Some time later, the sun is
already about to set, a group of men ride into the camp.
They receive a hero's
welcome and from the look of it, they deserve nothing less. Koji and his men are
heavily loaded, they laugh and shout full of enthusiasm. They carry fine
pottery, good furs, grain sacks, fabrics, dried meat, salt and - a big pig. Koji
also has a full wineskin in front of his saddle.
The whole tribe gathers around
the group, voices sum with excitement. Tonight, there will be a real feast,
maybe the last before spring.
Koji jumps from his horse, he throws the wineskin
over his shoulder.
"How has it been, Koji? Any difficulties?"
Koji
turns to Hirose.
"Nothing. As soon as we stormed in the village, they ran
like rabbits for shelter. We could take all we wanted. A few archers were
around, we just rode them down. We lost no one and they have not lost a life
either."
"Great, good message. Have you been followed?"
Koji
laughs: "They were busy enough collecting their bones. We drove their few
horses widely apart, so they have to chase them by foot. Before dawn, they will
not pursue us - we have lots of time."
In the meantime, the pig is
slaughtered and hung over the fire. It is amazing, how fast the bounty is
partitioned. The goods belong to the fighters, the food to the whole tribe.
Koji
takes his share and steps into his tent. Izumi looks at him.
On one hand, he is
glad to see Koji healthy, on the other, he is angry about the raid. He
recognizes the sign on the wineskin. It belongs to the chief's family.
Koji
notices his look. He packs his share to the other bundles and drops the wineskin
beside the sleeping-place.
"If you are relieved, we killed nobody, there
was no one hurt either. Your people are really no fighters, they preferred to
run and hide. We took what we needed but I am sure, there is enough left. In
fact, mainly we plundered just one big storage. Is this your chief's sign?"
Izumi relaxes. Only one storage and only the chief's one. That means, the hidden
food stocks remained untouched. A luck that it has been a very good season for
hunters and farmers. His tribe will have enough to eat until spring, the chief
will just not be able to give some of his opulent feasts to show his wealth. And
he grants his chief the loss of his goods. He literally sold his daughter to a
trader as wife in summer and got so conceited about what he called "a good
deal" that the tribe wondered whom he would sell next.
"Well, I never
accepted him. In his eyes, hunters have no real value, especially a stubborn
brat like me. What ever kind of fruit wine this is, it will be delicious."
Koji smiles. He was kind of worried about Izumi's reaction.
Even though they are
fighters, they rarely use brutal force. They do not need it, farmers run for
shelter as soon as they see them. The villagers have no real defense against
horsemen.
It is different, when horsemen are followed by archers or trapped.
Then also a farmer can be dangerous. The trick is to stay out of reach and move
fast.
Koji is highly spirited. He loosens Izumi's ties.
"Your tribe
sponsored the feast, you will celebrate with us."
Izumi barely manages to
put his clothes on, he is pushed out of the tent and to a big fire.
The pork
smells great, the people around him eat, drink and celebrate.
He feels insecure
and tries to be invisible. No luck, several eyes look at him, someone puts a
dish with pork into his hand. They do not talk much to him, but Izumi feels
examined and is really eased when Koji takes him back to the tent.
They settle
on the furs and Koji grabs for the wineskin. They share the skin between them
until Izumi lays back. The sweet blackberry wine goes directly to his head, he
feels slightly tipsy.
Koji grins like a loon. No way to waste such an
opportunity.
His mouth presses on soft lips, hands bare a sleek chest. Izumi
struggles, a hand presses his wrist down. Koji sucks at his neck, leaving red
marks on several spots. He meets little resistance, Izumi's protests and wiggles
are only halfhearted. Maybe he is too drunk for more.
Koji manages to strip off
Izumi's clothes, he kisses deeper, relishing silk skin. Izumi trembles under
him, moaning.
When Koji could not bear it any longer, he pushes his legs up and
enters him. Hmm, so tight. Strong legs seize around his waist and pull him
deeper. Koji bends down in a tight embrace, devours a soft mouth and feels
Izumi's member pressed against his stomach as he moves inside him with deep
thrusts, slowly gaining speed as his limit approaches. He feels hot liquid erupt
between their bellies, Izumi wrings out a small scream. Moments later, with one
last deep thrust, he also reaches his peak. Koji collapses over the boy's body.
When he wakes up to reality again, he entangles himself from Izumi's body and
looks down on him. The boy looks exhausted, tired and irresistible cute.
He
caresses his cheek gently, rewarded by a small smile. He will miss him.
The
thought leaves a sudden pain in his heart.
The morning is ice-cold. Over night,
the world became white. The Nomads look at the snowflakes, falling from a gray
sky.
Time has run out on them. If they don't reach their winter quarter very
soon, they will freeze to death. Tents are not made for the winter storms,
cattle cannot survive on frozen ground.
The tribe gathers around Hirose, ready
to go. The snow is falling so dense, you can barely see more than a few steps
ahead.
After leaving the small hills behind, Hirose looks around helplessly. No
landmark, no path, no sign where to go. Not even the sun for direction. He is
completely lost - and his tribe realizes it.
They are getting worried. If they
choose a false way, death is sure. The situation is serious and it is clear
that their leader is unable to ease it - Koji bows down to Izumi. He did not tie
him to the horse this time, he considered it unnecessary.
"Do you know the
way across the plain? Can you find it even now?"
Izumi notices the concern
in Koji's eyes, he nods.
"I can lead you to the river. This place is my
home, I will be damned if a little snowstorm annoys me."
He steps aside and
lifts his head in the wind. Snowflakes melt on his skin. Cold wind beats his
face. With a feeling - or maybe an instinct - only wild animals and hunters
have, he knows the right direction and turns to it. Koji follows.
The
tribespeople followed their conversation and slowly, one by one, they join them.
Hirose and Akihito are the last.
The next hours, the whole tribe is completely
at one man's mercy - and they know it. The flakes thicken during the day, people
and horses sink down to their knees in fresh snow.
Hirose fears for his
leadership. If Koji's guest is successful, his authority will be gone or, at
least, damaged. If he is not, they are dead. Lost in his thoughts, he notices
a tree in front of him too late. Hirose barely prevents impaling himself on a
branch.
"Trees?", There are no trees on this side of the river, except
for a few near it, creating a small, green band in summer.
"Have they made
it?"
His questions are answered, when Koji calls out and points ahead. The
sound of running water becomes clear. The river lies only a few steps ahead of
them.