Father Sun has reached the height of His sky and I hide within the
shadows of a lone oak. I'm in marvel of this grandfather tree; his trunk
is as wide as my mother's tipi and his wooden arms reach high to blue sky.
He bears many leaves that are proof to his testament of survival. There are
no other living trees around. Only he stands over the endless prairie grass
bending to the wind.

An angry rustling comes from his high branches. Not from the wind; I
think that I've felt the stirring of our Mother through my feet. It's what
Second Bird has told me - that She quaked this morning and provided me with
the opportunity for escape. I wonder if Crumobia and Second Bird were able
to round up their spooked horses? I'm sure the warrior will soon be trying
to 'round me up' for a slitting of my throat with Big Horn's shiny knife.
Let him try!

I drop down over the rawhide shield and try cooling my hot blood. My
head lowers between my knees within an enclosure of my arms in a show of
grief. I have lost much. My lover is dead. The sacred objects that he
placed in my sacred bundle were loosened and smashed into the ground as I
watched, unknowingly. That was a good test by Crumobia to see if it was I
who had been with his brother when the bear came to eat him. No man could
watch the desecration of his sacred bundle without acting. Even unto death!
My lack of memory had kept me from revealing to the enemy that I was the
mystery man they searched for. The half breechclout that I wear was mine,
after all.

I look down at my golden flap of deerskin. The folds in its cloth catch
the few points of sunlight that have made their way past the oak's leaves.
They twirl from the wind; a mesmerizing dance. I hear someone speaking to
me inside my head:

All things are connected to each other.
None holds dominion over the other for all are equal.
There is no beginning. No ending to strive towards.
Everything is in a circle that moves only in the Now.

I awaken in darkness. My stiff body feels chilled and for a moment I
don't remember where I am. The great oak shakes his leafy limbs in the
wind. A rawhide shield chafes against my bottom. Within hand's reach is
the filled water skin, rolled sleeping mat, a pouch of dried venison and
coil of twine. I know who I am. What I've not decided is which path that
I'm to take: escape or revenge?

His words return to me. They are the clearest I've ever heard from our
Father and they offer me good council. He has shown me that I'm driven from
my past towards a future that binds me from a more important thing: what
I'm doing now. I am hungry and cold right now.

A giggle escapes me since that's not a worthy response to His teaching.
I take out a stick of smoked venison from the pouch and chew on it while
contemplating the Now. That's hard since it doesn't last very long. I was
eating and with my hand empty, I'm reaching for the water skin to drink
from. Each moment leads to what will be from what was. That's like a path
being followed from the beginning to the end; I look towards my destination.
Our Father spoke of a circle. Does that mean my destination will become
where I've started from?

A shaman's puzzle! If I'm to become the spiritual leader of our People,
I must listen to His words and find wisdom. That's not an easy task. More
often I'm given visions that don't become clear until their unfolding. Then
it's too late. I've been given clear words this afternoon from our Father
within my head. He spoke with a voice that made no sound so how do I know
they were from Him?

I scold myself for doubting. My front flap was struck by His sunbeams
with the purest and brightest of yellow fires. It has made my breechclout
golden. His hand was upon it! The answer to what He's told me is to simply
Be. I am the boy named Willow Bird who can love, care for others and feel
joy for his life. That is my center; the Now moving in a circle without a
past or a future.

I look back at what's happened to me. I've been made to do horrible
things - the murder of a man at my hands not in defense of my life but from
anger inside me that's very ugly. I forced my love onto the warrior's
unconscious body that ended in his death. That's not me! I'm not a cold-
blooded killer or someone who hates. Big Horn taught me better than that.

My head feels weary. I'm thinking too much and that has given me sleepy
eyes so I lay over the earth with all my cares placed in Her hands. I reach
out in the dark and find my companion's wooden arm to cling to. A strong
hand.

A horse's nervous grunt awakens me. It's morning. I sit up to face two
men on horses; Second Bird and Crumobia! The warrior grins when showing me
his metal blade shining in the sunlight. I slowly stand up. I'm surprised
by my lack of concern for what could be my death. There's no indication
from the brave if he'll help me, side with the angry warrior or simple
watch what unfolds.

I offer them both a morning greeting with the raising of my right palm.
The warrior laughs, gesturing that my act of losing my memory will not save
me now. The old man's face snarls with anger. He makes ugly gestures that
tell me how he intends to take my life in trade for slaying his lover. I
accept what he must do.

Second Bird frowns. He becomes alarmed when Crumobia drops down from his
horse to approach me. I don't look at the warrior; my eyes are on the
brave's.

The warrior lunges at me. I deftly move out of the blade's path and
await his next strike. It comes! A burning is felt across my upper chest
before I roll over the ground in my effort to avoid the full blow. My hands
find the rawhide shield and I bring it up to deflect the warrior's next
strike. It lands with a thud. Another! In a clever maneuver, Crumobia
feigns a strike with his knife hand but uses the other hand to sweep away
my shield. His foot kicks at my leg, unbalancing me. I fall heavily to the
ground before the triumphant warrior.

Crumobia laughs. He stands over me with a red stain on his Wa-ha blade.
His hand is raised for a final blow, the metal blade blocking the golden
face of Father Sun. My eyes widen. Not from facing my death but with a
terrible realization. That blade. It was carried by Coyote Thief and passed
unto Big Horn before his death. Then it passed to me from Big Horn before
his death. Deep-roots-that-whisper, the shaman from the Moss-bowl Tribe had
sensed a Power being carried by me that was missing during his search of my
body after I'd fallen unconscious from a powerful vision. I had thought he
referred to my silver ring.

`That blade is death.' I had said that to Crumobia when gifting him the
Wa-ha knife. I was a ten-year-old boy speaking at the time because of
losing my adult memories but inner wisdom was still with me. My silver ring
is also Power but a good one since it was crafted in the shape of Father
Sun. I've wished for things upon it that have come about. If I had it now,
I'd wish for my life!

The three-feathered warrior drops down on me with his evil blade aiming
for my heart. My hand lifts to block its deadly path. Golden light shines
in my eyes, blinding me. A heavy thud is felt against my chest. Did I
scream?

I slowly open my eyes to see Second Bird's face close to mine. His happy
expression of relief turns to pain. I sit up to see what has happened.
Crumobia lies at my side as if dead. I search for his blow upon my body but
only find a line of blood that had come from his first glancing strike.
Second Bird clutches his left arm. He seems to be suffering an injury to it.

"What happened?" I ask in a daze.

Second Bird's words come out but with great pain. "I fell upon Crumobia
to prevent him from killing you. My arm. I think it's broken."

I peer into the brave's eyes with much thanks for saving my life. He
nods in understanding. My fingers carefully make their way along his left
arm. I watch his eyes and when they alight with great pain, a bump is
discovered a finger-length below his elbow. It's a bone break.

"Can you set it?" the brave asks. He grits his teeth against the
expected pain.

I nod my head with understanding. With a strong grip of Second Bird's
left shoulder, I grasp his wrist and prepare to pull. The brave nods his
readiness. All my strength is needed to yank the broken bone back into
alignment with his arm. The brave pushes against my hold so that he can
vomit to the ground.

A silver glint catches my eye. Second Bird grimaces with pain but he
notices the shiny Wa-ha blade over the ground and goes to pick it up.

