“Hey, this is good!” he exclaimed. “It tastes sweet.”
Encouraged by Glaze’s test, the others ate their elchids as well.
“Do you have a fire close by?” Marco asked. “We would like to stand by a fire and dry ourselves in its heat.” The others nodded their heads in agreement.
“I could take them over to the firetable,” Kreewhite spoke up, looking to his mother.
“You’ll have to gather wood for the stack,” she told him.
The three humans all hung upon Kreewhite as he pulled them through the waters of the cove, as the rains diminished again, and they traveled to one end of the semicircle of structures, where a stone platform rose above the water, and a circular stone collar surrounded it just below the level of the water.
The humans released their hold on Kreewhite and stood atop the encircling collar. There was a pile of wood atop the platform, but it was thoroughly soaked wet through and through.
“Maybe there’s some dry wood inside the pile,” Kreewhite said hopefully, raising himself up and reaching into the stack of wood to feel the tinder inside.
His face grew grave. “It feels soaking wet everywhere,” he said.
Porenn impulsively reached her own hand into the mass of wood. “It is! No, it’s not fair!” she began to sniff back tears, and Marco suddenly realized how stressful the whole journey must be for the girl – forced unexpectedly into exile, riding through the cool ocean water for endless hours, cold, wet, and now no fire when she had expected to feel warm and dry. The girl had held up well – she was strong, he realized – but he felt a sense of profound sympathy for her and the world-turned-upside-down she was having to endure in such uncomfortable conditions.
He placed his own right hand upon the wood, wishing that there was something he could do to give her the fire she wanted. He felt a sudden thrill in his hand, a pulsing energy that seemed to throb for a split second, and then there was a strong tingle, like a hundred insect bites all over his hand, and it flashed with a brilliant light that ignited a hearty fire in the wood on his side of the pile.
He and the others all jumped back in shock from the eruption of the light and heat, and the others all stared at him in astonishment.
“What did you do?” Kreewhite asked in amazement, as he floated in the water several feet away.
“I, I don’t know,” Marco stuttered. “It’s my hand,” he tried to explain. “It’s special now, after the island healed it for me. Do you want to see?” He held his hand towards the others, who all instinctively jumped back, afraid that further flames might issue forth.
“It – I – won’t hurt you,” he reassured them, hastily lowering the hand. “I just felt that Porenn – all of us, I mean – deserved to finally feel warm and dry. Come on everyone,” he gestured with his left hand, “come enjoy the fire.”
The clouds overhead were growing lighter, and the western sky promised an end to the overcast. Glaze looked at Marco and shrugged, then stepped back towards the fire, and held his hands out to catch its growing warmth. Porenn stepped up beside him, then stepped even closer, and began to pull at the front of her shirt, pulling the damp cloth away from her skin and encouraging the fire’s heat to dry it out.
That made sense, Marco realized, as he heard Kreewhite swim back towards them. He pulled his shirt over his head and laid in on the edge of the fire platform to dry, and Glaze followed his example.
“That’s not fair!” Porenn protested.
“Why not?” Kreewhite asked curiously.
“Because I can’t take my blouse off!” she answered.
“Why not?” Kreewhite repeated.
“Because then the boys would see me, see my, see,” she stumbled out of words. “I just can’t,” she lamented at last, as Marco and Glaze grinned at one another.
“Here comes the village,” Kreewhite observed. “I don’t know
Encouraged by Glaze’s test, the others ate their elchids as well.
“Do you have a fire close by?” Marco asked. “We would like to stand by a fire and dry ourselves in its heat.” The others nodded their heads in agreement.
“I could take them over to the firetable,” Kreewhite spoke up, looking to his mother.
“You’ll have to gather wood for the stack,” she told him.
The three humans all hung upon Kreewhite as he pulled them through the waters of the cove, as the rains diminished again, and they traveled to one end of the semicircle of structures, where a stone platform rose above the water, and a circular stone collar surrounded it just below the level of the water.
The humans released their hold on Kreewhite and stood atop the encircling collar. There was a pile of wood atop the platform, but it was thoroughly soaked wet through and through.
“Maybe there’s some dry wood inside the pile,” Kreewhite said hopefully, raising himself up and reaching into the stack of wood to feel the tinder inside.
His face grew grave. “It feels soaking wet everywhere,” he said.
Porenn impulsively reached her own hand into the mass of wood. “It is! No, it’s not fair!” she began to sniff back tears, and Marco suddenly realized how stressful the whole journey must be for the girl – forced unexpectedly into exile, riding through the cool ocean water for endless hours, cold, wet, and now no fire when she had expected to feel warm and dry. The girl had held up well – she was strong, he realized – but he felt a sense of profound sympathy for her and the world-turned-upside-down she was having to endure in such uncomfortable conditions.
He placed his own right hand upon the wood, wishing that there was something he could do to give her the fire she wanted. He felt a sudden thrill in his hand, a pulsing energy that seemed to throb for a split second, and then there was a strong tingle, like a hundred insect bites all over his hand, and it flashed with a brilliant light that ignited a hearty fire in the wood on his side of the pile.
He and the others all jumped back in shock from the eruption of the light and heat, and the others all stared at him in astonishment.
“What did you do?” Kreewhite asked in amazement, as he floated in the water several feet away.
“I, I don’t know,” Marco stuttered. “It’s my hand,” he tried to explain. “It’s special now, after the island healed it for me. Do you want to see?” He held his hand towards the others, who all instinctively jumped back, afraid that further flames might issue forth.
“It – I – won’t hurt you,” he reassured them, hastily lowering the hand. “I just felt that Porenn – all of us, I mean – deserved to finally feel warm and dry. Come on everyone,” he gestured with his left hand, “come enjoy the fire.”
The clouds overhead were growing lighter, and the western sky promised an end to the overcast. Glaze looked at Marco and shrugged, then stepped back towards the fire, and held his hands out to catch its growing warmth. Porenn stepped up beside him, then stepped even closer, and began to pull at the front of her shirt, pulling the damp cloth away from her skin and encouraging the fire’s heat to dry it out.
That made sense, Marco realized, as he heard Kreewhite swim back towards them. He pulled his shirt over his head and laid in on the edge of the fire platform to dry, and Glaze followed his example.
“That’s not fair!” Porenn protested.
“Why not?” Kreewhite asked curiously.
“Because I can’t take my blouse off!” she answered.
“Why not?” Kreewhite repeated.
“Because then the boys would see me, see my, see,” she stumbled out of words. “I just can’t,” she lamented at last, as Marco and Glaze grinned at one another.
“Here comes the village,” Kreewhite observed. “I don’t know
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