When the elders left the teepee early, it caused some commotion. While not unheard of, it was highly unusual for the meeting to break before dinner. As the group went off their separate ways, Doc went to his teepee. He figured it would be better if he was in a spot that was easy to find.
“Husband?” Lia asked, coming out of the tent with Raindrop. “Did something happen?”
“I was asked to heal people to show that I have Mother’s blessing. I’m going to rely on both of them heavily.” He canted his head toward the dryads who were on his left side.
“I’ll bring out the welcoming blanket,” Raindrop said from inside the teepee.
“Thank you, Raindrop,” Lia said, then stepped out to hug Doc. “Just be you. I take it the elders have accepted you, and are doing this to help the others see you as you are?”
“Basically. They all said they want me as the shaman of their tribes,” Doc murmured. “I’ll end up leaving children behind again, as Bluewing and Wildflower have both been made fertile and will be the ones participating in the ritual with me for their tribes. Luckily, Dancing Squirrel is going to sleep with Gray Rabbit first, so I don’t have to worry about that, at least.”
“She is?” Raindrop asked with wide eyes, having come out of the teepee with a blanket in her hands.
“Tonight is what it sounded like,” Doc nodded.
Rosa took the blanket from Raindrop, who just stood there, shocked. She got it laid out with help from Yucca, but kept an eye on the others.
“Oh, that…” Raindrop swallowed. “Did Father say our tribe would welcome you, too?”
“Yeah. Why?” Doc asked a moment before realization sunk in.
Raindrop’s cheeks heated as she looked down. “I will welcome you in his stead. Family must stand in for the elder if the shaman and elder are of the same sex.”
Lia touched her shoulder. “Which is why we were talking. Doc, you don’t find her unattractive, do you?”
Scrubbing at his face with one hand for a moment, Doc sighed. “No, I don’t.”
Lia reached out, touching his cheek. “It’s okay, Doc. Trust your wives to speak the truth.”
“I do. I always do. It’s me not you or them,” Doc said, then looked at Raindrop. “When the time comes, and only if it’s what you want. I will never lay with anyone against their will.”
Bowing slightly to him, Raindrop whispered, “I would be honored to welcome you as shaman.”
“Lia, I made the caveat that you be there for each rite,” Doc said, “for my own peace of mind.”
“You are a good man, husband,” Lia murmured, then put her arm around Raindrop’s waist. “Let’s go talk while he works.”
“Yes, Lia,” Raindrop said, letting herself be drawn back into the teepee.
“Hard paths…” Doc muttered in English before exhaling. “Others would laugh at me for thinking sleeping with her was difficult.”
“Because your love for your wives is as deep as the oceans,” Rosa said in English, “as is theirs for you. They are coming, Voice.”
Doc shifted his speech back to Elvish as he took a seat between the dryads. “Just rest a hand on my back. A tendril each should work for a little blood and passing energy between us.”
“Yes, Voice,” the dryads said together, giggling at his sigh.
“I would make you both just watch tonight, except you’ll need the energy,” Doc grumbled before smiling at Wildflower, who led her contingent to where he sat. “Elder, how may I help you and your tribe?”
“Voice, all of my people could use your healing,” Wildflower said.
“Have them sit one at a time so I may entreat Lady Luck to bless them.”
Wildflower stepped aside, and the first person to take a seat across from him was a man that Doc recognized from the bow competition. Doc said his standard prayer to Luck, then held out his hand. The elf took it, gasping when he felt his injuries heal. After thanking Doc, the elf made way for the next man who took a seat. The cycle repeated with three men before the first woman took a seat across from him.
“Voice, I heard you can help bring Mother’s blessing of children. Is this true?”
“It is. I can do that while I make sure you are in good health.”
“Please?” The elven woman reached out, taking his glowing hands in hers.
Doc smiled at her. “Just relax and let Luck heal you.”
The woman choked back a sob as the warmth of healing infused her. The chronic pain from her feet faded away— she’d known pain most of her life. The rock that she’d felt inside her foot seemed to diminish with each second. Even greater than that was the warmth she felt in her core, as if Mother was resting a hand on her directly, blessing her to have children.
Doc kept the smile on his face as he helped the elf. He’d never encountered the foot problem the woman had before. Some fatty tissue had built up around the nerve between her third and fourth toes. It would’ve felt like she was walking on a rock, or had one jammed into her foot. Every single one of the people he’d seen also had dental problems, but he silently fixed all of them.
“All done,” Doc said softly. “You will have at least one child, but might have two or three before the blessing fades.”
Swallowing, the elf pulled her hands back to wipe at her face. “Thank you, Voice.”
“You are welcome. May Mother watch over you.”
He helped two other women before Wildflower was seated across from him. “Elder?”
“I just wanted to have you double-check me.”
