《Stone Age Mama》


 Chapter One - Accidental Child Acquisition

    Chapter One - Accidental Child Acquisition


    "Back away now, children." Whose voice was that? Why do I smell smoke? What is that stench, like old gym socks, and why is it so dark?


    "But mama''s hurting..." A small, quiet voice said, a little girl. Is that my niece? No, sounds younger. Whose little girl, then?


    "Your mother has a fever. Crowding her isn''t going to help her." The first voice again, shaking and raspy, as if of a great age and poor health. Poor child, their parent is sick... Why is it so cold?


    "Mama! Mama!" A different voice cried, still small and not really forming the words correctly, small hands grabbing at Victoria''s shoulder. They shook her, and she frowned. Splitting pain raged through her head, leaving her gasping.


    Images flashed before Victoria''s eyes - a life - one that was not her own. Instead of being born in a hospital, bundled in warm cloth and held by a laughing mother and a crying father, she was born in darkness, under the stars. She was bundled into furs, rough and slick with fluid, held on the heaving belly of a woman Victoria''d never seen before, a woman with huge grey-white wings spread underneath her. The woman who named her Belbet and called her daughter.


    Victoria grew as Belbet grew, from a rambunctious toddler held mostly to her mother''s front or back by reed fiber rope into a young child, curious about the world. Victoria was astounded to realize that the life she was observing was a positively prehistoric one; lacking any of the modern conveniences she¡¯d enjoyed her whole life. A nomadic tribe, using stone hand-axes, weaving dry grass baskets and roaming the wilds after herds of giant creatures. Belbet was taught what plants were edible, what stones to overturn to find edible insects, how to make rope from grasses and weave baskets from reeds. Victoria gleefully recognized some of these skills, ones she¡¯d honed with an interest in her own world. The plants looked different from what she knew if slightly, but the uses were similar.


    The most terrifying thing she¡¯d come to realize was about the animals. While they were similar, the differences from what she knew made them terrifying. Everything was bigger, here in this world. The insects were huge, a dragonfly the size of a small child, for instance. Giant deer and furry rhinos, creatures that looked familiar to her but so very, very different. The tribe hunted them and often succeeded in bringing them down, stone-tipped spears their greatest weapon. Very few of these hunts succeeded without someone being injured, and Victoria worried.


    Upon being able to walk, Belbet¡¯s mother left her with the elderly of the tribe, who did most of the child-rearing. It stung, to be unable to see her mom for more than the fleeting seconds the woman took to walk by on her way to scavenging. A distant mother was nothing new, so she was at least glad that Belbet¡¯s older sister Deenat was there for her. Victoria¡¯d been good friends with her own older brothers and sister, so much so that she was the go-to babysitter for her lovely nieces and nephews. Deenat was four years older than Belbet, and shared when she had enough to eat. Belbet adored her, and Victoria couldn¡¯t help the warmth she felt when the two curled together before a fire.


    During her time with the elders, she learned that the strange animalistic traits everyone had were called Spirits, gifted to them by the ancestors. Belbet¡¯s mother was goose-spirited, thus her wings. Deenat had soft, sleek white hair and sharp claws that resisted cutting. Ermine-spirited, the elders said, tenacious and beautiful. She learned that she herself was what was known as "otter-spirited". She could hold her breath for 8 whole minutes by Victoria¡¯s count and cold water was as easy to tolerate as warm to her. Her own hair, long and brown, was sleek like her elder sister¡¯s. Everyone in the tribe had such a spirit, gifted to them at birth.


    Belbet¡¯s childhood passed by in flashes, catching frogs when they passed water, greeting larger tribes when they stopped for the summer. In between bouts of foraging, Victoria was overjoyed that, though sickly and small, the children were at least allowed playtime. Stories told around a campfire in the dark, rites of passage for young hunters, and so many more interesting things happened that Victoria had never experienced in her modern world. Stories of how the moons came into the sky, why one of them turned slow and the other as fast as the sun, stories of how the sky growls and opens with rains, and the cold flowers fall from the sky were told to the children, and with them, Victoria.


    Belbet grew, and eventually bled as all with a uterus do. That marked her as an ''adult'' in the eyes of their nomadic tribe, which meant she was open-season. Boys her age, and men, older men, began talking to her more, bringing her gifts. Belbet was told by one of the older women in the tribe what it meant, that it meant they wanted her to birth their children. Despite Victoria¡¯s fervent hope, she fell pregnant within a few months, the elders telling her what the vomiting, the listlessness, the weight around her belly meant. The child didn''t last to term, and came out in blood. Every few months, she would become pregnant, and miscarry again. Victoria, an educated modern woman, knew that a child that young just didn¡¯t have the proper growth to support a baby, and so miscarriages were to be expected. Not only that, but with the malnourishment and the strenuous work, Belbet¡¯s not-quite-babies were doomed to miscarriage. It didn¡¯t stop each miscarriage from being quietly devestating for them both.


    Until, at 17 years old, marked by the winters she¡¯d survived, Belbet¡¯s first child finally made it to term. It took two days of exhausting screaming pain, but she held the wailing, bloody infant in her arms and uttered her name. Dahnei. She didn''t know who the child''s father was, and didn''t care. Seeing the sweet upturned nose, her blinking eyes, and the long, swaying tail, Victoria loved her instantly. She¡¯d never had the chance to have children, but if she had, she¡¯d have wanted them to look as sweet as Dahnei. The Elder who assisted in the birth said she was a "Mouse-Spirit '''', meaning she would be a shy, scared child, and she would be quick to notice danger.


    More flashes of memory: Belbet carrying Dahnei in a sling on her back as the tribe moved along their routes. Another flash, Dahnei taking her first hesitant steps. When she could walk properly, Belbet followed her mother¡¯s example, and left the child with the elders, breaking Victoria¡¯s heart. A flash of Belbet''s flirtations once again. Belbet grew pregnant and didn''t miscarry, before Dahnei was even two years old. Victoria fell in love again, at the sight of bright, dark eyes and long, drooping ears. Victoria counted the little fingers, and saw how his nose wiggled and ached whenever he wasn¡¯t in her arms. A Rabbit-Spirit, a little boy, whom Belbet named Mohniit.


    Another flash that Victoria felt contained nearly two years, and Belbet carried Mohniit with her on her back, as she had Dahnei, as they walked through the plains and forests scavenging for food. Another flash, and she passed the child off to the same elderly men and women who were caring for the other babies of the tribe, those skinny, sickly babies that Victoria feared for. Belbet moved on to gathering and preparing food -- the daily grind of living on the road -- which Victoria felt in flashes, but knew instinctively. The only breaks in monotony were the sex (now renewed because she''d finally stopped raising a child), and the occasional oddity. A large hunt, the crossing of paths with another tribe, the occasional rogue male who petitioned to join their tribe.


    A few months later, and Belbet was pregnant again. Victoria was already grieving the child who would be put into the hands of the neglectful elders and the tribespeople who had no regard for whether the children hurt, so long as they lived. Not three months into the pregnancy, Belbet fell ill. Victoria knew it was probably some sort of cold, but whatever it was, it was slowly killing Belbet, choking her breathing and flash-frying her with fever. The elders cared for her as much as they could, keeping her wrapped in warm furs and fed broths made of animal fat, and Belbet passed the fever-ridden moments in the company of Dahnei. The girl stared down at her with wide, scared eyes, and her little boy, her little Mohniit, who didn''t understand what was happening, cried. Victoria wished desperately that she could reach out and comfort the children, heal their sick mother, keep them safe, do anything for them at all.


    Belbet''s eyes closed, opened, and then closed for the final time. Victoria woke up. The world was hazy with fever around her, but she could see the lick of firelight on the children''s faces, and the tears in them glitter. She closed her eyes, absently tried to wake up back in the modern world, and only opened her eyes to those poor children once again. Victoria tried to remember what happened, how she got from the cushy chair at her desk to laying on the ground. Had the pain in her chest finally gotten bad enough to kill her?


    Her own lifestyle in the modern world wasn¡¯t healthy, necessarily. She was too sedentary, too prone to eating more than she needed and not exercising it out. She often felt short of breath just walking, and her chest ached whenever she strained herself. She¡¯d always intended to go to a doctor, but¡­ well, between work demanding so much overtime and her stints as a babysitter, she just hadn¡¯t had time.


    Now she never would.


    ¡®What happened,¡¯ She thought, the world swimming around her, stars bright pinpricks in the sky. ¡®Am- Am I Belbet now? Did she die?¡¯ She wracked her brain, ¡®Was this like that thing Victoria had heard about? Those novels, online, where the mind of someone from modern times was used to replace the mind of someone somewhere else when they died? What were those called again?¡¯


    Victoria succumbed to exhaustion, and closed her eyes. Sleep came quickly after that, and she was allowed to recover, laid out on furs and surrounded in the warmth of her children. It warmed her heart, to feel them so close and sniffly in worry for her.


    The doubled crescent moons sank and then rose again, and her aching head cleared along with the wheeze in her chest. The old woman tending to her breathed out a sigh of relief, packing away her noxious potions and salves in a small bag cobbled together from hides and grass-rope. "It looks as though the fever has broken. Belbet will survive."


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    "Where..." Victoria groaned, feeling very much like she had the morning after her 21st birthday. Somehow, despite the language being different, Victoria could speak it. Perhaps thanks to all of Belbet¡¯s memories leftover in her head. Victoria pushed herself to her side, aching and groaning, which put her within eye-line of the main campfire.


    Around the fire sat the adults of the tribe, for the most part. In the shimmering light and shadow of the campfire, Victoria thought she saw animal tails and ears for each person. Her eyes quickly confirmed what she¡¯d learned in the dream; some people had wings, and others, tails like lizards. The groups were chatting, or making things together, or dancing. A voice, singing some song Victorica could barely pay attention to, soared over the chatter, adding to the cacophony of night-time forest noises.


    "In camp," The old woman provided, gently pushing back Dahnei and Mohniit so that they wouldn''t crowd their mother and overtax her. "Do not try to sit up. You are still very weak."


    She didn¡¯t, aware of how weak she was from how much turning over had taxed her. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, feeling how heavy they were, only to have them open as something wiggled its way between her arm and the furs underneath her. A little head popped out, black eyes staring at her face with wet, red rims. Ah, Mohniit. She sighed softly and used what little strength she had to pull him closer, to press him to her chest. His warmth chased away the night chill. Another heavier body pressed against her back, and Victoria thought it must be Dahnei.


    So began the slow road to recovery. Twice daily, Belbet was fed broths that made Victoria squeamish, full of greasy, odd-tasting meat and whole nuts. She gathered from the old woman grumbling that the portions of food saved aside for the sick, the old, and the young were all the same, and so Belbet¡¯s being there thinned the food for all of the rest of them. The broths tasted awful, and she tried to avoid them by sleeping as much as she could.


    However, remembering Victoria''s soft bed, the furs under her were too rough and ticklish, while the stones underneath the furs poked her in the side painfully. How do they sleep like this? No wonder people only lived till 30 in the stone ages. She¡¯d asked if anyone else had thought to use grass under the furs, and was told that gathering that much grass was a lot of work, and that if she wanted it done, she could do it herself.


    The only good thing about Victoria¡¯s convalescence was that Dahnei and Mohniit were constant companions. Dahnei was five years old now, old enough to speak and share her thoughts, and old enough to gather little handfuls of grass for Victoria to shove under the furs. When Victoria thanked her, the girl lit up and her tail was sent swaying rhythmically. It was so adorable, and Victoria felt that same maternal spike she felt whenever one of her little nieces brought her a trowel or took their dishes in for washing.


    Being so close to the little ones, she inevitably learned little things about them, like how Dahnei preferred nuts to actual meat, and how Mohniit liked to roll around on the furs, luxuriating in how they felt. She learned what Mohniit¡¯s whines sounded like when one of the elders who could still walk would take Dahnei into the woods surrounding the camp for foraging. She learned what Dahnei¡¯s measure of ¡®this is enough¡¯ was; as she watched the little girl come back with huge armfuls of fire-tinder, and then head back out with baskets strapped to her shoulders with rough rope.


    The children reminded Victoria so much of the little ones she¡¯d left behind, and her heart ached even as it swelled with care for them both. Seeing their gaunt little faces look at her with such joy over something as simple as a berry, she couldn¡¯t understand how Belbet had not kept them with her at all times, teaching, loving, and helping them grow. Part of her tried to distance herself, tried to remind her that these were not her children. But that part was beaten into submission by the part of her heart that asked her, then whose? If not yours, who is caring for those babies?


    All day, the elders buzzed, children coming back and forth from the woods around them with baskets of leafy vegetables and berries. The Elders sat and wove rope and baskets from dried grass brought to them by the children. Once a day, one of the hunters would come over and deliver a leaf-wrapped satchel of raw meat, which the mostly-spry elderly used to cook a big meal for everyone. Since the village would die out if the children starved, they were given large portions of whatever the adult foragers found, but the meat was minimal at best.


    Of course, there was never enough meat, and since these were prehistoric people, their cooking mainly consisted of putting something on a sharp stick, or a flat rock and cooking it till it sizzled.


    The food was gritty and coarse and unseasoned entirely, and Victoria had to keep herself from choking on it. But, with Dahnei and Mohniit so close by, she knew she had to give a good example of how to eat. She would have offered them part of her own (if only so she wouldn''t have to eat it) but they refused, saying she needed to get better. It was so sweet, even if it left Victoria internally crying over the horrid texture.


    Three days later, Belbet was feeling much better, able to stand and walk around lightly. During her rest, she¡¯d been able to weave some baskets with the elders. Spending time there, with these people who have lived in this time, working so hard to survive, Victoria found it hard to converse, to pay attention to the elder¡¯s little problems. She felt distant. Even from this new body of hers, sometimes she would look at the hands moving and think, ¡®whose hands are these?¡¯.


    Honestly, if she didn''t have Belbet''s memories of going through it many times already, Victoria wouldn''t have known she was pregnant, couldn¡¯t feel anything like the books said. No quickening in her stomach, and she wouldn¡¯t know if this body had gained weight. But Belbet had seen the signs, the fatigue, the loss of appetite, the drag at the pit of her stomach. A trepidation that was foreign to Belbet pressed her hand to the slight curve of her belly, and she knew that it was Victoria''s worry. She''d seen a world where babies didn''t die suddenly for no reason. A world where everyone had warm clothes and food. And now, she was terrified for these three little ones that she''d come to love.


    The feeling stuck with her all day, as she went through the tasks Belbet did every day. As she crouched between bushes and tree trunks, picking mushrooms and berries she knew from reading articles and studying books that didn¡¯t exist in this world, she considered how the tribe functioned. The hunters went out and brought back food, which the Chief split up between the hunters and the able-bodied gatherers. The gatherers brought back their spoils too, which were also divided up. The Chief kept back a portion to be given to the elderly and the children, but everyone knew that the able-bodied who worked got more and better portions. When she came back and delivered her finds, she received her portion. She took this back to the area the elderly were in, where the children gathered as well, and shared it.


    The food was simple, tubers that cooked soft when boiled with meat. It wasn''t tasty, honestly, compared to what Victoria had eaten, but Belbet managed to choke it down. After the meal was eaten, the children gathered, hers at the front, and begged for her to talk to them, to tell them stories.


    Looking at the tiny bodies crowding around her for stories and attention made the Victoria part of her sick at the neglect Belbet and the other adults had handed out. The children were fed, certainly, but they barely got any meat, and instead were mostly given a share of the vegetables and roots that the foragers brought back. The only attention they got was from the old men and women who had managed not to die off yet, and even then the attention was not always pleasant. The elderly, angry at hurting and being so sick, would strike the children if they got too close or were too clumsy.


    Perhaps it was dwelling on these worrisome thoughts, as well as the lack of experience with her new instincts that caused her to lash out. Victoria had never been a violent person, and Belbet had only ever fought when absolutely necessary. So it was out of character for them both when, upon seeing another tribes-woman yank Dahnei away from her side, pulling so hard that Dahnei cried out in pain, she¡¯d responded with a growl. Memory so visceral that Victoria could feel it struck her, of her own mother yanking Victoria through a store so hard that they had to take her to a doctor, her arm dislocated. As this woman lifted her hand high to strike Dahnei for crying out, Belbet launched herself at the offender.


    Her lunge sent the woman crashing to the earth, and her skull into a rock, the bright copper scent of blood exploding into Belbet¡¯s nose. In that moment, Victoria and Belbet were one, and they wanted this woman away from her babies. Away, and not causing pain. Belbet tore their fingernails down the woman''s body, barely registering that they were sharp claws or that her victim¡¯s motor function was reduced to reflexive convulsions.


    Another body ripped her off of the twitching woman, and Belbet fought, kicking and screaming as the body held her up off the ground. Her arms pinned to her sides, and she couldn''t do much but scratch at this other person (a man, her nose told her, someone she knew), as others rushed to help the now-bloody-headed woman. A cacophony of sounds rose up now, people scrambling forward to see what had happened, their feet pounding on the hard dirt, the scent of their fear swimming in the air.


    "Enough! That''s enough!" the voice behind her called, squeezing her ribs so that she had to fight to breathe.


    "She''s not breathing!" One of the elders who crouched down next to Belbet''s victim cried. His hands were covered in blood as he cradled the woman¡¯s head.


    "She''s dead! She''s dead!" Another cried, and all the children began to cry, startled by the loud voices and Dahnei''s ceaseless sobs. The pronouncement brought Belbet up cold. She stopped struggling, eyes wide.


    "Dead?" She croaked, looking at the pool of blood eking out onto the ground around this woman''s head. "I... did I..."


    "You killed her!" A woman shrieked, pointing to Belbet. She would have rushed forward, if a young man with feline ears hadn''t darted forward and grabbed her up the same way the person behind Belbet was holding her.


    "Get the chief!" The boy with cat ears cried, and soon enough, a large man with thick, grey-brown skin and wrinkles at the corners of his eyes came forward. He smelled like a fur Victoria had once found in her dead grandmother¡¯s yard sale. He was dressed in richer pelts than the rest of the people around them, and Belbet''s memories told her this was Chief Gyos. He was in charge of the whole tribe, and was in charge of who received what food.


    After receiving a report of what happened, including several sniffling children''s accounts and the account of the old woman who''d been sitting with Belbet at the time, he nodded as if he understood it all. He took in the sight of Belbet, loose in the young man with the antler''s grasp, and the sight of her mother and sister standing behind her, both faces mutinous with fear. Taking this into consideration, he made his ruling.


    He gestured and both women were put on their feet. "As Belbet has killed Ayneah, she will be banished from the tribe. Belbet will no longer be a part of the tribe, and shall be stoned should she step within tribal lands. You have until dawn to be gone from our sight."


    Lightning ran through Belbet, her heart racing in fear. Banishment? Wasn¡¯t that a death sentence? She had no idea how to survive in the wilderness like this, and yet¡­ a part of her felt as if she would be fine. As if she could find food and shelter and protect herself, even alone. Hadn¡¯t Victoria spent years studying to start a homestead? Hadn¡¯t Victoria read everything she could get her hands on, in order to be able to do just that?


    How was she supposed to protect her babies? They were clearly neglected and mistreated here, and she couldn''t stand the thought of leaving them here with these people, to suffer that alone. "Wait!" She cried, "Please. Let me take my children with me. I''ll leave, but let me take Dahnei and Mohniit with me."


    The Chief¡¯s jaw dropped as he squinted at her, the crowd murmuring around them, and Belbet knew why. Who would strap themselves with two children when they were going friendless, kinless, into the wilds, shunned by anyone who might help. "...That will be up to the children."


    Mohniit answered simply by clinging to Belbet''s leg. Belbet smiled, kneeling down and gathering the little boy up into her arms. He buried his face into her throat and she took a deep breath to keep from crying. She squeezed him gently, and then looked to Dahnei. "It''s up to you, Dahnei. Do you want to stay here? Or come with mama?"


    She held out a hand, and watched the little girl hesitate. Some of the tribesmen were still surrounding them, and her little mouse ears twitched, her little tail swaying nervously back and forth. It took a few moments, before that tiny hand slipped into Belbet''s, and she pulled Dahnei into a hug right alongside her brother. The warmth of their skin lit a fire in her heart, and she couldn¡¯t help but promise.


    "We''ll be okay." She whispered to her babies. "Mama will make sure of it."


    She couldn''t pick up Dahnei, so she whispered to the girl to gather her and her little brother¡¯s things. Then, using Belbet''s memories from before the fever as a guide, she gathered her own things as well. Pitiful belongings, really: a hand-axe made of some dark black stone that the Victoria part of her said is probably obsidian, a bone needle, a small net bag, and the furs she slept in, warm and thick. Rolling all these up, she tied them to her back, along with Mohniit, and took Dahnei''s hand.


    They headed away from the tribe, away from the sun, and towards the lengthening shadows of the trees around them. A wind picked up, blowing gently in their faces and laced with the scent of pine and growing, green things. She would lead them away from Tribal lands, away from these people who refused to see that children were to be nurtured rather than neglected. She would lead them away, and then, she would make them a home. The kind of home this backwoods prehistoric world had never seen before.

 Chapter Two - Auntie Visits

    Chapter Two - Auntie Visits


    - Summer -


    It had been a late summer morning when Belbet was banished from the Tribe, and fled west, taking her two babies with her. With Dahnei''s sticky little hand in hers, Belbet intended to find a good place for them to settle down. Her memories as Victoria were full of useful little tidbits about how to create a home in this situation. She''d planned on becoming a homesteader, after all, and had spent years researching ways to do so. She considered it quite lucky, now.


    Belbet''s memories told her that if she kept going this way for long enough, she''d run into a cliff-side, with a waterfall coming down it, leading to a long, long river. This cliff-side marked the edge of the tribe''s territory, so if she could climb down, she wouldn''t technically be in their lands anymore. Which meant, she wouldn''t be stoned to death.


    Hours spent walking through the early summer woods told her all kinds of oddities that sent the Victoria part of her into circles of confusion. Late-blooming trees and bushes next to trees heavy with fruit and fields of what looked like wild garlic and potatoes spread across her vision as she travelled. She was pretty sure she spotted wild strawberries growing as big as her five year old''s fist. She heard and saw the rustle of so many animals, rabbits and deer bounding endlessly through the woods. She could see food as far as the eye could see, and all of the tutorials and books she''d read as Victoria swirled in her head. Was this really what the prehistoric world was like?


    She spent the walk forming plans, thinking about what sort of shelter, what sort of farm they''d start, and what animals she could trap and domesticate. All they had to do was get to the cliffside, and then down it to the river-land below.


    And sure enough, Belbet''s memories were right. After hours of walking, and the sun passing overhead to now shine in their eyes, Belbet and her little family came to the cliffside. Looking down and over, she frowned, realizing how difficult this climb was going to be. Not impossible, surely, the stone looked old and well-worn, which she thought meant steady and it was only about fifteen feet from top to bottom.


    She didn''t have rope. This meant she''d have to try and climb this bare-handed (and barefooted, she didn''t trust these straw sandals she was wearing to grip onto the stone). She took a deep breath, and then turned to her baby. "Dahnei, Mama''s gonna climb down from here. I want you to wait, right here, and then when Mama yells up, you start climbing down too, okay?"


    "...What if I fall?" The little girl asked, fear squeezing her voice high.


    "Mama will catch you." Belbet promised, reaching out and hugging her. "Mama will definitely, definitely catch you. Don''t be scared, and make sure to check before you put your weight on anything okay. Do you know how to do that?"


    After Dahnei shook her head, Belbet showed her, poking a rock with her foot, and showing how it wiggled and when it stayed steady. Then, Belbet kissed Dahnei''s forehead, and began her own climb, Mohniit a wiggly weight on her back that she had to compensate for each movement. At least she''d had the smarts to move a little down the ways from the waterfall, so none of the rocks were slippery.


    That didn''t stop her from losing her footing at least twice, eliciting twin shrieks from her babies, and Dahnei to scream, "Careful!" at her. Despite her firm belief that she could handle it before she¡¯d started the climb, fear began creeping in, and her children¡¯s fear was contagious. She gentled her steps, the touch of her hands on the stones, hoping to make it. Finally, after much fear and hard work, her legs shaking and breath heaving, she made it to the ground. She took a moment, sitting down and untying her pack. This had the unfortunate effect of freeing Mohniit, who was in fact interested in his surroundings. She ended up setting down the furs in a circle, and declaring that he was not to leave the circle. He seemed content with this, and picked grass while inside.


    Then, Belbet turned her attention back to her daughter, who was still at the top of the cliff. "Alright, baby, you need to turn to face the wall, okay, get down on your belly, and start your climb by looking for good places to put your foot. Remember? Tap it twice before you push against it."


    This advice got Dahnei a good five feet down the cliff, until suddenly she started whining loud enough for Belbet to hear it. "Mama.... Mama, where do I put my feet! My hand hurts!"


    "It''s okay baby, you may need to push to the right a little bit, reach out, okay. Don''t worry, you can do this." She promised, even though she was terrified the girl would fall. Sure enough, Dahnei tried to reach, but her little arms couldn''t hold herself up, and Belbet braced herself, panic coursing through her veins.


    The severely underweight five year old slammed into her chest and shoulder, and she heard something crunch, even as her body folded under the weight of them both. They ended up on the ground, Dahnei crying as she scrambled off her mother, Belbet wheezing as she tried to catch her breath.


    "G-Good... job, baby." She managed, Dahnei crowding into her side, burying her face in Belbet''s shoulder which screamed in pain at the touch. Belbet thought she must have broken or maybe dislocated it. She wasn''t sure. She turned, gently pushing her daughter away.


    "Mama-" Dahnei cried, worry painting her little face as Belbet sat up, feeling tenderly at the wound on her shoulder.


    "Shhh, it''s okay, nothing''s bad. Mama just needs to-" She hissed in pain, sitting up and taking a deep breath. Based solely on some old videos she''d watched as Victoria, she figured the arm was dislocated, rather than broken, for the simple fact that she could kind of move it a little.


    Standing up, she went to the cliff, biting her lip, and giving herself a few seconds to breathe, before ramming her arm into the wall as hard as she could. She felt another click and the pain spiked so sharply, she cried. Then, it lessened immensely. That wasn''t to say it wasn''t still there, just that it seemed less dire.


    She moved her arm, rotating it gently. The first time, she couldn¡¯t really get it to go around, it hurt so much. The second, it went a little father. By the fifth attempt at rotation, it went around. It ached, but she figured she could use it, although she should probably ice it, or something. She looked to the river, and sighed. "Alright, Dahnei... We need to build shelter. Do you remember how to do that?"


    Dahnei nodded, having had this lesson from the elders of the tribe. She started gathering long, thick branches, dragging them towards the small clearing near the cliff by the waterfall. Belbet used this time to begin gathering heather and small sticks and get a fire going. She kept one eye out for Mohniit, who was for now content to pick grass and point at things, babbling quietly.


