TRAVELER
Chapter 245

by CARL DICKSON

Our hope is that every homosexual youth in this country can find a home and someone to love them as they are.
No one deserves to be discriminated against, no matter what their differences from society's norm
.

A tidy quote from chapter 137
"titles belong on books, not people" ©Carl Dickson—2007

Does your mother know you're reading this shit?

Warning: This story is PORNO. I have tried my hand at friction, now I'm trying fiction. This story contains vivid descriptions of sexual activity between men and teen boys.
It contains no truth, partial truth, or half truth. What it does contain is stroking material. If this kind of story turns you off, or offends you, please find something else.
The author does not encourage or condone sex between adults and underage children.

If you are underage, or if this is illegal where you are, then please go away. If you're under 18, Adios come back when it is legal for you to read this smut.
If you lied about your age in order to access this story, remember this is our story. Life doesn't always work out like a story.

A strongly worded suggestion has resulted in this statement.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either
are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitioiusly,
and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Thus said, this story is copyrighted, ©2005-2012. It is therefore illegal to copy or use any part of this story on any other web site without my written permission.


You may download the CHEROKEE TONT for free at this link. Dowload it, install it, then enjoy seeing tfe TSAIAGI names in this story. This font is included in thfull version Send an e-mail for it .
    I dislike pain medication. I don't like the pain, but I dislike the lack of control over my body and mind even worse. I had dozed off sitting next to Cory on his love seat. He was sleeping soundly so I tried to not disturb him. Roddy was curled up in my lap with his head resting against my chest when his mind touched mine. Sagi and Wesley were talking in a rather heated tone of voice in her kitchen. I could not hear what was being said, but the timbre of their voices made me listen.
    Roddy was deep into my mind as he carried me with him to a spot on the wall over the brother and sister in the kitchen. "'Wake up little brother, you have the gift to help both of them. You fear a man that loves you more than you deserve. He will not hurt you. He wants you to come into your own.
    "'Cory has told me what you did in Oklahoma in late December. Wilihama saw it in you and…Wes, you are on the tapestry. Don't deny it, you have seen it. You know, you are the most powerful man of the ancient medicines since Wilihama. He is ninety years old Wes. He wants to pass on his gifts to you. Dad will move the earth aside to help you become what Cory knows that you are.'"
    "'Has Cory told dad? I don't want him to know, not yet.'"
    "'You go in there and tell him, now. He will love you for telling him. Dad and Cory need you right now. They are both hurt and you have the gift to make them right. Please, for me, little brother. For our tribe, for my family.'"

