Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Clanluna
Clanluna
Chapter 9: Iga
Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling
Earth’s Children is owned by Jean Auel
Brun’s Clan List
Deceased members:
Iga – mother of Ebra and Uka
Uba – mother of Creb, Brun and Iza
---Iza (28) – Uba’s mother, adopted mother of Ayla
--------- Broud (21) – former Leader (Wooly Rhinoceros totem)
Dorv
Women’s Teepee
Luna (20) – Leader, 1st Weech, (Spirit Deer totem)
--- Zeen – (1) ½ Clan son of Luna
Ayla (14) – Clan’s first ranked medicine woman (Cave Lion totem) 2nd Weech, Zar’s Mate
--- Durc (3) – Ayla’s ½ Clan son, Grev’s milk brother (Gray Wolf totem)
----Iza (1) – Ayla’s ¼ Clan daughter
Uba (8) – medicine woman, childless
Ebra (40) – Broud’s mother
Uka (25) – Ebra’s sister
Oga (17) – Broud’s widow
----Grev (4) – Oga’s second son
Ovra (18) – Goov’s mate, childless (Beaver totem)
Aga (24) – Droog’s second mate
Aba (35)
Ika (20) – Crug’s mate
---Igra (6) – Ika’s daughter
Ona (9) – Owl totem
Woman of the Others (21)
Men’s Teepee
Brun (33) – Former leader (Bison totem)
----Brac (8) – Oga’s first son
Grod (29) – son of the mate of Zoug (Brown Bear totem)
---Zoug (43) – second in command to the leader before Brun
Creb (36) – former 1st ranked Mog-ur, 1st Weez-Ur
Zar (20) ½ Clan man from the South (Middle East) mog-ur’s acolyte (Cave Bear Totem)
Goov (20) – mog-ur’ (Aurochs totem/Ursus totem)
Droog (31) – toolmaker, Aga’s second mate
---Groob (6) – Aga’s son born to Droog’s hearth
Crug (22)
Vorn (13) –
Borg (9) – Boar totem
Walking ahead, Luna led the Clan to the entrance of the Cave. There was a horrible stench wafting out of it. This cave would be unlikely to be suitable. Never-the-less, Luna lit the tip of her wand and she and Goov entered the cave. Goov had his spear in hand, just in case.
As they made their way in, an animalistic cackle could be heard and there was movement all around them. Hyenas!
Short work of the pack of hyenas was made as Luna stunned them and Goov finished them off with his spear. As they looked around, it was clear that the hyenas had been eating people. There were about twenty half-eaten bodies around them. Looking around, Luna saw more movement. She trained her wand on the movement and saw that it was a red-haired woman flailing about. Her legs were pinned under a large boulder. Luna levitated the boulder off of her then, levitated the woman out into the light.
She had fiery red hair over a prominent forehead. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald green. She had a small nose and a chin. Her throat was bloody and had multiple bite marks from the hyenas. She was a woman of the Others!
Chapter 9: Iga
It had been three days since the earthquake. She was the only survivor. But she had begun to have doubts when she realized that her legs were pinned under a boulder.
On the second day, the hyenas appeared. She kept alive by flailing every time one came near. The hyenas left her to die while they feasted on other carrion, the 19 members of the camp who had not survived the earthquake.
On the third day without heat or water or food, she had become visibly weaker. A hyena came close. She could smell the rotting flesh of her brothers, sisters, parents and lovers on its’ breath as the scavenger drew near. With powerful jaws that were able to crush bone, it clamped down on her throat to finish her off.
Suddenly there was a bright light! The Earth Mother had come for her, holding a shinning star on the end of a stick. At The Mother’s side was a buck flathead! As red beams of light streaked out of The Earth Mother’s stick, the hyenas fell dead, one by one. The flathead made certain of this by stabbing each one with a huge spear.
She waved her arms with renewed vigor trying to get The Mother’s attention.
The Mother pointed her stick at her and the boulder was lifted off of her legs. Then, suddenly she was floating through the air and out of the cave and in to the Spirit World.
As soon as she entered the Spirit World, there was a bright light. Then two of The Mother’s servants came forward, a blonde-haired woman with blue eyes and a doe flathead with brown hair and deep brown eyes. They were both trying to choke her when she was overcome by
blackness . . .
