She is curious, but also hesitant

“Nope, not me.” Gwyneth immediately answers. “Maybe if only handsome guys my age were going to hunt for us, I might consider risking it. But it is not like that at all. There is at least one old guy, Kenric. He’s Rowena’s uncle. 40 years he is, and he has never gotten married. This guy is **** for a wife, so he is certain to be one of the hunters. He is certain to push his Samhain child on any girl he captures. If that happens, it won’t be him who is **** to marry the girl, but the girl who is **** to marry him.”

“Yeah, that’s scary.” The traveler girl with the Samhain mother says. “And it’ll be dark too, so you might not even know who you had sex with until much later.”

“Gwyneth is just making a big deal out of it.” Tiona says as she waves her hand dismissively. “So, what if old man Kenric fucks you, I bet he has 2 decades of experience in Samhain so he should be able to give you a good ride.”

“Really Tiona?” I ask as I raise my eyebrows. “I never thought of you of all people would be into my uncle.”

Tiona points her finger to the traveler girl and says, “Like this girl here says, it’ll probably be so dark I won’t even see his face. Also, my last period ended just 2 days ago, so I’m not even fertile today. I am literally not at risk of getting preggers. If your uncle really does catch me, there is no way he will get me preggers and he will have to spend another year of not getting married.”

“So, you’re really going to stray?” I ask my friend.

“I know I come across as very slutty, but last year I stuck to the path and between then and now I have kept wondering what it would be like to get chased through the forest like that. If I don’t stray tonight, I’ll spend another year of curiosity and that is what I want to avoid. I honestly don’t care whether the sex I’ll be subjected to is good or bad, just that I have it. And what better time to get it than during my safest time of the month?”

The lead traveler girl then looks at Rianna and me and asks us if we are going to stray.

“I was too afraid to stray last year, so I stuck to the path too.” Rianna explains. Then she starts to blush and continues. “But as I was walking home, I could hear moans from the girls who got caught. They were too far into the forest to see them, but I could hear them. They all sounded like it felt so good. So yeah, I am curious. But I also heard Rowena’s brother is going to join. Look, I grant him the opportunity to find a great girl and do it with her, of course. Rowen is a nice guy and he deserves a girlfriend. Especially with what Cerridwen did. But I don’t quite look forward to getting caught by my cousin. Hopefully we have a clear night so the moon can give us enough light for us to see if he’s chasing me or Rowena. If he at least can see it’s us he’s chasing, I’m sure he would break off and search for someone else. But if it’s too cloudy, I feel I might just stick to the path again.”

After Rianna explained her position, all the girls turn their faces to me. Guess it’s my turn now.

“You know, many years ago, my mother had to do a Samhain like this. And like so many others, she too decided to stray.” I inform the girls. “She told me that when she got caught, it was by a guy who gave her … well … a really passionate time. After the passion, she asked him if he could walk out of the forest with her. So that other guys who come across her would quickly notice she had already been caught and so wouldn’t try and catch her a second time. The guy not only agreed but even held her hand as he walked with her. That is when my mother fell in love with him. Even though she didn’t have his Samhain child, they did start dating, and that is how my mom and dad got together.”

I then get interrupted by one of the traveler girls saying “Aww”.

“Maybe I am just a romantic fool, but I would like something like that.” I finish my story. “But similar to Rianna, I too would prefer not to be caught by family. I also don’t have just my brother but also my uncle chasing us. So … I haven’t decided yet. I guess I’ll be hoping for a clear night too.”

There is a short silence between us, which is broken by Tiona who tries to talk some courage into me.

“Rowena, there are more than 10 guys who are joining.” She says. “You would need to have a lot of bad luck if you get caught by either your brother or your uncle. And even if you do, it’s not like it’s never happened before. The smith’s son caught his older sister 4 Samhains ago and gave her his Samhain child. But if you look at those two now, you would say they are the happiest couple.”

“Wait, you people have **** marriages?” Igraine asks.

“Only when a Samhain child is involved.” Gwyneth tells her. “Then it is assumed you are destined to be together, family or not. But without a Samhain child it is forbidden.”

Then Tiona leans in closer to the traveler girls with a grin and asks, “So what about you girls? Are any of you thinking of participating? It’s a good way to get some free dick.”

“Well, it sounds like a good way to bring some genetic diversity to our clan.” The girl with the Samhain mother says. “But it still feels like offering yourself to be used like a sex toy. I’m not a big fan of that.”

Tiona then looks to her left and points at one of the other girls further up.

“You see that chick with the brown hair and the big boobs? That’s the shepherd’s daughter. She is 23, so she already had 5 Samhains. Rumors say that she strayed every time and also got caught every time. Yet she still never had a baby. She is the perfect example that women can totally use the men as their sex toys.”

Then Tiona points at another girl nearby.

“And the one with the black hair and the small boobs. That’s Maire, the hunter’s youngest daughter. She only had 2 Samhains so far, and both times she strayed from the path. But both times she was able to escape the men and get out of the forest unfucked. So that is one way to not be a sex toy and still have your fun.”

“Tell them about waxface.” Gwyneth says.

