I am only a little Gypsy 1 - Reincarnation, does it exist? - 27. Chapter 27. Jonno's fears; my 'sneaky Shaman tricks'.

First, I waited, until both Misha and Jonno had disappeared into some dense shrubbery, and even their soft whispers were fading away. Then, I started to follow their easy human trails, by looking for their faint footsteps in the forest litter and any other telltale signs. Way too soon, I reached their backs and stopped. Patiently, I waited, until they disappeared again and their whispers had faded away. Only, this time, I decided to try walking parallel to their too easy trails, to make my quest even more interesting. Very much to my happiness, this turned out to be quite a lot more difficult, so that I was sure I had found an even better way to train my natural trapper skills in advance.

Unexpectedly, we reached our wildly foaming water stream with its many fast rapids, although at a different and even more dangerous spot than before. Misha helped Jonno cross the wildly foaming stream by guiding him along all the slanting and even more slippery boulders, while my legs were performing their magic all on their own, letting me cross the stream fast and safely, as usual. Inwardly, I was sure I would always be able to rescue myself, in case I suddenly stumbled and disappeared into the wildly foaming water. Again, I felt thankful for having my built-in 'little trapper friend' from my past life in my inside who always seemed to remember exactly what we had to do; at least in our surrounding woods, and hopefully also in our much more dangerous forests that we would be visiting soon.

After crossing our foaming stream without any accidents, Misha brought us straight towards our traps, by first stopping and sensing around again just before paving his path through the undergrowth. Clearly, Misha had been feeling around again for the energies of our old traps, to know where they were! Of course, I tried to copy my experienced trapper friend, by trying to feel around for the energy of my own trap, but to no avail. Again, all those whirling forest energies around me were disturbing my sensitivity too much, and I still didn't know what special kind of energy I had to look for. Could Misha have some built-in 'energy filter' that let him sort out all those disturbing forest energies and wildly whirling vortexes in advance?

Immediately when I recognized our surroundings, I left Misha and Jonno, and trotted towards my trap. Surprisingly, I had caught a stray hare! Happily, I put it into Misha's string bag. Misha had been lucky too, by catching a small marmot, but Jonno's trap turned out to be empty, as usual. Again, Jonno had set his trap too clumsily. Again, I was sure that Jonno would never become a good trapper, because any wary animals were able to see his snare from miles away, but I wisely kept my mouth shut. After we had straightened our used snares, we put them around our necks, so that we could set our new traps in our surrounding 'dense forests' that were further away from our Gypsy camp.

However, just before we went on, Misha first put his hands onto our shoulders and whispered into our ears:

"From now on, all three of us have to be even more careful not to make any unnecessary sounds at all, because the animals in our dense forests will be extremely wary about any unknown noises, and they will flee immediately into our surrounding mountains. I will go up front, followed by Jonno and, at a small distance, by Harold. Please, always keep an eye on me, because I don't want you to get lost in our dangerous dense forests, or to tumble into an overgrown hidden crack and perhaps break a few bones or even worse..."

At hearing Misha's whispered words, Jonno's already frightened eyes started growing even bigger. Trembling all over, he stared at our very experienced trapper guide with a more and more panicking face. Wavering from even more fear, he slumped down onto a flat boulder. Still trying to speak as silent as possible, he whispered:

"I don't want to get lost in ANY dangerous forest! This trip is too creepy for me, and I only want to go home..."

Although Misha went to Jonno and tried to convince him to forget his silly fears and at least give our dense forests a try, he just shook his head, put his hands over his ears, and started to cry louder and louder. Clearly, Jonno had made himself way too scared and was now panicking more and more!

At last, after some whispered deliberations, Misha and I decided to bring Jonno back to our waterfall, where he could wait for us to show up from our trip into our dense forests, and afterwards join us again. In the meantime, at hearing our whispered discussion, Jonno had already tried to stop his heavy sobbing, Now that Misha told him our final decision and even started to dry his teary eyes and again let him blow his runny nose in a few tufts of moss, Jonno started looking more and more relieved, until he nearly started to dance around, in spite of his still teary eyes and runny nose.

