Azaria (35 page)

Despite his triumph, one thing troubled Azerban. The Kebar never mentioned the disappearance of their scout earlier that summer. Was it possible they didn't suspect them? Given their wealth of knowledge of the goings-on of Boar Camp, that was hard to believe. It was more likely Vidai felt it served him better not to broach the subject at the present moment. That was disturbing in itself. It would mean he was saving the incident to be used against them at a later point. Which meant he foresaw continuing conflict in the future. Were all his words of peace and cooperation false then? Or was he just keeping his options open?
Or am I over-thinking the situation? It's possible they suspect us, but have no evidence. So what purpose would it serve to accuse, when they're so close to getting their young hunter back?
Nevertheless, he determined not to put overdue faith in the agreement, lest he be caught off-guard if it failed.
There will be distrust between us even after this treaty is realized,
he admitted to himself. He took solace in the assurance they were building incentives into the agreement which would make the likelihood of an ultimate peaceful outcome more probable. Even though he was not ready for the idea of Azaria tying with one of their hunters, he believed the general concept was sound. And if it were to happen that she truly wanted to tie with one of them, he was sure he could learn to accept it - if they lived with Boar Camp of course, and if it was a good man.

Near the end of the evening, Ufli was finally brought to Ta'araki's shelter and released into the hands of his father, who met him with open arms, but kept his emotions in check. Gratitude and congratulations were conveyed between the two parties before the Kebar left, along with renewed promises of the journey they’d begin together after the snow-moons thawed.

12

That night Azerban slept more easily than he had in what seemed ages. Things were much brighter than they had been in a long while. His mate was recovering and the possibility of a lasting peace with their neighbors was a definite possibility. He woke refreshed and ready for the long trek in front of them.

Winter Cave lay far to the south, nestled in a small, secluded valley. Boar Camp would travel several suns at least to get there, depending on the pace the old and ill were able to endure. They’d take nearly everything with them. Each member was required to carry a portion of the food stores which would feed them during the cold, barren winter - as much as they were able and no more.

There were no communal feasts while the Natu traveled. Each family unit was left to take care of their own, but those who could not care for themselves or who had no relations able or willing to assist them, were provided for. The Ta'araki held the authority to request a small portion from each hearth and to dip into the community stores to make sure they were fed. In Boar Camp, Azerban and Hadir were tasked with this responsibility. The two also made sure tents were set up for those who needed help and that they were warm enough when they slept. It was not hard to find volunteers to help the less fortunate, as contributions to the community raised one's status. Leaders often rose from the ranks of those who showed empathy for their brothers and sisters in need.

Boar Camp began their treks in the early morning, paused briefly for a midsun meal and walked until the light dimmed. They camped before sunset, making sure ample light was left to set up their traveling tents, fetch water and fill their bellies before darkness fell. It was not an enjoyable experience, but entirely necessary. They could not survive the harsh winter without the shelter the walls of Winter Cave afforded or the provisions they burdened themselves with.

Shortly after the sun had reached its fifth zenith, Azaria knew they were very close to their destination. As they reached yet another incline she remembered vividly the last long slope which led to the dipping crest that looked down into their winter river valley. One more climb. It would be a long one, but their last for several moons. Afterward they could rest. Despite Boar Camp's fatigue, their mood heightened as they neared the apex of the trail. Howls of exultation sounded back down the slope as Asek, the lead that sun, finally reached the top and caught view of the nestled valley, untouched during their long absence.

Azaria was moved to tears when she finally reached the crest and took in the sight below. It was a heavy burden lifted to know her mother had not only made it, but thrived. In addition, she was just happy to be far from Boar Camp. The last moon had been difficult. There’d been reminders of her troubles everywhere. She’d unconsciously looked forward to the change of location, where everything seemed new, yet still familiar.

She peered down the southern incline and could just make out the wisp of trail which led to Winter Cave. It was nearly unrecognizable, overgrown with brush after the long summer without use. As the last Natu arrived at their respective caves though, it was again becoming well defined.

Azaria knew Winter Cave well. It was actually a series of small caves that pocked the slope above a small stream which wound its way through a wooded valley. The stream was one of the minor tributaries that flowed into the Great Western River, which originated in the mountains to the north and snaked through countless forests and grasslands before finally meeting the Great Eastern River and dumping into a vast open sea far, far to the southeast. Soon, as the snows fell, most points of their small stream would be unreachable, covered by layer upon layer of dense snowpack.

