“Now?”
Declan considered. “Give me just a minute. I want to talk to Ro about some boring grown up things. Can you find me the prettiest rocks from the driveway?”
May scampered away, only to return a second later. “Ready!” she called.
He accepted a small pinkish rock from her, along with a rough gray one and a handful of grass. “Thank you,” he said solemnly. “These are beautiful.” He set them on the bench.
She shook her head. “No, not there.”
“Oh? Where do they go?”
She pulled up the leather pouch that dangled around his neck. He still didn’t quite understand what it meant, but it had been a gift and he wore it most days. May pulled open the top and then squished the rocks and grass through. “There. That will give you health and poserisy. And keep you safe.”
“Poserisy?” he mouthed to Ro.
“Prosperity,” he whispered back.
Declan held the pouch close to his heart. “Thank you, May. That’s a beautiful gift.”
Ro added a suggestion. “You’ll need something that comes from an animal, too.”
She cocked her head to the side. “A bird feather?”
“Good thinking,” Ro answered. “Go see if you can find one.”
May clambered down the steps and began her pursuit.
Declan held up the pouch. “Does that actually mean anything? And is it, like, sacrilegious for her to pretend?”
Ro shrugged. “Medicine bundles touch the mystery of life through special objects, usually animal, plant, and mineral. We use flower pollen for some blessings. Eagle feathers are sacred, which is why there are U.S. laws to ensure that they’re equally distributed among the tribes and not available to outsiders. For May, it’s just a game, but I’m proud to see that she’s thinking about our traditions. You could also consider that the meaning is in the intentions behind the giving.”
“So I should look forward to good health, safety, and poserisy?”
They all laughed. “That’s right.”
When the humor died away, though, Ro’s face sobered. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again.
“What’s up?” Declan asked.
“We’ve been worried about strangers poking around and asking questions.”
“Oh my God. I think I met them. And I have sketches. Come with me,” he beckoned Ro after him. “This creepy guy was asking me weird questions at the grocery store and this other lady kept trying to offer me a ride. I drew all of them.”
Declan’s eyes took a moment to adjust to the relative gloom of the cabin. Then he gathered up the sheets and handed them to Ro. “Will these help?”
“Wow, these are really good. All of these people were asking you weird questions?”
“Yeah. I didn’t think anything of it when the first lady was trying to give me a ride, but the guys at the grocery store acted like they already knew who I was and where I lived. I can’t think of how else they would have known.”
“Did you tell them anything?”
“Definitely not. I mean, I told the lady that I was going to look at jewelry at the shop, and the only thing I said to the grocery store guys was that I lived about an hour west. Like, we weren’t even nearby. But they definitely knew who I was, and they were trying to get information. I lied about my name.”
“That sounds scary. Are you OK?”
“It was scary at the time, but not worse than any other bullies throwing their weight around. I was mostly worried about you guys. They were asking a lot of questions.”
“Well, thanks for drawing these. I’ll take them back.”
“No problem.”
They turned back toward the front porch, where they could hear May’s high voice through the screened door. “And this one has two pink sparkles, so it’s the mama kitty. This white one’s the first baby kitty and the black one is the other baby kitty.”
“What does the mama kitty do?” came Geir’s deep voice.
Declan grabbed Ro’s arm and held up a frantic finger to his lips. This had to be the cutest thing ever.
“She takes good care of the baby kitties. They want to jump on the chairs, and she says, ‘don’t use your claws on the chairs.’”
Ro’s smile grew to match Declan’s. May must hear that a lot at home.
“Who’s that?” Geir asked. He must have been pointing at a different rock.
“That one can be you.”
“Oh!” Geir sounded startled. “What do I do?”
“You give horsey rides. Like this.” They heard the sound of one rock hitting another and then thumping across the wooden bench.
“Hey Ro,” Declan called just loudly enough for Geir to hear, “can you give me some advice on where I should put a garden?” He dragged Ro out the back door.
“He’s good with kids,” Ro commented.
“That was like a cute explosion.” Declan held his hands over his heart. “And he said that he didn’t like kids. Let’s stay back here for a bit.”
“Did you actually want advice on a garden?”
“I mean, technically, but Geir says that the spot his old garden was in is probably good.” He pointed to an overgrown patch that was loosely marked by crumpled chicken wire.
Ro looked it over. “That should be fine, though digging out weeds from tilled soil can be harder than digging up grass. And the nutrients will be depleted. You’ll need to fertilize, but we can talk about that when you’ve got it dug out. I can come over with some tools, too.”
They chatted for a while about what to plant, while Geir’s low rumble and May’s high babble floated back to them.
“I almost want to stay back here longer. I didn’t expect Geir to be so good with her.” Declan was feeling all sappy inside.
“I didn’t expect May to be so trusting with him.” Ro must have been feeling just as sappy, because he gave a fond look toward the porch. “Or you, either. She took to you right away.”
“Really? I mean, isn’t she usually like that? She seems pretty outgoing and happy.”
“It makes me happy every time I see it. May…” he broke off with a sigh.
Declan waited, already having a sense of where this was going to go.
“Let me backup.” Ro searched the sky for a minute. “In our culture, shifting is part of the pathway to adulthood. Children, when they are around thirteen or fourteen years old, undergo a ritual to show that they can survive in nature. They train with traditional weapons and they learn the local foods they can harvest, but it’s meant to be a challenge. They are often hungry and cold, lonely or scared.
“But they also grow stronger. They learn to trust themselves. And they learn to listen. They open themselves to the voice of the Earth and the Wind, the Water and the Animals. They learn patience and gratitude. They are shaped to become heart-singers, healers, or strength-sharers, if they are going to. Often, during this week, the Gods grant them another form, one that is strong and clever and suited to the environment in a different way. When I came of age, I was given my bison form. And man, was that grass delicious on an empty stomach.”
Declan giggled. He could totally see Ro relaxing and grazing in the sun.