The Path Changes the Traveler Ch. 05

"Morgan," she repeated, "Does his name have a meaning?"

"He does not know," Junah said, "and he asks if your name has one."

Darotai nodded then, "We name our babies in different ways. Boys are often given names about doing some warrior's deed while girls are given names of places where the warriors have fought or raided so that even as babies, our children begin to follow in the footsteps of the warriors.

Darotai is our name for a place in a part of my country where some of the Tigre people live. Our men fought there long ago." She was pleased to see his smile when he understood it.

"Is there anything more that you need to say, Darotai?" Junah asked and Darotai shook her head, "It is enough for now, my friend. Thank you."

Darotai groaned a little to herself, "This is a fine puzzle to me; a man who I wish for a friend because he gives me respect with only his eyes and his smile and I have no way to speak to him so that he understands unless I trouble someone else for help."

"I do not mind it," Junah laughed a little as she turned away, "It is something which I can do for the one who got us away and also for my new master, though I already know that he does not like the thought of holding slaves."

She translated Darotai's slight frustration and Morgan spoke again.

"Morgan agrees that it is a puzzle for both, but that you do not need to worry about him as a friend. It is something that you already have from him as well as his respect as a warrior."

Darotai felt her grin coming to her, "So I was right more than I knew. He is a warrior. I thought that I saw this, but he and Mag-gie are hard for me to read. I saw this in both of you when you were shooting in the market, Junah."

The Ethiopian grinned, "Then you also saw that I needed three shots to be sure while he needed only one."

"What is your meaning?" Darotai asked.

Junah shrugged, "If anything, I held a rifle that I was not familiar with, other than how to use it well. It was not set for me and I had no time, so I needed more shots to be sure.

In Morgan, I think that we saw that he does this sort of thing more ... often. I will ask Mag-gie of it. If the airplane is slow as he says, then I think there will be time for my questions."

Darotai looked at Morgan and she reached to touch his chest again. "Well if we are to be friends who admire each other, ... "

She lifted her hand, taking his along and she reversed her grip and brought it to the center of her chest over her heart, "If you need me for anything Morgan, then only struggle to make me understand.

I have a thought, but I do not know if it is right among your kind."

"What were you thinking of?" Junah asked.

"I see that he is a large and very strong man," Darotai said, "Even so, I am not one who fears men very much. If you could speak to Mag-gie and suggest that he gets the chance to wash, then I would welcome the chance to help him for what he has done."

She looked down for a moment, "Well, I can be more honest than that.

I have never seen someone like him. I have hardly ever seen men of his kind at all and none that I saw were like him. Now I wonder. Are they the same or are they different somehow?

See his body. I have never seen a man who wears so much hair as that. At best, I have seen few of any sort with only a little on their chests. He has much more and it is like gold to look at. Even so, I now wonder what it might be like to feel that against me but I have already learned that I like to feel it under my fingers. Ever since he took off the robe in the tank and especially as he was talking to you and I about his shooting, I have trouble keeping my eyes from him.

At first, he looked so strange to me, but the more that I see him; the more I find that I like him and those strange eyes of his. I am a little nervous this close to him because of his eyes. They look to burn with green fire and to me; it says very much that he is a warrior. Among my people, a warrior is thought to be the best sort of man. To get close to him like this and see that ...

I have my limits, my friend. To have him look at me that way for very long would be such a test.

But I do not want to anger Mag-gie if there is something between them. Could you ask it for me? I do not know of any language to speak to them in - and now I wish to so much. I have much to thank them for, though we are not out of danger even yet."

Junah thought about it for a second and then she grinned, "I want to know these things too. I am a little nervous to be near to any man of any kind that large and strong, but if it can be done, then I would feel better with you there and we could have a little fun I hope. Wait here."

With that, Junah waded off to where Maggie was washing. The sight of Maggie with no clothing and to be able to see the wondrous, colourful pictures there on her skin; plants and reeds and flowers, panthers and bird, snakes and dragons just astounded her. She thought that it could take her a week to appreciate them after some study.

