Hunting party members were waking up, one by one. The outlook seemed less bleak with sunshine coming through the conifer trees, so they were slightly more hopeful than they were the night before. With the snowstorm over, if nothing else, search was to be far easier.
Wicket was still sleeping peacefully, holding onto the bizarre toy from his backpack. The noise around him, everybody getting ready and donning their hoods, Latara cackling at Widdle's jokes…none of it seemed to bother him. Once the pit was lit again, he turned around and hurled his blanket, giggling in his sleep. This got the attention of two younger hunters, who came closer and observed him, trying their hardest not to laugh.
"Is that a toy?"
"Chak! I cannot tell what it is supposed to represent, but a toy, nevertheless."
"How old is he again?"
"Fourteen snows, I was at his birthday party. That's also where the girl acted a bit strangely. She literally threw herself at me at some point. Ha! The future worn-out bordok cart in the making!"
"So, that is why she is in this party? I don't know which one of them is worse, but at least she is pretty…and a tart. Tarts are fun. Young boys aren't. Unlike her, he has something that prevents him from being fun - a little beetroot down there somewhere after all - so there is no excuse to keep him, no excuse of any kind, and m..."
The hunter stopped talking as he noticed that the golden-yellow eyes were angrily staring back at him. "I heard everything. I heard every single thing you two miserable lurdos just said and you make me sick!" Wicket got up and threw himself at the nearest offender, hitting him everywhere he could, roaring in his typical hot-headed fashion.
"K'vark! Take him off me, he's gone completely mad!" the surprised hunter, his hood already torn, was trying to reach for his club. But another hand was already on it.
"Greetings from the tart!" the husky female voice was the last thing he heard before he felt something hit him on the back of the head. And then he blacked out.
A little later, Wunka was sitting on one side, with Paploo holding Latara and Weechee Warrick holding a bare-headed Wicket, on the other. The injured warrior was lying down, with another holding a block of ice against the back of his head.
"So, what do we have here? A warrior apprentice, known troublemaker, attacked one of his experienced peers, then a hoodmaker apprentice clubbed him. Nho-Apakk, is Chubbray coming round?"
The light-grey Ewok nodded. "Chak, he'll be fine. She hit him pretty hard, but he's strong."
"Girls, they're so emotional sometimes! They're unhinged…" Chubray was coming round.
"Eat worms and die." Wicket yelled as loud as he could, prompting Latara to grin, "Perhaps she should hit you again and use your skull as a war trophy, so you stop talking like this! I am out of this stupid expedition. Of course we have not found food yet, because you're an incompetent bunch of lurdos!"
Weechee has never seen Wicket like this. He turned to Wunka, hoping for at least some understanding, but the party leader was not keen on letting the youngster go.
"This is it. You are out. We had our doubts about your maturity, but now you have crossed every single leather rope placed in front of you. Once this food crisis has come to an end, the Council of Elders will have a special hearing for you and you will most likely be stripped off your Belt of Honour."
"Speaking of 'stripped', can I at least pick my hood before I leave?"
As Weechee let his younger brother go and get his clothes and the backpack, Paploo crossed the path of the party leader, letting Latara go. "We need to talk."
"I don't have the time; we have to continue the expedition." Wunka said, looking at Wicket get out of the cave.
"You cannot say no to the carrier of the Great Horn of the Sistermoon. It's only second to the Sacred Horn of the Soul Trees."
The party leader swallowed a lump. Nevertheless, he let Paploo walk him back to the stone he was standing on minutes earlier.
"Wunka, you are pathetic. Wicket had already made the decision to leave on his own and whatever you may yell at him now just shows that you wanted this to happen all along. I am not sure if you have a problem with just him, or the Warricks in general."
"That's a lie, Paploo. And you know it. He had to pass through a steady dose of hazing and he was not taking it well. His brothers, back in the days, knew what a harmless joke was and, as you can see, I respect them."
"Harmless joke? I am guilty of many such harmless jokes, but I am not as delusional as you and I admit to poking fun at others every now and then. The main difference between you and me is that I do not do this when my tribe is in the danger of a food shortage! I am going to have a word with my cousin about this. She and her…father will be informed of my point of view regarding what you and your peers did to Wicket before they even get to hear your useless whining."
