Hardships in a New World

[MonstarNomNom]

Year 1756 AD, Early Fall

5 long months.
That was how long it had been since Collin Williams had arrived with his family, which consisted of his mother and father and young sister. Life on the ship had been rough as his sister had grown ill on the journey over and it almost seemed as though they might lose her, however she recovered to their relief. They had all been eager to start a new life, however none of them knew how tough it was actually going to be. The summer had been brutal and already a few of the others that arrived with them passed from disease or other causes. Back in England their lives had been hard as simple peasants with hardly a coin to their name. His father was a hardworking farmer who had struggled to put food on the table for his family while Collin was growing up. Throughout he had known nothing but hardship so when the opportunity to more to the New World came, he assumed they had nothing to lose and perhaps they might even be able to make a new, better life for themselves. As a 24 year old man, Collin was expected to have met and woman and be married, however it just had not happened yet. All of the women in England had an air about them that almost made Collin resent them in a way--none of them seemed to fancy him any way so it wasn't as though it mattered. He was rough around the edges and he knew that, but like his father he was a hard worker and he lived up to that each and every day.

Winter would soon be approaching and their small, meager town was already hard at work gathering supplies and food to prepare for the frigid cold. The few that had survived from the previous ship arrival told stories of a cold they had never experienced and of savages who had brutally killed some of their men while they had been out hunting. The stories of the savages were what fascinated Collin the most about the New World and he longed to see one--even if it was just for a moment. Growing up in England, Collin was sheltered in his way of life and he had never had the chance to go to school as he had to help his father of their farm. Collin had always been curious about anything new to him and it was a trait he never grew out of.

However to Collin's dismay and frustration, instead of exploring the land he was forced to be out chopping wood to use for firewood when winter struck. As an adult ready to start his own life Collin was restless, but he would make sure his family was taken care of before he partook in any pleasantries as an independent. Loud foot stomps echoed through the trees as Collin walked through the foliage in search of the perfect tree for firewood. His axe laid lazily against his shoulder as he walked, reaching up to scratch at the stubble which sprouted from his face. It felt like he had been looking for hours, when in reality he hadn't been out for long. the footsteps came to an abrupt stop, Collin looking over the tree which stood in front of him. Well, this one seemed good enough. Without further hesitation Collin rolled his shoulders to warm them up, moving into position before he threw his first whack into the thick trunk, the noise echoing off the trees around him.

 

[redblood]

Kimimela were tiptoeing towards the forest, hopefully no one would notice her. But just as she thought she had been able to make it she could hear her fathers voice.
"Were are you going?" He asked her and she turned around. "I'm just going to take a walk in the forest." Kimimela said as innocent as she could. Her father sighted deeply. "You know I don't like it when you leave the village on your own. Especially with the white people.." "Father, I won't go near them. I promise." She interrupted her father even though she didn't intend to keep her promise. Her father were worrying for nothing, she was certain that the white people didn't want them any harm. Why would they live there if they didn't accept them living there too?

"You are nineteen already, you should start acting like an adult and not run around so much. Soon Ahanu will return and then you'll get married. You should prepare for his return." He told her.
"I know father, I promise to be back soon." She kissed her father on the cheek and ran off into the woods. Already she could feel the cold from the coming winter, soon they would have to change to winter clothes. Maybe she should have taken on something more. Her foots was bare, they only used shoes made of animal skin when it became too cold to walk without them.

She weren't that happy about her father reminding her about the wedding, it had all been decided by him. She barely knew Ahanu, they had met once before and she would prefer it if she didn't have to meet him again. Sadly enough that wasn't something she could decide. After some walking she could hear something from a bit away and she decided to go towards the sound. Soon she found a white man with brown hair chopping a tree.

She kept her distance but tried to sneak a bit closer to the man. Never had she seen a white person so closely. She stopped behind a bush just a bit away from him, there was no other white people around. Maybe she could talk to him a bit? But her father would go crazy if he got to know about it, maybe she should just leave. She did only know a little bit English anyways, since some people in her tribe had needed to negotiate about the land with the white people when the white first came there, they had learn a bit of English and she had picked it up from those in her tribe that knew. Most people refused to learn English since they didn't want anything to do with the white people, and even those who knew a bit only knew what was necessary.

She decided that it would probably be best to leave, but as she were going to sneak away she stepped on a branch. She stopped immediately and looked towards the man to see if he had heard.

 

[MonstarNomNom]

So many thoughts were running through Collin's head all at the same time and he couldn't seem to get them sorted. Being in a completely new place was was much more overwhelming than he had expected it to be and he constantly lived with the fear that perhaps he had made the wrong choice. His family was struggling to get on their feet and who knows what would happen during the first winter. But, now was not the time for Collin to begin doubting himself and the decisions he had made. This was there home now and he needed to make it work no matter what the future held. which muscled arms he whacked at the tree a few more times, skillfully hitting the same spot each time.

