THE SHE-WOLF AND THE RAVEN

Chapter 10: LaPush

"After [the woman who married the dead warrior] had been there a considerable while, and the child was several years old, the woman persuaded her husband to take her across the ocean to visit her people. They left the little boy with his grandparents and went to Quileute. The people there saw them coming. Everybody went down to the beach to meet them. When they landed, the people were surprised to hear the strange woman speaking the Quileute tongue.

"Then a woman exclaimed, 'That is my sister who went to the Prairie with me to dig ferns in the long ago. She is my sister who saw the dead man's head on a pole, and wished to marry him. And that night he came and took her away. Yes, it is my sister.'

"The couple stayed and visited and feasted a long time. Then the woman's parents wished to see their grandchild. So they persuaded the husband to go back across the ocean and bring the child over to this coast to see them. Again there was great feasting and rejoicing. But when the man wished to return to his home with his wife, she had decided not to leave her native village again. So he had to go home alone.

"That is why we Quileute try to marry women in our own tribe. Should we marry a woman from another tribe, and should she ever go home again, it is difficult to get her to return to her husband's home."

Ooooo

Five sets of eyes anxiously met Loki's, each full of questions. Loki cocked his head to one side and gave them the special half-smile he reserved only for those he bothered to care about.

"We will be departing for the homeland of your mother," he told them. Isaac whined slightly and his dark, lupine eyes grew even more eloquent in their search for answers. With a slight tremble, Sarah appeared in her human form. With a snap of his fingers, her long, emerald green dress covered her. What had started as the cape of a prince, with a few adjustments, was now a simple, but elegant enough garment for the daughter of a disgraced Asgardian royal. She gave him a piercing gaze (that she so clearly inherited from him) and he bit back a chuckle.

"Yes, Sarah?" Loki asked. "You wish to ask a question?"

Her mother had done an admirable job instructing the girl in the basic mechanics of speech. Between her halting spoken words and the mental imagery Loki could glean with a simple spell upon her forehead, he could understand her. She stood tall, though her head only came up to his chest, and she placed one hand upon her brother's shoulders as she spoke.

"Why him?" Sarah asked with disdain. She motioned to where Leah still spoke in-length with the towering wolf-man and she frowned. "Why is he here?"

Loki raised one eyebrow in question and considered her. "What do you know of this man?"

Sarah glared over his shoulder at the man in question. "She thinks about him sometimes when she forgets not to. He makes Mama sad."

She took his hand and placed it on her forehead than flooded her mind with her memories -- the thoughts only shared by their peculiar wolf-bond with their mother. Despite her best efforts, Leah could no more hide her innermost thoughts from her children than she could hide her emotions from him. While plagued with a slight inkling of guilt at his voyeurism, he was too intrigued by the opportunity to unearth the answers to his questions to refuse. Sarah's mind filled with the hazy memories of dreams, of half-finished memories, of quickly ended thoughts -- all surrounding the wolf-man and what he had once been…and still was…to Leah.

"Why Sam?" Sarah asked when she finished sharing what she thought to be pertinent information.

"Your uncle, the brother of your mother, is to marry," Loki answered. "She must return to attend to the ceremony."

Sarah considered this with the solemnity only a mature child could muster. Isaac gave a slight whine and lowered his head onto her shoulder. She nodded in some manner of understanding. "Uncle Seth is important," she said with a confident nod.

"It is time you are introduced to your kin and your people," Loki added. "Now that we know you can take on this form, you also need to know how to live in the manner of your people."

"I suppose. But Mama worries," Sarah said. "She worries they won't like us in the same way they didn't like her."

Yet another piece of information Loki had failed to glean from the woman herself. He had felt her anxiety and her mixed emotions when she spoke of going home, but she had never elaborated on the underlying causes of her worries. He sighed and rubbed his temple with his left hand.

"Why would they dislike your mother? She is their daughter," he asked in an attempt to understand.

"She wasn't supposed to be a wolf," Sarah answered, as if that would clear up all his confusion instead of only adding to it.

