A Quiet Strength
by Anon Allsop

-Part One-

-One-

The young man stretched out on his bunk, pulled deeper into sleep by the constant hum of the ship's powerful engines. As the welcome sleep began to claim him, a electronic beeping pulled him back into the land of wakefulness. "Shit!" he groaned as he swung his feet outside his bunk. "Hang on, I got to get some clothes on!" He called out to the unseen visitor outside his cabin door. Once he had himself covered up, he called out to the computer. "Enter."

The door quickly slid to the side, making a sound of air escaping as it moved. The man looked into the eyes of his visitor and took a step backward.

"First Officer Stockwell, the High Commander requests your presence immediately." The stoic security officer advised.

"Let me get dressed first." Park replied as he began to search for his uniform pants.

"Now, sir." The Officer stepped inside the room, "I have been ordered to bring you right this minute– just as you are."

"Did he indicate what the reason for this unusual request was about?" Park complained as he tossed the pants on his bunk, "I just finished sixteen hours on the bridge, I really need to get some sleep." He pulled on a thin robe and fastened it closed.

"Sir." He said as he motioned for the young officer to exit ahead of him. As he passed the Security Officer, he noticed him place a hand upon a phaser that hung from his hip.

Throughout the twists and turns within the ship's corridors, they walked toward the commander's office the young mans mind scrambled to try to figure out what he could be in trouble for, yet nothing materialized.

As they rounded the last corner, the reflection in the glass behind him showed the Security Officer with phaser drawn, and pointed toward the small of his back.

A sinking feeling washed over the young man who struggled to discern what he could have done to warrant this much security upon himself. His mind raced for plausible explanations, yet nothing rose to the forefront.

They paused at the door of the Commander's office, the door suddenly slid aside to reveal the scowling face of the seasoned captain. "Enter" His voice stabbed the quiet as my guard pushed me forward into the room.

"What is the meaning of this sir?"

"Silence Stockwell." He walked back around to his desk and leaned forward, his hands splayed upon it's shining surface. "Take a seat." He spat with contempt, indicating the chair that faced the big desk. "Computer, record this conversation."

"Recording." Echoed the mechanical voice.

The young officer sat as suspicion clouded his face, the Commander glanced toward the guard. "Get the witness, see that we are not disturbed." The guard saluted, quickly turned and walked through the doorway.

The Commander waited for the door to glide quickly closed, once it had, he turned his attention back to the young officer. "I'm sure you know full well why you are here."

The youth sat quietly for a few seconds before speaking, "Well sir, you would be wrong." He started to rise to his feet but was pulled back into the chair by an unseen force. "What is the meaning of this, sir? I have done nothing wrong!"

"You can see by now Stockwell, that I have utilized the restraint field on you, and you are currently helpless to do anything more than talk!" The older man smiled smugly as he circled the desk and leaned upon its edge. "Now that we have you secure, incapable of doing any harm to me– we will talk."

"When you had furloughed last at Rylos 4, you met with a known terrorist to the Empire, by the name of Newley." He folded his arms over his chest and waited for the younger man to speak.

"I have no clue who this chap, Newley is? Who said I met with this person?" The robed youth hissed angrily.

The Commander pushed a grid on his desk panel and a image appeared to hover before the young officer. "This is Newley."

"I do recognize him, but he was nothing more than a transport specialist that took me from the hanger to my hotel!" He frowned and shook his head, "I was only in his shuttle for at most, a half hour!"

He straightened up and placed his hands on the desk and leaned back again, "So you do admit knowing him?"

"Not personally. He just piloted the shuttle, I doubt if I spoke ten words to him!" The youth's eyes darted between his Commander to the image of the terrorist." The older officer laughed softly to himself as he again pressed the grid. Instantly the hovering image disappeared. "Sir, I was only with the guy for a half hour!" He shouted, suddenly terrified at his own Commander.

The older man's face contorted with rage, "Long enough time to plan a mutiny!"

"What?" The youth snapped back, "I planned nothing of the sort! I have always been an exemplary officer! What could I possibly gain by conducting a mutiny?"

Suddenly there was an electronic chime overhead, the Commander smiled and straightened, "We will find out soon enough! Enter." He barked as from behind the youth he heard the air pistons quickly open the door. Try as he could, the young officer was unable to turn around and face his accuser.

"Is this the man you met with on Rylos 4?" He again pressed the grid and gazed behind me and waited for the answer, meanwhile the younger officer's image floated in place above the desk.

"It is." The decidedly feminine voice replied.

"I demand to see who it is accusing me of this treason!" He shouted as he struggled against his unseen bonds.

"Silence you traitor, you will see who it is that accuses you soon enough!" The Commander growled and came within a breath of backhanding the youth. "Guard, wait outside, see that no one enters!" After several seconds with his back turned toward the robed man, he walked to the side of the room and retrieved a strange looking object.

"Do you recognize this?" He held a strange looking thing out in front of the youth who was shaking his head in the negative. "Oh come now, Stockwell, surely you recognize the Molecular Transmutation Device that you purchased while on Rylos 4." He rotated it in his grasp, "An illegal MTD for that matter!"

"This is the first time I've ever seen such a thing!" He tried to stand, forgetting that he was tethered to the chair by an unseen force. He knew full well the kind of trouble one of those outlawed MTD's could cause to someone if it were found in their possession. "It's not mine! I swear!" He began to plead.

Movement behind him cause the young man to turn, the unseen female passed him on the left and also moved next to the Commander. The youth instantly recognized the Commander's daughter. "What the hell..." He hissed as his eyes fell upon the young female.

There had been history between the couple- all bad. Beating within her beautiful chest, was a heart of cold stone. Parker had spurned her advances since they began this mission, now he knew the who..but why? Now that was a question for the ages!

The Commander cleared his throat, the sound caused the young man to look up. "Leslie told me what you were planning...I'll bet you never thought I would discover your little scheme before you could implement it!" The commander laughed and handed the Molecular Transmutation Device to his alluring young daughter. "You planned on stealing my form and dropping me off on some godforsaken planet...but the laugh will be on you Stockwell!

"I planned no such thing! I have always been faithful to you and our mission!" He looked from his Commander to the girl, she was smiling evilly at him."I'll do whatever I have to do to clear my name sir!"

"Fine, Stockwell. I'll take you up on that. See son, I can be accommodating. All of this was nothing more than a misunderstanding." He walked over to the young man and gave his back a friendly pat. "Computer, end recording.

"End Recording."

"Thank you sir, you won't regret it." The youth replied as he attempted to stand but was still bound by the unseen force. "Commander, I'm still bound here."

"Stockwell, do you know why this version of MTD is considered illegal?" He folded his arms behind his back and walked to the chair behind his desk. Taking a seat he placed his elbows on the desk and touched his fingertips together.

"Sir, release me...you said it was a misunderstanding...sir?" He pleaded as the girl began to chuckle softly.

"Oh, you will be released Stockwell. Only it will be on our terms!" He leaned back in his chair and nodded to his daughter. "Your little mutiny is about to be squashed, because you are about to be removed entirely from the situation.

"But I did nothing wrong!" He responded, the fear in his voice was real.

"Your plan to use the MTD on me, taking over the ship might have worked. It failed though when you confided in my daughter's friendship...that was your downfall!" He leaned forward in his chair and frowned. "You tried to get at me through her. You're a sick son of a bitch, trying to get into her pants and thinking that she would help!"

"Your daughter is a psychopath!" He glared at the beautiful blonde, "She is a liar!"

"She most likely is, and truth be known, she also likes women..however, that awkwardness is about to change." He looked toward his daughter, "I'm through talking, do what you have to do."

She knelt down in front of the bound man, slowly sliding her fingertips inside his robe. "Park honey, I am about to replace you, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it!" She smiled and pulled a string from her hair, then shook her naturally platinum blonde hair loose, it spilled in copious amounts around her shoulders. She began to unfasten the robe from the increasingly frightened man!

"Get your damn hands off of me you bitch!" He shouted at her as she leaned back on her heels laughing.

"This device," She rotated it around in her hand to show him, "When used on a man, by a man... or on a woman by a woman; is harmless." She smiled wickedly, "However, if a male uses it on a female, the poor male gets the short end of the deal. Unless of course, you're into that sort of thing."

"What are you getting at Leigh? You know I've done nothing wrong, you're just trying to figure a way to screw me over! I won't let it rest until I've cleared my name!"

"Interesting choice of words, honey. You see, I plan on taking you over. And you? Well, that is where your life will become increasingly interesting. You will become me! So, yes I do plan on screwing you over, just not the way you might be thinking!"

"You're mad! Both of you are insane!" He shouted and struggled to get up.

She continued, "With this device, I will easily become you... the male, stepping into your life with nary a thought. You, now that's a different story altogether. When you become me," she reached into his robe and cupped his genitals, and then forcefully let them go, "All of those nasty little sperm in here, won't have anywhere to go. They couldn't be absorbed like the eggs in a female's ovaries can when she becomes a man. That was THE little flaw, one that you are soon to experience!" She flipped nearly white tresses over her shoulder, "And now you know why it has been banned."

"I demand you turn me loose!" He shouted, throwing his head from side to side in an attempt to break free. "I will see you both arrested the minute I am released from here!"

She laughed and forcefully held his unshaven chin, "The funny thing is, your new body will still be producing eggs when you become female, and all those little swimmers that had nowhere to go, suddenly do, just as nature intended for them! It is over 88% positive in ALL cases it has been used!" She laughed in his face, "Your offspring would be as though you and I had done the nasty, and produced a baby!" then with a sneer she hissed through an evil giggle. "Hope you like mommy-hood...asshole!"

He tried to kick at her but his legs were still bound, each time he pushed from the unseen force, it brightened with a light in the area he struggled from. "You know what is even more fun?" She continued without waiting, "Just like you were intending to do with my father, we are going to transport you through a wormhole, and where you end, your deity only knows!"

"You can't do this to me! I am an officer of the Empire! My parents will see that you..."

"Oh shut up!" She slapped the young officer interrupting him, "You obviously have not been listening to what I've been saying!" She smiled evilly at him, "Your parents won't know a difference, in fact..I may or may not keep your girlfriend, it just depends on how good she is in bed.. or if I like her or not!"

His eyes grew wide as he began to struggle to get out of the chair. "Get away from me, you can't do this!"

"Watch me!" Her finger hovered over the trigger on the MTD, "I hope you enjoy your new life, bitch!"

"Nooooooooo!" He screamed as his voice began to climb the octave from male to female. He watched in horror as the beautiful girl before him began to alter in shape, becoming more masculine as time passed. Even before it was over, his voice mirrored that which was once hers.

As the changes continued he felt a strong hand upon his chin, raising his increasingly beautiful face upward. "You make too much noise, bitch...I've heard enough!" A liquid was poured down his rapidly transforming throat, his voice suddenly left him. All the sounds he could make was guttural. The former man struggled against her, now his increasing strength! "Oh relax you little cunt, it'll wear off after awhile." She laughed at his pathetic plight, "Perhaps in a year or so..."

He tried to scream, he tried to cry out, whatever she had poured down his throat had paralyzed his vocal cords. He couldn't vocalize anything other than bitter moans or whimpers. He looked down at his hands, once powerful hands, now petite and feminine. His legs were long, thin and very smooth, his breasts were now those generous pale orbs that once adorned Leigh's chest. As the feminine emotions took hold on the officer, he..no she began to cry. Her whimpering caused the bigger man to laugh.

His old voice laughing, brought his attention once again to the wicked woman who had transformed into him. "I would love to see what little beastie gets to feast upon your hot little body, I'm sure you won't last a week before you are consumed! For me though, I'm going to take complete advantage of this body and what it offers for the rest of my life! It's too bad I couldn't give you one last little ride before I have to give you up...but I agreed to it and a deal is a deal."

He tried to curse at her, but all that came to anyone's ears was a grunting sound. No longer did he have control of a voice. Tears streamed down the fair skinned, beautiful young girl as the man before her pressed a grid on the Commander's desk.

"Enjoy what's left of your short life bitch!" Hearing the familiar voice laugh as the robe was forcibly jerked from around her shoulders. In a quick motion her boxers were removed and he was stepping into them, leaving her exposed as the day she was born. Tears welled in the transformed girl's eyes, while she could hear her former voice laughing... everything before her began to fade into a great nothingness and envelope her.

-Two-

The young woman lay upon a carpet of soft grasses, her lifeless and naked form was beautiful and quite exotic. She appeared to be at best eighteen, but in a strange world, beauty and age could be as much a determent as it could be an asset. She felt as though she was emerging from a cloud, her mind evidently fogged with the confusion of the transformation and travel.

A tickle upon her breast caused her to stir, she opened her beautiful blue eyes and looked down at a very pale butterfly walked across the tip of her nipple. She gracefully swept her hand over it and it fluttered to another place upon her body. Raising her head, she realized that she was covered with hundreds of the butterfly's, even more were resting in the sun upon her warm, smooth skin.

She rose to her elbows, thousands of the little winged creatures suddenly flit and fluttered about her like petals of flowers in a windstorm. In shock, she scrambled to her feet and stood, watching them suddenly winging away like a soft white tornado of beauty.

As she stood in her nakedness and watched the white maelstrom flutter away, her beautiful blue eyes followed them. There within the flitting cloud, a young man stood. The expression upon his youthful face as the butterfly's cascaded into his view, and around him, was one of both surprise, shock..and yes, awe. In the blink of an eye, the young female quickly ducked and ran like a frightened deer, darting among the leaves of the forest until it swallowed her passing up whole. By the time the man got his wit's about himself, she was gone.

In sheer terror she ran, trying to put as much distance between her and the man as she could. Darting in and out of the thick forest, until she came to a river's edge. With not one single moment of hesitation, she dove into the water and began to swim earnestly with the current, trying to stay under it's surface for as long as possible.

She surfaced only for a breath, took that desperate gulp and again went under into that cool water. With each stroke, she began to fear the creatures that must inhabit this alien water, yet she swam on harnessing the fear she possessed as her motivation. On and on she swam, her nearly white hair spilling about her as she swam.

-Three-

The bronzed warrior stood stupefied at actually seeing a spirit-nymph born from within the cloud of the sky dancers. Never had he seen such a beautiful and exotic creature as this pale spirit appear and then seemingly disappear as if carried on the wind. Slowly he gathered his senses and started off after the spirit creature, hesitating at first as he knew not what she would do to him should he find her.

Repositioning his bow and quiver he picked up the wrap of meat that he had been carrying and stepped forward hesitantly, watching for any sign of where the heavenly creature had gone. Only once in a young man's life can he be lucky enough to see a forest spirit..perhaps this was his time. He smiled, the whiteness of his teeth gleamed against the bronze of his face.

He slowly moved forward to where she emerged from the sky dancer cloud, he visually measured where he had been standing, to where he last saw her. Swallowing hard he lowered himself down to examine her tiny footprint in the soft earth. He held his large hand to the print, this spirit was no larger than the female's from his own tribe.

Again he moved past a tree and found another print, she was running, like a deer she had disappeared into the forest. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he knelt in the grass and studied how they were bent, each indicated that she was running directly toward the river.

He stood up and softly trotted, following her tiny spirit print all the way to the water's edge. There on the bank of the great river he lost her trail. Frowning the bronzed warrior scanned the river in both directions as far as his eyes could see. For only a moment he contemplated entering the current, but fear of the spirit he had been following kept him on shore.

The ancient ones tell stories of water dwelling spirits which call young warriors into its current, once they are there, they are pulled under to their deaths. No, he would not enter her domain. He would be thankful to go back to his tribe and tell them the story of the spirit nymph being born in a cloud of sky dancers.

He backed away from the water and crouched upon his haunches, there he studied that perfect foot, the last one before she disappeared into the water. Ever watchful, he kept his eye pealed for her emerging from her watery home and wresting him from the shore. He gently touched the outline of her foot, and smiled at the fleeting memory of her naked form.

***

Pulling herself from the water on the opposite shore as she thought her pursuer would be, she made her way up a incline to a small stand of trees. There, leaning against the rough trunk of a tree she caught her breath, water dripping from her soaked body and hair. She attempted to push the water from her smooth skin, even the feeling of that effort, felt as alien as anything she had ever felt before. Unwillingly, the young beauty took uncomfortable stock in her newly acquired form, unbelieving that the changes she was witnessing had actually happened.

She softly coughed, trying to clear her throat of the object which kept her from uttering any sound... but whatever Leigh had forced her to swallow had done it's deed. Just from that simple clearing of her throat, left her no doubt that the feminine cough she just heard came from within. She tried to speak, say a word- anything. She sighed as only unintelligible utterances left her beautiful mouth.

She realized that she could not stay in one spot for long, she must find shelter and try to come up with something to cover her nakedness. Looking past the trunks of the trees she had hidden in, she openly shivered from a cool breeze that raced across the grassy meadow that was in front of her.

She began to scan the high ground for place to hide, somewhere she could devise protection, as well as create something suitable to wear. She knew that there would be no help coming to her aid, she had been dropped off in a strange land with no hope of rescue.

She moved upward along a ridge-line, keeping within the shadows for protection. As the beauty picked her way carefully, her mind fought with the actuality of her predicament. She realized that she could no longer call herself Park as she once had been, and the name Leigh, even though it fit this form, was completely out of the question.

No, if she was to be stuck with a name for the remainder of her days, it would be of her own choosing! But what name? Would there be any use for a name, who would use it? It was true that she couldn't refer to herself in the third person, that would be a cue for insanity and she didn't want to go there!

Frowning as her young unfettered breasts swung with each step she groaned and held her arm to prevent their swaying. She hated that she couldn't even feel sorry for her predicament because of the potential threat of being pursued. No, it was a horrible hand to be dealt and like it or not, she was stuck with it.

In mid stride, she faltered and stopped. Her mind suddenly washed with the realization of what Leigh had said the fault of the MTD was. She looked down past her breasts toward the thin, tapered waist she, for the time being possessed. She shook her head, the movement sent her pale tresses flying. It couldn't be possible, surely Leigh had been lying! She reassured herself that Leigh most likely lying was the case, she had lied to Park before... why not now? That HAD to be it, to think of any other scenario would be impossible, wouldn't it?

A Quiet Strength
by Anon Allsop

-Part One-

-Four-

Etu retraced his steps until once again he emerged in the area where the Sky Dancer spirit arose from within the cloud. As he passed the spot where she had been slumbering, he noticed a few of the tiny dancers as they flit and fluttered as though looking for where their queen had gone. Now, he didn't actually think 'queen' but the translation would be intelligible, however the meaning is quite the same.

Even at a slow jog, Etu was a half a day from his tribe, that return trip and his meeting with the Sky Dancer queen, gave him a great deal to think about. He replayed their meeting over and over again in his mind. Each time, he would pause his memory on her naked form. Almost unable to forget her beauty.

In nearly nineteen seasons, he had never witnessed such great beauty and feminine grace possessed by a single form. This pale Spirit, or as he would call her, Aponi which literally translates to Butterfly, held him transfixed as he watched her disappear right before his very gaze. He marveled at the speed of the beautiful nymph of the forest, eluding his pursuit as only one with the forest could.

