Clan of Wolves

by Jo Sandhu

  ‘He?’ Luuka asked, and Tarin shrugged.

  ‘It’s a grey owl.’ Kaija reached a tentative finger forward. ‘A forest dweller. And Tarin, they grow into very large birds.’ She jumped as the owl pecked her finger and hissed. A deep, rumbling boom from the sky made them look upwards. They could no longer see more than a few paces in front of them because of the thick, swirling mist.

  ‘Did you say you’ve found shelter?’ Luuka raised his voice to be heard over the wind. It blew wet strands of hair across their faces and into their eyes. Rohk and Nilkka huddled wretchedly beneath the meagre shelter of the pine branches.

  ‘Follow me,’ Kaija said. She led them down a slippery path to the dell where the hot springs were. Tarin was tempted to wade straight into the warm water and be swallowed by the clouds of rising steam, but he followed Kaija to a pine tree growing at the base of a rocky cliff. Its thick, pendulous branches hung low to the ground, offering protection from the rain.

  Tarin ducked below the branches, followed by Luuka and the wolves. When the branches dropped back into place, it was as though they were in a tent made entirely from green leaves. A thick blanket of dry, dead pine needles muffled their footsteps and softened the rocky ground.

  ‘Now I need to see your arm, Tarin,’ Kaija said. Tarin clenched his teeth as she made her examination. She felt the position of his bones, and tested how far he could move. ‘Sorry,’ she whispered, seeing him flinch. She brushed a strand of wet hair off her face and looked at him seriously. ‘Luckily, it’s not a bad break,’ she said. ‘The bones didn’t move apart and pierce the skin.’

  Tarin nodded but didn’t speak. After her examination, he was feeling sick. ‘What about the owl?’ His voice was faint and Kaija gave him a sharp look, but turned her attention to the injured animal. It hissed as she gently probed its wing.

  ‘It’s hard to say,’ she said. ‘I’ve never examined an animal before. At least, not one I wasn’t going to eat.’ The owl glared at her. ‘I think I can strap his wing, like I’ve strapped your arm, but I can’t say whether that will help or not.’

  ‘I think it will.’ Tarin couldn’t explain why he felt so strongly about the owl chick. He only knew he wanted to give it every chance to live.

  ‘I think it will help him, too,’ Kaija said. ‘They’re tough little creatures. Do you know, when they are about this age, they jump from their nests, even though they can’t fly?’

  Tarin shook his head. He watched Kaija’s nimble fingers straighten a ruffled feather. Her face was pale, and covered in scratches. Dark circles ringed her eyes, but she smiled as she gently bound the owl’s wing. It resisted and pecked her fingers, drawing spots of blood. It hopped awkwardly over to Tarin and climbed up onto his lap.

  ‘I think he feels safe with you,’ Kaija said.

  ‘I wish I had some food for him,’ Tarin murmured.

  ‘We all need food, and something for our scratches.’ A worried frown settled on Kaija’s face and she shook her head. ‘How am I going to steep the willowbark for your arm, Tarin?’ Her shoulders slumped and she rested her head on her knees with her eyes closed.

  Luuka ruffled Nilkka’s fur then got to his feet. He had to hunch his shoulders, because there wasn’t enough room to stand beneath the low branches. He scraped aside some of the fallen pine needles, placed some rocks in a circle, and quietly set about making a fire.

  Kaija watched him, and continued talking quietly, more to herself than to her companions. ‘We could melt snow, or collect rainwater, but we have no containers, and no cooking pot. Tomorrow, I’ll hunt. There should be lots of voles and maybe some beavers around here. I saw a patch of bear’s claw near the springs. Maybe I could mash it, or chew it, like Ruva does, and put it straight on our wounds. But the scratches are mostly on our faces. A calendula wash would be good, or wild sunflower, but they don’t grow in the forest.’

  ‘Why don’t you put the bear’s claw straight in the hot spring?’ Luuka said.

  Kaija blinked, and looked at him in surprise. She smiled. ‘I don’t see why not.’ She pulled aside a branch and looked out. ‘It’s still raining, but it’s not so heavy. Tarin, you could just chew some willowbark. Surely that would help. We could bathe, then come back and change into dry clothes. Good idea, Luuka.’

  Steam billowed around Tarin as he eased himself into the water. He could smell the scent of pine and the sulphur smell of the spring water. He closed his eyes and let the warmth seep into his bones and soothe his aches.

