The clan of the cave bear_ a novel - Jean M. Auel [218]
They sat in the cool shade, Durc lying on his stomach on top of the carrying cloak between them, kicking and waving his arms, and lifting his head up to look around. During the trip, he had begun to babble and make cooing noises, which no Clan baby ever did. It worried Ayla, yet in some inexplicable way pleased her. Uba commented on the older boys and young men, and Ayla teased her about it in a friendly way. By unspoken agreement, no mention was made of possible mates for Ayla though she was of a far more matable age. They were both glad the long journey was over and speculated about the Bear Ceremony since neither had been to a Clan Gathering before. While they talked, a young woman approached, and in the formal, silent, universally known language, shyly asked if she could join them.
They welcomed her; it was the first friendly gesture they had received. They could see she had a baby in her carrying cloak, but it was sleeping and the woman made no move to disturb it.
“This woman is called Oda,” she motioned formally after she sat down, and made a gesture that indicated she wanted to know their names.
Uba responded. “This girl is called Uba, the woman is Ayla.”
“Aay … Aayghha? Name-word not know.” Oda’s common dialect and gestures were a little different, but they understood the essence of her comment.
“The name is not Clan,” the blonde woman said. She understood the difficulty the rest of them had with her name; even some in her own clan could not say it quite right.
Oda nodded, lifted her hands as though she was going to say something, then changed her mind. She seemed nervous and uncomfortable. Finally she motioned toward Durc.
“This woman can see you have an infant,” she said, rather hesitantly. “Is the infant a male or a female?”
“The infant is a male. The infant’s name is Durc, like Durc of the legend. Is the woman familiar with that legend?”
Oda’s eyes had a strange look of relief. “This woman knows of the legend. The name is not common with this woman’s clan.”
“The name is not common with this woman’s clan, either. But the infant is not common. Durc is special; the name is suitable,” Ayla motioned with a hint of proud defiance.
“This woman has an infant. The infant is female. The name is Ura,” Oda said. She still seemed nervous and hesitant. A strained silence followed.
“Does the infant sleep? This woman would see Ura if the mother would allow,” Ayla finally asked, not knowing what else to say to the woman whose friendliness had such a hesitant quality.
Oda seemed to consider the request for a while, then, as though making a decision, took the baby from her cloak and laid her in Ayla’s arms. Ayla’s eyes flew open in stunned amazement. Ura was young—she could not have been born much more than a moon before—but it wasn’t the newborn look that surprised the tall woman. Ura looked like Durc! She looked enough like Durc to be his sibling. Oda’s baby could have been hers!
Ayla’s mind reeled with the impact. How could a Clan woman have a baby that resembled hers? She thought Durc looked different because he was part Clan and part her, but Creb and Brun must have been right all along. Durc wasn’t different, he was deformed, just like Oda’s baby was deformed. Ayla was at a loss; she was so upset, she couldn’t think of anything to say. Uba finally broke the long silence.
“Your baby looks like Durc, Oda.” Uba forgot to use the formal language, but Oda understood her.
“Yes,” the woman nodded. “This woman was surprised when she saw Aayghha’s baby. That’s why I … this woman wanted to talk to you. I didn’t know if yours was a boy or a girl, but I hoped the infant would be male.”
“Why?” Ayla signaled.
Oda looked at the baby in Ayla’s lap. “My daughter is deformed,” she gestured without quite looking at Ayla. “I was afraid she would never find a mate when she grows up. What man would have such a deformed woman?” Oda’s eyes pleaded when she looked at Ayla.