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Ayla s between the man and Whinney’s foal She recalled an idea she’d had, and spontaneously mentioned it

“Jondalar give name colt?”

“Name the colt? You want me to name the colt?” He was unsure, and pleased “I don’t know, Ayla I’ve never thought about na, much less a horse How do you name a horse?”

Ayla understood his dismay It had not been an idea she had accepted iave recognition Recognizing Whinney as a unique individual apart from the concept of horse had certain consequences She was no longer just an animal of the herds who roamed the steppes She associated with huave her trust to a hu her kind She had a name

But it i of the animal required considerable effort and concern The horse could never be very far frohts; their lives had become inextricably entwined

Ayla had conize the relationship, especially after Whinney’s return Though it wasn’t planned or calculated, there was an elenition in her desire to have Jondalar name the colt She wanted hi horse, it could be additional reason to stay where the colt would need to stay—at least for some time—in the valley with Whinney, and with her

There was no need to rush theanywhere for a while, not until his leg healed

Ayla woke up with a start The cave was dark She lay on her back, peering into the dense unfocusable black, and tried to go back to sleep Finally, she slipped quietly out of her bed—she had dug a shallow trench in the earth floor of the cave beside the bed now used by Jondalar—and felt her way to the cave ment of her presence as she passed by on her way out

I let the fire go out again, she thought, walking along the wall to the edge Jondalar isn’t as faet up in the ht

When she was through, she stayed outside for a while A quarterin the west, was close to the lip of the wall above, across on the upstreae, and would soon disappear behind it It was closer to ht Beloas darkness except for the silvery shi stream

The night sky made a barely perceptible shift from black to deep blue, but it was noticed at so why, Ayla decided not to return to bed She watched the e of the opposite wall sed it She felt an oht was snuffed out

Gradually the sky lightened, and the stars faded into the luminous blue At the far end of the valley, the horizon was purple She watched the sharply defined arc of a blood-red sun swell up froht into the valley

“Must be a prairie fire to the east,” Jondalar said

Ayla spun around The low of the fiery orb, which turned his eyes to a shade of lavender never seen by firelight “Yes, big fire, much smoke I not know you up”

“I’ve been awake for a while, hoping you’d coet up The fire is out”

“I know I careless Not ht”

“Bank, you didn’t bank it so it would not go out”

“Bank,” she repeated “I go start”

He followed her back into the cave, ducking his head as he went through the entrance It was apprehension h for hiot out the iron pyrite and flint and gathered tinder and kindling

“Didn’t you say you found that firestone on the beach? Are there more?”