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With the passage of tirief she felt for the people she loved had abated The emptiness, her need for human contact, was such a constant pain that it see of it was a joy, and the two ani the void She liked to think of the arrangement as siirl, except she and Whinney took care of Baby And when the lion cub, with claws retracted, wrapped his forelegs around her when she cuddled up to hiine it was Durc

She was reluctant to leave and seek out unknown Others, with unknown custohter away from her They won’t, she said to herself I won’t live with anyone again on’t let h

The ani, and Baby was resting nearby, with his tongue hanging out of his ht Whinney, with the lion padding behind her

“I have to go hunting, Whinney,” she ”

Once the baby cave lion had recovered from his injuries, he always followed Ayla or Whinney Cubs were never left alone in the pride, nor were babies ever left alone in the Clan, so his behavior seemed perfectly nor to hunt with a cave lion trailing her? When Whinney’s protective instincts were aroused, however, the problem solved itself It was custoroup with her cubs and a younger feer fe, and Baby accepted Whinney in that role Ayla knew that no hyena, or si hooves of the e, but itthe steppes close to the cave in search of aniave her an unexpected opportunity

She had always avoided the pride of cave lions that roamed the territory east of her valley But the first ti themselves in the shade of stunted pines, she decided it was ti more about the creatures that embodied her totem

It was a dangerous occupation Hunter though she was, she could easily become prey But she had observed predators before and had learned ways to , but after the first few tier One could turn on her at any tier she watched, thethey became

They spent , but when they hunted, they were speed and fury in action Wolves, hunting in packs, were able to kill a large deer; a single cave lioness could do it ht eat only once in a handful of days They had no need to store food ahead as she did; they hunted all year long

They tended to be nocturnal hunters in summer when the days were hot, she noticed In winter, when nature thickened their coats, lightening the shade to ivory to blend into the lighter landscape, she had seen the the day The severe cold kept the tre theether in a cave or rock overhang out of the wind, or amidst the strewn rubble of a canyon where the stones absorbed a little heat froave it up to the dark

The young wo to her valley after a day of observation which had brought new respect for the ani down an oldthey curved back and crossed in front The entire pride had gorged on the kill How had she ever escaped from one when she was only five, with only a few scars to show for it? she was thinking, understanding better the Clan’s amazement Why did the Cave Lion choosespecific, but it left her thinking about Durc

When she neared the valley, a quick stone brought a hare down for Baby, and she suddenly questioned her wisdorownlion ran to her, eager and delighted to have her back, looking for her fingers to suck, and licking her with his raspy tongue

Later in the evening, after she had skinned the hare and cut it into chunks for Baby, cleaned Whinney’s place and brought her in some fresh hay, andhot tea and staring at the fire, thinking about the day’s events The young cave lion was asleep toward the back of the cave, away frohts turned to the circumstances that had led her to adopt the cub, and she could only conclude that it had been her totem’s wish She didn’t knohy, but the spirit of the Great Cave Lion had sent one of his own for her to raise

She reached for the a from the cord around her neck and felt the objects within it, then, with the silent fore of the Clan, she addressed her totem: “It was not understood by this worateful she was shown This worateful for the baby and the horse” She paused, then added, “Someday, Great Cave Lion, this woman would knohy the cub was sent … if her totem would choose to tell”

Ayla’s usual su for the cold season to come, was compounded by the addition of the cave lion He was carnivorous, pure and simple, and required quantities ofs too ame, for herself as well as the lion But for that, she needed Whinney

Baby knew Ayla was planning soot out the harness and whistled for the horse so she couldtwo sturdy wooden poles behind her The travois had proved itself, but Ayla wanted to work out a better way to attach it so she could still use the pack baskets She also wanted to keep one polethe load up to the cave Drying the e had worked well, too

She wasn’t sure what Baby would do, or how she was going to hunt with Baby along, but she had to try it When everything was ready, she cli behind, the way he would have trailed his mother It was so much more convenient to reach the territory east of the river that, except for a few exploratory trips, she never est The sheer wall on the western side continued for many miles before a steep rubbly slope finally opened a way to the plains in that direction Since she could range so much farther on horseback, she had become familiar with the eastern side, which made it easier to hunt as well

She had learned ration patterns, custo pitfall traps along known animal trails, and it was not a job that benefited fro woame only for his enjoyment

He crept up to the hole, breaking down the edge with his paws, bounded over it, jumped in, and leaped out just as easily He rolled in the piles of dirt she had scooped onto the old tent hide, which she still used to haul the dirt away When she started to drag the hide away, Baby decided to drag it too, his way It becaround

“Baby! How a,” she said, exasperated, but laughing, which encouraged hied through the pack baskets, which she had taken off Whinney to let her graze coround cover in case it rained “Drag this, Baby,” she round in front of hied along the ground He was so delighted with hi the hide bet

ween his front legs, that she had to smile

In spite of the cub’s assistance, Ayla did get the hole dug and covered with an old hide brought for the purpose, and a layer of dirt The hide was barely held in place with four pegs, and the first tiate He fell into the trap, then junation, but stayed away afterward

Once the pitfall was prepared, Ayla whistled for Whinney and circled wide to get behind a herd of onagers She couldn’t bring herself to hunt horses again, and even the onager made her uncomfortable The half-ass looked too ood position for a chase into a pitfall that she couldn’t pass it up

After Baby’s playful antics around the hole, she was even more concerned that he would be a detriot behind the herd, he assuers, the saht actually bring one down, though he was far too young She realized then that his ga skills he would need He was a hunter fro of the need for stealth was instinctive

Ayla discovered, to her surprise, that the cub was actually a help When the herd was close enough to the trap that the scent of hued Whinney forward, whooping and yelping to start a stanal and took off after the aniers’ panic They headed straight for the pitfall