Ganix (Caveman Chronicles)

The Index -|-

Kpleeb paced nervously. Back and forth he strode at a slow pace. He heard a muted cry and stopped to face the hut across the village center. There was nothing to see, of course. Thoka was inside with Chief Kilow, Bre, and the Xinti birthing cavewoman. There were no additional cries, so he began to walk again.

Thoka had winced, moaned, and clutched his leg all the way from the ridge to the village. It had been a long trip, even with Thoka’s floating platform. They had wended their way down the mountain and past the new village that Thoka’s tribe had established only a few weeks earlier. There, Kpleeb had called the birthing cavewoman, named Jial, to board the floating platform. She had been ready, and the pause was very short.

Thoka had made a deal with Chief Kilow and Bre that her child would be born in their village. Both of the women were familiar with childbirth, and they had a special hut that had been set aside for the purpose. Jial was recruited because Thoka did not want to be there alone without one of her own tribe in the room.

Cavemen were not welcome at the childbirth ceremony, which in Kpleeb’s mind, was something of a relief. Yet, he worried, and thought that any caveman should have the choice to witness the birth of his own child. The various cavewomen that had been present when he mentioned the idea had raised their eyebrows and emphatically told him ‘No.’

And so, Kpleeb paced on the other side of the village center. He had been just outside the door earlier in the day, be he had tried to rush in after hearing Thoka cry out. That had got him banished to his current position.

“Wait for Jial,” a voice said.

Kpleeb spun and saw Xit standing there beside one of the nearer huts. “Yes… I will, but I can’t help but be nervous. You understand?”

Xit lifted his chin the way the Xinti did and spoke again. “You ‘nervous’ not help. Cavewoman lead birthing.” His face was entirely deadpan.

He looked back at the hut across the center. “I know that it’s not helpful, but I am nervous anyway. I know pretty much, practically…. entirely nothing about childbirth.” He turned back to face the pale warrior. “You have cavechildren, Xit. Were you not nervous when they were born?”

Xit shrugged as if he had never considered anything so pointless. “Xit not nervous. Why?”

“The birth of your first child, the way this is for me… Well, it is a new thing. It is a special thing. It makes me think of many questions that I have never considered before.”

The pale warriors were so schooled at keeping their emotions from showing that Xit could have been laughing inside… or taking pity on Kpleeb, and he would never know.

After a long moment, Xit spoke again. “Cavewoman lead birthing. No nervous. Xit fight. Xit bring lak for Uuiit.”

Kpleeb shook his head. How can anyone be so focused and unconcerned about a family member? Sure, childbirth is the domain of the cavewomen, but cavemen still had concern. He had seen Xit and his family. It was obvious that there was a deep affection among them. Their culture is different. Maybe the Xinti simply do what they are there to do and nothing more. They are certainly very good at fighting.

“What is this lak that you bring to Uuiit?” Kpleeb said.

“Lak is-” Xit paused and appeared to search for the word. “Shiny.” He shrugged.

“Something shiny? Reflective?” Kpleeb looked around and saw a small polished stone hanging from a cord on a hut nearby. “This is lak?”

Xit put his chin up. “Lak.”

Kpleeb thought for a moment about some other way to confirm. Finally, he turned his back on Xit and slid his bracelet off. “Make a flat piece the size of my thumbnail, very polished,” he whispered. He cupped his hands around the bracelet and waited for a moment before opening them again. It was done, and he took the small, flat piece between thumb and finger and broke it off of the bracelet before placing it back on his wrist. He turned around and stuck his hand out, palm up, with the tiny yellow stone mirror resting in plain sight.

“This is lak?” He asked.

Xit put his chin up again as he glanced at Kpleeb’s hand. “Yes”

“Why?”

“Uuiit want.”

Kpleeb was about to launch into what would surely be a long and painful line of questioning to fulfill his curiosity about the relationship between lak and Uuiit when he heard a voice from the hut across the village center.

“Come see child,.” said Jial with a twist of her head and neck. She turned quickly without any further words and disappeared into the dark doorway.

