Bonesetter 2 -Winter- (9 page)

Lessa, Yadin knew, had been mated to Pont, but had chosen to stay behind when he’d left. She thumped Lenta on the shoulder. “Ha, see if I ever tell a story again to such ungrateful listeners!”

Lenta grinned at her and shrank away as if injured, “No! We
love
your stories…” She trailed off, then nudged Tonday and continued in a loud whisper, “When there’s nothing else to be heard.”

Eventually, Yadin found himself telling the tale of a particularly lucky hunt the Oppos had had when they’d come upon two moose who’d locked horns while battling one another. The hapless animals had been relatively easy to spear because, even while the hunters surrounded them, they seemed to be mostly focused on one another. Because he had little talent for it, he rarely was asked to tell stories in the Oppos and he could tell this one had a wooden feel to it, being more of an interesting anecdote than a real narrative.

When Yadin had finished his story to a smattering of polite applause, he asked, “Will one of you reciprocate with a story of your tribe? I’m sure even your worst story would be better than one clumsily told by a poor storyteller like myself.”

To Yadin’s surprise, they all now entreated Lessa to tell a story. She drew herself up in mock anger, “What?! This soon after Lenta mocked my storytelling!”

Lenta threw her arms around Lessa and begged, “You know I was only teasing! You’re our
best
storyteller and you
have to
honor our guest with a tale.”

“Well,” Lessa said consideringly, “I have been thinking of a first telling of the story of Pell’s return…”

“Yes!” the Aldans chorused, many of them actually applauding, even though they hadn’t even heard the story yet.

Yadin thought to himself that he should be offended by the fact that they’d applauded more for a story they hadn’t heard yet than they had for the one he’d just finished telling. However, he realized that hearing the “story of Pell’s return” fit perfectly into his mission. He said, “I’d love to hear it. Please do.” He watched with interest as the Aldans settled in to listen, eyes shining and obviously anticipating an evening’s entertainment.

He soon learned why. Lessa proved to be a master storyteller. She started slowly with a description of failed hunts and burgeoning hunger. It seemed she shared Exen and Gontra’s low opinions of the previous headman and his son. When she told of the expedition they’d led to kill Pell and take his food, it sounded less like a desperation ploy than an evil undertaking. Next she described how her husband Pont and Exen had been the only two to return from the ill-advised quest. She gave a heart wrenching description of the angst in a tribe that thought
four
of their six hunters had been killed. She described a tribe, already hungry, that thought its only two hunters were one barely more than a boy and the other a medicine man.

Her voice filled with bleak tones that raised the tension of the story to what seemed to be the breaking point.

Yadin had to tear his eyes away from Lessa to relax his own clenched stomach.

Now Lessa’s story turned to the arrival of Gontra followed immediately by Pell.

A Pell who’d grown and filled out so much over the past summer that his presence was hard to reconcile with the scrawny boy who’d been cast out of their tribe.

A muscular Pell, who stood before them in the firelight easily holding a large boar pig draped over his shoulders like a tremendous cowl.

A Pell who had a large wolf standing at his side!

Now, the tension throbbed, not from the disasters which had befallen the tribe, but from this young man, so tremendously changed from what they’d known. A clumsy boy cast out for being useless, who suddenly seemed more capable than all the other Aldans’ men put together.

Lessa suddenly expanded the tension even farther by describing how her own husband, Pont, had attacked Pell. Then the tension dropped as Pell resisted the attack with, by Lessa’s description, little effort. The tension dropped further as Lessa described how the tribe had begged the boy they’d cast out to help them. She told of him agreeing, then driving them mercilessly to enclose their cave with sticks and mud.

Lessa brought humor into the story by telling how Pell had gone out hunting and returned carrying
tubers.
She looked at Exen as she related that Exen had called Pell a mighty “tuber hunter.”

