38

.
Sage Eagle urged the stallion to a full gallop across the barren landscape. His father would scold him for pushing the horse like that, but he needed the run and Red seemed to love it. Maybe he smelled some of the mares in the herd and needed to clear his head. Same as Sage Eagle.

She never failed to look beautiful. He wondered what she would look like first thing in the morning, her hair still a mess. Probably stunning, he realized.

She had been hugging his sister when he entered the living room at Dancing Bear’s house. He hadn’t been expected either, so she hadn’t done it for show. Either she was very good at faking it – or she actually liked Little Deer.

No one seemed suspicious of her either. Jade Wolf had already had a good taste of her from what he had heard. Pronghorn seemed all too delighted to date her, starting tonight.

Sage Eagle wondered how long Phoenix was going to live with them. The sooner she left, the better. For him. For her.

Better to be lonely than to fall in love with someone who pitied him.

Except that his father didn’t think she pitied them. He bought her story that she wanted to learn all she could, and Jade Wolf said she was studying all the time. If that was true, she might soon know more about their history than he did!

The wind blew his hair out of its tidy bun as the rushing filled his ears. Maybe at this speed he couldn’t hear her name or listen to her voice.

“Coooo...naaaag…wwiiii,” the voice seemed to cry.

“Kwitta!” he swore, recognizing the Neme’o’ng word for Phoenix. Was it the voice of the Great Spirit itself? He had never believed the way his father and Dancing Bear did… but maybe he was wrong. “Great Spirit!” he cried out, as he brought Red back to a walk. “If it is your will, I will give Phoenix a chance. But she has to prove her worth – her dedication to our tribe.”

“Coooo….naaaag...wwiiii,” the wind replied.

He didn’t have to give in yet and admit that she would have a Neme’o’ng name. There was still a chance she would leave. She hadn’t asked his father for permission to stay yet… permission he was certain his father would grant. If granted, the next thing would be to build her a house. It had already been hinted that the first earthship would be hers. It didn’t seem right… surely, the first one should go to the ones with more children in the ramshackle cabins built fifty years ago… and were falling apart. He hoped earnestly that they would be able to work full time on earthships all summer.

Sage Eagle turned Red back towards the village.

♥

Tanya couldn’t remember feeling more nervous! She would have been walking restlessly about the earthship – except that her ankle wouldn’t permit that!

“Not in your usual chair,” Dancing Bear corrected. “On the couch, so that he may sit next to you. You have to feel how your auras interact with one another.”

Tanya felt even more nervous sitting in the wrong spot. She picked at her cuticles.

“Anyone would think you were awaiting execution!”

“I may as well be!”

Dancing Bear laughed. “I like that you’re nervous – it means you care. You’re not just here to take advantage of us… like some might think.”

Tanya immediately thought of Sage Eagle. “Is that why he hates me?”

“I have already told you that he does not hate you any more than he hates himself. But do not dwell on him tonight. It is Pronghorn who is going to knock on that door in a few minutes. He deserves all your attention for one evening. Promise me you’ll keep an open mind, Phoenix.”

“I will,” Tanya replied.

“If you plan to stay in Ba’a O’ng, then you need to date our young men.”

The knock came at the door then.

“Relax, Phoenix,” Dancing Bear said, heading to the door. Tanya watched as she welcomed the handsome native into the home. She wondered for a moment about the fact that all the natives she’d met thus far were handsome!

Pronghorn came over and placed two smelling boxes of pizza on the coffee table in front of her. Then he handed her a small box, which Tanya instantly recognized as a small assortment of chocolates. She smiled up at him. “Thank you for everything. Please sit down. What did you plan to watch?”

“I brought two completely different movies. Would you prefer Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jane Austen tonight?”

Tanya smiled, knowing that he probably would prefer Arnie, but appreciating his efforts.

“Maybe we could have time for both?” she suggested. “We could start with Arnie, then wind down again with Jane Austen.”

“Suits me, he said with a shrug.”

♥

The extra children in the earthship this evening made it louder than usual, but Nighthawk used that as an opportunity to just sit back and relax, watching as Little Deer entertained Dove, Skye and Rose. In truth, the extras were more of a help than a hindrance, entertaining Dove who loved playing hostess for her friends.

Sleeping bags were already laid out around the television where they watched a fairy tale.

Mindful to send the smoke up the flue next to his recliner, Nighthawk puffed on his pipe as he watched his youngest son mope around after his ride. Normally, a brisk ride across the land would bring Sage Eagle back in better spirits, but tonight, he seemed more burdened than ever. Was it even worth asking him what it was about? His son had been out of sorts ever since Phoenix had entered their lives. But whilst Jade Wolf and now Pronghorn seemed happy to make their intentions known, Sage Eagle was defying his moniker of wisdom, instead avoiding her, ignoring her… indeed, rejecting her.

He wondered how his son would handle the likelihood that Phoenix would request permission to remain with them – and be given honorary membership in the tribe. From what Dancing Bear had said, it was quite likely.

More than once, Nighthawk exchanged glances with Little Deer after looking at her brother. The exchange told him that she, too, had noticed his melancholy and felt concerned about it. Yet, experience told him that to speak prematurely would only make things worse. Sage Eagle would talk to him when he was ready to listen.

♥♥♥