Prologue<br/><br/>The first indication Azura had of dawn was the scolding and fussing of the seagulls. She smiled in her twilight sleep, thinking of Lily, whose animal totem was the seagull. She opened her eyes and clutched her own amulet.<br/><br/>"Are the gulls a sign that the spirit of my sister lingers still in my heart and that this will be enough to sustain me?" Azura asked, using the formal language of the Clan, sign language with no spoken words. "Good morning, sister," she continued in sign toward the darting and diving sea birds.<br/><br/>She stepped onto the beach and searched for the path that would take her to the space above her cave. There!, under debris washed in from the ocean and piles of sand, there was the path, faint but there. Azura tugged at the drift wood and the bones from perhaps a whale but finally she managed to create a space. Her steps were as light as a young girl's as she hurried along the path. She was rewarded to see the spring of fresh water and the overgrown garden spot that Lily had carved out all those seasons ago. The path led inland and Azura followed it . She smiled as she heard the roar of the waterfall. She hoped the hot springs were still flowing. Tears filled her eyes as she rounded the corner through the vegetation to find that nothing had changes other than the ferns were denser.<br/><br/>Azura shed the auroch's cloak and pulled off her stained foot coverings. Her wrap was soiled but she had no other. This she tugged over her head and laid it neatly on a rock. Wading in, Azura went instinctively to the indention where she always had rested in the past. The soaproot was growing close the edge as in the old days. She broke off a pieced. Dunking her blonde hair under the water, she oroceeded to sluice warm water over her tired, wounded body. How long had she traveled and how long had she been alone? Azura couldn't even begin to guess, but it didn't matter now. The water revived her body and she gathered her clothes, walking naked back to the beach, thinking.<br/><br/>The forest was still to the North and there had always been an abundance of food there. The garden might have some sweet potatoes growing, left from the original plants. Later, she would see about gathering, but for now, she needed to see if any of the rocks would move to allow her entrance. As she stood in the morning sun, she remembered that had been an entry to the cave from on top, by the garden. Later, she would test that.<br/><br/>By the time she was at the beach, her skin was dry. She hated to put the worn wrap back on, but the folds held tools which she would need and the hide would protect her from sharp rocks. From her haversack, Azura pulled 2 hides, the length of her arms, which she wrapped around her hands. and she went to work. One by one, she dug under the small rocks and used a piece of driftwood to pry them loose.<br/><br/>Azura's intent was not to dislodge all the stone, Mother knew that would not be possible and would be dangerous, but if she could create a tunnel of sorts that would permit her in, perhaps there was chamber enough to shelter her. She remembered the cave paintings, the history of the people, the hands that were represented on the wall and her small meditation cave within. Her cave where she had painted the excruciating pain of love lost on the walls in her own blood. She stopped, taking a deep breath as memory flooded her with a pain that was not nearly as intense but still present. Shaking her head, Azura fell back to removing stones.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Azura worked tirelessly for days on end. From the minute the sun peeked over the silvery pink clouds in the morning until the sun blazed into the sea at night, She moved what rocks she could from the large tunnel leading to the cave. She had checked the top entrance and found that she could go deep enough that a large predator would not be able to follow her but that was all. Her fingers were raw and bleeding from the stone and the salt water. She had to stop to fish, to eat.<br/><br/>"This woman hasn't need to shape shift for many seasons," she thought as she gutted her catch. "This forgetful woman sed to be able to take the form of a dolphin. The next time I need to catch my meal, perhaps this woman will try that. Eating as a dolphin eats would simplify mealtime."<br/><br/><br/>Still she worked on moving rock. The task at the mouth of the cave seemed hopeless. When she and Lily had sealed the cave, they had called on great medicine. There were always consequences.<br/><br/>"Today, this woman will focus on the tunnel from the topside. If only a small safe portion of the cave would open to me, then this woman could live in safety." she clutched her amulet and closed her eyes.<br/><br/>"Great Spirit, this woman only wants to return home. Help me."