  ‘I’ve found wood mushrooms and red sorrel,’ Kaija said, joining the boys in the water. She pushed Tarin to give herself room to sit. ‘And when I turned over a log, I found some grubs for the owl.’ She waved the wriggling insect toward the owl, perched on the rocks at Tarin’s shoulder. In the growing darkness, he was difficult to see. The owl shrieked and dived on the grub, disembowelling it with his sharp beak. Kaija watched him with a small smile on her face. ‘What are you going to call him?’

  ‘Utu,’ Tarin said. ‘The Mammoth Clan word for mist.’

  ‘It suits him.’ Luuka said. He looked around as he spoke.

  ‘Where are Rohk and Nilkka?’

  ‘Searching for their dinner.’ Kaija ducked her head beneath the water and came up with a deep sigh of pleasure.

  ‘I wish they could bring something home for us.’

  ‘We can hunt tomorrow,’ Luuka said. He traced a circle in the air with his fingertip and smiled as the owl followed the movement. ‘I’ve been thinking. We need to replenish our water flasks, our cooking pots, our spears . . . If we camp somewhere for a few days, we can hunt a larger animal, like a deer maybe, and we can also dry extra meat. And if we can find some flint, I’ll knap a few knives.’

  Kaija nodded slowly. ‘But where? We could try to find Yorav’s Clan, but they might have left after the earth tremor.’

  ‘Or we could back track to Worj’s Clan.’ Luuka jumped as the owl nipped his finger. ‘What do you think, Tarin? I know you must be eager to return to Mammoth Clan, but I think we need more supplies before we start any long journey.’

  Tarin didn’t answer straightaway. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. To return to Mammoth Clan was to admit failure, but his clan deserved to know what happened to their Offering. And there was his family . . . He closed his eyes briefly. How he yearned to see them once more. His sorrow was a physical ache deep inside, and it would never go away. But could he live with Mammoth Clan knowing he had failed? Could he live with the disappointment, the anger, and the pity for the rest of his life? He didn’t think so. Maybe he could return and tell them his quest had failed, and then continue his journey. But where would he go? And would Luuka and Kaija come with him?

  Tarin cleared his throat. ‘W . . . would you return to Mammoth Clan with me?’ He didn’t quite meet their eyes. He launched into rapid speech before they could answer. ‘I don’t know what your plans are. We’ve never really talked about what would happen after . . . after the mountain, and maybe you have family you need to seek.’

  ‘No,’ said Luuka. For a moment, Tarin misunderstood him, and his heart sank, but then Luuka continued. ‘We have no other family. You, and the wolves, and now Utu, are our family. Of course we’ll journey with you to Mammoth Clan.’

  ‘We have nowhere else to go,’ Kaija added, in a soft voice.

  Tarin nodded, and swallowed the hard lump in his throat. He was reluctant to do so, but he had to make himself clear.

  ‘I may not stay with Mammoth Clan.’ He glanced up quickly, but couldn’t read the expressions on their faces in the gloom.

  ‘Why not?’ Kaija asked, her voice steady.

  Tarin shrugged. ‘I . . .’ He paused. He was tempted to tell her it was his decision to keep travelling, but he knew he couldn’t lie to them. ‘I may not be welcome.’ He ducked his head and stared at the steam swirling into the air. Although Spring was underway, the night air was still cool.

  ‘I don’t think that will happen,’ Kaija said, and Tarin could tell
she was weighing her words carefully. ‘You did your best. You made it to the mountain.’

  ‘But I had no Offering to give,’ Tarin said. ‘So I return to my clan as the failure they always thought me.’ He jumped up out of the spring and squeezed the water from his hair as best he could with one arm.

  ‘How far is Mammoth Clan?’ Luuka asked.

  Tarin thought about it. His journey hadn’t gone as planned, so it was difficult to judge. At least a moon cycle, he thought, maybe two, although they could cut across the plains west of the mountain – instead of backtracking south and following the river – which would take them through Boar Clan territory. Tarin shivered and chewed his lip. He tried to remember what his father had told him of the land between Mammoth Clan and the Mother’s Mountain.

  ‘Musk Ox Clan has a camp on the edge of the tundra,’ he said. ‘We could stay with them for a few days and get more supplies.’

  ‘Would they help us?’ Kaija asked. ‘We are strangers to them.’

  Tarin thought again. Would Kai remember him? And would he be willing to help? He knew they had little choice. Even during Summer, without supplies it would be hard to survive.

