Breakfast was the same food they'd eaten ever since they arrived, a broth with reconstituted pieces of a dried freshwater fish, netted earlier in the year from the Great Mother River.

Jondalar had told her that the Cave was low on supplies, which was why they were going hunting, though it wasn't meat or fish that most people craved. They weren't starving, or even lacking food – they had enough to eat – but it was so close to the end of winter that the variety was limited. Everyone was tired of dried meat and dried fish. Even fresh meat would be a change, though it wouldn't satisfy completely. They were hungry for the greens and shoots of vegetables, and new fruits, the first products of spring. Ayla had made a foray into the area around the cave, but the Losadunai had been out all season and it was picked clean. They still had a reasonable supply of fat left, which kept them from protein starvation and supplied enough calories to keep them healthy, though it was usually added to the soups that were made for later meals.

The feast that was to be part of the Mother Ceremony the next day would be a limited one. Ayla had already decided to contribute the last of her salt, and some other herbs to season and add flavor as well as valuable nutrients; the vitamins and minerals their bodies needed, which was the primary cause of the cravings. Solandia had shown her the small supply of fermented beverages, mostly birch beer, that she said would make the occasion festive.

The woman would also be using some of her stored fat to make a new batch of soap. When Ayla voiced her concern that they would be using necessary food, Solandia said Losaduna liked to use it for ceremonies, and she claimed their soap supply was almost exhausted. While the older woman tended to her children and got everything ready, Ayla went out with Wolf to check on Whinney and Racer and spend some time with them.

Solandia went to the large opening of the cave to tell Ayla she was ready, but she stood at the mouth for a while and watched the visitor. Ayla had just returned from a gallop across the field and was laughing and playing with the animals. It occurred to the older woman, from the way Ayla behaved toward them, that the animals were like her children.

Some of the youngsters of the Cave were watching, too, including a couple of her own. They were shouting and calling to Wolf, who looked back at Ayla, obviously eager to join them but waiting for her approval. Ayla saw the woman standing at the mouth of the cave and hurried to her.

"I was hoping Wolf could keep the baby entertained," Solandia said.

"Verdegia and Madenia are coming over to help, but the process takes concentration."

"Oh, Mother!" the eldest girl, Dosalia, said. She was one who had been trying to entice the wolf to come. "The baby always gets to play with him."

"Well, if you want to watch the baby instead…"

The girl frowned; then she smiled. "Can we take him outside? It's not blowing, and I'll dress him warm."

"I guess you can," Solandia said.

Ayla looked down at the wolf who was looking up at her expectantly. "Watch the baby, Wolf," she said. He yipped, seemingly in response.

"I've got some good mammoth fat that I rendered out last fall," Solandia said as they walked to the area of her enclosed dwelling space. "We had good luck hunting mammoth last year. That's why we still have so much fat, and a good thing, too. It would have been a hard winter without it. I've started the fat melting." They reached the entranceway just as the children were running out, carrying the youngest. "Don't lose Micheri's mitts," Solandia called out after them.

Verdegia and Madenia were already inside. "I brought some ashes," Verdegia said. Madenia just smiled, a bit hesitantly.

Solandia was pleased to see her willing to get up out of bed and be around people again. Whatever they did at the hot spring, it seemed to have helped. "I put some cooking stones in the fire for tea. Madenia, would you make some for us?" she asked. "Then I'll use the rest to reheat the water melting the fat."

"Where do you want these ashes?" Verdegia asked.

"You can mix them with mine. I started them leaching, but not long ago."

"Losaduna said you use fat and ashes," Ayla commented.

"And water," Solandia added.

"That seems to be a strange combination."

"Yes, it is."

"What made you decide to mix those things together? I mean, how did you come to make it? The first time?"

Solandia smiled. "It was really an accident. We had been hunting. I had a fire going outside in a fireplace with a deep pit, and some fat mammoth meat roasting over it. It started to rain, hard. I grabbed the meat, spit and all, and ran for cover. As soon as it let up, we headed back here to the cave, but I forgot a good wooden cooking bowl, and went back for it the next day. The fireplace was full of water, with something that looked like thick foamy scum floating on it. I would never have bothered with it, except I dropped a ladle in it and had to reach in and fish it out. I went to the stream to rinse it off. It felt smooth and slippery, like good soaproot, but more, and my hands got so clean! The ladle, too. All the grease washed off. I went back and put the foam in the bowl, and brought it back."

"Is it that easy to make?" Ayla asked.

"No. It really isn't. Not that it's hard to make, but it does take some practice," Solandia said. "The first time I was lucky. Everything must have been just right. I've been working with it ever since, but it still fails sometimes."

"How do you make it? You must have developed some ways that work most of the time."

"It's not hard to explain. I melt clean rendered fat – any kind will work, but each one makes it a little different. I like mammoth fat best. Then I take wood ashes, mix them with warm water and let them soak for a little while. Then strain it through a mesh, or a basket with holes in the bottom. The mixture that leaches out is strong. It can sting or burn your skin, I found out. You need to rinse it off right away. Anyway, you stir the strong mixture into the fat. If you are lucky, you get a soft foam, that will clean anything, even leather."

"But you're not always lucky," Verdegia said.

"No. Lots of things can go wrong. Sometimes you can stir and stir and stir, and it won't mix. If that happens, heating it a little will sometimes help. Sometimes it separates and you get a layer that's too strong and a layer that's too greasy. Sometimes it curdles into lumps that are not quite mixed. Sometimes it comes out harder than others, but that's not bad. It tends to harden as it ages, anyway."

"But sometimes it does work, like the first time," Ayla said.

"One thing I've learned is that both the fat and the liquid from the ashes have to be about the same warmth as the skin of your wrist," Solandia said. "When you sprinkle a little on, it shouldn't feel either cool or warm. The ash liquid is harder to tell because it's strong and can burn a little, then you have to wash it off right away with cool water. If it burns too much, you know you need to add more water. It doesn't burn too bad, usually, but I wouldn't want to get it in my eyes. It can sting if you just get too close to the fumes."

"And it can stink!" Madenia said.

"That's true," Solandia said. "It can stink. That's why I usually go out into the middle of the cave to mix it, even though I get everything ready to mix here."

"Mother! Mother! Come quick!" Solandia's second daughter Neladia came dashing in, then ran out.

"What's wrong? Did something happen to the baby?" the woman said, rushing out after her. Everyone else followed behind and ran to the mouth of the cave.

"Look!" Dosalia said. They all looked outside. "The baby is walking!"

There was Micheri, standing up beside the wolf, hanging on to his fur, with a big self-satisfied smile, taking unsteady steps as Wolf carefully and slowly moved forward. Everyone smiled with relief and then delight.