But, she hadn't done it. Instead, she had helped him by chasing off his foe.
It was then when Strikes Fast recognized a simple fact: this being possessed empathy.
In the mind speak, Strikes Fast reached out to his friends Eagle Heart and Gray Falcon, and he silently said, "The big creature has come to my aid when I least expected it. I believe she saved my life. I owe you, my friends, many thanks. Indeed, because of you both, I have not been alone in this fight. Though you are not here with me in body, you yet ensured I did not fight it alone.
"Freely I admit to you now that when I saw this creature, I was paralyzed with fear. But, when I saw compassion for me in her eyes, I felt the same for her."
From somewhere behind him, Strikes Fast heard several different sounds and pitches of masculine laughter. Turning quickly, he beheld Gray Falcon and Eagle Heart, along with…was this the McIntosh patriarch? Had he come to help, too?
"We knew we were going to be late in arriving here," explained Eagle Heart as the three men paced toward him. "And, so we asked our friends to help us if they could. I am glad to see they have been here. I am also thankful to see your enemy is routed."
In English, Strikes Fast said, "I…glad you…are…here."
And, then behind his friends, Strikes Fast espied a white bear who was sitting on its haunches next to his almost son, Rising Bear. And, lastly but most importantly, he gazed into the countenance of she whom he had thought he might never see again in the flesh.
He heard Sharon cry out with a gasp and, when he made to step forward to take her into his arms, she rushed toward him instead, and her mad dash at him was so forceful, he had to steady himself to keep hold of her.
Looking down at her, Strikes Fast saw she was crying, and, although he tried to contain his own emotions, he found himself weeping along with her.
Never had he been on the receiving end of so much love from a woman. Truly, theirs was a love affair like none other. He kissed her then with all the passion of a man who had thought he might never behold this beautiful woman again in the flesh.
Raising up his head for a moment to catch his breath, he bent down toward her and kissed her again, then, breaking off the kiss, he showered her face with one caress after another.
He whispered, "Thought I…never to see…again, you." And, he hugged her and hugged her. But, even this wasn't enough. Picking her up, he twirled her round and round, listening to her giggling as though it were the most precious sound in the world.
When finally Strikes Fast came back to earth and set her down—though his arms were still locked around her—he looked around the environment, only to discover they were alone.
Apparently his friends had disappeared and were most likely at work setting up a fire where they all might share the pipe and regale one another with their own stories of the battle.
Never, for five long snows, had he known such happiness. And, silently, he prayed, "Creator, I thank you for your patience and your love."
And, looking up, he saw the sun had emerged and was shining brightly in a clear blue sky.