"No! Leave it be," I warn the unknowing brave. He gives me a puzzled
expression so I explain what I've discovered. "That blade is death. It has
been so to all those who've wielded it! Don't invite Death's Hand."

"You speak with a strange glow in your eyes," whispers Second Bird. He
drops his eyes in fear from the strangeness he saw in Willow Bird's.

"We must go." I gather up all of my belongings and secure them to the
packhorse tied to Crumobia's horse. Second Bird lingers beside the fallen
warrior. He turns to me with sad eyes.

"What will you do with him?" asks the brave.

"Leave him be... with the evil knife. They belong to each other."

Second Bird stands up while grasping his left arm. Although he's in much
pain from his injury, there's relief showing in his eyes that I won't be
killing the warrior. I reach down for Crumobia's breechclout. The metal
blade is given a last task from me; one for healing instead of death. A
sling is cut from the man's deerskin cloth to hold Second Bird's arm. I
smile when seeing the warrior's uncovered butt yet no lust comes into me to
take it. I prefer boy bottoms.

I give Second Bird a happy grin. He too smiles from knowing that we've
come back together in freedom. The brave is helped onto his horse and we
ride away from the lone oak to the prairies. Where should we go?

Second Bird asks that we go home. Not to my Kalinlepi People since they
have moved from their place on the river to parts unknown. We'll head
instead to the Split Muddy River Tribe. The brave says they're camped in
the direction of the setting sun so we go that way. I'll find my People
later.

We gallop through the plains without the chance to talk. I have
questions to ask Second Bird but now isn't the time. My spirit has
lightened from being freed; both of us free to return home! I lead our
packhorse with the brave following in the third position. He clutches the
reins to his horse with his right hand.

By noon, Second Bird can no longer endure the pain from his arm. He
slips down from his mount to rest over the ground. I hobble our horses.
Water is given the brave along with some jerky to eat. His body is coated
in sweat. A purple swelling has risen above the break; not a good sign. I'm
worried for him.

Second Bird realizes how vulnerable we are in the land of our enemies so
after a brief rest, asks that we continue riding. We often have to stop.
Each time, the brave needs water to cool the building heat in his body. Is
he getting with fever?

We manage to ride until nightfall. Even before we can find a proper
campsite, Second Bird falls from his horse to sleep where he lies. He moans
out in pain when I adjust his body into a more comfortable position. The
skin of his body is ablaze with heat. That's no good! I know he'll need the
healing of a shaman for his arm. Soon. I think about what can be done for
him while tending to the horses.

I watch over Second Bird during the night. He often begs for water. At
times, his body shakes as if chilled by the winter winds so I cover him
with our sleeping mats. It's a very dark night without the moon's passage
above me. I'm lost for the time and feeling helpless to do anything for the
young man.

Second Bird gets worse. He no longer accepts water but shouts at me with
strange sounding words; the language of Crumobia's People? The brave
becomes violent. If I don't hold him, his thrashing could further injure
his arm. I feel the great heat of his body next to mine. My plea is given
unto our Father to help him. I don't want my brother to die! During the
night, I watch his struggle against the evil spirits taking advantage of
his weakening state. I WILL them to leave him alone!

The blackest part of night offers the brave a respite. He becomes calm
in my arms, asleep at last. I lay my weary head over his chest to sleep. A
steady beat comes from his heart that's an assurance that he still lives.
Thump, thump, thump.

A boy raises his arms in warning. He shouts for me to look out! When I
turn to face the danger he speaks of, my feet slip over the stones. I am
falling.

Someone is shouting at me with great anger but I cannot make out his
words. My ears fill with a drum's steady beat: Boom, boom, boom.

Morning has arrived. I'm left exhausted from tending Second Bird but
know that we must be traveling soon. I leave him for a moment to prepare
the horses. My thoughts turn to Pai-alucia; where is Big Horn's horse? It's
good that I left him on the plains so he'll not lack for wanting to eat.
Water is a big concern. No stream or pond was sighted during our ride
yesterday. Our water skins will need filling.

When I return to Second Bird, he responds to my morning greeting. Water
is given him to drink but he refuses food. There's urgency in him to tell
me something so I press my ear close to his face.

"Willow Bird. Take me to the Painted People," he whispers. "Painted
People will help us. Trade with all who come to them. Go find their
village!"

"Where?" I ask. "Where are these Painted People?" Second Bird is slow to
respond so I shake him and repeat my question. Pain fills his eyes. He
tries looking for the sun. A gesture is made to go in the right handed
direction of its rising before he falls unconscious.

I carry Second Bird in my arms to Crumobia's horse. The other two horses
are strung to each other with the coiled twine and will be led by me. It's
difficult to get the brave over my horse. I get up behind the young man and
hold him in my arms so he won't fall. It's an arduous ride to direct my
horse while leading the others; I think about casting them free but
recognize their value for trading and also to return Second Bird's mount to
him when he becomes well.

We travel through the hills with Father Sun's rising on my left. This
direction takes us deeper into the plains, away from his People and mine.
I'm filled with troubling thoughts. I've not heard of the Painted People
before. If we find them, what prevents them from taking our horses and
killing us? Even if they are an honorable People for trading, are we headed
in the right direction to find them?

Second Bird moans in my arms. His body is covered in sweat and it burns
against mine with great fever. The purple swelling above the break in his
left arm is turning darker. Oh, he needs to get help soon! I tighten my
grip of him and kick Crumobia's horse into a faster trot. The two horses
behind me are a constant bother with their yanking on my lead line back to
them. Many times, I'm tempted to let them go.

Father Sun rises in His sky and starts to fall before I give myself a
rest. After lowering Second Bird to the ground, I force water down his
mouth before tending to the horses. The water skins are emptied. I take the
last drink to wash down the two sticks of dried venison that I've eaten.
Our situation is dire! I'm going to be forced to leave Second Bird with the
two horses so that I can try to find water.

The brave is laid over a sleeping mat and the two horses are hobbled
within easy reach of grazing. I pray unto our Father to watch over them
while I'm away. Crumobia's horse is mounted and I race over the rolling
hills in search of a stream, creek, pond or drinking hole.

I head in the right-handed direction of where the sun rises. It's as
good a way as any to look for water but I may find the Painted People as
well. I've never been in these lands before. The plains become quite hilly
with clumps of trees everywhere; not a proper forest. Everything looks dry.
A thirst is burning in my throat while my body sweats in the heat of the
late afternoon. Water must be found. It's not only for Second Bird and
myself but three horses can drink a lot.

I'm glad to have Crumobia's horse. He's proving himself a strong sure
mount as I lead him between the rising hills. A fair replacement for
Pai-alucia. Oh, I will miss that stallion since he was my loving link to
Big Horn! I hope that he's well and will remain free on the plains and be
happy.

Traveling between the rising hills forces Crumobia's horse to a walk.
There are stands of red trees everywhere. No sign of water. When my mind
wanders, I recall my strange dream from last night. That boy who was
shouting a warning at me - his face was nice to look upon. I feel a strange
urge in me for the youth, as if I know him. He's about twelve years old,
the same age as Song Bird but the features of his face were different in an
attractive way. I wonder who the boy is?

He had been warning me about something. In my dream, I remember turning
around with my feet slipping over the square-cut stones lined up in steps
like those I've climbed to Spirit Lake at the Moss-bowl Tribe. Behind the
frightened boy were towering shapes of stone. It's a place I've never been
to before.

