The Thinking Rocks (14 page)

B
ana was angry.  He felt like a
fool telling everyone that Cano was dead and then finding out not only wasn’t
he dead, but that he had saved everyone's life.  Things had been fine when
he was dead.  Now they all think that he’s something special because he
threw his Canohawk at the cat.

Another problem was that now he had to find a way to get Ceola
again.  Maybe her father’s death could be worked to his advantage.
Something else to think about.

Sorou had mixed feelings.  She was glad that Cano lived, but she was
not happy with the attention he was giving Ceola.  She would have to speak
with Loki and come up with a plan.

Dola gently
slid his arm around Ceola’s waist as he knelt at her side. “Father is gone and
I am sad too, but things will be all right.  We have Cano to help
us.”  She continued to sob over her Father.

Cano
approached and knelt at their sides. He put his arm around Ceola and softly
said, “I am here for you, and I will always be yours.” She turned from her
father’s broken body and fiercely hugged Cano.

Dola stood and surveyed the group, and then walked over to where Bana was
standing. He looked up at him and asked, “Why did you lie about Cano being
dead?”

Bana looked at him a moment before answering, “I didn’t lie, he was dead,
we all saw him killed.” He straightened his shoulders then leaned forward in an
aggressive manner and said, “What I want to know is who do you think you are
that you can accuse me of being a liar? Who are you to question the actions of
a hunter? You are still a child.  Leave me and go play with your
dolls.”  As an added barb he added, “You even walk like a girl
child.”      

Dola was
hurt and angry. He knew now that he should not have spoken to the chief’s son
the way he had, but he was trying to understand why things were so mixed up.
His mind jumped back to Bana’s last comments, “go play with your dolls!” He
thought, I’ll show him who is a hunter. I’m small now, but I won’t always be
small. The puppies are small, but they will grow into wolves.  Someday I
will lead the pack. Then we’ll see who will tell me to go play with
dolls.  He moved over toward where the dead mammoth lay.  He saw
something in the grass. He couldn’t tell what it was until he got closer. 
It was the broken fang from the saber tooth.  He looked at it for a moment
before picking it up. It was heavy in his hand and smelled of blood, my
Father’s blood he thought. There was power here. He slipped it into his
carrying pouch. He turned and with his head held high, stalked off with his
small spear in hand.

Hedra had been organizing the work so that they could get back to camp
before dark.  Long poles had been lashed together and leather thongs tied
between, the meat would be lashed to the thongs. One person would grip the
poles and drag the load along. One set of the poles carried the tied down body
of Menla.

The small procession made its way to the camp in a subdued manner. There
was none of the usual joking about the hunt.  The death of a clan member
was more than a bad sign; it affected all of their chances of survival. 
Now there was one less hunter to help feed them.  Everyone in the clan
would miss Menla.

When they arrived back at the camp a bad day got worse.  Gennos was
waiting and shuffled up to meet Cano.  “I thought you were dead, we heard
that you had been killed by a mammoth. I’m glad the news was wrong,” he said as
he grasped Cano’s shoulders.

Cano returned his brothers grasp and smiled, “No happier than I am
brother.” He could tell from his brother’s expression that he had more to say.
“What’s wrong,” he asked “is there trouble?”

Gennos
hesitated for a few moments before beginning. “It’s about mother, when she
heard that you had died she took it badly, you know how sick she has
been.  It was too much for her. She is gone.  She died a little while
ago.  There are only the two of us now.”

They stood quietly looking at each other. Cano could feel his throat
tighten and he blinked back the tears that tried to escape. “I must see mother
and wish her a goodbye”.  He touched his brother’s shoulder before turning
to Ceola.

“We have both lost someone we love this day, I want to be with you, but I
must say goodbye.  Gennos will stay with you and he can say farewell to
your father.  I will see you later tonight.”

Ceola
reached out and touched his arm as he walked toward his shelter.

Gennos
stayed with Ceola until she returned to her fire with her brother and sister.
There she prepared her father for burial by cleaning his wounds.