The injured Ewok spoke again "That's right, everybody's best friend and the future holy mother of every single villager…she's going to punish us! She breathes, eats, drinks and lives punishment! Just like this friend of hers breathes, eats, drinks and lives…something else."
Latara looked towards the Ewok she clubbed, hoping not to see despise on his face. He winked at her. She knew it was the time she made her decision.
"I am out of this nonsense hunt, too! The next time you need a leather worker, or, as you say, 'tart', you're perfectly free to strip some skin out of your own…beetroots, since they appear to be some sort of mountains piercing the outer space. Right? Goopa, guys."
Widdle raised his hand to say something, but seeing his brother sit down, with his elbows on his knees, he changed his mind. As Latara was getting out, following Wicket, Paploo muttered a couple of k'varks and picked his things as well.
"You'll have to continue your search for food without me. And since you already know what I am to do…good luck."
"Great, now she made one of our best young warriors follow her. Is he her boyfriend or something?"
"I knew women were causing problems. Why did I allow this? Why?"
A couple of hundred steps away from the cave, still trying to set his hood right under the weight of his backpack, Wicket turned around and saw Paploo and Latara running towards him clumsily, as fast as they could in their snowshoes.
"We are not going to let you walk home alone. It's too dangerous and all you have is that spear."
Wicket's face lit up. "Did the two of you…stand up for me? Did you abandon the hunt for me?"
"One could say so." Paploo nudged his friend, "And you did stand up for Latara beforehand, which was the last thing expected after the two of you tried to kill each other yesterday."
"They probably think I have two boyfriends right now. What a pathetic bunch. That said, this has been a great experience, until that lurdo called me a tart. You know…I am not afraid of anything right now." Latara hugged her friends and giggled, "Chubbray is lucky that I didn't reach for my weapon, instead of his club!"
"What do you mean?"
Latara opened her backpack and pulled out a large, crooked knife. "I call it 'Berry'…hehe!" she winked and caressed the blade with her nimble fingers, "I've had my eye on it for years, ever since I had seen dad use it for the first time, the night he came back home with a particularly large fish. If anybody tries to hurt me or my friends, they're going to get some Berry."
Wicket and Paploo were speechless.
"Who are you and what have you done to Latara?"
"What is Lumat going to think about this?"
"He doesn't know. He probably didn't even notice that I took Berry with me. All he's thinking about right now is how Teebo is a threat to my chastity. He's still stuck in the times long before the Ewok-Dulok wars. Chastity...isn't the life ironic? He thinks I'm an angel, these lurdos called me a tart. Can't beat them…"
Despite his remark from earlier, Paploo was sure that this was the Latara he knew, taking a new step towards adulthood, "And you know who you are and you don't care about what others say. Right?" She nodded and they both smiled.
Wicket smiled at first as well, but then he frowned. "I am worried about my reputation. What if this really ends up with losing my Belt of honour…again?"
"You and your reputation. You and your dumb belt. Relax. Paploo and I will stick up for you! I am sure Kneesaa and Teebo will, too. Let's go home!"
…
Gunlaag was now sitting at the table in Warok and Batcheela's hut, stuffing her mouth with food. Shodu and Bozzie were grilling some sausages and brewing vegetable stew, while the head of the family was eating with the guest, making sure she doesn't choke or pass out from exhaustion.
"So, you are Warok? I heard of you! You are quite a legend among all the Ewoks on Endor!" Gunlaag mumbled with her mouth full of food, "You saved your children from king Vulgarr, didn't you?"
The humble guard smiled. "I am not sure how that story got to your village, but it gets blown out of proportion. I could not have made it without our brave warriors and I could not have made it without my son, who solved the mystery behind his sister's disappearance!"
The old woman took a mouthful of sunberry juice and swallowed it, then sighed, "I see that your daughter is alive and well," she smiled to the little girl in a blue hood who was bringing the next dish to the table, "But what happened to that son of yours? Is he with the hunters?"
Having heard this, Batcheela, who was standing behind them, dropped a plate full of boiled grains with dried fruit. She grinned, muttered that she's clumsy and got on her knees to clean the mess, assuring Malani that she did not need any help. Warok shrugged and continued the discussion.
