She had ridden out with Rook earlier in the day in search of the hives. There was a bit of disappointment that she had never heard back from T'zuri, but perhaps the young woman was not in the mood for company, or perhaps she just did not like bees.
Today was simply what you might call a scouting mission, to see if the hives were where she had remembered them. And, they were. The girl juneau became over excited and had run towards them and had to be called back. They did not have the protective clothing that were needed to harvest the honey, and she did not want the girl laid up by bee stings. And, it was early in the season, and not time yet to gather the honey, but she was pleased to see the swarms of bees all over the fields of wildflowers that were around. This should be a good year for honey when the time was right.
She had been surprised when Ba'atar had offered to watch the boys while she made this ride. She had intended to leave them with the girls, but he had shooed them all away, telling her that this was his time with his sons. But he did remind her that she would need to not be gone long, that Another One would be hungry, and that was one thing he was not equipped to do. He should have no fear of that, for she would also know when it was time to feed the baby, by the heaviness of her breasts filling with milk.
But, she did enjoy the ride. It was a glorious day, warm, the skies clear, and the signs of life all around them. Several times Rook pointed out small animals to her, that were trying to hide in the grasses as they passed. And there was a time or two, when flocks of birds took flight from the safety of the brush at their approach. She also made mental notes of patches of wild herbs, that she would gather later in the season. It was never too soon to start planning for the colder months, especially now that her family was growing.
On the ride back, she and Rook spoke of Trilok, and his upcoming quest for the bride price. It was not the first time they had talked of this, and Rook in his wisdom, said that he would go on the raids, but the actual taking of the items would be up to Trilok. His role would be to help keep him safe, to make sure he brought the items back as instructed. See. This was what she needed Rook for. Often her decisions were made with her heart, and not her head. She needed him to give her perspective on things, especially things that had to do with family. His advice always proved to be invaluable.
Arriving back at the wagons, the first thing that she did was to search for Ba'atar and the boys. Her body told her it was time to feed the youngest of the two. With the baby fed, cleaned up and settled. She set to making their evening meal and to getting Ba'atar and Tug, or One rather fed and happy. After the meal, Ba'atar said that he had business to attend to in the herds, and he would be back late. Such was not unusual, and she had simply lifted her face for his kiss, and whispered that she would still be awake.
The dishes were done, the camp tidied up, and Tug was bathed and settled for the evening before she had a moment to herself. Rook had wandered off to speak to someone, and the girls were sitting quietly by the fire, doing some mending, and the evening was peaceful.
She ducked into the first wagon, and pulled something from inside a box. It was a leather thong with beads strung along it's length. From the box, she took another of the loose beads and strung it onto the strip of leather. One, only one.
There were year keepers that kept the passing of time for her people, but this was her own private calendar, so to speak. Each of the carved beads represented a day to her, and each night, she slipped into this wagon and added a single bead to the string. Tying the end off in a loose knot, her fingers moved along the strand as she counted the beads. There were seventy-two. Each single bead represented one day since her last bleeding. Seventy-two days. She sat for a time pondering this. Should she tell Ba'atar yet, or should she wait? The decision was made to wait a few more beads.
Seventy-two. That told her much, and she smiled.
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