"If anyone gives you or your mother a difficult time, I swear to you, I will skin them alive and make you a very fine wolf skin coat to wear in winter times," Loki answered and he produced his knife to support his threat. He took his daughter's hand and pressed a kiss onto it. She gave a nervous smile and ran a hand through her dark waves of hair, so similar to her mother's save for the waves.

"Isaac still can't change," she said. "He keeps trying, but it hasn't worked."

Isaac licked his sister's head and she rubbed his head with her hand in response.

"You will, eventually," Loki responded assuredly.

Isaac closed his eyes and panted slightly before he collapsed onto the ground with a whine. Loki ran his hand through the wolf's soft, cream-colored fur and scratched especially hard behind his ears. Then he leaned over and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper, "Then once you master a human form, we can work on an eagle or a moose."

Isaac gave a wide grin and licked Loki's hand.

"Eagle!" Sarah said and she flapped her hands in imitation of the bird. She lost her balance and Loki barely caught her in time to keep her from tumbling onto the ground.

"Not quite yet," he answered with a chuckle. "You need to steady yourself walking on two legs and practice your human speech before we move on to imitating the movements and speech of other creatures. It is preferable to master one before attempting another. Now, come. It is time we depart. There is a long journey ahead of us and the pups cannot travel as far or as fast as the rest of us. We will need to pace ourselves and take turns carrying them."

The three pups in question chased each other in a circle in excitement. As Sarah phased and he sent her dress back into storage, he made a note to himself to figure out an enchantment that would allow the clothing to appear and disappear automatically when she phased without his intervention.

When they rejoined Leah and the wolf-man, they were both in wolf form already. Leah had her dress tied to one foot and he laughed quietly to himself. He would need to teach her more convenient methods of carrying belongings in future as well, but he preferred to watch her clumsy movements with her burden for the time-being. The rush of ire which would doubtlessly cross her face when she discovered she harbored her burden needlessly would more than repay him for his reticence and his patience.

ooooooo

It took over a week to reach the small cottage deep within the small village situated on the shores of the ocean. The cottage belonging to the family of the Clear Waters lay hidden between towering, moss-covered firs. Every inch of the grounds around the house were suffocated by ferns and dense undergrowth. The air itself was so saturated in moisture it seemed to cling to the sky itself and paint the overhanging heavens into muted shades of charcoal. The dense clouds erased all the heavenly bodies from view and wrapped the earth below in a constant blanket of damp, drizzling rain.

The cottage, though freshly cleaned and stocked with provisions, was soaked with an air of long disuse. The front door wasn't locked and Leah opened it without knocking, as one does when returning only to those places deemed "home."

The pups, having never seen the inside of a Midgardian dwelling, stared at the enclosed space with wide eyes. The little ones rushed through the house as if waiting would make it all disappear. They nosed at the plush pillows of a couch and rolled onto the carpet with their tongues lagging from their mouths and jumped upon each chair they came across. Sarah, in her human form, clung back to the shadows, observing the space with keen, uncertain eyes.

"Everyone is going to have a bath," Leah said with an air of finality as she turned to the room now bursting with fur and wolves. "We need to be quick since the bonfire will start in only two hours. You'll get to meet everyone there and officially be initiated and welcomed. Isaac -- how about you and the pups go through that sliding glass door over there and stay in the backyard while Sarah and I get ready? We'll come for you when it's your turn."

Isaac's ivory fur shook as he nodded his great head and he marched with muddy paws through the rest of the house to the back, three pups following him on his heels with unabashed curiosity.

"Come on, Sarah. Sam said Emily sent over some clothes that should fit you. I'll introduce you to the beautiful invention that is a warm bubble bath," Leah said with a warm smile. She draped an arm around her daughter, who nearly reached her own height, though the girl still walked with a touch of the willowy slightness of youth.

"Emily also stocked up the fridge in case you want to eat some human food. There's three bedrooms at the end of the hall," Leah said to him from over her shoulder. The women were soon lost in the sounds of running water and soft laughter leaving Loki to peruse the photographs on the walls of the home.