My dream ended with someone's angry shouting. That's when I woke up
with my head lying over Second Bird's chest, his heart beating strong like
a drum's troubled boom in my ear. I feel that I've been given a warning.
Sometime soon, I'm going to face danger that a boy sees behind me. My feet
will slip over stone.

I release a disappointing sigh. If this vision is like all my others,
I'll not understand its meaning until the event unfolds... too late for me
to enact upon it. The boy was very cute. I feel something strong for him in
my heart though we've not yet met. Is he the naked youth from an earlier
vision who offered me his puny love?

I tremble with anticipation. Have I Seen the face of the next One to
take my heart? There will always be a place in my heart for Song Bird. He
is gone from me and so is Big Horn. I'm still in mourning for the both of
them so my heart isn't ready for new love. And even if I take a boy or even
a young man into my arms again, I don't think I'll love them as fiercely as
I have loved before. That comes from taking too many heart blows, I suppose.
My dick is always ready.

A deep breath is taken to clear my head. The task as hand is where I
need to concentrate my thoughts so I put away my lustful fantasies. Find
water! Yet I'm unsure of which direction to take in the surrounding hills
so I decide to climb one. The horse is tied to a tree below. My legs feel
the strain as I surmount the top of a big grassy hill. It gives me a
spectacular view of the land. To continue as I have would bring me to some
cliffs while in the direction of the setting sun reveals a silver glinting
- water! It's rounded like a pond but much bigger. I race down the hill and
mount my horse to find out.

I change my direction to find the pond. Several steep hills have to be
climbed on foot before it comes into view. It's enormous! I'm reminded of
what Big Horn had shown me from the height of Moy Mountain, the vastness of
what the Moss-bowl People called an ocean. I hope this large pond isn't a
part of the ocean since I've been told that its waters are too salty to
drink from.

My horse snorts in warning. I take a quick look around and spot a bull
moose in flight; what attracts my eyes is the small creek he'd been
drinking from. Water! We eagerly trot over to it. Crumobia's horse lowers
his head to it while I take a drink as well. The creek's water is cold and
refreshing. I eagerly fill up all of my water skins.

My thoughts turn back to Second Bird. I've found water but will he be
able to endure more traveling? He could die before we find a shaman! My
head swirls with many troubling thoughts when I race Crumobia's horse back
to camp. I'm forced to retrace my steps through the steep hills and valleys
to ensure that I won't get lost; no attempt is made to try a short cut. It
makes for an agonizing slow journey. Father Sun has risen all the way to
the height of His sky when I return.

Second Bird is gone! I jump down from my horse to be sure that this is
the place where I've left him. It is. There are many revealing markings
over the ground that have come from horses and the bared footprints of
men. A curious pile of stones grabs my attention. They remind me of
Crumobia's ground signal to his brother that had been left at our last
campsite.

There's no sign of a violent struggle or a body. I'm given some relief
for that. It's my hope that Second Bird was taken away by these men back to
their camp. If they're Crumobia's People, I know that the brave will be
cared for.

Their bared footprints circle around the pile of stones. My eyes widen
in fear; these aren't Crumobia's People since their warriors wear
moccasins. Who then? I angrily kick at the pile of stones from my
frustration. A colored stone attracts my attention so I pick it up. The
stone is painted.

I run to my horse and mount up. The men who've taken Second Bird have
left a clear path for me to follow over the dirt. It's in the direction of
where the sun sets - towards that large pond I had sighted. I savagely kick
over the sides of my horse to get him into a gallop. The painted stone is
clutched tightly in my palm.

The rolling hills fly by. My eagerness to find Second Bird has me taking
chances with Crumobia's horse; I jump over rocks and race my mount through
the rough terrain without a care. Big Horn's angry words become loud in my
head: `slow down!'

My horse balks when attempting to jump him over the high banks of a
stream. I'm sent flying over his head into the icy water. Something hard
strikes my face. I struggle against the watery darkness trying to claim me.
My lungs ache for breath! There's a pulling on my arm that brings me back
to the light. A youth's smiling face is seen when I sputter for air. He's a
handsome boy.

I'm slow to recover from my fall. For some reason, my body is shaky and
weak. My thoughts are also sluggish. I find myself sitting in the shallows
of the stream I was attempting to jump over. My feet are numbed by the cold
water. The boy has left my side to fetch Crumobia's horse. I try rising up
to help the youth but find that my body won't respond. It's taking effort
to simply sit up.

The boy returns. He clutches the reins to my horse and offers them to
me. I'm unable to get up so I shake my head at his offer. This concerns
him. He ties up the horse to a bush and squats at my side to study me. I
feel his hand over the left side of my face. He shows me the blood
covering his palm.

Strange words are spoken by the youth. I slowly shake my head from not
understanding any of them. The boy cups water in his small hands and
releases it over my injury to rinse it of blood. He tends to me while I
stare at his face with much longing filling my heart.

Is this the boy from my visions? He notices my staring and looks deep
into my eyes. I feel something strong for him like love that must have
reached his heart because he smiles back. My hand slowly reaches out to
touch him; to be sure that he's flesh and blood and not another dream. I
feel the warmth of his body under my fingers. I draw him closer to me. The
boy accepts my embrace.

Tears of relief are stinging my eyes. Oh, it feels like it's been such a
long time since last I've held a sweet boy in my arms. I've endured many
bad things and have suffered much in these past days. Long days that seemed
to be without an end. I'm safe now; this boy is my protector. I find sleep
in his gentle arms...

Sunlight strikes my face, awakening me. I sit up from the soft ground
mat in a place that's unfamiliar to me: a square lodge shaped by long tied
sticks and walls of dry grass. There's an open doorway. I can't peer beyond
it because of the blinding light coming from Father Sun's rising. Something
is tied to my head.

When my hands find the bandage over my left temple, I'm reminded of what
has transpired from yesterday: my fall from Crumobia's horse and my
struggle for breath in the icy stream. I also remember that cute boy.

I glance around the small hut for him but find that I'm alone. There
are no belongings here; no signs of its inhabitance save for the ground mat
I'm sitting on. I'm struck by the emptiness of this place. In my tribe, a
guest is given an honored place in the lodge to sleep with the others,
especially when he's injured as I am.

My stomach rumbles with hunger. I'm also thirsted. To my relief, I find
that my legs are strong enough for me to stand though my head feels a bit
faint. I walk through the open doorway. A village of painted People comes
to my eyes. Men of short hair have their bodies covered with colored
designs over their faces, arms and chests. Even the women are painted. They
wear their hair long though tied up with many thongs. Only the children are
kept a plain brown color. Beautiful naked boys and girls with their voices
happy and loud as they play.

I turn around in a full circle with growing wonder. Their village is
large like what I've seen of the Moss-bowl Tribe but instead of tree barked
lodges, this tribe dwells in grass huts. Cliffs rise on one side of their
village. These Painted People have settled in a valley between them and the
steep rounded hills.

A tall, long-haired boy approaches me. For a brief moment, I thought he
was Second Bird. He's about my age and wears a fancily painted breechclout
though no colors mark his skin. Is he of these People? The brave gestures
with his hands.

`I'm named Stone That Cracks. Walk at my side to find your other self.'

