Keeper of the People (Book One)

by Karah Quinney

  Kii smiled and accepted the beautiful flower readily as did Taikiuu and Star Feather. Yaa on the other hand accepted her flower sullenly keeping her eyes low to the ground. Mar-ee hugged Anaay’s leg and would not let go as he continued walking toward his pack. They all laughed as she swung from his muscular leg with each step. Anaay was careful with the child and always showed extreme patience.

  Taikiuu offered to take the child from him but he only shook his leg, instead of his head and kept walking, much to Mar-ee’s delight. Her laughing shrieks followed in his wake. Mar-ee lightened the mood of the entire band, but then so did Anaay with his dry sense of humor. Jon’lan knew that it was imperative that they find an evening resting place that would provide adequate shelter. Each one took their place as he set off and in his heart he knew that yes, it was very good.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Rhea’s belly bulged and shifted as she settled herself into a secure rocky cavern. Somewhere ahead her people traveled without her to protect them and watch over them. She could do nothing for them now as pain racked her belly. She licked and cleaned everywhere that she could reach until finally she was satisfied. The pain intensified almost beyond bearing and she growled as her muscles contracted again and again.

  Finally from her body came a small dark form, a writhing ball of sticky wet fur. Instinct took over as Rhea gently lifted the cub into her mouth where she placed it in front of her for easier reach. She began to clean and lick at the mewling cub until it ceased crying and snuggled against her side to suckle. Rhea’s battle with nature was not over, her body still heaved and shuddered with contractions, she endured the pain as two more cubs were born. Each one she cleaned as she had the first until she was satisfied that they were warm and dry, already nursing at her side.

  She felt an instant bond with her young as they purred in contentment, eating greedily. The cubs were a smoky gray color with discernable dark black spots that appeared in various places on their bodies. They were similar in color to their mother until she had reached her maturity. At that time, her fur had changed into a brown tawny color that easily blended in with the landscape around her. The cub’s eyes were closed and would remain that way for several days. They were completely at the mercy of the survival skills of their mother.

  Rhea closed her eyes as her body finished its natural cycle of birth. She looked once more at the three cubs that now relied on her for their very lives. Before she drifted off to sleep she thought of her last meal which had been a large feast, as she was driven by a need to gorge like none she had ever felt before and then she thought of the young man that was constantly in her thoughts. Anaay. He needed her and she needed him.

  Although she was alone most of the time and preferred the solitude, she needed the band that had become her pack and she would find them. For now her feline body won out over the thoughts that raced through her mind, she would rest, feed, and care for her cubs until she could continue on. She would find Anaay soon.

  Just as the sun began to set the small band found a place to rest for the evening, the area Jon’lan selected was covered by a jutting boulder that stood over a natural platform. It was slightly tucked into the mountain and would make a good place to rest for the evening. Jon’lan was also sure that he would have a good vantage point for the men to watch over the band as they slept.

  As was his custom Anaay took first watch and sat with his back to the band as they made their preparations for the evening. Taikiuu insisted on checking his arm and wrist again to insure that they were healing properly. She was satisfied with the way he was able to open and close his hand in order to make a fist. Anaay seemed to be well and fit in her opinion except for what she saw in his eyes. She followed his gaze to the fire and saw Kii cuddled close to Mar-ee and Yaa. Kii’s face was highlighted by the fire and even from a distance Taikiuu could see that she was sleeping peacefully.

  Taikiuu also found Jon’lan with her eyes and watched him as he sat staring into the fire, looking for answers, perhaps hoping for a way to keep them all safe from danger. Turning her attention back to Anaay who now watched her with a slight smile, she ruffled his hair affectionately and was rewarded with laughter.

  Taikiuu knew that he understood her need to watch over him, he was a son of their hearth if not adopted into their small family. This meant that although less than ten summers separated them in age, she was indeed a mother figure to him. Within their small band it was important to establish a firm relationship with each individual. Strong bonds and ties meant strong future relations and that could only mean good things for their band. Good things indeed.

  Roark and Star Feather wandered a short distance away from the fire, they were not highlighted by its warm light, but they were close enough to hear if there was any disturbance. Star Feather looked up at her strong husband and her heart fluttered as she thought of how handsome he was. She was very grateful to Taikiuu, who upon seeing them when she returned to the fire after tending Anaay, had offered to watch over their newly named son, Mantiloff. It was as if Taikiuu sensed that the couple needed this time alone.

  Roark held Star Feather’s hand in his own with surprising gentleness for a man of his size and strength. He stood more than two heads taller than Star Feather and one head taller than Jon’lan, who was considered tall in his own right. In the moonlight she could see that he gazed at her with such intensity that it fairly took her breath away. She closed her hand tightly around his own and he motioned her further away until they were shadowed by an outcropping of boulders.

  Roark cupped her chin gently and looked into her brilliant eyes before pulling her against his chest where he surrounded her in his warm embrace. Star Feather felt her heart bubble over with joy. She had never imagined that she could feel this way about anyone. In all her life she had never seen her mother or any of the women of her village with such a look of wonder and love shining from their faces. She knew how she must appear because her thoughts were mirrored on her husband’s face. His concern was for her alone and he motioned that she should sit as he lifted her hands and checked them for damage or bruising and then her arms and her legs and feet.