It looked to her as though the washing was going rather well, the way that Maggie stood with her eyes closed. She stood with her back to Junah, but it was plain where her hands were.

Maggie looked a little embarrassed when she noticed Junah standing there and she straightened up.

"I do not know if it would be seen as my being rude," Junah said, looking as earnest as she could, "but I see you as very beautiful. Those pictures there on your lovely skin ..."

There was a change in Maggie instantly, though Junah saw that it was subtle, so before Maggie could say anything, she apologised deeply for intruding and began to back away, feeling like an idiot for saying anything.

"Wait, Junah," Maggie said a little hurriedly, "I'm sorry. I'm putting you off and probably embarrassing you too. I know how I look with these things on me and I know that you couldn't possibly know beforehand, but ..."

She looked down, "I think that there are probably women somewhere who would love to be able to afford what it costs to have something like this done.

But the truth is that I'm not one of them. I didn't have a say in it. I was a political prisoner who was kept in a hidden prison and these things were just another way to torture me. I was going to be used for ... entertaining guests.

You couldn't have known any of it and now I've made you feel badly and I didn't mean to.

Thank you for what you said. For a time after I was freed, I didn't think that I was anything other than ugly. It was how they made me feel, but I'm almost over it, I guess. I can say that it does feel nice to hear a compliment and know that it was meant. And I've never seen somebody as lovely as you either - and that's the truth."

She laughed a little for a moment, "I almost forgot. Was there something that you wanted to ask me?"

Junah apologised again for intruding and then she made her suggestion. As she listened, Maggie noticed the change in Junah's expression and cursed herself, seeing that she'd likely managed to throw ice water on Junah's mood. She also felt stupid for letting her little thoughts get to where she wanted to imagine more of the fleeting caresses that she'd felt from Junah as they'd driven here.

Maggie looked over to where Morgan sat, expecting to see his eyes scanning the area all around them continuously before he looked at the group for a moment. That was what he had been doing before and his look at them had lasted only a second every time, and then his eyes were moving again along the periphery.

But right now he wasn't being very useful as a guard for them and Maggie sure could understand it.

As much as she liked him and appreciated him in so many ways, she knew that there couldn't really be anything between them in the long term, other than the odd little interlude of fooling around now and then. What she was looking at told her that even that had reached its end and she didn't really mind.

He was a good lover, but she had never been able to let him get too close to her heart.

Better for him if someone else had a shot at it.

It wasn't him and she knew it. It had more to do with what had happened to her before Morgan and Quan had come for her. Maggie was even thankful to Morgan for the times when they'd made love - for more than anything, it had been Morgan's steady assurances to her which had allowed her to even think of sex in a nice way again.

But he deserved somebody for his huge heart, and Maggie knew down inside of her that she was not that girl.

"I think you're right," she said, "I know Morgan to be a very clean man. He won't say anything, but I know that if he had the opportunity to wash some of the sweat and dust off, he'd sure like it."

"I do not know what is to become of us," Junah said, "but for now, Sonja and I are his slaves and we are thankful to him. Darotai is also thankful to you all for the chance to be free, so we would like to help him to bathe. Will you permit it if he is your man? It is something that Darotai wishes to know - Sonja and me as well."

Maggie laughed a little, "I'd sure like to see that. I think you might have your hands full there. Morgan is not shy at all. But he is very polite and it comes from his upbringing, I think.

Where he comes from, much is put into a man being a gentleman, a lot of them. How you manage to actually do what you want will be a challenge that I'd love to see."

She held up a finger, "One thing though, and it's pretty important.

I might sound like him when I speak English, but I don't share a lot of ... common ground with Morgan. I don't come from an American background like he does, other than what my father brought to our family, I guess.

But I can say that I know Morgan pretty well. If you know what's good for you, just forget about the word 'slave' when speaking to him. He won't abide you saying it in his presence for very long.

