The Hooman Saga - XVII - Serial Fiction

So far: Snarl took the rags of Sue's space-suit out of the valley, as Tig-she followed, in secret. For what, we don't know. But today, it's a sunny day...

Feb 15, 2025

SOO-SHE WAS SITTING outside the den in the morning sunlight.

The breeze brought scent of wild roses, and clover blossoms, along with grass pollens. The sun was warm on her skin, warming her doeskin dress as well.

She'd found a comb in her pouch and was using it on her long blond hair. She had never realized how much the little things mattered. She had started combing the rats and tangles out. It took a while, as she had to work from the tips backwards towards the scalp before she could run her comb through any long strand all at once.

It was a nice day, the weather was good, and so she combed and just enjoyed being in the moment. She saw Tig-she coming up and she smiled to see her. She had been closer to Soo-she more recently than not. And was becoming quite a good friend, if you could call it that.

Although Tig-she still didn't trust everything she did. And was easily spooked by some of the things Soo-she thought. Still, Tig-she had a wry sense of humor that Soo-she appreciated.

Tig-she from called from across the valley by thought alone, "Hallo Hooman! How are you today? Whatever is that stuff growing out of your head?. It's too bright. My eyes are hurting.”

Soo-she thought back, "Well, perhaps Tig-she should only hunt at night. I hear that's much easier for you to see then. But I'll hide all this golden hair so it doesn't distract you or make you stumble on your path.”

Both chuckled at that.

Soo-she put away her comb even though she didn't really feel anywhere near done. She could be hours at this.

By then Tig-she showed up and sent, "Are you ready for the probe?"

And Soo-she replied, "There is no way to ready for that. I think I can only be myself and try to help as best I can. I know there's a lot of knowledge you seek. I don't know if I have it all.”

Tig-she sent, "Well don't worry about it. It's a nice day."

She sat next to Soo-she and shared her view over the valley. Soo-she looked through Tig-she's eyes and saw much further and much more clearly.

She saw all the detail she was missing with her own human vision. And she smelled the smells and heard with extended hearing. So that rabbit cleaning out her burrow on the other side of the valley was as clear as being within 20 feet of it.

"It is a beautiful day, isn't it?”

Tig-she replied, "Yes. Our Teacher says to enjoy the moment and I'm still having difficulty getting that concept myself.”

Two turkeys walked across the high grass out on the valley, and both watched. Tig-she of course was interested in hunting one of those. Yet it would be impolite to leave Soo-she, to just run off. Also, she wasn't all that hungry. But the action of running was always pleasing to her, even calming to a wolf. To run, to lope, brought an inner peace.

The trotting song hummed in her head. And Soo-she started humming the trotting song aloud.

Tig-she asked, "Could you teach me how to hum one day? It seems interesting. I think the cubs would enjoy being hummed to.”

Soo-she replied, "Well if it's possible, I'll teach you anything I can.”

She looked down at her hair at it flowed down the front of her doeskin dress. "I wish I looked better for the probe. I'm afraid the last few days have left me a bit ragged. I could really use a bath. I've been able to wash my face and hands, and the more scented areas of me, but I think I need a full bath. That would h be just so luxurious.”

Tig-she understood the meaning of luxurious, if she never heard the word before. "I think I know a place we can go where you can get you can take a full bath as you will. We love swimming in the pool by the high caves. Come.”

And she trotted off down the hill. Soo-she quickly pulled her pouch closed and put the strap over her shoulder and across her chest. She rose quickly and trotted off behind her. Wolves seem to love to trot everywhere and never walk. Shortly they were up at the caves.

Tig-she of course arrived first, and took a deep breath. Then scouted everything out. She loved to be up here. She had many fond memories growing up as a cub. She and Tig could often be found up here playing in amongst the rocks.

As Soo-she came up, she saw the pool. She paused at its beauty. It had a small waterfall that seemed more active during the rains. As it came off the side of the valley walls, the collected water went into this pool. She went down to the edge of it and put her hand in.

Tig-she sent, "Yes it is cold," in response to Soo-she's thoughts. Then she sent her the heat she could feel from the rocks, warmed all morning in the bright sun. "Come, it's only cold the first second."

Tig-She sprang into the pool, diving and splashing away. And then paddling across and around, her long tail trailing behind her in the water.

Soo-she slipped off her buckskin dress, kicked off her moccasins, and dove head-first. She rose some few feet away, sputtering and gasping at how cold it was. But yet again, Tig-she was right. Once you're in the water for a while, You don't feel cold.

She swam over to a shelf where she could stand and scrub. Dunked her hair under and rinsed it as best she could, without tangling it more. But the water would help her get the tangles out of it. Nothing like fresh rain water.

She remembered on the moon-station where they would increase the humidity to make it “rain.” That would settle the dust. Her grandmother would catch the run-off in pots just for washing her and her grand-daughter's hair.

All the puddles, all the brooks Soo-she had used for washing would get muddy so quickly. But among these rocks it stayed pure and clear. You see to the bottom of the pool.

But as she started shivering she knew she'd better get out. So she climbed out on the rocks and sat in the sun and allowed the sunbeams to dry her.

She ran her fingers through her hair to make sure that it wasn't knotted or tangled.

Tig-she swam over and climbed out, then walked away a bit to shake. At last, she came back to lie down beside Soo-she.

"You seem to have good form for a human.”

Soo-she blushed at the compliment sending, "What would you know about the form of humans?"

