The Babes

 

They divided up the food and ate. Bebe and Alithea retired for the night while Fallon and Alpen sharpened the stakes. Fallon set them beside the fire and took first watch. Alpen helped Drindl into his overnight bag. Throughout his watch Fallon heard rustles and noises but saw nothing. At home in the mountains, he was familiar with the nightime sounds. Here they sounded different. Was it different animals or just his imagination? After several hours he awoke Alpen and climbed into bed with Alithea.

Alpen shook him awake in the early dawn. He whispered, "See if you can help Drindl. We have a boy and a girl! Bebe is huddled with them now. I need to get some water." The babes were blind for the first few days but had big mouths and needed water to swallow their food.

Fallon struggled awake and gave Alithea a tender lick. "You hear?"

Alithea smiled half awake. "Won't be long for us. Maybe today."

After helping Drindl get up, Fallon waited while the young warrior went behind a tree. When he returned, Fallon asked him if he had slept most of the night. Drindl said it was better than the past few nights. Drindl's eyes weren't as glazed. Maybe yesterday had been the peak.

Alpen and Bebe took turns huddled in the sleeping bag to keep the young ones warm. In mid-morning, they set up the tents so that the babes would be protected from the heat of the overhead sun but facing the warmth of the morning sun. Coated to resist rainwater, the tents were fairly heavy. "It has not rained since we started the journey," Bebe remarked. "How I wish I had my maps!" They were accustomed to short rains in the afternoon at higher elevations. "I'm sure there will be more moisture once we get to the southern highlands."

Drindl had a smaller bivouac tent which they set in the shade to protect it from the rain. His coat no longer glistened in the sun, another sign that he might have passed the peak of his musth.

Alithea closely guarded her and Fallon's egg. She wanted "first punch" when the baby used its elbow spur to punch through the egg casing. Fallon carried Erthen in the sling and followed Alpen along the river to gather plants and small stones. Erthen was curious about everything and had access to the plants in Fallon's side pouch. To keep him occupied, Fallon found an Anschloss leaf. The boy chewed and sucked on it while he studied Fallon's every movement. They returned to camp and Alpen made up a grass paste for the little babies and gave it to Bebe.

"Oh, no!" they heard Alithea cry out from inside the tent. Fallon rushed to the opening. Alithea was cleaning their baby. "It's a girl! I fell asleep and missed first punch." Fallon took a bit of the grass paste and brought it inside the tent. He and Alithea surrounded their babe as she fed.

"This is good that we can both stay with her. She will imprint on you as well," Alithea said. Although she was blind, she imprinted on the initial smells around her. They argued over the babe's name but Fallon gave in and they named her Alamea, a variation of Alithea's mother's name.

The next day, they were able to bring the young babes together. Alpen and Bebe had named their two babes Darden and Bella. Their eyes had opened but were unfocused. At first they stumbled into each other. They made sharp squeaks and jabbed each other with their elbow spurs as they navigated the small space. The first two days, Alithea and Fallon got little sleep. Erthen had to be kept away from the babes for the first week. Alithea examined Drindl on the third day and felt comfortable leaving Erthen with him. Bebe untied the stones from Drindl's feet and they used these to heat the tents in the evening.

"It's like two different people," Fallon said as he smoothed Alamea's new fur.

"It's been almost a week since his battle," Alithea said. "I'll test his knowledge today. After that, you and Alpen should talk up his deeds so he has a memory of them. He will act like someone with status. He will tell his son."

Fallon felt Alamea's elbows. "Her spur is starting to shed."

Alithea felt the babe's hooves. They were firming up. "We'll work with her in a day or two. Let her kick at our hands to build her leg muscles. Then we can let Erthen play with her. If he does get rough, she can defend herself."

"I wish I had been with Erthen this much," Fallon said.

"Yeah, you were busy on the end of summer campaign last year," Alithea reminded him.

"That's right," Fallon said. "Now that I think of it, the Ibik herds were smaller last year. That's why we needed another good hunt before winter set in." He watched as Alithea pushed lightly against Alamea's chest. "Balance?" he asked.

"Yeah, testing her core muscles," Alithea said. "She's a day younger than Darden and Bella. Just want to make sure she is safe around them."

Drindl's Lesson

"What's with the staff?" Bebe asked.

"I forgot," Fallon said and retrieved the long staff that he had brought back from the cliff. He couldn't close his hands around it. "This is dry and stiff. A good poking spear for…whatever." He didn't want to use the word wolfbear in the darkening twilight. "It needs cut in half. Maybe too thick for you or Bebe?" He looked to Alithea. "A chance to show Drindl what happens to a warrior who gets too aggressive?"

Alithea looked at Bebe, then stood up and felt the end of the staff for dryness. It was almost too thick. She looked around in the shadows. "Take the egg," she said to Fallon. "Where – about here?" She pointed to a spot on the staff. She laid each end of the staff on the stones tied to Drindl's feet. Drindl drew back as she moved one stone closer to the other. She paused and sighted the spot on the staff. With a bend of her knees, she launched into the air, whirled in midair and struck the staff with all of her directed weight on her hooves. The staff snapped and she picked up the two pieces.

"She's even better in the daylight when she can see what she's aiming for," Fallon said and laughed.

"Can I see that?" Drindl asked and put his hand around the staff. He shook his head. "That's thicker than the leg of a bull Ibik. A warrior could learn this?"

"It's harder for you," Alithea said. "Women have different types of muscle than warriors."

"A lot of practice too," Bebe said. "Something we haven't done since we started this journey."

Journey's Pause

"Why can't Drindl help us?" Alpen asked.

