"I have something to give Ayla, and this seems to be the time for it," Roshario said, going out. Jondalar joined her.
Ayla and Tholie looked up quickly when they entered Roshario's dwelling, and for a moment the woman had the strange feeling that they were intruding on something personal or secret, but smiles of welcome dispelled it. She walked to the back and took a package off a shelf.
"This is for you, Ayla," Roshario said, "for helping me. I wrapped it so it would stay clean on your Journey. You can always use the wrapping for a towel, later."
Ayla, looking surprised and pleased, untied the cord and unfolded soft chamois skins to reveal more of the yellow leather, beautifully decorated with beads and quills. She lifted it up and caught her breath. It was the most beautiful tunic she had ever seen. Folded under it was a pair of women's trousers, fully decorated on the front of the legs and around the bottom in a pattern matching the tunic.
"Roshario! This is beautiful. I have never seen anything so beautiful.
"It's too beautiful to wear," Ayla said. Then she put the garments down and hugged the woman. For the first time since she arrived, Roshario noticed Ayla's strange accent, particularly in the way she said certain words, but she didn't find it unpleasant.
"I hope it fits. Why don't you try it on so we can see?" Roshario said.
"Do you really think I should?" Ayla said, almost afraid to touch it.
"You have to know if it will fit, so you can wear it when you and Jondalar are mated, don't you?"
Ayla smiled at Jondalar, excited and happy about the outfit, but she refrained from mentioning that she already had a mating tunic, given to her by Talut's mate, Nezzie of the Lion Camp. She couldn't exactly wear both of them, but she would find a very special occasion for the beautiful new outfit.
"I have something for you, too, Ayla. Not nearly as beautiful, but useful," Tholie said, giving her a handful of soft leather straps that she had tucked away in a pouch that dangled from her waist.
Ayla held them up and avoided looking at Jondalar. She knew exactly what they were. "How did you know I needed fresh straps for my moon time, Tholie?"
"A woman can always use some new ones, especially when she's traveling. I have some nice absorbent padding for you, too. Roshario and I talked about it. She showed me the outfit she had made for you, and I wanted to give you something beautiful, too, but you can't take much with you when you travel. So I started to think about what you might need," Tholie said, explaining her very practical gift.
"It's perfect. You couldn't have given me something I needed, or wanted, more. You are so thoughtful, Tholie," Ayla said, then turned her head and blinked her eyes. "I'm going to miss you."
"Come now, you're not leaving yet. Not until tomorrow morning. There's plenty of time for tears then," Roshario said, though her own eyes threatened to overflow.
That evening, Ayla emptied both her pack baskets and had everything she wanted to take with her spread out, trying to decide how to pack it all, including the quantities of food they had been given. Jondalar would take some of it, but he didn't have much room, either. They had discussed the bowl boat several times, trying to decide if its usefulness in crossing rivers was worth the effort it would take to move it across the wooded mountain slopes. They finally decided to take it, but not without misgivings.
"How are you going to fit all that in only two baskets?" Jondalar asked, looking at a pile of mysterious bundles and packages, all carefully wrapped, and worried about taking too much. "Are you sure you need it all? What's in that package?"
"All my summer clothes," Ayla said. "That's the one I'll leave behind if I have to, but I will need clothes to wear next summer. I'm just glad I don't have to pack winter clothes any more."
"Hhmmm!" he grunted, not able to fault her reasoning, but still concerned about the load. He scanned the pile and noticed a package that he knew he had seen before. She'd been carrying it since they left, but he still didn't know what was in it. "What's that one?"
"Jondalar, you're not being much help," Ayla said. "Why don't you take these squares of traveling food Carolio gave us and see if you can find room in your pack basket for them?"
"Easy, Racer. Settle down," Jondalar said, pulling down on the lead rope and holding it in close while he patted the stallion's cheek and stroked his neck, trying to calm him. "I think he knows we're ready and he's eager to go."
"I'm sure Ayla will be along soon," Markeno said. "Those two have become very close in the short time you've been here. Tholie was crying last night, wishing you would stay. To tell you the truth, I'm sorry to see you go, too. We looked around, and we talked to several people, but we just hadn't found anyone we wanted to share with, until you came. We do need to make a commitment soon. Are you sure you don't want to change your mind?"
"You don't know how hard this decision has been for me, Markeno. Who knows what I'll find when I get there. My sister will be grown up and probably won't remember me. I have no idea what my older brother will be doing, or where he'll be. I just hope my mother is still alive," Jondalar said, "and Dalanar, the man of my hearth. My close-cousin, the daughter of his second hearth, ought to be a mother by now, but I don't even know if she has a mate. If she has, I probably won't know him. I really won't know anyone any more, and I feel so close to everyone here. But I have to go."
Markeno nodded. Whinney nickered softly, and they both looked up. Roshario, Ayla, and Tholie, who was holding Shamio, were coming out of his dwelling. The little girl struggled to get down when she saw Wolf.
"I don't know what I'm going to do about Shamio when that wolf is gone," Markeno said. "She wants him around all the time. She'd sleep with him if I'd let her."
"Maybe you can find a wolf cub for her," Carlono said, joining them. He had just come up from the dock.
"I hadn't thought of that. It wouldn't be easy, but maybe I could get one cub from a wolf den," Markeno mused. "At least I could promise her to try. I'm going to have to tell her something."
"If you do," Jondalar said, "I'd make sure it's a young one. Wolf was still nursing when his mother died."
"How did Ayla feed him without a mother to give him milk?" Carlono asked.
"I wondered that myself," Jondalar said. "She said a baby can eat whatever its mother eats, but it has to be softer and easier to chew. She cooked up broth, soaked a piece of soft leather in it, and let him suck it, and she cut meat up into tiny pieces for him. He eats anything we eat now, but he still likes to hunt for himself sometimes. He even flushes game for us, and he helped us get that elk we brought with us when we came."
"How do you get him to do what you want him to?" Markeno asked.
"Ayla spends a lot of time at it. She shows him and goes over it again and again until he gets it right. It's surprising how much he can learn, and he's so eager to please her," Jondalar said.
"Anyone can see that. Do you think it's just her? After all, she is shamud," Carlono said. "Could just anybody make animals do what he wants?"
"I ride on Racer's back," Jondalar said, "and I'm not shamud."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Markeno said, then laughed. "Remember, I've seen you around women. I think you could make any one of them do whatever you wanted."
Jondalar flushed. He hadn't really thought about that for a while.
As Ayla walked toward them, she wondered about his red face, but then Dolando joined them, coming from around the wall.