Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 14:34:47 -0600
From: Brady York <bradysyorktown@hotmail.com>
Subject: The sons of Morning Hawk 3

	The feedback from this tale has been surprising.  It's sad how many of us
would like a little spirituality and can't seem to find it.  This chapter is
dedicated to C & Z, we hope you find what you're looking for.

Brady
bradysyorktown@hotmail.com



The sons of Morning Hawk 3:  A world shattered, a world rebuilt



	Kit expected to be pulled into the dream world because it was happening so
much lately, but he was unprepared for what awaited him.  He was suddenly
standing on a rocky outcrop naked, and there was a fierce storm all around
him.  He staggered, nearly being blown over the edge of the cliff and turned
to run for safety.

	The wind blew grit and small rocks at him, stinging his skin, and he
finally found a small horrible looking tree.  He stood next to the trunk
shivering and hugging him self, searching through the wind.  "Grandpa, where
are you!?"  He cried.  "Grandpa!"

	Out of the wind a figure walked towards him, shorter than he was, and not
disturbed at all by the wind.  As it came closer he could make out the fine
features of a young woman.  She was dressed in a hand crafted leather dress
decorated with beads and fringes, and her shiny black hair was held back in
a braid.  Her brown eyes seemed kind, but he was terrified.  "Who are you?"
He demanded.

	"Be calm, Cat in shadows."  Her voice was soft and had a melodious
undertone to it.  She produced a large blanket, blue with a multicolored
pattern woven through it, and pulled it around his shoulders.  "I am
Touching Dawn, wife of Gray Hawk and mother of Little Bear and Quick Fox.
Now I am your mother, too."

	Kit sniffed and fought back tears.  "Why am I here?  Where is Grandpa?"

	"He watches over you, Cat in Shadows, but he cannot help you any more until
your ordeal is over."  She reached up and touched his face.  "He wasn't able
to hold it off, and it has started early."

	"What ordeal?  What do you mean?"  Kit sank down and leaned back against
the tree trunk.  "This doesn't make sense to me, mother."

	"Listen to me, Shadow.  You will go through the sweat lodge tonight.  While
inside you will meet your ancestors, and they will guide you."  She knelt
down in front of him.  "When you face the Dark Walker, you need some things
to protect you."  She ran her fingers through his short hair and smiled,
shaking her head.  "For one, a Cheyenne does not shave his head."

	Kit felt his scalp tingle, and he closed his eyes, relieved by her touch.
"Mother, why is there a storm here tonight?  Why is Grandpa's fire gone?"

	"The Dark Walker is aware of you, Shadow.  He will try to make you
miserable, but he can't really harm you.  It's Wyld Cat that he wants, and
to Wyld Cat he can do great harm.  That is why he needs you.  He needs a
healer for a partner now."  She took her hand away from his head and clapped
twice.  There was a flash of light, and from her finger dangled a brown and
white feather about six inches long.  It had colored thread wrapped around
the quill, and she reached out and tied it in his hair.  "This was Gray
Hawk's when he went through his trial.  It will keep you safe if you let
it."  She smiled warmly.

	"I'm scared, Mother!"  Kit hugged her tightly.  "I don't know what I'm
supposed to do."

	"Patience, beloved son."  She stroked his now longer hair.  "When the time
is right you will know everything you need to know."  She stood up and waved
her hand and the wind stopped.  Kit could see the clouds beginning to break
up.  "You will be tired today, Shadow.  Rest for the sweat lodge.  Do not
eat.  You can only have water or coffee today."  She held out her hand and
pulled him to his feet.  "Tell your brother that he is still my little cub
no matter how tall and strong he gets, and that he will marry a beautiful
girl and have two fine sons.  And tell Quick Fox not to run the horses so
hard."

	"I will."  Kit swiped at his eyes.  "Will I see you again?"

	"We shall see, eldest son.  We shall see."  Touching Dawn stood on tiptoes
and kissed his cheek.  "Rest, my son."  She waved her hand again.




	Eric felt something tickle his nose and he waved at it, trying not to wake
up.  He'd felt Wyld Cat get up earlier, and he knew damn well it was still
dark outside.  He had no intentions of getting out of the warm furs, and he
didn't want Shadow to move away from his back, thus depriving him of body
heat.

	Again there was a tickle, and he groaned and opened his eyes.  He looked up
at Wyld Cat and blinked.  Wyld Cat had a long piece of grass in his fingers,
and he held up a finger to his lips for silence.  Bear rubbed his eyes and
moved out of the covers, turning to look at Kit or whatever was so
interesting to Wyld Cat.

