Ayla hummed to herself while sewing a tiny white tunic. She had made one for each of her children to wear on their naming days. That this one might be the last saddened her a little, but nothing could dampen her happiness at having another child. Thonala and Jubanar would be having First Rites in a couple years, Crebalan felt he was too big to be cuddled, and Nizzana had just been weaned. She could not help smiling as she put a hand on her stomach and felt the tiny kicks. "Just a few more moons and you’ll be able to kick all you want. Have patience, little one.” A particularly hard kick made her grunt. Patience was not something Ayla had passed on to any of her children. Jubanar and Thonala pestered her every day, wanting to know when they could have horses of their own. Crebalan was constantly staining his clothes with paint that he was not allowed to use on the walls yet, and Nizza had been a giant bruise ever since she learned to crawl, wanting to go everywhere her siblings went. Ayla had almost fainted the day she found Nizza trying to climb to the top of the cave. It looked like this baby was going to be as active as the rest of them. With a sigh, Ayla got up to go find Thonala and Jubanar. They were needed to run an errand today.

She found the twins among a group of children who were gathered around her mate. When Jondalar had returned from his Journey, Marthona had wanted him to take over the leadership of the Ninth Cave, but all he wanted to do was make weapons and tools. What he found himself doing most often was teaching other how to make spearthrowers and use the, which he found just as enjoyable. Many of his students had become quite adept at flint knapping. Mendajar and Talanya had even gone to other caves to teach tool making.

Jondalar looked up from the lesson with a smile when he heard his mate approach. Doni, she’s beautiful, he thought as he had so many times in the past. She has been so happy since the birth of the twins. I wonder if she will want to go to the Great Waters to the west again next year. Ayla and Jondalar had gone there the year after each of their children had been born. This time, Crebalan would be old enough to remember the journey. I guess we will have to wait until the twins have horses for that trip. He rose to greet the smiling woman. "Can I help you with anything, my Ayla?”

"Yes, my Jondalar.” Her smile turned into a grin. He always knew how to make her feel special, even ten years after they tied the knot. "I need your children for the day. Can you spare them?”

"Of course, dear. You two will not miss much in one day. Go help your mother.” He loved it when she called them "his children”. He was certain they were all the children of his spirit, with their blond hair and blue eyes. The twins were already close to their mother’s height, and looked like they would grow for some time. It was the fact that Ayla was so certain that their Pleasures had created the children that gave him the warm, fluttery feeling in his stomach. She was such a smart, strong woman…Doni, how had I been so lucky. If I wasn’t in the middle of a class…

Sensing his mood, Ayla leaned up to give him a kiss. As he bent down to receive the kiss, something crashed into her legs, forcing Ayla straight into Jondalar’s arms. "Please, Mama, can I help too? Wallamon made me leave and I have nothing to do. Please, Mama, can I?” With a laugh, Jondalar reached down to detach the boy from his mother and turned him around in a circle. He was covered from head to foot in brown pigment. "Given the condition Crebalan is in, I can only imagine what Wallamon’s hearth looks like. I think it would be a good idea to keep this mess out of his hair for at least a day.” He looked down at the boy. "Creb, you know you are not old enough to paint the sacred walls yet. Wallamon’s work is very important to Doni. You should not always be in his way.”

"But Jondalar, I am going to be the best painter of all the Zelandonii some day, and I have to watch someone as good as Wallamon so I can learn. I do not get in his way. I help him with his pigments and his tools.” Crebalan had a pout on his face until he realized that he had just been given permission to help his brother and sister. "Mama, what are we doing?”

"I need you to go to Jozara’s cave for me. She has some extra mouflan wool to give me for use after the baby is born. I am far too large to get onto Whoosha’s back for a visit, so you three can be my helpers today.” Ayla saw her children’s eyes light up when she mentioned the visit. Jozara was their favorite of their mother’s friends. "It has been over a moon since any of you went to visit, and I am sure that she has been lonely for you.”