    The fire was more difficult than she''d thought it would be, since Victoria had never started a fire with a bow-drill. Belbet had, which was, perhaps, the reason why she got it started on the thirteenth try. Blowing desperately on the embers, she fed them slowly the stringy tree bark, the grass her son had picked, and then slowly the twigs and branches she and Dahnei had gathered. Light was slowly starting to fail, and the fire was warmth incarnate.


    After it was made, she put Dahnei to work gathering stones to put around the base of the fire, so as to baby-proof it. Then, she began putting together the branches into a lean-to, leaning the larger, longer sticks against the cliffside, and stamping them into the ground. She spent far longer than she really wanted to, and earned more scratches than she cared for, weaving some of the more willowy branches between those stakes. She piled sticks and leaves atop the shitty woven lattice, to try and give it some insulation. They''d have to solidify something more tomorrow, but for now... For now, a lean-to and a fire would work.


    She put the furs trapping the baby underneath the lean-to, at which point she realized she didn''t know when they''d get enough food for all three of them to eat. Hoping to have something to eat before bed, Belbet took the net bag she''d been given and gently waded it through the river, hoping beyond hope to catch something. She didn''t catch any fish, the wily bastards too quick to be caught, but a good number of crawdads wandered into her net. A few of them even spanned her whole hand. Which meant they had to have a decent amount of meat. The problem was cooking them without getting pinched.


    In the end, she did get pinched, but the pain was worth it to stick the little bastards on a stick and cook them over the fire. She cooked them until the shells blackened and she was sure they were done. It was gross, eating the meat out of the shell while she told her babies stories, but it was food, and she was starving. Watching Dahnei, she realized that cracking them open and sucking on the heads was a more effective way of getting meat.


    After letting a few cool, and showing Mohniit how to do so, Belbet felt reassured that they at least weren¡¯t going to starve here. After Mohniit had passed out on the ground next to the fire, face glistening with leftovers, and Dahnei was blinking back sleepiness, Belbet gathered her two-year-old up and slid into the lean to. She called Dahnei to join them, and the three of them curled up close, and warm. Their limbs had to intertwine, the lean-to close and small. She could feel Mohniit¡¯s limp, sweaty baby body plastered to her, and the feeling of Dahnei¡¯s breath against her arms was new to both her selves.


    While sleeping on the ground was normal to Belbet, to Victoria it was very distressing, and so she spent most of the night tossing and turning. Luckily, with all three of them close, warmth wasn''t hard to find, even though the campfire had burnt to barely ashes.


    Morning light peaked grey over the trees, just barely, and Belbet woke to a whining and hungry little Mohniit. Sighing, she rubbed the poor child¡¯s belly. They were only going to get hungrier from here, until she could figure out a steady foodsource. Eventually, he settled back into sleep, too used to hunger for it to keep him awake.


    She got up, crawling out of the lean-to and heading to restart the campfire. She thanked the gods that she still had Belbet''s memories, or she would have been in a lot of trouble. While the children stayed sleeping, she began clearing brush from around the fire to make it a little safer. Then, she went to the forest with her little net bag, and began gathering various berries and roots that Belbet''s memories assured her were healthy and edible. She spent a few moments identifying some, deciding just to name them the names Victoria knew, since Belbet''s names were silly things like ''stink weed'' and ''earth egg''.


    When she had a somewhat full bag of onions, finger-sized carrots, and some strawberries, she came back to the camp and chuckled. Still the babies slept, tired and wrapped around each other like puppies. She left the berries and food on a rock next to the rock ring around the fire, before moving to the right of the lean-to and beginning to scrape bare a large square on the ground.


    This would be where she built their one-room mud hut of a home. With the river nearby they had no shortage of fresh water, and with that they could make mud to act as an insulator. So, she used the handaxe to cut out a pole as big around as her fist, which she used as a sort of shovel to dig just an inch into the ground, pulling out rocks and weeds. She hadn''t even cleared a square foot before the children woke up, little voices calling for her.


    "Food by the fire." She called, and sure enough two tiny bodies went to the pile she''d left and began eating. She kept one eye out for them, while continuing her hard, backbreaking work. Luckily, this body was used to hard work, to walking miles each day, and to using muscles for digging and cutting. Foraging made you quite fit, apparently. When they got done eating, the kids joined her, curiosity radiating from their little faces, and she quickly put them to work gathering dry wood instead. She told them to pile the wood on the other side of the berry rock, so that it wouldn''t get too close to the campfire and burn up.


    The sun was up for several hours when she heard the thick and heavy footsteps of someone else in the woods coming towards them. She stopped her work, gathering the children in the lean-to, and then looking for whomever it was. In the end, she didn''t see anyone, and a voice calling from the top of the cliff drew her attention.


    The sight of a soft face, pale white, surrounded by long, soft white hair peering over at her triggered Belbet''s memory. This was Deenat, Belbet''s older sister. An ermine spirit, Deenat was considered one of the most beautiful women in the tribe, and to see her here, seeking out someone who''d been banished? Well. It was odd.


    After a quick (safe and injury free, Belbet mentally grumbled over) climb down, Deenat took Belbet''s face in her hands, checking her over for any damage. "Good, you''re safe."


    "Well, yes. The babies and I are safe for now. I''m working on making a house." She gestured to the dug-out area, and watched Deenat''s face frown.


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    "Why are you not heading for another tribe? They¡¯d take you in, even with children." Deenat asked, half-ignoring the children as they crowded out of the lean-to. "It isn''t safe to stay this close to tribal lands."


    "They won''t come any further than the cliff." Belbet reassured, before smiling. "I''m going to build a home here. I''m going to make more food than the tribe could ever find. It''s going to take time, but we''ll be eating so well we''ll get fat."


    "How?" Deenat cried, her hands thrown in the air. "You cannot survive without a tribe! You and the babies will die of cold in the winter!"


    Belbet shook her head. Then, an idea formed, "Why not stay and see? Stay and help. If you''re so worried, we''ll survive better with another to help."


    "This is insanity, Bel. You''re going to get you and your children killed. You should pack up, head east." Deenat tried, taking her sister by her shoulders as if to shake her. Belbet flinched back, unused to being grabbed like this.


    "And have those idiots condemn my children to barely any food, being ignored or abused by the adults of the tribe? The way *we* were?" Belbet demanded, calling on memories of her and Deenat, who had been born barely 4 years from each other, huddling together in the group tent, sharing heat and what little food they were given by the chief. She referred to years of neglect and abuse by the adults, with an occasional kindness if things went well for the adults.


    "That''s... just the way of things, Bel, and you can''t tell me you didn''t ignore the kids too! You were glad you didn''t have to try and feed them." Deenat reminded, and saw Belbet''s face crumple, just a little.


    "And I regret that. I regret not giving these children a better life." She turned to her sister. "I''m not leaving this place. I''m going to build a home here, and my children will live here, and their children''s children, as well." She stated.


    "You can''t be serious. The prey will thin! They''ll run away from you!" Deenat sighed, shaking her head, "You don''t even have a hunter! What are you going to do, survive off of plants forever? Winter will come and you''ll have no food!"


    "Meat is nice, but if you can find substitutes, you don''t need a lot of it." Belbet stated, knowing for a fact that if they can find oats and beans, they''d be fine for one winter. "Deenat, I have ways, and if you''re willing to trust me, I can keep you fed too. But if not, I ask you to please leave."


    Deenat made an annoyed grunt, turning away from her sister. Belbet could see her shaking hands pulled into fists. "You''re going to regret it, Bel." With these parting words, she dropped a net bag, before climbing up the cliff and disappearing into the woods. Belbet sighed, reaching down to pick up the bag she''d left, seeing it full of stolen sun-dried meat, rope, and a few other things too.


    "Thank you!" She cried after her fleeing sister, before hanging the bag in the lean-to. Then, she went back to finishing the square their hut would be in. Luckily, Mohniit had found some rocks to bang together in the center of their little soon-to-be hut, and that kept the two year old occupied. Dahnei, however, was staring at her, biting at her little fingers.


    "What''s the matter, baby?" She asked, not stopping the work. "What''s got you thinking so hard?"


    "...Will we die here? Like auntie said?" The child asked, voice tremulous, her little lips quivering and her eyes unable to leave the ground. A truly pitiful sight, Belbet felt.


    "Well... under normal circumstances, Auntie would be right. If we lived the way the tribe lives, yes, we would die here. But we''re not going to live the way the tribe lives. Mommy has some ideas, and we''re going to live differently. Better." Belbet gave her daughter a smile, so that hopefully the girl would be reassured.


    She didn''t look reassured, though. If anything, she was biting her fingers harder. Belbet took a break, setting down her digging-stick. She knelt down in front of Dahnei, and took her fingers from her mouth, kissing them gently. "We''ve got food, right?" The little girl nodded, and Belbet continued, "And we''ve got water, right? Then we''ll be fine, no matter where we are, or what happens. With those two things, and your Mama, you will live, no matter what."


    "..." The girl still looked unconvinced, and Belbet couldn''t help but think her skeptical face was cute.


    "You see this square I''m making?" Belbet tried instead. She pointed to the pounded out square roughly 20 feet by 20 feet across. Dahnei nodded, and she continued, "This is going to be our house.¡± At Dahnei¡¯s confused look, Belbet realized she probably didn¡¯t understand what the new word meant. The Tribe didn¡¯t have a word for a permanent home, after all. ¡°We''re going to plant big trees in the earth so they don''t move, and then we''re going to weave little trees between them like a basket. And then, we''re gonna pile mud on the outside of that basket, so that the wind and rain can''t come in. And we''re going to pile a bunch of sticks and leaves and mud on the roof, too, so that rain can''t come in that way either. And that''s going to be our home, our house."


    "...Like a lean-to?" The girl asked, and Belbet knew she had her now. Curiosity always beats out fear.


    "Yes, but bigger." She explained, making her voice overly excited, to draw the child in, "But I need Dahnei''s help to make that happen. Do you think Dahnei will help me?"


    Dahnei''s face brightened up, "I can help Mama?"


    "Yes!" Belbet was so glad now that Victoria had worked as a babysitter throughout her life. "I need trees, see. Ones about this big around-" Belbet pointed to her own thigh, so that Dahnei would know the size of the tree to look for. And if the kid got it wrong and got a little smaller or a little bigger, it wouldn''t matter. "So what I need Dahnei to do, is to go around the camp, and mark all the trees that big, okay?"


    Dahnei''s big brown eyes sparkled with purpose, making her look extra cute as she nodded. Belbet handed her the precious obsidian handaxe and pointed out her first target. "Start there, okay? And make sure you can see Mama at all times."


    "Yes, Mama!" The girl ran off, her little sandaled feet pitter-pattering in the dirt and stones. Belbet picked up her digging stick, and got back to work. A few moments later, she finished getting the outline of the house done, and started digging post-holes at each corner. By this point, Mohniit had decided he was interested in what she was doing, and followed her around like a little lop-eared assistant.


    As the sun rose to almost-noon, Belbet decided it was time to take a break. That is to say, it was time to gather food. So, giving Mohniit the job of holding the net bag, which he took about as seriously as any two year old could, she went back into the woods. She paid attention to where the various berry bushes and fruit trees were, while also mentally making a map of the spring onion and carrot fields too.


    A particularly happy discovery was the discovery of what must have been sweet potatoes, or some variant. The bright orange flesh of the tubers had come as a surprise, but she grinned, showing it to little Mohniit, who took the root from her and shoved it into the net bag. She brushed the dirt off one portion of another root before cutting it into a bite sized chunk for herself, and an even smaller bite size sliver for Mohniit. He took it and chewed on it dutifully.


    While he was bouncing up and down out of joy for the food, Belbet called out, "Dahnei! Lunch time! Come here, sweetheart!"


    It only took a few seconds for the girl to come sprinting out of the trees and to Belbet''s side. She held up the axe and grinned, "I''ve marked a lot of trees, Mama!" which had Belbet smiling right back at her.


    "Good girl. Here, eat this." She cut up a chunk of sweet potato, and handed it to the girl, who chewed on it thoroughly. "It''ll fill you up. We''re going to take some back home and grow them. Want to help me carry them?"


    "Yeah!" Dahnei declared, spewing bits of chewed sweet potato into the air. Belbet sighed a laugh, and shook her head, cleaning the spittle off the girl''s face.


    "Alright then, remember the basket your aunt brought?" It was a small one, in the net bag that was still on the lean-to. "Can you go get it and bring it here?"


    Without waiting, Dahnei was off with a whirlwind of energy. When she arrived back, they dug up a lot of the field of sweet potatoes, putting them in the basket and hauling them back to the lean to. Belbet had Dahnei pile them up next to the lean-to, knowing they wouldn''t go bad from just a few days above ground. Then, she moved on to find more food. With the hand-axe back in her control, it was easier to clear a path and gather things along the way. She had several vines wrapped around her shoulders and arms, along with lots of broad leaves in hand to cover the lean-to for more insulation. Berries eaten off the vine were sweet and juicy, and by the time they were full, she and her kids were sticky and dirty.


    "Time for a bath!" She declared, heading back to camp, Mohniit was a happy little shadow with a belly that stuck out. Dropping the vines and the leaves next to the lean-to, she headed for the river. Picking up Mohniit, she called Dahnei to the side of the river too. She sat down on one of the water-splattered rocks, already feeling the cold of the water against her feet.


    It was actually kind of nice, since the rising heat of the afternoon was making all of their work sweaty and difficult. Belbet walked the children through Victoria''s knowledge of washing. Wetting their faces, washing their hands and arms and legs, making sure to clean behind their ears. Then, she had Dahnei dunk her head in the running water, while she herself dropped handfuls of water over Mohniit''s head, wetting his hair. The damp hair would surely help the kids stay cool, and would hopefully dry by nightfall.


    Once she was satisfied they were at least a little clean, Belbet let the two of them play in the shallow water near the edges of the river while she herself washed off and rinsed her own hair. It wasn''t perfect, and Victoria''s mind still felt they were grungy and gross. At least this way they wouldn''t be getting sick anytime soon.


    Looking at the running water, though, Belbet decided she needed a way to hold water, and to make it safe to drink. Calling the children away from the water, so that they wouldn''t drown without her nearby to save them, she set Dahnei to find more firewood. This, she set about burning, while using her digging stick to pull ash from the fire. This, she mixed with sand and water from the river, forming it into rings. Three of them, each different sizes. These rings she left to dry for a few hours.


    During that time, she returned to the woods, finding one of Dahnei''s marked trees, and began the arduous task of chopping it down. Since it was so thick, the handaxe wasn''t doing much good, so she chopped a decent little shelf on one side of it, and then went to get embers from the fire. Carrying them required the use of a sort-of-flat river rock and her entire concentration, but it was worth it. Putting these in the shelf, she let them burn their way through the tree, weakening it and making it easier to chop down.


    Time passed as she went from tree to tree doing this, until about dusk, when the children were starting to get hungry again. Another round of a few more chunks of sweet potato, and then Belbet was able to go out and chop down the trees in earnest. Three of them fell in quick succession, and she put the fourth''s embers out to avoid a forest fire. She''d have to work on that one in the morning.


    Dragging the big trees back, Belbet marvelled at the stamina of her body. She felt sore and tired, certainly, but if she had been Victoria doing all of this, she''d have collapsed hours ago. Luckily, now that it was nighttime, it was mostly time to sit. She sat down next to the fire, and began telling the children stories, while stripping the branches from the trees Dahnei had picked out. Dahnei¡¯s quick little fingers were weaving grasses she found into rope, and Mohniit babbled along with the story, smacking stones against each other.


    They passed time this way until once again, little Mohniit passed out next to the campfire, and Dahnei had trouble keeping her eyes open. This time, Belbet bundled the two of them into the lean-to, before wrapping the big leaves they''d found earlier into the ceiling of it. Then, she crawled in herself, leaving the fire to slowly die, and curling up with her two little heaters. Soon enough, the three of them were asleep.


    Earlier that day, Deenat had returned to the tribe, her heart tight in her chest, and only one or two voices asked her where she¡¯d been. She''d waved them off saying she''d been looking for a bush she''d found a while ago, but failed to find it. The irritation of her little sister''s leaving, the way Belbet had responded to her... It stuck with her.


    It stuck with her, as she watched the elderly point out to the children which berries were good and which would kill, which plants could be chewed and which should be avoided. Her watchful eye picked up when a child burst into tears from a painful blister on their foot, and how the elderly ignored or avoided that child, focusing instead on picking their own food.


    Deenat watched as the children handed over what they found, sneaking bites and getting smacked when they played around too much. It stuck in her craw, and she heard Belbet''s voice, ''Children shouldn''t live like this.''


    Deenat thought of her own children. She''d only managed to carry two to term. And one of those had died after she''d abandoned her to the care of the elders. It had been sad, yes... but children died. It was a fact. Often young and for no discernable reason.


    While watching the children, she noticed someone else watching her. Her son, Eefim, seemed to have noticed her. She remembered birthing him as a scared 15 year old, and to see him now 11 and skinny and suspicious of everyone... Ah, it was scary, and she knew why Belbet had freaked out, had killed Ayneah like that.


    Her heart hurt. So, she went to him, a bit aways from the group, and asked him. "Do you feel safe here? With this tribe?"


    His answer was to furrow his brow, confusion twisting his lips. "...Maybe? We¡¯ve fended off a lot of attacks."


    "...If I left... If I could feed you. Would you come with me?" She found herself asking the same question her sister had asked her, and she found herself wondering if Belbet had felt this fear, this anxiousness over what the answer would be. Maybe... Maybe Deenat was considering staying with Belbet. Maybe memories of shared gatherings as children was enough to instill trust.


    "...Would I get hit?"


    "Only if you hit others." Deenat responded, because no one liked to be hit. No one liked to hurt others. "My sister says she knows a way to get food without worrying about prey running away. Without having to chase the prey."


    "...That sounds nice." He bit his lip. "...I''m trying to be a hunter. One of the adults was teaching me. ...I can make spears and slings. We could hunt there too." It hurt to hear him almost pleading with her. Like he thought she needed him to be useful, for her to ask him to come with her. Like he wanted to stay by her side, but thought she wouldn¡¯t let him. Had all the children wanted that? To be by their mothers'' sides?


    "If you want... If you want it, we''ll go. We''ll leave this tribe and join your aunt and her children. But we''d have to work hard. And it''d be strange work. My sister was digging a hole in the ground." Deenat stated, wondering who she was trying to scare off, him or herself.


    "...That''s okay. It beats getting most of my gathering and what little I hunt taken away." Eefim declared, puffing up his chest and looking so proud. Deenat felt her heart melt in her chest.


    She nodded, "Do you have anything you need to get?" When he shook his head, she took his hand. "Let''s go. We''ll get there by morning."

 Chapter Three - Blue Pumpkins

    Chapter Three - Blue Pumpkins


    - Summer -


    The ash-clay rings that Belbet had made the night before had hardened, so she formed another set using the ashes from the fire last night. Layering it atop the ones she''d made, she smoothed them into each other to create the beginnings of a rim for her ash-clay pot. Then, she''d taken her net-bag and swung it through the river, managing to catch a few more crawdads, sticking them on some sticks over the newly rebuilt fire to cook. Some protein for breakfast would do the babies well.


    Her little ones were still sleeping in the lean-to, curled up against each other. Mohniit''s leg was thrown over his sister''s legs, and his back pressed against his sister''s chest by her little arms. She was clearly using him as a human heater, and Belbet had to giggle just a little at the sight. They were so cute.


    Taking three of the sweet potatoes, she set them near the embers. While she waited for the crawfish and yams to finish cooking, she continued stripping branches off the three trees she''d managed to fell yesterday. When the sweet potatoes were finished, she cut them up into steaming bits while adding some of the onions too. She set the food on three little rocks, waiting for her kids to wake up.


    She ran through a mental list of all the things she needed to do today. She needed to find a way to store boiled water, so that the kids weren''t drinking from the river. That would lead to illness, she was sure. That and being able to store water was just good sense. She needed to get the guide-posts and ceiling up for the house too. She''d also need to gather more food, as well as tilling some earth to make a little field. Plus, she wanted to look for some eggs, so that she could try to hatch and raise some chickens. ...Ah, or maybe that should wait, she would need to build a fence for the chickens to stay in...


    As she worked these problems over, her hands working to tear branches away from the poles, she found herself humming, and then singing a song from Victoria''s world. A lovely song about devotion to one''s children. She was so into it that she actually didn''t notice the babies getting up until they were sitting in front of their little food-plates, picking up chunks of onion and sweet potato and chewing them. She wondered if there was something she could do about the charring on the outside of the sweet potatoes. The children made faces at the taste. ...Maybe she could wrap some mud around them? That might help.


    The streams of sunlight through the treetops told her it was mid-morning now, and she smiled as she finished the first of the poles. it was taller than she was, which was good, but not overly tall, which might cause problems with her reach. She looked at Dahnei, who was watching her with bright eyes. "...Do you think you can strip the other two poles of branches, make them just like this one?" She asked.


    The girl nodded, gulping down her berries and crawdad so that she could stand up. Belbet chuckled, leaving her daughter to it and handing over the hand axe, "Keep an eye on your brother while you do, okay? Don''t let him wander off."


    She took a moment to wolf down her own now-cooled food, feeling quite accomplished as she sucked the crawdad from its shell.


    With that taken care of, she headed to the fourth pole that wasn''t quite all the way cut down. She pushed against it, and it cracked, which was promising, but she''d need the hand-axe to take it down, so she focused instead on gathering up grass to carry back with her. When she had a full arm load, and a few new patches to look for food in, she headed back to camp.


    Only to find two new people standing near the fire. She dropped the grass, storming forward to protect her babies... but it didn''t seem like they were fighting. In fact, she came up short, upon discovering it was her sister, Deenat, and some young boy with her.


    "Bel!" Deenat cried, standing up, and wiping her hands nervously on the furs covering her hips. "Ah... You... said I could come back, if I trust you. And... I decided I do. So I came back, with Eefim."


    Belbet''s memories told her Eefim was her sister''s only surviving child. Knowing this, Belbet smiled, "You and my nephew are welcome, sister. We need help, especially if we''re to get the house done soon."


    The word house seemed to throw Deenat and Eefim for a loop, so Dahnei called up to the taller people, "It''s a bigger lean-to!"


    Belbet laughed, nodding, "She''s right. It''s a big lean to, which will keep all the rain and weather out. We''ll even be able to have fire in it. Eefim, do you know how to hunt?" Belbet''s memories said that young men were trained to hunt from as young as eight, but weren''t considered a hunter until they completed a hunt with the current hunters. Since this kid was young, only 11, he hadn''t done that yet.


    He nodded, though, taking out of his netbag a woven string with a pouch at the end of it made of animal-hide. A sling! Belbet''s eyes widened and she grinned, "Great! See if you can find us something for dinner. Rabbit or weasel or squirrel, or anything, really."


    The boy took the instruction easily and ran off. Then, Belbet turned to Deenat, who blinked, surprised. "Bel, you said we didn''t need meat..."


    "No, I said we could survive without it. But isn''t it nice to have meat?" Belbet responded and nodded when Deenat nodded too. Then, she took her sister to the half-downed tree. "See this?" She pointed, and then began to explain in detail how she used fire to fell such a big tree. She explained how careful they had to be not to let the fire catch, so it burnt the tree how they wanted. Then, she told her sister to do that for four more trees. They''d need the roof after all.


    She returned to the camp, and began mixing up some mud. She showed Dahnei, who was close by and still cutting off branches, how she added dry grass to the mud, and a little sand from the beach too, to make a sort of cement. Then, with Dahnei''s help, she manoeuvred one of the poles to the cliff, and shoved it into one of the holes she''d made yesterday, layering the hole with the cement. She piled up the cement a good four inches around it, pressing it to the cliffside, so that the cliff could act as one of their walls.


    Putting Dahnei back to work peeling off the branches (she was almost done with the second pole, which was good). Belbet checked on Mohniit, who was showing signs of hunger, sucking on his fingers and grumbling unhappily. She pulled Dahnei aside too, and gave them each a cut up sweet potato to gnaw through. Then, taking her digging stick and one of the branches Dahnei had cut off, she began shaping a small dome against the wall of the cliff, shaping a hole in the top and a hole in the front. Using the cement to keep the sticks in place, she built up a little stove, and taking her digging stick, dug a chimney into the wall, so that the smoke would come out above the ceiling, so that they wouldn''t be smoked out of the house. This she sealed with more of the rough cement.


    It had to dry however, before she could reinforce it. She lit a small fire inside to cook the cement solid, patching any holes in the chimney while coughing. When it was mostly done, she let the fire inside the stove burn itself out while she put up the second pole Dahnei had finished, across from the first one. Pressing this one against the cliffside too, she marked out a line between them in the stone, that way she could put a pole there too, for stability.


    By this time, Eefim had come back, two rabbits and a squirrel caught and tied to his leg, blood dripping down his skin. He was so proud of his kill that Belbet couldn''t help but clap her hands.


    "Good job! Eefim, you did so well! Can you skin and clean them in the river, please? And yourself. make sure to rub that blood off with sand, okay?" She asked, and as he ran off to do so, she stopped him again, "And see if you can find any rocks that would be good to make into knives, okay?"


    They didn''t have the ability to make any metal knives right now, so she''d have to make due with stone-knapped knives. She added ''carve bowls'' to her mental to-do list, and looked up just in time to see her sister drag three poles into the clearing, setting them in front of Dahnei, who looked about ready to cry from frustration at having to peel sticks off so many trees.


    "Dahnei, sweetheart, can you go out and forage some fruit and veggies for dinner?" She asked, knowing that if Dahnei didn''t get a chance to do something else, she was probably going to break down in tears. The girl jumped up and happily did so. Belbet went over and picked up Mohniit, who had taken an interest in pushing around the sticks, and carried him over to the bare bones of the house. "Come here, Deenat."


    Her sister, ashy hands wiping on her furs, did, and Belbet took a few minutes rest, explaining the plan for the cabin to her. She explained the stove, and pointed out the chimney, so that Deenat would know what it was. Then she explained how they were going to form the walls and the ceiling. Deenat seemed confused but in awe at the idea of it. "We''ll need more rope." She declared.


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    "That we will. I was thinking of asking you and Eefim to handle rope and basket-weaving when we have time away from other things. Do you think you can handle it?"


    "Mn, yeah. We should." Deenat responded, nodding. She was confident in her own weaving skills, they just... needed to get some grass.


    "Perfect. We also need to clear a spot and till the earth." When this got confusion from Deenat, Belbet explained, "Turning the earth and removing rocks and weeds, so that things grow easier in the dirt. We''ll be planting our own field of food here."


    "MAMA!!!" A shriek rended the air, sending panic like a shot through Belbet''s heart. She immediately took off, holding Mohniit against her as she followed the voice into the forest. She jumped over bushes and detritus that Victoria would have tripped over, and it was amazing to her how quickly she was moving. Deenat was following, she could hear her crashing through the underbrush.


    Eventually, they came upon the girl where she was sitting amid a field of truly, truly humongous gourds. Or at least, that''s what they looked like. Instead of the bright orange of pumpkins that Victoria was used to, or even the green of other gourds she''d heard of, these were a light, light blue, almost pastel. They were also the size of a car wheel. Belbet kept looking for the source of the threat, but... there wasn''t anything around.