I'm struggling to put the proper meaning to the brave's strange hand
signs. Gesturing for words is known by all the Peoples to make a common
language but this man's hands shape them in unexpected ways. I can only nod
my head when the lifting cheeks of his face ask for a reply. We walk side
by side through his village. Painted men raise their right palms to us in
morning greeting. When walking by the girls and young women of their tribe,
they avert their eyes from my passing. Giggling is often heard at my rear.

When I glance at my companion for an explanation, he offers me a small
grin. A quick gesture for 'butt naked' is given me when he thinks no one is
looking. From the man's embarrassed smile, I gather that there's more to
the meaning of those two words.

I study the brave. His brown body is much darkened by the sun, accented
by the bright colors of his painted breechclout. No shirt or moccasins are
worn. He wears his hair long like the women of his tribe but unbound down
his shoulders and back. His face is pleasant to look upon. No attempt is
being made to hide his emotions or what he's thinking. I can easily read
him by looking at his face.

I'm led to the entrance of a large wooden structure. There are strange
gnarled animals carved over the painted logs and cross beams. Two spear-
bearing painted warriors guard the open doorway. Stone That Cracks says
something to them and the men solemnly stand aside to allow us to enter but
they look over my body with amused grins. Light pours in from numerous
square openings in the upper walls and ceiling. They're like smoke holes
but serve to let Father Sun in. Rain would also come in, I note with
surprise. Rain and the wind.

The place is empty. It's not like the men's lodge of the Moss-bowl
People that was often filled with resting warriors and braves. I wonder
what function this open structure serves the Painted People? There are
rows of trees stripped of bark laying over the dirt. In the center is a
raised platform of painted wood. I feel that this is an important meeting
place. Why have I been taken here?

My companion gestures for me to stay here. His face is graven. He walks
out the door which is guarded by the two warriors from without. Am I a
prisoner? I sit over the end of the innermost row of fallen trees to wait.
Against my butt, I notice the polished softness to the wood.

It becomes a long wait. I've stared along the walls and notice that
their wooden beams fit together like the interlocking fingers of two hands.
The ceiling has been built in that same clever manner. I find no fire pits
and there's no smoked blacking to any parts of this structure. It serves as
only a day lodge?

A youth's head pops through one of the upper wall holes. It's difficult
to see who it is because he's in shadow. The boy looks around. I wave to
show him that he's been seen and a wave is returned to me. The youth climbs
through the high wooden hole and turns his body around so that he can make
a proper drop to the floor below. I quickly position myself beneath him. He
clumsily falls into my arms. A thud was made by his feet striking the dirt
and I'm nearly knocked over by the force of his fall. The warmth of his
body if felt against mine. I smell wood smoke in his hair. Long hair
that's tied with a single thong similar to what I've seen of the women
here. There's a softness to his body. Is this youth a girl?

When lifting the youth to his feet, I slip my hand under the front flap.
He's a boy; I've felt his maleness against my fingers. I shouldn't have
doubted since only boys wear flaps over their bodies; girls wear long
skirts. When we face each other, I see that it's my boy from the icy
stream! He smiles at me with something interesting showing in his dark
eyes. His hands form quick gesturing that's difficult to follow.

`I glad to see you! Is true you higher brother to my bond/friend Two
Bird? What called you?'

Thinking over the boy's hand signs for meaning prevents me from
answering him right away. He's asked for my name but what's interesting is
why he asks if I'm the older brother to Second Bird! I get the idea that he
already knows him.

I say "Willow Bird" while gesturing at myself. In hand sign, I form a
Willow tree's flowing branches and the bird sign. The boy's eyes light up.
He utters something while pointing back at himself. In sign, he explains
that his name is Sky Runner and that he's friend/bound to my brother.

`Is Second Bird well?' I ask through gesturing.

The boy nods his head. `Two Bird's bad left arm freed of evil.'

Again, I'm left to gather what meaning I can from the youth's strange
way of hand signing. His happy expression speaks louder. I'm relieved that
the brave seems to be well. I gesture that I want to see him. The boy
lowers his head and points at the two guards by the door. `Why am I here?'
I gesture darkly.

Sky Runner answers, `Chief come to talk with you. To ask why.'

I give the boy a puzzled expression. `Why for what?'

`Why here come not at side with Two Bird.'

My eyes widen with understanding. He's asking why I left Second Bird
alone for their warriors to find. I explain to Sky Runner what has
happened; that I was in search of water and returned to find my brother
gone. I prove this point by describing the pile of stones left in my empty
camp. The youth's face reveals his growing belief, especially when I tell
him about the painted stone.

`That a marker,' explains Sky Runner. `It to say: We were here.'

`I knew that from finding Second Bird and our two horses gone! It had me
racing along their ground trail to the stream I fell into.' The boy giggles
from my last hand gesturing for water in my hair.

`I saved you from under the water no breathe.'

`Yes. That so and much thanks to you.' I reach out for the boy's
shoulder and grip it. There's a happy expression on his face. It's almost
as if we already know each another well. His gesturing to me about Second
Bird and himself comes to mind so I ask, `How know you my brother?'

`Two Bird come here with three unpainted men. Trade us. Talk with our
chief with words from their chief. Why are your warriors no body painted?'

I laugh. `Our men wear feathers from the eagle to show battle color,' I
explain. `A People have different ways from another. Like your painted
men's cut hair and your women's tied long hair.' Something puzzles me so I
reach out to grasp the boy's single thong tied into his flowing hair and
gesture for its meaning.

`I am special,' explains Sky Runner. `This my sign for accepting men.'

A deep pang comes into my chest. In spite of the boy's clumsy hand
signs, I grasp the full meaning of his hair thong. My eyes fall down the
youth's back to his covered butt. I lift his rear flap and gesture, `To
uncover is my similar sign to men.' The boy nods. He spreads his legs and
sticks out his rear end to offer himself to me. The boy's small cheeks are
nicely rounded and of lighter color than the rest of his sun kissed body. I
pat over their softness with the palm of my right hand.

`Two Bird uncovered his butt like brother,' signs the boy with a giggle.

I nod my head in agreement. `We are of that same spirit. Like you.'

Sky Runner grins. He glances up at the square hole in the wall he came
from and gestures, `Come at my side to find your other self.'

`I cannot. Wait for your chief," I gesture in reply.

`He busy and not come until Sun Boy falls down sky,' explains Sky
Runner. `Sneak out and come back before then!'

My empty stomach convinces me that I should try as the boy has asked.
I'd like to see Second Bird and food may be found as well. Sky Runner
leads me to a corner of the lodge. He points at some half-hidden
depressions in the wood. I offer the boy a boost up and he makes a slow
climb of the wall. He keeps balance by pushing against the far corner wall
with his outstretched hands. His feet rise along each depression in the
wall until reaching the sun hole. He sits in it while gesturing for me to
join him up there.

I have to jump up to get my toes into the first depression. My
outstretched hands press against the adjoining wall in a precarious
balance. If I push too hard, I'll fall. Sky Runner urges me on with his
eager hand waving. I make a slow climb of the wall until reaching him. The
boy turns from me to crawl through the wooden opening. For a brief moment,
his small butt sticks out from his rear flap. I feel a tremendous urge in
me to join our bodies for love making! But he escapes.