"We’re on our way, Mama. Bye, Mama, bye Jondalar,” Jubanar called over his shoulder as the three children ran off together. Jozara got up to fix herself a cup of tea and groaned as she caught a glimpse of the weather. It was going to rain that night or the next day. "More rain is just what I need,” she muttered to herself. "As if the mud is not bad enough already.” The mud in front of her cave was always at its worst in the spring, and this spring had had more rain than any other year since she had left the Fifth Cave. As she turned to stir some mint into her tea, a tremendous squishing noise began behind her, followed by a jumble of "Joz, Jo, Jozar, Jozara!!” Turning around with the tea raised above her head, she was almost knocked over by a mob of arms all reaching out for a hug.

"My dear children. Look at all the mud you tracked into my clean cave. How many times have I told you that if you walk along the edge of rocks to the entrance you can avoid most of the mud? Let an old woman put down her tea before you spill it all over me, please.” Jozara could not help but laugh. It was so nice to have children around the cave, and it had been over a month since their last visit. "What brings all of you here today? A woman like me cannot take so much in her old age.”

"Joza, you know you are not old,” Thonala chastised as she took Jozara’s cup and led her to sit by the fire. "Mama sent us to get some mouflan wool. She said you had some extra for when the baby is born.”

"Hmm, she must be to big to get up on that horse of hers. I had hoped she could visit me one more time before the birth. Ah, well, I guess I will just have to wait until your mother and the baby are able to travel. My bones are too old and aching for walking so far anymore. I will miss her terribly. Let me get that wool for you. Thona, why don’t you make some tea for yourself and your brothers. You should be thirsty after such a long walk."

Jozara went to one of the cave’s niches that held the supplies she had for Ayla. "I have some other things for you to take to your mother. Here are some leathers she can make something out of until she is able to move about more, and a tunic I made for the baby. I made one for each of you before you were born. And here is some marjoram so insects do not bother her while she is already uncomfortable with pregnancy, and some willow bark for the pain of the birth. Willow bark is safe for babies. Oh, yes, here is some wild geranium for the baby. Babies are always getting rashes and having stomach problems.” She had two large armfuls by the time she was done.

"It is a good thing that we brought Creb with us. Thona and I could not have carried all this back by ourselves.” Jubanar began sorting the things into three piles, one half the weight, but the same size as the other two. He knew his younger brother liked to be helpful, and Jubanar liked him to think that he was more helpful than he really was. Most of the plants were in Crebalan’s pile, since most of them would never make it all the way home. The boy knew that Jozara also liked to be helpful, but his mother would have all the plants she needed for the birth at home already. He would not say that to Jozara. There was no reason to hurt her feelings.

"Is your rheumatism so bad, Joza? The winter will soon be over, but it has been quite mild. Jondalar says that it feels like spring already,” Thonala asked her mentor. "I can make you a pokeweed wash to help your aching bones if you want me to.”

"No, Thona. I will be fine. Can’t an old herb woman complain about her aches and pains without someone trying to take her place as healer of this cave? If…”

"Joza, do you have any new stories?” Creb interrupted.

"Did you decide that you would paint your body since Wallamon will not let you paint his walls?” she answered back. Crebalan just grinned at her and waited for his story. "Yes, I have something new, but it is not really a story. Ulga was here for a visit a few days ago.” Ulga was a Clan woman from the same clan as Guban and Yorga. That chance encounter Ayla and Jondalar had on their journey had caused many changes for the Zelandonii, one of which was a small trading system between them and the Clan. "She needed some datura for a ceremony, and has not been able to find any around their cave for a long time. So she came to me for help. The ceremony must be very important for her to travel so far with only Brucan for an escort. The Mog-ur of her Clan had a vision a few moons ago about a woman named Argha. She was a woman of the Others that once lived with the Clan but was cursed with death because she hunted. The woman was thought to be an evil spirit because she would not go away and the Clan kept seeing her, but the Mog-ur of Ulga’s clan thinks the spirits were angry at Argha’s curse. The spirits are leading her among the Others, to spread her story and the shame of the Clan. The Mog-ur says that as long as Argha lives, the Clan will live on, but when she dies, the Clan will begin to die, unless the Clan makes up for its mistake. I think this ceremony is meant to appease the spirits so the Clan will live on.”

"Argha is our mama, isn’t she,” Thona asked.

"The stories do match, but I cannot know for sure. Ulga did not say that the woman came from Mog-ur One Eye’s clan.”