Doc’s lips ticked up. “Elder, you are in perfect health unless you injured yourself since I healed you last.”
“Make sure I am fertile, please, Voice?”
Doc’s hands still glowed, so he took her hands in his. Wildflower was fine— her body was primed for being inseminated, so there was nothing else he could do for her. He took his hands back a minute later. “You are as ready as any woman has ever been.”
“Good,” Wildflower said as she stood up. “I thank you, Voice. When we conduct the ritual of naming you shaman, I will welcome you fully.”
Doc’s smile strained slightly, but he nodded.
Sunshine was waiting for Wildflower to step aside, and once she had, he took a seat across from Doc. “Voice, I have come to make sure I am in perfect health. My wife has informed me tonight we will create a child, and I do not want to disappoint.”
“No husband wants to disappoint,” Doc said, his hands still glowing. He was grateful that Rosa and Yucca were both helping slowly maintain his energy— he could feel them taking turns in refilling him. “Lady Luck is waiting to assist, Elder.”
After Sunshine, his wife took his place so Doc could double-check that she was ready, too. When she stood, Bluewing took the spot.
When Bluewing sat before him, she wore a bright smile. “Voice, I shall be looking forward to your naming as shaman. Please make sure I am in prime health for you.”
Doc met her gaze as he took her hands into his. “This is what you truly want? Wouldn’t you rather have another of the tribe first?”
“No. Carrying the shaman’s child will bring us Mother’s love. It is something I am looking forward to.” She looked down, her smile softening. “I admit that I am also looking forward to knowing what the dryads were so enthusiastic about.”
Rosa giggled. “You will know when the time comes.”
Doc shook his head. “I am just a man, not spec—”
Rosa bopped his nose, cutting him off. Doc jerked his head back slightly, looking at her in shock. “Your wives all agree that you shouldn’t say such things. They are lies, and you dislike lies.”
Doc frowned, then sighed. “I don’t feel like I am special.”
“Says the Voice of Luck?” Bluewing asked with a smirk.
Yucca giggled. “Even she has your measure, Voice.”
Doc just shook his head, but didn’t gainsay any of them.
“Thank you, Voice,” Bluewing said when she felt the warmth ebb. “I will be looking forward to our welcoming of you fully.”
Doc gave her a nod as the next member of the tribe took a seat. The entire contingent of the Red Throat tribe took their turns in front of him. When they were done, Dancing Squirrel led the Duckwater tribe of the Shoni to him. One by one, he saw to the members of the last visiting tribe.
Checking Rosa and Yucca, he found their coloration to still be green, though a touch lighter. With them still good and his personal energy still high, he exhaled, knowing he could still help more.
Gray Rabbit stepped up before him, taking a seat with ease. “Voice, you have already seen to me, but I must show my tribe that it is worth seeing you.”
“I rechecked the others, too. It is fine,” Doc said, his hands still glowing green. “When you are ready, Elder.”
A couple dozen members of the Curled Horn came to him after Gray Rabbit, most of them women who wanted Mother’s blessing of fertility. He called a halt when he saw the first traces of white in Rosa’s and Yucca’s hair.
“I can see more people tomorrow. Mother’s daughters and I are tired from all we’ve done so far,” Doc apologized to the warrior who was about to sit down. “Tomorrow morning, before the tests, I will see more. You will be first.”
The warrior bowed his head in understanding before leaving. The others who’d been waiting slowly funneled away. Doc exhaled, tired from all the healing. It was mentally taxing to pinpoint and heal everyone’s problems.
“Done for the day, Doc?” Lia asked, stepping out of the teepee with Raindrop.
“Yes.”
“Dinner should be soon,” Lia murmured. “Do you mind if Raindrop eats with us?”
Doc glanced at the young woman before shaking his head. “For the meal, no. She is welcome for that.”
“Wonderful,” Lia smiled. “Tonight’s dances are thanking Mother for the bounty the tribe had for the year. None of them are like the maiden’s dance, so no worries.”
Doc chuckled. “I would’ve been shocked if another dance of that nature had taken place.”
The chime for dinner sounded.
“Rosa, Yucca, thank you,” Doc said. “We’ll do our best to refill you tonight. We’ll be doing even more over the next couple of days.”
“We will do all we can for you, Voice,” Yucca said. “Knowing that I will get more time with you is exciting for me.”
“He does that to all of us,” Rosa smiled.
Raindrop took her place on the blanket, doing her best to ignore the byplay. “Lia, thank you for talking with me today. I will do my best to beat you tomorrow, but both of us might lose if my father is able to compete. I am talented with a spear because he taught me.”
“We will all do our best to show the strength of our tribes, as is our way,” Lia smiled. “Only the worst cannot accept the strength of those who compete against them.”
“Even if they are gifted, it doesn’t excuse that,” Raindrop agreed.