Silent Dances

by A. C. Crispin

  The youngster felt a wild surge of hope as the forest came closer . Two mo

  re avians flanked him now, while two others moved aggressively against

  Good Eyes.

  One female screamed and grabbed for the human. At the last second, Good

  Eyes flipped her sled upside down and the deadly talons clanged

  harmlessly against its hard surface. The female jerked a foot up as if in

  pain and clenched it into a fist. She dropped back. The male flipped

  upside down himself and tried to impale Good Eyes, but she righted the little

  vessel and he, too, struck the underside. The pair drew back, confused.

  Good Eyes had freed a mesh bag from its invisible bonds and was

  swinging it over her head . The four remaining avians called to one

  another , unsure how to respond . What had ever fought Death in the

  air, or had somersaulted as they did in the attack?

  The human ru shed them , then flung the bag. It smashed into a male,

  exploding into a rain of black nuts. This sta rt led the avian so much he just folded his wings and dropped out of sight . She reached for another

  bag, swung and let it go, but the others knew what to expect and

  moved out of range. But

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  178 A.C . Crispin and Kathleen O ' Malley some of the fight seemed to have gone out of Death.

  And then the forest was there, and Sailor had to worry about trees that

  could shatter a wing, as they rushed past him. He weaved an d dodged

  through the heavy st an d, brushing a trunk an d bruising a finger, but nothing worse . Then he spied a towering tr ee that had had its core bu rn t through . At its base was a small opening - but it was big enough.

  He parachuted to a jarring lan ding , collapsed his wings an d scur ri ed inside , his slim form slipping through the nar ro w opening that led into the wide center. He peered up through the chimney of the tree at thin

  streaks of sunlight. There was a sudden cr as hing , then something

  warm rushed in against him, sca ri ng him so bad he jumped , hi tt ing his head on a narrow place.

  It was Good Eyes, alive an d safe ! His relief was so overwhelming , he became a child again , pur ri ng and trembling his wings, wrapping his long neck around her for comfo rt .

  She slid her arms around his body, pur ri ng back at him with her funny

  off-key rumble that he loved so much . Both their hea rt s we re

  pounding , an d she was sticky with the sweat she released when she

  was hot. He gl an ced up quickly . Something was not ri ght . On her arm was not sweat , but blood. Her blood.

  Her feather shirt was ri pped, her flesh showing through, and a slash ac

  ro ss her arm seeped blood . He stared at it , eyes wide. "It's nothing ,"

  she signed . " It doesn ' t even hu rt ."

  He peere d in amazement. She'd been touched by Death and lived . She

  said it didn ' t hurt. This parent of his was more str an ge -an d more powerful - than he could have ever imagined.

  Tesa looked around , confused , as her h an d grazed the rough, carbonized inte ri or of the old tr ee . Had she d re amt of eagles, or flown with Aquila ? She ru bbed her eyes to ri d them of their g ri t ty feeling , the sense of un re ality she couldn't shake.

  She looked up the chimney of the tr ee-the light was waning. She and

  Sailor had lapsed into an exhausted sleep after their narrow escape ,

  their bodies demanding immediate relief after pumping out enough

  adrenaline to fuel an army. She re ached for him folded up beside her, his head tucked.

  As he lifted his head, Tesa pushed herself to her feet. She ached. Except

  for the talon scratch on her arm , she would've go tt en out of this

  unscathed if she hadn ' t leaped off the sled

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  SILENT DANCES 179 and misjudged her footing . She'd gone

  sprawling ass-over-teakettle over a huge root , skinning her knees and

  palms.

  "Come on, Sailor ," she signed, "we've got to go."

  "Is it safe?"

  "I can't believe they'd wait for us this long," she assured him with more

  confidence than she really felt.