As befits a real upcoming Gypsy Leader, although I was still only a tiny one, I just started walking up front with a proud face, followed by both Misha and Jonno who were walking hand in hand. Flawlessly, I brought us back, across our water stream with its wildly foaming rapids, and along our steep ravine with its wobbly mossy boulders. At reaching our usual 'cathedral clearing', I brought us through the by now well-known winding path towards our waterfall; where Misha helped Jonno descend its ridges until he arrived at the bottom of its ravine safely and unharmed.

While Misha returned to me, our happy looking Jonno waved at us from beneath and then trotted towards our mountain lake, skipping all the way whilst proudly swaying Misha's nearly empty string bag with our two caught animals in it. Involuntarily, Misha and I looked at each other and then started to smile at the same time, at seeing the relief pouring from each other's eyes. Although I felt sad for poor scared Jonno who had experienced such a difficult time, at the same time, I felt truly happy to leave our 'mad porcupine' behind! From now on, I could really train myself to sneak silently, as a hunting cat going after a wary prey.

This time, just before Misha entered some dense undergrowth, I halted first and looked intently at what my experienced trapper friend was doing. Would he again feel around first, before walking through the dense undergrowth towards where he wanted to go? Indeed, just before my older friend entered a thick bush, he first felt around for a few seconds, as if he was scanning some unknown energies to find out in which direction he had to go. Then, he just stepped forward and disappeared into the dense undergrowth, on his way beckoning me to follow him.

Of course, I was now even more curious about what kind of forest energy my experienced guide had been feeling for. Although I could have asked him about it, I just felt too excited to stop him, because Misha would finally lead me towards those places where I had never been before, our Dense Forests! Misha had already explained that those dense forests were far more dangerous than our usual woods were, because they were littered with even more nasty thorn bushes, treacherously hidden bottomless cracks, and overgrown deep potholes. Yet, I was not afraid at all, while I started to follow my older friend and experienced Real Trapper guide who again would know exactly what to do, always and everywhere.

For quite some time, I kept on following Misha's easy human trail through the dense undergrowth, because I wanted to teach myself not to make too many unnecessary noises. Now that we had left our 'mad porcupine' behind, I didn't want to be the next one! Slowly, I became better and better at avoiding all those treacherously rolling pebbles and overgrown deep potholes that tried to make me stumble into them. Until, at last, I decided to take some more distance from Misha, because I also wanted to hone my 'natural trapper' skills even more.

Now that finally our 'mad porcupine' didn't ruin my concentration anymore, my 'trapper training' turned out to be quite a lot more fun! Pretending Misha could be my wary prey, I tried to catch up with him by sneaking towards him noiselessly, as a hunting cat following its next tasty meal. After I had reached my prey, I slowed down and waited until it had disappeared into the undergrowth, so that I would be able to sneak towards it again.

From time to time, Misha stopped and looked over his shoulder, clearly to see if I was still following his human trail. Then, he smiled at me when I showed up at his back, still sneaking after him with a concentrated face. Clearly, my experienced trapper guide wanted to be absolutely sure that his little pupil would be safe and unharmed, before he turned around and again disappeared into the next dense undergrowth, after sensing around first.

After following Misha for some time, in the meantime honing my 'natural trapper' skills more and more by pretending to be a sneaking cat that followed its wary prey, I suddenly didn't want to walk alone anymore. Therefore, instead of sneaking after my older friend from some distance, I just stepped behind him and started to take an even better look at what he was doing and how he did it. Amazingly, my experienced trapper guide was able to slink through even the densest of shrubs without making any noises at all!

Feeling truly impressed, I wanted to learn that too, and therefore I started to take an even better look at how Misha always avoided all those loosely rolling pebbles and unexpectedly cracking dry branches. Feeling more and more enthusiastic, I saw how my trapper friend lifted one foot and felt around first, before he carefully took the next step, whilst looking out for any dry branches or nasty potholes. Then, he did the same thing with his other foot, whilst at the same time looking out for even more hidden obstacles, overgrown potholes, and treacherously rolling small pebbles. In the meantime, he used both hands to untwine all those entangled branches, before he slid through the opening gap.

Enthusiastically, I started to copy everything that Misha did, still following him at a short distance. At first, I was still making too many unintentional noises, until I started to get the hang of sneaking almost noiselessly. Unnoticed, I became more and more prolific at avoiding all those treacherously overgrown potholes, cracking dry branches, and unexpectedly rolling small pebbles.

