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Ayla began to understand “All right, let’s do it this way You keep it for me Then you will have it when you want to use it”

“Soa repeated

“Tell o and take it back,” Ayla said

Lanoga started to set mad”

Ayla nodded “I understand I will keep it, then, but remember, any time you want to use it, for Lorala or for you, you can come and borrow it If sos to me”

Lanoga took the soft hide off the baby and put her down on a patch of grass She gave the hide to the woman “She’ll mess it,” she said

“That wouldn’t be so bad We’d just have to wash it Let’s put her on it It’s softer than the grass,” Ayla said She spread it out and laid the baby on it, noticing that it still retained a slight, but pleasant, smoky odor

After a hide was cleaned and scraped, it was processed, often with the brains of the animal, then worked and stretched while it dried to a beautiful soft, napped finish The nearly white hide was then tanned over a smoky fire The wood and other fuel that was burned determined the color of the hide, usually tan with a brownish or yellowish hue, and, to a slight degree, the texture of the finished piece The tanning wasn’t done primarily for the color, however, it was done to , if it got wet and wasn’t worked and stretched again, it would dry stiff and hard But once the se took place that kept the leather soft even through a washing S hat made animal hides truly usable

Ayla noticed that Lorala’s eyes were closing Wolf had finished with his bone and hadthe baby, too curious to stay away Ayla had glanced up and seen hinaled him to come closer, and he ran toward them

“It’s our turn to bathe,” Ayla said She looked at the aninals told hi It wasn’t the first tia had a slight frown of concern “He’ll stay right here andharht over there in that pond behind the stone da to wash ourselves the same ashed Lorala, but our water will be colder,” Ayla added with a smile

The wo soaproot on their way to the pond She took off her clothes and stepped in first She dea wash her hair, then took out two -toothed cootten froles out of Lanoga’s hair and, with a second comb, did her own

Then, froh it had been used, it was not worn It looked new and had a sia looked at it with longing and then touched it softly She smiled when Ayla told her to put it on

“I want you to wear this e go to see the woa did not object, did not say a word, in fact, and did not hesitate to put it on “We should go now It is getting late They are probably waiting for us”

They followed the path back up to the stone terrace and started toward the living section and Proleva’s dwelling Wolf fell back, and as Ayla turned to find hi back the way they had coaze and saoman and a man some distance behind The woman weaved and stumbled as she walked The h one tiht her when she al space, Ayla realized she was Lanoga and Lorala’s mother, Tremeda

For aher to the ainst it The woirl carrying a clean baby than they would be if a woman who had probably drunk too o on, but her eye was caught by the