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Becoming One of the Tribe

Finding a large river just two miles away from where they were, Ketilbjörn and the tigers were able to take it over to said river and travel all the way back in his knarr as a few travelled on the longboat with him as the rest followed them on foot. On board the longship was Kiriad, Tam'syn and Xiu. They seemed nervous about it at first, but after a few miles down the river they seemed to be enjoying it; that was until Xiu was starting to feel ill from boat rocking a bit. They soon pulled over to the riverbank and let her off as Ashaki was persuaded by her little sister to try riding in the boat for a while. Once on board, the group soon carried on with their journey home. "This feels amazing." Tam'syn said as she treaded the water with her hand over the boat. "You mean to tell me you guys get to do this all the time?"

"Often yes, we do actually." Ketilbjörn said at the rudder. "Often for trading for the most part. But I, on the other hand, like to travel more and try to leave the tribe as much as I can. Not that I don't care about them I just want to see more of the world and see what discoveries I can uncover, what treasures and sites there be to behold."

"So where have you been on your travels exactly?" asked Kiriad as she sat on the keelson with Ashaki next to her.

"Well usually places where we set up trade like Dublin, Ireland and York, England, Normandy in France and southern Italy as well as all the Atlantic islands, the Orkneys, Shetland, Hebrides, Sicily and the Isle of Man in the West. In the East we've been to Constantinople, where some of us have been the Varangian guard to the Byzantine emperor. From Constantinople, to Baghdad and even Persia."

"Interesting. And just how many raids have you been a part of?" asked an doubtful Ashaki.

Ketilbjörn thought for a moment. "I'd say about four raids in my lifetime. How many men I've killed I couldn't tell you."

"It was too much for you? The death toll was too much on your conscience?"

"No I just don't remember the number of me I've killed." At this, Tam'syn couldn't help but snicker at just how silly it sounded to her. Ashaki looked befuddled just as Kiriad tried to stifle a laugh. Meanwhile on the riverbank, the others were keeping track of the boat as Zurina was still suspicious of the Viking. "Did you think it was best to have them on board with her?" she asked Scyde who was never taking her eyes off of the boat. "I personally don't think so, but she's with Ashaki and I trust her enough to protect her. I'm surprised that you didn't decide to go up there with her."

Looking disgruntled, Zurina gave a bit of huff. "I just don't think I'd do well on that thing. Besides I'm still not so sure about him."

"What's not to like about him?" Kanti inquired as she walked with Xiu. "He doesn't seem all that bad. Did he seem that bad to you Xiu?"

"Not really." said Xiu. "The longship didn't seem that bad, at least until I was starting to get queasy on that thing." She was feeling a little better but still felt a little woozy as her fellow tiger helped along. "Even so. we just have to trust the princess on this for now. He doesn't seem that untrusting. His story does seem to hold up. Besides, there wasn't any sign of any of his kind for miles when we looked. We'll just have to take his word on it. But yes, we should keep an eye on him for the moment."

The group soon arrived a few ways from the encampment as Ketilbjörn pulled up to the shore and hopped off. With some help from Xiu, Scyde, and Tam'syn, they were able to pull the knarr onto the shore. With some help from some other tigers, they helped Ketilbjörn and the main group carry off the goods and gifts that the Viking brought to give and share. As the other tigers came out and saw the human, many had mixed reactions. Some were curious and intrigued, others were uncertain about what to make of him. Before introducing him to the rest of the village, Kiriad had someone send word to Mabel's village to tell her that they had a new visitor. Meanwhile, Ketilbjörn was showing off the goods and the gifts he brought for the reason he set out in the first place. Among them were the ones he set out with this morning; for Ashaki she took a two handed berserker axe, for Xiu she took one of the many scrolls of Viking poems and stories for she was part of a guild of historians in the village, for Kanti it was a Viking lyre for she was a minstrel who recorded tiger history in song and was a fellow student of Tiger lore, for Scyde she took one of the extra Viking swords that were his to give, for Zurina (hesitating art first but reluctantly doing so after some persuasion by her cousin) a Viking penannular brooch, for Tam'syn a dagger of Viking design or seax, and finally for the princess herself a necklace made with Viking beads. All were thankful for such wonderful gifts and to show appreciation for such a thing, Kiriad called for a great meal to honor him in which he offered to help out; after first getting settled in of course. Being modest, Ketilbjörn made an offer to sleep on his knarr in order not to be a bother but Kiriad insisted that he could stay with one of the ladies or perhaps even hers. Feeling nervous, he kindly refused as he thought it best that he slept aboard the ship as he left to get himself set up for the night while preparations were made for tonight.

