Free Daughter of the Eagle by Don Coldsmith Page B

he assured his mother. “Has she not proved herself as a warrior?”
    Bobcat was enough older than his sister to have assumed a protective, almost proprietary air as they grew up. He had encouraged her in her boyish endeavors and had taken great pride in her achievements. It was he who had nominated her as a warrior sister.
    When the girl had requested warrior status, Bobcat was proud, yet mildly amused. Only during the increasing tension of the Challenge and its contests had he begun to feel
strongly about it. By the time his sister had successfully proved herself, he was her most enthusiastic supporter.
    Even so, Bobcat understood her. He saw behind the busy, almost frantic activity to the sensitive emotions of the girl who had always looked up to him as an older brother, to be admired and honored. He was not deceived by her apparent anger, almost hatred, toward Long Walker. Bobcat had recognized the closeness between the two contestants in the Challenge and rejoiced in it.
    Long Walker was one of few young men he had ever known that Bobcat considered worthy of his sister. Walker was an acceptable brother-in-law, one the entire family could receive with pride.
    Bobcat knew his sister well. He was certain that once she had proved her point, Eagle Woman, now Running Eagle, would be ready to settle back and let her budding friendship blossom into marriage. Many young women rode with their husbands in the hunt, and this was the sort of mannish thing that would appeal to Running Eagle.
    He smiled to himself in amusement at the thought. He was perhaps the only one who knew how deeply rooted were her womanly instincts after all. Bobcat alone was aware of the contents of the hidden package behind the lodge lining. The girl had long ago confided to her brother that she was gathering cooking stones for her future as head of her own lodge.
    So Bobcat was unconcerned, in the long run, as to the ultimate outcome of all this. With tolerant amusement he knew that, when she was ready, his headstrong sister would reveal her plans. Until then it was no one’s concern but hers. Even though Bobcat knew that young Walker need have no worry about the eventual outcome, he could do nothing to reassure him. To do so would betray the confidence of Eagle Woman.
    Running Eagle, that is. Aiee , he would have a difficult time until the new name became comfortable.
    The camp had been quiet since the end of the Challenge. It had been only a few suns when Running Eagle announced
that she would go on her vision quest. It was her right to do so, but still her family was uneasy.
    Bobcat knew that the girl’s friend Walker would also be concerned, so he made occasion to spend time with him after Running Eagle had departed. True to their respect for her, neither mentioned the thoughts that concerned them both—the safety of Running Eagle. They discussed the weather, the hunt, tribal politics, and where they were likely to camp for the winter, but the girl was never mentioned. It was as if she did not exist.
    Running Eagle had taken no food, only weapons and a water skin to sustain her through the days of her fast. She chose for her protection her bow, her short knife, and a light war club. It was a weapon that had never appealed to her, but her brother had urged her to take it. It could do no harm.
    Bobcat had watched the girl set out, on foot and alone, with an odd premonition of danger. Strangely, though he felt that she was quite capable of taking care of herself, there was a sadness, a permanence, about this parting.
    He continued to be uneasy as the days passed, feeling moody and depressed. He could not have explained it, this vague sensation of loss and separation. He told himself that it was only because he now faced the loss of his sister, who would come of age through the ritual of the vision quest.
    He felt a great deal of relief, however, when a diversion offered itself. Bobcat had been for a cooling swim in the long, hot afternoon