CHAPTER 15:  COMING OF AGE

	Finally, Fabana reached her first season.  She was nervous and 
restless, as if something was missing from her life.  She had long felt 
ill at ease among humans and their strange world, but this was a 
different kind of stirring that she had never felt before.  The dog, 
taking note of that, became restless as well and showed a new interest 
in her.  He understood many things that she did not know about growing 
up.
	At first, Fabana had no clue what had sparked his changed 
attitude.  Usually Fielder would not even answer her direct questions.  
His few words to her had been insulting and demeaning, and when he even 
said "good morning" it made the whole day noteworthy.
	Suddenly Fielder had become chatty, saying how good the weather 
was for that time of year, and inquiring about her health, and a great 
many other things of questionable value.  He even brought her part of 
his coveted table scraps in an awkward attempt to curry favor.
	And Fielder began to watch her intently.  At first Fabana thought 
it was her imagination, but the dog began to stare more and more often, 
and for longer periods.  Finally, she had to risk a direct question.
	"What are you looking at?"
	"You, Spotty.  You're blossoming into a fine young lady.  I didn't 
realize what a few moons would do to you--remember when you were that 
squalling pup yelling for her mom?
	"Vividly."
	"I hate to say it, but I didn't really like you then."
	"No kidding."
	"It doesn't always have to be that way, Spotty."
	"My name is Fabana."
	"Whatever.  Well--Fabana--you're a young lady now.  It's time you 
were initiated into the secrets we grown-ups keep from the pups.  You 
know, kind of like a ceremony of sorts--a rite of passage."
	"Can you do that?  I thought only females did the Bak'ret Koth!"
	Fielder laughed till his sides ached.  "Oh for God's sake, where 
DO you come up with these!  There are two sexes--male and female, see."
	"Don't you think I KNOW THAT?"
	"Oh--the ceremony!"  He laughed again.  "Well pardon me!"
	Fabana finally understood what was so funny, and she smiled, 
embarrased.
	When he regained his composure, Fielder drew near and said, "You 
want something, but you don't quite know what it is.  I know what it is, 
and I can give it to you."
	She tugged at her leash.  "Oh, I know what it is I want.  And I 
want it more than anything."  She strained to see the border of her 
homeland.  "Help me please, and all is forgiven.  You'd like that, 
wouldn't you?"
	Trembling with passion, the dog came toward her.  "Oh yes.  This 
should be interesting.  Just don't brag about it afterwards, and if it's 
good, maybe we can do this again sometime."
	Instinctively, Fabana knew what was about to happen.  She bared 
her teeth.
	"Oh, so you like to play rough?"
	"Don't touch me!  I didn't think you meant THAT."
	"Well what DID you mean?"
	"I want a way out of here!"
	"You do?  Well you're looking at it.  But I want something for my 
trouble.  Something you can give me.  Come on honey, you'll thank me 
later!"
	"Don't do this!  I'd rather stay!"
	"Your words say no, but your eyes say yes.  You've never made it 
before with a male.  If you had, you'd want this as much as I do.  Maybe 
we can run away together."
	She began to stammer a prayer she learned in childhood.  "Roh'kash 
ne nabu!  Koh'pim ket ra mispa ojkhim!"
	The private feelings she had been saving for her husband were 
about to be brutally exploited.  She backed up again.  "Please, in the 
name of God!"
	"You will enjoy this.  Calm yourself, Spotty.  You're not my 
first, and I'll talk you through it.  It's really very simple, and when 
it's over, you'll beg for more.  Trust me, honey bunch!  Now just you 
stand still and let me handle the details."
	He started toward her again, and she sprang at him.  She reached 
the end of her rope and was cruelly jerked back.  "Leave me alone, 
Fielder!" she gasped. "Come at me again and I'll kill you!"
	His eyes glowed dully with loveless passion.  "I want you, and by 
