Dean wasn't willing to leave the Impala behind but Mirai didn't want to leave hers behind either.
"Come on, every cop in the state is looking for that GTO," argued Dean.
"Maybe, but my equipment, supplies and everything are in it."
"So, we can move them into the Impala. We are safer in one vehicle where I can keep an eye on you."
"Oh, so now I need to be watched over like an infant. I have survived a long time without you. Big old Dean Winchester still trying to rescue everyone," snapped Mirai.
"Hey, you asked us for help, remember," interjected Sam.
"Yeah, and I am wondering why. Look, the state cops are looking for a GTO but the reservation cops won't be. It'll just be another old mud covered beast. They won't be looking for me out there."
"Yes they will, everyone thinks you killed that man. They will hunt you down and us with you. Do you want to be responsible for the number of cops killed when that thing attacks while you are in their custody?"
Dean almost got through to her there. She hated to think people were dying because of her but she also knew the features built into her car would go a long way to protecting her plus there was a lot of gear to move.
"Look, I know you are used to doing things your way but so am I. I would need to move too much gear plus my car has some added safety features. Why don't we take both?"
"What, we follow you and watch you die as the creature attacks while we are too far behind to help? That's about as stupid as I have ever heard."
Dean and Mirai argued back and forth in the little run down hotel room while Sam watched with a bemused look on his face. Eventually they compromised and Dean agreed to let Sam drive the Impala with Cas and he would ride up with Mirai in the GTO. He wasn't thrilled to leave the Impala in Sam's hands but he also didn't want Sam to go with the girl and face the Skinwalker alone either. Mirai slipped into the bathroom to get changed. Dean looked over at his brother and noticed his amused expression.
"What!?"
"Are you finally done with your little domestic spat?" laughed Sam. He was enjoying watching his brother on the loosing side of an argument for a change.
"Bite me!"
Sam laughed and started packing up his gear. Mirai was ready in a few minutes. She tossed Sam his shirt, "Thanks for this, I didn't think to grab a bag or anything when Cas brought me in."
"Sure, anytime," came his half hearted reply. Inside he was thinking it odd she thanked him when she had really just stolen it. He shoved it into the bag and headed out to the parking lot.
Dean felt a little weird watching the Impala pull out as he climbed into the passenger side of the GTO. He barely had time to settle into the seat before Mirai started to peal out.
Something screamed out of her speakers as they headed north toward the Navajo reservation.
"What the hell is the noise?" he yelled out over the echoing screams.
Mirai turned down the stereo, it's Mastodon, Bladecatcher,isn't it perfect?" She smiled and reached to turn it back up.
He grabbed her wrist, "Don't you have any music in this thing?"
"Hey, driver picks the tunes!" she laughed and spun her hand out of his grasp. She left the volume lower though.
"Where's the cassette deck in this thing anyway?"
"Cassettes? Those are old school crap, this baby has a state of the art stereo with an MP3 dock. Don't worry, old man, I put it on shuffle and there will be some other stuff coming up later for an old geezer."
"Geezer, I'm no older than you. Just because I like real music doesn't make me ancient. Also, do we really need to go this fast? I want to get there in one piece"
"Oh, so the Big Bad Dean Winchester is scared of a little speed? Come on, I haven't even topped 120 yet. Why have a car like this if you aren't going to drive fast? Like you always drive that Impala at 35? Don't worry, these roads will be deserted, not a cop in sight and the worst we might have to do is dodge a sheep," Mirai laughed as she flew past Sam in the Impala and fishtailed around a curve.
Dean leaned further back into the seat and forced himself to breathe.
"So, did you really see your father killed?" he asked after a few minutes.