<br/><br/>_________________<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Days upon days passed. Azura's fingers constantly bled as the stones dried and roughened her skin. How she wished she had some of that lotion that Lily used to make from bear fat and roses. Her back hurt as she moved a rock, trying not to send the others cascading on top of her. Why, oh, why had she and her sister called on the Sheema to send an earthquake to seal the cave. Azura stood, putting her hand in the small of her back. She knew the answer. They had wanted no one to come and defile their home. If they could not live there, then no one else would. But then, at that season, had been evil ones who would pollute their lives. They were ones of the Clan who despised women and would force Azura and Lily back into subservience. She nodded her blonde head.<br/><br/>The labor of removing stone had made a small dent in the rubble. Azura was able to move farther back into the cave but not into a chamber where she felt safe. What if an earthquake came at night, collapsing the stone around her? She shuddered.<br/><br/>While she worked, she thought of Black Stone, or Xaga as his human form was called. Azura missed the shapeshifter who took on the form of a sabre toothed tiger. She hoped he was happy with his mate. She smiled as she thought of Stone, her foster daughter. How apt was it that Black Stone and Stone would be mated.<br/><br/>"This woman is tired of working," she signed in the formal language to the sea gulls who dove and soared along the beach. "The hot springs call 'Azura'."<br/><br/>She had not been to the springs since that first discovery but decided that she deserved a long hot soak. Following the path to the top of the cave, Azura hurried along noting the trees were now fully green and how warm, hot really, the sun was. She was glad. After staying in the North for so long, she thought she would never again be thawed out. Once in the springs, she soaped up with the leftover root and then found a spot to lean her head back. She dozed.<br/><br/>The calling of the birds and massive fluttering of wings as multitudes of starlings fled the oaks woke her. Azura was startled, realizing on some level that their exodus was a signal for alarm. Sleep still shrouded her senses and she couldn't quite keep her footing as she tried to wade across the springs. Water sloshed into her face and she lost her grip on the rocky rim. A deep rolling groan resounded in the air and she glanced nervously at the sky. Rocks tumbled into the springs and she realized,<br/><br/>"Earthquake!"<br/><br/>_________________<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>After what seemed an eternity, Azura stretched out on the torn earth, clutching dried grass. Her heart pounded beneath her and she imagined it echoed the broken heart of the Mother. Occasional tremors shook the ground under her as she leaped to her feet to race to the beach, She hoped the quake had dislodged the stones in her cave as easily as they had once filled it.<br/><br/>The air was thick with dust and a bitter smell that rose like the stench from a burp, rotted and fecund. She slid down the last bit of the path, tripping over rocks that had not been there before. Stumbling around the side of the cave's entry, Azura stood in astonishment. All her hard work had been for nothing. If anything, the small gain of space was filled with slabs of stones. Her precious campfire and odd assortments of food and medicine were buried under massive rock. A dust spiral rose from the disaster as if it were a spirit being sent to the Sheema with a message.<br/><br/>Sinking down on the sandy beach, Azura stared in disbelief. Why had she thought to come back? She stared at her cracked and bleeding fingers. All that work for nothing, nothing. She was alone and had nothing.<br/><br/>The sea was high and roaring in her ears but the blonde woman did not care. What difference would it make if she died here, drown by angry ocean waves or crushed by monolithic stone or starved to death? No one would know, no one would mourn. She had outlived her people.<br/><br/>There was nothing left for her here so the will to live that had brought her back from the Sheema once, picked her up and set her face toward the east. She slowly climbed the path for one final time. From the vantage point at the top, Azura surveyed the sea, the forest to the North, the valley where once the standing stones would sing for them and the east where lay the hot springs and the waterfall. She headed there first. As she passed the opening to the cave, the alternative entrance, she was drawn by the dust that spiraled up from there. As a gesture of farewell, she looked in.<br/><br/>Batting away the dust, she lay down, reaching in, as if to pat her old home one last time. Her hand only touched open air. She withdrew it and sat up. Swinging her legs over, she was met with nothing but open air again. She eased in, all the way and began to slid along the gentle slope. She met with no obstacle. Soon the only light came from the now small glowing opening over head and still she met with no resistance. Finally, her feet touched a floor. Feeling her way, Azura found that a small chamber had been created along the back wall, large enough to accommodate her. The earth groaned and pebbles scattered around her.