turned up the little stream that flowed from the pool below the falls that concealed the communion cave.
Ke-ola floated in the current and called to his brother, “Hey, Keoki, you’re gonna love this, man! This is the magic place I told you about when we were on the ship. You should come in now. The water is warm, feels great.”
“Stinks a little,” Keoki said, drawing near and peering into the water from which a light steam rose.
“Get used to it!” Ke-ola told him. “You think that’s bad, man, wait till you smell what it’s like out near our new place.”
Keoki wrinkled his nose but stripped off the three layers of outer clothing he’d been wearing against the chill, held his nose, and jumped in.
When the twins reached the pool at the foot of the waterfall, they saw the Honus tagging far behind them, a line of upturned cauldrons in stately procession. Ke-ola, Sky, and Keoki climbed to the top of the waterfall and slid down it into the pool. Ronan said,
Come on, sis, let’s do that too!
But Murel, suddenly self-conscious, replied,
But we’d have to change . . .
So what? Ke-ola and Keoki know we change.
Maybe so, but we shouldn’t be so careless about it,
she said. That wasn’t the real reason. She wasn’t even sure what the real reason was, but lately, sometimes, she’d felt some differences in her body that had nothing to do with changing into a seal.
Have it your way,
Ronan said. The truth was, he enjoyed being back in their own waters so much, he didn’t want to come out any sooner than necessary.
So they played the game their own way. Murel hid behind the falls and leaped over Ke-ola when he splashed into the foam at the bottom of the pool. Ronan dived under Keoki when he splashed in. When Sky fell, he didn’t reach the pool because Murel leaped up and caught him on her back, shedding him when she plunged deeper into the sulfurous warm water.
While the rest of them climbed, leaped, and dived, the Honus continued to make their way up the side of the stream until the path intersected with the one used by the villagers during latchkays.
After one more circuit in the waterfall by the frolicking youngsters, the Honus came abreast of them, then walked under the fall and into the communion cave.
Ke-ola almost landed on top of Murel’s head as she paused to watch the last short triangular Honu tail disappear within the cascade.
Ke-ola surfaced and saw her looking after the tortoises. “Is something wrong?”
She couldn’t answer directly. There wasn’t anything wrong, but the power of the caves could be very strong. She’d never known others to enter without a native Petaybean, usually someone like Clodagh, beside them.
Catching her concern, Sky scrambled onto the bank and dashed after the Honus.
Otters belong to this world. Otters can show the Honus the world, and the world the Honus.
Well, so could river seals. She and Ronan were the emissaries, after all.
Keep the Ke boys here, Ro. I’ll change in the cave.
The Honus and Sky were no longer in the outer cave. Murel shook herself off and loosened the harness holding her dry suit, climbing quickly into it. She followed the padding of ponderous Honu feet and the patter of otter paws on the cave’s stone floor. Eleven leathery Honu heads craned from eleven shells, and eleven pairs of eyes widened as the heads swayed back and forth, taking in the cave. Sky ran circles around them, chattering away about how this was much better—hundreds and hundreds better—than the caves back on their old world.
You tell the Honus too, Murel,
Sky said when he saw her.
Tell them how our world is better.
She sat on one of the stone benches and shook her head.
You’re doing a great job, Sky. River seals don’t tell these things any better than otters.
That was true, of course, though she knew she probably would have mentioned more things the Honus might like and less about how very tasty the fish and river grasses were and how many wonderful muddy
Ke-ola floated in the current and called to his brother, “Hey, Keoki, you’re gonna love this, man! This is the magic place I told you about when we were on the ship. You should come in now. The water is warm, feels great.”
“Stinks a little,” Keoki said, drawing near and peering into the water from which a light steam rose.
“Get used to it!” Ke-ola told him. “You think that’s bad, man, wait till you smell what it’s like out near our new place.”
Keoki wrinkled his nose but stripped off the three layers of outer clothing he’d been wearing against the chill, held his nose, and jumped in.
When the twins reached the pool at the foot of the waterfall, they saw the Honus tagging far behind them, a line of upturned cauldrons in stately procession. Ke-ola, Sky, and Keoki climbed to the top of the waterfall and slid down it into the pool. Ronan said,
Come on, sis, let’s do that too!
But Murel, suddenly self-conscious, replied,
But we’d have to change . . .
So what? Ke-ola and Keoki know we change.
Maybe so, but we shouldn’t be so careless about it,
she said. That wasn’t the real reason. She wasn’t even sure what the real reason was, but lately, sometimes, she’d felt some differences in her body that had nothing to do with changing into a seal.
Have it your way,
Ronan said. The truth was, he enjoyed being back in their own waters so much, he didn’t want to come out any sooner than necessary.
So they played the game their own way. Murel hid behind the falls and leaped over Ke-ola when he splashed into the foam at the bottom of the pool. Ronan dived under Keoki when he splashed in. When Sky fell, he didn’t reach the pool because Murel leaped up and caught him on her back, shedding him when she plunged deeper into the sulfurous warm water.
While the rest of them climbed, leaped, and dived, the Honus continued to make their way up the side of the stream until the path intersected with the one used by the villagers during latchkays.
After one more circuit in the waterfall by the frolicking youngsters, the Honus came abreast of them, then walked under the fall and into the communion cave.
Ke-ola almost landed on top of Murel’s head as she paused to watch the last short triangular Honu tail disappear within the cascade.
Ke-ola surfaced and saw her looking after the tortoises. “Is something wrong?”
She couldn’t answer directly. There wasn’t anything wrong, but the power of the caves could be very strong. She’d never known others to enter without a native Petaybean, usually someone like Clodagh, beside them.
Catching her concern, Sky scrambled onto the bank and dashed after the Honus.
Otters belong to this world. Otters can show the Honus the world, and the world the Honus.
Well, so could river seals. She and Ronan were the emissaries, after all.
Keep the Ke boys here, Ro. I’ll change in the cave.
The Honus and Sky were no longer in the outer cave. Murel shook herself off and loosened the harness holding her dry suit, climbing quickly into it. She followed the padding of ponderous Honu feet and the patter of otter paws on the cave’s stone floor. Eleven leathery Honu heads craned from eleven shells, and eleven pairs of eyes widened as the heads swayed back and forth, taking in the cave. Sky ran circles around them, chattering away about how this was much better—hundreds and hundreds better—than the caves back on their old world.
You tell the Honus too, Murel,
Sky said when he saw her.
Tell them how our world is better.
She sat on one of the stone benches and shook her head.
You’re doing a great job, Sky. River seals don’t tell these things any better than otters.
That was true, of course, though she knew she probably would have mentioned more things the Honus might like and less about how very tasty the fish and river grasses were and how many wonderful muddy
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