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Resisting Fate - Part One of Three
Date: 8/6/2015, Categories: Historical, Author: Poppet, Rating: 49, Source: LushStories
I spent the warm season hunting beaver along the shores of the great river. The hunt was good, but too many days had passed and each one was now shorter than the last. Cold winds were already blowing from the North and soon the white snows would be falling from the sky. I knew that if I were to return to my home fires before thick drifts filled the land, I would be forced to cut through the rolling hills of the Arapaho. It was a brisk morning, and the skies were painted with the deepest blue. I was riding my pony, staying in the low valleys between the hills, when I saw the smoke rising in the distance. I knew I should have taken it as a warning, but I am a warrior and became curious as to what had caused this fire. I resolved to go toward this smoke and see its source for myself. This was dangerous because I am of the Crow and there is great traditional rivalry between our people and the Arapaho. I did not seek war that day, so my intent was only to satisfy my curiosity and then to pass as unnoticed as I may. With this thought in mind, I rode my pony near the crest of the hill until I was able to see what was happening in the valley below. The fire was coming from the remains of a wooden lodge of the kind the Whites prefer. Their farm had been tilled across the land, but now it was nothing but a smoking ruin. Four warriors of the Arapaho were scouting the remains and collecting the spoils of their raid. I had no more love for the Whites than I have for the Arapaho, and ...