The clan of the cave bear_ a novel - Jean M. Auel [31]
Brun knew nothing about magic and little about spirits, but he was leader, and his mate had given birth to a fine son. He glowed with pleasure, thinking of Broud, the boy he was training to take his place someday. I will take him on the next hunt, Brun suddenly decided, the hunt for the cave feast. That can be his manhood hunt. If he makes his first kill, we can include his manhood rites in the cave ceremony. Wouldn’t that make Ebra proud. Broud is old enough and he’s strong and brave. A little too headstrong sometimes, but he is learning to control his temper. Brun needed another hunter. Now that the clan had a cave, they had work ahead of them to prepare for the next winter. The boy was nearly twelve, more than old enough for manhood. Broud can share the memories for the first time in the new cave, Brun thought. They will be especially good; Iza will make the drink.
Iza! What am I going to do about Iza? And that girl? Iza’s already attached to her, strange as she is. It must be because she has been childless for so long. But she will have one of her own soon, and she has no mate to provide for her now. With the girl, there will be two children to worry about. Iza isn’t young anymore, but she is pregnant, and she has her magic and her status, which would bring honor to a man. Maybe one of the hunters would take her as a second woman, if it weren’t for that strange one. The strange one that the spirits favor. I might really make them angry if I turn her away now. They might make the earth shake again. Brun shuddered.
I know Iza wants to keep her, and she did tell me about the cave. She deserves to be honored for it, but it must not be obvious. If I let her keep the girl, that would show her honor, but the girl isn’t Clan. Would the clan spirits want her? She doesn’t even have a totem; how can she be allowed to stay with us if she has no totem? Spirits! I don’t understand spirits!
“Creb,” Brun called. The magician turned at the sound, surprised to hear Brun address him by his personal name, and limped toward the leader when he signaled that he wanted to talk privately.
“That girl, the one Iza picked up, you know she is not Clan, Mog-ur,” Brun started, a little unsure of how to begin. Creb waited. “You were the one who said I should allow Ursus to decide if she should live. Well, it looks like he has, but what do we do with her now? She is not Clan. She has no totem. Our totems won’t even allow someone from another clan at the ceremony to make a cave ready for them; only those whose spirits will live in it are permitted. She’s so young, she’d never survive alone, and you know Iza wants to keep her, but what about the cave ceremony?”
Creb had been hoping for just such an opening, he was prepared. “The child has a totem, Brun, a strong totem. We just don’t know what it is. She was attacked by a cave lion, yet all she has to show for it are a few scratches.”
“A cave lion! Few hunters would get away that easy.”
“Yes, and she wandered alone for a long time, she was near starvation, yet she didn’t die, she was put in our path for Iza to find. And don’t forget, you didn’t prevent it, Brun. She is young for such an ordeal,” Mog-ur continued, “but I think she was being tested by her totem to see if she is worthy. Her totem is not only strong, it’s lucky. We could all share her luck, maybe we already are.”
“You mean the cave?”
“It was shown to her first. We were ready to turn back; you led us so close, Brun …”
“The spirits led me, Mog-ur. They wanted a new home.”
“Yes, of course they led you, but still, they showed the cave to the girl first. I’ve been thinking, Brun. There are two babies who don’t know what their totems are. I haven’t had time; finding a new cave was more important. I think we should include a totem ceremony for those babies when we sanctify the cave. It would bring them luck and please their mothers.”
“What does that have to do with the girl?”
“When I meditate for the totems of the two babies, I will ask for hers, too. If her totem reveals himself to me, she can be included in the ceremony. It wouldn