I stick my head out to watch Sky Runner's drop to the ground far below.
He looks around then gestures for me to come out. The hole is small. My
shoulders have to be brought in when I squeeze through the tight opening.
In my eagerness, I find myself slipping over the wood and in a free fall!
My body flips over. I land over the ground on both feet.

Sky Runner claps his hands at my acrobatics. I'm stunned by what I've
just done, glad that I didn't break my neck in the process. The boy ends
his noise making and takes me in hand to a corner of the lodge. He peeks
out before dashing us through his village.

People look at us as we run. I pull on the boy's arm to slow us to an
inconspicuous walk. He understands that we must act normally and raises his
hand in morning greetings to the painted men that we pass; the women are
ignored. There are other visitors to this tribe. Robed men engaged in
trading for these People's clay pots, white wooly hides and grass woven
baskets. I avert my eyes from them so to not give away the identity of my
tribe.

The boy leads me to a small grass hut. He announces himself at the
doorway before entering. There's a woman inside sitting near a sleeping
man that she's attending. I feel uncomfortable to be visiting with
strangers. Sky Runner speaks softly with the woman and that's when I notice
it's Second Bird lying over the mat. I eagerly kneel at his side.

Second Bird has a painted bandage around his left arm. His frail body is
covered in sweat. The old woman wets his brow from time to time with a wet
cloth from her carved wooden bowl. I offer her my gratitude with a smile.
The boy studies my face and then looks at Second Bird. I'm sure he's
noticing our similar features. I've seen my face enough times in muddy
river to know that this brave must be related to me. If not my brother, a
cousin or something similar.

I reach down for Second Bird's right hand and grasp it. This stirs him
from sleep. His eyes open and focus upon me. I return his weak smile.

"You found them," whispers Second Bird. "I knew you would."

"Yes. And look who's also visiting with you," I answer while gesturing
at Sky Runner. Second Bird glances at the boy and says something to him in
a strange language before turning to me with surprise. I know that there's
something going on between the two of them.

The old woman scolds us. She gestures that the brave needs his rest; no
more talking! Sky Runner gives her a disrespectful gesture but remains
silent. I squeeze Second Bird's hand before laying it back down over the
mat. His eyes slowly close in sleep. We stay only a moment longer before
Sky Runner and I depart.

My stomach is rumbling again. The boy hears its angry complaint and
giggles. He takes me to a rack of smoked meat being attended by two women.
Without even asking, he fetches two lengths of jerky for us to eat. I
eagerly chew down the stick of strange-tasting meat. It's not from deer,
buffalo or any other familiar animal.

Sky Runner leads me back through the center of his village. The dirt
beneath my feet is very dry and blows into the air behind my steps. I ask
for water. The boy points to something in the distance that can quench my
thirst. We walk to a rounded structure formed of stones. A wooden lid is
pulled away to reveal a hole. He drops a shiny metal pot into it attached
by a rope. After its fall, he pulls on the rope to bring it back up. My
hands eagerly lift the cool vessel to my mouth for a drink. The boy takes
his turn.

Something alarms Sky Runner. With fear showing in his eyes, the boy
drops the metal pot to the ground and grabs my hand to rush me away. We
head towards the cliffs. When I try asking him what's wrong, he only
gestures that we must Go. Perhaps it's the two guards who are looking for
me.

We pass huge stands of stone and use them to cover our escape. I feel
the sense of urgency in Sky Runner to be running but it might be best if I
were to return to that wooden lodge to wait for their chief's visit. The
boy has something else in mind though. He keeps tugging on my hands to
rush me towards the cliffs.

After a long run, we stop to catch our breath. The cliffs are very near.
This gives me the opportunity to ask things of Sky Runner so I begin with
my first question: `Why we run from village?'

`Angry warrior comes,' explains the boy. `He want to eat you!'

`Eat me?' I gesture. `Which warrior?'

`The one chasing you and Two Bird.'

The tiny hairs at the back of my neck prickle up. Sky Runner can't be
saying that Crumobia has come to the Painted People's Tribe to find me! He
was left without a horse so he couldn't have come here so quickly. The boy
can't be speaking of him. But before I can ask something more about the
angry warrior, the youth pulls on my hand to get us back running. He leads
me on a path at the base of the cliffs which rise to sky reaching heights
on our right.

An animal's cry reaches my ears. There's also a melodious clanging that
reminds me of a drum's beat but in a boy's high-pitched tone. Sky Runner
leads me towards a flock of white wooly animals. Ah, yes. I've seen hooved
baa-haas before at the Moss-bowl Tribe. Their People had called them sheep.

Sky Runner slows us to a walk. He carefully leads me around the flock of
animals so to not frighten them away. An open structure comes into view.
It's formed of tied branches and grass covering its roof. There's a woman
standing before a strange wooden rack filled with colored twisted thongs;
sheep's wool?

The boy points to the cliffs. He gestures that we must go there to hide.
I'm confused by what the youth asks. How can he know that Crumobia is after
me? If not that warrior, who have I angered that fills this boy with fear
for me? I tug on his hand to stop us. My gesturing asks him about the angry
warrior.

`Two Bird told me about him last night,' explains Sky Runner. `He saw
the angry warrior in his dream throwing spear at your back.'

I ponder over the boy's hand signs. When he does them slowly, I'm able
to gather their meaning more easily. More questions need to be asked so I
gesture, `What relation are you to my brother?'

The boy shows a happy grin. He gestures, `We close friends. Invite
needing men into us as my hair thong allows. Two Bird invites by having a
bared butt.'

I laugh. With a loud slap over my bared rear end, I gesture that I
invite those same lusty men to satisfy their needs in me. This gets the boy
to giggle. `Do you make love to my brother?' I gesture while hiding my
concern.

`No. We friends and share much but not that,' replies Sky Runner.

I slowly release my held breath. It's as if an obstacle has been removed
from my path of finding love. Boldness comes to me when I gesture, `I Saw
you in a vision. That is why I recognized you at the stream. In my dream,
your warning was being given about something bad behind me. I didn't notice
this bad thing because of how my heart was feeling for you at that moment.'

The boy lowers his eyes and signs, `Feeling love?'

I nod while lifting my eyes to the cliffs in embarrassment. It's a weak
sensation for me after all the hardships I've endured. Opening my heart to
a boy I don't really know has me standing on a knife's edge. How will he
react?

`Follow me up to cliffs,' the boy gestures. `A good view to eye grasp!'

I watch Sky Runner sprint towards an opening in the cliffs. Like Song
Bird, this boy is very intelligent and wise but rather shy when it comes to
talking about serious things like love. I chase after the youth. He leads
me up through what appears to be cut stairs into the cliffs. The narrow
path winds back on itself often. I'm given brief views of the boy's rear
end when his breechclout flaps at the sharp turns. He seems to run on
tirelessly while I find myself laboring for breath.

When my legs pain me too much and my lungs are bursting for air, I force
myself to a walk. There's also a painful throbbing in my head. Sky Runner
notices and turns back to join me for a rest. His face is all smiley and
knowing. I glance down at myself, seeing my male bulge pushing against the
front flap. The boy also notices. He mischievously reaches out to my waist
and lifts the deerskin cloth from my thong belt for a peek. I'm proud to
show him my erection.

`You strong,' the boy gestures with a grin. His body tingles with
excitement.

