End of the Voyage

 An elbow from Alpen urged Fallon to move through the sharp pain of the blinding daylight. Alpen on the

left, Fallon on the right, they trusted that Alithea and Bebe could hear the cadence that Alpen and Fallon

sounded out as they took the stairs.

From the right of the stairway, legs tried to take purchase on the steps. Fallon chopped down and the body fell back. Alpen jabbed with his left elbow and a head flew back. Matching their arm movements on the inside, they formed a threshing machine. Forward, forward, chop, chop, and they must never lose the feel of the playpen at their backs.

When Fallon felt a hand thrust at his gut, he chopped down hard and felt the crunch of bone. Forward, forward, chop, chop and they were at the top of the stairs. Fallon stumbled as he cleared the deck, but Fallon helped him regain his balance. They almost took out the Cawthingi at the edge of the hold.

The uproar from the hold was deafening. Looking over his shoulder, Fallon saw Bebe pulled back into the hold by a hand, then a stick split the outstretched arm. Another Cawthingi guard. They were ruthless in their discipline. He looked in the eyes of the Cawthingi at the front of him and repeated the crude voicing of Surrender to the guard. Surprised, he swept his arm to usher them away from the hold. 

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

Fallon and Alpen were accustomed to the uproar of battle but the deafening noise thoroughly terrified Bebe, Alithea and the young ones. Erthen lay on his side on top of the playpen, his eyes squeezed shut and his face contorted against the uproar as those in the hold erupted out of the darkness below.

Fallon looked to Alithea and saw a sadness and longing in her eyes that made him ache. He picked up Erthen and cuddled the boy close to his chest, then turned to face what lay ahead of them. Two guards directed them to a ramp that led to the dock alongside the boat. Fallon wanted to pause and survey the area but didn't dare taunt the guards. Show subservience, he reminded himself and called out the word to the others. Passive compliance. No threat. 

He turned left and felt the spring of the ramp under his weight. He looked right as he descended the ramp with Erthen and was overwhelmed by the sight of a village so large that he could not see its end. Great walls taller than a hill rose up to the sky. Something in his gut cowered in response and he hugged his son closer.

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

"What is this place?" Alpen growled. "Hang in there, buddy." He put his hand on Erthen's head as he crouched in Fallon's arms and Alpen realized felt the boy's shaking.

"Head down," Fallon said. "Surrender. They are calling us Bonitas." Bonita was a bug that carried pieces of Ibik feces. Fallon looked back at the playpen that Alithea and Bebe carried. He could see that the babes were upset.

Cawthingi guards herded them from the dock and onto the smooth cobblestones. Ahead of them Fae riders on Sprints stood on either side of an open route to a wall several warriors high. As they strode forward, Fallon looked left through the legs of the Sprints toward the ocean. In the distance he saw creatures like themselves carrying rocks. He understood now. Under his breath, he muttered "Left" and Alpen did so. "Bonitas," Fallon repeated. Alpen kept his head down and nodded.

Ocean Voyage

 

Circling around to the north of the beach they had visited earlier the entire group came up a gentle rise of tall grass and dunes. As they cleared the crest, they saw the great ocean spread before them. Some distance from the shore was a large boat. The lead Sprint descended the sloping dune and the group of captives stayed within the circle of Sprints. As they neared the water's edge, the large ship approached the shore. It was as tall above the water as two warriors, as broad as four warriors, and as long as eight warriors. Four Fae riders rode atop large fish whose heads rose and fell as they pulled the boat through the water.

A smaller boat separated from the ship and came toward them. The larger ship circled in deeper water. Two familiar figures dipped flat pieces of wood into the water as the boat approached. Fallon recognized the clothing of Cawthingi. One of them said something and the lead Sprint walked forward into the water and lowered the playpen to the boat.

The Cawthingi said something to the group. Alpen looked to Fallon to interpret, but Fallon played dumb. "Little knife," he reminded Alpen. He signaled to the Cawthingi, asking if they should walk in the water to the boat. The Cawthingi nodded and swept his arm to motion them forward.

