He nodded. "Your heart is generous," he signed. "And, these people will come to love you. But come, your compassion reminds me that I wish to make love to you again this night." He reached out to take hold of her hand. "However, we should not make love here with all the many little eyes to watch us. It might make you nervous." He stood up, bringing her with him.
"And you? Would this not make you uneasy, also?"
He signed. "No. It matters not to me. Still, I would like our love to be private. Come. I find I am anxious to love you again. Be warned. I may never tire of making love to you."
"Oh, I hope you won't, my husband. I really hope you won't tire of me."
"What you speak of is impossible. Perhaps, in old age, the fire between us might require us to relight it from time to time," he said in sign. "But, the flame go out? It will not happen." He shook his head. "Saa,it...not...happen."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
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ONE DAY TURNED INTOanother. In the mornings, Eagle Heart left their simple home to hunt, and, when she asked him why he always traveled so far away on his quest for game, he told her a man never looks for or kills animals for food close to where he lives. To do so could make a man's home very dangerous, indeed.
During the afternoons, Laylah made it a point to help Eagle Heart skin the animals he brought home. She also aided him in preparing their meat for roasting, learning this skill gradually. But, Laylah noticed a few aspects about skinning an animal she had never witnessed before, and it made her curious.
Always, Eagle Heart said prayers over the beast he had killed, and Laylah, under his influence, had begun doing much the same. Laylah noticed, also, that Eagle Heart gave away much of their food to the Little People and to any of their other animal friends who came to visit.
Once, she had questioned him about this practice of giving away a good deal of their food, and she'd asked, "Do you think it wise to share so much of the meat we have?"
"We have plenty, more than we need, and the hunting here is good because so few predators come to this valley."
"Of course," she said. "Still, wouldn't it be wise to preserve some of it? I remember during the snowstorm you had a good supply of dried meat. Could you show me how to prepare meat this way?"
"Of course," he signed. "I will show you how to smoke the meat, and your suggestion is a good one. We should make meat for hard times. But, an honorable man gives away as much food as he consumes. It is his duty to ensure his friends are as well fed as he is. If he has to hunt more often, so be it."
"No wonder the animals love you so much."
His simple smile at her gave her much pleasure, as though he bestowed a little bit of heaven on her.
The evenings were all she could have ever wanted, for she had this man entirely to herself, and, after their supper, they made love throughout most the night, both of them catching up on their sleep between lovemaking.
Sometimes Eagle Heart even slept in late, delaying his hunting until the afternoon. Indeed, the days and evenings were romantic in so many different ways, and Laylah couldn't remember ever being so happy.
One afternoon, as she was assisting Eagle Heart in skinning the deer he had brought into their camp, she asked, "What is the yellow powder you sprinkle over the animal you have killed? I hear your prayers, and I understand why you pray over the animals, but what is the yellow dust for?"
"I will show you," he signed.
She nodded.
"Hunting is and should always be a prayer," signed Eagle Heart, "for a man must take the life of another in order to ensure his own family does not starve. Being so close to the animals one needs to kill in order to survive, a man becomes aware of the creation of life all around him. It is why we pray over the animals we have killed. But, we do more.
"It is possible I might be able to show you how we try to help the animal we have killed. I think I could do this with this deer, because the living spirit of this animal has not yet left its body. If you watch closely, you might be able to see the spirit of the animal as it departs its body."
Laylah frowned. "I thought animals didn't possess a spirit."
"There are white trappers who have told me they believe this, also, and they are welcome to think this if they choose. But, my tribe and all the tribes around us, even our enemies, know that all of creation is alive; all things are made up of the same rocks, stones and dirt of the earth and all are alive. But, you must decide this matter for yourself. Watch."
Eagle Heart began to sing and pray over the animal as he usually did, and, taking some of the powder from the small bag he always wore around his neck, he sprinkled the yellow dust over the animal, the color of the dust catching hold of and reflecting the rays of the afternoon sun.
"Do you see it?" he asked in sign. "Look for the aliveness of the animal rising up out of its body. It is not physical, but if you pay close attention, you might see it because you, too, are spiritual. Here comes the spirit as it rises out of its dead body. Do you perceive that it follows the path of the dust I have sprinkled, its path guiding it up toward the sky and the Creator of all, Sun?"
Laylah had looked on and at first had seen nothing. But then, glancing all around the animal, she became aware of something rising up and departing from the body of the animal.
Not really sure what she was looking at, she yet watched as an invisible something left this animal's body—she even watched it as it followed the yellow path upward toward the sky. With what must have been large eyes, she turned her head to stare at Eagle Heart.
She whispered, "I didn't know animals had a soul."