  ‘I know the Spirit Keeper’s apprentice. He’s Mammoth Clan.’

  ‘Then that’s what we’ll do,’ Kaija said. She climbed out of the spring and picked up a bark plate of fat wood mushrooms. ‘Tonight we feast on mushrooms and roasted fern heads. Tomorrow we find Musk Ox Clan.’

  Luuka pulled the rough bark from the pine tree and examined the lighter, inner bark. He took a stick and rubbed the soft layer, before putting it into his mouth.

  ‘Oh! That tastes awful!’

  Kaija snorted in amusement. ‘But it’s food, and my stomach is growling.’ She scraped her own piece of bark and made a face.

  Tarin scrutinized his bark. It didn’t look at all appetising. ‘I think I’d rather eat grubs,’ he said.

  ‘Or a nice juicy owl?’ Luuka said.

  Utu hissed and fluffed his feathers. He was sitting on Tarin’s shoulder as they made their way down the mountain.

  Tarin shook his head. ‘This little one is too scrawny for a decent meal.’

  ‘Shh!’ Kaija suddenly stopped and held up her hand. Her eyes were focused on something moving in the forest. She pulled her sling from her belt and loaded a stone, but just as she began her swing, Rohk and Nilkka came crashing through the undergrowth, startling the brown otter that had been sunning itself on a warm rock. It dived back into the stream and disappeared.

  ‘No!’ Kaija threw down her sling in disgust.

  ‘How about a fat wolf for dinner?’ Luuka said.

  ‘You have to learn to control them, Luuka.’ Kaija frowned at her brother. This wasn’t the first dinner the wolves had frightened away. She picked up her sling and stalked away.

  Luuka pursed his lips and pretended to glare at the unrepentant wolves. A smile twitched the corner of his lips.

  ‘You two shouldn’t look so happy,’ he said. ‘That could have been your dinner, too.’

  Rohk whined and dropped his head.

  ‘Unfortunately, he knows I’m not really cross with him,’ Luuka said to Tarin. ‘But maybe I should train them some more. Remember when we were with Worj’s Clan and they kept chewing everyone’s boots? We got them to stop doing that, so maybe we can train them to not chase every animal in the forest.’

  Tarin laughed. ‘Good luck with that.’

  It was early evening when they left the foothills and reached a wide valley. The river flowing through the middle of it was no longer in full Spring flood, and they found it an easy walk along the grassy bank. When Kaija saw the willow trees trailing their slender green leaves into the river, and also spied a stand of reedmace in a marshy backwater pond, she decided they should make camp for the day, despite there still being a few hours of sunlight left.

  ‘The young shoots taste quite bad,’ she said, which made Luuka and Tarin look at each other in concern. ‘But the older shoots are sweet, and we can also eat the flower heads.’

  While Luuka and Kaija waded into the water to harvest the reedmace shoots, Tarin looked around the riverbank. ‘There’s sweet rush over here,’ he called. He knew the roots would be good to harvest now, and he liked their spicy taste. Kaija waved her hand to show she had heard him.

  Tarin wandered further. The wolves were running ahead, chasing low-flying butterflies and dragonflies. Utu was on his shoulder. He paused by a patch of round, green leaves and plucked some yellow-flowering coltsfoot. He added mayweed and dandelion, and stopped to examine the white flower head of a wild carrot. He used a stick to dig down to the taproot, and dusted the dirt from it.

  ‘Look what I found.’ He flourished his find proudly.

  Kaija narrowed her eyes and examined the leaf stalks.

  Tarin remembered Old Mother doing the exact same thing.

  ‘I know wild carrots when I see them, Kaija,’ he said. ‘It’s what I do at Mammoth Clan. I gather the herbs and plants with the women.’

  ‘Sorry,’ Kaija said, with an apologetic smile. ‘Wild carrots and burdock – the slightest mistake with either can be deadly.’

  But it was Luuka’s find that turned their simple dinner into a feast. While Kaija wove a couple of lopsided baskets from the reeds, and Tarin stripped bark from the willow trees, Luuka eased into the river, downstream from where a fat trout hid amongst the twisted willow roots. Its nose was turned upstream, and it moved its glistening body only enough to stay in the one place.

  Tarin squatted on an overhanging branch and watched Luuka move slowly through the water, hardly creating a ripple. When he was close to the fish, he eased his hands carefully into the water, and moved his fingers beneath the trout’s belly.

