Free Death on the Trek by Kaye George Page A

come of this.
    Hama ignored his thoughts and approached Tikihoo to give her a soft pat, as the others were doing.
    For the next few suns, Panan slept near Tikihoo and even mated with her openly. Vala Golden Hair wept often. Her green eyes, so pretty at most times, were ringed with red. She ignored Sooka, her child, and the others had to take care of the helpless infant. The males were the ones who did most of the dragging of the heavy loads, so the females usually watched after Sooka. Some of the males were taken with the child and liked to tend her also.
    One very warm day the task fell to Enga. The girl would not stay content for more than a few moments. Enga watched Whim dart and dash on his chubby legs and wished Sooka would learn to walk. What if she never did? Whim saw a bird and jumped to try to catch it. He was younger than Sooka, but had been walking for several moons.
    The skin of Sooka was light, even more light than that of Vala. The beaming of Sister Sun made her glow with the color of sunset. Blisters had formed on her face and arms at the beginning of the trek. Now the females covered her arms with skin wrappings, which she tried to pull off, but her face still suffered.
    The day Enga had charge of Sooka, Gunda, the oldest birth-daughter of Hama, spotted a small peccary and managed to spear it. At dark time, the children gathered sticks from the ground of a copse nearby. With the permission of Hama, Akkal took a bit of his fire and lit the branches to roast the meat of the peccary. There was only enough for a few bites for each person. Enga closed her eyes to chew and sensed the joy of the whole tribe at the taste of fresh, familiar meat.
    When they were finished eating, Zhoo of Still Waters, the Healer, collected much of the fat from the animal and put it in her pouch. Next she rubbed some on the sore face of Sooka, who smiled and cooed when the fat relieved her pain. After that, Zhoo smeared some on Sooka’s face every night. In the morning, she renewed it and also patted some dirt on the fat. That kept most of the fiery fierceness of Sister Sun from burning the baby.
    For some time after Enga had given the name Tikihoo to the Hooden, Hapa went from one brother and sister to another, complaining about Tikihoo being with them. He would not use the name Enga had given her, but called her the Hooden. He laid much blame on Panan. He even blamed Panan and “the Hooden” for the fact that they were not yet in a place where they could settle.
    Enga was alarmed that Hapa did not try to conceal any of this. She could tell that feelings were growing against Panan in some of the brothers and sisters. That was, she thought, caused by what Hapa kept repeating. She heard mutterings about Mootak Big Heart being made the official Storyteller, the Hava, and taking the job away from Panan. But Panan continued to give the Saga most of the time when they stopped walking at early dark.
    In the mind of Enga, there was a worse thing than Hapa spreading the ill feelings. And that was the role of Hama. She did nothing to counter the division in the tribe. Some were deciding to mutter against Panan, as Hapa did, and others defended him. Hama could have stopped the arguments and dissension, but she did nothing. Enga thought that Hama must be as weary as they all were.
    But this was not proper. Panan had been an Elder of the tribe for a long, long time. He was the mate of Aja Hama when she was alive. He was the seed giver for Lakala Rippling Water, for Fee Long Thrower, and for Tog Flint Shaper. These three were all important members of the Hamapa. After the Aja Hama had left Panan and had mated with another, Panan remained one of her trusted advisors until her death. He deserved respect.
    It was most important that the tribe be in agreement. If they did not stay together, they were not likely to survive. Their numbers would be too small and they would not have enough people to do all of the tasks of the tribe.
    So why, Enga wondered,