Grey Eyes (24 page)

“That is of course, your prerogative,” said Walking Moon Woman. “Just as the teaching of my grandson, Little Grey Bear Boy, is mine.”

The people of
Nisichawayasihk
went silent and the sky rumbled in acknowledgement. No one who heard the Bear matriarch speak or who saw the look on her face dared to challenge her. To come between a mother bear and her cub was dangerous.

“
Tapwe
, my sister. It could not be any other way.”

“People of
Nisichawayasihk
!” boomed Drifting Butterfly Woman. “We welcome Red Sky Man of the Eagle clan. Come forward and acknowledge the newest member of our village.”

The
Nehiyawak
cheered and lined up to shake hands with Red Sky Man. The Bear clan, Painted Turtle Man especially, was reluctant, but they lined up with the others as expected. When Painted Turtle Man's turn came, he put out his hand and looked Red Sky Man in the eye. The two men shook hands slowly while the
Nehiyawak
pretended not to watch.

Painted Turtle Man went to move on but Red Sky Man clutched his hand, squeezing it painfully. “You would be wise,” he whispered through a tight smile, “to stay out of my way.”

Painted Turtle Man jerked his hand away. He felt as though he had met this person long ago, but when and where he could not remember. It could not have been that long ago—the man was easily thirty years his junior.

37
nistomitanaw tīpakohposāp

“H
ow did you make those eagles appear?” asked Flying Rabbit Boy.

“How come they were blue?” added Yellow Hawk Girl.

“Honestly,” answered Little Grey Bear Boy. “I don't know how I did it. I can barely remember what happened myself.” The Bear clan had crowded into the medicine lodge—all but Brown Shield Man, who maintained his position on the door.

“You mean you don't remember the giant blue eagles coming out of the sky?” Yellow Hawk Girl asked, amazed.

“Yeah,” added Flying Rabbit Boy. “You screamed like someone very awake to what was going on when the pegs tore out of your chest” He re-enacted the miracle, with some exaggeration.

“
Ekosi
!” said White Willow Woman, “
Awas
!”

“
Tapwe
!” said Painted Turtle Man. “You need your rest, my boy.”

“What happened at the circle?” Blue Elk Man stood to the side, arms crossed, trying to contain his anger.

“I still cannot believe it,” said Painted Turtle Man shaking his head. “The fool who did this has been adopted by the Eagle clan. He also said it should be him to teach Little Grey Bear Boy about the Grey-Eye magic.”

White Willow Woman turned. “
What
? What did my mother say?”

“Don't worry. Your mother made herself heard.”

“She always does,” said Blue Elk Man, who was rewarded for his wit with a slap across the shoulder from his wife.

“
Moosum
,” said Little Grey Bear Boy. “I want you to continue to teach me. That man was so strict at the sundance, even to the young ones.”

“Rest, my boy. Do not worry yourself with such matters. Your family will take care of you as we always have.”

“And always will,” added Blue Elk Man.

“
Tapwe
,” said Little Grey Bear Boy, “you have never given me any reason to doubt that.”

“Hard times are ahead,” Painted Turtle Man said. “It is very important that whatever happens, no matter what is said, we stick together as a family. There are those who would seek to keep the Bear clan small and weak. We must do our duty and stay strong in the ways of the Grandmother Bear. Not for us, but for all the people of
Nisichawayasihk
.”

“
Tapwe
!” said the others in unison.

“You must recover your strength,” said Painted Turtle Man once the others had gone off to the Bear lodge for the night. “I doubt the
Nehiyawak
will give you much time to heal before they load you up with burdens.”

“What will I do,
Moosum
?”

“What will
we
do,” corrected Painted Turtle Man, “I will be with you through whatever challenge the future holds.”

Little Grey Bear Boy slept for the next two days. Whenever he woke, Painted Turtle Man gave him water or medicinal tea. His mother was usually there, feeding him a mixture of berries and pemmican. The wounds on his chest were starting to scab over.

“
Moosum
! He's scratching again!” called Yellow Hawk Girl.

“I can't help it. It is so itchy!”

“And to think I was jealous you got to go to the sundance!” teased Flying Rabbit Boy. “Now I am glad I didn't.”

“
Motch
! This was not supposed to happen,” stated Painted Turtle Man. “You will have to go next year when it is your time.”

“Maybe I should wait until I am a bit older.”

“Well that is the first time I have ever heard you say something like that,” chuckled Painted Turtle Man.

Little Grey Bear Boy sat up, trying to hear the voices coming in from outside. The others were acting as though they did not notice.

“Would you like some more of the red clover medicine?” Painted Turtle Man asked.

But the boy would not be distracted. “What is going on outside?”

“It is nothing. Your uncle, Brown Shield Man, is taking care of it.”

Blue Elk Man entered the medicine lodge. When he saw Little Grey Bear Boy's face, he tried to compose himself. “You are awake.”

“Who was it?” asked Painted Turtle Man.

“The Soaring Eagles,” he answered. “That makes all of them.”

“All except the Dog Soldiers.”

“
Motch
, they were the first,” explained Blue Elk Man. “They came to me and I refused them.”

“Would someone please tell me what is going on?” pleaded Little Grey Bear Boy.

The others looked at him in silence. Blue Elk Man did not like the idea of keeping secrets from his son. Painted Turtle Man gave him a nod.

“All of the warrior societies in the village, as well as some from other villages, have asked to induct you.”