Fallon looked behind him to Alithea and Bebe, signaling to go forward. Sitting on his dad's shoulders, Erthen was scared quiet, a contrast to the joy they had experienced earlier in the water. Fallon came alongside the boat, then set the boy in the boat near the playpen. He waved the others forward.

Following Bebe and Alithea, a Fae rider on a Sprint held the caged bandit. Both women looked nervously behind them at the snarling of the creature. They meant to set the bandit in the boat with them. Fallon pronounced the word "surrender" in the Cawthingi language. He deliberately altered the pronunciation so that the Cawthingi would not think that he knew their language and would take him as a Jade warrior who had learned the one word. The Cawthingi squinted at him, then turned to the Fae rider and waved off the caged bandit. The Fae rider hesitated. Fallon muttered under his breath to Alpen and they both adopted the bowed posture of a warrior who admits defeat. That seemed to convince the Cawthingi and the captors.

They had to sit slightly apart from each other on the bench seats. Alithea gripped the edge of the wooden seat. Fallon watched the muscles of her jaw clench as the boat moved through the water. After a few minutes, the boat pulled alongside the great ship. Each of the four fish pulling the ship was longer than a warrior, muscled like an adult Ibik with sleek smooth skin that glistened wet in the sunlight. On the back of each animal, a Fae rider sat straddled, its mind tendrils stuck into tiny ear openings on the side of the fish's head. Was there any animal that a Fae could not control?

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

The playpen was hoisted up onto the deck by two Cawthingi. Fallon tried not to think of the terror the babes must feel, hoping they would not remember the experience. A plank was lowered. Fallon heard the lead Cawthingi tell the other that they were done for the day. Fallon carried Erthen close to his chest and waited for Alithea to climb the plank.

When they were all on board, a Cawthingi pointed first to Alithea, and then the playpen set next to an opening leading to a hold below decks. Alithea looked to Fallon, then Bebe came alongside and together they carried the playpen down the stairs. Carrying Erthen down the stairs, Fallon's nostrils were assaulted by the foul smell. The boy squirmed in his arms as though to get away from the smell. Fallon shushed him in a calming voice. On the stairs behind him, Alpen swore at the smell.

Pressed against each other in the darkness, Alithea's voice trembled. "I'm afraid we will crush the babes." Fallon set Erthen on the top of the playpen, then they elbowed their way to face each other in a circle and held the playpen.

"I'm so scared," Bebe said. Each of them had to push against the other bodies to keep the circle of safety around the playpen. They stood on planks laid over the bottom of the boat. The darkness was kind in a way. The smell coming from below their feet was putrid with bodily fluids.

Fallon choked back the meat they had eaten earlier, but he felt Alithea retch up some of her food. "I'll take it," he told her and grabbed a corner of the playpen so she could wipe her mouth. Then he felt the boy throw up and held him away from his chest. In the darkness, the boy's whimpers tore at his heart. Alithea cooed soothing words to the boy to reassure him.

Adding to the mayhem in Fallon's mind, the sound of different languages chattered in his head. He tried to shut them out, but he could feel his mind chasing after word phrases swirling among the cries and whispers. He thought he heard the Jade language, their tongue. Were there others of the tribe here?

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

The ship shuddered to a halt and the throng of passengers in the hold swayed against each other. Fallon heard Alpen voice in the darkness, "Forked Wedge." It was smart thinking. They were near the stairway and there was every likelihood that there would be a stampede when the hatchway opening was removed at the top of the stairs.

Fallon nudged Alithea and translated the warrior talk. "Wing attack formation," he said in a command voice. Surely, she must have seen it. Two warriors formed a wedge with their shields, hiding a third warrior between them who burst forth to attack the enemy's line. In this case the hidden warrior would be Bebe and Alithea with the playpen.

"I know what a 'forked wedge' is," she said. Her voice was slightly ragged, but the tone of impatience reassured him. She and Alpen negotiated the close quarters until Alpen was alongside Fallon.

"We turn and block as we go up the stairs," Alpen said. "Alithea and Bebe, honey, you have the babes?" Both women acknowledged.