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
“She’s bleeding badly!” signed Uba.
“Her throat’s a mess!” signed Ayla. “I can’t stop the bleeding and she can’t breath!”
Their patient passed out from lack of oxygen as she struggled to breath through a shredded throat.
“Luna!” yelled Ayla. “Can you do something with your Weech stick? Turn her throat back into its’ proper shape?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not good at healing,” replied Luna, in English. “The body is too complex.”
“Well, can’t you make it simpler?” pleaded Ayla, in English. “If you don’t do something, she’s going to die!”
Concentrating, Luna transfigured the woman’s throat, turning a shredded and crushed complex mass of intricate muscles, cartilage, and vocal chords into a something that resembled a pipe, an utterly featureless length of tubing. This woman of the Others would never speak again.
Now that their patient was able to breath, the Medicine Women took a look at her legs. Her legs and feet were covered in strange wraps that had to be cut off of her in order to get a good look at her legs.
“It will take her too long to heal, she won’t be able to walk while we search for a cave,” signed Uba. “We should leave her.”
“We can’t just leave her to die!,” retorted Ayla, angrily. “We can cast her legs, and have someone carry her.”
“But she’ll be a burden on the Clan,” protested Uba. “Besides, she’s one of the Others anyway.”
Ayla responded by sitting at Luna’s feet. When Luna had tapped her shoulder, giving her permission to speak, Ayla signed:
“The woman of the Others will take a long time to heal and will be have to be carried until she has healed. May this Medicine woman have permission from the Leader to heal her?”
“Of course you can, Ayla!” replied Luna. “This Leader will never just leave someone to die like that!
Goov! Creb! Zar! See that the appropriate burial rites are performed for this tribe of the Others.
After we find a cave, we shall adopt this woman of the Others into our Clan.”
That night, the women’s teepee was even more crowded. The patient required more room that a well person. Part of Luna wished that she had more hides so she could make more teepees. But another part of her liked sleeping in a naked pile of women, closely pressed together. It took a lot of restraint, on Luna’s part, not to ask for her needs to be relieved.
The next morning, when they set out, Luna had the men take turns carrying the strange woman with the fiery hair.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
When she finally came out of unconsciousness, she was aware of a warm body pressed against hers. The spring sun was shinning on her face. Her bottom half felt a bit drafty. Maybe that was because she wasn’t wearing her leggings? She opened her eyes and saw that she was being carried by a buck flathead! He was probably carrying her off so he could force her to share pleasures with him! She tried to scream but no sound came out! She struggled, but he maintained his hold on her. As she looked around, she realized that she was in the midst of a whole pack of flatheads!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
It was mid afternoon when the woman of the others awoke in Crug’s arms. When she began struggling, Crug had to hold her more tightly to keep from dropping her. Ayla and Uba saw the woman’s distress and rushed up to check on their patient.
The woman seemed calmed by Ayla’s presence and smiled at Iza. But when Zeen pulled his head away from Ayla’s other breast and she got a good look at his face, and expression of utter revulsion came upon the woman’s face.
Ayla gave the woman a stern look and tried explaining to her in both signs and English that she would be unable to walk. But the woman understood neither. Uba had to lift up a leg and show her a cast before the woman understood that she couldn’t walk.
The woman of the Others stayed calm only as long as Ayla was near.
At dusk, Luna came swooping in on her broom. The woman of the Others’ eyes lit up when she saw Luna. The Leader ignored their newest member and went straight to take her son from Ayla’s arms. While feeding Zeen, Luna pulled out and enlarged the Clan’s supplies. The other women started making dinner for the Clan.
“Brun, Vorn has asked me if he will remain 2nd ranked Hunter,” signed Luna. “I was wondering what you would do in my place.”
“Broud, was rushing things by moving Vorn up so soon,” replied Brun. “But it might have been just as well. Vorn is a good Hunter and will one day be worthy to be second.”
“It there anyone else I might consider?” asked Luna.
“Crug is currently our best all around hunter,” replied Brun. “Except for Zar’s throwing spears. Those give him an edge over Crug. Ayla is the best with the sling, but Zoug is the best male hunter with it. This man is the best with the bola, but like Zoug, he is getting old. Grod, my 2nd, is also getting old.”
