Brinan of the Wolf Clan

by Laura Jack

  Ruban had been given the task of collecting more firewood but he kept wandering off and had to be reminded by Brinan and Callom to stay in sight of the camp fire. In the end, Brinan went with him just to be safe. Callom stayed in the camp near Serena and Matina. The boy’s had their spears with them and unlike the autumn, they were almost hoping to be able to use them if a predator chanced by. Serena made an excuse to go into the cave so she could draw on the walls. Inside she found a wolverine trying to scale one of the tripod poles to reach the cache of reindeer meat. She didn’t think twice, silently she picked up a spear and flung it hard at the tenacious scavenger. The flint blade sunk into the animals neck, severing a vital artery and it was dead before it knew it had been hit. Serena walked over ready to hit it over the head with a stone but she didn’t need to. Wolverine fur was a valuable trade item. She dragged it outside and showed the boys.

  “You were lucky you got it before it saw you, wolverines might be small but they are vicious and they can let off the most obnoxious scent when they are cornered.” Brinan told her, he was a little envious that he didn’t chance upon the wolverine first. Still, at least it was dead.

  “Luck didn’t come into it.” Serena countered, “Girls can be just as accurate as boys with a spear.” She gave up the idea of painting and skinned out her prize instead. For longer than he could remember, Serena didn’t want to be a hunter and now she decided she did, she was already better than him.

  Matina took over camp fire duties and made a broth with some grains from their stores along with the freshly picked carrots and flavoured with wild onions and herbs from her medicine bag. She rather liked that most of the herbs she had were for cooking with, like the sage and peppermint, although they did have medicinal qualities too.

  The children were so engrossed in their tasks that, as usual, no-one had been keeping an eye on the sky. The storm that rolled in over the hills caught them out. Within moments, a mist of rain turned into a deluge and everyone ran for the cover of the cave. Ruban dropped the sticks he had been collecting and bolted from the trees. Annoyed, Brinan stopped to collect them, struggling to carry them with his own pile but managed somehow.

  “It will just be a shower,” Serena said looking out, she didn’t worry too much. Neither did Callom or Brinan. They welcomed the opportunity to rest up in the cave for a while. It wasn’t until the approach of evening and the inevitable sunset that Brinan decided they ought to head back to the main cave.

  “We’ll get soaked!” Complained Ruban and Matina together.

  “Can’t be helped so toughen up!” Barked Brinan, throwing dirt on the fire. The one outside was already blackened and cratered with rain water. “Lodina will have our hides tanned if we don’t get back.”

  They did try to walk back, and they did try to be brave about the heavy rain but when a loud thunderclap made everyone jump, including Brinan, they wondered if they had done the right thing after all. Sheet lightening blazed across the sky and brought a scream of fear from Matina and Ruban.

  “It’s okay,” Brinan assured them. The second time it happened he noticed it was coming their way. The seed of doubt in his gut was growing and he contemplated turning back. The next thunderclap and the vision of a tree, scarily close being hit by lightening resolved his instincts. As one, they turned back and bolted for the safety of their small cave.

  “Lodina will understand when we explain,” Serena was trying to consol everyone. Callom relit the fire. Ruban crawled under some furs and put a basket over his head. Luma joined him, so that only their backsides were sticking out. It would be funny if their predicament wasn’t so serious. Matina huddled up to Serena.

  “Get out of there you two, lightening can’t come into the cave.” Brinan snapped, giving both Ruban and Luma a light-hearted smack on their rumps.

  “Don’t care, I’m staying here.” Said the muffled voice of Ruban. Luma came out though and sidled up to Brinan looking for reassurance.

  The darkness of the storm clouds was increased by the darkness that heralded the sunset. The children settled themselves into the cave. Using a rope, Callum pulled the makeshift door of briars and hazel in towards them as a safety precaution from predators. They were grateful that they had stocked up on wood and other supplies. They had everything they needed to stay here for half a moon, let alone a night.

