Upon the Sea of Grass

A little something that's been in my head for years in some form or another.  In honor of Nicole's birthday on Jan. 7th I decided to put fingers to keyboard and finally bring it to life.  Now my brain is running with it.  We'll see if there is more.

This piece is dedicated to Nicole.

May you have a wonderful birthday!

                Leaves drifted on the wind overhead, fluttering here and there, mimicking the wings of the birds Lynna was hunting.  Moving quietly through the damp grass she put a stone in her sling in preparation.

                She was just beginning to swing her wrist when a huge commotion at one end of the field broke out.  Lynna stood up, swinging her sling even faster and let a stone fly at one of the many birds taking off from the ground.  Around her many others stood also – each one carefully releasing a stone from their own sling.

                Over a dozen birds fell back to the earth.  Lynna grinned, her white teeth shining against her dark skin as she joined the rest of her hunting group in a shout of joy.

                “Good work, everyone!” Glint, their clan leader, called out.  “Let’s bag them and get home, we’ve gotten more than enough food for today.”

                Lynna untied the bag from her hip and went to go help Skyn and Nin bag up some of the fat birds.  This was the fourth flock they’d found today, so their bags were the only ones that weren’t full.

                “Hard to believe we’ve gotten so much in one day, isn’t it?” Nin said as she dropped several birds in her bag, careful not to mess up the feathers too much.

                “The Great Mother is looking after us,” Skyn said solemnly.

                “You mean your great self is very good at spotting resting flocks,” Lynna teased him.

                “My keen eyesight is a gift from the Great Mother, as I’m sure you know,” Skyn said calmly.  He seemed totally unaware that she was teasing him.

                “Skyn, when will you just admit that you’re the best tracker among us?” Lynna asked.

                “When my father lets me train to be a shaman,” he retorted.

                Skyn tied his bag shut and attached it to his hip, and went to collect his spear from the edge of the clearing.  Lynna watched him walk away and sighed.

                “He’s never going to notice you as long as he has the Great Mother, you know,” Nin said.

                Lynna sighed, “I know, but that won’t stop me from trying.  Anything can happen.”

                Nin smiled sadly, “You’re courting heartbreak.”

                Lynna just shrugged.  She knew she was courting heartbreak, but she couldn’t help herself.  She’d known Skynn since they were still too young to do chores, and she’d known he was the only one for her for just about as long.  It was just cruel of the Great Mother to keep him for herself.

Silently the two girls tied her bag onto her hip and headed towards the spears.

                Lynna tied her own bag onto her hip and followed Nin, but her eyes never strayed from Skyn the whole time they walked back to camp.

XXX

Several days later Lynna sat beside the communal fire.  She always stayed here for as long as possible.  It was painful to go back to her tent when she knew that there was no one there.  No mother to wish her goodnight, no father to tell her she did well on the hunt, no baby brother to cuddle close…

                 Tears sprang to Lynna’s eyes, but she quickly rubbed them away and forced a yawn.  Showing her grief would only bring scorn now that she’d joined one of the hunting groups.  As far as her clan was concerned she was an adult now.  It had been almost a year since the fever had taken them, too long for an adult to mourn.

                When she raised her face again she caught Skyn looking at her, a strange look on his face.  Lynna frowned back and tilted her head to one side. 

                In response he jerked his head slightly to one side.

                Lynna continued to frown, but got the picture.  Why did Skyn want to speak with her?  And at this time of night?  He could have easily spoken to her earlier when they were out collecting nuts with Nin that afternoon.  Anyways, he hadn’t tried to be alone with her since they’d both become hunters last spring. 

                When she’d asked him why once he’d merely shrugged and said, “We’re not children anymore.  We’re adults, and adults are only alone if they’re courting.  So there’s no reason for us to be alone.  I’m going to be a shaman after all, and shamans can’t get married since we’re already married to the Great Mother.” 

                His words had pierced her heart, and made it hard to breath.  She’d always known that was the way it would be, but she hadn’t expected to hear it so soon after her family’s death.

                Rubbing her eyes to stop the tears that threatened to come, Lynna stood up and yawned before she murmured a quiet, “Goodnight.”  Several people nodded in reply, but no one said anything.

                They rarely did.

                She wandered towards her tent, which was on the edge of their camp.  She wasn’t important enough to be closer to the communal fire, not now, not with her parents dead.  Strange how a simple illness could turn her from one of the most important people in the clan, to one of the least.

