by P. C. Cast
Rose was suddenly there, beside Mari. “May I speak to the other Earth Walkers?”
“Yes, of course,” Mari said, motioning for Rose to take her place.
Rose cleared her throat and looked nervous, but determined. “I do not know if this will help, but I feel I need to tell you in case, even in some small way, it does. In the Tribe everyone raised each litter. We all handled puppies. Not as soon as they were born—that would’ve overwhelmed them—but around this age.” She lifted one of the pups, whose tail wagged as she wriggled in Rose’s arms. “Now, when they’re older and able to walk around, awkwardly, by themselves—now is when the Tribe begins handling them. We do not know why a pup Chooses a particular person. We do not know if handling the pup makes any difference, but we do know it doesn’t hurt. So, I am inviting you to handle Rose’s pups. Spend time with them. Get to know the little canines, because if they really can stop you from suffering from Moon Fever, well, then, I’d like them to be part of that miracle—just like Sora’s little Chloe is.”
“Thank you, Rose. That was very generous,” Mari said.
“Rose, I—” Overcome with emotion, Sora hugged Rose tightly, until the pup she’d been holding and Chloe complained.
“We know Chloe Chose Sora earlier than any pup has ever Chosen anyone from the Tribe,” said Isabel. “But what is the normal age that they begin to Choose their Companions?”
“That’s a good question,” Rose said. “And I want the Pack to know that if you have any questions about canines—any at all—please, just come to me and ask. Pups are usually ready to be weaned and leave their mother at about eight weeks old. Between then and about six months old, all pups Choose their Companions.”
“How old are Fala’s pups now?” Jenna asked, tickling the pup Rose was holding under her chin.
Rose smiled and handed Jenna the puppy. “They’re almost five weeks old now.”
“Wow, so they’re going to start Choosing soon!” Jenna said, cuddling the puppy as it licked her face.
“And those of you who used to be part of the Tribe won’t mind if the pups Choose Earth Walkers?” Isabel asked.
Nik’s chuckle was echoed by the other Companions. “What we mind or don’t mind has very little to do with it. A pup’s Choice is his or her own. In the Tribe we learned long ago that it can’t be predicted or rushed.”
“Or changed,” Wilkes added. “Well, except for Jaxom’s Fortina.”
“You said you heard of it happening before,” Jaxom said. “A canine leaving his Companion.”
“Yes, I used to enjoy talking with our Storyteller, Ralina.” Wilkes hesitated as sadness shadowed his face. Then he shook himself and continued. “We discussed many things, and once she told me a story about a Shepherd leaving his Companion after that man betrayed his family and his Tribe.”
“That woman hurt my Fortina,” Jaxom said darkly.
“I remember the day Fortina Chose Maeve,” Nik said. “Father and I spoke of it in private. Maeve didn’t want to accept the pup’s Choice because the pain of losing her first Companion was too great. Father had to encourage her. Perhaps her heart wasn’t able to love more than one Shepherd.”
“I saw Maeve strike Fortina,” Mari said. “I’m glad the pup left her.”
“She’s with me now, and no one will ever hurt her again,” said Jaxom, putting his arms around the young Shepherd as she leaned into him.
“You saved her, and in return she saved you,” Sora said. “Just like my Chloe saved me.”
“It is a miracle.” Jenna spoke in a hushed voice before she kissed the pup she was holding.
“Yes, a miracle,” Danita agreed.
Mari smiled at Nik and raised her voice to project throughout the Pack. “It’s a miracle born from the joining of Tribe and Clan!”
“It is!” The Pack turned as one to look at Dove. She was standing before the campfire, silhouetted in its orange light, her long hair lifting in the warm eddies of air.
“What do you know of it?” Nik asked, his voice hard.
“I know that in speaking I have offended. I apologize.” Dove bowed her head slightly to Nik and reached out for Lily to lead her away.
Mari motioned for Lily to wait. “You may speak freely here, Dove.”
“Freely and truthfully,” Sora added.
