The Muddy Creek elder was the last person before Gray Rabbit to enter the lodge. It was Sunshine who greeted the man first, giving Doc the elder’s name. “Moon Call, it has been decades. I am glad to see you still alive.”
“Sunshine, it has been too long since our tribes sat together,” Moon Call replied. “I see Wildflower took over for her father, and Dancing Squirrel still holds sway for her tribe.” With that, he faced Doc as he sat. “Caretaker Yucca has told me much about you, Doc Holyday. She has also informed me that you have become the shaman for all the tribes present besides mine, and are the shaman to the Treeheart tribe, as well.”
“That is correct, but I am first Luck’s Voice before anything else.”
“As Yucca told me. She had to explain why her sister sits collared beside you. It rankles me to see one of them with that hateful device on her neck, but I have accepted what I was told. Mother wishes us to accept you, to aid you, and I will do so. But before all that, I wish to feel Mother working through you. I was told you can remove this old wound?” He touched his scar.
“Lady Luck, Moon Call needs to feel your power. Please remove his scars and pains so he might know the truth,” Doc said, his hands glowing green when he’d finished. “Just take my hand.”
Gray Rabbit took his seat, staying quiet as the two men talked. He did take Dancing Squirrel’s hand in his, his heart light with the thought of his life continuing with her.
Reaching over, Moon Call did as Doc asked, and then his breath caught. Compassion and warmth surged into him. The memory of his father teaching him how to lead the tribe before his death to sickness came back to Moon Call.
“All done. How do you feel?” Doc asked after he’d withdrawn his hand.
Moon Call took a deep breath; the tightness he’d felt on the trip north was gone, and the ache in his wrists was also diminished. With a shaky hand, he touched his left cheek and instead of burn scars, he felt smooth, unblemished skin. “Mother be praised…”
“Lady Luck, but her goal is for me to save Mother,” Doc said. “If you agree to help us, I can do more to help your tribe, and all tribes going forward.”
“I know what must be done,” Moon Call said. “My wife will—”
Doc cut him off by holding a hand up. “There will be no need for me to be the shaman for your tribe. Luck has given me a gift, backed by Mother, to raise someone to full shaman. The dwarves of Tsarrus have given prayers, and that belief makes this possible. I will bless your wife as shaman so you two may lead the tribe together. The ones the rest of you have chosen to be shaman apprentices will become full shamans with Mother’s blessing, too.”
Dancing Squirrel’s lips twitched down, but then she smiled. “If only this had come a day ago.”
“I agree,” Doc said softly. “If it had, I would have been happy to step back, to never be between you and Gray Rabbit.”
“What will the gift entail?” Sunshine cut in, wanting to break the awkwardness.
“They will be allowed to choose any three gifts I have as their own. I would suggest at least the healing, as that is always useful. The others are varied, but each will have their own choices. I would like to meet with all of them at once to explain it. Tomorrow night, we can hold a celebration for Mother’s generosity as I use the gift to raise them all together.”
“My daughter will take that role for us,” Gray Rabbit said.
“Bluewing,” Sunshine said.
“Snowmelt,” Wildflower added.
“Red Tooth,” Dancing Squirrel smiled.
“And you wished for my wife to take the role. She will be honored,” Moon Call said.
“I am hopeful that tomorrow will allow me to do even more, but I have to wait and see what happens with Tsarrus and Qin.”
“Elders, are we all in accord in coming together as separate tribes to assist the Voice?” Gray Rabbit asked.
One by one, the others agreed that they were.
“Shaman, we are ready to help you with your goals,” Gray Rabbit said.
Doc opened his gift tab and selected the two gifts he needed. It cost him one hundred twenty-five thousand faith to get both gifts, but when he did, he smiled happily. “I would like to speak to the new shamans tonight, and we can ready the celebration for tomorrow.”
“We will be ready to do the parting ceremonies tomorrow, but since we have an accord tonight…” Gray Rabbit held out his hand and a long-stemmed pipe appeared in it. “We need to seal it with the pipe of friendship.”
Doc’s lips twitched. The peace pipe, as it was called on Earth, was something he hadn’t thought he’d see here. Gray Rabbit lit the pipe, inhaled deeply, then passed it to Moon Call. One by one, the pipe was inhaled, then passed around until it reached Doc last, the dryads having declined.
Taking the pipe, Doc felt the weight of it and was a little surprised. The end with the bowl was black quartzite slate carved in the image of a ram’s head. Doc inhaled deeply, then passed the pipe back to Gray Rabbit. The smoke was harsh in his lungs, but only for a second before it became tingly. Exhaling slowly as the others had, the smoke slowly rose to exit the top of the teepee.