                Stopping at the entrance to her small tent she looked back at the fire.  Now certain that no one was watching she quickly grabbed her spear from inside her tent and walked out into the darkness.  She found a good boulder and took a seat on it to wait for Skyn.

                As she waited she stared out into the darkness.  She watched the sea of grass shimmer and shine as it moved in the moonlight. In the night breeze she could catch just a hint of the winter soon to be upon them.  Bright stars sparkled overhead, Lynna laid down on the boulder so that she could watch them. 

                She was almost dozing off when she heard a soft and familiar voice say, “There you are.”

                Sitting up, she turned to look at Skyn and smiled.  He smiled back, and her breath caught in her throat.  He hadn’t smiled in so long that she’d forgotten just how handsome he was when he smiled, (not that he wasn’t always handsome) but when he smiled…

                “Are you going to move over so I can sit too?”

                “Oh!  Sorry!” she shifted to the side as she spoke, giving him enough room to sit next to her.  Once he was settled she asked, “Well?  Why did you want to talk?”

                “I spoke to my father again today.”

                Lynna stared happily at his smiling face, “I take it he finally agreed to let you train?”

                Skyn grinned again, “Yes.”

                Lynna let out a squeal of joy and threw her arms around him in a hug.  Just seeing her best friend, and the boy she’d loved for several years now, achieve his dream made her happier then she’d been since her family died.  Even if achieving that dream meant he could never be hers. 

                For shamans were never allowed to marry.

                “Ack!  Lynna!  Let go of me!”  He pin-wheeled his arms and struggled.

                She laughed, but pulled back from the hug and grinned at him, “I’m so happy for you!”

                He grinned back, and so she hugged him again. 

                As soon as she did she realized she’d made a mistake.  It was like hugging a stone.  She pulled back and looked at his face.

                He wasn’t grinning anymore; instead his face was full of shock, and in his eyes she could see a realization forming.

                “Skyn?  Are you alright?”

                He pushed away from her and shook his head, as if trying to clear it.  She reached out to touch his shoulder, and he jerked back as if burned. 

                “Skyn?”

                “I…I have to go.  I need to think,” he scrambled off the boulder. 

                She quickly followed him, grabbing her spear as she went.

                “Skyn, did I do something wrong?”

                He shook his head, “No, no.  It’s not you.  I just…”

                He looked at her with wide, wild, eyes.

                “You just?”

                “Didn’t realize…” he cut himself off as the look of horror returned to his face.  “No!  Just when it was all going right!  Why…”

                Lynna reached out towards him, “Why what?”

                As soon as she touched his hand he jumped, shouted, “NO!” and ran off into the darkness.

                Lynna stared after him for a second before she found herself following him.  Thoughts raced through her head as she raced through the grass after him.  Why was he suddenly upset?  He’d just achieved his dream, right?  Was it because…

NO!  It couldn’t be!

                Lynna ran faster, tearing up the hill he’d just crested.  When she reached the top she froze, looking around the moonlite landscape.

                Where had he gone? 

                Frowning, body struggling to fill her lungs with air; she scanned the sea of grass until she saw it.

                There, at the base of the hill the grass wasn’t moving like it should.  As if there was a cleared spot.  She raced towards the spot.

                When she reached it she screamed at what she saw.

                Skyn lay flat on his back, struggling as a strange creature held him down.  The creature’s mouth was on Skyn’s throat.  At the sound of her scream the creature looked up at her.

                Lynna could only stare in horror.  The creature was human.  Or at least it had been human.  She could see no trace of humanity in its black eyes.  Blood dripped down from its mouth onto the palest skin she’d ever seen. 

                Then the creature let out a piercing shriek, so shrill that Lynna was woken from her horror.  She raised her spear and let out a shout as she rushed the creature.

                When she was almost upon it something came out of nowhere, knocking her to the ground.  Her spear flew out of her hands as her breath was knocked out of her.

                Looking up she saw another creature, this one with darker skin, darker than her own even, above her.  It bared its teeth, revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

                Lynna began to struggle, but the creature was too strong for her, easily pinning her to the ground.  She could only watch in terror as it lowered its mouth to her throat and began to drink.

                She continued to struggle against the creature, but soon her struggles grew weaker.  She was almost gone when she felt the weight of the creature yanked off of her.  Dimly she heard familiar voices shouting.

                But it was too late.

                She was already as good as dead.