For some time Hu foraged, and the others did too, watching him, learning how he did it. They had never cared before, but were apt enough now that they put their minds to it. So they found many snails, until they all were satisfied.
Then they moved on around the pond, looking for another grove. But the only one they could find had an uncomfortable type of tree. They just had to use it, settling into places on the branches to sleep. Be nestled beside Hu, and he held her close. He would hardly care to admit it, but she was providing him almost as much comfort as he was providing her. She was what remained of his immediate family.
In the morning they returned to the pond for more snails, then moved on beyond, looking for a really suitable grove. But this time they encountered several other youths, who swarmed down to taunt them while one grabbed Fa and another came toward Hu and Be. Hu recognized Bb, his nemesis from another band. Had he also been cast out? Or was he just making mischief? It hardly mattered, because Bb was coming to grab Be, whom he had bothered before. She was too young and small to breed, but Bb might try it anyway, just to make her scream. Hu shouted protest, trying to protect his little sister, but the malign youth was larger and stronger than he was. Ra and Fa were fighting back more successfully, but Hu was losing, as he usually did in altercations.
Then Bl was there, and Jo. Jo was bigger than the foreign youth. He grabbed Bb by the scruff of the neck and shook him so violently that he let Be go. She ran immediately to Hu's embrace, whimpering. In a moment Bb had had enough, and fled; he never favored an even fight, let alone one in which he was at a disadvantage. The other youth also retreated. When they fled, so did those who had merely cried out threateningly. The crisis was over.
Bl gave Hu a significant look, and Hu realized that Bl had brought Jo into the fray. Jo was big, but he had never before fought for anyone but himself or Bl. Now he had fought for Hu. That was the payback. Hu had foraged for them all, and shown them how to find snails, and Jo had defended Hu. They were a family.
However, other youths were appearing, and some looked desperate. This was not a good place to remain long. Bl nudged Jo, and indicated the path to the main berry field. Jo headed that way, exerting leadership, and the others followed.
The field was barren. It was out of season, and there were no berries. That was a disappointment, because berries tasted sweet and were nice to eat, better than muddy snails. He had always liked this field for that reason; berry time was happy time.
However, he was able to locate some edible roots. He had discovered these the year before, when idly experimenting, and not thought much about it. They didn't taste very good. But now he realized that these were their best choice. So he dug them out, identifying them by the colors of the stems projecting from the ground. They were covered with dirt, of course, and that didn't taste good, so he rubbed them off on grass to get them as clean as possible.
Bl came over. Hu took a bite from a tuber, demonstrating its edibility. Bl tried a bite. He made a face. But it was food, so Bl took one to Jo and demonstrated. In due course they all were eating them and making faces.
Another youth from a foreign band spied them and loped over. He was very thin, and his fur was splotchy; he had not eaten well. Because he was foreign, and not large, Jo had no problem figuring out what to do. He stood up tall, beat his chest with his folded hands, and screamed challenge.
The foreigner immediately fell to the ground and rolled on his back, whimpering. He had not come to fight.
Bl went over to him. Bl extended a hand. Hu and the others were bemused: offering friendship to a complete stranger? The youth seemed almost as surprised. On his back, he reached out and touched the hand. Then he got up and followed Bl to Jo. Jo roared again, and the foreigner dropped to the ground again. Bl nudged Jo, and Jo reluctantly gave the stranger the rest of the root he had been eating. The foreigner had been adopted into the band. They grunted at him, exchanging names. His name was Vk.
After that Hu provided roots for the newcomer too, and showed him how to find them himself, by the colored stems. It wasn't hard, because there were many roots; no one else had thought to eat them before. Because Hu knew how to locate the succulent ones, it worked; without his knowledge, gained by sometimes bitter-tasting experience, it would have been an almost impossible task.
There was a clamor behind them. Hu looked back and recognized Bb and his spiteful sister Ss. They seemed to have organized the scattered other outcasts into another band, and were coming to interfere with this band. Now there were more of enemies than friends, so the enemies had courage.
Bl saw the problem immediately. He nudged Jo, and they moved on, away from the familiar home forest. Bb's band hesitated, not caring to brave the unfamiliar region, and was left behind. The groves became fewer, and the path faded out. Before them was a frighteningly open grassy plain. But how could they turn back? There was nothing there for them but mischief.
Some distance across the plain was what appeared to be a new forest. Bl gazed at it speculatively, then indicated to Jo that it looked promising. So Jo started toward it.
But Vk suddenly became agitated. “Bad!” he cried, pointing to the forest and cringing in fear.
Bl considered. But Jo, not deigning to respond to any suggestion by a scrawny newcomer, forged on, and Bl let it be. The others followed, with Vk nervously at the rear.
As they approached the forest, a swarm of youths dropped down from the trees at the edge and charged out to intercept them. Now the nature of Vk's warning was clear; he had already encountered this hostile region. Bl reacted quickly. He touched Jo on the shoulder and signaled retreat. Jo, seeing the number of the attackers, agreed. Their band quickly moved away from the forest.
