By Eve-Jennifer
Jondalar glanced up to the small cave, from which you could still hear thecrying of a newborn. He smiled;
he had known all during Ayla's pregnancy that he would love the child as if he were the mother, but he had
never thought that yuo could love someone you've only known for half a day so much. Slinging one water
bag over his shoulder, and picking the other one up, he sarted up the path to the cave. When he got
inside, he put the deer stomachs next to the fire, which, he noticed had goneout, then went to sit with
Ayla. "He's a beautiful baby, Ayla," he said, looking at the tiny baby boy in her arms.
"I know...he already looks like you,"Ayla answered. "But...I wish he had been a girl. I don't seem to have
much luck with sons...First I have to leave Durc, then Baby left...will I lose this son, too?" she asked,
looking up into Jondalar's dark blue eyes.
"I promise, Ayla-you'll never lose me," he said. "Can I hold him? I never got much of a chance to hold him."
"Yes, of course,"the blonde woman replied, carefully placing her newborn son in Jondalar's arms. Jondalar
looked at the baby he was holding in his arms, then, suddenly afraid he would break him, handed the crying
infant to his mother. Undoing the lacings at the top of her tunic, Ayla held him to her breast to let him
nurse. The baby immideatly stopped crying.
"What do you want to name him, Ayla?" Jondalar asked.
Ayla thought for a moment. "How about Brenin, after Brun. If Brun hadn't allowed Iza to keep me, I
wouldn't have met you, and we wouldn't have this little baby in our lives now. I figured we might as well
name the baby after him," she finally replied.
"Brenin...Brenin...I think that's a very good name for him. Maybe, someday, he'll be a great leader, like
Brun," Jondalar finally answered. Looking at the baby, he said, "How do you like your new name Brenin?" To
his and Ayla's surprise, the baby broke out into a wide smile.
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Ayla watched the blonde-haired boy riding between her and Jondalar. It was had to believe he was her
little Brenin, the tiny baby she had given birth to in her tiny cave, with only Jondalar to help her. Now, at
age 7, he was an exact copy of Jondalar, only younger. She thought back to the events of the past year.
Jondalar had finally convinced her to come on a small, moon-long Journey with him;they had met the
Mamutoi along the way, and she had been adopted. When Ranec had asked her to mate, however, she had
listened to Brenin when he had said that she would be happier with Jondalar. Now, she, Jondalar, Brenin,
Whinney, Racer, Wolf, and Whinney's second son, a 2-year-old stallion, named Bull, because of his bull-like
stubbornness-only Brenin could control him-had set out towrds the peninsula, in search of Durc. Shrtly
after they had reached the southern tip, they saw signs of human habitation.
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Ayla spread out the ground cloth and placed the evening meal on it, then went to calm the horses. When
she had done that, she sat down just as Jondalar and Brenin walked into the clearing, looking very excited.
"Mother! Guess what we saw?!" Brenin exclaimed.
"What did you see, my son?" Ayla asked as he and Jondalar sat down.
"We saw people of the Clan. There were even two who looked like they were mixed-a man and a
woman,"Jondalar replied as he put some ptarmigan on his plate and started eating.
"Will you take me there tomorrow?" Ayla answered when they had all had their share. Jondalar and Brenin
nodded. "Good. Then, if you will excuse me, I thik I will go to bed now. I am quite tired."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ayla, Jondalar, and Brenin, followed by Wolf rode over the hill, and looked down at a large cave. Outside,
people were walking around, and Ayla thought she recognized Ebra, Zoug, and Uba. Suddenly, she caught
sight of Brun. Tapping her son on the shoulder, she pointed at the former leader. "Look, Brenin. That's
Brun. He was leader when the Clan adopted me;he's the man you're named after. And, there's Zoug, the
sling-teacher. And Ebra, Brun's mate. And there's Uba, Iza's daughter...my sister. She's your aunt, in a
way," she said.