"Mog-ur One Eye is who I was named for,” Crebalan chirped. "I like his story, but only Mama knows it. Joza, tell me the story of Juban and Thona’s birth.”

"Crebalan, you want me to tell that story every time you see me. Would you like to hear something different for once?”

"No, no, no. I want it to be the first story that I paint on the sacred walls, and I have to know it perfectly by then.”

"You have many years to learn it before Wallamon will even let you near the walls. Ah, well, I will tell it again anyway. It was a bright sunny day at the end of the summer when your mother first began to feel the pains of labor. I was visiting because she wanted me around to help Zelandoni incase there were any problems with the birth. She had been worried because she was so big, and her first labor had been so difficult.”

"That was Durc, our oldest brother, who lives with Uba,” Creb chimed in.

"Yes, it was your mother’s first son. Well, we were sitting by the communal hearth, when her labor started. I was starting to help her into the cave when the sky began to grow dark. People began to look to the sky, but they could not see what was wrong. There were no storm clouds, but the day got darker and darker until twilight fell around us. Everyone was so frightened. Some were wailing; others were calling on Doni to save them. Only Helinna, an old Zelandoni, was brave enough to keep looking at the sky. She said the sun turned black and caught on fire. The fire burned her eyes, and she went blind. Your mother gave birth to Juban at the darkest moment of the day, and then Thona surprised us just as the light began to come back.

"Zelandoni claimed that the day was a sign that Ayla should be accepted by all of the Zelandonii caves, not just the Ninth. She was a powerful woman; a chosen one of the Mother, and no Zelandonii should view her or her children as abominations. The Zelandonia wanted Ayla to become One Who Serves the Mother because of it, but she would not. Your mother would not give up her name to serve Doni because it was all she had left of the family she had lost as a child. Zelandoni said that she could practice her healing medicine even if she would not become One Who Serves.” Zolena just did not want someone with more power to usurp her, Jozara thought to herself bitterly. They may be allies, but Zolena would not have let Ayla heal unless she thought it would keep her place as First secure. If Ayla had become a Zelandoni, she surely would have taken Zolena’s position.

"Why can’t you heal at a cave like Mama does, Joza?” Crebalan asked.

"That is a story for another time, child. You three need to hurry home if you are going to get there before dark. I do not want Ayla and Jondalar to worry about you.”

"I’ll paint your story on the walls some day, Joza,” Crebalan stated.

"You are right, Jozara. Let’s get our bundles and go,” Jubanar took the role as leader. That boy will be the leader of a cave some day, Jozara thought fondly.

"We would not have to leave so early if Mama and Jondalar would let us have our own horses,” Thonala pouted.

"Do not worry, Thona. The last time Ayla was here, she spoke of finding some foals soon for you and Juban to train.” Thonala brightened up immediately.

"Good bye, Joza,” the children said in unison, with hugs from each of them. The three ran straight out of the cave through the mud. Crebalan dropped half of the plants before he had gone ten strides, and Thonala trampled them deep into the mud. Jozara just shook her head. "It will be a miracle of Doni if any of those plants make the entire journey home. But the poor boy would feel bad if he could not help his brother and sister. Ah, well, time for my nap.” As she lay down, she thought about what Crebalan had said. My story. My story is nothing to paint about, Creb. It is not even enough to talk about.

Jozara was sitting around the ceremonial fire with Lamanar, Menarla’s son, in her lap. Her mate had died two years ago, and she had never had any children. So she was often accompanied by one of the Fifth Cave’s children. She doted on all of them, and they loved her. In fact, Jozara was well liked by everyone except Liarna. It was a ceremony for Liarna that the cave was waiting for. Today, they would have a new First Among Those Who Serve.

The Zelandonii suddenly began babbling and standing up. Jozara had been mulling over her own thoughts and had not realized that the ceremony had begun. She was confused by all the noise. People were looking at her and gesticulating wildly. Liarna, now Zelandoni, hushed them all with a sweep of her arm. "It is an abomination to let a woman practice healing with herbs who is not Zelandoni. Jozara was never accepted into the Zelandonia because she could not speak with the spirits. She must stop her practice or leave the cave.”

