The First Jumper (first draft version)

The First Jumper 39: Others

Little Bear went to Tiger, and found him in discussion with Raccoon, who wanted to scout out the camp first, just to know what they were up against, before trying to attack.

Tiger took a deep breath, then nodded.  

Leopard would stay to watch the fire, with the women and children.  All the rest of the men would move out.  Seven warriors against six.  They would have to hope their throwing sticks would give them a good advantage.  

Tiger, Little Bear, and Raccoon would go first.  Little Bear would guide them to the other camp, watching out for animals, and approach their fire from downwind.  Raccoon was easily the best person to speak to other tribes, if it came to speaking.  Cave Lion came next with Fox, and Dire Wolf with his son Ox, but these last two pairs were mainly there to let the younger men get some experience while not letting them get killed.

They moved cautiously out through the night.

It was normally suicidal for humans to move through the dark without fire, but Little Bear had convinced them that he could spot dangerous animals before they got close to them.

The area where they had seen the band disappear was more than a mile away, but they started out confidently, with Little Bear leading.  He stopped them, once, as a sabertooth passed them in the night, but the cat would leave the group of seven alone, if they stayed close together and faced it.  After a long growl, it went on, evidently disappointed that they would prove too difficult a target.  The rest of the tribe would be protected by the fire.

As they got closer to the enemy camp, they circled around to downwind, and approached very cautiously.  There was no sign of fire.  Little Bear was able to spot sentries, sitting in the dark, very close to the rest of the group.  The tribe was small, with only six men and two women.  They had no fire, and they were clearly disturbed about something, shouting at one another.

Raccoon motioned for everyone else to be still, and then went closer, with Little Bear and Tiger.

The rest did not understand some of the language spoken, but Raccoon understood it.  Any time Little Bear or Tiger stirred or seemed about to speak, Raccoon motioned him to be silent.  Hunting requires endless patience, so the others sat still.

After listening for an hour, Raccoon moved back, and the other two moved back with him.  When they were several spear casts away with the others, Raccoon broke the silence.

“They have just been raided,” he said.  “They speak our language, but strangely.”

“I saw only six men,” said Tiger.  “We can take them, easily!”

“Maybe,” said Raccoon, “but what would we gain?  They have no women, but the two.  There is something else, though.  One of the women is an unchosen.  She is the one with the very long hair.  She is a witch, and she may know magic that I do not.  Apparently, she was out gathering materials when the raid happened, just as the men were out hunting.”

“Is a witch a good thing to have?” said Tiger.

“It depends,” said Raccoon.  “I have known several.  One of them was very bad, but most seemed quite good.  One of them taught my father how to fly.  I’d say she would be a good thing to have, but we cannot know until she is in the tribe.”  He hesitated a moment, and said, "I'm not sure, but I think the other woman was hunting with the men."

After this shocking news, Raccoon said, “There is another thing.  One of those men is a spear maker.  I heard him talk about it.  Also, they have no fire maker.”

Tiger was staring at Raccoon in concentration, but Little Bear said, “You want to invite them to join our tribe.”

“I do.”

“What?”  Tiger was shocked.  “We are out looking to raid another tribe for women, because our young warriors do not have enough, and you want us to bring back a bunch of men instead?”

“If they join us, we have a spear maker,” said Little Bear.

“Yes, and spears in our guts one night,” said Tiger.  “No!”

“Tiger,” said Raccoon,

“I have spoken.”  Tiger said it just the way his father had.

“Wait, Tiger,” said Little Bear.  “Hear me.”

Tiger raised his spear to kill Little Bear right then, but Raccoon managed to get in the way.  “What can it hurt to hear him, Tiger?”

Breathing heavily, Tiger said, “Speak.”

“We get them to join our tribe, and then we go take back their women,” said Little Bear.

This completely new thought stunned Tiger.  “How does that help us?” he finally asked.

“You know the rules for that,” said Raccoon.  “The men who accomplish the raid divide the women.  I would not want to risk the spear maker, but you have to let each of them get at least one of the women.” He hesitated, glanced back in the direction of the camp, and said, “Chief picks first, of course.”

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