Brenin looked down at the people below him. Suddenly, his sharp vision caught sight of a man storming
towards the mixed man he and Jondalar had seen earlier. He looked as though he wanted to hurt the
younger man!!! "Mother!,"he said in a hoarse whisper, then, pointing, he said, "Is that Broud? The older
one? Is it?" When his mother's eyes opened wide and she nodded, he pointed at the younger man. "And,
that one, the younger one. Is that Durc? The one we've been looking for all summer?" When Ayla nodded
again, he pulled tiny spears out of a pouch on his back, then picked up his spear-thrower. He had inovated
the spear and spear-thrower slightly. He had started making spears the length of his arm, with tiny bone
points;he had also started using the spear-thrower vertically(like a modern day archery bow). Fitting one
of the spears into the groove cut into the wooden thrower, he pulled back the horse-hair strings at the
end, then, aiming at Broud's feet, released the arrow.
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Broud stomped towards Durc. 'That deformed man has been insolent for the last time. I will make sure he
goes the same way as his insolent mother,'he thought. He was stopped dead inhis tracks, however, by a
sudden twanging sound. Looking down at the ground, he saw a tiny spear still quivering in the ground, but
it was unlike any spear he had ever seen. It was so tiny!!! How could anyone kill something bigger than a
rabbit with it? He looked up in the direction from which it had come, and, to his horror, saw three horses
coming his way. But it wasn't the horses that frigtened him-each horse was carrying a person on its
back!!! Then, to further his terror, he saw that the one in the middle was Ayla!! 'Why did she have to
come back?' he thought as Ayla, Brenin, and Jondalar dismounted.
Jondalar looked at Broud through narrowed eyes. Suddenly, he had an idea. He knew from Ayla's stories
that Broud had always hated her smiling and laughing. He looked at Ayla, caught her eye, and winked.
Turning back to Broud, he smiled and laughed. "Well, well, well!! What do we have here?I believe your
name is Broud? Well, I can't say it's nice to meet you, but I'm very glad to be meeting the man who has
caused my mate so much pain and anguish. My name is Jondalar of the Zelondonii, and the boy is Brenin of
the Mamutoi...I'm sure you already know Ayla," he said, making the Clan gestures at the same time.
"Go away, evil spirits," Broud gesticulated wildly, staring in fear at the woman he had thought he had finally
gotten rid of. And what about this man, the man who looked like her? The one who claimed to be her
mate? Why would he ever choose such an insolent woman?
"No. We're not leaving. We have some things we would like to discuss with you...starting with the way you
treated Ayla when she lived here," Jondalar replied, also in gestures.
"Alright," Broud said. After all, how could he refuse such a powerful spirit?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Durc watched, transfixed, as Broud led the people of the Others into the cave. He didn't know about the
two men, but the woman with them looked slightly familiar-then it came to him. This was his Mama! This
was the woman who had left him here. He didn't know if he should be glad to see her, or angry that she
had abondoned him with Broud. First, though, he decided to play it safe. Heading inside after them, he sat
down in his hearth, next to 5-year-old Noz, the first son of his hearth, who was busily showing 3-year-old
Turk, his brother, how to make spear points. The younger boy looked up. "Hello, Durc," he signed. "Why
Broud so upset?"
"Broud is upset because of the visitors," Durc answered the boy. Looking up, he saw that Broud was
bringing the three visitors toward his hearth.
"This is Durc, one of our best sling-hunters, though he is not quite as good with the spear. The children
are Noz, who is 5, and Turk, who is 3. They are the children of Durc's hearth. Durc, boys, these
are...Ayla...her son, Brenin, and her mate, Dondah," Broud said, hesitating when he reached Ayla's name.
"Bren. Call me Bren. That's what everyone else does," Brenin said, looking at Durc with curiosity. "Hello,
Durc. Mother has told me about you...what little bit she could."
Durc's eyes opened wide, and he looked at Ayla. "You are Ayla," he said after tapping her shoulder. "I am
Durc. Do you remember me? Because I most certainly remmeber you."
Brenin watched Durc with his big blue eyes, which, like everything else about him, was exactly like
Jondalar:the same quiet manner, the unwillingness to expose the personal side of him, the exceptionally
good looks, the talent for flint-knapping. He was even exceptionally tall, like Jondalar. However, he was
shy and curious, like Ayla; he also had the same unwillingness to back down when he felt strongly about
something, as well as the same gentleness and sensitivity. His eyes flicked in the direction of the young
boys, who looked about his age, maybe younger. They looked a lot like Durc and his mother. They even
had a little bit of blonde in their hair, and a bit of gray in their eyes, but it was very hard to notice;his
quick eyes and mind, however, noticed it immideatly. Then he noticed the woman in the back of the
hearth, busying herself with chores. "Who is that?" he asked suddenly, both in Zelondonii and Clan.