After he had finally dug far enough into the tree he could see it beginning to lean. In slow motion it began to fall toward the forest floor, the loud thud ringing in his ears. He took a moment to catch his breath from the labor, running his forearm over his forehead to whip the sweat from his brow. He was used to hard work and it didn't phase him anymore--it was a part of life and survival. He took a seat on the stump left in the ground, enjoying a light breeze that rolled by and ruffled the leaves along the ground.

Crack.

Collin snapped out of his semi-relaxed state at what sounded like a branch snapping beneath weight. He immediately stood up, instincts taking over and he quickly moved to take cover behind a nearby tree. Perhaps it was a deer and he could bring some food back to the village to feed his family and maybe a few others. He slowly inched his head to peer around the tree to see if he saw anything. In the corner of his eye he could see a glimmer of what looked like black hair--maybe a bear? That would be much more trouble than he had to bargain for. His grip on his axe tightened as he slowly crept to another tree in hopes he might get a better view.

 

[redblood]

Kimimela tried to move so she would be out of the mans view, she heard him moving and she tried to silently move away from him. Even though she didn't want to accept her fathers thoughts about the white people, that they were dangerous and only wanted to harm them, she still would accept the fact that strangers could be dangerous. After all, she didn't know this man, it didn't matter which color or culture he had, he could be dangerous.

But at the same time as she was scared she was also curious. She had never been able to speak to one of their people before, there was so much to learn, so much new to see. And at the same time she wanted to teach them about her people. If they always were going to hide or attack, then no one would learn anything.

She peaked out from behind a tree to see where he were, and got quite surprised when he just were some steppes away. She didn't walk out completely when she started to speak. "Who... are you?" Her pronouncing weren't that good but at least she was certain that she said the right words.

 

[MonstarNomNom]

Collin stood behind the tree, almost frozen for a moment as he heard the footsteps coming closer. What could it possibly be? Maybe it was a different animal they had yet to see yet--something even bigger than a bear. At this thought he slowly inched his head forward once again to peer past the tree to see a set of dark eyes peering back at him from only a few feet away. He immediately went back behind the tree--a human? Perhaps this was one of the savages he had been longing to see. He had no idea what they looked like other than from stories he had heard about them.

As he stood there trying to figure out what to do, he was surprised to hear them speak towards him in very broken English. He moved to look over once more and did not look away this time. Before him stood possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in all of his years. She was nothing like the women back home--her skin was copper and her hair black as night with the deepest shade of eyes.
"Collin..." He said finally after a long moment of silence, trying to take in everything that was happening. She was nothing like the blood thirsty images the people back home had described. Before he knew what he was doing Collin suddenly found himself stepping out from behind the tree, cautiously still holding onto his axe in case this was an ambush he had also heard about.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice deep and husky from the dry air. His grey gaze was locked on her, stopping when he had closed in about a foot closer to where she stood behind a tree.

 

[redblood]

A long silence went threw the forest, she didn't dare to break it for some reason. But eventually the stranger decided to talk. Collin, what a weird name. Was all white people named strangely? The man stepped out from behind the tree and first then she noticed the axe he was holding. Kimimela backed a bit, so that only half her face were shown for the man.

He were so close, she had only seen the white people from a distance, and only in the village when she had looked at them. Of course she had never dared to go there to talk to them, something could happen. But she liked to look at them from a distance, they had so weird clothes and behavior. Maybe this man could explain those things for her. Like why women were wearing some kind of tents over their legs, and what the food they ate was. Some things she had seen them eat looked really different from what she ate. It didn't look like the fruits she had ever found and from the looks of it, it wasn't any kind of meat.

"Kimimela..." She said while looking into the mans eyes. Then her eyes went down to the axe in his hand. "Weapons are meant for enemies." There was no denying that fear had sneaked into her voice, but at the same time she held her voice stable. Their people had lived in peace with each other so far without attacking each other, so there should be no reason for them to have weapons against each other.

 

[MonstarNomNom]

Collin studied her clothes for a moment-noting the difference between hers and his own. The women of England dare not wear anything so...revealing, however however nothing about her was suggestive. At least not intentionally. How did she knew English? It was broken and hard to understand in parts but it was English nontheless. Perhaps they had begun to pick up on it, yet the people in the village didn't know anything about the savages' language.

Kimimela. It was such a different name from anything he had heard before but it was captivating just like the rest of her. Collin soon realized that she seemed uneasy and noticed her gaze was fixed upon the heavy axe which he still grasped in his hand.
"Oh...my apologies." He spoke as he slowly bent his knees and placed it gingerly onto the forest floor. "I mean you no harm." He held his hands up to show that he wasn't a threat to her as long as she wasn't to him. Collin walked forward a few more steps in hopes to see her better. "There's no need to hide." He said reassuringly, looking around to make sure there wasn't anyone around that might see them. He hadn't been gone long so no one would be coming to look for him for a while.

"You are a Native..yes?" Collin asked, hoping that he wasn't asking anything that as too advanced for what limited English she might know. It looked like today he might get satisfaction for what his curiosity had been craving since he set foot in the New World. Despite hearing such negative talk about them he had a hard time believing that they were all like that. This one seemed pretty harmless and possibly just as curious as he was.

