others at the same time, or plan a feast with Proleva, or help Zelandoni take care of someone who is sick or hurt, or learn about some new treatments, or remember the five sacred colours, or how to use counting words. Although I love all of it, sometimes I miss you, Jondalar, I miss being with just you.'
'I don't mind having Jonayla around. I like to watch you with her; sometimes that fills me even more, but I can wait until she's content. The trouble is that usually someone comes and interrupts, and I have to go someplace, or you do.' He stopped to kiss her tenderly; then they continued, walking in silence.
The walk was not long but as they neared the camp of the Ninth Cave, they almost stumbled over a cold fireplace before they noticed it. There were no fires anyplace, not a single dying ember or tent glowing from the light within or line of light from a crack between planks. They could smell the vestiges of old fires, but it appeared that no one was there and hadn't been for some time. Every single person from the most populous Cave in the region had left their camp.
'No one is here,' Ayla said, very surprised. 'Everyone is gone. Except for the ones who may have gone hunting or visiting, they must all be at the Main Camp.'
'Here's our dwelling, at least I think it is,' Jondalar said. 'Let's build a fire inside to warm it up, then go check on the horses.'
They brought in some wood and dried aurochs dung patties that had been stacked outside and started a fire in the small fireplace they had created near their sleeping places. Wolf came in with them and parked his bone in a small hole near an area of the wall that was seldom used by anyone but him. Ayla checked the large waterbag near the main hearth.
'We should bring in some water, too,' she said. 'There's not much left in this. Let's go find the horses. Then I'm going to have to feed Jonayla; she's starting to fuss around.'
'I'd better get a new torch. This one will go out soon,' Jondalar said. 'I should spend some time tomorrow making new ones.'
He lit a new torch off the old one, then put the remains of the first in the fireplace. When they left the shelter, Wolf followed them out. Ayla heard him make a low throaty growl as they approached the fence of the horse surround.
'Something's wrong,' she said, hurrying.
Jondalar held the torch high to spread the light it gave off. There was a strange lump of something near the centre of the enclosed space. As they neared it, Wolf's growl grew louder. When they got closer they could see pale grey, spotted, rather fluffy fur with a long tail, and a lot of blood.
'It's a leopard, a young snow leopard, I think. It's been trampled to death. What's a snow leopard doing here? They like the highlands,' Ayla said. She ran toward a roofed shelter they had constructed for the horses to get out of the rain, but it was empty.
'Whiiinnney,' she called, 'Whiiiinnney!' making it a loud neigh that sounded to Jondalar exactly like a horse.
It was the name she had originally given the mare. The name she was called by most people, Whinney, was an accommodation Ayla had made to the language of people. She whinnied again, then blew her special call whistle very loudly. Finally, from a distance, they heard an answering neigh.
'Wolf, go find Whinney,' she said to the canine. The animal raced off in the direction of the neigh with Ayla and Jondalar following behind. They went through the fence where the horses had stomped it down to break through, and she understood how they got out.
They found all three horses near a creek at the back of the area the Ninth Cave was using for their camp. Wolf was sitting on his haunches guarding them, but, Ayla realised, he wasn't too close. They had obviously had a bad scare, and somehow the wolf sensed that even the friendly carnivore felt threatening at the moment. Ayla rushed to Whinney, but slowed down when she noticed that Whinney was watching her intently, her mouth tight, her ears, nose, and eyes pointed toward her, focused on her, sometimes swinging her head slightly.
'You're still afraid, aren't you?' Ayla began talking to the mare softly in their special language. 'I don't blame you, Whinney.' Again she said her name the way a horse would, but more softly. 'I'm sorry I left you alone to fight off that leopard by yourselves, and I'm sorry no one was here to hear you when you were screaming for help.'
She had been slowly walking toward the horse as she spoke until finally she reached her and put her arms around the sturdy neck. The horse relaxed, put her head over the woman's shoulder and leaned into her as Ayla leaned back in the familiar comforting stance that had been their custom since the early days in the valley.
Jondalar followed her lead, whistling his call to Racer, who was also still feeling frightened. He stuck the torch in the ground, then approached the young stallion, and stroked and scratched him in his favourite places. The handling by their familiar friends comforted the animals, and soon Grey also joined in, nursing from her dam for a while, then going to Ayla for some affectionate touching and scratching. Jondalar also joined in stroking the little filly. But it was only after the five of them were all together — six including Jonayla, who was awake and squirming in her carrying blanket — that Wolf joined them.
Even though Whinney and Racer had known him from the time he was a four-week-old pup and had helped to raise him, his underlying scent was still of a carnivore, a meat-eater whose wild cousins often preyed on horses. Wolf had sensed their discomfort when they saw him, probably from their scent of fear, and knew to wait until they were comfortable again before approaching them. He was welcomed to the pack of people and horses that he had imprinted on, the only pack he had known.
About then Jonayla decided it was her turn. She let out a hungry wail. Ayla took her out of her carrying blanket and held her out in front to pass her water on the ground. When she was through, Ayla propped her up on Grey's back for a moment, holding her with one hand while she straightened out the carrying blanket and exposed a breast with the other hand. Soon the infant was wrapped up again, held close to her mother, happily nursing.
On the way back, they made a detour around the enclosure, knowing that the horses would never go into it again. Ayla thought that she would get rid of the leopard carcass later and she wasn't sure about the enclosure. At the moment she never wanted to put the horses in one again and would be happy to give the wooden poles and planks to whoever wanted them, for firewood if nothing else. When they reached their lodge, they led the horses around to an area on the back side of the summer dwelling that was used infrequently, where some grass still grew.
'Should we put a halter on them and tie them to a ground stake?' Jondalar said. 'It would keep them close by.'
'I think it would upset Whinney, and Racer, after their scare, if they couldn't run freely. For now I think they will want to stay close, unless something scares them again, and we'd hear them. I think I'm going to leave Wolf out here to guard them, at least for tonight.' She went to the animal and bent down close. 'Stay here, Wolf. Stay here and watch Whinney, and Racer and Grey. Stay and guard the horses.' She wasn't entirely sure if he understood, but when he lowered his hind quarters and looked toward the horses, she thought he might. She pulled out the bone she had tucked away for him and gave it to him.
The small fire they had started inside the shelter had long since gone out, so they started a new one, bringing in more fuel to keep it going. About then, Ayla noticed that the nursing was encouraging Jonayla to generate more than water. She quickly spread out a small pile of soft absorbent cattail fibres, and laid the child's bare bottom on it.
'Jondalar, would you get the large waterbag and bring me whatever is left in it, so I can clean her up, then go and fill it with fresh water, and our small one, too,' Ayla said.
'She is a smelly little thing,' he said with an adoring smile at the little girl he thought was utterly beautiful.
He found the bowl made of tightly woven osier willow withes with an ochre-stained red cord worked in near the top, which was often used to clean especially dirty messes of various kinds. It was marked with the colour so it wouldn't inadvertently be used for drinking water or cooking. He brought it and the nearly empty waterbag to their hearth, filled the bowl, then took their waterbag, made of the stomach of an ibex, the same one that provided the hide for Jonayla's carrying blanket, along with the large general one to the entrance. He picked up one of the unlit torches that was nearby, took it to their fireplace to light it, and picking up the waterbags on the way, went out.
Animal stomachs, when thoroughly cleaned and with extra holes at the bottom sewed or tied off, were nearly waterproof and made excellent waterbags. When Jondalar came back with the water, the soiled water bowl was beside the night basket near the door, and Ayla was nursing Jonayla again in hopes of putting her to sleep.