Each family unit had their own designated space within the complex. Some shared larger caves and others had their own private hearth inside a smaller one. Azaria's family, given their high status, had their own desirable location, situated low and close to the stream. Exhausted, they turned in early that evening, before the last light had diminished, without setting up much more than a hearth-fire.

---

Azaria lay motionless, buried beneath her furs. She’d completely recovered from the long journey, but it was cold now and she liked to sleep in. She was enjoying a particularly pleasant dream involving Dogahn and herself when she felt cold, wet drops on her face.

She opened her eyes to find her brother staring down at her. "Quzo!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing?" He only giggled back at her, his eyes full of childish evil. His hand above her head held something, something white, something dripping. Suddenly he opened his fingers and the white mass plopped squarely on her face. The shock of the frozen wet stuff sent chills down her body. She popped up from her furs, reaching for him. But he was too quick, fleeing outside before she was even on her feet.

Azaria tugged her tunic over her head and charged through the leather flaps - which hung from the top of the cave entrance with the help of wood and bone supports - as she made to catch him before he got away. Once outside she ceased her pursuit, stunned by a glorious field of white snow. It was deep enough to bury her entire foot when she took a first step. "Ohhh! It's beautiful!" she said to no one in particular, forgetting all about her brother, content instead to taking the scene in.

A blast of chill wetness slammed into her face. "Aaahhhh!" she screamed, shocked back into Quzo's world. Her little brother stood a short distance away, laughing hysterically, another ball of fresh snow in his hand.
I should have known better,
she thought.
This is not the first time he's done this to me.
Azaria laughed and bent down to scoop some of the white flakes up. She felt another damp explosion on the top of her head, but ignored it. She knew she'd win this fight. She threw her first handful at him as she popped up, but hit only his fleeing back. Azaria chased him, bending down to scoop another mound as she ran. She quickly caught up with him, pushed him to the ground and rolled him onto his back.

"Aaahhhh!" Quzo screamed at the top of his voice, surprised his older sister had caught him so easily. He flung his tiny fists at her head and chest violently, but Azaria was still much larger than him. She smashed her ball of snow into his face, twisting her palm as she pressed. "Aaahhhh!" he cried again, no longer enjoying himself. "Stop, Azaria!! Stooopppppp!!!"

Azaria picked him up off the ground and held him in her arms, sorry she'd been so thorough in her revenge, but smiling all the same.
The little dung-thrower deserved it. That was a good dream he woke me from.
As he squirmed in her arms, Azaria felt another impact on her back. She turned to find her parents standing outside the shelter, with balls of snow trained on her. They wore big smiles on their faces. "Quzo, we're being attacked," she yelled. "Let's get them!"

"Get them!!" Quzo screamed, plunging to his knees and instantly popping up again with two small handfuls of snow. Azaria followed suit and was rewarded with two wet explosions on her chest before she was fully up again. Zephia ducked behind her mate and Azaria let him have it, hitting her father hard on his wide torso. Quzo ran after his mother, circling his father as he chased, a deranged, raving laugh echoing through the hidden white valley.

After a simple breakfast of broth, dried meat and fruit, Azaria and her brother suited up in their snow-wear and returned outside. To Azaria's pleasure, Daneel saw them playing together and stopped to join in. After a while of watching Quzo draw snow animals, Azaria was thinking of asking Daneel if she wanted to go inside for hot tea when she noticed someone staring at her far down the path that led along the freezing stream. When she looked to him, he turned away.

Dogahn was embarrassed to be caught staring. He wanted to go to her, to talk to her. Mostly he just wanted to put his arms around her and place his lips on hers. He missed her so much, but had no idea how to get her back. He wasn’t even sure she wanted him back. Azaria rarely left her cave and Dogahn took it to mean she was avoiding him. Or him and Yumineh. He turned back as she looked away. Was she staring at him? Because she hated him?

Azaria looked away when Dogahn turned his head toward her. She didn't want him seeing her staring at him. She didn't want him to know how much she missed him. How much she loved him. She only wanted him to know how angry she was. But she wondered why he turned his head.
Doesn't he know I want him to come talk to me? So I can tell him how much he hurt me. I deserve at least that.

Daneel witnessed the entire exchange. To her it was obvious they still wanted each other. She didn't understand why Azaria would look away when Dogahn looked up at her or why Dogahn would turn away when Azaria looked over to him. She wasn't like that. When she wanted a man's attention, she kept looking at him until she got it. Then she smiled and flirted until he came over or went away. It either worked or it didn't. "Why don't you go talk to him, Azaria?" she asked.