    The front door opened and Ugitsiha entered with Yuri, Mike, and Steven. Both of the older boys had one of my babies in their arms. The boys were bundled against the cold rain, but they were quiet. Both babies came to sit with Roddy and me. Cullen James had a most pensive look on his little face. When Wesley came in from the kitchen CJ looked at him.
    Mike had a wooden box on a sling over his shoulder. He placed it on the floor and opened it. He looked at Sagi. She placed a tray with a small earthen pitcher and two earthen cup sized bowls on it onto the coffee table at my feet. I could smell Cory's tea. All of us were speaking Tsalagi. Yuri was just learning the rudiments of the language, he sat cross legged on the floor and watched.
    Sagi awakened Cory and told him to sit up. She placed a bowl of tea to his lips, he sipped of it then frowned. Steven came in from the back of the house and told everyone that all was ready. Sagi told the others to, "Get them up."
    Roddy pulled me to my feet as Cullen James moved in front of a kneeling Wesley. He placed his small hands on Wes' head and began to chant in his strange tongue. The room grew silent for a moment then all of the boys joined CJ in his chant, even Cory.
    "You are ZFR, a star. You are a beautiful Meadowlark with yellow feathers. You can heal. Your song can heal, your words can heal. You are to heal my two daddies. First you must be cleansed." Kuckunniwi moved back and farted and giggled, he had filled his diaper with some bad shit. No one laughed. We all looked at the diminutive one as his mother scooped him up and took him to the couch for a good change.
    Steven placed a sheet on the floor in front of Cory. RD and Mike used a Drimel tool to cut the three day old cast from his leg. Roddy prodded me on to move to Cory's bedroom and the large eight person hot tub in there. Mike was giving orders to Wesley to get naked and get into the tub that Steven had filled. He had added herbs, oils, and petals, the same kind that had been used to cleanse me in January.
    My bandages were carefully removed. My many bleeding wounds were gently wiped with the skin of a small animal and an oil like substance. I was helped to sit on the side of the hot tub and my feet were wiped again. The oozing blood seemed to suddenly dry and my feet felt good again.
    Cory was carried in and set down near to me. His leg had a very nasty looking bruise on it. It was so bad that the bruise was actually black over most of its area. His open wounds were wiped with a similar oil covered skin. I watched as his wounds seemed to close and knit together as all traces of blood was wiped away from his chest and back. I wanted so much to hold him close to me, but neither of us could stand the pain of being touched.
    A play pen was moved into the bathroom and all four of the babies were set down inside of it. They made no sounds. They watched every move that we grownups made. Quemela knelt beside the playpen to care for the babies. Ugitsiha and Sagi came into the room wearing very thin, loose linen garments that were tied with elaborate knots about their bodies. The knots covered those parts that were meant for only their husbands to see through the wet linens. Even their beautiful, long black hair was covered.
    Both women got into the water and began to use seashells to scrape away all of the body hair from Wes. Mike and Steven went into their chant as they poured out more oil onto the water and stirred it slowly, the jets had been turned off. I could see all of the pain leave Wes's face. He was relaxed and drifting to that place that I had once been. I wanted to go back there.
    The girls climbed out of the water, gathered the babies and sat on the floor. They began to chant. Kuckunniwi took up the chant with them and in a few moments Awinita was chanting along in the most beautiful little girl's voice that I had ever heard. Yuri moved about the room sitting burning candles on every surface that was flat enough, Roddy turned out all of the lights.
     Wes was raised from the water and laid down on a pad at the edge of the hot tub. Mike removed a larger earthenware jar from his box and held it high above his head and sang a song that was new to me. He slowly poured a very pungent liquid into the tub as RD and Steven lifted my legs over the side and helped me to sit in the very hot water. Next Cory was set into the water and Mike quit pouring his jar's contents out. Flat sticks, like paint spatulas, came out of the box next. All three boys used the sticks to stir the water. I got a mental image from Mike that they should not touch the water.
    My wounds screamed in pain from the water and whatever was in it, the soothing effects of the animal skin were gone. Wes moved to the tea pot that Roddy and Yuri set beside him. He filled two bowls of tea then held them before our lips for Cory and me to drink. The tea did its magic in moments. I was quickly drifting away.
    The sound of the pumps coming on at low speed brought me around. Cory was smiling at me and flexing his left leg. He lifted it high above the water and stretched it tight. Wes told him to return his leg to the water or he could hurt himself. He said that the work had just begun. Both of us were given more tea then sleep overtook me again.

    The next time that I awakened the sun was shining in through the windows. Roddy was curled up against me on one side, Yuri was in my lap and RD was on my other side. Cory was sandwiched between Mike and Steven. Wes was stretched out on one of the long seats of the tub, sound asleep. The girls and the babies were gone. The candles had all been snuffed out, the room was at total peace.
    I tried to move. There was no pain. I lifted a foot and could not see any cuts on it. I checked the other foot, clear and healed. "I feel great. I am a new person," Cory startled me. I hadn't noticed that he was awake. The others stirred and began to move about
    Fresh water was turned on and the pumps quickly exchanged the water in the tub for the new supply. The jets came on and soothed our bodies as Wes crawled over on his knees to inspect us. Mike, Steven, RD, Yuri, and Roddy got out of the water and headed over to the shower to rinse the oils and herbs from their bodies. Wes told Cory to get up.
    The mind doesn't always react to directions. The memory of pain was very fresh in Cory's head. He faltered. Wes got stern and told him to get out of the water. I watched my main man raise himself up and step out of the tub. Wes was trilling like a bird. His music filled the small room with joy and happiness. Wes told me to get my ass up. I did. No pain. I felt as good as I had felt when I sat in the hot springs at Camp Christopher.
    I was hungry. Roddy brought us terrycloth robes to put on. Yuri knelt down to place terrycloth slippers on our feet. The other six boys were similarly garbed as we walked through to Cory's kitchen. The girls had a large stack of whole wheat hot cakes, bacon, and sausage patties ready for us. Ugitsiha handed me a cup of coffee and a kiss. I just knew that I was going to make it.
    I walked over to say good morning to my tiny ones. Cullen James looked past me at Wes. He trilled like a bird and called out, "Nnoquisi." We all wondered after the little man. Then Awinita parroted the name. Sagi laid her plate on the counter top and stared at Cory. Wes got himself a glass of milk and sat down.