The tension ratcheted back up as Lessa
told the tale of Pell’s hunt the next day. How he’d returned with a deer, but that there was a
lion
following him. Yadin expected that the story would now turn into an amazing escape from the lion, but to his utter astonishment learned that Pell had called for people to bring him fire and proceeded to drive the lion away from his kill with torches!

The denouement came with some lighthearted laughs over the discovery that the deer actually had several small animals stuffed into its abdominal cavity and finished with Exen begging Pell to teach him how to “hunt tubers.”

Yadin found himself applauding enthusiastically with the others. He recognized Lessa to be a gifted storyteller. Doubtless she’d embellished the story heavily to make it so interesting, but, wow, what a story! He turned to Exen, thinking that, since he’d been the butt of some of the funny parts, the young man would surely tell him what parts were true and which ones weren’t. “Exen,” he said, lifting his chin, “how much of that fabulous tale,” he nodded his head toward Lessa, “is true?”

Exen turned to Yadin, his eyes shining, “Every bit.” The young man shook his head as if amazed himself, “Every last bit.”

Pell woke in the middle of a nightmare. In the dream, he was trapped again in the tunnel in the brush pile. It was the same tunnel where he’d later trapped a pig. Ginja had crawled in after the pig and been trapped as well which had led to the young wolf’s becoming his friend. Sharp spikes of wood protruding out into the tunnel at an angle had trapped him. In his dream he couldn’t get free, though in real life he’d been able to reach the spikes with his hands and push them out of the way. In the dream, as soon as he got one spike free, a different one stuck into him.

For a moment he lay there thinking it was just another nightmare. Something he wouldn’t be able to remember in the morning. But then he started thinking about how, in his dream the branches surrounding him weren’t as random as they had been in real life. They almost seemed… woven.

Woven, like the tall narrow basket Panute had been weaving the other day.

Pell lay there, excitedly contemplating the possibility of weaving a long narrow basket like Panute had been weaving the other day. He remembered thinking that the “stakes” sticking out of the end of the basket reminded him of something. Now he realized that they reminded him of the sharp branches in the tunnel. They had pointed towards one another at the mouth of the basket and would have prevented a small animal from climbing in.

But
, if they were pointing the
other
direction…

Then a small animal, or a grouse could readily get into the basket, but wouldn’t be able to get back out!

Or a fish either!

If Gia had already made any of her lamps for the Cold Springs cave, Pell would have gotten up then, in the middle of the night, to start sorting through the baskets to see if they had one that would work. As it was, he lay there thinking about it until dawn’s light started creeping in around the edges of the flap over the cave’s opening.

As soon as he saw that light, he got up to put wood on the fire. Gia rolled over to look at him muzzily, “Are you going to cook the breakfast this morning?”

“Um… I can,” he said, wanting to show he was willing to do “women’s work,” but feeling desperately frustrated not to be able to work on his new idea right away. “I, uh, had an idea…”

Gia gave him a sleepy grin, “And you want to work on it right away. Don’t worry, I know what
that’s
like. I’ll make our meal.”

Donte sat up, “I’ll help!
Anything
to keep Pell from cooking, he’s
terrible
.”

“I…” Pell began to protest, then thought better of it, “
am
a terrible cook.” He gave them a sad look, “My mother failed to teach me any better.”

“Sure,” Donte said with a laugh, “blame it on your poor mother. It’s always the parents’ fault, isn’t it?”

Pell knelt and gave his mother a quick hug, “No, it’s not. I didn’t have any interest until I was cast out and had to cook for myself.”

With more light from the fire, and Gia and Donte committed to preparing the food, Pell went to the area where they’d been storing the baskets they’d been making. He picked out the ones that were more enclosed, leaving behind the shallow ones that they stored much of their food in. Taking several of them, he carried them outside where he could look at them in better light.

Unfortunately, it seemed that most of the baskets that had been made were woven quite tightly. Pell thought that he needed a relatively loose weave so the grouse could see the grain inside the basket.

He went back inside and got a few of the reeds that the women had collected for weaving baskets over the winter.

When Gia came out to tell him that the food was ready, she found him holding reeds in the mouth of one of the deep baskets. “What are you doing?” she asked.

