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“I would suggest tying Midnight on a leash and leaving him here,” Fire Thunder said, holding his cup out so that Little Sparrow could pour him some more coffee. “It will take time for my people to get used to the panther. I suggest you do it in small doses.”
He nodded a thank-you to Little Sparrow, took a sip of his coffee, then set it down beside him. “As for what you will do today during the ceremony?” he said. “The ceremony will be held in the council house. Just sit there and let it happen all around you. When you are required to participate, you will be told.”
“Then I will have to do something in the ceremony.” Kaylene sighed. “And I may as well not ask you any more about it. It is obvious that you do not wish to tell me.”
Kaylene stroked Midnight’s head. “My sweet pet,” she murmured, gazing down at the cat. “You cannot come with me today. I hope you will not get too restless.”
Fire Thunder’s eyebrows lifted at this comment, wondering what to expect of the panther if it did become restless?
But he trusted Kaylene’s intuition about the panther. She knew that the animal could be trusted, or else she would not put him in danger by having him here. She knew that if the panther did anything that threatened his people, he would die.
A knock on the door drew Fire Thunder to his feet. When he opened the door, he found Running Fawn standing there, a towel and clothes draped over an arm.
“As you requested, I have come to take Kaylene to the river for a bath,” Running Fawn said, looking past Fire Thunder at Kaylene.
Then she gazed up at Fire Thunder. “Is she truly able to walk to the river?” she asked. “Perhaps I should help her with her bath here in your lodge.”
“She is strong enough to walk to the river,” Fire Thunder said, knowing that Kaylene had to start moving around more in order to gain back her full strength. “But be careful not to get the bandage on her shoulder wet. She should walk only to her knees into the river. You enter with her and bathe her.”
Kaylene could scarcely hear what was being said, except that she had heard the words “river” and “bath.”
Surely they weren’t discussing her. Her knees were still weak. How could she be expected to make it to the river? And there would be no privacy.
No, surely they weren’t discussing her.
Fire Thunder turned to Kaylene. “Come,” he said, gesturing to her. “You will go to the river with Running Fawn.”
He looked toward his sister. In sign language he told her to get her clean clothes, towel, and soap, and to go to the river with Running Fawn and Kaylene.
Kaylene stared up in disbelief at him. They had been discussing her. She would have to go to the river.
And as she watched Little Sparrow scurrying around, gathering fresh clothes from a trunk that sat along the far wall, and then a towel and soap, she realized that Little Sparrow was also going to be a part of this excursion.
“Kaylene, it is best that you secure Midnight on a leash now, for you will go after your bath then to the council house for the curing ceremony,” Fire Thunder explained. “I leave you now to go and say a final good-bye to Good Bear. While you bathe, he will be taken to the burial grounds. All of my people, except for my sister and Running Fawn, will be there. You will have total privacy while at the river.”
As though in a daze, knowing it was useless to argue with Fire Thunder, Kaylene took a rope that Fire Thunder handed to her and tied it gently around Midnight’s neck. She secured him to the iron bedpost of the bed, hugged him, then left the lodge with Running Fawn and Little Sparrow.
As she walked through the dim twilight of morning, she winced when she heard coming from the very council house where she would endure the curing ceremony, chants being said over Good Bear’s body. She sucked in a wild breath when a woman’s voice rose over the rest, shouting Good Bear’s name, then hysterically crying.
“That is Good Bear’s mother,” Running Fawn said, shivering as the mourning cries rose into the air like white silver flashes. “If not for your bath, I would be there, a part of the mourning.”
“Go on if you feel you must,” Kaylene said, her knees trembling as she moved slowly toward the river. Her shoulder seemed heavier with each step she took, although thankfully it was not paining her.
“My duty is to you this morning,” Running Fawn said, proudly lifting her chin. “It is something I wish to do, though, because you are my friend.”
Little Sparrow took Kaylene by the hand as they came to the bank of the river. Little Sparrow smiled up at her, then unbashfully let go of Kaylene’s hand and undressed.
Folding her arms over her tiny breasts, she ran into the river.
Kaylene watched as Little Sparrow began to swim. She was so expert a swimmer, it was as though she had been born with the fins of a fish.
“Let me help you get your clothes off,” Running Fawn said, laying the fresh, clean clothes for both her and Kaylene on the ground. She left the towels closer to the river, so that they could cover themselves when they left the water.
“I just don’t know,” Kaylene said, taking a slow step away from Running Fawn.
“You are not used to bathing with others?” Running Fawn asked.
“No, never,” Kaylene said, taking a quick glance over at the council house, now silent.