Alithea looked up from Drindl's wound. "He's torn some of the scar tissue. That's why." She continued to clean and disinfect the damaged skin. Alpen held Erthen and looked toward the western sky, judging the amount of light left in the day. He stamped his hoof in frustration and Erthen kicked out in sympathy.

"You're carrying our egg," Bebe reprimanded him. "Don't stomp."

"We have too many eggs or not enough people," Alpen grunted. "A warrior in musth, three eggs, the little one here." He jostled Erthen up and down. "You are a contented little warrior, Erthen. I hope our babies are as contented."

"When Alithea is done, she and I will take the eggs and Erthen," Bebe said quietly. "You and Fallon can tie up Drindl until you get your jail built. I'm waiting to see this." There was a hint of mockery in her voice.

"We're losing the light," Alpen argued. "We'll get it done." He looked to Fallon. "A prisoner cage like the one we built two summers ago."

"We had stones also," Fallon reminded him. He turned from side to side. "No stones." He trusted Alpen but he was just as curious to see how they were going to build a prisoner jail out of nothing but trees.

When Alithea finished, Alpen tied Drindl's hands and feet. He and Fallon slung their tools on their backs, crossed the narrow river, up the far bank and disappeared over a ridge. "I'd feel better if I could see Drindl," Alpen said.

"Alithea and Bebe can take care of themselves," Fallon said. The sun crossed below the top of the nearby trees. "We don't have much time." In a short while, they found a dry river bed and some dried out wood on the flat plain. Fallon looked to his right where the ground rose up and the old river bed curved out of sight. "This river would have cut deeper through the land further upstream. There might be some caves or alcoves we could use."

When they rounded the curve, the ground rose up into small cliffs. There wasn't a cave but there was a depression in the cliff a bit higher than their heads. There were also cobblestones and larger boulders that had fallen long ago into the old riverbank. They made a crude stone stairway to the depression and tested the dirt. "We could dig this out," Alpen said. They descended the stone stairway to get their tools. They were on the eastern side of the ridge and the shadows were darkening.

Before ascending the stairway again, Fallon stopped and scanned the ground. He put his digging tool down, walked over and picked up a small boulder and hefted it. "Imagine if we tied a stone to each of Drindl's feet," Fallon said. "He would have some range of movement but he would be slow. He would work off musth energy pulling the stones around." He pointed to the sky. "We don't have much light left."

Hefting the two boulders, they started back to camp. "I didn't think we had gone that far from camp," Alpen said when they took a brief pause. "Seems like we're the ones working off all our energy." He looked back at the fading sunlight. Several rests later they finally made it back to the river. Fallon almost lost his footing as he crossed the shallow river with the weight.

"We found some berries," Alithea said. "We have a little left food left over but we won't have much for dinner."

There was a bit more light but the sun had dipped below the hills to the west. Bebe made a cradle weave with strong cord and tied the stones to Fallon. "I can just untie them when I want, if I want," he said.

Alpen handed her a faggot from the fire and she briefly touched the hot stick to the knots. "You can try," she said. She gestured to Alpen who gave her back one of the eggs. "If you do get it untied, that's a Cawthingi fishing knot. That will be something to brag about."

Alpen laughed. "You and your knots." She gave him a playful poke.

Drindl's Choice

As they set out on their journey that morning, the mood had soured. When Bebe felt one of her eggs quicken, Alpen knew it was time. "A day or two," he told Fallon. "We can't keep the new ones warm enough." None of them knew what to do with Drindl while he was in musth the next few days.

"The work of pulling the travois is helping work off the energy but he has no judgment," Alithea told Fallon.

"I can't have him around the babes when they are born," Bebe insisted. "I don't trust him, or any warrior, in musth." With only a day or two left, she and Alpen were sharing egg nursing duty, and she wanted to pause their journey.

"With the faerie gone, I want to put at least another day's journey between us and Sarten," Alpen protested. "Please, one more day. We'll find something more stable tonight."

During that day's journey, Alpen made sure that Drindl stayed in harness until he was completely worn out by the time they broke for the evening meal near the river. "We'll have to take our chances with the wolfbear," Alpen said. He turned to Drindl who reeked of musth and was damp with sweat. "We'll have to stop to take care of the babies."

Drindl's face lit up. "I love babies! They're so cute. We could put them in the faerie cage. If the Faerie comes back, Fallon can tell him that the room is already taken!" He laughed and looked to the others to share in the joke. No one laughed. They looked to Alpen.

"Drindl, you're not thinking right," Alpen said. "You're a good warrior but I can't have you near the little ones. You leave us for the next few days or we can build a jail for you." Fallon stared in surprise when he heard this. Alpen continued. "We'll give you some privacy but you'll be locked up until I feel that you are safe to be around. Which do you prefer?"

Drindl stepped back from the others. "I saved you all and now you are casting me out!" he accused. "I can find my own spot. I don't need any of you, you know! I've been on my own since…whenever!" he paused.

"Drindl, your arm," Alithea said as she reached forward. He backed away from her.  "You're bleeding." He raised his bandaged arm and looked. "Drindl," she kept her tone even and caring. She glanced at the others quickly. "You need to have your bandages changed. When the scar is fully closed, you can go off on your own." He hesitated. "Drindl, you don't want to lose your arm. I have cut off limbs before. It's horrible. Please, Drindl." She reached again toward him and his posture changed. His shoulders fell and an angry wind inside him blew away.

"I am not an animal," he said. His voice was no longer belligerent. He sounded almost like Drindl before he went into musth. "I am a warrior. A hunter. A good one." He held out his bandaged arm to Alithea but spoke to the group. "Cage me if you must."

