behaviour, and finally promised to mate Ranec because she thought Jondalar no longer loved her, and she did like the dark carver and his laughing eyes. The Lion Camp grew fond of Ayla and Jondalar that winter they lived with the Mamutoi, and they all had been more than aware of the emotional difficulties of the three young people.
Nezzie in particular developed a strong bond with Ayla because of her care and understanding of the unusual child the woman had adopted, who was weak, unable to speak, and half Clan. Ayla treated his weak heart and made his life more comfortable. She also taught Rydag the Clan sign language, and the ease and speed with which he learned it made her understand that he did have the Clan memories. She taught the whole Lion Camp a simpler form of the unspoken language so he could communicate with them, which made him extremely happy, and Nezzie overjoyed. Ayla quickly grew to love him — in part because Rydag reminded her of her own son, whom she'd had to leave behind, but more for himself, though ultimately she hadn't been able to save him.
When Ayla decided to return home with Jondalar instead of staying to mate Ranec, though Nezzie knew how much Ayla's leaving hurt the nephew she had raised, she gave the young woman the beautiful garments that had been made for her, and told her to wear them when she mated Jondalar. Ayla didn't quite realise how much wealth and status the Matrimonial clothing conveyed, but Nezzie did and so did Mamut, the perceptive old spiritual leader. They had guessed from his bearing and manner that Jondalar came from people of high status, and that Ayla would need something to give her a good standing among them.
Though Ayla didn't quite understand how much status her Matrimonial outfit displayed, she did understand the quality of the workmanship. The hides for the tunic and leggings had come from both deer and saiga antelope and were an earthy, golden yellow, almost the colour of her hair. Part of the colour was the result of the types of wood that were used to smoke the hides to keep them supple, and part the result of the mixtures of yellow and red ochres that were added. It had required a great deal of effort to scrape the skins to make them soft and pliable, but rather than being left with the velvety suede-like finish of buckskin, the leather had been burnished, rubbed with the ochres mixed with fat using an ivory smoothing tool that compacted the hide to a lustrous, shiny finish that made the soft leather almost waterproof.
The long tunic, sewn together with fine stitches, fell to a downward-pointing triangle at the back. It opened down the front with the sections below the hips tapering so that when it was brought together, another downward-pointing triangle was created. The full leggings were close fitting except around the ankle, where they could bunch softly or be brought down below the heel, depending on the footwear that was chosen. But the quality of the basic construction only laid the groundwork for the extraordinary outfit. The effort that went into the decoration made it an exquisite creation of rare beauty and value.
The tunic and lower part of the leggings were covered with elaborate geometric designs made primarily of ivory beads, some sections solidly filled in. Coloured embroideries added definition to the geometric beaded pattern. They began with downward-pointing triangles, which horizontally became zigzags and vertically took on the shapes of diamonds and chevrons, then evolved into complex figures such as rectangular spirals and concentric rhomboids. The ivory beads were highlighted and accentuated by amber beads, some lighter and some darker than the colour of the leather, but of the same tone. More than five thousand ivory beads made from mammoth tusks were sewn onto the garments, each bead carved, pierced, and polished by hand.
A finger-woven sash in similar geometric patterns was used to tie the tunic closed at the waist. Both the embroidery and the belt were made of yarns whose natural colour needed no additional dyeing: deep red woolly mammoth hair, ivory mouflon wool, brown musk-ox underdown, and deep reddish-black woolly rhinoceros long hair. The fibres were prized for more than their colours; they all came from animals that were difficult and dangerous to hunt. The workmanship of the entire outfit was superb in every detail, it was evident to knowledgeable Zelandonii that someone had acquired the finest materials and assembled the most skilful and accomplished people to make the garments.
When Jondalar's mother had first seen it the year before, she knew that whoever had directed the outfit to be made commanded great respect and held a very high position within his community. It was clear that the time and effort it took to make it were considerable, yet the outfit had been given to Ayla when she left. None of the benefits of the resources and work that went into making it would stay within the community that made it. Ayla said she had been adopted by an old spiritual man she called Mamut, a man who obviously possessed such tremendous power and prestige — in effect, wealth — that he could afford to give away the mating outfit and the value it represented. No one understood that better than Marthona.