They stood ready to engage their plan and waited. They heard the dull sound as the hull banged against something outside. They heard thuds and footfalls on the deck above. They heard all these noises because most everyone down in the hold with them had gone silent except for a few whimpers, retches and moans.

The light from above blinded them into a paralysis. 

Trapped

 

Alpen turned to Fallon. “Why don’t they attack?”

“They don’t need to. We’re trapped.”

Alithea held Erthen close to her chest. “They must want us alive.”

That thought had not occurred to either warrior. They were accustomed to the slash of sword and spear.

The Sprint closest to the edge turned slightly, then a cage came into view. Inside the cage a bandit turned then snarled as it used its sharp claws to tear at the web of the cage walls.

Alpen looked back past Fallon to Bebe and Alithea crouched in the cave. Alpen could kill the bandit but not before the quick vicious animal caused a lot of damage and pain. He looked with resignation at Fallon who concurred. Alpen laid his sword on the cave floor and took a step back. When the lithe Fae rider waved her arm, Alpen kicked the sword over the edge. Fallon stood ready to throw embers at the bandit in case they opened the cage.

Without turning Alpen asked Fallon, “Can you understand them?”

“I’m trying.”

“Tell them to withdraw the bandit cage.”

A moment’s thought. “No.”

Putting a lot of anger in his voice, Alpen snarled, “No?” He had agreed to vote but not in battle.

“A warrior keeps his small knife hidden.”

Alpen had not thought of language as a weapon and grunted his assent.

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

The Fae rider wanted them to push the playpen to the front edge of the cave but Bebe would not release it until they withdrew the caged bandit. Fallon listened carefully as the Fae discussed the issue among themselves. He expected the Fae to all speak the same language, but these riders used an entirely different set of words than the Fae allies of the Glade warriors. He learned to let the strange words tumble around in his head, allowing them to self-assemble their meaning. As he looked at the movement of a Fae's mouth, a key in his mind clicked and he could understand them. He signaled the others to stay quiet.

The closest Sprint picked up the caged bandit and lowered the twisting, spitting creature below the ledge and out of sight. Fallon waved Bebe to come forward with the playpen. When she hesitated, he reassured her. "They think the babes are a prize." She looked at him with doubt but pushed the playpen forward to the edge.

When the Sprint picked up the playpen, they all held their breath. Suspended off the cave floor, the Fae rider motioned to Alpen and Fallon to come forward. The two came to the edge and scrambled down the rock to the ground, careful to avoid the barbs of the Sprint's legs. Alpen lowered his head slightly as he looked at Fallon, the signal for no sudden movements. Alithea appeared above the cave edge and passed Erthen down to Fallon. Finally, Bebe and Alithea scrambled down the face edge. When the Sprint turned with the playpen above them, Bebe instinctively reached up. Alpen reached to her with a calming gesture.

As the Sprint moved away with the playpen, a Fae rider behind the group flicked out a tendril to indicate that they follow the lead Sprint. The others looked to Fallon, who stepped forward. "Make sure you stay ahead of the Sprints behind us," he cautioned. They could hear the whipping of the creatures' raspy leg barbs following behind them. Hoisting Erthen on his shoulders, Fallon hummed and kissed the boy's legs to help quiet his fears. They set off west through a sandy savannah marked with trees, returning to the ocean by a different route.  

The Shelter of the Cave

 

The smell of salt accompanied them even as they followed the path through the trees to the cave. Smelling the fat smoking in the fire, Alpen worried that the smell would attract larger animals.

Fallon argued that larger animals could not easily scramble up the rock to the floor of the cave. Crouching slightly, he practiced a spear throwing motion. "This is a good hunting platform. Let them come."

“I worry that Erthen might fall down the rock face,” Alithea argued. “It’s hard to relax.”

“I wish you could be content with good enough,” Fallon complained and looked to Bebe for support, but she shrugged.

“It would be nice if we could have a ledge or some kind of barrier,” Bebe said. “We could let the babes run free in the cave.”

