One
Pale Cloud Giants sailed westward, their bellies gilded with the hues of morning. Against the sere blue winter sky, they seemed to be huge animals fleeing the newborn glare cast by Grandfather Day Maker’s face.
Silver Sparrow glanced at them, and followed their lead, heading west. The cool air carried the scents of wet earth and frozen bark. He inhaled deeply as he tramped up the frosty trail through the forest.
Huge hickory trees towered above him, their bare limbs stark. Among the branches birds flitted and sang, creating a pleasant serenade. When he reached the top of the hill, he turned to look back at the black tracery of shadows painting the forest. The filigree wavered, rushing toward him when the wind blew, then flying away before he could reach out to touch it. His knees shook badly. He’d seen fifty-three winters, and felt each one this morning. Long white hair swayed around his owlish face as he braced his feet to keep standing. Three days of fasting and praying had weakened his body, but his souls floated in euphoria, like bits of cattail down sailing on a warm autumn breeze.
He started to turn back to the trail, but movement caught his eye. He squinted. Something blue flashed through the trees.
Sparrow stood quietly, waiting.
A man emerged. He wore a pack on his back, beneath his cape, and it made him look like a hunchback. Their people made a variety of winter garments: capes, heavy coats, short jackets. Each person had their own preferences.
“Oh, no,” Sparrow whispered to himself. “Blessed ancestors, not today. Not when I so desperately need to be alone.”
Tall Blue climbed the hill. His waist-length black hair gleamed with each step. The blue designs painted around the hem of his buckskin cape flashed as he walked through the streaks of sunlight. Twenty-seven winters old, he had a long straight nose and wide mouth. He also had a reputation for valor. No doubt the reason he’d been chosen for this task.
“I am seeking a vision!” Sparrow shouted at the top of his lungs, startling the birds into silence. “I don’t care what’s happened, Blue!”
Sparrow turned and forced his rubbery legs to carry him down the trail and across a meadow, hoping to outdistance the young man dogging his steps. Voles and mice leaped through the grass at the sound of his moccasins, scurrying for cover.
Sparrow shook his head in disgust. He hadn’t the strength to engage in a lengthy conversation about anything. This had to be Dust Moon’s doing. She was forever trying to sabotage his vision quests. The worst part was, as matron of Earth Thunderer Village, she had the right.
“Elder?” Tall Blue called in a deep apologetic voice. “Wait. Please?”
Sparrow pushed his legs harder, crunching over frozen leaves.
“Go home, Blue!”
Tall Blue spread his arms, as if helpless to comply.
Legs wobbling, Sparrow went to a fallen log and slumped down atop it, yelling, “The Spirits are watching you, Tall Blue. Do you know this? They are watching and saying, ‘Look at that young war leader annoying his elders. What shall we do with him?’”
Tall Blue smiled. Sparrow had said similar words to him many times when Tall Blue had been a gangly growing boy.
“I am not here of my own choice, Elder. You must know this.”
“Yes, of course. But for the sake of your great-grandmother’s ghost, Blue, you also know I need to be alone! Why did you allow Dust Moon to bully you into coming?”
“Patron Buffalo Skull also asked me to speak with you, Elder.”
A pinecone rested on the log a short distance away. Sparrow picked it up and threw it at the war leader. Tall Blue dodged the cone, gave Sparrow an indignant look, and continued walking.
He stopped ten paces in front of Sparrow. “Forgive me, Elder. I really do carry important news from our clan leaders.”
Sparrow folded his arms. “But mostly from Dust Moon, correct? What happened? Did she discover a boil and wishes me to come and Dance over it?”
Embarrassed by the lightness with which Sparrow took their clan matron’s wishes, Tall Blue lowered his gaze and blinked at the ground. “A passing Trader stopped and told us some terrible things.”
Sparrow heaved a breath, but didn’t answer. It was always something.
Tall Blue shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I know this is a distraction, Elder, but I must speak with you.”
Sparrow’s chest tightened. A distraction! Dust Moon must have told him that. Tall Blue would never think of something so ridiculous by himself. For the Earth Thunderer Clan, nothing was more important than seeking guidance from the Spirit World. Including impending warfare … which was surely why Tall Blue had come.
Sparrow closed his eyes, grumbled something unpleasant, then gestured to the log. “Sit down, Blue. What is it?”