story time part six

An extra bit for you this week, just because I am feeling generous lol - but mainly because I am mind blank about natter at the moment ...

Petar had become a fully fledged citizen of the twenty first century. The women found themselves reviewing the current ‘knowledge’ about early humans - Petar could have been ‘thick’ without the schooling modern people undertook, but he was both ingenious in every sense of the word and extremely well tuned to others moods. He also served as additional security to the place - refusing accommodation elsewhere shared or otherwise. Bear Camp was ‘home’ in this world as well.
The small ‘family’ of scientists and researcher that lived at Bear Camp, not to speak of the small growing ‘army’ of volunteers who wanted to escape the ‘rat race’, now turned automatically to the expert who clearly knew more of the time and surroundings of the original camp. He had seemed uncomfortable to leave the Camp after his arrival, but now moved around freely and happily. He was never too busy to give advice when asked, or ask it for that matter.
And although uncomfortable at sleeping elsewhere it seemed, he welcomed overnight guests. After one long day out with Oriana visiting several differing religious centres, she had stayed long in discussion. Oriana had been fascinated by Petar’s description of the Mother Creator, Dam, and deeply amused at his polite description of mother festivals. He had wickedly grinned, and told her he did not know of the equivalent in this time; save she had briefly touched on ‘parties’ and the like when people let their hair down. Women had literally and figuratively let their hair down at mother festivals with the intention of enticing the men to their furs in his time.
It was late indeed, and Petar asked her to stay - he would cook, they would drink and talk and then sleep in the furs. Never mind the food she countered, only one drink to slake a sudden dry throat; the talk had made her hungry for something much more interesting …..
Petar had blissfully shown her how a woman was treated in his time to Honour the Mother.
Wrapped in each others arms in the fur, she teased that if that was how men treated women back in the Stone Age, modern man could relearn a thing or two. He retorted if that was the way modern women treated their men, they were indeed more than remiss in these matters.
The rest of the camp ‘family’ noted that Oriana spent at least one night a week ‘overnighting’ from that night forward.

Petar took a longer ‘field trip’ with Davi to see ‘the BIG city’, the nearest huge conurbation to the smaller place where the Bear Camp was based. This was north, a full day’s journey by rail.
Davi noticed Petar stiffen as they neared. The train slowed to begin the approach to the centre.
“Petar? …” he ventured, curious.
“I don’t know, Davi, something … I feel I should know …”
The feeling increased as the train led into the station across a bridge over a large lazy river. Davi led the way to a bus that would take them back across the river and the Iron Age remains he wanted them to visit.
Petar stood transfixed as memory took him back to his ‘roots’. His camp had stood here, on the hillock, with the hint of a ditch; not the deep moat it had become much later.
“Home, Davi, home. My first home, where I grew up. I know it. Dig much further than this and you will find signs of burning, maybe even tools, small bones. I could show you where the fishing boats were kept by the riverside if the buildings were not here.” He carefully paced out a short way from the entrance to the place, post holes in evidence.
“My home stood here, exactly here. Later people built on the ruins of my time. Much as Roman’s did, Davi, and others will once this time is long gone.”
Both were lost in their own thoughts, silent, on the way back. Davi said goodbye for the night as they approached the camp, and turned to go to his home. Petar entered the great lodge and changed into the comforting hide vest and leggings he was wont to wear when in the Camp, taking a quick walk to the long drop latrine, smiling at the wheeling stars overhead. A white flash and he was gone.