After getting everything settled in and helping getting some boar for the feast tonight, the rest of the dinner preparations were being made as he took the time to get to know the lady tigers present. Among the things he learned so far was that Ashaki was one of Scyde's proteges and Kanti was to create a record of their history through her art just like a minstrel would. It wasn't long until more tigers came into the village, assumingly from Mabel's village. The white tiger princess asked for the young Viking to join her as he made introductions to the village leader. Mabel looked feeble and old, but he saw in her eyes the years of experience and training that would make any warrior sharp and ready for any opponent. Something to look past her gray hair and plump figure. "Ketilbjörn, may I introduce you to former warrior and close advisor under the late Queen Shiraz, my mother and predecessor Mabel. This is the young warrior Viking lord Ketilbjörn. He has come from afar to seek peace and new bonds of friendship." Ketilbjörn bowed to her in respect. "It is an honor to meet another respected ruler, Lady Mabel. I am honored to meet thee. Though i didn't think it would be as lovely as you." He added that bit of flattery as to be both polite and to be in her good graces. Mabel smiled in amusement. "Do you think flattery will get you anywhere?" she asked him.

"No...well a little. But I hoped that acts of goodwill and neighborly kindness would." he admitted honestly.

The smile of amusement now turned into a smile of warmth. "We shall see." She then turned to the young tigress next to her with short spike styled hair that looked as young as Tam'syn. "This is my second-in-command Raz. She's young and headstrong, but her loyalty is unwavering." The young tiger gave Ketilbjörn a nod in respect. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lord Ketilbjörn."

"Like wise I'm sure." he smiled politely and nodded in return. He then lead them and some of the other tigers to his selection of goods of his goodwill to them as well. After that, he showed Mabel and her tribe his ship and just as it happened with Kiriad's village, so too were Mabel's tribe amazed by the marvel of engineering done by his people. As he was giving the tour, Mabel and Kiriad watched from afar. "He seems to of good spirits. Are there any others that traveled with him?" Mabel asked the princess.

"He hasn't, mother. I've sent some of the others to search along the coastline and they found no other sign of his people. He came here alone and alone he is." said Kiriad, still observing the ongoing commotion.

"Hmm, how strange. Unusual for someone to cross uncharted waters alone." Mabel leaned on her staff as she continued. "Someone who decides to travel like that is either headstrong and naïve, or brave and adventurous."

"Or maybe all those things." Kiriad smiled as she saw how happy her people looked and laughed at Ketilbjörn entertained them a little. "He could be of some help to us, hopefully against the dragons."

"Are you sure of that? How do you know if he would help?"

"We can only hope he is happy enough with us to do so. He seemed sympathetic with what happened to us. So far he's been nothing but reasonable and truthful about himself and we have yet to see how he would do against them. His weapons look like they could be of most help to us, though I'm not certain about what metal they're made with."

"In that case, better pray that they do. Otherwise, you'll have too much faith in this man. This...'hooman'."

"It's not like that Mom. I...just want there to be more for us. He must be a great warrior for being able tosurvive this long in his life." It felt to Mabel that there was something more to it than that. She had always been against Kiriad being on the throne, especially after her last capture. She took another look at the young man again to get a better read on him. He did seem polite and courteous enough, yet still...she'd have to know more about him.

"I don't know what to make of this man, but you're right. we should give him a chance. Let us hope he is of same mind as we are." Sighing, Mabel smiled and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Come on, let's get to know this new friend of yours."

