Summer Page 12

  Interested in seeing what Deltin had in mind, Pell said, “Okay, how can I help?”

  “Help me tilt this thing up vertically.”

  With both of them lifting, it wasn’t difficult to lean the tree up against the cliff above the smoke hole. Deltin stepped back to look at it critically so Pell did as well. It had two fairly long branches sticking off either side of the bottom of it. Above that, it had short branches sticking off each side, spaced about a foot apart. “Are you thinking we could climb up the stubby branches?”

  Deltin nodded, “I know we can climb up the stubby branches. It’ll be much easier than climbing a tree that has other branches in the way. The thing that worries me is having it fall over while someone’s up there.”

  He grabbed the trunk and jiggled the top of it a few inches to the left. Pell thought he was trying to get the top of the trunk to rest in a small recess in the rock of the cliff. “It’d be great if we could drive a stake into the cliff on either side of the trunk up there.”

  Deltin snorted, “Good luck with finding a stake you can drive into rock.” He grabbed the trunk near the bottom and said, “Help me shift the base of this thing over so it’ll be more vertical.”

  Pell and Deltin moved it, then Deltin climbed up several of the stubby branches. Pell stood nervously by, hoping he could help catch Deltin if the trunk did start to fall to one side or the other.

  Deltin climbed back down and squatted to look at the two long branches sticking off the bottom of it. “Okay, now we need rocks big enough to jam under the ends of these branches.”

  Pell immediately could see how holding up the long branches on either side would stabilize the tree, making it harder for it to fall to one side or the other. “There’s some rocks just off the side of the ledge down here,” he said, turning and striding that direction. “I collected them last year for a… different project.”

  Pell found one in the grass right beside the ledge. He picked it up and started carrying it back. He wedged that one under the limb on the right and then went back to help Deltin. Deltin had found a rock almost as large as the one Pell had put in, but was struggling to lift it. With a curse, he produced a sheepish grin and said, “Yours must have been made out of lighter rock.”

  “Let me help you,” Pell said squatting and gripping the rock at right angles to the way Deltin had it. With the two of them lifting, it was easy to lift, though clumsy to coordinate all four feet to walk it over once they had it in their hands. However, once they’d jammed it in under the large limb on the left side, the tree was suddenly much more stable. Deltin quickly climbed up his new ladder and shook his fist in triumph.

  ***

  The next morning, Donte and Panute took Pell up the little valley again. This time he was allowed to keep his eyes open. They handed him some bundles of white leather. He’d heard Manute talk about how difficult it was to bleach leather to make it white, so he felt touched that Manute had made the leather for him. Then when he unrolled them and put them on, he was also affected by all the fine little stitches the women had used to put his new clothes together. Even the tops of his shoes were white, though the bottoms looked like they’d been cut from the thick skin of a pig’s back.

  Happy with the fit of the clothes, the two women had him take off his tunic while they braided his hair and then cut off the end of the braid where the hair got ragged. They had a white leather tie to hold his braid and they tied it in place.

  Finally, they got out a white seashell necklace they’d obviously gotten from Sandro when he was still staying at the cave. Pell’s eyes widened at the extravagant decoration, “What did you have to trade for that?!”

  “Nothing,” Donte said smugly. “We just mentioned near him that we were planning your mating ceremony. He gave it to us and asked us to tell you it was his mating gift.”

  “It’s too much!” Pell said, embarrassed as he thought about all the work it took to drill the tiny holes in the seashell beads.

  Donte touched her son’s arm, “You saved his cousin’s elbow. He said he could never repay you for that, even if he spent the rest of his life drilling and stringing beads.”

  Pell rubbed his forehead, “But of course I did what I could for his elbow. Anybody would! If they knew how, surely they’d share that gift!”

  Panute stepped close and put her arms around him, burying her face in his chest where he felt dampness from her tears. “Even those who don’t have an amazing gift like yours,” she whispered, “they still demand payment for their attempts to correct problems like Jomay’s elbow or my hand and leg. We’re grateful that you try without demanding compensation, but oh so much more grateful that you succeed!”