  Poking her head out of the tree , she gazed around . Afte rn oon light slanted through the multicolored leaves, throwing shadows of orange ,

  green , and red , like sunshine through a cathedral window . The angled shafts were like the pola ri zed light Sailor could see. She stepped out

  cautiously and moved to her sled. It had some new dings and small

  dents , but it was still functional . She couldn ' t shake the feeling that they were being watched . Tesa tu rn ed her sled on, setting it to hover.

  She turn ed back toward the entrance , where the tip of Sailor's bill was

  peeking out . She waved at him to emerge, and he stepped out slowly ,

  ne rv ously, pee ri ng eve ry where , his feathers standing straight out.

  Tesa wanted to console him, but she couldn't. They weren't alone , they

  just hadn ' t found their obse rv er yet . She inched around the tree and soon found their watcher . A female Aquila clung with one foot to a

  limb , about fifty feet off the ground. The other foot was injured and she

  held it in a fist, re sting on the wood . This was the same female that had attacked her, Tesa realized , the one who ' d struck the underside of the sled so hard. There seemed to be something else ee ri ly familiar about

  her.

  The Aquila eyed her, first with one ruby eye , then the other, but made no

  move to attack. Sailor touched Tesa with his bill, then slid his head over

  her shoulder , staring in wide - eyed fear at his mo rt al enemy . They could get to the tree ' s entrance before the Aquila could reach them ,

  Tesa decided , and that injured foot made her seem less threatening.

  Then Tesa re alized why this Aquila seemed familiar. This was the same

  female that had scolded her the day she ar ri ved on T ri nity. And she's the same female I' ve been obse rv ing in the study nests, Tesa decided with a cool cert ainty . The cynical pa rt of her brain t ri ed to deny the coincidence, but the instinctive pa rt of her knew she was ri ght.

  She wants to communicate, Tesa felt. She was t ry ing to tell me something that first day, and she's come back to t ry again. Was it just luck that made Scott pick that nest for his camera,

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  or had he interacted with this same female? If he had, that might've been

  what made him pl an t those cameras against eve ry one else's edict .

  But wouldn ' t he have w ritt en about it?

  Not if eve ry one would ' ve thought he was cra zy , she re alized. She suddenly felt Scott ' s presence ve ry strongly - his memo ry and his spi ri t - and a shiver washed over her,.

  Help me do the right thing, Puff. Mitakuye oyasin . Igno ri ng Sailor's sta rt led expression , Tesa stepped forward and signed a g re eting to the avi an .

  The female leaned forward, clutching her precarious perch, and spread

  her wings th re ateningly , opening her beak. Tesa tu rn ed her voder on, calling up her weak translation program.

  "... safe hunting before ... ( untranslatable ) ... the skies The incoherent fragments trailed across the small screen. Sailor touched her shoulder .

  " What a re you doing?"

  She hesitated. She was afraid to tell him she wanted to communicate

  with a c re ature his people so despised. "Can you underst an d what she's saying ?" she as ked the youngster.

  He looked shocked. " Saying ? She's screaming, that ' s all." His signing set the Aquila off on an other chorus of sh ri eks. "... Our nests ... the World ... ( untr an slatable) ...

  Tesa wan ted to shake the voder, make it translate.

  She stared at the b
ird. If you ' re intelligent, you could change your behavior , the way the Grus did with the Blue Cloud people. The avian

  threw her head back , as though laughing. Tesa signed again , asking

  the predator why she wished to kill people who never hu rt her , people who were not her true food.

  The avian became more agitated. Tesa looked at the voder. "... to kill the trees ... ( untr an slatable ) ... come from (English word ) Ea rt h ... to kill the trees ..."

  Tesa froze the translation and stared at it , inc re dulously. Sailor was also amazed . He had heard the Aquila say an English word, a word

  he'd heard other hum an s say. Ea rt h. The planet.

  Tesa swallowed and decided to use her voice. "I come from Earth," she said in English.

  The voder repeated the sentence about coming from Ea rt h, then , "...

  you kill the trees ... now, (untr an slatable ) the others kill them ... ( un tran slatable ) burn nests ... the children ... until the White Winds die ...

