"You are sure she has no intelligence?" The woman asked. She was lying on a pile of hides and fur that had been gathered at her direction. A small tree stump served as a side table where a tray of fruit and nuts were.
Her attire was unique for the world around her. She wore a cotton sundress that had seen better days. The bottom hem was a bit bedraggled, but it was still clean and well kept.
"She was naked when they found her. When I went to talk with her, she could only grunt and stare." The Shaman picked up the tray of food and held it out for his beloved.
Urse had been out on a normal hunt when a woman had appeared from the sky in front of him. He had caught her. She proceeded to hit him and struggled till he put her down.
Most of what she said, he didn't understand, but when she began to stare in horror behind him, he realized that the creatures he was hunting had attracted the meat eaters.
She had called them raptors and dinosaurs, but she had jumped back into his arms in terror.
At the time, he had almost laughed, but it suited his purpose to pretend that the creatures were a threat. He made sure to get far away form the where she showed him her gratitude.
Remembering it made him blush, for when she pounced on him, he had been very naïve. When he brought her back to the village as his wife, the women had scolded him for bringing in an outsider. But it was too late. The mate mark was infused on his neck. The only choices they had were to exile him or allow her to become a member of the village.
Ganne had wasted no time, putting him and some of the other beast men to work. First had been cleaning their cave. Then she had them build the water source run off and shower.
Then she had him build the stone and thatch huts closer in a secluded canyon that was protected on three sides. She named it Relai and appointed him to be the Shamen of the village. Urse had no idea what that was, but she told him he could make the rules.
She convinced the villagers to move to her city. With plenty to eat and drink and the women catering to her whims, she let him run the city.
But then had come another woman who fell from the sky like her. At first she had welcomed her, but then the women had started taking her side. Ganne's knowledge had been ignored in favor of the new arrival, and her jealousy had eaten away at her.
One night, Ganne told the woman that there was fresh fruit in the trees by the water. Since they had always used the new and safer water source, she didn't know about the danger lurking in the waters.
The only thing left was a bloody hand and red smear on the shore.
Satisfied at once again being the most important woman in the city, she continued her projects, but then another woman had shown up.
Each one was smart and tried to leave their impression on the village, but she refused to allow her position as leader be compromised. The women all died from animal and monster attacks.
But the women of the village weren't stupid. They realized fast that Ganne was causing these new women's deaths, but none of them could prove it. They all began to hide in their new huts, wishing that they had never left their cave homes.
There were some that tried to go back, but the caves were now home to meat eating carnivores. None of them were able to take the territory back.
"As long as she isn't like the others, I can allow her to live. Is the hut she belongs to doing anything unusual?"
"They said that they were doing for this new woman what I did for you when I first found you."
"Cleaning and taking a bath?" Urse nodded.
"She'll appreciate that. You all smelled so awful when I arrived." Ganne ate some of the fruit off of the platter.
"I will make sure to keep track of her. But I don't think she is smart like you are. You are the best thing that has happened to me." Urse gushed.
He came closer hoping that Ganne would draw her to him, but he was rebuffed. Sitting back on his haunches, he grit his teeth. They had not been together intimately since their first time together. Instead, she insisted that she needed to focus on her role as matriarch of the city.
He had been taught as a young cub that the wants of his wife were more important, but he didn't understand why she refused to play with him and give him cubs. Anytime he brought it up, she would distract him with something else and never give him an answer.
"Just remember that, always." Ganne said, taking his jaw in her hand and giving him a quick kiss. She then waved her hand to dismiss him.
As she watched the giant man walk away, she sneered. Mating with that oaf was the worst mistake of my life! Pulling her dress over, she could see the bear mark on her chest, and she remembered their painful encounter. She hated it in this world and desperately wanted to go back home.
Standing, she pulled back a hanging on the wall that had several marks on it. It was a map of where all the woman fell from the sky, including herself. There was a distinct line that ran across the map and several dates. She looked at the most recent one and knew that the woman was from the future like her.
The question was if she was really a dunce or just smart enough to keep her secrets close.
"If she becomes a problem, I'll get rid of her too." Ganne laughed as she let the thin hide fall back in place.