A Faerie Flies

In the morning when Fallon checked on the Faerie, he looked dispirited. Fallon had forgotten to protect him from the midday sun, the time when a Faerie rests. They first found some fresh Anschloss leaves and Bebe prepared a porridge of berry and leaf which she set in the Faerie's cage. He ate a bit, then lay back down in the cage. Bebe asked Fallon, "I don't hear him making a sound. Is he all right?"

Fallon made a high keening sound to get the Faerie's attention but it didn't respond. Fallon looked closely into the cage. "Even his wings don't look as shimmery. I don't know enough about faeries. Anyone?" Fallon looked at the group, then at Alithea."

"I'm not a faerie doctor," she said. "That is Altiss. She knew the faeries. So did her mother."

Drindl reached forward, unlatched the door to the cage and reached in to grab the faerie with his unbandaged hand. It was so unexpected that Fallon did not react in time to stop him. Drindl threw the faerie into the air. "He needs to be free!" Fallon expected the faerie to fall to the ground but it recovered in mid-air and flew away. "See, he was fine all along." Drindl smiled.

Fallon turned on Drindl. "You stupid bantam boy! The Faerie will tell Altiss and Sarten where we are!" He turned to Alpen. "If he were my bantam, I would…" He left the rest unsaid.

Bebe looked anxiously to Alpen, who held his sword still in its scabbard. He brought the flat side of the blade down on Drindl's bandaged hand and he screamed with the pain. "Musth or no musth," he barked. "Young or old. You endanger my eggs, my partner. You're lucky I don't cut your hand off."

Drindl bent forward, holding his injured hand, and turned away from the group. Blood trickled from the bandage that covered the now reopened wound. "All my good work," Alithea said to Alpen. "It's just a few more days."

"If he doesn't get us killed," Alpen said as he set the sword in its place on the travois.

Fade To Black

Later that night they roasted a piece of Sprint leg. It was too chewy but it did taste like the meat from a tik-tik bird. "A story we will tell other warriors," Alpen said as he clapped Drindl on the back. "A warrior, by himself, took down a Sprint."

"A bantam warrior and a bantam Sprint," Fallon laughed. "Made for each other. A rendevous with destiny!"

"How did you learn to throw a flechette like that?" Alpen asked. "What a clever idea with the sword. Did you see someone else do that?"

"I guess. I don't know. It just came to me," Drindl said. "My dad made me practice with the flechette. I think it was mostly to keep me occupied when I was younger. I got real good. What about the sword?"

"The sword that you put into the pincer of the Sprint," Alpen said. "Brilliant idea. Then that damn creature stabbed himself with it. A master stroke!" He patted Drindl's shoulder as a compliment.

"The sword," Drindl said. "Yeah, the sword. Where is my sword? It was on your travois." His voice drifted away at the end. "The heat of battle, I suppose."

"It's still there," Alpen said. "You used Fallon's sword."

Alithea spoke up from the other side of the cooking fire. "Drindl, how did you cut your hand?"

Drindl looked down at his hand. "In the river, I think. The river." Again, his voice faded away. Alpen turned to him in disbelief.

Alithea shook her head at Alpen. "The memory is already fading." She stood up. "Drindl, let's check your bandage and maybe see if you can get some rest."

"Yeah, that would be good," Drindl said and stood up.

When Alithea returned, Fallon and Alpen were already in a spirited discussion. "I have seen lots of warriors in musth. We talk about the battle. We commemorate their courage. They remember what they did!" Alpen insisted.

"Alithea says they don't," Fallon argued and turned to Alithea. "Tell him. You're the doctor."

"Yes, for a time after the battle, they remember," Alithea said. She reached out to Fallon, who gave her the egg pouch. "When they come in to see me the next morning to have their wound checked, they don't know how they got their wounds."

"But we talk about it for days, weeks, months," Alpen protested. "I have my own stories." He turned to Fallon, who agreed.

"Those are the stories you learned from the other warriors," Alithea said. "You become convinced that it is your memory because it is your story, the story about you." She stopped suddenly and held up her hand in the firelight. "Movement!" She pointed to the egg in the pouch.

Fallon was surprised. "I was just holding it and felt nothing."

"First kick is always with momma," Alithea said. Bebe laughed. "Come on, let's put this fire out and get some rest. We've had a harrowing day."

Battle at the River

The others looked to Fallon who pointed to a tree along the riverbank. It was an adolescent Sprint, the ugly bulbous red head and black pincers emerging from the leaf canopy as it stepped along the riverbank. As Fallon turned toward Erthen, he saw Alpen upended as Drindl threw him off. Bebe and Alithea, both carrying the egg pouches broke away from the river and the Sprint and out into the open meadow.

Fallon grabbed Erthen off the travois and hurried after Bebe and Alithea. To his side, Drindl emerged naked from the water and moved toward the travois. Fallon looked back and saw Drindl take his sword from the travois and the pouch of flechette stones. Fallon turned to the river to see Alpen spluttering as he emerged onto the riverbank. Fallon yelled at him and pointed to Drindl, who had already tied the hunting pouch around his waist.

"Aaaaaeeeeaaahhh!" came the battle cry from Drindl as he ran from the travois to the Sprint. The boy who had frozen in catatonic fear at the sight of a Sprint was now a blood curdling warrior in full musth. Alpen would not get to him in time to stop Drindl's rush toward the creature.

