The Forgotten One

They all just stared at me with absolutely no motion to laugh at my joke. I just sighed and shrugged my shoulders. “Do any of you speak English or was it just a bad joke?” Still nothing. I sigh again and just waited for someone to say something. I can still hear the ladies talking to the young girl behind me. They're crying so I makes me just standing around with my hands up and being fully naked a lot more weird than it already was.

“Ummmmm hello?” I waved my hand at the young woman who was approaching on the large cat which I could tell was a panther or some kind of enlarged version of one. She gracefully slid of the cat and approached me with her bow drawn and an arrow pointed at my face.

I started waving my hands in front of me “No no no no no do not…….” Half way through she fired it aiming to kill me. Now of course I’d have been fine after a few minutes of regeneration but pain is still pain. I moved my head but could only move so fast. The arrow tore through my cheek ripping a chunk from it instead of just cutting through.

I yelled more in surprise than pain and sent a hand to my cheek. Groaning “What the FUCK!! Holy shit lady that was uncalled for damn.” What kind of arrow head was that?? She looked at me angrily for moving and causing her to miss. As she reaches into the quiver on her back I hear a high pitched voice in that musical language they’d been speaking behind me.

The little girl I’d helped ran forward and spread her arms out in front of me. It seemed like she was trying to protect me from the bow wielding lady. She began shouting at the woman who’d attacked me as I healed my wound. The second I did and lowered my hand she quickly drew an arrow from her quiver and drew her bow back. She than began yelling at the little girl while holding the arrow pointed at my head again.

The little girl just yelled back at her and started backing up towards me. When she was right in front of me she turned around and mimicked the motion I’d used earlier when I’d asked if she wanted me to pick her up. I bent down to her and lifted her up again. I received a warm smile from her but when I looked back to the bow-woman she seemed to be seething.

I looked back down at the girl I was carrying. “You’re going to get me shot you know that right?” She just kept on smiling and when she looked to the woman she was arguing with she stuck her tongue out at her. “Yep you most definitely want to get me killed.”

As I was talking to myself mostly the two women who’d been treating her injured foot came up behind me and began talking to the warriors surrounding me. They all slowly lowered their weapons except for the woman with the bow she argued with the two women for a minute but finally lowered her bow as well.

The two women then walked in front of me and bowed slightly and began speaking again. Most likely thanking me for saving her but the others don’t look to happy about this. I quickly reached out and tried to stop them from bowing. The second my hand touched the older one however my vision spun as I was hit in the back of the head with something very hard and round.

I staggered and almost dropped the girl again but kept her safe from falling. After the blow I began to raise myself but was hit in the head again and again and again. Man they hit hard. I should also remember don’t touch them. I don’t really remember how many times they hit me but I did black out for a bit. When I woke up I was still naked and slung across the back of a bear that was moving at a slow pace. I could still hear the rest of the small group’s animals ahead of where I was.

My hands were bound and so were my feet but there was nothing stopping me from falling off and there weren’t any other animals or their riders behind me. So I went ahead and rolled off the back of the bear but kept my eyes shut and pretended to still be unconscious. The second I hit the dirt there was a shout and the sound of animals foot falls stopped.

I heard someone approach and was about to attack when I felt a small hand touch my forehead. Ah so it’s her again. Figuring it’d be bad to attack the one I just saved I kept still and breathed in a slow rhythm to try and fool them. As she was touching my forehead another larger but soft and delicate hand rested itself right next to the little one’s hand and I felt a strange energy enter me and felt my body slowly increase in its regenerative abilities.

The second the larger hand left it disappeared. Do they have access to Nano technology or was that something else? After the healing had stopped I was hauled up and placed back on the bear by what I could only guess was the three warrior women. After I was secured with rope or some kind of vines they continued their slow march. Hours passed like this me just listening to my surroundings and waiting for something to happen.

Eventually it began to grow darker and the women settled down to make camp. I was left attached to the bear while they set up tents and began cooking. After a little while I heard light steps approaching me. Then a little hand was resting on my forehead once again. I heard her sigh and say something in her language before leaving.

She returned less than a minute later with the same one who’d tried to heal me and more than likely the angry one. How could I tell? Oh it was easy I could hear her ranting as they got closer. But once the little one began talking she quickly quieted down. The two women than began unstrapping me from the bear and half carried half dragged me to a spot near a fire there they laid me on my back.