“Oh yeah, the beekeeper’s daughter.” Tiona replies. “I feel so sorry for her. Nature has not been kind to her. She doesn’t have a cute face and also doesn’t have big boobs, or even an attractive butt, or anything. So yeah, she has a hard time getting a boyfriend. So, when Samhain happens, she is certain to stray. But she’s not going to wait until she gets caught. Rather, she will be hunting the men and try to get some dick that way.”

The traveler girls nod when they hear about those three examples and I think some of them are really considering participating. But eventually, all four of them leave saying that they will think about it.

For the next hour, my friends and I continue eating and talking and Tiona even forces me to sample some mead for the first time. I was fine with just tasting it, but Tiona pressured me into emptying the mug. She said it would give me courage for tonight. I enjoyed the taste of honey in it, but I was worried that drinking too much might leave me drunk. Eventually, one of the elders rings a bell three times, signifying that it is time for the single women to start gathering for their trip into the forest.

My friends and I decide to quickly visit the outhouse first. After doing our business, we all head towards the large building on the edge of the village. As we are about to enter, we notice 2 of the traveler girls catching up to us. It is Igraine and the girl with the Samhain mother.

“Oh hey. You decided to join.” I smile as I hold the door open for them.

“Yeah. I asked my grandmother about it and she was very positive about her experience.” The girl with the Samhain mother says with a blush and a big smile.” She said that not knowing who the potential father of her child could be and letting fate decide for her was very exciting. And to then run away from him and making him chase her was exhilarating too. But then when he caught her, she immediately embraced him and had passionate sex. She described it as her feeling very primal, like a wild animal doing what animals do, away from other humans with only the trees to judge them. It sounded so awesome. I would like to have something like that too.”

Ok, now this girl is convincing me to stray.

“What about the chance of a Samhain child. Are you not afraid of that?” I ask.

“Grandma also told me that she is very proud of my mother and feels that having a Samhain child was one of the best things in her life. So, I’ve decided to go for a Samhain child as well. So, I am not afraid at all. In fact, I want one. I mean, I’m only 22, so maybe it’s a little early for me to have a child. But the next time I’m here will be 5 years later and I don’t want to wait until I’m 27 to have my first child. So yeah, I will try my best to get caught and let the guy know he can totally give me his Samhain child. My name is Raelin, by the way.”

Raelin then offers me her hand to shake it, which I do.

“And what about you?” I ask Igraine.

“Can’t say that I am interested in having a baby right now, Samhain child or not. But I am curious about the wild primal sex Raelin’s grandmother was talking about. So, I will be joining for the sex. I hope you don’t mind me having fun with some of your men.” She answers with a mischievous grin.

“What about the other girls?” Tiona wonders.

“They weren’t interested. Too prude if you ask me.” Igraine says. “But maybe some other girls of our clan are already here.”

I invite Raelin and Igraine inside and guide them to some tables where the organizers are. One of them is Dunla, the oldest daughter of the village hunter and a Samhain child herself. She is going to lead the girls to the shrine today and therefore holds the basket with all the necklaces for the village girls. Since all the single girls in the village are mandated to participate, these necklaces could be made in advance. I asks Dunla for my necklace and she gives me one where the black stones spell out the letters R-O-W-E-N-A as well as the numbers 1-0-0 as this is the 100th Samhain event the village is having.

The other woman in charge of the necklaces is Keira. The village scribe, my grandmother and another Samhain child herself. She has the baskets with loose stones and a few ropes to make new necklaces with.

I inform my granny about the traveler girls that joined us and that they wish to participate. My grandmother then collects the letters to spell the new names and strings them along a thin rope. It is very easy since each of the black stones has a hole which the rope can be put through. When the necklaces have been prepared, they are handed to Igraine and Raelin who eagerly put them on.

As we are waiting for the event to start, Raelin and Igraine notice another girl from their clan. A blonde girl named Iona. We quickly walk up to her and start talking. From their conversation, I hear Iona explain that she is a Samhain child herself and would very much love to experience the same event that resulted in her mother becoming pregnant with her.

Shortly after, Dunla announces that all the necklaces prepared for the village girls have been handed out and it is time for us to undress. It looks like we were the last ones. Each of the girls take off their clothes and fold them up to leave them on some stools or benches. Some even just leave their clothes on the ground.

Since this is my first time, I am tempted to use my arms to cover my breasts and groin, like Gwyneth and the traveler girls are doing. But they are the only ones who do so. None of the others seem to feel ashamed. So, I decided to be like the other and not cover up. I mean, my breasts are quite nice so it’s not as if I’ve got something to be ashamed about.

Once all of us girls are nude, Dunla asks us to line up. She walks past every one of the girls and checks their necklaces. To see that nobody got the wrong one. When she is satisfied, she hands her younger sister a lit torch, while she herself grabs a bell. Then Dunla opens the back door and all of us head out. She leads us to the forest, where the path begins. There are 2 rows of poles along the path, one on each side, and the poles are connected to each other by a rope. This way, the boys have a warning before they reach the path and the girls can follow the rope if the path is hard to see.

It feels weird for me to be nude outside. Sure, I did some skinny dipping in the nearby river when I was younger, but that was before I had developed breasts. Ever since I got those, I made sure to only be nude inside the house and while bathing. I am certainly not used to feeling an autumn breeze caressing those parts of me but I guess I will have to deal with that. I decide to go down all the girls and in our weird procession and recall to myself who they are to try and keep my mind off myself.