	His jaw dropped.  There were waves of long curly blond hair coming out from
under a blue blanket, his mother's blue blanket, the one she was buried in.
A cold rage formed in his stomach and he began to lean forward, preparing to
rip the hell out of whoever stole his mother's blanket but Wyld Cat grabbed
his shoulders and hauled him back.

	"That's Kit's hair."  He whispered in Eric's ear.  "It was like an inch
long when we went to sleep, remember?  It was cut really short."

	Eric nodded, picking up the corner of the blanket and sniffing it.  It
smelled like his mother's perfume, a really flowery kind that Hawk usually
got from another state somewhere before she died giving birth to Quick Fox.
"How did he get mom's blanket?"  Eric whispered.

	Brandt shrugged with a smile.  "How did he get long hair during the night?"
  He whispered back.  He pointed towards the door flap and led Eric outside.
  He'd built a fire out there, and there was coffee brewing.  Eric followed
reluctantly, looking back with suspicion at Kit and the blanket.

	Kit woke up just after dawn and his head was throbbing.  He could tell he
had a fever.  He lifted up the blanket to get up and then did a double take.
  It was the blanket from his dream, and he immediately reached up and
touched his hair.  It was a little longer than the bottom of his shoulder
blades, and he groaned inwardly, resigned.

	Brandt opened the door flap and stepped inside, dressed in his loincloth
and boots.  He handed Kit a cup of coffee and sat cross legged on the bed,
concerned at the dark circles under Kit's eyes and the grayness of his skin.
  He looked terrible.  "Finally up, are we?"

	Kit held up the blanket for him.  "Touching Dawn gave me this last night.
Fucked if I know how I got back here."

	"I like the feather."  Brandt smiled and pointed at the side of Kit's head.

	Kit reached up and touched it.  "Yeah, that too."  He held his new tresses
up and looked sideways at them.  "Ever grow a foot and a half of hair in six
hours?"  Brandt shook his head.  "Just thought I'd ask."

	They both looked at the door as Eric came in.  He was obviously very angry,
but he was doing a great job of keeping his head.  "Where did you get my
mother's blanket?"  He said each word carefully.

	Kit reached out and put his hand on Bear's arm.  "Touching Dawn gave it to
me last night.  She said to tell you that you will always be her little cub
no matter how strong and big you get.  She also said you would marry a
beautiful girl and have two sons."

	"Uh."  Eric's chest heaved, and long gone emotions boiled up inside of him.
  He swallowed hard and tears spilled down his cheeks.  "That's what she
said before she died."  He said hoarsely.  Kit pulled him into his arms and
Eric sobbed on his shoulder.  "Oh, God I miss her!"

	"It's okay, little brother."  Kit soothed him and rocked gently.  "She made
it to the spirit world, and she's just fine."  He looked up at Brandt and
smiled.

	Brandt swiped at his eye with his thumb.  His heart swelled up and he was
overwhelmed by the pride he felt for Kit.  "See, you are a healer.  He's
worried 'bout that since she died."

	Eric reached up and touched the feather in Kit's hair wonderingly and then
traced the dark circle under his eye.  "You look like shit, Shadow."  He
sniffed loudly and wiped the tears off his cheeks.

	Kit sighed.  "I feel like shit.  Touching Dawn said I was supposed to rest
today.  I can't have anything but coffee or water."  He let Bear sit up and
leaned back on his elbows.  "Where's my boots?"

	"What for?  You need to stay where you are."  Eric said, his voice worried.

	Kit chuckled.  "Calm down, Bear.  I need to, um, visit nature."  He looked
at Brandt and his face went dark.  "Please tell me that we're not roughing
it to the point that there's no toilet paper."

	Brandt laughed and stood up to get Kit's moccasins.  "There's a chemical
toilet behind the tent on the other side of the big rock.  We don't like
squatting in the weeds anymore than white men do."

	"Thank God."  Kit pulled his boots on but didn't lace them up.  "I hope
there's no fucking hunters around because I'm not getting dressed."  He
stood up and had to brace himself against on of the poles holding up the
tepee as a wave of dizziness swept through him.

	Brandt started towards him but Kit held his hand up.  "I'm okay.  Get that
goddamn sweat thing built so we can get this over with, okay?"