*******

For the rest of the day soon turning to night, the tigers got to know the young Ketilbjörn a little more as he tried to introduce them to some games his people often played. They often played board games avidly, carved wooden dolls and toys for their children, played dice and gambled and played rough sports at their feasts and gatherings. One such board game his clan enjoyed most often was Hnefatafl, which they took with them to Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, Ireland and Great Britain. It was a game of strategic skill in which two players of unequal strength engaged in the game. One player was by far the strongest, with the most pieces. His job was to corner the king, who was defending his castle with a much smaller force. A variety of Tafl games existed in many areas, but during the Viking Age, Hnefatafl was the most popular. He then showed them some of his people's greatly popular outdoor games. Based on Viking warrior skills, there were competitions in archery, wrestling, stone throwing and sword play. Horse fighting was also popular; two stallions would be goaded into fighting. The horses would battle until one was killed or ran away. But since there were no horses on this land nor did he bring any with him, he just stuck with the latter. Vikings also engaged in running, swimming, tug-of-war called toga-honk and wrestling. Vikings also played a ball game with stick and ball. It wasn't uncommon for someone to get hurt or even killed, as Vikings played rough. Women did not participate in these games, but they would gather to watch the men; though in this case he was willing to make an exception. Among the female tigers was a expecting mother named Tshila who already had two cubs named Cree and Tyree who were ecstatic in what gifts he had for them, if he had any. With a little guffaw, he presented them with toys the kids of his kind would play with. Children in his clan played with wooden toys their parents carved, or they played ball and also engaged in child versions of adult games. Such toys included child-sized replicas of weapons such as swords, shield and spears. Eyes wide and filled with glee, the two girls happily accepted them and thanked Ketilbjörn for such toys. So much so that they even came up to him and gave him a big hug. The tigers feared that he'd be offended by it, but he graciously accepted the hug and returned the hug saying 'your welcome' to them and telling them to be careful when playing with them as long as it was alright with their mother. As he looked over to their mother when saying this, Tshila told them they could after hesitating for a moment but was coaxed after seeing how happy her kids were. "I do hope it's alright by you, madam." he said to her as her kids left to go play.

"It's alright. I mean it's not like their playing with actual weapons." she assured him. "I hope they live long enough not to have to use an actual weapon against the dragons."

Humming in agreement, Ketilbjörn added "Let's both hope so."

******

The night soon began with the tigers playing the games that Ketilbjörn introduced to them. While few actually got around to playing the new board games, the rest enjoyed the outdoor games. They first started with the stick-and-ball game, then to stone throwing, and then tug-of-war until it eventually evolved into wrestling. The wrestling matches were done at random, with winner going up against the next competitor. One such match was amazing to watch was between Scyde and Ashaki which seemed to go on for almost five minutes until Scyde worked her way out of a hold and finally made Tamsyn's sister to tap out. Ketilbjörn, monitoring the match, proclaimed Scyde as the winner as he held her arm up in the air and proclaimed her the winner as they listened to the girls cheering for her. "Nicely handled there, Miss Scyde." he said to her.

"Thank you for being fair." she said to him. "Although..." she looked at him with a mischievous smile on her face. "I'm rather curious on how well you against us." She implicated this by poking his chest lightly. The ladies watching, seemed to agree and so encouraged him in doing so. "Oh, no. No, no no." he said refusing her offer. "I'm simply here to monitor these matches. Besides,...I'm not sure if any of you could oh...'handle' me." He returned her smile with a smug grin upon his puss as several 'ooohs' were heard. Staring him down, Scyde looked him straight in the eyes and responded with "Funny enough, I was thinking the same about you." which again brought up the 'ooohs' again this time at Ketilbjörn. Before he could respond, the word soon traveled that dinner was ready. "Let's discuss this later, shall we?" he suggested to Scyde. The feline commander grunted in agreement and everyone soon went to get grub.

The sight was something to behold. All had gathered around a roaring bonfire as they ate a variety of Ketilbjörns' foods that lasted the trip along with some boar from earlier, half of it raw while another portion was cooked differently the way his people have done for many years: over a fire and seasoned with different spices and sauces. Once more, strange looks were produced by the natives but were intrigued by the smell coming from the second portion. Upon tasting it, however, they soon came to enjoy it. Ketilbjörn then took the time to introduce them to other indoor games his people would enjoy including drinking games with man/woman teams. Each team would drink, then boast, tell rhymes and insult the other team. The second team would then try to out-drink and/or out-insult the first team. The object was to see who could drink the most and remain articulate and witty. After meals, adults might bring out the dice and gamble or they might sing and tell stories. He demonstrated this by doing this with Ashaki. It seemed a little weird at first, but she soon got the hang of it as she started throwing some good insults against him. But in the end, Ketilbjörn was able to win as he unleashed one of his favorite insults he learned from a Scotsman when he lost his first drinking game when he was eighteen.