    "Baby, why''d you scream?" She asked, panic fading from her voice. Dahnei looked up and patted one of the big gourds, which made a *pam pam* sound. It sounded mostly hollow.


    "I found these! I''ve never seen them before!" She cried, and Dahnei''s enthusiasm was catching.


    "I''ve never seen them either," Belbet admitted, turning to look at Deenat, who shrugged because she hadn''t seen it either. So, Belbet turned to her babies. "Alright, we need to determine if they''re poisonous! How do we do that?"


    "Cut it open!" Dahnei cried. Belbet sighed, agreeing.


    They cut open the hard shell of the blue gourd, and Belbet frowned when she was met with little smell. She handed Mohniit to Deenat, who held the child on her hip, and then pressed a finger into the opening, covering it in the inner juices of the gourd. Then, she slathered those juices on her forearm. "Now we wait. If it makes my skin red and blistery it''s probably poisonous and will need to be cooked before we try to eat it."


    Of course, waiting was hard, and either way, Belbet wanted to keep the gourd shells. They''d be perfect for a cistern to keep water in, so she coordinated with her family to roll four of the big things into their camp. Once back in camp, Belbet went to the river and wet her hand, pressing the cold skin against her shoulder, which had been aching all day. The dislocation from a few days ago was still paining her, and the cold helped.


    A part of Victoria remembered something about willow-bark and it helping with inflammation, but for now she''d have to deal with cooling it in the water. A little hand tugged on her hair, and she looked over to see her little shadow. Mohniit had followed her to the river, and was staring up at her with dark, soft eyes. "Mama wet."


    "Yes, mama''s wet. Mama''s using the cold water to cool down her hurt shoulder." Belbet explained calmly, carefully.


    "Mama hurt?" The baby''s face contorted into worry, thunderclouds over a beautiful starry sky.


    "No, baby, mama *was* hurt, and now she''s getting better. Remember when your sister fell on Mama?" The baby scrunched up his face and thought about it before nodding, "When your sister fell, she hit mama''s arm real hard. It moved something in here," She poked her shoulder, "That wasn''t supposed to move. Mama put it back where it was supposed to go, but it still hurts a little bit, and will for a while."


    The little rabbit-eared boy reached out and patted the swollen skin. "Ouchie bye."


    Belbet laughed, and reached down to kiss the boy''s cheek. "Yes, it''s all gone now. Mohniit made it better." The baby seemed satisfied with that, giving his mother a brilliant grin and tugging her back to camp. On the way up the riverbank, she checked her arm where the gourd-juice was slathered, and sure enough there was no redness or swelling.


    "Just two more tests." She declared, dipping her fingers into the blue-pumpkin juice, and rubbing it along her lip. She didn''t feel any immediate tingling, but that didn''t mean anything. While she waited the necessary time for a reaction, she worked with Deenat to put in the final two guide-poles of their house. Then, she instructed Deenat on how to tie the rafters to the structure, giving it a square shape. Then, she made a triangular shape of logs for the roof, intending to have the water slope off the sides.


    It was difficult, getting one end of the triangle shape into the cliffside, and the two over the edges of the house scaffolding. After that, it was easy enough for her, Deenat, Dahnei and Eefim to plant thin branches in the ground and weave other branches in between them to make a lattice wall on each side of the hut. When Deenat and Dahnei had a pretty good idea of what they were doing there, Belbet recruited Eefim to help her mix up the mud-and-grass cement, and plaster it to the walls.


    Eventually, hunger won over work, and Deenat and Belbet dished out some of the sweet potato pile, along with the last of the berries and onions. "We''ll need to have the little ones do some foraging tomorrow while you and I till the field, Deenat." Belbet said. Once they were all finished eating, the kids got back to adding mud to the sides of the hut, giggling and shrieking as mud flew. A perfect activity for children, Belbet considered, since they were prone to playing in mud anyway.


    Meanwhile, Belbet went to the pumpkin one last time, cut a big lid out of the top, and then peeled some of the flesh from inside the pumpkin. Chewing it revealed no tingling, and no bitterness, although it didn''t taste sweet either. It mostly was just... chewy. She picked up the lid and put it back on the pumpkin, declaring that tomorrow they''d try to cook it.


    The problem came when it was time to settle down. The lean-to had been small even for Belbet and her babies. Now, with another full grown woman and an 11 year old boy joining them.... "Ah, we really need to finish the hut tomorrow." Belbet sighed, rubbing at her forehead.


    "It''s okay. We can leave the lean-to to the children, and you and I can have the furs by the fire." Deenat decided, and despite the Victoria part of her hating the idea of sleeping out in the open like that, she had to agree.


    The two women watched the children curl up under the hastily cobbled lean to, and once they were settled, Belbet began a new story, the retelling of a movie she''d seen as Victoria, about two bears and a journey across the mountains. The children fell asleep listening intensely.


    "Where did you hear that story?" Deenat asked, once the little snores were long enough that they were definitely asleep. The stars sparkled overhead as Belbet gently laid herself down on her uninjured side. Exhaustion was creeping over her, her bones heavy and her head resting on the hard ground.


    "I made it up." She said, watching the fire. "I thought about what my babies would need to know, later in life... and made up a story that could teach it to them."


    "Huh." Deenat murmured, shifting to lay down too. She closed her eyes, "That''s nice. A good way for the kids to learn."


    "A good way for adults to learn too. Human beings need stories to become better people. To learn new things, and to grow." Belbet said, "More than anything, stories separate humans from beasts."


    Deenat''s response was a gentle snore. Belbet gave up and let herself fall asleep, the heat of the fire the only thing keeping her warm. It became apparent that she wasn''t going to sleep well, as the fire died down and cold awoke her. Even in early summer, the nights were chilly. She deeply missed the warm weights of her children against her.


    Morning came, and Belbet felt as if she hadn''t slept at all. She rose and restarted the fire, going to check on the mud hut while it grew into a fire they could cook on. Deenat woke up next, and gathered some water from the river in a fur. Belbet watched in confusion as she took some stones from the fire (she must have added them the night before), and set them in the skin, so that the water began to boil.


    "We need to carve some bowls from wood, and make some pots." Belbet commented, feeling a little more sane, now that she had someone to share her thoughts with, rather than keeping a running to-do list in her head. "I''m trying to make an ash-clay pot," she explained, gesturing over to the rings, "But it''s going slowly. We could grind out a stone pot, but I don''t want that to be what we use forever."


    "You wanted to till the soil today, too?" Deenat reminded, the unfamiliar words a question on her tongue. "What should we do first?"


    "You and I need to work on the plot of land. The kids need to gather food, or we''ll all go hungry today. But we need to finish the hut today too." She sighed a little, rubbing at the back of her neck with her healthy arm. Belbet clicked her tongue, and rolled the hurt shoulder, feeling the ache in it, but not as much as she assumed there should be. The animal-spirited humans here seemed to heal faster than Victoria''s people.


    She split up another cooked sweet potato, glad that her idea to wrap them in mud and cook them that way worked, setting aside three rocks worth now, each child with their own. Then she rolled one to her sister, counting out how many sweet potatoes they had left. "....If we chop these into smaller pieces, we have enough to plant sixteen plants worth of sweet potatoes..." She frowned, "We''re going to need to do something to bump up yield. We¡¯ll need to start grinding up the bones from our meals and mixing it with the dirt. That way they fertilize it."


    "We also need to start saving food scraps, specifically plant scraps, leaves and stuff, and piling them up. Next year, that pile will make really good fertilizer. And we need to collect other types of plants that will grow well..." Belbet ignored Deenat¡¯s confused look at the new words she kept spouting.


    Little arms wrapped around her waist, and Belbet looked down into Mohniit''s eyes once again. "Good morning, little man. Did you sleep well?"


    "Missed Mama."


    "Oh? Well, we''ll have to finish the house today so that we can all sleep inside together again. You ready to help?"


    The little boy bobbed his head in a yes so enthusiastically that his lop-ears flopped around his shoulders. She smiled, and rubbed the hair between his ears and chuckled. Looking up, she saw her family chewing their breakfasts sleepily, and couldn''t help but think that they were doing pretty well.


    So of course, the universe had to prove her wrong. Sending the children out to gather food was a good idea. Sending Mohniit with them was not a good idea. Halfway through finishing the mud on the east side wall, while Deenat was weaving sticks through the ceiling to give them a base to put on the straw ceiling, two loud voices calling them carried through the forest.


    The children were in trouble.

 Chapter Four - Little Squirrel

    Chapter Four - Little Squirrel


    -Summer-


    The trees and brush were in her way and Belbet clawed through them with nails sharp as knives. She could hear her sister beside her, scrambling through underbrush just as she was, to get through to their children. Their rush contributed quite a bit to the idiocy that occurred a few seconds after Belbet saw her little girl¡¯s scared face from behind the protective stretch of Eefim¡¯s arms.


    Belbet tripped head over heels into a wolf as large as she was, and the two went tumbling, snarling and scratching. Belbet clawed, even as she tried to keep the wolf¡¯s jaws away from her throat and shoulders. Its back feet were clawing violently at her thighs, trying to get at her soft belly, and she slammed a knee into its stomach, twisting wildly beneath the canine.


    There was screaming all around her while Belbet was fighting for her life and the lives of her children. She shrieked and pushed with all her strength, pushing the heavy canine body over and pinning it to the ground. Her instincts screamed to claw and she did, ripping great bloody swathes in the wolf¡¯s side and belly, before, yelping, it twisted away from her.


    Getting to her feet in a wobbly stance, she pushed the children behind her, putting her own body between the wolf and them. Deenat had found a heavy branch, and was now swinging it wildly at the beast like a club. Belbet shuffled the children to the side so that Deenat was between all of them and the wolf. It didn¡¯t move, unfrightened or perhaps just convinced of its kill.


    Or, Belbet thought when she saw the ribs of the beast, it was just too hungry to back down. Deenat brought the branch down on its head with a heavy crack, and the beast yelped, fleeing wobbly. The wolf¡¯s pelt blended into the shadows of the forest as it left.


    Pain and exhaustion brought her to her knees, and she turned to the children, checking them over quickly. Mohniit, small and terrified, tears and snot all over his face, only had a single bite on his leg, bleeding sluggishly. Dahnei, her little girl, so brave, her face soiled with tears too, had arms shredded from her fight with the wolf¡¯s teeth. And brave, fearsome Eefim, scratched and bit all to hell, blood already scabbing, panting. His teeth were still bared, and Belbet respected him for it.


    ¡°You fought so well.¡± She praised, grabbing all three of them into her arms, hugging them. ¡°So good. Such good children. You fought hard, and well. You did good.¡± She swallowed against tears because things had to be done soon. She turned to her sister, who came close, limping along. Belbet nodded to the furs around her sister¡¯s waist. ¡°Use those to bind the wounds. It¡¯s going to hurt, but it¡¯ll stop the bleeding.¡±


    She took off her own and wrapped them tightly around Mohniit¡¯s leg, tying it off even as he tried to push her hand away because it hurt. ¡°I know, baby, I know.¡± She soothed, pulling him into her lap. Her own wounds stung and bled, and she ignored them for now. They didn¡¯t have enough fur or cloth to bind her wounds for now, so she¡¯d have to suffer silently. ¡°Come, We have to get back to camp.¡±


    Eefim picked up the net bags they must have dropped when the wolf appeared, full to near bursting. Limping, the five of them made it back to camp, and Belbet, despite the lightheadedness that came with the downward rush of a fight, began what little first aid she knew. She mixed up some mud, boiling it before  applying it to everyone¡¯s wounds, after she washed the canine saliva out of them. She hoped beyond hope that she would be able to find willow bark, as it was the only thing she knew that could stave off illness at this stage.


    ¡°Bel, you¡¯re still bleeding.¡± Deenat hissed, even as Belbet spread mud on the wounds on her arms. ¡°Clean yourself!¡±


    Belbet groaned, shaking her head, before doing exactly that. She washed out her wounds with some of their boiled water, and then applied the mud. It hurt so much, and she had to stifle her cries, lest her children think less of her. When she was properly ¡®bandaged¡¯, she turned to her family. ¡°We need to look for a specific tree. It¡¯s a big tree with really dark bark. Its branches droop all the way to the ground and it¡¯ll be near water. We need the bark of that tree, as much as we can get. Don¡¯t pull the bark yourself. Mark the tree, and the way to the tree, and then come back to camp and I¡¯ll go to collect the bark myself.¡±


    Deenat frowned, ¡°Should¡­ is it really a good idea to split up when there¡¯s a wolf out there?¡±


    Belbet considered it, her mouth twisting. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± She shook her head, standing, ¡°We should definitely keep the children safe. One of us needs to go, and I¡¯m the only one who knows what to look for.¡±


    She wobbled as she tried to pick up one of the net bags. Little hands tried to steady  her. ¡°I can come, Mama.¡± Dahnei said, looking up at her, brow drawn and lips a thin line.


    ¡°No, baby. You stay  here. Mama¡¯s gonna get us all medicine, so we¡¯ll be safe.¡± Belbet promised, kissing her little girl on the forehead. Her little mouse ears drooped, and it hurt the woman to say no, but in the end, she had to.


    ¡°While I¡¯m gone, can you keep working on the field, sister?¡±


    Deenat shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ll work on the house.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ actually a better idea.¡± Belbet reached out, clasping her sister¡¯s shoulder, and squeezing it gently. ¡°I¡¯ll be back before dark.¡± With these parting words, she left the little clearing they¡¯d made their home in and headed to the riverside. Following the river down, she kept her eyes out for the tell-tale branches of a willow tree. While she was walking, she found other helpful things too. Reeds that she cut with the handaxe, sticking through the holes in her little bag, to hold them.


    The muddy ground near the river sucked at her feet, so she moved a bit closer to the forest. The wind blew just enough for the early summer heat to be cooled on the back of her neck. Spotting a good place to build a bridge later, she shifted two big rocks to mark it. Then, she continued on. The trees here looked like your standard oaks and aspens to her. A few of those willowy-but-not-willow trees, tall and whippy, were scattered here and there too. They reminded her of a less-rigid bamboo, and she wasn¡¯t sure what use they could be put to, but she¡¯d have to experiment later.


    Even better than any of that though, she noticed one some of the steep embankments around the river a deep red soil, which she was pretty sure was clay. Clay could be very, very useful and if she could build a kiln, she could make pots and plates and cups and so many other useful things. She marked this spot with a hastily made cross of reeds, and continued going. She let herself pick the little clustered berries around the path too, her stomach rumbling from hunger.


    She rallied herself, focusing instead on looking for the sweeping branches she would need. She found a few other amazing things along the way. Bright yellow and orange peppers, if Victoria was any judge. She picked several, putting them in her little bag, making sure to get the seeds as well. She would have uprooted the whole plant and transplanted it, but again, she needed to move on quickly. Casting her eyes over the grassy knolls on either side of the river, she finally spotted the rounded shape she was looking for.


    She pushed through several bushes, heading for the dome she¡¯d seen and sure enough, there it was on an overlook just above the river. A willow, sure as rain, its branches dipping gracefully into the water. When she got closer, she could see seeds spread across the ground as well. She pulled a handful of the seeds into her bag, hoping she had a few viable ones in the mix. She touched the bark of the tree, and several of its smaller bush-like stalks as well, checking for signs of worms or beetles, and upon finding none, pulled out her handaxe. She struck off some of the branches, long, thin and whiplike, choosing only the ones about as big as her thumb


    When she had a good pile of the switches in hand, she stuffed them through the holes on her bag and headed home. The path back was just as simple as it was forward, and she had the luck to spot a giant buck along with a couple of does, deer nibbling at grass and dappled in sunlight. Her feet ached, but it was worth it, the weight of the bark in her bag sure to help her family with any further pain and infection.


    When she got back to the camp, she was surprised to find a tiny celebration was happening. The children danced around as best they could with their wounds, laughing and clapping. Even Eefim danced with little Mohniit¡¯s hands in his own, and Belbet laughed, drawing everyone¡¯s joyous attention. ¡°What¡¯s going on over here?¡±


    ¡°We finished the house!¡± Dahnei crowed, pointing almost violently at the completed walls of the hut. Even the front was finished, with a person-sized hole in the front. And just as Belbet had mentioned to her yesterday, Deenat had made sure that there were holes where they would need to put the door-strut.


    ¡°It¡¯s perfect! You all did so well, oh wow!¡± Belbet crowed, clapping her hands. Then, she crouched down in front of the kids, and grinned. ¡°Guess what. I found the tree I was looking for, and some other things besides. Do you guys want to help me grow a tree?¡± She asked, making her eyes big on purpose.


    ¡°Grow tree?¡± Mohniit managed, shaking his hands up and down, ¡°Grow tree!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Belbet cooed, ¡°Yes we will, but first, we have to put the roof on the house. Can you kiddoes gather as many big leaves as you can?¡±


    This sent the children racing off into the forest. Caution kept them close enough to see camp, however. Belbet turned to Deenat and smiled, ¡°You did amazing, all of you. Really. I brought back seeds, things we can plant in the garden. This time next year, or even sooner, we¡¯ll have plenty of food.¡±


    Deenat sighed, ¡°What did you even go out for?¡±


    ¡°This.¡± Belbet pulled out the sticks, showing her, back and front. She let her fingers drift over the craggly bark, and smiled gently. ¡°It¡¯s willow bark. When made into tea, it can cure fevers.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Deenat asked, thinking that it must have been a lesson she herself hadn¡¯t been given. ¡°What¡¯s tea?¡±


    ¡°Tea is when something is added to boiled water, and then the water is drank. Like soup, but you don¡¯t eat the stuff in the water.¡± Belbet explained, realizing she was explaining poorly but her head was throbbing, so she didn¡¯t care. ¡°Do we have any of those little blue berries left?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Deenat frowned.


    ¡°Get me some, and start boiling some water.¡±


    While Deenat went to do just that, Belbet sat down in front of the fire, and began stripping the bark off the switches in small increments. The stone knapped knife wasn¡¯t the easiest to do this with, but it was better than nothing. If she could just keep her eyes open, and her fingers from shaking.


    Deenat appeared at her side, shaking her, ¡°Bel! Bel, what- You¡¯ve cut yourself!¡±


    Belbet looked down and blinked, and sure enough, her finger was covered in blood. ¡°Ah¡­ I must¡¯ve¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t finish the sentence, her head swimming.


    A fight, adrenaline, and the walk afterwards was making her woozy. She needed a good nap, and maybe a hospital, and the internet. None of which were available here. She¡¯d have to soldier through. She¡¯d have to make sure things got done. Her malaise was so deep that she didn¡¯t notice when Deenat came to her side.


    ¡°Sister, just tell me how to help you.¡± Belbet was overwhelmed then with a fierce love for Deenat, stinging at her eyes. She nodded, and when Deenat gestured, Belbet let herself curl up on the furs next to the fire.


    Once she was laying down, Deenat hovering over her with a worried crease on her brow, she pointed to the bits of willow bark. ¡°Take those, and boil them in the water. Only¡­ as many as make up the width of your smallest finger.¡±


    Belbet was much more able to keep going now that she wasn¡¯t standing. Ah, Deenat must have applied mud to Belbet¡¯s finger at some point. It stung but it wasn¡¯t bleeding anymore. She watched as Deenat boiled the bark, and after what felt internally like ten minutes, she told Deenat to take the stones out of the water, so that it could steep. There was about six cups worth of the almost-tea, and Belbet was pretty sure every single one of them needed a cup or two, so that should be enough for now.


    The children came back a while later, many huge leaves carried between them, and Belbet reassured them when they came to ask her why she was laying down, she carefully told them she was resting. She gestured to the tea, which had been steeping for almost half an hour now. ¡°Drink some of that. It¡¯ll help you feel better.¡±


    The children did, although they had to be coaxed to do so, after the initial taste was horrifically bitter. That was what the berries were for, she reasoned, popping one in Mohniit¡¯s mouth after he¡¯d drunk a big mouthful of the willow bark tea. He chewed it, and immediately broke out into a smile.


    Belbet¡¯s little jaunt had spent most of their day, and the rest was spent piling the leaves onto the roof and tying them down properly. Then, together, they all heaved the piles of leaves into proper spots. Belbet called out orders from the inside, smiling as the daylight (what little of it was left) was slowly blocked out by the leaves. Their ceiling wasn¡¯t complete, oh no, but it would work well for a little while, unless a torrential rain happened.


    Once the ceiling was on, Belbet had Deenat start a fire in the fireplace, and they all marvelled at how warm the inside of the building was afterwards. Belbet couldn¡¯t help the happy laughter that bubbled up when the children jumped in and out of the little doorway to feel the difference in temperature. They spent a few moments dragging the furs from in front of the fire into the house, and spreading them out so everyone could sleep somewhat comfortably.


    Dinner was mud-cooked sweet potatoes, cooked rabbit, and the bitter leaves of a spinach-like plant one of the kids found. The gourds were left for the next day, and Belbet told everyone to throw their bones into the fireplace. She¡¯d scrape the ashes tomorrow and put them into the garden soil.


    With Mohniit dozing next to her on one of the large sleeping furs, and Dahnei laying on the other side of him, Belbet sighed happily, content that they had at least the beginnings of a home here.


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    ¡°Mama¡­ Can you tell us a story?¡± Dahnei asked, her voice quiet in the dim light of the house. Across the small hut, Belbet saw her sister¡¯s fire-shadowed form shift to look at her. Her little nephew turned too, curiosity written on the shadows of his face.


    ¡°Sure.¡± She paused for a moment, and ran through the catalogue of stories that Victoria knew, stories that could be told here without worry of copyright or laws. But honestly¡­ she knew she needed to start teaching the children, so¡­ ¡°Once upon a time, there was a little squirrel. The Squirrel lived in a forest, a mighty forest, old and strong and deep. Every year, this forest went through the four seasons, and during winter, its snow was thick and deep and strong. But this story starts in spring, you see. As the buds bloomed and the world shook off the cold of winter, the squirrel was hard at work.¡±


    A little yawn came from Eefim¡¯s direction, stifled by a hand, and Belbet continued, ¡°You see, the squirrel was gathering seeds. Lots and lots of seeds, and hiding them, all over the forest. Now, the old owl was confused. He asked Little Squirrel, ¡®Why do you do this? Shouldn¡¯t you eat the seeds as soon as you find them? Are you not hungry?¡¯


    ¡°And the squirrel replied, ¡®I am. I am very hungry. But in winter, I will be even hungrier still. These seeds are for winter.¡¯ And the Owl hummed, but he did not understand. But he watched as the squirrel hid seeds in the ground, under stones, in hollows of trees, everywhere the squirrel went. The Owl watched, all through spring, and into summer. And then, one day¡­ something terrible happened.¡±


    ¡°What happened, Mama?¡± Dahnei breathed, on the edge of her seat.


    Belbet stroked her hair, gently squeezing the soft side of one of her mouse ears. ¡°A fire, little mouse. A fire, so big and so wild, spread through the big forest. It burnt all the trees to death, and all the little bushes and hollows that everyone hid in and lived in and ate from. The Owl was safe, he¡¯d flown away as soon as the fire had started. And when he met the little squirrel again, he sighed. ¡®So much for saving your seeds for winter, Little Squirrel. Now you will starve in fall instead.¡¯¡±


    Belbet shifted, sighing as she laid down next to her children, the quiet popping of the fire lulling her. ¡°But, although everyone else who returned to the burnt forest was hungry, the Little Squirrel never seemed to be hungry. In fact, sometimes, the Little Squirrel would even give others seeds, saying, ¡®please, keep trying. I¡¯m sure you will find food soon.¡¯ The Owl watched, and was astonished.


    ¡°Summer passed into fall. With fall, some new growth came to the forest, but not enough. The winter was sure to be so lean as to kill some. Everyone worried, except the Little Squirrel. Again, the Owl asked him, ¡®Are you not scared of the winter? Are you not worried you will starve to death?¡¯ And the Little Squirrel shook its head, and continued its seed-searching, even knowing it wouldn¡¯t find anything new.¡±


    ¡°Winter was hard, The Owl himself felt he was starving, as so many had died before. And sure enough, he did not see Little Squirrel at any time during winter. The Owl was sure his little friend had starved to death.¡±


    Dahnei¡¯s eyes were sparkling wells of darkness, wavering as she fought sleep to hear the story. Belbet stroked a soft lop-ear, her son curling closer to her.


    ¡°Spring came¡­ and it was strange. For the forest before had been hard scarred by the fire, destroyed. Yet, with spring, came new shoots, new bushes, new trees growing everywhere. And oddly, the Owl could see new growth in all the places his Little Squirrel friend had been running busily to and fro during the last spring. He watched, as sure enough, the seeds the little Squirrel had hidden grew, and grew, and grew, fed by the ash of the trees, into big, strong bushes that yielded berries, trees that yielded fruit. And then it came to the Owl.


    ¡°The Little Squirrel had been hiding away food for the future. Not just for Little Squirrel to eat, but for everyone. And now, thanks to Little Squirrel, whoever was left, would have plenty to eat. ¡®Thank you, Little Squirrel.¡¯ the Owl cried, ¡®Thank you, for planting seeds, for bringing back our forest¡¯.


    ¡°¡®You¡¯re welcome,¡¯ said a tiny voice, and the Owl turned, and there Little Squirrel was, smiling, ash-covered. ¡®My seeds are all gone. I shall have to work hard this year again, or I shall suffer in winter, don¡¯t you think?¡¯ And the old Owl laughed, ¡®my friend, I do not think you will suffer any winter.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Such a smart little squirrel.¡± Deenat said in the quiet, and then yawned. Belbet laughed a little.


    ¡°Is that¡­ why you¡¯re saving the sweet potatoes, mama?¡± Dahnei asked, and Belbet grinned at her in the dark, brushing hair from her face, and holding her eyes closed.


    ¡°Yes, baby. Now, it¡¯s time for sleep. Sweet dreams, my lovely daughter.¡±


    That night, for the first time since the fever that¡¯d brought her here, Belbet dreamed. She dreamed of the Little Squirrel running through branches that seemed to stretch forever. Then, in blinding light, the squirrel jumped and suddenly there were no branches. Just the world, laid out beneath them, different from the one Victoria had seen on globes in school. All through the world below, lines of light like threads of yarn spread around the core of the world.


    The dream shifted, a glaze of light and sound and then Belbet was stalking through the water, the muffled sounds of a river moving around her. She kept her eyes open, and her whole body moved. She couldn¡¯t feel the cold, it was like when she was swimming. She opened her jaws, finding the fish that she was chasing just in front of her. But when she closed them, she did not taste fish.


    Instead, she wrapped her lips around an orb, golden and shining, and swallowed it down. Then, as if she wasn¡¯t in her own body, she watched the golden orb slide down her throat and settle in her belly, no¡­ no, just below her belly, near where she¡¯d carried her babies. The golden light suffused her, and she sighed happily. It felt warm.


