Clan of Wolves

by Jo Sandhu

‘Mistletoe berries. I can find you some mistletoe once the blizzard has stopped. I think I saw some pine trees down by the stream.

  ‘Ruva mix with bear fat. Put on ice-hands and ice-feet.’

  ‘We call it frostbite.’ Kaija nodded as Ruva demonstrated rubbing the mistletoe ointment into her feet. ‘A wash of sweet flag is also good for frozen toes.’

  Ruva smiled. ‘Ruva good medicine woman. Yaiya good medicine woman.’

  ‘No!’ The word came out sharper than Kaija had intended, and she waved her hands to soften it. ‘No,’ she said, quieter. Ruva looked at her curiously, but didn’t say anything. Kaija handed the mistletoe berries back to her and sighed. ‘My mother knew so much about herbs and medicines. People from other clans would come and ask for her help.’ A hard lump lodged in Kaija’s throat, threatening to choke her. She swallowed it down. ‘And yet, when the illness came, she couldn’t help. So, no, I’m not a good medicine woman.’ She jumped up and dusted herself down. ‘I need to finish my bison hide.’

  The blizzard raged for five days and then finally blew itself out. It was to be repeated many times over the long dark Winter. Snow piled in large drifts outside the cave. The days were short, the nights long. For a full cycle of the moon, the sun didn’t rise at all and the deep, blue twilight of Polar Night cast eerie shadows on the snow and turned familiar landscape into a world where only Spirit of Wind and Spirit of Ice would dare roam. Worj’s Clan stayed snug and dry in their cave, curing furs, weaving baskets, telling stories and waiting for the cruel Winter to pass.

  The stream below the cave froze solid, and bowls of snow and chipped ice were brought inside to melt into water. Food supplies dwindled. The last frozen caches of meat were unearthed, and the baskets holding stockpiled supplies of grains, nuts and roots slowly emptied. And now, there were three extra mouths to feed – as well as the wolf pups.

  One clear Winter’s day, Tarin, Luuka and Yorv made their way upstream, scrambling carefully over rocks and fallen trees blanketed in white. The air crackled with bitter cold, drawing moisture from them and parching their lips. Tarin choked as the cold air dried his throat. His nostrils pinched together, and with each exhalation a stream of vapour frosted the air around him.

  Yorv motioned the boys to silence. Tarin was still straining to see through the trees, when Yorv quickly hurled his sling toward a flurry of movement. A solid thwack told them his stone was on target. They hurried forward and Yorv picked up the carcass of a snowy white fox.

  ‘I didn’t even see it,’ said Tarin, shaking his head.

  They continued on until they came to a high, flat meadow. From there, the forest canopy dropped away, and the boys stood and looked out at the wide steppes, now covered in white. Tarin trained his eyes on the distant row of grey mountains. How many days journey, he wondered, were between him and his home? And were those mountains close to the Mother’s Mountain? Or were there still more steppes, and more forests beyond, stretching endlessly toward the Great Ice in the north? He should check with Kaija. He hadn’t forgotten her promise to guide him to the Mother’s Mountain, even if he had no Offering left to give.

  One lofty peak attracted his attention. It rose higher than the other mountains, the distinctive shape of its broken peak nearly hidden in gathering clouds.

  ‘We call that Ice Bringer.’ Yorv followed Tarin’s gaze. ‘When tip is hidden, snow coming.’

  ‘Then we’d better get back to camp.’ Luuka cast a worried glance upwards.

  Tarin nodded, but still hesitated. He watched the clouds thicken and swirl around the Ice Bringer. The frigid air blasted his face and his cheeks turned red. But still he hesitated. He felt restless, a feeling that had grown stronger as Winter progressed.

  An animal cry, a roar, far down on the steppes made him shiver.

  ‘Cave lion,’ said Yorv. ‘But far away.’

  ‘Maybe not far enough.’ Luuka grabbed Tarin’s arm and pushed him ahead. ‘Let’s go.’

  The boys hurried from the meadow and back down toward the cave. Already, the temperature had dropped, all warmth and colour sucked from the day by the grey clouds quickly covering the weak Winter sun. Sharp gusts of wind picked up flurries of snow and whipped them around.

  Tarin felt the cold air bite at him, robbing him of breath and peppering his face with shards of ice. Snow flakes crusted his eyelashes. He put his head down and followed Yorv’s footprints. Even with an extra layer of fat rubbed into his boots, they were still wet by the time they reached the cave.

