She still had several things on that mental list of things she wanted to accomplish. That list that she now considered.......getting her affairs in order. Such a thing had never been thought of before, but after Fonce mentioned it before the Love Wars, she realized the importance of it all.
Fate had stepped in a couple of times to help her. At the stream, she had run into Yamka and a young weaver, trading goods and services. She spoke to Yamka about boots for the children, and saddles for the girls, then to the young weaver, about blankets for the kaiila she had chosen for her daughters. Usually, once the amount or trade is settled on, it is rendered after the goods are delivered, or the service is done. However, this time she insisted on giving the two young women their payment in advance. Unusual? Yes, but it was her wish.
It was not unusual for her to spend time at the pens, it was her work, the thing she enjoyed more than anything. But the last few days had been spent with Gabe, explaining about things she wanted done, animals that had been promised to other and things like that.
There was a new set of twin foals, that had been birthed by Lyric this season, and these we found suitable enough for her girls. They were branded, then their ears notched, then the strings of beads woven into their manes. She extracted a promise from Gabriel, that he would see that her daughters were taught to ride when the time came. He kept looking away from her, nodding, but saying little. She had finally appeased him by telling him that she would probably be there herself, that this was just a contingency plan. In fact, Ba'atar might be back by then, and she would be heavy with child, so she would still need her younger brother's aid. This seemed to settle him, and he began to pay more attention. It was much better to think of his older sister as pregnant......yet again....than it was to think of her as gone.
She cut the beast she had chosen for Ogedai from the herd and tied him to the fence rail. He was thoroughly cleaned, his claws sharpened and tended to, inspected time and time again, to make sure he was the one. She was very proud of this animal, he came from good blood lines and was a fine beast. A brown kaiila, with lights of red in his coat, the mane and tail as black as the night sky. His sturdy legs faded from the brown, to black then down to white stockings on all four legs, and he had a white blaze on his snout. And absolutely beautiful animal. When he was but a foal, she had began calling him Hest. His name now would be up to the sleen man. She spent time rubbing and combing oils through his coat until it shined. She was pleased.
Slipping the clip from the bridle into the ring on the animal's left nostril, she walked through the camp leading him. It was almost as if Hest knew he was on display. His head was held high with quite a bit of arrogance and pride, which she found amusing. A perfect beast for the sleen man.
It is a good idea to approach the wagons of a sleen breeder with great care. You never know exactly what you might find there. The sleen were caged, and you could hear the growls and snarls long before you got too close. That was an odd thing about them. They could sound so ferocious in their cages, but she knew that they could also be silent killers. Sniffing out their prey, sneaking up on them so quietly, you did not even know they were around, then striking.
Ogedai was not there, but the mocha skinned slave that belonged to him was. Her dark skin reminded her of the slave that Ba'atar had brought back from his last adventure. Would he finally find his blonde, blue-eyed slave on this one?
She tethered the kaiila to the wheel of one of his wagons, and explained to the slave that she was to tell her Master, that the beast was Hest, and was payment from Cana. The woman seemed capable enough of delivering the message, so she left the beast with her. Taking one last look, she ran her hand over his neck and leaned in to speak softly in his ear, encouraging him to make her proud. It was almost as if the animal understood, for he nodded the great head, then tossed it with a snort.
As she backed away, still watching him, she again agreed with herself, that this was an excellent beast for the Sleen man.
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