    I was able to walk next door to my house in a normal manner. Roddy and Yuri danced around me so I chased them. Yuri could not believe that an old man like me could catch him. I told him that I would show him what an old man I am the next morning. Roddy looked at me and smiled, I had not had the time to run the greenbelt since late in the spring. My muscles needed the workout.
    I threw Yuri onto his bed and gave him a serious tickle torture. Suddenly I stopped and called for Roddy to come to the boy's room to confirm what my eyes were seeing. Roddy and I turned the small bundle of skin and bones every which way. We looked under his arms, at his legs, and even at his tortured pucker. They were smooth and healthy with no signs of the scaring that had been there the day before.
    I ran my fingers over Yuri's lower ribs, not to tickle but to see if there was any hard material under the skin. There was nothing. Yuri raised his head and looked down at himself then ran his fingers over the spot that had once been a nasty scar caused y his father slashing him when he tried to protect his mother from his assaults.
    Yuri looked at his arm where he had been cut by a street boy and then felt of his back for the scar there that had come from a bullet grazing him when he was seven. The boy had looked like a battle hardened war veteran the day before, now his skin was smooth and healthy. I got up and went into the playroom to sit down with my babies. Roddy and Yuri joined me. Cullen James smiled at Yuri and touched his side then began to do a bird trill.
    I called Cory and told him to get dressed, now. I pulled the Caddy from the garage and drove into his driveway. Roddy was still strapping Yuri into a car seat, the boy is so small that he needs a booster seat so that he can see out of the tall vehicle. Cory got into the car and I drove away without comment.
    I drove to the orthopedist's office and parked near the door. Cory felt B> so we walked up the five flights of stairs to the office. The doctor was behind the front desk talking to his receptionist when we walked in. He turned and looked at us then came around through door that led to the back examining area. None of us said a word as we followed the doctor to a room.
    Cory was given a gown as Roddy and Yuri removed my shoes and socks. The doctor looked me over then gave a low whistle. He turned to Cory and felt of my man's leg. He opened the door and asked for someone to come in and take an x-ray. The boys and I stepped out of the room with the doctor and stood in the hall.
    "What sort of miracle is this?"
    "My daddy is a red Indian and he got this other Indian what did that for him." I rubbed Yuri's head. The door to the examining room opened and the technician stepped out. He told the doctor that the x-ray was on the view screen.
    I didn't want to get into my family's secrets so I gave the doctor a brief summary of the events of the previous day. He sat at his desk and looked back and forth between me and Cory. Yuri raised his shirt up and showed the doctor his belly. "My scars is all gone, see." I explained that one and Roddy backed my up. The doctor gave both of us a clean bill of health and asked to see us again the first part of the next week. He was still shaking his head when we left.
    Dr. Tip and Dr. Will were waiting for us a Cory's house. We sat down and told them the story again. I called Wes to sit down with us. He looked at Dr. Will. Dr. William Hamm is one of Tucson's prominent Oncologist and radiation therapists. He has a rather large practice and every conceivable medical device that money can buy. "You have a small radiation burn on your left hand. It is getting painful and you are thinking that you need to have it removed, but that might cause you to no longer be able to do surgery."
    He asked Sagi to make some weak tea for Dr. Will as he picked up Mike's medicine box that had been left behind. Sagi brought in a tray with a pot of coffee, a pot of tea, and two cokes on it. She poured tea for Dr. Will and coffee for Dr. Tip, me, and Cory. Cory directed the doctor to remove his coat and shoes and then lay back. In seconds Dr. Will was asleep.
    Sagi and Cory began to chant, I joined them. From the other room we heard Awinita join the chant. Yuri led the little girl to join us, Christopher Cory was playing with his trucks. Wes placed his finger over the mouth of the jar of oil and spread a small amount over Dr. Will's left hand. A large brown spot appeared on the skin's surface.
    Wes took a small pinch of the herbs and crumbled them over the spot. He did this with four different herbs. He began to Trill in his bird's voice as Dr. Will's body completely relaxed. Next Wes took a small drop of the pungent mixture from the large jar with a small, brush like branch. He spread that over the spot as the rest of us began to chant louder. I looked at Yuri, we was trying to hum along. I decided then that he was going to learn the very ancient Tsalagi ways.
    Wes laid Dr. Will's hand on his leg and left it there. The rest of us sat back and watched as the spot faded away. Wes told us that there was some muscle damage that he wanted to repair. After a half an hour he rinsed the hand with spring water from Camp Christopher. He patted the hand dry with one of the small animal skins and massaged the muscles through the skin.
    When Will awakened he looked around then down at his hand. He flexed his fingers and smiled at us. Dr. Tip and Dr. Will left Cory's house with a whole different slant on medicine.