  (untranslatable ) ... go back to ( English word) Ea rt h ..." The rest trailed off into gibbe ri sh.

  Then, without wa rn ing, the Aquila launched herself off the limb an d th re aded her way through the forest . Tesa eased her

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  self onto an upthrust root and stared at the voder, frustrated.

  This is just like all my damned dreams . Snatches and fragments-but that beast said an English word-a word she had to learn from another human

  being. She realized that Sailor was staring at her in stunned surprise.

  "What's the matter?" she signed, wanting to ease his fears. "You spoke to Death, Good Eyes," he signed timidly. "Well, I might as well have spoken to

  this tree."

  Sailor looked in the direction the Aquila flew. "Yes, but when you speak to

  trees ... they don't kill and eat you."

  "Well, neither did she. We'd better get out of here." She

  realized the youngster was thoroughly shaken by this new experience.

  "Sailor?" she signed.

  "Yes?"

  "I don't think we should mention this to your parents." He gazed at her for a long, telling moment, giving her "the

  look."

  "Yes," he finally signed, "I think you're right." They lifted off for home together.

  Peter parked the little solo shuttle they called the Demoiselle behind a mass of shrubs. According to Thorn's maps, this brackish marshland was usually

  the final staging area for Black Feather's flock on their return to their river

  home. Thorn would check the river tomorrow, but since Peter had told the

  Crane crew he'd be planetside for a few days, the Senegalese man decided

  he might as well catch up with the flock himself.

  If Black Feather's flock hadn't reached this marsh, then they'd be too far

  away to find today. In that case, he'd just finish his mapping survey-his

  excuse to be on Trinity.

  As he walked through the soggy marsh, he touched the sound nullifiers in

  his ears, adjusting them for the onslaught of noise that usually surrounded a

  roosting Grus flock.

  He was almost through a stand of small, wiry trees eking out a living in the

  saturated ground when he became aware of the change in the air. Brackish

  marsh always smelled to him like a charnel house because of all the

  decaying vegetation. This stink could gag a crow, he thought, just as a flock

  of green, pigeon-sized carrion-eaters burst from the ground in an agitated

  cloud.

  Peter pushed through the trees, finally seeing the feeding ground, but it was

  a long moment before he truly saw it. Bodies, one after the other, were

  stretched out, raw,

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  bleeding--skinned. Black Feather's entire flock-dead. Over a hundred

  avians-living, breathing, intelligent beings-had been slaughtered. Their

  exposed muscles lay red, nude in the bright sunlight as scores of carrion-

  eaters converged on the feast. They were only the beginning, Peter knew.

  Soon there would be armies of insects, rodents, carnivores descending on

  the grisly scene until not one morsel, not one bleached white bone, was left.

  On Trinity, everything was food to someone.

  Struck with horror, he took a cautious step back, even as his brain registered

  the other details he had yet to notice. There were Aquila everywhere, like

  bald eagles converging on the Chilkat River in Alaska. They were perched

  in the scrubby trees, in the water, and on the bodies. Dozens of Aquila, more

  than he had thought lived on the World, were feasting in this open cemetery.

  He swallowed bitter bile, trying not to notice how they were all staring at him

  as he took another step back.

  Slowly he removed his nullifiers, then took another cautious step. Then he

  heard it, the soft snick of a modern weaponAnd the strange, quiet voice that

  said, "That's far enough."

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  CHAPTER 16

  The Sweat Bath

  Weaver pulled her head out from under her wing, listening. She heard it

  again , a soft noise, like a rousette's whimper. She snaked her head over to

  Good Eyes' bed.

  The human tossed fitfully, her face contorted, reflecting the nightmares she

  conjured up. These last two nights had been the worst, since Sailor had

  begun sleeping outside with his father. Perhaps, Weaver thought, she

  should've expected that.

  She'd seen many children pull away, and remembered every one-especially

  those who never came back. It was hard on a parent's heart, but it was part

  of life's cycle.