  ‘There you are!’ Kaija hurried forward, Nilkka and Rohk jumping around her legs. ‘There’s a storm coming.’

  ‘We know.’ Tarin shouted against the wind, feeling it push him sideways. They hurried into the cave and huddled shivering around one of the fires.

  ‘You shouldn’t have gone out.’ Kaija passed them dry furs and cups of hot broth.

  Tarin shrugged and rubbed his nose. He stared at the liquid in his cup and frowned. ‘I . . . needed to get out of the cave for a while.’ Kaija remained silent and watched him. ‘How long have we been here?’ he asked.

  ‘Four times the moon has gone through its cycle,’ she said in a quiet voice. ‘Each evening I mark a stick, one stick for each cycle. I have four sticks, and I’m halfway through the fifth.’

  Tarin sighed and sipped his broth. ‘And still we can’t leave.’

  ‘Winter won’t last forever, Tarin,’ Kaija said. ‘At the moment, we have no choice. And it’s good here. We’re safe, and warm, and we have food to eat.’

  Tarin rubbed his face and realised he was tired. ‘I know.’ He wondered what his family were doing, and if they were safe. Were they hungry? Were they cold? The earth-lodges were sturdy constructions. No matter how bitterly the storms raged outside, inside would be warm and dry. But he wondered if they had enough food. His broth suddenly tasted sour and he set his cup down. Rohk pounced on it and lapped up the rest of the liquid.

  ‘Your family will be fine, Tarin,’ said Kaija.

  ‘How did you know I was thinking about them?’ Tarin asked with a rueful smile.

  Kaija shrugged. ‘Maybe because I’ve been thinking about my family, too. I don’t know what happened to them, after Luuka and I left.’ Her voice was shaky. ‘I don’t know whether my mother died, or whether she’s still alive. I don’t know if any of my clan is alive.’ She rubbed her hands together and held them toward the fire. Then she looked at Tarin. ‘I would like to know some day, what happened to them.’

  Tarin followed her gaze as she sighed and glanced around the cave.

  ‘Once, I thought maybe of staying here. It’s a nice cave. And everyone here is wonderful. They are like another family. But . . . then I would never know. So I want you to promise me that you’ll take me with you when you go. Don’t go sneaking off by yourself.’

  Tarin was silent for a moment, then he nodded. ‘I promise. I need my guide with me, after all.’ He smiled, to ease Kaija’s fears, but instead of an answering smile, the girl drew her breath in sharply.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Tarin asked.

  Kaija picked up the empty cup and rose to her feet. ‘Nothing,’ she said, her head bowed. ‘Nothing is wrong.’

  Slowly, the seasons changed. The air warmed, the ice-locked stream started to trickle once more, and a pale sun lit the sky. Snow storms still blew down from Ice Bringer, as though she were fighting to hold back Spring, but they were not as severe or as long as the blizzards of deepest Winter. Occasionally, a sunny day would tease the clan with the promise of warmer weather, only to be followed by days of grey sleet and icy winds.

  Snow still lay heavily on the ground, but the people of Worj’s Clan had had enough of their Winter captivity and ventured outside whenever they could. Ruva was kept busy treating many coughs and colds, and even a broken arm. Running to escape his mother, Mohv slipped on a patch of ice and landed awkwardly. But he bore the setting of the bone with great fortitude, and now wore a birch bark cast with pride.

  the o
ld woman grumbled, dispensing a tea of cherry bark to soothe Worj’s cough. Worj glared at her as her lecture continued, but his throat was raw and his voice too hoarse to reply. He waved her away impatiently.

  Kaija helped Ruva as much as she could, brewing teas and making warm poultices. She found the work soothing, and surprised herself by how interested she was in the many herbal preparations.

  Tarin and Luuka were not immune to the changing season, either. As soon as icicles started to form around the mouth of the cave, they knew Winter was fighting her last battle. Snow melted by the warmer air dripped from the roof of the cave and then froze again in long icicles as temperatures plummeted over night.

  They had worked hard on developing the spear thrower, and now were waiting for a fine, clear day to test it outside. The other hunters had watched with interest, even Roba reluctantly edging closer and examining the strange wooden spear.

  he said. He pushed it away, but Luuka took it and showed him how the normal spear would sit along the flat shaft.

