"Come on Whinney, there's some fresh greens over there," Ayla signed, urging Whinney towards a patch of tall grass, not yet eaten by the wildlife around the valley. She usually rode east, watching the birds sing, gathering plants for both medicinal and edible uses, and to watch her friend roll around in the muddy banks. But today Ayla was restless. She knew Whinney was well into her pregnancy and couldn't go far, but she wanted to do something new. See new wildlife, gather new plants. She got bored with the east. After Baby left, she didn't hunt as much. Digging pit traps meant many hours of work, and Ayla had plenty of food stored, anyways.
"Whinney, look over there! I haven't seen horses here since the first day I came to the valley." Ayla signaled, giddy with excitement. But something was wrong with these horses. They were acting as if they were hunted, and not to long ago. That can't be, Ayla thought. She suddenly felt excited; maybe there were people near by! The thought dispelled quickly. She knew no people lived around here. She started towards an overhang, hoping there was a river near by.
As she neared the edge, Ayla looked down and was surprised to find a blind canyon. Disappointed and thirsty, she started to turn back as the sun sunk below the horizon. Whinney, however, was very intent on staying. Her ears were perked and she looked far into the distance, seeing something Ayla couldn't. The woman squinted her eyes and tried to make the shapes appear. She thought this might have been where the horses ran through and something scared them off. Several grumbles flowed through the wind, which answered Ayla's suspicions. The noises turned into an incredibly familiar lion's roar, then high pitched wailing screams followed.
"Whinney, it's Baby! And I don't think he caught himself a horse. Let's go!" Ayla signed, and leaned forward. Whinney jumped and started galloping towards the opening of the blind canyon. She stopped the mare just before the entrance and jumped off. Whinney was glad to stay outside. When Ayla was inside, she saw a yearling horse lying in a puddle of crimson blood and a huge cave lion standing over two limp bodies.
Ayla ran over to see who Baby was guarding, not even thinking about other lions. She jumped in front of him, pushed him aside, then examined the two people laying on the ground. Baby recognized the young woman, mostly by scent, and the other two held a scent not far off from her own. The yearling seemed more appetizing anyways, so he left to drag the horse to a quiet location. As a medicine woman, Ayla's main focus was the wounds she found and how to keep them alive. Closer inspection told her that both were alive, but unconscious. Curiosity tried to win her over but the sounds of lions feasting not far away hurried her to get them back to her cave. She saw Whinney and beckoned her to come over. The mare was skittish, she knew cave lions lived in here, but the woman was a friend and she meant safety.
After attaching the harness to Whinney, she dragged the blond woman onto the travois. When she loaded the other woman on, she worried. How is Whinney going to pull both of them to the cave, especially if she is heavy with baby? Ayla sat down on a rock and tried to think of a way to get both women home. Panic was rising in her as the seconds flew by. Whinney was a strong horse that often carried big kills to the valley but she didn't want to strain the pregnant mare. She examined the women again. If she could lift the smaller one, she could ride on the mare's back. Ayla lifted her up, and with great effort, laid her across the horse's back. Whinney accepted the weight, though the smell left her wary. Ayla made a last few adjustments, then started out of the blind canyon.
After crossing the river, Whinney had a much better time with the load she carried. The trail was very familiar, and with Ayla walking beside her, Whinney climbed up the steep path with ease. Once on the stone ledge, Ayla slid the blond woman off of Whinney's back and set her down on her sleeping place. She walked back out to get the older woman off the travois. After she got them settled in, Ayla took the leather straps and poles off the patient mare, hugged her, and left her free to graze.
The medicine woman quickly examined the two once more, deciding which plants she would need. The older woman had a broken arm and a swollen bump on her head. The blond woman had a big gash on her left leg. Small cuts and scraps were of some concern but the bigger injuries were more important.
I need to set her arm right. If I don't, it could heal wrong, and she might not be able to use it again, Ayla thought. And what about the other? I can't sit there holding the tissues together so they heal correctly. She stood up, grabbed her knife, and started after the women. First, I should see if there are any more injuries. She started to cut a shirt off, but she looked more closely at the clothing they wore.
Pieces of leather were cut to fit the shape of the body, and string was threaded through little holes on the edges to hold them together. Shells, bone, and some feathers were also sewn onto the leather. How did they attach bone and shells to a hide? Ayla pushed the thought out of her head. It isn't important. She cut it off as close to the seams as possible, trying not to disturb the beautiful artwork. Only festering cuts were shown when she finished cutting off their clothing. How did they attach two different pieces of hide together? Do all the Others wear clothes like this?
Then, like a tree being struck by lighting, Ayla got an idea. Why not do to her leg like the Others did to their clothing? She picked up a piece of shirt, where the seams were still attached, and took a close examination. She tugged at the seams, seeing how strong they were. Would it be able to hold her leg together long enough? Ayla found some splinters of wood and sinew, then got to work.