He smiled as he again recalled her soft form, inviting and delicate as the sky dancers that saw to her every need. Sighing he adjusted the meat he carried, determined that he would speak of her to the ancient one, perhaps he would have more information on this breathtaking creature.

As evening drew he entered the lands of his tribe, skirted the lake and upon entering the village, made a beeline to the lodge of his family. There he left the meat with his mother and removed his bow and quiver from his bronzed shoulder.

"This venison is welcome my son." His father smiled and gave Etu's shoulder a slight squeeze. "You seem to be in a fine mood?"

Etu smiled, "I am father, I have witnessed something today that I never thought possible."

His mother looked up from where she had been cutting the meat as he continued, "Have you ever heard of any person seeing a great spirit?"

The mother suddenly looked at her husband, he tipped his head slightly. "You have?"

"Tell us about it?" The older woman stood up from where she had been working to listen intently to her son as he relayed his encounter. He hesitated as he was about to speak.

"It was a female spirit." His father raised an eyebrow, unsure if he heard correctly. "She emerged out of a cloud of Sky Dancers."

"You must be careful son, those from the realm of the spirit world can often be evil as well as good."

Etu stood before his parents, each could tell that their son was concerned about what had transpired. His father directed him to a bear hide that was stretched across the floor. "Tell us of the Spirit, Etu."

The young man sat cross-legged on the hide, cleared his throat and began to tell of meeting the wood nymph. "She rose up from the cloud of sky dancers, they swirled within the dappled sunlight that lit the grasses and ferns. The spirit rose and stretched, then turned slightly toward me. She was as naked as a child just born." He looked directly toward his father and then as his eyes met those of his mother, he lowered them in embarrassment of speaking so candidly.

"And then?" His mother asked, hanging upon her son's words.

Etu was taken back by her interest to his story, he continued on though, somewhat surprised by her openness. "The Aponi flew right toward me, there were as many as the stars at night, moving and dancing upon the wind as if controlled by the Aponi Spirit. Father, Mother, I could hear their wings as they neared, each beat grew in sound until the volume rose above the noise made by the entire woods!"

He looked down toward his hands as they rested upon his lap, "I could not move, I was as frozen as water in the winter. The Sky Dancer's flew straight at me, yet my sight was locked upon where the Aponi Spirit once was.

The older man studied his son's bewildered face for several seconds, then placing his hand upon his shoulder he gave him a squeeze. "This was a sign, Etu. If this Spirit wanted to harm you, she would have done it while you were frozen in her view."

His mother raised her dark eyes toward the roof of the lodge, she watched the thin tendril of smoke wisp it's way through ahole. Her mouth moved as though she was praying, Etu noticed and gently grasped his mother's hand.

"Son?" His father softly beckoned, "Then what happened?"

The youth nodded and slowly fanned his arms outward, "The Sky Dancers flew all about me, it was like being inside of a great snow. Only, it gave me a warm feeling, content and pleasing." He gave his parents a smile, reminding them both of the young boy he had once been.

"As soon as the Sky Dancers had passed, I looked to where I last saw the pale Spirit, she had vanished with the blink of an eye." He looked off wistfully, remembering the feeling he had when he realized that she was no longer before him. "I followed her to the rivers edge but that is where I lost her father, she had entered the water there and disappeared."

"It is good that you didn't follow her into the river, son." His mother patted his hand lovingly, "The spirit might be sisters with the water and could have dragged you under if you would have followed."

Her husband nodded and added, "I think this spirit was afraid of you, she didn't want for you to see her in her human form, that is why she fled. You must keep your distance from this one, it is dangerous for humans to pursue the woodland spirits."

"Father, she is beautiful, like the first snows of the cold season." He looked down at his hands, "Her skin is like the snow on the meadow, soft and white... and pure. I cannot forget her, I cannot push her from my mind."

His mother looked toward her husband nervously, "You must not follow her, Etu. Please tell me that you won't follow after her?"

"I cannot promise that mother, It would be like asking the spirit sun not to chase after his bride the moon. I can think of nothing other than her." He sighed and looked at the hide beneath his legs."

"Then speak to the ancient one of her, he will guide you correctly. If he says to go after her, then who are we to stop you." The old man gently grasped his son's neck and gave him a fatherly squeeze. Worry clouded his mother's eyes, yet it was a man's world and she would follow her husbands lead wherever it took them.

The youth nodded and gave them both a smile, "I will see the ancient one when the sun is high overhead, I will do what he says."

-Five-

Morning found Etu silently picking his way through a dense thicket of brush, his movement was barely negligible to the untrained observer. Slowly the muscles of his back flexed as he drew back the bow in his hand. Ever so slowly he moved, his sinewy muscles rolling effortlessly under his copper skin.

Before the young deer ever realized what danger she was in, it was too late. Etu's arrow had found her heart and she was making her last great decent into death.The young warrior slowly made his way to the deer, always cautious and alert as he knelt beside his quarry.

Etu looked down at his hand as it gently caressed the young deer's hide, the gray and brown hairs creating a very noticeable contrast against his own strong hand. "The great spirit breathed life into you, Forgive Etu, your human brother who has released you from that life." He reverently stroked it's neck as though saying goodbye to a beloved pet. Slowly his hand worked down toward the muzzle of the deer, he opened its mouth and pushed a few tender shoots of grass into it. "For your journey young one."

Sighing, he slowly knelt beside the deer and began the task at hand of preparing the animal for carrying. Softly he sang out a prayer to his creator for allowing him the deer.

As the sun climbed higher into the sky, Etu had transported the deer down to a stream where he washed the blood from his hands and cleaned and wrapped the meat in the hide. With strips he had brought with him, he was able to fashion a bundle that he could carry upon his back.

By the time the sun was nearing its peak, Etu was making his way back into his village. He headed directly toward the lodge where the ancient one lived. Seated upon a hide, the white haired man was skillfully painting a stretched piece of leather. Etu admired the craftsman's ability, the control he had still in those withered hands.

The elderly man bid the youth to take a seat beside him. As Etu sat he placed the bundle of meat where the man could see it. "It is a young deer, Grandfather." The ancient one wasn't really Etu's grandfather but the entire village called this man grandfather, it was a reverent homage to his wisdom.

Grandfather continued to paint upon the hide as Etu described meeting the strange pale female. As he concluded his story, the elderly man slowly sat down the fine pointed stick he had been using to push the paint, turned and gazed into the young man's face for several long seconds.

With half closed eyes, the old man spoke softly as if he was channeling directly from the realm of the Spirits. "The Aponi Spirit is in trouble, she will need your help." He continued to stare into the darkened corner of his lodge, "You must seek her out, her medicine is powerful."

"Grandfather, I do not know where to look." He replied with confusion.

"She lives in the high country, close to her people." He pointed in the general direction for Etu to look. "She is alone and in trouble."

"What of her people Grandfather? Will they not come to her aide?" Even as Etu finished speaking the elderly man lowered his head and sadly shook it.

"Her people live above the sky, they have abandoned her to this world." He slowly turned his face toward Etu. "You must find the Aponi Spirit. Befriend the Sky Dancers, they will lead you to her."

Etu's gaze slowly dropped toward the paint that the elderly man had been using, slowly he began to nod. "I will find her Grandfather, I will bring her back to my people."

"She is as dangerous as a lion, you must be careful with this one. Given time, she will come to accept your help." He gently grasped the shoulder of the young warrior, and smiled. For he alone knew how much this young Aponi female had taken over the warrior's thoughts. He alone could only fathom the eventual outcome.

-Six-

The stunning young woman picked her way along a high ridge, the breeze was cool upon her skin. Her soft legs wore the scratches from the weeds and brush that seemed to reach out to her each time she passed. Each time her smooth legs were violated, she softly cursed to herself. She knew what she wanted to say, yet no intelligible word would spring from her beautiful lips.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she thought back to what she had lost, forcefully removed against her will. As she picked her way between two great boulders she happened to glance down into a slight ravine, at the bottom was a large deer laying among the rocks.

The need for food quickly rose in her mind, other than a few handfuls of wild berries she had not eaten since the lunch she had on the ship. Carefully she began to pick her way downward, attempting to sneak up on the animal.

Something about the deer was strange to her, as she neared it, the smell told her that it had been dead for awhile and the meat was most likely uneatable. It was a antlered deer, velvety skin covered each side. She moved closer, holding her nose against the back of her lithe hand. From it's side was a piece of wood sticking out about the length of her foot.

She quickly scanned the surrounding region, if someone had been searching for this animal, they would not be far away. From the way the area was around the shaft, she could tell that the deer had most likely eluded those who hunted him and found its way to this spot to die.

Carefully she tugged upon the wood and felt it give under her effort, as more and more of the shaft was exposed, she could tell that it was the business end of a long spear. The smell was putrefying, she was forced to move away several times due to gagging. She examined this formidable weapon and realized that it would be something she could use to protect herself.

As she looked down toward the deer, she realized that if she took her time, she just might be able to remove enough hide to make suitable covering for her naked body. Without a second thought, she began to carefully cut into the foul smelling deer using the razor sharp edge of the spearhead.

As night began to fall, she had two round pieces that was pulled from the neck of the deer, each piece was about as long as her foot. Using a small length of the hide, she pulled her hair back and tied it off. Blood soaked her entire body and now, it even was in her golden tresses.

Another long strip was taken from the deer's back, it's purpose was yet unknown to her, yet it length could prove useful. Rolling the hide into one heavy parcel, she tied it off with a long thick strip also removed. When dark arrived, she was thankful to put some distance between her and this decaying creature.

Carrying the bundle was not easy, it smelled horrible and while it was void of the rancid meat, it still had enough weight to make it heavy. Downward she picked her way until she came to an area where water poured from a crack in the mountain, and over thousands of years, had formed a small indented pool. The flattened spot was about the size of the bed she had remembered back on the ship. It would overflow the pool and was carried on over the edge, dropping for several hundred feet and into a small river.

She surveyed the area, from here she could see all the way down into the valley. There was a large outcropping of rock just behind her, it had been used before for sanctuary by animal or perhaps these primitive men. With a bit of work, it could become a suitable temporary shelter. She crouched down and studied the underside of the outcropping, it went back a short distance. It would offer protection from even the fiercest of storms, she only had to clean it out to make a decent shelter.

She used most of the night to gather sticks to lean against the opening, drawing a limb still with leaves on it, she blocked herself inside the shelter. With one of the thin strips she had, she bent a short green branch and tied them to each end. Using another drier stick she looped the string around it and pulled over a split log, broken in half by last winter's storms.

She began to pile dried leaves and twigs into a small mound, in the middle she stood the stick that was looped with the string. With her left hand, she held a rock with a natural indent, placing it at the top of the stick. Slowly she began to draw back on the bowed wood, as she pulled it toward herself, it turned within the indented rock. Again and again she drew back the bowed stick, the constant rotation began to heat up and eventually caused the dried leaves and grass to spark.

She quickly bent over and blew on the glowing embers, as she blew she began to include more and more dried sticks. Soon a tiny flame leaps onto the sticks, growing slowly until the twigs she began to drop grew bigger and thicker. As the flame began to dance brighter, she placed a log about the size of her thin arm into the flame and sat back until it took hold.

Her structure would prevent great amounts of light to escape, yet offer protection from prowling animals. She pushed her ravenous hunger aside and began to use her short spearhead to scrape the tallow from the hides she had rescued. Hours later she could no longer fight the sleep which lay claim to her body, and drifted off upon a bed of clean, dry leaves. Her nakedness warmed only by the heat from the small fire.

***

Morning brought her awake and she slowly crawled out of her shelter, the fire had long since been reduced to gray ash. She carried the dried skins down to the water and gently placed them in, as they soaked she carefully picked her way into the valley and began to hunt for wild berries to eat.

As the warm sun climbed higher she again made her way back to the little pool, carefully she removed the wet hides and turned them so the hair was on the inside. She slowly rung what water she could from them and climbed back up to the shelter. The last thing she wanted was to be caught out in the open completely naked.

She shivered as she drew the larger ring of hide up her lithe legs, holding it at her knees she pushed against its inside to hold it in place. As she stood awkwardly, she fished the long hide through the opening between her knees and nether region. With trepidation, she slowly pulled the cold and wet hides up her thighs.

Working hard, she struggled to move the wet leather past her generous hips, rocking them back and forth until the came to rest on her hip. The longer hide hung slightly in front and slightly in back, it was all held in place by a belt that she tied around her tapered waist. She now wore what could only be described as the shortest skirt ever created by man...well woman, and she was as uncomfortable as hell in it!

Hesitantly, she picked up the smaller of the hides and began to work it over her head and shoulders. It was quite painful for her to collect her new breasts within the confines of the hide. Her teeth chattered as water ran down her hour-glass figure, dripping and dappling the dry ground.

Once the tube of hide had encompassed her ample bosom, she felt a slight bit of relief knowing that her nakedness was now covered, albeit temporarily. She knew that as the hide would dry, it would conform to her shape and become tighter. Her only hope was that it wouldn't loosen and fall, and that the hair on the inside would be a comfort rather than an irritant.

The new articles of clothing felt strange to her, never before had she been so confined by items worn, as she was now. The intimacy was too personal and she only tolerated it because of modesty. She longed for the loose jumpers she wore when she was still Park, and the fact that they covered so much more wasn't lost to her either.

Sighing, she thought back to the life she once had, and knew that she no longer could return to it again. They were out there somewhere, she thought as she looked into the pale blue expanse of the sky. Unreachable to her for the remainder of her days. That former life to her was in the past, and would have to stay in the past.

She shuddered as she looked downward, it was strange to see the deep cleavage she possessed now, the slight roll of her breasts as they began their decent into the deer hide. Never had the thought of seeing cleavage this way had ever entered her mind, but she was stuck with this view for as long as the heart beat within her chest.

Shaking off the funk she was in, she picked up the spear and studied how it had been made, how it had been fastened to the broken stick. Her warrior's mind returned toward the forefront, she felt that today she must focus her time and energy and fabricate some sort of weapon so that she could eat...and protect herself from danger. But most importantly for now...to eat.

-Seven-

"My son, will you be gone long?" Etu's mother asked the young man as she watched him ready his supplies for his journey.

"As long as it takes mother. Grandfather told me that it was my destiny to find the pale Aponi spirit, he said she will bring great medicine to our people." He smiled and gave her hand a reassuring pat. "I feel that her life and mind wind around each other as the leaves when carried by the cooler breeze when they drop from the trees. He stood up and carried his pack out of their lodge. His father was silently praying, his lips moving but nothing could be heard.

As Etu walked past, his father gently touched his shoulder. "Be careful my son, even though Grandfather sends you to seek this Aponi Spirit, do not drop your guard for they are often untrustworthy and dangerous when cornered."

"You make her sound like a great cat from the mountains, she is only a female." He said with a slow grin, "I will be fine father."

The older man scowled, "Do not take her being female for granted, if she feels threatened, like any frightened animal, she will lash out...and she can kill."

Etu let his father's words sink in, slowly nodding in understanding that his way of thinking would only lead to trouble for him. "I will be wary father, I will treat her with the respect that the Great Spirit bestows upon all creatures."

As the young man turned to leave, his mother walked from within the lodge. "Etu." The young man hesitated and turned back toward his parents. "Long ago when I was a much younger woman, I was given this by my own mother." She held out a bundle for her son, "The Aponi Spirit will be unclothed, cover her with these before entering into our village." Etu took the package as she continued, "The clothing will be strange to a Aponi spirit, but perhaps a gift to her would appease her human side."

He sat down his pack and gently pushed what she had given him down into it. "If the spirits are with me, I hope to be back before the cold winds blow." Standing and rehanging his pack upon his shoulders he hugged his mother and grasped the forearm of his father. "Do not worry my parents, I will return with the Aponi spirit.

With that he turned and slowly trotted down the path that would lead him outside the village. As they stood watching him, his mother sighed. Her husband turned to look down at her, "It will be alright, he will return."

"I know." She forced a smile and gave her husbands hand a slight squeeze. "The dream that I had last night told me as much."

"You had a dream about him?" He gave her a curious look.

"And the spirit female." She continued to watch him until Etu disappeared into the distance. "The great spirits told me that the female will bear a child, and her child's yet unborn ancestors would bring about a great leader."

"Are you sure it was the spirit?" He said without a moment's hesitation.

"Her skin is very pale, her hair is long and as light as winter's snow." She closed her eyes, "She is quite beautiful, our people have never seen one such as this female."

"Should we worry for our son's heart? Is he in danger?" He asked with great concern.

"Not in the way that you might be thinking..." She gave a motherly sigh, "His heart is already lost to this female, and yet he does not know it." She pushed a tear from the corner of her eye as she stood beside her husband.

As her words made their way into his thoughts he slowly turned his head and watched the last spot that he had seen his son. He too sighed, his mouth began moving with a silent prayer for Etu's journey and return.

A Quiet Strength
by Anon Allsop

-Part One-

-Eight-

Each day the young female spent in her sanctuary, high in the hills, brought new changes to her young life. She had managed to create traps, kill and eat several types of the small creatures that dwell within close proximity to her shelter. As best as she could figure, it had almost been a full month since she was deposited on this planet by her body's former owner. Even though she was stuck with this form, she didn't have to like it. Unused to the small frame and appendages that seemed to just be in the way, she could only tolerate everything that seemed to come with being a female.

She cringed each time she had to respond with the call of nature, it was so degrading and hard to accomplish being that she had spent most of her young life with quite a different outlook. She wasn't naive, she knew that at some point she would have a monthly visitor, all females do, and now that she was one... she could expect it any day now.

It had become much warmer now, the heat of the day would build until it almost grew uncomfortable in the animal hide that she was wearing. Often she would remove it and slip into the water to bathe, but only when the moon was out and never in daylight.

Tonight was one such night, it was warm and she had just finished eating half of a small creature that she had caught. As the stars high overhead began to dot the sky, she slowly slipped down to the stream below her shelter. There, she carefully made her way to the edge of the stream staying within the shadows.

Pulling off the skins she slipped quietly into the refreshing water. She felt along the underside of her arm where the skin had begun to chafe her tender flesh. The cool water helped to take some of the soreness away. As she slowly swam, she heard several voices.

As silent as possible, staying in the darkened vegetation that lined the edge, she made her way toward the voices. There were three strange looking warriors, their hair was closely cropped to their heads save for one band that ran right down the center of their head. She could understand nothing of what they were saying although it was apparent that two of the warriors wanted to go in one direction and the third was arguing his point.

She slipped under a low hanging plant, yet stayed in the water. She quietly dug some earth from the bank and spread it on her face, knowing how pale she was, their fire would most surely reflect off the alabaster of her fair skin. For a half hour, she stayed hidden and listened to their strange tongue, it was only as one of the men came nearby to relieve himself that she felt she should beat a hasty retreat. She hesitated as he dropped his breech-cloth before her surprised eyes and exposed his naked physique.

She watched him with longing, envious of his being able to expel his bladder in such a convenient way...and sad for she no longer could. His stream carried out and into the water, until a chilly breeze began to blow it back onto his legs. He cursed or at least it sounded like it may have been one, and then scooped water into his hand and washed his leg off, then washed his hands.