Gennos then moved over to where Hedra and Koonai were talking and told
them of his mother’s death. He said that he would be with Cano and they would
prepare her for burial. Hedra shook his head at the news and said, “It has been
a bad day for the clan. We have lost a man and a woman.”

Koonai nodded his head in agreement. He looked over at Hedra and asked,
“Will you let me use Loki and Moki to help bury Menla?” Hedra nodded agreement.
“Cano and Gennos can take care of burying their mother. Do you have any idea
where they are to be buried?” he asked Koonai.

“Yes, I know of two different places that are quiet, places which will
not be bothered by animals.  I will take Menla to his rest and later I
will take Flanos to her rest.  Her place will be near the river,” pausing
he added, “she loved the river.”

Later, Koonai led Loki and Moki to where Menla
was to be buried.  It was in a secluded glen near a stand of tall trees.
The men dug the grave in the rocky ground and lined the grave with cedar
branches. Next, they lay Menla’s body in a curled position on his right side,
with his head pointed in the direction of the sun when it would rise in the
morning. They then covered his body with his animal skins, and a final layer of
cedar branches, and then the soil.  Rocks were then placed over the grave
to deter animals from digging. Ceola, Dola, and Opla all carried stones to
their Father's grave.  It was a tearful time for family.  Young Dola
was trying to be brave, but little Opla was too young to understand what was
happening. As they were putting rocks on the grave, Opla placed some small
white flowers she had found next to them. The world had changed for Ceola she
now had the responsibility for her family.

In the mean time Cano and Gennos had finished
burying their mother at the site by the river that Koonai had indicated. The
digging had not been difficult because the soil was moist and almost without
rocks. The actual burial affected them both deeply.  They stood next to
the grave silently; Gennos had his hand on his brother’s shoulder. When Gennos
spoke, Cano kept his eyes on the grave. “We are all that is left, she gave us
life and she is gone. I wonder how long it will be before I follow her.”

This startled Cano back to the present. “It
will be a long time big brother, we have much to do.  I have to win Ceola
and you have to learn Koonai’s ways.  We are just getting started on our
journey. It’s been a long day.  I smell like mammoth dung, was almost
killed by a mammoth, had a fight with a saber-tooth, had my Mother die and you
talk about our journey ending. No brother, we are just getting started. Let us
get back to camp. It’s getting dark and I need to wash off some of this smell.”

Gennos seemed to be affected by Cano's speech and actions. He thought,
I’m still breathing and the world goes on with or without me. It was a sad
time, but times change. Looking over at Cano he said, “You know I hadn’t
noticed that you smell any different. Are you sure you have dung all over your
body?” Even with his bad leg he was able to dodge the swing that Cano aimed at
him.

They arrived at camp just as the sun set.  Koonai had been busy with
preparations for the farewell ceremony.  They would say farewell to the
dead and then feast on the mammoth.

The clan gathered quietly around the fire. 
The clan totem Spear was again in the ground with the point aimed at the
sky.  Koonai emerged from behind the fire and pulled the spear from the
ground and held it high.  “I am Koonai of the Clan of the Spear, and I am
sad.”  He waited for the sound of his words to die before continuing. “We
have lost Menla and Flanos on this day. We will miss them.  The clan will
not be the same without them”.  He lowered the spear until the butt was on
the ground.  He silently surveyed the clan and then asked, “Who will speak
for Menla?”

The leader of the clan, Hedra stood, “He was a
good hunter and a good man.”

Moki stood and said, “He could lead, but he
chose to follow.”

Each member of the clan stood and said
something about Menla.

When it was Cano’s turn to speak, he looked
toward Ceola and said, “He was a good teacher and a good friend.”

Ceola stood and said with a tremble in her voice, “My father was a good
man; I will miss him each day.  When I needed him he was there.  He
fed us and protected us. More I could not ask.”

Little Dola
stood, “He was my father and I would be like him.”

When everyone who wished to speak had spoken, Koonai asked who would
speak for Flanos.

Again, Hedra stood first, “She was a good women and a good mother.”

Each member of the clan had something to say about her, she had been well
liked.

