Today was the big day. Today the ti ikceya would be finished. Today Kathleen would lead Anpo into her lodge and officially join with her. From what she could gather from Hca, the blonde was essentially offering marriage to her warrior. Married. Ta a woman. Kathleen burrowed further into the warmth of Anpo's body. Aye, la.s.s, now there's a quandary for ye. If ye ever make it home, how're ye gonna explain a wife?

But one thing was certain - Kathleen was far happier with the prospect of marrying her young warrior woman than when she'd married her husband. Is this what I've been headin' for all my life? Is this what I've been feelin' was missin'?

Further thought was halted on the subject as the long arm wrapped around her shoulders tightened and a voice spoke her name. With a smile, the white woman peered up into the dark brown eyes of her warrior.

"Ketlin. Did you sleep well?"

"Ohan , Anpo. I did. And you?"

The dark woman grinned in return. "Very well, winuhca." She yawned and stretched before wrapping her arms around her woman and holding her close.

Kathleen squirmed a bit in discomfort. My bosom is tender. Must be near my monthly time. She resolved to quiz her friend on how the native women took care of the problem as soon as possible.

Once breakfast had been eaten, Wanbli and Anpo wandered off together with the idea of bringing in some fish from the river. They took provisions for the day and their spears. As soon as they had disappeared, the women began their preparations in earnest.

Kathleen found herself again in the shapeless dress she'd arrived in, her own beautiful one taken by Hca Wanahca to be cleaned. The older woman began a stew while the blonde ground a bone awl against a rock. Waniyetu Gi would occasionally stop her work to inspect the awl until it was sharp enough to pierce a piece of hide.

"Very good, Ketlin," the older woman smiled, setting the awl aside. "You work hard. You will take very good care of Anpo and honor me."

"Thank you." The blonde colored a bit at the compliment.

"Now, you and I will prepare your ti ikceya for tonight." She took Kathleen by the hand and helped her up. Gathering together some things, she handed them to the blonde saying, "These will become yours now."

Dark blue eyes blinked at the older woman. "Th.... Thank you, uncisi ! You are so good to me!" Kathleen swallowed a lump developing in her throat.

A hand gently rested against a pale cheek. "You make my cunksi smile like the sun she is named after. I cannot do enough to show you my thanks."

What did I ever do ta deserve this!? And then the tender moment was gone and Gi was once again businesslike.

"Come, Ketlin. You and I will prepare your lodge for your joining."

Kathleen was led off, her arms full of robes, her heart happy.

Anpo hefted a leather satchel full of fish, pulling the strap over her head and across her broad shoulders. Her father carried another bag, this filled with the remainder of their leftover meal, and led the way back towards camp. The river had been teeming with trout and the pair had speared many.

"Ate?"

"Hau, cunksi."

"How long have you and ina been joined?"

There was a pause as Wanbli Zi considered the question. "We were joined a winter before our first child was born."

"I am sixteen winters. That would mean that you were joined..." and a dark brown furrowed in consideration. "You were joined twenty-three winters ago!"

The older man's face broke into a craggy smile at the incredulous tone of his youngest. "Hau, Anpo. That seems to be right."

The pair walked in silence for a while.

"Ate?"

"Hau, cunksi .".

"Did you ever hurt ina ? With your words or actions?"

"Hau , Anpo. It is impossible not to. It is like trying to hold back the water in the river with only your hands." Wanbli looked to his daughter, seeing her serious profile. "All people get hurt in life, cunksi. It is what makes us strong, teaches us to overcome our weaknesses. Do not let it worry you so."

Again there was silence.

"Did ina ever hurt you, ate?"

"Hau, cunksi. As I said, it is the way of life."

Dark eyes regarded him with concern and curiosity. "Then why have you not given her away? Why have you kept her? Why has she stayed with you?"

"Because my mahasanni ki and I care for each other, cunksi. And we are stronger together than we are apart."

Anpo sighed and nodded.

Wanbli settled a hand on his child's shoulder, walking closely beside her. "Be still in your heart, cunksi. Do not worry the vision so. It will not change and will only make you crazy with grief and fear." He nodded in front of them. "Look. We are almost to camp. You and I will bring our catch to our women and we will eat well this night!"

The young warrior forced herself to smile, picking up her step to keep up with Wanbli's.

"Anpo will be very surprised, Ketlin," Hca said as she finished braiding the long yellow hair.

"Why?" the blonde turned to one side as directed so the other half of her hair could be taken care of.

Waniyetu Gi, who had finished the last st.i.tching on a pair of leggings, spoke up. "Because you were a gift and not a traditional maiden, Ketlin."

Kathleen was confused. "Someone like me would not join with a warrior?"