"I've been in a few places, I've seen a few. Like I said, a hooman without clothes is no curiosity to me."

Tig-she shared with her the times she had gotten close to the human settlement, to see mothers bring their children out to the creek to bathe and clean. So she saw all parts and forms of human anatomy as she laid hidden.

Soo-she asked, "So you've been near the humans, you've been near the settlement?"

Tig-she sent, "Yes, when the ferals weren't as many. We would often come by and and see what we could learn. As long as they weren't trying to hunt us and as long as we didn't hunt near their settlement. Wolves were more a curiosity than they were a threat. But since the ferals have expanded their numbers, they've come into hunt far closer to the settlement and in the settlement.

"Now the humans have armed themselves with different weapons and often will search far outside their feral territory without knowing it. They come into Sentient land at that point.

"Then we have to chase them back, which tends to make them come after us even more. But humans are a strange thing. If we could only share thoughts with them.”

Soo-she thought for a while and sent, "It's too bad they don't send and they don't listen. The closed-mind problem is exactly that.”

The sunshine on her bare skin had dried most of the most moisture now, and the cool air raised goose bumps. She sat in the sun and enjoyed being able to feel the air over all her body. To wriggle her toes without having them encased in some boot or moccasin was a sheer delight.

She reached down and pulled one of her feet up to check the bottom oven and the calluses had grown well. Most of the scratches had healed. She marveled at this, because she thought she would have scars from how deep some of those gases had been.

Tig-she sent, "We help you with that when you're sleeping."

"Oh, now that's something you can teach me." replied Soo-she.

Tig-she sent, "It's not too hard when the person is dreaming. Then you enter their dreams and help them in any way you can."

Soo-she replied, "I'll have to try that some day. I know the teacher dreams and has bad ones and all I can do is sit there and watch."

Tig-she sent, "Well it's a great day and we don't have to worry about everything." She then laid down, stretched out, relaxed.

- - - -

As they enjoyed the sun and wind, they listened to the birds sing around them. They heard the different animals skitter and talk amongst themselves.

Soo-she laid back, cradled her head in her arms and watched the clouds scud across the sky. She felt free and secure of all human problems and questions and "now-we-musts." At the same time, she wished her family were here to enjoy all this. This security, this peace.

As she thought that, she said she saw Tig-she next to her start to twitch, her tail wagging, and her feet were running in the air, moving in sequence. Soo-she knew she was dreaming.

So she closed her own eyes and looked through Tig-she's dreams.

She found her on a trail, moving with stealth after something she was trying to follow. It was Snarl.

Then she stopped and looked right at Soo-she.

"What are you doing here?" What Tig-she saw was a wolf who was blond with a reddish tent. And then Soo-she saw that that was her. In Tig-she's dream, she was a wolf, another female wolf.

Soo-she sent, "I came to help. What can I do?”

Tig-she replied, "We're watching him. He's up to something. I know."

And then Soo-she understood that Tig-she had been following Snarl for some time. He had somehow taken the bundle of her old suit, and had left scraps here and there. All along a trail leading back to the valley.

So they followed carefully staying out of his sight but still smelling the scent. Being a wolf was invigorating to sushi with all the abilities and talents they had.

Now they came up to a point where Snarl was waiting near the edge of a clearing. They couldn't get any closer. They were down when so their scent wouldn't carry to him and expose where they were. They sat side by side and peered through the leaves as best they could.

Into the opposite edge of the clearing came another wolf. It was a feral. It stopped at the edge of the clearing and laid down with his head on his paws. That submission was a signal. At that, Snarl rose and took what remained of the bundled suit out into the center of the clearing. He then turned and walked back to the clearing edge he came from. The feral wolf raised its head, sniffed, and looked to both sides.

Then slowly walked forward, sniffing as he went. A few feet from the center, he stopped and sniffed, concentrating on the bundle. Then it crept the last few feet to sniff it directly. At last, it reached down and took the bundle in its mouth, wheeled suddenly, and then bolted. In seconds it was out through the edge of the clearing and deep into the trees.

Snarl then made a smile and left, going exactly back the same way he had come.

Tig-she and Soo-she sat for a while, letting Snarl leave. They had come a similar route themselves and didn't want to strengthen that scent or give themselves away.

Meanwhile they digested what they had just seen in the clearing.

Soo-she sent, "So Snarl is giving away a trail into the valley.

Tig-she sent, "That's what I understand. I have not had a way to do anything about this. But now you know, too."

And at that, they both woke up. Tig-she sat upright and turned her head towards the hooman. Soo-she raised herself up into a sitting position and shook her head as if to get the dream out of her mind.

Then she looked at Tig-she. "Well, did I help?"

Tig-she smiled and sent, "More than you know. More than you know. Oh—and you make a good looking wolf, too.”

Soo-she blushed.

Tig-she added, "We'll have to do something about that blushing business."

Soo-she asked, "Does it make me look bad?"

Tig-she sent, "No, it makes you look even more enticing. And if you were a wolf, you'd have every male in the area coming to see you."

We’re now well into a new serial.

Snarl is up to something, and has left a scented trail for ferals back to the valley - to locate one of their hooman enemies. Meanwhile, Sue is still preparing to undergo a mysterious “probe” which no human before her has survived…

Of course there are some 16 more chapters (half-way next week!) after this. But you’ll have to stay tuned until next week to see how they get out of this…

For now, set your calendar to keep track of these new adventures. Every Saturday.