Brinan of the Wolf Clan

by Laura Jack

  “Last one in is a wolverine!” Yelled Matina. Callom overtook her; Brinan overtook them both.

  “No fair!” Cried Ruban, he refused to race and sat down on the sand. Serena took his hand and pulled him up. She couldn’t race either, she had Tomas to carry.

  “Go on, you can still beat us!” She said encouragingly.

  They all swam in the water for a while to wash away the dust and grime from travelling. As evening approached, they set to work setting up camp, lighting a huge bonfire just as a beacon to any other travellers - they were far less likely to encounter large predators on the beach. A supper of fresh seafood and seaweed was eaten before the panorama of a fiery sunset reflected on calm waters. They didn’t bother putting up tents but slept under the stars.

  The next morning, they swam again then settled down to breakfast and hot tea.

  “I need to climb that cliff face and get our bearings.” Brinan announced. “This isn’t the same beach we camped on last year and I want to be absolutely sure we stay on the right trail.

  “We need the coracles too, if we’re going to fish.” Callom reminded him. They all walked along the beach to the cliffs. Brinan looked up at the rock face. Now they were here, the cliffs were a lot higher than he first thought. He swallowed his fear and started to climb.

  “Get us some eggs.” Matina shouted after him. He looked down and nodded but quickly looked up again. It was not a good idea to look down, he decided. He carried on climbing. The higher he climbed, the steeper it got. His footing slipped but he recovered quickly.

  “Be careful.” Yelled Serena.

  “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” He lied, he was shaking with fear and the higher he climbed the weaker and shakier he felt. He looked down briefly and felt the ground below swaying sharply. He was close to the nests of birds. He worked sideways along the cliff face to reach a group of nests and collect the clusters of eggs. The wind was much stronger up here and threatened to suck him away from the cliff every time he took his hand off to reach for an egg. He set his mind to collecting the eggs, placing them carefully in a pouch he had tied onto the back of his tunic belt to stop them being crushed. He had to reach out far to collect the last clutch from the last nest. His footing slipped and he had to drop the egg in order to catch the rock to steady himself.

  At the bottom, the egg smashed onto the rocks in front of Serena and the others. They felt frightened for him, staring up in anticipation.

  Brinan took a deep breath, pulled his body close into the cliff face, and scanned the coast line. He grinned when he spotted the landmarks he was looking for. There was that familiar tall granite stack out in the ocean; there was the sheltered bay where he knew their coracles were stashed. It would only be a half days walk along the top of the cliffs to reach it. He started to go back down but panicked and found that he couldn’t move. He looked up instead. He was not far from the top and decided it would be easier to climb up rather than descend. Cautiously, he made his way up.

  The wind was even stronger higher up, and even more determined to whip him away. He paused for a rest and took a deep breath. Only a few more feet to climb, then he would be over the top. But the chalky cliff-face near the top was crumbly and he had to check every foothold and handhold before putting his weight on them.

  Growing a little more confident, he found a few more eggs and put them into the pouch then reached up for a handhold to pull himself up. The large, white gull, whose eggs he had just snatched, swooped down on him. Brinan felt the breath of her wings and a sharp peck on his outstretched hand. He grabbed at the cliff face but the chalky surface gave way under foot and he let out an involuntary scream. Down below, Serena let out an even louder one.

  Hanging on for dear life, Brinan struggled to find a foothold. He found one space for one, but not the other, only sheer rock. He buried his face against the rock, closed his eyes and sent a silent prayer to Magda. It was lonely and frightening up here. He felt like he was on the outside of life, looking in and only when he got back onto solid ground would he be alive again. Against his better instincts he pressed his free foot against the rock, he risked letting go with one hand in order to reach higher and pull himself up, but failed and slipped back. He closed his eyes, feeling nauseous with fear. Something hit his head and down below he heard a cheer from the others. He opened his eyes and there, dangling beside him, was a rope. Someone loomed over the edge, the sun at their back, could it be Arguus? Brinan couldn’t believe his luck. He grabbed the rope with one hand, testing it; then grabbed it with the other, leaving himself vulnerable. He felt himself being pulled up. He was almost up and over the edge when the rope burned and frayed from the pressure started to give way. Someone grabbed his hair and yanked him up and over. Brinan let out a yelp of pain.