As the realization of the words hit her, Jozara slowly rose to stand with the child in her arms. "Liarna,” she spoke clearly. A murmur arose at the use of the name that should no longer be spoken in public. "You wish me to no longer us my herbs? So you remember that this child would not be alive if I had not been around when he was attacked by the wolverine? There were no Zelandoni around that day to save him, and…”

"No, it is Doni’s will that you no longer use your herbs,” Liarna interrupted. "She has spoken to me, and I am only the messenger. Lamanar is alive by Doni’s grace, not your talent.” Liarna had always used every chance to sneer at Jozara because of Jozara’s superior knowledge of herbs.

"I will never quit my practice. My herbs are my legacy from my mother. If I must leave, I will leave tonight.” With that announcement, everyone began to speak. Jozara turned away. My mate is dead, my mother and her mate are dead, and my sister lives with the Lanzadonii. There is nothing to tie me here. Alone with her thoughts, she turned to collect as many of her possessions as she could carry.

"Please do not leave us, Joza,” Menarla ran to catch up to the older woman. "No one wants you to leave. You have many friends here, and the children adore you. Zelandoni is just being spiteful. You know she has always been jealous of your skill. She cannot really make you leave.”

"She can, Menarla. She is First Zelandoni now. I already know where I can go until I can find another cave to take me in. There is a muddy old cave that nothing grows around that is near the Ninth Cave. I slept in it over night once when I was caught in a storm. It will make a decent home until Summer Meeting. I can petition a place for myself then. You will always be welcome to visit, Menarla.” Jozara sighed, and went back to work.

"Doni be with you, Jozara.”

Jozara awoke with a sigh. She had never been able to find another Cave to live in at that Summer Meeting. That was the year Jondalar brought Ayla home, and the whole summer was spent discussing her. Even after the Meeting, most of the Caves thought that Ayla’s children were going to be half-Clan abominations. If it had not been for Doni’s sign on the day of their birth, they may have never accepted her. By the next Summer Meeting, Jozara was used to her new home and had no intention of leaving. Every time a woman traveled all the way from the Fifth Cave for her help, Jozara felt a triumph over Liarna. Leaving after so long would have only been admitting defeat. And Ayla had promised that if her baby was a girl, she would name her Zarina in my honor. That was another small victory, and enough to put a smile on her face. Ayla’s children were all named after someone she or Jondalar loved. "Yes, I have much to be thankful for, even living in this muddy old cave, even having to walk so far to find places where plants grow.” She sighed again, and cut short her musings to clean up the mess from the children’s visit.

Sipping her morning tea, Jozara sat listening to the spring wind rushing around her cave. With no trees or plants, only rocks and mud visible from the cave’s entrance, the sound was all that told her that a wind was blowing. She had thought a walk would be pleasant this afternoon, but all the wind had made her change her plans. As Jozara got up to throw the dregs of her tea out the door, she again noticed the craftsmanship that went into the making of the seemingly simple cup. For almost eleven years, the Zelandonii had tried to duplicate the style of the Clan cups and bowls Ayla was so fond of, but no one could come close to the originals. Ayla had given that cup to Jozara for helping with the birth of her twin children, a cup only decorated by its natural wood grain. The cup had been a favorite of Ayla’s because the pattern of the grain resembled a mammoth, reminding her of the people who had adopted her. She had wanted to give it to Jozara because it was one of the few things that she had kept her entire Journey and felt that Jozara deserved something special.

The cup slipped out of her fingers as she tossed out the tea, and landed right in the middle of the muddy entrance. "Oh Doni,” Jozara grumbled as she bent to slip off her foot coverings. "It had to land right in the middle. That is what you get for not paying attention, old woman.” A new noise caught her attention as she stepped out of the cave, a low rumble slowly drowning out the wind. Jozara peered around the sides of the entrance and gasped as she saw the reason for the rumbling. "Doni,” she whispered. A herd of mammoth was travelling in the distance, but near enough to pick out individuals. It was not the herd that made her gape, but the one nearest that made Joza stare in amazement. Its hair was pure white except for the lower parts of its legs that were covered in dirt.

Her feet remained rooted to the spot, only turning to follow the mammoths out of sight, and there she remained for several more moments after they disappeared. "Magnificent,” she breathed. A white mammoth. I have heard of them. What does this mean? A few minutes later, after Jozara had had time to collect her thoughts, she stepped forward to retrieve her cup. "Why, what?!” she spluttered.

