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Oga had been grief-stricken over the death of herso soon after the death of her h she was a girl she had been dearly loved by both Brun’s mate was kind to her when she went to live with the leader’s fa behind Ebra while they were searching for a cave But Brun frightened her He was more stern than her mother’s mate had been; his responsibility lay heavily on his shoulders Ebra’s main concern was for Brun and no one hadBut Broud had seen her sitting alone staring dejectedly into the fire one evening Oga was overwhelratitude when the proud boy, almost a man, who had seldom paid attention to her before, sat down beside her and put an arrief Froa lived with one desire: when she becaiven to Broud as his mate

The late afternoon sun arm in the motionless air Not the hint of a breeze stirred the least leaf The expectant hush was disturbed only by the drone of flies taking their turn at the re a roasting pit Ayla was sitting beside Iza as the medicine wo The child had been tagging behind her all day, but now there were certain rituals Iza had to perfor-ur in preparation for the important role she had to play in the cave ceremony the next day, now that they were certain there would be one She led the tow-headed girl toward the group of wo a deep hole not far froe fire built inside that would burn all night In the , the skinned and quartered bison, wrapped in leaves, would be lowered into the pit, covered with more leaves and a layer of soil, and left to cook in the stone oven until late afternoon

The excavation was a slow and tedious process Pointed digging sticks were used to break up the soil that was scooped out by throwing handfuls on a leather cloak, which was hauled up out of the pit and du, it could be usedout of ashes While the woa and Vorn, under the watchful eye of Uka’s un stones up from the stream

As Iza approached holding the child’s hand, the woesture Then she gave Ayla a little shove toward the group Ayla started to follow Iza as she turned to go, but the woman shook her head and pushed her back toward the women, then hurriedly left

It was Ayla’s first contact with anyone in the clan besides Iza and Creb, and she felt lost and shy without Iza’s co presence She stood rooted to the spot, nervously staring at her feet, glancing up apprehensively now and then Against all propriety, everyone stared at the thin, long-legged girl with the peculiar flat face and bulging forehead They had all been curious about the child, but this was their first opportunity to get a close look at her

Ebra finally broke the spell “She can gather wood,” the leader’s mate indicated with an unspokenwoa and Vorn could hardly tear themselves away Ovra beckoned to the two children iht she understood the gesture, but she wasn’t sure as expected of her Ovra ain, then turned and headed for the trees The two clan e reluctantly trailed after Ovra The girl watched theo, then took a few hesitant steps after them

When she reached the trees, Ayla stood around for a while watching Oga and Vorn pick up dried branches while Ovra hacked away at a good-sized fallen log with her stone hand-axe Oga, returning fro toward the woodpile a section of the log Ovra had detached Ayla saw her struggling and walked over to help She bent over to pick up the opposite end of the log, and as they both stood up, she looked into Oga’s dark eyes They stopped and stared at each other for a moment

The two girls were so different, yet so provocatively sieny of their co to a richly developed, if dissience Both sapient, for a tireat But the subtle differences created a vastly different destiny

With each holding an end of the log, Ayla and Oga carried it to the pile of wood As they walked back, side by side, the woirls were near the sae of the other One was slender, straight-lied, darker The woirls, as with children everywhere, soon forgot their differences Sharing h they found ways to communicate and to add an element of play into the chore

That evening they sought each other out and sat together while they ate, enjoying the pleasure of coa was accepting Ayla and waited until dark before she went to get the child for bed They stared after each other as they parted, then Oga turned away and walked to her fur beside Ebra The wo-ur’s prohibition would not be lifted until they moved into the cave

Iza’s eyes were open with the first gli to the , and trilling in greeting to the new day Soon, she was thinking, she would open her eyes to stone walls She didn’tas the weather was pleasant, but she looked forward to the security of walls Her thoughtsshe had to do that day, and thinking about the cave cereot up

Creb was already awake She wondered if he had slept at all; he was still sitting in the sa in conte water, and by the ti tea ofbeside the crippled ht the child a breakfast of leftovers fro’s meal The men and women would not eat that day until the ritual feast

By late afternoon, delicious s away fro the area near the cave Utensils and other cooking paraphernalia that had been salvaged from their former cave and carried in the bundles by the wohtly woven waterproof baskets of subtle texture and design, created by slight alterations in weaving, were used to dip water fro pots and containers Wooden boere used in sie flat pelvic bones were plates and platters along with thin sections of logs Jaw and head bones were ladles, cups, and bowls Birch-bark glued together with balsaum, some reinforced with a well-placed knot of sineere folded into shapes for many uses

In an ani-lashed frame set over a fire, a savory broth bubbled Careful watch was kept toas the level of boiling broth was above the level reached by the flames, it kept the temperature of the skin pot too low to burn Ayla watched Uka stir up chunks of theild onion, salty coltsfoot, and other herbs Uka tasted it, then added peeled thistle stalks, mushrooms, lily buds and roots, watercress, milkweed buds, small immature yams, cranberries carried frorowth of day lilies for thickening

The hard fibrous old roots of cattails had been crushed and the fibers separated and removed Dried blueberries they had carried with the starch that settled in the bottom of the baskets of cold water Lumps of the flat, dark, unleavened bread were cook

ing on hot stones near the fire Pigweed greens, la clover, and dandelion leaves seasoned with coltsfoot were cooking in another pot, and a sauce of dried, tart apples mixed ild rose petals and a lucky find of honey steamed near another fire

Iza had been especially pleased when she saw Zoug returning froan The low-flying, heavy birds, easily brought doith stones fro, were Creb’s favorite Stuffed with herbs and edible greens that nested their ohole eggs, and wrapped in wild grape leaves, the savory foere cooking in a siant ha over hot coals, and ht red in the sun

It was a feast worthy of the occasion

Ayla wasn’t sure she could wait She had been wandering ai area all day Both Iza and Creb were off somewhere a, too, was busily working with the wo the feast and no one had tiruff words and not-so-gentle nudges from the harried women, she tried to stay out of the way