<br/><br/>"This woman is blessed by Swan and guided by Turtle and she thanks the Sheema for this gift." she said aloud, in the way of the Others as she clutched her amulet.<br/><br/>Good sense overrode her excitement. Azura scrambled back up the slope. She would allow the Earth to settle and she would be moving into the Cave by the Sea.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Despite her enthusiasm there was much to do. Her days and nights melted into each other. Azura lost weight dramatically as she worked hard and had little time to hunt or gather. Finally more and more days brought rain and she realized as she rubbed her aching back with sore hands that she must be content with her space. If she waited any longer, she would starve during the winter months. Even though the weather here was milder, plants yielded no fruit in winter and she was not a great hand at hunting.<br/><br/>Today,she laid the first official fire in her cave. She dug out the floor close by the back wall where the fire would absorb into the stone, reflecting heat back to her. Tears sprang to her eyes as she saw the markings of the handprints of her former cave mates. As shaman, she knew the shapes of each hand, every life that had lived with her, within. She missed Lily and she missed Mia. and Wuffie and Mistwalker. She even missed Barine, arrogant, self centered leader of the Cave beneath the Sea. She missed Black Stone, the sabre toothed tiger, in either of his forms, animal or human. She brushed the tears away. She was truly a lone,There was no help for it, What was, was.<br/><br/>Azura lashed together the long thin poles to make a drying rack. It would serve double duty when the cold winds blew down the narrow tunnel that led to the top. She could drape hides over it to block the wind. On the far wall, Azura scraped out a trench that she lined pine boughs to serve as a bed. She stock piled dried grasses to give her materials with which to weave when the weather was bad enough that she was shut away underground.<br/><br/>The fallen rock that blocked the entrance had pocked areas that she used for shelves. What more could she ask for?<br/><br/>Azura shrugged on her auroch's hide cloak, and made her way up the tunnel. The camp fire that had served her while she had been readying the cave still smoldered. She tossed some wood on it ,hoisted a great basket to her shoulder and hurried off to gather. First to the stream where cattails grew and where trout were fat and lazy, then to patch of yams and some late berry patches. Some wild onions and peppers grew in the old garden that Lily had once tended. The next few weeks, if she was lucky, could be spent gathering. One person didn't need that much.<br/><br/>_________________<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Tireless work, relentless toil, aching back and loneliness marked the shaman's days. Nights brought exhausted sleep. She lost weight for all the food she brought in to store for the winter, she was too tired to prepare even the smallest fire. Often, she munched a handful of berries and some raw fish, of which she was not particularly fond. Food was too much trouble and tea was a luxury.<br/><br/>Azura had learned to use snares and daily her snares proved effective. A small pile of unworked furs were rolled up by the herb rack, waiting to be finished during the days when winter made going out undesirable. Her auroch's hide was wore in so many places that she was afraid it would not last but one more season and then what would she do? She was no hunter, not in the real sense of the word. With a shake of her head, she focused on the right now, in this heart beat.<br/><br/>She had noticed drag marks on the beach, like those left once upon a time by the skinwalkers. Azura couldn't tell if the marks were from shapeshifters or from the actual animals, sea lions. The larger animals seemed to have disappeared from the area, she thought, but then maybe she was so clumsy that her movements alerted them to hide from her. How nice it would be if a clan of sea lions or better yet, skinwalkers, lived close by. At least she could observe the animals, especially their funny babies and if it were skinwalkers, maybe she would find a friend among them.<br/><br/>Today it was raining and Azura had enough food, hides and fibers to occupy her hands. The cave was quite dark since the light from the sun was dimmed by clouds. She took her firestones from their place in a niche and gathered tinder. Soon, with a quick spark from striking the stones, she had a merry fire dancing in the pit. From there, she placed sticks for a spit and cooked some of the trout she had tickled from the river.