Lost in the forests of the Canadian wilderness, he had never paused to consider the substance of the life the she-wolf had lived before her path crossed with his. Caught in the seasons and cycles of a lupine existence, all that mattered was the well-being of the pack. Here, in a canvas of smiles and unknown faces, were the webs of relational connections that tethered her into a world he had never paused to inquire into or thought of her belonging to. There was no sign of magic or shape-shifting on those pale yellow walls or those wooden frames and the dissonance was as jarring as the pack of oversized wolf pups laying on the clean couch.

Sarah met him in the hallway, her hair damp and hanging in waves down to her shoulders as she dried it with a towel. She now wore casual Midgardian trousers and a short-sleeved black shirt embroidered with red flowers. Without the Asgardian-style dress, she appeared more Midgardian than he approved of, but he was wiser than to argue the matter while staying in the homeland of her mother's kin.

"I like baths," she told him simply. She placed an arm around his waist and lay her head against his chest. She also turned to join in his perusal of the photographs.

"Oh! That's Uncle Seth!" she said and pointed to a man with eyes like Leah's, but a brighter, wider smile. "There's Granny Sue and, oh, that was Granddad. Now we have Grandpa Charlie, but they married after Granddad died. Those, there, are cousins from Granny Sue's side."

She caught his appraising glance and grinned. "Mama has been telling us family stories for years. Since we can see her memories, it's not hard to feel like we know everyone already."

"You have an advantage over me, it would seem," he answered. "You can whisper into my ear when I get lost so I look as well-informed as you."

"You got it!" she said with a delighted smile which quickly faded again. "Isaac is nervous. Did he tell you that he did it?"

"Did what?"

"He phased. Last night when everyone slept. He woke me up to show me, but he didn't want anyone else to know since he is shy. Thankfully, Mama has been too preoccupied with her worries about seeing her family again to notice how hard he has been trying to not think about it around her."

"I will speak with him," Loki answered with a nod. She tugged on his arm to get him to follow her to where her brother lay. They found the ivory wolf laying in the grass, covered in three wrestling pups.

"Come on, little ones," Sarah called out from the door. "It's your turn for baths. You are gonna love this!"

Ooooooo

Leah stood in the doorway to the bedroom with her long hair well-tended and unbound down her back. She wore a loose, torn shirt braided with beads and patterns along the tears, as if intentionally damaged by design. Her dark eyes, now accented by black lines and shades around them, shown with a lovely brightness. She peeked her head into the bedroom and then froze in place, an expression of surprise to firm on her face that he laughed.

"What…who…Isaac?" she asked, her eyes fixed on the young man, and not wolf, who stood beside Loki, appraising the slightly large men's clothes available to him to wear.

Isaac gave a shy smile and clung to Loki's shoulder even harder to keep his tenuous balance on two feet instead of four. Leah rushed across the room and encircled him in her arms, planting kisses along his head. Isaac's answering laughter only made her pull him tighter.

"Please exercise caution, Lady Leah. Isaac's proficiency at mastering gravity is tenuous at best," Loki said. Leah snorted at that and stepped back to look at him again, her eyes running over every edge and long limb. He towered over her by at least half a head though, like his sister, his limbs still spoke of the thin, still-growing blood of the twilight of youth.

"You look so much like your father," she whispered as she took his face in her hands. "You have his long face and his coloring - but those blue eyes and blond hair - those I did not expect."

Isaac pulled a lock of golden hair into his line of sight and stared at it in fascination, as if noticing it for the first time.

"Oh, don't get self-conscious. You are so incredibly handsome, my love! I am so proud of you," she said and threw her arms around him again. She showered him in kisses one more time before she released him. Loki helped him walk to join his sister in the living room.

"Well, that will make the bonfire even more interesting," she said as he returned to her.

"Indeed," he answered. Then he caught her appraising his appearance with growing displeasure and frowned.

"What on earth are you wearing?" she asked as she looked over the finely tailored German suit he had acquired during his last visit on the realm. He raised the corner of his silk scarf (that matched both his tie and his eyes) and searched for what so disturbed her. He arched an eyebrow in question and she sighed and leaned against the doorframe again.

