Fade to Black-4

Chapter 4

I’m greeted by several of the native leaders that are there and there’s some Cree, Hurons, and Algonquin as well as Bearskin Mohawks…I get this distinct feel off of them like they’re Were but not wolves…I’m not stupid enough to ask what.

They get led to me and I can’t really let that go down. This might be my camp but not my home turf so I go to them.

I’ve been practicing this ever since I knew that they were coming and I channel a spell I’ve made.

Hopefully this’ll work, I use essence in casting it rather than mana and reach back into the mana of the world and use what it has heard and listened to over the ages and focus on the chiefs and shamans and their head warriors that they’ve brought with them and I smile and give them a slight bow/nod of respect before talking to them in their own languages.

It raises eyebrows.

“Thank you and many welcomes to our camp wise men and chiefs, warriors. It has been a very sad loss we have suffered to find out a horrible truth.”

This old Cree fellow looks me over and nods. It’s odd because honestly I was expecting Indians (Native Americans.) from like the movies in like buckskins and stuff not these guys in old clothes, fatigues and the shaman I’m talking too is wearing a fleece and denim jacket and a Budweiser baseball hat and running shoes. Then again these are the first Native Americans I’ve ever met in person so…

He does speak in Cree back to me. “You do us honor to have the care to speak to us in the old way. We thank her majesty for the care she has shown us. I wish we were here under better times, but the times of both of our peoples has not been the better of times for a long time.”

“Unfortunately this is true sir.”

“Tomas, Tomas Whitewaters.”

“Stevie, Stevie Parker.”

There’s a round of introductions and there’s gifts of tobacco given, and some other things traded back and forth between us. The Huron chief opens the pack of smokes I gave him and looks over the Wall-mart gift card. “The wife’ll like this.”

“I’m glad and we’ll enjoy the totems and I’ll treasure my jacket.” They gave me one of those buckskin jackets with the tassels and everything. I like the antler buttons and the wolf in a mini medicine wheel pictogram look they have. There’s also an eight inch bowie knife forged by one of the shamans with an antler handle that has power in it. I’ll admit that given this whole deal with this green eyed angel bit I feel better with a spelled weapon as back up.

They help us pack away and seal up out dead. “How are we not getting sick or our kin amongst you?”

“The virus is like some other germs warfare types out there it is neutralized when it is in contact with large amounts of water. The downpour during the end of the battle saturated everything down.”

“Thank goodness for small mercies.”

“Indeed.”

It’s a long day, it’s a really long day because we don’t have the things to embalm with and wolf traditions require burning anyways. Dom comes back to help but he will only look at me and there’s hurt there. I feel like shit about the promise that I made and the way that I’ve hurt him. That added into the mixture of dealing with our dead, going through their bodies for the personal effects to send home and then wrapping them up.

I’m going to say God bless Andrea because she’s a rock for me during this whole thing and even though she’s Greek/Roman in origins she’s a Christian now. But she uses some of her powers to spin muslin cloth from fibres in the air. It was strange to feel and see her for more than the FBI agent that she usually is and being the goddess she was born as.

The first nation’s warriors guard our flanks and the shamans help us wrap out dead and fill the bags with cedar shaving to keep them smelling good and they perform their own rites to help send our loved ones on their way. I’m crying because they didn’t have to do all of this and there’s something in me that just wants to dance and to scream in mourning and to cry while I’m dancing as the chiefs sit under a tent with a tarp and they drum…and they chant… and they sing…and they wail for us. In between it all are the few lines I manage to pick out being chanted by the shamans as the help me…us.

“Kihci….manitow…”………………….Great Spirit.
“Pakitnamakewin….”…………………..Let these one’s pass.
“Kiweta……”…………………………..Take them home.
“Kiweta……”…………………………..Take them home.

I can’t help but cry a little more and even though I’m not a Native American, or a first nations person there is just something haunting about the whole thing and the respect that’s being so freely given.

The first nations others the women that came are helping to cook and get things ready and there gets to this point where we’re done…Bodies wrapped belongings gathered and the wooden boxes filled and the last nail is driven home.

Grandpa comes up and he passes me a flask of whisky and I sip at it.

I see Andrea out there sitting with the dead and I go out with her and sit with her and drink sitting amongst our dead and there’s a loud crackle of these speakers set up outside the RV and I see Dom there and he’s putting on something…

I don’t know the song, I don’t know the band but it makes me smile as much as it’s tearing at my heart and I look at him and there’s this heartbreaking sad sweet smile on his face as he looks back at me.

“Fare thee well, love…”
“Fare…thee well, love……………..”
“Far away, you must go.”
“Take your heart, love…”
“Take your heart, love……”
“Will we never meet again.. no more?”
“Far across, love…”
“Far across, love…………………….”
“O’er mountains and country wide.”
“Take my heart, love…”
“Take my heart, love……………….”
“No one knows the tears I’ve cried.”
“So I’ll drink today love….”
“I’ll sing to you, love……”
“In pauper’s glory, in time I’ll bide…”
“No home or ties, love…”
“A restless rover, if I can’t have you…….”
“by my side.”
“Oh come back, love…”
“Oh come back , love……”
“The sun and the moon…”
“refuse to shine.”
“Since I’ve gone, love…”
“This lonely girl’s had no peace of mind…”
“So I’ll drink today…love……..”
“I’ll sing to you, love…..”
“in pauper’s glory, in time I’ll bide….”
“No home or ties, love…”
“A restless rover, if I can’t have you….”
“by my side…”

“Fare thee well love…fair thee well, love…!”
“Far away…You must go, far away…you must go…”
“Take my heart love, take my heart, love….!”
“Take my heart love, take your heart….”
“Will we never…meet again no more…?”
“Oh will we never…meet no more?

The song brought everyone out of their tents and standing up from their seats beside their fires and while no one sang we just listened.

Just listened.

And by the time the song was over….

Dom had left.

I could just feel it, not him, but the void of him not being there.

I walk to the last trace of his scent just a little stream in the far field, leading to the highway. I sit down in the wet grass and there’s tears…I’m always fucking crying…I just look out into the night and whisper and sing… to Dom, to Katya.

“Fare thee well, love. fare thee well love……….”

*This was the last chapter of Fade to Black*