It had not been a restful night for her. Many things weighed heavy on her heart and mind, and yet, there were some things that seemed to take on new life. She arose to a bout of morning sickness that took her out of her wagon and to the trenches, very early. Once the contents of her stomach emptied, she really did not feel all that much better, but walked back to her wagon and plopped down on the steps. As the first rays of the Central Fire began to burn the night away, she looked down to see kasra holding up the bowl of tea for her. Taking it, she gave a grateful smile to the girl and sat there sipping it until everything settled again.

After the morning meal was finished, and Tug was bathed and dressed, reluctantly, to be honest, she told Rook they were going visiting. Baskets were packed, and she requested that Rook bring the bird, and they set out for the outer wagons. It was a beautiful morning, one with the first hints of warmer weather in it, and she found that she felt quite happy and content.

Several times she stopped to speak to people that she knew. Inquiring to the aching joints of one elder warrior, and cooing over the new daughter of another young couple that she knew. At one point a handsome young man, not yet scarred, spoke to her, and her head tilted as she tried to place him. He had laughed and told her who he was, which made her laugh. There was a point, when this handsome young man was but a child, and he had given her a flower and had been rewarded with a kiss to his temple. Where had the time gone? He was no longer a child, and for a moment that made her feel old. Old at twenty-two? Yes. Old.

As she approached the wagons of the bosk singer's family, she had to smile watching the woman, who seemed to have complete control over what was happening in her little part of the world. This was the "Wench" that Ba'atar spoke so fondly about. The mother who saw to every whim and need of her mate and sons. Looking around, she realized that the camp was very neat and orderly, and running quite smoothly. Approaching the woman, she introduced herself, in case the woman had forgotten who she was.

The woman smiled at her, telling her that she knew who she was, that she remembered her from when she had come to visit Six, and from when she had sent food when he took his final ride. She gave her name as Birrmah, and nodded for Cana to join her on the platform, and asked if she would care for something to eat or drink. She did not wish to be rude and eschew her offer of hospitality, so she asked for some water if it was not too much trouble. The woman looked at her, then laughed softly. "The baby has your stomach in an uproar, doesn't it" Cana could only chuckle and nod. It was such a simple gesture, but one that truly touched her. Birrmah reached to pat her hand gently then went to get the bowl of cool water, which proved to be exactly what she needed.

When the woman returned, Cana handed her the basket, and explained that there were honey cakes in there for her and her family, and a bag of honey-roasted nuts. At the mention of the nuts, there came a gleam of almost childish delight to the woman's dark eyes. Opening the bag, she took one out, held it between her finger and thumb, then popped it into her mouth and chewed slowly, smiling. "Six loved these, and I do too, but I don't find them around too often." Cana was thrilled to have given the woman a treat such as this, and began to tell her of the grove of trees near the stream at the southern grasses, and of the hives she had found. As they talked on this, she promised that next season she would show the woman where both were, and would teach her how to roast and coat the nuts. A pact was made between the two women, and she found that it was comforting.

Birrmah worked on some mending as they talked. Cana asked questions about her family. Gentle questions that helped her to understand them more. At one point, the woman looked at her with a wise gaze and asked how she was doing, how she was holding up. At first the slender shoulders simply shrugged, then she had to admit that she was feeling better about some things, thanks to conversations with one of the woman's sons. One of the dark brows lifted as the woman asked which one. When she heard who, she began to laugh. You could tell by her laughter and the look of pride in her eyes that her son was a special man to her, in fact, all of her sons were special. But, she did warn Cana…"Watch that one, he will steal your heart away before you even know it." Cana had to agree with her. The man was an arrogant bosk arse, but when he wanted to, he could be very charming, and recently, she had found that he could be a good friend, one that gave wise counsel.

They sat for quite sometime just talking, then the woman nodded to Rook, asking who he was. She had almost forgotten him, and called him over to introduce him. One of the main reasons she had wanted him to come, was to bring Chuluun. Rook had been working with the bird, and now wore a long leather gauntlet on his arm, with the bird perched on it. When Cana explained about the bird, the woman's eyes again lit up as she chuckled. She found it hard to believe that this beautiful bird was the same scrawny bit of fluff that Six and Mayala had fussed over so.

The visit was nice, and she enjoyed it. Tug had charmed the woman in that way he had, and was rewarded with hugs and bits of fried bread left over from the morning meal, smeared with fresh butter and jam. He even got his own little bowl of blackwine, sweetened with more milk than blackwine, but enough to make him feel quite grown up. The woman had a way with the boy, but why wouldn't she, she had raised enough of them herself.

She had stayed far too long, but found herself hating to leave, but she had things to do, and she knew that Birmmah did too. When they were gathering up to leave, the woman placed a hand on her shoulder to still her. "He has spoken of you. You know this don't you?"' She laughed at the shock in Cana's eyes. "He has always spoken highly of you, and has been worried about you recently. He fears that you will not allow yourself to be open to what the skies have planned for you. I have told him to give you time to adjust, then to wait and see. I know that it has been hard on you to lose two mates in such a short time, but remember, perhaps it was the intent of the sky all along. Perhaps it was to make you stronger to accept what they have planned, and to make you treasure it more. Just remember, you are not the one that has been burned to ashes, and your soul floating into the skies. You still live, and you have much to live for." She was stunned by the woman's observations, and said nothing. Birrmah, leaned to kiss her temple then turned to go back to her mending.

As she was walking away a man came around the corner of the wagon. It was not hard to realize that his was the father of all those sons, Ba'atar was the spitting image of him. He stopped, put down his lance, crossed his arms over his massive chest and assessed her for a moment. She felt compelled to say something, and told him who she was. He nods.

"You are the one that just lost her mate. My condolences to you. I am Aamon, I believe my eldest son has spoken about you. You asked him to sing at the pyre." She nods, then proceeds to tell him what a wonderful job Ba'atar did. Again the man nods, then this grin of pure arrogance came to him. "He had a good teacher. Now, where are you running off to?" She was studying him, understanding many things. Ba'atar came by his attitude honestly. It came from this man. She gives him one of her sweetest smile, and tells him that she needed to get back to her wagons and her work.

He nodded, then pointed one meaty finger at her. "You will visit again, and soon. Maybe some evening, and we will have songs by the fires, and my Wench will make us dinner." It was truly all she could do to not burst out laughing, but instead she simply nods and make a promise to return soon to the hospitality of his fires. He seemed satisfied with this, and turned to walk to his mate who was back at her mending. "Wench, is there no food for a hard working man?"

Oh, skies, she began to move away quicker, so that she could finally laugh. When she turned to look back, she caught something truly beautiful. Aamon had leaned down, taken Birrma's hand in his large hand and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. She had to smile seeing this, then watched as Birrma, lifted a hand to stroke his cheek. It struck her suddenly of the love that passed between these two, that had spent a life together, that had raised fine sons, and still had the beauty of love. They were blessed, truly blessed.

As she and Rook walked back to their own wagons, she watched Tug running ahead, then back to them, then exploring every spot he could, chattering non-stop. She had many thoughts running through her mind, many things to ponder.