“Two Petals, you don’t have to—”
“We’ve Dreamed this. Both of us. Over and over. This time we don’t have to. You can help me learn what I need to know.” She gripped his hard shaft, tightening her hold until he gasped. “Is this distracting?”
“Gods, yes!”
“I have to learn.”
“Learn . . . what?” His concentration was shredding.
“What they know.”
“Who?”
“All those distracting women.” She bent down, taking his nipple in her teeth, teasing it gently.
Distracting women? What women?
Then his thoughts fluttered off—as lost as Two Petals’ rhetorical birds.
In the dim morning light, Old White looked into his fabric sack. He let his gaze rest on the smooth lines of the object inside; then he laced the sack tightly closed again. Soon, he thought. And what would the reaction be when he removed it for the final time? He turned his gaze to the war medicine box, hidden in its bag. So many things were coming together, a convergence of Power that he could but imperfectly comprehend.
He laid his bag aside and stirred the fire, having coaxed some of last night’s coals to life, and added kindling. As the flames leapt up and snapped at him, he caught movement from Trader’s bed, and saw him slip naked from the covers. Swimmer rose from where he’d bedded down on Trader’s shirt, stretched, and waved his tail. Trader shooed the dog off and pulled the wadded shirt over his broad shoulders. Two Petals’ face was obscured by the dark swirl of her black hair where it spilled over the blanket.
Trader turned, saw Old White watching, and stiffened. Mortification filled the man’s face as he fled down the slope to relieve himself. Moments later, he walked uncertainly up the slope; Swimmer, taking time to pee on grass stems, followed behind. Trader glanced at the sleeping Paunch, and continued awkwardly to squat on the other side of the fire.
“Two Petals came to my bed last night.”
Old White cocked his head, using his stick to stir the fire again. He reached out and gave Swimmer his customary morning petting. “I wonder, when a Contrary cries, ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ does it mean ‘No, no, no’?”
“She did?” Trader looked like he’d just swallowed a live frog.
“Um-hum.”
“Oh.”
“She wasn’t the only one.”
“Sorry.”
Old White gave him a curious look. “Then you are a lesser man than I would have been.”
“Look, she came to me. Talking some nonsense about learning about distraction.”
“Don’t be so defensive. She’s a woman. You’re a man. I’ve seen the way you look at each other; I’m just surprised it has taken this long.”
“It was her choice,” Trader said lamely.
“Could I give you a word of advice?”
“Of course.”
“She’s not a normal woman.”
“I discovered that last night.”
“Believe me, I’m well aware,” Old White said dryly. “But I’m not referring to repeated athletics.”
“What then?”
Old White met Trader’s nervous eyes. “I would warn you not to expect any change between the two of you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well”—he prodded the fire—“generally when a man and woman couple, it changes the way they regard each other. The act serves to alter their relationship . . . a shared intimacy that comes across in looks, in how they behave toward each other.”
“I am fully aware of that.” He shot a sidelong look at Two Petals. “You think she’ll be different?”
“She’s already different. What I’m saying is that I wouldn’t be upset if she acts like she always has. Last night may have changed the way you feel about her, but don’t expect her to reciprocate. Do you see where my canoe floats? I’m betting she won’t have the same emotional reaction you do. Last night wasn’t about love, or a bonding between a husband and wife. It was something else, something Power led her to.”
“Oh.”
Old White watched Swimmer scratch after a flea. “In short, don’t expect her to wake up beaming with affection for you, ready to hold hands and smile into your eyes. Expect her to wake up as a Contrary, that same distance in her eyes, uttering the same confounding statements.” He paused. “That’s a guess, of course, but I’m willing to bet it’s a good one.”
Trader frowned down at the fire, nodding. “Yes. I think I already knew that.”
“But you hadn’t really thought it all through?”
“No.” He glanced up, a shy smile on his lips. “Thank you, Seeker. I would have ended up there eventually, but you probably saved me some discomfort.”