    Cory kissed Sagi and told her that he was going home to bed. I left the Caddy at my house and the two of us walked through the tunnel to the family home. The boys were glad to see us. I grabbed a bunch of green grapes from Edmund's table and headed up to my room with Cory chasing me all of the way. We headed to the shower and turned to wash the other. We were able to closely inspect the body of our lover for the first time since Wes's healing.
    The tiny scar in Cory's right eyebrow, the scar on my chin from a bicycle accident when I was ten, little scars that had accumulated over years of small incidents were no longer there. Cory could not even find the scar left behind after I had a small pox vaccination as a boy. Both of us had the smooth skin of a teenage boy and an erection to match our new selves.
    Cory and I had been able to enjoy the pleasure of our coupling on Saturday night at the river, we had wanted a rematch. It felt good to be along with my man in our bed. We both promised that we would get away again and hide out in Traveler©, but we both had to think about doing another float trip. I don't know what went wrong with that trip. All had seemed peaceful and at ease until we came up on the waterfall. I had to put all of that behind me and hold the man that I almost lost to a tragic accident.
    Cory enjoys my ass eating as much as I enjoy chewing him out. I worked my way down his firm body and noticed muscles that I had not noticed before. My man was cut and buff. His body rippled with new strength and health, I was happy to be able to lave every part of him as I explored the many new wonders of a body that I love more than my own.
    I found his left areola paid homage to it before I moved across his chest to compare the taste of the other one, they tasted the same, great. I worked my way down his body by way of the deep valley between a very pronounced eight pack of firm abdominal muscles. His smoothly shaved groin was flat and firmer than it had ever been. I wanted to see for myself what else was firmer. Both of us were glad when I found out.
    Cory was harder than hard. His erection was like a steel beam that wouldn't bend. I took every foot of his nine inches deep into my gullet as I relished the wonderful feeling of having his love deep inside of my throat. I fondled his batter makers and let my little finger work softly across his perineum. I knew that I was right on the spot by the soft moans emitting from my Cory man.
    I was hungry to dine at the Y. I took my cream and moved along so find the opening I knew would move my man to peaks of pleasure. His pleasure was piqued when my tongue pushed through his anal sphincter. I had a grip on him as I slow stroked him through another orgasm while he opened his back door for me to enter in. I felt him swell. I knew full well that I was about to get the cream that made him a man once again. I encompassed his nozzle, at the same time I knee walked myself into position.
    I am able to insert fully myself before the last drop of cream de olé leaves its chute. Cory had moved his legs to my shoulders in anticipation of the moment. I had a straight shot lined up to reach deep into his inner most self.