The meat was fatty but delicious. Fallon convinced Alithea to let the babes eat a little bit. Feeling engorged, they fell asleep. Alpen shook Fallon awake and made the warrior’s battle sign for silence. Outside the cave, Fallon could see that the light was still bright.  The rustling sound outside the cave was familiar and Fallon made the gesture of questioning. Alpen nodded but signed that he could not identify it.

Taking one step closer to the edge of the cave floor, Alpen readied his sword. They had left the travois on the ground just below the cave, so Fallon had no weapon. He glanced at the embers. He might burn his hands, but he planned to throw a handful of the embers at the animal when it showed its head above the lower edge of the cave.

Both were surprised when a Fae rider appeared on the left side of the opening. Slashing with his sword, Alpen stepped toward  the edge of the cave but the Fae rider sat atop a Sprint out of reach. Fallon stooped to grab some embers, but his reason fought his instinct. He looked back to Erthen, Alithea and Bebe. Erthen had jumped into Alithea’s arms. Bebe shielded the playpen with her body and looked with terror at the horrid sight outside the cave. Another Sprint and rider came into view, then two more behind them.

The Way of Water

 

Erthen was so upset that Fallon took him into the trees and away from the beach, hoping that he could distract the boy. The word they used for the pup was like that of a pet that Erthen played with in the home they had left behind. He thought his mother was cutting up his pet.

 When Alpen arrived back with the group, Bebe warned him not to use that word. They had agreed to call it a fish. Alpen pulled some large leaves from the trees, then washed them in the ocean. Using the leaves as wrappers, he folded the meat inside each one and set it aside just out of reach of the water.

As they finished up, Alpen looked back to Bebe and the travois. Fallon was still off in the trees with Erthen. He told Alithea about the Sprints.

Looking out over the endless expanse of water, she set the knife down and washed her hands. “Alpen, you did what you thought was right and we followed your lead.” She looked back at Bebe and the few meager belongings on the two travois. “We have nothing but each other now. You and Bebe are senior but I think we should vote on our next course of action. North to Cawthingi territory, return home or continue south and hope that the tribes are friendly.” 

With his finger, Alpen traced the 3 toed imprint of an Alsace bird in the sand. “I don’t think returning home is an option. Not while Sarten is chief.”

Alithea reached out to Alpen’s arm. “We can decide together.”

To Alpen voting was a lack of command. Shall we attack the enemy? Let’s take a vote. Of course not. He traced a triangle in the sand, then drew lines from each corner to the midpoint of the opposite side. Focusing on the point where the three lines intersected, he went through the sand to the hard rock certainty that lay deep beneath the earth. “We should go north.” He drew a circle connecting all three points of the triangle, then looked at Alithea.

Leaning forward, she drew a square that enclosed his outer circle.”We are four, like the four corners of a square. If we die, and our children, we should not curse you with our last breath. It will be our decision.”

“And what if we find Drindl? Will we have another vote?"

Connecting a triangle to the top of the square to make a pentagram like shape, she said, “We act as one family.” Again, she reached out to him. “We  will live and die together like warriors but vote like women in the bargaining tent. The best of both ways.” She clenched her hands together as she searched his eyes.

“Both ways.” Alpen looked again at the diagram in the sand as a tongue of water licked at the thin furrows. As it receded, tiny channels of water remained. “This is the way of water. It carves new paths. We will be like water.”

The Beachcombers

 

Alpen retraced his tracks along the edge of the trees. He stopped where they had first halted and looked around for the blowfi. Looking toward the beach, he was surprised to see that the herd of animals had resettled. He stayed low but did not crawl toward the boulder where they had first hid. There it was! It had come out of his pouch as he slithered along the sand.

Putting the blowfi in his pouch, he glanced at the trail that the pup's body made in the sand. As he turned toward the trees, he saw something between the boulders that made his heart jump. He crouched in instinctual caution, then crawled to the next boulder. Glancing around it, he saw the hated form of a Sprint! Atop the nasty creature sat a Fae rider. Alpen ducked his head back behind the large boulder, then glanced back to the north, assuring himself that Bebe, Fallon and Alithea were out of sight around the curve of beach.