"You can't wear that," Leah said and motioned to his apparel.

"Why ever not?" he asked, unsure whether to be amused or offended.

"Ugh! First off, it's a bonfire...on the beach. You know, sand and logs and ocean? Secondly, you look like a Cullen. I can't...you and me together like this...ugh! No!" She said in exasperation.

"Pardon?"

"Look, this isn't Seattle. If you dress all classy and fancy and show up with me as I am…," she said and cut off and looked down at her casual Midgardian clothes.

He waved his hand and her mouth fell open as her apparel changed to that of a woman he remembered seeing in New York. She now wore a form-fitting burgundy dress, black heals, and gold jewelry that hung heavy around her neck and arms.

"Now you look splendid. Will this appease you?" he asked with a self-satisfied smirk on his face as he appraised how the dress accentuated her figure in a most pleasing fashion. Her frown only grew deeper as she stared at her new outfit and caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror on the wall.

"No! No! No!" she retorted firmly and she gave a rough tug to try to remove the jewelry off of her neck as if it were made of coals instead of gold. "This isn't me and I can't…no, I won't go around looking like something I'm not. I'm a wolf girl, not this. I won't be like Jacob and forced to be something that I'm not. You are coming home with me - you need to adjust to my world."

"And my appearance displeases you?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes! No! Look, its complicated!" she finally admitted with her hands flailing upwards in her exasperation. "You don't come from around here so you may not understand. There's a lot of baggage between people who look like you and people who look like me.

"The people who don't know about the whole 'wolf thing' will think I am a traitor or that I've turned my back on our culture and our people, that I'm seeking an easier life through marrying someone better endowed than I can find at home. They will accuse me of being a gold digger."

"A gold digger?" he asked.

"Yeah-you know-marrying someone for their money or status alone? If you show up in some fancy business suit, not only will you be completely out-of-place, but it will make me look bad."

"I see," he answered thoughtfully. "Would this be of assistance, then?"

With another flick of his hand and a wide grin, a shovel appeared in one of her hands and a bucket of gold coins in the other.

"Very funny," she replied without a smile. She tried to throw the objects back at him but they evaporated into a swirl of green before they reached him and were gone.

He waved his hand over himself again and he stood before her dressed as he was the first day she saw his Aesir form. "Is this preferable?"

She looked over the layers of armor, leather, cape, and weapons and she shook her head with a half-smile on her face. "Now you look like you have stepped straight out of Shakespeare."

"Shakespeare?" he asked.

"Yeah-you know-the famous English playwright from like the 1500's….William Shakespeare? Please tell me you are at least familiar with some cultural references and historical events," she said.

"Ah, yes. I am somewhat familiar…though I am surprised he is still remembered," he answered with his brow furrowed in concentration. "An overly superfluous bard with frivolous tastes. I can assure you, my current attire does no more resemble those of his plays than those of his audience or the bard himself. My armor, my weaponry, the symbols on my tunic are all quite distinct. As if more proof were required, the lack of potent and distasteful odors exuding from me would most assuredly reveal me to be an interloper of the era."

"Yeah, I don't even want to know how you know all that. My point is - can't you put on something more appropriate for a bonfire? Like a t-shirt and jeans? You aren't going to the theater or some swanky restaurant. You are in the middle of nowhere Washington where most of the locals don't make a move without a North Face jacket and a plaid shirt."

Loki gave her an elegant bow before his appearance shifted. He now wore trousers that were an exact replica of the male wolf's. His bare torso and arms he shifted to a deep russet brown and he imitated Sam's posture with his arms across his chest.

Leah burst out into laughter.

"While that is impressive, oh mighty Chameleon, and I'd really love to see everyone's reactions to you showing up like that, you don't have to go that far. Just don't dress like you are headed to a board meeting or a funeral."

He shifted again. His face returned to his previously pale ivory, his eyes flashed green, but his clothes morphed into a dark blue sweater and a pair of grey slacks.

"Any chance I can convince you to wear jeans?" she asked as she appraised him again. He gave her a long-suffering sigh and jeans took over the slacks, significantly "dressing down" his overall appearance.