But the foreign youths, once aroused, did not let it go at that. Five of them came on out, jeering and making insulting gestures. They spied the two young females, Be and Fa, and converged on them. Three hung back, not completing the charge, but two continued.
Hu realized that they wanted to breed. Both females were too young, and of course no band brother of theirs would breed with them. But these were foreign youths, of age to be interested, and they evidently were not much concerned with age. Fa, though young, had a nice form and smell, and the foreigners were eying her. Be clung to Hu for safety, and Fa stayed very close to Ra.
But this time Jo and Bl were quicker to react. Jo went to help Ra, and Bl joined Hu. Each attacking youth found himself opposed by two males. This was unusual and demoralizing to them; normally quarrels were one to one. In a moment each foreigner had been struck and bitten, and quickly disengaged and fled. Young females weren't worth such a fight.
Of the remaining three, two joined the two who had been defeated, and fled. But the last one hesitated. Then, hesitantly, he held out a hand in supplication.
Jo stalked over to him, growling. The youth rolled on the ground. Once more Bl interceded, causing Jo to accept the stranger. The others hardly knew what to make of this, but had to go along with it.
The new one was It. Unlike Vk, he was in good health. And he turned out to be useful, because he knew this new forest. He indicated where there was an unoccupied grove, and where there was water. Bl considered, and told Jo, and they went to it. There was some fruit in the trees, and they were good for sleeping in. This was an improvement.
They remained in this grove for several days, and two more foreign youths joined them. They were now a band of ten, which was a comfortable limit, because more could not be counted on the fingers of the forefeet. If it got much larger, they might have to fission into two smaller groups. Or maybe they would simply learn to count on toes as well. But the fruit of the grove was not enough; the last of it was eaten and they had to move on. That explained why no other band had taken it: it could not sustain a full band for long.
The new youths made clear that there were no good vacant groves in this forest. The situation was similar to the forest they had left, with every good place taken by a dominant male and his females and thei
r children. The male youths who had been dispossessed had no choice but to scrounge around the fringe, trying to survive. That was why the new ones had joined the band; survival was more likely within it than without it.
Jo, prompted by Bl, led the band around the forest, going no farther into the grassy plain than necessary. Even so, there was trouble. Several big hyenas approached, and circled the band, considering whether it was suitable prey. But the moment the hyenas came, Bl picked up some stones and stood on his hind feet. The others did the same. When the animals looked as if they were going to come in close, the members of the band started throwing the stones. Their aim was not good, but some stones almost hit the creatures. The hyenas gave it up; these prey things were too numerous and too eager to fight back.
After that they moved closer to the forest. Hyenas were funny predators; sometimes they could be scared off, but sometimes they couldn't. It depended how hungry they were. It wasn't safe to go too far afield. Their newest member, It, had a nose for water, finding more for them to drink, but they remained hungry. They had to forage for grubs near the trees.
But this led to another kind of trouble. The dominant male of a grove they skirted spied the two females in their number and decided to take them into his band. He simply dropped to the ground and ambled out, knowing that no youth could stand up to him. He expected to take what he wanted without opposition. Indeed, in any ordinary situation he would have been correct; he was far larger than any of them, and muscular in proportion. He was old, but no less daunting. They sidled away from him, not daring to flee openly lest he leap and bite them on the necks, perhaps killing them.
He reached for Fa. She scooted back with a cry of abhorrence. He growled and leaped for her.
Ra jumped in to interpose himself. He was shaking with fright, but had to try to protect his sister. The male snarled contemptuously, lifting one arm to strike him out of the way.
Then Jo and Bl and Hu leaped, almost together. Two grabbed the male's powerful arms while Hu, directly behind, landed on the male's back. He put his face down and bit into the hairy neck. He got mostly a mouthful of fur, but his eyeteeth dug into flesh.
It wasn't enough. The male screamed with pain and fury. His two arms came up and back, lifting Jo and Bl off the ground. He was trying to get at Hu, to sweep him away. But Jo and Bl clung tenaciously—and in the moment the male stood upright, Ra struck him in the face with a big stone. It smashed his nose and perhaps his front teeth. But it didn't kill him.
Hu saw Vk and It standing near, wanting to help, but uncertain how. There was no way to get into this fight without complicating it for the four already involved. But if any of them got injured or killed, then one of the bystanders could take his place.
Hu bit again at the neck, getting a better grip on the hot flesh. It still wasn't enough. The male was so strong that soon they all would tire and be thrown off. Then, if they didn't flee, they would be killed, one by one. They had gotten themselves into more of a fight than they could handle.
Ra struck again with his stone, at the top of the male's head. And again, and again. The male couldn't get his forelimbs free to grab the stone away. Blood spattered the dark fur. Slowly the male sank down under their weight, but Ra kept pounding, afraid to stop.
Finally Bl let go, and then Jo and Hu. They stood up, and Bl cried out to Ra. “Dead! Dead!”
It was so. Ra had finally beaten in the male's head. He lay stretched out on the ground. They had killed him.
They gazed with awe at what they had done. They hadn't planned on it; they had just reacted in the way they were learning, acting together when they had to.
