,” she announced. “And we would like for Adsila, Little Blossom, to be Liwanu’s sister.” The four year old was sound asleep on Nikan’s lap!

That left only one of the orphans to find a home for.  But before any of the camp members could speak up, Blackwing spoke.  “Wolf song was my mate’s youngest cousin. I will raise her now as my own.”

There were nods of approval. Squanto looked at Blackwing, a thoughtful expression on his face. She was actually Shoshone.  She had been captured as a child by the Cheyenne, and adopted into the tribe, much as he had been adopted into another tribe after the loss of his people. “You will need a man to provide for you and the two children,” he said softly. “It would make my heart full if you were to become my woman.”

Blackwing’s eyes opened wide in surprise. She hesitated for a brief moment, knowing in her heart that no one in this new Camp would let her or her children go hungry.  But there was something about the man sitting before her that appealed to her.  “I agree,” she replied.

Beside her, Olathe and Kajika rejoiced in Blackwing’s good fortune. Perhaps soon they would find someone as well, but till then, they would live in the woman’s lodge with Echo, Ula, Tala and Wenona. It would be crowded with six women and four children, but having new sisters to help out was not a bad thing! From the looks that some of the men were giving them, they might not be living there long.