    Cory and I need very few words when we are together. We know where all of each other's parts are and we both know what pleases the other. We only talk afterwards, and it is usually about something else. I had something else on my mind. Cory propped his pillow against the headboard and listened to me. I had played the words over and over in my mind and I had prayed for wisdom, I had to let him know what I was thinking about.
    "Cory, I think that Awinita is destined for glory. Please hear me out, okay? At your wedding to Sagi I was cornered by many of the local chiefs. I was told of their hopes for you. Cory, you are of a line of royal blood in the tribe, so are your children. Wilma Mankiller is a great chief of all of the nations, but she can not reign forever. I believe that Awinita will be in the line of her successors. The child is gifted in ways that I do not understand. She is born to lead.
    "Look, several of us had the same vision of Sagi blowing leaves over the forest and everywhere one of those leaves fell a new village appeared. What if that vision wasn't Sagi. Daughters often turn out to look very similar to their mothers. What if the person in that vision was Awinita? What if she is the one that builds the tribe? Cory, you have a very special little girl there and I hope that what I feel is correct."
    Cory is of mixed blood. His mother has some Cherokee blood in her, but not enough place her on the Indian rolls. As the grandson of the great Ahkawidisgi his bloodline was secured. He can't be chief, but his progeny can. At least I knew that I would not have to genuflect before his royal hiney. One Royal Hiney in the family is enough.
    Cory laid back and thought about what I had said. We talked for an hour or so before a situation arose that required our attention. With that problem taken care of we nestled together and slept until almost five thirty the next morning.
    As we washed each other's bodies in the shower I asked Cory if he felt good enough to sit a horse. The Indian boy in him would rather be on a horse than in a fine car. I told him that I had promised the Nickels a trip out to Camp Christopher. I shared with him the disappointed look on their faces after we were injured. I wanted to bond with those three boys.
    Cory wanted to work with Wesley. He suggested that we take all of the Indian boys with us, including the four Chiricahuas. I called the school and asked for Travel All© to be serviced. I called the kitchen and asked Gigage to grubstake us. He offered to go along. I told him that he would be welcome, but that he might be better off staying at the school for the two days that we would be gone.
    Yuri was seated at the table with the boys that needed to go off campus for school. I tickled his ribs and got a kiss from him. I pulled Colt to the side with his two brothers and told them that I knew three horses with each of their names on it. They jumped up and down and high fived, then gave me a hug. I located all of the other boys and told them of our plans, they told me that they would be ready after school.

    I had a few things to do before I could get away for a second weekend in a row. I was in my office while the boys were in school when I got a call on my secure private line. I picked up my phone to hear Andy's voice, "Are you aware that you are off the air. I haven't been able to listen to anything that you have to say for over twenty four hours.
    "Drop the gate and let the technician in, or do I have to come down there myself?" Andy cracks himself up, I tolerate him. He is a good friend and I do love him, but sometimes…
    Andy's people are always working to improve the equipment that Foss International sells. It stands to reason that I get many of those improvements before our customers do. One of the upgrades that I have come to really like is to my throat mic.
    My throat mic rests in the indentation just below my laryngeal prominence—commonly known as the Adam's Apple. The new model is about as wide as a green sweet pea and thinner than a dime. The electronics for the device transmit to a tiny chip in the sound bud that is glued to my skin behind my left ear. The range on the system is astonishing, it transmits to whichever one of FI's satellites is overhead at the time. The FI satellites are spaced in a grid work over the entire earth and orbit at an altitude of only one hundred and fifty miles.
    The process of removing the mic is not a comfortable one. A solvent has to be forced under the small object to release the glue that holds it in place. The solvent is cold and smelly. It has to be injected at the right angle to prevent its getting under the skin and into the blood stream. It would only cause a minor skin irritation and it would prevent my wearing the mic for a day or two so great pains are taken to do it right the first time.
    The process was completed in less than ten minutes and I had a new throat mic and sound bud on my head. The technician looked closely at the unit then showed me a tiny hole in its side. Analysis at the lab showed that the pungent substance that Wes poured into the hot tub at the last was the culprit. It ate through the protective coating on the mic. I felt as if I needed to inspect my skin for holes in it.