  For the most part, they enjoyed their night in the cave, although Serena kept spoiling it by saying aloud. “I’m sure Lodina will understand; we won’t be in trouble.” Saying it aloud did nothing to settle the nerves in her stomach at doing something other than what she had been told to do. Then another thought struck her.

  “I hope Arguus and the others are okay in all this.”

  Ruban shot out from under the fur, “and mother?”

  “And Tamo?” Added Matina.

  Brinan glared at Serena. As if the youngsters weren’t enough of a handful right now. She shrugged her shoulders and grimaced an apology.

  “Of course they will be alright; they’ll snuggled up inside the mine with a good fire going and reindeer meat in their bellies just like us.” She said confidently, it was probably so. Although they had never been to the Amber mine, she was sure it would be okay.

  “Ruban, do have any flint with you?” Brinan asked, it would be better to take the boy’s mind off things. Ruban nodded, pleased that Brinan was paying attention to him, and quickly found his backpack, taking out two large flint nodes that he had helped himself to from Dovan’s supplies that morning. The basic work of shaping the flint had been done with only the delicate task of breaking off usable blades to be done.

  Serena caught onto Brinan’s idea.

  “Matina, we’re getting hungry, is that fire ready to cook on yet?”

  “Just about, we’ve got all that we’ve gathered too, it will be a proper feast! Mother gave me some seed loaves and sunflower oil.”

  “The ones with the honey?” Brinan asked hopefully. Matina nodded. The sweetened loaves were a favourite for Brinan. “It will be like our own spring feast!”

  “The meat for a spring festival is supposed to be from a young animal.” Piped up Callom. “Oww!” He was elbowed into silence by Brinan. Only then did he realise they had been trying to keep up the morale of the younger children and only then did he get an inkling of the danger they might be in.

  Brinan woke to a chorus of bird song. After a moment’s confusion he remembered where he was. Puddles of water had filled the cave but not dangerously so. It was unusually bright. They had never been in the cave at dawn before, the rising sun streamed in. Brinan got up and walked over to the entrance. The sky was bright blue. As if in remorse for yesterdays storm, the sun shone strongly, it’s warming rays causing the rain water on the ground to evaporate and the ground steamed as the sky claimed back the moisture. A soft mist clung to the tops of the trees at the end of the meadow.

  Luma whined to get out, she was cave trained and wanted to relieve herself which reminded Brinan that he needed to go as well. He lifted the barrier and opened it out just wide enough for them both to get through. Their meadow was saturated. He knew that spring rains were heavy so didn’t think too much of it.

  When he returned, the others were waking up too. Matina had banked the fire well the previous night so it still smouldered. Brinan raked it with a stick then put on dried moss and wood shavings to build it up again before adding sticks.

  “Brinan.” Serena’s voice was quiet behind him. “Leave the fire, we’d better go straight home. Lodina will be worried sick about us.”

  “Let’s get some tea first, I’m cold and if the water in this meadow is anything to go by the walk home isn’t going to be easy. Relax Serena, she’ll understand why we stayed.”

  Serena nodded, but the knot of anxiety in her stomach would not ease, it was in her nature to worry about being in trouble. It was alright for the boys to get into trouble. Even though their mothers scolded them, the men in the Clan showed them a backhanded admiration for their ant
ics. It was different for girls.

  The journey back down the hill was indeed treacherous. The ground was very wet and boggy, by the time the children reached the lower part of the forest they were cold and their feet soaked through. Brinan was the first one to step out from the treeline, he stopped so suddenly that Callom almost ran into his back.

  “Hey!” Callom was about to protest, but then he saw what Brinan saw and stopped dead too. Shocked disbelief overcame them. Before them, where there had been a wooded valley with a river and their cave snugly set into the cliff-side, there was now a large expanse of water.

  “What’s happened to the cave?” Serena whispered. “Brinan, where is the cave? Why aren’t we home?” Brinan turned to his sister and the pale shocked face he looked at was mirrored by his own.

