The Land of Painted Caves - Jean M. Auel [15]
“There may be too many,” Janida said. “Everyone likes Levela, and they won’t let everyone stay with you. It would be too crowded. You may not want me; I’m not very experienced, but I would like to be there with you, the way you were with me, Levela. I’ll understand, though, if you would rather have someone that you’ve known longer.”
“Of course I want you with me, Janida, and Ayla, too. After all, we shared the same Matrimonial, and that’s a special bond,” Levela said.
Ayla understood the feelings that Janida had expressed. She, too, wondered if Levela would rather have friends she had known longer. Ayla felt a flush of warmth for the young woman, and was surprised at the sting of tears she fought to hold back at Levela’s willing acceptance of her. Growing up, Ayla hadn’t had many friends. Girls of the Clan mated at a young age, and Oga, the one who might have been close, had become Broud’s mate, and he wouldn’t allow her to be too friendly with the girl of the Others that he had come to hate. She loved Iza’s daughter, Uba, her Clan sister, but she was so much younger, she was more like a daughter than a friend. And while the other women had grown to accept her, and even care about her, they never really understood her. It wasn’t until she went to live with the Mamutoi and met Deegie that she understood the fun of having a woman friend her own age.
“Speaking of Matrimonials and mates, where are Jondecam and Peridal? I think Jondalar feels a special bond for them, too. I know he was looking forward to seeing them,” Ayla said.
“They want to see him, too,” Levela said. “Jondalar and his spear-throwing weapon is all Jondecam and Peridal have talked about since we knew you were coming.”
“Did you know that Tishona and Marsheval are living at the Ninth Cave now?” Ayla said, referring to another couple who had mated at the same time as they did. “They tried living at the Fourteenth, but Marsheval was at the Ninth Cave so often—or I should say at Down River learning how to shape mammoth ivory, and staying overnight at the Ninth—that they decided to move.”
The three Zelandonia were standing back, watching, as the young women continued to chat. The First noticed how easily Ayla fell into conversation with them, comparing babies and talking excitedly about the things that were of interest to young mated women with children, or expecting them. She had begun teaching Ayla some of the rudiments of the knowledge she would need to become a full-fledged Zelandoni, and the young woman was without doubt interested and quick to learn, but the First was now realizing how easily Ayla could get distracted. She’d been holding back, letting Ayla enjoy her new life as a mother and mated woman. Maybe it was time to push her a little harder, get her so involved that she would voluntarily choose to devote more time to learning what she needed to know.
“We should go, Ayla,” the First said. “I would like you to see the cave before we get too involved with meals and visiting and meeting people.”
“Yes, we should,” Ayla said. “I left all three horses and Wolf with Jondalar, and we need to get them settled. I’m sure he has people he wants to see, too.”
They walked toward the steep wall of limestone. The setting sun was shining directly on it and the small fire that had been built nearby was almost invisible in the bright sunlight. A dark hole was visible but not obvious. There were several torches propped against the wall and each of the Zelandonia lit one. Ayla followed the others into the dark hole, shivering as the darkness enveloped her. Inside the cavity in the rock cliff, the air suddenly felt cool and damp, but it wasn’t only the abrupt drop in temperature that chilled her. She hadn’t been there before and Ayla felt a touch of apprehension and trepidation when she entered an unfamiliar cave.
The opening was not big, but high enough so that no one had to bend over or stoop to enter. She had lit a torch outside and