“I have given you my oath to only tell the truth, and I will not break it,” Dove said. “Mari, as you were questioning Jaxom I felt the answer rise within me, only it did not come from me. The answer seemed to come from the earth beneath me, and the forest around me. The Great Goddess has a hand in this. I cannot tell you how I know it, but I believe it with every fiber of my being.”
“Did you not lie about being an oracle of the—” Nik began, but Dove raised her hand, cutting him off.
“Yes. I did lie before. I had no choice. I had to survive. I have a choice now, and I choose to live a truthful life. This change that has happened to Jaxom and Sora—it is a gift from the Goddess. I know it. Believe or do not believe, but I have not lied to any of you—nor will I.”
“Dove tells the truth!” Davis called from his place at Mason’s side. “I feel the rightness of it as well. It is a miracle gifted to us by the Great Earth Mother in partnership with the sun. It is like our Pack—a joining that makes everything better.”
“I choose to believe,” Sora said. “Think of it! Someday in the future there is a chance that none of us will ever suffer from Moon Fever again.”
“And that means none of our children will suffer, either.” Nik put his arm around Mari. “Because we have the Mother Plant to swaddle them.”
“And canine Companions to love them,” Mari added.
“Yes!” Nik cried.
“Yes!” the Pack echoed.
“But until then, your Moon Women will Wash you,” Sora said. “Ready, Mari?”
“I am. Isabel and Danita, please join us in Washing our Pack,” Mari said. “Pack, ready yourselves for your Moon Women!”
And as the Pack arranged themselves into a circle around the campfire, Mari whispered to Nik, “I think we’re going to need a lot more puppies.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. It’ll take a little time, but where there are boy and girl canines, there will be puppies, and right now we don’t need to limit the breedings. So we’re going to have puppies—lots of puppies.”
* * *
Mari and Sora stood side by side before the campfire. Danita was on Mari’s left, and Isabel took position on Sora’s right, their Pack circled around them.
As one, Mari and Sora lifted their arms high to the night sky, facing the rising moon. Mari began the invocation.
“Moon Woman I proclaim myself to be!”
Sora continued, “Greatly gifted, I bare myself to thee. Earth Mother, aid me with your magick sight. Lend me strength on this Third Night.”
Mari took up the call with, “Come, silver light—fill us to overflow, so those in our care your healing touch will know.”
Together, the two Moon Women finished the invocation.
“By right of blood and birth channel through me
The Goddess gift that is my destiny!”
Mari turned first to Danita as Sora faced Isabel. Both young women were on their knees, their heads bowed. Mari and Sora placed their hands on each girl’s head, saying, “I Wash you free of all sadness and gift you with the love of our Great Earth Mother.”
Then, Washed and whole once more, Danita stood and linked her hand with Mari’s while Sora and Isabel joined hands, too. Then the Moon Women separated, each with their willing apprentice, and began to move around the circle Washing the Pack.
“You’re doing well, Danita,” Mari encouraged as together they touched the bowed heads of their Pack brothers and sisters.
“It’s still really cold, but I’m learning to let it slide through me, like water off a gull’s back,” Danita said.
“That’s right. Keep that image in your mind,” Mari said. “It’ll help. Just rem
ember, save only enough to heal yourself. The rest we share with others.”
They came to Antreas, and he met Mari’s eyes with a lopsided smile. “I’m not sick, and I don’t get Moon Fever, so there’s no reason to waste our moon magick on me.”
“It wouldn’t be a waste,” Mari said. “But it is your choice.”
Beside Antreas, Bast chirped and batted him gently with one of her giant paws, which made Danita giggle, though she covered it with a cough.
Antreas cleared his throat. “Well, it appears that Bast would like me to be Washed.” He met Mari’s eyes, and she saw sweet shyness hiding there. “Mari, I respect and admire you, and absolutely do not want to offend you, but would it be okay if Danita Washed me?”
“Of course, and you do not offend me at all.”
Antreas sank to his knees.
Mari nodded at Danita, who moved into position in front of Antreas. As she placed her hand gently on his bowed head, Mari concentrated on channeling the silver cascade of moonlight through herself and then from her hand into Danita. She saw the Lynx man’s body jolt in surprise as the cold power filled him.