  He reeled, he couldn’t answer her. Serena found herself shaking uncontrollably. This was bad, this was very bad. Ruban started to cry, Serena put an arm around him. Matina whimpered; it was dawning on her also.

  “I want mother. Why can’t we go home?”

  With an immense effort of will, Brinan held his emotions in check. He put his arm around Matina and she burst into uncontrollable sobs. Callom cried too, suddenly reminded of the grief he still felt for the loss of his grandmother. Brinan felt a numbness set in as he looked out over the water. Their home was gone.

  Don’t just stand there doing nothing – take charge! A voice in his head told him sharply. Brinan took a deep breathe and …

  “Look, there is no point in all of us hanging around here. Serena, take Ruban and Matina back up to the small cave and wait there. Callom and I will search the banks, it’s possible that Lodina abandoned the cave and got herself and Tomas to higher ground. If she has, we will find her. No arguments, go now.” If Serena had not been looking at him, she would have thought it was Arguus talking. She gathered the children and turned back into the wood.

  Callom and Brinan watched her go then looked at each other. Callom walked to the edge and splashed the tears and snot from his face. “Do you really think they could have got out?” He asked hopefully.

  “I hope so,” Brinan replied. “I want you to walk east and check for foot prints or any signs you can find of them. I’ll take the western route. If we’re going to find tracks, it will be in the vicinity. We’ll meet back here.

  “How did this happen?” Asked Callom, not really expecting an answer.

  “Flash flood - maybe a landslide somewhere. I think the lake to the east has flooded but it would have taken more than just a rain storm to do all this.” Brinan tried to offer an explanation.

  The boys split up and searched. As agreed, they met up again at the same spot. Neither had had any luck. Despondent, they walked down to the edge of the new lake.

  “We should go back to the small cave, Serena will be worrying.” Callom said finally. Brinan nodded, but couldn’t take his eyes off the waterline. The lake was so vast it was hard to see the opposite shore. His eyes were tired from searching; only the need for survival sharpened his awareness. Luma stared out at the water and whined, then howled. It caught Brinan’s attention and he followed her gaze.

  “It’s Felmas’s replica boat.” Callom said it out loud, he was still dazed and confused by the events.

  Luma yelped to get their attention and jumped into the water. Why was she so keen to get the boat? Trusting her instincts, Brinan took off his boots, tunic and trousers and waded in. The frigid cold water took his breath away, but as the bank dropped away he began to swim. It was lucky that the boat was floating towards him as he swam out. He grabbed it, taking a moment to rest but realized that was a bad idea, the cold was seeping into his bones, he had better swim for shore. His legs ached, his lungs ached but he had to bring the boat back. If one thing had survived the cave flooding, surely other things would have too. Luma paced on the shoreline voicing her frustration with wolf talk.

  Her strange behaviour made Callom wonder too. He waded out to help Brinan and together they dragged the boat up the bank. Luma jumped into the boat, something inside moved then let out a cry. It was baby Tomas but where was his mother, Lodina? Despite the good fortune of finding Tomas, Brinan knew this was not good. The baby howled even louder. Luma tried to comfort him by licking him. So much for the killer wolf, thought Brinan, her protective instincts had saved his life.

  “Callom, you’d better take him back to Serena, he must be hungry.” Said Brinan, Tomas let out another howl. He had never known hunger in his life and he let them know it.

  13 Survival

  Serena ran out to meet Callom, she looked pale and frightened and relieved that he was back. Her fear turned to wonder when she realised what he was carrying.

  “Quick, come inside and get warmed up.” She took Tomas from Callom. The baby had cried himself to sleep during the trek up the hill. Callom was upset by the baby’s obvious distress.

  “He’s very hungry. What can we feed him?”

  “He needs milk but without his mother we can’t give him that. It will have to be gruel. I think he will manage that if I mash it really fine. Matina, heat up some water for me and find me some oats.”