Kpleeb nodded at Xit and then took a few jogging steps before slowing down. Don’t show them your nerves, Kpleeb! He truly felt like a total n00b around these Xinti warriors. He walked slowly and impatiently across the hard-packed dirt, and as he came closer he heard a gentle mewling and low conversation.

“I’m coming in,” he announced as he approached the door. He did not wait for a response, but entered immediately.

His nose was clobbered by an astringent scent that might have been some combination of elderberries and dert, fermented by the smell of it. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dimness of the hut. There along the edge of the somewhat rounded hut wall, Thoka rested on a low table. She was covered from the waist down in a rough cloth that was larger than he had ever seen a caveman weave. In her arms, a tiny form suckled at her bosom. The mewling emanated from the baby as it drew each breath.

Thoka looked up at him expectantly and smiled. It was a weary smile of the likes he had never seen on her face. “Welcome your daughter, Kpleeb.”

Kpleeb stepped closer and looked down at the child. Its form looked much like the other babies he had seen, but it was very ruddy and wrinkled.

“She is so small,” he said.

When he spoke, the baby turned awake from its meal and looked at him. Her face was pink and crowned in a fine, black hair. Her mouth moved slightly, appearing as if to speak, but instead a burp came out. Her eyes were dark and he felt as if she was sizing him up. After a moment, the baby turned and resumed nursing.

“She is new,” explained Thoka. “Small is how they come. Thankfully.” She chuckled slightly. “I don’t need to be ripped in two.”

Jial stepped into his field of view. “You go now,” she said with a nod at the door. “Pale One rest. Baby rest.”

Kpleeb looked at Thoka, who nodded at him. “It’s true, Kpleeb. I’m exhausted and I’m sure you have plenty to do. The Xinti village still needs a great deal of improvement.”

“We can’t keep calling them the Xinti. I will ask the pale warriors for name ideas.” Kpleeb placed a hand on Thoka’s shoulder gently and then on the baby. It was blazing hot. He smiled stiffly and turned to go. As he stepped out of the hut he heard Jial speak.

“Pale One never broken. Not speak such.” It was as much of a reprimand as he had ever heard from one of them.

They take their Pale One seriously, he thought.

As he approached the center of the village near the pole where he had once been bound and beaten, Xit spoke. “Baby?”

Kpleeb nodded. “I have a daughter.”

Xit turned and shouted toward the other pale warriors that had come with them to the village. It was more of a high-pitched bark, repetitive and piercing. Kpleeb watched in awe as the other pale warriors raised their fists and repeated Xit’s shouts. None of their faces showed any emotion.

“Girl baby, much reward,” Xit said turning back toward him. Kpleeb thought that Xit’s eyes expressed great satisfaction. “Much reward.”

Kpleeb looked down at his shaking hands as reality set in. “I thought I would have a son,” he said.

Xit slapped his back forcefully. “Son good. Girl better. Girl child from Pale One-” he paused as if considering his words. “Pale One honors you much.”

The other pale warriors had approached. Xer, Xio, Xep, and Xaq. It was Thoka’s regular crew. Maybe not bodyguards, but, they certainly stuck around. Kpleeb thought that they vied for the position, though they did rotate other pale warriors in and out.

Xer pulled a small pouch from the cord that fastened his loincloth. He tipped the contents into his hand and offered it to Kpleeb. “Much honor,” he said.

On his palm was a tiny crystal. Kpleeb picked it up and looked at it closely. “Fascinating,” he said. “What is it?

“Eat,” said Xer. The rest of the warriors looked at him expectantly as they reached for their own pouches.

“Urg, well…” Kpleeb could not think of any reason why the stoic warriors would harm or play a prank on him, so after a moment of consideration, he dropped the crystal onto his tongue.

“Ganix,” said Xep. The other pale warriors repeated the unknown word almost reverently in unison.

Kpleeb’s eyes swam and he swayed as he looked around him and the sea of painted, white faces. There seemed to be so many of them, and they were all smiling at him. Their eyes exuded joy at his great fortune. He remained standing there for some time, soaking in the emotion, swaying slightly, and grinning like a fool.