    After school on Friday all of the Indian boys, both Tsalagi and Chiricahua, headed to the parking garage beneath the east side of the school to board Travel All©. I had Yuri and the Nickels onboard. Yuri was talking about two miles a minute. He was so excited that he forgot which language he was speaking in. He used a mixture of Russian, Tsalagi, and English in such a rapid manner that no one could follow what he was saying. I picked him up and sat him in my lap. He threw his small arms about my neck and held on.
    RD pulled the bus from the garage at exactly four o'clock and our latest adventure began. Cory was huddled on the floor with all of the Tsalagi. They seemed to have something important going on. The six Apache boys had their own gathering at the middle of the bus. Only the Nickels were left alone. I called for them to sit across the isle from me and we talked about their first week of school as RD rolled the miles off behind us.
    RD pulled the bus directly into the circular drive in front of the main house at Camp Christopher. I had a moment as my mind played back the first view I had of that house and Mavis Mayville sitting in her old rocking chair under the shade of the wide porch. I thanked her for her gift to my boys as I lifted up a word of thanks to my Father for his Grace in my life.
    My memory was enhanced by six naked Apache boys attacking Nolan as he stepped through the screen door of the house and out onto the porch. I gathered Yuri and the Nickels and stepped off of the bus. The Tsalagi boys had exited the bus through the emergency doors on each side of the bus. Emergency doors are required on all school buses, but with the huge power plant of the vehicle being located under the back end of the bus placement for them had to be wherever they could be fitted in.
    The law states that one large door be located at the rear of the bus, but if the bus should end up on its side then one side door would not be sufficient. Therefore a door was placed forward and on each side of the engine compartment. The curbside door is located in front of the head.
    Cory was directing the boys as they set about unloading the under belly of the bus. Food stuffs were carried to the kitchen. The Apache boys accepted the help, but quickly shooed the other boys away from their kitchen. Fresh linens were carried into the house and the boys set about making up the beds.
    Tristan came out with a tray set with a coffee pot and cup, and a large pitcher of lemonade. Mavis made her lemonade with the lemons from the trees in her orchard. She added a few small limes to the mix and stirred into it fresh honey then added a small sprig of mint. Tristan had followed her tradition by leaving a piece of the honeycomb in the pitcher. Ilanipi and Kuruk pushed a wheeled cart out of the house, it was laden with a large container of the lemonade, glasses, plates, napkins, and two plain single layer cinnamon swirl cakes.
    I introduced my young friends to Tristan and Nolan. They wanted to know when they could ride a horse. Nolan laughed and told them that it was up to me. I asked him if the boys could ride about the corral before dinner. He nodded and rose from his seat. His radio crackled and he turned it up. He told me that a special delivery was arriving at the corral. I was dressed in slacks and dress loafers, hardly the type of footwear to go traipsing about a corral in. I followed after him with four wide eyed boys at my side. At least the boys had worn jeans and their new boots.
    Roddy was excited. He had been quiet through the entire trip, but suddenly he found his energy. He let out a war whoop and called for his brothers to go with us. Nolan drove me and the four new guests to the corral in his old jeep. A large cattle truck was backing up to the loading chute near the stables. Roddy grabbed my hand and led me over to the truck.
    Roddy is extremely resourceful. He didn't want to wait until the following summer to ride his horse. He arranged to have him quietly transported to Camp Christopher. A sweaty and very obese man climbed up to the back of the truck and entered. I heard the distinct sound of Lightening Fire's whinny then the man cursed. Roddy was inside of the truck in an instant. When I arrived the man was on his ass and Roddy was on the back of his horse. "You don't never hit no horse, mister, and you never ever, ever hit my horse."
    "That foal is dangerous. He should be put down. He is some sort of freak anyways. He can't be no more'n nine, ten months old, but he is big, like a full growed horse. He is stubborn as a mule and meaner'n one."
    I did the math in my head, "Lightening Fire is eleven months and two weeks old. He is a special gift to my son from the Great Spirit." I walked over Golden Beauty and rubbed noses with the animal before leading him past the man and out into the corral. Roddy was riding Lightening Fire around the corral. One could see the love between the boy and his horse as both of them acted as one in mind and spirit.
    I stepped back onto the loading chute and removed my shoes and pants before mounting Golden Beauty. I rode the horse at a fast pace and held onto him with my knees as if he were Cory himself. I have grown to love that golden haired animal almost as much as I love the one that gave him to me as a wedding present in July of 2008. I tried to stand on his back, but quickly sat down to remove my socks, they were too slick.
    Once barefooted I was up on my feet as Roddy and I put on a show for all of the boys gathered about. The truck driver stood and stared at us as we called out commands to our steeds in Tsalagi. Cory had gone to the stable and returned with a bow and a quiver of arrows. Those he tossed to Roddy. To me he tossed the end of a rope, I tied it into a lariat and twirled it above my head.
    I had picked up a few horse tricks from Roddy during our stay in Oklahoma at the first of the summer. I jumped through the lariat without ever losing my balance. I came close to jumping off and running when an arrow from Roddy's bow came a little to close to the jewel box. Had I not been wearing a pair of briefs I would have been circumcised by arrowhead. Roddy was placing arrows through the rope and getting very close to my skin. If I did not have the utmost confidence in my little man I would have ridden as far away from him as possible.