	It was late afternoon when Brandt and Eric finished the sweat lodge.  It
had taken hours to build the frame out of green willows and tie them
together with the bark they stripped off the branches.  They stretched
tanned hides over the frame and laced it down before building a huge fire to
heat the rocks that were needed to warm the inside of the lodge.

	Kit sat on his new blanket in the shade of the tepee and watched them work,
napping frequently and feeling weaker as the day went on.  He drank water
and a little coffee, but his system didn't seem to want anything in it.  His
coloring got worse, going towards an unhealthy sallow color, and Brandt
fussed over him in frustration.

	Finally Eric came over and sat on the blanket next to Kit and watched
Brandt move several heated rocks into the lodge using towels and hides like
oven mitts.  "It's really hot in there, Kit.  I don't think this is such a
good idea.  People have died in sweat lodges."

	"I'll be fine."  Kit smiled.  "Wyld Cat will pull me out if it gets to
bad."

	"Who's going to pull his ass out?"  Eric demanded.  "We're not bullshitting
around here, Cat in shadows.  This is dangerous."

	"Listen up, Little Bear."  Kit used his name like Bear used his, getting
his attention.  "Grandpa called us here, and Touching Dawn said I was going
in.  I'm going in."  His voice softened and he put his hand on Eric's arm.
"I'm lucky that I have you to watch out for me."

	Eric nodded and hugged him hard.  He stood up and pulled Kit's moccasins
off, pulled him to his feet, and picked up the blanket and shook it.  "I'll
put this in the lodge.  Don't fall down, okay?"  He trotted off, passing
Wyld Cat on the way.

	Brandt stopped in front of Kit and untied his belt.  He tossed it and his
breechcloth towards the door flap and slipped out of his boots.  "Are you
ready for this, Puma?"  He put his hand on Kit's chest and was silently
alarmed that his heart felt sort of fast and thready.

	Kit put his hand on Brandt's hard chest and smiled.  "Let's go see Grandpa,
Puma."  He took Brandt's arm and allowed him to lead the way, using the arm
for support.  The got to the door to the lodge and Eric hugged them both
again.

	"I want him back alive, asshole."  Eric smiled, trying to sound like he
wasn't upset.

	"I promise, fuck face."  Brandt patted his shoulder.  Eric raised the door
flap and a wall of heat rose up to slap them in the face.  He ducked inside
and helped Kit get through the low door.  It was sweltering inside, and they
were both covered in sweat in seconds.

	"Well, the name is self evident, isn't it?  Kit sat heavily on his blanket
and swiped the sweat off his forehead.  "Jesus, I feel like a corndog in a
microwave."

	Brandt laughed and sat down across from him.  "At least you sound like
yourself."  He picked up what looked like a tambourine but it was a small
drum.  "Don't freak out.  I'm going to chant for you.  It helps your mind
accept the spirits."

	Kit closed his eyes and grinned.  "I always wanted a lover that would sing
to me.  This wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

	Brandt laughed again and began to hit the drum in a moderate even tempo.
His voice was actually soothing, and Kit could almost understand some of the
prayer song.  It was like the drum and his heart were in the same rhythm,
and when he opened his eyes Brandt seemed very far away.  It could've been
minutes and it could've been hours, he wasn't sure.

	Then reality twisted and shrank away, and Kit sat in a cave near a small
fire.  He was dressed in his full leathers, shirt, leggings, boots, and all.
  Across from him a young Indian man sat and looked at him.  The man smiled
and dropped some ground herbs into the fire.  "Welcome, Cat in shadows."
His voice was deep and resonant.  "I am Blue Fox, your distant grandfather."

	"Are you the one Standing Bull sent me here to meet?"  Kit asked, leaning
on his elbows.

	"I am the first healer in our family and the father of Little Sparrow,
mother of Morning Hawk."  The man seemed to look right into Kit's soul.
"You are a powerful healer, Cat in shadows.  I've seen you treat the sick."

	"Only twice."  Kit offered, embarrassed by the praise.

	"Yes."  The man chuckled.  "Soon you will be known to our people, Cat in
shadows.  They will celebrate your coming."  Blue Fox dropped more of the
herbs into the fire.  "Let this sacred smoke surround you and cleanse you,
Cat in shadows.  You are not well."

	"Why did I get sick?"  Kit asked.  "I felt fine and then suddenly I was
weak."

	"You did two healings within a short time, my son.  The gift of healing
also has the curse of illness.  Depending on how sick the person is, it can
take several days for you to rid yourself of their sickness."  Blue Fox
smiled patiently.  "The storm you faces was equally hard on you."

