Pocohono kissed a sleeping Trepeeset in his teepee. Quietly, he stepped out to gather herbs for remedies. It was early, the sun had just risen. Birds were singing, and the grass was wet beneath Pocohono's feet. He walked swiftly to the forest, knowing where all of the necessary herbs were, through experience. He needed them for H'nago, who had a disease of sores on his body. The disease arrived at the same time as the Pale Man, and Pocohono heard them refer to it as "Smalla Pocks" or something like that. H'nago was ordered to stay away from the others so the disease would not spread to the others, but Pocohono knew he was in agony. Grimacing, Pocohono began gathering the necessary herbs.
The memories jumped ahead to when Pocohono had a full basket. He was about to leave and go back to the village when he heard a rustling in the grass. A rabbit! Pocohono slowly pulled a bow and arrow out from the bag behind his shoulders and nocked the arrow. Remaining motionless, he waited for the rabbit to stop moving about. He then suddenly released the arrow and it struck the rabbit. Pocohono then dashed over and cut the creature's neck with his knife, killing it. This rabbit would serve as dinner for Trepeeset and him.
Pocohono decided to go home by following the banks of the lake. He would get to H'nago's home quicker that way, and H'nago needed the herbs in a hurry. It was such a beautiful day. He was carrying the herbs in his basket and the dead rabbit by the scruff of its neck. Walking quickly, he turned a corner and then gasped in suprise. There were three Pale Men standing in his way!
The Pale Men were eyeing the herbs and rabbit, and the man standing in the front took vigorous steps toward Pocohono. He began speaking. Pocohono did not understand their tongue, but the man's words sounded aggressive. He gestured that Pocohono should give him his herbs and rabbit.
Pocohono pointed at his ears, pretending not to understand. He truly did not understand what they were saying, but he understood their intentions, and he was playing dumb. The Pale Man in the front was shouting at him, his pale face turning red with anger. Pocohono really didn't care about giving up the rabbit, but H'nago needed the herbs. Plus, it was the principle of the thing. He was not about to be bullied into giving up what was rightfully his. That was all the Pale Man did: bully people. They encroached upon Pocohono's peoples' lands, and they burned lands they could not have so no one could use them. Pocohono refused to be pushed around by them.
He began shouting at them also. He knew that they could not understand him, as he could not understand them, but tone was all that was important. He was tired of dealing with these jackasses. He wished they would just go away and let the Weecoosaks be. After a few minutes of animated speech and gesturing, with Pocohono uncharacteristically using swear words, the leader of the gang of Pale Men abruptly pulled out a gun and pointed it at Pocohono.
Pocohono paled. He knew what guns could do, and the Pale Man was pointing a musket at his head. As much as he would hate to do so, Pocohono would have to give up his gatherings. He sighed, raised his arms in a sign of surrender, and handed over his basket and rabbit. The leader of the Pale Men began to rummage through the basket. The Pale Men were so pathetic they could not hunt for themselves. They had to steal from people. Pocohono found it disgusting. He sighed, turned his back, and began to walk back to quickly pick more herbs for H'nago. After a few steps, he heard one of the Pale Men shout "No!" Pocohono quickly turned around to see the leader of the Pale Men pointing his gun once again at Pocohono's head. The Pale Man took the safety off his musket. He was going to fire!
The two other Pale Men tried to push the rifle down to the ground. They did not want to see Pocohono killed - they did not want his blood on their hands. They were quick, but not quick enough. They succeeded in pointing the rifle down, but the musket ball struck Pocohono in the back of the knee. Pocohono screamed in agony and collapsed to the ground. His kneecap was obliterated, and blood flowed out of his wound quickly. The two other Pale Men looked in horror at the scene.
Pocohono lay rolling on the ground in incredible pain. One of the Pale Men turned tail and ran. The other, after staring at the scene for a while, rushed over to Pocohono. He rolled Pocohono onto his back and began to pat at the blood flowing from his knee, trying to stop it. Pocohono moaned in pain. The leader roared at the Pale Man attending to Pocohono and angrily motioned him to move away from him. The man looked at Pocohono, tears in his eyes, and blurted out what Pocohono thought was "I'm sorry!" They both then fled the scene, leaving Pocohono to bleed to death.
Fast forward to Pocohono laying on the ground, eyes fixed, staring towards the dimming sky. It was high noon, but Pocohono's vision was getting dark. A hunter had discovered him, and rushed to find Chief Yolanuwek. Pocohono, who had been drifting into and out of shock, did not look to acknowledge their presence.
"Alas, Medicine Man Pocohono!" Chief Yolanuwek cried. "What evil has wronged you so?"
"Where...is my...son?" Pocohono said, slowly.
"Warrior Trepeeset is scouting the Tadafek. They are making motions to encroach on our..." the Chief paused and shook his head. That wasn't important. "We are trying to find him."
There wasn't much time left. "My Nant'o Das," he said quietly.
"Of course." Pocohono was giving the Chief his final request.
"There is a turquoise gem buried...under my home. Clean it. Give it to my son, Warrior Trepeeset." Coldness was enveloping Pocohono's body. He could not see anything anymore. He could numbly feel the two Weecosaks touching him, trying to bring him back, but it was of no use. Medicine Man Pocohono's memories ended at this point.
The vision over, Trepeeset hopped up onto his feet with anger, quickly remembering that he had a bad knee in his father's body. The arrogance of the Pale Man! The face of his father's killer was burned into his memory. Short, fat, pale, brown hair. Shaking his fists, he vowed revenge on the Pale Man that killed his father, if not all of the Pale Men.
Pacing in his late father's body, he wondered what the next step was. His father's spirit needed its rest, so he knew he could fly away to find the man that killed his father. However, Trepeeset was tempted to look into his father's memories a bit more. He was curious, and the more he knew about his father, the more likely he would be to help him. After thinking for a little bit, Trepeeset snapped Pocohono's fingers and decided that he would...