They left me there and went back to whatever it was they were doing while the little girl stayed and kept watch over me. She’d talk to me in her language and after a while she left and returned with some water and a rag. She started to wipe my brow while trying to pour water in my mouth to drink.

In the midst of being taken care of someone dropped something on my lower body to cover me. I also heard a beast slowly making its way towards me. It walked until it was directly beside me then laid down and into me. From the feel of the fur it had to the wolf as it was very similar to dog hair and since I’d only ever touched a bear just now i could tell the difference I figured it was a good guess.

The little girl than began to talk to the beast telling it something in a stern tone. After she was done she left me and went somewhere. As I couldn’t hear anyone around me save for the wolf I opened my eyes to find it staring directly at me. Not in an “I’m going to kill you or eat you way” more of a watchdog way.

I wanted to reach out and pet it but my hands and legs were still bound. I didn’t want to just rip them apart so instead I shaped my right pointer finger into a sharp black and silver claw and cut through my bonds. After I was done I tied them together in a loose way so I could escape if I needed to but they still looked bound.

Finishing up with that I couldn’t help but reach over and begin petting the wolf. It growled immediately at me and stared into my eyes but I didn’t stop. After a minute of staring the wolf finally stopped and laid its head down. It might have looked angry and annoyed but I saw its tail wagging even if it was only slightly. As the day turned into night the women slowly returned with a few animals they’d hunted for the night. The wolf hadn’t moved once but I could tell it really wanted to go grab some food.

I patted it a few times to get its attention and whispered to eat. “Go grab some grub. I promise I won’t do anything or go anywhere.” The wolf which I figured wouldn’t even understand me whined and laid its head down again it seemed to be waiting. Maybe ten minutes after that I heard those light footsteps again. I heard her shout out and the wolf immediately sprang up and raced away.

She sat right where the wolf had been and set somethings down beside her. I could hear something wet sloshing around so I just figured it was more water. That was until I heard her blowing on something and felt her pour some hot liquid with small chunks into my mouth. It was incredibly hot and I couldn’t help myself from groaning.

She giggled and began poking my in the cheek the bow woman had shot. After a few pokes I just gave up pretending to be asleep and looked at her. She was there smiling and holding a bowl of stew with a spoon in her other hand. I sighed and began to sit up taking the bowl and spoon from her and dipping my head in thanks.

She smiled and patted my head before picking up her own bowl and she began eating slowly. I joined her and realized that I’d been too distracted from the heat of the first bite to realize how delicious the meal was. I began eating with a voracious appetite I didn’t know I’d had. Within moments my bowl was empty and my stomach hungered for more.

It quickly displayed this by gurgling loudly. I poked the young girl and pointed at the bowl when I’d had her attention. She giggled at me and stood up with her bowl. She then motioned for me to follow. As I got up and the fur that had covered my lower body had fallen off into a heap. I looked down and heard another giggle from the girl.

Ughhh. If I ever learn their language I’ll never live this down. But it’s too late for that now I’m way too hungry to care about being indecent. I quickly followed her away from the small fire at the edge of the camp to a large bonfire that was towards the middle. Why they’d left me and her off to the side where no one was watching I doubt I’d know. As we walked through the few tents towards the fire I couldn’t help but feel a little anxious going back towards the people who’d kicked my ass without so much as a moment’s notice.

Once we’d cleared the tent line I could see that the seven women were all sitting on the ground in a circle chatting and laughing with one another. Their mounts directly beside or behind their corresponding rider. Except for the wolf who sped towards me and the girl the second it saw us. I was about to jump out of its way when I ground to a halt and nuzzled into the girl and after receiving a few pets and scratches moved towards me and bumped it’s head into my torso.

I was frozen at this point because the women who’d been talkative and expressive suddenly turned cold when they’d seen me. The little girl of course just kept walking until she was directly next to the two women who’d come to help her after she’d fallen and the angry bow woman. Not know what to do I just waved my left hand as I’d been carrying the bowl and spoon in my right.

Their eyes just drilled into me. I was about to say something when the big wolf whined while staring right at me. It then bumped its head into my chest again. Sighing to myself I slowly put the bowl and spoon down and began scratching and petting the wolf all over its large body. It only took a few before it fell over onto its side and began panting. I couldn’t help but laugh as it reminded me too much of the dogs I’d owned before I was put in cryo.

After giving her a good belly rub I looked back to the women and saw that three of the eight were now smiling at me. The first was of course the little girl. The second was the oldest woman there and if my memory serves she is the rider of the wolf. The third and final one the younger woman who’d helped the little girl up.