The Wedding Night

Ehawee starts, and finds herself back in the sweat lodge. It seems much later now. The shaman is smiling at her, while Kohana is slumped forward onto his hands, and seems to be coming out of his trance. Ehawee glances quickly at her leg, half expecting to see a knife wound there, but there is nothing on her thigh except sweat. She's drenched, as is Kohana. She looks around in confusion, trying to determine how much time has passed. "Is it over?" she asks the shaman.

Kohana looks up when he hears her voice.

"Yes," the shaman says, in a tone graver than his face would suggest. "You are both cleansed." He hands them both blankets. "Go, refresh yourselves in the river. From this moment on, you belong to each other."

Ehawee wraps her blanket around herself and gets slowly to her feet, uncertain of how steady she'll be. She watches Kohana as she waits for him to do the same, studying his expression, wondering if his first vision was the same as hers. He is much less steady on his feet than she, but smiles at her as he wraps the blanket around himself and crawls out of the lodge.

The air is fresh and cool outside, and Ehawee's lungs drink it in eagerly. Thankfully, the river is only ten steps or so away. She staggers towards it, keeping pace with Kohana, still feeling a bit disoriented. Once she reaches the river bank, she drops her blanket and quickly immerses herself in the water. It feels icy cold and makes her entire body tingle. She shivers violently for a moment or two and then adjusts, luxuriating in the feel of the water against her sweaty body.

Kohana disappears underwater, then comes up with a whoop. He, too, is shivering violently, but unlike Ehawee, his shivering does not seem to abate. The icy water seems to have cleared both of their heads of the trance-inducing smoke.

Ehawee ducks underwater and swims over to Kohana, emerging behind him and wrapping her arms around him. "I can't believe it's finally over," she admits happily.

Kohana trembles in her arms. "Happy?" he asks, through chattering teeth.

"Yes!" she responds, then plants a quick kiss on his shoulder and releases him. Moving around to his side, she takes his hand and begins leading him out of the water towards the blankets, adding, "But I'll be happier when I'm warmer." Even though she doesn't actually feel all that cold, she doesn't admit it, not wanting Kohana to fell like less of a man because he does.

Kohana follows her out of the water willingly. He lies down on his blanket, then pulls Ehawee and her blanket down on top of him. "Yes," he says with a grin. "I feel much warmer now."

She giggles, wraps her arms around him and lays her wet head on his chest. "Do you really? I wonder why?"

He rolls over, so that he is lying beside her and she in his arms. "Because my heart warms me," he says before kissing her.

She kisses him back eagerly, pushing the unpleasantness of her visions out of her thoughts and focusing on how wonderful it feels to be with her husband at last.

What follows next is an entirely new experience for Ehawee. There is some pain, of course, but it fades quickly, and she finds the whole thing rather exciting...right up until the point that Kohana gasps and clutches at her, and then stops, rolling her to the side and kissing her. She is a little confused by this unexpected halt to things, but kisses Kohana eagerly, hoping maybe this is just a temporary thing. He returns her kisses, but not with urgency, then smiles at her and brushes her hair out of her face. "You were much better than Maka her first time," he says. "She cried and wouldn't let me touch her again for three days. You," he laughs. "You seem like you want more already."

Ehawee smiles, pleased that she did better than Maka. "It hurt, but only for a little while. Do we have to wait long before we can do it again?"

Kohana looks startled, and then grins broadly. "A bit. Come, if you are so eager, let us go back to the teepee. Let me eat, and then I should be able to lie with you again."

"All right." She gives him one final kiss and gets to her feet, wrapping her blanket around her. She peeks under the blanket to see if she needs to wash up in the river, but much to her surprise, there is no blood at all.

Kohana follows along behind Ehawee as she begins walking back, his blanket wrapped around his waist. All through camp whoops and hollers accompany them, and the young girls look away and giggle. Ehawee looks for Takoda among the noise makers, figuring he must be one of them. Much to her surprise, Napayshni and Magaskawee are standing right beside him, whooping just as loudly. Kohana bears the ribbing with manly pride. Ehawee blushes a bit at being the focus of so much attention, but she too walks proudly, if a bit quickly, towards Kohana's teepee. Once they are both inside, Kohana closes the flap and the ruckus subsides, although it's still audible. His grin also returns. "You must feed me, Ehawee, before my legs collapse from under me!"