	"I slept, but I kept getting visited, Grandfather."  Kit stretched his legs
out, feeling the smoke surround him and sooth him.  "It's hard to get
rested."

	Blue Fox chuckled.  "They will leave you for a time unless you call on
them."  He reached behind him.  "For now I have a companion for you, to help
you rest and to keep your dreams free and restful."  He set a basket on the
ground next to him and opened the lid.

	Kit opened his eyes just in time to see two ears pop up, and then two
yellow eyes.  Next was a familiar dark nose and whiskers, scanning the cave
cautiously.  Kit swallowed hard, recognizing the markings of the fur and the
facial expressions.  "Top Cat!"  He held his arms out and his pet and friend
of eighteen years jumped through the flames effortlessly to land in his lap.
  The cat butted its head up under his chin and purred loudly, winding it's
body across his arms and trying to get as close to him as possible.  The
large Maine Coon cat seemed genuinely happy to see him.

	"He was bored in the eternal hunt and sought to join with you again."  Blue
Fox laughed.  "He has decided to be your spirit guide.  Truly the Cat in
shadows."

	Kit knew he was crying but he didn't care.  "I missed you, too, buddy!"  He
picked the cat up and held it close.  "God I missed you!"

	Blue fox watched them with a patient expression and finally interrupted
their reunion.  "My son, we have two matters to conclude.  The first is a
place for you to heal that you can always go to."  He stood up and waved his
arm and the cave wavered and disappeared.  They were now in a small sunny
meadow high in the mountains.  High ridges surrounded it and a large creek
ran nearby.  Across the creek were a tepee and a stack of firewood.

	"This was my place to heal."  Blue Fox led him across to the tepee.  "You
can come here whenever you need to, Cat in shadows.  Top Cat will be here
for you and will show you many things."

	"It's beautiful."  Kit. Breathed deeply and shrugged out of his shirt,
feeling the sun on his chest.  "Is it a real place?"

	"It's near the source of the Blackfoot River.  It's many days from the
Spirit Ridge."  Blue Fox stopped near the tepee.  "Tell no one of this
place.  There are those who would try and take it from you."

	"I won't."  Kit watched the Medicine Man move away from him and he was
suddenly afraid but he didn't know why.  "Grandfather?"

	"The people will need to know that you are my Grandson, Cat in shadow."
Blue Fox took out a large knife and drew it across his palm.  "We will
mingle our blood, and they will know who you are."  He handed the knife to
Kit.  Kit drew it across his hand like the man had done, and it stung like a
bastard!  "Take my hand, Shadow."  Blue Fox ordered, and Kit did.  A
tingling warmth crawled up his arm and he laughed as it surged through his
entire body.

	"Cat in shadows, we are one blood, but for you to live Kit Carson must
die."  Blue Fox turned around and held up a bow and arrow, its dark black
stone point aimed at Kit's chest.  "Heal yourself, my son, it's the only way
you will survive."  He let the arrow fly.

	Kit felt a pressure in his chest and he looked down at the arrow shaft
protruding from his ribs.  He looked up in shock at his Grandfather and sank
to his knees, feeling a coldness sweep through his body.

	"Heal yourself, Cat in shadows!"  The man called urgently as he faded away.

	Wyld Cat had been standing in a rugged mountain pass watching as a herd of
elk made its way down to drink from a small river.  He'd been here for what
could have been hours, and no one had approached him.  It was peaceful and
relaxing, and after all of the excitement he was content to just wait.

	"Beautiful, isn't it?"  A woman appeared at his shoulder.  He wasn't
surprised, really, and he smiled at her.

	"I heard you were with us, Touching Dawn."  He said, crossing his strong
arms over his chest.  "Cat in shadows told me he saw you."

	She turned to him and met his eyes.  "Kit Carson is dying, Wyld Cat.  Cat
in shadows must live.  Help him."  She put her hand on his chest and pushed
hard and Brandt felt himself sail back into darkness.  He flailed his arms
and tried to find something to grab onto.

	Brandt opened his eyes and stared at Kit in shock.  Both of Kit's hands
were clutching at his chest and blood ran down his stomach and through his
fingers.  An arrow stuck out through then.  "No!"  Brandt shrieked and moved
over the rocks to Kit's side.  "Little Bear Help me!"

	The flap was open in seconds and Bear climbed in the lodge.  His eyes
opened wide and his jaw dropped.  "What the fuck did you do to him?"  He
demanded.  He slid behind Kit and put his arms around Kit's sides to support
him.

