The Land of Painted Caves (4 page)

“Yes,” Jondalar said, with a grin. “She was his backup yesterday during the lion hunt. Hunting together and depending on each other like that can create a special bond quickly, even if they didn’t land a spear so they could lay claim to a lion. But they helped Ayla skin out her lioness, and she gave each of them a claw. They were done so fast, they came over and helped me, and I gave each of them a small claw, too, so they all have mementos of the hunt.”

“That’s what they were showing off last night over that cooking basket,” Proleva said.

“Can I have a claw for a memento, Ayla?” Jaradal asked. The youngster had obviously been listening closely.

“Jaradal, those are mementos of a hunt,” his mother said. “When you get old enough to go on hunts, you’ll get your own mementos.”

“That’s all right, Proleva. I’ll give him one,” Joharran said, smiling gently at the son of his mate. “I got a lion, too.”

“You did!” the six-year boy said excitedly, “and I can have a claw? Wait until I show Robenan!”

“Make sure you cook it before you give it to him,” Ayla said.

“That’s what Galeya and the rest were cooking last night,” Jondalar said. “Ayla insisted that everyone cook the claws and fangs before they handled them. She says a scratch from a lion claw can be dangerous unless it’s cooked.”

“Why should cooking make a difference?” Proleva asked.

“When I was little, before I was found by the Clan, I was scratched by a cave lion. That’s how I got the scars on my leg. I don’t recall much about getting scratched, but I do remember how much my leg hurt until it healed. The Clan liked to keep the teeth and claws of animals, too,” Ayla said. “When she was teaching me to be a medicine woman, one of the first things Iza told me was to cook them before they were handled. She said they were full of evil spirits, and the heat of cooking them drove the foulness out.”

“When you think of what those animals do with their claws, they must be full of evil spirits,” Proleva said. “I’ll make sure Jaradal’s claw gets cooked.”

“That lion hunt did prove out your weapon, Jondalar,” Joharran said. “Those who just had spears probably would have been good protection, if the lions had gotten closer, but the only kills were made with spear-throwers. I think it’s going to encourage more people to practice.”

They saw Manvelar approach, and greeted him cordially.

“You can leave your lion skins here and pick them up on your way back,” he said. “We can store them in the back of the lower abri. It’s cool enough down there that they should keep for a few days; then you can process them when you get home.”

The tall limestone cliff they had passed just before the hunt, called Two Rivers Rock because Grass River joined The River there, had three deeply indented ledges, one above the other, that created protective overhangs for the spaces below them. The Third Cave used all of the stone shelters, but they lived mainly in the large middle one, which enjoyed an expansive panorama of both rivers and the area around the cliff. The others were mainly for storage.

“That would be a help,” Joharran said. “We’re carrying enough, especially with babies and children, and we’ve already been delayed. If this trip to Horsehead Rock hadn’t been planned for some time, we probably wouldn’t be making it. After all, we’ll be seeing everyone at the Summer Meeting, and we still have a lot to do before we leave. But the Seventh Cave really wanted Ayla to visit, and Zelandoni wants to show her the Horsehead. And since it’s so close, they want to go to Elder Hearth and visit the Second Cave, and see the ancestors carved in the wall of their lower cave.”

“Where is the First Among Those Who Serve The Great Earth Mother?” Manvelar asked.

“She’s already there, has been for a few days,” Joharran said. “Conferring with several of the zelandonia. Something to do with the Summer Meeting.”

“Speaking of that, when are you planning to leave?” Manvelar asked. “Perhaps we can travel together.”

“I always like to leave a little early. With such a large Cave, we need extra time to find a comfortable place. And now we have animals to consider. I’ve been to the Twenty-sixth Cave before, but I’m not really familiar with the area.”

“It’s a large, flat field right beside West River,” Manvelar said. “It’s good for a lot of summer shelters, but I don’t think it’s a good place for horses.”

“I like the site we found last year, even if it was rather far from all the activities, but I don’t know what we’ll find this year. I was thinking of scouting it out earlier, but then we got those heavy spring rains and I just didn’t want to slog through the mud,” Joharran said.