She laughs, giving him a shove in the chest. "Yes, my poor, frail husband, I shall prepare something at once. You sit down and conserve your energy."

She begins preparing a quick meal for the two of them, her stomach whining demandingly as soon as she smells the food. The blanket remains wrapped around her at first, but her movements eventually dislodge it, and after a moment's hesitation, she decides to leave it where it is. After all, Kohana did enjoy watching her before.... His eyes never leave her during the preparations, and by the time she is finished, those eyes tell her that he hungers for more than food. He begins to eat quickly, and she does the same, both because she feels so hungry, and because she's eager to lie with him again. She smiles as she notices the speed with which Kohana's food is disappearing. "Do you like it?" she asks. "I can make more...."

"I don't need more food." He leans back on his elbows and watches her as she finishes. His eyes linger long on her breasts and her groin. "But I will wait for you, if you are still hungry."

She shakes her head as she finishes her last bite, a warm feeling growing within her. "I'm hungry, but not for food." She looks him over, trying to match the intensity with which he's been studying her. "Do you think you're ready to...be together again?"

"With a little encouragement from you, yes." He pulls the blanket away from himself....

This time, the experience proves more enjoyable. The pain Ehawee felt the first time is gone, and she feels a most amazing sensation at the end of it, like nothing she's ever felt before. Still savoring the remnants of that feeling, she slowly opens her eyes, an amazed look on her face. "That was...wonderful. Does that happen every time?"

He chuckles. "If I do things right, yes, I think."

She smiles and kisses him. "If I had known this is what it was like, I would not have waited so long to have a husband."

He rolls off to lie next to her. "Why do you think fathers guard their daughters so? Sons have no self-control at all.."

She giggles and snuggles up to him. "After experiencing that, I doubt daughters would fare much better. It is easier to resist what you do not know, I think."

He nods, but she can already tell he's beginning to fall asleep. She decides to try to do the same, although she doesn't feel very tired. Although Kohana drops off to sleep immediately, Ehawee is much longer in following, and she sleeps fitfully.

In the very early morning, Ehawee is awoken from pleasant dreams by Kohana's hands on her, and they make love again. When it is over she lies still, a dazed smile on her face, savoring her remaining pleasure until it is finally gone. Kohana lays down next to her, his arm across the small of her back. After several more minutes, he speaks. "So, what's for breakfast, wife?" he asks in a teasing tone.

She opens her eyes and smiles a very satisfied smile at him. "Is it time for breakfast already?" she teases back. "The sun isn't even up yet, is it?"

"Just barely. But I'm hungry."

She grins and stretches lazily. "Have you been exerting yourself a great deal of late, my husband?"

He gives her a look that says, 'Ask again, and I'll shove you off the furs.'

She giggles and kisses him on the nose. "I'll take that as a yes."

She quickly gets dressed, trying to keep as much of herself under the warm furs as she can in the process. Feeling completely famished, she prepares a huge breakfast. Kohana, obviously feeling at least as hungry as she is, nibbles on things as she cooks, and quickly eats his breakfast when it's done. Then he crawls back into the teepee for a nap.

While Ehawee hurries to clean up the remains of breakfast, Takoda rides by on his pony and snickers at her. She makes a face and puts her hands on her hips. "And just what are you laughing about," she calls out to him, not sounding especially annoyed.

"Get enough sleep last night?" he chuckles as he trots away.

That prompts a bit of a smile as she remembers why she's so tired. She quickly finishes cleaning up and rejoins Kohana in the teepee, snuggling up against his warm body with a happy sigh and quickly falling asleep.

"Deadwood"
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All text on this page is © 2001 by Kris Fazzari.

Last modified on May 24, 2001 by Kris Fazzari.