Her foot eased off the gas as she took a few moments to compose herself. "Yes, I was 23. Something came into the house and attacked, well several somethings. I managed to kill one in the living room. The others had chased Marcus.. my foster father... into the workshop. The house was burning... I crawled down the hallway. I knew the workshop was fireproof. When I got in there the last demon, or whatever it was, had Marcus trapped, I tried... I ... I was too late. I threw a spear into it as it pulled Marcus's heart out of his chest. It disappeared as the spear hit it. I still dream about that night, unless I drink enough to bury it. I was ready to die, I had laid down to die and next thing I knew I was in a park in Lawrence, KS of all places. By the time I made it back, most of the house was gone, Marcus was gone, and I knew there was no safety. I have been in hiding and running ever since."
"I know that feeling, so this car is home for you?" Dean kept up with the questions as she seemed to drive a little slower while answering them.
"Most of the year, but I have a home, an actual building where I am as safe as I can be. I retreat there in the winter, make weapons, and so forth which I take out to sell over the summer. I have had a few things try to kill me, many more try to follow me, since everyone assumes a girl can't be the Smith, but so far none have come as close as this thing. It's powerful, more so than any I have encountered before."
"We're meeting an actual medicine man?"
"Yes, a Hatali, they are like priests, doctors and singers all wrapped into one. Martin, damn, I can't believe I got Martin killed after all these years,... anyway he said the Hatali would meet me at the chapter house. It's kind of like their city hall. Or would be if they had a city"
"Cool, I've never met a real medicine man before."
"Well, it's not like the movies so don't expect it to be like that."
"Why did it scare you that Cas was an angel?"
"I wasn't scared. I was just surprised. I mean, really I woke up to learn he wasn't your boyfriend and then he wasn't even human," Mirai tried to deflect the question and turned up the music a little bit. Dean reached over and turned it back down. Although at least it had shifted to something a little less screeching.
"I know fear when I see it. You aren't as lily white as Cas wants me to think. Is that why you are scared of him? "
"Oh, I won't deny I am not perfect but that's not it. I met an angel before. It didn't end well, for either of us. I'd rather not talk about it."
Dean's phone rang before he could press her on it.
"Hey Sam, Yeah I know this thing is a beast. I mean the Impala is still better but this does really fly. Yep, we are still on that road. What do you mean Cas was worried he couldn't find us. He should be able to find the car no matter how fast it goes!"
"About that..."piped up Mirai, "This car is almost as safe as Slacker's. There are anti-angel, anti-demon and all sorts of other things worked into it. He won't be finding us that way. Tell Sam we are going to Navajo Mountain Chapter house, that's all they need to know."
"Yeah, Sam did you hear all that. I don't know how she did it. It's actually a really good idea. Yes, we will meet you there and that car better not have a scratch on it."
"Let's just say it's better if no one can find me. I can create almost any weapon even those that kill angels or lesser demons. That makes me dangerous," Mirai pointed out when Dean hung up.
"Any weapon? Really, anything?"
"Oh, yes. I mean, I sometimes need help from someone for specific rituals or materials but yes, anything. Why, you think a girl can't do things?"
"Well, it's unusual. I mean even big swords? You probably weigh less than some of those."
"I am stronger than you think," she laughed. Dean shut up as he realized the music had shifted from the screaming metal to something he could get behind. She did have some classic rock and the stereo in this car did sound really good. Even as he thought it, he felt guilty about thinking these thoughts about a car other than the Impala. He also found it a little strange to be in the passenger seat with someone other than Sam driving.. He found himself staring out the window at what turned out to be a whole lot of nothing. There was dust, sage brush, broken glass, and the occasional dead animal. Every so often he would see a run down house with a set of corrals outside and some sheep wandering around.
"Why would anyone live out here?"
"It's their home. Where else would they go?"
"Someplace with trees?"
Mirai laughed at that. "This part of the rez is pretty ugly but there are some real nice areas. We are heading to one of the nicest, trees and everything."
"Sure, and unicorns piss rainbows."
"Of course not, that's Nyan cats. I can't believe you didn't know," she laughed.