	"Idiot, I didn't do it!"  Brandt snarled.  He grasped the shaft and pulled
it out.  "Kit!  Kit, listen to me!  Heal your heart, Kit.  Can you hear me?
Heal your heart!"  He slipped his arms under Kit's knees and around his
back.  "We need to get him out of here.  It's to fucking hot."

	Kit felt like he was floating.  He could see Eric and Brandt, and he could
feel them moving, but it wasn't important to him.  He felt the chilled night
air and closed his eyes.  It was so peaceful to float in the coolness.

	"Cat in shadows, it's not your time."  Grandpa said, and Kit opened his
eyes to find himself standing next to the old man.  They watched Brandt do
CPR on Kit's body.  "Wyld Cat still needs you, and now so do Little Bear and
Quick Fox."

	"Its nice here, Grandpa."  Kit said truthfully.  The old man hugged his
shoulders and led him back to where his body was near the sweat lodge.

	"It is, but you have many seasons before you walk here.  Tell Wyld Cat to
meet me on the Ridge."  Grandpa pushed him and he tumbled into himself.

	Kit opened his eyes and gasped.  Brandt looked down at him, shaking from
exertion, and he cradled Kit's face.  "Can you hear me?"  Kit nodded weakly,
and Brandt lifted Kit's hand off the wound.  It had stopped bleeding
heavily, but didn't look good.  "Is your heart okay?"

	"Hurts."  Kit whispered, barely audible.

	"No shit?"  Eric laughed.  "Big Brother, you got shot with a fucking
arrow."  He leaned down and touched his forehead to Kit's hand.  "Please
don't do that again."  He shook as he wept.

	"Brandt."  Kit whispered and smiled up at him.  "Grandpa says come to the
Ridge.  He's waiting."  He reached up weakly to touch Brandt's cheek.

	"He can wait.  I'm not leaving you."  Brandt caught his hand.

	Kit winced at a pain in his chest and shook his head.  "Now, Wyld Cat.
Bear will keep me safe."  Brandt looked down at him, deciding what he was
going to do, and then nodded.

"You better be here for me."  He bent down and kissed Kit on the lips.

	"Promise."  Kit smiled.  "Love you."

	"Love you, too."  Brandt sighed and reached over to Little Bear.  "Make a
litter, tie it to my horse, and take him home."

	"We need to wait for you."  Kit mumbled.

	"You're fucking heart stopped, Kit, and you stopped breathing.  You think
you can argue with me feel free to knock me on my ass".  Brandt said
shortly.  He met Eric's eyes and held them.  "Get him on a litter, get him
home, and tell Gray Hawk where I am."  Eric nodded, not wanting to do what
he was told, but accepting the orders.  Brandt looked down at Kit.  "Now I
know what Grandpa meant about one of us dying.  You were gone for a few
minutes."

	"Never left you."  Kit smiled and then felt a pain stab at his chest.
"Go."  His last memory of Brandt was watching him walk towards the tepee,
and then Kit fell into darkness.

	It was raining when he woke up, and he thought at first that it had all
been a dream.  He stared bleary eyed at the pillow his head rested on,
knowing full well that there were no pillows in the tepee.  In another room
he could hear a television, and he smiled and closed his eyes.  It felt so
good to sleep.

	Something tickled his nose, and when he reached up to swish whatever it was
away, he hit himself with something large and firm.  He opened his eyes and
stared at the large gauze bandage on his hand.  He knew by looking at it
that it was a pressure bandage designed to control bleeding.

	Memories came back, and he lifted up the covers to see a bandage around his
chest.  When he looked at the covers more closely he was not surprised to
see that it was Touching Dawn's dark blue blanket.  He was wearing a pair of
the white briefs he'd brought from Cody what seemed like centuries ago, and
was touched that someone had thought about his modesty.

	Someone moved behind him, and he rolled over, carefully and slowly to see
the top of Eric's mop of hair sticking out of the covers.  He looked around
the room and decided it had to be Eric's.  There were music posters on the
wall, a boom box on the dresser, and two stacks of CD's next to it.

	Eric stirred and looked up at him.  He smiled and turned on his side,
slipping and arm across Kit.  "Jesus, it's about fucking time, man."

	"Where are we?"  Kit asked.  "You took me home?"

	Eric nodded and yawned.  "You've been asleep for almost three days, Big
Brother."  He chuckled.  "The clinic sent Dr. Weaver twice.  He said you
should be dead."

