“Dawning”
Excerpt my book “Dawning”.
The thin crescent of the moon gave poor light. The girl didn’t need it as she trotted after
the siblings. This was one of their
favorite games, hide and seek. Her
senses of sight, sound and smell weren’t as good as theirs, but her dream was
strong. Her bare feet melted tracks in
the faint trace of snow under the trees.
She paused briefly
as something to the south caught her attention.
It was human. She watched for a
while. This one had more dream then
usual. It was male. No there were two of them. Their dreams were worrying about some human
thing. Not a threat, she decided losing
interest and turning back to finding the siblings. Sister was up a tree. She was too easy to find. Brother had woven an illusion, while the male
humans had distracted the girl. He was
harder to find, but she did.
Then it was her
turn to hide. She had to be
cleverer. Not only did she have to mask
herself from their dream, but from their physical senses also. She rolled in a tangle of herb that should
confuse the siblings’ senses. Quickly
she found a downed hollow tree and crawled into it. Then she wove the illusion that should hide
her. She fell asleep waiting. A rough tongue on her cheek told her she had
been found. She stretched and crawled
out of her hiding place.
The sun was
rising. She shivered briefly at the
chill in the morning air then dreamed herself warmer. Since she was naked compared to the siblings,
Mother had showed her this when she could hardly walk. The only part of her covered with hair was
her head, but unlike the siblings whose hair grew a set length, hers refused to
stop. It hung down her back in tangled
strands of reddish gold. She tried to
keep the twigs and leaves out and on occasion Mother made her wash it in the
stream. It wasn’t much fun, because
unlike the siblings who could lick theirs clean and dry, hers stayed wet and
dripped for a long time.
In the distance a
horn sounded. The siblings turned their
heads in that direction and tasted the wind.
She sent her dream searching.
Hunters. They were not interested
in them, but it paid to be careful and they had strayed far in their game of
hide and seek.
‘Let us go,’
dreamed Sister, always the most timid of the three.
She agreed.
‘Ride,’ dreamed
Brother.
So she climbed on
his back and grabbed his fur. The two
siblings loped off through the underbrush.
She turned and sent a dream strand to watch the human hunters. Their minds were occupied with the hunt.
Soon the three were
over the hill and back into familiar territory.
Still the siblings loped on and she rode. She kept finding her attention pulled to the
humans. There were twenty. Only two of them had any dream of
significance. She was puzzled why they
attracted her attention. Finally she
dropped them from her thoughts. She was
hungry and the season of easy food was over.
She would have to spend more time and energy hunting. Soon the small things would make their winter
sleep and the supply would be thinner still.
She didn’t need much, but she also didn’t have the extra layers of fat
like the siblings.
Brother slowed
down as they reached the area they had left when they started their game the
night before. Mother was waiting. She was anxious, which was unusual.
‘Didn’t you feel
the hunters?’ Mother dreamed.
‘She kept looking
at them,’ Sister answered.
She kept
silent. She wasn’t sure why it was wrong
to dream look at the hunters. They
couldn’t find her.
Mother turned her
furry head to look at her. ‘The two of
you go,’ Mother dreamed at the siblings.
They scooted off up the hill.
‘Did they call to
you?’ asked Mother.
‘No. I was just curious,’ she said. ‘Did I do wrong to watch them?’
‘Most of the
Earthkind cannot feel us,’ answered Mother.
‘For them it doesn’t not hurt to watch, but there are a few. The ones like you, who can hear our
dreams. Those we do not care to bring
any closer than we can.’
‘None of them
heard me,’ assured the girl.
‘I know you are
careful,’ comforted Mother, ‘but they call to you even when they do not try.’
‘Why is that?’
asked the girl.
‘Because they are
your kind,’ answered Mother.
‘I know they are
my kind,’ dreamed the girl, ‘but why do they pull on my attention.’
‘Especially the
males?’ asked Mother.
The girl was
silent for a moment then agreed.
‘You are
mature. It is the time to find your
mate. That is why your attention
wavers.’
