Chapter 79: Wanna mate? Lets throw hands first

Only an hour had passed since Kanan had awoken, his head resting on something soft instead of the hard ground he remembered.

"Hmm?" He angled his head up, seeing Nia smiling, her short orange hair blocking her eyes.

"How was your nap?"

"Lovely. Where’s Anna?"

"Out choosing a mate for your next Breeding Ceremony."

He flinched. "I’m not mating again today, am I?"

"Fufu, of course not, master. You’ll have at least a week off from this duty."

"Phew, I was worried for a bit."

Nia played with Kanan’s hair, kissing his forehead while humming softly. She wished they could stay together like this for a while, the thought of being his lover running wild in her mind.

Alas, their alone time would have to come to an end, especially since she had something to tell him.

"Umm, master."

"Hmm?"

"There’s someone at the door who’s waiting for you."

Getting up, Kanan looked at the door, then at Nia. "Who?"

"You should see for yourself."

So he did. It was tough leaving his lap pillow, but sacrifices had to be made for the greater good.

When he opened the Shrine doors, he saw a woman stand up and walk toward him.

"Hello, Shaman Kanan. I hope I’m not interrupting your duties."

"Telah," Kanan muttered. He had no idea why she was here or why she would look for him in the first place.

Her people were safe; the prisoners had been freed; they had homes, and everything was going back to normal as best as it could, considering the current situation.

"Is there a reason why you’re here?" He wondered.

"I had just come back from hunting."

"Working already? I’m sure you were given a month to settle in."

"Some of us don’t wish to wait that long." They also thought that it would be wise to prove their worth now and fit in with the Nemean society sooner rather than later.

"Fair enough. Did you wish to share your hunt with me or something? If so, then there is no need for that. Use it to feed your people." He wasn’t being rude, but honest.

"I understand, but that is not why I’m here. I noticed that woman from earlier enter that structure and leave around an hour ago. I also saw you enter it this morning, so I was just wondering what goes on in there."

Kanan furrowed his brows. ’That’s it? This is what she wants to know?’

"I’m sure you could have asked anyone for the answer to your question."

"I’m sure they would ignore me."

"Hmm. You’re not wrong. Well, this is a shrine dedicated to our gods. Those Totem Poles determine the strength of our future generation once it’s time for their Blessing Ceremony."

"Ah." She was fascinated. "We have something like that as well. We call it a Tribal Welcoming. It is when we mark our bodies with Spiritual Tattoos. That is the sign of adulthood."

Kanan didn’t know that, and he was truly fascinated by the difference in culture. Not too long ago, he would have assumed that every Tribe would be the same, only having different experiences and powers.

He was glad that he was wrong. ’I also shouldn’t think that the Stone Age had no cultures. It only makes sense that they did. After all, traditions had to be passed down, no matter how altered they became in the future.’

"Interesting. I’d like to hear more about this later. Learning about your culture will be the best way to meld our cultures together. After all, we’ll be one people from now on."

"Yes." Telah nodded, happy that Kanan didn’t change his mind about that. "I’d be glad to tell you more of our culture later. But if I may ask, what did that woman enter the shrine for? She looked very tired afterward."

"Oh, we were mating."

Telah paused, staring at Kanan in confusion.

"Y-You were mating? Is that not a sacred act between mates?"

"Oh, it is. But as the Shaman, it’s my duty to spread my seed to nurture the next generation and make our tribe stronger. And as the last blood of Nemean, I have to make sure that the bloodline continues. It’s called the Breeding Ceremony."

"Ohh, so you were performing a sacred duty. We have a similar custom. Our own is called the Breeding Battle."

"Breeding Battle? What, do men fight to see who can breed a woman first?"

"Heh, no. However, that would be good entertainment. When a person loses their mate but wishes to continue bearing children, they are given a list of men or women who wish to mate with them. That list will then battle to see who gets to breed or be bred."

"Ah. So the strongest man gets to impregnate the woman, and the strongest woman gets to carry the child of the man."

Telah nodded. "That’s right. Don’t think of this as a dishonorable battle, though. Every contestant knows that they could lose, and they know that whoever wins deserves that right to mate. Cheating is heavily punished, sometimes even by death."

"I see. I shall remember this. Maybe we can sit down one day and see how to best merge our cultures."

"Yes, I’d like that."

The two of them continued to walk around the village in silence, Typhon Tribesmen giving dirty looks to Kanan while Nemean Tribesmen gave dirty looks to Telah.

Kanan could hear the men and women scoffing at Telah, saying that she’s not worthy enough to walk side by side with their amazing shaman.

Of course, she ignored them. After all, her own tribe was saying that Kanan was such a young and inexperienced shaman that he had to suck up to their new Chief just to make himself look great.

That’s right, after Woton and Tagah died, it was Telah who became the leader of their tribe.

"Say, could I join the Breeding Ceremony?"

Kanan paused. He expected that this would come up eventually, but not so soon. He knew that there would be a day when he would probably have to breed a woman from the Typhon Tribe, but he never expected Telah to be the one to ask.

"As of right now, I’m going to say no. It wouldn’t look right."

She nodded, not taking any offense at all. "I understand."