"Usually not until she learned our words." Gi looked up from her task, a twinkle in her eye. "But you have learned fast, Ketlin. And you have a dowry I have given you. And the most important thing you have done is make my youngest child happy."

Blushing slightly, the blonde looked down to her fidgeting hands in her lap. "I have done nothing, Gi. I do not deserve your dowry."

"Do not presume to tell me what to do with what is mine, Ketlin," the older woman chided, albeit in a gentle tone . "I know what is right." Looking to her oldest daughter, she said, "Go outside and tell me when Anpo and your ate return."

With a grin and a quick squeeze of the white woman's shoulders, Hca left the ti ikceya. The older woman settled down behind Kathleen and finished working on her hair.

"Slaves and winyan who are not of our people must learn our words, learn to please the wicasa they belong to. But Anpo is no wicasa though she is a great hunter and warrior." As the braiding was finally twisted into place, Gi used a strand of sinew to tie it off. "If a woman who is a slave pleases her wicasa, learns our words and gives her wicasa a child, she will truly become Lakota and will be the wicasa's winuhca .".

Kathleen's eyebrows raised as she recognized the name her warrior had called her. Winuhca. Wife? But something else came to mind and she blurted it out before she could stop. "But, I cannot have children, Gi!"

The elder woman leaned forward to peer over Kathleen's shoulder, a small smile on her lips. "It does not matter, Ketlin. You make my cunksi happy and that is important. You have honored me and her ate by your attention to Anpo and I will have you joined with my cunksi."

And what mum says, goes, Kath! The blonde fought back a nervous giggle. She's goin' ta make an honest woman outta me and her daughter!

"They are here! They are here!" Hca exclaimed, ducking into the ti ikceya .

"Be calm, cunksi!" Waniyetu Gi ordered, though there was a sparkle in her eye. She turned back to the blonde woman and readjusted her braids for the sixth time. "Are you ready, Ketlin?"

Swallowing on a suddenly dry mouth, Kathleen nodded. "I am ready, uncisi."

"Good," was the crisp reply. Turning away, the older woman shooed her daughter back out the tiopa of the lodge. "We will await you outside, wiwoha ." And then she stepped out herself.

Kathleen found herself alone in the ti ikceya. "Well, here goes nothin', Kath," she murmured. She twitched her belt to a better position and paced in front of the door.

As the two warriors approached Waniyetu Gi's lodge, Anpo noticed a flurry of activity as her cuwe and ina stepped out. Dark eyes narrowed in suspicion at Hca Wanahca's ill-hidden excitement. "Ate?"

Her father, who had also noticed the commotion, shrugged in resignation. "Do not try to understand them, cunksi. They are winyan and do not make sense."

Anpo considered this with growing concern. "I am winyan, ate. Do I not make sense?"

Wanbli Zi grinned and clapped her on the shoulder. "You are a warrior, cunksi , born and bred. You make very good sense."

As they arrived at her mother's lodge, the young warrior decided to drop the subject, though her mind worried it a moment longer. But why do I make sense to ate if I am winyan? Pulling the satchel from across her shoulders, she held it out to her mother. "Ina! We have many fish for you."

The elder woman accepted the catch. "You have done well, cunksi." Without a second glance at it, she set the leather bag on the ground near her normal work area. "Now sit and rest."

Wanbli Zi smiled a greeting at his woman and his oldest child, sitting in his place at the head of the fire. He pulled a pipe out as the younger warrior followed suit.

Looking around, Anpo asked, "Where is Ketlin?"

With an infectious grin, Hca leaped up from her seat tending the fire. "I will get her!" she exclaimed with a giggle.

Her younger sister's brow flashed into a frown of puzzlement. Dark eyes flickered to the man and his recent statement regarding winyan a.s.sailed her memory. Anpo's face cleared. They make no sense.

Anpo attempted to distract herself from her cuwe's 's strange behavior by glancing about the camp. Nearby, the ti ikceya that had been given to Kathleen stood tall, appearing to be completed. We will live there, soon.

Motion to one side grabbed her attention. Nupa was standing near his mother's lodge, arms crossed over his chest. Anpo almost rose to wave her friend over until she noticed the smug grin on his handsome face. What is so interesting? she wondered. Suspicions fully aroused, the warrior scanned the remainder of the camp, finding whole families loitering outside their lodges and the council fire. All were avidly ignoring Wanbli Zi's fire.

Kathleen paced back and forth in front of the ti ikceya entrance, nervously plucking at her cuwignaka . The leather covering was pushed aside and Hca's head popped in.

"It is time, Ketlin," the young woman said, a wide smile of excitement on her face. She reached out a hand.

