Over the next moon or so, she found herself nesting, yet again. Ba'atar had her wagons moved with his. She had the feeling that he did not realize that she had so many, nor did he know that she had so many kaiila and bosk. It was just not something she spoke of to many. Much of it had come from Tayco, who had been a bit older when they had mated, more established. The wealth of wagons did not mean much to her. Truly, how many wagons did one woman need, after all? Ba'atar had decided which would be their sleeping wagon, which would be for the boys, which ones for his personal belongings and supplies, and right on down the line. Now, it was up to her to make that group of wagons a home for them all.
Birrmah was around quite a bit, and she found she enjoyed the woman's company, and even her suggestion as to how things should be done. She was not overbearing about it, but did offer gentle suggestions, most of which were incorporated into their daily routine, such as it was. It would have been a bit easier had they not been in the midst of the move, but they adjusted. She could not exactly figure out if the woman was around more to see that her eldest son was taken care of, or if she was around because of the baby. For whatever reason it was, her help was welcome, as was her company.
And Birrmah was not their only visitor. Aamon had taken to stopping around, especially at meal time, but that might have been because that was where his mate was, and thus, where his meal was. He too seemed to be developing an affection for the baby. But then who wouldn't? There was just something about a baby that seemed to draw people closer.
She had even awoke from a nap one day, to find that spot next to her where the child usually lay was empty and went into a panic for a brief moment. Stepping out onto the platform, she beheld something that she would never have expected. Rook was riding along beside her wagon with the bundled up baby in the crook of one arm. Her brow lifted and she just had to ask..........Rook, are you singing? All she got from him was a grunt, and he did not relinquish the child immediately, but rode along humming under his breath. Yes, babies had a way of bringing out something softer in even the gruffest of warriors.
Evenings had come to remind her of growing up at her family's wagons. Some nights the meal was had at their wagons, on others they would make the walk to the wagons of Ba'atar' parents and eat with them. There was much laughter, teasing and always music of some sort. She had even been pressed into playing her flute one evening. It seemed they all sang to a degree. Aamon had a rich bass voice, and sometimes when he sang she could almost feel it rumbling right down into the core of her being. When you added Ba'atar's baritone to it, the music was beautiful in the most simple ways. And it did not take the brothers long to decide she was truly a part of the family and they found great pleasure in teasing her, and she teased right back. It all became very dear to her, just as they all became dear to her.
But it was the nights that she found most peaceful. The nights when they would lay in the furs, speaking in soft whispers of their days. There were times that she felt guilty, for she would often fall asleep, lulled by the timbre of his voice speaking low into her ear. Sometimes secrets were share, and others it was simply a conversation about the ahn they were apart from each other. She grew to know things about him that gave her peace in her soul. The way he would talk about the simply flight of a bird in the skies, how he would describe a field of flowers that he had seen on patrol, or when he would bring back a small bouquet of those flowers for her.
She had grown to admire his patience. Somehow, each day he found time to spend with Tug. He would take him to the herds with him, or to the stream, or to see newborn calves, always explaining to the boy exactly what was going on, and how important the bosk were to them, how sacred they were. He had a small bola made for Tug and spent ahn patiently teaching him how to use it. She watched all these things, and began to see the bond between her new mate and her son grow daily, and she had to smile. Ba'atar was a good father, but then, he had a good father. Aamon had gained her respect, as had Birrmah. She loved them both a great deal.
But, where she truly appreciated Ba'atar's patience, was with her. You would be hard pressed to find a man that would take on a mate with two children, or a man that would take a mate and not consummate the relationship on that first night. She was not foolish, and knew that he spent time with slaves, but she could not fault him for that. And she knew he was frustrated, but what he did not know, is that so was she.
There were nights when she lay in the furs thinking about him, wanting him, knowing that he was with a slave somewhere. He did not know how badly this affected her, for she said nothing of it. She longed to be his in all ways, but the time was not right. But soon, very soon, the time would come.
But for now, she worked her frustrations away by making his wagons a home, but making sure he had meals, clean clothing, fresh water, and a smiling face to come home to. She was nesting............yet again. But this time, she had two little birds in that nest, her precious sons. And if the skies blessed her and Ba'atar, they would have to get a much bigger nest, for she intended to have many little birds.
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