Dean sat there wondering what kind of monster a nyan was while she turned up the radio. Poison Whiskey by Lynyrd Skynyrd echoed through the car as they sped through the desert. An hour into the drive he had enough. He wasn't used to just sitting and really wasn't comfortable with someone else driving. "Time to pull over. We need to switch drivers and tunes," he yelled at Mirai over more that screeching death metal she seemed to favor. She looked over, and seemed to think for a minute. "Okay, I'm kind of hurting anyway, but this not like your Impala. Midnight needs a gentle touch." Mirai pulled into a gas station. She started the gas pumping and went inside to the restroom while Dean waited. In the dingy little bathroom she swallowed a couple more pain pills chased down with some whiskey from a flask she kept in her bag. She rinsed out her mouth with the brackish water from the faucet and headed back out. The pills would take off the edge and hopefully she would be able to relax a little. When she stepped out, Dean was already settled into the driver's seat. He looked much too comfortable there and it kind of freaked her out to think of him driving. It had been a very long time since anyone but her had driven the GTO. She eased into the passenger seat and took a deep breath as she handed him the keys.
"First things first, you need to change the music. I am not listening to someone slaughter a guitar while I drive."
Mirai glared at him but reached into the glove box and changed the song. AC/DC's Highway to Hell started up and Dean glared back for a moment as he eased the car into gear. He let out the clutch and the car lept forward, rear wheels spinning and throwing up gravel as they pulled onto the two lane highway.
"I told you, she needs a gentle touch. You can't manhandle her like you do that Impala. You keep dropping that clutch and I am switching to Horna. If you think Mastodan was rough, that one will drive holes in your brain."
Dean settled in to the drive fairly easily, enjoying the smooth ride. The music began to shuffle through one classic rock tune to another. He was surprised that she seemed to know what song he would normally want to play next and even more surprised that she repeated some of them. Of course his brother knew he listened to the same five or six albums over and over but how could she have figured that out.
Mirai stared out at the sage brush and red dirt wondering if the car was actually possessed. As soon as Dean was behind the wheel, the music seemed to shuffle according to his tastes. It would have concerned her more if it wasn't such an innocuous sort of thing. Maybe it was just luck of the shuffle. It seemed like a whole lot more than 3 hours before Mirai directed Dean to pull off on a side road leading up to a mountain. It really was a whole lot nicer than he expected. The road narrowed and began to twist and turn up towards the mountain. The arroyos and hills on either side turned from desolate dusty sage brush to tree covered red rocks. They drove a short while until they came to a small set of buildings. Mirai pointed out a spot in front of one and headed inside without waiting for Dean. He rushed to catch up as she walked into the odd shaped building. The six sided building leaned slightly and the dull gray paint was peeling off in large chunks. Once inside the door, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. He almost grabbed his FBI ID out of habit after seeing the grim looks people were giving him. Mirai put her hand on his arm and shook her head slightly at him.
"Hi, Martin Yellowhorse sent me here. I am supposed to meet a Hatali," she directed her attention to the middle aged woman behind the front desk.
"You that slip of a girl helped him out after the incident?" came a gravelly older voice from the left side of the room.
Dean turned to see an older man leaning on a cane. He wore a Seattle Mariner's baseball cap, a Gun's and Roses t-shirt and jeans. His long hair was salt and pepper and pulled back in an unusual pony tail. It was looped and wrapped with white string or cord. The man's face was leathered from the sun. His eyes were dark and kind beneath the wrinkled lids.
"Yeah, I guess I am. I need your help Grandfather and I have bad news."
"If you mean about Martin I already know he's in the hospital down in Flagstaff. Some kind of rabid dog attack. "
He noticed her look of relief, "You didn't know he survived. My nephew was too strong to die from something like a dog."
"It wasn't a dog. It was the same type of thing that took his mother and I think it's after me now. I need your help to kill this thing."
"If you haven't noticed I am a little old to be hunting down the Yee naaldashi. I sure can't run after it with my cane. Or is that why you have this Bilagaana towering over you?"
"Yes, Grandfather, he is here for that part, I need your help getting the spear. Please can we go share some coffee to discuss this while we wait for some other friends."
