On the fifth day, Mii'auww awoke just before daybreak, to find Nick's spark dancing above her nose. "MI, PCKG 4 U," he signed.
"What?" Mii'auww sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She pulled her tent flap aside and viewed the small nylon bag just a few feet away. "Can't be from anyone in the clan, we're not supposed to see anyone else during this time. "Did you see who left it?"
"JST A SHDW, HID WELL." Nick flitted outside as Mii'auww retrieved the bundle. He continued to hover about as the girl pulled at the drawstring of the navy-blue bag, reached inside, and pulled a half-dome-shaped something out. Something about the size of her head... something in tones of dark grey, with straps and a shade in front. It was some years old, and already sported an abundance of scuffs and scratches. Beneath, it was lined with foam and an adjustable plastic frame. Lettering on the side spelled out "TROXEL."
At this point, there was no more mystery. "It's a riding helmet. The people of the mountain use those. How long ago did this happen?"
"LTL WHL AGO. B4 U WKE."
"Only a few people who can move in and out like that without anyone seeing. That would be the users." Mii'auww reached back inside the bag. Sure enough, there was something else in there, a folded paper. A note it was, scribed in blue ink, in a semi-cursive style that Mii knew to be the hand of one of the teachers at Ash Mountain; the content of the text seemed also to be in Mrs. Delaney's typical style, though instigated by someone else.
Mii'auww
Kathleen happened to be flying over your site the other day and noticed that you were working with another horse, that one with the temper that your mother pointed out to me once. We know you are outgrowing your pony, and no one else seems to want that mare, but if you are riding her, you should have extra protection. Your mother would feel a lot better if you were to use this riding helmet for now. Good luck with your efforts..
Mrs. Delaney
For a moment or two, Mii'auww stood there, note clenched in one hand, helmet straps in the other. "That would be SO typical for Mama, and those other women. It was probably Kathleen or Shayla who dropped it off. Planes can make a lot of noise, but not those two!" Being "users", the Skyraider and the Harrier could go about almost unseen when they pleased, "almost" being "but for the utmost vigilance", which would require... another user to see. "Mama just can't leave me alone, can she?"
Nick, for the interim, seemed content to stand by and let her vent, as if sensing that saying anything now would get him nowhere. Mii was now growling as she dived back into her tent, "As long as I'm in range, I'll never be left alone. What is the point of a Passage if the grownups just can't keep their double-cursed hands off?" There followed some curses in both English and Dichavi, Mii's native tongue. Somehow the hard, guttural, Anglo-Saxon derived profanity of North American English had a certain catharritic value that even the darkest of Dichavi imprecations were hard-pressed to match. "Good thing it'll be my cousins' turn to watch the mares soon, because I am bloody well moving, to some place where nobody I already know can SEE me!"
At this, Nick's spark stopped and glimmered, as if in contemplation. Twenty feet away, N'Sheki grazed on the tether where Taki had been before. The chestnut pony had been released to graze on his own, but still wore the grazing muzzle so he wouldn't founder again. Taki couldn't be left to his own devices with the halter and muzzle on; he would either have to be looked after by Mii's cousins along with the broodmares or transferred to the care of the Ash Mountain people who kept their horses in paddocks and under a closer watch. It was just another issue that would have to be resolved before any other plans, his or Mii'auww's, could be acted upon. But Mii's issues with her mother could, ironically, open the gate to the next steps.
N'sheki stood knee-deep in the stream, pawing at the current while Mii'auww balanced herself on her thigh in the saddle, adjusting the horse's girth. The mare had only tried to bite her rider's toe twice today, better than the four times yesterday, one of which had been successful. A well-timed yell and smack were having their effects. It was no worse, no more cruel, than what any ranking horse would do to a rude subordinate. Nick was still around, buzzing over the stream, hardly distinguishable, in the daylight, from a thousand other flying specks, but he seemed to be getting a sense of when to stay immersed in the background noise of life and mind his own business. Good for him. Mii dropped her leg and regained her stirrup, allowed the mare to drink for a few more minutes, then resumed crossing. The spark followed along.
Though still a bit rude on the ground, N'sheki was becoming manageable enough from the saddle, showing a fast,smooth racking gait and a good canter, though she was still a trifle reactive to leg pressure. This still had to be worked through, for the Nomad style of riding depended less on hands and more on seat and legs. One couldn't shoot a bow from the saddle any other way. Maybe THAT part wasn't so important under the current circumstances, but Mii's comfort zone still demanded that flexibility in a horse. It would be resolved, but only with more work - "wet saddle blankets", as the Mountain people put it. Today's trail ride was intended to file down the rough edges a little more and reinforce yesterday's refresher lessons. It would also take her up a high ridgeback that bisected the lands of Kathleen's tribe, the highest topographical feature in the immediate area besides Ash mountain itself.