His penis was long and thick, probably something he was very proud of. Heck, she would have been had she still been 'Park' as she once had been. She looked down to the breasts she possessed, it was probably her only asset of which she could now compare; something that a woman might feel pride in. Although, she truly would not know for certain. She held her hiding place silently as the warrior refastened his breech-cloth, thankfully covering himself from her now beautiful blue eyes.

As soon as he returned to the fire, she silently stole away into the night to retrieve her own clothing. She picked her way through the darkness and she once again returned to her shelter on the mountain. With no fire to warm her, so fearful she was that her fire would attract those warriors..she shivered herself to sleep. Before she drifted off in slumber, she made a point to remind herself to stay close to the high shelter for a few days and allow them time to leave the area.

***

Before daylight, the young blonde slipped down to check her closest traps. A rabbit had been caught in one and she quickly dispatched it. As it bled out, suspended from a rock nearby she began to get a queasy feeling within the pit of her stomach. Perhaps it was the smell of the blood, perhaps it was of her gruesome task. Deep down though, she knew it was that damnable visitor that would soon be welcoming her into womanhood. She frowned as she carried the small carcass back to the shelter, her rolling stomach was not something she needed right at this moment.

At the shelter, she gutted and removed the neck, peeling the hide off as if you were undressing a doll. It was then, once again, that the gamey smell from the creature began to work it's way into her senses. Throwing the meat aside she crawled several feet away and spewed the contents of her stomach over the edge of a rock. She wiped the sweat from her brow and again felt her stomach lurch its contents onto the ground.

Sinking beside her vomit, she leaned her head back and pushed the perspiration from her brow. For a third time she rolled to the side and lost what had once been yesterday's supper. After a few minutes of sitting, she began to feel better and again crawled back to where she had left the meat.

As soon as she saw it, her stomach began to roll, so fearful that its smell would again cause her to throw up, she tossed the carcass over the side as far as she could. Staggering to her feet, she stumbled back to the little water hole beside the shelter. There she washed her face and rinsed her mouth of the foul tasting bitterness that remained.

She gradually stood and returned to the shelter to lay down, fearing that her swim from last night may have brought on a illness. Rolling to her side she looked out through the tiny openings between the sticks, tears welling in those beautiful crystalline blue eyes, clinging to her long lashes. For in the back of her mind she recalled what that bitch Leigh had said, and if what she implied was really happening..it would not bode well for her!

She only prayed that she was wrong and it was actually the onset of a simple sickness, a sickness that would run its course in a matter of days.

-Nine-

Etu started his search at the very last place he lost the young spirit female- the water's edge. The current would have been too strong for her to swim upstream, so the natural place would be to search downstream.

Knowing your prey as a hunter is foremost to making a successful kill, and even though this hunt was nothing about a kill, he still must keep in mind his prey. A frightened animal would put as much distance between itself and a foe, always moving in a direction away from pursuit.

Within a matter of minutes he was standing on the opposite bank, using a natural bridge known to his people. Slowly and deliberately he began to follow the river, ever watchful for sign. Like all prey he had ever chased, she was headed somewhere to hide...but where?

Stopping for a drink, he crouched to cup cool water into his palms. As he sipped it, he noticed a mark in the mud. Shaking the water from his hands free, he took a closer look. A slow smile caressed his bronze face.

He stood and began to scan the horizon, deep brown eyes searching for a logical path she might have taken. There was none. Again he turned his attention back to the print, beginning from there he found another about the distance of a tall man away.

Further up ahead, he found what he was looking for, she had made egress from the river at this spot. He placed his foot at it and looked back toward where he had noticed the first smear. The two had been of her left hand as she tried to find a grip up the bank in the mud, the last, where he stood now was where she actually pulled herself from the water.

Her tracks were heading away, directly toward a small stand of trees. Etu followed them up the hill until he too stood among the trees. Here and there were other sign convincing him, that the Aponi spirit had passed this way.

All along the way he followed them, throughout the day and well into the afternoon. At first the sign were pretty prevalent, however it was toward dusk that he realized that he had lost her trail. With a heavy heart he bed down in tall grass, determined to backtrack if necessary be to pick up her trail once again.

For nearly a three changes of mother moon, Etu had searched in an ever expanding pattern for any sign of the spirit, it was as though she had vanished from the face of the planet. He knew that she was surely somewhere within a day or two, but which way?

Contemplating her whereabouts as he was picking his way through a small valley, he cautiously stopped at the edge of a wide meadow. Scanning the opposite distance he hesitated stepping into the open. The foreboding he was feeling caused him to falter.

Something was amiss, and that feeling was causing him concern. The warm sun shining through the leaves of the trees he was standing under, creating a false illusion that all was well. He crouched down and continued to study the tree line, almost like a wary animal he sensed... danger. He held his position for quite a great length of time, nothing was moving, not even the birds. Slowly removing a formidable war club from his breech cloth, he cautiously moved away from the treeline.

Gradually, as Etu closed the distance to the other side of the meadow, his sense of danger never left. He gripped the handle of the war club even tighter, raising it slightly in the ready. At the moment he raised it, a loud sound of something impacting against the heavy stone suspended at the end of his war-club, caused him to drop to his knee. A splintered arrow swung around and created a welt upon his arm, the club's shaft splitting in two.

Etu dropped the useless club and quickly pulled his knife, the antler of a deer held a long sharpened blade. He quickly spun in a circle as six Algonquin warriors rushed him from every side. The closest warrior, died almost instantly as his blade was forced between the ribs of the advancing warrior. As Etu attempted to retrieve his blade, it seemed to have become stuck in the bone of the dead man.

He pushed the lifeless body onto the next closest warrior and quickly raced across the final few feet of the meadow, Algonquin arrows began peppering the grass and trees as he ran through them. At the last moment, when he felt he just might possibly elude them, he was struck from behind by a heavy war-club thrown by one of his pursuer's that had been chasing him.

The force with which it struck Etu almost caused him to collapse, blood began to course from the wound in his head. Etu fell against a tree and struggled to regain his balance, it seemed the trees were moving and swaying before the wounded warrior's eyes.

A great roaring sound came to the injured man's ears, somewhere ahead was a river or waterfall... if he could just get to it before his Algonquin enemies closed in on him. Reaching back, he could feel a gaping wound on his head, as he brought his hand back around, he could see it was covered in blood.

Redoubling his efforts, Etu staggered through thick brush. Like a frightened creature, he was hoping it would slow his enemy down. As he ran, the ground suddenly gave way and he rolled down a hill for several feet. Quickly scrambling to his feet he hazarded a glance up to the top of the hill, there a warrior was taking aim with his bow. Etu raced toward the sound, he created a zig-zag pattern, attempting to keep the trees between he and the Algonquin who were chasing him.

Ahead, a stream opened up and Etu raced down a trail that ran parallel to the water. All the while, his pursuer's continued to shoot at him from above. One arrow buried itself into the thick bark of a tree, narrowly missing his head by inches. A second hissed past his ear and disappeared into the thick weeds that grew along the stream.

The sound of the waterfall grew until he could no longer hear the shouts of the Algonquin, just ahead he could see the water dropping over the edge...he would have to take his chances on surviving the landing. Deep down he knew that Grandfather had said his destiny and that of the Aponi was intertwined, he must survive for her!

Planting his foot at the edge of the fall, he suddenly felt a blistering pain in his back. He grasped wildly at the shaft of the penetrating arrow, yet he couldn't prevent himself from falling, the waterfall's mist swallowing the injured man whole.

-Ten-

Etu opened his eyes slowly, the brilliance of the sun caused him to blink several times. As he tried to sit up, a strong hand held him in place. Fearing that he had been captured by the Algonquin, he struggled until he heard a voice speak in a language he understood. "Lie still warrior."

Etu was laying on his chest, behind him someone was cleaning his wounds. The injured man turned his head toward the voice that had just spoken. "You are hurt bad, we are taking you back to our village."

Etu recognized the speaker as Mohawk, glancing to the side was another warrior making a paste and began to pack his wound with it. "Algonquin.."

"Grey Dog is watching them, they moved off after you fell from the the great place. That was two days ago." He pointed to the side of the waterfall. "We saw you jump." He smiled, "Did you think you were a bird?"

"The Algonquin were trying to kill me." He whispered through his pain.

"What would the Enemies of the Iroquois Nation want with a lone Oneida warrior?" He frowned and glanced toward his companion.

"We will soon know, here comes Grey Dog." The other indicated with his head as he continued to change the dressing on Etu's wound.

The one who seemed to be in charge stood up, he towered over the man they called Grey Dog. "The Algonquin are moving on, they want no part of a battle right here, with the Mohawk." The warrior said as he neared the small party.

"How many?" Grey Dog asked. The other warrior never verbally answered, he just held up four fingers.

Grinning, the young warrior finally responded, "There had been as many as the fingers on your hand, until one of them found my knife at his throat."

He crouched down next to Etu, examining his wounds he added, "This brave killed one before it all started."

"I am Etu of the Oneida. We are brothers of the Mohawk." He softly whispered aloud.

"I am Kutkutuk, This is Grey Dog and the one working on you is Truaxe." Etu looked at each and nodded as they were introduced. "You will return with us to our village until you are healed."

"I..I can not go with you. I am searching for an Aponi Spirit." He said trying to sit up but Kutkutuk gently guided him back down.

"Your journey will have to wait, Etu. If we left you here, you will die." He pointed to the injury to his head, "It grows harder for you to think the longer we remain here."

Etu struggled slightly and when the pain became too unbearable he fell back onto the ground. The big warrior sighed, "We will have to make a drag, take turns pulling him until we get back to our village."

The other two nodded and set about collecting the items they would need to create the drag.

-Eleven-

For nearly a month, the beautiful young woman dealt with the constant nausea and vomiting. With an increasing degree of certainty, she no longer held out hope that what ailed her was a simple illness. No, that bitch Leigh was correct and not only stole Parker's body...but left him in hers. She looked down to where the stretched hide harbored a small but defined 'paunch'.

Groaning, she realized that not only must she spend the remainder of her life as a female...but she was now pregnant. She sat on the edge of the mountain, where the water tumbled over the side and into the stream below. It would be so easy to simply throw herself over the edge, ending this strange life forced upon her once and for all.

Again she looked down to where her child was now growing and sighed. This young one knew nothing of either of its parents, nor would it care. She slowly crawled back from the edge and returned to the shelter. She couldn't take her own life, even if she could, she didn't feel it fair to cut short the child growing in her womb.

She gritted her teeth, she would be damned to let Leigh win. No, even though she didn't care for the mother prior to the change...the father...she had been quite fond of. She smiled at her own convoluted joke. Now in some sort of strange warped way, she was both the father AND the mother. Shaking her head she leaned back against the stone and gently rubbed her stomach.

She hummed softly a familiar lilting tune she remembered from her past. The strange feminine voice she would never get used to, yet humming the was one thing Leigh didn't take from her. She tested her ability to speak, still no utterances of any word would come from her voice. Shaking her head, she went back to humming the lullaby she had been attempting earlier. She picked up a piece of dried fish and began to chew it, humming her song through each bite.

She knew that at some point in the future, she would have to come down from that mountain and seek a better form of shelter. Once the weather would turn bad, it would be too late...and she will have more to think about than just herself soon enough.

A Quiet Strength
by Anon Allsop

-Part One-

-Twelve-

The comfortable days grew even hotter as time wore on for the young female, her predicament made all the more unbearable due to her condition. Smells made her stomach lurch, her breasts always seemed sore...was it this way for all women? She shuddered at the thought of thinking herself a woman, yet here she was in this form and getting used to it. Sadly, she felt it was something she would just have to do for the remainder of her days.

Often, she would make her way down the steep incline to crawl into the water, it's coolness helping calm the child growing within. Each trip down, caused her to Realize that as her middle grew, climbing up and down some of the more precarious rocks that were involved in moving about on her mountain, travel would soon become next to impossible.

Each day would find her seeking just a bit further out, trying to find a suitable place with which she could raise her baby once it had been born. From seeing her shadow, and noting the gradual swell of her stomach, she knew she would have to find something soon.

She wasn't sure at first if the fluttering of her insides was from her sickness or if it were the baby, but as it continued with greater frequency she attributed it to the child now swimming in her womb.

Her womb. She sighed, gently caressing her stomach as she sat resting in the water. Often this young one she was carrying would be flip-flopping within her and the very moment she eased herself into the water, the baby would instantly calm down.

She sat in the darkened shadows quietly caressing her stomach, wondering whether she was carrying a young male or female. Sighing heavily, she realized that as long as it is healthy she didn't care. Somehow her change with Leigh had created this pregnancy within her, and with it was a growing maternal.. feeling. She could tell that with each day that progressed in her delicate condition, her attitude toward her child was changing. And with that maternal instinct, she was also accepting that she was becoming more and more female.

Of course since she got onto this godforsaken land, she was a female, but only in body. No, at that point her mind was as male as it had ever been. Over time though, she could feel less and less of Parker and more and more of the female taking over.

Far off, she heard a coyote crying, it set off several, but she was not afraid. She had become used to the night sounds by now, the animals who could do her harm were kept at bay with the long spear she had found and fixed.

Slowly she pulled herself from the water and carried her clothing back to a temporary shelter of long branches that were leaning to a center live tree. Once inside this shelter she stretched out upon the grass.

That she was now going to be a mother, a parent responsible for the life of another human was not lost to her. She would cry, knowing she was bringing into this strange world a child with no real way to provide or protect him or her. It was a frightening thought, and in this world could literately consume her.. and her child.

She rolled to her side, tears changed direction as they rolled from her eyes. Deep sadness overwhelmed her as she cried for the predicament she found herself in. Fear clawed at her mind, questions boiled to the surface, casting doubt on her very existence and survival.

She knew that she was completely unprepared to be a mother, having no concept on how to birth a child without help. But to do it alone she must, for she knew no one on this planet. She could trust no person other than herself.

***

Sometime just before the sun had risen, she was already up and slowly working back toward her original shelter. The day was cloudy with a hint of rain, she could smell it on the early wind.

Using the spear shaft as a walking stick, she slowly meandered her way up a unfamiliar side of her mountain toward her more permanent shelter. On a much lower level, as she was rounding a boulder, she paused, noticing a small hole along the face of the outcropping.

Walking along a slight ledge, she carefully made her way to the hole. Pushing the spear in, just in case a wild animal were inside, she inched her way into the opening. As she inspected the entry, she realized that the cave went even farther back.

Just within the opening she found that she could stand somewhat. Stepping aside, she allowed light to filter through the opening. This cave was probably the size of a very large room, the floor was remarkably flat.

She looked up, trying to discern whether the ceiling was low or high. This was well above her outstretched hand. She could just barely touch it with the tip of the spear she held.

Realizing that there was a natural opening close to the size of her head, she smiled. She knew that this would make a perfect shelter, she could have a fire inside and the smoke would be carried out the hole on the top.

She felt giddy at her luck and for the remainder of that day, set about gathering her belongings from the first shelter and trucking it down to what she now considered 'the permanent' one. Also she tidied it up, cleaning the brush, dead leaves and loose rock, from the floor and making it very liveable.

Not long before dark, she had created a make-shift door, one that she could close and prevent most animals from entering. Satisfied, she set about to building a fire so she could cook a fish that she had caught in one of her many traps down in the river.

Working the bow in the groove of her stone, it wasn't long before she had a nice little fire going. Bigger sticks had been thrown on the dancing flame until the interior of her cave was illuminated in a soft yellow glow.

She began to cook her fish and as she did, her eyes were drawn to what looked like several objects drawn on the wall. Her heart jumped slightly as she moved closer to the image, it was almost like a story was being played out in the pictures. It was as though some ancient artist was speaking to her through the ages.

Walking back toward her small fire, she gathered a stick and carried it close to the wall so she could see the drawing better. She sighed at the beauty of the illustrations of some long ago inhabitants of this cave.

She threw several more sticks onto her fire, hoping to shed more light on the caves interior, all around her there were pictographs. There were the outlines of hands, drawings of animals she recognized and several she didn't.

She sat back on her haunches, smiling at all of the art in front of her. Any man who could have witnessed that heavenly smile, would have fallen in love with her in an instant. The ancient paintings gave her the new found feeling of home, more than anything she had come across since she arrived on this godforsaken planet. For once she didn't feel as though she was alone.

-Thirteen-

A kindly old woman gently bathed Etu with a thin piece of leather, she lowered it into a clay pot and rinsed the sweat from it. The young warrior heard her squeeze the water back into the pot only moments before feeling its refreshing coolness once again dab at his fevered face.

She smiled as she noticed him watching her, yet continued with her ministrations. "You seem to be feeling better?"

Etu licked his lips and tried to talk, his tongue seemed thick, his mouth dry. The older woman gave him a small swallow from a translucent bag, most likely a stomach from some animal. He swallowed, eagerly until she pulled it back.

"How long have I been here?" He asked, his voice raspy.

She smiled, "You have been in my care for a half moon. You were very bad when Kutkutuk brought you to me, he is my son. They pulled you in a travois for many days themselves. I honestly did not think you would survive."

He groaned and looked up into the roof of the lodge, "Almost two moons?" He tried to sit but she pushed him back down. "I have to find the Aponi spirit!"

"You have to allow the great spirit to mend your body first, the Aponi spirit can wait." She pulled the blanket covering him down and examined where the arrow shaft had been pushed through his shoulder...it was the only way to safely extract the arrowhead.

He winced as she touched the area around the hole, "It is mending. You will probably live." Etu tried to raise his head, the severe pain caused him to become dizzy. She turned his head so she could inspect where he had been hit with the war club. "I am sure the Algonquin who attacked you, broke your skull. You should have died."

"I thank you and your son, Kutkutuk for helping me, that I did not...how much longer do you think I will need to remain?" He closed his eyes tightly until the pain in his head subsided.

"You will be ready when you are ready... and you are not ready." She replied bluntly. "I have seen men in better shape than you, die from being hit with a war club. Something happens on the inside, the seem just fine and then... they are dead."

Etu relaxed, even he knew he was too injured to try and leave. He sighed and closed his eyes, praying silently to the Great Spirit for his healing medicine; and for the protection of the Aponi Spirit.

***

Almost another full moon had passed Etu, before he felt well enough to began moving about. His head still throbbed when he stood, but he could feel that he was slowly getting stronger. It angered him that he was taking so long to get back to himself. Between the fever and the actual injury he felt he was losing valuable time. He sat down on a log and quietly watched the people of this Mohawk tribe.

"You are feeling well, my Oneida Brother?" Etu turned his head, just that motion caused him to wince.

"Ah, my friend Kutkutuk." He said with a smile, attempting to conceal the pain he was in.

"Mother says you are doing well. She says you will be able to go before the leaves capture the Spirit Sun's colors." He smiled and reached behind himself to scratch his lower back. "We are planning to make war on the Algonquin, if you are better, would you like to come?"

Etu thought of his responsibility to the Aponi spirit, but nodded anyway. A warrior must first repay his debt to the people who saved him. "I will help you make war on the Algonquin."