Surrounding the cup were a few tiny shoots of green poking up out of the ground. "These are geranium!” she exclaimed. "And those are marjoram! How could these grow here where nothing has ever grown? The closest these plants grow is a good morning’s walk away. What a wonderful surprise. I have not had either of these all spring since giving the last of my supplies to Creb for Ayla.” Suddenly the air seemed to grow cold around her. I gave those plants to Creb, and Thona smashed them into the ground. Could, could…? The words could not even form in Jozara’s head, let alone leave her lips. She rose her eyes to the sky. "Doni,” she whispered, "what does this all mean? Have you given me one of your greatest secrets, with an unmistakable sign?” Filled with trepidation, she plucked the cup from the mud and hurried back into the cave.

For days, Jozara tentatively observed the sprouts outside her cave. She had never been afraid of a plant before, not even ones that could be fatal if used incorrectly, like datura. Only these plants seemed to be filled with Doni’s power. The continued to grow and flourish, and the longer she watched them, the more she felt at ease with their presence. Within a few weeks, she became brave enough to see if Doni was really giving her the power of growing plants or if it was just an eerie coincidence.

Jozara filled an entire day with gathering every plant she could spare and sticking them into the mud. She did it just the way Thonala had, pushing them down with her foot. By each one, she put a small trinket to remember which plant was there.

Days and more days passed as she waited for the new plants to sprout and watched the first ones continue to thrive. She marked the days off on her wall with a piece of charred wood from the fire, or a small bit of Crebalan’s leftover paint. These were marked right under the lines that she kept for Ayla’s child. The child should have been born about two moons ago, and soon Ayla would be bringing it for a visit. "It is so lonely out here when there is something to talk about that I just need to talk to myself. Maybe I should let Jondalar find a horse for me. I am too old to be living out here by myself with no way of getting to a place where there are people. Maybe I am too old to be so stubborn and I should just give up my cave and find a Cave that will take me in. Hurmph,” she grunted as she went out into the early morning to check the plants for the day.

Still grumbling to herself, Jozara bent to examine the first area and caught her breath when she saw the first specks of green poking out of the earth. She shuffled to the next area as quickly as her old bones could take her. That spot was bare, but the following two had shoots. A few more minutes of searching revealed that one for every three plants had sprouted. The next few weeks showed a few more shoots, but by that time, Jozara had given up on the ones that had not come up and dwelled in amazement at the ones that had grown. Every day that Ayla did not show up was agony. Jozara desperately needed someone to share her discovery with to make sure that she was not doing something that would anger Doni.

A warm, bright day found Jozara up to her calves in the mud marveling at her plants as usual, when she heard pounding hooves in the distance. Shading her eyes from the sun, she peered in the direction of the sound, disappointed as she realized it came from the wrong direction to be Ayla. She was about to go into the cave when the two horses came into view, and she heard two juvenile voices hollering with excitement and joy. "Joza, JOZA!”

Running with all her might to the edge of her plantings, Jozara held out both arms, palms out, desperately hoping that the two would stop before they destroyed her work. "Joza, look at my horse! Her name is Hollyhock. Juban’s is Sprinter.” Thona only stopped yelling as she jumped off her horse a few feet from Jozara.

"Hello my children. What beautiful animals your horses are. Give an old woman a hug.” Jubanar leapt off his horse as Thonala rushed forward.

"Mama and Jondalar are coming too, with Creb and the babies, but we wanted to surprise you,” Jubanar said. "It’s been so long since we have visited, but Mama and Jondalar were strict about how we trained the horses. We were not allowed to ride them out of sight until today, and we had to spend all of our free time with them. Mama said she felt bad because you must miss us as much as we miss you, but if we were serious about having horses, we had to work hard.”

"I understand, children. It is important for you to train the horses the right way.” Jozara could not help smiling at the two. She had missed them terribly, and it was wonderful that they were now here, with Ayla on the way. With those thoughts, Ayla and Jondalar came up behind them, Crebalan and Nizzara both with their mother’s mate. The two children scrambled down and ran to Jozara, and Jondalar went to help Ayla and the baby down. Ayla was beaming as she held out the baby and said, "Meet your namesake Zarina.”

