Kainak the Awesome

Chapter 10

Julie and Kimi trekked the brush for an hour until they reached the treehouse. They both went in but came out after a few minutes carrying a bow, quiver, spear and fishing rod. Kimi descended to the ground first while Julie came second. With a quick gesture, she led Kimi to the east, back into the brush.

They were joined by Ginger the Cat, who bounded out of a brush, chasing a small lizard all the while. The cat stopped and ran over to Julie, who reached out to pet the cat, which was almost the size of a small dog, like a Beagle or a Sheltie. The cat purred like a domestic one, since it kind of looks like one to begin with, as Julie petted her.

As she kept her right hand out, she noticed the tattoo on her right arm; a sacred design signifying her membership of the Teo tribe, made by the traditional kakau method. It HURT, but the result felt exhilaratingly gratifying. Even if she still got all sorts of 'haloe', suspicion and hatred thrown at her, she felt as if she belonged to the tribe. And the possibility that her link to it might leave, made her sigh and drop down to a knee in dismay. She wondered if she only belonged in California.

Then she scoffed. This must be how many immigrants to America felt. She felt that she might never truly fit in, no matter how much she tried to assimilate. She wanted to make Pomaika'i home, but the homesickness for California was strong. Perhaps that's the ultimate struggle of the outsider.

She looked over at Kimi and wondered if she would ever be accepted. She probably would, since she has a genuinely sad backstory, whereas Julie has a loving family to go back to and is quite possibly playing jungle girl.

"Are you alright?"

Julie had spaced out for a second and her gaze lingered on Kimi. The Japanese-Australian teen's question jerked her back to her senses. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said.

"Liar," said Kimi.

Julie didn't bother to answer. Instead, she stood up, led Ginger away and into the brush. Kimi followed.

Armed with a spear, bow, arrows, knife, an extra canteen, some meat jerky, nuts, and a utility belt, they were ready for a day in the jungle. At least, that's what they thought it would be, but that's for later. For now, these two were going on a little hunting trip that would make the contestants on Naked & Afraid envious.

The sun was shining, it was hot and humid. Julie and Kimi found some mud and put some on their skin to beat the sun and heat. The mud would cake at some point, and it would feel good on their bare skin.

It also helped Kimi start to feel a little wilder, or at least closer to her wild side. She got and fed the urge to climb up the trees and branches to act like a monkey. She was so very enthusiastic about it, jumping up and down, swinging, and deeply getting into character that Julie started to double over in laughter. She remarked to herself how much fun in the jungle Kimi was having, and temporarily forgot all about the issues at hand.

"HEY! KIMI!" She called from the jungle floor. "HOW'S THE VIEW!?"

"LIKE I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE!!!" Kimi called back.

That innocent, yet unfortunate slip of the tongue undid Kimi's efforts. The Japanese-Australian teen figured that out quickly when she saw Julie's shoulders slumping and the American woman sitting down with Ginger sniffing her out.

Now the author knows this first-hand, because the author has had pet cats most of their life. But cats are generally good at sensing humans' feelings, even in the case of this one wild cat. Said cat put one paw on Julie's knee and reached out for her face. She only got the shoulder, but she leaned in and headbutted her sternum. And Julie rubbed her fingers on the cat's body, letting her pet herself. She also didn't notice Kimi sliding down the trees and walk upstairs to her until her shadow covered her.