    Nolan had brought the large triangle of iron down from the mountain camp and hung on the wide porch of the main house. Its clear tone wafted across the flats between our position and the house, it was chow time. Boys ran toward the house. I bent over and scooped up Yuri as he ran and passed him off to Roddy on the back of Lightening Fire. Next I bent over sideways and grabbed Chance by his arms and lifted him onto the back of Golden Beauty with me. Carter turned and held his arms up. Colt followed suit.
    I grabbed Carter as Roddy pulled Colt to himself. I heard Yuri squeal. Roddy told his two passengers to hold on tight then we both took off at a high rate of speed toward the house. With little time to prepare a meal for us the six boys that had been raised in the house had a table set for us that looked like a feast from the gods. The boys had quickly prepared whole, roasted chickens. A large salad and fruit from the orchard graced the table. Gigage had sent cans of vegetables for us and several loaves of fresh bread. We ate chicken with our fingers and wiped the grease on our arms, and the arms of those near to us.
    The boys were anxious to get out to the horses. We ate quickly then made a mad dash back to the stables. Nolan is terrific with boys. He had the Nickels doing their best to lift a saddle onto the horse that they wanted to ride. Yuri couldn't lift the horse blanket to the back of his shorter steed. I didn't mind being able to get down with him and help him. He saddled his own horse and was very proud of himself.
    I showed him how to lead the horse to stand next to a fence where he could climb up all by himself. No one that ever climbed any mountain in the world was more proud of their achievement than Yuri was as he sat his horse and surveyed the world at his feet. Nolan was working with the Nickels, but I didn't mind helping my son to discover his new horizon.
    I attached a lead rope to the horse's halter and passed the reigns to Yuri. I let him around in a large circle as he accustomed himself to something else that was new in his little life. Of course he wanted to ride across the desert at top speed, I led him through the gate and up a small hill at the foot of fire mountain. I held on to the lead rope, but let the boy think that he was in control of the horse. Later that night he told war stories of his masterful exploits to all who would listen. My boys are great. They never put another down, at least that I know about. They made Yuri feel like a world famous equestrian.

    Cory had talked to each of the other boys and told them what our plans were for the evening. All of them were happy to be a part of it. On our ride to the hot springs I moved up alongside of Clayton and Shikoba. Shikoba is of my blood. He is of AniTsata blood, the blood of my grandfather's tribe. Clayton has no Indian blood in his body, but his soul is red and his heart is pure. I told them that they were to undergo a part of the ritual with Yuri that evening, if they wanted to. Had we not been five feet off of the ground, on the backs of horses, I would have been squeezed to death. As it was both boys took hold of my hands.
    Robin is also of the AniTsata. Robin is the great grandson of my grandfather's mother, Kinta. His nearest relative within my family is Steven, their grandfathers were both Kinta's sons. Kinta had one daughter, Eva, she had a single son, Robin's father. The father married a young girl from the Ani Tsata tribe, she died when Robin was twelve and the boy was raised in the city by his drunken father and his sick mother. Robin only has a brief inkling of the ways of the Tsalagi. Shikoba is also blood related to the boy that I adopted in late December of 2009.
    Cory had shown diplomacy as he delegated the duties for each member of our party for the evening. Mike and Steven are both breeds, as am I. None of us could perform the duties that stood ahead for Wesley. We could chant and serve in the background, but we could not lay hands on him throughout the evening. Cory asked Mike and Steven to stay with the Nickels and explain the ceremony to them. I had the honor of working with four boys that mean very much to me, Yuri, Shikoba, and Clayton and Robin.
    Yuri has impressed all of us with his quick grasp of languages. He is speaking Tsalagi with Roddy on a daily basis and has a solid mastery of English. I set the four boys in the far end of the hot springs while Cory and the other worked at the hot end with Wesley.
    Cory is a breed as well, but his relationship to Chief Steve gives him a special place in the tribal hierarchy. No one begrudges his position of authority and everyone looks to him as the next leader of the tribe.
    I kept my four boys involved as we prayed and chanted at our end of the pool that Robin and I had built near the hot springs. Yuri showed great promise as he began to get into the ceremony. By the time that we were able to call an end to our evening I had three Creek brothers and a Russian brother/son.

