The Plains of Passage - Jean M. Auel [361]
“That’s terrible, but it’s hard to blame her. It is not the way for a young woman to learn of Doni’s Gift,” Jondalar said.
“Her mother is afraid that if she forgoes honoring the Mother with the ceremony, she will never have children.”
“She could be right, but what can be done?” Jondalar asked.
“Her mother wants Charoli dead, and she wants us to declare a blood feud against his Cave,” Laduni said. “Revenge is her right, but a blood feud can destroy everyone. Besides, it’s not Charoli’s Cave that has caused the trouble. It’s that band of his, and some of them aren’t even from the Cave of Charoli’s birth. I’ve sent a message to Tomasi, the hunt leader there, and put an idea to him.”
“An idea? What’s your plan?”
“I think it’s up to all of the Losadunai to stop Charoli and his band. I’m hoping that Tomasi will join with me in trying to convince everyone to bring those young men back under the supervision of the Caves. I’ve even suggested that he allow Madenia’s mother her revenge, rather than suffer the bloodshed of a feud over them. But Tomasi is related to Charoli’s mother.”
“That would be a hard decision,” Jondalar said. He noticed that Ayla had been listening closely. “Does anyone know where Charoli’s band stays? They can’t be with any of your people. I can’t believe any Cave of Losadunai would shelter such ruffians in their midst.”
“South of here is a barren area, with underground rivers and many caves. It is rumored that they are hiding in one of the caves near the edge of that region.”
“They could be hard to find if there are many caves.”
“But they can’t stay there all the time. They have to get food, and they can be trailed and followed. A good tracker could trail them easier than he could an animal, but we need all the Caves to cooperate. Then it wouldn’t take long to find them.”
“What will you do with them after you find them?” This time it was Ayla who asked the question.
“I think that once all those young ruffians are separated, it wouldn’t take long to break their ties to each other. Each Cave can handle one or two of their own in their own way. I doubt if most of them really want to live outside the Losadunai, and not be a part of a Cave. They will want mates, someday, and not many women would choose to live the way they do.”
“I think you are right,” Jondalar said.
“I’m very sorry to hear about this young woman,” Ayla said. “What was her name? Madenia?” Her expression showed how troubled she was.
“I am, too,” Jondalar added. “I wish we could stay and help, but if we don’t cross the glacier soon, we may have to stay until next winter.”
“It may already be too late to make it across this winter,” Laduni said.
“Too late?” Jondalar said. “But it’s cold, winter. Everything is frozen solid. All the crevasses should be filled with snow.”
“Yes. It is winter now, but this late in the season, you never know. You could still make it, but if the foehn winds come early—and they could—then all the snow will melt fast. The glacier can be treacherous during the first spring melt, and under the circumstances, I don’t think it’s safe to go around through the flathead country to the north. They are not too friendly these days. Charoli’s band has antagonized them. Even animals have some feeling of protection for their females and will fight to protect their own.”
“They are not animals,” Ayla said, springing to their defense. “They are people, just a different kind of people.”
Laduni held his tongue; he did not want to offend a visitor and a guest. With her closeness to animals, she might think of all animals as people. If a wolf protects her, and she treats it like a human, is it any wonder that she thinks of flatheads as people, too? he thought. I know they can be clever, but they are not human.
Several people had gathered around while they were talking. One of them, a small, thin, rather rumpled middle-aged