Tiopa Ki Lakota (27 page)

. I was never interested. I have never felt this way towards them, not even Nupa!” She pursed her lips in consternation. “If Ketlin or I were a
wicasa
, I would know how to proceed. But we are not.”

Seeing the shoulders slump in dejection, Inyan reached out to pat her arm. “When we reach summer camp, I will seek a vision on this matter, Anpo. Do not worry yourself.”

“I will try,
wicahcala
,” the warrior said, though she didn’t sound convinced.

“And how is Teca?” the shaman asked, purposely changing the subject.

Anpo’s face lit up. “He is growing fast,
wicahcala
! His teeth are coming in so he is not happy, but I gave him some rawhide to chew on and he likes that.”

“I have seen him in passing. Except for his coloring, he looks very much like his
ina
.”

“
Ohan

!” the warrior agreed, warming to another of her favorite subjects. “I think so, too. Ketlin says he looks like me, though.”

Inyan smiled. “It is fitting that a child should look like both his parents.” His smile widened at the emphatic nod. “It is also fitting that a child should have such love from both his parents.”

Anpo colored slightly though she grinned in response.

Teca was enjoying the complete attention of his
unci

as she shook a rattle at him. He laughed and rocked, his arms flailing in his excitement. Nearby, Ketlin and Hca served the evening meal to the three warriors at Wanbli Zi’s fire.

“Your
cinksi
grows strong,
tanksi

,” Nupa commented, watching the proceedings. He accepted a piece of frybread from his betrothed with a smile.

As her friend wrapped boiled meat into his bread, Anpo grinned with pride. “Teca will be a fine warrior when he is a
wicasa

.” Taking a bite of her food, she saw her
ate

nod in agreement.

“He is much like you at that age, Anpo. Very alert and curious.”

“
We
will have strong children, too, Hca,” the young warrior said to his betrothed who blushed and smiled, casting a sidelong look at him. “Many strong
cinksi

and beautiful
cunksi

!”

Blowing on a piece of meat to cool it, Kathleen considered the young couple at the fire. She had heard the stories, the beliefs that Nupa and Anpo would eventually join. Popping the meat into her mouth, the blonde chewed in thought.
Is Nupa wanting Hca because she looks so much like her sister?
Dark blue eyes noted the strong resemblance between the siblings.
It would make sense.
She poured some of the broth into a bowl for Teca. Once the grease had been skimmed off the top, she would soak some bread in it for him to eat.

Gi smashed a berry between her fingers and brushed the pulp onto the baby’s tongue. With great pleasure, Teca gummed the treat. He shook his rattle, demanding more.

“Ah, you
like
berries,” the old woman said with a smile. Another bit of fruit found its way to the waiting child. “Teca has a liking for sweet things,” Gi announced to the others.

“Just as his
inanup
,” the blonde woman offered with a grin at her warrior.

Anpo reached with lightning speed and pulled her
winuhca

into her arms. Falling backwards and tickling her unmercifully, she called, “
Ohan
, Ketlin! And
you
are the sweetest!”

While the pair roughhoused, Kathleen blushing furiously but tickling back for all she was worth, Gi shook her head and clucked. “Your parents are both crazy,
takoja

.”

Teca decided to forego the berries as he watched his parents play. Gurgling happily, he began crawling towards them, his gait still unsteady, intent on joining the fun. He was intercepted by Hca, however, and showed his displeasure by trying to get down.

It was his voice that halted the tickle free-for-all. Both parents stopped to check on their
cinksi
, verifying that he was all right.

Kathleen held out her arms. “Give him to me,
stepan

. He is probably hungry.” As expected, when the baby was in his
ina’s
arms, he began tugging on the front of her
cuwignaka
. The blonde bared one breast and helped her son begin to suckle.

Watching her
winuhca

scoot closer to her meal and return to eating, Anpo sat up and dusted herself off. She picked up a meaty bone and began to chew on it. “The Sun Dance begins tomorrow. After it is done, I will hunt for more food.”

Wanbli Zi nodded solemnly. “That would be good,
cunksi
. The
tatanka
have been few this season. It has been too hot. I am afraid we will not have enough food for winter.”

“Do you think it will be that bad,
wicahcala
?” Nupa asked, his own face turning serious.

“It has been many, many winters since the last lean one. But it has happened before,” the elder said. “I fear it will happen again.”

“Nupa and I will go hunting after the dance,” Anpo announced, seeing her friend nod in response. “All that we can collect for our people will be needed.”

The thought of attending the Sun Dance chilled Kathleen. Memories of her warrior falling to her knees in the dust, blood pouring from her chest and back, still plagued her sleep. As the conversation washed over her, the blonde looked down to her son.
Will you dance for the sun when you are older, Teca? Will you hurt yourself to show your thanks for a favor from the spirits? Will it be worth it?

Teca drowsed as he suckled, his eyelids drooping.

Despite her misgivings, the four days of the festival were good ones. Kathleen found that it was far more enjoyable this time around now that she knew the language better and her warrior was beside her. The dark woman spent their time at the celebrations, teaching her the many songs required by the spirits and trying to explain the reasonings behind their practices.

All children who had been born over the last year were gathered together at one point. Teca found himself surrounded by babies and he eyed them all with avid curiosity. When Inyan Ceye picked him up, the baby frowned a little but didn’t fuss. Not until the awl was pushed through his earlobe and a small piece of sinew inserted to keep it from growing back. And then he was placed in his
inanup’s
hands, tears of anger and pain coursing down his tiny face.