    The following morning we arose early and rode our horses to the upper camp. We packed a lunch to take since we were only going up for the day. The weather on the mountain was just too cold to swim in the stream. We rode up and dismounted for a walk through the woods. All of the world seemed at peace in the stillness of the forest. The new boys were excited to see the wildlife in their natural habitat. Yuri had never seen a deer before. He thought that it should be bigger. Colt told him that it was just a baby deer but Roddy pointed to a small herd grazing nearby. The six point buck was not much bigger than the doe that the boys had spotted first.
    We stayed fairly close to the path that the boys had put down through the forest the year before. When we made it to the fresh water springs at the head of the small stream that washed down through the upper stables area we sat down to eat our lunch. Bodaway was celebrating his sixteenth birthday on the next Monday. He is the self declared leader of the Apache boys and all of them look to him for guidance. He showed his guidance with a tall tale of the mountain.
    "A great warrior led his band of braves to the valley below when mother earth was very young. The grasses were tall and the game was plentiful so the people were happy. The only thing that they missed were the mountains and the trees.
    "This warrior called on all of his braves to gather the great herd of bison from the desert grasses and ask them to drag up the rock to make a cool place for trees to grow and game to live. The bison had long ropes attached to them and they dragged all of the rock from the valley floor to this area and piled them high into the sky.
    "The great Spirit looked down and saw what his children were doing and gave them his help. He caused mother earth to open before the people and push larger rocks up from beneath the ground and soon these mountains were born. Birds flew in and brought seeds for trees and grass to hold the mountain together and then the rains came and water cleansed the mountain.
    "Animals came from all over and made this mountain their home. When the bison moved away to other feeding grounds the land was left with deer and rabbits to run on the ground. Squirrels ran through the trees and birds flew through the skies. Berries and plants to eat covered the ground.
    "The people hunted the animals, but only took what they needed to eat. Mother earth and the people live in harmony on this mountain now. The Chiricahua will live here forever with no fear of anyone taking away this mountain from them." He turned and looked at me. "When the great warrior joined his fathers in the sky a great gray wolf came and stood over his body for three days. That wolf ran to the mountain and met up with a very large brown bear. The two of them watch over this mountain and my people."
    I rose and walked over to him. "The Great Spirit sent me to this mountain and to your people. I was told that I was to guard this land for all times and to live in harmony with the mountain and the people that live here. You are my brothers and I will forever protect this land for you and your people." Bodaway hugged me. I hugged him in return. Mavis united us with her love.
    We spent the rest of the day riding down the eastern ridge of Fire Mountain and gathered about a campfire near the house for an old fashioned weeny roast in the evening. The boys asked to sleep outside under the stars on a perfect evening. We gathered sleeping bags and used the fire as our central point to lay back and stare into the clear sky and count the stars as we tried to find shapes of animals in the heavens.

    Sunday morning's breakfast was a bit different. The boys had been to the orchard and had gathered apples and honey. A deep dish apple pie was on the table with fresh cream from the herd of dairy cattle on the ranch. A pot of coffee put me in the right frame of mind and I told the boys that I would like to stay at the camp for a long long time, at least until it turned cold in a few more weeks.
    Boxes of fresh fruit were loaded under the bus and we headed back home and to school. Wesley is a new person. I am not sure of what was done with him, but I know that I have a new person in my family. one that I will love and will love to be with.

    Sagi presented Christopher Stevens, Awinita, and Cory Allen with a screaming banshee on Halloween night. Steven Allen Conway-Dickson—Little Steve—was named after his great grandfather. He came into the world sounding as much like a fire truck's siren in a tunnel as we could imagine. The boy has a set of lungs on him.
    The family carried forth our tradition of bonfire night. We gathered in the playground across the street from the main house and danced until we turned blue, or was it the blue paint that we smeared all over each other? We all wished Cullen a very happy time as we toasted him with pumpkin juice and soul cakes. Jimmy missed the boy as much as I did, maybe more. The two have become solid lovers.

So there you have it. Is your friction enhanced by my fiction?
Tell me about it at fisherman@iname.com
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