They awoke to a beautiful morning, one where The Central Fire was bright, its' rays warm and there was no wind. It was far to glorious not to do something special. Ba'atar got the two older boys up and took them to the herds with him, and she was left with the four younger children, which was fine.
As she sat on the platform having her morning blackwine, Rook came to sit beside her and asked what she had planned for her day. She listed the things that she wanted to accomplish, and he asked how many of them could be done by the slaves or clan members and she looked at him oddly. He laughed and told her that he was going fishing today, and thought maybe she and the children might want to join him. He did not have to ask twice.
She was up, giving orders to the slaves and within the ahn they had managed to get the children dressed, pack a meal into baskets, make-up some bundles of furs to sit on, and were ready to go. Rook brought their kaiila around, along with one to pack the meal and furs on, and they were off. Rook took both of the boys on his kaiila with him, and she had found a way to wear two carriers, one on the front of her body, another on the back, so she had the girls, and the juneau and twist ran along side them, almost giddy with the beauty of the day.
As they rode up the banks of the meandering stream, she was observant to things around her. The smell of the air, how it felt on her skin, even to the sounds of the water moving along the rocks in the stream bed and to how far up the banks it was. Rook finally found what he considered the perfect spot and they unloaded their things, spread the furs on the ground and got settled. He took the two boys down closer to the water to fish, and she lay the girls out on a fur and sat for a time just watching them entertain themselves with fingers and toes.
Laying back with her arms crossed under her head she just watched the skies, marveling at how blue they were with only a few clouds drifting lazily by. She had to smile when she saw a flock kites on the wing flying in the general direction of the south. They were not as organized in their flight as the V-shapes of migrating geese. They seemed to travel in a swirling mass of wings having no direction about them, but moving inexorably on a southern path of flight. This was a good sign.
As she lay there, she felt something hit her forehead. Not something heavy, but something light, without much weight to it. Lifting her hand she captured whatever it was and sat up. Opening her fingers slowly she grinned. "Well tal there brother grasshopper, and how are you today?" The insect sat there a bit stunned, but when she unfurled her fingers completely making a platform of her palm he jumped off landing in the grass. She watched him a moment as he re-acclimated himself and hopped off. Laughing she pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around them as she looked around, reveling again in the beauty of the day.
She caught sight of Also squatting in the grass not far from Rook's watchful eye. He seemed to be fascinated by something there, so she lifted to her feet and went to see what held his attention. Lowering down to her knees beside him, a hand comes out to rub his back gently as she asks what he is looking at. It was rare that he truly smiled, but he turned that cherubic face up to her and was beaming as he pointed to a spot in the grasses. Leaning a bit closer, moving her braid from her shoulder to behind her back, she too smiled. There, nestled in the grass were two tiny crocus, the harbingers of spring. She leaned to kiss the top of that dark head and told him that they were a sign that the tribe would soon be on the move. He asked if he could take them and she thought for a moment of the pots she had hidden back in her wagons. Why not?
Taking the quiva from her boot, she very carefully slipped it into the ground around the flowers, taking great care to get some of the other shoots that could be barely seen. She explained to him that they would not live long, but maybe if they took extreme care and put them in pots, he would have them for many seasons and they would grow each spring as a special gift to him. A promise of spring each turning, a promise of new life, of renewal, of hope. Now this might be a concept that one as young as her son would not grasp, but not so. He nodded that little dark head and spoke softly. "As mother Sky wills it." She could not help but smile and lean to kiss the top of his head.
With the clump of soil in her hands she returned to the furs and sat it down carefully telling him that they would transport it back to the wagons. Nodding again his attention was diverted to things around him and his little had craned back and he pointed to the sky. Looking up she smiled as she saw the familiar pattern of a flock of geese in flight. He then said softly. "They go home." Looking at him, she nodded, he then said. "We go home" Now that surprised her, but she did not make a big deal of it. She simply smiled and tilted her head to watch the flight of birds.
She knew that the members of the spex clan were doing whatever it is that spex do to read omens, that is their job. And she knew that her mate was waiting on the portent of those readings. However, she did not need chants or verr livers or the livers of some poor hapless slave to tell her it was time to return to the southern grounds.
She had the world around her that spoke to her, the earth that nourished the grasses it just smelled different when the season was changing, the grass whispered its' own chant about the changing of the season, the wind that swept the lands with it's warm caress, the appearance of the first green shoots and tiny flowers. They all told her it was time. Just as at the end of the warm season, the same things spoke to her. She has been known to sit for hours and watch as the ants scurried to and fro, storing food for the cold months. When the coats of the animals began to thicken that told her colder weather was drawing near. When the plants along the banks of the stream began to droop and change colors, she knew. All one had to do is watch the beauty and bounty of what the Sky blessed them with, and you just knew.
No comments:
Post a Comment