Anpo comforted her
cinksi

, jostling him and distracting him with berries. As he snuffled and gummed the fruit, still cross, she said, “You will be a strong and proud warrior, Teca.”

“Like his
inanup

,” Kathleen added softly. The blonde gently wiped the tears from the baby’s face.

Hearing his mother’s voice, Teca immediately demanded to be taken into her arms, leaning his body precariously out towards her. He cried and babbled in Kathleen’s arms while his
inanup
wrapped them both in her long arms and held them.

When Teca had cried himself out and was nursing in emotional exhaustion, Anpo led her woman towards the largest lodge in the camp. “It is time for the Sun Dance,
winuhcala
.”

With great reluctance, Kathleen followed.

Watching the Sun Dance itself still gave her shivers. The blonde wished that she were anywhere but in that huge
ti

ikceya

watching those men mutilate themselves in the name of their
wakan tanka
. She was glad that Teca was asleep in her arms and not witnessing the carnage.

It was decidedly easier to watch than the first one. Her warrior was behind her, hands on her shoulders and whispering in her ear the belief behind many of their actions. But with the first cut on the first dancer, Kathleen shivered and dropped her eyes.

Feeling her woman stiffen, Anpo looked down. “Ketlin?”

The blonde head shook. “It is nothing,
winuhcala

. I will speak of it later.”

Concerned, Anpo could only nod in agreement. “
Ohan

,
winuhcala
.” And then a cheer from the gathered people gained her attention and her dark eyes returned to the dancing field.

Later that evening, as stars filled the night sky and the regular dancing continued on with the younger people at the council fire, the small family settled at their own. Teca was curled up on a robe beside the warrior, sleeping soundly. Smoking her pipe, Anpo watched her
winuhca

sew a pair of small moccasins for their son.

“Why did you not watch the Sun Dance, Ketlin?” she finally asked.

Ah, here it comes.
Kathleen braced herself, not looking at the dark woman before her. “I.... I do not think it is... needed. To hurt yourself for the spirits.”

Dark brows rose in surprise. “Not needed?”

The blonde head shook and she kept her eyes focused on the small pieces of leather before her. “
Ohan
, Anpo. Not needed.”

Frowning, Anpo puffed on her pipe in thought.
Not needed.
“If the spirits give me a gift, a favor, how else would I repay them?”

“I do not know,
winuhcala
.”

There was further silence as the warrior digested this strange idea and her woman fervently wished the discussion had never come up. The baby, sensing the tension from his
ina

in his sleep, fussed a bit on the edge of wakefulness. He calmed after Anpo rubbed his belly with her fingers and soon he was slumbering once again.

“What do
your
people believe in, Ketlin? Do they believe in
wakan tanka

?”

Kathleen chewed her upper lip.
Well, now ye’ve gone and put yer foot in it, lass! Nothin’ like a bit of religious differences to complicate things!
“My people believe in God, Anpo. He is very powerful and mysterious, like your
wakan tanka
. He knows everything and is in everything.”

“It is a man?” The dark woman shook her head at that. “How can your God be a man? How can he know everything and be everything if he is only of one sex?”

“I do not know,
winuhcala

. But that is what my people believe in.” The blonde thought a moment. “He is not a man. He just...
is
.” A Bible verse came into her head. “He is the beginning and the end. He is in all things.”

Anpo tapped the bowl of her spent pipe into the fire.
This is very confusing.
“Is this God in me, then?”

“He is in all things, Anpo. Even you.”

Leaning forward and peering intently at her woman, the warrior asked, “Then why has he not spoken to me? Why has he never given me a vision?”

The blonde shrugged, discomfited with the conversation. “I do not know,
winuhcala
. He does not talk to everyone. He only speaks to those special
wicasa
who are shamans.”

Anpo sat back. “He only speaks to shamans? To special
wicasa

? Not
winyan
?”

“There
have
been women He has spoken to. There was a woman once who led many warriors in a war party. Her name was Joan of Arc and it is said that she heard His voice.”

Always interested in other women warriors, Anpo leaned forward. “Really?” The warrior nodded in grudging respect. “She must have been very sacred. Did she win the war?”

“
Ohan

, she did.”

“Your people must have been very proud of her.”

A miserable look crossed Kathleen’s face. “
Hiya
, Anpo. The people killed her a year later.”

“But... but,
why
? She was a shamaness
and
a warrior! The spirits - your God - had shown her much honor, helped her win the war!”

“Because most did not believe she heard God’s voice.”

Silence reigned around the fire once again as the warrior considered this. Kathleen diligently focused on the small moccasins, refusing to look at her
winuhca
.

Anpo’s low voice drifted across the fire. “Do your people ask favors of your God?”

“
Ohan
, we do.” Dark blue eyes peered up, caught by dark brown.

“And are these favors granted?”

Kathleen shrugged slightly with one shoulder. “Sometimes. Only if He deems it so.”

The dark brow furrowed. “Then how do you repay your God for his help?”

How do we?
the blonde thought. Her eyes drifted to the fire, trying to find an answer in the flames. Finally, she said, “I do not know,
winuhcala

. We serve Him and pray to Him and be good for Him.”

Anpo nodded slowly. “When we ask the spirits for their aid, they give it to us. But, that is because we are willing to give back anything we can for their help. For very special reasons, a few do the Sun Dance to show their thanks to
wakan tanka

.” There was a pause as the warrior mused, staring into the fire. “Perhaps your God does not answer your prayers because you do not show him thanks.”