A flutter of nerves. .h.i.t the blonde, her stomach twisting in an unpleasant way. Quit bein' silly, la.s.s! 'Tis just a formality! Nodding and putting on a pleasant face, Kathleen took her friend's hand and allowed herself to be led out the opening.

Anpo turned to her father, preparing to ask his opinion on the oddness of the camp, when Kathleen stepped from her ina's ti ikceya . The warrior's face went slack from shock.

The yellow cuwignaka had been cleaned with paint freshly applied to the designs. A dark brown leather pouch hung from the white woman's waist, an antler knife handle protruding from it. Leggings wrapped her calves and new moccasins were on her feet, the tops of which were painted white with the sun design in red.

Just like mine, Anpo marveled, her eyes drawn back upwards.

The long, blonde hair had been thoroughly combed and oiled with animal fat. Two long braids hung down her back. Around Kathleen's neck was a necklace of elk teeth and porcupine quills.

Her mind blank from the shock, the warrior could only stare at the pale woman's approach.

Kathleen's dark blue eyes took in her friend's nod of encouragement, stifling her fear. She smiled in acknowledgement and turned her attentions to her warrior. With a grace that belied her shrieking nerves, the blonde stepped forward until she was standing before Anpo.

The dark woman peered up at her, eyes bright with unspoken emotion.

The realization that Anpo was as scared as she bolstered the blonde's courage, though her stomach remained upset. The corners of her mouth curled up and she held out her hand.

Reaching up, Anpo felt a tingle move up her arm at the contact of their palms. And then she was being pulled to her feet and led away from her ate's fire. She is joining with me! her mind blithered.

Kathleen's ti ikceya was as yet unadorned. The fire in front was burning merrily, a haunch of meat roasting over it. The blonde led her warrior past it and into the lodge.

Inside, another fire burned, though it was low and just enough to give light. Again, Anpo was led past, this time brought to the place that was across from the tiopa . Here, Kathleen knelt, pulling the dark woman down to sit.

Anpo watched carefully as her woman removed the moccasins she was wearing. They were still damp from the river and Kathleen set them near the fire to dry. Another pair of moccasins were beside them and the woman pulled them closer.

Putting the new footwear on Anpo's feet, Kathleen looked up and into deep brown. "We are joined, winuhca."

The warrior swallowed the lump in her throat. She reached behind Kathleen and pulled the yellow braids to hang forward and down the woman's chest - an indication of her new status. "We are joined, winuhca ," she repeated in a husky voice. And then she gathered her woman into her arms.

Kathleen relaxed into the embrace, soaking in the peaceful adoration her warrior emitted. Ye'll never have children, Kath, but p'rhaps G.o.d has intended ye somethin' ta make up for it.

Anpo and Nupa stopped to water their ponies at a creek. It had been several days since the young woman's official joining and feast. Wagmiza Wagna's camp was now on the move towards the summer camp. The pair were acting as advance scouts for the rest of their people. So far, things had gone well and there were no dangers to be had. They were now headed back for the night.

The dark woman pulled her pony away from the river and prepared to mount him. "I wish to be to camp by dinner," she said as she settled into the saddle.

Grinning, her friend looked up to her, making no moves towards his own steed. "Is it the way of joining that you cannot be without my hanka's company for more than a day?"

Instead of rankling at Nupa's teasing, the warrior laughed. "Ohan, tiblo ! You will understand when you are joined!" Whirling her pony around, she exclaimed, "I will race you to camp! Whoever is first receives a gift from the other!"

The young koskalaka blinked at Anpo for only a moment before vaulting onto his horse. The two sped away, whooping.

As all young warriors were p.r.o.ne to do, upon their arrival at camp, the pair circled around and raced right up to the council fire before pulling up short in a cloud of dust and noise. The hoksila hollered in their excitement and chased each other around the two ponies as the warriors dismounted with laughter.

"I am first!" Nupa exclaimed. "You will give me a gift!"

Anpo nodded, her face a mirror of his own. "Ohan , tiblo." She pulled a pouch from her horse and handed it to her friend. "Here is a pipe. It is made of the bone of tatanka ska . I just finished making it yesterday."

The young man's smile faded to seriousness. "You honor me, tanksi," he murmured.

"I share my honor with my family, tiblo ." Anpo draped her arm across his shoulder. "You may not be blood, but you are family to me."

"Thank you, tanksi .".

"Anpo!" a voice interrupted.

The two turned towards the voice, seeing Hca Wanahca running towards them, her face serious.

Anpo dropped her arm and took a step forward, all thoughts focusing on her sibling. "What is it, cuwekala?"

"It is Ketlin, mitan. She is ill."

The warrior's heart turned to ice. She left her sister, friend and pony, running for the ti ikceya . Behind her, Hca's voice followed.