Roar [Jan2014]

How did it go Roar? Was the great quest as scary as they say? Did you see any wild creatures out there? God he hated all the questions! He had only been back from the woods for a short few days and they were already teasing and bating him. He had been successful and he knew the younger men of the tribe were jealous. His adulthood quest had gone uneventful until the very end of his time there. He had been kneeling at the edge of the cold mountain stream when out of the corner of his eye he caught movement.

As he watched he saw the animal bend down and begin drinking. For some reason it had not spotted him and so he remained motionless, utilizing the shade he was in to obscure his position. He watched as the creature cupped its hands and drank while it furtively scanned its surroundings. It appeared to be very vigilant and on guard. It was as if it could feel his eyes looking at it but not seeing him.

His own hair went up on the back of his neck and he carefully rocked back into a squatting position in case he needed to move in a hurry. It was certainly a strange creature. He had been told what they looked like and had even seen drawings but nothing prepared him for what he was seeing. It was truly an ugly creature; its hair was matted and strangely colored. Its legs ended in what looked like hooves but he couldn’t tell for sure.

He was down wind of it and he could smell a very strong offensive odor. It was nothing like anything he had every smelled. He could tell it was a male but the rest of its scent was too complicated to understand but certainly there was the hint of musk. He continued to watch as the creature moved back a short distance from the stream and proceeded to clear what looked like a sleeping position.

It was tossing rocks and sticks out of the way and breaking off tree boughs to sleep on. He used the moment to move himself into better cover. He could keep watch on the creature from his new hiding spot and was pretty much undetectable unless the wind changed. It was growing darker fast but he could still see well enough to observe the animal was definitely eating something.

That became his goal, to get close enough to see what it was eating and to determine its choice of prey. He soon could hear the sound of sleep. The animal was making loud snoring sounds. He carefully approached the creature, the successful completion of his quest depended on him skillfully approaching and taking something from it. It had to be something that would verify he had indeed outwitted the creature.

A number of his previous initiates had failed to do so and had become the laughing stock of their tribe. But he was adamant that would not happen to him and as luck would have it, as he approached the sleeping beast he noticed that it had left some of its food lying on the ground within his reach. He carefully lifted it from the ground and made his way back down wind. Only when he was sure he was far enough away to not be heard he examined what he had stolen. It was quite odd. It looked like it was strips of dried flesh.

With great excitement he roared his name and made his way through the snowy forest back to their hidden cave. His elders warmly received him back and all congratulated him on his successful quest. As they stirred up the fire he was offered the first bite of his prize. He carefully bit off a small piece and as he began to chew, his mouth was filled with a wonderful flavor. He then handed it to the next, and so it went down the line of elders until it was all gone. The shaman spoke to him in almost a whisper as he confirmed his adult place in the tribe and shared the holy name for his prize, this is jerkee.

Thought provoking post.

Thanks

reply to post by grayeagle


S&F for you friend!
Love the story but would have given you a S&F for no other reason that it's about my 2nd favorite snack food!

He better be glad that guy didn't wake up....and now I'm hungry! Cute story. I can't flag yet, but have a star!

reply to post by grayeagle


Thanks for everyone's comments. I obviously wrote this a little tongue-in-cheek, well actually jerky in cheek.

Nice story greyeagle . And im gonna have to get my hands on some of this jerky stuff to eat

reply to post by TheDoctor46

If you can't find any in England I'll gladly send some to you.

But be forewarned, they are quite addictive. It comes in various shapes and sizes and can be made from beef, poultry, and even fish.

reply to post by grayeagle


Well i will have a look in the supermarkets tomorrow. Yes beef jerky I think I will hunt down ...I will let you know how I get on

Beef Jerky available quite widely in the UK, supermarkets usually have it hanging on a ladder strip where shelves meat/meat! I think most of the outdoor type stores that cater for the more adventurous will be stockists as well.

Don't go sending it though, as if my memory serves me well the authorities will seize it as imported animal product, check on their rules on website, UKBA or DEFRA or similar?