‘But I am not
interested in a mate,’ replied the girl.
‘Your mind, no,
but your body, yes,’ answered Mother.
‘You are mature and your body seeks your dreamer mate.’
The girl was
silent, thinking. Mother let her.
‘I have to leave,
don’t I?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ said Mother. ‘Even if you fought your body’s desire to find your mate, your mate would coming looking for you. Your time with us is done, but I am not sure if you are ready for the company of humans.’
The girl was
quiet. ‘I need a second skin,’ she
dreamed picturing the clothes of men.
‘Yes, but that is
the easy part,’ said her mother. ‘You also
need a second skin around your inner self.
I’m afraid you will not see things the way they do and…most of them do
not dream. They will not understand if
you tell them. It will be best if you do
not tell them.’ The bear lifted her head
and looked at the girl. ‘There will be
some who would will be afraid of your ability and others would have you use the
dream for their ends. It is hard to
understand the reasons among humans.
There are no rules I can give you.’
The Bear moved away after the two siblings. ‘Come, we will talk, but with the hunters out
it is best if we move away from the area they think theirs.
‘You’ve been as
good as any cub to me,’ continued the Bear.
‘I would keep you here, but the dreams will call you away and I cannot
see your path.’
The girl felt the
sadness in her foster mother so she responded, ‘You have done what you
could. You are right. I cannot stay. Should I look for my mate?’
The Bear turned to
look at her as they walked. ‘It will be
easier, I think, when you find your mate, but no. For now I think you will need to be a human
and find a way to fit into their patterns.
We will have to think of story to explain why you have been gone all
these years,’ said the sow.
‘Will they not
understand that I am an orphan?’ asked the girl.
‘Yes, but among
the furry ones, no.’ They walked. Finally Mother said, ‘There was on the
northern side of the ridge a small group of them that died recently when one of
their kind brought sickness. Perhaps you
can say you have been there.’
‘Is that a lie?’
asked the girl her amber eyes looking at the bear.
‘If you walk from
there to the next habitation and say you came from there, it will be true. This is one thing about humans, cub, the
humans’ own words are ambiguous enough that truth can be said and not
understood.’
‘Is that not still
a lie?’
‘You will do
yourself more harm if you give them the full truth and they will not believe it
half as much as part of the truth. It is
never good with humans to say all that you are thinking. They are not used to that idea. Look to see how much of an answer they want,’
said the bear. ‘They are usually not
clever enough to ask the right questions.
Since they cannot hear dreams they never know all the truth. Their minds are clouded with ideas they
create. It is difficult to change their
thinking and not usually worth the effort.’
The girl thought
about this as they walked. ‘So I should
go to this dead human place and find some skin to wear and then walk to a place
where humans still dwell.’
‘Yes, they would
never believe you lived fifteen years with us.
Let them create their own ideas.
The less you say, the less you will need to say.’
‘I don’t want to
leave, Mother.’
‘I would not let
you go, but…’
‘If I have a mate,
it is with the humans?’
‘Everyone deserves
a chance, little one.’
‘Your idea is a
good one,’ she said at last. ‘How soon
should I leave?’
The Bear turned to
look at her. ‘What does your dream tell
you?’
The girl was sad
and her steps slowed. ‘Now.’
‘Yes,’ said the
Bear. ‘We will go with you to the dead
place.’
The girl nodded.
‘You
will need a name.’
The
girl looked at the Bear with surprise.
‘But I’m me!’
‘Humans
cannot see the dream that is you, so they need names. You should choose one.’
‘Did
my mother have a name for me?’ asked the girl.
The
Bear sighed, ‘She had no time to give you anything but life.’
The
girl looked around at the morning sky and the new crescent moon that was fading
in the light. ‘Dawning?’
The Bear’s dream was mirthful, ‘A good choice, my third cub. One I think your own mother would have chosen.’
Find the ‘rest of the story’ at Dawning. Follow the link to find paperback or ebook on Amazon. If you read the rest of the book, I would appreciate a review on Goodreads or Amazon. Thank you.