“That is very helpful advice,” signed Luna. “I shall consider it.”
After dinner, the woman of the Others was relieved to see that she was being levitated by Luna into the tent that had only women. As the women shed their wraps and gave their babies one last feeding before sleeping, they conversed.
“So what is the new woman’s name?” asked Ovra.
“She is unable to tell us,” replied Ayla.
“Well she has to have some kind of name,” stated Aga. “We can’t just keep calling her ‘that woman of the Others’”
“How about . . .Iga?” suggested Uka. “That was my mother’s name.”
“That sounds fine to this woman,” agreed Luna.
“Of course, we’ll have to have the mog-ur formally name her,” signed Ovra.
“So, if you are the Leader now, who are you going to mate her to?” asked Ebra.
“Well Brac is almost a man,” stated Oga. “You could mate her to him? But I’m not sure he would want such a big ugly woman, no offence Ayla.”
“Actually, amongst my people, Ayla would be considered very beautiful,” pointed out Luna.
“Zoug has no mate,” pointed out Uka. “But he’s so old this woman doesn’t think he could provide for a mate and her children.”
“You could make her the 2nd mate of a man,” suggested Uba.
“Are you volunteering to share Vorn with her?” asked Luna.
“No, actually this woman was thinking of Ayla,” explained Uba. “As often as Zar relieves his needs with you, he practically has two mates already. Maybe since she’s big and ugly like him, she wouldn’t think he was so bad looking?”
“It occurs to this woman that since Broud is dead, she will need a new mate too,” signed Oga.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
As she gazed upon the sight of the Earth Mother nursing an abomination of mixed spirits in the midst of a crowd of naked doe flatheads, she was starting to think that perhaps she need to re-think her belief that flatheads were animals. What kind of animals cooked food or wore clothes. Sure, they had taken them off after they had gotten into the strange tent, but it was hot with this many people in here. And this tent! She has seen a Mammutoi Earth Lodge once. This tent was like a portable version of an Earth Lodge. Surely, animals couldn’t think up such a sophisticated idea.
Turning to look at the other woman in this pack of flatheads, she decided that this woman, like her, was being punished in the afterlife for her attitude towards the flatheads.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
“What’s wrong, old friend?” asked Creb.
“This hunter is too old for all this traveling,” replied Zoug. “This Hunter fears that he will enter the spirit world before we find a new cave and his spirit will become lost.”
“Try to hang on,” assured Creb. “We will find a cave soon.”
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
After two more days, the Clan stopped by a river for the evening. Ayla went to the river to get some water when she saw it. As fast as she could, she ran back to the camp and plopped down at Luna’s feet. Luna, who had been nursing both their children, juggled Iza a bit so that she could tap Ayla’s shoulder. When she did so, Ayla pointed and signed a single word:
“Cave!”
As Luna and Goov explored the cave by the light of Luna’s lit wand, they found that it was much vaster than their old one. In the first chamber, there was a shelf of rock lining the walls about three feet off the floor of the cave. The first chamber alone was more than big enough for the Clan. And there was another, smaller cave next to it that was connected by a hole, that was large enough for even Zar to walk through. In the back of the cave was a passage.
As they, crept through it to a second chamber, they heard a deep growling sound! From out of the darkness, an enraged Cave Bear charged at them!
With a red beam of light, Luna stunned the Cave Bear.
“Is Ursus dead?” asked the mog-ur.
“No, he’s just stunned,” replied Luna. “Aren’t you going to finish it off?”
“Ursus is very sacred!” explained Goov, the mog-ur. “You can’t just stun him and finish him off. Killing Ursus is a great honor. If you are going to be Leader, you should carefully choose the hunter that is to face Ursus, and that hunter should face a fully awake Ursus.”
Luna and Goov retreated from the Cave and faced the Clan. Who would she choose to face Ursus, the Great Cave Bear? Should it be one of the young up-and coming hunters? Brac was ready for his manhood hunt. One of the older hunters? This could be a last triumph for an old man. Or perhaps she or Ayla should have this honor? Having a woman do this might solidify her Leadership. After looking in the eyes of the Clan, she made her announcement.
“The cave is a Cave of Ursus. One of you must overcome him. The one I have chosen for this Most Holy Task is . . .”