    Her eyes opened to the shadow ceiling of their house, and the sounds of talking outside. There was a tiny body pressed to her side, octopus-like-limbs wrapped around her. Mohniit, asleep and heavy, was breathing against her chest. She could hear the voices of the others outside, talking. She sat up, gently untangling her little son, and then heading out to the campfire.


    ¡°Mama!¡± Dahnei greeted upon seeing Belbet exit the house. ¡°Did you sleep well?¡±


    Belbet nodded, taking in her energetic child, and the condition of everyone else, too. It looked like they weren¡¯t hurting, or severely injured, which was good. She began the process of making another batch of willow bark tea. It looked like Deenat had already taken care of breakfast, which was nice.


    Sitting down, while the water boiled, Belbet started talking, planning out the day. ¡°Now that the house is finished, I want to start on another project that will help us.¡± She paused, figuring that going into the explanation of how a kiln works right now would probably pull away from getting their day together. ¡°We also need to finish tilling the garden, and get those potato chunks planted. ...I¡¯d also like to carve some bowls and cups today too. We can¡¯t keep eating off of stones. ...And we need to make a little fence. ...Ah, I¡¯ll explain that later. Eefim, do you think you can find me some bird¡¯s eggs today?¡±


    The boy looked up from his baked sweet potato, and blinked. Then he nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve seen some birds around lately¡­ I can try and find their nests.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. I want the eggs completely intact, and as many as you can get. Wrap them up in leaves, so they don¡¯t crack against each other, okay?¡± Belbet coached. ¡°Sister, do you think you can handle tilling the garden? We should mix the ashes from last night¡¯s dinner fire into the earth. It¡¯ll help the plants grow. It¡¯s called fertilizer.¡±


    Deenat nodded, waving her hand as if to wave off Belbet¡¯s concern. ¡°That much I can do.¡±


    ¡°What about me, Mama?¡± Dahnei whined, and Belbet couldn¡¯t help but laugh at how slighted she sounded.


    ¡°Well, can my Dahnei make something for me, if I show her how?¡± Belbet asked, deciding that Dahnei would probably be able to make some fish-traps. If the five-year old can make baskets, then she can definitely make fish traps. ¡°We¡¯ll need those willow branches I brought back. Can you bring them to me? And some rope?¡±


    Dahnei nodded, her hair flying, before bolting up to go get the leftover sticks that hadn¡¯t already been fed to a fire. When she came back, Belbet took one of the sticks and sat in the dirt, beginning to draw. She drew a big circle, with a mouth on it, and then, a sort of reverse triangle, to make the entrance narrow.


    ¡°This is called a fish trap. You plant sticks in the water, deep, so they can¡¯t be moved, round in a circle like this, and you make the opening like this. See? Then the fish, they swim in here, but they¡¯re too stupid to swim back out. Understand?¡± She explained it once more, after Dahnei frowned uncertainly at it. ¡°If you can make this, we¡¯ll have more crawdads and fish to eat!¡±


    That got the girl motivated, and she took the leftover willow branches and took off for the river. Belbet called, ¡°Ah, don¡¯t forget to bait it once you¡¯re done! Take some dead fish or worms and put them in the circle! Sheesh, she ran off so fast.¡± She turned to Deenat, and smiled.


    ¡°Mama!¡± Her son¡¯s voice interrupted whatever she¡¯d been about to say, drawing her attention to where he was toddling out of the house and towards her. She gathered him into her arms as soon as he stumbled sleepily against her side, and cuddled him close. ¡°Mama, big.¡±


    A snort left the woman and she replied, ¡°Well yes, Mama is very big, compared to Mohniit.¡± She poked his nose, which set him giggling, and pushing her hand away.


    ¡°Nooooo. Big hungry.¡±


    ¡°Ohhhh, my boy is hungry, is that it?¡± She asked, before pointing him to the share his aunt had set out for him. ¡°Well, there is Mohniit¡¯s food, he should eat it quickly, hm? So that the crows don¡¯t come and get it!¡±


    Mohniit squealed, his rabbit ears rising in dismay, as he pushed out of her hold. She laughed the whole time, while he gathered up  his food and started nibbling like the cute little bunny he was. Then, with him satisfied, she turned to her sister, ¡°I¡¯m going to build a cage, a pen in which to hold some animals. That way, they¡¯ll stay alive, and we can eat them when we need to. If I get done building it before you get done tilling, I¡¯ll come help till, so let me know if you finish up before I¡¯m done, so that I can help you plant the sweet potatoes, okay?¡±


    Deenat nodded, swallowing down the last of her crawfish. The two women stood up, Belbet stretching her arms above her head tentatively, to see if the formerly dislocated one still ached. She was surprised to find¡­ It didn¡¯t. It actually didn¡¯t. It didn¡¯t hurt at all. How strange.


    With that, Belbet headed to the edge of the clearing to gather some more sticks. This time, she was looking for sticks about the size of her forearm. Not huge, just big enough that they¡¯d stick in the ground and be hard to move. After finding nine good ones, she turned to looking for sticks the size of her fingers, and gathered as many of those as she could.


    Carrying them close to the house, she started using a heavy rock to pound the big ones into the ground in a square shape. Three to each side, and then she could weave the thinner sticks between them. In this way, she created a pen big enough to house at least one chicken, maybe two. If they could find some, that was.


    About halfway through making the pen, she paused to call everyone to drink their willow bark tea. The kids complained again about the taste, and she personally handed each their berries. She¡¯d have to see about finding honey or sugar later on down the road. Right now they were a little too busy just trying to survive.


    After the tea, it was easier to weave the cage, and she finished in record time. She felt oddly light today. Faster, too. When she was done with the cage, she did as she promised and helped Deenat finish tilling. Together, they got the space cleared pretty quickly. The ashes were mixed in, and then Belbet showed Deenat how to plant the sweet potato chunks, so that hopefully they would grow. Belbet had high expectations, considering how dark the soil near this river was. Then, it was a matter of setting the kids on screaming, laughing missions to draw water and bring it to water the seeds they¡¯d planted.


    Eefim had come back with eggs galore, seven of them of several different kinds, which worried Belbet a bit. He also came back with a flapping, living set of birds that looked remarkably like chickens. Although much smaller and less meaty than Victoria was used to, once fattened up, they¡¯d be an excellent source of food.


    ¡°Great! Bird for dinner.¡± Deenat cried, excited as she tried to snatch the birds from her son. Belbet had to stretch out a hand to stop her, because that wasn¡¯t what they were there for. She seemed betrayed as Belbet explained that she wanted to *keep* the birds.


    Then, her eyes widened, and she blinked, ¡°This is a Little Squirrel thing. You¡¯re saving them for later.¡±


    It startled Belbet that her sister had listened so closely to the story she¡¯d told the night before. ¡°Yes. The chickens lay eggs, and we can eat those eggs. As long as we feed the chickens, we will have food.¡±


    Deenat didn¡¯t fuss when Belbet took the chickens to the pen she¡¯d made, and set them inside.  She did, however, when Belbet moved away from the pen. ¡°They¡¯re going to get away!¡±


    Belbet smiled, ¡°Well, they certainly will, if we don¡¯t feed them. And if we don¡¯t provide them with shelter.¡± Here, she picked up the little half-lid she¡¯d made for the chicken pen, and set it over the top. It was mostly-woven, without big holes, so that the roof was safe. Then, she dumped some of the crawfish bits in the pen as well. ¡°We can have the kids dig up worms and insects to give them. In the meantime, I need to check if any of these eggs are going to grow into birds.¡±


    ¡°How¡­ would you check?¡±


    She gestured for Eefim, who had asked, to follow her. She took him, his curious mother, and Belbet¡¯s even more curious toddler, into the house. She then proceeded to show them how to view the egg with the fire behind it, to see if there was a shadow of a baby bird inside. Three of the eggs were indeed fertilized. The rest went into the ¡®we¡¯re going to eat this today¡¯ pile. The three that were fertilized were wrapped in one of Eefim¡¯s rabbit furs and placed close enough to the fire that they were warm, but not boiling. Belbet could only hope the birds inside hatched safely.


    ¡°How long until birds come out?¡± Eefim asked, excitement leaching into his voice, and Belbet considered her nephew.


    ¡°Well, that depends on the birds. Some birds can take as much as two months to hatch, but most birds will hatch before the twenty day mark.¡± Of course, as the tribes had no basis for counting that high, she received confused looks. ¡°If you were to count all of your fingers and toes, that many days is how long it usually takes chicken eggs to hatch. These eggs, we will give two large moon turns, and if they do not hatch by then, we will throw them out.¡±


    The three eggs in question were each different. One was oblong and brownish, which Belbet was secretly hoping was a duck egg, and one was small and blue, which she was pretty sure was a songbird of some sort. The third and final egg was massive, easily the size of her own head. She was thinking it might be some form of prehistoric ostrich, and she was hoping that it would be tameable.


    The afternoon crawled to a slog. The children were mostly done with their mad dashes to water the garden, and were now digging up creepy crawlies to feed to the chickens, who clucked happily at the treats dropped in their way. Belbet sat with her sister, the two of them hollowing out chunks of wood to create bowls and cups. Just as the first bowl was finishing up, rubbed smooth with sand, Belbet lamented that she didn¡¯t know how to keep the bowls from putting splinters in their food.


    The truth was, Victoria knew the concept of using oak resin and such to seal wood, but she didn¡¯t know how to make it no longer poisonous to human consumption. That was why clay bowls were much more useful. But the worst part for Belbet was the carving. It made her arms hurt. It was while massaging the arm in question and staring into the glowing coals of their campfire that she realized.


    ¡°Ah!¡± She turned, picking up a big piece of wood, rounded and about the length of her hand thick and wider than her hips. ¡°Perfect.¡± She set it out flat, and then used some sticks to gather up coals and pile them on the center of the woodround. She gathered them together, and blew on them gently.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Deenat asked, confused as to why her sister had abandoned a half-carved object to start a new fire.


    ¡°I¡¯m burning out a bowl. This way, no splinters, because the flame takes care of it, and no carving! Our arms are saved!¡± Belbet repeated the process so that five bowls were burning at the same time, keeping heavy eyes on them. Once, Mohniit came over to grab one and look inside it, and she had to gently snatch him up and send him on a fire-wood errand with his big sister to keep him safe from burnt fingers. When they came back, it was with more firewood and a very cute Mohniit, dragging a big piece of wood behind him, his little face red with exertion.


    Before dinner, Dahnei checked her fish trap and sure enough, there was a fish in there already! She came back holding the flopping thing high with triumph, and Belbet clapped for her. That night, Belbet cooked the fish in a thick leaf from the blue gourds, after mushing some berries and wild onions inside it. Then, she mashed up some sweet potatoes and mixed in some of the onions there too along with two of the eggs all scrambled up, before recooking them on a hot rock, so that they formed patties.


    These and slices of the fish, she served to the family she had gained in this little world, and they all oohed and awwed. Mohniit wanted more of the mash, sweet as it was, and Belbet indulged him, giving some of her own.


    ¡°You must teach me to make food like this.¡± Deenat declared, pointing her hastily-made chopsticks  at what was left of her own food. Belbet laughed and agreed.

 Chapter Five - Sandhome

    Chapter Five - Sandhome


    -Summer-


    The gourds that had been rolled into camp had bothered Belbet since she¡¯d laid eyes on them. The light blue color of their outer shells was strange as it was. The inside was a green similar to a honeydew melon. And from what she could tell, they tasted pretty good, for gourds, especially when cooked with some of the spring onions they¡¯d gathered. They had four of the car-tire sized things in their camp, and Belbet was thinking about the best way to go about drying the damned things so they¡¯d be usable as cisterns.


    The problem was, the only way she knew to dry a gourd was to just¡­ let them sit. And sometimes, even the small ones could take months. She vaguely remembered something about a method of letting the vines die? ...Wait. Belbet¡¯s head snapped up, her otter ears perking up. That¡¯s it!


    ¡°Dahnei!¡± She called, pulling the girl away from her checking on her fishtrap. The girl was obsessed with making them now, and Belbet was proud of her. She¡¯d even figured out to take the guts from her most recent catch to lure more into the trap. ¡°Dahnei, can you take me to the field you found the pumpkins in?¡±


    Dahnei¡¯s little mouse tail whipped through the water, spraying droplets all around her as she nodded. Hopping up onto shore, she trotted along, leading Belbet through the sun-dappled forest. Belbet gripped the stone of the handaxe tightly, since it had only been yesterday the children were attacked by a wolf, after all. She wondered if maybe she should make weapons for them. Spears were a good idea¡­ Humans had been using spears for aeons. But without massive arm strength, there was no way they were going to be able to hurt something as strong as that wolf.


    She pondered it as their trek took them back to the pumpkin patch. And sure enough, as she searched through the area, she found what she was looking for. A few perfectly cured pumpkins, mottled and golden-gray in color, hidden under the new vines. She checked them, putting her shoulder into rolling them over, to make sure they weren¡¯t cracked in any way.


    ¡°Perfect!¡± She cried, patting one and hearing the hollow ¡®tomtom¡¯ of the insides. She¡¯d even heard the soft susurrus of seeds inside when she¡¯d rolled it. ¡°Help me roll these back to camp.¡±


    It took all morning, until the sun was high and the heat near-unbearable, for them to get four of the cured pumpkins back to camp. She put them next to the four ripe ones, except for one. That one went to the river for a quick soak. After it¡¯s soak, Belbet spent some time scrubbing the surface of it clean with some rough bark. Then, she set it out in the sun to dry again.


    While that was being taken care of, Deenat returned, a huge array of gatherings in the basket she¡¯d brought with her. ¡°Sister, I brought as many things as I could find.¡±


    ¡°And seedpods and such, right?¡± Belbet asked, excited. Most of the seeding wouldn¡¯t happen until end of summer or even fall, but gathering seeds was never not a good idea.


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Deenat sighed, rolling her eyes as she pulled the various offerings out of her basket and showed them to Belbet. Sure enough, there were a plethora of things Belbet did not recognise, but she trusted that Deenat wouldn¡¯t bring anything poisonous.


    There were dark leafy greens that reminded Belbet of spinach, but tasted sharp. Also some wild basil, which Belbet welcomed immensely. There were also some fuzzy peapods that yielded what looked like chickpeas and tasted similar enough to be useful. But it was the eggplants and figs that really drew her attention. She grinned, looking at Deenat with a happy nod. ¡°You did well!¡±


    ¡°Well, after you showed me those seeds you found on your trip to the willow tree, and how to plant and care for them, I thought it¡¯d be good to have more types.¡± Deenat shrugged.


    ¡°You¡¯re learning.¡± Belbet smiled, ¡°If we can diversify our diet, we won¡¯t starve. Good.¡±


    ¡°Mama!¡± A little voice cried out, and a small body crashed into Belbet¡¯s side, signaling the arrival of Mohniit. He held up a wriggly worm with triumph, ignoring his aunts annoyance at being denied a definition for the new word Belbet had said. ¡°Fed! Fed chick!¡±


    Meaning he had finished feeding the chickens. ¡°Great! Good job, baby. You did very well.¡±


    ¡°You praise me the same way you praise your children.¡± Deenat laughed, shaking her head. She picked up the vegetables they¡¯d gathered, heading for the hut. They¡¯d put together a basket for storing the produce they needed to eat before it went bad. And Belbet had recently shown them how to lay out seeds to dry them in the sun so that they¡¯d be plantable.


    Now the garden housed seeds of all sorts of varieties, including the peppers she¡¯d found on her journey. Not that any of that had grown very much since it¡¯d only been a day since they were planted. Belbet looked over the garden, her boy in her lap, and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ We need to find a way to store food. Salt specifically. ...If we can¡¯t find that, we may have to deal with just smoked meat. Ah¡­¡± Belbet frowned, ¡°That¡¯s another thing to add to the list. We¡¯ll have to figure out how to smoke meat. Maybe some kind of smoker¡­ Would wood be enough, or do we have to wait for metal?¡± She sighed, rubbing at her beautiful boy¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Mama, what me-ah?¡± The young bun tried to ask, and she sighed again.


    ¡°It¡¯s something we don¡¯t have any chance of making right now. And it¡¯s pronounced ¡®Meh-Tahl¡¯.¡± She poked his little nose, and he scrunched it. Then, he wanted off her lap, so she let him down and he headed over to the pile of rocks he¡¯d claimed as his toys. She watched him play for a moment and mentally added ¡®make toys¡¯ to her list too.


    At the moment, her to-do list looked something like this: Somehow make a smoker so they could preserve meat, Make a storehouse to store said meat in, Make a kiln so they can use clay, prepare some toys for the kids, turn four cured pumpkins into four pumpkin cisterns, find beeswax to melt to seal those cisterns and make them waterproof, and last but not least, locate some fiber to turn into thread and then weave into cloth for clothing.


    ¡°The problem is, priority.¡± She muttered to herself, her eyes roaming over their little homestead. Eefim was out hunting, and would be for a bit. Deenat was just coming out of the hut, the basket she¡¯d half-finished before bed last night in hand. Dahnei could be heard splashing in the river, probably trying to scare more fish into her fish traps. Getting up, Belbet headed for the hut, preparing to put together another meal for her family.


    As she roughly chopped vegetables and descaled fish, she thought it over. They were in the early end of summer, which meant that they needed to start preparing places to store food for winter. That was priority one, or they¡¯d starve. They needed to prepare firewood too, and food for the chickens. The problem was, they needed to store boiled, clean water to use for drinking, or they¡¯d get sick. So, first was the cisterns, then a storage house for food. Then, a storage house or pile for firewood. If the food storage was big enough, they might be able to store chicken feed there too.


    She hissed, her stone knife nearly cutting her finger in her distraction. A thought occurred to her. She needed to start making salves and tinctures too, so that they would all be able to heal better than if they just left it to nature. Her skin itched still from the mud she and her family had to wear as bandages. Clean, boiled mud, for certain, but still mud.


    So how to divide the labor? She stuffed the fried fish meat, so hot it stung her fingers, into little pockets of mashed sweet potatoes. These she boiled, hoping against hope they¡¯d stay together. ...They did not, but at least she had some sort-of-tasty fish soup. She chucked some carrots in with it, and called it good. This was about the time Dahnei appeared at her elbow, watching her.


    ¡°Want to learn how to cook, little one?¡± She asked, and her daughter¡¯s nod gave her hope. ¡°Good. Cooking well is one of the first steps to taking care of your family and keeping them healthy. Plus, everyone likes tasty things, right?¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± Dahnei grinned, and for a moment, Belbet could imagine her as the beauty she would grow into.


    ¡°When cooking food, it is important to remember that the human body needs variety. Plants, meat, and spices should be used in tandem so that the body gets all the vitamins and minerals it needs to grow well.¡± Belbet explained. ¡°That¡¯s why I try to put both meat and vegetables in every meal we have.¡±


    Dahnei nodded, serious business in her furrowed brow as she watched the little balls of fish and sweet potato dissolve in the now-boiling water. Somehow, watching her little daughter seriously stir the almost-soup filled Belbet¡¯s heart with an affection that made her want to squeeze something.


    ¡°Plus, cooking good food can show where we come from. Certain people will make food certain ways, and pass those recipes down to their children and their children¡¯s children, and forever and ever.¡± Perhaps this was a bit much for a five-year old to understand, but Belbet knew how important it was, and wanted to share it. ¡°Cooking can make you feel loved, and can be a way to show the people you love that you love them.¡±


    The hug she received for that was worth Dahnei nearly burning herself in her haste. The soup finished pretty quickly after that, and Eefim, Deenat and Mohniit all gathered around to get their shares. It was comforting and oddly familiar to Belbet, crowding around a pot and all eating out of it. Well, pot was generous for what they had, but eating together because they don¡¯t have separate dishes made it feel¡­ special.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got some projects we need to see to.¡± Belbet said, during the meal. ¡°We need to build a storage house for food, and a firewood storage area too. We need to prepare for winter-¡±


    ¡°Like Little Squirrel!¡± Mohniit cried.


    ¡°Yes, baby, like Little Squirrel,¡± Belbet smiled as she continued. ¡°The storage house has to have a sunken floor, so that it stays cool all year round. We can probably build it into the cliff wall, so long as we¡¯re careful not to collapse it. I also need to find some bees. We¡¯ll need beeswax, parts of their nest, to make the pumpkins into water storage. Has anyone seen any buzzing insects, the kind that sting?¡±


    Everyone looked thoughtful for a moment, before Deenat and Dahnei both shook their heads. Eefim however nodded, ¡°I saw some. Not far. I could show you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you Eefim. We¡¯ll need that wax if we¡¯re going to store water, so we¡¯ll need to bring fire with us.¡± Belbet nodded, secure in what her afternoon plans were.


    ¡°Why fire?¡± Deenat questioned, going for another spoonful of soup. The wooden spoons she¡¯d carved were really well done, sanded down with literal sand.


    ¡°Because smoke makes bees sleepy, and if they¡¯re sleepy, they won¡¯t mind us stealing a bit of their honeycomb.¡± Belbet explained, grinning. ¡°Which means we might have a treat for after dinner.¡±


    Deenat rarely commented on the strange words her sister used anymore, and Belbet was grateful. The tribe didn¡¯t have words for honeycomb or stealing. Recently, when Belbet uses strange words, Deenat waits and finds that the words are explained later through action.


    ¡°So, Deenat, could I ask you and Dahnei to start working on the storagehouse? For now just start digging out a square, like we did for the house. Pick somewhere next to the cliff, but don¡¯t dig into the cliff yet. We¡¯ll need to make beams to support it before we do that.¡± Belbet paused, debating. ¡°I¡¯ll leave Mohniit here with you. We might have to make a run for it, if the smoke doesn¡¯t work, and he won¡¯t be able to run fast enough.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Deenat nodded, ¡°I can watch my nephew.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful!¡±


    After lunch, the group split up, and Belbet went into the forest with her nephew. She kept an eye out for herbs, pointing out several to Eefim so that if necessary, she could send him to harvest them later. Rosemary, thyme, she even saw some calendula and echinacea, which were both godsends. She made sure to stop, cut, and tie bunches of these herbs in bundles at her waist. They itched against her bare legs, but it would be worth it.


    The bowl filled with embers they¡¯d brought crackled in Eefim¡¯s hand as he finally found the buzzing hive she¡¯d been looking for. Sure enough, it was honey bees, but the bees themselves were smaller than the ones of Victoria¡¯s day and age. These were barely the size of regular houseflies. However, they were clearly producing well because the hive was literally dripping with honey in the summer heat.


    ¡°This is perfect,¡± Belbet declared, earning Eefim¡¯s attention. ¡°Bees leave the hive at early morning to go look for pollen to bring back, and they don¡¯t get back until early evening. So we arrived just in time. Let¡¯s look for some moss or grass to burn, something that¡¯ll make lots of smoke.¡±


    The two of them gathered enough leaves and needles and moss to make for a very smokey fire right underneath the hive. Using big leaves and their hands, the two fanned the smoke towards the hive, watching the buzzing bees slowly leave the dripping wax castle. When the sluggish bees appeared to be as slow and sleepy as possible, Belbet covered her mouth and nose with her hand, and then reached out to break off a large piece of honeycomb. What came off was roughly the size of her ribcage, and she groaned under the sticky weight of it.


    She did suffer one sting, and it hurt sharply, drawing a hiss from her lips. But she held on, and the two of them carried the massive honeycomb back to camp. They left it on one of the skin sides of one of their sitting furs, and then returned to the smokey flames. Helping Eefim put them out, Belbet then risked again, reaching out to grab a second honeycomb, from the immeasurable amount already there.


    Bringing this back to camp doubled their honey and beeswax, and Belbet thought that was a good afternoon¡¯s work. She asked Dahnei to go get her a cool rock to put on her bee sting, before working open one of the cured gourds. Cleaning it out, she set the seeds and innards aside to be sifted through later. Right now, she needed a place to put the honey. She wiped out the inside as best she could with a wet hand, and then dried it as best she could. She didn¡¯t like that there would be water in with the honey, which could cause contamination, but¡­ it was the best she could do right now.


    With Dahnei and Eefim both watching with wide eyes, Belbet cut off the darker cells, which were surely full of baby bees, leaving them as they were. Then, she began squeezing the honey out of the beeswax and into the gourd. The beeswax she put into one of their boiling skins, and prepared to melt it down. Soon, they had a massive gourd filled with honey, and liquid beeswax ready to be poured into cured gourds.


    Luckily, she had help with this part of the project. The moment she showed them how to saw off the tops of the cured gourds, Eefim took over and had the other two sawed off, cleaned out and washed by the time Belbet was done with hers. They put these three aside to dry in the sun, and helped Deenat with digging out the ground for their storage room. Mohniit even helped, picking up little handfuls of dirt and carrying them outside the carefully outlined hole.


    By the time dusk hit they were all exhausted and collapsed around the fire. A poorly roasted skewer of vegetables, along with a section of the rabbit meat from Eefim¡¯s catches the other day was given to each and dinner was a quiet, tired affair. The children didn¡¯t seem to mind curling up immediately after dinner, and going to sleep in the house.


    Belbet added the pumpkin seeds to her growing seed bank, stored in a small rabbit fur that Eefim had cured for her. Then, she took the bundles of herbs she¡¯d gathered and hung them up, so that they¡¯d dry for easy storage. She checked for seeds there, too, and started them soaking. Soon, they¡¯d have rosemary, thyme, echinacea and calendula growing in their garden too.


    Only then did she let herself crawl into the house to curl up with her two children, the fireplace embers warming the little space as surely as the bodies in it.


    The still hours of the early morning dark were shaken awake by the shriek of chickens. Belbet slammed upright and pushed through the sea of limbs, which were also aiming to sit up, and headed for the door to their house. Stumbling out into the dark, she realized quickly the reason. There was something in the chicken pen with the chickens. Something that had pushed aside her little covering easily. Something with eyes that glowed in the dark, and teeth that caught the starlight in a gleaming white.


    A fox.


    Belbet felt shame spike through her for not having thought of such a thing. She¡¯d forgotten the most basic rule of domestication. Protect your livestock. She picked up a rock and hucked it at the fox as hard as she could. She missed by a mile, but that and the loud yell she roared at it got the fox to flee.


    She checked the carnage and sure enough, one of their chickens was torn apart, and the other was scared witless. She sighed, picking up the bloody body of the bird, debating whether they should truss it and have it for breakfast. Then another shriek took her attention away from that, turning to Mohniit, who stared at the bird with wide, watering eyes.


    ¡°Mama¡­ chicky¡­¡± He whined, dangerously close to a meltdown.


    ¡°Oh baby¡­¡± Belbet sighed, passing the dead bird off to her sister, who took it and did indeed start preparing it for breakfast. Belbet knelt in front of her little boy, and wrapped him up in a hug. ¡°We didn¡¯t protect the chicken well enough, and so it¡¯s passed on. Now, its body will nourish us as thanks for our care, and its spirit will be reborn somewhere. Okay?¡±


    The two-year old couldn¡¯t understand such an explanation, not really. He understood, ¡°Chicky gone?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, baby. Chicky gone.¡± Belbet sighed, and rubbed his back when he burst into tears, clutching at her furs. She picked him up, carrying him to the fire to sit with her, even as he bawled his loss to the world. Dahnei soon joined them, curling against her mama¡¯s side.


