Durc forgot his thirst that made him long for the distant river, forgot the wretched state of his worn-out foot wraps and every discomfort and concern. The Grey Wolf hunted with the Others.
A totem spirit may give signs in many ways. Some are small tokens that a person can put in his amulet bag. Others are bigger and less tangible. They are imprinted on the mind of the seeker.
The sun peered through the moving clouds again, sweeping a ray of light over Durc where he stood immobile with wonder. One man chanced to look up, and he froze for a moment. Then he raised an arm and pointed at Durc. He and the other men made mouth noise; Durc heard it faintly on the wind.
The wolf looked too. With a sharp bark it ran toward Durc. A man trotted after it, making his own odd barking sounds. Durc stood still, one hand on his amulet, one holding a forgotten spear, its point down. His eyes met those of the oncoming wolf briefly, then lowered.
He heard the wolf's throaty growl, but held still. If he showed fear now, it would all have been in vain. As the wolf circled him, snarling, the man caught up with it, panting after his uphill run.
"Hola," the man said, following the odd ejaculation with a long sequence of run-together sounds. Durc raised his gaze a little and blinked. The man held out his hands, palms up. Durc had no idea what to do. He moved his right hand off of his amulet to sign "This man greets you," but the wolf made a sound that was half bark and half growl. Durc froze.
The man of the Others spoke to the wolf, then. He made his mouth noises and--a Clan motion? Did he say "go" to the wolf? The wolf went. In one corner of his mind, Durc thought how stupid he looked, standing there with his mouth hanging open like a fish. But who wouldn't, to see a man--one of the Others, yet!--talk to an animal in Clan signs.
Another hunter had come halfway up the slope. He repeated the command to the wolf. Meanwhile the first man peered curiously at Durc with his pale, strange eyes; his bulging forehead wrinkled in serious thought. Durc remembered that he had hands with which to speak, and repeated his greeting, this time without interruption. The results alarmed him. The man made a frightful grimace. Durc backed away a step.
The hunter's face fell and he clapped a hand over his mouth. The second man had continued uphill after sending the wolf on its way. He now spoke to the first. They exchanged sounds and a few of their haphazard gestures. Durc watched them intently. The second man was much taller than the first, and his hair and beard had the color of a summer fox. The other one's hair was the color of a bison calf's, and he was much shorter, and perhaps older.
The taller man stepped forward. Durc held his ground, waiting. His totem had brought him here, and totems do nothing without a purpose. Abruptly he realized that he still clutched his spear in his left hand. He let go of it.
The tall man started slightly at the clatter of its fall. Then he hitched up his shoulders and spoke. "This man--greet to man--this man name-name," he said, and then vocalized a short combination of sounds.
Durc tried to repeat the sounds that must be the man's name. "Daah-unugh," he said. The Other nodded, perhaps with too much enthusiasm for one of his apparent standing, but he was obviously pleased. "This man greets Daah-unugh," Durc said. "This man's name is Durc."
An odd flicker of surprise showed in the tall man's sky-and-water eyes. "Durrgk," he repeated.
"Durc?" the short, brown-haired man said. The two Others exchanged more ba-ba-la-la in which Durc thought he heard his name a few times. It was hard to tell, with their odd pronunciation and all mixed into a flowing river of sound. He waited patiently.
The tall fox-haired one turned to Durc and said, "This man Danug of (place-of-aurochs?) greet Durc. Durc come with this man, this man (indicating the other), eat, friend." Then he held his hands out palms up as the other man had. Suddenly Durc realized that it must be a gesture of greeting.
Hoping he had got the sense of it right amid the combination of shock and very clumsy and idiosyncratic signing, Durc nodded. "This man is honored that Daa-nnugh of place of aurochs wishes his company." He held his hands out too, and the Other grasped them. The touch of a human hand after moons of isolation--warm, living flesh with a mind that could share thoughts--food and drink could offer far less refreshment to a lonely soul. Durc returned the handclasp with a heart so full it made a burning sensation in his eyes. It was hard to let go, but he wished to speak again.
"This man greets the companion of Daa-nnugh."
The other man, realizing that Durc addressed him, motioned back, "This man Frebec greet Durc. This man want Durc (something) wolf."
Durc shrugged mentally and nodded, returning his greeting. The short man turned and made a loud bird-sound, and the wolf, which had stayed with the other hunters by the bison, came rushing back. It stopped by "Fvreb-bec", eyeing Durc warily.
"Durc," the man said, "give, hand." He held out his hand. Durc tentatively lifted his. Frebec took it in his. Durc saw his lips curve slightly, but his gentle touch gave him no reason to fear. Frebec laid his other hand on the wolf's head and spoke to it. The slight rumble in its throat stilled. It poked its nose forward to sniff at Durc's hand. He felt its nose, cool and moist, its warm breath on his fingers. Then the wolf licked his hand.
Frebec released Durc's hand and gestured, "This wolf name Chac. This wolf Durc friend."
"Friend," Durc signed, barely believing it all. "This man greets Chac, bearer of the Wolf Spirit's message."
"Durc, touch head Chac," Frebec said.
Durc moved his hand slowly toward Chac's head. The wolf raised its head to meet his hand, nudging at it and licking his wrist. Frebec made a scratching motion on the back of one hand with the other. Durc took that as a signal and made scratching-an-itch motions on Chac's head. The wolf whined happily.