It took an hour to reach the crest of the ridge, which the locals called "The Red Treads". From there, Ash Mountain rose in the northwest like the back of a dark whale from a sea of scrub. A little more north of that was Cortez, the nearest city. South of the ridge was "The Four Corners" , where the boundaries of four states met at one point, and it was possible for a car to straddle it and have a tire in each state. A human could also do that, if they got down on all fours. Permanent political boundaries were another concept new to Nomads, who traditionally hashed out territories and resolved disputes at seaonsal inter-tribal meetings prior to the Chaos incursion. It had been an improvement over the wars and blood feuds of centuries before, and the Chaos raiders had reminded the survivors of why they had sought less violent ways of settling their differences, though, in the case of this latest invasion, reason was to no avail. There were still some people who wouldn't stop until they had a lance through their guts. Maybe not even then.
Mii'auww didn't need to look to see Nick's little mote drifting around her. "So where does this trail begin?"
Nick drew a line, pointing west, then north and curving east. "CLOSEST POINT IS THERE." He wasn't abbreviating now. "20 MILES TO GO. SAFE ENOUGH AFTER DARK, BUT WILL HAVE TO CROSS SOME ROADS. BUT IT'S SO FAR OUT, NOT MANY DRIVING AT NIGHT. NOT MANY LIGHTS. ONCE YOU GET TO THE TRAIL, IT'S WILDLAND, PRETTY MUCH. I'VE BEEN UP AND DOWN IT, I KNOW PLACES TO STAY IN THE DAYTIME AND WHAT YOU CAN FORAGE AND WHERE GOOD WATER IS."
"All right." Mii bit her lip as she considered the factors that Nick didn't have to tell her. They were getting into the dry season, which meant cold camps all the way. Her people were used to going long periods without much in the way of food or water, though it was good to know where both could be safely found. "My cousins will be coming over in a day or two. I'll leave the tent for them. Too big to pack anyway."
"THERE IS SHELTER." Nick answered. "FOREST IS DENSE. MANY SMALL CAVES AND BOX CANYONS, AND WHAT'S LEFT OF OLD LODGE OF THE TYCOON WHO WILLED THE LAND TO THE PARK SYSTEM. WELL AWAY FROM AREAS MOST PEOPLE GO. LOWER WALLS WERE STONE, THEY STILL STAND." Writing things full out caused the spark to go nearly cursive, though letters were still in caps.
Mii blinked. "You really need to learn to write in cursive."
"I HAD A MACHINE TO DO THIS WHEN I WAS ALIVE - AUTOGRAPHS AND STUFF. HARD TO DO MUCH WITH BLADES AND SKIDS."
Another blink. Only one of this world's "species" had both, or at least those that didn't have wheels to taxi on. "You were a helicopter?"
"YES. SMALL ONE. MY FRIEND WAS-IS BIGGER. GOOD-LOOKING GUY, HE HAD ALL THE GIRLS. COULD STILL GET THEM, JUST NOT IN THE GAME NOW."
"Some men get like that when they're older, that's what Grandmother says." Mii'auww hauled up a rein on the fidgeting mare. "Usually, they have reasons."
"HE HAS HIS."
"Something in the past, or now?"
"BOTH, SORT OF."
When Nick responded in shorter, choppier sentences, Mii took it as a cue that he was getting a little reluctant to go into further details on the matter. She turned her gaze back to the mare's flicking ears, which still pinned whenever the mote buzzed too close to her head. But it didn't stop her from wondering what he might have looked like in life. But that, like other things, would have to wait.
The packing was finished. Saddle bags, pommel bags, bed roll, hip bags, bow case and quiver. Mii had debated leaving the helmet behind, but that would get her mother going even more. They would buy that she was moving to a more private place; they just didn't know how far off THAT was. Scowling, she finally put it on.
Her cousins were due to take over herd watch the next morning. They wouldn't take offense if she wasn't there to speak to them. She just left a written note with instructions for looking after Taki - not to let him eat too much grass, when his next appointment with the farrier was, and so on. So that part of the education of settled people was useful in some ways, though she wasn't sure about the ultimate worth of computer training yet, though her people now had laptops and network access. Mii was leaving the cell phone, but taking the radio, flashlight and scanner. The phone was a hungry little beast and needed frequent sessions with the solar charger - impractical, as far as she was concerned. She would be packing jerky, pemmican and a few supplies for her rituals, but would be foraging for all other sustenance. With sunset, Mii finally mounted up and took an animal trail Nick had indicated, which led some miles to a tunnel beneath the highway. N'sheki's unshod feet would make little noise, even at a gallop. But they would be travelling, most of the time, at an amble - brisk enough, but sustainable over distance.
As Nick had predicted, they did have to cross a few back-country roads, in the dark. But they saw no one that night. In the small hours, they finally connected with the off-road trail.