For a moment, Jozara forgot all about her plants as she held the tiny girl. "Zarina, my little Zara,” she whispered. Tears were in her eyes as she looked up at Ayla and said, "You honor me.”

"Joza, you honored me with your friendship when many Zelandonii did not want me.” Ayla gave the woman a hug. "Let us get out of this mud and find a place to sit. I want to tell you all about her.”

It took Jozara a moment to gather her thoughts as she remembered her important news. She gripped Ayla’s arm and gasped. "Oh Ayla, I have much I need to tell you.”

***********************

"Do not worry, Joza. Oak can carry us both easily, and Creb and Nizza will be safe with Thona and Juban,” Jondalar said as he lift the woman up onto the horse.

"Doni knows that I would not be getting onto this animal if it was not so important to go talk to the Zelandonia,” Jozara grumbled at him.

"Why, Joza, I thought you liked the horses!”

"I do, but an old woman like me could fall and break all her bones.”

"I will make sure you do not fall, old woman,” Jondalar laughed. He always thought it was funny that Jozara referred to herself as an old woman with rheumatism. She could not possibly be more than ten years old than Ayla.

Jozara began to glare at the man behind her for his comment, but could not stop herself from joining him in his laughter. "Let us go quickly. I want this over with as soon as possible.” Jozara could not express her deepest fear on the matter out loud. Oh, Doni, let them accept my discovery as a gift from you. Let them not think that I am taking part in an abomination.

**************************

Zolena exited the dwelling she and the other Zelandoni had been in all night. They had been debating the unbelievable since Ayla and Jozara had shown up at midday yesterday. It had been difficult to come to a unanimous decision between all the sects of the Zelandonia. Some of the artists could not see why this information was so important to remain secret, if Jozara’s tale turned out to be true. If it is true, Zolena thought. She walked to Jondalar and Ayla’s dwelling wearily. "We have come to a decision,” she spoke quietly.

Jozara looked up anxiously. The grim look that Zolena wore was not encouraging. "It will be discussed at Summer Meeting,” Zolena continued. Do the children know about this…discovery?”

"No. Juban and Thona were too absorbed in riding their horses alone, and Creb was busy painting on Jozara’s walls,” Ayla replied.

"Good. We will expect both of you and Jondalar at sunset on the second night after our arrival. We will be leaving for Summer Meeting in three days.” Zolena turned to walk out of the dwelling, then turned back. "That son of yours will be a wonderful painter some day. I am sure the Zelandonia will be happy to accept him,” she said to her friend with a smile.

"No!" Liarna said yet again. "There is no reason for Jozara to be allowed to practice in any of the caves. It is out of the question. She cannot speak to the spirits; she cannot be Zelandoni."

"We are not saying that she should be a part of the Zelandonia, only allowed to be a Healer. It is obvious that she is favored by the Mother, that Doni wants her to have the knowledge of her plants." Helinna had been the biggest supporter so far.

"It is an abomination!" Liarna shouted. "I sent her away from my cave for it, and I will not have her back."

"We will be honored to have Jozara at our cave," Helinna said back. "We have not had a good lealer since Faloma died. I know that she is your find, Zolena, but the Ninth cave has both you and Ayla, and your apprentices are all quite competent. Please let me ask her to join us at the Tenth cave."

"You will be cursed by her abomination," Liarna insisted.

"The Ninth cave has not been cursed by Ayla's presence, and neither will the Tenth." Zolena interrupted.

"There is evil magic at work here and I won't be a part of it!" Liarna looked frantic.

"We have all meditated on the matter, and we hae reached our decision. If you want no part of this, then you will have to step down," Zolena gave the woman a hard look.

"What! I will never let an evil woman like Jozara make me give up my work. I will not step down, but when you are all cursed and in need of help, I will rescue you, when you all beg it of me on your knees!" Liarna stormed out of the meeting.

"She does not like being the in last among us," Nonara stated.

"She has never been able to admit when she has been wrong. I wonder what she will tell the Fifth cave about Jozara going to the Tenth cave?" Wiccella pondered.