	"He put these on?" Kit held his bandaged hand up.

	Eric stretched and sat up.  He was dressed in a pair of cargo shorts and
slipped out of the covers.  He picked something up off the dresser and
climbed back on the bed, handing it to Kit.  "He took this out of your ribs,
man.  Aunt Mary said you'd want it."

	It was a stone arrowhead, dark red with dried blood.  Kit felt a chill run
through him, and he closed his hand around it, making a fist.  "Kit Carson
is dead."  He mumbled.

	"Hmmm?"  Eric blinked at him.  "What?"

	"Nothing, man.  Thank you for my life."  He put his hand on Eric's back and
patted it.  "I mean it."

	"It wasn't me, it was Brandt.  He literally did CPR on your ass.  You were
dead, Shadow."  Eric grinned and hugged him.  "Glad you stuck around,
though."

	"Me, too."  Kit chuckled.  "Where is Wyld Cat anyway?"

	Eric's face fell and darkened.  "Dad and Red Dog went up right after I
brought you home.  They can't find him."

	"What do you mean they can't find him?"  Kit demanded.  "Didn't he go to
the Spirit Ridge or whatever it's called?"

	"Yeah, but they haven't come back yet."  Eric sat up again.  "I'm sorry,
man.  That's all I know."

	"Get me some fucking clothes."  Kit said and tried to sit up.  Eric
immediately pinned him back down, and he was way to weak to fight him off.
"Get off, Bear!"

	"Aunt Mary!"  Eric called over his shoulder.  "You're not going anywhere,
Big Brother.  Dr. Weaver said to knock you out if I had to."

	"Then you have to."  Kit struggled and ended up breathing heavily.  "Bear,
we have to go find him."  He pleaded.

	"They went to find him, Shadow.  You can't do anything that they aren't."
Mary said from the door.  She was a short stocky woman with a round pleasant
face, and she was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.  She brought in a tray
with a bowl of broth and some bread on it and set it on the dresser.  "Hawk
is doing everything he can, and you need rest."

	"Willow," Kit said in Cheyenne, "He needs me."

	Mary nearly knocked the tray off the dresser and spun around, staring at
him.  "How did you know father called me Willow?"

	He pushed Eric off and tried to slide up in the bed.  "I don't know.  I
just know it."  Kit responded.  "Green Willow, like the ones in the spring.
You and Touching Dawn used to play in them.  You're Brandt's mom."

	Mary turned carefully back to the tray.  "That was a long time ago."  She
shook her head.  "We were like sisters before she married Gray Hawk."  She
put a hand towel in his lap and set the tray on it so he could eat the soup.
  "You scare people when you do that, nephew."

	"When did he learn our language?"  Johnny asked from the door in English.
"Damn, now we can't keep secrets from him."

	"Like you could before, dumb ass."  Eric laughed and pulled his little
brother over and onto the bed.  "Better watch out.  Shadow knows everything
about you."  He tussled Quick Fox's hair.

	"Like that you run the horses to hard."  Kit raised one eyebrow at the boy.
  "Mother says you run them to hard.  It's not good for them."

	Quick Fox's jaw dropped and his eyes went wide.  "Oh, shit.  He really does
know everything."

	Everyone laughed at him and Eric hugged him hard.  "Johnny, run to the
clinic and get Dr. Weaver if he can come."  Mary said.  She broke the bread
up so Kit could dip it in the soup.  Johnny nodded, thought for a second,
hugged Kit as hard as he could, and disappeared in a flash.

	Kit winced as a little stab of pain went through his ribs.  "God he's
strong for a midget."

	"He hasn't stopped taking about you or Eric since he brought the truck
home."  Mary chuckled and then slapped the back of Eric's head.  "I told you
I didn't want him driving the truck.  He'll get in trouble with the deputy."

	"Ow!"  Eric rubbed his head.  "It wasn't my idea.  Bitch at Wyld Cat."

	"You were there, too."  She said in mock sternness.  She saw Kit making
good headway on the soup and smiled.  "Must taste good after not eating for
four days."

	"It's fantastic."  He said around a hunk of the thick bread.  "It's sort of
spicy."

	"Lot's of pepper."  Eric offered.  "It ain't good if it don't bite, right
Aunt Mary?"

	"Right.  Go get some more bread for Shadow."  She sat on a wooden chair in
the corner.  Eric jumped up and left the room and she met his eyes.  "So,
Kit Carson, how does it feel to be Cheyenne?  Do you like your new family?"