How many inexperienced warriors had Fallon seen cut down by the barbed leg hairs  of a Sprint? Too many. This one was not fully grown. It's waving leg hairs were only two feet long, but still long enough to cut through skin and flesh. A warrior might stumble at the first deep cut, then the scissor-like pincers would come down and behead him. Fallon had seen a severed head fall to the ground, its mouth open in full scream, but silent, the breath still imprisoned in the body now parted from the head.

"Where's my travois?" Alpen asked as he hurried to Fallon's side. Fallon pointed to the travois two hundred yards away. Alpen cursed in frustration. "Where is your sword?"

"That's it," Fallon said. "Drindl has it."

Alpen turned in the direction of his travois. "Drindl is done. We need to protect our eggs and the others. There's nothing we can do."

/////////////////////

Alpen was right. Fallon had a duty to get Erthen as far from the Sprint as possible, but backed away slowly because he couldn't take his eyes off Drindl. The young warrior was screaming at the Sprint. Fallon couldn't make out the words but he could hear the anger in Drindl's voice. Not fear. Not anger. Rage. The purest rage. Then the Sprint returned Drindl's scream with its own and Fallon covered Erthen's ears. An Alsace bird issues a paralyzing kill scream as it attacks. This was like a hundred Alsace birds and Fallon's head hurt from the intensity of the sound.

Alpen paused on his way back to the travois. Alithea and Bebe were already far away but they turned as well to the scream that caused a person's soul to turn to jelly. Fallon expected Drindl to continue his rush, brandishing the sword, rage driven by the musth. Drindl paused outside of the circle of the Sprint legs and pincers, then reared back and threw one of the flechettes. The sharp stone sliced into one of the Sprint's eight eyes. The creature screamed again, but Fallon knew that this would barely disable the creature.

Drindl threw another stone and it cut into the joint of one pincer. It was a throw of remarkable precision and now the creature could not close its pincer. Emboldened by those two strikes, Drindl charged into the circle of the Sprint's reach. Its legs did not move but still the barbed hairs waved like deadly cutting wires.

Drindl screamed his rage at the Sprint and waved the sword. The creature brought its other pincer down to attack Drindl and closed the jaw of its pincer around the sword. Drindl pushed the sword's blade into the joint of the pincer, cutting his hand as he forced it hard into the crevice of the joint. Blood splattered from the hand but Drindl's musth and battle rage had numbed him to pain.

He reached into his hunting pouch, removed a flechette and threw it at the creature's eye. Another scream and the Sprint brought its pincer to its head to protect itself. With that gesture, the creature stabbed the blade into its head and again erupted into a scream that caused Fallon so much pain that his head seemed to split apart. Then the creature backed up to the tree where it became entangled in the fork of two branches.

Exhausted by the effort and his rage, Drindl sank to his knees. Alpen rushed past Fallon and toward Drindl. The trapped Sprint frantically waved its legs but Drindl was out of reach. Alpen lifted up the bantam warrior, grabbed Fallon's sword and together they stumbled through the tall grass back to Fallon's travois. 

Time Out

Fallon and Alithea stayed out in open, but kept an eye out for movement in the trees. Alpen had taken their egg and Alithea enjoyed the single minded focus of pulling the travois, like a meditation. She paused to adjust the harness and looked back to check on Erthen. "Drindl!" She shouted. Alpen and Bebe turned back to see Drindl, who was slightly behind the group and throwing Erthen up in the air. It might have been fun but clearly Erthen was agitated. "Fallon!"

He turned back. At first glance, he didn't understand the problem. Drindl was playing with Erthen. A second later, he became alarmed as well. "Drindl!" he shouted. "Alpen!" he called for help. Fallon shrugged off his harness and ran back. Alpen was already there, trying to talk Drindl down. The short hair on Drindl's forehead was soaked with perspiration and his eyes had a peculiar glaze. Had he taken the rest of the energy? Fallon wondered.

He held out his arms and coaxed Drindl to give him Erthen. The small boy was clearly upset and held onto Fallon who cooed the soft sounds of a Burble bird to the boy until he calmly laid his head against Fallon's chest.

"We were just having fun!" Drindl protested.

Alithea came alongside. "We need to get him to the river. He is overheating." Fallon and Bebe stayed with Erthen, while Alpen and Alithea accompanied Drindl to the river. Standing out in the midday sun, Fallon and Bebe thought the shade looked inviting. Bebe couldn't tend her two eggs and pull a travois, so they left her and Alpen's travois while Fallon pulled the other. Fallon could see the other travois from the river and who was here that would take their belongings? He tied Erthen to the travois and they followed the others to the river. As they neared the river, Fallon pointed at the river and laughed. Alpen was sitting on Drindl's shoulders to keep him submerged in the water. He waved his arm as though riding an Ibik. Certainly this would cool Drindl off and tire him out at the same time.

To his right, Fallon saw what looked like a moving tree. He let the harness relax and paused to take a second look, then screamed at the others when he realized what he was looking at.

The DIvide

"The Great Divide?" Drindl asked as he wiped away the berry juice from the floor of the Faerie's cage.

"The war between us," Bebe said. Drindl recognized that name. The civil war. "When there was only Jade, the evergreen people."

"Your books? Did you bring anything?" Alithea asked Bebe.

"With the maps," Bebe said.

Alpen stood up, then hugged Bebe. "I was so worried for our safety. I didn't think about the books."

"I would not have brought the books," Bebe said. "They belong to our people."

"What books?" Drindl asked. He dumped dirt on the campfire. Fallon noticed his scent and signaled to Alithea, motioning to his neck. She nodded in reply.

"The history of our people," Bebe said. "The agreements we have made with the other tribes since the Great Divide. The stories of our fathers and mothers. The recordings of property."