He glanced at the trail of the seal pup's body. If the Fae rider saw it, she would follow it, find Fallon's deep footprints in the sand and follow the track. He dared not venture out to cover the pup's track. He wasn't sure if the Fae rider could see over the boulder. He heard the grunt of the animal herd as the Sprint approached from the south. A few animals slipped into the water and the Sprint paused, then turned away from the herd and back south.

Alpen let out his breath in relief then sucked it in again when he saw another Sprint joining the first. The Fae were mercenaries for hire to the highest bidder, but which tribe? He waited several minutes until both Sprints turned away to the south. Satisfied that they were gone, he found a broken branch and used it to hide some of the pup's trail without getting too close to the herd. Finally, he scratched out his and Fallon's tracks toward the water, pleased that the ocean had erased the rest of their tracks.

A Dropped Call

 

Alithea knelt beside the body and opened one eyelid. "It's just gas escaping from the body."

"It was feeding on its mother." Fallon tried to catch his breath between words.

Alithea looked at him, then turned back to the body of the pup. She opened its mouth, ran a finger into an opening on the side of its head, then ran her hands along the skin and probed the fatty body. "It has legs and arms just like we do." She reached between the flippers at the end of its body, then rubbed her fingers together and inspected her fingers. Finally, she held her fingers to her nose. "No worms or parasites that I can feel. Smells healthy." She stood up and went to the water to clean her hands.

Fallon looked at Alpen with an "I told you" expression. Alpen looked to Alithea. "Can we butcher it?"

She nodded. "I wouldn't eat it raw. Let's cook some and see how we react. If we are ok, we could feed some to the babes tomorrow morning." 

Bebe turned to Alpen. "Why didn't you call us?"

"I forgot." He fumbled inside his hunting pouch, then looked at Fallon. "Did I give it to you?" Fallon looked at him with a questioning glance. "The blowfi." Fallon shook his head. Alpen swore and turned to Bebe. "I must have dropped it. I'll run back and get it while Alithea guts the animal."

Bounty of the Beast

 

"One killing stroke into the head!" Alpen said, swinging his arm down to show Fallon his attack. "You fend off any others. Then we'll drive them into the water and cut up the beast."

Alithea turned to Fallon. "Did you see these animals when you were a boy?"

Shaking his head, Fallon explained, "The Cawthingi use nets to capture fish. They ride the water on hollowed out trees and when they get away from the shore, they lower their nets. After a while, they pull the nets up with the fish." He held his hands up in front of his body to show the size.

"They certainly look easier to kill than the wolfbear we saw in the forest," Bebe agreed. "I hope we can eat the meat. The young ones need it." She and Alithea stayed with the young ones this time while Fallon and Alpen headed south with their weapons. Bebe ran after them, then handed Alpen a blowfi. "Call us." Alpen looked at the hollowed out tube, nodded and tucked it into his pouch.

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

Cautious of the changing direction of the onshore wind, Alpen led Fallon in among the trees. Unfortunately, the tree edge was not as close to the herd of animals basking on the beach. They moved out of the trees and crept along the rocky sand, using the boulders to hide their progress. Peering around one large boulder, they watched the densely packed animals. Sometimes one would get up on its front feet, waddle through the other animals and disappear into the water. Some animals came ashore, calling out in gruff barks and being answered by its neighbors.

"Look, a young one feeding," Fallon pointed out. "Like Ibik." When he had first hunted Ibik with his dad, he felt sad at the anguished cry of an Ibik mother when he took her calf. His dad explained that her young one fed the children of the Jade. His dad taught him to say, "Thank you, mother, for this gift" to recognize and honor the sacrifice of the mother and her young one.

Fallon dragged a stone behind the large boulder and hefted it in his hand. "Forget the knife." The killing of a young one was an easy task and beneath Alpen's status as a senior hunter. Fallon handed his spear to Alpen, who would have a knife and a spear to fend off any adult attackers. Alpen pointed to his open mouth, then counted off by raising three fingers.