  “I’ve just gotten lucky…” Pell began, then trailed off as the women rolled their eyes.

  When Pell, Donte, and Panute walked back down to the cave they found Agan decked out in leather so dark it was nearly black. She sat on the ledge in front of the cave while Gia stood before her wearing red leather. Not being able to see himself, Pell could only hope that his own appearance was half as impressive as Gia’s. She wore the necklace and bracelet from Sandro with a couple of his seashells in her wavy hair.

  Pell thought he’d never seen anything so beautiful…

  With his eyes focused on the girl he loved, he took no note of the dreamy expressions on the faces of the tribe’s women as they watched him walk up to take a place beside Gia.

  To his amazement, he realized that Gontra, Belk, Tonday, Lenta, and Lessa had come all the way from the Aldans’ cave for the ceremony.

  The rites Agan led them through included many words of profound wisdom. Hearing her speak them awed Pell.

  Afterwards, he wished he could remember what the words were.

  As the tribe feasted in celebration of Gia and Pell’s mating, Pell realized with some disquiet that he hadn’t seen Ginja for at least a day. During a respite from eating, talking, and dancing to Gontra’s drumming, Pell slipped into the cave and, lighting one of Gia’s lamps, made his way back to Ginja’s little hideaway in the back. He’d noticed her moving more slowly the past few days and had started worrying she might be sick. But then he’d forgotten about it all the turmoil. Now he feared she’d fallen severely ill without his notice because of the mating ceremony.

  As he approached her little cave within the cave, he saw her eyes reflecting the light of his little lamp. She must not be too sick, he thought with a great deal of relief, or she wouldn’t be lifting her head enough for me to see her eyes.

  His fears rose again when he realized she wasn’t getting up to greet him. As he knelt and reached out a hand to scratch behind her ear, she licked his wrist. The gesture of the wolf’s love nearly broke his heart. To think she’s so sick she can’t even stand, yet she’s trying to comfort me!

  Ginja turned her nose down toward her stomach. Pell thought she was trying to guide him in looking at her problem. He lifted the lamp and looked down there. For a moment in the dim lighting, he thought in horror that her abdomen had split open and her intestines had fallen out.

  Then he realized that the objects wriggling at her stomach were pups!

  Gia realized that she hadn’t seen Pell for a little while. He’d been staying close by her side during the feasting celebration, so she wondered where he’d gone, but then she saw him come out of the cave. He had a dazed expression on his face. She attributed this appearance to emotional upheaval brought on by the ceremonies they’d just gone through.

  He came over to where the food was laid out and picked up a substantial chunk of meat from the deer they’d roasted for the celebration. He seemed to be heading back into the cave, so when he passed close to Gia, she grabbed his elbow and leaned up against him. Looking up, she grinned and said, “What’s got you looking so tangled?”

  He looked down on her with a tender smile, “I was just thinking about babies.”

  Gia’s eyes widened, “It’s going to be a while before that happens!” She wasn’t sure she wanted to have
babies right away and Agan knew some herbs that were supposed to keep a baby from starting in a woman.

  Pell drew himself up, a sparkle in his eyes telling her that he thought he was putting one over on her. “You may be first in my heart… But don’t forget I have another mate.” He lifted an eyebrow, “One who won’t make me wait for babies!”

  Gia drew back and lifted her own eyebrow, “I don’t think you can get Ginja with child…” She trailed off a little uneasily as she thought of how many impossible things Pell had done.

  He grinned down at her, then said, “Come with me. I’ve got something to show you.”

  She snorted, “I’ve seen those before, you know. And, besides, you’re supposed to wait to show it to me later tonight!”

  “Not that!” Pell laughed, walking into the cave and apparently assuming that she’d follow. She considered staying outside since she thought leaving during the celebration was a little rude to all their guests. Besides, she knew that when they came back, all the people were going to be making ribald jokes about what they’d been doing. Finally, curiosity won her over.

  She followed him inside.