Chapter 9: Iga
Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling
Earth’s Children is owned by Jean Auel
Brun’s Clan List
Deceased members:
Iga – mother of Ebra and Uka
Uba – mother of Creb, Brun and Iza
---Iza (28) – Uba’s mother, adopted mother of Ayla
--------- Broud (21) – former Leader (Wooly Rhinoceros totem)
Dorv
Women’s Teepee
Luna (20) – Leader, 1st Weech, (Spirit Deer totem)
--- Zeen – (1) ½ Clan son of Luna
Ayla (14) – Clan’s first ranked medicine woman (Cave Lion totem) 2nd Weech, Zar’s Mate
--- Durc (3) – Ayla’s ½ Clan son, Grev’s milk brother (Gray Wolf totem)
----Iza (1) – Ayla’s ¼ Clan daughter
Uba (8) – medicine woman, childless
Ebra (40) – Broud’s mother
Uka (25) – Ebra’s sister
Oga (17) – Broud’s widow
----Grev (4) – Oga’s second son
Ovra (18) – Goov’s mate, childless (Beaver totem)
Aga (24) – Droog’s second mate
Aba (35)
Ika (20) – Crug’s mate
---Igra (6) – Ika’s daughter
Ona (9) – Owl totem
Woman of the Others (21)
Men’s Teepee
Brun (33) – Former leader (Bison totem)
----Brac (8) – Oga’s first son
Grod (29) – son of the mate of Zoug (Brown Bear totem)
---Zoug (43) – second in command to the leader before Brun
Creb (36) – former 1st ranked Mog-ur, 1st Weez-Ur
Zar (20) ½ Clan man from the South (Middle East) mog-ur’s acolyte (Cave Bear Totem)
Goov (20) – mog-ur’ (Aurochs totem/Ursus totem)
Droog (31) – toolmaker, Aga’s second mate
---Groob (6) – Aga’s son born to Droog’s hearth
Crug (22)
Vorn (13) –
Borg (9) – Boar totem
Walking ahead, Luna led the Clan to the entrance of the Cave. There was a horrible stench wafting out of it. This cave would be unlikely to be suitable. Never-the-less, Luna lit the tip of her wand and she and Goov entered the cave. Goov had his spear in hand, just in case.
As they made their way in, an animalistic cackle could be heard and there was movement all around them. Hyenas!
Short work of the pack of hyenas was made as Luna stunned them and Goov finished them off with his spear. As they looked around, it was clear that the hyenas had been eating people. There were about twenty half-eaten bodies around them. Looking around, Luna saw more movement. She trained her wand on the movement and saw that it was a red-haired woman flailing about. Her legs were pinned under a large boulder. Luna levitated the boulder off of her then, levitated the woman out into the light.
She had fiery red hair over a prominent forehead. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald green. She had a small nose and a chin. Her throat was bloody and had multiple bite marks from the hyenas. She was a woman of the Others!
Chapter 9: Iga
It had been three days since the earthquake. She was the only survivor. But she had begun to have doubts when she realized that her legs were pinned under a boulder.
On the second day, the hyenas appeared. She kept alive by flailing every time one came near. The hyenas left her to die while they feasted on other carrion, the 19 members of the camp who had not survived the earthquake.
On the third day without heat or water or food, she had become visibly weaker. A hyena came close. She could smell the rotting flesh of her brothers, sisters, parents and lovers on its’ breath as the scavenger drew near. With powerful jaws that were able to crush bone, it clamped down on her throat to finish her off.
Suddenly there was a bright light! The Earth Mother had come for her, holding a shinning star on the end of a stick. At The Mother’s side was a buck flathead! As red beams of light streaked out of The Earth Mother’s stick, the hyenas fell dead, one by one. The flathead made certain of this by stabbing each one with a huge spear.
She waved her arms with renewed vigor trying to get The Mother’s attention.
The Mother pointed her stick at her and the boulder was lifted off of her legs. Then, suddenly she was floating through the air and out of the cave and in to the Spirit World.
As soon as she entered the Spirit World, there was a bright light. Then two of The Mother’s servants came forward, a blonde-haired woman with blue eyes and a doe flathead with brown hair and deep brown eyes. They were both trying to choke her when she was overcome by
blackness . . .
