24-02-2019, 10:54 AM
A Swinging Odyssey Ch. 15
Pedro's rap on the doorframe of their hut woke Aiko and Gerald from their slumber. Their third night among these people had been quite restful. Only the waning campfires had prevented the camp from falling into total pitch-blackness. Even the noises of the jungle night had failed to disturb them. The croaking of tree frogs and the chirping of insects even soothed the couple. Their songs of these creatures signalled that there was no danger nearby.
"Did you have a good night's sleep?" he asked.
Pedro wore an adornment around his waist. Otherwise, he remained naked.
"Very good," Gerald replied. "It's obvious you've come here for a reason Pedro. What's up?"
Both Aiko and Gerald hadn't bothered to put their clothes back on. Nudity was normal here. The day was hot and humid. If they wore their regular clothes, they would have wash them again.
"Three things," he summarized. "Firstly, now that the new village has been set up, everyone except the children and those women assigned to care for them, are supposed to look for food. The women will explore the nearby jungle looking for fruit, nuts, roots and other edible plants while the men fish and hunt."
"We've enough civilized food for ourselves to last several days. They don't need to hunt and gather for our sake," Gerald pointed out. "We have to be careful what we put in our North American stomachs. On the other hand, we'd be more than happy to help in whatever we can as long as they realize we don't have their knowledge and skills."
"That gets to my second point," Pedro said. "I already told them about food," Pedro replied. "As far as they're concerned, you can eat what you brought with you, but even an unskilled person can be useful as long as they're willing to follow instructions. At the very least, you could help carry extra food back to the village."
"So that means Gerald will be away for the better part of the day helping the men while I stay behind with the women tending the children or gathering edible plants. Right?" Aiko said.
"That's right," Pedro said.
Aiko and Gerald exchanged glances.
"Of course, we agree," Gerald said. "Our very presence is a burden to these people. The least we could do to thank them for their hospitality is to help them in whatever way we can, limited as it may be."
Pedro informed the elders. They nodded in affirmation.
"And what's the third thing," Aiko prompted.
"You stink," Pedro laughed. "They smell the insect repellent you put on yourselves. They think animal poop smells better. If you don't want to offend your hosts' noses, you should use the local remedy. Keep the commercial repellent in you bag until just before our rescuers arrive."
"So what's the remedy?" Aiko asked.
"Arrieras ants," Pedro replied. "Their a type of army ant whose smell bad to other insects although to us they smell okay."
"Ants!" Aiko shuddered. "Army ants."
"Don't worry," Pedro said. "They're harmless to humans. Do either of you have aversions to harmless ants," Pedro asked.
"No we don't," Aiko replied. She was determined to do whatever these people did.
Pedro waved over a man and a woman. They took the couple to an arrieras ant nest, and showed them how to do it. They stuck a hand into the nest until it was covered in ants. Then they rubbed their hands together, crushing them into a mix of guts and chitin particles. Then they applied the crushed ant guts to their bodies.
Aiko and Gerald gamely followed suit.
"Look at this way," Gerald told his wife. Ant guts small a lot better than a tapir. Tapir stink really bad. If we had to cover ourselves in tapir shit, I probably would have taken my chances with the bugs."
Aiko only looked at him, unsure if he was joking or not.
* * *
Pedro's rap on the doorframe of their hut woke Aiko and Gerald from their slumber. Their third night among these people had been quite restful. Only the waning campfires had prevented the camp from falling into total pitch-blackness. Even the noises of the jungle night had failed to disturb them. The croaking of tree frogs and the chirping of insects even soothed the couple. Their songs of these creatures signalled that there was no danger nearby.
"Did you have a good night's sleep?" he asked.
Pedro wore an adornment around his waist. Otherwise, he remained naked.
"Very good," Gerald replied. "It's obvious you've come here for a reason Pedro. What's up?"
Both Aiko and Gerald hadn't bothered to put their clothes back on. Nudity was normal here. The day was hot and humid. If they wore their regular clothes, they would have wash them again.
"Three things," he summarized. "Firstly, now that the new village has been set up, everyone except the children and those women assigned to care for them, are supposed to look for food. The women will explore the nearby jungle looking for fruit, nuts, roots and other edible plants while the men fish and hunt."
"We've enough civilized food for ourselves to last several days. They don't need to hunt and gather for our sake," Gerald pointed out. "We have to be careful what we put in our North American stomachs. On the other hand, we'd be more than happy to help in whatever we can as long as they realize we don't have their knowledge and skills."
"That gets to my second point," Pedro said. "I already told them about food," Pedro replied. "As far as they're concerned, you can eat what you brought with you, but even an unskilled person can be useful as long as they're willing to follow instructions. At the very least, you could help carry extra food back to the village."
"So that means Gerald will be away for the better part of the day helping the men while I stay behind with the women tending the children or gathering edible plants. Right?" Aiko said.
"That's right," Pedro said.
Aiko and Gerald exchanged glances.
"Of course, we agree," Gerald said. "Our very presence is a burden to these people. The least we could do to thank them for their hospitality is to help them in whatever way we can, limited as it may be."
Pedro informed the elders. They nodded in affirmation.
"And what's the third thing," Aiko prompted.
"You stink," Pedro laughed. "They smell the insect repellent you put on yourselves. They think animal poop smells better. If you don't want to offend your hosts' noses, you should use the local remedy. Keep the commercial repellent in you bag until just before our rescuers arrive."
"So what's the remedy?" Aiko asked.
"Arrieras ants," Pedro replied. "Their a type of army ant whose smell bad to other insects although to us they smell okay."
"Ants!" Aiko shuddered. "Army ants."
"Don't worry," Pedro said. "They're harmless to humans. Do either of you have aversions to harmless ants," Pedro asked.
"No we don't," Aiko replied. She was determined to do whatever these people did.
Pedro waved over a man and a woman. They took the couple to an arrieras ant nest, and showed them how to do it. They stuck a hand into the nest until it was covered in ants. Then they rubbed their hands together, crushing them into a mix of guts and chitin particles. Then they applied the crushed ant guts to their bodies.
Aiko and Gerald gamely followed suit.
"Look at this way," Gerald told his wife. Ant guts small a lot better than a tapir. Tapir stink really bad. If we had to cover ourselves in tapir shit, I probably would have taken my chances with the bugs."
Aiko only looked at him, unsure if he was joking or not.
* * *
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