leaves at the end of each day’s paddle.
They volunteered to dig the latrine and willingly went down to wash
the dishes, anything that would put distance between them and their
guardians and avoid the retribution they were both convinced was
coming.
During these
self-imposed exiles Vlic taught Lucien how to find his way amongst
the trees by checking which side the moss grew, and widened his
knowledge of edible planets. In return Lucien read over Vlic’s
written work and helped him with the long words.
They talked a
lot, mainly about hunting and girls, the two subjects uppermost in
both their minds, and by the time they reached the tribal village
they were staunch friends and Iesgood and Jon still had not asked
them how they got hurt.
Chapter
9
The village was
on a broad bluff high above the river, well clear of spring floods.
Lucien had been expecting tents for some reason, and was therefore
surprised by the neat, tidy rows of log built cabins. None were
large, but each was sturdy and well roofed against the harsh winter
weather and each was surrounded by a generous truck garden bursting
with produce.
In the middle
was a wide open space flanked by two much larger buildings.
“ The Men’s house,” Vlic explained to
Lucien, pointing to the one over to the left. “Somewhere to go when
your wife is giving you hell. The Meeting House is on the other
side.”
A thought
struck Lucien. “Are you married?” he asked.
Vlic nodded
moodily. “Yes,” he growled. “She’s a right little bitch and I’ve
refused to live anywhere near her. She was okay when we were kids,
but once she got to twelve she started getting all full of herself.
Then her mother and mine decided it was a good marriage for
us.”
He ground his
teeth at the memory.
“ I stayed about a week. She never stopped
snipping at me the whole time.”
“ Why?”
“ I dunno. Girls are like that, they’re okay
when they’re little and they sure are fine when they’re older, but
in between they’re a pain. I still have to go there to learn bow
making from her father. He’s a mean bastard; probably where she
gets it from. He thrashed me once for what he called ‘larking
about’ when I should’ve been paying attention. I was really pleased
when Dad said I could go downriver with him.”
Ahead of them
men, women and children began to gather in the open space. Jon
caught hold of Lucien and swung him round.
“ Listen carefully,” he said. “You follow me
when greeting adults. You know the procedure with the men, but it’s
different for the women.”
Lucien
nodded.
“ And try not to get into any more fights,”
Jon added.
Before Lucien
could deny everything, Jon was striding forwards towards an elderly
lady standing in the centre of the field. He bowed low, taking both
her hands and kissed the palms.
“ Bweriit Liedwer,” he said respectfully. “May I find rest and safety
amongst your sisters this day?”
“ Welcome back, Harabin dheillwer ,” she replied. “You are welcome this day
and for many more.”
Jon gestured
Lucien forward to follow his example, kissing the woman’s hands and
stumbling only slightly over the new word.
He looked at
the hands before him and saw they were covered in pearl tattoos,
while her wrists were circled by dozens of s-shaped whorls.
“ My marriages,” she told him, seeing his
interest. “I lost count long before I was finally wed.”
She looked up
at him with shrewd grey eyes and Lucien felt in those few seconds
she had learnt everything she needed to know about him and he
flushed a deep crimson.
She
smiled.
“ Welcome, Devlin dheillwer, ” she
said, turning then to Jon. “You’ve taken on a lively one here, my
son.”
“ I know,” Jon replied with a grin. “But
we’re making progress.”
He ruffled
Lucien’s hair, which far from gratified him. He shot Jon a
resentful look, but there was a certain amount of pride in the grin
he got back, pride he realised was directed at him and
They volunteered to dig the latrine and willingly went down to wash
the dishes, anything that would put distance between them and their
guardians and avoid the retribution they were both convinced was
coming.
During these
self-imposed exiles Vlic taught Lucien how to find his way amongst
the trees by checking which side the moss grew, and widened his
knowledge of edible planets. In return Lucien read over Vlic’s
written work and helped him with the long words.
They talked a
lot, mainly about hunting and girls, the two subjects uppermost in
both their minds, and by the time they reached the tribal village
they were staunch friends and Iesgood and Jon still had not asked
them how they got hurt.
Chapter
9
The village was
on a broad bluff high above the river, well clear of spring floods.
Lucien had been expecting tents for some reason, and was therefore
surprised by the neat, tidy rows of log built cabins. None were
large, but each was sturdy and well roofed against the harsh winter
weather and each was surrounded by a generous truck garden bursting
with produce.
In the middle
was a wide open space flanked by two much larger buildings.
“ The Men’s house,” Vlic explained to
Lucien, pointing to the one over to the left. “Somewhere to go when
your wife is giving you hell. The Meeting House is on the other
side.”
A thought
struck Lucien. “Are you married?” he asked.
Vlic nodded
moodily. “Yes,” he growled. “She’s a right little bitch and I’ve
refused to live anywhere near her. She was okay when we were kids,
but once she got to twelve she started getting all full of herself.
Then her mother and mine decided it was a good marriage for
us.”
He ground his
teeth at the memory.
“ I stayed about a week. She never stopped
snipping at me the whole time.”
“ Why?”
“ I dunno. Girls are like that, they’re okay
when they’re little and they sure are fine when they’re older, but
in between they’re a pain. I still have to go there to learn bow
making from her father. He’s a mean bastard; probably where she
gets it from. He thrashed me once for what he called ‘larking
about’ when I should’ve been paying attention. I was really pleased
when Dad said I could go downriver with him.”
Ahead of them
men, women and children began to gather in the open space. Jon
caught hold of Lucien and swung him round.
“ Listen carefully,” he said. “You follow me
when greeting adults. You know the procedure with the men, but it’s
different for the women.”
Lucien
nodded.
“ And try not to get into any more fights,”
Jon added.
Before Lucien
could deny everything, Jon was striding forwards towards an elderly
lady standing in the centre of the field. He bowed low, taking both
her hands and kissed the palms.
“ Bweriit Liedwer,” he said respectfully. “May I find rest and safety
amongst your sisters this day?”
“ Welcome back, Harabin dheillwer ,” she replied. “You are welcome this day
and for many more.”
Jon gestured
Lucien forward to follow his example, kissing the woman’s hands and
stumbling only slightly over the new word.
He looked at
the hands before him and saw they were covered in pearl tattoos,
while her wrists were circled by dozens of s-shaped whorls.
“ My marriages,” she told him, seeing his
interest. “I lost count long before I was finally wed.”
She looked up
at him with shrewd grey eyes and Lucien felt in those few seconds
she had learnt everything she needed to know about him and he
flushed a deep crimson.
She
smiled.
“ Welcome, Devlin dheillwer, ” she
said, turning then to Jon. “You’ve taken on a lively one here, my
son.”
“ I know,” Jon replied with a grin. “But
we’re making progress.”
He ruffled
Lucien’s hair, which far from gratified him. He shot Jon a
resentful look, but there was a certain amount of pride in the grin
he got back, pride he realised was directed at him and
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