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.

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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."

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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.