Alpen looked her directly in the eye. "They are not lost. I swear to you." What was he swearing? To come back? To get the books and maps? He didn't know. Bebe understand the heart of his words and placed her hands on his cheeks.

Drindl held Erthen on his lap in front of the small breakfast fire. He cupped the boy's hand and put some dirt in his hand. The boy looked at it then up at Drindl, who swung the boys hand toward the fire. The dirt scattered across the embers and the boy made bouncing motions as the dust sparkled in the flames.

Fallon knelt down next to fire. "You'll make a good dad, Drindl." He reached out for Erthen. "Let's pack up."

They found more olanthe bushes near the river. Drindl rinsed his neck and Alithea applied another berry paste pack. When she saw the amount of exudate from his neck glands, she kept some paste in reserve. She insisted that Drindl take the travois. He needed to burn off the energy and aggressiveness. The wind was coming from the south, so she and Bebe took up the rear. Alpen took the other travois.

Fallon walked beside her and Bebe. "He will peak tomorrow or the next," Alithea said. "Don't leave him alone with Erthen."

"What?" Fallon scoffed. "You saw how patient he is with the boy."  

"Why do you question me about this? Do I doubt that you know how to sharpen a blade? Go ahead, tell me about your musth when you were Drindl's age," Alithea asked. Bebe smiled and looked away.

"Well, that was a while ago," Fallon said.

"Were you in battle? In camp? Building a house? On a journey? Enjoying a woman?" Alithea asked.

"Inquisitor!" Fallon accused her. "I'm sure I was doing something like that."

"You don't remember," Alithea said. "None of you do. The musth makes you crazy and you can't remember. We remember. So, I'm asking you." She kept her voice low but insistent. "Please don't let him be alone with Erthen for the next few days!"

Bebe turned her head toward Bebe and Fallon. "This is how the war began. The warriors were in charge of negotiations. We, the women, do the bargaining now. Less blood."

"Listen to the doctor, honey." Alithea reached up and gave him a lick on his cheek.

"Yes, doctor," Fallon said. Why did Alpen bring Drindl along?

They paused at midday. The land was gently rising but they could not see the highlands yet. The smell of the ocean occasionally drifted across their path and lifted their spirits. Alithea made a mask from cloth, smeared juice from an Anschloss leaf and tied it around Drindl's face.

"I can smell the trees near our village," Drindl said.

"It will help mask other smells," Alithea said. She and Fallon took up the travois and continued.

After a while, Alpen came alongside. "Something has been following us since we left the river."

"Animal? How many?" Fallon asked.

"Yes. Just one."

The Smell of Water

Fallon and Drindl awoke early and tucked several flechette stones into their pouches. At first light they headed away from camp, walking silently through the brush, eyes in a fixed gaze and unvarying focus. The hunter's gaze saw only motion - the twitch of an ear, the flutter of a small wing in a bush. Flechette cocked in his hand, Fallon moved in an arc away from Drindl. Seeing motion to his left, Drindl  sent the stone flying with a practiced throw. A small cry and a tik-tik bird rose up from a bush. Drindl sent his stone slicing through the air and the bird fell. The neck had been severed. Fallon knew that it was either luck or extraordinary skill and he complimented Drindl. Fallon found that he had taken a hare. He finished the animal quickly.

After cooking the tik-tik bird, Drindl shredded a morsel of the sweet breast meat with his flechette. Alithea mixed the meat with a berry paste and fed it to Erthen. He flapped his little arms with delight and made "tik-tik" sounds as he chewed. Bebe gave the Faerie the rest of the paste.

As the sun climbed above the eastern hills, the wind shifted. From the west came the smell of the ocean, and all of them turned to draw in the scent. Bebe showed her frustration. "The maps! We left so quickly. They were in the bargaining tent."

Bebe's passion was her map making and tribal history. When Alpen made the decision to abandon the warrior camp and flee their village, had he thought of Bebe and the others? Did he have the right to make a choice for all of them? They had trusted his judgment.  "How far is the ocean?" he asked.

"Still a few days journey," Bebe answered. "The coastline gets closer as we go south."

"I went with my father to the ocean," Fallon said. Alithea had heard the story before and placed his hand on her egg pouch. "We stat on a rock at the shore. He told me not to look at the sun as it settled above the water. When it had almost disappeared, I could look. The orange glow made a path across the water to where we sat. I was like an Alsace bird. My spirit rose up from my body and journeyed out across the water. I wanted to stay there with the Cawthingi tribe. 'We are a mountain people,' my father said. I remember my last time seeing the water. I was standing on a hill and the gleam of light on the blue gray water. My father reached around me as I stared. I turned and buried myself in his arms and cried."

"We used to be mountain and seashore people," Bebe said. "Before the Great Divide."

Eyes Wide Open

"First time?" Bebe asked Drindl.

"Last year, but not like this," Drindl said.

"Our eggs will hatch within a week and our scent will change," she said. "You won't be thinking clearly and you may…"

"Oh, no," Drindl interrupted. "I wouldn't…"

"Here me out," Bebe said. "Alithea and I were trained to work around warriors. We learned to cripple a warrior in musth who tries to mount us without permission."

"You don't have to worry about me," Drindl assured her.

"I won't hesitate," Bebe said. "Neither will Alithea. It will happen quickly, as though by instinct. You won't be able to continue the journey. A wolfbear meal." She said it calmly as though describing the path of the sun across the sky. "Didn't Alpen tell you?" she asked. "He's your teacher."