"Sure, we'll just head over to the Starbucks," he smiled and moved toward the door.
"Starbucks? Wow, they really do have them everywhere" said Dean. On the short walk over he leaned in to Mirai and asked "Is that really your grandfather?"
"No, out here it's a term of respect, like saying sir only more so."
The old man led them to a little shack next door. Inside were a couple tables and a little deli counter. Mirai went up to the counter ordered three coffees and some pastries and brought everything back to a corner table where the old guy had taken a seat. Dean was a little confused by all of this. Obviously the Starbucks thing was a joke but really this old guy in a ratty hair-band t-shirt was some great medicine man?
"So, Martin told me who you are but he didn't mention a Biligaana." the old man nodded towards Dean.
"Grandfather, I am sorry we really should introduce ourselves properly. I am Lanie Smith, I have no parents but I was raised by woman from the bitter springs clan for several years. This is Dean Winchester, he is as you guessed, Bilagaana. His mother was Mary Campbell, his father John Winchester. He's a sort of a specialist."
"What is this Biligaana he keeps calling me?" Dean leaned over and asked Mirai.
"It basically means whitey," said the old man. "And don't assume I am deaf because I look old. He better be good at what he does for you girl," he leered a little as he said it.
"Oh, he's good all right" she smiled back.
"Great, just great, " muttered Dean.
"Hey at least he assumed you're straight," Mirai laughed and took another sip of the rot gut coffee.
The old man looked at them thoughtfully before he continued, "I know more of your history than you think young lady and your mother was Yaqui, your father bilaganna. Your mother left you in Flagstaff to protect you and hide you and you may use Lanie, but your real name is Mirai, you were her little miracle."
"How did you ... Did you know my mother? Is she still alive?"
"No, she died shortly after leaving you in that fire station. She died to keep you safe and away from this life"
"I... never knew. I didn't chose this life, it found me."
"Hey, back off on her plus why haven't you given us your name," Dean jumped in.
"Ah, I didn't mean to hurt her. I wanted her to know who she really was, where she came from and understand that her mother wanted to save her not just abandon her. As for me, I am called Sani Tallfeather. I was born to the Mud clan and born for the Yaqui tribe. You called me grandfather out of respect but we are clan-related on your mother's side as well. I know Martin said you had the money for me but I will do this for free for you on one condition, you make 10 of these for me now and more when I need them. I will hand them out to the young men and we will kill them all. No more of my family, or my people are going to be attacked by these things. It is time we finished off these creatures for once and for all," He slapped the table hard enough to knock over Dean's coffee cup. Mirai grabbed some napkins and started sopping up the mess. It was cleaned up just before Sam and Castiel walked in the door.
"Hey Dean, glad we found you at the local Starbucks. Do you think you could have driven any faster?" Sam slapped his brother on the shoulder.
"Hey, it was the car. Don't blame me," Dean raised his hands.
Mirai got some more coffees and pastries for the other two.
"Grandfather, this is Sam Winchester. He is Dean's brother. This other gentleman is Castiel, Castiel..." she looked at Cas to get the rest of the information.
"I know him granddaughter, I know his lineage as well," Sani said after it was obvious Cas was not going to respond. He had pondered waiting to see what they would come up with but decided it would be better to save them that headache. He knew the white man's god had disappeared and left these angels running around like wild goats. He hadn't expected to see one out here though.
"Now we are all here, Mirai, I am glad you planned ahead and got several helpers. We have a lot of work to do and at least one of them looks big enough to help haul a tree or two. Finish up your coffee. We can stay at my grandson's house by the mountain tonight and get a fresh start in the morning."
Sam gulped down his danish and ate Castiel's too. They didn't stop the entire way trying to catch up with his brother and he was hungry, thirsty and angry.
They all headed out to the parking lot a strange procession that was watched closely by everyone around the area. It would soon be the center of talk in the small community as people tried to figure out what the Hatali was doing with all those big Biligannas. As they walked around the building back to where their cars were parked, a beat up dusty Ford Ranchero pulled up next to them. Mirai and Dean both let out small groans as Garth stepped out of the beater.
