World of Ranicke Bk. 02 Ch. 03

Hello all and welcome to my third chapter of book 2 of Ranicke. I have been thinking about creating a e-mail list for people that would like to have updates on when I am going to be posting chapters and possibly even new stories. If you are interested in this please send me a feedback form with what series you would like to be kept abreast of and include whatever e-mail addy you want to use.

I have mentioned this but I am doing an in-house treatment for a drinking problem I have. It is giving me time to really work on some of my stories but my schedule of classes and appointments are going to change on a daily basis. I can't give you any sort of estimate on the average time between chapters though I am going to try to do one or two a week as best possible.

As always please give me any and all constructive feedback. It could be anything from 'you need to get an editor' to 'love it but what about...'. Constructive criticisms do not upset me since I know that you are trying to help me improve my stories. Now if you are simply going to tear the story apart simply because it annoys you I will ignore what you have to say since it doesn't really help me improve the story.

As always any sexual relationships will be 18+. There are going to be some relationships below 18 or the equivalent but there won't be any sort of sexual interaction. Towards the end of the story Jim is going to be talking to the girls and explain this in detail so don't freak or panic if the girls or any other underage relationships start.

Oh, one last thing I want to mention is that this chapter is simply showing a slice of the daily life in the tribe. I haven't really hit that other than on how it impacted on Jim. I wanted to add some additional details on things from how they dress, relationships, and even what color might have a special meaning. I hope that you find my descriptions of some use in fleshing out the place Jim now lives in.

The next morning Jim rolled out of bed and stretched. "Man it feels good to be home again. It also feels good being back with my mates and all of our children." After listening to a few cracks and pops after he stretched he groaned. "The hot springs are going to be nice this morning as well. I am going to the privacy tents and will be back to see if everyone wants a bath. Some of them are going to be horrified by the idea of communal baths like I was and others won't care."

Nasha laughed at him and sat up and stretched as well. "I will go with you and then feed the babies." She would probably take the young kids to get clean later. The older kids knew how to bathe and knew Jim's firm insistence they bathe daily. She linked her arm with his and they went and took care of business and were back fairly quick.

Jim walked to the caravan and after knocking called out so they could hear him. "Pam, Bear, I am going to head to the bathing area in a few minutes. I can show you where it is. All you need is one of the buckets that have been placed in the caravan." Once that was done he repeated the process with Dan and Nang and their girls.

It took a few minutes but everyone was eventually up. "Just reminding you the baths are communal. This is normal and for the most part anyone there will ignore you. Well you might get a casual glance and then they will go back to either getting clean or soaking in the hot springs." He had to grin at the ones who had looked uncomfortable with that idea. "Believe me it took some time before I was comfortable with it."

Several of the older kids joined them and Jim lead the group to the bathing area and walked in. This one was primarily used by the younger crowd and he hoped that would help. He put his bucket down and stripped before walking into the cool pool. He pretty much ignored the girls since they didn't need the attention. He dunked his head under water and got his back and hair wet. Before he could start working on his hair he felt a different set of hands and had to smile. "Sheeha that feels good."

She smiled and purred lightly as she worked the shampoo in. As she was working on him the others slowly entered the pool. Sheeha looked over her shoulder and smiled at everyone. "Good morning, I am Sheeha and I didn't get much of an introduction yesterday. I am Alon's assigned tutor for the Puma tribe training he needs."

The two girls were the last in and they were blushing madly since they were not used to this sort of bathing. Yes at school they showered with girls after Gym class but never with boys around. Once they entered they turned their backs towards the other pool and started getting clean. Nang and Pam didn't look to uncomfortable and Dan and Bear hadn't even hesitated before stripping and getting in.

Dan groaned slightly. "Oh man this pool feels good since it is nice and cool." Once Nang climbed in Dan started washing her hair and back. About then Nasha and Nora showed up and stripped and climbed in. "Allie would you like your back cleaned?" Asked Nora and Nasha asked Ana the same thing as well.