Pell tried to explain how he thought that a grouse could push slanted reeds aside to climb into the basket after grain, but wouldn’t be able to push past their pointed ends in order to get back out.

Gia stood frowning at it, until Pell used his left hand to hold some reeds so that they slanted inwards in the opening and then pushed his right hand in past them. Then he showed how, as he tried to pull the arm out, the slanted reeds dug into his wrist making it hard to remove his hand. “Oh! Oh, that’s an amazing idea!” Gia said, “I can weave you one like that right after we eat.”

Pell set the basket down and stood to go into the cave with her. “I think the basket should be woven more… loosely. The grouse needs to be able to see into it or it won’t know there’s any grain inside.”

Gia looked up at him, “We could scatter a little bit of grain around the outside of the basket to lure them to it. Once they’re there, they should be able to see the grain inside and, hopefully, won’t be able to resist going in after it.”

“And,” Pell said, “you can teach me how to weave baskets.”

Gia nudged him, “That’d only be fair, you’re teaching me how to trap grouse.”

Pell gave her his best “pitiful” look, “But, if you learn how to catch your own grouse, you won’t need me.”

“Yes I will!” She grinned up at him, “I’m finding I like living with someone full of crazy ideas.”

***

To his relief, when Yadin woke in the morning, the Aldans fed him again. As he ate, he wondered what he should do. He realized that he’d finished the mission Jalgon and the Oppos had sent him to undertake. He’d scouted the Aldans—rather more closely than they’d asked him to— and determined, at least to
his
satisfaction, that they weren’t under the influence of any evil spirit.

So, he
could
return and report those findings.

As for Yadin’s own goals, those of leaving the Oppos and getting far from the despised Nosset, the Aldans didn’t seem like a terrible choice. Yadin thought he’d like to be mated again, and the Aldans had three unmated women where the Oppos had none.

Ontru was the young, attractive, widowed second wife of Roley, the Aldans’ former headman. Yadin found her exotic good looks alluring, but worried that she wouldn’t be interested in someone as old as he was. Lessa, the charming storyteller from the previous night, had been the mate of the medicine man, Pont, but had refused to leave with him. Yadin thought
that
showed uncommon good sense since he’d strongly disliked Pont. The third woman, Teda, said little. She was closer to his age and somewhat pretty. Apparently her son Boro had been Pell’s friend and had also been cast out of the Aldans. He’d gone to live with Pell in Cold Springs and he suspected that Teda wanted to move there too. Yadin didn’t feel attracted to her.

Actually, there was even a fourth. Gurix, the daughter of Belk and Lenta, was a pretty girl just blossoming into womanhood. However, she was much too young for him.

Yadin thought that Lessa was the most interesting of the women, but he didn’t actually feel a strong attraction to her like he had when he’d met his first mate Uva. He wondered for a moment if he was too old to have those kinds of strong feelings anymore.

Staring into the flames of the fire, he attempted to discern his own desires.

After a few more moments, he decided that he felt some wanderlust. Close enough to winter that a snow had already fallen perhaps wasn’t the best time to satisfy such a desire to ramble, but Yadin realized that he also felt very curious about the famous, or
infamous
, Pell. He wanted to go see this young man, at
least
from a distance. He also wanted to see another tribe before he simply decided to settle down with the Aldans. With some unease, he wondered if his desire to keep moving was because the Aldans were so thin that he wasn’t sure they’d make it through the winter.
They
didn’t seem to be terribly worried about it, but that didn’t mean they shouldn’t be.

Yadin turned to Gontra and said, “I think I want to go see what’s happening at the Cold Springs tribe. I know you feel sure that this Pell isn’t invested with an evil spirit, but I think my headman would want me to see for myself.”

Gontra shrugged, “That’s up to you. When are you thinking about leaving?”

Yadin gave a little grin, “First I should probably get some directions on how to get there, don’t you think?”

