Jean Auel - The Land of Painted Caves

Morizan waited for Jondalar and Ayla, who were bringing up the rear in front of the horses, and stepped in beside them. After a casual exchange of greetings, Morizan commented, 'I didn't realise how good your spear-throwing weapon could be, Jondalar. I've been practising with it, but watching you and Ayla use it has given me a new appreciation for it.'

'I think it's wise of you to make yourself familiar with the spear-thrower, Morizan. It is a very effective weapon. Is it something Manvelar suggested, or did you decide to do it on your own?' Jondalar asked.

'I decided, but once I started, he encouraged me. He said I was setting a good example,' Morizan said. 'To be honest, I didn't care about that. It just looked like a weapon I wanted to learn.'

Jondalar grinned at the young man. He had thought it might be the younger ones who would be willing to try out his new weapon first, and Morizan's response was exactly what he had hoped would happen.

'Good. The more you practise, the better you will get. Ayla and I have been using the spear-thrower for a long time, all during the year-long Journey back home, and for more than a year before that. As you can see, women can handle a spear-thrower very effectively.'

They followed Grass River upstream for some distance, then came to a smaller tributary that was called Little Grass River. As they continued upstream along the smaller waterway, Ayla began to notice a change in the air, a cool, moist freshness filled with richer smells. Even the grass was a darker shade of green, and in places the ground was softer. The path skirted marshy areas of tall reeds and cattails as they proceeded through the lush valley and approached a limestone cliff.

Several people were waiting outside, among them two young women. Ayla grinned when she saw them. They had all mated at the same Matrimonial during last year's Summer Meeting, and she felt especially close to them.

'Levela! Janida! I was looking forward to seeing you so much,' she said, walking toward them. 'I heard you had both decided to move to the Second Cave.'

'Ayla!' Levela said. 'Welcome to Horsehead Rock. We decided to come here with Kimeran to see you, so we wouldn't have to wait until you came to visit the Second. It's so good to see you.'

'Yes,' Janida concurred. She was considerably younger than the other two women, and rather shy, but her smile was welcoming. 'I am glad to see you, too, Ayla.'

The three women embraced, though they were all rather careful about it. Both Ayla and Janida were carrying infants, and Levela was pregnant.

'I heard you had a boy, Janida,' Ayla said.

'Yes, I named him Jeridan,' Janida said, showing her baby.

'I had a girl. Her name is Jonayla,' Ayla said. The infant was already awake from the commotion and Ayla lifted her out of the carrying blanket as she spoke, then turned to look at the baby boy. 'Oh, he's perfect. May I hold him?'

'Yes, of course, and I want to hold your daughter,' Janida said.

'Why don't I take your baby, Ayla,' Levela said. 'Then you can take Jeridan, and I'll give … Jonayla?' she saw Ayla nod, 'to Janida.'

The women shifted infants and cooed at them, while they looked them over and compared them with their own.

'You know Levela is pregnant, don't you?' Janida said.

'I can see that,' Ayla said. 'Do you know how soon you will have yours, Levela? I'd like to come and be here with you, and I'm sure Proleva would, too.'

'I don't know for sure, some moons yet. I would love to have you with me, and definitely my sister,' Levela said. 'But you won't need to come here. We'll probably all be at the Summer Meeting.'

'You're right,' Ayla said. 'It will be nice for you to have everyone around you. Even Zelandoni the First will be there, and she is wonderful at helping a mother to deliver.'

'There may be too many,' Janida said. 'Everyone likes Levela, and they won't let everyone stay with you. It would be too crowded. You may not want me; I'm not very experienced, but I would like to be there with you, the way you were with me, Levela. I'll understand, though, if you would rather have someone that you've known longer.'

'Of course I want you with me, Janida, and Ayla, too. After all, we shared the same Matrimonial, and that's a special bond,' Levela said.

Ayla understood the feelings that Janida had expressed. She, too, wondered if Levela would rather have friends she had known longer. Ayla felt a flush of warmth for the young woman, and was surprised at the sting of tears she fought to hold back at Levela's willing acceptance of her. Growing up, Ayla hadn't had many friends. Girls of the Clan mated at a young age, and Oga, the one who might have been close, had become Broud's mate, and he wouldn't allow her to be too friendly with the girl of the Others he had come to hate. She loved Iza's daughter, Uba, her Clan sister, but she was so much younger, she was more like a daughter than a friend. And while the other women had grown to accept her, and even care about her, they never really understood her. It wasn't until she went to live with the Mamutoi and met Deegie that she understood the fun of having a woman friend her own age.

'Speaking of Matrimonials and mates, where are Jondecam and Peridal? I think Jondalar feels a special bond for them, too. I know he was looking forward to seeing them,' Ayla said.

'They want to see him, too,' Levela said. 'Jondalar and his spear-throwing weapon is all Jondecam and Peridal have talked about since we knew you were coming.'

'Did you know that Tishona and Marsheval are living at the Ninth Cave now?' Ayla said, referring to another couple who had mated at the same time as they did. 'They tried living at the Fourteenth, but Marsheval was at the Ninth Cave so often — or I should say at Down River learning how to shape mammoth ivory, and staying overnight at the Ninth — that they decided to move.'

The three Zelandonia were standing back, watching, as the young women continued to chat. The First noticed how easily Ayla fell into conversation with them, comparing babies and talking excitedly about the things that were of interest to young mated women with children, or expecting them. She had begun teaching Ayla some of the rudiments of the knowledge she would need to become a full-fledged Zelandoni, and the young woman was without doubt interested and quick to learn, but the First was now realising how easily Ayla could get distracted. She'd been holding back, letting Ayla enjoy her new life as a mother and mated woman. Maybe it was time to push her a little harder, get her so involved that she would voluntarily choose to devote more time to learning what she needed to know.

'We should go, Ayla,' the First said. 'I would like you to see the cave before we get too involved with meals and visiting and meeting people.'

'Yes, we should,' Ayla said. 'I left all three horses and Wolf with Jondalar, and we need to get them settled. I'm sure he has people he wants to see, too.'

They walked toward the steep wall of limestone. The setting sun was shining directly on it and the small fire that had been built nearby was almost invisible in the bright sunlight. A dark hole was visible but not obvious. There were several torches propped against the wall and each of the Zelandonia lit one. Ayla followed the others into the dark hole, shivering as the darkness enveloped her. Inside the cavity in the rock cliff, the air suddenly felt cool and damp, but it wasn't only the abrupt drop in temperature that chilled her. She hadn't been there before and Ayla felt a touch of apprehension and trepidation when she entered an unfamiliar cave.

The opening was not big, but high enough so that no one had to bend over or stoop to enter. She had lit a torch outside and held the light in her left hand high in front of her, reaching for the rough stone wall with her right to steady herself. The warm bundle that she carried close to her chest with the soft carrying blanket was still awake, and she moved her hand from the wall to pat the baby to quiet her. Jonayla probably notices the change in temperature too, Ayla thought, looking around as she moved inside. It was not a large cave but it was naturally divided into separate smaller areas.