  But to Good Eyes, this was all new. When the first one leaves, Weaver

  thought, every parent's heart breaks. Sailor might go this morning. Things

  had changed with her son since he and Good Eyes had had an adventure

  they would not discuss. That was typical. The first big adventure, the thrill of

  independence, and then the wish-the need-for new places.

  A soft moan escaped Good Eyes. Weaver touched her gently, trying to

  comfort the sleeping woman. Some nights she could

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  ease her out of the dream, but tonight, the human sat bolt upright.

  "Has he left?" Good Eyes signed . "Is the re lightning?"

  " He's here," Weaver assured her. "There' s no storm." The human blinked, rubbed her face, then looked around. "It's mo rn ing ," Weaver signed. "He may ... leave soon." The Grus saw the human's soft lips tremble, heard her

  sharp

  intake of breath. Good Eyes covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders

  shook, and she made hard, choking sounds. Her sorrow was so vivid,

  Weaver also felt a flood of pain, pain she thought she'd learned to accept.

  When Good Eyes looked up, her face was wet. "Does it always hurt like this,

  to see them go?" she asked.

  Weaver wanted to say something that would lessen the ache, but she could

  only sign , "It always hurts. Every time."

  The human took a deep breath and rubbed her face hard. "Okay, I'm all right

  now. Can I ... is it okay to go outside?"

  "Of course. The parents should be together on this day." When they stepped

  onto the platform, they could see Sailor on one leg , not far from his father,

  his body poised with an ticipation . Father Sun touched the western sky,

  coloring it with reds and blues. The Mother Sun was now so close, she

  came up beside him, but the Child Sun would not be seen for hours.

  Sailor looked at Taller. "I'll remember who I am," he signed the traditional


  parting phrase. He turned to Weaver. "I'll remember where I live," he told her as she had told her own mother. Then he faced Good Eyes. There was no

  traditional saying for his parting from her. "I'll remember what you taught me," he promised. He ran across the clear water, lifting effortlessly, as Taller

  threw back his head and called, announcing to the World that his son was

  grown, his son was leaving. Weaver answered his call with her own ringing

  voice.

  Good Eyes signed the words every parent felt on this day. "Come home

  safely. Come home soon ." Then she held up her hand in the human sign

  that meant "I love you."

  Meg walked through the shelter, toweling her freshly washed hair, and found

  the note Thorn had left on her terminal.

  "There's fresh coffee for you and a thermos for Tesa. I'll

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  be in late, so don ' t wait dinner . Any emergencies , just tap into my voder , I'll re spond . See you , Thorn."

  "This place is worse th an a hotel ," Meg grumbled. She an d Scott used to do eve ry thing together , they we re a team. Well, those days were over . Perhaps she could spend her time working with Sco tt' s stuff

  now that things were slowing down around he re . She could probably

  get a bunch of papers out of itcoautho re d posthumously by old

  Hedford. She didn't want anyone to forget who it was who'd made the

  big b re akthrough a ro und here.

  There are breakthroughs yet to be made , she felt him say. "Hmph ," she grunted , ambling into the kitchen and pou ri ng herself some coffee .

  The front door opened , and Meg was sta rt led to see Tesa . " Well, good mo rn ing !" she signed, surprised. "Is your coffee that late ?" she as ked , smiling.

  Tesa' s sad exp re ssion wiped her grin off. " Sailor ' s gone," the young wom an signed . " He left a few hours ago."

  Ya durak! the older woman chided herself. You should've been able to tell that as soon as you saw her face. "Oh, honey , I'm sorry. Are you okay?

  Come on , sit down, talk to me."

  Tesa let herself be led to the small dining table. "I'm okay," she insisted as Meg poured her a hot cup . " I know he had to go , but ... he never looked back . That was hard." She wrapped her hands around the steaming coffee cup. "Did you know that the Grus abandon the nest shelter

  after the chick leaves?"

  "I knew something happened to it, but I wasn't sure what."