About that time Jim almost screamed. "Damn it Sheeha no tickling or else." He had jumped away from her and glowered. Everyone in the pool turned and looked at the two of them. "Have you talked with Sorrel?" If she was getting playful like this she had probably started her heat.

Pam snickered at him and his reaction. "Tickle him some more Sheeha. His reaction was great." She out right laughed when Jim shook a fist at her.

"Don't encourage her Pam. She gets playful at this time of the year and she has been known to pounce on me and randomly give me a face bath." He hoped the adults got the hint. Jim turned around and growled. "No more tickling me you darn oversized cat."

Right as he started to turn around he heard a squeal and the little elf girl jumped in the water and soaked him again. He scooped her up and frowned at her. "You know better than that young lady. You might slip and hurt yourself or someone else."

She wasn't deterred and wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a good hug. "I missed you Uncle Jimmy. Don't ever leave again like that or else." She leaned back and gave him a damp kiss on the cheek and hugged him again.

"Okay stinker I get the point and let's get you cleaned up." Jim started working the soap into her hair and grinned. "Maybe I should have Sheeha clean your ears for you." That got a giggle from Mitzy and he had to smile. A few minutes later she was clean and he dunked her under the water to get all the soap off and placed her on the ground outside the cold pool.

Eventually they all made it into the hot springs and settled down for a quick soak. Sheeha curled up next to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I will try and resist tackling you this year but no promises."

Jim wrapped his arms around her and heaved a sigh. "I think I would prefer the pouncing. The last time you tried to be good I ended up with you grooming my hair as well and I looked absolutely silly when you were done." The adults were looking at them but didn't say anything.

One of the young males was sitting sort of close to the girls and was trying to get them to talk. "Do either of you sing or play an instrument? After breakfast Poppe Yimmy teaches some of the kids the learning songs and even occasionally plays a song from your world." He got almost dreamy eyes. "He is slowly teaching me how to play the Corwith and some of the tunes from his world."

Ana blushed slightly. "I sing a little bit but nothing really special." Her voice was quiet and shy when she replied. Even though he was furred he was definitely male and she wasn't comfortable even though he wasn't sitting all that close.

Allie snorted at her. "Sing a little bit? I don't think so since I catch you singing all the time and you have a lovely voice. I got Poppe Dan's singing voice and I have seen strong men shake at fear at the thought of his singing." She snuck a look at Dan when she said the 'Poppe Dan' and he was frowning at her.

Eventually they climbed out of the hot springs and Jim toweled off and got dressed and then noticed the females were looking at the silver and gold chain and strip of cloth that was with their cloths. He grinned. "I suppose I should have mentioned they wear loin cloths here. I managed to convince them to make me something that looks like real undies but none of the lady's were interested in any for them."

He called the little girl over. "She knows how to do this but I am going to show you." He picked up the silver chain. "See the hook on one side? You sling the chain around your waist and using the hook connect it to the other chain. When you hook it you want enough slack to put the cloth through. Usually about a fingers worth depending on what is comfortable for you." He slung it around her and showed them. "Okay sweetie show them how to put the loin cloth on.

The little girl showed them and then got dressed. Jim was grinning and Nang's and Pam's expression as they were trying to get the material positioned in a comfortable position. "It took me a while to get used to it myself. Oh they gave all of the females a pair of the pants and a semi short skirt since they didn't know what you might like. The pants go to about mid calf around here to reduce getting mud on the pants and the skirts are normally a bit shorter, just below the knees for the same reason."

"Once you put the skirt or pants on you will notice a small hole on the side and you pull the chains out. Right now you have generic symbols on the ends. Assuming we can't get you home anytime soon you will end up with a symbol on one end that will identify what tribe or sub clan you belong to. In the case of Dan once he has shown the Master Warrior that he deserves to be classified as a warrior the Hellhound symbol will be placed on one end. The other end indicates if you are underage, available, or mated.

He contemplated what he was saying for a moment. "Also the color of the chain is important. Anyone with a silver chin has not reached their majority yet. The gold indicates that they have and are available for an intimate relationship, finding a mate, and having children." He frowned for a moment and then nodded to himself. "As far as colors when you are working females have various shades of green and males shades of brown. Once you are off work you can change to whatever clothing you want. The colors are mostly to indicate who is working and who isn't."