She walked over to her plant rack, happy to have such a selection. First, some rose hips, chamomile, and willow bark for the tea. She also wanted to make a datura-tea for them, grabbing the colorful plant too, along with fresh alfalfa leaves to help blood clot. Beside the rack was Ayla's numerous medicine bowls. She picked a couple out and headed back to the women.
Her fire had long since been out. It didn't matter to her as much, she became very dependent on her firestones. Ayla gathered the materials needed, and had a fire up and blazing in under a minute. She placed a skin pot over it and added cool water from the stream. While waiting, Ayla went through everything she had to do. For the younger one, I need to set her arm right. The older one's leg needs to be tied up like their clothing was. When the water simmered, she poured some into each bowl. She added marigold petals and arnica flowers to one, letting it boil. The second, she added the alfalfa leaves to steep. The datura was made in another one.
She first took a cured rabbit skin, soaking it in the marigold petal solution, and cleaned all their wounds. Scabs were already starting to form on the cuts from Baby's claws. She fed the older woman half of the steeped alfalfa and half of the datura-tea. Once she was sound asleep, Ayla tried to set her arm. After some tugging and pulling, the bone was in its place and the arm looked normal again. Ayla added a head compress and fitted her arm into a sling to keep it in place. Then she sat back on her heels and took a deep breath. One down, another to go.
Turning to the other, Ayla fed her the rest of the teas. She took another piece of rabbit skin, soaked again in the marigold petals, and cleaned all dried blood. When her leg was clean, Ayla began making little holes along the edge of the tissue and skin. She took some sinew and carefully threaded it into two holes. The stitch seemed to hold well, much to Ayla's pleasure. It took six stitches to keep the tissues together and close the gap. She cleaned the blood off again then wrapped a fresh piece of leather around her leg.
By the time she was done, the sun had begun to rise. Ayla stood up, her legs aching from squatting by the women. She fixed the furs to make sure they were comfortable, then grabbed a few extra and headed to Whinney's sleeping place. Fatigue had overcome her excitement and worry about the two Others and fell asleep quickly.
...
The girl woke up before the sun rose the next day. She rolled off her back and was almost startled off her sleeping place. Across the fire two women of the Others lay in her sleeping place. One young with shoulder-length light blond hair and a trace of freckles across her nose. The other older with short brunette waves and both covered in nasty red scars. The whole last day spilled back into her memory. Ayla yawned, stretched, then got up and started some water boiling.
She made some tea for herself and checked the women's injuries. She was pleased to see the cabbage leaves relieve some of the festering. Both women looked much better than the day before; Rosh's arm looked normal and the bump on her head was gone. Ayla removed the leather from Tholie's leg and was delightful that her stitches worked perfectly. Everything was in place, but she decided to keep them in for a few days and let it heal more. She redressed the injuries with clean leathers and sat back to examine them more.
She remembered her reflection in the pond, and saw that these women had the same features: a high forehead, the boney knob under their mouths, and smaller noses. The more she looked, the more excited she grew. She couldn't wait for them to wake up so they could talk! The girls in the clan weren't allowed to be friends with the strange little girl... what if these women don't want to be friends either? Ayla's excitement vanished, but her worry vanished just as fast. She looked out the mouth of the cave, where squeals were coming from.
She ran out and saw Whinney laying on the ground with a membrane-covered blob coming out her backside. Ayla bent down to pull the foal the rest of the way out. Whinney breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to start cleaning her baby.
"He is so cute, Whinney. I am so proud of you," Ayla signed in her special animal language. "He is going to grow into a beautiful stallion. You have someone Whinney, and I do too. I can't believe it, after so long of being alone." Tears formed in Ayla's eyes; so many years of being alone. So alone. Whinney nickered, noticing her distressed posture. Ayla looked back to the mare and went to hug her tightly. I'm not alone anymore. I wasn't alone with you, Whinney, and now we have two women. Women of the Others! Ayla's grin was priceless. She jerked her head to the mouth of the cave, afraid something happened to them while she was with the horses. Both were exactly as she left them, asleep peacefully in their leather dressings.
"We can go out tomorrow, Whinney, when they wake up," Ayla motioned to the mare, "It'll be nice to run fast again." Whinney flipped her head up and down, as if to say, "It's fine with me!" Ayla laughed, and hugged both mother and son. They stood outside and watched the sunrise. Ayla couldn't remember the last time she watched such a beautiful sunrise.
Noises started emerging from the cave. Ayla's breath came faster as a flood of emotions filled her. What if they don't like her, or the Others aren't as great as she'd imagine, or what if she ends up not liking the Others, as her adopted family did? She tried to calm herself, then forced herself back into the cave.