When dinner was over, Ketilbjörn began the role of storyteller as he entertained the lady tigers with tales and legends of his people, such as the story of one of his favorite heroes of legend Beowulf, Thor's first encounter with the great Serpent of Midgard, and one of the great Vikings that he admired and aspired to be like Grettir the Outlaw. Remembering the ways of his favorite storyteller, he told the stories in the way that would captivate his hosts. From the looks on their faces, he seemed to be doing something right as they were all fixated on him; hanging on to his every word and drawn to his tales. After he finished, he was rewarded with applause as he bowed to his gracious audience. After he finished, it was now Kantis' turn as she took out her lute and began to tell tales of her people through song. Ketilbjörn was enjoying himself with hearing new stories he'd have to tell to his kinsmen. Songs soon followed after as the tigers took turns singing their songs, one of them being sung by Raz and two other tigers from her tribe.

~Pin me down and lick my snatch! Fuck me in the clover patch!

Pound me all night till it's sore! Get some rest, then fuck some more!

We won't stop till I say when! Next time won't you bring a friend?!~

Applause met with their performance even from Ketilbjörn who felt conflicted about how to feel about their song, pleased or awkward. Regardless, he remained polite and enjoyed the girls' performance. After they were finished, Ketilbjörn was then asked to sing a song for them. He decided to sing them the song his people would sing before going into battle or a raid, The Path to Valhalla.

~The seer is speaking with his gods

He will see what the future will become

In his vision all in the way will fall

Before the mighty warriors

The ritual of blood is a gift To the spirits of the sea

They will help us reach

The place of our glory

Through the sea

Through fire

Through honorable death in fighting

We will come to the sacred land

Nothing stops us

Nothing breaks us

Our father awaits us

In the golden halls of Valhalla

Our women are shield maidens

With the power of Freya

They are fighting like the bravest

Side by side with our men

We can cross the ocean

Our ships are strong

Thor has blessed us with the thunder

Of the distant storm

Our enemies are close

They are praying to their god I can see

The fear in their eyes

He can't help them in this battle

Because Odin,

Our father,

Stays on our side

Through the sea

Through fire

Through honorable death in fighting

We will come to the sacred land

Nothing stops us

Nothing breaks us

Our father awaits us

In the golden halls of Valhalla

I smell blood around

Valkyries are flying in the sky

The axes are pulling my hands to the ground

But I will continue to fight!

My fate belongs to the gods

Before the day I die

I must deserve the right

To join my fellow brothers

Through the sea

Through fire

Through honorable death in fighting

We will come to the sacred land

Nothing stops us

Nothing breaks us

Our father awaits us

In the golden halls of Valhalla!~

()

The tigers were most humbled by his performance, cheering for him at the end of his song. He kindly bowed to them in thanking them. He took a moment for a breather as he stepped away from the large campfire. He walked until he found a large clearing as the Viking looked to the sky and saw fairly starry sky with a crescent moon shining brightly, surrounded by the treetops. He breathed in the cool night air and smiled as he felt it against his body. He was having a wonderful time with these women and couldn't believe how fascinated they were with his culture. Ketilbjörn heard some footsteps behind him and he turned around to see a lady tiger nervously following him. She had brown cropped hair with a bit of it along the right side of her face. She had a skirt that had two slits down the sides and her red top seemed to loop along each of her breasts as a tuft of fur poked out of a little loop. Ketilbjörn saw her crouched behind a bush before she ducked down. Tilting his head in curiosity, the Viking called out to her. "Hello? Is there something wrong? I know you're there come on out." He soon saw her head poke out with a guilty nervous look, but Ketilbjörn reassured her with a welcoming smile. "It's alright. Come on out, we can talk." He gestured for her as so. With a sheepish grin, the tigress came out of the bushes and walked up to him. "What in Odin's name were you doing back there?" he asked her.

"I was...uh...wanting to see if you were...going to play another song for us?" Feeling amused, Ketilbjörn indulged her. "In a little bit. Sorry if it looked like I was wondering off. I just...wanted to get a little air and enjoy the view out tonight." He hesitated then asked "Would you...like to join me?"

