“That’s what I was there for.” “Mate?” “I was away from my home when the season came upon me. The Standing Rock Tribe here is very closely related to my tribe through several family members and was delighted to host my search. They have a Gucge, a skunk, as well, though he is not quite ready to mate. But I took him under my wing to show him how a proper Gucge is supposed to behave. But I think my heat triggered his, and he became aggressive enough to challenge me.” “Mate!” “Yes, he wanted one, so the battle you observed was set up. It was hoped that I would choose a maiden from his tribe, thereby strengthening our ties and adding fresh blood to my tribe, but I chose you.” “Mate!” She shrilled the word this time, and it pulled him out of his soliloquy. “Well, yes.” “I didn’t sign on for a mate, man!” “Yet you agreed in the presence of the elders that you were going with me.” “Marriage is an institution, and I am not ready to be institutionalized!”