"Fancy running into you all here," he smiled as he stepped out of the car.
"Hi Garth," came several quiet voices. Only the Hatali remained silent, sizing up this new man.
"Are you guys here about the yeti? I don't know that we need this many of us."
"No, Garth, this is something different, kind of personal," piped up Mirai. Dean looked over surprised. This girl seemed to know everyone. Why hadn't they heard of or met her before?
"You okay Lanie? I can wait on this yeti and help you guys out instead."
"No," came from Sam, Dean and Mirai while the Hatali smiled out a resounding "Yes".
The others looked to the older gentleman in shock.
"Grandfather, I hate to be disrespectful, but you don't even know him. Are you sure you want him helping with this?"
"Oh, yes, I am sure. We need to cut down two cactus and strip them. It will be a perfect job for this man. He has a peace to him that will be good for the ceremony. Come along all of you, I will get you set up at my grandson's and then show this young man where he is needed."
Mirai smiled and gave in. Of course, she realized, it was considered taboo to cut down a cactus so they would need someone outside of the normal ceremony and the hunt to do the actual work. This would save the old man from having to ask one of his family to do it.
"I will help however you need," smiled Garth.
They walked the rest of the way over to their vehicles while Garth turned his around. Sani spotted the two muscle cars. "We can't take those where we are going. Why wouldn't any of you drive a something useful? We can get them to my grandson's but then we will have to take my truck from there."
They made quite the parade driving through the peaceful community one after another. Mirai was following the rather complicated directions of the old man twisting through several dirt roads and across various places, Dean was back behind the wheel of his baby following the GTO, and Garth made up the tail of the procession. Kids would run up to their fences to watch the cars go by. They knew something was up. After about 15 minutes they pulled up in front of an older mobile home. It was covered in dust, at least one window was boarded up and there were tires on the roof. The yard was filled with chickens, sheep and a couple of horses. Dean felt like they were in some other country at this point. The door opened as Sani stepped out of the GTO and a young man in jeans came down to greet them. He shooed the chickens away as he walked smiling to greet the older man.
"Grandfather, I thought you said it would only be a young lady," came his quiet voice.
"Ah, yes, I thought it would be but she brought along a few helpers. This tall one back here is going to help with the cactus," smiled Sani as he looked over at Garth.
"I will take him over there if you want to get these guys settled, they might have to sleep on the floor, or share beds or something. You know I don't have a lot of room here."
"This is my Grandson, Eugene Yazzie, He is kind enough to let us use his house tonight. As he mentioned, I did not realize we would need beds for so many but I am sure we have enough blankets to go around and can work out something. Eugene, this is Lanie, Dean, Sam, Castiel and ..."
"Garth," filled in Dean.
"Ah yes, Garth, the peaceful man, Please do take him over to the cactus and let him know what to do. We need at least a pickle jar full of the paste."
"Yes Grandfather, just don't eat all the stew before we get back," smiled Eugene as he started walking towards Garth's car.
Sani led the others into the small home while Eugene and Garth pulled out of the driveway.
The inside of the home was cozy with colored wool blankets scattered across old comfortable furniture. The entire house smelled of some kind of meat cooking and there was a middle aged woman frying something on the stove. Dean looked closer surprised to see it looked like a thick tortilla or some kind of round flat bread. The house felt very crowded once they all settled in, some around the small round kitchen table others on various chairs scattered around the living room. A TV in the corner was showing the weather report but it was in some foreign language so all Dean could tell is it looked like sunshine mixed with rain. Sani shut if off and motioned for them to relax.
"The woman over at the stove is my niece, Marlene. She offered to come cook for us but of course I thought it would only be two extra mouths, I am sure she will find a way to feed us but I should go apologize. Please, for now just rest a moment," he smiled at them and then worked his way to the kitchen. He began speaking to the woman in Navajo but even without the words, you could tell she was angry at first, then darting looks at the strangers she slowly softened and eventually everything seemed to be okay. A few minutes later she was even smiling at them as she brought the food to the table.