    ¡°I¡¯ll find us new chickens.¡± Eefim promised, frowning as seriously as an eleven-year-old could.


    ¡°That might be a good idea. If we can get a rooster, they¡¯ll fight foxes to protect the other chickens. But Roosters are more dangerous than regular chickens.¡± Belbet explained.


    ¡°Roo¡¯?¡± A tiny, wet voice asked.


    ¡°Rooster. It¡¯s a boy chicken.¡± Belbet cooed, ¡°The one we have is a girl chicken.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll catch one.¡± Eefim nodded, and his mother patted his shoulder. He looked at her, that awe still on his face, as if affection from his mother was something completely new. Maybe Belbet should suggest he and Deenat spend some time together?


    ¡°We also need to pour the beeswax into the gourds today, and fill them with boiled, cooled water.¡± Belbet held up her fingers, counting out what needed to be done today. ¡°We also need to harvest more he-Hey, Deenat, cover that in honey and cook it. It¡¯ll taste really good. We need to harvest more herbs, too, and make a drying rack. While we¡¯re at it, we should make a fur-drying rack too. It¡¯ll help with tanning the furs Eefim brings us.¡±


    ¡°We still need to finish the storage house too,¡± Deenat said, scooping honey onto the chicken meat she¡¯d sheared off the small bird. She¡¯d cut all the pieces touched by the fox out entirely, tossing them into the fish-trap-bound pile of scraps. ¡°And getting wood for the woodpile.¡±


    The sun rose as they chattered over their breakfast. It was eventually decided that Belbet would show Dahnei how to work with the hot wax, and then join Deenat in the garden, weeding and taking care of watering. Eefim would do as he¡¯d been doing for a while, searching for birds to tame and eggs to steal and animals to hunt. Mohniit would, of course, be doing the most important job of all; being cute and smiling at them all.


    Before he left, Belbet made Eefim take some of the meat they¡¯d saved with him. ¡°If you see the wolf, throw the meat at it and run away. It¡¯ll probably eat the meat and leave you alone, and then you can come back safely.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Aunt.¡± Eefim promised, before heading out into the woods. The eyes of his mother and aunt followed him.


    ¡°Hey, sister,¡± Belbet started, working on melting the wax again. ¡°You should spend some time with Eefim. When he comes back, maybe you two could skin the animals together?¡±


    Deenat blinked, ¡°Why? He can do it.¡±


    ¡°Because he wants to spend time with you. It makes him happy to see that you¡¯re interested in him. Children need their parents to want to know about them.¡± Belbet explained.


    Deenat frowned at the ground, as if it might hold the answers to her confusion.


    ¡°Just try it. I¡¯ll bet it makes him really happy, okay?¡± Belbet smiled, before turning to her own daughter, and carefully showing her how to spread the wax inside the gourds. She showed her how to make an even coating, and then set it upside down in the dirt so the excess wax would drain out. ¡°Just like that, baby. You can do it.¡±


    Then, she turned to follow Deenat into the garden area. As always, the work there was almost meditative. Pulling weeds from in between the rows, digging out stones where she could find them. It felt good, to transform the land the way she was. She always felt lighter, softer, when she did, as if all the bad feelings in her melted into the earth through her arms.


    Today, the feeling was even more pronounced. She could almost sense a slide of energy through her arms, into the dirt. And when it reached the earth, the energy pulsed. The pulse was soothing and warm, and when she imagined cradling it to her, she could feel the tingle of that energy along her skin. Boredom prompted her to imagine this tingle sinking beneath her skin, and to her core.


    Somehow, when she imagined her inner core, it looked exactly like that ball she¡¯d seen in her dreams. The small golden orb that sat in the curve of her hip bones, right above her pelvis. When she pushed the tingling towards the ball, it followed little rivers in her body, branching and flowing, before settling inside the golden orb.


    Now that her attention was on it (despite her hands still picking up and tossing small rocks out of the garden area), she could feel a slight spin that seemed slow and steady. Inexorable, like the orbit of the planet around the sun, it spun in her belly in a counter-clockwise fashion that seemed odd to her. But when she tried to imagine it spinning clockwise, she actually felt a shock of pain flash through her, so she decided not to do that again just then. She¡¯d have to prod at that sore tooth, so to speak, later.


    Oddly, the feeling of moving the sparkles from the earth to her arms, through her body and that little golden orb, and then back to the earth actually soothed the pain as well as the general ache of exertion. She felt better, when she was done, than when she¡¯d started. So when she lifted herself from the dirt, stretching out the pleasant ache in her back, she realized it wasn¡¯t even really noon yet.


    Checking on the gourds, she found they were in fact dry. She had Dahnei paint on a second coat, before letting her gather up some wood so they could begin boiling the ridiculous amount of water they were going to store. This would help in the long run not only with cleanliness but with cooking too. With Dahnei occupied, she turned her attention to her youngest, smiling upon seeing him piling dirt up in a mound.


    She settled down in the dirt next to him, and started drawing out little paths from what she thought was a little mountain. The boy looked up at her, confused. No adult had joined him in play, his entire life, and his little rabbit ears twitched in confusion. Belbet leaned forward, ¡°What are we playing?¡±


    Mohniit looked between his mother and the little mountain. Then, he pointed. ¡°Hill.¡± He began piling more earth along the side of the mountain, his scooping handfuls making it lopsided. The dark, silty earth made her think of making sand castles on the beach. So while Mohniit was patting his little masterpiece to pack it, she got up to get the wooden bowl she¡¯d been working on. Since this wasn¡¯t food-related, the bowl should be fine to collect water.


    She jogged down to the river, amazed at how unwinded she was, collected water and then jogged back. Then, to the soundtrack of Mohniit¡¯s annoyed whining, she dumped the water all over the little mountain and the surrounding area. This turned the soil into mud, and made it much easier to work, as she began making little holes and caves in the hill her son was making.


    ¡°See? Sandhome.¡± She¡¯d teach him the real word for it later, but for now, she watched as he looked between the little hill, and the cabin they¡¯d made out of the cliffside. It made her smile when he reached back and patted the mudcastle with a meaty *thwak* sound.


    ¡°Home!¡± He squealed, and she nodded, scooping more of the inside out, while adding more mud to stabilize the hole she was making. In a flash, between Mohniit¡¯s little hands helping her (and collapsing her tunnel, but eh, it was his mountain) and the tunnel collapsing, she realized something.


    She¡¯d been wracking her brains, trying to remember anything she knew about metal smelting, because she knew that to make a smoker, you needed a metal barrel. But just then, she¡¯d realized that pre-metal people were smoking meat. So how was it done?


    In adobe, of course! In mud-baked little caves, with the fire underneath! She laughed, reaching out and dragging her muddy little son into a hug that made him yelp out, ¡°Mama! No!¡± because she¡¯d disturbed his rhythm.


    She kissed his little lop ear, and then let him get back to his game. She had an adobe smoker to build.

 Chapter Six - Industrious

    Chapter Six - Industrious


    -Summer-


    Belbet needed to make a travois. She had been planning to wait on making such a thing, but it would be necessary if she was going to bring back enough clay to make the smoker she wanted. Luckily all a sled/travoi really was, was a platform made of sticks, and a handle. She lashed together two long sticks in an ¡®x¡¯, one side small enough for a person to pull the two sticks, seven sticks lain across the much larger ¡®v¡¯-section to form a platform. Then, she secured one of their sleeping furs to it, figuring they could go without it tonight if it meant that they¡¯d be able to save excess food.


    Mohniit¡¯s curious little eyes watched her the whole way, so she decided it was definitely worth it to bring him along. Perched on top of the travois, the little bunny bounced along as she dragged him down the riverside towards one of the red cliffs she¡¯d seen on her walk to the willow grove. It felt oddly like not pulling anything at all. Her poor boy, she definitely needed to get them all more food.


    While they were out, she also kept an eye out for suitable trees. Specifically, ones about the size of her forearm. She managed to cut down a few along their way, and Mohniit¡¯s giggles as he helped her tie them on with grass-made-twine made her heart twinge. It made the time spent walking to the clay-deposits less monotonous.


    Eventually, they reached one of the cliffs she¡¯d seen, and she set down the travois. Mohniit clambered off of it, standing to the side as Belbet took out her oldest invention- the digging pole. She¡¯d spent a while pulling all the memories Victoria had of clay and pottery to the forefront, and the first thing she knew was that you had to dig the clay out of the dirt, and mix it with water before it could be used.


    Mohniit helped out, his little hands shifting the damp clay his mother dug from the earth. When she went down to the river (only about five steps away from where they were digging) to get water to add to the clay, he waited, patiently piling mud onto mud into tilting piles. Hauling the water was perhaps the most tiring portion of it, with the small stone-bucket they¡¯d made.


    She eventually managed to pile a large, wet glob of clay onto the travois. She judged it was big enough, and plopped her child on top of it. The wet slop sound along with his giggles kickstarted her own giggle. She lifted the handles of her travois and started the long, heavy trek back to their homestead.


    ¡°A, B, C, D-¡± She started, singing the song from Victoria¡¯s childhood. She intended to teach the children to read and write, but for that she¡¯d need some form of charcoal, or ink. And for now- An idea hit her like a lightning strike, completely knocking her train of thought off the tracks.


    Charcoal would be a much better thing to have, especially for winter! The question was, how to make it. She¡¯d heard of some people who made their own charcoal, but all she knew is it involved fire and wood. Lots of wood. Hm.


    Eventually, they arrived back in camp, to see Eefim ripping apart the dried fur of one of the rabbits he¡¯d caught a few days ago. He seemed incredibly frustrated by it, glowering in a way that reminded Belbet of how Deenat had glowered at her after Belbet had been exiled.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Eefim?¡± She asked, setting the clay down, and stretching out her sore shoulders. She picked Mohniit up and set him on the ground so he didn¡¯t hurt himself trying to drop himself from the waist-high pile of clay. She really congratulated herself for the fact that she was able to pull all of that without even getting out of breath. Her nephew looked up at her, and goodness, that was an adorable pout.


    ¡°My sling broke. So I¡¯m making another.¡± Then, he turned back to the pseudo-leather, turning it into strings.


    ¡°Definitely a good idea to make another one, but I¡¯m thinking of another weapon for you. You¡¯ll need to help me make it, though.¡± She called, turning to her clay to unload it near a rock she¡¯d mentally designated the ¡®clay storage¡¯ rock.


    When she turned back for her next load, she realized that her words had cheered Eefim up considerably. He was staring at her with wide eyes and a small, hopeful smile. Sighing, she abandoned her clay, and picked up the sticks she¡¯d brought back. Carrying them over to the logs they¡¯d dragged next to the fire to sit on, she plopped down and picked up one of the spare axes.


    ¡°See, this particular weapon is called a ¡®Bow and Arrows¡¯. We take a long stick, and string a piece of rope from one end to the other. Then, we use that string to launch sharp sticks at things.¡± She paused, realizing how stupid that sounded, ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s more dangerous than it sounds.¡±


    Eefim nodded, ever quiet. He watched as his mother¡¯s sister used the axe to split the round wood in half lengthwise. And then, she stuck the axe in again, hitting it with a rock over and over to split the halved wood into an almost-plank. Belbet spent a few moments looking down the length of it, checking to see if it had a somewhat-straight cut.


    ¡°Hand me that rock? The one with the wedge on the edge.¡± Belbet pointed to one of the tools they used for scraping the fur off some of the furs. It was a rock they¡¯d chipped down to a long, flat point, similar in shape to an ax-head but bigger.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    She nailed this into one edge of the long plank, hammering it in in order to sheer long strips off the wood, making a straighter, cleaner surface. ¡°You¡¯re watching how I do this? This will be your job from now on.¡± She looked up and sure enough, Eefim was watching raptly.


    ¡°What we¡¯re aiming for is a straight line. When you look down the length of it, you shouldn¡¯t be able to see any bumps.¡± She handed it to him, showing him how to look down the wood¡¯s surface. Then, she turned it around and handed him the tools. ¡°Go on. You try.¡±


    She supervised the boy¡¯s attempts at shaving down the wood to a proper shape. Meanwhile, she worked her hands on making a rope, the extra fibers from the wood useful. While he was working on it, Deenat came back from out of the woods, a basket in hand filled with goodies. It seemed Deenat had taken a look at the herbs Belbet had collected and hung from the sides of their house, because she had bundles of herbs tied to the side of her basket as well.


    ¡°A lovely haul, sister!¡± Belbet praised, and Deenat, looking up from Eefim¡¯s work, nodded. ¡°What all did you get?¡±


    ¡°I found some more sweet potatoes, peapods that we can crack open and eat, along with a few of these-¡± She pulled out some small purple eggplant-like things. Beside these, she set carrots and some blueberry-sized red berries that, when Belbet tasted one, actually tasted like a tomato. Picking one open revealed tiny tomato-seed like seeds, which she wasted no time spreading out on a rock to dry in the summer sun.


    ¡°You did good, Sister.¡± Belbet praised. She turned her attention back to Eefim, who had finished smoothing out the wood somewhat. Belbet directed him next to narrow the two ends to almost-points, and showed him how to cut in a hold for the string.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Deenat asked.


    ¡°Go ahead and tell her, Eefim.¡± Belbet encouraged, even though the boy looked panicked.


    ¡°...Bow. It¡¯s a weapon that Aunt came up with.¡± He said, voice low and soft. Belbet had to wonder what had been done to make this poor kid so shy. ...Or maybe it was just his personality. Deenat didn¡¯t seem talkative either, so perhaps it was a generic trait?


    Leaving the two to talk, Belbet went back to her clay, only for a shout of triumph to go up. Belbet looked up from the massive armload of muddy clay to see her daughter striding out of the forest with what looked like a spear and- ¡°Is that a bird??¡±


    Belbet slopped the mud down onto the pile, before heading over to where her Dahnei was holding up the bird, its pheasant-y tail plumage swaying in the wind. ¡°It¡¯s a bird! I caught a bird!¡± The little girl was incandescent with pride.


    Completely floored, Belbet reached out and ruffled her daughter''s hair. ¡°Good job! You did amazing! This is your first hunt right?¡±


    The little girl nodded, and Belbet grinned, crouching down. ¡°Then you¡¯re our guest of honor tonight! I¡¯ll make something really tasty with this birdy, okay? Why don¡¯t you go pluck and prepare it. If you need help, ask your cousin, okay?¡±


    As Dahnei went off to do that, Belbet watched her leave, shaking her head. ¡°Where did she get the spear?¡±


    ¡°She was making it earlier.¡± Deenat replied. ¡°She said she¡¯d seen some of the hunters use them before, and wanted to try. I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d catch anything.¡±


    ¡°...Yeah. It¡¯s hard to catch things with a spear.¡± Eefim nodded, ¡°Even I have trouble aiming.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ I¡¯d think it¡¯d be more of a problem of the spear not going through hard enough.¡± Belbet mumbled, rubbing at her jaw in thought. ¡°Maybe I could make her an Atlatl.¡±


    Of course, the mother-and-son had no idea what Belbet was talking about. At their confused looks, Belbet waved idly, unsure how to explain a complicated device like that easily. ¡°Something to help throw spears really hard. I¡¯m gonna go see if I can¡¯t build us a smoker.¡±


    Again, they didn¡¯t question her weird words, even as she took a moment to go and sweep plants and rocks out of the area she wanted to set aside for the smoker. Her little shadow followed her, and when she asked him to go get her some ¡°big¡± (she mimed the size of her forearm) sticks, he happily did so. Sticking these sticks into the ground, she began to use them as a sort of skeletal structure for what she was making. She built walls about a hand-span tall, around the edges of the sticks. Then, on one of their flatter rocks, she made a frame of sticks.


    In this frame of sticks, she settled clay, poking holes in it, so that it would let through the smoke from the fire. This, she left to dry for a bit.


    She spent some time gathering up leaves and pine needles and such, laying them on the floor of the hut around the areas they all sleep. She made an extra effort to mark out a circle area around the fireplace, designating it a ¡°nothing burnable goes here¡± zone. Then, her little Mohniit helped her gather up the furs and spread them out on the sleeping piles. This would definitely improve their sleeping, at least until she could figure out how to sew mattresses.


    They were quite lucky that Eefim had been finding plenty of game, and she¡¯d been leaving the tanning of the furs to him, mostly. It had become something of a bonding exercise between him and Deenat, which was nice. She¡¯d already helped the two of them make a fur-drying rack, which was mostly just four long branches tied in an A-formation, with long sticks in-between as poles to hang the furs on.


    She spent a few moments now, making another drying rack, although this one was for herbs. Taking the herbs that were drying on the eaves of the house, she tied them to the drying rack she¡¯d made, and checked to see how they were doing. No signs of mold or damage by insects, which was good. She turned, and with giddy steps, went back to the clay grate she¡¯d made.


    When she poked it, however, her finger still made a dent far too quickly. ¡°Hm¡­ too much water?¡± She wondered, frowning. She¡¯d never played with clay, much less made it, so she worried a little that she might have messed up. However, instead of panicking or starting over, she decided to give it some more time. She wanted to construct something new anyway, to distract her wandering mind before she ended up ruining her results with impatience.

 Chapter Seven - Domestication is a Gamble

    Chapter Seven - Domestication is a Gamble


    -Summer-


    Belbet sat down next to their hut, and put her thoughts in order. Toys, perhaps. What sort of toys, though? The first things that came to mind were dolls, building blocks, and pull-toys. She considered it, and with a momentary glance over what she had in camp, those were all make-able. She grinned, going to the woodpile and picking out a bit of branch as thick as the palm of her hand.


    This would make wonderful wheels for a little pull-toy, and she could probably carve the barrel of the horse she planned to make from it too. She picked up another stick since she¡¯d need legs and a head and neck. Then, she went to the campfire, where they kept most of the spare tools. Using one of the hand axes, she marked four lines around the outside of the thick wood, marking out the thickness of the wheels. Then, she began cutting off the little rounds, trying to be careful with it.


    She did manage to get the wheels cut off, only to despair upon realizing that she wasn¡¯t going to be able to carve the holes for the axle without breaking the wheels. If only¡­ If only she had a drill, or something. She knew she could technically do a hand-drill. That is to say, make an almost-arrow, and spin it in her palms to make a drill. But that would definitely hurt after a long while. She set aside the little wheels, and pondered the problem before her. How could she get the drill to spin without needing her to use her hands. A top! If she could find a way, she could use string to spin it, the way tops are spun. Okay, she had a theory. So, the first step was to make the drill portion. She looked around, hoping one of her family was available for this next part, because Belbet (thanks to Victoria¡¯s inexperience) was not that great at knapping points or knives. She mostly left this to others.


    Luckily, Dahnei came back from cleaning the meat, to hang it up on the branch they¡¯d designated the ¡®hang food here¡¯ branch. She¡¯d also remembered to collect the feathers! Belbet grinned, ¡°Good job baby! Those feathers will be very useful later. Can you put them with the hen feathers?¡±


    Dahnei did so, dropping them in the pile of feathers that Belbet was going to have to go through and clean sometime soon. Then, she returned to her mother¡¯s side, looking over the small wooden rounds and the sticks her mother had spread out. ¡°What are you making, mama?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I wanted to make a toy for your brother, something for him to play with. But in order to do so, I need to make a drill, to cut holes in the middle of these without breaking them. Do you think you can find mama a sharp point about the size of my thumb?¡± She asked, lifting her thumb. Dahnei considered it for a moment, and then nodded, and Belbet crowed with joy. ¡°Wonderful! In the meantime, I¡¯m going to make something else, okay? Let me know when you¡¯re done.¡± With that on the way, Belbet moved on to pick out another branch. This one she began splitting the rounded edges off. Once she had what was essentially a square pole, she started chopping it into sort-of-square blocks. They were sharp, off-shape, full of splinters, and not ready for her baby just yet. But it was a start!


    The branch she¡¯d cut up made about eight blocks total. She sent Mohniit to find a grainy rock, something she could use to sort of sand the blocks down some. She had to send him out four times, but she made sure to keep the three he brought first, even though they weren¡¯t what she was looking for. Putting some sand on the sandy rock, she began attempting to sand the sides and corners so that they weren¡¯t sharp or full of splinters. It was a time consuming thing, to sand these prototype toys down for her children. But it gave her mind time to wander.


    Specifically to the sky above her. She¡¯d noticed the two moons of this world the night she¡¯d finally broken Belbet¡¯s fever, but she hadn¡¯t really put any thought into what it meant, how time was to be kept here. That night, the blue moon above had been in its last quarter. It had waned entirely, becoming a new moon, and today had been it¡¯s second day of being full, it¡¯s blue a deeper blue than the blue of the sky around it during the day. Based on that, and the fact that she¡¯d been here three, almost four weeks, she estimated the moon cycle of the blue moon to be similar to Victoria¡¯s. Perhaps a tiny bit longer. She decided she¡¯d count the days to the next full Blue Moon to figure it out. A sooty mark on the inside of some bark would be enough for her to start a tally.


    The Grey Moon, however, was beyond her. In the three weeks she¡¯d been here, it had gone from last quarter to the new moon. Which meant the grey moon was on a longer cycle, that she wasn¡¯t sure she had the ability to keep track of yet. So for now, she¡¯d judge time based on the Blue Moon. Ah, that reminded her, she needed to make a track sheet for the incubation of the eggs, too.


    The bulge of her belly, still barely there, reminded her of another thing she needed to keep track of. Thanks to Belbet¡¯s memory, she knew the child was probably two or three months along, She took a shaky breath as she carefully did not think about going through childbirth without a doctor, without drugs, and without safety measures in case it goes wrong. She did not think about the fact that childbirth was one of the most deadly things a woman could go through before modern medicine.


    She ran her fingers over the edges of the block she was making, and found it soft enough for a prototype. Picking up the next, she began the process again. Mohniit picked up one of the blocks and started rubbing it against the sandy rock too. She couldn¡¯t help a smile at him, worry blown away by his adorable helpfulness.


    ¡°Aunt?¡± Eefim called from his place by the fire, and when Belbet looked up from her work, he came over. Showing her the bow, he knelt down. ¡°How did I do?¡± She looked it over, and tugged at the edges, before nodding. ¡°Pretty good! It¡¯ll work for a first time, and if it breaks, you¡¯ll have learnt how to make it better. Now, go grab one of our longer cords, it has to be a smaller length than the bow.¡±


    She pointed to the ends. He ran off and quickly came back with a length of chord. She took one of their flint knives, and carved the ledges that would hold the string in place, before standing. ¡°This is how you string it. Watch carefully, because if the string breaks, you¡¯ll have to do this again, okay?¡± She looped one end of the string around the bow¡¯s end, and then stepped over the bow, so she could bend the length of it around her back thigh. Then, she looped the other end of the string there, and let go, letting the string go taut. She grinned at the strung bow she handed to her nephew. ¡°There. Now you just have to make arrows. Go grab four long, straight sticks, and a handful of feathers.¡±


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    When he came back with these, however, she realized there was a bit of a problem. ¡°Ah¡­ I didn¡¯t think about it. There¡¯s no glue.¡±


    Eefim raised an eyebrow at his aunt¡¯s new word, and she sighed, ¡°Something to stick the feathers to the shaft of the arrow. Ah, for now, I can show you how to carve them, at least.¡± She took the flint knife, and started carving off the bark of the arrow, and then straightening it as much as she could. She showed him how to look down the length of the arrow, to see if it was curving or anything. She showed him how it should feel, and the way to make the notch at the back of the arrow to fit against the string.


    Getting up, as the sun began to set, she walked over to the closest tree, and scored off some of the bark, to try and get at the sap. She hoped that, mixed with some honey, would make for a sticky enough glue that it would set and hold the fletching. She set one of their failed bowls underneath the scratches, to collect the sap. After this, she went to the campfire, and began to prepare dinner. Her cooking was carefully watched by Dahnei, who was still working on knapping that drillpoint to a razor sharp point. Belbet made sure to explain how she was preparing the bird her daughter had caught. On a bed of wild greens, she served each person honey-seared birdmeat, along with chopped and cooked peppers, peas, and what was left of their sweet potato.


    The food was greeted to happy squeals and a little happy wiggle from their youngest. Deenat couldn¡¯t keep the smile off her own face, either, and Belbet laughed at the sight. After dinner, the group sat around the fire, Belbet and Deenat busy weaving a basket and more rope respectively, using the light of the fire to get done what could get done. Dahnei worked with Mohniit to continue sanding some of the blocks, using the one their mother made as an example. Eefim, however, got up and headed for their food-storage basket, digging through.


    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Belbet asked, worried that the boy was still hungry after they¡¯d just eaten dinner. Had he caught worms? She hoped not.


    ¡°I ran into the wolf today.¡± Eefim said, as if that answered everything. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Deenat snapped, immediately abandoning the rope she was making to check over her boy. Eefim huffed, pushing his mother away.¡°I¡¯m fine. I threw the meat, like Aunt said. And the wolf ate it, instead of me.¡±


    Belbet grinned, ¡°Keep doing that, and you might make a friend. But remember, he is dangerous so long as he is hungry. Do not get too close.¡±¡°Yes, Aunt.¡± Eefim said, taking out another strip of sun-dried meat and storing it with the rest of his hunting kit. Belbet frowned, noticing the poor boy was quite sunburnt. Sighing, she added ¡®find and domesticate aloe vera¡¯ onto her list, along with the already added ¡®weave clothing for everyone¡¯


    That night, she took a stick from the fire, and the bark she¡¯d scraped off the aspens in the area, and made two markings. One shaped like a crescent moon, and one like a chicken. She marked two tally marks for the chicken one, and under the crescent moon one, she made one. Mohniit reached out, trying to smudge the ash out of curiosity. Belbet caught his little wrist and tutted gently. ¡°Nope. These are not to be touched. Off limits.¡± She set them in one of the baskets they¡¯d kept for storing things in.


    Her family settled around her, Belbet felt the weight of the night cozy down around them. She barely remembered to ask Eefim to bring the chicken in with them. That should keep the fox from killing their last one. The low fire crackled in their fireplace, and her children curled against her side as she laid down. She had just finished tying a rope to the chicken¡¯s foot, anchoring it to one of the load-bearing poles of their home. Across the way, she saw Deenat wrap her arms around her son, pulling him in to pillow his head on her arm. The eleven-year-old sighed and closed his eyes.


    A soft song came to Belbet¡¯s mind, something Victoria had heard on the radio, and she hummed it out, the tune soft and meandering, barely remembered. But it took them all into sleep.


    Morning came with a startled shout from outside the hut, waking Belbet from a solid sleep. She cast a bleary glance around to see who all was there, and sure enough, her daughter was missing. Shoving up and out of the beds (so generously called), Belbet and Deenat both scrambled to get out of the door, Eefim close behind with his bow. Dahnei stood just before the campfire, pointing out into the woods.


