Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 68478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
I need a mate that will make my heart stir and my khui sing. And I know it is not Sessah. Nor is it Taushen, who has courted me in his own quiet way. I do not know who it will be yet, or if my mate is not yet born and I must wait endless hands of turns for him to grow into adulthood. Whatever it is, I am content to wait. My own mother is twenty-seven turns older than my father. It can happen, as long as I am patient.
I want everything to be perfect, and it will be.
“Farli,” a voice calls out as I head toward the end of the canyon.
I turn, and it is my father, waving a leather-wrapped bundle in the air as he jogs after me. “Wait!”
“Father? You are not out hunting?” I greet him with a gentle clasp on the arm and press my cheek to his. “Is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine, Little Sunshine,” my father says with a grin. He places the packet in my hand. “I am making sah-sah today and will go hunting later. As for this.” He taps a finger on the packet. “Your mother did not want you to go out hunting without something to eat.”
I roll my eyes and cannot resist a small giggle. I am my mother’s youngest and she spoils me as if I am still a kit clinging to her skirts. “Tell her she has my thanks.”
“Will you be out overnight? Rokan said the weather would be fair.”
I shrug. “Possibly.” It depends on how badly I need my space. I love to wander. Lately I have enjoyed going to the sand-covered beaches near the great salt lake, hoping to catch a glimpse of the green island that Jo-see swears was there so long ago. I have never seen it, and I think the earth-shake must have swallowed it. But I still like to look.
“Sessah was hunting for you this morning.”
I grimace. “I might be gone a few days, actually.”
He seems to understand, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Then be safe, and look out for metlaks.”
“Always, Father.” I hug him again and then wave goodbye as he heads back to the village and toward his waiting sah-sah pots. If Sessah is looking for me, then I will most certainly spend a bit longer out in the wild.
Chahm-pee bleats at me, as if agreeing…or just mad that I have not given him more seeds. I tuck the packet of food under my arm and offer my pet a few more treats. “Come, fat one. Let us get you on the pulley before Sessah comes this way.”
Because we now live in a gorge instead of in a cave, there was no easy way for Chahm-pee to get in and out, nor the humans, who are not as good at climbing sheer surfaces as we sa-khui. Har-loh saved the day with one of her creations. She created a pulley that balances with some heavy weights on the other side. I do not know how it works, only that I harness Chahm-pee in on his rope-covered raft and get in beside him, and then I pull on the rope, hauling us both into the air without straining my arms. Once we get to the top, Chahm-pee waits until I unfasten him and then trots off onto the ledge. I jump off as well and then send the pulley back down again for the next person.
Now that we are back ‘up,’ the wind blasts into my face, ruffling my hair. I miss the wind and the sunlight down in the gorge. It is safe there, but it feels a bit like living in a hole on cloudy days. Today the suns are shining brightly, peeking out from behind the clouds, and the snow glistens blindingly bright. I give a happy sigh and close my eyes, drinking in the feeling. I could live up here all the time, I think. Just lie down in the snow and let the sunlight bake my bones.
I do not, of course. The day is wasting and already the suns are high in the sky. I do, however, strip off my tunic and my leathers until I am down to nothing but my loincloth and my boots. I stuff them into my pack and sigh happily. There is nothing quite like fresh air on my skin. The human females would squeal in distress at the sight of me, but they like to cover their bodies with furs. I think it is because they are always cold. To me, this weather is perfect.
I hop forward. “Come, Chahm-pee. Let us go see what our traps hold.”
He bleats and moves to my side, keeping pace with me.
Chahm-pee grazes as I walk, nipping at tree bark and pulling at shoots as we move through the valleys and the steep cliffs. I see no one else out, but their tracks are everywhere. Not surprising—the hunters do not like to spend as long out on the trails as they used to, not now that so many of them have mates and small kits waiting for them to come home. It is the unmated hunters—myself included—who take the more distant trails. I do not mind; I like the exploring. Sometimes it feels like I am the only one out in the big wide world, and it is fascinating to me how empty and yet gorgeous my surroundings are.