The First Jumper (first draft version)

The First Jumper 45: Climate Change

"Let me get this straight, father.  You and this demon are living together inside you?"

Little Bear looked across the fire at his son with some exasperation.  It was late summer, and it had been very warm, but it had turned cool this night.

They were taking their time, camping in the woods south of the river, going over Little Bear's story before rejoining the tribe.

"I told you, it is not a demon!  I remember my life as Little Bear, all the way back to my childhood, and I remember my life as Gerleesh, all the way back to my childhood.  I'm one person with two backgrounds."

"How does that let you perform magic?"

Little Bear sighed.  "My son, as far as I know, there is no such thing as magic.

"Briar does a good job of pretending to do magic, but half the time, she does more harm than good.  She starts by guessing what she thinks will happen, and then she makes a prediction that is supposed to be magical, based on that."

Otter frowned.  "Isn't that magic, then?"

"No, just being smart.  If things go the way she predicts, she takes credit for them going that way.  When things don't work out the way she predicts, she either blames it on wicked magic by someone else, or she changes her prediction accordingly.  Most of the time, no one but myself notices she has changed it."

"Okay," said Otter slowly, "I've seen enough of what Briar does to see that.  But father, if it isn't magic, then what is it, when you can do things like heal your body and see around hills?"

Little Bear chuckled.  "Two different things, neither of which are magic, but both come from the same event.  I can see around hills, because I have broken free of my Tarshen body, as I told you.  That lets me stay attached to this body, as one personality.  It also lets me sense the spirits in other bodies, whether they are human or animal.  That's how I see around hills."

"I still don't understand how that helps you heal yourself."

"That's part of the same thing.  Because I am partly outside my body but attached to it, I can see into my body and work with it.  I can see how things work inside me, much better than I could if I were confined within my body.  That lets me do things like heal myself of infections and wounds.  Understand?"

"Not really," said Otter, and both laughed.

Little Bear shivered, suddenly, and leaned in closer to the fire.  It was getting quite chilly for a late summer evening.  He put a bit more wood on the fire, and said, "We should probably head for the tribe, in the morning."

“Sounds okay to me,” yawned Otter.  “I want to see Sprout again.  I miss her.”

“I miss your mother,” Little Bear said.  Apple had died the year before, giving birth to her seventh child.  “I wish I could have saved her.”

“You saved so many,” said Otter.  “Think about that, father.”

“You are right, son.  But there is so much more to do.”

In the morning, Little Bear woke with a start.  He looked around him.  Something was not right.

Otter was sleeping next to him, and the fire was still burning.

He stood, and looked around him.  No dangerous animals were near.  He would have awakened if any had come close while they were sleeping.  What was wrong?

Holding his spears and throwing stick, Little Bear ran off to the edge of the forest.

As he came to the edge of the wood and looked out across the canyon, he could see the sun, just above the horizon.  It looked the same, but something felt wrong about it.

It didn't feel like a morning in late summer.  The sun was coming up at the right time and in the right place for late summer, but it felt more like early winter.

As he stood there, looking around at the rocks and trees, Little Bear's eyes opened wide.  He had lived through two devastating winters that lasted three years each.  One had been before he had joined with Gerleesh, and once since then.

With all his other struggles for survival, he had not thought about why the weather of this world should be so variable.  He turned and began running back to Otter, who heard him running and was on his feet by the time he got there.

"We have to get back to the tribe, right away," Little Bear said.  "Another long winter is coming!"

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