He shook his head. An alert warrior crippled by a woman? It didn't seem possible. "Thanks for the neck wrap," he said, then hurried his pace to catch up with Alpen and Fallon.

Again they moved away from the river to spend the night. They gathered dry winter's wood for the fire and finished the last of their food cache at the evening meal.

"Tomorrow morning we must hunt," Alpen said.

"Where are the Ibik?" Fallon asked. He didn't expect an answer. The other grazing animals that accompanied the Ibik herds were missing as well. The springy kuru and tail twitching gamelon were smallish animals with stringy meat but they would have been a welcome meal on this journey.

The three warriors sat side by side. Drindl leaned toward Alpen. "Can Bebe and Alithea cripple a warrior? Bebe said you were supposed to teach me." Alpen glanced sideways at him. Fallon laughed. Bebe and Alithea looked at the three warriors from the other side of the fire.

Fallon nudged Alpen in the side. "Didn't you tell him? He's your bantam. That was the first or second thing my teacher taught me."

Alpen signaled for Fallon to lower his voice. "I was focused on the battle, the energy. The tent was closed." He turned to Drindl. "Yes, they are doctors. They learned to heal and hurt. One swift kick. If they are kind to you, the kick tears the muscle from your bone. If they are not kind, a broken bone or worse."

"Well, at least I will be prepared to defend myself," Drindl said.

"No, you won't," Alpen said as he stirred the embers of the fire. A pop. Fallon looked across the fire at Erthen, at the glow of the dancing flames in the child's dark eyes. Erthen was mesmerized by the fire as he huddled in Alithea's arms.

"Their scent will change pretty soon," Alpen continued.

"Bebe said in a week or so," Drindl said. "I think she wanted to prepare me."

Alpen nodded. "She told you then. Depending on the wind direction, you may get their scent as we are walking. If you are pulling the travois, stop and tell me or tell them. We will reposition everyone."

"I'm not a rutting Ibik, Alpen." Drindl argued. "I can control myself. You can trust me."

"You will probably peak a few days before the eggs hatch. Let's all be careful," Alpen said. Fallon touched him to signal no more talk. He hoped Alpen did not have to hurt Drindl.

"We'll all be careful and look out for each other," Fallon repeated.

Down By The River

They stopped in mid-afternoon below a large tree near the river. After two encounters with bird talons, Fallon inspected the tree closely, then pronounced it safe. Alithea held Erthen while he splashed in the cool water. He wanted to stand in a shallow eddy, but his hooves were still soft and easily cut by the rocks in stream.

Drindl scrubbed while Alithea supervised. She reminded him she was a doctor, but he was careful to keep his lower half submerged. Bebe gave the egg pouch to Alpen, then searched along the river bank until she found an olanthe bush. She filled a pouch with its berries and returned to the group. "A poultice wrapped around his neck will mask the scent," she told Alithea, who agreed.

Bebe mashed the berries, then found a clean rag on the travois. Drindl sidled away from her as she sat on the river bank and strained the berry mash. "Stay there, Drindl. This will be messy. The water will wash away the residue." He stood in the water, a sheepish look on his face. "You don't need to crouch," she approached him. She looked below the water and stopped, struggling to keep a smile hidden. "Ok, crouch, then face away from me."

She lathered the paste on the sides of his neck where the scent glands oozed. Some of the paste fell onto his shoulders, then fell into the water that swirled around him. She wrapped his neck in the clean cloth and had him crouch further until the water came up to his shoulders. She brushed away the residue. She asked Alpen for a cloth and let Drindl exit the water and behind the tree.

"I wasn't this bad," Alpen said. "I think there's something wrong with him."

"You were worse," Bebe said as she pushed him playfully. "You all get used to it. Muscle smell, you told me." She looked back at the tree. Drindl was still hidden on the other side. "I smell olanthe berry, but no musth and he's probably relieving himself right now. I think this will work."

Alpen gave her an impatient look. "We need to go."

"Give me a few minutes to clean up," Bebe said. "There's enough berry paste for another treatment. Let's see if this one lasts until tomorrow morning." She turned to the river. "He's your bantam. We have a responsibility to him."

"Warrior skills, not nursemaid," Alpen called after her, then turned to brush away the damn Zeti flies.

From the river, Bebe called to Drindl, "Remember to bathe again." She waited for an acknowledgment, then "Drindl!" she called again. When she heard his muffled reply, she came up the river bank and helped Alpen secure their things to the travois. Drindl walked back into the river, then emerged again and wrapped himself. Alpen and Fallon took the harnesses while Bebe tightened the neck wrap around Drindl. In a few hours, when the air was cooler, Drindl could pull a harness without sweating too much.

Over Their Shoulder

Bebe woke Fallon. "Can you tell us what this Faerie is squeaking about?"

The sun had warmed the air while he slept. He threw off the covers of his bedroll and stood up. He looked to the Faerie on a nearby rock and laughed. Someone had tied a skirt of woven twigs around the Faerie's waist. The wings did not have full motion so the Faerie hopped up and down in a fit of anger and frustration. "It looks ridiculous! Alpen, was this your idea?"

Alpen pointed to Drindl, who said, "I thought he would like being out of the cage."

Fallon brought his teeth together to make a high keening sound. The Faerie paused, then said that he wouldn't fly away if they took this skirt off him. Fallon put him back in the cage, then gave him the tiniest morsel of energy to help the Faerie sleep.

Bebe wanted a break from babysitting the eggs and stepped into the harness of their travois. Drindl took lead and they continued south on the Ibik migration path. Their route took them toward what they guessed was a river running down from the highlands ahead of them. When they broke in the mid-afternoon, Alithea checked and redressed Fallon's wound, then tied a fresh bandage. "You can pull for a few hours but keep a moderate pace," she told him.