Leaping up, they ran toward the herd of animals. Not wanting to challenge the adults with grunts, they made high screaming sounds. Many of the animals roused themselves and clumsily scrambled to the water. As they neared the herd, a large adult issued a challenging grunt and waddled its enormous body toward them. 

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

A mother made an agonized plea, then abandoned her pup. Alpen jabbed at the adult as Fallon straddled the squealing pup, then swung the club on its head and it fell silent. Another pup was nearby. In his battle thirst, Fallon almost dispatched the second pup, then remembered the cardinal rule his dad had taught him – a hunter takes no more than what he needs.

Throwing the club aside, he dragged the pup back away from the herd and the water. Alpen backed up, following Fallon and fending off the attack of the adult. As they retreated, the adult stopped, issuing loud bellows to proclaim its territory.

Fallon stumbled a few times as he dragged the seal pup along the sand. They settled behind the large boulder again and Alpen kept a watch out for any predators whose interest had been aroused by the ruckus. He handed his knife to Fallon, who had paused to silently thank the pup and his mother. He shook his head. "I want to take it back whole. Alithea will be able to see if it is healthy."

"Healthy? It's dead. I don't want to carry all that," Alpen protested.

"I'll carry it," Fallon said. "Help me load it." Once the weight of the pup settled on his shoulders, his feet sank into the sand, something he hadn't counted on. "Let's get to the water's edge," he grunted. "The ground is firmer."

It had been a task to get the seal pup on his shoulders, so he chose to walk the entire distance back to Alithea and Bebe without resting. When he stumbled, Alpen helped steady him. "You'll hurt yourself," Alpen insisted, but Fallon just shook his head as he put one step in front of the other.

When Alithea saw him, she ran forward but Alpen waved her away, fearing that Fallon would lurch or stumble. When they arrived, Fallon let the pup slide off his shoulders and down his back. The pup made a squeal as it hit the sand and Fallon jumped back, then fell on his side, thinking it was still alive. 

The Boulders That Move

 

Further to the south the land curved, and the trees came closer to the shore. He could see large black and gray boulders twice as big as an adult on the beach. When he pointed out the boulders to Erthen, he could feel the boy visibly shrink on his shoulders. He patted one knee and assured him that they were not big bears. When one of the rocks moved toward the water's edge and lay still, Erthen sounded his distress cry and wanted to get down from his dad's shoulders.

As alarmed as the boy, Fallon gathered him in his arms and strode back to the shore, glancing toward the boulders. As they were nearly out of the water, Erthen squirmed and Fallon set him down. He ran to Alithea who knelt and comforted the boy in her arms. Alpen and Bebe looked questionably at Fallon.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"Nothing. There are large rocks around the curve up there," Fallon said as he pointed to the right. One of them moved." Alithea gave him a skeptical look and he insisted, "It moved!" He explained that the beach narrowed to the south and invited the others to follow him back out into the water. Alpen had no problem wading through a river but seemed leery of walking through water that had no end.

Bebe put her hand on Alpen's arm. "I'll go with you." Together they set off into the water, Bebe holding Fallon's hand. She noticed the cold, then the water joined in a small wedge and splashed on her. Licking the drops from her face, she was surprised. "It's salty, a bit like blood." Thinking it might be contaminated, she spit with her tongue.

When they were waist high, Fallon turned back to the shore and pointed out the boulders. At first there was only stillness until one boulder heaved up, moved and set down again. In a few minutes they saw two other boulders move, kissing each other, then one boulder moved away and into the water. "They must be animals," Bebe said. "I wonder if we could get a closer look. They don't appear to move quickly at all." Suddenly she jerked one leg up and emitted a startled cry.

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

Fallon turned to her in alarm. "Something touched me!" Bebe said.

Fallon laughed. "Small fish. I played with them when I visited the Cawthingi many years ago. When I came out with Erthen I could see a few dark shapes in the shallower water."