  ‘It sends the fish into a trance.’ Kaija’s whisper tickled Tarin’s ear. He hadn’t heard her climb onto the branch next to him. ‘He strokes their belly, and then . . .’

  ‘Then?’

  Kaija smiled and placed her finger over her lips. Her eyes twinkled.

  With a lightning movement, Luuka grasped the fish by the gills and flicked it out of the water. Kaija leapt down and grabbed it before it could flop back into the river. She whacked its head against the willow tree.

  ‘And then, we have fresh fish for dinner.’

  Luuka gutted the fish, and while Utu devoured the innards, Kaija roasted it on hot rocks.

  ‘Perfect,’ she murmured. She plucked a dandelion and chewed it thoughtfully.

  ‘How did you learn to catch fish like that?’ Tarin asked Luuka. The boy scratched his nose and shrugged.

  ‘We all do it, back at River Clan. Usually we do it just for fun, and we let the fish escape.’

  ‘River Clan fish with nets woven from hair, or we use fish traps made from reeds.’ Kaija sipped her cup of mayweed tea and leaned back on one elbow. ‘Sometimes, we hunt sturgeon. Tarin, did you ever see a fish as big as a man?’

  ‘No.’ Tarin shook his head. He prodded the fire and watched the sparks flare. Daylight was fading. The sky glowed violet pink.

  ‘The sturgeon can be even bigger. The men use spears made from sharpened bone to hunt them, and sometimes, it takes six grown men to haul in one fish.’

  ‘Kaija, do you remember last Summer? The hunters hooked such a large fish, it pulled the raft upstream and then tipped them all into the river.’

  ‘I remember,’ Kaija said with a smile.

  ‘I’d like to see such a giant fish,’ Tarin said. ‘That would be something special.’

  Luuka nodded and picked the last of the flesh from the trout’s bones. ‘The rivers that lead to the inland sea are the best places to hunt sturgeon.’ He licked his fingers and sighed happily. ‘You and I should make a journey to the sea one day, Tarin. We can fish, and climb the cliffs for eggs, and dig in the sand for animals that live in shells.’

  ‘Well, I want to see the northern lands,’ Kaija said. ‘I’ve had enough of forests and rivers. I want to see the great ice, and hunt mammoth.�
� She turned to Tarin suddenly. ‘Tell us more about the mammoths.’

  Tarin rubbed the back of his neck and collected his thoughts. He wasn’t sure where to start.

  ‘Most mammoths travel in a herd,’ he said finally. ‘But just the females, and the males that are too young to leave their mothers.’ He closed his eyes, picturing the grey canyon walls around Mammoth Camp. As he cast his mind back, his nostrils flared, and for a moment, he was sure he could smell the strong, musky odour of the mammoths, and hear their low, rumbling call. He remembered how his leg had ached and the dry, brittle cold that sucked the moisture from his lips and eyes. ‘Once, I was so close to a mammoth, I could reach out and touch it.’ Tarin’s voice was so low, Kaija and Luuka leaned forward to hear him.

  ‘What did you do?’

  Tarin glanced at Kaija. Her eyes were large and round as she listened to his tale.

  His thoughts returned to that day so long ago. The day that had changed his life forever. He saw again the mammoth’s curved, pitted tusks, her tangle of brown fur and her deep, deep eyes. He remembered how the dust from the falling rocks had caught in his throat and made his eyes water. ‘I reached to touch her,’ he said. ‘But before I did, she reached forward and touched me, so gently.’

  Mammoth chose you. That’s what Jarkko said. And yet still he had failed.

  Tarin shook his head. He jumped to his feet and grabbed one of the new baskets. ‘I’ll get some more water, then we should sleep. With luck, we’ll reach Musk Ox Camp tomorrow.’

  But I don’t know what we will find there, he thought as he scooped water into the tightly woven basket. He drank deeply, and crouched by the river, listening to the water’s song and watching the graceful movements of the trees as darkness fell. He was reluctant to return to the fire. His head was full of thoughts, spinning around and around.

  For so long, his quest had driven him forward, but now . . .

  I have no quest. I have no purpose.

  The thought made him feel empty inside. He glanced back toward Kaija and Luuka. What is their quest? he wondered. What keeps them moving, day after day, across the grasslands? They have no family, and no clan to return to. Tarin’s thoughts swirled. He at least had family somewhere in the world.