The Mammoth Hunters - Jean M. Auel [320]
Branag looked a little shocked, but Deegie was grinning as they joined Tulie and Talut, and another couple. Ayla was formally introduced to the co-leaders of the host Camp, and immediately knew what everyone else knew. Marlie was very ill. She shouldn’t even be standing here, Ayla thought, mentally prescribing medicines and preparations for her. As she noticed her color, the look of her eye, the texture of her skin and hair, Ayla wondered if anything could help her, but she sensed the strength of the woman; she would not give in easily. That could be more important than medicines.
“That was quite a demonstration, Ayla,” Marlie said, noticing the interesting peculiarity of her speech. “Was it the boy or you controlling the wolf?”
“I don’t know,” she said, smiling. “Wolf responds to signals, but we both gave them.”
“Wolf? You say it like a name,” Valez said.
“It is his name.”
“Do the horses have names, too?” Marlie asked.
“The mare is whinny.” Ayla said it like the sound a horse would make, and Whinney nickered back, causing smiles, but nervous ones. “Most people just say her name, Whinney. The stallion is her son. Jondalar named him Racer. It is a word from his language that means one who likes to run fast and beat the others.”
Marlie nodded. Ayla looked hard at the woman for a moment, then turned to Talut. “I am very tired from working to make that place for the horses. Do you see that big log? Would you bring it here so I can sit?”
For a moment the big headman was totally startled. It was so out of character. Ayla simply would not ask such a thing, especially in the middle of a conversation with the headwoman of the host Camp. If anyone needed a place to sit, Marlie did. Then it hit him. Of course! Why hadn’t he thought of it before? He hurried to get the log and manhandled it back himself.
Ayla sat down. “I hope you don’t mind. I really am tired. Won’t you join me, Marlie?”
Marlie sat, shaking a little. After a while, she smiled. “Thank you, Ayla. I hadn’t planned to stay here so long. How did you know I was feeling dizzy?”
“She’s a Healer,” Deegie said.
“A Caller and a Healer? That’s an unusual combination. No wonder the Mammoth Hearth claimed her.”
“There is something I’d like to prepare for you, if you would take it,” Ayla said.
“Healers have seen me, but you are welcome to try, Ayla. Now, before the subject is lost forever, there is a question I want to ask. Were you certain the wolf would not harm that man?”
Ayla paused only a moment. “No. I was not certain. He is still very young, and not always completely reliable. But I thought I was close enough to block his attack if he didn’t stop it short himself.”
Marlie nodded. “People are not always completely reliable; I would not expect animals to be. If you had said otherwise, I would not have believed you. Chaleg will complain, you know, as soon as he recovers, to save face. He will bring it to the Council of Brothers, and they will bring it to us.”
“Us?”
“The Council of Sisters,” Tulie said. “The Sisters are the final authority. They are closer to the Mother.”
“I am glad I was here to see it. Now I don’t have to worry about sorting through conflicting stories that are unbelievable to begin with,” Marlie said. She shifted her gaze and studied the horses and then Wolf. “They seem to be perfectly normal animals, not spirits or other magic things. Tell me, what do the animals eat when they are with you, Ayla? They do eat?”
“The same thing they always eat. Wolf eats mostly