Singing Wolf straightened, his keen eyes cataloging faces. "I don't see her. I guess I'd better go back and look. Maybe she stopped."
"I'll go." Dancing Fox stared uneasily at the falling dark.
"Alone? There might be—"
"Don't worry." She smiled slyly at him. "I lived out there alone, for several turnings of Moon Woman. I'll be fine. Besides, Talon's my responsibility. You keep camp in order, I'll find her."
He looked uncertain, but nodded.
Dancing Fox took her darts, walking swiftly back down the trail they'd made, scuff marks of the People's long boots marking the way where the snow had drifted in the lee of the rocks.
How long since she'd seen her? An hour? Maybe two? She'd become involved in a conversation with Green Water, talking about the Others.
Shadows stretched as the evening darkened. An owl hooted out in the rocks. Three crows passed overhead, their wings rasping on the air while they clucked and cooed to each other. Stillness settled on the land, dropping with the mantle of night.
"Talon?" Her voice carried like a bleat in the evening.
She picked up her feet to trot, eyes searching the trail as she wound around glacial cobbles.
"Talon?"
"Here, girl," it came as a faint echo on the wavering breezes.
Weaving through a jagged scatter of boulders, she found her.
Talon rested on a smooth granite slab. Behind her, boulders had been piled by the retreating glacier to form a shelter from the wind. Silt and sand had blown in to stop the gaps in the gray rock. A few tendrils of exploring wormwood hung from the precarious dirt. Overhead, the sky darkened, scattered clouds drifting down from the north.
Talon looked up, meeting her eyes. She worked her wrinkled lips over toothless gums and shook her head wryly before smiling. A twinkle reflected from the ancient eyes as she braced herself.
"Found me, eh?"
"You get lost, or stop to—"
"Can't go on, girl."
Fox bent over the old woman where she sat, hands clutching up one bony knee. "What?"
"It's just that time, is all," Talon said easily, head cocked to look up at Fox. "I've been holding the rest back, always the last in line. I think I'll just find a nice spot and sit."
"No, Talon. We're making camp. You can—"
"No." A delicate hand reached up to pat her as understanding dawned and Fox's eyes widened. "Now, child, don't start that. I've been around long enough to know how these things work. I can feel death close. My soul's itching to go." She waved toward the few gleaming stars poking through the rainbow blanket flooding the sky.
A hollow expanse spread in Fox's stomach; she whispered, "What will I do without you?"
Talon laughed. "Oh, you'll get along, child. I'm proud of you. You've got spirit like women in the old days. Ah, that day you grabbed Mouse by the throat made my heart warm. And then do you remember that dart cast you made before Renewal? Knocked that snow goose right out of the air! Lot of men can't make the beat of that!"
"Come on, you've rested now. Let's go. The People aren't camped more than a dart's throw over that hill up there. I should have kept better watch. If I would have—"
"Would have nothing," Talon grunted. "Took me two days of hobbling on these worn-out legs to finally get a chance to
sneak away. And Green Water was enjoying talking to you. Good woman, that Green Water."
"But you can't—"
"Of course I can." She pushed Dancing Fox away. "It's a matter of responsibility. Look at me. I can't work hides. I fall asleep when I'm supposed to be caring for the children while the women are out hunting, trapping, and picking plants. Besides, I know I'm going to die this Long Dark."
"You don't know that."
"I do. And Fox, knowing that, what's better for the People? Should I sit around and eat up the meat stores, take food out of a baby's mouth? No, you never can tell about Long Darks. Food's critical."
"What if I want you to have mine?"
Talon grinned tenderly. "You're a good girl, but I wouldn't eat it."
"Why not?"
"I've drained myself dry, Fox, teaching stories and what I know about hunting and gathering. That's how it works among the People. We pass things on. You live like I showed you, and one of these years, you'll teach someone. That's what's important."
Dancing Fox shook her head. "I can't see how you know you're going to die."
Talon laughed. "The young never can."
"Camp's just a little way up the trail. At least go that far. I'll help you with—"
"No, child." Talon shook her head. "Go on, leave me. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I know better. The best I can do, I've done. You go find your Dreamer, girl. Find your future."