  She found him lighting a lamp, which made her even more curious. He led her toward the back of the cave where they’d smoked meat on a little high shelf before the chimney guided the smoke away. Thinking about the shelf made her wonder again if he wanted to consummate their mating right now, even though all their friends were waiting outside. However, he led her off to the side and she realized he was taking her to the little recess where Ginja had taken to sleeping recently.

  Pell held the lamp up and Gia saw Ginja lying on her side. Her first thought was that it was a little odd that the wolf wasn’t outside with all their friends.

  Then she saw the five pups nuzzling at Ginja’s teats. “Oh!” she heard herself say as she sank to her knees in front of the wolf. One hand went out to scratch Ginja’s neck as her eyes stayed on the wriggling baby wolves. “Oh Ginja, they’re beautiful!” Gia bent to stroke her fingers over their tiny, soft, furry bodies. Ginja’s muzzle approached Gia’s hand. For a moment she feared Ginja would bare her teeth and growl. Instead, Ginja softly licked Gia’s hand.

  Gia slowly settled herself by the wolf’s side, weeping with joy.

  Pell gave Ginja the big chunk of deer meat he’d been carrying and she bolted it down hungrily. He said, “I think she doesn’t want to leave her pups alone to go hunt or drink. I’m going to get her a pot of water and some more meat.”

  Gia continued petting the pups. She thought to herself that it seemed kind of crazy to be bringing food and water to a she-wolf and petting her babies. Then she thought, It would be crazy if we were having a hard time getting enough food. Since we’re not… She shook her head, We’ve always done crazy things for love…

  When Pell came back in with the meat and water, he had Tando and Donte with him, wanting to see Ginja’s babies. To Gia he said, “They thought we were back here mating, so I had to show them what we’ve actually been doing.”

  After Tando and Donte left, the other members of the tribe and even the visiting Aldans came back, a few at a time, to look on in wonder. They all wanted to crowd in at once, but Pell insisted they only come two at a time, especially after Ginja growled at some of the visitors she wasn’t familiar with.

  Ontru asked Gia if she was angry at the wolf for stealing some of the thunder on her big day. Gia solemnly shook her head, “Ginja had no control of when her pups would come. I should have noticed they’d arrived; I could’ve rescheduled the mating ceremony.”

  ***

  Gia looked up from grinding her herbs as Pell walked up the meadow toward her. He had one of his bird trapping baskets under one arm. When he got closer, she said hopefully, “Did you get me a grouse for dinner?”

  “No,” he said with a grin, then turned to Donte, “You were right, I noticed this morning that grain plants are growing around where we kept the basket traps in the next meadow last year.” He tilted his head uncertainly, “At least I think it’s grain. But, assuming I’m right and they are grain plants, we never threshed any grain down there, so it couldn’t have come from the chaff or just from beating the heads of the grain; it had to be the grain we used for bait that grew the new plants.”

  Gia was looking in the basket. She said, “You’ve got pigeons instead?”

  “Yeah, I’m hoping I’ll finally get to try out my idea of keeping some birds in that huge basket Donte wove for me last winter.” He turned aside to Yadin and Falin who were knapping flint on the ledge, speaking sotto voce, “If I tried to keep grouse in my big basket cage, Gia’d keep eating them.”

  “Hah,” Gia said, getting up and following her mate into the cave. “And I suppose you’re still planning to feed these birds our hard earned grain? You still think it’s a good plan, using perfectly good food to keep a different kind of food around longer so you can eat it later?!”

  Pell snorted, “There you go, making fun of my best ideas. I’d hoped once we were mated, you’d be more supportive.” He sighed, giving her a sad look, “I guess my gentle dreams are destined for despair.”

  She gave him a gentle shove, “I’m supporting you by providing a little common sense!”

  Despite her words, she helped her new mate get the pigeons out of the basket trap and into the large basket Donte’d woven. Then, squatting in front of their cage, he had the gall to turn and say, “Can you get them some grain?”

  Gia flicked his head with a finger, “You’re crazy if you think I’m going to feed birds instead of eat them!”