Surprisingly, by copying Misha, I also discovered that being only a tiny kid could be a real advantage in our dense woods, because my smaller frame was able to wriggle itself through narrower gaps than my much bigger friend Misha ever could muster! By remembering my past life as a 'little trapper boy', I also started to feel more and more secure, while my hands and my feet started to move all on their own. Obviously, my unconscious mind was steadily remembering more and more of my former trapper skills from my own past life.

Finally, I was starting to be a REAL 'natural trapper', and that was exactly what I wanted to be! Had my 'built-in little trapper boy' been able to do the same things that Misha always did just before he entered another dense shrub, feeling around to find out where he had to go? On a whim, I left the too easy trail that Misha had blazed; and just started to pursue my own path, although still roughly parallel to his. This turned out to be quite a lot more difficult, but it also helped me develop my 'natural trapper' skills even faster.

From now on, I was just paving my own path, on my way looking for any clues and listening for any unusual sounds, whilst sneaking parallel to my experienced trapper friend. Within a couple of minutes, I was moving through the thick bushes almost as silently as Misha always did, without ever cracking any dry branches or stumbling into treacherously overgrown potholes. This was the real work! Finally, I was really starting to become a real 'natural trapper'!

When Misha suddenly couldn't hear me anymore, he stopped dead in his tracks, perked his ears up, and looked over his shoulder, until I showed up again on my parallel track next to his. Surprisingly, my experienced trapper friend didn't say a word, but just turned back and started to pave his own path again. Why was my experienced guide doing this, stopping and looking over his shoulder when he suddenly couldn't hear me anymore? Didn't he really trust my upcoming 'real trapper' abilities, or was he afraid I could get lost whilst following his easy human trail?

Tentatively, I used my inherited Shaman abilities to enter Misha's mind and read his expectations. Very much to my surprise, at exactly that same moment, Misha stopped dead in his tracks and quickly started to feel around for any unexpected 'energy intruders'! Obviously, my experienced trapper guide was quite a lot more sensitive to any surrounding energies than I had expected him to be in my youthful naivety! Would he also be able to sense any of my other inherited Shaman abilities? Feeling like a little explorer again, I decided to try out a few interesting things. Now that I had entered Misha's mind but clearly didn't do anything at all, he seemed to get used to those unusual sensations really fast, and soon just went on paving his path as if nothing special had happened.

Whilst following my trapper friend from some distance, and still as noiselessly as I could, I also started to look around in his mind. Surprisingly, Misha seemed to feel PROUD of his so special little friend who was already sneaking around in our dense woods without making any noises at all, as a trained natural trapper, although he was not even five years old and still a tad too small for his age! Besides, now that Misha didn't feel or sense anything unusual anymore, he had already forgotten about the too faint 'energy intrusion' which he had discarded as probably being some unusual forest vortex that suddenly whirled up but also died almost immediately.

Feeling reassured, I decided to try out even more interesting things. Would I be able to wipe my own picture from Misha's visual mind, as I sometimes did with my 'trapper Dad' during my past life when I was his little son and accompanied him towards our traps? Together, we always had lots of fun when my trapper Dad suddenly couldn't see me anymore and almost panicked; until I generously released his mind so that he would be able to see me again. Or, had my trapper Dad played his own game with me, by pretending he couldn't see me anymore, whilst still using his own powerful Shaman abilities?

Unnoticed by Misha who just went on paving his path through the dense underground, I wiped out my own picture from his visual mind, and then left him alone. Now, I only had to wait until Misha would stop and look over his shoulder again, while I just went on following him from behind without making any noises at all...

Within a few minutes after he couldn't hear me anymore, Misha stopped again and looked over his shoulder, as usual. However, the same moment when he realized he really didn't see or hear his little 'sneaking cat' anymore, he panicked and immediately started to look around everywhere, whilst listening intently for any telltale sounds! In the meantime, I had to bite my own tongue to prevent myself for laughing out loud; while Misha first panicked and then quickly started to follow his own trail backwards, thereby nearly bumping into my own tiny frame, but still totally overlooking my human appearance that suddenly didn't seem to exist for him anymore!