	"Very much."  He wiped broth off his chin.  "I felt like I was in a Stephen
King book for a long time, but now I'm where I should be."

	"That's right."  Grandma said from the doorway.  She moved slowly and
carefully to the end of the bed and looked at him with open adoration and
through beautiful brown eyes.  "Three times now I see the sun come up, and
three times I see it go down."

	"I'm very happy, Grandma."  Kit smiled.  "It was very special for me, too."

	"When Cat in shadows is better, I will tell you many stories about our
people, and maybe I can even remember some songs."  Grandma wiggled his toe
through the covers.  "We will tell a new story about Cat in shadows."

	"I'd like that."  Kit said and meant it.  Eric walked back in, chewing on a
huge mouthful of fresh bread and handed a thick slice to Mary and one to
Kit.  It was crowded in the small room, but Kit couldn't ever remember a
time when he felt like he belonged as much as he did right now.

	After he ate Mary cleared the things away and Kit dozed off, thinking about
the future.  Right now, even with all he'd been through, he had no desire to
go back to Cody.  He sort of wanted to see his parents, but in a way he
didn't, and that sort of made him feel guilty.  If Brandt were here, he
would be perfectly happy to freeze this moment in time forever.

	He felt someone sit on the bed and he opened his eyes.  A white man in his
late thirties looked back at him and smiled.  He had thinning brown hair and
wire frame glasses, and his face was friendly.  "Mr. Carson.  Good to see
you up and around.  I'm Jim Weaver."

	"Hi."  Kit said and slid up against the headboard.  "You took the arrow
point out of me?"

	"Damnedest thing, too."  Dr. Weaver took Kit's wrist and counted his pulse.
  "As soon as I saw it sticking out I thought to myself that you would
probably die before I got you to Billings."  He made a note in a little
notebook and met Kit's eyes.  "You were trying to get it out yourself, and
every time you touched it, it looked like you were reopening the wound."  He
took out a little flashlight and flashed it in each of Kit's eyes.  "Anyway,
when I tried to stabilize it so I could get you in an ambulance it came out
in my fingers, and you know what happened?"  Kit shook his head, faintly
amused.  "The damned hole sealed up right in front of my eyes, and you swore
at me in Cheyenne and told me to leave it alone."

	Kit chuckled and held his arm up so the man could snip the bandage off his
hand.  "I'm sorry I swore at you."

	"It happens."  Dr. Weaver smiled.  "Anyway, over the last few days I've
heard these wild tales about the white kid that was a strong Medicine Man,
and how he was shot in the chest with an arrow by a spirit and lived."  He
pulled the bandage off Kit's hand and his eyebrows bunched together.  "I'll
be damned."

	"What?"  Kit looked at his hand where Blue Fox had shown him to slice it
with the knife.  There was a red line on his palm where the blade had cut
in, but it was obviously nearly healed.

	"When I bandaged this it was still open and bleeding.  I was going to
suture it."  Dr. Warren open and closed Kit's hand a couple of times,
amazed.

	"I heal really fast."  Kit said lamely.

	"Son, no one heals that fast.  Lets have a look at your chest."  He slid
the scissors under the gauze and cut carefully up past Kit's ribs.  "Where
are you from, Mr. Carson?"  He finished cutting and set the scissors on the
bed and began unwinding the rest.

	"Cody.  I was born there."  Kit answered.  "I work at the hospital as an
EMT two with a certificate in phlebotomy and suturing."

	"Really?"  Dr. Weaver said, setting the windings aside.  He carefully
lifted the thick pads away from Kit's chest.  "If the rumors are true that
you're staying here I wish you'd come and see me.  We could use you at the
clinic.  There's only me, a nurse, and two volunteers."  He looked at the
left side of Kit's chest and blinked, unable to think of anything to say.
There was obviously going to be a small scar between two of the boy's ribs,
but the skin was nearly healed, not even red like his hand.  "My God."

	"I know what you're going to ask me," Kit said quietly, "and I can't give
you an answer you'd believe."

	"I'm not going to ask."  Weaver looked up and met the boy's eyes.  "I've
treated Vera Morninghawk for her cataracts and arthritis for the last seven
years."  He stood up and collected his tools, putting them in a black bag.
"The other day she came in like she usually does and they were both gone.
He vision is phenomenal for a woman of seventy, and she has no pain in her
back which was in the process of collapsing."  He smiled at Kit in a strange
way, lifting his bag off the bed.  "Sometimes you just don't ask, know what
I mean?  Sometimes it's a faith thing."  He headed for the door and stopped.
  "I meant it about the job, young man.  I think that for whatever reason
these people respect you, and that would be very valuable to both of us, not
to mention having a skilled EMT around."