 

[redblood]

As the axe were down on the ground and Collin had walked a bit away from it, Kimimela relaxed a bit and walked away from the safety behind the tree. The spirits of the forest would surely protect her if the man was untrustworthy, but she didn't believe it would be necessary. She got a bit confused by his question, since she had never heard the English word native before she thought that he might ask about if she were from a tribe named native.

"Native? I have not heard of that tribe. I'm a Powhatan." She told him. It felt amazing that she actually were there, talking to an English person, her father would never allow something like that. She had so many questions, but there was so many questions she couldn't ask because she didn't know the words. "Why are your tribe leaving England? So many of you come here, is anyone still home?" She asked him, so many people had moved there from that country called England, there couldn't be many left in their tribe in England if so many had moved to that new country.

"Why leave home to come here?" She then continued asking. Would she even understand his answer? Well, she wouldn't know if she didn't try to ask. After all, this may be her only chance to meet him. Who knew if they would be able to meet again.

 

[MonstarNomNom]

He observed he slight movements, noticing her relax after he had gotten rid of his axe--which he hoped did not turn out to be a foolish idea. Collin wasn't usually one to be so trusting, however this was a completely different situation than every day life and perhaps the only chance he would ever get to speak with a Native. Perhaps he could even learn something from her as they knew the land much better than they did and that was one of the reasons so many passed so quickly.

"Powhatan..." he repeated, grazing his memory. He recalled hearing of them but they were not as well known as some of the other tribes to the English people as they had kept their distance from them for the most part. Collin couldn't but smirk at her question if there was anyone back home. If anything, England was on the verge of being considered overpopulated and disease was prominent it many parts due to lack of sanitation. It was one of the many reasons people flocked at a chance to start anew in a new land across the ocean. "There are many people left there." He spoke, unsure of whether to move closer once again or to stay put where he was. It was almost as though an invisible force was pulling him towards her but he stood firm.

"To start over." He explained, glancing over at the fallen tree. "It has been harder than we imagined though." Collin remained optimistic about their situation but it could be hard sometimes. Him mind was swimming with questions but he couldn't seem to get any out. "What are your people like?" It was general, however he didn't want to go into details in fear of confusing her.

 

[redblood]

He told her that there still was many people from their tribe left in England. It was hard to believe such a thing, so many people had already moved away from England and still there was many more. Their tribe must be much bigger than any tribe Kimimela had ever met or heard of. But why split the tribe into two? It should make them more vulnerable if another tribe attacked, and friends would go separate ways. She couldn't really understand why they wanted to start over, was England such a bad place to live in?

She had to think a bit about his question, the English people were so different from them when it came to culture, but at the same time they were alike. They all needed food to survive, they all wanted somewhere to live, they all cared for their families. She didn't know much about the white strangers except for what she had seen from afar, but at least she could figure a bit out.

"My people are like yours." She started, knowing that her father would disagree strongly with that. Most of her tribe would probably disagree. "We eat... sleep... care for our family.. survives." Kimimela then explained before he would be able to say something, since she didn't know if he would disagree just like most people would.

 

[MonstarNomNom]

Collin listened to her as she spoke, her English vocabulary being much better than he had expected. It seemed they had picked up on a lot more than they knew and perhaps they weren't as unintelligent as travelers to the New World had made them seem. He was surprised at her answer as she claimed they were the same--not that he was surprised in a negative way. Their cultures were obvious on two opposite spectrums, but she almost did not seem to pick up on that but instead saw them as the same despite their differences.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kimimela." He spoke with a soft smile as he offered his hand out to her in a polite handshake with a light bow of his head. Collin realized he was probably not so...pleasant smelling at the moment but he hoped she wouldn't notice. All he wanted to do was get closer to this exotic woman and learn her ways. If anyone back in the village knew he had come in contact with her it might not be such an accepting reaction seeing as they were not even aware there were savages nearby the settlement. It had been thought to be a "safe" location however it hardly felt safe at all with the famine that was ravaging them. Surely there had to be more to eat here seeing as the natives seemed to be living so comfortably.

 

[redblood]

Kimimela looked a bit confused at his hand for a moment. To shake hands weren't in their culture and she hadn't seen anyone do it before. She understood as much as it was some kind of greeting. "The same to you, Collin." She replied as she took forth her hand as people would do for an handshake but didn't take his hand, since she thought the thing was to simply hold out their hands to show that they meant no harm.

Those white people had really strange customs, holding out their hands, dressing up in tents, having big funny things on their head. These English people was very different from the once Kimimela had ever met, such strange customs, so different culture. For the white people to get along with the natives, that would be a hard thing to do. Her father weren't really that into the thought of different things coming to close. Things or people that they knew nothing about. But once upon a time they must also have been strangers to that country, and the earth gave them food and shelter. Now maybe they would have to help these white people. But would anyone want to help the white people? Would the white people want to have anything to do with them?