    ¡°Mama! Mama, I saw it! The wolf!¡±


    Belbet immediately turned her eyes to the woods, frowning. ¡°Where? When?¡±


    ¡°Not long ago. It was¡­ It was licking the plate rocks.¡± The little girl¡¯s voice tilted in a confused question.


    Belbet frowned, staring out after the creature as if she might see its pelt in the early-morning grey of the woods. ¡°...It¡¯s hungry. And it seems to have realized we have food.¡±


    ¡°Should we hunt it? I don¡¯t want it hunting our children.¡± Deenat muttered, staring balefully out at the woods too.


    ¡°No,¡± Belbet stated. She knew, because Victoria knew, that wolves could be domesticated, could be the most faithful of friends. ¡°We should keep feeding it.¡±


    ¡°What? Why!¡± Deenat demanded.


    ¡°Because if it is not hungry, it won¡¯t hunt us. And, if it realizes we have food, it will stay around, and the foxes will stay away from our chickens.¡± Belbet explained.


    ¡°Sister, that is very dangerous. If it gets hungry, it could hurt us.¡± Deenat frowned, the second time she¡¯d disagreed with her sister¡¯s strange ideas.


    ¡°Yes, it could. But it could also help us.¡± Belbet smiled, patting her sister¡¯s shoulder as she turned back towards their hut. ¡°It¡¯s a gamble. But if I¡¯m right, we gain a fearsome and faithful protector for our babies.¡±


    Belbet huffed as she flopped back into the space she¡¯d occupied, her sleepy son rolling over and curling up against her belly. Sleep came back easily, and when she woke again, it was bright outside. The sizzling of food woke her and her son at the same time, and she carried him out to see what his sister had made for breakfast. Dahnei did not fail, having de-scaled and cooked some fish, along with some basil seasoned berries that Belbet wasn¡¯t a fan of, but ate dutifully. She praised her daughter¡¯s cooking and was warmed by the encouraged smile her daughter gave back.


    Before breakfast was even finished, Eefim brought Belbet the bowl filled with sticky sap, which she combined with a scoop of honey. Then, she showed him how to cut the feathers into fletching. The fletching she attached with this sticky substance, leaving that to dry with a stick propping it up. Eefim went about scraping the hides he¡¯d brought back as he usually did in the morning, so Belbet went to check on her grate while she waited for the fletching to dry. Poking it proved it had hardened overnight, so she grinned and set it atop the circle she¡¯d made yesterday. Adding a little extra clay around the sides, so the smoke couldn¡¯t escape, she started a fire underneath the grate and in the almost-circle, planning to cure the clay with it. As she tended the fire, the chicken came over, apparently untied sometime that morning, and started pecking the ground nearby her feet.


    She sighed, stepping away from her fire and towards the garden. It needed tending, and her small golden orb was feeling heavy. Another morning spent breathing energy in and out of her fingers as she weeded and worked the earth around the planted food, and Belbet felt even better than the day before. This was definitely going to be a habit.


    An echo of the startled cry from this morning had her whipping her head around to find her scared daughter. Only for Belbet to find her staring out at the woods again, pointing. Belbet snapped toward that direction as well, but instead of a wolf, she spotted-


    Was that a Man?

 Chapter Eight - Horny Men

    Chapter Seven - Horny Men


    -Summer-


    The first thing Belbet noticed about the man was his horns. Large, curling things whose points rose just above his cheeks on each side, surrounding long, lamb-like ears and dirty white curls. The second thing she noticed was the strength in his build, although he looked quite thin, as if he were a bodybuilder who hadn¡¯t eaten properly in a month.


    The third thing she noticed was that he was favoring his right hoof (she set aside the curiosity that elicited in favor of focus), and there was a grimace on his handsome face that spoke of annoyance, or perhaps pain. When she met his eyes (surprisingly lacking the sidewise pupil of sheep and goats), it was like a jolt went down her spine.


    She threw out a hand, calling her daughter to her side, and Dahnei came easily, hiding behind her mother with no issue. Her brother did the same, leaving Deenat and Eefim at Belbet¡¯s sides, Eefim holding his sling loosely in his hand, and Deenat clutching the digging stick.


    ¡°Peace,¡± The ram-horned man croaked, ¡°I¡¯m Kaion of Elk Tribe. I seek a new tribe to join.¡±


    Deenat spoke up first, ¡°Greetings, Kaion. I am Deenat of -¡± She stopped, frowning. She turned to her sister. ¡°We¡­ have not named our tribe.¡±


    Belbet startled, realizing that that was true. Their old tribe had been named Tiger Tribe, after an old chief. However, they weren¡¯t really a ¡®tribe¡¯ anymore, in that they didn''t wander. And she had been banned from the tribe, so she couldn¡¯t use their name anymore anyway. She fell back on Victoria¡¯s naming instincts, and spat out a name.


    ¡°Willowcliff Farm. I¡¯m Belbet of Willowcliff Farm.¡± Belbet declared, ¡°This is my daughter, Dahnei, and my son Mohniit. My sister, Deenat of Willowcliff Farm, and her son Eefim.¡± She gestured to each one as she spoke.


    ¡°Why do you seek a new tribe?¡± Deenat asked, as if the awkward naming- interlude had never happened. Her voice was hard, distrusting.


    Kaion didn¡¯t seem to mind. He tilted his head, leaning on the stick he was using to hold himself up. Belbet took a moment to consider the thick curled hair down his legs, the digitigrade limbs ending in delicate cloven hooves. Larger than a sheep¡¯s, of course, but still delicate, and clearly hurting him somehow.


    ¡°I grew bored with my tribe, and wanted to meet others.¡± He said, ¡°Perhaps sire some children along the way.¡±


    Heat blossomed in Belbet¡¯s cheeks at the mention, Victoria¡¯s rather horrendous attempts at romance and Belbet¡¯s rather¡­ successful sexual dalliances making such an announcement too embarrassing for her. She turned and headed for the herb drying rack if only to shake off the blush. ¡°You¡¯re injured. Sit down, I¡¯ll treat you, so sit down.¡±


    Taking this as Belbet¡¯s tacit permission for him to be here, Deenat and Eefim lowered their weapons, allowing the man to sit at their fire.


    ¡°Dahnei, bring me a cup of honey,¡± Belbet called. She pulled several stems and roots of echinacea off the rack, heading for the rocks. She picked through until she could find a round stone and another that had a bit of a lip to it. Taking them over to where the young man sat, she nodded in Deenat¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Can you get some of the boiled water and heat it up?¡± When she got a nod in return, she reached out, ¡°May I lift your foot?¡±


    The ram-horned man nodded and lifted it for her. She looked underneath, where the hooves parts met, and sure enough, there was a deep redness and an odd green crust around one area. ¡°An infection.¡± She murmured, ¡°Did you get a cut here, recently?¡±


    ¡°...I got a rock stuck a week ago. Cut it out, but¡­ Must¡¯ve knicked something. It bled. I put some mud in it, to try and stop the bleeding, and that worked. But it¡¯s been sore ever since. Getting worse by the day.¡± He answered, golden-brown eyes on her as she gently picked at the green goop.


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯ll do it. Who knows what was in that mud, You needed to boil it first.¡± She explains, just as Deenat came forward with a bowl of freshly boiled water. Belbet crushed an echinacea flower into the water and stirred it with a freshly burnt stick. ¡°The echinacea will help cleanse the wound of the pus and infection. The boiled water will too. It¡¯ll take a while for this to heal since you¡¯ve been walking on it this long.¡±


    ¡°Mama¡­ Should we make Kaion a shelter?¡± Dahnei asked, and Belbet smiled warmly at her kindness.


    ¡°Yes Baby. Can you and Eefim work on that, please?¡±


    ¡°Yes, mama!¡± The sound of running footsteps filled her heart with glee.


    ¡°Deenat, I¡¯m going to need a stone knife that¡¯s been in the fire. Once it¡¯s burnt for a while, stick it in a bowl of boiled water, then bring it to me.¡± She was going to have to scrape out the dead flesh and mud. She started by rubbing some of the echinacea tea into the wound, clearing away the mud and filth that could be cleared easily. ¡°...Kaion, this is going to hurt. A lot. I¡¯m going to have to scrape away all the dirt and dead skin.¡±


    Kaion frowned down at her, ¡°I am not afraid of pain.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Belbet turned, and Deenat placed a bowl next to her of boiled water. ¡°While we¡¯re waiting for the knife, can you start boiling willow tea? He¡¯s going to need it. Add in some of these.¡± She gestured to the echinacea flowers. ¡°A small handful will do, don¡¯t use it all.¡±


    Deenat did as she was told, and Belbet went back to cleaning the wound with the infusion. Soon, the knife was cleaned as well, and she picked it up. Taking it to the wound, she ignored the hiss of pain from her patient, as she scraped away mud, dried blood, and puss. She scraped the grossness into the bowl of water, and only when she began to see pink flesh, did she have Deenat switch the bowl for another clean boiled one.


    It took a bit, but she got to the source of the problem. ¡°Ouch. Okay. So, this is an abscess.¡± She pointed to the pocket of puss and infection buried under his skin. ¡°It will poison you slowly if we do not open and clean it out. It could very well kill you.¡±


    ¡°Do what you have to,¡± Kaion grunted through his teeth. Deenat came forward, then, with a new bowl and handed it to Kaion.


    ¡°Drink this.¡± Belbet¡¯s sister insisted, ¡°It will numb the pain, and help healing.¡±


    Kaion started at it, before taking it and drinking it down. If he thought it was too hot, it didn¡¯t show on his face, which Belbet had to admire. He handed back the empty bowl, and then Belbet got to work. She knew from Victoria¡¯s experience having a minor abscess removed that it was best to get the pocket of puss out without breaking it. But she was no surgeon or doctor, so she was pretty sure she wasn¡¯t skilled enough to do that.


    So, she¡¯d have to do the next best thing. She had Deenat prepare another bowl of echinacea tea. Once it was prepared, she slit the abscess open, and poured the echinacea tea directly over the wound, letting it carry the puss out of the cut. It was near-boiling, so the sound Kaion made was blood-curdling. She did as best she could, holding his leg still, and carefully scraping out all the muck and blood. It took ages, longer than Belbet thought it would until finally, the only thing was pink skin and the clear red of blood.


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    ¡°Good. Red blood is good. That means it¡¯s healing.¡± She murmured, turning to Deenat. ¡°The honey, and the echinacea.¡± Once they were in her hands, she ground up the echinacea, all of it, roots and leaves and petals, and poured them into the honey. This, she mixed until it was a paste. It was still quite runny, and she wished she had some bandages to cover it in. ¡°I need a boiled rawhide, a clean fur, with all the fur scraped off. It needs to be cut into a strip about three fingers wide.¡± She demonstrated by holding up three fingers.


    Deenat went to fetch it, as Belbet applied the honey poultice. Again, Kaion tried to stay silent and failed, his other leg shaking in pain. Belbet bit her lip, guilt welling up at the sight of his sweat-clammy skin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s going to hurt for a long while. We¡¯ll do what we can, but this is the only way you¡¯ll keep this limb and your life.¡± <


    Once the strips were clean, Belbet wrapped them up, tying them hard to avoid them coming loose. ¡°You¡¯re not to walk on this foot until it¡¯s healed.¡± She patted the top of his foot. ¡°You¡¯ll need to drink a cup of Echinacea tea four times a day. Willow bark tea four times a day too.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to harvest more,¡± Deenat murmured, sighing. Harvesting herbs was her job, for the most part, and Belbet smiled her apology for putting more work on her.


    ¡°We¡¯re done! We¡¯re done!¡± Dahnei called, turning the three adults¡¯ attention to where the children had built a wonderful little lean-to. It was close enough to the fire that he¡¯d be warm, although it was between the campfire and the area she was making the smoker in. The children had moved the fur-drying rack, which was good, too.


    Something nagged at her, as she watched Deenat and Eefim help their newcomer into his shelter. There was a reason that dosages were the way they were in Victoria¡¯s time, and that was because medicine when used improperly was poisonous. She bit at one of her thumbnails, thinking. Victoria knew from experience that a small amount of overdosing on something like acetaminophen (such as willow bark tea) isn¡¯t going to kill him, but over time, it could cause ulcers or even liver damage.


    So how was she going to time his doses? She couldn¡¯t even keep track of time here. She could tell noon, and she could tell dusk, but those times changed based on the turning of the world. She needed¡­ A sundial! Snapping her fingers, she grinned.


    ¡°Mama has idea!¡± Mohniit declared, startling Belbet out of her thoughts. She looked down at his smiling face, his hand curled into the furs of her skirt. She gave a huff, before leaning down and ruffling his ears.


    ¡°Silly boy, what makes you think that, hm?¡±


    ¡°Mama face.¡± He replied. He let go of her skirt, lifting his hands so she could pick him up instead. She sighed, before picking up her little prince and hugging him tightly until he wiggled and laughed.


    ¡°Yes, well. Mama had an idea to help make sure the medicine doesn¡¯t hurt Kaion.¡± She explained, and suddenly she had an audience. Every eye in the area was on here, and she wondered suddenly if this meant she was the leader of this little tribe. ¡°You see, too much medicine can poison the body, like eating poison food. So we have to space out the willow-bark tea, so that Kaion doesn¡¯t get poisoned. We¡¯ll need to tell time. For that, I need to make a sundial. So can you kids grab me a lot of sticks?¡±


    Dahnei nodded, grabbing Mohniit out of his mother¡¯s arms, ¡°He won¡¯t walk if you carry him all the time!¡± She chided, before setting the whining bunny boy down. The two of them headed towards the stockpile of sticks.


    Belbet sighed, watching them, before turning to her sister. ¡°We¡¯ve got a lot to get done, but I don¡¯t feel comfortable leaving our guest while he¡¯s feverish and injured. We should take turns staying in camp.¡± She turned to look at Kaion, who seemed to be fighting sleep. ¡°Kaion, you¡¯re sick. You should sleep, okay? That¡¯s going to be the best way to break that fever of yours.¡±


    The man grumbled, before closing his eyes and seemingly doing just that. Belbet nodded, taking Deenat¡¯s arm and leading her closer to the river. The waterfall would cover what she was about to say. ¡°I do not want to leave him alone with any of the children. Understand? He could hurt them while we aren¡¯t around.¡±


    Deenat frowned as if this idea hadn¡¯t occurred to her. Then understanding dawned, her mouth opening and her eyes widening. ¡°I see. ...Yes. We should watch him.¡±


    Belbet nodded in agreement, letting her sister¡¯s arm go. ¡°We¡¯ve got a lot to get done still. I can stay in camp, since I have to finish the smoker and a bunch of other stuff too. We need to work on the Storage Shed too.¡± She sighed, rubbing at her forehead. A headache was forming, and she wished dearly that she didn¡¯t have to do construction today, but that was not in the cards.


    Cards. That reminded her, she needed to figure out how to make some paper. Bark was okay, for crude things, but to properly optimize their food, she was going to need actual records that would last a while. But that could come later, first they needed to store food, before they could count it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do the gathering now, focus on the smoker.¡± Deenat decided, ¡°When I come back we can work on the storehouse.¡± Belbet nodded her agreement, and the sisters split up. Belbet went to the clay pile, and started pulling the ash out from under the grate. The grate and walls were cold now, and when she tapped on them, solid. No cracks had occurred, which was good. So, Belbet spent several minutes mixing up the clay with some more water.


    She kept one ear out for movement from their new guest, restless sounds or noises, just in case. She wanted to make sure he got better, not worse. However, only a few minutes into her task, she was interrupted by three children coming up with far more sticks than she¡¯d really meant.


    ¡°Children, I only needed thirteen of them.¡± She laughed, shaking her head. Then, as they gave her that look, the one with the pursed lips and the frowning eyes, she realized they had no idea what she meant. ¡°Look, you see how many you brought me? I only needed as many as this-¡± She lifted both of her hands, ¡°And-¡± then she put down all but three fingers.


    The children still didn¡¯t understand, so she decided an impromptu counting lesson was in order. She gestured for the children to settle their sticks down, and then pulled out five. ¡°This is five. Five sticks. See how many fingers you have on your hands?¡±


    ¡°Five!¡± Dahnei crowed, holding out her hand. Belbet grinned.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Now, how many sticks is this?¡± She took five more, and added them to the pile. ¡°How many hands worth of fingers, is this many sticks worth?¡±


    It took them a bit, but eventually Eefim figured it out. ¡°Ten.¡± He stated, holding out two hands worth of fingers.


    ¡°Good job, Eefim. That¡¯s right. Now, if I told you to add one more hands worth of sticks, can you do that?¡± She pointed to the pile, and let Eefim work it out. It took him a bit, and Mohniit had already wandered away to play with his half-finished blocks, but eventually, the boy added five more sticks to Belbet¡¯s pile. ¡°Exactly. Perfect, Eefim, you did great.¡±


    Dahnei seemed confused, looking at her fingers and trying to count them, but she seemed stuck on what came after five. Belbet decided that she needed to start teaching the children. Perhaps a dedicated amount of time each day, that way they could at least learn counting and writing. She had no problem bringing the knowledge Victoria had to this world, and saw no reason not to pass it down.


    ¡°We¡¯ll learn more about numbers later, alright? First we¡¯ve got to get some chores done.¡± She explained, ¡°Does anyone want to stick around and learn about time?¡±


    The intrigue that bubbled up on their little faces made her laugh, and she had them all sit down, so she could explain how time works. ¡°As the day passes into night, that is time. Time is spent doing things and being with others. We can break down these bits of time into smaller bits, so that we can keep track of it easier. In this case, we¡¯re going to break an entire day, from sunrise to sunrise, into twenty four bits.¡±


    The children groaned, Dahnei flopping against Eefim in an annoyed huff. Belbet laughed, shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Since we can only really measure time using the sun right now, we¡¯re only going to have to count to twelve to be able to tell time. So don¡¯t worry.¡±


    She cleared an area she was relatively sure would get sun all day. Then, she turned to Dahnei, ¡°Can you and Eefim bring me a bunch of rocks? We need to make a circle around these sticks. We need a lot so it¡¯s going to take you a few trips, okay?¡±


    Dahnei nodded. Eefim, however, frowned. ¡°Dahnei can do that. I want to know how to make that.¡± He pointed to the smoker, and his eyes sharpened. His rounded almost mouse-ears were pointed forward in what Belbet knew to be interest. She smiled, and nodded.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll teach you while Dahnei gets the rocks for us.¡±


    This led to the two of them making the clay mud and pressing it into a circle around the top of the grate. They managed to get a good half arm-length wall done, and just as they were about to start rounding it out into a top, Dahnei declared she was done making the rock circle.

 Chapter Nine - Telling Time

    Chapter Nine - Telling Time


    -Summer-


    ¡°What is this? No, honey, I just wanted you to bring the rocks.¡± Belbet blinked, looking to the circle her daughter had made. ¡°...Okay, actually, you did a very good job. Thank you, Dahnei.¡±


    She joined her daughter and nephew over at the circle of rocks, crouching down. She cast a glance over her shoulder, just to determine that the young man in the lean-to was still asleep, and sure enough, his pale white lashes still brushed his cheeks in his slumber. She turned back to the kids, and picked up the longest stick they¡¯d brought her. Breaking it off at about hip-height, she stuck it into the ground, digging it deep enough that it stood tall. She made sure it¡¯s shadow could reach anywhere in the circle. Then, she planted twelve of the other sticks at equal clock-like intervals, one for each hour of the day. She wiped her forehead, looking up at the hot midmorning sun, and then back down to the sundial she¡¯d just made. Nodding, she pointed to each of the twelve sticks in turn.


    ¡°Each stick is an hour of the day. Since the shadow of the sun is here,¡± She pointed to where it displayed, only to frown. It couldn¡¯t possibly be 3 in the afternoon¡­ And it definitely wasn¡¯t three in the morning¡­


    Hm. Maybe there was more to making a sundial than just sticking the sticks in the ground. She¡¯d arbitrarily decided which stick was 12-noon, and perhaps that was the issue. ...How was she supposed to find which stick was actually¡­ Perhaps if she waited until noon, and figured out which stick it pointed to, that would work.


    ¡°Now, we wait until noon. When the sun is directly overhead. Then, we mark which stick the shadow of this stick,¡± She pointed to the central one, ¡°Is pointing to. That will tell us where the top of our clock is.¡±


    The children stared at her, mystified. She smiled, ¡°You¡¯ll see what I mean at noon. Now, Eefim and I need to finish the smoker, and you-¡± She poked her daughter¡¯s little button nose, ¡°need to go check the fish traps, see if we caught anything we can eat for lunch later, hm?¡±


    Dahnei broke into giggles, and nodded, running off to do just that. Belbet turned to her nephew, and the two of them returned to the smoker. ¡°Now, because the smoker has to let the smoke out somewhere, we¡¯re going to make a little lid with a hole in it, for the smoke to come out of. We have to be able to put the meat in the smoker, so the lid has to be removable. It¡¯s also got to have places for us to hang the meat from.¡±


    She got a stick, and started drawing the lid in the dirt, so that Eefim could see what she was thinking. ¡°So we poke sticks through the lid here and here, and those will be the sticks we tie the meat to each round. And here¡¯s where the hole goes. Understand?¡±


    Eefim frowned at the drawing, taking a few breaths. Belbet wondered for a moment if he didn¡¯t understand at all, and was trying to think of a way to explain it again when he looked up and nodded.


    ¡°Could we make it out of wood, and then cover the wood in clay? We could let that dry, and then it would be easier to lift.¡±


    ¡°Handles.¡± Belbet breathed, astounded, ¡°I didn¡¯t think of that. Yes! That¡¯s perfect! Let¡¯s go get some of the wood-¡±


    ¡°Aunt¡­ Can I do this part? The storehouse needs to be built, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be much help with that¡­ But this¡­¡± He tapped the drawing. ¡°This I think I can do.¡±


    Here he was, blowing her away with how independent he was. She sighed and reached out to tug the eleven-year-old into a hug. ¡°Of course, nephew. Let me know when you think you¡¯re ready to let it dry, and I¡¯ll check on it and see how you did, okay?¡±


    He nodded against her chest, hugging her tight, before letting her go. She took this as her sign to let go too and left the kid to his work. She headed to the area they¡¯d cleared out for their storage building, looking it over and trying to picture in her head what she was going to make. Her son was banging two wooden blocks together and shrieking in baby language something she didn¡¯t understand, just where she was planning to build.


    Going over, she knelt next to her toddler and tapped his shoulder. This brought those dark eyes to her, and she almost cooed.


    ¡°Hey, baby. Mama needs to work on the storehouse right now. Do you think you can play outside the cleared ground?¡± She pointed to the edge of the dug-up and cleared-out area. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go far, and mama will carry your toys, okay?¡±


    The baby¡¯s lips quivered and he huffed, but he nodded, which earned him a kiss on a little lop ear.


    ¡°Such a sweet boy.¡± She praised, before reaching out to gather up the blocks and help him carry them out of the area. Once he was settled under a nice tree in the shade, she helped him drink some of the cold willow bark tea, and then a fingerful of sweet honey.


    That should help his crankiness. Belbet thought, before turning back to the task at hand. Hm¡­ Now that I think about it... Would a cache work best? Or maybe a root cellar¡­The problem with a root cellar is, they were dug out of the ground and had to be at least halfway in the ground to retain any sort of temperature control. But that was a lot of work when one¡¯s only digging instrument was a stick. That, and root cellars were near impossible to vermin-proof, because anything could dig through the walls and into your food supply. And since even if they dug a root cellar, it wouldn¡¯t be cold enough to store raw meat in, it really wouldn¡¯t matter in the end.


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    The other option, a stilted cache, was much harder for vermin to break into by virtue of being on stilts above the ground. Not only that, but it would keep things like bears and moles from getting into their food too. And they¡¯d proven they could build a hut, what was the difference in building one on stilts? While it wouldn¡¯t necessarily keep the veggies and such cool enough not to spoil in summer, it¡¯d be perfect for storing things in winter. Neither option was perfect, but with the tools they had and the abilities, the stilted cache was probably their best option for right now. Having made her decision, Belbet got up and went to their wood pile. They didn¡¯t have any big enough for the stilts themselves, or even the basic frame, so she¡¯d have to burn-chop down some trees. The problem was-


    Her eyes drifted to the stranger sleeping in a lean-to not too far away from where Eefim was fitting branches together. She couldn¡¯t leave the kids alone in the yard with him there. Even if he was feverish, he¡¯d still been strong enough to walk, which meant he was strong enough to hurt a child.


    She clicked her tongue, and moved her thoughts through her list of projects. What could she do instead, while she waited for her sister to get back? She couldn¡¯t build up their firewood storage for the same reason as before¡­ but, she did have an idea on how to make the firewood more useful. She moved over to where their firewood was laying, and began the process of clearing out a space next to it. Victoria had seen this in a video on how to lower one¡¯s heating bill expenses. Back then, she¡¯d thought making charcoal was low on her priority list, since, well, she¡¯d had central heating then.


    Now, however, as she piled the sticks up, starting with the smallest, standing end on end and leaning against each other, all the way to sticks as long as her arm and longer, she remembered how she¡¯d seen the young man do the same, before piling mud around it, cutting holes in the bottom and then setting fire to the top of the mount. The mud had sealed the wood, and it had all burnt in such a way as to create charcoal, which burns cleaner and longer.


    It took a long while to get the charcoal mound covered in mud, and when she was done, she was struck with an idea. Why couldn¡¯t she reuse the mound? If she made a door, then when she wanted to make the next batch of charcoal, she¡¯d just need to reseal the door and the holes at the bottom and the top! It would work out quite well, she hoped. For now, she dug out four holes at the bottom of the charcoal mound and then settled some tinder and pine needles on the top of the wood in the top hole of the mound. Taking an on-fire-stick from the campfire, she started this bundle on fire and blew on it till it was burning nice and hot.


    ¡°What¡­ are you doing?¡± A voice croaked behind her, startling her near to death. She turned around, her hand at her chest patting at her heart to slow it down.


    ¡°...I¡¯m making charcoal.¡± She explained, ¡°Charcoal burns hotter and longer than wood does, so if we make enough, we¡¯ll be able to get through winter without being cold.¡± She gave him a smile, when she saw that the near-permanent frown on his face had softened around the edges of his mouth. His eyes seemed less tired. ¡°Are you feeling better?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I am. Thank you.¡± Kaion shifted, sitting up. ¡°What is all of this?¡±


    He gestured to the hut, to the racks, to the mud pile. His brow, which had been drawn in pain, lifted, and he turned golden eyes back to Belbet.


    ¡°Oh. It¡¯s our Farm. Our home. We¡¯re not nomads, like the other tribes. We don¡¯t travel. We don¡¯t follow the prey. We tame the land, make it ours. We work the land, and it gives us food in return.¡± She hoped that he could understand somewhat what she meant, even if she was using words he¡¯d likely never heard of before.


    ¡°No one in my tribe would know how to do things like this,¡± Kaion admitted.