Kutkutuk grinned, he held out his huge hand and as each grasped his new friend's wrist, "How soon will you make war." Asked Etu.

"We will wait for the dark moon, we will move on their tribe the following morning." They both stood, he was almost a full head taller than Etu. "Heal well my friend, Etu. Heal well."

-Fourteen-

As the sun came up, the beautiful young girl sat above her new cave. Having found the exit where the smoke from her fire would ventilate, she created a labyrinth of sticks in an attempt to diffuse any smoke from attracting unwanted attention. It wasn't too elaborate, just purely functional. From any passers by above, they would just think it were some twigs that had become lodged in rocks.

April, as she had been referring to herself since that was the month she had been transformed, sat and looked out over her new domain. She reluctantly began to scoot herself down from the cave top, until she could gain better footing.

Carefully she picked her way back to the mouth of her cave, picking up broken branches and any burnable item as she walked. Once inside the safety of her cave, she stacked the wood to use at a much later date. From the shadow she cast upon the wall, April realized that there could be no denying that that bitch Leigh was telling the truth.

She watched as the feminine shadow upon the wall turned slightly and gently caressed the slight, unmistakable swell of her belly. The image caused her to sigh, she was destined to carry a child whether she wanted to or not. It was fear though that raced quickly through her extremities, always reminding her, that here she was alone.

She knew that millions upon millions of humans have bore their young, she would just add to it, becoming one more of that vast number. Thinking of the bitch Leigh in his former body, doing god knows what in Park's name. She frowned, and gritted her teeth. As insane though as it may sound, she hoped that Leigh would find herself on the business end of a dagger. Knowing her...him the way she did, deep within she felt that he would piss someone off and within a year, be dead.

She again looked down, this time her hand gently cupped a sore breast that was confined within the deer hide. She tried to imagine how it would have been to have a child placed within her womb in a traditional way. Closing her eyes she drew upon all the memories she had had when she was Parker, only she was now the female and the man who was bedding her was the big man she watched relieve himself in the stream.

How strange it would be to feel the steady climb of an engorged penis against your body and it not be yours. How you part your soft knees to expose your feminine parts to a male suitor, and actually WANT to be filled. She felt a chill race down her spine as her imagined partner began to penetrate into her willing womb. She could feel her body rocking against the soft, lush grasses next to the river. Faster and faster he pumped his hips, pinning her willingly beneath his bronze body.

Several times since she saw him, had she allowed her mind to ponder over that scene, but never before had it affected her so. She felt her legs twitch and before she could do anything to quell the strange feeling, odd little jolts of pure energy coursed and throbbed between her parted thighs.

She stifled a grunt and quickly clutched her vagina, embarrassment coursed through her. Realizing what had just happened, she groaned and looked up..somehow just touching herself, thinking about having sex has caused her to climax as a female.

As her body climbed back down from its sensual overload, she dejectedly stood and cried. Here was another example of just how female she had become. Wiping her tears, she straightened up as best as she could, picked up her spear and headed out. Her next stop, a bath to cleanse the impurities from her soiled body and garments.

-Fifteen-

Kutkutuk caught up with Etu several days later, his face harbored a concern to which Etu noticed. "What is the matter, Kutkutuk? Your face grows long like the late day shadow."

The bigger man sighed, "Our war has been put off. The Great Father wants to create a union with several tribes before we turn our attention to the Algonquin."

"A Union?" Etu studied his friend as he asked. "Which tribes?"

Kutkutuk began naming them off, "Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga & Seneca."

He raised his eyebrows and gave a quick tilt of his head. "We will become a powerful nation."

Etu thought of what this might mean for his people, no longer would they have to fear the Algonquin, instead it may be the other way around. "What will we call ourselves after we become one great nation?"

"The Great Father is calling us 'Goano'ganoch'sa'je'seroni' Kutkutuk smiled as he nudged his friend.

"The Big Roof People?" Etu chuckled as he scratched his head. "We will strike fear into the Algonquin...fear of our large lodge roof"

The comment caused Kutkutuk to openly laugh, his straight white teeth contrasting against his bronze skin. He shook his head in the negative toward his friend, "I think...the Great Father is thinking of many nations together as one."

Etu nodded, "Let us hope so." He again smiled and caused Kutkutuk to laugh. "A roof will not strike fear in an enemy's heart... unless it happens to fall upon his head.

The humor did not fall short as Kutkutuk grinned, "You are a funny man Etu, you are always good for a laugh."

-Sixteen-

The two young friends stood close to the front as all chiefs from the five Indian nations sat in council and contemplated the foraging of one great nation. The Great Father stood and addressed those assembled, in his hand he held a single stick high overhead.

"You there, what is it they call you?" He pointed to Kutkutuk.

"I am Kutkutuk, warrior for the Mohawk." He spoke as he stepped forward, then gave a reverent nod to the Great Father.

"Kutkutuk is like all warriors of our great Confederacy, the Mohawk, the Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca! Strong, powerful & proud." He gestured to each of the tribes as he spoke, finally he faced the man who stood before him.

"Alone, we each are like this stick." He held it aloft and then placed it into Kutkutuk's hand. "When our enemies attack, we are often powerless to defend our women and children."

As he nodded, Kutkutuk's powerful muscles flexed and easily broke the stick in half. The old warrior then again approached the tribal chieftains.

He walked over to the first chief and spoke for all to hear, "My brother the Mohawk, what say you?"

"The Mohawk will join." The man stood, handing him a stick similar to the one that Kutkutuk had broken.

He again walked to the next chief and again spoke loud, his voice carrying so all could hear. "My brother's the Oneida and Onondaga, what say you?"

In unison, they each stood proudly saying, "The Oneida will join! The Onondaga will join!

One by one each of the Chiefs offered up their symbolic sticks to the Great Father, he slowly carried them to where Kutkutuk stood. The young warrior accepted them, and as he held them out, the Great Father took up a thin piece of leather and tied them together in a bundle.

"The hide is our union, it is what binds us together as one. Where one stick is easily broken, five are not!" He held out his hand to Kutkutuk, who began to flex his powerful muscles. The bundle only would bend, he could not break them.

"Until Grandfather Sun sets forever, we have become the most powerful nation; a nation to be feared by our enemies! We stand before the Great Spirit as the Iroquois Confederacy!"

A great cheer rose from the throats of the warriors and women alike. For once, all felt as though they could live without fear. Several warriors were boisterous and eager to set upon the Algonquin and shouted as much to the Great Father.

Like a great conductor, he held out his hands and the crowd settled almost instantly. "No! No! NO! We are not going to set out to destroy our enemies, overwhelming them with our power." He slowly lowered his hands, rotating his palms up. "Our enemies will know what we are capable of... that is what will protect us! We will become a league of peace and power!"

Several of the younger warriors exchanged glances, for in their blood, they wanted to scrub the Algonquin from the earth. The Great Father shook his fist as he still held one palm up. "If our enemies do not respect our peaceful ways, then they will come to fear the Iroquois Nation!" He suddenly brought his fist down into his palm, the smack could be heard far back into the crowd.

As fist struck palm, the entire body of Iroquois as they would collectively be known, erupted in great cheer and boisterous glee. Etu glanced to Kutkutuk and raised his eyebrows, both were pleasantly surprised by the decision of their Great Father.

-Seventeen-

It was dark, the moon was but a sliver in the sky, the young female sat in water up to her chest. It had been an incredibly hot afternoon and the comfort she felt from the cool water was very welcome.

All about her was a multitude of night sounds, crickets, frogs and night birds. Their constant cacophony and the moving current was hiding any sound she made quite well. She was sitting in a particularly dark bend, and had no fear of being seen. Low hanging trees and reeds seemed to conceal her from view, blocking the naked woman from the unwanted eyes of potential harm.

With her long blonde hair pulled back, braided in a hap-hazard way. She quietly washed the sweat from her body, paying close attention to her sore nipples. She held no doubt now that she was well on to her way of becoming a mother, even if she desired it not to be true, she knew.

She cleansed her skin using a small flat reed-woven cloth she made herself, it was slightly rough but when soaked just enough it worked rather well. As she ran the 'cloth' over her slowly expanding belly, she marveled at the thought of a real human growing inside.

Throughout the heat of the day, the tiny child inside of her womb seemed to be quite active. Now though, the cool water seemed to give the little one some buoyancy, it had settled down almost as soon as she lowered herself into the stream.

'How could this be possible?' She thought to herself as she chased a flutter across her stomach. She had been forced to accept the fact that she was now a female and a mother to be.

She let her mind dwell upon that fact... mother to be. She knew, though unwillingly, she had been transformed into an exact duplicate of Leigh. She also knew that as part of the transformation process, the semen from her former testes had somehow been absorbed into this fertile feminine body. Even though she hated Leigh with a passion, for stealing her identity, she could take some solace that part of her former self would live on. Albeit through her offspring.

She studied her feminine curves in the soft light of the moon, Leigh was despicable...but she was also very lovely. At least if she was stuck until death, she would be beautiful. The young mother sighed.

Frustration grew in her as she cursed aloud, yet all that came to her ears was a guttural noise. As each day progressed, she could not create words because of whatever Leigh had forced down her throat. As far as she could tell, she had been deposited on this godforsaken planet for nearly 6 months. She again tried to whisper but it came out sounding like a deer in rut.

Gritting her teeth, she sank lower in the water until her head was completely under. With a shake of her head, the braid came loose and copious amounts of platinum blond hair began to drift about her face under the water's surface. Once again, as she rose to the top, she quietly pushed her hair back and blinked the water from her rather long lashes.

Slowly she stood, yet stayed concealed within the darkness of the shadows. Her eyes, accustomed to the light searched out for any danger lurking in the wood. There was none.

Quietly she retreated to the bank and watched as thin little droplets of water rolled down her womanly body. Again she sighed, for as much as she had seen, she was still not used to seeing it on her.

She felt the underside of her baby's bump, guessing that she was now somewhere near to six months along. The ever growing child within her body, causing a pull upon her back. She could tell as well that there was a slight expansion of her breasts, for the hide was becoming more and more tight with each day.

'Six months pregnant? I could just die!' She groaned to herself, as she thought of the impossibility that she was living through. She straightened up and set her jaw, she wouldn't let this destroy her. Her own mother had carried a child in this way several times, and he.. she, always thought of her mother as weak.

Now as if a veil had suddenly been removed from her beautiful eyes, for the first time she saw her mother as a very strong woman. Not Leigh's mother but Parks. Somehow she realized that the inner strength of a woman is something that she was going to have to discover, tapping into a vein, all of her own. She knew she could, she was strong and felt the power flow within.

The young beauty picked up her belongings and retrieved her spear from the tree it had been leaning against. She would be a survivor, for only the strong survive! She headed back toward her mountain, imbibed with a strange certain sense of raw feminine power... a quiet strength if you will.

A Quiet Strength
by Anon Allsop

-Part One-

-Eighteen-

Etu stood at an unfamiliar edge of a meadow, he was preparing to hunt for deer. The area he was in was new to him, for it was directly in the middle of a very thick wood. Animal trails crisscrossed the entire open area, and he felt as if he were patient, a sturdy young buck might pass within a relatively close distance.

It was his way of trying to repay Kutkutuk's family for their kindness, and for nursing him back to health. He noticed a game trail that crossed the meadow and then slowly skirted the woods. Scouting the trees, he found one that would be easy enough to climb, allowing him to scale perhaps the distance, high enough above ground, where he could use it to his advantage.

He sat quietly in a low hanging limb, perhaps the height of two men upon each shoulders from the ground. He was watching the outlying area for any movement that would alert him that deer were in the area. At the far end of the meadow there were three deer quietly nibbling at the green shoots.

Etu quietly removed an arrow from his quiver, placing it at the ready in his bow. There would be time before they reached his area, he patiently made himself comfortable and enjoyed the early morning sun.

He allowed his mind to wander slightly, wondering if the Aponi female was still in the area. It chagrined him greatly, knowing that he may have missed his chance to locate her due to his ambush and injury by the Algonquin.

He watched a small white sky dancer or aponi as he knew it, flitting among the trees around him. It only landing for a brief moment before taking flight once again. His eyes followed it and he thought back to that day when he first saw the Aponi Spirit.

It was as only yesterday when he saw her emerge from within the cloud of tiny white aponi, completely naked and quite beautiful. The sun filtering through the treetops, dappling her in splendor. He caught himself sigh deeply, and for a brief moment he recalled their eyes meeting there in the woods.

It was the first time at seeing an Aponi spirit, and she was forever burned into his memory. So beautiful... so untouchable. Although it was rare to see the white humans, he recalled one such person who had traded with his people years ago when he was but a child.

That man smelled foul, like dead animals, his face was covered with hair like a wild dog. Etu remembered him bringing items with him to trade, up to that time the Oneida could only dream of. He spoke a strange language and although he did know how to communicate to his people, but spoke that with an odd accent.

As a child, Etu remembered hearing him tell someone that he was from the 'old country'. Etu laughed to himself, it was such a silly thing for the little man to say... in his opinion, no country was older than his own.

Yes, under the grime that man was of a similar color to the Aponi Spirit, although his had been burned from the sun and wind. The Aponi female's skin was flawless and pale, it appeared to be soft and supple like that of a newborn. Her long hair was very pale, much like the strands of the maze his people grew.

Etu admonished himself as he realized that he had been daydreaming when he should be paying attention to the deer. They had moved slightly closer, yet were still too far off to shoot. He watched as the bigger female deer kept looking back beyond her young fawns, as if waiting for something.

The warm sun was shining down on her rust colored coat, the top of her back and those of her offspring were almost black in color. He marveled at the graceful way she moved, her beauty paled in comparison to that of the Aponi Spirit though.

He couldn't imagine any creature, two or four legged that was as gloriously beautiful, as the young lithe creature he spied those long months ago. Though here he was, hunting animals instead of the creature that seemed to capture his every waking moment, and most of those while he slept.

His eyes were drawn to the area behind the deer, another bigger one was slowly making its way into the meadow to feed. It was keeping in the shadows yet he could tell that it was most likely the great stag.

As it slowly emerged from the shadows, he could see the antlers of the bigger deer. It cautiously moved out into the opening and began to feed off of the tender grass. The buck raised its head and began to scan the side of the woods, directly opposite from Etu.

The young man's eyes traveled to the area they were all watching now, ears twisted forward alertly. There was nervousness evident in the smaller deer, the bigger male raised his foot and stamped it down hard. This motion caused the doe and two young ones to flee instantly into the woods behind the big male.

Again the male stamped its foot and for the first time blew, the sound echoed off the trees. Etu slowly slipped behind a larger part of the tree. If they were concerned, he felt he should be too.

Etu watched the remaining deer as it warily gazed upon the opposite stand of trees, it bobbed his head, almost as though it was testing the wind for scent. It suddenly wheeled and bounded into the trees, approximately three jumps took it well beyond sight of the hunter.

He frowned as he studied the area the deer had been intently watching, movement in the shadows drew his attention. Cautiously emerging from the shadows was an Indian, he was leaning forward and staying low, in his hand he carried a fearsome war-club.

Etu watched from between the branches as another and another emerged, from their dress, he knew them as Algonquin. From his place of hiding, he watched fourteen warriors cross the meadow in a stealthy manner. Their path took them within a few paces of the concealed hunter, they were heading toward the Mohawk village. This was a raiding party, it was quite evident to Etu, that they were not seeking game.

The raiding party slowly melted into the woods and as soon as they were far enough away, Etu dropped to the ground and slung his bow over his shoulder. At a dead run he took a path that would allow him to bypass the party and hopefully get him to the village before they arrived.

Racing like the wind, Etu hurtled logs and small streams as he attempted to beat the warriors to Kutkutuk's village. He even dared to pause, just to make sure they were actually heading toward the Mohawk lands.

He met his friend at the near side of the tribal ground. "Ho, my friend Etu, what is your hurry?" He said with a smile as the panting warrior caught his breath.

"Algonquin war party..." He pointed as he gasped for air, "They are not far away!"

Kutkutuk quickly called another brave to him and relayed the message, soon, about thirty young stalwart braves set out to meet the Algonquin warriors well outside the village, and with them was Etu.

-Nineteen-

At seven months along, she knew that her days of climbing up and down the mountain side were numbered, even at this lower level. Her belly was round and protruding quite a bit. Her growing middle forced her to construct a practical gown from pelts from the animals that she had trapped. Mostly it was made of rabbits, but there were a handful of others within the garment.

She had skinned them, and using a scraper she had fashioned from slate she had found not far away. She removed every bit of fur from them, using tools much like her own ancient ancestors, she sewed the pelts together with sinew from the very same animals.

She stood behind a boulder and watched a young deer walking along the stream, and frowned knowing that to bring down such a creature would have to involve something more than the spear she had. At the distance she was from the deer, it would take a Herculean throw, and she no longer possessed the muscle or accuracy to cast it that far.

For now, all she could do was watch and wish, sighing she thought back to the primitive life she had been forced to live. Having to forage and learn on the fly just to survive. She thought back to her days at the academy, all of what she had learned was being wasted. Technology was a complete joke here, it was as if she had been thrown backward thousands of years from her own time.

She had been calculating what it would take to consistently bring down one of the larger deer that she watched each day. She knew it would have to be fast and able to strike from a distance away. She took a stick and began to scratch in the ground an ancient device she had remembered once when she had still been in school.

Locating a green piece of wood, almost half her own hight, she began formulating her idea. The stick was soaked for a half day in the water and she bent it around a rock until it held a slight curve. When she was satisfied, she slowly bent the ends in an opposite curve as the overall shape. It took a full day to hold onto the curve, but as it dried slightly she could see it would work. She was making an ancient looking bow.

For two days while she had been working on the stick, she was studying the area for a place of which she might have the best chance for a deer. She particularly noticed that one passed a brushy area at almost the same time each day, perhaps if she could hide herself there she might be able to ambush one as it passed, perhaps by thrusting her spear into its side.

She carefully began plotting a hunt for the morning, using the time when she noticed them moving down toward the water. Waking long before daylight, she made her way down to the stream and striped down until she was entirely naked. There at the waters edge, she coated herself with mud and covered every inch of her body in an attempt to mask her scent from the wary animal.

Hiding within the foliage she waited patiently for the young deer to walk by, nor did she have long to wait. A moment just after sunrise, she heard a twig snap to her left, she froze and only her eyes moved toward the sound. It made a low guttural sound, almost like a belch, but only seconds before it came into view.

She gripped her spear tighter and held it in the ready. As soon as the patch of reddish brown passed in front of her, she drove forward with her spear, burying it deep into the unsuspecting creature's chest. It was only able to run a short distance before falling dead upon the ground.

She was a mix of pride, sadness and horror as what she had just done sank into her mind. Tears streamed down her face as she cleaned the animal of its insides, but she knew it was something that had to be done.

She drug it nearer to the stream where she rinsed the blood from the carcass and herself, as well as the mud that worked so well at masking her scent. Anchoring the animal beneath a log, she used the movement of the river to wash the insides of it clean.