`Yes. It a long time since... I've joined myself to a cute boy.' Sky
Runner turns around. He gestures that I'm to pull away his rear flap and I
eagerly do so. My front flap is dropped over his on the ground at our
feet. The boy slowly backs himself onto my groin. I hold his waist while
playfully rubbing my long dick against the soft cheeks of his little butt
to test him. I know that he's offering himself for my need but I'm
reluctant to use him. My hands lift over his slim body to find his breast.
I cover his back with my chest and find his soft neck with my mouth. My
kisses cause the boy to gasp. His lime smelling skin is brought out by my
wet mouthing. I watch his little hand reach back to direct my dick through
the crack of his trembling butt.

Ah. My oozing knob presses against the boy's hole and slips in. All my
length is slowly taken into the youth with the ease of cutting through
heated fat. I pause from performing my manly task so the boy can get used
to my size. My kisses wander to the other side of his neck. I keep myself
from biting him from my building lust. A wonderful thrill shoots through my
loins when the boy backs his little ass onto my hairy groin, urging me to
fuck him. I eagerly do so. With our male bodies joined in sweet love
making, I take my time to bring up my seed. Sky Runner is a wonderful boy
to be offering himself utterly to my need.

He's proving himself to be very experienced with butt fucking. When I
stab through the boy's slimy hole, he backs onto my groin to deepen my
penetration. He also tightens his ringed muscles around my dick when I pull
back. I suspect that the boy has already been with a man this morning. How
else could his little hole have swallowed up my thick dick and make an easy
passage for it?

A high-pitched whimpering comes from Sky Runner as if being pained by my
deeper thrusts. I know what he's feeling! Often, when Big Horn fucked me, I
cried out when his horse-sized cock pressed against something deep in my
butt to bring me a strange pain/tickle. It was a powerful sensation that
could get me to shoot without even handling my erection.

The boy cries out. I taste blood in my mouth and scold myself for
allowing my unchecked lust to harm the youth. The pain from my bite has
caused a tightening of his butthole around my wildly stabbing dick. I've
come to the quickening part!

My joyful moans join with the boy's outcries. I lower my hands to grip
his waist so my dick can drive more quickly through his tight ass. It's a
sweet mating between us. I look down at his soft butt bouncing against my
groin hair. Both his cheeks tighten each time I stab deep through his hole.
He keeps it tight around my swollen dick as I thrust into his butt again
and again. My balls tingle wonderfully. I cry out when my seed rises and
erupts from my body into his. An intense filling! I've not felt such a
sweet climax since fucking my boyhood friend, Song Bird. It's true; I am a
lover of boys. Sky Runner accepts that needing spirit in me.

My shaking body keeps a close embrace of the little boy. It's been such
a long time since I've felt such joy. All my pent up male energy and
boy-lust has come out with my seed. When my breaths no longer race through
my mouth, I find his neck wound and suck away its blood. A nice salty
taste. I wonder if his cum is young boy sweet or more mature with a bland
and salty taste like mine? In curiosity, I reach low inside the boy's front
flap. I grasp his stick-of-a penis to masturbate the youth for his release.
There's no dripping from its knob. Sky Runner reveals his shyness when he
gently pushes my hand away.

I push on the youth's body to separate us. He turns around to stare at
my dripping dick, taking some of its cum to examine in his fingers. I drop
down to face his groin. With a gentle lifting of his front flap, I find his
rigid pole with my mouth and begin to suck on it. My hands reach back for
his soft butt. The boy gasps in surprise but he doesn't struggle too hard
against me. I tickle over his boyhood with my tongue to coax its thrills.
My sucking intensifies around his hardness. Like Song Bird, this boy has a
smooth groin. Without that hair, I won't know if my sucking will achieve a
sweet drink from his loins or none at all.

The boy's full erection forms in my mouth. It's a skinny pole but with a
length that nearly reaches back into my throat. I feel the softness of his
balls pressing against my chin. My nose takes in his sweaty musk scent. I
want to give this boy a sweet release in trade for giving me his tight butt
yet after a very long sucking, nothing comes out. I've heard his moans of
pleasure but his dick acts like the immature twig of a young boy. No
intense outcry. I suck for a while longer but find my mouth tiring. In
defeat, I pull from his groin and stand up.

There's a flushed color to the boy's face. But more so, I think he's
showing embarrassment. Has no one ever gifted this boy with sucking on his
dick? I'm sure that he's given his butt to many needing men but he seems
inexperienced with being pleasured in return. I've tried. Yet nothing has
come out from his loins and there was no obvious ending cry of pleasure. Is
there something wrong with this youth?

I examine the boy's loins. His dick looks to be the right size for his
age, skinny yet longer than Song Bird's. No sign of manly hair. Something
strange about his flat balls though. When I reach down for a feel of their
inner orbs, Sky Runner steps out of my reach. His face is lowered in shame?
I feel a terrible pang in my breast for what I suspect this boy has
endured. To hide what my face may reveal, I turn away to fetch our
breechclout flaps. Mine is dropped over my belt in front. I get behind Sky
Runner and pull on the youth's thong belt, folding his rear cloth over it
to fall against his butt. The boy keeps his back to me. Silence.

Unable to contain the pained feelings from my heart, I embrace the dear
boy in a bear hug. Tears sting my eyes when I hear him cry. If it's true,
how could someone have been evil enough to take away this boy's promise of
manhood?! Why was he castrated like a gelding?

We keep our embrace for a long while.

At the top of the cliffs, Sky Runner shows me a grand view of the
surrounding area. I spot that large pond and see that it's not a part of
the ocean. Far below us is the Painted People's village: a vast count of
grass huts and long wooden lodges. Much of the surrounding land is hilly.
It's a wonder that I was able to make my way through them to reach their
village, but of course, I had followed the tracks left by their warriors
after they took Second Bird and the horses from my camp.

Sky Runner has been still with his hand gesturing. I think he fears that
signing with me would bring out what has been done to his male body so I've
kept my hands quiet. We're simply enjoying each other's company. Often, I'm
looking at his cute face and he smiles when noticing my growing love for
him.

There's a strange feeling I get when studying his soft mannerisms; a
kind of female sense to the youth. That was my first impression when
holding the youth in my arms after he dropped down from that sun hole in
the wooden lodge. I had thought he might have been a girl. It's not a
disturbing thought but one that I'm not used to. All the men and boys that
I've made love to were fiercely male; all of them needing a release from
their dicks after mine was satisfied in their bodies. Not so with this boy.

Sky Runner reaches for my waist when he steps closer to me. He holds me
like a frightened boy for his father. I wrap my arm around his thin frame
to grip his chest. My kiss comes to his dark hair. We stand on the heights
and look down on the wonders of our Mother. I'll give this youth the time
he needs to open his pain to me.

Father Sun begins His slow drop from the sky. Sky Runner takes me down
another path that will lead back to his village. He gestures things to me
about these sacred cliffs; that they serve his People with rites of
fasting, vision seeking and a strange self-death that the boy is reluctant
to explain.

When I feel the need to urinate, it's without embarrassment when I lift
my front flap and piss to the rocks. The boy watches me. After a pause, he
lifts his front flap to join me. Our two yellow streams cross. I'm given a
fond remembrance of a similar thing Song Bird and I had shared back at our
tribe. In many ways, this boy is like my first boy lover but he's not of my
People. We can only speak through clumsy hand signs. There's more I wish to
learn from him.