Erthen wanted to sit on Fallon's shoulders but Alithea thought that was too much strain. Alpen took the boy for a while until he got tired of the bouncing. Drindl took Alpen's place. A short time later, the wind changed direction and Fallon noticed the smell of Drindl's musth again. He looked back at Alpen who came alongside and said, "His smell is in the wind. Our village is downwind. If faeries get a whiff…"

"The faeries won't search all the way down here," Fallon argued.

"They don't need to. They only need the direction of the scent. They will tell Altiss who will tell Sarten."

"You think he'll come after us?" Fallon asked.

"Sarten won't come after us. We're only two warriors," Alpen said. "Bebe and Alithea are two of his best doctors. He needs them. That's why we need to keep moving."

"We could explain," Fallon argued. "You and I both bear the marks of our loyalty to Sarten. That has to mean something."

"I'm a bit older than you. Sarten has become ruthless and will get more so," Alpen said. "We'll find my brother's people and make a new home, a safer home."

"Wash Drindl in the river?" Fallon asked.

"That will help for a while," Alpen agreed. "Not in the evening. The scent will attract the wolfbear."

Journey's Dawn

Fallon climbed into bed with Erthen and Alithea, who murmured a question if everything was OK. "Drindl says thank you." She smiled and they both drifted into sleep. It wasn't long before Drindl shook him awake.

The fire was barely above embers and Fallon stoked it a bit. Drindl said it was too hot and moved his bedroll away. How long would the musth last? Fallon guessed a week. The fire popped a few times and he heard the far off cry of a large animal. Was that the wolfbear? His father had said they were as large as two Jade warriors, but Fallon had never seen one. Did they exist or was that something that parents told their children? He stood up and leaned near the Faerie cage but heard nothing under the cloth covering.

He turned toward an unfamiliar sound from the trees nearby. Did wolfbears climb trees? He held his breath and listened but heard only Alpen sleeping. The wind? He quietly slid his sword from the travois and sat near the fire, watching the nearby tree. He planned his defensive strategy without knowing how the animal moved.

The first light of morning turned the sky from black to dark blue gray, and still he watched the tree. Bebe raised her head, then waved with her hand and ducked below the covers again as she felt the cold air. Fallon fed the fire and watched the sky brighten. The tree branches shook and a dark figure emerged and rose against the morning breeze, soaring into the sky on large wings. It was larger than anything he had seen before.

He filled a container with water and nestled it in the embers of the fire to warm. The edge of the sun crossed above the hills and he woke Alithea. Erthen remained sleeping and Fallon kept his voice soft. "I saw a large bird from the tree over there," Fallon pointed. "Maybe it left a few young eggs."

Alpen and Bebe were already awake and Fallon told them about the bird. They agreed to watch Erthen. Fallon and Alithea moved through the winter's grass toward the tree. They stood at the base and Fallon planned his ascent. Alithea gave him a hug. "A leader thinks of the whole group."

"Alpen is the leader. He is the oldest." Fallon liked clear cut tribal rules.

"You are a good partner," she said, then added, "and you smell like musth."

"Drindl," he said.

"You helped him? I can smell it on your nightshirt. I can smell me on your hands," she said. She looked away toward the camp. All they could see was the smoke drifting above the tall grass.  She lifted his nightshirt and undid his loin swaddle. "I left the bala leaves at camp. I can't use my hands." She smiled, lowered her head and ducked under his nightshirt. He gasped as he felt her warm mouth. She steadied his legs as he leaned back against the tree trunk. The wave of pleasure tightened his stomach and buckled his knees. She lifted her head as his muscles fluttered beneath his skin. When he released, she helped him remain standing. "Hello, there, young warrior," she said in a low tone of voice that reminded him of the day he first met her. "In a week or so, I'll be healed from the birth of the egg. It will be your turn." She reached into the egg pouch and rotated the egg. She didn't mention the fresh scars she had seen.

He had to wait a few minutes before he could climb. "I don't know how much strength I have left in these young warrior legs," he joked as he placed a hoof on a knob of tree bark. He paused, realizing that his muscles were still trembling. Then he pulled himself up to the first branch, where he could see a large nest balanced in the fork of two branches. When he got to that branch, he stood up and saw two large eggs in the nest. He looked around for one of the parent birds but saw no sign. A bird will leave the nest but only if the eggs are newly hatched. 

He heard the shriek from far off first, then Alithea screamed his name.

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All good warriors have an exit plan and Fallon had already chosen his. He launched off into the air, grabbed a supple branch that bent with his weight and he jumped to the ground near Alithea. He grabbed her hand and they ran toward camp. She could not run at full speed, because she held the egg pouch in her hands to reduce the bouncing motion. The black feathers of the bird fanned in the air as it swooped to attack them. Fallon raised his nightshirt and waved it to distract the bird's attention from Alithea. The bird's talons ripped through the cloth and he felt the searing pain as the sharp claw caught his forearm. The bird pinwheeled, regained its balance in the air and flew up into the tree. Fallon glanced sideways at Alithea. He was relieved that she looked unhurt.

"Your arm!" she said and reached toward him. He looked up at the nightshirt that waved above him. Blood streaked across the light gray cloth. "Here!" she urged and he held out his injured forearm toward her. She finished the tear in the cloth that the bird's talons had started, then tied the strip around his arm to staunch the blood. They hurried back to camp.

