The Land of Painted Caves - Jean M. Auel [171]
When he did survive, the fear was that he might never walk on that leg again. He did walk, but there was permanent damage and some paralysis. He could get around fairly well, but his ability to crouch down or stalk an animal was severely curtailed; he would never be a really good hunter. That was when discussions began about him becoming an apprentice to Jondalar to learn flint-knapping. The boy’s mother and her mate, plus Kemordan, the leader of the Fifth Cave, Joharran, Jondalar, and Ayla, since he would be staying with them, had finally settled everything at the Summer Meeting before they left. Ayla liked the youngster and approved of the arrangement. The boy needed to have a skill that would give him respect and status, and she remembered when they were traveling, how much Jondalar had enjoyed teaching his craft to anyone willing to learn, especially youngsters. But she had hoped for a day or so of rest and quiet alone in her home. She took a deep, silent breath and walked over to greet Matagan. He smiled when he saw her coming, and hurried to scamble to his feet.
“Greetings, Matagan,” she said, reaching for both of his hands. “In the name of the Great Earth Mother, I welcome you.” She looked him over closely in her inconspicuous way, and noted that he seemed rather tall for his age, though he was still young and had not reached his full height. She hoped his injured leg would continue to grow to match the length of his good leg. It was hard to tell how tall he would be, but his limp could get worse if his legs became unequal in size.
“In the name of Doni, I greet you, Ayla,” he replied, the polite greeting he had been taught to use.
Jonayla, tied to her mother’s back with the carrying blanket, squirmed to see to whom she was talking. “I think Jonayla wants to greet you, too,” Ayla said, loosening her blanket and shifting her around to the front. The baby sat wide-eyed in her mother’s arms looking at the young man; then suddenly she smiled and held out her arms to him. Ayla was surprised.
He smiled back. “Can I hold her? I know how. I have a sister a little older than her,” Matagan said.
And he’s probably homesick and lonesome for her already, Ayla thought, as she handed Jonayla to him. It was obvious that he was comfortable holding a baby. “Do you have many brothers and sisters?” she asked.
“I guess so. She’s the youngest, I’m the oldest, and there are four in between, including two born together,” he said.
“I think you must be quite a help to your mother. She is going to miss you. How many years do you count?” she said.
“I’m a thirteen-year,” he said. He became aware of her unusual accent again. When he had first heard the foreign woman speak, the year before, he had thought her accent was quite strange, but when he was recovering, especially when he woke up after the accident and was in so much pain, he grew to look forward to that accent because she invariably brought some relief. And although the other Zelandonia also checked on him, she came regularly, and stayed to talk to him and straighten his bedding to make him comfortable, as well as giving him medicine.
“And you have reached your manhood and had your rites last summer,” a voice behind Ayla said. It was Jondalar, who had been hearing the conversation as he approached them. The style of Matagan’s clothing, the patterns that had been sewn on them, and the beads and jewelry he wore told Jondalar that the youngster was considered a man