“If you don’t mind being a bit out of the way, there may be a more secluded place nearer Sun View, the shelter of the Twenty-sixth Cave. It’s in a cliff near the bank of the old riverbed, somewhat back from the river now.”

“We may try that,” Joharran said. “I’ll send a runner after we decide when to leave. If the Third Cave wants to go then, we can travel together. You have kin there, don’t you? Do you have a route in mind? I know that West River runs in the same general direction as The River, so it isn’t hard to find. All we have to do is go south to Big River, then west until we reach West River, and then follow it north, but if you know a more direct way, it might be a little faster.”

“In fact, I do,” Manvelar said. “You know my mate came from the Twenty-sixth Cave, and we visited her family often when the children were younger. I haven’t been back since she died and I’m looking forward to this Summer Meeting and seeing some people I haven’t seen for a while. Morizan and his brother and sister have cousins there.”

“We can talk more when we return for the lion skins. Thank you for the hospitality of the Third Cave, Manvelar,” Joharran said, as he turned to leave. “We need to be going. The Second Cave is expecting us, and Zelandoni Who Is First has a cave with a surprise to show Ayla.”

   Spring’s first shoots had made a watercolor smear of emerald on the cold, brown defrosting earth. As the short season advanced and jointed stems and slender sheathing leaves reached their full growth, lush meadows replaced the cold colors along the floodplains of the rivers. Billowing in the warmer winds of early summer, the green of rapid growth fading to the gold of ripening maturity, the fields of grass ahead named the river beside them.

The group of travelers, some from the Ninth Cave and some from the Third, walked beside Grass River, retracing their steps from the previous day. They walked around the jutting stone in single file along the trail between the clear running water of Grass River and the cliff. As they continued, some people moved forward to walk two or three abreast.

They took the path that angled toward the crossing place—it was already being called the Place of the Lion Hunt. The way the rocks had been placed naturally was not an easy crossing. It was one thing for agile young men to leap from stone to slippery stone; it was quite another for a woman who was pregnant or carrying a baby, and perhaps other packs of food, clothing, or implements, or for older women or men. Therefore, more rocks had been carefully positioned between those the lower water level had uncovered to make the spaces between the stepping-stones closer. After they all had reached the other side of the tributary, where the trail was wide enough, they tended to walk two or three abreast again.

Morizan waited for Jondalar and Ayla, who were bringing up the rear in front of the horses, and stepped in beside them. After a casual exchange of greetings, Morizan commented, “I didn’t realize how good your spear-throwing weapon could be, Jondalar. I’ve been practicing with it, but watching you and Ayla use it has given me a new appreciation for it.”

“I think it’s wise of you to make yourself familiar with the spear-thrower, Morizan. It is a very effective weapon. Is it something Manvelar suggested, or did you decide to do it on your own?” Jondalar asked.

“I decided, but once I started, he encouraged me. He said I was setting a good example,” Morizan said. “To be honest, I didn’t care about that. It just looked like a weapon I wanted to learn.”

Jondalar grinned at the young man. He had thought it might be the younger ones who would be willing to try out his new weapon first, and Morizan’s response was exactly what he had hoped would happen.

“Good. The more you practice, the better you will get. Ayla and I have been using the spear-thrower for a long time, all during the year-long Journey back home, and for more than a year before that. As you can see, women can handle a spear-thrower very effectively.”

They followed Grass River upstream for some distance, then came to a smaller tributary that was called Little Grass River. As they continued upstream along the smaller waterway, Ayla began to notice a change in the air, a cool, moist freshness filled with richer smells. Even the grass was a darker shade of green, and in places the ground was softer. The path skirted marshy areas of tall reeds and cattails as they proceeded through the lush valley and approached a limestone cliff.

Several people were waiting outside, among them two young women. Ayla grinned when she saw them. They had all mated at the same Matrimonial during last year’s Summer Meeting, and she felt especially close to them.

“Levela! Janida! I was looking forward to seeing you so much,” she said, walking toward them. “I heard you had both decided to move to the Second Cave.”

“Ayla!” Levela said. “Welcome to Horsehead Rock. We decided to come here with Kimeran to see you, so we wouldn’t have to wait until you came to visit the Second. It’s so good to see you.”