<br/><br/>While the fish cooked, she pulled out a beaver hide and began to scrape the hide side.<br/><br/>_________________<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>There is only so much work that can be done inside a cave, even if the fire is warm and there is much to occupy hands. Azura tossed the wooden bowl she was working on aside and put on her wrap, frowning at the holes that were growing larger in the auroch's hide. She would just ignore it because she couldn't imagine life without this cloak and there was no way to get a hide this big when only using traplines.<br/><br/>Out on the overhead plateau, she watched the sea boiling in, crashing, sending up angry spray in the distance against the jetty. She started along the path that led to the beach. She thought she saw black heads surfacing in the surf, but was not going to make the mistake of getting her hopes up. Her world was so isolated that she fervently wished for animal companions, since she did not believe that human ones were a possibility any more.<br/><br/>On the beach, she paced, the wind blowing back her hair and plastering the cloak to her thin body. Hugging herself for warmth, Azura pushed on, paying no attention to the sea at her left side. Finally, she reached the jetty and walked out amidst the violent spray, lifting her face to the wind.<br/><br/>"Kind of cold day for that isn't it?" said a rusty sounding voice.<br/><br/>Azura stiffened, thinking she knew that voice. She turned and stared into amber eyes of a saber toothed tiger.<br/><br/>"Black Stone?" she signed with an incredulous look on her face. "Am I dreaming?"<br/><br/>The big cat who was a man, a shaman, who had become stranded in animal form, leaped to the rocks in one fluid motion. He spoke with the voice of a man from the body of the feline,<br/><br/>"I have found you. Did you think to have been rid of me so easily?" he asked, lashing his tail.<br/><br/>"Rid of you?" she signed, using the formal language of the Clan, "You left me to follow Stone. How is it that you are here?"<br/><br/>"She needed me no longer and I found that I missed you, odd little thing that you are. I have been following your scent for many seasons. The very Earth knows of your existence and the Wind spoke often of you to me. Where do you live, woman of spirits?"<br/><br/>Azura bade him follow her. The two of them walked together, Azura with her arm over the back of the tiger, smelling his dusty fur and rubbing her fingers in his stiff tufted mane. Looking out to sea, she knew she saw heads of sea lions, or maybe they were skinwalkers. How had life been so lonely on the way out to the jetty and now be so full? she wondered.<br/><br/>She showed him the entrance to her cave and the saber toothed tiger bounded down the rocks. He stretched out by her fire and asked,<br/>"What is there to eat?"<br/><br/>_________________<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Azura just laughed, relieved to hear that she was still capable of laughter. Black Stone always had the ability to bring joy to her life. He was huge and imposing, but that didn't stop the feline nature from asserting itself.<br/><br/>"I have some fish leftover and a rabbit that is cooking in the coals. I'm afraid that there really isn't much. You know I'm a poor hunter at best." she said in way of apology and explanation.<br/><br/>The saber toothed tiger paced around her, lashing his tail. Finally he poked at her with a heavy paw and spoke to her, using mindspeak to communicate.<br/><br/>"You are thin. I can see it now that the cloak isn't masking your shape. Your bones are protruding and even your fingers look like dried up claws.Woman, you are on the road to dying." he reproved her. "Its a good thing that I am come so that you will be taken care of."<br/><br/>Azura quietly put hot rocks into the tightly woven cooking basket where they sizzled in the water.<br/>"You know I can not die again. I guess I will go around and look like a walking skeleton." she laughed, but this time the sound was sad and rueful.<br/><br/>"If any of the Others would see me, they would run for I would look like an evil spirit walking and not a woman."<br/><br/>"Don't be a fool. I will hunt for you and we will be happy. If we do run into any of the Others, I will chase them away for we do not wish to associate with their dried up judgemental ways. Your wrap looks like it has been the plaything of cubs instead of an honorable garment fit for a shaman. I will bring you an aurocks and you can take his hide for a new wrap. I saw a herd on the way down here. We might have to travel for even I can't drag an aurochs to you. Besides, dragging it would damage the hide. so it is settled. We leave soon to bring you home new clothes."<br/><br/>Azure smiled but shook her head. What she had missed in her life since he had been gone and how happy she was that he had returned.<br/><br/>_________________<br/><br/><br/>Chapter 1