Durc looked followed Brenin's eyes. "That is my mate, Ura," he answered.
Looking back at Durc, Brenin asked,"how many years are you?"
"How many years are you?" Durc replied, a little uncomfortable under Brenin's intense gaze.
"I asked you first," the young boy replied.
"Alright. I am 14 years."
"I am 7. Why didn't you ever come look for us?"
"Because I...I didn't know where to look," Durc replied, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
"What's your point?" Brenin challenged. His mother had told him about how she had cried herself to sleep,
thinking about this son she had left behind, every night for three years straight, until Jondalar had come.
"Why are you so...insolent, infant?" Noz asked.
"I am not an infant. I am two years older than you. And I am NOT insolent. I merely want to knwo why my
brother didn't come looking for my mother," Brenin answered.
Brenin watched Durc come outside, then went over to him. "Hello, Durc. I think we got off on the wrong
foot earlier. I'm sorry for being mean to the son of your mate. Do you think we can still be friends?" he
asked in Clan gestures, looking at his brother.
Durc studied the boy for a moment before answering. He could read the sincerity in the blonde boy's face
and posture-nothing that suggested he wasn't being truthful. 'He has learned the language well,' Durc
thought. Although half his age, Brenin was nearly as tall as Durc, and this made the older brother
uncomfortable. "Yes. I think we can still be friends," he finally answered.
Brenin smiled. "Good!!! Would you like to go riding with me? Bull needs to get some excercise, and there
seems to be plenty of room to run here."
"Riding? You mean, riding on the horse? Why would I want to?" Durc exclaimed, unnerved by the idea of
riding an animal.
"Because it's fun. Come on, don't be a coward. I'll show you how to get on, and I'll make sure you don't fall
off."
Durc hesitated for a moment. "Alright," he finally said. "Let's go."
Brenin led the way to their camp, where Whinney, Racer, and Bull were grazing. Going up to the
hay-colored stallion, Brenin petted his head. "Durc, this is Bull. He's mine. The mare is Whinney; she's
mother's. The dark brown one is Racer's, and he's Jondalar's. Now, the first thing you'll do is pet his head,
so he'll know your scent. Don't be afraid if he snorts or tosses his head or anything like that, but if he
starts rearing or kicking, then you'd better get out of th way," Brenin instructed, as Durc, rather
hesitantly, followed the instructions. The blonde boy picked up the saddle that was lying next to his furs.
It was nothing more than a two riding blankets sown together over a piece of raw-hide, with a piece of
raw-hide in front, to grab on to to get on. As Durc stepped away, Brenin put the saddle on the stallion's
back, then tied the loose end lightly under his stomach. After making sure that the stirrups were secure-he
had made each by shaping two pieces of bone so that he could easily slip his foot into it, putting wet
birchbark, which would dry hard, over them, then finally putting raw-hide over it, to make it as sturdy as
possible, and repeating the procedure for the other stirrup-he motioned for Durc to coem closer. "Alright.
Now. Put your foot into this stirrup, grab the horn, and pull yourself up. When your waist is level with his
back, swing your other leg over, and put it the other foot in the stirrup."
Durc did as he was told, then picked up the lead ropes dangling from the harness. Suddenly, he was off,
galloping down the clearing. Brenin had given the horse a slap on the flank, his signal to go.
Brun watched from the mouth of the cave as Jondalar and Brenin were trained. They did this every morning
and every evening: simple kicking, jabbing, punching, and bending exercises meant to keep them healthy
and in shape. It was a lot like today's karate. The young boy noticed Brun watching them, and, letting go
of the tree branch he was hanging from, jogged over. At age 7, hewas slightly taller than the former
leader. "Hello, Brun," Brenin said, both with the ancient language, and in Zelondonii. "Great night we're
having, isn't it?"
Brun looked at the young boy with surprise. He hadn't expected him to be able to speak in the ancient
language. "Yes, it is. How do you know to speak the Clan language?"
"My mother taught me, and the man of my hearth, as well. He taught me Zelondonii, and she taught me
Clan."
