Chapter 10

As Two Bears tried to contain his excitement, his eyes took in the familiar landmarks that told him that he was getting close to his village. It was early Summer as he made his way through the pines that protected the high hills that were the northern most boundary to his own valley. When he started his descent down into that valley he would be returning to everything and everyone that he loved and cherished. His journey had been a long one, filled with hardship and danger. Twice he had found it necessary to shelter from the winds and snow storms that had made his further immediate travel impossible. He had found refuge in a small village of nomadic herders for a moon, intrigued by the way that the entire village would just pack up all of their possessions and move to better grazing lands for their herd of domesticated animals. He couldn't imagine himself, or the people of his tribe, ever wanting to live like that, constantly on the move, and never enjoying the pursuit of fresh game for the food mats.

He made slow progress as he descended from the hills. A hunter who traveled alone always had to be twice as cautious as one who had others for companions. Any serious mishap and he would be at the mercy of the elements and the predators who shared the forest with the people. Very few experienced hunters hadn't, at some time in their travels, stumbled across the remains of a hunter that had gotten caught out in the open by a pack of marauding wolves or an angry bear or wildcat. The further you were from a village, the more likely you were to wind up as food for some hungry beast. Once he reached the floor of the valley, Two Bears felt relief. He knew that he had only one more night to spend on his journey before reclaiming his place in the village beside the river. For the first time in a long time, his dream of being home again started seeming close to fulfillment. He wiped away the tears that came unbidden to his eyes. It had been such a long and difficult journey for him, and now, he could see that it was finally nearing it's end.

Two Bears wondered if he'd even be able to recognize his two children after having been away from them for so long. Wolf Fang, his son would be in his sixth summer now, and the baby, Twisted Path, would now be big enough to walk and should be able to speak a few words. He was finally able to allow himself to think about how Bent Willow had been able to manage without him around for all of the time that he'd been absent from their lodge. Between Broken Stick, his friend and brother, and Eagle Claw, his father, he knew that fresh meat would have been in plentiful supply on the food mat beside the opening to his lodge. He picked up the pace of his strides as he made his way across his home valley. One more night, and then he would be back where he was always meant to be.

He made his camp carefully that night, sheltering behind a large rock that protected his back from any surprises. He had stopped while there was still good light, and gathered more wood then he'd ever need for his night fire. He was being especially cautious now that he was so near to the end of his journey. He hadn't endured so much hardship to fail, at the last of it, to fulfill his mission for his people. He knew that he carried knowledge in his head that would forever alter the lives of the people of his village.

Two Bears was ready to break his last camp even before the first rays of the morning light showed him the pathways to home. He was almost unable to contain the excitement that he was feeling. He knew that he'd be spending the night on top of his own sleeping furs. He had to force himself to bite into the last pieces of dried meat that he'd carefully hoarded to give him the strength to continue this last leg of his trip. It had been a long time since he'd stopped to hunt for any fresh meat, and he had only paused to eat fruit if it happened to appear in front of him as he passed by. Bent Willow would enjoy her task of feeding him very well again in order to restore the weight that this journey had taken from him. He would enjoy letting her do that too.

Two Bears stood just inside the forest and gazed upon his home village. His entire body was shaking from the relief that he felt at having completed the trip of exploration, and the gathering of that special knowledge, at last. He vowed to himself that he would only leave in the future for hunting, and to attend the tribal gatherings that celebrated all of the people coming together for pow wow and games.

He gathered himself together, having been restored and reassured by the peaceful look of his village, and strode out purposefully towards his own lodge that sat behind and in back, closer to the river. As the people noticed him walking towards them, many didn't recognize him since he was dressed in the strange clothing that he had acquired along the path of his long journey. He had stopped wearing his hair in the tight braids that the hunter's of his village preferred. As he got closer though, he heard his name pass over of the lips of several people. All who saw him, whether or not they recognized him, showed him the courtesy and the deference to let him pass. Walking as directly as he could manage to his lodge, he sensed, rather than saw, that he had attracted an audience of men, women and children that quietly followed him as he progressed through the village. When he had arrived at the place where he could finally view the opening of his own lodge, his eyes came to rest on a sight that filled his heart with overwhelming gladness. Willow was bending over the cooking fire, stirring at something that she boiled on a cooking skin. It was all that he could manage not to throw off his large back quiver and his travel packs and run the remaining hundred paces to take her into his arms. As he came closer he saw his daughter sitting behind her mother, playing in the dirt while she waited patiently to be fed.

He slowed as he drew near, waiting for his woman to gaze up from her labors and see that her man had finally completed his journey and had returned to his family. When he was within five paces or so, that is what she finally did. He could see in her face that it took her just a few seconds to process that it was truly her Two Bears. He didn't realize it then, but she had looked up thousands of times while he was gone, whenever someone had chanced to pass close by. Each time before, her gaze had been terminated in disappointment. That is what she had grown used to feeling. She hadn't prepared herself for the time when she would look up and he would really be there for her to see.

Those who were present to watch her reaction at seeing her husband again, after his long absence, were not disappointed. She dropped the stirring stick right into the stew that she had been tending, and stood up and ran into the open arms of her man. In a display of affection that would normally be thought somewhat scandalous and unseemly, Willow threw herself into her husband's arms and wrapped her own arms around his neck. As she showered him with words and kisses, only the kisses made any sense. The words came out so quickly and her thoughts tumbled from her mouth without pausing on her tongue to find their order. The general impression though was that she was very happy to see him home safe from his long journey. If people were aware that both of them were leaking tears from their eyes, they were too polite to take any notice of such a thing. Some of the women found themselves crying as well, sharing in some way the closeness that they were witnessing there.

When word had passed through the village that Two Bears had returned, Storm Cloud and Still Shadow were just returning from gathering vegetables and fruit for that evening's meal. They might have started moving with more than seemly haste as they wanted to confirm what they had just been told. The evening meal would not be as bountiful that night at either cooking fire since more than half of what they carried in their gathering baskets was dropped along the hasty route that they both took. Neither woman would regret that loss though, as both were content to again feast their eyes on their son and brother for the first time in more than a cycle of seasons.

A trip of exploration such as the one that Two Bears had just completed, was so uncertain that the people left behind had to prepare themselves for all of the many possibilities and eventualities. They had both hoped and expected that Two Bears would return safely to the village, and to their lives. There had always been more than a small element of doubt and fear mixed in with that hope. When they saw Two Bears, they were both able to lay those doubts and fears to rest. Neither woman came close to the cooking fire of Two Bear's lodge. They knew that there would be a better time for that later, after he had spent time with his wife and children, and had gotten settled back into the tempo of village life.

Two Bear's father had been across the village locked in a discussion with Rising Waters, the Chief, about a trade that had both men excited and on edge. A small trade delegation from the Three Rivers tribe had approached the tribal council requesting help with hunting a large herd of bison that had traveled South much farther than was usual. In return for their help in hunting the bison, the tribe had been offered large quantities of the famous strong drink that the Three Rivers people usually only made available for very special occasions. There was greater danger in hunting the bison than with the other game animals, mainly because bison couldn't be brought down by arrows usually, and had to be either speared, or perhaps, stampeded over a cliff. The time spent tracking and approaching close enough to have a successful conclusion might involve the rest of their summer. On the positive side, few in their village had ever been on a bison hunt, since they almost never came this far South. The delegation had requested fifteen hunters from the village. When Running Spring, Waters wife approached the two men, they could see that she was excited about something.