  Sore, but grateful Brinan looked up at his rescuer and smiled broadly.

  “Varad!”

  Brinan stood up, buffeted by the wind and the two boys; who looked so different hugged each other like long lost brothers.

  “What are you doing here?” Brinan asked him.

  “Varad’s Clan go east, Varad want to go west - with Brinan’s Clan.” Varad explained, his statement had the hint of a question in it.

  “Yes, of course!” Agreed Brinan, feeling privileged and relieved. They talked as they walked along the cliff edge until they found a safer way down and returned to the camp on the beach.

  Luma raced towards them. Varad raised his spear but Brinan held his arm down.

  “No Varad, this wolf is friend, she is like Clan.” Brinan tried to explain.

  “Luma, stop!” Commanded Brinan when he realised she was about to attack. Warily, Luma stopped short, unsure of what to do. She wanted to greet Brinan but was scared of the imposing human who walked with him. His kind had a different scent to her Clan putting her on guard. Brinan signalled Varad to stay and walked a few steps towards his wolf. Luma closed what was left of the gap by scooting towards him submissively. Brinan invited her to jump up on him. Varad let out a gasp of shock. Brinan pushed the wolf down and beckoned him over.

  “Keep your spear down by your side. Hold out your free hand with the palm up and let her come to you. Luma, come. Make friends.” He kept a hold of her collar and brought her towards Varad, feeling a low growl rise up in her through. “Friend!” Insisted Brinan, it was a new word she would have to get used to. He realised he needed to relax and keep talking in a calm friendly manner himself to reassure both the wolf, and Varad. The boy, for all his size, was shaking with fear.

  On a moment of impulse; Brinan got one of the eggs from his pouch and handed it to Varad. Gesturing, he told him.

  “Offer her this - it will let her know you are a friend.”

  Varad did as he was told, but Brinan could see his hand shaking. Luma tentatively sniffed his hand, it was the one Varad had used to grab Brinan by the hair so Brinan’s scent was on it. With surprising gentleness, she took the egg from Varad without cracking it.

  “Luma.” Said Brinan as he tapped the wolf’s head. He tapped his own chest, “Brinan.”

  Then he tapped Varad’s chest and said his name. Once again, he tapped Luma’s head and repeated her name.

  “Loooma? Looma? Luma!” Varad repeated the word until he had the name right. He relaxed a little, which had the effect of relaxing Luma. He had never been so close to a living wolf and his fear gave way to fascination and curiosity. Brinan took his hand and placed it on the wolf’s head.

  “Here, she likes to be scratched like this.” Varad copied him tentatively. It was rather nice to touch a warm, living animal. Suddenly Luma sat down and scratched behind her ear, still holding the egg in her mouth. Then she lay down, bit into the egg and licked up the contents, broken shell and all. She seemed to have accepted Varad and waited for Brinan’s command.

  “Come on,” He said to both of them. Let’s get back to the others.”

  “Varad, you came for us!” Matina jumped up at the strange boy, instinctively he caught her and returned h
er bear hug. His face was a mixture of pleasure and discomfort. Brinan guessed he wasn’t used to such open displays of affection. Ruban gave him a one armed hug too and Varad placed his hand on the boys head in acknowledgement. Matina clung like a limpet to him and got sandwiched between him and Callom in another hug. Then it was Serena’s turn. She suddenly felt shy, even though she was as pleased as everyone else to see him. She hugged Varad quickly, and then prised Matina off him.

  “Come on you, we need to eat then break camp.”

  “We’re not that far from the bay where we camped last year. Less than half a days walk.” Explained Brinan. “We’ll set up a proper camp there and do some fishing. Varad will be travelling with us.” He added.

  “For always?” Asked Matina.