We've never spoken about it - since it never came up in any of our conversations. I think now that not even he knew how strongly he'd feel to actually see something like what we saw today.

As I said, I don't know the background, but I do know that he was upset - really upset to see that a place like where you all were even existed. I went to a school for the children of American servicemen when I was a girl and I learned some of their history.

If you remove the many other causes like the economic and political ones, what you're left with is a powerful fact - that word nearly tore his country in two and a long and bloody civil war was fought over it. It wasn't the only reason, but it was a big one.

From the beginning as we were trying to plan what we came for, Morgan knew that we might need to look at the possibility that there was a slave seller involved and that we'd need to deal with him to get what we'd been sent for. I know that he understood it, but now I think that he never really believed that - "

She sighed, "He looked like he wanted to cry.

I think that he was a little glad that the slaver there was going to go to the police to report us, since we obviously weren't from around there. That was all the excuse that Morgan needed, I think.

And don't worry about me. Morgan and I are really only friends and we work together often. I had my chance with him, I think. But it never worked out."

She nodded, wanting to close off the subject, "Ok. I'll go and tell him that I'll take over the security for us."

----------

Priest stood stone-still in the water, thinking about reaching for the rifle which hung from his shoulder and over his back.

He wasn't far from the thicket now, but he hadn't been able to determine what was making the ripples that he'd seen. He'd see them and then they'd stop almost right away. Then nothing for a time, and then a few more ripples.

He tried to think of everything in the way of possible causes. He'd even considered the odds of there being something like crocodiles here. He was slowly coming to the idea that there was maybe a wading bird there, looking for a fish - or a small frog - or -

He heard breathing, though it sounded odd, as if there was something here that ...

There was a soft grunt and he knew better all at once, stepping forward the last of the way to push aside the reeds.

That's when he saw her.

She let out a frightened little bleat when she saw him.

Then he heard the soft gasp from behind him and looked back.

Sonja stood there, though now, she was completely nude.

Priest almost fell over.

He looked ahead again and reached for the young goat who was caught in a predicament in the reeds.

"She is - ok?" Sonja whispered.

"I think so," he said quietly. "It looks like she was following her nose and stepped into the thicket. But the bottom drops off right here and she just stood there until the mud held her hooves.

She should have just tried swimming before then and it would have worked out ok. Like this, she was caught, not daring to do anything."

He put his arms around as much of the goat as he could and she began to struggle. Priest took it as a good sign and he pushed her toward the bank a little as she did and she stood in a better place a moment after - though still in the water a little bit.

He didn't know if it was supposed to be a thank you, but she bleated at him a few more times. Then she tried to go to him and he tried to keep her from doing it.

Trying to shoo her away quietly wasn't working, so Sonja waded past him and pushed as well, but with one hand on one of her horns as she spoke softly and guided the goat to the shore.

It was what she said however which captivated Maddox Priest.

"Go, little friend," she said pleasantly, "You are chasing wrong boy. This one already have girlfriend and he is wrong kind for you. You be not happy with him."

She pushed and started to walk the goat out, "You are thinking wrong thing. Even if he does what you want, you will not like him. He will not ... lick you first."

She held out her hand behind her in Priest's direction without looking back, "He has wrong smell, wrong eyes too. Not like yours.

Look at him. You cannot even tell where he is looking. He could be looking at other girls. You would never know it.

Go and find right boy for you. You needing one who eats grass and will lick you as you like before he does it. Find one like that and look into his eyes like this. You will know then."

Sonja was at least a little successful. The goat stepped out and bleated twice more and then shook herself off, the motion ending with her little rear end wiggling to a stop while the short tail kept wiggling for about a second and then it stopped. The goat walked off then.

Sonja couldn't follow any further. There was a tree to one side and one of it's boughs grew out so that it barred the way to the rest of the path that the goat was on.

