I'll be home for Christmas

chapter 72

Chapter 72 - I'll be home for Christmas

Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer - this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute that, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.

Thanks to BanSidhe [ruadh sidhe] and Feebes86 for betaing and pre-reading.

[AN: I can't find a lot of info about Quileute death rites. I have read a few things and as usual, cobbled together some stuff and made up the rest. Respectfully, I hope.]

If Billy had died alone, as such a high status man, his body would have been dealt with differently, but the days were long gone when he would have been put in a canoe, and left in a tree on Akalat Island. Jake, as his son and the new chief, and Leah as his wife in all but name, decided that Billy would prefer to share his ceremony with the others who had fallen with him. They were all wolves or warriors who had died fighting vampires. They had all earned respect.

The shaman's body was another issue. Historically people had been terrified of the power of a shaman; the body of one was hidden away, roughly mummified and left in a cave. Hidden, because a body part from a dead shaman could be used for powerful magic. Josh told them Old Quil's body would be protected and everyone believed that.

The least injured wolves carved rough canoe shapes from a cedar tree. A cedar was a significant tree for the tribe. One large tree split into quarters made four rough wedges. Each wedge was cut into two pieces making eight of the canoe shapes. They worked quickly with their great strength and they all needed a physical outlet. Sam made Y-shaped racks to hold them and they embedded them in the ground on the beach. The canoes would sit above them. The scraps and bark were piled into pyres underneath. Brady and Jared took care to stack the wood so that it would light and burn without being smothered.

The families prepared the bodies. The Blacks took care of Billy and Saathi. The Uleys looked after Thomas, and the Atearas prepared Michael Clearwater and Old Quil. Tragically the pack had to find as many pieces of Collin's body as they could. The remains were wrapped in a tribal blanket.

Most of the tribe met in the makeshift canteen late afternoon of the next day. A day of healing had erased almost all of the wolves's injuries, except for the more severe ones. Broken bones took two or three days to heal. Catering wasn't a problem; as often happened when people don't know what to say they said it with food. The tribe also had a tradition of potlatch and communal feasting. Oddly, the way they had all been eating as a community was another throw back to the old ways.

The Cullens remained in La Push. Perhaps the house that Esme had decorated and that was still full of Edward's things, was too much for them but no one in the tribe would ask them to leave now.

Candie was standing in the middle of the room, looking confused.

Quil looked concerned. "Candie?" he asked carefully.

She lost it. Tears streamed down her face. "She's not here… to cook… she's not here."

"Esme?" he checked.

She nodded.

"Oh, baby." Quil hugged her.

"She was always here," she wailed. "If this baby is a girl, can I call her Esme?"

Rose made a small noise when she heard that. Quil looked up at her and held his arm out to her. She rocketed across to them and they all hugged.

Seth came in the door, looking for Jake. "Canoes are done," Seth told Jake.