Blue Streamers - part 3
Part 3 - An Alien Experience
The descent was long and beyond anyone's ability to accomplish in the half-day that they had left. He moved by stages from one foothold to the next; from one ledge to a lower one. By the time dark was approaching, he had separated himself from the others by hundreds of meters. None of them could match his skill at climbing, and he gradually quit worrying about their ill will. This mental shift was helped by the sheer joy he felt in climbing.
At dusk, Breaker rounded a corner of the cliff and found a deep crack that led back into the rocks. It would provide admirable shelter for the night since the floor was composed of boulders that had fallen from above and jammed into a narrower part of the fissure.
He sniffed carefully. There was a bit of odor about the place that did not seem right.
Drawing his heavy-bladed kukuri, he advanced slowly, all senses alert. It was well that he held the chopping weapon high. He suddenly realized that the fissure was the home of a Lesser Shait. This creature was not as dire as the Greater form but was still capable of killing a solitary brother.
He became aware of a shadow that moved slowly toward him. He stopped and backed a bit to give himself more elbow room. The Lesser Shait could mimic the rocks that surrounded it, blending into the background until it was nearly invisible. It continued stalking him as he backed up.
He picked up a heavy piece of stone to hold in his other hand. Shaits were difficult opponents -- all pointy parts, teeth, claws, and body spikes. Their body spikes were venomous as well, so it was not good to come into direct contact with them.
With a rustle, the predator moved quickly to attack. Breaker slammed the stone forward, striking the creature's visual patch, then chopped wildly with the kukuri. His blows severed several of the clawed arms. The Shait made a low moaning cry and lunged forward, trying to push him off the edge of the cliff.
Breaker slammed the stone against the creature again, then chopped downward with all his strength. The blade struck home, somehow severing a critical nerve plexus. The Shait curled into a ball form and ceased moving.
Breaker poked it carefully with the point of his blade. It did not move, so he slid between it and the wall, found a spot on the ball that was not protected with a spike, and shoved hard. The Shait rolled forward and started to fall over the edge.
It was good that he had been careful. It was not fully disabled. Sensing doom in the fall, the creature lashed out and struck Breaker's leg with one of its claws. It tottered there, balanced on the edge, for a moment, then fell silently into the void.
Breaker sat down heavily, dismayed. His leg was already numb. Apparently, the venom was not limited to the body spikes as he'd heard. The claw strike, while minor, had disabled him.
He worked at the wound, finally parting his thick fur and opening the flesh with the kukuri to bleed the venom out. That offered some relief, and he gradually relaxed and fell asleep.
Morning found him sitting at the edge of the crevice, his leg throbbing, but no longer numb. As soon as it was light enough to see, he started downward. There was no time to heal. The sun was advancing in its cycle, and eligible shes would be as sensitive to its light as he. They would present themselves for courting whether he was there or not.
His leg slowed him and made the difficult path he'd chosen far more hazardous. He nearly fell several times before he decided to slow even more. Below, deep in the valley, he could see the rooftops of the village. This was the home of the shes and the younglings. The males of the brotherhood clans only descended to engage in the choosing and then to bring supplies to their mates. The shes never climbed as high as the males.
Breaker could see movement far below him off to the side along the more commonly used path. It looked like Heaver and his friends were now well ahead. He sighed. It couldn't be helped. The Lesser Shait had seen to that. He'd have to go at his best speed and hope that he wasn't too late.
His leg was aching by dusk, but he had reached the rim wall above the village. This was the lookout where the courting males laid up to observe the eligible maids as they displayed themselves.
Breaker found a comfortable point and then carefully studied the wall off to the left of his position. There was a hint of movement about a fifth of the way around, and he thought that might be Heaver's group. There was also movement in three other places on the opposite side. His clan was not the only one that had sent candidates. The presence of the others meant that the possibility of bloodshed was far higher.
Males would meet in Challenge over a maid. Such conflicts were all-out, no holds barred, and the loser was usually thrown down the cliff to impress the shes. Breaker stretched his leg and tried to get as comfortable as he could. The morning was going to be interesting.
About mid-morning of the next day, some of the first maidens sauntered forth. They wore gaily-colored clothing and ribbons of various colors although none were blue. That color was reserved for the males.
The males had positioned themselves along the rim wall where they could be seen easily, each being careful to stand in a manner that emphasized their desirableness. Breaker was content to sit and watch the drama. None of the maids seemed to him to meet his requirements.
The maids appeared not to notice, but Breaker assumed they were discretely assessing the candidates. The maidens clustered well away from the wall, but finally, two of them walked away from the group. These two seemed to be conversing and unaware of the males above. They gradually wandered closer to the rim wall.
Tension rippled over the males above. One of the two seemed to have become interested in snow flowers that were almost directly below a single male. When she came within range, he threw his courtship dagger in a high arc, ribbons streaming behind it. It came down point foremost, and she looked up, eyes tracking it carefully. Just when it seemed the knife would miss her, she stepped quickly forward and caught the ribbons, allowing the blade to nick the upper part of her bosom.
At the sight of the blood which flowed from her skin, the male above let out a great cry of triumph and began the descent to finalize his claim. The girl, carrying the knife, moved quickly to meet him.
There was an almost imperceptible increase in the tension above.
End of part 3 - The conclusion follows.