"I am adept at fitting into my environs," he said with a slight flourish and a grace at odds with his now-casual appearance. "Even when my environs do not find a place for me to fit into."

He could feel her gratitude and amusement as she came and took his hand in her own and squeezed it gently.

"Thank you," she said before turning a skeptical eye on him. "If I had known you could magically 'poof' up new clothes, I'd have made you give me jeans weeks ago."

"And deprive myself of the sight of you properly clothed as a maiden ought to be? I think not."

"You can't be serious."

"I am always serious," he answered with an emotionless face and tone.

She sighed and bit back a chuckle. "Come on. Let's go to the wolves."

Ooooo

The grey afternoon beside the ocean morphed into a charcoal night. The clouded sky only contrasted against the horizon by the darker band ebony formed by the non-illuminated ocean alongside. The bonfire at First Beach had not ceased to glow since their arrival hours earlier. Now, dozens of faces were barely illuminated by its golden glow with more shadowed figures milling around the beach as far as the limited light could reach.

A parade of kin as unceasing as the ocean waves fell upon the beach that afternoon with arms full of foodstuffs (and quickly emptied to welcome the new "family" into their fold). White-haired elders gave Loki pursed-lipped appraisals, but reserved their long-suffering exhortations for Leah in recompense for her long-absence. Dark-haired children ran along the beach chasing balls and crabs and screaming in delight as they tumbled into the cold waves.

Intermixed with these were the wolf people. Or rather, the wolf men. For as Loki perused the gathering of tall, muscled men who radiated magic similar to Leah's, it quickly became apparent that Leah and Sarah were the only she-wolves. Bound to each of the wolf men, as if tethered with a harness or connected by two prods of an invisible compass, were their mates. They were Midgardian mates with no magic other than that which bound them to the wolves. These women sat on chairs on the beach or tended to platters of food or shared stories amongst themselves, perfectly at ease in the midst of the shape-shifters. Most were the dark-haired kinfolk of the Quileute, though a few obviously stood out as outsiders-as Loki and Isaac did.

Isaac, overwhelmed by both his first experience in his Midgardian skin and his first exposure to non-wolf people and human life, sat on a driftwood log and kept to himself. The three pups, in the absolute and unashamed delight known only by the very young, immediately immersed themselves in the group of humans. They greeted all the adults with wet noses and happy grins before they ran down the beach to chase all the children and join in their play. When they grew so tired that they no longer wished to play, they returned to collapse at Isaac's feet and only moved when someone came by to bring them treats. Sarah sat beside her brother, her hand anxiously clasping his, and her dark eyes taking in everything happening around her. Unlike Isaac, she managed to speak to a few people until she also tired and joined Isaac and the pups.

Loki sat on the other side of Isaac, both to assure the boy that all was well, but also out of his own masked discomfort. It was not that the gathering proved unkind or unwelcoming, but they were strangers to him and he greatly disliked social gatherings with masses of strangers where he was unsure of both his role and what was expected of him.

Leah's rapidly fluctuating emotions did not assist his efforts to feign ease. Her rapid shifts between guilt and happiness, adoration and grief, made him feel as if he had swallowed an angry Nidavellir hammer-bird and it fluttered against his rib cage in a constant barrage of strikes.

Leah sat on the ground with her back leaning against the legs of her mother, her mother's arms enfolding her as if afraid to let her go again. The Lady Sue had been so overcome with emotion at the sight of her daughter that she had insisted on keeping close to her side during the entire evening. Leah, while up to that point maintained an admirable stoicism, could not prevail against the sight of her mother and burst into tears, which were quickly shared by the grey-haired matron.

This display did not go unnoticed by onlookers. Two men far behind him, whose magical presence revealed them to be wolves, spoke quietly to each other, without noting how far their voices traveled to those with keen senses.

"No way, man. Leah's crying like a baby," one wolf-man whispered to the other.

"I haven't seen her cry like that since Sam imprinted on Emily."

"I know. Not even when her dad died - she never cried around anyone but Seth then."

"So - was she, you know, gone like the others?"