When it was Cano’s turn he said, “She was a strong woman who cared for
us. We will miss her, she is at peace now.”  

Gennos rose and moved to Koonai’s side. Looking out at the clan he said,
“She gave me life, she was my mother. She cared for me when I was ill, fed me
when I was hungry. I felt safe when she was near.  Without her I would not
be the man I will be.”

Koonai
closed the ceremony by placing the spear in the ground, but this time the point
was thrust deep into the ground.  He looked around the clan and then at
the ground before him, “The Clan of the Spear bids you rest in Peace.”

Plans

The next day Sorou was sitting by the
fire scraping a piece of mammoth hide.  She was not happy.  She liked
to be in control and that wasn’t happening.  Things were moving too
fast.  She still wanted Cano even if he had treated her badly before. She
was used to getting what she wanted, and she was going to get him. After she
had him, she could train him into the type mate that she knew he could
be.  It would just take time, but first she had to get him away from
Ceola.  That night at the river she almost had him.  What she needed
was time alone with him, she would have to see if she could arrange it somehow.
As she thought back over the previous day she was shocked at how much had
happened.  She had been dazed when her brother had told her Cano had been
killed. She had not thought of the possibility of him dying.  She needed
to plan a little deeper.  She needed to get him away from Ceola
permanently. But it would be wise to look at the possibility that something
could happen that would stop her from mating with Cano. What could she do to
assure her position in the clan?  She liked being the chief’s daughter,
but she would like being the chief’s mate even more. Then she could be the
power behind the chief. If this wasn’t possible, then she wanted someone as
chief that she could control. So she thought, I need to find someone other than
Cano for Ceola to mate. Who was available? Her brother was the best choice, but
Moki, Loki and Gennos were not mated. Yes, her brother was best.  He
wanted her and if she could arrange for him to get her than she could have
Cano.  That way her brother and she could still control the clan.  He
could have Ceola and I will have Cano. I think I will talk to Bana; we can
surely come up with a plan.

Bana was at the river edge repairing
one of his spears.  The stone point had come loose in the killing of the
mammoth.  He had soaked a long strip of hide in water overnight.  It
was slippery and hard to handle.  He took one end and placed it under the
spearhead after wrapping it around the shaft twice.  He held the head in
place as he stretched and pulled the strip tighter.  He continued to wrap
around the spearhead until he only had enough to tuck it under his last
loop.  He gripped the end in his teeth and pulled as hard as he could,
tightening the strip as much as possible.  He then set it aside to dry in
the bright sun.  By sunset, the hide would be tight and hard.

Sorou found her brother just as he
finished with the repair to his spear. “We must talk,” she said as she
approached him.

“Do I smell trouble?” he asked.

“Not trouble, but a chance for you to
get Ceola, if you still want her,” she said.

His attention was focused on her
instantly.  “I’ve been thinking of little else, but I’m not sure what to
do. I thought I would wait a day or so to let her grieve for her Father.”

Sorou frowned “Now is the time to
act, she needs someone to lean on, someone strong. If you wait, Cano will be
the one she leans on.”

“I am a better man than he is, and I
will be chief one day.  She should be proud that I would have her as a
mate.”

“That maybe true, but you have to
make her want to be with you.  It has to seem that it is her choice, her
idea.” She paused to think before continuing, “It would be wise to go to her
fire now and talk, let her know you are sorry that Menla is gone and how much
you will miss him, let her know how much you care for her.  Offer to help
her, tell her there will always be food at her fire as long as you live.” She
paused again for effect, “Now is the time for action.”

He hesitated for only a moment, his
sister understood the ways of women, and she was used to thinking about things
more than he did. I can do things he thought, but sometimes I’m not sure of the
best ways of doing them.  I just want to get things done, so I go do
it.  It’s a lot simpler that way. Women are a mystery.  They don’t
act or think like men. Maybe they keep changing the way they act to keep me
confused. I’m wandering in circles and not getting anything done. I am standing
here thinking about thinking when I should be talking to Ceola. “I will go now,
I hope this will work.”