655G Land of the Painted Caves (final files).indd

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‘T
here you are!’ Kimeran said, getting up from a stone seat on the ledge in
front of the shelter of the Seventh Cave to greet Ayla and Jondalar, who
had just climbed up the path. Wolf followed behind them and Jonayla was
awake and propped up on Ayla’s hip. ‘We knew you had come, and then no
one knew where you were.’
Jondalar’s old friend, Kimeran, the leader of Elder Hearth, the Second
Cave of the Zelandonii had been waiting for him. The very tall light-haired
man bore a superficial resemblance to six-foot-six-inch Jondalar with his pale
yellow hair. Though many men were tall – over six feet – both Jondalar and
Kimeran had towered over their other age-mates at their puberty rites. They
were drawn to each other and quickly became friends. Kimeran was also the
brother of the Zelandoni of the Second Cave, and the uncle of Jondecam but
more like a brother. His sister was quite a bit older, and she had raised him
after their mother died, along with her own son and daughter. Her mate had
also passed on to the next world, and not long afterward she began training
for the zelandonia.
‘The First wanted Ayla to see your Horsehead, and then we needed to get
our horses settled,’ Jondalar said.
‘They are going to love your field. The grass is so green and rich,’ Ayla added.
‘We call it Sweet Valley. The Little Grass River runs through the middle of
it, and the flood plain has widened into a large field. It can get marshy in
spring from snowmelt, and when the rains come in fall, but in summer when
everything else is dried out, that field stays fresh and green,’ Kimeran said, as
they continued walking toward the living space beneath the overhanging
upper shelf. ‘It attracts a nice procession of grazers through here all summer
long and makes hunting easy. Either the Second or the Seventh Cave always
has someone watching.’
They approached more people. ‘You remember Sergenor, the leader of the
Seventh Cave, don’t you?’ Kimeran said to the visiting couple, indicating a
middle-aged dark-haired man who had been standing back eyeing the wolf
warily, and letting the younger leader greet his friends.