There was a cry from the grove. A female was there.
The four victors stared at each other. The dominant male's women! They naturally belonged to the one who killed the male. But they were a group of youths, not a single grown male, and they had not had any such acquisition in mind.
Yet they were not so young as to ignore the potential. They had no sexual interest in the females of their original band, because they were sisters. But these other females were from a different band. They were available. That was an intriguing new prospect, especially now that they had proven themselves by defeating a male in combat.
Cautiously, they approached the grove. There turned out to be eight grown females perched in its trees, with more than that many children. They knew that their male had died; they had watched the fight from their trees. Now they were waiting for the new male to come.
Again the four original youths of the band hesitated. Someone had to take these females; they couldn't be left to try to fend for themselves. If this band didn't take them, other males would quickly move in, killing the young. Hu had no taste for such killing, having just fled that fate himself. He knew that the others had a similar sentiment. And who among them would take over? Jo was the biggest and strongest, but he wouldn't do it without Bl to guide him.
Bl's thoughts were as usual faster than Jo's or Hu's. He pointed to Jo, then to the nearest tree with a female. “Take,” he said. That solved Jo's problem; he headed for the tree.
Then Bl pointed to Ra, and to another tree. “Take.” Ra went off, with Fa going along.
Then Hu, and a third tree. There was a mature female with a child of about Be's age. Hu went there, and Be followed him. He heard Bl speak the names of Vk and It, behind him. Hu knew that Bl was assigning the other males to other females; there was one for each. They were sharing, again, in a way that only smart Bl could have devised.
Hu did not know what he would do with his female, for the prospect of copulation became daunting as he considered it, but at least he would get to know her. He saw her standing on one branch, and holding onto the one above. Her child stood similarly between two smaller branches. That was why these trees were good; they provided comfortable support as well as fruit.
Hu hoisted himself into the tree. Be followed closely. They faced the woman and her daughter. The child cringed, fearing she would be killed. The woman gazed stolidly, not opposing what was to be. She was only a little smaller than Hu, because he was far from full grown for a male, and small for his age.
Hu touched himself. “Hu,” he said. He touched Be. “Be. Kin.” There were words for individuals, and words for threats, such as hyena or lion, and words for relationships, such a friend, foe, and kin. But he wasn't sure that the people of this forest used the same words.
The woman touched herself. “LI,” she said, naming herself. Then her daughter: Le.
Be extended her hand to Le. The other paused, then touched it. They would be friends.
Hu still hesitated. What did this female expect of him? He was obviously not a dominant male.
LI glanced at the two children, who were already playing a game of finger tag, trying to see who could touch the other's forefinger. Each held her other arm at the elbow, so that it could move only from that anchor. When one tagged the other, it changed over, and the other tried to tag the one. All children played it endlessly.
Then LI turned on the branch, bending down to grip the trunk of the tree, presenting him with her bright bare rump. She had accepted him for mating.
Hu had not allowed himself to think this far ahead. He had smelled grown foreign females on occasion and gotten the hankering to mate with them, but they had always been protected by their dominant males. Mating was one thing; getting killed was another. Now there was no big male to prevent it. But was Hu ready?
Then abruptly the mature female scent of her struck, him with new force, stirring his sexual response. He gripped her body from behind and his loin did what it knew to do, merging with hers. There was an explosion of joy from his groin, that spread out through his body, making it almost seem to float. He felt pleasantly dizzy, and hot, and out of breath. Never before had he felt so good, so swiftly. The few young females he had tried this with had lacked the smell and color of maturity, so that the act was more game than breeding. What a difference!
It was over in a moment,
but it had been a remarkable experience. His life had changed. Yet little else had. Be and Le still played their game of tag finger on the adjacent branch, not concerned with the process of mating.
LI turned to face him again, gazing appraisingly at him. She had accepted him, and he had accepted her, and her child lived. So it would be. Hu realized that she had done it to protect her daughter. Had he been going to kill the child, he should have done it before mating. Now he was bound to let Le alone. Which he was glad to do. In fact, he was relieved about that as well as about the sexual matter.
He looked across to the adjacent trees. He saw that Jo and Bl had done the same thing, the one surely guided by the other. No children had been killed. Ra had simply joined his female, being too young to really mate. The other youths had similarly abstained, but remained with their females. A curiously fragmented yet united band was emerging, with no single dominant male.
But the grove could not sustain this number of people. They would have to find another. And of course there was no other available. In fact, some other dominant male, seeing no similarly powerful male here, was apt to come to take the females for himself. They would have to fight him, and the next, and they might not be as lucky in the fray again.
Bl had figured this out first. He knew they had to move, and soon. He conveyed this to Jo, who did not understand the rationale but was amenable. They dropped to the ground, each youth with his new family, and followed Jo's lead to the grassy plain beyond the verge of the forest.
And there was Bb's band, evidently following their trail. It was still larger than their own, in terms of males, and in any event neither Hu nor the others were eager to fight. They had problems enough already. So they moved on, and the other band didn't follow. It was too interested in taking over the deserted grove.