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Marco sighed out as he looked out over the grassy fields around them. This valley was a perfect haven, a center of calm in what had to be a dying world around them. People outside were probably living in fear and much worse suffering than they. He knew that they wouldn't have an easy time of it by far, but by the same accord, living in a group was better than living alone. He licked his lips and nodded, "I'm sure we'll find our own time together. It's quite a ways to Bradburn, if we are going to go find my family. I want to teach you how to use a gun, but the only downside is the limited Ammo. I grabbed all your Dad had for the AR-15 and the pistols and shotgun. It's all upstairs in our bags. I know my Dad had several guns and he stocked up on ammo whenever he could for them though so we might get more there," he smiled. "I've never met an Indian chief before." He chuckled, seeing them all coming over the ridge, and Black Elk running toward them, uttering a cry of welcome.

Tisha smiled and snuggled closer to Marco as the tribe entered the valley, her back and shoulders tensing as the males neared the ranch. Her arms slipped around his neck a little tighter as she inhaled his scent, trying to keep herself calm. She knew she would have a few issues with meeting up with the guys that she'd grown up with after what happened. She gave him another kiss, then slowly pulled away from him. "Go talk to the chief. I'll talk to the women and the chief's wife. Between our words and Black Elk's words, the two of them will come up with the right decision for us." Her hand slid from his paw as she stepped down from the porch and headed to the smokehouse to get the meat out to prep it for the dinner feast that night.

Marco let her hold onto him as long as she wished, but when she pulled away he didn't stop her. He nodded and pecked her on the nose with his lips, then let her go and came down off the porch himself. He walked across the yard in the direction of the tribe, but halted halfway there to let them approach. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to approach the Chief, or if Black Elk would get through the preliminaries with him and they could get right down to 'business'. He licked his lips and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.

While Marco went to meet Black Elk and the chief, the women veered off, heading towards where they would set up their houses. The chief's wife broke off from the other women and headed towards the smokehouse, where Tisha was waiting for her. The two women hugged, though Tisha stepped back quickly, still slightly uneasy around anyone other than Marco. She's worked past it with Black Elk over the last few days, but now, she had more people to deal with.

At least it would be easier on her to deal with women for a while. Black Elk's father would want to talk to her for sure, and undoubtedly his wife would get the story as well. That way if those two knew, they could keep most of the rest of the tribe from bothering her too much, hopefully. The Indians began to fan out and dismount in more or less an orderly fashion, most of the family groups seemed to be sticking together, though lots of the women headed after the chief's wife and many of the men started clustering and talking. Marco just waited.

Black Elk and his father headed towards the tall husky, the younger man talking animatedly to his father while a younger version of Black Elk took the chief's horse and lead him away. The chief still looked young, only a hint of grey to his waist length braided hair. As he drew closer to Marco, faint sun lines could be seen around his eyes, and the depth of the brown in them was evident. "So, my son says you saved Nizhoni from a terrible fate and want to marry her, as well as become a member of the tribe," he said without preamble, heading to the porch of the house. "Walk with the two of us and tell me more about what happened, and why I should allow this to happen."

Marco could see that clearly the younger boy that took the horse was Black Elk's younger brother. His attention was brought back from the others though, to the older male that approached. He straightened and waited, and when the older man came close, his ears flicked. The Chief was not one to mince words, clearly, and that let Marco know that he would be allowed to speak his feelings as well. He turned and followed the two males. For a moment the use of Tisha's Indian name threw him, but he mentally noted it. "Sir, I feel that some of what happened should be told best by Nizhoni herself. It is not a pleasant tale. However, what Black Elk says is true, I rescued her and protected her from her attackers. Since that time I helped her make her way up here, and we've been doing our best to live up here." He paused, gathering his thoughts, then continued, "Sir, before we came up here, her family was killed, at least her parents. We don't know if her brothers have survived or not."

The chief nodded, leading the two younger males onto the porch, walking into the kitchen. "I'll talk to her after this, to get her feelings on the matter. Aside from Black Elk, does anyone else know what happened to Nizhoni, or has she refused to talk about it? I know that no one really likes to talk about being attacked in any manner, but it can help with letting go of what happened and start the healing." He walked over to the cabinets and pulled out a coffee mug, pouring himself a cup of coffee from the pot on the edge of the stove. Sitting down at the table, he started drinking it. "So with her parents gone, it's up to me and my wife to decide if you can marry Nizhoni. At least until her brothers make it here. I can guarantee that they will not remain lost for long. Those two boys love Nizhoni almost more than their own lives. Why do you want to marry her? And how well can you provide for her while living off the land?"

