The clan of the cave bear_ a novel - Jean M. Auel [261]
Goov painted the symbol of Vorn’s totem over the symbol of Uba’s totem with yellow ochre paste, blurring her mark and showing his dominance.
“Do you accept this woman as your mate?” Creb gestured.
Vorn tapped Uba’s shoulder and she followed him into the cave. Then Creb and Goov performed the same ritual for Borg and Ona and they went to their new hearth to begin the period of isolation. The summer-dressed trees, still a shade lighter than they would be later, stirred in the light breeze as the congregation broke up. Ayla picked up Durc to carry him into the cave, but he squirmed to get down.
“All right, Durc,” she motioned. “You can walk, but come in and have some broth and mush.”
While she was preparing breakfast, Durc wandered out of the hearth and headed toward the new hearth now occupied by Uba and Vorn. Ayla ran after him and carried him back.
“Durc want see Uba,” the child gestured.
“You can’t, Durc. No one can visit her for a while. But if you’re good and eat your mush, I’ll take you hunting with me.”
“Durc be good. Why can’t see Uba?” the boy asked, mollified by the promise to go along with his mother. “Why Uba not come eat with us?”
“She doesn’t live here anymore, Durc. She’s mated to Vorn now,” Ayla explained.
Durc wasn’t the only one who noticed Uba’s absence. They all missed her. The hearth seemed empty with only Creb, Ayla, and the child, and the strain between the old man and the young woman was more noticeable. They had never found a way to overcome their mutual remorse over the hurt they had caused each other. Many times when Ayla saw the old magician lost in the depths of melancholy, she wanted to go to him, put her arms around his shaggy white head, and hug him as she had when she was a little girl. But she restrained herself, reluctant to force herself upon him.
Creb missed the affection, though he didn’t realize its absence added to his depression. And many times when Creb saw Ayla’s pain as she watched another woman nurse her son, he wanted to go to her. If Iza had been alive, she would have found a way to bring them back together, but without such a catalyst, they drifted farther apart, each longing to show their love for the other, and neither knowing how to bridge the gap that separated them. They were both ill at ease during the first morning meal without Uba.
“Do you want more, Creb?” Ayla asked.
“No. No. Don’t bother, I’ve had enough,” he motioned.
He watched her cleaning up while Durc dived into a second helping with both hands and a clamshell spoon. Though just a little more than two years old, he was essentially weaned. He still sought out Oga—and Ika now that she had a new baby again—to nurse for comfort and closeness, and because they let him get away with it. Usually, when a new baby was born, any older children still nursing were cut off, but Ika made an exception in Durc’s case. The child seemed to sense not to push his privilege too far. He never drained her, never deprived her new infant of milk, just cuddled up for a few moments as if to prove he had the right.
Oga was lenient toward him, too, and though Grev was technically past his nursing year, he took advantage of his mother’s indulgence. Both were often found together on her lap, each suckling a breast until their interest in each other overcame their desire for mothering, and they let go to tussle with each other. Durc was as tall as Grev, though not nearly as stocky; and though Grev usually won over Durc when they wrestled playfully, Durc easily outdistanced the older boy when they raced. The two were inseparable; they sought each other out at every opportunity.
“You’re going to take the boy with you?” Creb gestured after an uncomfortable silence.
“Yes,” she nodded, wiping the child’s hands and face. “I promised to take him hunting with me. I doubt that I’ll be able to hunt much with him along,