Priest stood transfixed, having watched Sonja's back and bottom the whole time. He'd heard every word that she'd said and thought that he must have been wearing the dumbest grin on his face, from the way that it felt.

Sonja had seen the motions from the goat and then she tried to imitate the little shake just for fun. It wasn't the right thing, but Priest figured that it came close enough.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

She seemed to suddenly remember that he'd been standing there and when she turned her face as much as she dared, he saw that she wore a slightly embarrassed expression.

She looked straight ahead at the last that she could see of the goat for a moment. "I ... I wanted to feel what it is like - the way that she did that."

He looked past her as he stepped forward slowly. He was looking for people, animal pens, houses, huts - anything like that. Seeing nothing, he looked at Sonja again.

"Why did you tell her that I already have a girlfriend?" he asked, "It was about the last thing that I'd have guessed that you'd say to a goat. I thought there was something wrong with my ears."

She didn't turn around. She only looked down a bit and back a little as well. He thought that she was so lovely as she stood that way. There was a small little smile there and he found that he couldn't have looked away after seeing it.

"She had ... foolishness in her mind, I think. Maybe she wanting to be close to you. Maybe she ... "

She raised her hand in the direction that the goat had gone, "She is goat, yes? Not much thinking in goats. So I ... I say to her little lie, no?"

"You look like ... a wild woodland creature the way that you're standing there," he said quietly, "With the light slowly failing here like this, it's very easy to imagine you like that."

"It is something that I wanted to be, when I was girl," she said almost as a sigh. "I wished to be faun, but my legs are not like that. They are too thin. So I thought I would be different kind of faun with long, thin legs - and little feet like deer."

"You have little feet," he whispered, "but I know what you mean."

She sighed again, remembering, "A girl like that - she not have big ... boobs. Only little ones, like I could grow.

When I thought like that, it didn't make me sad, to have nothing."

He stepped up behind her, afraid to breathe more than a little, not wanting to break the spell for anything. He could see it in her, the creature that she whispered of and he knew that he was smiling.

"You'd need horns," he whispered, "Kind of like she had; only not pointing two different ways. You'd have perfect little horns, probably sharp at the ends but really nice."

Sonja said nothing, though she nodded slowly.

He reached and gently placed his hands over her hip bones, "You really look that way to me - here, in this light."

Sonja sighed and she turned her head just slightly, only far enough so that he could see one of her eyes as she looked back as far as she could. She spoke in a whisper and it sounded to Maddox as something which she said to them both.

"Maybe I not say little lie to goat, Maddox."

His big, needing-to-take-the-step moment came to him and Maddox placed a soft kiss on her back, between her shoulder blades and she didn't move even a hair so his next one went to the spot where the back of her neck met her shoulder. There was the smallest gasp from Sonja and then she moaned, almost as a whisper.

He reached around and ran the tips of his fingers over her flat little belly just as he pulled her the last half-inch so that she was against him. He swore that he felt her next soft moan as she settled against him.

"And you'd have ears just like you have now, but just a little pointed at the ends."

Sonja's eyes were closed and she sighed softly, nodding a little, "I thought the same. My hips not look so thin then and my little chest ... "

He kissed the rim of her ear and whispered, "Your chest and hips are perfect right now, even as you are, Sonja."

She heard him sigh and then whisper, "And you'd need a little tail."

She gasped softly, and then breathed, "Yes.

I think that I would love to feel way that it could move - like her little tail moved like that. That would be so nice."

She pressed back against him, sighing and then moving her bottom against the wet fabric of his pants. He slid one hand up very slowly until he could reach for her breast and she groaned, laying her head back against him.

Priest saw her lovely throat and leaned in to kiss it as softly as he could. Sonja's hip motions had settled into her pressing her haunches back against him and rolling her little butt at the same time. She'd already done it about four times and he was already hard.

Sonja opened her eyes and saw the low branch of the tree in front of her.

"Maddox," she whispered as she reached for the bough and leaned forward, "I am not little goat and not faun, but ... can I have ... my boy?