Chapter 63 - AURORA

Dunk awoke just before sunset in the smother of Marianne's tent. The diffuse green light inside the tent was darkening, but he could still see Mary's face beside his, relaxed in a beatific smile. They were wrapped around each other and the feel of her body and limbs made Dunk flush with joy. Marianne felt his gaze, or his body warming. She opened her deep black eyes and he was lost.

When their passion finally ebbed, it was dark, and they began to feel chilled lying naked on Marianne's sleeping bag. They dug around for their clothes, which had been scattered whichaway, and began dressing. Pausing every moment or two to kiss and embrace again.

Poking their heads out of the tent Dunk and Marianne found the sky brilliant with stars, and the waxing crescent moon hanging low over Rogue. They stood silently, arms wrapped around each other, staring into the heavens.

"Fire?" Marianne finally asked.

"I was thinkin mebbe we should move back to the shell heaps," Dunk replied.

"Tonight?"

"Well. Everyone'll be back attit in the mahnin. That way nobdy'll come sniffin round heyah," Dunk answered, "an I was thinkin we might get Sum's boat, top the tide."

Marianne was willing to do anything Dunk saw fit right now. Just so long as she could be with him. So the two lovers broke camp and stowed it in Dunk's skiff, then motored across the star speckled waters to the old Indian middens, where they unloaded and repitched. They built up a big fire and cooked the last of the groceries for a royal feed.

Neither wanted to talk about the violence they'd seen that day, or make plans for the future. They were content to just be together on a beautiful night with a new love between them. Mostly they just held one another, and Marianne was astonished the silent camaraderie could be so comfortable, so complete without the babble of words. She'd grown up in an academic wrangle of words, in a noisy society, and Dunk's gift of silent presence washed over her like warm waters.

They could hear the tide lapping higher and higher, and finally Dunk said, "We could try for it now."

They got up and put on an extra layer, for the night was getting colder, and hauled Dunk's skiff in. Motoring across the passageway to the ledges Dunk had run EQUAL'S on, Marianne asked, " Won't it be too damaged to float."

"I doubt it," Dunk answered. "That glass's pretty tough."

"What about the motor?" she queried.

"Well.. I popped the leg lock when I fiddled the last time," he replied. "We'll see."

Dunk had released the lock keeping the outboard down. It's designed to stop the engine from kicking up when in reverse, but it'll run fine forward unlocked. Dunk had picked a smooth sloping ledge to ram onto, hoping the motor would just kick up, instead of breaking the leg.

Dunk conned them up the nearest guzzle in the dark, and had Marianne hold the skiff while he crossed the rockweed to see how EQUAL'S lay. He came back saying, "we can probly do it togethah." He set the skiff's anchor in a hole in the ledge while they went over to try it.

Dunk's timing was perfect. The tide was just topping out. With the two of them shoving and rocking, the whaler came off the rocks it was jammed on, and slid easily back into the water. Dunk handed Marianne the painter. He went and retrieved his skiff, then they both got in it, and towed EQUAL'S across the thoroughfare. Soon both boats were safely on the haulout by Marianne's camps.

They built up the fire and warmed themselves. The wind had shifted again, and was now a cool northerly, blowing straight up the thoroughfare. Sitting beside the fire they were staring at the sky when it began to change.

"Ooo," Marianne said, as a meteor arched down the sky. Then another. Soon it seemed like dozens were falling, often at the same time.

A wavering light began to shake above the northern horizon, splaying out in rays toward the zenith. Like phosphorescent splashes and shivering ribbons.

"Aurora borealis," she whispered, and he savored the words.

More and more lights spread from the northern sky until the entire hemisphere above them shimmered and shook with the ethereal display. It was like an immense illuminated tent rising from the horizon to the top of heaven. A perfect corona. Shot through with meteors of changing hues.

The lovers were dumbstruck, and merely held each other beside the dying fire, entranced, until the lights faded, and the cold touched them. Then they crawled into Marianne's tent and took their clothes off, and made love like they were blessed.