“I Wash you free of any sadness your life has brought you, and gift you with the love of our Great Earth Mother.” Danita spoke the invocation with warmth and confidence.
Antreas raised his head. His eyes were shining with unshed tears. “That was incredible! Thank you, my precious Moon Woman,” he said to Danita.
Mari thought Danita’s answering smile was so bright it could’ve started another forest fire.
The last person Mari washed was Nik, who was waiting on his knees patiently, with Rigel on one side and Laru on the other. Both canines behaved with somber decorum—even Rigel remained seated, though his whole backside wiggled along with his tail.
Mari placed both hands on Nik’s bowed head. “I Wash you free of all pain and injury, and gift you with the love of our Great Earth Mother,” she said softly.
Nik lifted his head. “Thank you, my precious Moon Woman.”
The look in Nik’s eyes filled Mari with warmth that not even the silver power of the moon could cool.
Then, from across the circle Sora shouted, “All have been Washed! All have been blessed! And now we eat!”
The Pack cheered and everyone began to jostle to form a line for the fish stew that was bubbling aromatically over the fire. And as the Pack filled their bowls and found places to sit in little clusters, Mari noticed that several women, and Mason, chose to be near Rose and Fala, and the four pups, who had yet to Choose their Companions.
“Someday we won’t remember a time when it was Earth Walkers and Tribe of the Trees,” Nik murmured in Mari’s ear. “Someday we will all simply be Pack, with no more Moon Fever. Canines will play among our children, and we will thrive as a people. I believe that with everything inside me.”
Mari turned and stepped into his arms. “I believe it, too.” She kissed Nik as she realized that she had never in her life been as hopeful as she was at that moment.
* * *
The rest of the night was peaceful and filled with a sense of contentment that Mari thought was almost palpable. With Mari and Sora by his side, Nik checked on the starters—appropriately called “pups”—from the Mother Plant that he had brought to the Pack at great risk to his life.
“They thrive!” Nik exclaimed, gently touching one of the green fronds of the magickal fern.
“Of course they thrive. Earth Walkers are caring for them, and as long as we do they will always thrive,” said Adira, an older woman who at first hadn’t seemed excited about leaving the burrows of Clan Weaver. But as the trip progressed she had taken charge of the plants that they’d brought with them—cuttings, seedlings, bulbs, and even dried fruits and vegetables. Along with being in charge of the plants came caring for the Mother Plant pups, which were, indeed, thriving.
Nik bowed his head slightly, but respectfully, to the older woman. “I am in awe of your ability to grow plants. It’s impressive. And I appreciate it very much.”
Adira’s stiff expression relaxed slightly. “You are welcome.”
“The future children of the Pack will appreciate your care with the Mother Plant, too,” Mari added pointedly, “as the fronds from the mature plants will swaddle our infants and, perhaps, aid in ending Moon Fever forever.”
“That and being bonded to a remarkable canine.” Sora smiled affectionately down at Chloe’s little black-furred head poking out of the sling she carried her pup in.
“I admit that seeing you and Jaxom free of Moon Fever has brought many of us hope we’ve never dared to feel before,” Adira said. She sent Nik a sideways look that Mari couldn’t quite read. “After almost a decade of being enslaved by them, I suppose I am in the odd position of needing to thank someone from the Tribe of the Trees.”
“No you’re not.” Mari spoke before Nik could. “There are no Tribal members here. We are all a Pack.”
“A Pack,” Nik said. “There’s something about the sound of it that I’ve liked from the beginning. Yes, Adira, as Mari said, I am a proud member of this Pack.”
“I stand corrected, Moon Woman,” Adira said. “And I meant no offense.”
Nik gently rested his hand on the older woman’s shoulder. “I understand. What my people did to you and your people was wrong. Very wrong. And it will take time to forget it.”
Adira met Nik’s gaze. “Our enslavement won’t ever be forgotten. Nor should it be. But it can be learned from and, eventually, forgiven.”
