'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 watercolour 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 colours 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 travellers, 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 realise how good your spear- throwing weapon could be, Jondalar. I've been practising 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 practise, 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.'