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
“She’s bleeding badly!” signed Uba.
“Her throat’s a mess!” signed Ayla. “I can’t stop the bleeding and she can’t breath!”
Their patient passed out from lack of oxygen as she struggled to breath through a shredded throat.
“Luna!” yelled Ayla. “Can you do something with your Weech stick? Turn her throat back into its’ proper shape?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not good at healing,” replied Luna, in English. “The body is too complex.”
“Well, can’t you make it simpler?” pleaded Ayla, in English. “If you don’t do something, she’s going to die!”
Concentrating, Luna transfigured the woman’s throat, turning a shredded and crushed complex mass of intricate muscles, cartilage, and vocal chords into a something that resembled a pipe, an utterly featureless length of tubing. This woman of the Others would never speak again.
Now that their patient was able to breath, the Medicine Women took a look at her legs. Her legs and feet were covered in strange wraps that had to be cut off of her in order to get a good look at her legs.
“It will take her too long to heal, she won’t be able to walk while we search for a cave,” signed Uba. “We should leave her.”
“We can’t just leave her to die!,” retorted Ayla, angrily. “We can cast her legs, and have someone carry her.”
“But she’ll be a burden on the Clan,” protested Uba. “Besides, she’s one of the Others anyway.”
Ayla responded by sitting at Luna’s feet. When Luna had tapped her shoulder, giving her permission to speak, Ayla signed:
“The woman of the Others will take a long time to heal and will be have to be carried until she has healed. May this Medicine woman have permission from the Leader to heal her?”
“Of course you can, Ayla!” replied Luna. “This Leader will never just leave someone to die like that!
Goov! Creb! Zar! See that the appropriate burial rites are performed for this tribe of the Others.
After we find a cave, we shall adopt this woman of the Others into our Clan.”
That night, the women’s teepee was even more crowded. The patient required more room that a well person. Part of Luna wished that she had more hides so she could make more teepees. But another part of her liked sleeping in a naked pile of women, closely pressed together. It took a lot of restraint, on Luna’s part, not to ask for her needs to be relieved.
The next morning, when they set out, Luna had the men take turns carrying the strange woman with the fiery hair.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
When she finally came out of unconsciousness, she was aware of a warm body pressed against hers. The spring sun was shinning on her face. Her bottom half felt a bit drafty. Maybe that was because she wasn’t wearing her leggings? She opened her eyes and saw that she was being carried by a buck flathead! He was probably carrying her off so he could force her to share pleasures with him! She tried to scream but no sound came out! She struggled, but he maintained his hold on her. As she looked around, she realized that she was in the midst of a whole pack of flatheads!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
It was mid afternoon when the woman of the others awoke in Crug’s arms. When she began struggling, Crug had to hold her more tightly to keep from dropping her. Ayla and Uba saw the woman’s distress and rushed up to check on their patient.
The woman seemed calmed by Ayla’s presence and smiled at Iza. But when Zeen pulled his head away from Ayla’s other breast and she got a good look at his face, and expression of utter revulsion came upon the woman’s face.
Ayla gave the woman a stern look and tried explaining to her in both signs and English that she would be unable to walk. But the woman understood neither. Uba had to lift up a leg and show her a cast before the woman understood that she couldn’t walk.
The woman of the Others stayed calm only as long as Ayla was near.
At dusk, Luna came swooping in on her broom. The woman of the Others’ eyes lit up when she saw Luna. The Leader ignored their newest member and went straight to take her son from Ayla’s arms. While feeding Zeen, Luna pulled out and enlarged the Clan’s supplies. The other women started making dinner for the Clan.
“Brun, Vorn has asked me if he will remain 2nd ranked Hunter,” signed Luna. “I was wondering what you would do in my place.”
“Broud, was rushing things by moving Vorn up so soon,” replied Brun. “But it might have been just as well. Vorn is a good Hunter and will one day be worthy to be second.”
“It there anyone else I might consider?” asked Luna.
“Crug is currently our best all around hunter,” replied Brun. “Except for Zar’s throwing spears. Those give him an edge over Crug. Ayla is the best with the sling, but Zoug is the best male hunter with it. This man is the best with the bola, but like Zoug, he is getting old. Grod, my 2nd, is also getting old.”