Nik answered solemnly. “Then I will look forward to earning your forgiveness.”
The sounds of drums and flutes drifted down the beach to where the three of them were standing, making Mari and Sora smile as they recognized the familiar melody. Mari’s foot had just begun to tap in rhythm with the music when O’Bryan rushed up.
“Oh, good! There you are, Sora. The shadow dancing has been replaced by something they’re calling the Weaver’s Tune, and everyone’s dancing. Well, all of the Earth Walkers are dancing—in a line—all the same. I tried to follow their steps, but it’s too complicated. Claudia and Sheena sent me to find you because all the Earth Walkers are saying you’re the best dancer of the Pack.”
Sora flicked back her thick, dark hair. “All the Earth Walkers are correct.”
Mari snorted.
“What? You know I’m an excellent dancer,” Sora said.
“Well, if she didn’t know it I’m sure you’d tell her,” Nik mumbled.
Sora skewered him with her sharp gray gaze. “You realize that I know herbs to sprinkle in your stew that will make your bowels turn to liquid, don’t you?”
Nik ducked behind Mari, saying teasingly, “Save me, Moon Woman!”
O’Bryan turned his back to Nik. “Ignore him. Will you teach us the steps?”
“Of course I’ll ignore him. And, yes, I’ll teach you.”
O’Bryan shouted victoriously and grabbed Sora’s hand, pulling her back to the campfire and the cluster of waiting Companions.
“A Moon Woman should be treated with more respect,” Adira said.
“He isn’t disrespecting her,” Mari explained gently. “He just isn’t treating her as if she is a far-off Goddess who must be revered.” Mari purposefully took Nik’s hand in hers, weaving her fingers intimately with his. “You know what happens when you’re revered?”
“Yes, of course. You are treated with the utmost respect,” said the older woman.
“Not really. See, I understand this subject intimately, as I grew up with my mother’s loneliness as our constant companion. When someone is revered she is also isolated, treated as untouchable—unapproachable. Did you know I was Mama’s only friend?”
Adira’s brow rose in surprise. “That could not be true! We all loved your mother very much.”
“Yes, I know you did. She knew you did. But you also revered her so much that none of you were close to her. Our burrow was isolated—and we were isolated. I grew up believing my only choice was to b
e alone, and not because I was half Companion, half Earth Walker. I believed it because all of our Moon Women and their daughters are kept separate from the Clan. But no more.” Mari gazed up at Nik as she squeezed his hand. “I prefer less reverence and more happiness.”
“As do I, Moon Woman.” Nik lifted her hand and kissed it.
Adira was staring at them. “I must consider what you have said. I never imagined that Leda, or any other Moon Woman, could feel isolated or lonely. And the thinking of it now saddens me.”
“Don’t be sad, Adira,” Nik said. “Those times are over. None of our Pack should ever be alone again.”
“You mean Moon Women will live among us when we finally make our new burrows?” Adira said.
“Oh, Sora and I—along with Danita and Isabel—will definitely live among our Pack, but whether we’ll be in burrows will be decided when we get there,” Mari said.
“A mixture would be nice,” Nik said.
“It’s definitely something to think about,” Mari said. She turned to Adira. “Thank you for the care you’re taking of all the plants. We value your skills.” Then she and Nik began to head back to the campfire.
“I think that went pretty well,” said Nik.
“It’ll definitely give the rest of the Earth Walker women, especially the older ones, something to talk about,” said Mari.
“Which is exactly why you just had that conversation with her.”
Mari looked up at him. “How did you know that?”
Nik slid his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer to him. “Oh, I know things, Moon Woman. Lots of things.”
“Oh, really?”
“Really. For instance, you want the women talking about the changes you and Sora are making so that as you make them they’re not too shocking.”
“I hope it’s a good strategy,” Mari said.
“I think it is.”
They joined the group around the campfire, who were watching Sora try to teach the Companions the intricate steps to the Weaver’s Tune, which O’Bryan seemed to be picking up quickly.
“Your cousin has skills,” Mari said. “That’s a tough dance.”