"That we will be cursed, or our children and their children will," Helinna replied. "It is no matter. If Ayla had not come that summer, Jozara would have been taken in by one of the caves, I am sure. But Doni meant all of this to happen the way it did. Jozara could never have made her discovery at one of our caves. The white mammoth was a sign of the purity of Jozara's discovery, and its importance. It was all Doni's will and we must accept it. Liarna will someday be sorry for her unacceptance of the matter, perhaps punished."

"Perhaps she is already punished," Zolena mused. "She has lost the prestige of having a special Healer at her cave, and is the last among the Firsts. I do not expect that position to change very soon, and if the Fifth cave remains last, I expect her position to be taken away from her. They have continued to lose standing since she sent Jozara away, and for two years they have been last. I do not think Liarna ever should have been made First. Her power is great, but her thirst for power is greater. ************************************

Ayla was almost finished packing and ready to leave the Summer Meeting when Jozara knelt beside her. "Laranzar said he would carry me if I cannot make the entire journey to the Tenth Cave,” Jozara laughed. It was really more of a giggle. She seemed to have lost years off of her age since the Zelandonia had tested the discovery for themselves, and decided that it must be true. The Tenth Cave had practically begged to have the honor of Jozara living at their Cave, practicing her herb healing. "As if I am so old that I cannot walk a little distance.”

"I will not be surprised to here that the two of you plan to tie the knot at the next Summer Meeting,” Ayla laughed back. She was so used to hearing Jozara call herself an old woman that hearing her think of herself as younger was almost comical.

"Oh, we are too old to be joining,” Jozara began as Ayla burst out in loud guffaws. Jozara stared at her a moment, then went on, not understanding what Ayla thought was so funny. "Ayla, would it be too much to ask you to visit every now and then? I am honored that the Tenth Cave wants me, but I will be lonesome for my dearest friend and her dreadful children.”

Ayla answered the woman with a fierce hug. "We have already begun to plan a trip. And Jondalar would like to give Whoosha’s new foal to you next year, so you can come to visit us. We will be training her all year long, and she should be ready to leave by next year’s Summer Meeting. But I doubt that you will have time to be lonesome. Zelandoni from all the Caves have plans to visit you this year, to experiment under expert eyes. Do you know that some of them believe you may not need to waste the entire plant to make another grow, but just certain parts?”

"Yes, I know all about it. They are very eager to learn which parts need to be put in the mud, and have many other ideas about what conditions need to be met. However, I am not so sure that I like that only healer Zelandonis are going to be taught my discovery, and the others will have to let the knowledge die with them. I understand the great power of the knowledge, but I wish that everyone could share in it.”

"I feel the same way, Joza, but Those Who Serve know what is best for their people. I do understand their viewpoint somewhat. Iza’s line of medicine women had knowledge that no other’s did, and it gave her great prestige.”

"Well, I care little for prestige, but I am interested in this foal. What is her name?”

"She does not have one yet. The children think that you should name her since she will live with you.”

"Then I think I will call her Serenda. My mother used to tell me stories about a woman named Serenda who was always making blunders that led to amazing discoveries, and I always wanted to name a daughter after her. They were my favorite stories as a child. I have felt like she must have this year.”

"No, Joza," Nizzara ran up to the woman. "I already named her Pretty, because she is so pretty."

"Nizzara, I thought we all agreed to let Joza name the foal," her mother reminded her.

"I know, Mama, but I had to call her something," Nizzara pouted.

"Alright, Nizza, just for you, I will call her Serenda Pretty. Is that good enough?

"Yes, okay," the little girl said with a hug.

"Jozara, it is time to go,” Laranzar announced as he approached the two women.

"Yes, Laranzar. Just let me meet my new horse and say goodbye to Ayla and Jondalar and their brood.” Jozara believed Ayla’s idea about a man’s role in creating children after she saw how much Ayla’s five children looked like her mate.

"Better hurry or we might leave without you,” Laranzar joked as the women walked away.

"I have not lived in a Cave in so many years, I do not know if I am ready for this,” the older woman remarked.

"I am certain that you will be fine, Joza. And do not forget that we will be there to visit you in a moon or two if you become nervous.” They hugged, and went their separate ways to say their good-byes.

So began Jozara’s new life.

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