“I saw you,” Hyden said, with a nod of respect.
Hyden had only gotten three eggs, and had ended up nearly falling over the edge of the Lip during the descent on his second harvest. The memory made him think about Gerard again. It was almost full dark now. He stood up and started toward the base of the cliff to look for his brother.
“What happened to your face, Hyden?” Little Condlin asked. Even though he was at a safe distance, he made sure that his voice carried nothing less than concern in its inflection.
“I was attacked by big, hairy scufflers,” Hyden deadpanned. His expression didn’t hold though, and thinking about his earlier folly, he broke into a sarcastic grin, “What do you think happened?”
Little Condlin took on a frustrated expression and sighed heavily. He was the fourth of five brothers, so he knew where he stood in the pecking order with Hyden and his other cousins. He had hoped his successful harvest would have gained him a little more respect. Gauging the distance between him and his older, faster cousin, he gathered his courage and prepared to run away. “I think you fell down and busted your fat head.”
“Aye,” Hyden laughed at the boy’s well-placed caution. “I did. I was looking up, watching Gerard act like a fool, and I wasn’t watching where my feet were leading me.” He made a silly face, and his cousin relaxed a little bit.
“Well I have to say, you look quite a bit better than you did before. That bloody knot brings out your eyes.”
Hyden burst out laughing at the boy’s boldness. He started to say something about it, but was cut off by a welcome voice.
“What’s so blasted funny, Hyden?” Gerard said from the darkness, near where the cliff face met the canyon floor.
Hyden felt the wave of relief wash over him. It was followed immediately by a flood of anger. “What’s not funny is what you did up there today! You could’ve gotten yourse—”
His voice stopped cold, and Little Condlin gasped loudly. Gerard had thrust a ring out of the darkness at them. Even in the starlight, its amber gemstone captured enough illumination to sparkle brightly. It almost appeared as if it were glowing.
“Where did you find that?” Little Condlin asked, with a voice full of awe.
“In your sister’s pantaloons,” Gerard replied sarcastically. He was sore, tired, raw in several places, and in no mood for silly questions. He looked at Hyden, judging his brother’s anger. “It was high up in an old broken nest by a fissure. The one I jumped across,” he said in a way that let Hyden know that he knew the risk he had taken, and didn’t want to hear anymore about it. After a moment, he reluctantly handed the ring to his older brother.
Hyden looked at him oddly. It took him a minute to grasp the meaning of the gesture. Gerard had been climbing for him, not for himself. He was offering him the ring. Hyden refused it with a nod.
“You wanted it bad enough to risk your life for it. It’s yours. You earned it.”
Gerard cocked his head and studied Hyden some more. To refuse such an offer could be considered an insult. If Hyden was refusing him out of anger for taking that jump, then he wouldn’t know what to do. Hyden had never insulted him before. He looked deeper, and saw so much love, respect, and relief in his brother’s eyes that there was no room for doubt. Hyden truly did want him to have the ring. He took it back, and a broad grin spread across his weary face.
“If you refuse these, then I’m going to kick you where it counts.”
Gerard unshouldered his pack and thrust it out to Hyden proudly. “Half a dozen, just like I promised.”
Hyden passed the pack to their cousin, and grabbed up Gerard in a big bear hug. Gerard hugged him back. While his hands were close together, behind Hyden’s back, Gerard slipped the ring onto his finger. After a moment, Hyden held him back by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes.
“Don’t scare me like that again.” He pointed to the gash on his knotted head. “You almost killed me.”