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"Of course they are," Folara said. "They can't talk!"
"They can talk, they just don't talk the way you do," Jondalar said. "I can even talk their language a little, but of course Ayla is much better. When she said I taught her to speak, she meant it." He glanced at Zelandoni; he'd noted her earlier expression. "She forgot how to speak whatever language she knew when she was a child, she could only speak the Clan way. The Clan are flatheads, flatheads call themselves the Clan."
"How could they call themselves anything, if they talk with their hands?" Folara asked.
"They do have some words," Ayla repeated, "they just can't say everything. They don't even hear all the sounds we make. They could understand, if they started young, but they're not used to hearing them." She thought about Rydag. He could understand everything that was said, even if he couldn't say it.
"Well, I didn't know they called themselves by any name," Marthona said, then she thought of something else. "How did you and Ayla communicate, Jondalar?"
"We didn't, at first," he said. "In the begi
"Are you telling me, Jondalar, that she learned from flatheads how to heal that cave lion mauling?" Zelandoni said.
Ayla answered instead. "I told you, Iza came from the most respected line of medicine women in the Clan. She taught me."
"I find all this about intelligent flatheads very difficult to believe," Zelandoni said.
"I don't," Willamar said.
Everybody turned to look at the Trade Master.
"I don't think they are animals at all. I haven't for a long time. I've seen too many in my travels."
"Why haven't you said something before?" Joharran asked.
"It never came up," Willamar said. "No one ever asked and I never thought about it that much."
"What changed your mind about them, Willamar?" Zelandoni asked. This brought out a new aspect. She was going to have to put some thought into this startling idea Jondalar and the foreign woman had presented.
"Let me think. The first time I began to doubt they were animals was many years ago," Willamar began. "I was south and west of here, traveling alone. The weather had changed quickly, a sudden cold snap, and I was in a hurry to get home. I kept going until it was almost dark, and camped beside a small stream. I pla
"What did they do?" Joharran asked.
"Nothing, except break camp just like anyone would," Willamar said. "They knew I was there, of course, but I was alone, so I couldn't give them much trouble, and they didn't seem in a big hurry. They boiled some water and made something hot to drink, rolled up their tents-different from ours, lower to the ground and harder to see-but they packed them on their backs, and left at a fast jog."
"Could you tell if any were women?" Ayla asked.
"It was pretty cold, they were all covered. They do wear clothes. You don't notice it in summer because they don't wear much, and you seldom see them in winter. We don't tend to travel much then, or very far, and they probably don't, either."
"You're right, they don't like to go too far from home when it's cold or snowy," Ayla commented.
"Most had beards, I'm not sure if they all did," Willamar said.
"Young men don't have beards. Did you notice if any of them carried a basket on her back?"
"I don't think so," he said.
"Clan women don't hunt, but if the men go on a long trek, women often go along to dry the meat and carry it back, so it was probably a short-range hunting party, just men," Ayla said.
"Did you do that?" Folara asked. "Go along on long hunting trips?"
"Yes, I even went along once when they hunted a mammoth," Ayla said, "but not to hunt."
Jondalar noticed that everyone seemed more curious than closed-minded. Though he was sure many people would be more intolerant, at least his kin seemed interested in learning about flatheads… the Clan.
"Joharran," Jondalar said, "I'm glad this came up now, because I was pla
"I'm having trouble believing they can call us anything," the man said, "much less have meetings to talk about us."
"Well, believe it, because if you don't, we could be in some trouble."
Several voices spoke at once.
"What do you mean?"
"What kind of trouble?"
"I know of one situation in the Losadunai region. A gang of young ruffians from several Caves started baiting flatheads-Clan men. I understand they started out several years ago by picking on just one, like ru
"What? "Joharran said.
"You heard me right," Jondalar affirmed.
"Great Mother!" Zelandoni blurted.
"That's terrible!" Marthona said at the same time.
"How awful!" Folara cried, wrinkling her nose with disgust.
"Despicable!" Willamar spat.
"They think so, too," Jondalar said. "They are not going to put up with it much longer, and once they realize they can do something about it, they are not going to put up with much from us at all. Aren't there rumors that these caves used to belong to them? What if they want them back?"
"Those are rumors, Jondalar. There's nothing in the Histories or the Elder Legends to confirm it," Zelandoni said. "Only bears are mentioned."
Ayla didn't say anything, but she thought the rumors might be true.
"In any case, they aren't getting them," Joharran said. "This is our home, Zelandonii territory."
"But there's something else you should know that could work in our favor. According to Cuban-that was the man's name…"
"They have names?" Joharran said.
"Of course they have names," Ayla said, "just like the people in my clan. His name is Cuban, hers is Yorga." Ayla gave the names the true Clan pronunciation, with the full throaty, deep, guttural sounds. Jondalar smiled. She did that on purpose, he thought.
If that's how they speak, I certainly know where her accent comes from, Zelandoni thought. She must be telling the truth. She was raised by them. But did she really learn her medicine from them?
"What I was trying to say, Joharran, is that Cuban…" his pronunciation was much easier to understand "… told me that some people, I don't know which Caves, have approached some clans with the idea of establishing trading relations."
"Trading! With flatheads!" Joharran said.
"Why not?" Willamar said. "I think it could be interesting. Depends what they have to trade, of course."
"Sounds like the Trade Master talking," Jondalar said.
"Speaking of trading, what are the Losadunai doing about those young men?" Willamar wanted to know. "We trade with them. I'd hate to have some trading party come down off the other side of that glacier and walk into a party of flatheads with revenge on their minds."
"When we… I first heard about it, five years ago, they weren't doing much," Jondalar said, trying to avoid making reference to Thonolan. "They knew it was going on, some of the men were still calling it 'high spirits,' but Laduni became really upset, just talking about it. Then it got worse. We stopped to visit the Losadunai on our way back. The Clan men had started going out with their women when they were gathering food, guarding them, and those 'high-spirited' young men weren't going to provoke the Clan men by going after the women then, so they went after a young woman of Laduni's Cave-all of them-forced a young woman… before First Rites."