"What? Who?" Azaria responded, her face turning red.

"Dogahn, boar brains! He's right there. Watching you."

"What? He is?" Azaria asked. "Why would I want to talk to him?"

"Come on, Azaria, it's me. I know you still like him," Daneel said.

"No, I don’t. I don't want anything to do with him. Besides, if he wants to talk to me why doesn't he come over here?"

"Because he thinks you hate him," Daneel said, as though it should’ve been obvious.

"I do hate him." Azaria hung her head as she replied, knowing the statement was somehow both true and false.

"But you love him too."

"No, I don't." Azaria picked up a ball of snow and flung it in no particular direction. It landed harmlessly. "Even if I did, he's promised to Yumineh now."

"What? No, he isn't. Who told you that?" Daneel asked.

"Huh? Yumineh did. The night of the attack."

"She told you that? She lied, Azaria. They're not promised."

"They're not?" Azaria didn’t realize how hopeful she sounded.

"No! Yumineh's been trying to get him to promise, but he won't. I don't think he wants to tie with her. Did you see a promise cord on her finger?"

Azaria didn't answer.

"Then they're not promised are they?"

Azaria kept silent, thinking. How could Yumineh lie like that? She looked back toward Dogahn. He turned away again. She still didn't understand how she'd lost him. They were so happy together, or she'd thought.
Why couldn't he just wait? But he couldn't. So he shared pleasures with Yumineh instead.
Azaria could feel her anger growing at the idea of the two of them together. It should have been her, not Yumineh.

"Azaria?" Daneel broke her train of thought.

"Do you think she planned it, Daneel?" Azaria asked.

"What?"

"Do you think Yumineh planned on sharing pleasures with Dogahn, so she could steal him from me?"

Daneel was caught off guard. She wondered where the question suddenly sprang from. "Uhhh... why do you think that?"

"I don’t know. I was just thinking. Everyone knows she always liked Dogahn. I wasn't worried, because I thought he loved me. I didn't realize he would with her. Do you think she did it on purpose?"

"I don't know." Daneel had often wondered the same thing. "Maybe she didn't plan it. Maybe the opportunity presented itself and she just took it."

"Huhh..." Azaria grunted. "Maybe."

That night, as she ate her evening meal with her family, Azaria was lost in thought, as she had been the entire afternoon. She couldn't help churning through the conversation she'd had with Daneel that morning and wondering if Yumineh had stolen Dogahn from her intentionally. Her contemplation was only broken when her mother broke into a long, racking fit of coughing while sipping her stew. The fit had come so abruptly, Zephia spit her mouthful into the fire, a spectacle that sent Quzo into a fit of laughter, but deeply worried Azaria and her father. After discovering she’d developed another fever, they quickly had her back under her furs. Azerban mixed new concoctions and Azaria fussed over her the entire night until the coughing finally died down enough to allow her to sleep.

---

It soon became clear the family's deepest fear had come to pass. Like the frosted showers around them, Zephia fell into a full-blown relapse. Bedridden again, concern grew throughout the caves. All with experience in such wickedness knew what to expect. She hadn't yet fully recovered from her previous bout. She'd not yet gained back the weight she'd lost and the lines around her eyes and atop her brow still showed much of the last battle. Everyone knew it was much more difficult for the body to fight ill spirits if it wasn't at full strength to begin with. And the dropping temperatures the snow-moons brought would only make her struggle all the more strenuous.

Takur insisted she be put in isolation, visited only by himself and her hearth. Azerban agreed wholeheartedly and enforced the command vigorously. The Ta'araki had no knowledge of an immune system, but they knew a healthy body had a defense against the evil spirits that an unhealthy one lacked. Her quarantine ensured no other spirits would get close enough to attack.

Zephia's sudden relapse appeared to take Takur by surprise. On several occasions, Azaria heard him mumbling beneath his breath.
How could this have happened?? It should not have come back.
Although she'd been wary of him after the ordeal with Fahim and Jesenia, it was clear how deeply he cared for his niece. Azaria was now convinced her mother's best chance lay with Boar Camp’s head Ta’araki. And Takur responded to the challenge, working feverishly to stabilize her. His dedication was inspiring. He was there for every cough with a soothing poultice on her chest, every fever with a clean rag to her forehead. Even during the night, if he heard her break into a fit, he'd drag himself out of his furs, brave the bitterly frigid snows and drop to his knees at her side, ready to perform whatever trick was required.