The Journey--Ch. 2

Far above the group, but following alertly, Walks with Fire stayed just out of sight. Her massive paws padded silently along the canyon's rim. She did not like the look of these interlopers. It was her job to help guard her People. And these funny-looking camel riders had her hackles up.

But she thought it was a better idea to shadow them. At least until they were out of her People's territory.

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They'd stopped for the night near a group of giant red sandstone boulders. The men chose to take turns at watch, leaving Jexxi to fall into a gratefully mindless slumber.

She woke up abruptly a couple of hours later. Someone was gently tugging at her arm.

Lenz whispered to her in the dying light of the campfire. "Be very quiet. Someone is just beyond those boulders. Take this and stay here."

He pressed a small knife towards her hand and slunk away into the shadows.

Daj was nowhere to be seen. Jexx hoped he wasn't captured already or worse.

Suddenly the sound of struggling erupted from behind the massive rocks. Something growled and then screamed in frustration. Then Jexxi heard Daj laugh mockingly.

Lenz was already on the scene before she got there. He stood very still, with a look of wonder on his face.

"I don't believe it." he said softly, eyes wide. Unconsciously, he reached for the medicine bag he wore around his neck.

Jexxi pushed past him to peer into the gloomy pre-dawn light. A strange looking beast lay bound on the pebbley soil. From the waist up, she was a fiercely beautiful young warrioress with long dark braids. Her other half was that of a wild mountain lion.

"A pumtaura!" she breathed.

Daj had wrestled the creature to the ground. He'd even managed to bind her with her own sling.

She glowered at them all. Her tail lashed in irritation, sending up tiny puffs of sandy dust.

"What are you going to do with her?" Jexxi asked. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene and felt a curious bond with the young warrioress.

"I say we leave her here. All tied up", Daj suggested with a disgusted tone.

The pumtaura glared at him. Jexxi could see the creature's arm and leg muscles straining to break free from the leather thong.

To ease the tension of the situation, Jexxi knew what she needed to do. She reached for the flute inside her sleeve. The agitated air was soon filled with her soft soothing music. The strain between the pumtaur and Daj began to lessen. Lenz stared at Jexxi with amazement at first. But then he nodded in appreciation.

Soon everyone felt more at ease under the melody's lilting spell, even the young pumtaur. She stopped struggling, so that she could hear the music better.

When they were all mellowed out to her liking, Jexxi gradually stopped playing. She smiled at them all, tucking her flute away into her robes.

"How did you do that?" Daj still had a dreamy look on his face.

"It was easy." Jexxi grinned at him. His expression was so goofy, she couldn't resist.

And then the pumtaura spoke up.

"You know the old magick?" Her accent was unusual and musical.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that. I don't know where my talent comes from, it's just something I've always been able to do", Jexxi replied.

"I am Walks with Fire, daughter of Screaming Cliff Eagle," the pumtaura said quietly. "I was not planning on harming your group."

Though Jexxi felt she was telling the truth, Daj wasn't so sure.

"I know your kind. They'd kill anyone just for the clothes on their backs. Can't be trusted." His mellow mood had clearly evaporated.

Walks with Fire bared her teeth at his rude outburst. But Lenz lay a cautionary hand on her shoulder.

"He speaks with ignorance", he said, "I, however, know that your people are honorable."

"Oh yeah? And how would you know that?" Daj sneered. The tattoos on his cheeks were pulled into ugly lines.

"Because I lived with a clan of pumtaurs when I was a boy. Let me tell you a story I think you need to hear. My mother had left me in the care of my older brother one winter but she never came home. And my brother, being but a child himself, forgot to watch me. I wandered off into the desert and got lost. Luckily for me, a band of pumtaurs from the Sand Spider Clan found me before I froze to death."

Lenz leveled his eyes with Daj.

"They saved my life. They took me in. They have more honor and dignity than most people I've ever met."

"Okay, okay. I get the picture", Daj said, putting his hands up as a gesture of defeat.

Jexxi, during the course of the discussion, had untied Walks with Fire. They sat talking quietly together.

"The answer you seek may be found at my village", the young pumtaura suggested.

Jexxi's fingers twiddled with the hem of her robes.

"I'm not sure. My father paid these two to escort me. We're heading to Talastera in the northern country."

Walks with Fire nodded in understanding.

"To visit the Oracle?"

"Yes." Jexxi bowed her head. "Everyone knows the Oracle has offered wise advice for the past few hundred years. Even though my family aren't Clenigans, my father is willing to send me to gain whatever knowledge I can from the Oracle."

Lenz, in a calmer tone, asked,"Is it possible for us to travel unmolested through this canyon on our journey? We mean your People no harm."

The pumtaura paused before replying.

"Because of your rude behavior and roughness earlier, I was going to say 'no'. But now that I understand you better, I think you should have no problems further from the Pum-Ta'ars."

She rose to her four puma feet, stretching gracefully. Then she reached up and took a feather from her hair.

"Take this with you. See the three beads on this? They represent the Painted Falcon Clan, my own family. This is powerful medicine."

Jexxi took the offering solemnly. She twined it into her own auburn braids, where it fluttered gently in the early morning breeze.

Walks with Fire looked toward the horizon.

"The sun will waken within the hour. You must go on your way before it grows much later. You have many long travels still ahead of you."

And then she left without another word.

Lenz watched the pumtaura stride away until he could no longer see her along the canyon's floor.

"She's right. We need to get going", he announced. He headed back to the now dead campfire and the other two soon followed.

With that, they broke camp and loaded their camels. Another day's journey awaited them.