the gods I'll have you!"
	She started biting at the rope frantically.  The sisal fibers 
stung her lips and tongue, but the rope did not fray in the least.
	Fabana kept backing up further and further, and the dog kept 
advancing.  She bided her time, waiting until he was far enough inside 
the circle that she could stage her last defense.
	"Relax, honey.  You can't run and you can't hide.  So you might as 
well try to enjoy it.  We're going to have fun.  Trust me."
	"I suppose so," she said, drooping her ears and tail in 
submission.  "Please be gentle."
	"I will.  Hey, I don't want to hurt you.  We're all friends here."
	She took in a deep breath, let it halfway out and held it.  
Suddenly she leaped at him.  This time the rope did not stop her.  She 
had not been trained in fighting, but neither had the dog.  She closed 
on his flank and tore large hunks of his fur out with her superior 
strength, gripping him with her powerful arms.  All thoughts of 
lovemaking fled from him, and he struggled to break her hold.
	She knew she had to finish him.  Tied up, she had to remain in 
that one place, while he could run away and recover, then come back when 
he had the advantage.  If she surrendered to sleep, he would come ready 
to ravish her or choke off her wind.  
	She had him pinned where he could barely move, and could not 
afford to release him.  "You're right," she growled, "I'm going to enjoy 
our time together.  Now for love's first kiss!"
	She seized him by the throat and bore down with irresistable 
force.  She felt something pop inside his neck and tasted warm blood.
	He reached up in his death struggle and scratched down her face.
	"Oh gods!" she cried, falling back and rolling in agony.  Where 
there had once been an eye were now four parallel gashes.  That side of 
her world was plunged into darkness and pain.  Shrieking and yipping, 
she clawed the ground.  "Roh'kash!  Roh'kash!" she yelped.  "Ne'b 
karssit dareh!  Krekh toh, Fielder!  Krekh toh, kresagit!!"
	The dog, his windpipe crushed, crawled off a short way and 
collapsed, gasping.  He stared at her imploringly, as if asking for his 
breath back.  His jaws moved in silent words of terror.
	Ed came running over.  "What's the bloody problem with you two??"  
He looked at the dog, prodded him with his shoe, and seeing his 
suffering was mortal, took his rifle and pointed it at Fielder's head.
	Fielder's eyes grew wide.  He held out a paw beseechingly.
	"Poor wretch," Ed said, pulling the trigger.
	The sound of the shot made her freeze.  She looked at the gaping 
wound and watched the unfortunate body twitch spasmotically.  A red tide 
began to spread out on the ground, and the acrid smell of cordite and 
blood reached her.
	Ed derisively said, "I should have known a stinking hyena would 
turn on me sooner or later!"  He looked back at Fabana.  "You made me 
put down my best dog!"  
	She dreaded the rifle he still held in his hand.  "Roh'kash," she 
whined, "I've always tried to live a good life.  Take my spirit to your 
side."
	He pulled up the gun and pointed it at her.  Fabana whimpered and 
trembled, cowering on the ground.  She waited for death.  It never came.  
He lowered the gun and stared at her eye.  The end of the rifle barrel 
wavered uncertainly.  Then without ceremony, Ed bent down and grabbed 
her by the collar, pulled his sheath knife and held it near her throat.  
Silently she prayed, "La'kuneh, dear maleh, come for my spirit."  The 
blade grazed her neck, pricked her, then with a quick upward pull, it 
bit in two the collar she had so hated.
	"Get out, Spotty!  Let God be your judge."
	She cowered in terror and could not move.
	He picked her up bodily and hefted her toward her old homeland.  
Then picking up a rock, he stung her flank with a well-placed throw.  
"Get out, damn you!!  If you come back, I'll kill you!!"
	She took one last look at the man that saved her life.  She knew 
where she belonged, and she turned away.  Without looking back, she 
slinked away toward the border of her old home.




