People of the Fire(144)

Little Dancer wound around the stands of rabbitbrush, a weary stumbling to his walk. Like a man in a dream, he made his way. The wolf trotted swiftly to one side, panting in the heat.

Not until he stood before Two Smokes did the old berdache realize the difference. The ecstasy stilled in his heart as he looked up. "Little Dancer?"

That familiar face had changed; even the scar on his cheek seemed to stand out, lit from within.

"You've found the secret?"

Two Smokes nodded, aware of the strange glow in the young man's eyes, like he lived a Dream. "It's the seeds." He paused. "We can collect the seeds. In a basket like we do berries and . . . Little Dancer, what happened?"

"I Dreamed with the First Man." Little Dancer's voice sounded faraway. "He came, found me on the top of the rock. Together we Dreamed . . . and, Two Smokes, it was so beautiful ... so beautiful." He smiled, lost in the memory.

So it had happened after all? Little Dancer had found his Power? "And Elk Charm? What about her?"

Little Dancer smiled, lighting a part of the old man's soul. "Wolf Dreamer will protect her. I asked . . . asked that you all be protected."

"What about you?"

Little Dancer reached out to place both hands on his shoulders. Two Smokes started at the touch, a tingling shooting through him. He lost himself in the depths of the brown eyes staring so thoughtfully into his. "Two Smokes, I see now. You've given so much, and no one has ever understood. You've found the secret of the grass?"

"Yes. You have to collect the seeds. They're little—but they're everywhere. It's not the stems, you see, but the seeds that are important. I—I never thought to grind them! That's the difference. And—and it's been right before my eyes the whole time! Grind the seeds into a paste like we do with biscuit root."

"And you've tasted this?"

"Well, not yet, but I can. I will, I'll bet it's wonderful!"

Little Dancer closed his eyes, tilting his head back. "Would you collect some? Make it for me? The first ... to take with me?"

The heart almost stopped in Two Smokes' chest. "Take with you? You're going Dreaming?"

Little Dancer's face pained slightly, dimming the Power in his eyes. "I have to go. The Wolf Bundle needs me. It's time, old friend. The Spiral has come around. But I just don't know how I-"

"But there's a war going on up there!"

Little Dancer smiled nervously. "And maybe it will end now. Maybe I can Dream it away.''

"You can't Dream all those Short Buffalo People away, and Blood Bear—"

"Is my father. Circles, Two Smokes, everything runs in Circles—even the Spiral." The touch, so light on the old man's shoulders, lifted. "Make me your grass secret. Despite the worry I see in your eyes, Two Smokes, your heart is near to bursting over this. Your happiness glows around you like a warm fire on a cold night."

Little Dancer's smile wavered and he looked away, lost within himself.

"What has happened to you?" asked Two Smokes. "You're different. Is it the Power?"

Little Dancer seemed to hesitate, unsure. "I ... I don't know what to say anymore. People . . . Elk Charm . . . they don't . . ."He offered his hands, a pleading expression twisting his face. "Two Smokes, I Dreamed with the First Man. I saw the illusion of all this." He gestured at the world around them. He lifted his hands, staring at them in awe. "We touched, He and I, and we Danced and Dreamed and Sang. Together, we shared the One ... the harmony of. . . of. . . everything."

Two Smokes listened, nodding. "Go on."

Little Dancer dropped to his knees, heedless of the sharp rocks. "But I . . . The One, it's a whole wondrous . Your soul Sings, and Dances, and . . . and ..." He stur to a stop, a glow reflecting the experience in his mind. "It's …”

Two Smokes reached down, taking the young mans hands, pulling to lift him. "Tell me. Tell me about Wolf Dreamer and the One. Tell me about it."

The anguished look returned. "It's beautiful, like the wheeling of the stars and joy of the light and the heart of a snowflake and the drifting of a bit of down. And your soul pulses with the Power, is One with it. Breathes with it." His eyes cleared. "Do you understand?"

Two Smokes frowned, holding Little Dancer's hands tightly. "Sort of. At least, I think I do. The Wolf Bundle used to send a tingle of something like that through me. It was as if I could sense the presence of a huge cavern. My fingertips could only explore the edge."

"I fell through it, and back again, inside out in the light." Little Dancer's fingers flexed and straightened. "But I . . . I . . ."