    Belbet hoped she wasn¡¯t mishearing when she read awe into his voice. ¡°...So long as you don¡¯t endanger or harm anyone here, you¡¯re welcome to stay. Even after you¡¯re healed. We¡¯ll teach you how to do what we do, and in return, you can teach us how to do what you do. Of course, you¡¯re free to leave whenever you¡¯d like, once you¡¯re healed.¡± She offered, the same offer she¡¯d made to her sister.


    He hummed, noncommittal, and turned his gaze back to the charcoal mound, which was now smoking and burning away, flames leaping high above the top of it. The shadows of his lean-to barely hid his face, nearly gone in the noon sunlight.


    She blinked, ¡°Oh! Time to check the sundial.¡± Standing, she dusted the mud off her hands and walked over to the sundial.


    ¡°Kids! Time to mark the sundial! Come here!¡± She called. The children, however, weren¡¯t the only ones to join her in looking. Kaion, having crawled his way out of the tent and using his walking stick to hobble over, stared down at the shadow line too.


    She sighed, and shook her head, ¡°At least sit, so you don¡¯t hurt your foot further.¡± She chided him. Then, turning to her babies, she smiled, ¡°How should we mark the stick? That¡¯s the 12 stick, which means, that¡¯s the stick the shadow points to when it¡¯s noon.¡±


    ¡°Rock!¡± Mohniit said, pointing to one of the rocks lining the circle.


    ¡°Well yes, we could mark it with a rock.¡± She agreed, ¡°But the rock might be kicked away, or get moved by accident. Any other ideas?¡± She asked, searching the other¡¯s faces, hoping to inspire them to come up with their own ideas. Encouraging ingenuity would only help their situation.


    ¡°We¡­ could tie some rope to it?¡± Dahnei offered.


    ¡°I think that would be a wonderful idea. Can anyone tell me why that¡¯s a good idea?¡± She asked, reminded for a moment of how Victoria¡¯s elementary school teachers had asked questions.


    ¡°Because the rope won¡¯t get blown away, or accidentally moved.¡± Eefim declared.


    Nodding, Belbet agreed. ¡°Right. Now, who wants to learn how to tie a new knot?¡± She asked, grinning. Beside her, a pair of golden-brown eyes watched her every move, as she led each of the children through tying a bowknot.

 Chapter Ten - Emotional Intelligence

    Chapter Ten - Emotional Intelligence


    -Summer-


    With the sundial properly marked (turned out Dahnei was the quickest to learn how to tie a bowknot), Belbet was practically vibrating with excitement. Now she just had to wait for three hours, and then mark the dial again, and she¡¯d know which stick was three o''clock in the afternoon. Ah, how exciting to be able to tell time again! Victoria wondered if this was how her ancestors felt when they discovered how to mark time.


    That said, the burning summer sun overhead was not doing any favors for her, sweatiness-wise. So, she made an executive decision. ¡°Alright, everyone! Bath time!¡± It had been far too long since their last bath, anyway, This got Belbet¡¯s children shrieking in joy and running for the river, with a confused-looking Eefim following behind. Belbet shrugged her way under a struggling Kaion¡¯s shoulder and helped lift him to his feet.


    ¡°Lean on me, don¡¯t put weight on that. Bring your stick though, that¡¯ll be useful.¡± Belbet reminded as she helped the big man hop down the rocky shore to the bank they used for all sorts of activities. It had plenty of nice flat rocks, and a reasonably deep, safe pool beneath the waterfall. Belbet shouted once they were there, to be heard over that waterfall, ¡°Eefim! Look after your baby cousin!¡±


    Eefim nodded and picked up Mohniit, who cried havoc at being taken away from slapping the water¡¯s surface. He quickly settled, however, once his cousin took him into the water proper, and began pouring water over him.


    Belbet helped Kaion settle onto one of the flat rocks, his good hoof in the cool, refreshing water. She ran back to camp quickly and grabbed a bowl, bringing it to him. ¡°Don¡¯t drink the water here, it has to be boiled first. But use the bowl to pour water over yourself. Do NOT get this foot wet.¡± She tapped the still-injured hoof. Technically, he could, but then she¡¯d have to re-apply the poultice and re-apply a bandage, and that takes time. Not to mention until Deenat got back, they didn¡¯t have any more echinacea.


    The man nodded ponderously, his curls swaying. Belbet grinned, and then turned back to her children, splashing wildly through the water to elicit screams of joy as the cold droplets hit their overheated skin. ¡°Alright! Come here, Mohniit, it¡¯s time for swimming lessons!¡±


    Her baby boy reached out for her, and she took him into her arms, and then waded out further in the water. Naturally, he started to get nervous and cling harder once the water was up to his waist, which equaled chest height for Belbet who carried him. ¡°Sh, shhh, sh, baby boy. It¡¯s okay. The water¡¯s not going to hurt you. We¡¯re going to teach you how to beat the water, so it can never hurt you, okay?¡±


    He seemed reluctant but allowed her to slowly lower the two of them into the water fully. That is until his nose hit the water, and he panicked, flailing to try and get to the surface. Belbet quickly ducked back up so that his face was out of the water, and she smiled, ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay!¡± He was crying, and she lifted her hand to wipe his face off.


    ¡°Noooo! No!¡± The toddler sobbed, terrified and shaking in her arms.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, baby. I¡¯m right here. Mama won¡¯t let anything happen to you, okay? You¡¯re safe.¡± Belbet promised, ¡°We¡¯re just gonna blow bubbles, okay? Mama will show you.¡±


    She bent over awkwardly, pressing her mouth in the water, and blowing out, bubbling her breath to the surface. Mohniit was rapt, eyes wide as he watched the bubbles pop. He reached out and slapped the water a bit, sending cold drops into his mother¡¯s face. She came up, shaking them off, and sighed, ¡°There, see? Just bubbles. Nothing more.¡±


    Mohniit gave this due consideration and then nodded, consenting to be lowered to the water again. This time, Belbet was quite careful to keep his nose out of the water and watched him blow bubbles for a very long time. Luckily, the water buoyed his weight, so she didn¡¯t have to hold all of it, and the coolness of the river water helped keep them from overheating.


    She let her eyes roam, seeing Eefim and Dahnei playing near the shore, the two of them splashing each other. Laughter was filling the air, and honestly, Belbet adored it. Her eyes turned then, lingering on their guest who was watching her. She seemed to startle him by looking back, so he turned away and picked up his bowl. She watched him ladle out some water and fling it onto his back and shoulders.


    Belbet decided she¡¯d have to make some berry-water for them all later, to replenish the electrolytes they were losing thanks to that overbearing sun. That would be a fun little project to teach the kids. She found herself smiling up, the sun warm on her face. Eventually, she called Dahnei and Eefim to join her in the deeper section of the water.


    They were fine, so long as they had their feet on the ground, which was good. So, she started them blowing bubbles too, which delighted her toddler. Then, she deposited Mohniit onto the rock next to Kaion. ¡°Do not allow him into the water. Pour water over him if he looks hot, or if his skin starts to dry out too much.¡± She ordered, pointing a finger at the ram who raised an eyebrow.


    He did, however, immediately pick up a bowl of water and splash it over the child¡¯s head, earning him a shrieked, ¡°NO!¡± from Mohniit.


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    Deciding he was in decent hands, at least a little bit, Belbet returned to her daughter and nephew. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to teach you both to float. If you ever end up in the water, and you aren¡¯t sure how to get back to land, and you¡¯re too tired to swim, this can save your life, okay?¡±


    They both sobered, serious, and nodded. Belbet reached out, setting a hand on her daughter¡¯s shoulder, and another on her lower back. ¡°Alright, I want you to lean back into my hands, and let your feet rise, okay? I¡¯ll keep you steady.¡±


    Dahnei did as ordered, but panicked halfway through, spluttering terribly at her ears being filled with water. She batted at the soft velvety things and whined. Belbet reached down and took her face gently in her hands to get her attention. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re going to get water in your ears. That¡¯s okay. It¡¯ll come out. It¡¯s not going to hurt you in any way. This is important, remember? You need to know this to save your life.¡±


    This didn¡¯t stop her shaking, but Dahnei allowed herself to be lowered to lay on her back, with her mother supporting her. Belbet made sure to smile down at her young daughter, and nod. ¡°You¡¯re doing fantastic, baby.¡±


    She praised the girl, holding her steady, knowing it would take more than one attempt before she could pull her hands away. So she let her daughter float on her back, watching her watch the sky. She turned to Eefim and grinned, ¡°You¡¯ll be able to do this too. For the first few days, I¡¯ll hold you up when you¡¯re doing it. Then, slowly, I¡¯ll start taking my hand away. Your goal is to be able to float even if I¡¯m not holding you, okay?¡±


    Eefim nodded, watching his cousin float gently in the water, her limbs loose and splayed and her eyes closed. Belbet wondered what the boy thought of all of this. ¡°Talk to me.¡± She coaxed, ¡°If you¡¯re worried bout something or if you¡¯re scared, tell me or your mom, okay? That way we can help you think of a solution.¡±


    The boy frowned, turning his eyes from his cousin to his aunt. He lifted a hand, sheering it through the water to watch the water curve over it. ¡°...I...Should be hunting.¡±


    An odd nonsequitur that Belbet decided to chase further, ¡°If you¡¯re worried about our food, we have enough for today and tomorrow. Missing a few hours of hunting won¡¯t hurt. So¡­ why do you think you should be hunting, instead of cooling off, and learning how to survive falling in deep water?¡±


    He looked away sharply, clearly not liking how she¡¯d said it, which Belbet regretted. She continued, ¡°You spend quite a lot of time hunting. I don¡¯t like that you¡¯re out there that long without any way for us to know if you¡¯re okay. It¡¯s nice when you¡¯re here.¡±


    That sent his eyes skittering over her face, his lips quivering. For a second, Belbet thought his eyes reddened, and she was about to see this precious thing cry. Then, he opened his lips, and a flood started coming out.


    ¡°I just want to make sure that you don¡¯t have any reason to send me away. The hunters would send me away if I wasn¡¯t useful, or if I made noise, and you guys said that hunting is useful. I bring in a lot of stuff you use, and that makes me useful. So¡­ I don¡¯t want to be lazy and then get chased away from camp. And I have to bring in more meat because soon the animals will run away, and I can¡¯t chase them as far because I¡¯m little, and if they run away we¡¯ll starve. And I have to make sure that I can teach everyone how to hunt too because we¡¯ll need more hunters, but Mohniit¡¯s too little, and Dahnei¡¯s good with a spear, but she gets bored easily, and that¡¯s not a good hunter.¡±


    He took a deep breath and then continued, a miserable, soft tone that she almost couldn¡¯t hear over the water. ¡°And we don¡¯t have any food stocked for winter, and I can¡¯t go up the cliff for better prey because that¡¯s Tribe territory. And the wolf keeps coming back because I¡¯m feeding him, what if he attacks Mohniit or something? I don¡¯t understand half the things you do, auntie, and that scares me. What if it fails? What if another tribe won¡¯t take us in?¡±


    Ohhh wow, there was a lot to unpack there, but first and foremost. ¡°Eefim¡­ We¡¯re never going to chase you out of camp, unless you hurt someone very badly, on purpose. You understand that, right? You¡¯re our family, and this is your Home. You don¡¯t ever have to leave if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Belbet tried to reassure the child, because god, that was just sad, to realize the boy was working so hard because he thought they¡¯d throw him away.


    His frown scrunched further, and Belbet sighed, gently settling her daughter back on her feet and kissing her forehead. ¡°Go ahead and go practice that, sweetheart. Or play either way. I need to talk to your cousin.¡±


    Dahnei blinked, frowning herself as she looked between her mother and cousin as if she could puzzle out what had just happened. In the end, after a long moment, she agreed and splashed her way through the water towards the shore.


    Belbet opened her arms, demanding a hug. Eefim blinked. Hesitating, he slogged forward and let his aunt wrap him up in a hug, only to squeak loudly when she picked him up like he was a baby. She shushed him when he made a move to get down, however. Belbet could lift an eleven-year-old so long as the water was helping her, after all. The quicksilver light on the top of the river reminded her of how fleeting the time where she could hold him like this would be.


    She pressed her lips to his forehead and tucked his head against her throat so he could hear her easily. He was just a child. Her heart ached at how uncertain he seemed, how unused to being cuddled. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay. No matter what, your mom and I are going to make sure you three kiddoes, and even the one in my belly, are fed and safe and warm. And if our plans don¡¯t work? That¡¯s okay. We rethink them, rework them, and try again. If a hunt goes south-¡± here she paused and realized he may not know what that meant,¡± -if a hunt goes badly, you don¡¯t just stop hunting forever, right?¡±


    He nodded against her jaw, and she continued. ¡°Right. And you know what? It¡¯s okay to be a little lazy sometimes too. No one¡¯s going to chase you away just for resting. Resting is just as important as working. If you use a spear for too long without properly caring for it, the shaft will splinter and break. People are the same way. So let yourself have fun when it¡¯s time to have fun. And let yourself rest.¡± She gently rocked him with the flow of the water, and his arms around her neck made her want to sing to him. She didn¡¯t, only because she¡¯s not sure he¡¯d hear her.


    ¡°If you want a hug, ask for a hug. If you want a hand to hold, ask for a hand to hold. Do not ever be afraid to ask your mother or me for anything. We live so that you and your cousins can live. Understand?¡± He nodded again, and she couldn¡¯t see his face, but his shoulders relaxed a little. ¡°And like I said. Unless you intentionally hurt someone in the Farm, you¡¯ll never be asked to leave. This will always be your home, your safe place, your rest.¡±

 Chapter Eleven - Burnt Bread

    Chapter Eleven - Burnt Bread


    -Summer-


    Her legs were beginning to go soft and tired, so she started wading towards the shore and the big rock her son and their guest were sitting on. Kaion¡¯s golden eyes followed her, watching her carry the boy out of the water. He watched as she settled on the rock, Eefim in her lap, and Belbet smiled at the ram man, tilting her head.


    ¡°Children need a lot of reassurance when things are so uncertain. Do not judge him.¡± She squeezed her nephew in her arms and felt him tuck his nose into her neck.


    ¡°You are a good mother,¡± Kaion stated, and Belbet felt heat rise on her cheeks again.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to make up for the way our tribe raised them,¡± Belbet admitted, brushing a hand over her nephew''s streaming wet hair. The boy huffed, and she resettled him gently, allowing him the time to recover himself. Mohniit patted Eefim¡¯s shoulder wetly from his own place in Kaion¡¯s lap.


    ¡°...How did your tribe raise them?¡± He asked, curiosity tilting his head. Belbet wondered if the weight of his horns ever gave him headaches.


    Belbet sighed, ¡°Well, after we gave birth¡­ we fed the child until they could walk, and then¡­ we passed them over to the elders. The elderly were supposed to teach them to gather and make baskets and rope and other things, to teach them how to be useful to the tribe. But¡­ most of the elderly were so hands-off, so angry at being forced to do so, that they basically ignored or hit them if they got annoying.¡±


    Kaion¡¯s frown told Belbet a lot about how he was raised. She continued, ¡°For a long time¡­ I thought it was normal. Until I decided that¡¯s not what I wanted for my babies. ...I was exiled from my previous clan.¡±


    He had a right to know. He needed to know what she would do for her children, and worse, he needed to know for his own safety. ¡°I killed a woman, by accident. Because she was hurting my daughter. I jumped on her to try and get her away from Dahnei¡­ but she hit her head on a rock, and died.¡±


    ¡°You did the right thing,¡± Kaion growled. She was startled to hear it, a rocky rumbling sound deep in his throat, that made his words sound odd. ¡°Anyone who harms a child is unfit to be in a tribe.¡±


    Her chest eased, the invisible squeeze of worry replaced by easy breathing. It was so nice to know that her views here were welcome. To know that the tribe Belbet was raised by was an outlier, and not something all people in this time and place believed, was an immense relief.


    Eefim squirmed, and Belbet chuckled, amused at how long her nephew¡¯s manly pride had lasted against her hold. She let him down, which prompted Mohniit to immediately take his place in her lap and demand cuddles as well. She laughed, wrapping her arms around her baby boy and blowing a raspberry into his cheek.


    ¡°I¡­ overheard. You are pregnant?¡± Kaion asked, picking up the bowl and beginning to pour cool water over himself again.


    ¡°Yes. Only a little along, but¡­ yes.¡± She smiled, brushing Mohniit¡¯s hair out of his face. ¡°...Admittedly, I am worried. I have miscarried before, and I¡¯m afraid with the stress and lack of nutrition, it¡¯s likely I will again.¡±


    Kaion frowned, ¡°What are those words? I¡¯ve never heard them before.¡±


    Belbet sighed, realizing that she was, again, having to define something for those with limited understanding. ¡°Stress is when bad things happen, and the body has to do special things to survive it. Nutrition is diversity in food. The body needs good nutrition to survive, and to grow. Babies, when they¡¯re in here-¡± She patted her lower tummy, ¡°need a lot of nutrition to survive and grow healthily. I need to put on some weight, too. I¡¯m too skinny to feed the baby properly.¡±


    Kaion nodded along with her explanation, eyes narrowed. She wondered if that was just his thinking face, that deep frown and narrowed eyes that looked regally menacing. It was a good look when combined with his horns and hair. She realized she¡¯d been staring when he looked back to her, and raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Ahah, that¡¯s why I built the smoker, which will preserve meat we catch. And why we¡¯ve planted every seed we can find.¡± She explained, ¡°If we grow the seeds here, we don¡¯t have to wander out to find them, and sometimes if plants are taken care of, they¡¯ll grow faster and produce more than the ones in the wild.¡±


    ¡°And is that why you keep that chicken too?¡± He asked, referring to the one Mohniit had fed that morning.


    ¡°Yes, of course. Chickens lay eggs, and if you take away the egg before it hatches, the chicken will think it got eaten, and lay another one. So long as the chicken is fed and safe, it is a source of eggs without having to climb a tree.¡± Belbet grinned, ¡°The idea is to work smarter, not harder.¡±


    Kaion nodded again and shifted over as Dahnei flopped herself unceremoniously across the rock they were sharing. She sighed, laying out on her belly so that the sun warmed her back, and Belbet reached over to pet her hair. Eefim joined them, leaning against his aunt¡¯s side. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to get out. We should all have a nap, and then we can get back to work.¡±


    ¡°Nappp¡­¡± Mohniit declared, as his word turned into a yawn. Belbet laughed, nodding.


    ¡°Eefim, can you carry Mohniit, so that I can help Kaion?¡± With a nod, the young boy agreed, and took up his little cousin, who was leaning heavily on him, halfway to napping already.


    Belbet helped Kaion get to his hooves, the injured one in the air the whole while. She then helped him hop out of the shallow water and onto the shore. She settled him in his lean-to, and then pressed another bowl of willow tea into his hand. ¡°Drink it while it¡¯s hot.¡±


    Then, she moved to settle her littlest in their bed, watching Dahnei settle as well, holding her baby brother like a teddy bear. He didn¡¯t seem to mind, which gained them both a snicker from their mother.


    Belbet checked on the charcoal, looking in the holes at the bottom, not seeing any signs of actual flame yet, and so moving on. She checked on the smoker, which had solidified quite nicely. Eefim had the workings of a lid for it, which was quite well done. She lit another fire in the smoker, and then settled the lid on it, to let the adobe cure into hardness.


    Then, she checked on the sundial. Sure enough, the shadow had moved two whole sticks. She grinned, tying two knots and three knots to each stick respectively. She now knew when noon was, when one was, and when two in the afternoon was. As it was currently a little after two in the afternoon, she was expecting Deenat to come back close to four or five.


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    While Deenat could eat out in the wilds, she would worry about what Belbet was making, and would come to taste it. Belbet hadn¡¯t stopped smiling all afternoon, she realized, and now she realized it was because of her family. She sighed happily, picking up one of the extra baskets, and heading a little ways off, just far enough into the treeline that they haven¡¯t cleared out the plants.


    Belbet was looking for a way to diversify some of their diet, which meant finding flour. She knew the Mayans used corn, maize specifically, to make cornmeal, and the English used wheat. But she also knew that pioneers used other things. The plant she was looking for now should be coming into harvest season right about this time of year.


    Amaranth was a beautiful plant, depending on the variety, and the seeds made an ancient grain that was both healthy and easily ground up. And those bright red seed clusters were easily spotted even this close to their camp.


    She smiled, bending whole heads and then pulling clumps of the seeds off into her basket. She didn¡¯t bend all of them, since they needed this plant to be able to reseed itself next year, but she did take enough to fill up the hand-deep basket she¡¯d brought. She knew it would be a ridiculously small amount of flour, but it should be enough for one or two meals. Plus, they¡¯d be able to plant some in the garden.


    Taking the seeds back to camp, she set half of them aside in the small food storage they had in the hut. Then, she started setting out the amaranth seeds on one of their big skins, gently blowing away the husks and detritus. This would be so much easier with a fan, but she didn¡¯t even have a hand-fan, at this point.


    She left the seeds to dry in the sun, and pondered what they might need next that she could do easily. She really wanted to figure out the trick for soap, honestly, but they didn¡¯t have enough animal fat for that. She¡¯d need to render some, at some point, but right now they were dealing with a severe shortage of big game. If she could teach Eefim how to use snares, so that he could focus on hunting bigger things, rather than going after small things to make sure they had meat, that would be good.


    The problem was, Victoria had never studied snares. She knew basics, but she didn¡¯t trust that she could actually put one together that would work. She wondered how she could pass it along to her brilliant nephew in a way that meant they didn¡¯t spend eons before they had a working rabbit snare.


    Well, that wasn¡¯t going to be possible to do right now. But, it gave her an idea. She grabbed some sticks from their pile of collected sticks, and set about making a loom. The basics of a loom was just two rows of sticks with the fiber stretched between them. However, belbet was enterprising, and she was going to make a stick at the back of the loom that could be pulled and released with a rope. This way, she wouldn¡¯t have to get up to switch rows.


    Now, Victoria didn¡¯t know all the names of the parts, but she did know the basics of weaving, and in this case, she knew that since they didn¡¯t have any yarn to spin into the fabric, she was going to need to spin something into yarn. Tree-fibre or grass was going to be her best bet at the moment. It was early evening by the time she¡¯d gathered enough and had settled down by the fire to start spinning it.


    This was about the time Deenat came out of the dense trees, her basket full to bursting and several long sticks balanced over her shoulders. Belbet let her be as she began to unburden herself, glad to see the bamboo she¡¯d brought back. Deenat revealed a huge clump of echinacea plants, roots and all, and lots of strips of willow bark too. Belbet winced, realizing she¡¯d never taught her sister the proper ways to forage without damaging the plant beyond what the plant could bear. Ah well, a lesson for later.


    Belbet got up, and took the plants in hand, tying them to the drying racks after washing them in boiled water. Pesticides may not be a thing out here, but god only knows what rubbed up against those in the wild, and always better safe than sorry. Belbet spotted her sister staring at the spread of seeds, frowning.


    ¡°Those are for dinner.¡± Belbet said, a little mischief in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to make something you¡¯ll really like.¡±


    Deenat nodded, going to check on the children, which left Belbet enough time to begin stone-grinding the seeds into flour. She knew that this wasn¡¯t the best way to grind food, considering the stone powder that came with the flour would probably end up with all of them losing their teeth far too early, but it was what she had access to at the time. She could make a decent mortar and pestle later.


    Deenat came out of the hut, carrying several vegetables for dinner, along with a rabbit carcass. She set these up to cook, chopping the vegetables roughly, and simply roasting the rabbit over the fire. Belbet admired how far along her cooking skills had come, even as she asked Deenat to pull one of their eating eggs out of the storage too.


    This, added to the back-breaking flour Belbet had ground up, when combined with water, turned into a doughy substance that Deenat stared at. Belbet set these on a rock and pushed it close to the cooking fire. She didn¡¯t have a spatula, so she couldn¡¯t turn them without breaking them, so she just let them cook through.


    The smell of food summoned their children, and soon, Mohniit was staring in drooly awe at the food. Eefim went over to check out the lid and how it was doing on the smoker. Dahnei, of course, was asking her mother questions about how she¡¯d made the strange cakes.


    ¡°I crushed up seeds. Some of the seeds in this world are edible, and these ones are especially so. I crushed them up into a powder with a rock, and then mixed an egg and water, and rolled it until it was sticky. Then, I spread the sticky dough out on a rock and cooked it. Next time I¡¯ll let you do it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Dahnei said, before grinning up at her mother. ¡°It¡¯s going to be tasty!¡±


    Belbet snorted, amused at what this child¡¯s definition of tasty was. She couldn¡¯t wait until she had access to a full kitchen¡¯s worth of spices. How nice would that be?


    She served up the food once it was ready, and watched as everyone enjoyed the humble meal. It was a revelation to see their faces as they bit into the bread. No one in the tribe had been intrepid enough to grind up seeds and make bread, so this was a new experience for them. She was glad to see they weren¡¯t turning up their noses.


    Her own tastebuds informed her the bread was burnt on one side, and sorely lacking any sort of salt or sugar. She figured next time she should add some herbs and honey, which might help the taste. Overall, it was a good meal.


    Kaion blinked, and devoured the food, before praising it, ¡°It¡¯s very filling. Good food. And you think you¡¯ll be able to eat like this all winter?¡±


    ¡°Well, if we collect enough of the amaranth seeds now while they¡¯re blooming, we can grind it up and store the flour. Flour keeps for a very long time if we can keep bugs out of it. We can eat bread all winter since all that''s needed to make it is water and flour. And we can make flour out of other things too, like acorns, wheat, and other things.¡± Belbet lectured, ¡°But we need to finish up the storage shed before we can do that, as well as make more baskets. I set up a loom, so hopefully, we can put down some mats in the storage area too, that way bugs will have a harder time getting in.¡±


    The man nodded, ¡°I can help, weaving baskets while I heal. I should be better in a few days.¡±


    Belbet snorted, ¡°No. No, with an infection like that, you¡¯ll need at least two weeks to heal. You shouldn¡¯t walk on it for at least a week. After that, we¡¯ll see about you walking around.¡±


    Kaion frowned, raising an eyebrow, ¡°I can¡¯t be idle for that long. That¡¯s no way to join a tribe.¡±


    Belbet snorted, ¡°We can discuss you joining the tribe after you¡¯re better. For now, you¡¯re a patient, and patients don¡¯t have to work.¡± Belbet knew there were little eyes watching her every action, and she wanted to teach these children compassion. ¡°It¡¯s only right to help those who are hurt, and to make sure that they rest while they¡¯re healing.¡±


    ¡°Fine. But I can weave baskets, at least. And grind the flour.¡± He declared, ¡°And I can make the tea, while I¡¯m sitting around.¡±


    Belbet smiled, ¡°We¡¯ll move the herb rack closer so that you can. It¡¯d help a lot, actually. I¡¯ll teach you how to make berry-water too, that way we all have something nice to drink while we¡¯re working.¡±


    Kaion agreed, and dinner was finished up. Eefim helped move some of the logs closer to Kaion¡¯s lean-to, so that he could keep warm during the night. Dahnei made sure Kaion had water nearby, and then headed for the sticks, pulling some to weave a door for the hut. After checking the charcoal and sealing up the holes at the bottom, Belbet supervised Mohniit picking up the chicken (which was surprisingly docile with the boy) and take it into the hut.