  “I’m not sure.” Replied Brinan honestly. There was still too much of a language barrier to ask him outright. He still wasn’t sure of Varad’s reasons for turning up but suspected it was partly something to do with Serena. Whatever it was, he was happy and by the looks of the others, so were they. Varad insisted on carrying Tomas along the beach but when the baby grizzled, a sign that he need to sleep, Serena took him off Varad and placed him in the travois. Brinan hitched wolf up to it and once again Varad was astounded, and impressed, by the wolf’s tameness and willingness to help.

  The next morning promised a hot day. They had set up a good base camp in the bay, exactly where they had camped before. It brought both a pang of sadness to the Clan and a beacon of hope. Of all their campsites, this was the most likely one they would be found at. Brinan announced it was a good time to fish. After a breakfast of gulls eggs and seeded loaves that Varad had brought, they pulled out the coracles from their hiding place among the rocks, well away from tidal waters.

  The tide was half way out so they had a long haul to get them to the waters edge but with Varad’s help, they were soon paddling in the water. Varad and Brinan in one coracle, and Callom in the other with the net. Luma yipped at them from the beach. She was a little fearful of the sea, her double coat when wet, dragged her down into the water and she instinctively stayed in the shallows.

  The boys paddled further out before casting their net into the water and trawling it between the two boats. While they fished, Serena swam out and dived for scallops. She was a better swimmer than anyone; strangely, she preferred to swim than be in the boat. The scallops made an excellent feast and their shells were useful for many things. Matina and Ruban combed the beach around the campsite for smaller seashells for jewellery.

  Out on the ocean, someone else was not feeling so happy. Varad gripped the edges of the Coracle. His stomach knotted with fear. He had been willing enough to come out in the boat but the swell of the sea was new to him and un-nerving. Brinan grinned, he remembered the fear he felt his first time too. The power of the sea was overwhelming and he had felt small and vulnerable in the swells. After a short time, they brought the two coracles together.

  “I wonder how our sail boat would handle in this.” Callom shouted over to Brinan. “If the winds were in the right direction we could travel so much further down the coast.”

  “We’ll come back another summer and try,” Brinan promised. The idea of travelling to new lands appealed to him. Neither boy mentioned Felmas, or any of the adults. Sometimes they dreamed and hoped of a reunion but at other times, they imagined and planned new adventures. Torn between the need for security and their innate desire for adventure, they settled instead to live each day as it came and make the most of things. They paddled back for shore, dragging the net along. Judging by the resistance, they had made a decent catch.

  “Let’s pull the net in,” Suggested Callom. “It will make getting back to shore easier. Varad realized what they were doing and reached across to help. He grabbed a handful of netting and stood up for better leverage to pull the load in. But he misjudged the size of the catch and under-estimated his own strength. He hauled in with so much force that as the fish were landed he toppled back over the boat.

  At first Brinan and Callom just laughed, they were close enough to shore for Varad to simply swim but after a few moments, they realised he couldn’t. Worse, he was panicking, flailing, and going under.

  “Stay with my boat Callom,” Brinan dived in. He surfaced near the boat and looked around frantically. Varad had gone under again.

  “Over there, to your left.” Shouted Callom, who had a better view over the swell, he could see Varad’s head bobbing up near the boat. Brinan swam in the direction and found Varad; he hooked an arm under the boy and swam one handed, grateful that the buoyancy of the water made him lighter to pull.

  He swam towards the shore - as it was now closer than the boat. Serena waded in and helped pull Varad out. In a fit of coughing and spluttering, Varad collapsed onto the beach. He took a big lungful of air and looked up at his rescuers. “Varad not good swim. Varad better hunter!” He said with a grin. Serena knelt down beside him and hugged him, reluctant to let go. Varad patted her back at first and then return the hug. Wolf ran up to them and licked both Serena and Brinan, then, to everyone’s surprise, she licked Varad.

  “See,” announced Brinan happily. “Luma knows you’re one of us now.”

  17 A New Weapon

  The Clan stayed on the beach for several days living off the bounty provided by the sea. Reluctantly Brinan started making plans for the last part of their journey to the Horse Clan. For some reason the thought of arriving there made him nervous. He fretted that they didn’t have enough to trade and while they could easily live off the land, he wanted to bring a surplus to the Gathering as contribution. He did not want their arrival to be seen as a burden.