"Oh I...I didn't want to intrude."

"It's no problem, I mean unless...you're uncomfortable with it." He laid upon the soft grass as he rested his back against a small log and patted the spot next to him. "Don't worry, I think you girls are the only ones who can bite." he said jokingly. Feeling a little relaxed, she came over to him and sat down. "What's your name?"

"My name's Ennek." she said, fiddling with her skirt as she looked at him. Ketilbjörn rubbed his hands together, trying to shake off the nervousness. It has been a long time since he last had been interested in a woman, especially with his last relationship. But he rather not open that old wound right now. "My name's Ketilbjörn, as you've...probably already knew earlier."

******

Meanwhile, a little ways behind them, three other tigers had followed Ennek and were now hiding behind a large fallen tree; watching the two interact with each other; mischievous looks on their faces. "Well, it looks like Ennek is trying to get friendly with mister Viking." said the tigress with the blonde ponytail with a wicked smile.

"She's had her eyes on him ever since we first met the guy." said the tiger with the done up afro. "Do you think she'll make a move sis?"

"Hmmm...not really." said her sister with the long dreaded hair. "Ennek's possibly too much of a prude to be flirty with him. But I'm hoping..." she then added in a racy tone, then turned to the blond with the ponytail. "Kenzi, do you think she'll do it?"

"Don't know, Naisha. Don't know if *he'd * be interested in her. But if he isn't, the three of us always can, eh Rula?"

"Oh indeed." said the young big haired tiger. Just thinking of the possibilities made her smile gleefully. "Mmmm I do wonder how good of a lover he could be."

******

Back at the log, Ketilbjörn was still making conversation with Ennek. "So what do you hope for for the future?" he asks her. It was a bit of an odd question to start off the conversation but it was the one question that came to his mind. If tigers could blush, he would have seen her slightly blush upon her cheeks. "Well...I've always wanted to have a mate for life, and maybe...have maybe a cub or two." she said as she brushed some of her hair behind her ear. She looked bashful as she told him as did he, rubbing the back of his neck as she asked him "And what about you?"

"Oh well..., I also hope for a family of my own. But before that can happen, I want to see more of the world and discover what the world has to offer. Though...I wouldn't mind having someone with me on my travels." He made it as a suggestion to possibly have her coming along.

"Is that...an invitation?"

"I mean...if you want to. If you still want to stay here I'll understand. Just saying."

"Heh. I'd like that." Both of them sat awkwardly for a while, feeling sheepish about what just transpired. And then, Ketilbjörn tried again. "So...what do you know about these dragons?" He figured that if he was to help these tigers, he'd better learn about what he's up against. Finding some relief from the awkward silence, Ennek happily explained about the dragons they've encountered: red dragons that dealt with flame magic, blue dragons that handled water magic, yellow dragons that handled earth, and light dragons that handled, well, light magic. He learned from what she knew from her experiences that the dragons always swooped from up high when attacking and always resorted to using their magic rather than fighting hand-to-hand combat. The only leverage they would have against the dragons was their zhirite, which somehow had properties that resisted their magic. Ketilbjörn then had a thought. "You know, if we could make shields like mine and possibly any other weapons I've brought out of zhirite, it could give you girls an advantage against those flying lizards."

"Do you really think so?"

"It's worth a shot. It wouldn't hurt to try."

******

Back over at the log, the three tigers spying on them slapped their faces in disbelief and moaned.

******

The Viking and the tiger continued to talk after finding a way to get over the awkwardness and soon were talking about their interests, their families and other things about themselves. Ketilbjörn felt a little comfortable with her now and Ennek didn't feel as shy as before. As a half hour passed, he realized that he had been away from the party long enough. "We probably better get, they're probably wondering where we've gone to huh?" he asked Ennek.

"Yeah, we probably should." she said, feeling sheepish as she smiles bashfullly.

"Shall we then?" He stands up as he offers her a hand which she accepted. They then walked back to the gathering side-to-side as the three mischievous tigers stayed hidden and waited until they could follow them back. Things were starting to look up for Ketilbjörn and was about to get even more interesting for him, whether he knew it or not.