“The river!” Ani said, understanding breaking through the clouds of her confusion. “That line is the Kiewa River, Ninto. Then those lines must be the mountains, and the puddle is the ocean. Its people are on the coast near that big point of land!”
“You know, they may be at Lyanan. That’s almost twenty days away from here. What is it doing so far away from its people?” Ninto wondered.
Ani rippled a pattern of purple clouds. “Who knows?”
“Well, let’s try to convince it to come back with us for a while. We can’t do anything until after Ilto dies. Then we’ll find a way to take it back to its people.”
The rain clouds were beginning to build for the afternoon downpour by the time all the explanations were finished. Out of respect for the creature’s reluctance to climb, they walked back. It was a long, weary trip, and Ani was relieved when they climbed up into a fruit tree at the end of the day for dinner. Ani showed the new creature how to pick fruit while Ninto went hunting. The elder returned an hour later with a necklace of small birds hanging limply around her neck. She held them up.
“It was the best I could do,” she said, browning apologetically. “Everything else was protected.”
“It’s a thin time of year to be out in the forest,” Ani agreed. It was going to be a meager meal. Ani set about plucking the birds. To her surprise, the new creature ate only one of the birds, and that with visible distaste. It handed the rest to Ani and Ninto.
“Could it be sick?” Ani wondered.
“I don’t know,” Ninto replied. “I’ll check it after dinner and see.”
But when Ninto reached out to link with the animal, it drew back with a loud cry. It backed away, terrified and ready to flee. Ani and Ninto retreated, and after a long, tense period, the new creature relaxed and rejoined them in the nest. Even then, it kept its arms tucked tightly against its sides. It slept curled up on itself, like a baby bird in its shell. Most Tendu slept lying flat, unless they were cold.
“I could check it now,” Ninto offered, her words glowing in the darkness.
“No,” Ani replied. “It’s frightened of allu-a. If it realized what you were doing, we could never get it to trust us again. Let it sleep.”
It rained hard all day, clearing just before they arrived back at the village, footsore, weary, and hungry. Ilto greeted them happily, glad the new creature was back. He looked much better; clearly he had successfully healed himself of the alien taint in his blood. Relief flooded over Ani. Ilto wasn’t going to die…
Several other elders were there, all old friends of Ilto’s. He reached out to link with the new creature, eager to show off his work. It pulled away with a loud cry, shaking its head, intensely orange with fear.
“Siti, the new creature won’t link,” Ani explained. “I don’t think we could bring it back if it ran off again.”
Ilto sighed wearily. A grey cloud of sorrow passed over his skin. “Then I have only a few more matters to attend to before I die. We’ll need to arrange for a funeral feast.”
“Siti, please—” Ani began.
“No, don’t argue with me. I’m tired. It’s time for me to go. You’ll be a good elder. Will you take Ninto as your entoo?”
Ani gave a faint flicker of agreement. Ninto would care for her during werrun, and sponsor her when she became an elder. It still seemed to be an impossible prospect. Even now, Ani couldn’t imagine herself as an elder. She wasn’t ready, didn’t want to be ready.
“Good,” Ilto said. “You couldn’t have a better one. There is one more thing I need to ask you. Will you take the new creature as your atwa? No one else knows it as well as you do. No one else could do it.”
Stunned, Ani could only manage a weak pink ripple of astonishment. She hadn’t really thought about her choice of atwa. She had been too busy looking after Ilto and the new creature to think about such things. The thought of choosing an atwa upset her deeply. It was as though choosing an atwa would be agreeing to let Ilto die. She still didn’t want to accept his death.
The choice of an atwa wasn’t lightly made, either. Her life would revolve around it. She would spend the rest of her days looking after the plants and animals in her atwa, keeping them in harmony with the other atwa and with the rest of the forest.
She had always assumed she would become a member of the Tainka atwa. It was Ilto’s, and she was the most familiar with it. The idea of taking this creature as her atwa shocked her. The thing had no place here, and she hated it for what it had done to her sitik.
“But siti, it’s killing you!” Ani said. “How could I accept it as my atwa?”
A ripple of deep burgundy irony passed over Ilto. “Ani, I knew the risks, but I chose to save the creature’s life. I chose to risk my life transforming it, even though I knew it was dangerous. Besides, I have healed what it did to me. My death is my choice. I don’t want to leave the village, and live and die alone in the forest. I want to die here, where I have lived so long. I am a part of Narmolom. I don’t want to live anywhere else.”
Ani looked away, bars of negation flickering rebelliously across her skin. Ilto touched her arm, wanting to say more.
“Ani, please see what I have to say,” he told her, when she looked up. “The new creature is valuable, important. It’s different from any other animal I’ve ever seen or heard of. Who knows what important things we might learn from it? There is no one else who can do it. The elders have chosen their atwas and are busy with them. The other bami are not ready.”
“Neither am I!” Ani blurted. “I’m not ready to be an elder, siti! I don’t know enough!”
Ninto touched Ani’s wrist. “Of course you do, Ani. You know more than I did when I first became an elder. You link as well as any elder in the village. You’re ready.”
“Ninto’s right,” Ilto added with a gruff red tinge. “You’ve been ready for a long time, but I’ve been selfish. I wanted to do something special before I died. Healing the new creature was it. I’ve lived long enough to know the creature will survive. Let me go, bai. I’ve taught you everything I can. I can’t wait until someone else is ready to carry your burden.”
Ani flushed deep brown with shame and looked away. “I am sorry if I have added to your burdens, siti.”
“Of course not, bai. I have had much joy from you and Ninto both, more than my share should have been.” He turned azure with pride. “I am pleased with you.”
“You won’t be alone, Ani. I’ll help you as much as I can,” Ninto told her.
Ani thought it over. She could either accept graciously and ease her sitik’s pathway to death, or make his passing difficult and more painful with her intransigence. After he died, she would take the creature back to its people. Then she could go back to being a simple, settled village Tendu with an atwa like everyone else’s.
So for reasons that had nothing at all to do with the new creature, and everything to do with her love for her sitik, she accepted the burden he laid on her. She would wonder, in years to come, how she could have given her future away so easily, but at that moment, the relief in her sitik’s eyes was worth everything in the world to her.
Chapter 4
Juna eased forward and watched, astonished, as the blood flowing from the lizard’s wounds slowed to a trickle and its skin closed over the wound. She glanced at the aliens; they were completely entranced, their spurs stuck into the lizard, and each other. Clearly they were responsible for this almost miraculous healing. How had they done it? The researchers back at the base would be fascinated. Juna wished that she could record what was happening.