  They had entered another vast woodland, although this one consisted mainly of deciduous trees with very few pines. The boys were less familiar with the game in these woods. That evening they had resorted to eating badger and hare from the snares. Brinan knew that they really needed to hunt a larger predator but was racking his brains to think of a way. It was Varad who broached the problem.

  “Brinan’s Clan need big animal. Then not need hunt every day. Varad can hunt big animal.” Thanks to Serena’s tutoring, Varad’s understanding of their language was improving rapidly aided by their instinctive use of body language and gestures to accentuate their words.

  “Yes, we could really use your help Varad but what should we try for? Deer? Boar?” He put his arms to his ears and spread his hands in imitation of a deer, then put his index fingers to the sides of his mouth and grunted in imitation of a pig. Varad nodded in understanding, mixing language with physical imitation in response.

  “In forest, plenty of boar. Varad see tracks. We hunt boar.”

  Brinan groaned inwardly, remembering the last time he hunted boar. He did not want to look like a failure in front of Varad.

  “How shall we do it? It’s impossible to hunt with spears and spear throwers in the forest; you need open ground to get a straight aim and the necessary power.”

  “We could dig a pit trap?” Suggested Callom. He pretended to dig, then speared an imaginary prey, trying to explain to Varad.

  “No, not need pit trap. Varad kill. Not need spears.”

  “Are you joking with us?” Brinan asked in disbelief. Varad did not understand the word joke but Brinan’s disbelief was evident in his facial expressions.

  “Varad make new weapon - make one for Brinan and for Callom - then we hunt boar together.”

  Then he made a motion with his arms which perplexed the two boys even more.

  Brinan woke next morning to the sounds of chopping wood. Varad had been up since before dawn to make the weapons and Brinan felt a little guilty that he hadn’t woken early too. He found Serena and Matina working as well. Varad had asked them to pound and shred apart deer tendons and plait them together. He had measured out the length that he wanted then had left them to make more. Ruban was busy making small flint spearheads.

  Brinan didn’t bother with breakfast; he just took a mouthful of tea then fol
lowed the noise of chopping wood to find Varad and Callom chopping at the branches of a yew tree. It was one of the hardest trees to chop but Varad made light work of it. They had four good branches and Varad insisted on cutting two smaller ones for Ruban and Matina.

  “In my Clan, small children hunt too! Then he set about cutting hazel branches which were slender and flexible and therefore far easier to cut than the tough old yew. He made three gestures of opening out his hands and counting out his fingers and thumb.

  “You mean thirty? Asked Callom. “So you need thirty hazel sticks. They’re going to be very small spears. What are we hunting, sparrows?”

  The joke went over Varad’s head - or if he got it, he didn’t think it funny. They returned to camp; ate a little smoked fish and boiled seaweed. They were all getting sick of fish now and Serena wanted to save as much for trade as possible.

  Just like making a spear, Varad had to shave the yew and straighten out one end, which he did by soaking it in hot water. He cut a groove in each end of the shafts, then bound strips of leather around the centre and also fashioned a double loop for his fingers. He demonstrated how to hold the loop but this just perplexed the others even more. Then he took one of Serena’s plaited deer tendon strings and tied it one to one end of the shaft around the groove. Then he stood up; placed that end on the ground and forced the yew shaft to bend; and tied the other end of the string to the other end.

  Both Callom and Brinan were fascinated but still clueless about how the weapon would work.

  Varad then set to work on the hazel branches. He selected several of the straightest ones and matched them with the flint blades that Ruban had made. He made one and seeing that the method was the same as for spears; Brinan, Callom and Ruban set about making them too. Serena had melted some sap to use as glue for the blades and they were reinforced with strips of tendons. Feathers that had been saved from their hunting foray at the delta were then split and used as flight feathers. Brinan held up the miniature spear, it might kill a hedgehog, or a weasel. He pretended to throw it.