After placing her dress back upon her body, she gathered what she could of the internal organs that she knew how to prepare, and carried those back toward her cave... nothing was wasted. Almost two hours later she returned to the kill and began the long trek back up the mountain, struggling with the heavier animal.

The exertion that her small, weaker body took trying to get the small deer up to her cave was beyond comprehension. She pushed, pulled, lifted and drug the carcass for a half day up the side of that mountain until she collapsed. Her muscles ached, and for once became concerned for what she may have done to the child she carried.

Fear began to permeate through her mind, worry ate at her as she thought of all the horrible scenarios that could happen to her child. Movement within her stomach allowed her to relax, until once again she felt confident that everything was alright. She realized though, that she wouldn't be able to exert herself in this manner any more.

She also knew that she must begin to gather up food items for the duration of her pregnancy, because as she grew, much of what she had just done would not be an option. That evening, although quite tired, she ate well. For the first time she had something other than small game. She skinned the animal as it lay on the ground within her cave, but kept its hide under the animal to keep the meat clean.

For almost half the night she cut small strips of meat from the larger portions and allowed them to dry. Only then did she lay back and rest until the morning sun filtering through the cave opening awaken her.

She began to strip thin threads of sinew from the long hind legs, once she had several, she braided them together as one long thin strand. This long strand she fastened to each end of the stick in little notches she had made. She sat the bow out in the sun.

She kept watch, her beautiful crystalline blue eyes paying attention to her duties as well as to the string drawing her bow tighter and tighter. Often she would run some deer fat or tallow along the length of the string to keep it malleable.

Near nightfall, she gathered most of the bones, the ones she had no use for and carried them to the edge of a cliff. Carefully she tossed them into a gorge that would deposit them far enough from her so that predatory animals would not be lured near to the cave.

She kept alert, paying mind to her safety as well as to the string drawing her bow tighter and tighter. The last thing she needed was to have someone catch her unready, or her bow to crack from not being attended to.

Often she would run some deer fat or tallow along the length of string to keep it malleable. It was growing ever tighter as it dried, pulling the ends of the bow together more and more. The outward curve at each end was working against the draw of the string, once done, she would have a very formidable weapon. The string being as tight as one of the ancients instruments she had seen in a Dulvinian lounge she had visited often in her former life.

The following morning, she began to cut and dry out the meat. Every place where she could safely hang it to dry was used, even several spots where she had to drape it over a boulder had been utilized.

Carefully she drew closed her make-shift door, hoping that it would prevent any hungry animals from entering and eating her supplies. She turned and headed down the mountain in search of straight sticks suitable to use for arrows.

The sun was high overhead when she thought she had found enough sticks to make the shaft for her arrows, She tied the bundle together and carried them over her shoulder as she returned back up the mountain. The trip made more and more cumbersome because of her ever expanding middle.

She found herself humming a quiet little song as she walked, not sure if it soothed the child she carried, but it helped her pass the time. Often she would try to use her voice, as yet no intelligible sound would come forth. It was strange to her that she could hum but not speak, it seemed impossible that they not be connected in some way. Hopeful, she felt that perhaps the liquid that Leigh had poured down her throat might just be wearing off, little by little. With each step, as she thought of the person who stole her body, she grew angrier.

Her bitterness to Leigh instead made her cry, she wanted so desperately to be able to talk again. 'Damn feminine hormones, she thought bitterly'. She wiped her tears, unable to fathom bringing life into the world and not be able to speak would be like. She worried that her yet unborn offspring would be slowed in development if his or her mother could not speak. She knew how a child's early years were so important to development, how would it learn if it's mother could only grunt?

She sighed desperately as she began her long walk back up to her cave, its winding and twisting way, taxing upon her already aching body. Often her way was nothing more than a thin trail, broken by strenuous climbs around large boulders or fallen rock.

As darkness began to fall, the exhausted girl pushed aside the door to the cave. The flexing sticks that made up the door gave way to her efforts, grated against the cave floor as she bent low and crawled to the sanctuary inside.

Carefully placing the bundle aside, she pushed closed her door and pulled the stomach skin of water from her shoulder and sat it up so it would not drain out. Unrolling a rabbit pelt, she removed a dried piece of meat and began to chew it. As she struggled through the meat, she thought back to her childhood.

How she missed the foods that her mother had made, warm foods.. cooked foods. She leaned her head back as she continued to chew, her tired mind thinking back to a bygone day. The emotions overwhelmed her and she began to cry, tears rolling down her pale cheeks.

-Twenty-

She could hear a mothers voice, calling from somewhere in the distance. A young boy raced across the lawns and up the steps of the older home. The kindly woman that stood there was smiling, her arms open and inviting.

From the house the boy could smell wonderful food cooking, its enticing flavors meshing into one heavenly aroma. He was ushered indoors, across clean carpets toward the kitchen. As they rounded the corner her perspective changed. Now she was the mother, the youngster in front of her was a filthy child, hair unkempt and in a disarray.

The wonderful aroma that she had been smelling, had suddenly changed. On the ground before her child was a bloody carcass, the child fell on it like he was an animal, tearing huge chunks of meat from it with each bite.

He looked back toward his mother, his dirty face streaked with dripping blood. She screamed, the bloodcurdling sound caused her to bolt upright, the dried meat she had been chewing falling the rest of the way to the cave floor.

The young woman rolled onto her side and sobbed deeply into her arm, this forbidden planet was no place to raise a child. She must find a way to bring some sort of civilization to this young child she carried... or she would die trying.

Wiping her tears away, she sat up straighter, she was determined that her child would not become an animal. She was better than that. She thought to her dream and realized that she did have a mentor to help her with this baby. She smiled, knowing that the nightmare she had was only that, and most questions she would have, she could easily draw the answers from her own mother.

-Twenty One-

As they raced to meet the Algonquin raiding party head on, Kutkutuk signaled for half of the Mohawk defenders to split and flank the invaders from the side. Etu, the only Oneida with them stayed beside his friend.

The entire Mohawk surge slowed as they neared their foe, allowing the flanking maneuver to quickly close the Algonquin in on two sides. To Etu, it was a marvel of beauty, impressing upon the young warrior his friend's cunning at the art of war.

At the very last moment, an Algonquin warrior saw that a large contingent of Mohawk's were coming right into the teeth of their invasion. It was as the two combatant armies collided that a few Algonquin realized that they had been flanked. Though they fought hard, only one of the enemy had survived. Battered and bruised, he was drug back into the village.

The chief scowled as he looked upon the Algonquin warrior, he stood proud until he was struck in the back by a club and brought to his knees. "What reason do you have for attacking our village?"

The proud warrior slowly looked from one elder to another, then returned his haughty expression back toward the chief. "We are in search of new hunting grounds."

The older man crouched down so he could look directly into the eyes of the Algonquin. "Since the time of my father's father, your people have pushed the five tribes of the Iroquois south, stealing our land, murdering our peoples each and every time." He motioned for Kutkutuk to raise the Indian to his feet.

Now standing eye to eye, the old chief held up his hand. "The five fingers of the Iroquois have spoken, if the Algonquin wish for peace. We will offer our hand to them..but if the Algonquin wish for war, the five tribes will be as a great fist." He slowly closed his hand for emphasis.

To Kutkutuk he addressed, "Take some braves with you, escort this warrior to the edge of our lands, turn him loose. Let him go back to his people and give them our warning."

His dark eyes once again settled upon the battered warrior facing him, "Now go. But be warned, should you return to our lands again, you will be killed in a most terrible way." As the old one started away, he motioned for Kutkutuk to walk with him for a bit.

The Algonquin just stared at the chief as he turned his back on him, trying to be proud and yet bitter to be the last one alive from his raiding party. Kutkutuk signaled for several to escort the warrior toward the edge of the village and wait. He began to walk with the chief.

"Who alerted you about the Algonquin?" The chief smiled and looked upward at the bigger man.

"It was my friend Etu, of the Oneida." He motioned for Etu to come over so the chief could see him.

Etu stepped up beside his friend, "I am Etu, great one." He lowered his face slightly in honor.

The old one eyed him for several long seconds. "You have done well, Etu. Our village owes you a debt of favor."

"Your village owes me nothing. I was almost killed when Kutkutuk brought me here to mend. His family has taken care of me well. I was doing something that I would have done for any of my brothers."

The old man smiled and grasped Etu's shoulder in a friendly manner, "The Great Spirit will bestow you with kindness...I can see it already. May your parents be honored."

Etu bowed his head forward, "Thank you great one."

He then looked up at Kutkutuk, "Take Etu with you, see that the Algonquin warrior is not harmed so he will relay my message."

The big Indian nodded and turned, he and Etu caught up with the others who were surrounding the Algonquin. His hands were tied and wore a collar around his neck, there were two stiff poles in stout warriors hands that were tied to the collar. The two warriors could control the Algonquin effectively without getting too close to him.

Several days they marched, always headed to the north. As they neared the lands of the Algonquin, the air turned chilly. Here and there were signs that the change of seasons were near. Etu admired this beautiful country, its pristine lands and thick tree canopy.

For one full day they began their march inside the Algonquin lands, yet they were far enough away from populated land that they had no fear. Soon they would divest themselves of this burden and return back to the familiar lands of home.

Kutkutuk pointed to a valley below them, the trees created a grand hue of yellows, golds and reds. Here and there were the tops that had not yet been affected by the cool evenings. "This land once belonged to my people, until the Algonquin chased us off it."

The Algonquin warrior glanced backward, but said nothing. Kutkutuk continued, "I really do hope our enemies come to attack, maybe then we will flex our muscle and take our father's lands back."

He took his war-club and gently knocked upon the pole that was tied to the Algonquin. "I'd love nothing more than to snap your neck with my bare hands, filthy dog."

"Some day, you may get your chance." Their prisoner spoke without glancing. "If we come though, it will not be for land."

Kutkutuk quickly walked with purpose to be beside the captive warrior, "If you come...it will be to die." He shook his war-club menacingly, so there was no doubt of what he meant.

As night fell, they had located a hollow log and tied the warrior to it so his head was stuck in the hole. It was up to him to remove himself, but the leather which bound the Algonquin was tied so he would be able to release it if he worked at it long enough. Silently, Kutkutuk prayed that great bear brother, would find the Algonquin first.

As the sun rose, the small party was well on their way back to the Mohawk village. Once there, Etu had decided that he would again set out to find the Aponi female.

A Quiet Strength
by Anon Allsop

-Part One-

-Twenty Two-

After half of a day, including a bit of trial and error, the beautiful young 'mother to be' discovered if she put feathers upon the opposite end of her arrow shaft, she would have much more control. It took several tries before she realized that there was only one way that they could be positioned to prevent them from being shredded off each time they were shot.

Attaching the feathers was simple enough. She went only as far as a nearby pine tree and utilized the sap as her glue of choice. Satisfied that it would work, she began to create over two dozen of the straight little wooden sticks. First by notching out one end allowed it to rest on the string, then she began the tedious task of gluing the feathers to the shaft.

She took a walk to her favorite location to find little shards of slate, she carefully placed the sharp stone into a leather pouch she had and carried it back to the cave. With a rounded stone, she would break off pieces to create a definite point at one end and a relative square on the other to attach it to her arrow shaft.

Her only problem from this point forward, aside from working around her distended stomach, seemed to be coming up with the correct weight of the actual arrow-tips. Too heavy and it would impede the accuracy, to light and it had no knock down power. It was a fine line between success and total failure, her very life depended upon the ability to provide food for her and her yet unborn child.

Setting cross-legged on the floor she diligently finished with the attaching the sharp points upon the shafts of the arrows. Only by using a successful test point as a visual reference could she decide which of the little pieces would work and which would not. She paused during her work and stretched out her legs, she needed to stand, the cramping she was feeling had become quite uncomfortable.

Rolling to her knees she crawled to a rock and slowly stood, a severe pain arched across her body from stomach to back. Using the wall of the cave to move toward the little doorway, she attempted to gradually stand upright, but could not.

Again a sharp pain raced throughout her body, centered upon her stomach, coursing to her back and then returned. She cried out in pain as the feeling almost made her knees buckle. Fear began to percolate into her mind, even though she had not been a lifelong female, she knew something must be terribly wrong.

Mentally she again counted off the time since she arrived, as best as she could figure, she was still about a month and a half from being due. To her, this was not supposed to happen, at least not yet!

She gently eased herself outside, hoping the cool mountain air could clear her mind. Yet another sharp stab of pain caused her to grasp her middle. As the pain slowly passed, she was able to straighten up slightly.

Thinking back to her military training as Parker, she remembered taking a first-aid course where they briefly touched upon childbirth. She began one of the breathing techniques that they taught to help herself through the pain, it allowed her to momentarily fight her way through the latest bout with cramping.

She had no real way of knowing how soon her time was before she would be forced to give birth, but a sudden urge to prepare came to the forefront. She placed a piece of long, thin hide into her mouth and each time the pain returned, she would bite down.

Again and again they would recur, steadily growing more stronger than the last. Tears from the pain that she endured began to stream down her face, forcing her to make little audible gasps. She was slowly getting to a point where the breathing technique no longer helped

Her mind screamed to her, the unnatural desire to push began to work against her. She returned into the cave and pushed closed her little door made of sticks, as she was walking toward her bedding, she felt a strange silky water rush from between her thighs.

The unintelligible words that left her mouth were only elevated to a piercing shriek. A great surge of pain brought her to the floor, she caught herself and supported her weight by her arms. All of her limbs began to shake and the desire to push grew so strong, she felt her muscles involuntarily complying.

Her legs began to shake uncontrollably, almost to the point of being unable to bear her own weight. Again grew the desire to push. Again her body complied. Looking back between her thighs, a strange sight to behold from this angle. Her child was entering the world.

Easing her rear lower, she reached back and gently guided the slippery child to the floor. She began to earnistly despair for it as yet was unable to breathe. Unimaginable goo was covering the small flailing infant, it's mouth agape in a silent scream.

Quickly she turned and began to clear the infant's face and airways, the grayish blue cast caused her to hurry. It was almost as though the child was waiting for one grand moment to make itself known, as for up to now it only held its mouth open and shook.

The scream that came was long and ear piercing. As if it had been building and drawing in air for this one announcement into the world. The cry of the child caused the young mother to smile, to her it was the grandest sound on this godforsaken planet. She sat back and quickly cleaned the infant with a rabbit pelt, the soft side doing all of the work. The young mother gathered the child up in her arms and held her close, she smiled and looked upon the rosy face of her young son.

After she had tended to the necessary duties to clean both herself and her child up, severing the cord which attached the two of them. She began the delicate process of feeding her young charge. Anyone who flippantly says that nursing a child was a divine and beautiful experience, would have been sternly chastised by this young mother. It was a painful but necessary chore, and she knew that all mothers here, would have to go through it without the benefit of artificial means.

It did not take long for the child to discover what to do, in practically no time at all she could hear it swallow. Amazed that there was anything within the womanly globes, she realized that all the while her body had been preparing her for this very moment. The thought did cross her mind that she seemed slightly enlarged from what she had been directly after her change.

Between the wincing pain she had as he nursed, and the gratifying expression she held watching her son, a passer by might be unsure on how to read this young mother.

-Twenty Three-

It was a cool morning as Etu bid goodbye to his new friend, Kutkutuk and his family, before beginning his trek back to where he had been chased and injured by the Algonquin. Brilliant orange, yellow's and reds of the trees went as far as he could see. He quickened his pace, it would not be long before the crisp air of fall turned to the vicious bite of winter.

Once outside of the village, Etu broke into a jog. His pace was quickly putting distance between himself and the Mohawk village, ever narrowing that of he and the Aponi female he desperately wanted for his own.

Throughout the next two days he retraced the steps to where Kutkutuk saved him from certain death. As he began to near the area where he lost track of the female, he became wary for this is where he had been jumped by the Algonquin warriors. Keeping to the shadows he began to skirt the meadow, watchful for danger.

As he disappeared among the tangled forest, he cautiously edged along a great towering waterfall. Hesitating at the bottom of the falls, he reached out and took a moment to take a drink. Etu scanned with his eyes, searching for a path up the mountain, deliberately moving as quietly as possible. After a few moments of searching, he discovered an ancient trail. Cautiously he began his ascent, slowly at first but as it widened out, he began to eagerly get to a high point where he might look for sign of the pale female. There just ahead, two of the tiny white sky dancers were flitting and fluttering on the trail. Instantly, buoyed by a sense of certainty, he knew the little dancing aponi were showing him the way.

Climbing up the last few steps, Etu stood atop a boulder and scanned the horizon. He wasn't sure what exactly he was looking for, but anything out of the ordinary might be important. As the aponi swirled about his head, he followed them with his eyes. Slowly, as he rotated his head, dark eyes focused upon the horizon. A cool breeze gently caressed his face, carried to him like a kiss from the beautiful Aponi female he still sought.

He inhaled deeply, the breeze carried with it too, the scent of wood smoke. Though far from his home, he knew of few who actually lived in these rugged mountains. His trained eyes kept returning to one spot in particular, it was about half way up a mountain on perhaps a half day's walk from where he stood right now. While he could not be positive, there was a faint haze which hung in the air. It could easily have been missed, and was probably nothing, he thought it might be wise to see if that was the smoke he might have been smelling.

One last time he gazed across the land of his fathers, he longed for the day that he would show his sons this land, instilling in them the great pride he held for this hallowed ground. As he began climbing down, he thought to himself that more than anything, he would cherish the stories he'd tell his children about the pursuit of their mother.. his desirable Aponi.

-Twenty Four-

It was just a flickering shadow that broke the sunlight which pierced through the separation between the tied stick door. Her crystalline blue eyes quickly glanced up toward the opening. Nothing was there, she again returned her attention to the infant nursing at her breast.

Once more the sunlight was briefly blocked, startled she glanced toward it, her focus on it much longer this time. After quite some time passed, she let her eyes drift down to the this young one suckling at her breast. Never before in her life had she ever held something so precious, so perfect. She leaned forward and kissed the rosy cheek of her son.

Again her attention was diverted from her charge, she quickly darted her eyes to the opening. The late afternoon sun was creating a pattern from the sticks upon the cave flooring. She carefully brought her son up and began patting his back until she was rewarded with an audible burp.

She smiled and brushed her own soft cheek against that of her sons. The loving caress she gave him was beyond her, because one year ago this would have been unfathomable, And now here she was holding her own offspring, a strange combination of her old and new self.

Suddenly, the room grew entirely dark. Her eyes quickly raced toward the opening.. something was out there, its shadow preventing the sunlight from entering. She drew back in fear, slightly turning her back to whatever was outside the door in an attempt to protect her young infant son.

Through what little light there was, she could see something large just outside the door. It was working diligently at attempting to figure a way past the strange item that blocked it's path. A low growl emitted from the creature outside, and it began to pull at the wooden stick barrier. The young mother stifled a scream as she saw long black claws testing the door. She quickly laid her son on the furry pelt, and struggled to her feet and put herself between the lurking menace and her newborn son.

She lunged for her spear and arrived at the door just as the beast tore it from the opening. The terrified mother began to thrust the tip into the hairy beast as it tried to enter. The black bear backed from the doorway in rage and pain, taking swipes at the hurtful object which inflicted torment.