  Pell had ducked away from her finger, obviously expecting it. With a twinkle in his eyes, he said, “Maybe you could get them some water then, while I’m getting the grain? You wouldn’t want them to die of thirst, would you?”

  With a laugh, Gia shook her head and started over to the huge pot Falin kept filled with water. Pell went over to one of the baskets that still had grain from last year. When she returned to the pigeon’s cage with a small bowl of water, she stopped and studied the situation. When Pell and Donte had built the cage last winter, he’d had the foresight to fasten small pottery bowls into two corners of the cage. “Um, Pell, how am I supposed to get water into the bowl in the cage without letting the pigeons escape?”

  “Ah, you didn’t notice the special bowl Donte made for me. It has a spout.” He held up an odd little bowl that had a small trough sticking off to one side of it. He poured the water Gia had into the special bowl, then stuck the spout through the weave of the pigeon cage and poured the water into the little bowl inside.

  “Oh, that’s how you got the grain into their feed bowl, isn’t it?”

  Pell nodded, watching the pigeons. One had already approached the grain in the little feed bowl and started pecking at it.

  Gia sighed, “You love watching them eat the grain we women worked so hard to gather, don’t you?”

  ***

  Gia, Teda, Donte, and Ontru returned to the cave from gathering. Gurix’d stayed behind to cook the stew. Gia had mostly been looking for herbs for her medications. She was trying to collect substantial quantities that she could use for trading when they made their trip later in the summer. However, she’d also helped the other women collect greens. It turned out that Pell’s pigeons would eat greens as well as grain, so she fed them as many greens as she could in an effort to reduce the amount of grain they ate.

  The women were in a good mood. They’d been talking about the trading trip and teasing Teda about how she might find a man at River Fork. Ontru and Tando had paired up, as had Yadin and Donte. It seemed likely that Woday and Gurix would eventually become mates as well. Thus, the only available man at Cold Springs was Manute, and he was much younger than Teda. He was also probably hoping to meet someone at River Fork.

  “It’s like we’re going there to trade people, not just things,” Donte said gaily. “I’ll keep an eye out for you Teda. We’ll find you a good man, you just wait.”

  Ontru said, “And
when Donte finds the perfect man, I’ll make us a good bargain on him.” At this, everyone laughed because of Ontru’s reputation as a tough negotiator.

  With a serious expression on her face, Teda said hesitantly, “I’d like to have a man again. But what if he wants me to move to his tribe? I don’t want to be away from my son again.”

  Ontru bumped Teda with a hip as they walked, “Come on! He’d have to be crazy to pass up a chance to join us. Once people see some of the things we’re bringing to trade, everyone’ll be wanting to join our tribe! We’ll tell them they can only hope to join us as your mate if they’re handsome and…” Ontru looked around with a bit of curious surprise on her face, “What skills do we want him to have? Tando’s a good hunter, Yadin’s good with flint, Deltin’s good with wood and Manute’s good with leather. In the old days I’d be thinking we needed more hunters, but with Pell and his snares…” she got a little look of wonder on her face, “it’s almost as if we have too much meat.” She glanced at Gia, “And we even have good healers…” she trailed off.

  “A potter,” Gia said with a laugh. “We make pots, but they aren’t very good. We’ll have to find a potter for Teda.”

  As they walked up the trail onto the ledge in front of the cave, Gia saw Agan sitting out front grinding some of their herbs between two stones. Agan had been watching them coming toward her and had just turned away with a sly smile on her face. She looks like she’s got some kind of secret, Gia thought, letting her eyes wander over the herbs Agan was working with in hopes of finding out what it was before someone sprung a surprise on her. She didn’t see anything unusual though.

  When she came up beside Agan, she said, “What’re you grinning about?”

  Agan’s smile returned, “Why don’t you sit down. We’ll talk about it.”

  Puzzled, Gia said, “Let me take these onions in so Gurix can put them in our stew. I’ll put away the rest of what I gathered and be back out talk to you in a few heartbeats.”