  He demonstrated how the shaft would push the spear along harder and faster than a normal throw, but Roba sniffed and turned away.

  Tarin watched him walk off. Many times over the long Winter, Tarin had tried to speak with Roba, only for him to turn away. So Tarin had tried to call Spirit of Owl to help him talk to the older man, but Owl was unable to reach Tarin through the snow storms and icy winds.

  When the Ice Mother gives up Her hold on the land, and the ice melts and the waters run – then Owl will return to me, Tarin thought. Then I can ask Owl to help me talk with Roba, and ask him, Why do you still fear us? Have we not lived through this Winter? And then Tarin would stand once more in the cavern of the handprints, and touch the wall where his handprint should be. When the Winter is over, and the hunts begin again, I will run with Worj’s Clan, and hunt with them, and I will once again have my handprint added to the generations of hands, Tarin promised himself. And the spear thrower will help us be the greatest hunters Worj’s Clan has seen.

  Thinking of hunting made his stomache grumble and he pressed his hands hard against it. Lately, meals had been small and he and Luuka had been taking less and less food. He knew others had been eating less, too, especially Lorv and Ruva. Tarin had seen Lorv give his whole dinner to Zuuv just the other day, and Ruva often sat sipping a cup of nothing more than hot water and a few dried herbs.

  The stored meat was finished. The baskets of nuts and tubers were nearly empty. The clan desperately needed to hunt.

  The spear thrower has to work, Tarin thought. It has to.

  Kaija sat on the floor of the cave, surrounded by rabbit pelts and a large square of tough aurochs hide. She was painstakingly cutting a long spiral out of the hide to replace the leather thongs they used to strap their boots and leggings. Luuka had cut six large circular pieces of the aurochs hide for new boots, and Tarin was busy cutting their old ones down to fit Mohv and Zuuv. Eeli had been promised a pair of mittens from his mammoth fur boots and she squatted next to Tarin, watching him with a steady gaze. She had never seen mammoth fur before, and she stroked the thick fur lovingly.

  Rohk and Nilkka came over to investigate. Rohk nudged Kaija playfully, but instead of joining him in his game, the girl pushed him away impatiently. Rohk nudged her harder, and yelped.

  ‘Go away, Rohk,’ Kaija said, concentrating on keeping her leather thong a consistent thickness. She pulled the hide away from the pups and into a better light. Rohk thought it was a great game, and pounced on the moving hide.

  ‘Stop it, you naughty pup!’ Kaija pushed him away and turned her back on him, but within moments, he was chasing the end of the leather thong that twitched so invitingly.

  ‘Rohk!’ Kaija shook her head in frustration. She looked around for Mohv or Zuuv to take the pups outside, but they were helping their mothers sort through the small remaining pile of stored roots and vegetables. Kaija couldn’t wait for Spring to finally arrive, with its fresh green shoots and ripening berries.

  Rohk took advantage of her distraction to grab the end of the thong and run.

  ‘Rohk, no! Catch him!’ Kaija shouted.

  Tarin looked up in time to dive on Rohk as the wolf pup ran for the cave entrance. Kaija grabbed the end of the thong and pulled, but a short piece broke off.

  ‘Now look what you’ve done!’ Kaija scowled fiercely at him. Rohk whimpered and cowered before her. He crawled on his belly toward her and tried to lick her toes. Kaija sighed and shook her head. ‘Rohk, you are the biggest fraud.’ Rohk grinned at her, unrepentant. ‘Come on then, since you’ve ruined my leather.’

  Kaija picked him up and carried him back to the scraps of hide. ‘If I make you something of your very own, will you leave my leather alone?’ Rohk licked the tip of her nose and yawned.

  Kaija gathered a few small scraps together in a round bunch. She lashed them together with the piece of broken thong. It made a round shaped ball of leather, which Kaija tossed up and down in her hands. Rohk’s avid gaze followed the movement of the ball – up and down, up and down.

  ‘You like that, do you?’ Kaija chuckled. ‘Here you go, then.’ She rolled the ball along the floor of the cave. Rohk barked sharply and tore after it. Nilkka bounded over to join in the game, and soon, both pups were racing around the cave, chasing the leather ball.

  Luuka laughed. ‘Rohk! Over this way,’ he shouted, joining in their game. He kicked the ball toward the other end of the cave, and the pups leapt through the air in pursuit. ‘Tarin! Kick it back!’