CHAPTER 16:  ODYSSEUS RETURNS

	Fabana had walked for two hours in the hot sun.  She was used to 
pacing a short distance from side to side.  The distance to cover seemed 
almost impossibly vast, and she was weakened by her wound.  Her grinding 
thirst pulled her to the side of the small watering hole she found.  
Without caution, without even looking around, she stumbled to the bank.  
Looking down into the water to take a drink, she saw something horrible 
looking back at her--a face delicate and fresh on one side and hideously 
scarred on the other.
	She was in the middle of her first season, but she knew no male 
would ever want her.  She howled pitifully.  "Why, Roh'kash!  Why me!  
I've never known the company of a male, and now I'm so horrible!"  She 
collapsed by the bank and sobbed brokenly.
	A small group of hyenas heared her and came out of the brush.  
They wondered who the stranger was.  Fabana looked at them 
apprehensively.  "Who are you?" she asked in common speech.  "I don't 
want trouble.  I used to live here, and I'm trying to find my family.  
Do you know my okash La'kuneh?"
	She smelled human and spoke common speech.  They wondered if she 
was truly one of theirs.
	"I remember La'khuneh," the large male said in common speech.
	"Jalkort?"  She looked at him closely.  "Jalkort, is that you?"
	"I'm Jalkort.  Should I know you?"
	She broke into tears.  With almost painful reluctance, she said, 
"Bih hyannicha!  Moh keth Fabana!"  Gaining strength, she almost 
shouted, "Bih hyannicha, Jalkort!  Moh keth Fabana!"
	"My gods!"  Jalkort's tail wagged so hard, his whole back carriage 
swayed.  "Fay!  Fay!"  He ran forward and kissed her face on the good 
side.  "Barkhal, Roh'kash!"  He nuzzled her and rubbed her full length.  
Seeing the scar, he said, "I'll rip the devil that did that to you!  
I'll rip him alive!  Where is he??"  
	"He's already dead.  I had him in a death choke when the man got 
his bang stick and put him out."  She tensed up and asked, "How's Mom?"
	Jalkort looked down.  "Oh, Fay!"
	"What is it, Jal?  Is she....?"
	"The fire.  I'm so sorry."
	"How about my brother and sister?"
	Jalkort nuzzled her sadly.  He didn't have to say a word.
	She nuzzled him back, a tear running down her cheek.  "Then you're 
all I have left.  Oh Jal, please lean on me!"  When he sat by her, she 
rested her cheek against his and wept bitterly.  "I smell like a human 
and a dog.  I want to be rid of that scent."  Bitterness began to well 
up inside her and she added, "I want to forget that life, to blot it out 
forever.  The man took my freedom, and that dog tried to take my pride.  
Look what he did to me!"
	Jalkort looked at her good side in profile.  "Actually, you're a 
rather handsome female.  Your children will only take your good looks, 
not your wound."
	"What children?  I will die forsaken, and you know it!"
	"Our children," Jalkort said.  "Bal dareth, Fabana?"
	"You can't possibly mean it!"
	"I do."
	"But look at me!"
	"I am looking at you.  I'm hunting, and I never take my eyes off 
my prey.  No matter what anyone else thinks, you're beautiful to me.  I 
always knew you would be my bak'ret."
	Tears began to stream down her face.  "There is a God," she 
sobbed.  "There really is!"  She kissed him and said, "Dareth koh, 
Jalkort!  Dareth koh!"