Ayla had, in effect, brought her own bride price, which gave her the status that she needed to contribute to the relationship so that mating her would not lower the position of Jondalar or his kin. Marthona made a point of mentioning that to Proleva, whom she knew would tell her husband, Joharran, Marthona's eldest son, leader of the Ninth Cave. Joharran was glad to have an opportunity to see the prized possession again, now that he fully understood its value. He realised that if properly cared for — and he was sure it would be — the clothing would last a long time. The ochres used to burnish the leather did more than add colour and make it water resistant, it helped to preserve the material, and make it resistant to insects and their eggs. It would likely be used by Ayla's children, and perhaps their children, and when the leather finally disintegrated, the amber and ivory beads could be reused for many more generations.
Joharran knew the value of ivory beads. Recently, he'd had occasion to trade for some, for himself but especially for his mate, and recalling the transaction, he looked at Ayla's rich and luxurious clothing with new appreciation. As he looked around he noticed that many people were surreptitiously watching her.
Last year, when Ayla wore it for her Matrimonial, everything about her was strange and unusual, including the woman herself. Now people had become more accustomed to her, to the way she spoke, and to the animals she controlled. She was looked upon as a member of the zelandonia and therefore her strangeness seemed more normal, if one could consider any Zelandoni normal. But the outfit made her stand out again, made people recall her foreign origins, but also the wealth and status she brought with her.
Among those watching her were Marona and Wylopa. 'Look at her flaunting that outfit,' Marona said to her cousin, her eyes full of envy. She would have been more than happy to flaunt it. 'You know, Wylopa, that wedding outfit should have been mine. Jondalar Promised me. He should have come back and mated me, and given that outfit to me.' She paused. 'Her hips are too broad for it anyway,' Marona said with scorn.
As Ayla and the others were making their way to a place that the Ninth Cave had claimed for watching the festivities, both Jondalar and his brother saw Marona. She was staring at Ayla with such malevolence, it made Joharran apprehensive, for Ayla's sake. He glanced at Jondalar, who had also seen Marona's glare of hatred, and a look of shared understanding passed between the two brothers.
Joharran moved closer to Jondalar. 'You know that if she can, she will cause trouble for Ayla someday,' the leader said under his breath.
'I think you're right, and it's my fault, I'm afraid,' Jondalar said. 'Marona thought I Promised to mate her. I didn't, but I understand why she may have thought so.'
'It's not your fault, Jondalar. People have a right to make their own choices,' Joharran said. 'You were gone a long time. She had no claim on you, and shouldn't have had any expectations. After all, she mated and separated in the time you were gone. You made a better choice, and she knows it. She just can't stand it that you brought back someone who has more to offer than she does. That's why she'll try to cause trouble someday.'
'Perhaps you are right,' Jondalar said, though he didn't quite want to believe it. He wanted to give Marona the benefit of a doubt.
As the ceremony got under way, the two brothers got caught up in it, and thoughts of the jealous woman were forgotten. They hadn't noticed another pair of eyes that were also watching Ayla: their cousin, Brukeval. He had admired the way Ayla stood up to the derisive laughter of the Cave when Marona tricked her into wearing inappropriate clothing that first day. When they met that evening, Ayla recognised his look of the Clan and felt comfortable with him. She treated him with an easy familiarity that he wasn't used to, especially from beautiful women.
Then, when Charezal, that stranger from a distant Zelandoni Cave, began to make fun of him, derisively referring to him as a Flathead, Brukeval flew into a rage. He had been teased with that name by the other children of the Cave for as long as he could remember, and Charezal had obviously got wind of it. He had also heard that the way to get a reaction from the strange-looking cousin of the leader was to make innuendos about his mother. Brukeval never knew his mother; she died soon after he was born, but that only gave him reason to idealise her. She was not one of those animals! Could not be, and neither was he!
Though he knew Ayla was Jondalar's woman, and there was no way he could ever win her from his tall,
