guest of our tribe.”
TaLi lowered her eyes and mumbled an apology. HuLin nodded and spoke again. “Now, what are you talking about? What do you mean, ‘friends’?”
At first, I thought TaLi would not be able to speak, she trembled so. I knew how she felt. I found few things as unnerving as speaking to Ruuqo and Rissa when they were angry with me. She dug her hands into my fur.
“We have hunted with these wolves,” she said, stumbling a little over her words, “BreLan, MikLan, and I.” BreLan placed his arm over her shoulder. I noticed the stocky male, DavRian, tensed when BreLan touched TaLi. TaLi’s voice steadied. “That time we brought home the deer meat that helped ShanLi when she was so sick was from when they hunted with us,” she said. “And all those rabbits we caught when it was first getting cold. And now they’ve brought us meat on their own.”
The human leader looked at her as if she had suddenly grown antlers on her head.
“This is nonsense,” he said softly.
“No,” BreLan said respectfully. “I was there. We hunted with them, and now they bring us gifts.” BreLan was a little overbearing sometimes, but right then I wanted to lick him from head to toe. Our humans were finding ways to communicate what we could not. I noticed that BreLan was scanning the plain behind us, clearly searching for Ázzuen. I picked the haunch meat out again, trying to offer it to him. Trevegg picked up his deer rib and held it out to the human leader.
“It’s impossible,” HuLin said. “Wolves steal from us, compete with us; they don’t bring us food.”
“Then what is that in their mouths, HuLin? Moss?” a cross voice said. The old woman walked forward, leaning on a branch from an oak tree. It was all I could do to keep from running forward to greet her. She must have been walking behind the other humans, slowed by her aging joints. NiaLi was TaLi’s grandmother, and the krianan—the spiritual leader—of the Lin tribe. She had been trained since childhood to speak with and understand wolfkind.
It was through the krianans that wolfkind had kept humans in touch with the natural world. Each moon, the human krianans met with the Greatwolves in ceremonies called Speakings. The krianans would take what they learned from the Greatwolves back to their tribes. NiaLi was the one who had helped me convince the Greatwolves to let us try to keep peace with the humans. She had once commanded great respect among the humans, TaLi had told me, but she had lost much of her influence since HuLin had taken over as the tribe’s leader several years before. When I had not been able to find her before, I feared she had died over the winter, as old creatures do, or that HuLin had sent her away for good.
HuLin’s face darkened. It didn’t take much to realize how much he disliked NiaLi. The old woman held her hand out to me.
“May I have that, Silvermoon?” she asked, using TaLi’s name for me.
I walked slowly to her, aware of all of the sharpsticks raised around me. I dropped the haunch meat at NiaLi’s feet.
“We want the humans to come hunt with us,” I told her. I could only hope that Frandra and Jandru would have told her of the new task.
The old woman dipped her head the slightest bit. I took several steps back. My ears moved back and forth, listening for any potential attack. I had so many questions I wanted to ask her, but they would have to wait.
I heard very soft, slow pawsteps, and out of the corner of my eye, saw Trevegg stepping slowly toward the human leader. He set his meat down and flattened his ears. But something in his manner disturbed HuLin, and the human leader stiffened, raising his sharpstick.
“Move away,” Trevegg whispered. “Now.” Reluctantly, I obeyed. If we left when HuLin was not comfortable with us, we might not get another chance to win the humans’ favor. But if I disobeyed Trevegg, the pack would not trust me with the humans. Slowly, I began to back up.
I had
TaLi lowered her eyes and mumbled an apology. HuLin nodded and spoke again. “Now, what are you talking about? What do you mean, ‘friends’?”
At first, I thought TaLi would not be able to speak, she trembled so. I knew how she felt. I found few things as unnerving as speaking to Ruuqo and Rissa when they were angry with me. She dug her hands into my fur.
“We have hunted with these wolves,” she said, stumbling a little over her words, “BreLan, MikLan, and I.” BreLan placed his arm over her shoulder. I noticed the stocky male, DavRian, tensed when BreLan touched TaLi. TaLi’s voice steadied. “That time we brought home the deer meat that helped ShanLi when she was so sick was from when they hunted with us,” she said. “And all those rabbits we caught when it was first getting cold. And now they’ve brought us meat on their own.”
The human leader looked at her as if she had suddenly grown antlers on her head.
“This is nonsense,” he said softly.
“No,” BreLan said respectfully. “I was there. We hunted with them, and now they bring us gifts.” BreLan was a little overbearing sometimes, but right then I wanted to lick him from head to toe. Our humans were finding ways to communicate what we could not. I noticed that BreLan was scanning the plain behind us, clearly searching for Ázzuen. I picked the haunch meat out again, trying to offer it to him. Trevegg picked up his deer rib and held it out to the human leader.
“It’s impossible,” HuLin said. “Wolves steal from us, compete with us; they don’t bring us food.”
“Then what is that in their mouths, HuLin? Moss?” a cross voice said. The old woman walked forward, leaning on a branch from an oak tree. It was all I could do to keep from running forward to greet her. She must have been walking behind the other humans, slowed by her aging joints. NiaLi was TaLi’s grandmother, and the krianan—the spiritual leader—of the Lin tribe. She had been trained since childhood to speak with and understand wolfkind.
It was through the krianans that wolfkind had kept humans in touch with the natural world. Each moon, the human krianans met with the Greatwolves in ceremonies called Speakings. The krianans would take what they learned from the Greatwolves back to their tribes. NiaLi was the one who had helped me convince the Greatwolves to let us try to keep peace with the humans. She had once commanded great respect among the humans, TaLi had told me, but she had lost much of her influence since HuLin had taken over as the tribe’s leader several years before. When I had not been able to find her before, I feared she had died over the winter, as old creatures do, or that HuLin had sent her away for good.
HuLin’s face darkened. It didn’t take much to realize how much he disliked NiaLi. The old woman held her hand out to me.
“May I have that, Silvermoon?” she asked, using TaLi’s name for me.
I walked slowly to her, aware of all of the sharpsticks raised around me. I dropped the haunch meat at NiaLi’s feet.
“We want the humans to come hunt with us,” I told her. I could only hope that Frandra and Jandru would have told her of the new task.
The old woman dipped her head the slightest bit. I took several steps back. My ears moved back and forth, listening for any potential attack. I had so many questions I wanted to ask her, but they would have to wait.
I heard very soft, slow pawsteps, and out of the corner of my eye, saw Trevegg stepping slowly toward the human leader. He set his meat down and flattened his ears. But something in his manner disturbed HuLin, and the human leader stiffened, raising his sharpstick.
“Move away,” Trevegg whispered. “Now.” Reluctantly, I obeyed. If we left when HuLin was not comfortable with us, we might not get another chance to win the humans’ favor. But if I disobeyed Trevegg, the pack would not trust me with the humans. Slowly, I began to back up.
I had
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