...And We Will Have Snow

Chapter 5: Introductions

It was not unexpected that Naga and Juan chose to stay on at WBI after they arrived and met all the people there. Kore was unfazed. Naga had prepared her for this contingency, having left a letter of intent with her to turn the clinic over to the staff as a joint entity, assigning Cern to handle the necessary legal procedures. He promptly reassigned the task to a competent agency that specialized in such matters.

Meanwhile Dema and Cern had received their own informal invitation, and were themselves making arrangements with their clients to wrap up current obligations and prepare them for a possible extended absence.

Kore too was invited to join them on the island, provided she didn't want to stay on at the clinic. She treated that provision as a mere politeness. There was no question in her mind where she belonged.

So before long all three of them were in the air, having booked a direct flight from O'Hare to Sea-Tac. Kore had taken care of closing up the house, and also volunteered to be the one to come back and see to its contents and sale if the family decided that was best. Kore, and Sedna too, were already pretty sure it would be.

Cern, for all his travels, had never been to Seattle before. He was treated to a splendid view of Mount Rainier as the plane began its long descent, as well as a good look at the Olympic Peninsula to the west. The isolated mountain was impressive, but his heart's urge was to explore the wilds of the Olympic rain forest.

They were met by Ryan and Rosita, and soon found themselves flying up the sound in the very craft Ryan had described to them, with Ryan at the helm. Cern was duly impressed with the performance of the hydrofoil boat, but once they were among the islands he had to agree with Ryan that a kayak would be a better craft for exploring these waters.

Dema, in the second row of seats along with Kore and Rosita, reveled in the sea-island ambience, the smell of the salty air. It brought back fond memories.

Ryan slid the craft into the narrow opening as smoothly as he had described Jack doing, the rumble of the engine suddenly loud as it echoed in the enclosed space. Cern helped him secure the lines while the girls walked toward the elevator, ogling the cave-like walls of the hidden boat house. Dema was recalling the nights she and Ryan had spent searching other caves among these islands for drug stashes, swimming in sea lion form. She turned to Rosita and said, "Have you and Ryan...you know," gesturing toward the water. Rosita said, "We have. We couldn't wait. But not from here. There's a little cove on the north side of the island that's perfect." Dema looked back at Cern and Ryan. They were coming, hauling the travel bags. They all squeezed into the little elevator and rode it up to the main floor.

Naga and Juan were waiting. After big hugs all around they were led to the meeting room, for the rest of the introductions.

The room was large, with a long table in the center of it, but with a homey, even rustic, rather than a business feel. There were several people gathered around the table. All of them were standing. A tall man with very pale, lank hair stepped forward. Juan said, "Kore, Dema, Cern, this is Tengri. Tengri, Kore and Dema are Naga's daughters."

Tengri smiled and held out his big hands. Dema and Cern moved closer to take them, Cern his right hand, Dema his left. For a long moment the room vanished, and the three of them were standing in an ancient oak grove. What they shared in that moment was the purity of common awareness, shaman awareness. Tengri welcomed them as old friends.

The moment ended and Tengri spoke for all to hear. "Juan told me you would come. I am well pleased to have you join us." His eyes included Kore in this welcome, and she felt he was aware of Sedna's presence as well.

Tengri continued the introductions, going around the table.

"Kore, Dema, Cern; this is Marian, our chief botanist." From what Rosita and Naga had told them, Dema felt she already knew her. The young woman's smile lit up her eyes in a way that told Dema it was mutual. But Tengri didn't give them time to exchange more than a nod before moving on.

"This is Drake, our biologist and medical doctor. He works closely with Marian, particularly on the aquaponics program." Drake was tall in a gangly way, with a mop of auburn hair, kind eyes and a warm smile.

Tengri indicated the next man. "Ray is our computer programmer and technologist. He helps us devise computer models and simulations to test our ideas." Ray looked up from the tablet he'd been tapping on. His mouth opened and closed briefly several times as if he had a thousand things he wanted to say but didn't know where to start. He settled for a rather shy smile.

The next two to be introduced were both youngish, athletic-looking women.

"Karen is our geologist, meteorologist and climatologist. She helps keep Ray busy." If Dema had to type-cast Karen she would have said she looked like an Aussie surfer girl, with heavy, sunbleached hair. She grinned at Tengri's remark.

"Cheryl is our oceanographer, and marine biologist. She has her own ideas about what Ray should be doing." Cheryl was Karen's opposite, with long black hair. She could have been Hawaiian or Polynesian, another surfer type. She kept a straight face, but blushed slightly at Tengri's unintended innuendo.

"And this is Jack, our all-around engineer and boat pilot. He's the one to see if anything isn't working, or needs to work better." Jack was as Ryan had described him, affable and confident-looking. He stepped forward and offered a hand to Cern, then nodded to Dema and Kore.

Again Tengri kept the introductions brief. He turned to face the new arrivals. "There will be plenty of time for everyone to get better acquainted later. I'm sure they'll all want to show you their operations. Right now I need to tell you what it's all about, and they have heard it before and have better things to do." He looked back at the others, and they nodded agreement and began to file out, offering more quick welcomes to the newcomers as they left. Ryan and Rosita, Naga and Juan, stayed, and everyone took seats, looking attentively at Tengri as he took his own seat and leaned forward, ready to begin.