Now that they were dressed he led them back to the tent and found that there was a stack of gifts and breakfast. "Have a seat and eat. We normally eat here since there are so many kids hanging around." He grinned at Josilin. She looked about ten and human.

Josilin grinned at him. "It is for the music and food being delivered to the tents." She had dark brown hair that was divided and braided so one hung over each shoulder. She had bright blue eyes but a slightly darker skin than would be expected from someone with blue eyes. As she was talking she settled down with the others and filled a plate with food.

Jim noticed that Ana and Allie looked pleased that there was a human there even if she looked younger than they did. "After we eat I will take a look at the gifts and hand them out to whomever they belong to." There were several scrolls as well and he was rather curious as to what they had to say and who they were for.

Ana was giving a piece of meat on the end of the fork an unsure look. Jim grinned slightly. "Ana it is safe to eat and tasty. The philosophy I took when I first arrived was just eat and try not to wonder what something is and where it came from." He found a bit that he knew Sheeha liked and after getting it on his fork he held it out to her.

She purred slightly in enjoyment as she ate it. What Jim hadn't said was that it was actually snail. The snails as with most other things were oversized and about the size of a fist when they were collected. Ana finally ate it and had a pleased expression.

Sheeha wrapped her tail around his leg. "For that I will have to consider not pouncing on you today. No guarantees that I will succeed but I will try." When Jim sighed she snickered and just for good measure leaned over and licked the ear closet to him.

Everyone was looking at the two of them and had curiosity written on their faces and he sighed. "The non-human females go into heat twice a year. In Sheeha's case she gets frisky and tends to show it by pouncing on me." He looked at her and frowned. "No pouncing at the table woman and you know that. I can see in your eyes that hint of mischief you get."

The adults had to blink and then Dan started laughing at Jim. "This is going to be an interesting week isn't it. Well for me since I am mated and not pouncing material." He gave Bear a sly glance. "Now Bear is single..."

Bear growled at Dan. "Might have to add to my scalp collection white boy." He was playing with his knife when he said it.

Nang snickered at the conversation. "I guess you might end up with a reverse Mohawk if you keep annoying Bear." She gave Dan a peck. "Is the grouchy old man being picked on? Poor old man and I will comfort you later and feed you gruel."

By now they were pretty much done and some of the kids collected the dishes and left with them. Jim pulled the stack of gifts over and the first thing he did was to pull out the scrolls. "I will have to read them to you but here is one for Bear, one for Nang, and the last for Dan." Pam hadn't indicated what sort of job she did when they were introduced. "I will show you to the artists tent later Pam. If you peak into the caravan you will see a lovely painting that Saria did for us. She is the mate of the Puma Chief. They don't have paints as you know them. It is sort of like a really thick ink."

He pulled out a paper wrapped gift and opened it. Jim smiled as he looked at what it was and there were bracelets for the ones that were drawn back by the Mystic and Shaman. "These are a welcome gift for you. You will get a number of these if we can't get you back home. What I do is on my left wrist are the important gifts. I have the silver bracelet Nora gave me for saving Tonya, my journeyman song smith bracelet, and a mating gift from Moran when I formally mated with Sorrel." That bracelet was both silver and gold and had etchings of the four of them. For the little thank you bracelets I wear some of them on my right wrist. I have enough that I pick and choose five a day."

There were a few gifts for Jim as well and he was pleased when he found one from Thomas and the team they worked with. That went on as well as some of the others. "Ah, how nice, these wooden boxes are for storing the jewelry you earn or are given. He handed them out and each had a carving that indicated who the box was for.

The boxes were made of a dark wood that had a very fine grain to it and was easy to carve but very resistant to moisture. Inside they were felt lined with a lovely lilac material for the ladies and a deep blue for the men.

"Once we are done I will show you how to hang them on the front of the tent. It indicates thanks for the gift." Jim held his hand out to Bear for the scroll he had and opened it. He took a few moments to read it and smiled. "You are invited over to the Shaman's area after you are done eating." He called for Feric. "Take Bear to the shaman's tent and then come back for the training."

