Golden Fox held tight to White Elk, her head rested on his shoulder.

Deer Woman’s mustang ran circles around the other animals, then raced toward Deer Woman.

“Her mustang is crazy. He always returns to Deer woman, but sometimes he takes off before she is ready to jump on him.”

She turned to look for the wolf. He trotted next to them, and she motioned for him to follow. “I must walk with him... alone. Frost, companion, my brother... let us walk, alone.” She slipped a leg over and slid off White Elk’s mustang before the animal even slowed, and walked toward a stand of trees.

Before she moved too far away, White Elk took of his tunic and tossed it over her shoulder. “You need something without blood. You do not need to attract animals. Take my tunic. It may be a bit big, but it is clean. Maybe I will stay close.”

He smiled and put his finger to his lips.

Golden Fox nodded and carried his tunic with her. Once out of his sight, she replaced her dress with it. She had to roll up the arms, and it fell to her knees. “Yes, a bit big.” She rolled up the ruined dress and left it behind. She would return and retrieve it to see if she could use any parts for patches.

Those men, why... why were they trying to kill me?

She wrapped her arms around herself and stopped. Frost rubbed against her and she rubbed his ears. When he stared up at her, she knelt down and faced him. “You came to me, saved me from those men. I owe you much, and would give my life to protect you, as you protected me. Why did you do this? I took your pups and left you to grieve over your mate. Did you understand I wished to save your pups?”

***

As White Elk snuck up toward the pair, the wolf turned and stared up into his eyes. White Elk stopped.

“Not to worry. I am sure he knows you are with me.”

“Sure?”

She smiled and shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Golden Fox, please tell me he will not tear my leg off.”

“He will not tear your leg off.”

“You speak the truth to me. Right?”

“Has he torn your leg off yet?”

“No.” He stepped beside them.

“Watch it! He licks his lips.”

“Golden Fox! Do not scare me so.” He moved back.

“I do not scare you. Do you see me lick my lips?”

“You are being mean. You wish to tease me? You are teasing... right?”

“I walk while looking for medicine plants. Mother says to never waste a walk, to always search for tubers to eat and useful plants. I have no time to tease. Are your eyes always that wide? Do you do that to see better?”

“My eyes are not wide! I am not frightened as a little girl!”

He stepped closer to her and kept his eyes on the wolf. “I am grateful he took down those men. To have lost you to them.... I would have hunted them down.”

She shook. “I try to put them out of my mind by wandering, but I cannot. I am a hunted woman and maybe put the band in danger. I feel safe with Frost, but he cannot outrun an arrow. I have watched him lower when he sees someone, or turn to watch another. He knows who he can trust and cannot. He has the knowing.”

Frost, caution in every step, came closer to White Elk. He stretched his body toward the human’s hand, sniffed it, and moved away.

“Frost must not be hungry.” Golden Fox half smiled. “Why did you follow me?”

“I have something I wish to say. You have a mind of your own, unlike the women of my old people. I am used to women who do as they are asked. I will try to understand your stubborn ways. I do not want you to leave camp without my—” He raised a hand before she could speak. “If Dances In Storms did not see where you had gone.... Woman, please understand that I mean well. You cannot go off as you wish anymore.”

“I cannot always see into another’s mind—only if they feel happy, or guilt, sorrow. Anger shuts me out, and I have never felt anger from you, but I wish to know why you sorrow.”

“Out of worry. To not know where you are is not right.”

She scrunched up her brows, changing the mood along with the subject. “I also need to speak. If you still want me for a mate, I will be happy. If not, I will understand. I will never allow you to tell me where I can go, nor when. In my Vision Quest—” She lowered her head, turned, and walked away.

He hurried to keep up as her steps grew longer. Frost stayed between them, and White Elk pulled back some.

Her voice rose in pitch as she stopped and faced him. “I... I saw the fort, and people. Some of ours laughed and drank. One woman screamed as a hairy-face grabbed her and took her inside his wooden lodge.” She cleared her throat and continued to walk. “I am to help these people, but I do not know how. I know you are willing to help anyone who needs it.”

She sped up to jump a small stream, with Frost at her heels. “I may never have a life as the mate you wish of me. I am not one to sit by our fire and wait for you to return. The women of my people are strong and can fight if need be. If you go off to fight, I go also.”

She turned toward him. “I must know why I feel such sorrow from you. Is it about a woman?”

He hopped over the waters and spoke with a sad voice. “You are not seeing deep enough, Golden Fox. I must tell you something about me, something no one knows. It is a guilt I will always carry, and I do carry anger. It is why I sleep away from everyone.”

He sat on a wide sandstone and motioned to her. “I left my people because of a woman—not one I loved, but one who only wanted me for the color of my hair and skin. She wished to show me off to her family at the gathering when I reached fourteen winters. Her breath always smelled like fire water. She always wished to follow me and speak about our joining. I never said yes, or no. I heard her speak to her women friends about the gifts her parents would give her for having me, an odd one, who maybe held great Power. She told her friends she held no love for me, but for the things I might get her because of my color. This caused me to feel great anger.”