“That is very helpful advice,” signed Luna. “I shall consider it.”
After dinner, the woman of the Others was relieved to see that she was being levitated by Luna into the tent that had only women. As the women shed their wraps and gave their babies one last feeding before sleeping, they conversed.
“So what is the new woman’s name?” asked Ovra.
“She is unable to tell us,” replied Ayla.
“Well she has to have some kind of name,” stated Aga. “We can’t just keep calling her ‘that woman of the Others’”
“How about . . .Iga?” suggested Uka. “That was my mother’s name.”
“That sounds fine to this woman,” agreed Luna.
“Of course, we’ll have to have the mog-ur formally name her,” signed Ovra.
“So, if you are the Leader now, who are you going to mate her to?” asked Ebra.
“Well Brac is almost a man,” stated Oga. “You could mate her to him? But I’m not sure he would want such a big ugly woman, no offence Ayla.”
“Actually, amongst my people, Ayla would be considered very beautiful,” pointed out Luna.
“Zoug has no mate,” pointed out Uka. “But he’s so old this woman doesn’t think he could provide for a mate and her children.”
“You could make her the 2nd mate of a man,” suggested Uba.
“Are you volunteering to share Vorn with her?” asked Luna.
“No, actually this woman was thinking of Ayla,” explained Uba. “As often as Zar relieves his needs with you, he practically has two mates already. Maybe since she’s big and ugly like him, she wouldn’t think he was so bad looking?”
“It occurs to this woman that since Broud is dead, she will need a new mate too,” signed Oga.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
As she gazed upon the sight of the Earth Mother nursing an abomination of mixed spirits in the midst of a crowd of naked doe flatheads, she was starting to think that perhaps she need to re-think her belief that flatheads were animals. What kind of animals cooked food or wore clothes. Sure, they had taken them off after they had gotten into the strange tent, but it was hot with this many people in here. And this tent! She has seen a Mammutoi Earth Lodge once. This tent was like a portable version of an Earth Lodge. Surely, animals couldn’t think up such a sophisticated idea.
Turning to look at the other woman in this pack of flatheads, she decided that this woman, like her, was being punished in the afterlife for her attitude towards the flatheads.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
“What’s wrong, old friend?” asked Creb.
“This hunter is too old for all this traveling,” replied Zoug. “This Hunter fears that he will enter the spirit world before we find a new cave and his spirit will become lost.”
“Try to hang on,” assured Creb. “We will find a cave soon.”
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
After two more days, the Clan stopped by a river for the evening. Ayla went to the river to get some water when she saw it. As fast as she could, she ran back to the camp and plopped down at Luna’s feet. Luna, who had been nursing both their children, juggled Iza a bit so that she could tap Ayla’s shoulder. When she did so, Ayla pointed and signed a single word:
“Cave!”
As Luna and Goov explored the cave by the light of Luna’s lit wand, they found that it was much vaster than their old one. In the first chamber, there was a shelf of rock lining the walls about three feet off the floor of the cave. The first chamber alone was more than big enough for the Clan. And there was another, smaller cave next to it that was connected by a hole, that was large enough for even Zar to walk through. In the back of the cave was a passage.
As they, crept through it to a second chamber, they heard a deep growling sound! From out of the darkness, an enraged Cave Bear charged at them!
With a red beam of light, Luna stunned the Cave Bear.
“Is Ursus dead?” asked the mog-ur.
“No, he’s just stunned,” replied Luna. “Aren’t you going to finish it off?”
“Ursus is very sacred!” explained Goov, the mog-ur. “You can’t just stun him and finish him off. Killing Ursus is a great honor. If you are going to be Leader, you should carefully choose the hunter that is to face Ursus, and that hunter should face a fully awake Ursus.”
Luna and Goov retreated from the Cave and faced the Clan. Who would she choose to face Ursus, the Great Cave Bear? Should it be one of the young up-and coming hunters? Brac was ready for his manhood hunt. One of the older hunters? This could be a last triumph for an old man. Or perhaps she or Ayla should have this honor? Having a woman do this might solidify her Leadership. After looking in the eyes of the Clan, she made her announcement.
“The cave is a Cave of Ursus. One of you must overcome him. The one I have chosen for this Most Holy Task is . . .”
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