Feric looked at Bear. "If you will follow me sir I will show you how to get there. Here is a rain cape since we will have to go out into the rain." He handed a larger one to Bear and made sure he had it on correctly before they left.

Jim then read Dan's and grinned. "The Master Warrior is inviting you to join the training this afternoon. I will take you there when I..." He didn't get to finish the sentence because Sheeha pounced on him out of the blue.

She pinned him down and proceeded to give his face a good bath as she was purring. Her tail was tracing up and down his leg which tended to drive Jim nuts. Once she was done Sheeha stood up and wandered away and was whistling in contentment. Her tail was curled in amusement as Jim lay there wiping his face off.

Those who were there were snickering big time at him. Allie just couldn't resist. "Are you sure she doesn't see you as a mouse to play with?" Ana muffled a laugh and Nang and Dan had an amused look on their faces at both the pounce and Allie's comment. "Look at it this way, at least she didn't clean your ears out."

Suddenly Allie squealed when Sheeha attacked her though she didn't knock her out of the chair and gave one ear a good licking. "That was just because and Yim makes a very nice mousy to chase and tease." She grinned and walked away as Allie was using her sleeve to dry her ear off.

Jim finally stood up and sat down again. "I should be safe for a while now. As I was saying when I go to training I will take you with." He figured Dan would enjoy it.

He finally took Nang's scroll and was a bit startled since it was from the Mystic. "Interesting, the Mystic has invited you to his caravan this morning and is also asking Dan to come with." He called for Saulo. "Show them to the Mystic's tent and caravan please. He has invited them over."

Saulo nodded. "If you will follow me I will show you." He also pulled on a rain cape and handed a smaller one to Nang and a much larger one to Dan. "There is only a short walk in the rain but as you can see", he waved his hand towards the door, "even a short walk can soak you." He led them off.

~~~ Nang

Nang stared at the scroll after Jim had read it and had to wonder why she was invited to the Mystic's caravan. She traded looks with Dan and he had to shrug. When Saulo came out after Jim called him they took the capes they were handed. After putting them on they followed him out of the tent.

The walk was a bit of a ways and as Nang looked around she was honestly surprised at the number of people in the tribe. When she thought of a tribe she tended to think of at most a hundred people but looking around she guessed there was maybe a thousand people. The fact that most of them weren't human was so odd. There were at least five different races or types that she could see at the moment.

Eventually they reached the Mystic's tent and Saulo lightly knocked on the opening to the caravan. "Sir I have brought Nang and Dan as requested." He waited for a reply since he didn't know if the man was sleeping or not.

There was a heavy cough from inside before the Mystic spoke. "Thank you Saulo and you can leave now. Nang and Dan if you would come in please?" The caravan wasn't all that large and neither was the tent.

Nang walked in first and then Dan followed. The man was lying in bed and was looking pale and tired. He coughed again and then smiled at her. "Thank you for coming young lady. Come sit on the edge of the bed." He patted the edge.

"I felt something in you when you came to Moran's tent. I needed to make sure of what I felt so if you don't mind I need to touch your forehead for a moment." He reached up and pressed a finger between her eyes on her forehead. He concentrated what powers he had left and then lowered his hand.

"Nang you have the makings of a Mystic. I can feel it in your spirit and your aura. Would you be willing to become a mystic?" If she accepted he was going to give her his memories of what he had learned over the years.

Nang felt something when he touched her forehead and a slight warmth flowed through her. "I don't quite understand sir. I am from a different world so how can I have what you are looking for in a mystic?" She was definitely confused by what she had felt and what he was saying.

He gave her a warm smile. "It is part of who you are and not where you are from. I am sure over the years you have noticed that you sometimes just know thing. An example is when your lovely girls were younger you knew when they were doing something that would get them in trouble. That was the part of you that would make a good mystic." He turned and coughed into a cloth for a moment. "Will you accept becoming a mystic? It is vital that you say yes or no and mean it."