He reached down, clenched a bunch of dried stems, and hurled them through the air. “When she walked away, alone, I followed her to the river’s edge where she sat. I wished to tell her of how bad she always made me feel, and that I could not mate with a woman as her. Surprised to see me, she staggered and fell in where the river ran fast. I did not help her out. I wished for her to drown. Another jumped in before I could decide to help her or not. He saved her and saw me standing beside the river’s edge.”

White Elk clenched his fists until the veins on his hands stood out. “She told the band I threw her in. I did not even defend myself. My grandmother went to be alone and never came back, as was custom among the last sunrises of the elders, so I had no one, no family left. I gathered some things, an old mustang no one would miss, and left. I wandered for two cycles of seasons before Dances In Storms found my small camp and asked for food. It was not food she wanted, but to hear my story. By then, I had no mustang, only tattered clothes and a knife. She took me in.”

White Elk reached for Golden Fox’s hand, and started to pull her close, until he heard a soft growl. “I thought my mind made you up, but wherever our band traveled, I searched for you. When I saw you, I wanted to run away, but could not. I had fallen deep in my heart for you long ago. I had to see if you were real.”

He let out a soft sigh. “The dreams I had of you are true. And now, you know the truth about me.” He released her hand and turned to go.

She grabbed his hand before he was out of reach. “I cannot share you with another. Never will I do this.” She turned, raised her arms, and let them flop back down. “I do not know what to do! Mate or not?”

She ran down the way they had come, Frost beside her.

***

Sky Bird stayed hidden, and waited until White Elk left. Then she showed herself and approached her daughter. Eyeing Frost first, she reached for Golden Fox’s hand and pulled her close.

The wolf stepped back.

“Please,” she said, “never leave camp alone again, until we understand why these men hunt you. Dances In Storms, your grandfather, and the three warriors followed their tracks to see if they could learn where they came from. They vanished into the waters. You do not have enough fear in you to be wary! You must learn now, girl. One sunrise—”

Frost nudged Sky Bird’s hand.

“So you accepted me, Frost? Do you understand this fearless woman is my daughter?”

The wolf gave her many licks and did not pull back, but instead stayed in place.

Sky Bird knelt next to him.

He crouched and half crawled, ready to run if anything spooked him as he approached her.

She reached out and ran her hand across his head. “You will protect my daughter. I see this.” He came closer, and she put a hand on either side of his head and scratched him. “Heh... I touch a wolf. His fur is coarse, yet also soft. I love his deep golden eyes. It is as if he sees beyond mine and feels my being.” She raised her head. “And, he listens... unlike another I know.”

Frost licked her face and pressed against her, then backed away and trotted into the brush. He turned his head and looked back, cocked his head at Sky Bird, and turned away again.

“He is as gentle as a newborn deer. It makes no sense. He is a wild wolf!” She stared after the wolf, who did not try to hide as he climbed the stones on the hill.

She shook herself. “Daughter, it is time we speak as a woman to a woman.” She could no longer contain her small smile. A wider one replaced it. “Perhaps we should make sure our lodge is on the other side of the camp until my father speaks to White Elk, and the boy brings gifts—many, many gifts. We approach the Sister Wolf Band, and many men will look your way.”

Golden Fox lowered her head. “Am I worth so much?”

“I value my daughter more than all the land we walk upon. I would die for you.”

Golden Fox bowed her head. Please Spirits, do not let this be so—ever.

***

Sky Bird took in the sights as they settled one last night before going into the canyon. Frost lay next to Golden Fox near the cooking fire to her left. Blue Spirit Dog lay on her other side, as the two sets of pups wrestled on a sleeping robe not far from them.

“They are yet so young,” Sky Bird said. “I wonder if they will always be as this, playing and sleeping with one another?”

Stands His Ground sat cross-legged next to her. “They were half-bloods. We hurried so to catch up to our bands, because I did not have scouts watching behind us, as much as I should have.” His head drooped as though he had failed his people.

Sky Bird patted his arm. “We all pushed to get to our people. I, too, should not have let us forget that the whites hunted Golden Fox and me.”

Dances In Storms sat across the fire, tossed a twig into the fire, and spoke. “If there is blame, it belongs to me, as much as Stands His Ground or anyone else. These past few nights, I have not gone out alone to listen for what the Spirits might tell me.”

Eagle Thunder, sitting next to Dances In Storms, cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him. “No one person carries the burdens to feed our people, or to clothe our people, or to raise our young. No one person bears the burden of keeping our people safe. Even our women are often warriors and hunters. There is no need to feel shame. We have traveled a long ways, and our minds and Spirits are fogged with tiredness. These men are dead. The newest person in our band has proven himself a warrior.”

Frost lifted his head, glanced around, and yawned before laying his chin on his forepaws and closing his eyes.