“Yes,” Janida concurred. She was considerably younger than the other two women, and rather shy, but her smile was welcoming. “I am glad to see you, too, Ayla.”

The three women embraced, though they were all rather careful about it. Both Ayla and Janida were carrying infants, and Levela was pregnant.

“I heard you had a boy, Janida,” Ayla said.

“Yes, I named him Jeridan,” Janida said, showing her baby.

“I had a girl. Her name is Jonayla,” Ayla said. The infant was already awake from the commotion and Ayla lifted her out of the carrying blanket as she spoke, then turned to look at the baby boy. “Oh, he’s perfect. May I hold him?”

“Yes, of course, and I want to hold your daughter,” Janida said.

“Why don’t I take your baby, Ayla,” Levela said. “Then you can take Jeridan, and I’ll give … Jonayla?” she saw Ayla nod, “to Janida.”

The women shifted infants and cooed at them, while they looked them over and compared them with their own.

“You know Levela is pregnant, don’t you?” Janida said.

“I can see that,” Ayla said. “Do you know how soon you will have yours, Levela? I’d like to come and be here with you, and I’m sure Proleva would, too.”

“I don’t know for sure, some moons yet. I would love to have you with me, and definitely my sister,” Levela said. “But you won’t need to come here. We’ll probably all be at the Summer Meeting.”

“You’re right,” Ayla said. “It will be nice for you to have everyone around you. Even Zelandoni the First will be there, and she is wonderful at helping a mother to deliver.”

“There may be too many,” Janida said. “Everyone likes Levela, and they won’t let everyone stay with you. It would be too crowded. You may not want me; I’m not very experienced, but I would like to be there with you, the way you were with me, Levela. I’ll understand, though, if you would rather have someone that you’ve known longer.”

“Of course I want you with me, Janida, and Ayla, too. After all, we shared the same Matrimonial, and that’s a special bond,” Levela said.

Ayla understood the feelings that Janida had expressed. She, too, wondered if Levela would rather have friends she had known longer. Ayla felt a flush of warmth for the young woman, and was surprised at the sting of tears she fought to hold back at Levela’s willing acceptance of her. Growing up, Ayla hadn’t had many friends. Girls of the Clan mated at a young age, and Oga, the one who might have been close, had become Broud’s mate, and he wouldn’t allow her to be too friendly with the girl of the Others that he had come to hate. She loved Iza’s daughter, Uba, her Clan sister, but she was so much younger, she was more like a daughter than a friend. And while the other women had grown to accept her, and even care about her, they never really understood her. It wasn’t until she went to live with the Mamutoi and met Deegie that she understood the fun of having a woman friend her own age.

“Speaking of Matrimonials and mates, where are Jondecam and Peridal? I think Jondalar feels a special bond for them, too. I know he was looking forward to seeing them,” Ayla said.

“They want to see him, too,” Levela said. “Jondalar and his spear-throwing weapon is all Jondecam and Peridal have talked about since we knew you were coming.”

“Did you know that Tishona and Marsheval are living at the Ninth Cave now?” Ayla said, referring to another couple who had mated at the same time as they did. “They tried living at the Fourteenth, but Marsheval was at the Ninth Cave so often—or I should say at Down River learning how to shape mammoth ivory, and staying overnight at the Ninth—that they decided to move.”

The three Zelandonia were standing back, watching, as the young women continued to chat. The First noticed how easily Ayla fell into conversation with them, comparing babies and talking excitedly about the things that were of interest to young mated women with children, or expecting them. She had begun teaching Ayla some of the rudiments of the knowledge she would need to become a full-fledged Zelandoni, and the young woman was without doubt interested and quick to learn, but the First was now realizing how easily Ayla could get distracted. She’d been holding back, letting Ayla enjoy her new life as a mother and mated woman. Maybe it was time to push her a little harder, get her so involved that she would voluntarily choose to devote more time to learning what she needed to know.

“We should go, Ayla,” the First said. “I would like you to see the cave before we get too involved with meals and visiting and meeting people.”

“Yes, we should,” Ayla said. “I left all three horses and Wolf with Jondalar, and we need to get them settled. I’m sure he has people he wants to see, too.”