At the halfway point of our trek down the cliffs, we come upon a naked
warrior. He offers us a greeting with the lifting of his chin since his
right hand is busily cutting off lengths of his long hair with a flint
blade. None of his body is painted. Around his neck is a magnificent
necklace and totem pouch. Sky Runner lingers to watch the man's hair
cutting. I'm also curious by this warrior's rite but realize that he may
have come to these cliffs for solitude. The man shows no irritation though.
He grasps another length of his hair with his left hand and cuts if off
with his knife. In a curious rite, he brushes the end of the cutting
against his groin before tossing it to the stones below.

Sky Runner stands at my side with obvious fascination of the man's hair
ritual. I peer into the warrior's eyes with the hope that he may explain
his act. None is forthcoming. He seems to welcome our attention but his
rite keeps his hands too busy for gesturing. I also doubt that he can speak
the language of my People.

The man often looks up and down my back. He seems to be wondering about
my appearance; why I've not cut my long hair though being of age to be
named a brave or perhaps he wonders why I'm not painted. A revealing growth
comes to his loins. The boy notices it with a giggle. It's a thick dick but
not very long. The warrior's stare lingers on my butt. I recognize a man's
lust in his dark eyes.

'Do you want me?' I sign with a sly grin showing on my face. The warrior
nods. I step between the man's feet and turn around while squatting over
his legs. My hands grip the man's raised knees so that I won't slip down
the cliff's edge. There's a tickling felt against my cheeks from his
seeking manhood. I keep my submissive pose to await the warrior's
acceptance of my offering. The youth looks down at us with his cute wide
eyes.

I hear a stone clink from the warrior setting down his flint knife. His
hands grip my hips to align my butt over his hairy groin. Between my
cheeks, the man slips his erection through to find my hole. I feel his
manhood oozing and it aids with fitting his thick dick into me. Our male
bodies quickly become one.

It's quite a balancing act to keep myself from falling forward down the
cliff when the man fucks me. He drives his manhood deep and fast through my
pained butthole. I've not had the chance to get used to his thick cock. My
ringed muscles tighten around the fleshy invader; I'm sure it's giving the
man a nice ride of my body. I don't know if this warrior has fucked a male
before but he shows much experience with manly performance. I glance at Sky
Runner for his reaction.

The boy shows much interest in what we do. He squats close at our side
with his hands reaching out as if wanting to join into our mating. I smile
when seeing the boy's front flap pushed from his groin in male excitement.
An urge comes in me to satisfy his need. My hand finds his hard pole and
pulls over it for the boy's pleasure. It's a risky thing I do since it
puts trust in the warrior's hands to prevent me from falling down the
cliff.

At my urging, Sky Runner pulls away his front flap. My hand reaches back
for his wiggly butt to pull his body closer to me. He gets the idea for
what I want to do when he stands close in front of me so that I can suck on
his dick. Before he slips it into my mouth, I get a quick glimpse of his
balls. There's no sign of a cut to the sacs but I can find no bulge within
them to show of inner orbs. My chin feels their sagging softness. I reach
around for the boy's little butt and pull over his soft cheeks in time to
sucking over his erection. Behind me, I feel the warrior's brutal use of my
ass. He makes no revealing sounds. That's a little disappointing since I
like hearing a man's lusty groan to tell me how much his dick is enjoying
my tight ass!

The boy gasps when I suck on his dick. I try soft brushings of my lips
down his skinny pole and a tickling over his knob with my tongue to
pleasure him. No outcries. I try a stronger sucking and a quick bobbing of
my head to force his climax. Nothing. I'm surprised that this boy doesn't
seem to enjoy being sucked. He gasps sometimes but makes no revealing moans
or sweet ending cries.

Without warning, Sky Runner pushes on my face while pulling my hand from
his butt to get his dick out of my mouth. I'm surprised by his rejection
until seeing what he really wants me to do. The boy turns around while
pulling away his rear flap. He squats down between my legs. His opening
cheeks fill my loins with tremendous lust! Eagerly, I direct my hard dick
into his hole and push in. The feel inside is slimy and hot. I'll give this
sweet boy some more sperm if he wants it! The warrior notices what's
happening between the boy and myself by adjusting his body to accommodate
our trio fuck. Our connecting bodies form a lusty rhythm of forward stabs
of man into my ass followed by my forward thrusts into the boy. A slower
beat but a very satisfying bodily drumming.

The warrior grunts. His right hand reaches forward to feel over the
little butt that I'm sticking through. His fingers lower to encircle my
dick as it moves through the boy's hole. I reach one of my hands down to
the man's swollen balls to encircle his thick cock as it fucks into me.
Loud moans of satisfaction come from the warrior in response. It seems that
he likes me feeling his male power.

I arch my back to allow the warrior a deeper penetration of my butt.
He's of thickness to make a tight fitting of my hole but lacking in length
to hit upon my squaw spot. It's enough to give this man his release. I keep
my awkward position over the stone while keeping a hand around the boy's
chest to prevent him from falling. My dick is slow to build towards its
sweet climax. I think the warrior will be seeding my butt soon because of
the way he keeps his cock deep in my hole with shallow thrusts.

True to my suspicions, I hear the warrior cry out. There's a thrilling
gurgle in my butt that proves he's releasing his seed in me. I tighten my
ringed muscles to enhance his ending climax. The man growls out like a bear
as he bucks me hard. I feel my body becoming unsteady with my fingers
loosening around the man's knee. My feet slip over the downward slanting
stone! The boy cries out in fear when we start sliding over the cliff's
edge but the warrior's hands grabs hold of my arms, keeping us from
falling.

My body is slowly lifted back onto the ledge; the boy kept from
dropping by my tight embrace. We fall in a heap at the warrior's feet with
relief. I give the man my nod of thanks for saving us from the abyss. His
dark eyes shine with sexual relief. To my surprise, his cock has kept its
thickness after cumming into me.

Sky Runner gets to his feet with the look of fear in his eyes turning to
excitement when noticing the warrior's hardness. He gestures something to
the warrior who eagerly nods his head in reply. The boy turns around and
squats over the man's lap with a mischievous grin. His small hands reach
back to grip the man's legs as their bodies come together for mating.

The warrior pounds into the little boy. It seems that filling one butt
wasn't satisfying enough so he labors to fill another with his seed. I'm in
awe of the man's sexual power. His strong arms keep a tight hold of the
youth so that he cannot escape. Actually, I think he wants to prevent the
boy from sliding down the cliff again.

To my amusement, I notice Sky Runner's erection. It stands tall against
his belly as if in need yet he's unable to pull over himself while keeping
his hold of the man's legs. I'll task myself to satisfying the boy.

With the cliff's edge at my back, I squat between the boy's legs with my
mouth finding his hard pole to slip it inside. My head bobs when offering
Sky Runner a quick sucking. He seems to enjoy my lusty efforts this time. I
often hear his boyish cries of pleasure joined by the low moans from the
warrior behind him.

My right hand reaches back to find the man's flexing ass. I feel his
power there: a slow bucking into the boy's rear end. With my left hand, I
grip the boy's warm softness, dropping my fingers down his quivering
cheeks until finding the man cock that's impaling it. The warrior growls
at my intrusion. I feel his slimy shaft swelling until it spits into the
youth. He releases a bear's angry growl as I imagine his loins emptying.