Involuntarily feeling a bit shocked by Misha's unexpected panicking that was totally unlike what my 'trapper Dad' used to do; I reentered Misha's visual mind and quickly removed my blocking. At exactly that same moment, Misha could see me again, looking up at him from quite nearby and smiling broadly at seeing his still panicking face.

At first, my experienced trapper guide seemed to feel relieved, until he realized what I could have done. Angrily, he grabbed my shoulders, shook them forcefully, and then hissed into my ear:

"Don't you DARE do such dangerous messing with my mind ever again! Our forests are far too unsafe to use your sneaky Shaman tricks on me. Because I am your guide and therefore responsible for your welfare, I HAVE to know where you are, all the time and everywhere. You might have fallen into a hidden crack or tumbled into a ravine without me knowing it... Although I suppose you did it only to tease me, you still don't have any idea how extremely dangerous our dense forests can be, even to you as a born 'natural trapper'. Okay?"

Involuntarily feeling guilty, I nodded obediently, while I stared in surprise at my angry looking experienced trapper guide who also was responsible for my welfare. How in the world did Misha know I had been using those 'sneaky Shaman tricks' on him? Could Misha have sensed I had wiped out my own picture from his visual mind, or had he assumed I could have used my 'Shaman abilities' to tease him? As far as I could remember, I had never told any of my friends about my special abilities, and I was relatively sure that our Wise Woman, my Big Friend Michail, my parents, or any other trusted grownups had never been blabbering about my inherited Shaman and Cosmic Mage skills either...

Again, I started to follow my older friend from a short distance, although this time without using any more 'sneaky Shaman tricks'. Would my trapper guide be still angry with me? After some more sneaking after Misha, I decided I had had enough training for today. Therefore, I sped up until I reached Misha, and then just started to walk alongside him, hoping he wouldn't be too mad at me anymore. Of course, I was still pretending to be a hunting cat, sneaking alongside my friend whilst searching for a wary prey. Now and then, I could feel Misha casting sideways glances at me, as if my experienced trapper guide still didn't trust me completely...

Why was Misha doing this? Could he be still angry with me, or was he waiting for an opportunity to take revenge? Of course, I could easily have read his mind again, but, after he found out what I had been doing to him, I didn't dare use any of my 'sneaky Shaman tricks' on him any more. What if Misha really could feel or sense my 'sneaky Shaman energy' entering his protective aura to read his mind? Wouldn't he be even madder at me and perhaps send me home? That would be a real disaster that I wanted to prevent at any price!

Unexpectedly, and totally out of the blue, Misha stopped, turned towards me, put his arms around my small shoulders, and pulled my tiny frame very close against his chest. With brightly sparkling brown eyes and a proud sounding voice, my older friend first nearly kissed my suddenly wrinkling nose, and then he whispered into my ear:

"Harold, I feel truly impressed by the fact that you already equal me in almost everything! Much earlier than my minor friends and I ever expected, you are becoming our youngest 'natural trapper' ever, so that I feel even more honored to be both your responsible older friend and your experienced Real Trapper guide."

For several seconds, I felt speechless and therefore only stared at my proud looking responsible older friend. Did really I, a not even five-year-old 'little runt', equal my already fourteen-year-old and very experienced real trapper guide who had been scouring our woods and forests all his life? Then, I had been performing quite a lot better than I had assumed whilst trying to hone my sneaking skills even more! Feeling even prouder of all those rapidly awakening 'natural trapper' abilities that were developing by leaps and bounds, I just continued to follow Misha, on my way still pretending to be a hunting cat sneaking after a wary prey. Fortunately, my older friend Misha wasn't mad at me anymore for having used my 'sneaky Shaman tricks' on him...

Almost unnoticed, our 'normal' surroundings started to change, as if we were encountering more and nastier thorn bushes, treacherously overgrown cracks, and unexpectedly deep potholes. Clearly, we were already leaving our friendly 'surrounding woods' behind and entering our much more dangerous 'dense forests'! From now on, I had to be even more careful, although I was sure that my experienced trapper guide would always know exactly what he had to do. Plus, of course, my built-in 'little trapper friend' would also know exactly what we had to do, and I hoped he would go on helping me with everything, for example by warning me in time if ever needed.