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“I can only try I will ask Ursus to help e of their own, Brun If she is meant to join us, the totem that protects her will make himself understood”

Brun considered for a moment “But even if you can discover her totem, what hunter ant her? Iza and her baby will be burden enough, and we don’t have as many hunters We lost more than Iza’s mate in the earthquake The son of Grod’s a’s one and she has two children, and herthat fire” A hint of pain touched the leader’s eyes at the thought of the deaths in his clan

“And Oga,” Brun continued “First her ht afterward her irl with us Oga is nearly a woive her to Broud, that should please hihts of his other responsibilities “There are burdens enough for the -ur If I accept her into the clan, who can I give Iza to?”

“Who were you going to give her to until the girl would be old enough to leave us, Brun?” the one-eyed man asked Brun looked uncomfortable, but Creb continued before Brun could respond “There is no need to burden a hunter with Iza or the child, Brun I will provide for them”

“You!”

“Why not? They are female There are no boys to train, at least not yet A-ur’s portion of every hunt? I never claimed it all, I never needed it, but I can Wouldn’t it be easier if all the hunters gave -ur so I can provide for Iza and the girl, rather than have one hunter burdened with the up my own hearth e found a new cave anyway, to provide for Iza, unless anotherfor e after so long Besides, Iza helps irl, I will take her too If it is a boy, well … we can worry about it then”

Brun mulled the idea over in his mind Yes, why not? It would make it easier on everyone But why does Creb want to do it? Iza would take care of his arthritis no e suddenly want to be bothered with small children? Why would he want to take on the responsibility of training and disciplining a strange girl? Maybe that’s it, he feels responsible Brun didn’t like the idea of taking the girl into his clan—he wished the problem had never co someone live with them as an outsider, and outside of his control Perhaps it was best to accept her and train her properly, as a woht be easier for the rest of the clan to live with, too And if Creb illing to take them, Brun couldn’t think of any reason not to allow it

Brun ht, if you can discover her tote-ur, and they can live at your hearth, at least until Iza has her child” For the first ti that an expected child would be a girl rather than a boy

Once the decision was made, Brun felt a sense of relief The proble him, but he had put it aside He had estion not only offered a solution to a knotty decision he had to make as leader of the clan, but it solved a ht, ever since the earthquake that killed her mate, he could think of no other alternative than to take Iza and her expected baby, and probably Creb as well, to his own hearth He was already responsible for Broud and Ebra, and now Oga The addition of more people would create frictions in the one place he could relax and let down his guard a little His ht not have been too happy about it, either

Ebra got along well enough with his sibling, but at the sa had ever been said openly, Brun knew Ebra was jealous of Iza’s status Ebra was mated to the leader; in hest-ranked woe back in an unbroken line of the ious ht, not through her ht he’d have to take her in, too It hadn’t occurred to hiht take responsibility not only for himself, but for Iza and her children too Creb could not hunt, but Mog-ur had other resources

With the probleerly awaiting word froave the signal: “We travel no more, a cave has been found”

“Iza,” Creb said as she was preparing a tea ofbark for Ayla “I will not be eating tonight”

Iza bowed her head in acknowledg to meditate in preparation for the cere

The clan was ca to the cave Not until it had been consecrated by the proper rituals would they h it would be unpropitious to seeet close enough to look inside Foraging wo near the mouth, and men followed the women, ostensibly to watch them The clan was keyed-up but in a happy mood The anxiety they had felt ever since the earthquake had vanished They liked the look of the large new cave Though it was difficult to see very far inside the dih to knoas spacious, much rooht at the still pond of spring water just outside They wouldn’t even have to go as far as the stream for water They looked forward to the cave ceremony, one of the few rituals in which women had their own part, and everyone was anxious to move in

Mog-ur headed away from the busy campsite He wanted to find a quiet place where he could think, undisturbed As he walked alongside the swiftly running strea with the inland sea, a war his beard Only a few distant clouds marred the crystal clarity of the late afternoon sky The undergroas thick and lush; he had to pick his way around obstructions, but he hardly noticed, his mind deep in concentration A noise froe country and his only defense was his stout walking stick, but in his one powerful hand it could be a for to the snorting and grunting co branches fro bushes

Suddenly, an anie powerful body supported by short stocky legs Wickedly sharp lower canines protruded like tusks along both sides of its snout The anih he had not seen one before A boar The wild pig glared belligerently at hi his snout into the soft earth, headed back into the brush Creb breathed a sigh of relief, then continued downstream He stopped at a narrow sandy bank, spread out his cloak, put the skull of the cave bear on it, and sat down facing it HeUrsus for assistance, then cleared his hts except for the babies who needed to know their totems

Children had always intrigued Creb Often, when he sat in the ht, he was observing the children without anyone being aware of it One of the youngsters was a robust, strapping boy about halfway into his first year, who had howled belligerently at his birth and many times since, especially when he wanted to be fed Fro hisinto her soft breast until he found the nipple, andnoises of pleasure as he nursed It reht with hu as he burrowed into the soft earth The boar was an anient, the vicious canines could inflict serious dae when the beast was aroused, a

nd the short legs could e No hunter would disdain such a totem And it will be suitable for this new place; its spirit will rest easy in the new cave A boar it is, he decided, convinced the boy’s toteician would be reminded of him

Mog-ur felt satisfied with the choice and turned his attention to the other baby Ona, whose mother had lost herbefore the cataclys, was the only a will need another ician mused, one ill take Aba, her old mother, too But that’s Brun’s worry; it’s Ona I need to think about, not her mother

Girls needed gentler toteer than aessence and the woa antelope had been too much for her -ur often wondered about that Iza knew ic than many people realized, and she was not happy with the iven Not that he blamed her, in many ways She had always conducted herself properly, but the strain between the-ur will be her provider, if not her mate

As her sibling, Creb could neversince lost his desire for a ood companion, she had cooked for hiht be more pleasant around the hearth noithout the constant undertone of anientle war him Later, he said to himself, first Ona