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“Only snal fires to let us know they were there and didn’t need any immediate help,” Stelona said
“That’s good, but I think I’ll go see what dae, if any, they sustained,” the Donier said, then turned to look at Ayla and Jondalar “Would you like to co the horses? They could be useful if anyone does need help”
“Today?” Jondalar asked
“No, I was thinking of ”
“I’d be glad to go with you,” Ayla said
“Of course, I will, too,” Jondalar said
Ayla and Jondalar unloaded Racer’s travois, except for their own things, and left the bundles on the ledge in front of the living sect
ion, then led the horses pulling the nearly es past the part of the shelter where most of the people lived They lived at the the other end of the inhabited area, although the overhanging stone protected a er section, which was only used occasionally, except for the places they had e abri, they couldn’t help but notice soe, nothing er than pieces that sometimes split off by themselves for no reason that anyone could determine
When they reached the large, flat stone near the edge of the front porch that Joharran and others soroup, Ayla wondered when it fell and what had caused it Was it an earthquake or had it just sheared off by itself? Suddenly the stone shelters that had seemed so protective didn’t feel quite so safe anymore
As they started to lead the horses under the overhanging ledge toward their space, Ayla wondered if they would balk the way they had the night before But the place was faer They went right in, which gave her an i of relief There is really no protection when the earth decides to shake, inside or out, but if the horses were to give her a warning again, she did think she would rather be outside
They unhitched the two pole-drags and left them in their usual place, then led the horses to the corrals that they had made for them They were not penned in The structures they had constructed under the overhanging ledge were there for the anio at any ti-fed stream that separated the Ninth Cave froh the horses could just as easily have gotten water from the stream themselves She wanted to ht, especially for the little one
Only during the spring rutting season were there any constraints on the horses Then not only did they fasten the gates closed, put halters on the ani free, but Ayla and Jondalar usually slept nearby to drive away the stallions that were drawn to the mare Ayla didn’t want Whinney to be captured by some stallion and driven to his herd, and Jondalar didn’t want Racer running off to be hurt fighting with other stallions in an effort tofe scent was so overpoweringly close It was a difficult time for all of them
So aroma, which could be detected by males more than a mile away, and killed a few of the wild horses, but they stayed out of sight of Ayla and made sure not to mention it to her She are of the practice and couldn’t really blame them She had lost her taste for horsemeat, and chose not to eat it, but she knew o after her horses, she didn’t object to others hunting the animals They were a valuable food source
They walked back to their oelling and unloaded their belongings Although they hadn’t been gone very long, not even as long as usual for a Su other Caves and Sacred Sites along the way seemed to have taken more time than normal, and the effort left her tired The earthquake had been particularly draining She shuddered at the thought of it
Jonayla had been fussing and she brought the baby to the changing place just outside the dwelling; then she went inside and settled down to nurse, happy to be there The structure had rawhide-panel walls but no ceiling, at least none that was constructed When she looked up, she saw the underside of the overhanging rock of the natural stone shelter She could s and knew they would share a meal with some of their usual community, and then she’d be able to crawl into her bedroll and cuddle up between Jondalar and Jonayla, with Wolf just beyond She was glad to be home