She looked to him with a questioning look, then turned toward Alpen and Bebe standing on the shore. Scanning the shoreline from north to south, she pointed left, to the north. "The Cawthingi live that way maybe three days journey."

"And the south?" Fallon asked.

"Some of the tribes, I suppose. In the peace after the war, the Jade and Glade tribes took the mountains and valleys where we live. The Cawthingi stayed along the shore. The Melangi went into the higher mountains. The Kalenya went east over the mountains. The other tribes to the south."

Fallon pointed out another boulder as it moved slowly into the water. "My brother went south," he said. "A woman from the Dallesa tribe. I was too young to understand about that sort of thing. I couldn't understand why he would leave us."

Bebe touched his arm in sympathy. "The war ruined many families. The peace split us apart. Come on, let's go back. I want to investigate those animals."

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

Fallon and Alithea stayed with the travoises and the young ones while Bebe and Alpen went south along the beach to investigate the moving boulders. Bebe deferred to Alpen who assumed the lead as they moved along the edge of the trees. Even though they weren't hunting, he thought of himself as the animal stalker.

She looked back but could no longer see Fallon and Alithea. Not sensing that Alpen had stopped, she ran into him and earned a grunt of harumph from her partner. Apologizing, she looked around his arm at the animals basking in the sun. She could not remember any accounts of these animals in the annals of the tribe. She had never seen an animal with so much fat. How did their limbs not break under the weight?

Alpen held his hand up, then moved through the sea grass between the trees and beach. Could he skin such an animal? Was the meat poisonous? They continued to approach, careful not to let the animals sense their presence. The wind coming off the water shifted and came from the north, carrying their scent. Roused from their slumber, several of the animals lifted their heads in the air. Two waddled toward Bebe and Alpen. They were so slow moving that neither of them worried for their safety, but Alpen decided to make a calm retreat. Seeing their movements, he had plans for these animals. 

Down To The Sea

“Ooohhheee, Look at that!” Fallon said, remembering his visit to the ocean with his dad. When Erthen squiggled in his arms, he set the boy down and watched him run to the water’s edge. Concerned for his safety, Alithea rushed forward to protect him but Fallon caught her arm. She tugged away from him. “The water won’t hurt him,” he assured her, not understanding that she was the self-appointed manager of Erthen’s safety in circumstances that were new to Alithea.  

She gathered the boy into her arms but he ducked under her arm, slithered sideways and jumped back down. His paws made a slight impression in the firm damp sand, then he made an abrupt turn to the water. His nails had not grown long enough to dig into the sand as he shifted weight, so he stumbled.  Recovering quickly, he ran into the water’s tongue as it licked the beach.

Alpen and Bebe set the playpen down next to Alithea, who watched Erthen as he stamped in the thin cascade of white foam and water. Fallon joined him. Together they held hands and walked out until the water was half-way up Erthen's legs. Fallon turned back to the others. "It's a bit chilly."

"What's the white foam?" Bebe called out.

Fallon shrugged, then swung his leg forward and back, sloshing up water. Erthen let his hand go and skittered to the side. Fallon scooped up some water and threw it at Erthen who did the same to his dad. "Up!" he called and held up his arms.

Fallon looked back to Alithea. "You hear?" He called out. "He said 'up'." She smiled briefly, more worried about Erthen than rejoicing in his language milestones. He gathered up Erthen, set him on his shoulders and turned back to shore, thinking that Erthen wanted to go back.

The boy twisted and pointed out to the watery horizon. "Go!" Fallon pointed and rocked on his dad's shoulders. Fallon smiled and pointed to Erthen as he looked at Alithea to acknowledge this astounding leap in the boy's vocabulary, but she looked unimpressed.

Fallon turned again and walked in the mild waves until the water came to his waist. There were only small smooth round rocks below his feet. Erthen bounced on his shoulders, wanting to go further but Fallon did not feel comfortable going deeper into the water. He turned to look back at the group and view the shore from the water. 

The Diggings

 This is a placeholder

Making a Place

 This is a placeholder

Encounter With the Guardian

 This is a placeholder

Forest's Edge

 This is a placeholder