The Second Stone — What the Stone Becomes

The What the Stone Becomes — Natural Stone Bead Bracelets are round polished natural stone bead bracelets — 17 stone varieties, genuine stone, elastic stretch cord, three lengths (17cm, 19cm, 21cm), two bead sizes (6mm and 8mm). From the Becoming Places. The river makes them. The Soraveen receive them. Chelle brings them back. On the sixth visit, there was a cougar at the waterline.

The Soraveen do not explain the cougar. They do not explain most things that happen at the Becoming Places — the river explains itself, the stones explain themselves, and the creatures that come to the waterline come for their own reasons and leave when they are finished. The cougar had been at the Becoming Places before. The Soraveen knew this. They did not say so. They have a word for certain animals that appear at the waterline with the particular quality of attention that belongs to something that is not only what it appears to be. The word does not translate. The closest approximation is: skinwalker.

Chelle had been going to the Becoming Places long enough that the wildlife had stopped accounting for her — the canyon birds, the lizards on the warm stones, the occasional hawk riding the thermals above the mesa rim. She moved through the shallows the way the Soraveen had taught her: slowly, reading the stones, feeling for the quality of settledness that meant the river had finished with something and was offering it. She had learned not to reach for what the river was still working on.

The cougar was on the flat rock above the first bend. Still. The particular stillness of a large predator that has decided, for reasons of its own, not to be a threat — which is different from the stillness of a large predator that has not yet decided. She knew the difference. She went back to reading the shallows.

She was moving left along the waterline when she stopped. There was a coffee agate in the shallows — round and dark and warm, the color of the earth at the base of the eastern marker after rain. She had been about to pass it. She stopped because something made her stop. She looked at the stone. She looked at the flat rock above the first bend. The cougar was watching the shallows. Not her. The shallows. The specific section of shallows where the coffee agate was sitting.

She picked it up. It had the quality of settledness — finished, offered, ready. She had been about to pass it because her attention had been on the stone to its right, which was not finished, which the river was still working on. The coffee agate had been finished. She had almost missed it.

She put it in her satchel. She did not look at the flat rock again. She went back to reading the shallows. When she straightened up to leave, the flat rock was empty. The cougar was gone. The canyon wind moved through the space where it had been. The Becoming Places did what they always do.

She brought back coffee agate that visit. And snowflake obsidian. And lapis lazuli. The three together made the combination she had been looking for without knowing she was looking for it. She stacks three. She has never explained which three. Midnight was on the rooftop when she came through. He looked at the satchel. He looked at her face. He rumbled twice — low and slow, the particular rhythm of a creature who has been watching something from altitude and has just seen it move to the next stage. He tilted his great head. He did not elaborate. He has been watching the Becoming Places since before the canyon had its current shape. He knows what comes to the waterline and why. He is not going to explain it. Some things the Soraveen do not explain either.

About This Piece

• What it is: Round polished natural stone bead bracelet — genuine stone, elastic stretch cord
• Stones: 17 varieties — Epidote, Coffee Agate, Aventurine, Amethyst, Onyx, Snowflake Obsidian, Pyrite, Lapis Lazuli, Apatite, Rose Stripe Agate, Pink Crystal, and more
• Lengths: 17cm | 19cm | 21cm
• Bead sizes: 6mm | 8mm
• Wear: Stack multiple. Chelle stacks three.
• Series: Earthsong Enchantress | The Earth Remembers
• Location: The Becoming Places, Sunrise Steppes
• Character lead: Chelle. The cougar at the waterline. Midnight rumbled twice.
• Select stone, length, and bead size at checkout

More from the Sunrise Steppes: The Sunrise Steppes — Canon Index | The Becoming Places | The Man at the Waterline | Seventeen Frequencies | What the Stone Knows — Crystal Chip Stretch Bracelets
More from Earthsong Enchantress: Earthsong Enchantress Collection

What stones are available?
17 varieties: Epidote, Coffee Agate, Aventurine, Grass Yellow, Amethyst, Veins Agate, Onyx, Lemon Jade, Snowflake Obsidian, Pyrite, Lemon Quartz, Orange Aquamarine, Rose Stripe Agate, Yellow Quartz, Pink Crystal, Lapis Lazuli, Apatite. Select at checkout.

What sizes are available?
Three lengths — 17cm (6.69"), 19cm (7.48"), 21cm (8.27"). Two bead sizes — 6mm and 8mm. Select your combination at checkout.

What are the Becoming Places?
The river valleys below the Soraveen's eastern marker on the Sunrise Steppes — where the current slows and deposits what it has finished polishing. Read the full story.

How do I care for natural stone bracelets?
Keep away from prolonged moisture. Remove before swimming or bathing. Wipe clean with a soft dry cloth.

What will you find?: What the Stone Becomes — Natural Stone Bead Bracelets, select stone, length, and size at checkout