"It's mutton stew and fry bread, I don't have much of anything else for you but maybe Eugene will think ahead and pick up some cobbler on the way home," she said as she began handing out small bowls.
Dean and Sam were surprised to find the stew was actually much more like soup with a very thin almost clear broth and filled with chunks of meat, carrots and potatoes. It was pretty good even if the mutton was kind of odd tasting but then neither of them had really eaten sheep before. Mirai dug in with relish. She had really missed this. She finished up her bowl quickly then drenched her fry bread in honey to create her own dessert. The boys followed suit. Cas meanwhile nibbled a bit at the bread with some honey but had refused the stew. He didn't really need to eat and he knew they didn't have so much they could afford to share needlessly. Sani gave him a soft look of thanks as if he knew what the angel was thinking.
"Do you have any beers in that fridge, a cold brew would go perfect with this," asked Dean.
The old man and woman shared a look and then Mirai piped up,"There is no alcohol on the Navajo reservation. It's against the law here."
"None, no beer, no wine, no whiskey? How do you do it?" Dean was shocked. He had heard of dry counties before but had never experienced a place that had no alcohol at all.
"Well, smugglers bring some in once in a while but its a federal crime and more trouble than it's worth. I am sure you can survive a night or two without that poison," muttered Marlene as she moved back to the kitchen. Dean was thinking of the bottles in the trunk of the Impala and wondering what kind of trouble it would bring if he sneaked one of those in.
Garth was excited and surprised to be included in whatever was going on. Eugene drove him out to a large empty field. In the center were two very large cacti.
"So, Garth, I guess they didn't tell you much about this or you wouldn't have volunteered," smiled the Navajo as they walked up to the cacti.
"Nope, but Lanie is real important to me, a good friend, and I would help her with anything," answered Garth seriously.
"Well, this isn't really that complicated, all you have to do is take these two prickly pear cactus apart leaf by leaf. You will need to blanch the leaves to remove the stickers, clean off the skin and then crush the insides into a thick paste in this jar. You have to do this with a knife made the old way, out of chert," he handed Garth what looked like a piece of rock with one sharp edge and then moved a few steps a way to start a fire. Once the fire was going strong he put an old blackened pot over it so Garth could blanch the leaves in it.
Garth looked at the rock, then at the cactus, and realized what he had gotten himself into. He was going to suffer for this one. He started to walk up to the first cactus when Eugene reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Take my gloves, you will need them," Eugene had taken pity on the man. He had to admire someone who loved his friends enough to be willing to stick his hand into a cactus for them.
As Garth began to cut leafs off one by one, Eugene began to tell him a story.
"This mountain, it's a special mountain you see. Not one of the Sacred mountains but still very important. It is the Head of the Earth Woman. When the people first came to this area they found hope here. Of course the Earth Mother protected them and granted them safety on her lower slopes. One day a small boy decided to break tradition and climb the mountain to the top. See, we don't go to the tops of our Sacred mountains, that is not a place for humans but this boy he didn't want to listen to the old people. Instead he slipped out one morning and began to climb up to the top, well above the spring, well above the sacred cave, all the way up to the snow line. He was soon very tired but not scared in the least. He was sure his grandparents just told silly stories to scare him so he kept climbing up past the clouds to the top of the mountain. He stood up there and smiled out at the rest of the world. He felt that he could see everything from here and thrilled he had ignored the traditions. But, of course there are reasons we don't mess with certain things and a voice came rumbling from the back of the mountain. It shook the ground and made him a little nervous even as he enjoyed the view. "Go back little one, the clouds are not for you."