  Tarin booted the ball back towards Luuka, and the frantic pups yelped and tried to catch it. Luuka laughed, juggling the ball between his feet. He chipped it over their heads and the ball sailed through the air, narrowly missing Kaija.

  ‘Hey!’ Kaija grabbed the ball and held it aloft as the pups leapt high in the air.

  ‘That’s cheating,’ said Luuka. ‘You have to kick the ball.’

  ‘Who says,’ Kaija said, abandoning her work. She kicked the ball towards Tarin, but it bounced off the side of her foot and hit Yorv in the back of the head. ‘Sorry! Sorry!’ she called out.

  Yorv grunted and kicked the ball to Tarin. Soon, Narn, Aba and the children also joined in, until baby Oba was knocked over and she started to howl. Her mother, Beera, scooped her up and comforted her.

  Tarin glanced outside the cave and was surprised to see it was light already. Daybreak came earlier now that Kaamos had passed and the days remained light for longer. The sky outside was bright blue and the sunlight sparkled on the snow. It was going to be another fine day – a good day to test the spear throwers, Tarin thought. But first, he wanted to run and play with the wolves.

  ‘Rokh! Nilkka! Try and catch me!’ he cried, running from the cave.

  Laughing and warm from the game, Tarin stopped beneath a pine to catch his breath. The ball was bouncing through the snow down the hill toward the stream, and the pups were chasing, followed by Luuka, Narn, Yorv and the children, all screaming as one. The ball and the chasers reached the stream, and a new cry went up. Water was slowly trickling through the ice, and ferns and soft greenery were finally poking through the layer of snow. Narn ventured too close to the edge, and cracked through an ice sheet into ankle-deep water. The children were sent back to the cave for baskets and bowls to collect the young ferns and icy water. Ice Mother was finally receding.

  Tarin raised his head to send a quick ‘thank you’ to the Great Mother when he spotted movement in the tree above his head. He held very still and scanned the branches. A small forest owl huddled only an arm’s length above him, its speckled grey-brown plumage hiding it among the leaves. Small black eyes studied Tarin in return.

  ‘Owl!’ Tarin breathed the word. He had missed Owl all Winter – missed talking with Owl and flying in the night sky. Now that Ice Mother was leaving the land, Tarin could once again be with his guiding spirit.

  ‘O
wl! I have missed you,’ he said, but the little owl fluffed his feathers and turned away. ‘Spirit of Owl, help me fly with you.’ Tarin reached his hand toward the owl, but with a soft wo-ho wo-ho, the owl rose in the air and flew away.

  ‘Tarin! The stream is running!’ Kaija shouted, and Tarin turned from the flight of the owl to wave to her. But he could still hear the owl’s mournful cry, wo-ho wo-ho, as it disappeared into the sky.

  Tarin scraped a handful of rough horsetail fern over the wooden shaft of the spear thrower. It reminded him of the way his father would use river grit to smooth the spear shafts. But this is a more powerful weapon, Tarin thought, and smiled to himself. This small shaft of wood would send a spear hurtling forward with greater speed and accuracy than ever before. With this, even he could hunt the large animals of the plains.

  ‘Is it ready?’ Kaija broke his train of thought.

  ‘I think so.’ Tarin turned it over in his hands.

  ‘You said that last time.’

  Tarin tried to look annoyed, but he was feeling too pleased with himself, and a rueful smile crossed his face. He shrugged, remembering their first test run. The spear had slid straight off the back of the thrower and landed at Tarin’s feet. Kaija and Yorv had thought it was very funny. Luuka was still sulking.

  ‘This time, I’m sure,’ said Tarin.

  They hurried from the cave, eager to test the thrower. It was a clear, bright day, and a brisk breeze ruffled their hair as they made their way to the flat meadow high above the cave. It was the perfect place to practise spear throwing and learning how to hunt with a sling. Zuuv and Mohv could often be found there, practising their throws for the day when they, too, would join in the hunt. Zuuv had turned eight Summers now, and hoped to hunt this coming year.

  Today, Luuka was also at the meadow. He had borrowed Lorv’s bone flute, and found the meadow a quiet place to practice. Rohk and Nilkka were with him, bounding after small flying insects. Snow still covered the ground, thick in places, but the first signs of new green shoots were appearing on the trees.