Alpen came away from the fire, his arm raised and a flechette in his hand to attack the bird if it followed Fallon and Alithea to the camp. The sharp edge of the disc shaped stone could flay smaller animals. Drindl had awakened and tended the cauldron of hot water in the campfire. He gathered Erthen in his arms and hurried the boy away from camp. No one noticed or mentioned Fallon's nakedness. Only a small section of the nightshirt was around his neck and right shoulder.

Bebe had disappeared inside her sleeping roll. When she emerged, she held out a bala leaf smeared with her own paste and handed it to Alithea. "Undo the tourniquet," Alithea said. Fallon released the pressure and blood flowed from the wound. "Tighten," she told him. "I want to flush the foulness from the wound."

Bebe laid out some more bala leaves. "Alpen, soak the leaves, then hand them to me," Alithea said in a practiced voice. She and Bebe had learned the doctoring art from Altiss' mother. She used the leaves to clean the wound, then smeared Bebe's antiseptic paste on the torn flesh, placed more leaves on the area then tied it with another cloth. "Oh, the egg!" she cried. How long had it been since she turned it? Bebe reassured her that it was all right. "Erthen. Where is Erthen?"

"Here," Drindl called out. He had distracted the boy with the hunt for a Faerie that wasn't there. Alithea waved to Drindl that they could rejoin the group. Alpen draped a blanket around Fallon who sat near the fire.

Fallon had several scars below the short hair that covered his skin but Alithea pointed to the fresh ones, the ones he had received when he fell from the cliff and into the tree. "These aren't battle wounds," she said.

He hadn't told her that part of the story. She would have worried and prodded him as though he were a bag of lumpy fruit. "I could use some sleep," Fallon said. Alithea consulted with Alpen and they decided to let him rest for a short time before starting their day's journey.

Journey's Night

They didn't take the time to set up tents for the night and Drindl offered to take first watch so that they could keep the fire going. Erthen had slept during the day and wasn't sleepy. Fallon kept the egg pouch and Alithea snuggled with the young child until he quieted.

Later in the night, Alithea shook Fallon awake. "My watch?" he whispered.

"No, Drindl is relieving himself," she whispered back. "I can hear him." Fallon closed his eyes again to sleep. "He'll get infected." Her voice was insistent as she shook him awake again.

"What are you talking about?" Fallon asked as he shifted the pouch at his waist and turned to face the sky. There was a small moon that night but the stars shone. "It's natural, especially for a warrior in musth."

"The Zeti fly will be attracted to his seed," she said. They were little specks of dust and they hung in small clouds near rivers and lakes in the valleys.

"He's swaddled. The flies can't get to him," Fallon whispered as he drifted back asleep.

"They are in the fur on his hands," Alithea reminded him. She was not going to let this go. Fallon felt his own hands but they just felt dirty. "We didn't wash tonight like we normally do." Erthen stirred, then nuzzled against Alithea. As he went silent, Fallon became aware of the sound of Drindl. He was away from the fire so that he would not disturb the others. Fallon remembered the hungry urges when he was Drindl's age.

"I'll wake Alpen. Drindl is his bantam," Fallon said. He gently folded the bed covering away so that Erthen would not be disturbed.

She checked his motion. She reached somewhere into the darkness, then produced a large bala leaf. "I found these by the river. I will coat it with my juice. That will kill the Zeti flies. Tell Drindl not to use too much pressure."

"How do you know this?" Fallon asked.

"I know," Alithea said.

Of course. Why did he ask? He undid the egg pouch and gave it to Alithea, then took the curled leaf from her. She whispered again to be gentle. He rose and walked with the ghost warrior gait to the large rock where Drindl was.
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In the pale starlight, Drindl did not notice Fallon until he was a few feet away. He jumped up in surprise, his night shirt gathered about his chest. "Is it your watch already?" he stammered.

The night air was cold and Drindl didn't notice. Musth, for sure. Fallon kept his voice low. "Alithea says the Zeti fly is on your hands. They will be attracted to your seed and lay their eggs on you. You'll get sick." Drindl looked down at himself. "She said to give you this." He held out the leaf to Drindl. "Put it around you and gently rub. Gently, she said. It will kill the Zeti flies." The smell of Drindl's musth was strong enough for even Fallon to smell it, and evoked strong memories.

Drindl did not take the leaf and Fallon brought his arm down. He hesitated. A warrior in musth can hear only his own blood pounding. If Drindl got Zeti sickness, they would have to leave him behind. "Here, I'll show you." He unfurled the leaf, being careful not to spill Alithea's paste. He wrapped it around Drindl's swollenness and gently moved to and fro. "Like this. Gently, Alithea said." Drindl gasped at the touch, then curled his two hands around Fallon's hand. "Too much?" Fallon asked.

"No," Drindl moaned. Together they moved.

Fallon could feel the young warrior's body tense. He withdrew his hand so that Drindl could hold the leaf himself. "Gently, slowly," Fallon reminded him as the warrior's hand moved more quickly. He started to back away but Drindl held his forearm and let out a small cry into the darkness.

Fallon stood still as Drindl's hand quieted and his breath slowed. "What should I do with the leaf?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"Alithea didn't say. Leave it on the ground," Fallon said. "You all right?" He could barely see Drindl's head nod. "Don't tell Alpen. He's your mentor, not me. We can't have you getting sick. Until we get to the southern highlands, you'll need to scrub your hands before pleasuring yourself." Fallon turned to go, then added, "I'll go lie down again then take next watch. Wake me when the fire is low."

"Thanks for looking out for me," Drindl said. He looked down at the leaf in his hand. "Tell Alithea thanks also." He let the leaf fall, and picked up the loin cloth from the ground.