Sky Runner cries out too. Although nothing can come from his injured
loins, I hear the intense pleasure in his voiced breaths. I'm glad the boy
has achieved his ending thrills that have come from getting loved on both
sides of his body. I lay my head against his legs while keeping his pole
inside my mouth as he rests. His frantic heartbeat is felt against my
tongue.

I hear the warrior's hand pat over the boy's chest. Sky Runner responds
to the man's signal by slowly getting to his feet with his butt separating
from the man's cock and my mouth pulling from his pole. Our male joining
has come to an end.

The warrior fetches the flint blade at his side to resume his hair
cutting rite. It begins after the man releases a satisfied breath; his cock
beginning to soften. Sky Runner finds his flaps and folds them over his
thong belt. He returns my deerskin cloth to me, gesturing for me to wear
it. I do so. We leave the warrior to his task without receiving any signing
from him, not even a wave of farewell. The boy climbs back to the stone
trail with me following close behind him.

My butthole aches me with each step I take. I'm feeling pleased with
myself for having coaxed that warrior's strong seed in me. I've also given
my loins a sweet release in a boy. If not for my near fall from the ledge,
I'd have squirted more into his butt. A thought strikes me. I reach my hand
out to Sky Runner's shoulder to stop his walking. When he turns to me with
a puzzled look, I step behind him with my backside rubbing over his. I grip
one of his hands to keep our backward embrace. My other hand pulls out his
rear flap from the belt. It's with a deep sigh that I press my butt onto
the boy's, that bared part of our bodies that accepts male need. I offer
Sky Runner the first initiation into the Mahyee-na. His small hands tighten
around mine with acceptance.

I remember the first time Big Horn's butt had pressed against mine. His
was often being filled by the lusting men of our tribe while my hole had
never felt penetration. I was a shy, unknowing boy who wasn't understanding
the sexual urges in my body for other males while my spirit was troubled by
that preference. Big Horn led me to the path my life would take as
Mahyee-na. This youth has already started his own journey; I feel the need
in my heart to walk at his side.

Sky Runner giggles. He's felt my butt rubbing over his and must think
it a strange rite. I release one of his hands to that his pole can be
taken into my fingers for pleasuring. The boy is excited. I gently pull
over his pole and smile when feeling his hand wrapping around my hard
dick. We continue to rub butts in beat to masturbating each other.

My heart grows with love for this dear boy! It comes from more than the
fleshy pleasuring of our bodies; it's his willingness to follow my
teachings and the sense of vulnerability that I've felt from him. He is an
injured male. Yet that won't prevent him from growing up and I'd like to be
the one to guide him. Big Horn has taught me well. I was once the learning,
and now, I can be the teacher.

There's a sharp gasp from Sky Runner. I fear that my rubbing has chafed
the skin of his erection. My fingers release him so that I can gather some
of the sexual lubrication from my knob. The boy lets go of my dick. He
rushes his hand down to his in a resumption of masturbation. I let out a
hearty laugh.

Our bodies separate. Sky Runner faces me with a fierce expression on his
face. For the first time, I see the youth's sense of maleness that had been
lacking. In spite of losing his balls, he is not a girl! I give the boy my
nod of approval.

My hands begin to sign. 'It good to see your self love. Our butt
touching has meaning,' I explain. 'In my tribe, a boy is initiated when he
shows acceptance of male love. Our secret society is called,' I utter the
words: "Mahyee-na."

Sky Runner tries pronouncing the words. He turns his head sideways to
show me his hair thong that he touches questioningly while slapping over
his butt. I nod my head in agreement. 'That your tribe's sign while in
mine, an uncovered butt has equal meaning. We are not female; our loins
express their needs to each other.'

'I am special,' the boy signs.

I'm given the feeling that there's something significant by what the
youth has gestured for the word special. 'Give me more signs to explain
it,' I ask.

Sky Runner stands up tall. He gestures, 'I am a special person in my
tribe to serve our Elders. I hold a sacred position in our rites by being
in the middle place, not of any one sex; being both male and female. Our
shaman had seen this indication in me when I born without orbs in my ball
sac. My front body is boy that won't grow into man while my rear body
serves the needs of men as a female without the bringing of a baby.'

I nod my head with understanding though it leaves me troubled. My hope
to guide this boy into manhood will be unrealized. I sign my next question.
'Does your father approve of this?'

'No father,' answers Sky Runner. 'My mother was without a husband yet
she grew me inside her without being seeded. That why I didn't form a
male's loins.'

I see the sincerity of the boy's belief that he wasn't sired. It's not
my place to dispute their People's customs and sacred ways. Sky Runner is
special. He is already under the care of the Elders of his tribe so there
seems to be no place for me in his guidance.

'Why sad?' gestures Sky Runner.

I feel the youth's arm around my waist while a girl's concern comes from
his face, a soft female radiance from his very being. My hand slowly rises
to the tied thong in his flowing hair. I grasp it in acceptance of what
this youth is. Special. My vision comes to mind where I had denied the
boy's puny love.

'Does your heart pain you?' the boy signs.

I peer into Sky Runner's eyes and nod my head. 'My need for love is
from a boy who can be male with the front of his body and in spirit. I have
need to guide his path towards manhood.'

'That a path I won't ever take.'

I lower my head is sadness. Though I can see the male bulge pushing the
youth's front flap, my sense of attraction towards him seems to be changing
as if he were a girl. It's a painful realization that leaves me very
confused.

'We can remain bond/friends," the boy gestures. Hope beams from his
face.

'Yes. We are that.' Now I come to realize why Second Bird didn't take
this boy for his own.

Sky Runner turns from me to fetch his breechclout flap from the ground.
I watch the youth cover that part of his female body. His butt isn't any
different from mine; I've acted as the squaw in submission to a man's need
yet what sets us apart is how I can also express my male self. Though not
inside a woman, I perform as a man when seeding others of my sex. I strive
to become a warrior.

The boy gives me a troubled look before he sprints down the stone path.
I'm slow to follow after him. My thoughts become deep as I hide inside my
head...

My feet come to level ground as I realize that we've come down from the
cliffs. The boy leads me in a rounded way back to his tribe. We pass the
grass hut where that woman was at work before a wooden rack filled with
long colored strands. I now find her resting through the heated afternoon
over her ground mat. My skin prickles with sweat from the fiery hand of
Father Sun over my body. The coolness of the stone cliffs are being left
behind.

Sky Runner wiggles his rear end in play. I grin when he gets his rear
cloth to sway that allows me brief peeks of his little butt. The youth
turns to face me. He looks down at himself, at that male part of his body
that has poked out from his breechclout. I eye it with interest.

I smile foolishly at myself. I've been behaving badly to Sky Runner's
offer for friendship. That is a worthy thing as much as the love I'd hoped
for. The boy peers deeply into my eyes so I open that hidden place in my
heart for him. His love is not puny.

A change comes to the boy's face. It contorts in fear as he flings out
his arms to me in warning. The tiny hairs at the back of my neck prickle
up - something bad is coming up behind me! It's my vision unfolding. I
drop to the ground. There's a spear flying over me that would have struck
my back!

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{End file: WILLOW-BIRD-WARRIOR-2 Story continues in: WILLOW-BIRD-WARRIOR-3