Chapter 3, The Split. #14

Booka walks toward the clan and the  crippled male, that Goff threw to the ground,  motions toward Goff and the young female he helped. He had broken an old law of the clan, only Booka and his warriors were allowed and capable of having a female for themselves. Booka realized he must take some action or he would be perceived as weak. Booka hesitated, Goff would make a good warrior someday and maybe even lead the clan, if needed.

The female, on the other hand was weak, her children would be weak, so instead of killing her ,Booka decided to banish her from the clan. Booka made a motion for her to leave but she refused and sat stubbornly, waiting for the death blow from Booka. He raised his hand ax but Goff stood defiantly blocking Booka. This disturbed Booka, he did not want to kill Goff but yet there must be some punishment to teach Goff and any other young ones that think they deserve a female, without making a kill on the hunt first.

So, thought Booka, this little upstart thinks he can handle a female, then I will give her to him. He pushes the female over to Goff, indicating that she was his and the entire clan stomped their feet and hollered. No one in the clan could remember this having been done before now. Never was a male, as young as Goff, strong enough to keep a female without a older stronger warrior taking her away. Booka thought, let see if you are truly worthy, not only will he have to fight off the other males but provide for her as well.

to be continued

Chapter 3: The Split, #13

With the 2 deer nearby, Booka signals and his best warriors crawl toward the water stealthly to get the jump on the deer. As they come closer, they can smell the deer drinking. Drooling and stifling the growling sounds in their throats, they creep closer. The warriors encircle the deer ready to spring the trap. When the 2 deer approach, Booka and his warriors rush out of their hiding places and club at the 2 deer's feet. One of the deer goes down and the warriors move in and club it to death. Booka and his warriors chase after the deer that got away but was wounded and limping.

Without Booka and his warriors present to organize the feeding, the remaining part of the clan, including Goff, commence ripping out pieces of meat as the whole clan jumps into the fray. They push each other out of the way to get in a better position to get some meat. The younger and older disabled, stay on the outside trying to grab any flesh that may have been inadvertently flung to the back. If a young one grabs a piece of meat, an older stronger member would steal it right out of it's mouth. With blood and guts flying everywhere, the ones closer to the kill swallow their meat and run to the water to wash it down. this gives a chance for the weaker ones to move closer to the kill.

Goff , rips his way to the front, grabbing as many small pieces he can get, even out of the mouths of others before they can even take a bite. A young female next to him, who has been pushed around by the mob, grabs a piece of meat that had fallen right in front of her. Just as she is ready to bite down , Goff rips it out of her mouth. The young female cries out and lays down in a fetal position. As Goff wolfs down this small piece of meat, he looks down at the female. he has noticed her before and if he would have noticed her when he stole the meat from her, he would not have done so.

He goes to the bones and fights for another piece of meat and brings it to her and motions for her to take it. She looks up in surprise but grabs the meat, eating it quickly as her eyes dart about. An older crippled warrior tries to take the meat from her but Goff throws him to the ground. The older male, one of Booka's best warriors before he was crippled in a hunt, rises to his feet and shrieks to Goff. He moves to slow to be of any threat to Goff but vigorously stamps his one good foot as he shrieks and howls.

Suddenly, the clan stops in mid motion, as Booka and his warriors return, carrying the other deer that almost got away. The crippled male, that Goff threw to the ground, runs to Booka and points toward Goff and the female, in a frantic manner.

to be continued