"Nah, man. Sam said she's been living in Canada this whole time as a wolf. She imprinted in wolf form and all."

"Is that even possible?"

"For Leah, I guess."

"So, what's the deal with her imprint? What is he? He's got a heartbeat so he can't be a Cold One, but I've never come across a scent like his before."

"Who knows? He can't be a werewolf cause he turns into a full wolf like us, but he isn't as hot-blooded as we are."

The other wolf whistled under his breath. "Great. More supernatural beings we don't know about. Seems like I can't turn on the news without hearing more stories about aliens trying to take over the world or cyborgs destroying cities or crazy science experiments on humans going wrong. Do you think he's a genetically-enhanced human?"

"It's possible - but I've never heard of one able to, you know, become an animal."

"Dude, what about that one, you know, I saw it on the news way back when ago. There was that guy who turned into the green animal and smashed cities and all. He smashed up New York and South Africa, I think."

"Aw, yeah, I remember that. Yeah, maybe. He was one of the science experiments, yeah? Or was he one of those aliens?"

"I think that one started off human. I can't keep it all straight anymore. All I know is the more I find out what's out there, the more I'm glad we've got the pack to keep all that stuff outta here."

"It didn't help us out back when, well, you know."

They both grew quiet again before the first broke the silence. "Billy said not to bring it up tonight. 'Tonight is for celebration and not mourning,' he said at our debrief. We aren't supposed to talk about any of that yet."

"Whatever, man. I don't even want to think about it, but it's hard not to, you know. Especially when I look at Quil or Embry or Emily, ya know?"

"Yeah, man. I know. Did Sam get ahold of Jacob?"

"Yeah, but he couldn't make it out in time. He may try to swing by next week, if he can. For sure, he'll be here in time for the wedding."

"Getting everyone back together again for the first time in a decade. That's something."

"It'll also be the first time we've had Cold Ones near our territory since they left."

"Sam's worried?"

"Of course. His daughter is sixteen. I'd be worried too. She's not the only one approaching the age we were when we phased first. Jared's kid…and then there's Paul's kids. Yeah. It could happen."

Loki was prevented from eavesdropping any further by the approach of the man he recognized from the photographs in the house, Leah on his arm, wide grins on both of their faces.

"I'm an uncle! Did you guys hear? I'm an uncle!" Leah's brother shouted loud enough for everyone within an arrow shot to hear. He ran up to where Sarah and Isaac sat and immediately embraced them both together. The three pups came running and happily covered his face with their tongues as he rolled onto the sand with arms outstretched to welcome them. His boisterous laugh resonated across the beach as he accepted the pups' greeting.

Leah watched him in exasperated fondness and she overflowed with such absolute adoration and devotion towards the man that Loki knew he was the only reason she had returned. After pulling himself away from the pups and brushing the sand off himself (but allowing the grin and the trail of slobber along his chin to remain), her brother stood and threw his arms around a very surprised, and discomfited Loki.

"Hi Fenris! I'm Seth!" he said and he failed to notice how Loki grew stiff at the contact or the glare directed at him when he refused to let go. Seth finally pulled back and gave Loki an appraising glance. "Welcome to the family! Thanks so much for coming back! I'm so…Ok, there's no way to say this the right way, so I'm just gonna say it. I'm so glad you exist and that Leah found you. Yeah."

Loki arched an eyebrow but did not respond. He found he did not need to as the man continued to babble on for a few moments about nothing in particular.

"You ok?" Leah whispered to him after Seth made his way to greet other family members.

"If I answer negatively, will you allow me to depart?"

"No."

"Why, then I am perfectly at ease and enjoying myself immensely."

"Liar."

He grinned and then grew serious again. "Enjoy your revels with your kin and pay no heed to us. I will tend to the pups. This is why we are here."

"Yeah. Ok. Oh…and Fenris…I'm sorry."

He met her apologetic gaze in question and she continued. "I'm sorry for not bringing you all home sooner. I should have."

He only nodded in response.

Ooooooo

Isaac, Sarah, and the pups preferred sleeping outside in the forest than in the house.