  Having something positive to do helped lift Serena out of her lethargy. Tomas woke up and cried again, but weakly and that worried Serena. On impulse she added some honey to the gruel, a little sweetness would restore his energy and hopefully encourage him to drink the thin porridge. She changed his soiled clothing; washed and covered his bottom with tallow from Matina’s medicine bag; then put on a rabbit hide nappy stuffed with dried moss to absorb his mess. The clean up revived the baby a little and he remembered his hunger. Serena separated a little of the gruel from the rest and stirred it vigorously to get it to cool quicker. Using a split deer bone as a spoon she trickled the food into the babies mouth. He spluttered as he cried, then stopped and smacked his lips. Serena brought another spoonful to his mouth and he sucked it in, like a sparrow he opened his mouth for more. Serena smiled and fed him another spoonful. She relaxed. At least something was going right.

  “Matina get stirring the rest of that gruel for Tomas. From now on the honey is for him only, is that clear?” Not looking up from feeding the infant she asked. “Where’s Brinan?”

  “He’s down by the lake, still looking for Lodina.”

  “Let’s hope he finds her soon.” Serena replied choking on her words for fear he wouldn’t.

  Her fears were founded. In a way, Brinan was grateful that he had sent Callom back to the cave. He found Lodina’s body, floating and bloated on the water further west than he had looked earlier. For the second time that day he got wet retrieving the body from the lake. He didn’t want the others to see Lodina like this and set about digging a shallow grave for her.

  He worked fast, aware that his own survival was important but he took the time to dig the grave deep enough to hide the scent from scavengers and to cover the grave with stones. He needed a torch to find his way back to the small cave. Tired and dirty, he collapsed by the fire. Luma lay down by his side.

  “Did you find her?” Asked Callom.

  Brinan nodded, he could barely talk and, his voice trembling, whispered, “I’m so sorry.” Callom began to cry.

  “Callom?” It was Matina. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s your mother, she’s dead.”

  Matina generally cried a lot to get her way but when her face crumpled and tears ran down her cheeks for the loss of her mother, Brinan felt a overwhelming compassion for the girl, so much so that he had trouble fighting back tears of his own.

  Serena noticed that Ruban had turned suddenly pale. The announcement reignited the memory of losing his father and he felt a deep primal fear and insecurity. But Ruban didn’t cry, he just seemed to shut down, or go somewhere else. Serena put an arm around him, but it was like consoling an empty vessel. She was at a loss at what else to do so just held him. Tears streamed down her face.

  Nobody could really say when they fell asleep that night. When they woke, their t
ears of grief came back. Tomas cried too, but for hunger and discomfort. In a daze, Serena tended to him, then the fire to make them some food although she really wasn’t hungry. To make matters worse, it started to rain again reminding them of the cause of their misery.

  It fell to Brinan to bring some order. He felt like he had aged a hundred years in the last day. Although they grieved for Lodina too, there was a chance that the hunters had survived and he clung desperately to that hope to get him through the following days. When the rain stopped, they all returned to the shore. Serena felt it was necessary to hold a burial ceremony for the much loved medicine woman. She remembered Tamo explaining that it was needed to let the spirits start their journey to the spirit world and to help the loved ones that remained behind to get over their grief. It was the season for meadow flowers and on their way, she encouraged everyone to pick as many as they could find of the biggest and prettiest ones. When they came to the burial cairn of the woman, Brinan again felt grateful that they had not had to see the body. Lodina could be remembered as she was not as she had died.

  One by one, the children placed flowers on the top of the cairn. Serena recited the burial poem that Tamo had used for their grandmother. Brinan, kneeling by the grave, found tears pouring unbidden down his cheeks; then a gentle patting on his shoulder.

  It was Matina, “Oh Brinan, please don’t cry. If you cry, I can’t cry and I really want to cry.”

  Brinan almost laughed, he hugged Matina tightly. She had hit the flint so beautifully on the cortex, of course he couldn’t cry, he was in charge now, he had to be their rock. He took a deep breath and rubbed the tears from his eyes. But they came back, silently, insistent.