CHAPTER 17:  IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

	Fielder's brutal advances had prejudiced Fabana against her own 
natural inclinations.  She was afraid that Jalkort would come to her in 
the night with dull glowing eyes the way Fielder did to have his way 
with her.  But she would endure it for the sake of her love for him and 
to bear his pups.
	Jalkort drew up almost timidly to her.  "How bright the stars are 
tonight."
	"Yes," she said stiffly.  Her muscles tensed.  "They are bright, 
aren't they."
	"We're alone now," Jalkort whispered.  "Safe from the eyes of 
night, this small part of the world is our private kingdom, and you are 
my queen."
	"Come on.  Get it over with," Fabana said tensely.
	"Get what over with?" Jalkort said with a gentle laugh.  "You're 
such a timid creature.  That's what I love about you."  He pawed her, 
then came down on his front legs and wagged his tail.  "Hey, I bet you 
can't catch me!"  He tapped her on the shoudler and ran a short 
distance, then said, "You're it!  Come on, Fay!  Work off that fat, 
honey bunch!"
	"Fat??"  She ran after him.  "I'll fat you!"
	He bounded over a row of bushes like a gazelle.  She followed, 
just skimming the top.
	She looked around for him, but didn't see him anywhere.  Then she 
looked back and saw him hiding at the base of the bushes with a rakish 
grin on his face.  "Gotcha!"
	Fabana laughed.  "You little fakir!  You never change!"
	"That's right," Jalkort said.  "I'm still your friend.  See, I'm 
not so scary am I?"
	"Well, no...."  She looked into his warm hazel eyes.  "Well, yes.  
You're the most scary and wonderful thing I've ever seen."
	He drew close to her face and nuzzled her gently.  "I can be 
patient, as patient as you need me to be."
	She smiled and rubbed his cheek gently with hers.  "You're my best 
friend, and against all hope you're my husband.  Whatever you want to do 
is fine by me."  She pawed the ground uneasily.  "Will it hurt?"
	He chuckled.  "No, my darling."  He pawed her face and smiled. 
"You'll feel loved, very loved."
	She looked into his eyes and saw the honesty and openness that 
liberated her love for him.  "I'm ready.  Make me feel loved."
	"Are you sure?"
	Trembling with mixed fear and desire, she whispered, "Yes.  I'm 
sure."
	Fireflies like tiny shooting stars brought the splendor of the 
heavens close enough to touch.  In the distance, a lion sang an ancient 
song of the joys of owning territory.  Another lion roared back in eerie 
antiphony.  The acacia leaves whispered wordless messages of peace and 
love.  Fabana felt very happy, safe, and loved as he said she would.  
With Jalkort, no one would stare at her.  With Jalkort, no one would 
shake their head in pity.

FABANA:
	I looked into the water, and I dreaded what I'd see
	A tortured face with ugly scars was looking back at me
	I shied to go on living, and I wanted just to hide
	And yet he doesn't see that face, but one that lives inside

JALKORT:
	She ran before the hungry fire that burned our world away
	I thought our love was buried deep in some dark yesterday
	Our path had forked, the dream had died, 
	   like grass our love had burned
	But life renewed amid the ash, and with it love returned.

BOTH:
	The day before was void of hope, you were a sweet regret
	A sad dream tugging at my heart I tried hard to forget
	Then fate decreed our paths would cross, 
	   our love was meant to be
	Tonight the stars of Heaven smiled because you came to me.

	Jalkort and Fabana went to a place where fear and shame could not 
follow them, a place found only in the heart where scars do not make 
ugliness and the boundary between two hopes is removed.  They were one 
love and one spirit burning brighter than the sun, and everything the 
light touched was made pure and holy.  Fabana felt her old sadness 
washed away in the tide.  With it washed away the clinging traces of 
Spotty.  She was Fabana, daughter of Kelvar and wife of Jalkort!
	She discovered her special heritage with the help of her husband.  
Born to an ancient line, she knew the joy and comfort of a husband as 
her mother and grandmother did before her.  All fear was gone.  She 
floated in a pink sky on a golden cloud of joy, warmed by the sunshine 
of his love.  She drew nearer, ever nearer to the sun, and finally 
trembling like a dry leaf she was swallowed up in the sweet caress of 
its fire.  "Oh, Jal!  I love you, so much!" 
	The end of their passionate encounter was just the beginning of 
their close bond.  Fabana turned to meet her husband's shining hazel 
eyes. He smiled gently and kissed her.  
	"Are you happy, Fay?"
	"Delirious," she said.  "You are love."
	He went and rolled on his back in the sleepy savanna grass, and 
Fabana snuggled next to him.
	"Aren't the stars beautiful, Fay?"
	She didn't notice.  Her gaze was turned upon him.  "You make 
everything look beautiful.  Even me."

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