"No, my son is not aspiring to be a warrior. The Light Spirit and the Father Tree have blessed him with knowledge far broader than the one of an average Ewok. He can speak the languages of Phlogs, Firefolk and many others; and his powers are very strong with the forest creatures. He is studying to be a shaman; he is the student of master Logray! We are very proud of him, my wife and I!"
Gunlaag raised her eyebrow, "So, he is the one who hasn't said a single word to me when I was brought here earlier? The graceful princess came to my rescue, but your son did not seem interested, until he had a chance to jump at my words and contradict me!"
"I will talk to him about it." Warok took a large helping of what his wife managed to save from the dessert, "He worries too much about everything, from watching the stars to dealing with girls."
"Yubnub, that's sweet. Does he have a girlfriend?"
"No, he doesn't." Teebo interrupted the conversation, "Dad, you're doing that again. Shodu? Bozzie?" The two turned around from the fire pit, "I brought you the clay pots and bottles you asked for. I also prepared the healing elixir, as well as the warming shadowroot butter for this woman's frostbite. I can treat her injuries once she's done with her meal.
Gunlaag put her hands on her face "Young man, I couldn't possibly allow you to touch me!"
"I help Logray deliver, heal and check for illnesses; we don't have a dedicated healer."
"Logray would be a whole different story. How old are you?"
"Turning eighteen snows old in less than three moons. I know I look younger, but chak..." Tebo turned his head, "Why?"
"You have to respect my wishes. In my village; it's unacceptable that a young unmarried male treats a woman, from the age she starts counting her moons, up to her very last day. I want mistress Bozzie to help me instead. Thanks for taking your time to prepare these remedies, now you're free to go and perhaps hang out with your little girlfriend."
Teebo shook his head and left the bottle of elixir and the small wooden box on the table. "Bozzie, I hope you can get this done by yourself, sorry for the trouble. Shodu, those sausages look nice, can I have one?"
"Of course. Since you haven't had any at Wicket's party, this is a good chance to tell me if you like the way your mother and I seasoned them. That said; where is your mother?"
"I'll go find her."
Carrying his plate, Teebo went to the chamber where his parents usually slept. Batcheela was sitting in the large two-people hammock and having her lunch in silence. He took a hay-stuffed pillow and sat down next to her.
"These sausages are great, mom! You and Shodu should cook together more often. I love your take on Dulok glock, too, it was a good idea I talked about it after we had saved that Phlog baby some snows ago. Right?"
Batcheela just gave him a blank stare, as if something in the chamber smelled bad. Always hungry, he took a couple of bites from his plate and then looked at her again. She was not eating at all; she was just moving food from one side of the plate to another and soaking a piece of bread in the stew.
"Dulok glock. Duloks. Bloody Duloks! Do you remember that I almost lost you sister to a group of Duloks a lot like the ones this woman described earlier today? You told me about their leader, who held you in the air and told your father that they were to take you home in two baskets. Two baskets. And this was after he tried to behead your sister! Those are not Gorneesh's Duloks!"
How could he not remember the blade being held against his little wokling legs? "Mom, I said that earlier today. And…"
"And then she asks your father about the hunters. Right, Teebo? I don't like her. May the Father Tree forgive me, but I don't like her and I wish there had been a way to test her. Not sure how, but she is not to be trusted."
The young shaman was surprised. "D-Did you swap bodies with the head elder Kazak or something? You just said 'test' and that is what he's been doing to Kneesaa and me for the past couple of days. We didn't even get to talk about this, mom. This is the first time I am talking to you since my master left with chief Chirpa!"
She was used to her son saying the most unusual things from the moment the scruffy wokling first spoke in her arms, clinging to her chest fur; but she was not in the mood for jokes this time.
"This is not funny, Teebo. Think about it. You are smart. I am sure you will come to the same conclusion as me. I cannot tell Shodu and Bozzie about my doubts, but I can tell you, because I trust you not to have the 'silly women' view your father has or that 'she wants to be different' approach common to most Ewok women." Batcheela patted her son's forelock.
"I am going to the observatory. I need to clear my head. I'll nibble on a blade of grass, watch the sunset and then read the stars for the night. Perhaps this time I will get an answer."