Brun nodded; it made sense that Ayla would teach her son Clan, and that the man of Ayla's hearth's son
would teach him his own language. "Is your mother mated yet?"
"Yes and no. She and Jondalar love each other. She told me once, when I asked, that they were mated in
their hearts, but no, they are not officially mated yet. We are traveling to the other end of the Great
Mother River; it is the river that feeds into the sea you lived by when my mother was young. It spans the
length of the world. Jondalar's people live several days' travel from the edge of the world, and about a
moon's worth of travel from the Great Wall of Ice. When we get there-it will take about a year of travel-
Ayla and Jondalar will be mated. I'm glad-I don't want any more winters like last winter," Brenin ommented.
"Why not? What was so bad about last winter?" the Clan man asked.
"Last year we wintered with the Mamutoi. They live several moon's travel from here, and hunt mammoths
every year. Ayla and Jondalar had a misunderstanding about their feelings for each other, and let's just say
it wasn't a fun winter. She almost mated with a carver-someone who makes images out of ivory, bone, or
wood, but I told Ranec that if he and my mother mated, he would regret it for the rest of his life, because
I would make sure of it," the youth said.
Brun nodded again. "so, why did you come here?" he asked next.
"Mother wanted to come and get Durc, or at least introduce him to Jondalar and me. She wanted Durc and
Ura to come on our Journey with us. Honestly, I think they would be happier here. The Others don't like
people of the Clan. The call you flatheads, animals, though I fought every one and anyone who dared
insult anyone who saved my mother. Sometimes I have to choose between my pride and my dignity, and I
usually choose pride. I don't care if I look like a fool, I'd rather feel like I'm one up on someone else. I think
that Durc and Ura and Noz and Turk would be happier staying with people who accept them but think
theyare deformed, then be with his mother, among people who call him an animal."
"I am going now. I hope you enjoy whatever it was you were doing," Brun said.
"Training. Jondalar is trainging me, so that I will be able to help out with the hunting on our Journey."
"Tell me, how did your mother come back from the dead?"
"She never died. Broud can't defeat her with a simple Death Curse."
Durc looked down at his mother, who was sitting with her head bowed at his feet. He was uncomfortable
around this mother he had thought was dead, but apparently was not. Still, curiousity got the best of him,
and he tapped her shoulder.
Ayla looked up into light brown eyes, that should have been familiar, but wasn't. "Durc, Jondalar and I have
been speaking. We would like for you, Ura, Noz, and Turk to come with us on our Journey. It is a long trip,
and will take a full year, but...we would like for you to join us. Will you?" she asked.
It didn't take Durc long to reach his desicion. "No," he said. "Ura and I are excepted here. It doesn't matter
to me that we are thouught to be deformed. Brenin has told me how the Others react to people like us. I
believe he said they call us and our mothers abominations. I wouldn't do that to you. I don't want to do
anything that will upset, yet in order to do that, I must hurt your felings, which I don't want to do. I care
about my mate and her sons, mother. And I don't want to do anything that will harm them, either. I
promised the leader of Ura's Clan that I would protect her and her children when we mated, and I intend to
do that...no matter how much it hurts me to to hurt you."
"I understand. It is the same with Jondalar and me. I wish you good luck for the rest of your life," Ayla
said.
"I might come visit you, someday. Or, I might send Turk or Noz-or both- when they are grown. I wish you
good luck with Jondalar."
"Thank you," Ayla said, then got up, and headed out of the cave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Goodbye, Brun. I will miss you the most. I owe my life, and both my sons, to you," Ayla said, then on
impulse put her arms around the proud former leaders neck. Turnig to Broud, she said, "Although I would
never have done so in the begining, I want to thank you. If you hadn't cursed me, I would never have met
Jondalar, and wouln't have had Brenin." Then, she turned, and headed for where Jondalar, Brenin and Wolf
were waiting for her, Jondalar sitting on Racer, Brenin sitting on Bull. She had already said goodbye to Uba,
Ebra, Goov, Durc, Ura, Vorn, and everybody that had known her. Jumping onto Whinney's back, she wiped
her eyes with the back of her hand, then they started down the hill, getting back on their Journey to the
land of the Zelondonii.
The End