  She trembled slightly at his touch and he watched her as she smiled in slight embarrassment for she had never gotten over being shy even in his loving care. Finally he embraced her, this time pulling her to him fiercely so that she felt his growing desire in his touch and his strong heart beat. Star Feather knew he was asking her silently if it was too soon to be his wife in all ways after the sickness that she had endured. They had not been together as man and wife since Star Feather had taken ill.

  Thinking back to her recovery Star Feather remembered peering into Taikiuu’s calm gaze where she saw secrets hidden there. Taikiuu had examined her shortly after her sickness abated. She told Star Feather that she was healthy and strong.

  Now as she invited her husband to share in their union with her she felt only peace and happiness so profound that she could only close her eyes and hold on to the moment. Roark kissed each eyelid and felt the feather touch of her long eyelashes against his lips, like butterfly wings, as his wife sighed in delight.

  He could not imagine a more beautiful woman or a happier man and suddenly he could imagine nothing at all as they were both swept away in wonder.

  Taikiuu held the baby to her heart and smiled down into his sleeping face. He was what every woman dreamed of in a son, strong and beautiful all at once. She smoothed one finger over his chubby cheek and leaned close to catch the scent of him.

  Taikiuu looked up as her husband approached her with a look of tenderness upon his face. Jon’lan never ceased to amaze her as he settled himself beside her. The position of his body allowed her to lean easily against him.

  Taikiuu sighed in response to his arms slipping around her so that she was encircled in his embrace with the baby held gently by them both. Jon’lan felt so many things as he held her in his arms and it was as if she sensed it when she held his gaze.

  He expecte
d her to whisper her new words to him as she did each night. Only Jon’lan knew how much she practiced so that she would have no trace of an accent and her words would sound like the others.

  It was as if her silence shamed her and Jon’lan did not wish her to be ashamed. Her silence had been demanded not self inflicted. He leaned close so that she could whisper to him without waking Mantiloff. But she surprised him by reaching into one of the many small pouches she carried, this one was tied with a green string. Her deft fingers undid the knot that kept its contents safe and she gathered two small green leaves in the palm of his hand.

  One she placed in her mouth directly on her tongue and Jon’lan watched spellbound as she lifted the second small piece to him. He opened his mouth in complete trust and was delighted to find that a soft minty taste came from the small leaf. He moved it delicately around his mouth enjoying that wherever it traveled it left behind a strong residue of mint. Looking into his wife’s warm eyes he knew that she too enjoyed the taste.

  He leaned towards her and watched as her eyes opened in surprise as he pressed his mouth to hers. She gasped in wonder at the contact and eagerly pressed her mouth to his. Before he could continue she leaned back and signed at him rapidly with one hand and he smiled and said, “This is called a kiss.” Taikiuu laughed in such a way that Jon’lan felt fire go through his veins. Jon’lan leaned toward her again but this time Taikiuu was already there and her mouth was soft and willing. In all his dreams he had never known such joy and his thoughts were mimicked in Taikiuu’s actions as she grasped his hand in her urgency to know more.

  Anaay looked away, he was not embarrassed by the display of affection that his hearth father showed his wife. It was only natural that a man would want to mate with a woman. But could anyone explain this fire burning inside his chest whenever he even looked at Kii? How could one small girl, who according to his hearth father was not even called a woman, rule his heart and steal his breath all at the same time? He noticed that she wore her hair in two braids tied with thong. She looked slightly different from the girl child she had been just a few short moons ago.

  He had changed as well, when he had first known Kii he was more like a wild animal than a boy. Then, her hair had been cropped short, shorn at the front and the back, just as Star Feather and the little girls had worn their hair. Taikiuu, his hearth mother, had been the only one with long ebony black hair that almost touched her waist. Anaay had come to learn that this was the custom of their village. He could not understand how anyone would want to see women with shorn hair, because over the many months they had traveled together Kii’s hair had been allowed to grow and his breath caught in his chest as he thought of how lush and beautiful it was. Yet when Taikiuu or Star Feather were around him all he felt was deep respect and a desire to show them honor as mother and aunt.

  His eyes took in all things as he watched their surroundings. He kept his eyes away from the fire so that he would not have to see his heart’s desire. There could be no one else for Anaay and waiting for Kii to become a woman was heart wrenching. But he desired them to be together for their lives and if his hearth mother was right, it would only be a little while longer before Kii would become a woman. He would wait and wait patiently because no man had ever loved the way he loved and he knew this to be true. Kii slept peacefully at the fire dreaming without dreams and in her hand she held the yellow flower that Anaay had given her.

  The call of the mammoth seemed to echo far into the mountain pass and Yaa smiled in the predawn light as she helped tie herself on to Giad and watched him do the same with Anaay. Their father and Uncle had allowed the three of them to remain tied together but separate from the others. Both Jon’lan and Roark knew that the younger children could learn invaluable information from Anaay as they traveled at his side constantly. Anaay tracked by instinct alone and he had an uncanny ability to pick up a trail.