"It is too confining. I feel trapped," Sarah explained. "Besides-it smells funny. It smells like strange foods and strange people and strange things. The forest is where I belong."

Leah consented, but only because she trusted Isaac and Sarah's capacity to look after the little ones (and she did not trust the small ones to refrain from chewing on furniture or soiling the carpets). By unspoken agreement, Loki and Leah stayed in separate rooms for their first night were they both remained in humanoid forms. Leah slept in her human form in the room she said used to be "hers" and disappeared into it as soon as they returned from the late end of the bonfire.

Loki failed to sleep, as he knew he would. The slight glimmer of sleep he happened to chance upon was stolen away by another nightmare. This time, the flash of Asgard burning, Thor without his hammer, and the All-Father in a permanent sleep was enough to wake him with a start, his chest pounding. As he sought to calm himself, he realized he was not the only one awake.

Leah paced the length of the room she stayed in, next to his, sobbing as if her heart would break. He sighed to himself as her emotions rolled over him, unsettling him even more than his dream had already done.

For a brief instant, he thought about going to her and inquiring into her well-being, perhaps offering some form of comfort. He quickly decided against it. He was, after all, still bound to her against his will. With a flick of his hand, he transformed himself into the form of a koala, and sank into a deep, dreamless sleep.

oooooo

Author's notes:

As always, I am so very grateful for your responses to this story and I love hearing your thoughts on it.

Apparently koalas sleep more than most other animals. Who knew? Thanks Google

Washington was one of the few U.S. states that only formerly outlawed interracial marriage for a short period of time. While only on the books from 1855-1868, the law forbid intermarriage between "whites" and "Indians" (and half-Indians) "for the good of both races". After 1868, while technically legal, such intermarriages (and the offspring produced from them) were not always recognized by society or the legal system and were still frowned upon. Attempts at passing new anti-miscegenation laws in the 1920's-1930's (when laws segregating people by race gained strength and support across the U.S..), they failed to pass in Washington due to the combined lobbying efforts of minority groups in the state. Washington and New Mexico remained the only states west of the Rockies without such laws until 1948.

Another semi-quick culture/history note...the term "race" means categorizing human beings into a fixed, unchanging set of categories based on their biological continent of origin (i.e. the amount of melanin in their skin and their physical appearance is more formative than their socialization as children). This idea of race is not universal nor is it very old. Race, as a means of categorizing people, is seen primarily in countries which have a history of slavery. It has two "rules"-1.) Each person fits into only one racial category and those categories must not intermix-relationally or biologically. 2.) Not all races are created equal. Some are innately superior to others and each has a "place" in a ranking system which must not be questioned or changed.

Race can be contrasted with the idea of "ethnicity" (sometimes called tribe or social group or cultural group) which organizes people into groups based on shared characteristics such as a shared worldview, culture, history, language, religion, or way of life. Ethnicity can be explained as "the people I belong to or people who are like me." It is not fixed and can be fluid and shaped by experiences and environment and socialization.

Both of these terms are super important to understand U.S. history so I wanted to explain them here. In the example of Native Americans, race says all Native Americans fit into one category and are the same and are in that category forever, regardless of how their cultural viewpoint changes. Ethnicity says Native Americans fall into a huge number of different categories based on tribe, language, geographic and people group and they are not all the same. They can also shift categories between generations (for example, by intermarriage or urbanization or assimilation or just regular culture change and exposure).

Case-in-point: Cherokee who assimilated to dominant "white" American culture-could they ever become "American"? Not by the rules of race, but they could by the rules of ethnicity. When both rules are used simultaneously, life gets real complicated (as the Cherokee discovered). Yeah, this is a super complicated history and I won't go into any more detail here. However for both my non-American audience and my American audience who may need a crash course, I wanted to explain these terms since its a subtext for all history/identity formation of indigenous peoples in the U.S.

The Woman Who Married the Dead Warrior: excerpt from Reagan, Albert B., and L. V. W. Walters. "Tales from the Hoh and Quileute." The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 46, no. 182, 1933, pp. 297–346. JSTOR.