“It is a mixture of herbs,” Rosa whispered to Doc. “Yes, it has what you think of as tobacco, but also other native herbs to the area. You know one of them as white sage, but I don’t know what you would know the others as. The tingle comes from a single small drop of dryad essence in the bowl. It won’t harm you; it is symbolic of Mother blessing the accord the tribes have come to.”
“It is a fresh drop from me,” Yucca added. “I have given all the tribes gathered here a small vial of my essence so they can use it to help spread Mother’s word to the tribes near them.”
Doc felt relaxed as the pipe went around until it was done. When the pipe finished, the elders left the tent. It was an hour before they normally did, getting the attention of everyone nearby.
“The combined tribes have come to an agreement,” Gray Rabbit said loudly when they were all outside. “Tonight, we will hold the finishing dances of the pau-wau in thanks for Mother’s guidance. However, tomorrow, before the tribes separate, there will be a celebration to welcome new shamans to the tribes. Mother and Lady Luck have blessed us all with a new beginning.”
Excited voices rose in conversation, and Doc felt many eyes on him as he walked with Rosa and Yucca to his teepee. Not all of those eyes were welcoming— he spotted the glare Red Hawk gave him before the warrior slipped away.
“It worked out?” Lia asked when he got to the blanket outside their teepee.
“We smoked the pipe,” Doc said, taking a seat. “I feel a little fuzzy at the moment.”
“Fresh essence would do that,” Lia said, taking the spot beside him. “It’ll pass. Luckily, it’ll be gone before the dances. You should join the farewell dance with me.”
“Umm… okay,” Doc murmured. “Hope I feel stable by then. I think it would be bad to heal myself.”
“It would diminish your agreement,” Rosa said from his other side.
“Can’t do that.”
A couple of minutes later, Raindrop, Bluewing, and the other would-be shamans came to his blanket. Doc greeted them, asking them to sit. Once they were all there, he began to explain what tomorrow would mean for them.
Wonder and awe marked all their faces, but for Raindrop and Bluewing, it was deeper. The pair rested hands on their bellies, gripping each other’s hand. Doc wasn’t blind to what he saw, and he felt a small twinge again about leaving children behind again, but didn’t stop his explanations to the group.
The talk ran a little into dinner, as he detailed each of his gifts so they would all know what their options were. They finished dinner in silence, as the five soon-to-be shamans were in deep thought over what they should do.
The first dance was a welcome for the Muddy Creek, allowing their group to dance to become a full member of the pau-wau. The second was the departing dance where everyone who wanted to could dance their thanks to Mother. Doc went with Lia to get into the long line of those who would dance.
“Just step in beat to the drums,” Lia told him. “We go around once, then exit. Express your feeling of thanks to Mother with your body as you go.”
“I got it,” Doc said, exhaling as he waited for his turn to join; he wasn’t aware that they were near the last people in line.
As they got closer, Doc swayed in place to the beat, getting the feel down for the cadence. When they finally got to the fire, Doc was well in rhythm, feeling the belief that soaked into the tribes. When he began his dance, cheers rose up from the onlookers. Doc didn’t hear them— all he could hear was the drums, which felt like the slow pulse of a heart.
Naked to the waist and barefoot, he swayed and stamped to the drums. Lia, Rosa, and Yucca danced, too, encircling him as they went slowly around the fire. Halfway around, the women gave him more room, as Bluewing, Raindrop, and Wildflower joined them in surrounding Doc. The voices of the watchers grew louder, but Doc still couldn’t hear them.
The joy he felt since coming to the world built in his chest. The brief glimpses he had of the women around him only made that joy soar higher. He came back to himself as he reached the end of the circle. Breathing hard and sweat-slicked, he swayed in place, the sound of the tribes coming back to him.
“We are honored, Shaman,” Gray Rabbit said. “To have a shaman end the dance is a blessing.”
The other elders said something similar before Lia guided him away.
“Are you okay, Doc?” she asked softly, using English.
“Tired. I felt… connected.”
“He was hearing Mother’s heart,” Rosa said softly, her eyes bright. “She was rejoicing with each step, and he took as much time as he could in praising her. Voice, I wish to thank you.”
“So do I,” Yucca said with need. “Mother is ecstatic at the joy you felt in being here for her.”
“You just relax and let us thank you,” Lia said softly. “The first big step of your plans is almost over.”
Doc nodded— he’d never felt that kind of connection before. It felt like the whole world had celebrated his joy with him. He thought of his wives, the joy he had for them all being in his life, and he knew that he was exactly where he needed to be in life.