Marco followed the Chief into the kitchen, but felt he should stand and not sit, giving the older male the respect he deserved. His long tongue licked over his lips and teeth, and his tail flicked left and right a moment before he spoke, "The only others that we have met were a feline named Selina, and her aunt and cousin on the way up here. She did not tell the details about her attack to any of them." He licked his lips before continuing, "Only Black Elk and I know the true story, though I am sure she will wish to tell you." He nodded his head, a smile forming on his canine lips, "I want to marry her because I love her sir. I know that we have not known one another for long, but I feel attached to her, and I truly care for her well-being from the bottom of my heart. As for being able to provide. I can hunt, Sir. I am learning still how to tend a garden or anything of that nature, but being the canine I am, I am a natural born hunter, and I have experience with guns and also with the crossbow."

The chief nodded, and looked to Black Elk. The younger man nodded and headed out of the house, going to the smokehouse where his mother and Tisha were emerging from inside with meat for the dinner that night. Black Elk moved to get the meat, knowing that they would need a lot more than what the two women were bringing out. "Father is talking to Marco, and Marco wants you to tell Father the story of what happened. It's more your story to tell anyway, Tisha." His mother smiled and nodded to the young girl, and the three of them headed to the house, and after they entered, she went to the cabinet and pulled down a mug, pouring coffee for the chief's wife. Her eyes turned to Marco then, and her face lit up with the love she had inside for him. She lay her head on his shoulder, one arm going around his waist.

Marco waited while Black Elk left, and when he returned with Tisha and an older woman, he smiled at her. The older woman was very stately and clearly rather beautiful, but he gave her only a nod before his arm dropped around Tisha as she slipped over to him. It should have been plain to see that already she could barely tear herself from his side, and just through the look in her eyes that she loved him deeply. He smiled warmly down at her and then looked back at the Chief and his wife.

Tisha turned to look at the chief, a slight tremble racing through her as she took a deep breath and started telling the story of what happened to her. "Almost a week ago, the power went out in the city, and probably everywhere. It was the night of my graduation party, and Saqui's and Theron's wedding. Black Elk told us that they are getting married after they get up here. But the day after that, I was out walking with my friends, heading to the mall, and one by one, they all went home. I was by myself when a gang of five stopped me in the road." Her arm tightened around Marco's waist as she paused for a moment, trying to gather her peace, her calm.

Marco nodded down at her as she began telling the story to the two Indians. He just kept his arm wrapped around her, rubbing her back and letting her know that she always had him there for her to hold onto and be calm with. He nuzzled the top of her head and then looked back at the Chief and his wife again.

Tisha took a couple breaths, feeling Marco's support, as well as the safety she always felt with him, in the way his arm tightened slightly around her as he nuzzled her head and rubbed her back with his paw. "I didn't see them at first, and they surrounded me before I saw the leader of them. They dragged me into an office building and ripped my clothes off. The leader violated me, and a second one tried to violate me in another manner, but I bit his... thing. I was screaming as much as I could, and finally, Marco showed up."

She paused again, looking up at Marco, then back at the chief and his wife. "Marco pulled them off me, disabling most of them, but the one that really violated me is dead, I think. He kept me together while we went back to the house. He sent me upstairs to get changed while he looked through the house. He found Mom and Dad dead, but no sign of Ian and Tris anywhere in the house."

Her eyes look up at Marco again, and she sighed softly. "When I cleaned up at the pool and washed the blood off my legs, he made sure that I walked around the house and closed the curtains to the living room. But he did tell me that there was another dead body in the living room, though it wasn't one of my brothers. But he wouldn't let me see it. He knew, just as I did, that I needed to be strong to get us here. We stopped by the stables and talked to Saqui and Citlali, telling them to head up this way with the wagon and oats for the horses."

She took another pause, catching her breath, then continued, trying to get everything out as quickly as possible. "On the way here, we met up with Selina. And we got three rabbits between the two of us for our dinner that night, making jerky from one and using the other two for stew. It wasn't until we got here that Marco told me what he found at the house, and I fell apart our first night here. And during the second day, I almost killed Black Elk, unable to see it was him sneaking up on Marco. I had flashed back to the rape and just saw a male."

With her free hand, she reached out to Black Elk, taking his hand carefully. "It took me a little time to come back from the images flashing in my head. I had issues with being touched by anyone other than Marco for a while as well, though I did work through that with Black Elk. Marco would be a good addition to the tribe, and I want to marry him. I know he would never hurt me, would provide for me the way a male of the tribe should, just as I would take care of his needs to the best of my ability as a female of the tribe, though I still prefer to hunt."

She gave the chief her best pleading look, knowing that it had often worked on him before, and she knew his wife knew how well it worked on him. After all, they were the closest thing she had to family up here now. "So I plead my case. Please allow Marco to become a member of the tribe as well as my husband. We have been sharing a bed, but only because I need him close to me at night so I don't flip out and lose it completely."