"Hah, you just don't want to share but I am smart and brave and I think the clouds can be for me too," he yelled back. He wasn't a very bright young man after all. Now, our gods, I guess you would call them, aren't like the white man's god, they are kind in their own way but the boy had broken the rules. Instead of killing the boy, the mountain decided to give him the clouds and changed him into a blue bird. The boy flew away from the mountain and was never seen by his family again."
Garth had found a rhythm to his cutting while listening to the story and had a large stack of cactus leaves before he knew it. It was starting to get dark and he was cutting by the light of the fire. Even with the gloves, he ended up with cactus needles in his hands and arms. He was beginning to wonder about the wisdom of doing this but he also wanted to help Lanie. He had always liked her and knew she must really be in trouble if she was getting the Winchesters to help her.
Blanching the leaves went better than cutting and once the needles were gone, the rest of the process was very simple. He did end up covered in sticky cactus goo which seemed to make the stickers in his arms hurt worse. He would be very glad to be done. Eugene shared various stories with him during the night but for some reason the image of the little blue bird flying away from the mountain really stuck with him. It seemed a little odd that the boy would be punished just for climbing a mountain but then again, maybe being a bird wouldn't be so bad. Once he had filled the large pickle jar with paste Eugene put out the fire and led him back to the truck. He was tired, hungry and hurting from the tens of stickers in his arms.
"Why do you need this anyway," he asked Eugene as they drove back to the house.
"The Hatali will use it to coat the spears they are making. It's powerful magic to use cactus around here. In fact only the most well trained medicine men will use it."
"Spear, what does Lanie need a spear for?"
"She's got a Navajo witch after her. They are tough to kill so she needs something powerful to protect her."
"I will face it down, just get me the spear," Garth was thinking this would be his chance to impress her.
"I'm sorry but now that you have gathered the cactus you can't be involved in anything else for the ceremony. In fact, you will have to leave the area in the morning. It's taboo to cut cactus, and you can't risk ruining the ceremony by being anywhere near it."
Garth rode the rest of the way quiet. He had wondered why the old man had jumped at including him. Of course the Winchesters were important and he wasn't so now they could shove him away again. He wondered if he would ever be treated as an equal by them. He was a hunter too!
Eugene glanced at the quiet man in the passenger seat. He wasn't very good at reading emotions in white men but he thought the young man might be a little too quiet.
"If it helps you feel better, I don't think Lanie knew what it meant for you to do this. It is also a really important part of the ceremony. If you hadn't done it, I would have had to. I would have had to leave my home, my family, everything until I could be purified," he tried to soothe the other man.
"Yeah, well, it always seems to work this way. I don't know that Lanie even really sees me. Maybe I should give it up and go back to hunting the yeti instead."
"Yeti, here? We don't get those here. You need to go up to the Cree or Blackfoot reservations for those man," laughed Eugene.
"Really, I figured any big mountain would do. Blackfoot huh?"
The rest of the drive back they chatted about where yetis were likely to be found, and whether a yeti was different from a sasquatch or not. By the time they got back to the house they had started a strong friendship and Garth was over his upset about having to leave the next morning. Lanie was always more of a friend than anything else anyway.
When they pulled up to the house the whole crew was outside staring up at the starlit sky as the old man pointed out various constellations. Eugene led Garth into the house to get cleaned up and eat. He was amazed to find there was still stew and frybread for them. Marlene sat down with Garth and removed the cactus stickers from his arms. She rubbed a salve into his arms and the pain and tingle went away almost instantly. He enjoyed the fry bread and the quiet company of the two Navajos. Shortly after eating, they joined the others outside to stare at the stars.
Authors Note: The story included here is not a traditional Navajo story although some items are true to Navajo culture as I understand it. They do consider several mountains in the southwest to be Sacred and have many taboos although the method used above is nothing that I know of being used in any of their traditional ceremonies. If you ever get a chance to visit the Navajo Nation, I highly recommend doing so with an open mind and willingness to leave behind your preconceptions about Native Americans. They are an amazing group of people and it is well worth a trip just for the fry bread. Just leave the alcohol behind. That is really against the law in most areas of the reservation.