  It was their hope to continue to follow the mammoth but as they were walking in unfamiliar territory and their lives depended on not losing the trail. Losing the trial of the mammoth was a possibility due to the weather conditions and the rock and stone that made tracking difficult.

  As the band walked they could not help but glance above them often in awe of the towering cliffs that seemed to have been pushed apart by two great hands to create this small pass which narrowed to the point of walking one behind the other at some areas. Currently Taikiuu walked in her husband’s footsteps with Kii and Mar-ee behind her. Roark kept to the end of the band with Star Feather walking ahead of him, holding Mantiloff.

  The baby had not arisen yet since they had started their journey so early and for now he was wrapped securely in his sling and tied to his mother. It was Anaay with the younger children whom Jon’lan requested stay in the lead. Though he worried for the safety of both younger children, even Roark admitted that it was the best way for them to learn the skills of Anaay and both children with their sturdy legs and tracking skills were certainly eager.

  Anaay had not said anything at all when this was requested of him, but Jon’lan had grown used to his silences and he could tell by the look on his face that he was not displeased. Still Jon’lan knew that just as he had once missed his bird Hawk, Anaay pined for Rhea, the large black cat who had become his companion. Jon’lan knew that it was unlikely he would ever see Hawk again. The thought of Anaay’s pain at the loss of his treasured friend tore at Jon’lan’s heart and so he set his mind on other things as they continued through the mountain pass.

  The call of the mammoth spoke to Yaa in a way she could not describe. Yaa welcomed the feelings that swirled inside of her. She knew that her people shared a unique history with these animals and she had only imagined in her dreamtime that she would actually get to see them in life. She knew that it was possible to befriend them as Jon’lan already had. Still she would be cautious and bide her time. Already she was starting to understand the language of the mammoth. They awakened each morning with gentle calls and it seemed to Yaa that each mammoth answered in turn, in order of rank within their pack, but again she could only guess at such things.

  She had not been allowed to study them as she wished to do. At the rising of the sun she knew they would quiet their calling and each calf would be groomed and fed by an aunt or a mother. All of the new calves were pushed to the inside of the mammoth pack each sunset for safety but during the day they were allowed to roam more freely. Although one young aunt or cousin kept a watchful eye on them all while the mature adults set the pace for the day.

  But still she wondered and wondered until she stumbled over her own feet. Yaa knew the safety of her band depended upon their tracking abilities and focus. It helped when her brother jerked none to gently on the rope that bound them together to bring her mind’s eye back into focus.

  “Come on pest!” he whispered and although Yaa frowned at him, she picked up the pace and paid attention once again. Giad softened his words with a pat to Yaa’s dark head of hair and was rewarded with an impish smile from his sister. He knew that she was still young and not always able to focus her attention in the way that he could as her older brother. Still it was important that they be thorough in their scouting ahead on behalf of their band.

  This morning Jon’lan reminded each of them that they were in uncharted territory and needed to be extremely careful. Anaay listened with keen ears to his hearth father and Giad had followed suit. Jon’lan spoke to them as men, not boys and Giad’s chest swelled with pride at the memory. He was determined to earn his place in their band as a tracker and scout.

  Yaa was more than capable of keeping up with him if she would only keep her mind focused. Giad knew well that when his sister set her mind to complete a task, she could reach her goal. For emphasis he poked her in the back with his finger and laughed when she growled at him under her breath.

  As she had done for as many summers as she could remember Kii woke earlier than the rest of those around her and took in the early morning. She set about making a strong te
a that always refreshed her for the day ahead. Lately she had begun sharing her tea with Star Feather. She collected different herbs that were good for various ailments. All that she knew she learned overtime from her hearth mother, Taikiuu.

  While Kii went about making her preparations Mar-ee made off with one of her tea leaves her laughter carrying gently on the wind. Kii laughed along with the little one and went racing after her only to see that Taikiuu held the child gently in her arms and had extracted the leaf from her chubby fingers. Taikiuu kissed the child’s plump cheek and patted her on the rump as she set her down and admonished her to clean up her sleeping place. As she started to hand the leaf back to Kii she looked down at the green leaf with red specks and gasped. She then looked at her daughter while watching her eyes carefully.

  Kii froze where she stood when she noticed the flush that appeared on the face of the woman she had begun to think of as a mother. Taikiuu rarely lost her temper and when she did it was never in front of any other person. It was not the place of the Ada’na to lose control but Kii reminded herself that her mother no longer held this title. Taikiuu simply looked at her daughter and thought about the leaf that the girl had been brewing into a tea.

  She realized that some time had passed and now Kii stood simply staring at the ground. Taikiuu gently touched her chin and waited until the girl looked into her eyes and then she smiled gently knowing that she had overreacted. Calmly she asked, “How long have you used this leaf to brew tea?”

  Kii did not hesitate in her speech, “For as long as I can remember.” Taikiuu winced as her daughter’s voice trembled slightly. Then she said, “Where did you learn that this was a safe leaf to use for tea?”