“You should ask Tando. He’s actually visiting here from Cold Springs and says he’s going back soon. Maybe you could walk with him?”

“Oh, that would be great. Do you know where Tando is?”

Gontra waved in the direction of the cave’s opening, “I saw him go out a little while ago. I have no idea where he was going.”

Yadin got up, brushed off his butt cheeks, and started that direction. “I’ll see if I can find him, thanks.”

Outside, Yadin looked around. Belk’s wife Lenta sat on the ledge outside the cave stitching some skins together. No one else was in evidence. He turned to her, “Have you seen Tando?”

Lenta gave him an odd grin and waved off to the left, “That way.” She winked, “Then up the hill a bit.”

Yadin started in that direction wondering what the grin and the wink were about. He found out when he walked far around a corner and found Tando and Ontru kissing. “Whoops, sorry.” Yadin turned to retrace his steps back downward.

Tando called out from behind him, “Did you need something?”

Yadin turned. Even though the two lovers had obviously come out here in hopes they wouldn’t be observed, they didn’t seem to be very embarrassed. “Um, Tando, I was wondering when you would be going back to Cold Springs?”

Tando glanced at Ontru, then back at Yadin, “Not for a few days, why?”

Yadin scratched at an itch in his scalp, “I’m wanting to go there… Do you think you could give me directions?”

“Sure, I’ll be back to the cave in a few minutes.”

Realizing Tando wanted to spend a little more time with Ontru, Yadin said, “Okay,” and started back to the cave. To himself he thought,
I guess Ontru isn’t available after all. Oh well, I was more interested in Lessa anyway.
He wondered what it meant that Ontru could be found kissing Tando so soon after her mate’s death. He shrugged.
From what I hear, being Roley’s second wife might not have been all that great. Maybe she’s glad he’s gone.

Yadin walked back down to the cave,
I’d just as well assemble my pack while I’m waiting for Tando. Then I’ll be ready to go once he gives me directions.
He wondered if he should offer to take Teda, the mother of Pell’s friend Boro with him to Cold Springs, but decided it’d complicate his life.
No use asking for even more problems.

Yadin paused. Gurix, the girl just blossoming into her womanhood was standing in his path. “Hello,” he said, then made to walk around her.

She said, “Gontra says you’re going to Cold Springs?”

Yadin nodded.

“Take me with you? I really want to go.”

Yadin blinked, wondering what this was about.
Could she be realizing that there are too many women in the Aldans and thinking that because I’m unmated I might want her?
“Um…” he said, wondering what to do. “Do you have your parents’ approval?” He wasn’t sure what exactly they might not approve. Her leaving them before she was fully a woman? Her traveling with a stranger? If that was her intent, he doubted they would approve of her mating with a man his age, though he knew some tribes favored young girls marrying older, established men.

She glanced back over her shoulder, “Um, sure.”

Yadin stared at her for a moment and she started fidgeting. Finally he said, “Let’s go talk to them about it then.”

“No!” She looked very frustrated. “No,
they
don’t understand. I’m in
love
…” She looked down, toeing a pebble in the path. “They just
don’t
know what it’s like!”

Yadin shrugged, “I suspect they’ve been in love themselves.”

She shook her head disconsolately, “No,” she whispered hoarsely, “not like
this
.”

Everyone thinks their own love is the most powerful,
Yadin thought.
They’re sure it’s stronger than anything to have ever come over a member of mankind before.
He thought about how much he’d loved Uva. “Who are you in love with?” Yadin asked, curious.

“Pell…”

***

Pell laughed. He’d thought that basket weaving would be easy, but now that he was actually doing it, he found it… frustrating. While it appeared that Gia’s fingers were flying as they twisted the reeds in and around one another, his own fingers were struggling just to get started.

Gia looked over at him and lifted an eyebrow, “It’s good to see that there’s at least
something
that you’re not good at.”

Pell gave her a startled glance. So far in his life his deficiencies had been pointed out to him so often that he thought she must be joking. “
I’m
only good at a
few
things!”