Speaking Rain is the adopted sister of Kaya'aton'my.
Facts[]
- Name: Speaking Rain
- First Appearance: Meet Kaya
Family[]
- Eetsa: Mother.
- Toe-ta: Father.
- Brown Deer: Older sister.
- Kaya'aton'my: Sister.
- Wing Feather and Sparrow: Twin younger brothers.
- Kalutsa: Paternal grandfather.
- Aalah: Paternal grandmother.
- Pi-lah-ka: Maternal grandfather
- Kautsa: Paternal grandmother.
- Tall Branch: Maternal aunt
- White Braids: Second mother
Personality[]
Speaking Rain is Kaya's adopted sister and cousin. In Kaya Shows The Way it's explained that her mother was a cousin of Kaya's mother Eetsa making her and Kaya second cousins. Her father was gored to death on a buffalo hunt, and her mother died in childbirth.
Speaking Rain is blind due to an illness, and so she "sees" with her other senses. At first, she relies on Kaya for support and comfort, as she is always uncertain about where she is heading. Because of her dependence on Kaya, Speaking Rain ends up getting kidnapped along with her in Kaya's Escape. Despite Kaya's protests, Speaking Rain stays behind with the captives as her blindness will only be a hindrance to Kaya. Later on, Speaking Rain is left behind and nearly dies before being found by White Braids. Speaking Rain looks at White Braids as a second mother, and since the two depend on each other, Speaking Rain wants to stay with White Braids' tribe. As of Changes for Kaya, Speaking Rain spends six months with White Braids' tribe and six months with Kaya's tribe.
Speaking Rain is called "strong" by Kaya's grandmother and mother, and has a powerful will that does not give up. Speaking Rain is shown to keep the vows she makes. Speaking Rain also has a good sense of how people truly feel. She is described as a slim girl with cloudy eyes.
She is very close to Kaya, and considers Kaya to be her best friend.
In the Books[]
Meet Kaya: An American Girl[]
Kaya leaves Speaking Rain to look after her brothers while she races. The boys become tired of Speaking Rain's games and leave her. Later, while helping Kaya look the knife that was left behind, she fell over an edge that was over the river. She tries to swim for shore, but the river is too fast. Kaya saves Speaking Rain with Steps High.
Kaya's Escape: A Survival Story[]
Due to her blindness, Speaking Rain is unable to help with picking berries, and stays at camp to work on her weaving. When Kaya returns from berry picking, Speaking Rain can sense the sadness in Kaya's voice and asks her what happened. When Kaya explains how she got called 'Magpie' again, Speaking Rain comforts Kaya by suggesting she go to Steps High, who didn't care about her nicknames.
When raiders invade the camp, Speaking Rain holds onto Kaya's hand, trusting her to lead her into the woods with the rest of their family. When Kaya runs after Steps High instead, Speaking Rain is captured along with Kaya.
When the raiders take their first rest, Speaking Rain asks Kaya where they were and what would happen to them. Kaya tries to assure her that their men would go after the raiders to save them, and tells her to be strong, a statement Speaking Rain agrees to. When they're instructed to sleep, Speaking Rain is too afraid to sleep, but reminds Kaya about the lullaby Kautsa used to sing to them and sings it to Kaya.
At the raider's camp, the women are initially upset about the raiders bringing a blind girl for a slave, and Kaya fears they might consider her useless and abandon her here. The raider leads Speaking Rain to a mother with a baby, and Kaya guesses he told her Speaking Rain could tend to the babies while the mothers worked. Kaya also makes a point to work as hard as she could in order to make up for Speaking Rain in an attempt to protect her. Speaking Rain sleeps in the same teepee as Kaya and the Otter Woman, but isn't tied up as the camp assumes a blind girl wouldn't try to run away.
When Speaking Rain helped Kaya collect and carry the firewood back to camp, the two discuss how they could escape. Speaking Rain could get the knife to Kaya so she could escape, but Kaya would have to go on without her as she would never be able to keep up with her on the run. Kaya refuses at first, but Speaking Rain is firm, saying Kaya was their only hope and she must escape so she could bring others back to get her. When Kaya looses heart, Speaking Rain asks her what Kautsa would do, and knowing Kautsa would try to escape gives Kaya courage. The two plan to start saving some of their food for Kaya's journey.
On the night of Kaya's escape, Speaking Rain waits for Kaya's command before getting the knife to her. Speaking Rain took Kaya's place by the Otter Woman to deceive her if she woke up. Kaya clasped her hand and Speaking Rain squeezed it back, a vow they'd be together again.
Kaya Shows The Way: A Sister Story[]
Kaya finds out that Speaking Rain is with an old woman, White Braids, in Two Hawks' tribe. The two girls are reunited, but Speaking Rain has one problem. She was left behind by the tribe when she took too long to come back to the river and had to support herself. She was in a bad condition when White Braids found her and nursed her back to health. Speaking Rain is grateful to the old woman and plans on staying with her. By the end, she decides to spend six months with the White Braids and Two Hawks's tribe and six months with Kaya's tribe.
Changes for Kaya: A Story of Courage[]
Speaking Rain is spending her six months with White Braid's tribe and Kaya briefly mentions she misses her.