She advanced toward the doorway as the bear backed away, often sweeping its great paw at her, trying to dislodge the weapon from her grasp. Several times she thrust forward, the spear tip drawing blood each time she struck. As she stabbed at the bear, it briefly knocked the spear away, it's great raking claws nearly catching the young woman as it passed. The sound of the two combatants was deafening, the woman screaming and crying as she fought the bear, desperately preventing it from entering the cave; and the bear growling in rage from the wounds she inflected with her spear.

-Twenty Five-

Trekking from one mountain to the next one over is no easy task, even if they are nearby each other. It took Etu almost a full day to pick his way down into the valley between and then slowly begin crossing the great expanse between.

A small stream ran between them, several large boulders lay where ancient glaciers had deposited them eons ago. Etu's pace was brisk, always keeping a trained eye upon the faint haze that he felt was smoke. From time to time, a downward breeze would carry the hint of a campfire to him.

As Etu moved toward the farther mountain he thought about his reason for being on this quest, whether it was a fool's errand or not. He knew that he may be chasing a ghost, like a wisp of smoke from the great fire of life. But deep down he felt that this Aponi Spirit had taken on flesh and blood for some reason, she had been put before him as part of a great plan.

He realized that he must keep his wits about him, to not pay attention to his surroundings could mean death. With powerful muscles carrying him onward, it would seem by afternoon he began to climb upward, toward the smoke.

He had no doubt now that this was a campfire, and whoever was tending it, was quite knowledgeable in masking their location. He smiled to himself as he crawled over a particularly difficult boulder, 'They were indeed good - yet he knew he was better.'

At one point during his climb, he thought he heard a low growl far off in the distance. He instantly recognized it for what it was, and began to put distance between himself and the bear as quickly as he could. The sound though seemed to be coming from all around, echoing against the rock wall and boulders, making pinpointing the exact location very difficult, and dangerous.

He began to climb higher, he wanted to have a position above the angry bear if he were to come face to face with it. Being below such a creature would be taking your life in your own hands.

Etu climbed until he found a smooth path that must have been a ancient game trail. He feared the bear would be using this same trail, so he began to scale the rock even higher. Though he could still hear it, it now seemed as if it were slightly below his position and seemed to be full of rage.

Crawling out on a overhang Etu could see a smoky haze seep from a small hole just below him, sticks and brush were diffusing the smoke that filtered through. He smiled at the ingenuity, and scrambled across so he could discern why the bear was sounding so angry.

He crouched quickly down and worked his way toward the edge, peering over until he could see the large black bear angrily shaking his head from side to side. It was raking it's powerful claws at the opening, trying to get at something or someone inside.

From his vantage, he watched a spear being thrust out, obviously preventing the bear from gaining entry. The warrior inside the cave was putting up a valiant fight, yet the angry and visibly injured bear was persistent. He could see blood from several wounds on its front paws, chest and face.

With the realization of what was happening just below him, Etu began to investigate a access to climb downward to assist this warrior defend himself from the bear. Slightly over the height of two men upon each others shoulders, Etu gathered himself for battle, positioning to drop between the cave entrance and the bear.

-Twenty Six-

In mid leap, he heard a very feminine scream just as the bear was redoubling its effort to gain entry. As the spear again jabbed outward, the bear backed up and Etu dropped suddenly to the side of the thrust spear. He quickly grasped the spear with his right hand and yanked it from the beleaguered warrior inside the cave.

Without turning, Etu began to thrust the spear into the angry beast who lunged at this new foe. Quickly ducking below the claws like sharpened stone, he penetrated the bear with the spear. Caught in bone, the bear backed up and took the spear with it. Etu unsheathed his knife and prepared to die, only if he were going, he would not sell his life lightly.

Etu clutched at the shaft of the spear as it swung wildly, nearly getting raked by the long claws in the attempt. He tried to wrest it from the angry beast, but the huge bear tossed him and almost caused him to lose grip on the weapon.

Throwing itself toward Etu, pinning him against the rock wall it gnashed its teeth so close to the warrior's neck that he thought he would be killed. He could feel its hot breath as he snapped at his shoulder, only missing by a fraction.

The warrior rolled under the outstretched claw, and drove his blade into the beast several times. Turning to face this agile attacker, it came close to pushing Etu over the edge by the spear that protruded from it's chest.

The startled brave clutched at the spear, then spun himself around until his feet were once again firmly upon the cave ledge. The great black bear was slowing down, bleeding from several deep wounds that both he and the unseen warrior had dealt.

With almost a herculean effort, Etu held onto the spear. The great bear's leg collapsed under its own weight and then he knew, the beast was growing weaker. Redoubling his efforts, Etu began to push against the spear as the bear started backing away. The greater he pushed, the more the beast fought back, even it too knew its demise was near.

As the two combatants fought, they closed the distance to the edge of the cliff, where suddenly the bear stepped off the edge. The stumble caused Etu to falter enough that the bear raked his long claws along the brave's chest and shoulder. Etu fell backward and for a split second the bear reared up to finish the young man.

As Etu scrambled to his feet, narrowly missing being gnashed by the bite of the powerful jaws, the bear's other back leg slipped from the ledge. As if being pulled over the beast fought hard to keep from falling, digging his huge front claws into the earth in a desperate attempt to stay his fall.

Scrambling to his feet, Etu clutched onto the spear and pushed against it, driving the beast from the ledge. At the point it left his sight, the warrior limped to the edge and peered over. The bear was a short distance away, the spear being pushed entirely through and the point was protruding out its back. It lay lifeless, killed in the fall.

Etu sighed, nodding in quiet admiration at the great black bear's final battle. Turning back toward the cave he listened, no sound was coming from inside. Slowly walking toward the entrance he hesitantly glanced inside, cowering in the corner was the Aponi Spirit.

A Quiet Strength
by Anon Allsop

-Part One-

-Twenty Seven-

Her hair was in disarray, she had blood on her arm. Etu was unsure whether the blood was from an injury or the bears. He slowly entered, her terror filled blue eyes followed his every move. "Are you injured?"

She said nothing, only tipping her head slightly as he spoke. He glanced around the cave, Etu could tell that she had been living here for quite some time. He saw a pelt laying on the ground and started toward it to ease the bleeding from his wound. Having only taken one step, the female threw herself between he and the small pile of pelts.

The sudden move caused the warrior to pull up, it was evident that the female did not want him any nearer. Like the wild animal he just fought, she showed her teeth at him and brandished a sharpened piece of thin stone. He backed away slowly, at the same time she held it menacingly toward him.

Confused, Etu moved back and crouched upon his haunches. Under furrowed brow, he studied the woman he had spent so much time searching for. She glanced over her shoulder quickly and then backed toward the pile, still holding the stone knife toward the man.

Etu rubbed his jaw in confusion, blood slowly running down his arm and chest from the wound. Behind the female, he saw the pelts move. He adjusted his position so he could see around the pale spirit, raising his blood streaked arm, pointing toward the movement he just witnessed.

Etu took a step to the side which she mirrored. Her crystalline blue eyes, though beautiful, seemed to bore through him to his very soul. He sat back on a ledge within the cave and noticed a bladder full of water. Bending low, he lifted it back up and allowed the cool liquid to wash across his wounds, before taking a drink. He carefully sat it down where he had found it, all the while she watched intently.

Never taking his own eyes from her, he treated the female as though she was an angry lioness, capable of striking at any moment. "I won't harm you." He spoke to her calmly in his own tongue, hoping she could understand him. She responded by slightly tipping her head, making it evident to him that she had no idea what he was saying.

He glanced down at her fire, a pitiful meal of squirrel had been ruined during her battle with the bear, it now lay blackened like coal among the embers. Etu examined the wounds across his arm and chest, they hurt but he had been hurt worse before. He sighed and slowly strode out of the cave and peered over the ledge.

The bear lay where it had fallen, her spear still protruding all the way through the black fur. Etu studied the path down, looking for the easiest access to harvest what he could of the meat and fur.

As he turned to pick his way down, the girl left her child inside sleeping and cautiously emerged from the cave. "I will return." He spoke as he lowered himself over the edge, gaining foothold just below. She said nothing, but ventured close to the edge to watch and see what he was doing.

Etu climbed down to the bear's carcass, and gripping the long spear's shaft, pulled it on through the wide chest of the bear. He raised his brows in surprise, as this had to be one of the biggest black bears he had ever seen. He knew he was being watched. He could feel her intently staring down upon him... yet, he acted as though he was alone on that mountain and set about to remove as much good meat as was possible.

Bending over the kill, he began to cut open the bear, its entrails were the first to be removed. He set aside much of what he knew they could eat, the remainder was tossed over the side. Without looking, he wondered what the Aponi Spirit thought of him cutting up a brother animal. He hoped that she would still look upon him with a miniscule amount of favor, but he had no room to ask.

Though beautiful beyond compare, the young female was not above the gruesome task of 'field dressing' an animal. It was not a task that she relished, but one that was necessary considering the circumstances of the situation. She rose from where she had been kneeling and went back into the cave, she was on a mission, a mission to help the powerful stranger.

She padded across the cave floor and peered in on the infant, still sleeping soundly after being nursed just prior to the bears attack. She quietly gathered up a coil of leather strapping and a large pouch. Tying the strap to the pouch she carried it back to the edge and slowly lowered it over the side.

The young brave was concentrating intently on his task, oblivious to the young girl lowering the pouch down to him. It spun a slow circle as it lowered, eventually touching the bronze warrior on his back, startling him in the process.

He wheeled around, the knife held in the ready. His eyes locked onto the culprit, a bag suspended from above. His dark eyes followed it up until they came to rest in the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. He could feel his face grow warm, she was smiling, giggling at his response.

He too smiled, and laughed at what had happened, shaking his head only to hear her giggle again. Bending low, he began to fill her bag with the meat, and waited until she pulled it back up the ledge. She disappeared for a moment and then returned, only to lower the emptied bag down once again.

Again and again he filled it until all that was left was the thick hide of the bear, and her spear. A few of the bones he saved, most were deposited over the edge with the entrails. Etu began to cut some of the tallow away from the hide, as he did, he realized that once again he was alone.

-Twenty Eight-

The sun was lowering in the sky when he rolled the great hide up and carried it back to the ledge. Sitting it down, he returned for her spear. Hefting the weight, he studied the crude shaft. The tip was Algonquin, yet the shaft was of poor construction. Etu decided that she must have found the tip and made use of it for her purpose. It was much too light for a man, but would probably be suitable for a female.

Carrying it with him to the ledge he hesitantly walked to the cave entrance, he did not want the female to become fearful. Peering inside, he could see the fire reflecting off of her beautiful face as she set, her hair was almost as white as the clouds that floated across the sky during the day. Covered partially by a blanket made of small pelts, her hauntingly beautiful eyes locked on him as he slowly entered.

He held his hands outward and slowly lay her spear on the ground, the point toward him as a gesture of contrition. She slowly reached out from under the blanket that covered her, and drew it back closer to her leg, where it was in reach should she feel the need for it.

Etu knelt beside her fire and placed the great black bear's pelt in front of the beautiful woman, to him it was more as an offering to a great spirit. The woman allowed her beautiful eyes to drop to the thick fur hide, she replied to his kindness with a nod of approval.

He glanced toward the fire, there what was left of the charred squirrel remained partially in the hot coals. It was apparent to him that her meal had been a casualty of her battle with the bear. On the other side of her fire cooked three hearty portions of meat to which Etu assumed, he had just cut.

From the look of the meat, it was, or would be ready to eat soon. She followed his eyes to the food cooking over the fire, with a nod of her head she offered him a piece.

Etu carefully removed his knife and cut a portion off for himself, the heat from it burned his fingers and caused him to drop it into the coals. He cursed under his breath and glanced up quickly, she was still watching him. On her face she wore a playful smirk.

After skewering the meat with his knife-tip, he dusted the ash from it and carefully blew away the heat. Popping a chunk into his mouth, he began a strange 'reverse blow' to keep from burning the inside of his mouth. This reaction caused the young female to softly chuckle to herself.

Quickly spitting the meat back into his hand, he fanned the air and mouth, "Tuhkwal!"

"Hot?" She mused, then realized that for the first time in eons, she had actually said something that closely resembled a word. Of course, it wasn't as clear as that, quite labored in fact. She laughed in celebration to herself, although the man thought it was at his expense.

Etu loved hearing her giggle, it reminded him of being a youth, so he didn't mind at all. As she was laughing, her blanket slipped down slightly, almost exposing the child at her breast. For a brief moment, Etu saw the pale teardrop of her generous bosom, and the top of a young infants head.

He sat back on his calves, unsure of what he had witnessed. He had seen a child, and that meant that there was a father somewhere. He felt as though his whole world crashed around his head.

Quickly she raised the blanket of fur to her shoulder, keeping the young one hidden from his view. The man before her suddenly had his expression change from happy to almost sullen. It confused the girl as to why?

Etu finished his meat in anger, then slowly walked out to the ledge and sat upon a boulder. Above him, the night stars were out in full force, the moon was but a sliver of the Great Spirit's nail.

After a lengthy time had passed he felt as though he was being watched, a quick glance over his shoulder revealed the woman had hesitantly ventured from the cave. In her hand she held a stick with the meat strung on, she was tearing it with her beautiful white teeth.

Deciding that it was not her fault that he had made a mistake, believing that she was unattached. It was not up to him to question the spirits, many times they would lead man to ruin. He was determined it would not be him.

Thinking of the father, he grew angry... what sort of man would allow his woman out on her own with a tiny child, a newborn at that? Trying to push his anger aside, he knew he must ask if she was alone, and where her man was that would protect her. But first, he must be able to talk...and the first step on that journey would be to learn her earthly name, and she learn his.

He turned to face her, "I am Etu." He said, speaking in his own language.

She tipped her head, it was evident that she did not understand the warrior's language. He scrunched his face in deep thought, patting his chest he again repeated. "Etu."

She paused in her meal, she formulated the word in her mind prior to saying it. With great effort she finally spoke, "EeeOoo" She smiled to herself, thankful that she once again had a sort of command of her voice, although she realized that it wasn't fully correct. To her, for the time being, it was good enough.

Etu smiled and nodded, "Etu." He again patted his chest, then pointed to her.

Her mind scrambled, he wanted to know her name.. but what could she say? She remembered back to when she had arrived on this godforsaken planet, she had been calling herself April.

Mustering up all of her effort, she slowly spoke. The slurred and partially paralyzed vocal cords did the best they could, "Appri..."

The look that crossed the young warrior's face caused her to cease, intently he attempted to repeat what he had heard...or so she thought.

"Aponi.. so it is true." He sighed reverently, and looked downward. Almost ashamed to look the beautiful female spirit in her eyes.

-Twenty Nine-

The young mother only heard the beginning of his words, after the name he uttered reverently, the rest of his comment was lost to her. She mulled the name he had use in her mind, to be called Aponi would be acceptable enough to her, the name almost sounded exotic. After mild thought, she decided that she liked it even better than the one she had attempted to give him.

As she stood on the ledge, the wind wafting through her pale tresses, Etu was mesmerized by her beauty. Even in the light of the stars, her beauty was beyond compare. As he watched her, she tipped her head, pulling her long hair away from her face and tucking the wayward strands behind her ear, then looked straight into the cave as if being called; Yet Etu heard no call from within.

It was as though Etu had just witnessed that strange link that a woman has with her child, an invisible bond that needed no word. Turning, she disappeared back into the cave, slowly Etu followed her inside, hesitating at the entrance.

She had gathered the infant up in her arms, it had been stirring. Picking it up she drew the blanket of fur up so she could nurse it once again. Etu felt a slight twinge of embarrassment of being so near to her as she nursed the baby. Still, standing at the entrance watching this young mother and her baby in such a tender moment, not much was she unlike the women of his own village.

She glanced up and saw him loitering at the doorway, with a nod of her head she bid him to enter. Without growing up bestowed with a rudimentary modesty of being female, or what was truly expected of women, she really didn't know how to act around a man.

He busied himself with the fire, and tossed a few small logs onto the coals as they flared up, he could see the meat that he had cut laying out and drying in long rows just behind him.

Etu indicated the child suckling at her breast. Realizing that the blanket had fallen, she quickly readjusted it. To try and change the subject, or the guilt he was feeling from admiring her body, he tapped his chest.

"Etu...Aponi." He pointed first to himself and then to her, repeating it several times before indicating the child. It was quite obvious to her that he wanted to know the child's name, suckling at her breast.

She had no answer, and because of it she felt guilty, for having no name for her son. She pointed to Etu and made her hands close together, and saying 'like you but small'. The words were extremely difficult for her damaged cords to perform, and the effort cause the blanket to fall into her lap, entirely exposing her bare chest to her guest.

A look of horror crossed Etu's face, he gently bent down and moved the blanket up to conceal her from his eyes. Aponi shot him an embarrassed smile and mumbled 'thank you'. Although the word sounded strained and wasn't without effort.

The act did calm her fears somewhat of the stranger, causing her to wonder what 'Parker' would have done were he in the same predicament as this Etu character. She felt that sometimes Parker had the tendency to be a wretch, at least she felt that now. All the farther she had to remember back to when his wild ways with women. Sighing, she somehow had found herself on the opposite side of that same fence now.

-Thirty-

Etu busied himself with the great black hide, using his knife to scrape away the tallow from it's soft inside. He lay it across his lap, he was sitting on the opposite side of the fire from Aponi, able to watch without being too terribly conspicuous.

Aponi held the young warrior spellbound, completely immersed with watching her nurse her baby. Often she would look up at Etu and smile, only to return to cooing or humming to her child. On one such occasion she glanced up and he was watching, a grand smile spread across his face.

When he realized that she had noticed, he quickly tried to throw her off by asking the name of her child again, that in itself was a feet worth the ages. He would say a word, then gesture with his fingers until she realized what he wanted.

Aponi had no real answer, her child was nameless, and now that she admitted it, she was ashamed. In her own way she asked the warrior what he would name him if he were his own.

Again, dear reader, it took much less time to write this paragraph as it did for Aponi to make her thought known to the man. Somehow though she seemed to make him understand that her son, had yet to be named.

Etu sat in deep thought, staring into the fire as if searching for inspiration. As he worked, he paused and brushed the scrapings from the hide. It was then that he seemed to suddenly come up with something. He raised the corner of the hide and spoke, "Machk".

She glanced up, "Maaachk"?

Repeating what he said, he held his hands together with a slight amount of space between them. Aponi knew he expected her to shorten the word, "Ma-chk".

Etu nodded, then pointed to her nursing son. Aponi mulled the word over in her mind as though it was a fine wine. "What does it mean?", although it took her a great length of time to make herself known.

The young warrior held up the hide and repeated, "Machk".

Aponi slowly nodded, finally realizing that was his people's name for 'Bear'. Without realizing, she whispered, 'Bear' aloud. Etu whispered it back several times, realizing that it was her own word that she was repeating.

This small step would be a great start, he could teach her the words of his own people and she could do likewise for her words. Perhaps in no time at all, they could make conversation with each other.

The warrior smiled, pointing toward the infant, "Machk".