“Me?” exclaimed Little Grey Bear Boy.

“Him?” parroted Flying Rabbit Boy, earning him a frown from his grandfather.

“I have only seen twelve summers,” said Little Grey Bear Boy. “Can I join a warrior society?”

“
Motch
,” said Painted Turtle Man. “All they want is the prestige of having a Grey-Eye in their ranks. Especially after what happened at the sundance.”

“You must earn that honour,” said Blue Elk Man. “You have not killed an elk or a moose, nor have you saved a life…”

“Then why are the warrior societies asking to induct me? They must not agree with what you are saying.”

“If he gets inducted, will he be able to be chosen as a husband?” asked Flying Rabbit Boy. Painted Turtle Man frowned again.

“I hope you understand these things,” said Blue Elk Man. “Most boys your age would think they are somehow special. They would feel they deserve that which they have not earned. It would show that you are growing into a very fine warrior indeed, if you were to wait until it is time. I had sixteen summers before I became a warrior and twenty-two before your mother chose me.”

Singing Doe entered the medicine lodge. “I don't think they are going to leave,” she said.

“Who will not leave?” asked Little Grey Bear Boy. “The warrior societies?”

Singing Doe looked at Blue Elk Man and Painted Turtle Man, realizing she may have spoken out of turn. The men simply nodded at her. He might as well know this too.

“Some of the sundancers have been sitting outside the Bear medicine lodge, wanting to see you again,” Singing Doe explained. “They haven't broken their fast…”

“I don't understand,” said Little Grey Bear Boy.

“They think the miracle was part of the ceremony,” explained Painted Turtle Man. “Even after the sundance chiefs told them it was finished, they did not listen. They think it will not be over until you say it is finished.”

“I am not a sundance chief!”

At this, Blue Elk Man's chest puffed. “Though, it would seem your fellow sundancers want to think of you as something much greater. Most of them have never seen the Grey-eye magic before.”

Little Grey Bear Boy thought to himself for a moment and offered a quiet prayer to
Kitchi Manitou
. When he had made his decision, he threw the soft deer hide blanket off his legs and got up.

“What are you doing? You are not supposed to move.”

“I am sorry, mother,” he said, “but I cannot allow my fellow sundancers to suffer any more.”

Painted Turtle Man stood up and began to speak. Instead he rushed to Little Grey Bear Boy's side and helped him onto his feet. The boy's legs were weak and shaky as he dragged himself towards the door. He looked up at his father, who held open the door flaps. If his father did not believe him ready to become a warrior, Little Grey Bear Boy would have to prove himself.

Little Grey Bear Boy had not seen the light of day since the miracle happened. It took him a moment to open his eyes, but as he did he saw the surprised faces of several White Wolf Warriors and a group of dusty sundancers.

“Ah-ho!” said Brown Shield Man as he stepped aside.

The sunburned warriors jumped to attention and looked at the boy.

“It is him!” croaked one of the sundancers. The others cheered weakly. They muttered prayers of thanks with dry, cracked lips.

Little Grey Bear Boy mustered his strength and drew himself up as straight as he was able. The scabs on his chest had opened slightly with his movement and a slow trickle of blood dropped down his torso.

“Sundancers,” Little Grey Bear Boy said, “it is time for you to break your fast. I am just another sundancer, the same as you. I do not know how what you saw happened. I was just as surprised as you were. Please, I beg of you, do not continue to suffer yourselves because of me.”

“But I saw you call to
Kitchi Manitou
and were answered! You could help me. My mother is very sick…”

“
Motch
, I prayed to
Kitchi Manitou
the same as you did. Creator did not obey me, Creator took pity upon me! I do not know how or why this has happened. I will pray for your mother and for all of your families. Only
Kitchi Manitou
can know what will happen in the days ahead. Please, my brothers, drink some water, eat some food, and when you have recovered your strength, return to your villages to serve your clans. You will see me again next year at the sacred sundance.”

“We wish to stay here and serve you!” pledged one of the younger sundancers.

“I am just a boy who has not yet earned a warrior name,” said Little Grey Bear Boy, looking back at his father. “I must serve my mother and my clan. Our village is large and although Mother Earth has been generous with us, it would be asking too much to expect her to feed so many. Your own villages need strong warriors to hunt food and gather wood for the hard faced-moons of Old Man Winter. Return home and serve your clan, the same as I will. We have danced the Dance of Life together and now we are bound in spirit.”

The sundancers looked at one another.

“We will always be connected in the way it matters to our Creator,
Kitchi Manitou,”
the boy added. “You are my sundance family and you will remain so until the day
Kitchi Manitou
calls us back to the Spirit World. Go now, and may the Grandmother Bear guide you in the ways of healing.”

“All my relations!” the sundancers holding vigil croaked in unison. They began muttering prayers of thanks to Creator and the ancestor spirits. Little Grey Bear Boy's legs were shaking and Blue Elk Man and Painted Turtle Man came up behind him, catching him just as he fainted. The two men helped him back into the medicine lodge and put him back onto his bed roll.

The senior warrior of the White Wolf Warrior Society stepped in front of the medicine lodge.

“All right, my people,” he said. “You have seen the boy and you have heard his words. Now I would ask you humbly to do as he wishes. You will see him again next year. Go now and serve
Kitchi Manitou
in all things!”

White Willow Woman and Singing Doe went about the sundancers with water skins. Some were reluctant at first, but when the two women explained who they were, the parched sundancers took the water.