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“No, I didn’t know that,” she said, pleased to learn so about her mother and her mother’s mate
No wonder he’s a good trader, Ayla thought He has a ith people He can make anyone feel comfortable Mejera seemed a little more relaxed, but still a bit overwhelmed by all the attention Ayla understood how she felt
“Proleva, I saw so to dry meat from the hunt,” Ayla said “I’m not sure how meat is divided, or who is supposed to preserve it, but I’d like to help if it’s appropriate”
The woman smiled “Of course you can help, if you want It’s a lot of work, elcome your help”
“I knoould,” Folara said “It can be a long, tedious job, unless there are a lot of people working on it Then it can be fun”
“The meat itself and half the fat is for everyone to use as they need,” Proleva continued, “but the rest of the anis to the person who killed it I think you and Jondalar each have a aceros and a bison, Ayla Jondalar killed the bison who sacrificed Shevonar, but that one was given back to the Mother We buried it near his grave The leaders decided to give both Jondalar and you another one Animals are marked when they’re butchered, usually with charcoal By the way, they didn’t know your abelan, and you were busy with Shevonar, so someone asked Zelandoni of the Third He made a temporary one for you so your hides and other parts could be marked”
Jondalar smiled “What does it look like?” He was always conscious of his own enigmatic abelan and curious about the name marks of others
“I think he saw you as protective or sheltering, Ayla,” Proleva said “Here, I’ll show you” She took a stick, sht down Then she added a line starting near the top and slanting down so it on the other side “It reet under if it was raining”
“I think you’re right,” Jondalar said “It’s not a bad abelan for you, Ayla You do tend to be protective and helpful, especially if someone is sick or hurt”
“I can draw ently The stick was given to hi “Do you have one?” he said to Mejera
“I’m sure she does, Jaradal, and she will probably be happy to show you Later,” Proleva said, gently repriht, but she didn’t want hi attention from the adults around him
“What do you think of your abelan, Ayla?” Jondalar said He wondered about her reaction to being assigned a Zelandonii symbol
“Since I didn’t get an elandon with an abelan marked on it when I was born, at least not that I can reood ait as my abelan”
“Did you ever get any kind ofif Ayla already had an abelan It was always interesting to learn how other people did things
“When I was adopted by the Mamutoi, Talut cut a mark on my arm to draw blood so he couldceremonies,” Ayla said