She carefully lifted him to her shoulder, careful not to allow the blanket of hides to fall. "Machk". Thinking of how it sounded, so strong, rugged, it would forever remind her of the battle with the bear. She nodded in agreement, her long blonde hair swinging freely, the two of them together had named the her son.

A Quiet Strength
by Anon Allsop

-Part One-

-Thirty One-

The air was growing colder on the mountain, Etu knew they would need to leave very soon, or they wouldn't leave at all. He thought back to their battle with the bear, thinking it was probably doing nothing more than returning to its cave to hibernate.

Aponi and Etu had the last two weeks to practice their speaking, and in those two weeks, they had come a long way. Aponi had almost erased her struggle with speaking, the practice with Etu had exercised her voice better than any other thing she had done.

One evening as Machk was sleeping quietly inside the cave, Etu was sitting outside on a boulder, working on a deer hide. Aponi carried out two green sticks with several pieces of cooked meat skewered through it, she handed one of them to Etu.

"Is good." He nodded as he set aside his work and took one of the skewers from her. "Aponi cook very well."

Aponi flushed with embarrassment, her face growing warm in the cool evening. She looked up as she ate, admiring the vast myriad of stars that spanned the clear night sky.

Etu glanced toward the young mother, he wanted to speak of his love for her, but always there was that nagging little issue of Machk's father. He turned toward Aponi and rest his hand upon his thigh.

She had been looking above, toward the stars when she realized that he was looking at her. Slowly she lowered her eyes until they were locked upon the his, her heart seemed to skip a beat as she allowed them to rest upon the chiseled features of the young warrior.

Etu felt a stirring deep within him, once again the feelings he had for this beautiful creature washed over him. He tried to look away but his eyes were drawn back, as a preverbal moth to a flame. Aponi's haunting beauty created a tension within the warrior, pulling him first one direction and then the next. Always a flux between wanting to be her protector, and wondering where Machk's father was in all of this.

He decided that he must get to the bottom of it, and find out if he need to worry about confronting a spirit that he could never hope to defeat. With hesitation, and a newfound understanding of a common language, he decided that now was the time to ask.

Carefully maneuvering into conversation he cleared his throat and spoke, "Machk sleeping?"

Aponi nodded, "I nursed him and finally got him to sleep."

"Good." He replied, "Did you eat?"

She laughed, "Yes?" Taking a seat beside him she propped a foot up and smiled to herself at his uneasiness. She knew that he liked her, she could tell quite a long time ago.

He sighed deeply, it caused Aponi to laugh. Etu knew he must ask a difficult question of the woman, and prayed that her answer was one that he wanted to hear. He glanced at her, then allowed his eyes to fall toward the vast distance beneath the ledge. Far out in the distance, the thin tendral that was the river reflected back the faint light of the evening. As he looked on, he began to speak.

"Machk's father..." As soon as she heard him start to ask, she let her head drop. Aponi knew some very hard questions were about to be asked, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to tell. Although, she did like Etu and
if she had any hope of him remaining a friend, she must face those difficult questions. But how she could possibly answer him truthfully, was a very big question in itself?

"Is he also among the people?" He looked up at her with sadness in his dark eyes.

She smiled at him reassuringly, it seemed to alleviate some of the pressure he had been under. When she shook her head in the negative, he too smiled. Yet knowing that there was another man out there, still to lay a claim on Aponi, he kept himself guarded.

"Where is the boy's father then?" He asked hesitantly.

She had a look that crossed her face, it confused Etu. As she looked slowly skyward, he realized that his suspicion was confirmed. With a slight bit of trepidation, as she pointed upward.

Etu realized without a shadow of doubt that both she and the father were spirits of the sky, but why send her down when she is carrying his child? He asked as much, then waited for her reply.

Aponi knew that he would never fully understand the truth, so as best as she could, she would answer- giving him truths but not total truths. "A man named 'Parker' trapped and abandoned me on your planet, I was left here to die, as he hoped, a horrible death." She watched him for a change in his expression, she was fearful that he too might abandon her on her mountain.

Etu smiled at her reassuringly, "But you didn't. You survived."

"I almost didn't, but for you defeating the bear that would have surly killed Machek and I." She returned his smile, reaching out and gently touching his arm. "Parker would be very angry if he knew that I was still alive."

"Is this Parker also Machk's father?" Etu asked, a slight bit of contempt was in his voice.

She looked down and laughed, "Honestly, I always thought the Parker I knew was a very good man...up until he trapped me and kidnapped my body." She spoke in vague terms, Etu had no way of knowing what she really meant.

"This man had 'taken you', held you prisoner, abandoned you, left you with a child, and you speak of him as being good?" He shook his head at her incredulously, "If you don't mind, I will not think of him as...good."

His comment caused her to laugh, "I can respect your feelings."

Even in the dark she could see the strong jaw muscles flex in subdued anger, "Aponi, if I had this man here before me, spirit or not, I would do whatever it took to kill him for what he did to you!" His voice was calm, yet she felt as though he would actually do what he said, and almost wish that Parker was here.

"Etu, you will never have to worry. The Parker that is out there is a coward." She included the vast expanse of space with a quick gesture. "I am quite certain that he will die a slow death." She realized as she was talking that the man who sat with her on the side of the mountain, was seemingly more to her than she had once thought.

Etu sat up straighter, looking her directly in her beautiful eyes, "Aponi, you and little Machk never have to worry about anything as long as my heart still beats. I give it to you to do with as you wish, I am yours."

"I.. I don't know what to say." Aponi stammered. "You have been very kind to us."

"I am not like this 'Parker'." He said the name with contempt, "I would treat Machk as my own son, and you as my wife if you would have me."

Aponi was in shock. Etu was a good man, never once trying to push himself onto her, always treating her with kindness and giving them the privacy they needed. Yet, could she allow herself to be treated as a wife?

He could see her struggling with what he had just offered, speaking softly he wanted to reassure this beautiful woman that his love for her was real. "Ever since I first lay eyes upon you, I have lost my heart to you. I began my quest to find you, and almost lose you on the side of this mountain. I would do anything for you, Aponi- anything."

Perhaps it was a feminine reaction, perhaps it was purely out of a natural response; Aponi reached out and touched Etu's strong hand. The warrior lifted his head and searched her eyes for the answer he coveted.

She smiled, and gave his hand a tender squeeze. "I could not ask for a better man, Etu." She paused, before continuing. "You are young, you will need a wife who would welcome you in her bed on those cold nights...I am not sure I could be that wife."

He glanced upward with contempt at the stars, "It is because he has blackened your heart to the love of another." He looked toward her hand as it lay upon his, "I am not Parker." Returning his gaze back to her captivating blue eyes he continued, "When you are ready Aponi, I will be there for you."

"That is fair, Etu." She replied, pulling her long blonde hair away from her eyes. "When I am ready, you will know."

He stood and offered her his hand, she took it and he pulled her to her feet. "That is all I ask, Aponi."

As they headed into the cave, Etu began to stoke their fire to remove the chill. They had been lucky, a sudden warm spell had kept them company for almost a full moon. Etu knew that it would not hold out long and they would soon have to leave the mountain, or be trapped there throughout the cold season.

"I know your comfort is here in this cave on this mountain, the cold season will be on us very soon. If we are to survive, we must seek shelter with my people, the Oneida." He unrolled his deer hide and placed a pelt blanket aside as he helped Aponi straighten the black bear's fur she and Machk were using as their bedding.

He waited for her to get comfortable, spooning around her son. Once she had settled, he gently covered her with the soft blanket of furs. "Would you be willing to live among my people?"

She watched him stretch out on the deer hide, he was laying on his side facing her. "Etu, as long as you will be there, I know we will be happy." Aponi grew silent for a few moments, "If you are willing to act as my protector, my husband..." She held aside the blanket she was laying under, "I will invite you to our bed... but I can't allow you to take me as a wife, At least not yet."

Etu hesitantly got up and lay down beside her, between them was Machk. "I will sleep beside you and Machk, I will
protect you as your husband. When you are ready to lay 'with me' as my wife, it will be on your terms."

Her eyes were so beautiful, as she closed them in rest, he would take his time. 'Someday Aponi would become his in total, for now though, it would be one step at a time.' He thought to himself as he also closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him.

-Thirty Two-

Etu woke long before the sun rose, got up and sought out the pack he had carried prior to his battle with the bear. A dream that he had, reminded him that he held something that his mother had given to him... a gift for the Aponi Spirit.

In the bottom, still neatly folded and wrapped was the gift. He pulled it out and gently lay it at his love's feet while she still slept. As quietly as possible, he headed out of the cave where he could stretch, and clean himself in the river.

After washing in the river, Etu noticed several fish swimming nearby. Taking up his bow, he carefully shot two of the larger ones, and cleaned them on the bank. After washing for a second time, he began the long climb back up to the cave.

Aponi had woken up not long after Etu slipped out, she nursed Machk and was able to get him to lay down again. As she was covering him from the morning chill, she noticed the package that Etu had left.

Carefully opening it, she realized at once that it was some sort of garment. That it was meant for her she had no doubt, looking down she compared what she held to what she wore.

The article Aponi had on was well worn and crudely made, what she held was created by an expert... and just about as feminine as could be imagined. It was a very pale leather and heavily beaded dress, matching leggings with beaded fringe on their side.

Stepping out onto the ledge where she could see it better in the sunlight, she debated whether to put it on or not. Although it had been given to her, laid at her feet when she woke up, she was still unsure. Movement however, along the trail below, caused her to look up. Etu was returning, and that was enough to prod her into action.

She quickly returned inside, at best she had only about fifteen minutes to change. As she disrobed, she couldn't help but realize that donning on a Oneida woman's dress, was a final straw at accepting that she was no longer male. It was as though by removing the old pelt dress that she had made so long ago, and placing the new, expertly made dress on... she was somehow accepting the fact that she was a female, and would remain that for the rest of her days.

Aponi had tied the leggings up on her smooth upper thigh, and had pulled the long dress over her naked breasts, allowing it to settle just as Etu entered.

He walked straight to the fire, the fish suspended on a long green stick. "I was able to get a couple of fish, we can eat that before we our journey to my village." He spoke as he was turning back toward Aponi, all thoughts vanished from his mind as he took in a vision of loveliness.

"Is it good?" She asked, slowly holding out the bottom of the dress so it would hang correctly. "Was I not supposed to wear it?"

"I recalled having it only this morning, in my a dream last night that you wore it." He spoke as though he was frozen, in fact mesmerized by just how beautiful his Aponi really was. "My dream was nothing compared to just how beautiful you are right now, my Aponi."

Her face grew warm at his words, "It's quite lovely, thank you." She gave him a hug and laughed when he suddenly seemed startled at her nearness.

"My mother made it." He said with a smile, "I was supposed to give it to you long ago...but I forgot."

"I could never imagine being in a dress so lovely..." She smiled and slowly turned, realizing that before her transformation, she could never imagine wearing anything remotely like a dress...any dress.

"Mother was afraid you would be naked." Etu smiled as he spoke, "Although I wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't say I would have been fine with seeing you that way."

"But only in your mind, right?" She said laughing, knowing how the male mind truly worked.

He shifted on his feet and looked down, "I've seen you naked, so beautiful that it has forever been burned into my memory."

She looked at him slyly, "Oh really? When?"

He looked at her beautiful blue eyes, "When you were born from a great cloud of sky dancers." As he spoke, she froze and looked at him.

"That was you in the woods?" She ran a slender hand through her hair, "You were there when I arrived?"

"You were born of the Aponi. Like a sky dancer sent from the heavens, taking on human form." He reached out and took her soft hand, holding it in his own.

"Aponi is your word for a sky dancer..a butterfly?" She spoke in his tongue, but only said 'butterfly' in her language. "You think I'm some sort of great spirit?" She recalled their first meeting, although she had never put the two together before... now it made sense to her.

"I am no great spirit, I am only a... woman." She looked away, out the opening of the cave. "I was transported to this planet as some sort of macabre punishment." She thought back to so long ago, back when the possibility of being held prisoner in this body wasn't possible.

"To you, it may have been a punishment, to me it was a blessing!" He smiled, gently squeezing her hand, leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. "Sometimes, we know not what the great spirits wish, until it is burned in our souls. On that day you ran from me, but the spirits wished me to find you, and brought me here to your mountain right when I was needed the most!"

"When the bear attacked..." Aponi replied softly, almost as though she was finishing his sentence." She grew quiet for several long seconds, "Your great spirits may be in control after all, without this direct path that we all have taken, Machk would never have been possible."

"And he is here, we are here, just as they have planned." Etu slowly turned her to face him, "Often, my dear Aponi, we don't know what path to take when we come to a fork in the trail. The great spirits have brought you here to me, sent me on this quest to find you. Now I am being directed to take you back to my people." He smiled, Aponi just glanced toward her child on the hides.

"And what of him, Etu? What will become of Machk in your tribe?" She gently pulled away from him and picked up her son, slowly stirring him from slumber.

"He is as a son to me, he will become my firstborn." He replied flatly.

"He is white like I am." She held him up to show Etu his pale skin and hair, "Don't you think this may be hard to explain?"

"You are Aponi, he is your son... the spirits have destined you and Machk to be mine."

Aponi laughed, "Oh, it's that simple is it?" sitting Machk into a baby papoose that she had constructed only that morning.

Etu helped her adjust it for Machk, "Yes, very simple."

"I'm glad you think so," she replied back with a laugh, "You sound like you expect us to just blend right in!"

"You are Aponi, he is your son..." He began again as she returned Machk to the pelts once again. The woman shot a sideways glance at Etu, rolling her eyes as he spoke.

"You will see." He cut himself short in response, "Grandfather said that in a vision he saw one of our offspring leading the people into a great battle as their chief."

"Machk?" She ask with surprise. "He is but a baby!"

"He won't always be a baby. Some day he will be a man." Etu replied as he pushed the green stick through the fish he caught. "It may not even be Machk, but another of our children that lead great warriors into battle."

"Your Grandfather's vision is going to have to wait awhile, no son of mine will be leading any armies until I say he his is old enough." Aponi placed her hand upon her generous hips, wagging a finger at Etu as she spoke.

He smiled, "Spoken like a mother." ducking quickly, narrowly avoiding being swiped at by her hand.

Etu stood from the fire, "Aponi, you are a good mother, a good woman to me. I will gladly take you into my lodge as my wife. You have nothing to fear from my people, they will treat you kindly... or answer to me."

"Thank you Etu, I really do appreciate that." She stood near to him and without thinking, gently rubbed his back as a woman who cares for a man would do and gently kissed him on his cheek. He turned to face her, drew her close and returned her kiss for an even greater length of time.

Etu grinned broadly as he slowly released a smiling, albeit flushed Aponi, "We will eat the fish that the spirits have provided. When we are done, we will pack what we need and begin our journey to my village."

Aponi nodded as she watched the man she was deeply growing to love. Inside, she knew that they must leave, and when they were settled, she would take him as his wife in every way. Her heart was happy now, she had everything she could possibly desire.

Behind Aponi, Machk started to cry, signaling that he wanted to eat too. Aponi knelt upon the fur and began to ready herself to nurse, Etu sat beside her cross-legged and occupied himself until they were ready by winding leather strapping around his bow.

A Quiet Strength - Paying the Piper
by Anon Allsop

-Part Two-

-One-

Power does strange things to a person's mind, it can move someone from the quiet shadows into a ruthless, overbearing tyrant! The new 'Parker' found this to be true, only with it came a deadly companion.

For awhile, Leigh had convinced everyone that 'Parker' was just as he seemed, A first officer aboard one of New Earth's finest star ships. But that distinguished record the real Parker had cultivated over the years, began to unravel more and more over time.

As a lesbian, Leigh was a perfect match for Elise, separated only by common interests. In other words, they were almost mirrors of each other. Once the transfer had taken place, they continued their ways, almost as though playing some strange sordid game.

Both women found it strangely satisfying to share intimately, passions that prior to her change, completely alien. It was around this time that strange twisted nuances began to overcome Parker's conscious and unconscious thoughts.

Perhaps it was a once feminine mind unable to absorb the constant barrage of male hormones that suddenly washed into it with the transformation. Whatever it was, Parker became increasingly aggressive when he was with Leigh's former lover. The aggression growing exponentially over the course of several weeks until all control seemed
to be at risk!

There also was a strong sense of entitlement that overcame Parker the longer he was in his 'new' male body. Somewhere deep in his mind, he decided that any woman single or not, had been placed on the planet for his needs and his alone.

Parker didn't care one iota that she may be married or engaged, in 'his' mind, if she existed, she existed for him. The power that seemed to draw him the most, was the ability to create a life... not within him as when he was female, No, god no, heaven forbid should that have happened.

Once, in a fit of anger he chastised Elise saying that all women were created to spread their legs for men. Now that he was one, he was never going back! In fact, he'd kill himself before ever returning to a female body.

He smirked as he thought of that little bitch whom he stole this body from, wondering what was thinking as she watched her stomach swell out with growth. She caught a laugh as she imagined him in the full throws of pregnancy. 'Better him than me!', He thought.

-Two-

As weeks fell into months, Parker was slowly drawn into displaying more and more of a forced physical abuse to the women that he had attempted to dominate. A once docile relationship he had with Elise, suddenly was torpedoed into beatings and altercations that more than once upon her that required medical attention.

Elise no longer contacted Parker, she feared him and had filed a restraining order which caused his arrest on more than one occasion. Whether it was the power that affected Parker's mind, or an overload of male hormones, it was as though his testosterone was stuck somewhere between high and overdrive.

The constant in and out of legal issues had caused the military to remove his commission, and then he was severely reprimanded for insubordination to his commanders. Propelled into a downward spiral, Parker began to drink heavily, the abuse was passed out like a dealer with a deck of cards.

Morally bankrupt, Parker hid in the shadows, lurking and wanting to make Elise pay. Not accepting of the fact that he was his own worse enemy, Park chose to blame Elise for all his trouble; totally forgetting that everything went back to that fateful day when he forcefully transformed the original Parker into his old body.

He waited in an alley, he knew that Elise would soon be coming past after leaving her job as a late night restaurant server. Soon he heard the clicking of heels, he knew that she was close. He stepped out just as she passed, the look of love she once had for him, now became a look of terror.

"It's your fault, bitch!" He screamed as he grabbed at Elise's hair, dragging her into the alley where he threw her against the wall. "You did this to me you whore!"

"Please... I beg you, let me go!" The female cried as he spun her to face him.

Unbridled rage morphed Parker's face as he screamed at the girl, "No woman will have me...you have made my life hell! I blame you bitch!" He grasped her jacket with his fists and forcefully slammed her against the bricks several times. In one last burst of fury, he forcefully grabbed her face and shoved her violently against the bricks, the impact caused her to suddenly slump.

As the girl went limp, he grew fearful that he had killed her. He lowered her down into the shadows, he tried to support her, but when he pulled his hand away from the back of her head, it was covered thickly in blood.

Realizing what he had just done suddenly leapt into his thoughts, in panic he scrambled to his feet and paced back and forth in the dark. Fear of being convicted with murder, threatened to tear him apart. Quickly searching, he found an old tarp. He covered her up quickly, folded the ends in, and rolled her up in it.