	"So am I okay?  Can I get out of bed?"  Kit asked.

	"You tell me."  Dr. Weaver smiled broadly and left the room, leaving Kit
feeling very strange, like Weaver knew everything was true but was just
going to ignore it.  Typical white thinking Kit figured and shook his head.

	A shower had never felt so good in his life, and he enjoyed all six minutes
and twenty-one seconds, which was about how long the hot water lasted.
Shivering he climbed out of the tub and pulled on his underwear, thought
about it for a second and pulled them back off, hearing Brandt's voice in
his head about how useless they were.  He dropped them in the garbage and
wrapped the towel around his waist to go back to the bedroom.

	Mary offered him any of Brandt's clothes to wear while his were washed, and
he laughed as he sorted through them.  There were five pairs of denim
cutoffs, two pairs of jeans that should've been cut off, two battered
t-shirts and six t-shirts that either had the sleeves cut off, were cut off
below chest level leaving a bare midriff, or both.  He pulled on some
cutoffs and one of the shirts that came down just below his chest and went
out into the living room.

	Quick Fox was in the process of getting his hair cut by Mary and didn't
look very excited about it.  Kit sat down on the couch and crossed his legs,
running his hands through his long wet hair.  "Will you do mine next?"

	"You don't like looking like a rock star?"  Mary smiled at him and snipped
Johnny's bangs away.

	"Not really.  I had it really short until I met Touching Dawn.  She made it
long like this."  He said.  "Do I have to keep it long or something?"

	"No."  She laughed.  "What do you want it to look like?"

	"Just shorter on top, like yours, you know so I can comb it and not look
like a Jesus freak."  He held it out where he could look at it.  "Maybe down
the back to like the middle of my shoulder blades or even a little shorter."

	"Like this?"  She brushed the clippings from Johnny's face and parted his
black hair in the middle.  It was cut to feather back on the sides over the
ears, and hung down about three inches past his collar in the back.

	"Yeah, exactly like the Fireball's" Kit grinned.

	"You want your hair cut like mine?"  Quick Fox asked incredulously.
"Cool!"

	"See?"  Mary scolded and swatted his butt as he stood up.  "He didn't want
it cut like that.  I had to threaten his life."  She shook the hair off the
towel she'd been using for a cape and waved at the seat.  "Next, sir?"

	"Thanks."  Kit sat down and held his chin up for the towel.  "Mary, this is
a stupid question, but do I have to burn my hair or some shit?  I heard once
that Indians believe that they can be controlled by someone if they get some
of their hair."

	"It's not a stupid question."  She ran a comb down his back deciding where
to start.  "I don't know if it can really happen, but there's old stories
about that kind of thing, not just from Indians, either."  She began to take
small amounts of his hair in little cuts.  "I think where you might be a
little more in tune than regular people that yours maybe should be burned."

	"More in tune, huh?"  He chuckled.

	"Nice way to put it, wasn't it?"  She laughed.

	Half an hour later he was admiring her work in the mirror.  It was perfect,
and he carefully tied the feather back onto the right side just behind and
down from his ear.  He wiped the tiny clippings off his chest and back and
put on a clean shirt.  The front screen banged, and he heard a horn honk.

	"They found him!"  Quick Fox shouted, racing into the room.  "Shadow, they
found him!"

	Kit shoved past him harder than he'd wanted to and was running for the
truck.  "Find everybody and tell them to come to the clinic!"  He shouted.

	Hawk looked over from the driver's seat as Kit ran up.  There was nobody
riding shotgun, and Red Dog was in the back with a blanket wrapped Brandt.
"Get in."  Hawk ordered.  "Red Dog can watch him for a few more blocks."

	Kit vaulted into the back of the truck and knelt down.  "Go, Dad!"  The
truck lurched and then moved forward, and Kit moved the blanket aside.
Brandt's eyes were open but he stared into nothingness.  "Puma, can you hear
me?"  Kit leaned down by his ear.  "Talk to me, Wyld Cat.  I missed you."

	"Don't do no good, man.  He ain't in there."  Red Dog, a short stout man in
his late forties said.  "He fell, man.  Hit his head.  There ain't nothin'
left."