He slunk away in the dark, desperate to hide her body from prying eyes. Down below an ancient monorail trestle, he placed her, throwing branches to conceal what he had done. Into the night he slipped away, hoping and praying that he left no incriminating evidence behind.

-Three-

Max Augustus passed his secretary and placed a coffee on her desk, the cute woman thanked him as he walked toward his office. He opened the door an tossed his keys onto a table, and turned on the light.

As he hung up his suit jacket, he was followed in by his secretary. "Mr. Augustus, a man was in here earlier this morning... he said he found this." She held a camel colored clutch.

Max instantly recognized it as his daughters, "It's Elise's. Who was it, and where did he find it?"

"He works at the same restaurant that Elise works, he was in the alley emptying trash into their refuse container." She sat it on his desk as her boss looked it over. "He said he found it about halfway into the alley, against the wall."

Opening it, he pulled out her credit holder. "Looks like everything is in here... she may have just dropped it." He spoke, sounding hopeful.

"That's probably it, sir. Is her com in it?" She asked, knowing a woman would not be found without her purse, let alone her communicator.

"No, her com isn't inside. Maybe I'll give it a ping, hopefully I can catch her before she goes in to work!" He quickly walked to his chair and pulled it out, taking a seat and began to scroll to her number on his own com.

He sat listening or several agonizing seconds, "... She's not picking up." He studied his secretaries face for a moment, unsure of what to do next. "I'll try her again..." Once again nothing, his face clouded over with worry.

"Ping her work, she may already be there and just has her com off?" His secretary suggested.

Max nodded, "Good idea." He quickly scrolled through his contacts and found the restaurant, it happened to be one of his favorites. "Hi Franco, Max Augustus here..." He politely waited for his friend to convey his greetings, "Hey, I'm trying to get hold of Elise, would she happen to be in?" Again a lengthy silence, "Okay, well as soon as she comes in, have her give me a ping."

Max's face grew with even more concern, his secretary was still standing beside his desk. Max glanced up at her,
"She's already over an hour late for work." He was trying to maintain his fatherly composure, drumming his fingers anxiously against the surface of his desk.

He hesitantly picked up his com again, "Hold all my messages, Deb. I'm going to contact a buddy of mine on the security force. I know I'm supposed to wait for 24 hours but... damn it, this is my daughter, and I'm getting worried!"

"I'll close your door and give you some privacy, let me know what's going on if you can." She stepped out and
gently closed the door behind herself.

"Detective Mike Tate please." He waited until his friend came to the com. "Hey Mike, Max Augustus here." The distraught father fiddled with his pen while he listened, "The reason I'm calling is... Elise is missing and...well, no it hasn't been 24 hours...but, but I thought that maybe you could help me out. It would be a personal favor to me..." He began to nervously bang the pen against his elaborate desk. "Well, Elise's clutch was found in an alley not far from where she worked... no, nothing was taken." Again the pen was tapped fiercely, "I tried pinging her com but she isn't picking up either. To top it off, she is over an hour late for work. I'm really worried Mike, it's not like her."

Max put the pen down and pushed it away from him, horrible thoughts began to race through his mind. "Mike, Elise was dating a dirt-bag awhile ago... guys name is Parker or some such thing. She has a restraining order on him... yeah, he got to roughing her up." He sought out a scrap paper and began to write Mikes com link down. "Thanks Mike, let me know if you hear anything. I have your com, if she contacts me, you will be the first one I call."

As their conversation ended, Max folded the paper and placed it into his credit holder. Slowly standing, he walked back out to his secretary's desk. "I'm going to cruse past her apartment, maybe she is feeling under the weather or something."

The secretary watched a very worried father hurry out of the office, straight toward the elevators he walked. Inwardly, she said a prayer for him and Elise.

-Four-

Max stood with his back to Elise's door, he had been banging on it for awhile. In frustration he folded his arms and stared out into the parking lot, trying to think of what to do next. Suddenly his com began to buzz loudly, he had turned up the sound so he wouldn't miss any communications, and it startled him.

He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at its face, it was Elise. He sighed greatly with relief as he accepted her ping. "Where the sam hell you..." He paused as he listened to the voice. "Who is this?"

His heart fell into his stomach as the person on the other end answered, "Where did you find her com?" He rubbed his temple, trying to massage the headache he was getting away. "Can you wait? I'm not too far from there, I can come by and pick it up. I appreciate it, thanks."

As soon as he hung up he quickly removed Detective Tate's number and dialed. "Mike...Max again. I just got a ping from a kid who found Elise's com. I was wondering if you wanted to meet me there? Huh? Oh, where the kid found it. Where? Yeah, that might be helpful. He found it on the embankment near the old monorail trestle near York Street and Worthington. Alright, I'll see you in a few... thanks, Mike."

-Five-

There were two teenagers waiting along the edge of the road, Max pulled up and stopped. The older looking of the two handed the com over through his open window. "So, where did you find the com?"

The boy walked about halfway down the embankment, Max had to open his hatch to be able to see where the youth
stopped. "I found it laying about right here." He pointed to a spot near where he was standing, "I only noticed because the sun reflected off its face."

Max reached back and removed his credit holder, opened it and began to fish out a few credits. "You don't have to pay us mister, we figured whoever lost it would be looking for it."

He smiled and pushed his credit holder back into his pocket, "One question though, how did you know to ping me?"

The boy smiled, "That's easy. We scrolled through the contacts until we found one marked 'Dad'."

Max smiled at the youngster's ingenuity, "Good thinking." As they were returning to the top, Detective Tate pulled up in his unmarked craft. As the man opened his hatch and stepped out, Max held up the communicator. "They found it about half way down the hill."

The Detective studied them quietly, "Was the com on when you found it?"

The older youth nodded, "It still has a full charge."

He looked at Max, "Did you get their information, just In case we need it?" Max shook his head 'no'. "Boys, I'm going to need your names and addresses. This com may be part of a crime investigation and we want to be able to ask more questions if we need to."

"Yeah, sure." The older boy began to speak to the Detective as Max stood at the hill and looked down toward the water that ran near the bottom. The second boy had begun to relay his name and address in the background as Max fought back the tears of worry.

After moments passed, he felt movement beside him. Glancing up, his friend Mike stood near. Beyond the two, the boys were walking on down the road. "We'll find her Max." Mike tried to reassure his friend.

"I'm scared for her, Mike." He looked up, tears clinging to his lower lashes, "Elise is all that I have since her
mother has passed." Mike grasped his friends shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze.

"So, now what?" Max asked, wiping his eyes.

"You wait here, I'm going down there to look for clues. Somehow, Elise, her clutch and comunicator got separated. Her com got down there, maybe there is a lead that we can use?" In the officer's hand he held several small wires
with white flags.

Max stood at the top as the Detective slowly picked his way down the steep incline. "Found some deep tracks, looks like a boot." He pushed a flag into the ground. "Here's another one." Beside it was placed another flag.

The trail of little white flags grew longer until they were all the way to the bottom. "Here is the same set of tracks, but this time, there going back up." He crouched low and studied it, finally he stood back up, holding his own shoe against it to judge the size. "Man's boot, around a size 11."

Max watched as the Detective followed the flags down the hill with his eye and then again where the trail led back up. Slowly he looked to the left, he glanced quickly back up the hill at Max.

The officer's body language suddenly changed, Max could feel his own heart begin to race. "What is it? What did you find?"

Detective Tate said nothing, he slowly inched toward the base of the trestle, his hand clutching the phaser that was behind his back cautiously. Max moved to where he could still see the officer, he was moving brush. "Did you find something?" Max shouted.

Tate crouched down and began to fuss with a tarp, he quickly stood and moved a few feet away. "Max!" He shouted, "Call for Medical rescue, it's your daughter, it's Elise!"

Max started down and the Detective waived him off. "Don't come down here, we need this evidence!"

Halting, Max shouted back down as he was making the important call, "Is she alright? Please God, let her be alright!"

Mike had returned to the girl, "She's bad Max, barely breathing, she has blood matting the back of her head... looks like somebody beat the hell out of her!"

A Quiet Strength - Trial and Tribulation
by Anon Allsop

-Part Three-

-One-

There was a hint of curl to the leaves that they passed, once vibrant greens were withered slightly from the touch of frost. The air was crisp and cool as the trio made their way down the side of the mountain, Aponi, Etu and Machk heading into the unknown, wary and yet hopeful.

Etu glanced quickly toward Aponi as they walked, behind her Machk slumbered in the papoose. "Are you fearful?" He asked.

She forced a smile, "Yes, and no." Glancing back toward him, she squinted at the bright sun that was filtering through the first few trees that they came to. "I am only afraid of how Machk will be treated."

"I told you..." He began.

She interrupted him, "You did..I'm sorry, it is just hard for me to trust right now."

"I am not your Parker, you have no need to worry." He walked in silence for a few steps. "I will never abandon you."

"That IS good to know, Etu. Thank you." She adjusted the papoose she carried, Etu noticed and paused to assist.

"Have you told your parents of me?" Aponi asked as they walked.

"They know." He replied with a smile.

"What of Machk? They do not know I was with child." Reminded the small blonde that walked so near the warrior.

"Both had visions of you so, I would guess they knew." He replied softly.

The beauty pulled up short and waited for Etu to glance backward. Once he realized that she wasn't beside him, he too stopped. "Will they accept Machk as their own?" She searched his eyes, as tears clung to her own.

He slowly walked back to his beloved, "They will take him up in their arms and welcome him as if he were sired from my own loins." Turning he took up Aponi's hand and coaxed her along. "I think you fear too much."

She nodded slowly as she allowed him to pull her beside him. "You have a right to be afraid after what your Parker did to you, but he will never be amongst us. If he were, I would do everything humanly possible, to keep him away from you."

The young family walked a great length of time, it was Aponi who noticed that the man had grown quiet. "What are your thoughts, Etu?"

He glanced quickly at her and then back toward the ground just before them, "How can I possibly hope to win a battle against a Great Spirit such as your Parker? I am a mere Oneida warrior, he is all powerful."

"He is a wretch." She replied quickly. "If ever asked to choose between the two of you...I would not be leaving your side Etu."

"You really do mean that? You would leave a Great Spirit to live among the Oneida?"

"I didn't ask to leave, I was abandoned by my people." She responded.

He paused, "Then there is always a chance that if offered, you would return to the Sky Dancer people.. your people?"

Aponi gently tugged at his elbow, he paused and looked down into her beautiful crystalline blue eyes. She held his gaze then spoke softly, "I am here now. Where Machk rests his head, is my home."

"And I? Where do I fit in, Aponi?" He searched her expression for the answer he hoped would be there.

"Over these past few weeks, I have grown very fond of you, Etu." She let her eyes drift downward ever so slightly before returning them upwards. "You are the only true friend I have here in this world."

He sighed, "I want to be much more than a friend, Aponi. Much more."

She smiled shyly, then spoke to him softly. "There currently two halves to my heart, one half belongs to Machk...the other to you."

Etu smiled broadly as they continued to walk, his fingers sought out her hand. They were together, and she really wanted to be with him; that was all that mattered to the young warrior. He now had his family and home is where they were heading.

-Two-

Overnight, the air turned sharply colder, frost clung to the brush in the grassy areas. The sun had yet to break the horizon, as Etu uncovered himself and slowly rose to his feet. With a smile he glanced downward as Aponi and little Machk still snuggled beneath the great bear's hide. Stirring the coals of what had been their campfire, Etu carefully placed dry stick upon the glowing embers.

As he crouched he became aware of movement behind him, Aponi was sitting up and yawning. "It will snow very hard soon, before night has fallen we will see the furious kiss of winter."

He turned his head to face his beautiful family, "Did it snow in the land of the Sky Dancer people?"

She laughed as she bundled Machk, "Where I had spent much of my adult life, no it did not snow. But I have seen and experienced it." She spoke in general terms since most of her life had been spent aboard the Empire's crafts. The snow she had recalled was when she had to lead a reconnaissance as Parker. On that occasion the temperature reached nearly 40 below, but they had been blessed with equipment that allowed comfort in those severe conditions.

"We must get a move on soon, Aponi. I fear being caught out in the open during this early kiss of a young winter." His face grew stern as he studied the clouds. "We may have waited too long to leave your mountain."

"I'll nurse Machk and as soon as he has finished, we can be on our way." She spoke as she began to work loose her gown to allow her son access.

Etu handed her a small piece of dried meat, "We will have to eat on the run, let me know when you wish for another."

Aponi chewed the small portion as she positioned Machk, the boy was all about business and did not need any coaxing.

Etu cut a small portion for himself and chewed, as he was savoring the meat, Aponi asked between chews, "How far do we still have to go to reach your village?"

He smiled, "You mean OUR village?" He cut another small portion for Aponi and handed it to her. "We are only about three suns from home."

"Earlier you said it would snow, will it be bad?" She spoke as she had turned Machk toward her shoulder and began to pat his tiny back.

"It will be very bad, the air feels heavy with moisture." He said as he was rubbing his index finger and thumb. "It always is bad when the air becomes heavy."

She placed her son to the opposite side, Etu watched her with favor. "Our son eats well."

"That he does." She replied as Machk latched on and began to suckle, "I can't say as much for this act to myself, but Machk took to it very quickly."

"Do you mind doing it for him?" He asked out of curiosity.

She thought for a moment and shrugged slightly, "It is more out of necessity that I do it, Etu. In the world where I am from, women seldom would nurse their children."

He tipped his head and reacted with surprise, "How did their small children eat?"

"People like me created it for the children." She offered.

"Ah other mothers then." He surmised.

"No, their food was made from a mixture of animal milk and plants." She glanced toward him, unsure whether she had confused him even more.

"The ancient ones say that the milk of mothers has powerful medicine in it, makes the children grow very strong." He spoke as though he knew for certain, "It is said that, like the river that gives life to the land, so it is that a mother's milk is to her child."

Aponi smiled, "In a former life, I would have died at the though of a child nursing at my breast.. here though, it feels as natural as anything I've ever done. It is not without discomfort, but I would be wrong if I didn't say it wasn't rewarding."

"I am glad you feel that way, Aponi." He said as he began to gather their belongings together.

Aponi sat and contemplated his last words to her, unsure of what they truly meant. The rhythmic pull at her teat caused her to glance downward. Her concern was her child, like a mother content at her beautiful child nursing at her breast, forgetting all that had been once troubled her feminine mind.

-Three-

As the snow begun to fall in earnest by late afternoon, Etu sought out a spot where several large pines grew tightly together. Drawing Aponi within the thick branches, he had cleared a spot where the two of them could hunker down and wait out the storm in relative comfort.

Etu had built a small fire beneath the great boughs, well secluded to keep from setting their shelter on fire and to conceal both smoke and flame from sight. Earlier in the day he was able to shoot a rabbit and had taken the time to step out and clean it. As he was gone, Aponi once again cleaned and nursed Machk. By the time that Etu had returned, Aponi had him snugly wrapped up and sleeping in his papoose.

Already having the green stick pushed through the hare, Etu carefully suspended it over the fire. Aponi stood and pulled her blanket of pelts around her shoulders. "I must go outside and..."

Her gesture to Etu was self explanatory, he nodded and looked across to Machk sleeping soundly. "Do not venture far."

What met her outside had taken her breath. It was sharply colder and the snow was falling nearly diagonal. The flakes were as big as a thumbnail and piling up fast. Walking briskly away from the shelter, and quickly found a suitable log. Aponi crouched against it and once again, put up with the indignities that this world and body continued to put her though.

It was degrading enough to be forced to expel waste in this form, but to have to expose any amount of tender flesh to these forbidding elements was pure torture. To add insult to injury, Aponi was forced to wash her chilled feminine region with a small handful of snow.

Slowly trudging back toward the pines she glanced up and realized that due to the snow, everything had blended together making recognizing their shelter look like so many other trees. Panic set in and she cried out for Etu, but her terrified voice was swallowed by the wind.

***

Etu stepped out of the shelter once he realized that Aponi had not returned in a reasonable amount of time. As soon as he saw the snow flying sideways and felt the blistering wind, his heart sank. Deep in his mind he knew that unless he found Aponi quickly, this weather would claim her... and if she died, Machk had no chance
whatsoever.

"Aponi!" He shouted into the wind. He quickly found a heavy limb and began to smack it to the trunk of a tree. He kept up the steady sound until his hands ached from cold. Switching to the other hand he continued, again and again he struck the smooth bark of the tall tree. He stopped only to call out her name.

The young mother staggered and fell into the snow, her hands and feet burned from ache. As she was struggling to her feet, she thought she heard something. Standing as still as the wind would allow she turned her ear in the direction from which she thought she heard the noise.

Her blond hair blew in disarray as tiny snowflakes pelted her soft skin. Again she heard the rhythmic sound and began to struggle toward where she thought it was coming from. The wind combined with the woods she found herself in, made the sound seem to come from all sides.

Tears of fear began to cling to her lashes, she quickly realized that to cry meant that her eyes might freeze shut. With all she could muster, she tried to push that feminine side of her to the background- hoping a small sliver of Parker was still there to help her survive.

As if an answer to a prayer, seemingly far off she heard her feminine name being called. Again she staggered forward, stumbling over another log and falling prone into the snow.

"Etu!" She cried, "I am lost!" No longer could she push aside her feminine half, she buried her face into her frozen hands and began crying like the girl she had become. Again she thought she could hear the staccato echoing in the woods. She lifted her head and struggled once again to her frozen feet.

Again she thought she heard a voice, and yet again she stumbled and fell, her platinum hair becoming tangled in briars. In pain she pulled it away and regained her feet using the trunk of a tree as leverage.

The rhythmic knocking had to be Etu, she thought as she struggled forward, snow and wind biting at her exposed face. It seemed to be slightly louder as she made her way forward. High above her the trees were swaying, the branches striking each other viciously.

Was it those branches she heard? If so, the trouble she was in seemed hopeless for she may have wandered so far away from Etu that he could never find her. Trying to step across a fallen tree she stumbled and fell, rolling down a hill she came to rest. Now battered, bruised and nearly frozen she lay staring into the vast snow laden sky.

"To come so far, and yet to die." she cried to herself. No one would ever know what had happened to her, not Etu... Machk. She raised her head, struggled to roll to her feet. She would not die, not here. She had everything to live for, her son.. Etu. With effort she regained her feet and began the long climb up the hill she had just fallen down. Nearly exhausted she once again regained the top.

Taking in a deep amount of breath she screamed out Etu's name, then began trudging forward in the snow. Again she heard the heavy knocking within the wood. Her spirits buoyed, she realized that it had to be Etu trying to steer her back with the sound.

She staggered forward, the wind sounding like a growl of the great bear that had once trapped her and Machk. She shuddered, realizing just how close she came to death that day so seemingly long ago. If it were not for Etu...

The thought no sooner would leap into her mind and she was again falling headlong into the snow. Her strength had waned, lost to the struggles in the snow. She went down hard, trying to lift herself, yet once again she faltered and fell back into the snow. It was no use, she would die here... alone.