    ¡°Good night, Kaion.¡± Belbet called from the warm door of their hut, listening for his response.


    ¡°Goodnight, Belbet.¡±


    She smiled into the dark, and then closed the little woven-stick door.

 Chapter Twelve - Screams Over Loud Water

    Chapter Twelve - Screams Over Loud Water


    -Summer-


    Waking to the sounds of shouting and the loud snarling of a wolf was not how Belbet wanted to wake up. She¡¯d been having a good dream, the sweet taste of Victoria¡¯s favorite ice cream brand on her tongue, and she was very upset to be woken like this. The frantic clucking of the chicken wasn¡¯t helping her get back to the tasty dream either. She sighed, sitting up in the dark, the only light in the hut the dim glow of the embers from the stove. She tossed a small branch into the embers, before turning and opening the door, so she could look out.


    Sure enough, there Kaion was, standing ill-advisedly on both his hooves, pointing a spear at the big wolf that had been casing their camp for days. Belbet sighed, rolling her eyes. She dug through the food storage basket and stole out some of the sun-dried meat (rabbit, she thought, maybe.)


    ¡°Don¡¯t attack him.¡± She said in a low, gentle voice. Kaion didn¡¯t turn to look at her, and she wondered if it was because he was afraid of taking his eyes off the hungry wolf. ¡°We¡¯re trying to make friends with him.¡±


    She stepped forward, showing the wolf the meat. She tossed it to the other side of the camp, and the wolf, after a moment of watching the two of them, dove for it, chomping it up and then looking back at her.


    ¡°Aiya, you think I have more?¡± She laughed, shaking her head. ¡°Not today, big boy. If Eefim comes back with good game, maybe tomorrow. Shoo now.¡± She waved her arms, not in large motions, but little ones, to show the wolf it was time for him to go. She was surprised when the wolf seemed to understand and ran off into the predawn woods.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Kaion demanded, turning on her as if he now was the vicious beast. ¡°You don¡¯t feed predators! They come back!¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± She turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow. ¡°If we make friends with that wolf, it will watch over our home, because our home will be its home. That wolf will be a guardian for our children. If you don¡¯t agree, that¡¯s fine, but don¡¯t attack it, unless it hurts one of us, or yourself.¡±


    Kaion¡¯s eyes were much darker in the early morning, and Belbet yawned, turning back into the hut to avoid him staring at her any longer like he has any say in how she domesticates a wolf. She added more sticks to the hearth, getting it to a roaring fire to warm the house even more. She charred a stick, so that she could use it to mark the fur she¡¯d been using to mark the days on both the month and the incubation of the eggs. She checked on them, candling them against the flame, and they seemed to be growing just fine. Putting all of those away, she patted her children¡¯s hair, before closing the door of the hut behind her.


    She started the campfire, and then began the arduous process of digging up the now-cooled charcoal out of the door-section of the reusable charcoal kiln she¡¯d built. She was covered in black by the time she dragged all of the charcoal out of the kiln. She piled it off to the side, the ashes dug out with a stick too. By the time she¡¯d finished enough to start reloading the kiln, Deenat was awake as well and had started breakfast.


    Deenat frowned, ¡°Sister¡­ These grains, other than grinding them, are there other ways to cook them?¡±


    Belbet looked up, and realized Deenat was talking about the amaranth. ¡°Oh yes! You can just chuck them into a soup, and they¡¯ll cook.¡± She paused, ¡°Could you bring me a few of our bigger empty baskets? We¡¯ll need to store this charcoal so that it doesn¡¯t get wet.¡± She got up to head over to the ashclay pot she¡¯d been building, and nodded when tapping it yielded a good sound.


    She used it to gather a bunch of ash from the charcoal pit. ¡°We¡¯re gonna need the ashes too, eventually, to make soap.¡±


    Kaion huffed, as he watched the two sisters work, seated safely in his lean-to. ¡°What is soap used for?¡± He asked, since if he didn¡¯t ask, he was sure Belbet would forget to define it.


    ¡°It¡¯s used to clean. We can use it to clean ourselves, and clean our dishes, and clean our clothes, so that we don¡¯t get sick as easily.¡± She called over her shoulder as she checked on the smoker. Unfortunately, it looked like the heat had cracked the lid Eefim had worked so hard on. She sighed, setting it to the side. She¡¯d need to make another, so she broke off the half-cooked clay to use the sticks Eefim had chosen as the handles.


    Mixing water into the clay pile again, she began creating a thinner layer of clay on each side, this way it would hopefully not crack as easily. This took a good twenty minutes, and building the fire below the smoker¡¯s grate took another five. Then, Belbet took a freezing bath to clear off as much of the charcoal powder as she could.


    By the time she returned to camp, the older children were awake too, Eefim sitting in front of the fire in a sleepy daze, while Dahnei watched her aunt stir the soup which was quickly turning into a porridge. Belbet grinned, ¡°How much did you add, Deenat?¡±


    The ermine woman huffed, ¡°A handful. Should I have added more?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you can add another handful, then watch to see how they puff up,¡± Belbet suggested. ¡°Make sure to add some leafy greens to it, and cut up some of the carrots and add them in, to-¡±


    Deenat waved a hand, ¡°I already did.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Belbet chirped, plopping down on one of their sitting logs next to Eefim. ¡°I think today will be a good day to get the main structure up for the storage house. We should all focus on that, instead of wandering around today. If we can get it up and running, we can start smoking meat today and have somewhere to store it.¡±


    ¡°Mn.¡± Deenat nodded, stirring the food pot with a soft stare. ¡°...Would it not be better to wait until we have stronger help?¡± She flicked her eyes to where Kaion was watching them too. Belbet took her meaning and sighed softly.


    ¡°Yes, it would go easier if we do, but we would lose the chance to store more food sooner. It¡¯s better to get it up and running sooner.¡± Belbet smiled, ¡°Soon we¡¯re going to have more food than we know what to do with.¡±


    Kaion¡¯s frown filled the corner of her vision, and she turned to him. ¡°Problem?¡±


    ¡°You should not count your prey before you land the shot.¡± He muttered, brow drawn tight and eyes shadowed.


    ¡°Being hopeful is not the same as counting your chickens before they hatch .¡± Belbet corrected, her own lips in a moue of dissatisfaction. ¡°Better to be hopeful than to be negative.¡±


    He clicked his tongue, turning to the fire, where he was making willow bark tea again. Deenat shook her head, lifting the food from the fire, and setting it to the side.


    ¡°Breakfast is ready.¡± With that a flurry of activity as the younger ones crowded close to get their bowls. Belbet took the moment to speak up.


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    ¡°Alright, I have a new rule I want to put in place. ¡®Youngest eats first¡¯. This is so that the littlest ones get their fill and grow big and strong, and to motivate the bigger ones to work harder so we can all eat. Does everyone understand?¡±


    The little ones nodded, of course, and Deenat did as well. Kaion¡¯s face scrunched into what Belbet had determined was his ¡®thinking face¡¯. Then, after a moment, he nodded as well. This nod was accompanied by the sound of little Mohniit coming out of the hut and toddling into his mother¡¯s lap.


    She thankfully accepted a steaming bowl on behalf of the child, and helped him eat it while her own cooled. Once breakfast was eaten, she gently set Mohniit onto the ground, the sun having risen and work time approaching. Checking the sundial, she determined it was perhaps six am, and filed that information away for later. She instructed the older children in going out to get trees thick enough to serve as the four main posts. She made sure they knew to look for trees bigger than her own thigh around.


    She and Deenat focused on finding arm-thick branches and saplings near the camp, so that they could keep an eye on Mohniit, who was taking to digging little holes in the ground. It took several hours for the kids to come back with two of the thick poles they needed, and by then Belbet and Deenat had collected quite a large number of their own poles and had stripped them of extraneous sticks and limbs.


    Sending the kids out to get the other two cardinal poles, Deenat and Belbet focused on digging holes to set the posts in. Again, they put them up against the cliffside as close as they could, so that it could rely on the cliffside¡¯s sturdiness. Then, Belbet mixed up some more almost-cement, with the ash and sand and clay. Pushing it into the holes with the poles, they made sure they were going to be solid.


    By the time they had finished that, the kids had arrived back with the two final poles. The process began again, only this time, Belbet put the kids on the process of making the cement. She and Deenat dug the post holes, and it went much faster. With the posts in their holes and the wet cement drying, Belbet led them into tying four guide posts for the floor, about adult hip-length from the ground. This way, insects and foragers would have a harder time getting into it. Then, she lashed similar guideposts to the tops of the posts, building the basis of the ceiling.


    Creating another gable-ceiling, she guided Deenat, Eefim and Dahnei into filling in the sides and the ceiling of the storage area. ¡°I want to do tiles for the roof this time, so that any rainwater doesn¡¯t get our food wet. Can you three keep lashing poles to the frame? Try to space them equally. For the roof only do them sideways, and about the length of a hand away from each other.¡±


    With that instruction, she turned her attention to making tiles. She started by putting together some small square frames, by bending some thin sticks into a square and then tying it together. These, she set on one of their flatter rocks, and started sculpting clay into filling the little square. The smoothed the first one out so that it was as thick as a flat hand, and flat on bottom and top. Then, she added a little lip on one side of the tile, which would be what she hung it on the guide-poles with.


    Setting this one to the side to dry, she began on many many more. Kaion watched her, before lifting his chin, ¡°I can help do that.¡±


    She blinked, having not considered that he could also help make the tiles. ¡°We¡¯re going to need a lot of them. Show me you can make one, and then we¡¯ll see.¡±


    She handed him a stick, and watched him bend it into a square about the size of the one she¡¯d made. Then, she guided him through creating the tile they¡¯d need, and showed him how to make the little tab. Once he was set on making them, she joined him for the remaining hours until lunch, making the tiles for the roof. They had a good fifty of them done, and when Dahnei skipped over, excited to learn how to make lunch, Belbet sighed softly, and smiled at her. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s make some pumpkin stew.¡±


    She went and picked up the ash-clay pot she¡¯d been slowly adding rings to since they¡¯d gotten here, and tapped it. A nice hollow clay sound. Perfect. She washed it out in the river, and checked that it would hold water, which it did. Taking it back to the camp, she washed it again with clean, boiled water, and then began cutting up some of the greens and vegetables they¡¯d been gathering. Some of the rabbit meat from one of Eefims hunts added a bit of protein to the meal.


    She opened up one of the pumpkins, cutting out some of the meat. She cut the firm pumpkin meat into chunks, and tossed those into the vegetable broth that was slowly coming to a boil. Getting up, she snipped a small handful of dried rosemary leaves and some dried thyme as well. She threw these into the pot as well, and stirred as it bubbled.


    Soon, the scent of pumpkin coney stew filled their camp, and Belbet could hear Mohniit¡¯s little tummy rumble. He sidled up next to his sister and stared into the pot as well, until the steam made his nose wrinkle and he flinched back from the heat. Belbet tugged him back into her arms and kissed his cheek, feeling how warm it was.


    ¡°Patience, little man. Lunch will be ready soon.¡± Belbet breathed out, letting the squirming child go. It really was a bit too warm to be cuddling, anyway, the sun fierce and hot overhead. Maybe she should have rethought the soup. Hot food in the middle of the day was a bit of a questionable practice. But she supposed they could just take a nap after they ate it, to avoid the worst of the heat.


    In fact, once the soup was dished out, she noticed that everyone ate a bit less than she was used to. She smiled, and nodded, ¡°It¡¯s a bit hot for this, isn¡¯t it. Let¡¯s go ahead and take it off the fire, and we can let it cool down. Cold soup is called a gazpacho. You have to be careful though, not to let it stay cold too long, because it¡¯ll go bad and make us sick, but it¡¯ll be fine to let it rest for a while and cool down.¡±


    At least, she hoped it would. To be honest, she¡¯d prefer to do it by cooling it in the river, but she was lazy. And besides, the children¡¯s stomachs wouldn¡¯t get used to eating questionable food if they didn¡¯t eat questionable food occasionally. It¡¯s why you let children play in dirt, so that they can pick up immunities they wouldn¡¯t otherwise. (Or that¡¯s what she told herself, at least.)


    Dahnei yawned, wincing up at the sun. ¡°Should we take a bath, Mama?¡± Belbet supposed she was used now to cooling off in the water before their naps. Deenat, who hadn¡¯t been here for either of the bathtimes previous, raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been having them cool off in the water, and wash off the sweat, before we nap through the hot parts of the day. It helps stay cool.¡± Belbet explained, moving to stand up. ¡°I¡¯ve also been teaching the children how to swim.¡±


    Deenat wrinkled her nose. ¡°Just because you are an otter, you think everyone needs to swim.¡± She said it the same way an old woman might say ¡®just because you¡¯re young, you think everyone can run around.¡¯ It was quite amusing to Belbet.


    ¡°No, I think everyone needs to swim so that if they fall in a river, they don¡¯t die. Seeing as how we live right next to one.¡± She reminded, keeping her own tone light, so as not to cause a real fight. To be honest, however, Belbet really did feel most comfortable in the water, or near it.


    Deenat made a dismissive noise, and stood up too. Belbet seized on the opportunity, ¡°Sister, could you help our patient down to the river too? Dahnei, grab his bowl.¡±


    Dahnei rushed off to grab the bowl he¡¯d used the day before to ladle water on himself, and Belbet picked up Mohniit. ¡°Want to go blow bubbles?¡± She crooned, using her baby voice to get him excited about the prospect of sticking his face in water again. The baby laughed, and patted her shoulder.


    The small family traipsed their way down the rocky shore and into the gentle current of the river. As before, Belbet helped Mohniit blow some more bubbles, watching as the boy slapped the water. She took one of his hands and showed him how to scoop the water, a prelude to him learning to properly propel himself in the water later.


    Perhaps her distraction is why she hadn¡¯t noticed the hidden tones of her daughter¡¯s voice speaking. Perhaps watching her son took up so much of her attention that she didn¡¯t see the danger signs, much less the woman whose hands had snatched her daughter¡¯s wrists.


    ¡°DAHNEI!¡± Eefim¡¯s roar drew her attention, and when she snapped her head towards it, she was blocked from seeing them, a large boulder in her way. She lunged forward, Mohniit in her arms as she half-charged, half-swam through the river towards where her daughter was in danger.


    By the time she got around the rock, she could see what was going on and her mind seized for a moment.


    Eefim had a knife in his hand, one hand around a strange woman¡¯s throat. Her own clawed hands were wrapped around Dahnei¡¯s upper arm, pulling the girl through the water. Around the three of them, dark serpent coils roiled in the water, and Belbet immediately realized they were part of this woman¡¯s body.


    Lamia, Victoria¡¯s memories screamed, and Belbet felt terror at the thought that a monster like this had her children in it¡¯s grasp.

 Chapter Thirteen - Snake Vs. Mongoose

    Chapter Thirteen - Snake Vs. Mongoose


    -Summer-


    The terror was quickly replaced with awe as Eefim swung the knife into the woman¡¯s jaw, blood exploding over his hand and face.


    The woman¡¯s shriek was louder than the water around them, and she backhanded Eefim in his chest. The boy took it like a champion, and Belbet wanted to lunge forward and help, but she had Mohniit in her arms and it was far too deep to let go of him. He was already shrieking his fear in a dismal choir with the snake woman¡¯s roars.


    Eefim¡¯s body sluiced into the water, but at the same time the woman¡¯s claws slipped from Dahnei¡¯s arm. Dahnei wasted no time trying to splash her way away from the snake woman, only to be shoved back against her side with one thick roll of that tail. Belbet hesitated, before screaming, ¡°DEENAT!¡±


    She hoped her sister was getting a weapon. She hoped her sister could step in, protect Dahnei and Eefim. She hoped that this would all end somewhat well, the same way the wolf had. Her hopes were dashed when the woman¡¯s hand caught in Dahnei¡¯s hair, and the two of them slid into the current of the water, the beast dragging her daughter away with it.


    Deenat launched herself off the boulder, spear raised and stabbed into the snake-woman¡¯s scaly stomach. Another unholy scream from the woman as she shoved at Deenat¡¯s face, the two women struggling in the water. Belbet had to shield Mohniit from the waves, the water splashing into her eyes and ruining her view of it.


    ¡°Belbet!¡± Kaion cried over the noise, reaching for her as he limped in the water. An absurd part of her mind told her she was going to have to redo his bandages, but at that moment, she shoved her screaming child into his arms.


    ¡°Take him to shore! Keep him safe!¡± She screamed, turning and diving into the water with the sort of grace a mermaid might claim. Underneath the roiling waves, she could see the movement of the Lamia¡¯s coils, and she raked her claws along the waterlogged scales hard enough to hopefully distract her.


    A thick coil slammed into Belbet, sending her careening against the bottom of the river, rocks scraping her skin raw. She clawed at the coil, it¡¯s weight holding her down. The only thing keeping her from panicking was the knowledge that she could hold her breath longer than this demon could survive the bloodloss she was suffering from. Belbet could see. through the murky muddy water, snippets of the fight occurring above the surface. Shapes moving in the bright sky void above the water, the pure white of her sister and the green of the beast clashing.


    Blood clouded the water as Belbet tore through muscles and bone. She was aiming for spine, her lungs warm with the effort of holding her breath while fighting. She wrapped her legs around the coil she held so that it couldn¡¯t slip away from her, She dug through it¡¯s flesh, the screaming above muffled. A small tanned leg slid past Belbet¡¯s vision, and she turned towards it, seeing Dahnei floating away from the beast.


    A quick glance told Belbet that the creature was distracted with Deenat and so Belbet let go, kicking off the severely injured body to swim faster. She flipped belly up underneath her daughter¡¯s drowning body, the depth of the river too much for her little girl here, and she wrapped her arms around Dahnei as they surfaced together. Using her own body to support Dahnei¡¯s she kicked hard to get them to shore. Her baby¡¯s hands clung to her as she choked violently on the water she¡¯d almost swallowed.


    Belbet got Dahnei to shore, pushed the hair out of her face, and checked her over for injuries. Upon confirming her little girl was not bleeding, and was only bruised, she pushed the girl up onto her feet, ¡°Go, run. Get a knife and keep it on you. Find Kaion and your baby brother. Now. GO.¡± She pushed Dahnei, who stumbled, up the rocks towards their camp, before turning back to the water.


    She took a moment to take in the fight, just in time to see Deenat flung into the water, spear gone from her hands. Belbet tried to spy her little nephew, and saw him nowhere, but she knew her sister wasn¡¯t a good swimmer, and so she dove back into the river¡¯s current again. She ducked under one of the swiping coils keeping the snake beast afloat, and surfaced in the center of the coils, hooking her claws in the torso of the lamia.


    The beast shrieked, turning it¡¯s attention to her, hands wrapping around Belbet¡¯s throat. This was the moment Eefim chose to re-enter the combat, bursting from the water with a shout, hooking one arm and both legs around the lamia¡¯s waist and neck, hanging from it¡¯s humanoid back like a backpack. He gave no hesitation in drawing the blade he¡¯d carried across it¡¯s throat so deep that Belbet, who was sprayed with blood, could see the white of the snake¡¯s spinal column.


    The entire body beneath the two of them seized, thrashing in its dying throws. Claws caught Belbet across the face and neck, one scoring along Eefim¡¯s shoulder, Unable to keep itself afloat, the Lamia¡¯s bulk began sinking towards the bottom of the river. Refusing to give up on the snake meat they could get from this, Belbet kicked, hard, turning herself onto her back and taking the weight of her nephew and the snake beast.


    She swam the now-still corpse and Eefim to the shore, and collapsed panting upon it. She managed through a sore throat and exhaustion, to call for Eefim, ¡°Are-, you alright-¡±


    The boy nodded, sitting up and rolling off the body atop his aunt. He then helped push the bulk of the beast off of her too, so that she could turn and crawl further up the beach. ¡°Your mother-¡± Belbet panted, looking back towards the water.


    ¡°Mother¡¯s fine. She¡¯s further up the beach.¡± Eefim promised her. His face glowed, and a vicious grin split his face. ¡°Aunt, we won. We beat her.¡±


    ¡°You won.¡± Belbet laughed, exhaustion turning her bones to jelly. ¡°Go on, go ahead.¡±


    Eefim let out a cry of joy and turned to cut into the belly of the beast. Victoria cringed at the sight of such glee, at the quick and efficient strokes with which the boy cut open it¡¯s lower belly and removed a round blue crystal. Even covered in blood, the stone was shining and carribean blue, etched with deep cracks. Belbet, however, watched with pride as her nephew swallowed down the beast¡¯s core, knowing from memory that it would strengthen him like nothing else in the world.


    ¡°When you¡¯re done there, go get your mother. I¡¯ll guard the body. Tell her to bring the sled. We¡¯ll need it to carry the corpse.¡± Belbet plopped down on one of the bigger rocks in the area, and let her aching legs splay out. Swimming was no hardship for her, but she often felt lazy and sleepy after long or difficult swims. A natural response, she supposed, to using too many calories.


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    As her nephew ran off to go get his mother, leaving Belbet alone with the corpse, Belbet and Victoria had a bit of a tiff in her mind. On one hand, Belbet knew that the meat was edible, that there was nothing wrong with eating snake. On the other, Victoria didn¡¯t know if the human-looking creature was sentient, was capable of conscious thought and speech. Therefore, she felt very uncomfortable with the idea of eating it.


    ¡°Perhaps if we just¡­ cut off and cremate the upper body¡­ we can pretend the lower is snakemeat.¡± She mumbled to herself. But even then it left a foul taste in her mouth to think of doing so. Her eyes roamed over the great beast, some of which was still in the rushing water, and when they came to it¡¯s face, she realized that it was, in it¡¯s death, staring at her.


    ¡°Eugh.¡± She shuddered, before reaching out a foot to kick the face away from her. At least that way it wouldn¡¯t be looking at her. Her stomach recoiled, the touch of the cold, clammy skin making it heave, and she nearly emptied her lunch all over the poor dead woman. Ah, no, she couldn¡¯t think of it as a woman. She had to think of it as a beast. Wiping at her mouth, she turned, the sound of hurried footsteps cascading rocks down the hilly side of the river attracting her attention.


    ¡°Sister! Are you alright?¡± Deenat called, her visage coming into view along with her voice. Deenat was in fact carrying the sledge. Her presence settled the fear that the dead body had risen in Belbet¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. Help me load the body. Your son¡¯s already eaten the stone, so we don¡¯t have to worry about that. But that¡¯s a lot of snake meat I don¡¯t want going to waste.¡± Belbet steeled herself, rising to her feet.


    Between the two of them, they managed to get the heavy snake woman onto the sledge, and drag most of her bulk back to the camp. With that taken care of, Belbet took a moment to reassure herself her babies were alright, checking on each of them, and running her hands over their face and hair. Once that was done, and the children were giggling at their mother¡¯s worry, she turned to the body.


    ¡°...We should cut the snake from the torso, and then cremate the torso. Anything human-faced should be burnt to ashes, and put to rest. We can¡¯t afford to waste the snakemeat, so we¡¯ll start smoking it immediately.¡± Belbet declared, only to see her family staring at her oddly.


    ¡°What?¡± She demanded, unsettled from the presence of a dead body and a little snappish.


    ¡°We could eat the torso as well?¡± Kaion stated, as if reminding someone of something they¡¯d forgotten.


    Victoria in Belbet¡¯s skin recoiled physically in disgust. ¡°No! We do NOT eat anything human-shaped! That¡¯s disgusting! It¡¯s cruel! We do NOT.¡±


    Dahnei made a soft whining sound, snapping Belbet out of her vehemence. She sighed, sitting on one of the campfire logs, rubbing at her face as if to get rid of the itch beneath her skin. How to explain? How to teach these people, this family of hers, that it was fundamentally wrong to eat something that could be human. That it should be abhored?


    ¡°Why?¡± Mohniit¡¯s little voice called her attention, and Belbet turned to look at him, suddenly tired and sad.


    ¡°Because they are so like us, sweetheart.¡± She opened her arms and he came into them with all the ease of a child. She wrapped him up, hugging him close to comfort herself. ¡°Because if we eat them, what is to say that we could not eat each other? It is a slippery slope, a quick path to cruelty and sickness. We must not ever eat anything that can speak, anything that can think as we do. We wouldn¡¯t want to be eaten, right?¡±


    Mohniit shook his head, agreeing with his mother. Belbet nodded, happy to see it. She turned her gaze up to Kaion and Deenat, her mouth frowning and her eyes pleading.


    The two other adults looked to each other, before looking to her. ¡°Alright,¡± Deenat agreed. ¡°We will not eat anything that looks human. Although when winter comes, that may be a hard promise not to break.¡± She warned.


    Thinking of the Donner Party, and how humans reacted in extreme conditions, she sighed, nodding. ¡°If it comes to starvation or that, we will choose that. But not unless starvation is guaranteed otherwise.¡±


    Agreed on this, they began the process of cutting the torso from the snake tail. It was long, and arduous, and Belbet had to stop and walk away many times, lest she throw up. Worst still was that their knives couldn¡¯t get through the bone proper, so they had to seek out the tendons between spinal column bones, and cut those to get through. In the end, the torso, arms and head of the beast were separated from the snake tail, the part with the most meat upon it.


    Belbet asked Deenat to take the torso out of the clearing and set it on fire, burn it to ashes so that hopefully they could then sprinkle those ashes on the garden. It wasn¡¯t a proper burial or anything, but when she¡¯d said they should bury it, Deenat frowned, confused.


    ¡°It is a beast. It does not deserve the work of digging a grave. Best to make it useful.¡± Deenat began hacking away at the snake woman¡¯s hair, pulling clumps of the several-feet long hair to the side. ¡°Even the hair can be used as a net.¡±


    Victoria recoiled from such butchery, but she had to admit that weaving cloth with that hair would be a lot easier than using tree-bark fibers or grass. So she shoved Victoria¡¯s discomfort down and agreed with Deenat. And so, the creature was burnt to bits, the leftover bones crushed, and the ash and bone dust scattered among their plants.


    Belbet left the harvesting of meat to Deenat and Eefim, who seemed to know more about it, asking them to pile the bones up so that they can eventually dry and crush them into bonemeal to mix into the earth too. She took a few of the bones and made them into bone-needles, for sewing.


    And while they were cutting the meat into strips for drying, Belbet prepared the fire in the smoker, carefully picking only what appeared to be oak wood to her. She let the fire get going pretty good, and then started laying the strips of snake meat filet over sticks, letting it dangle, and then wedging the sticks into the smoker. She was able to get about six sticks (only as long as from her fingertips to her elbow) lodged in for the first test. She put on the lid Eefim designed, and left them to smoke.


    Belbet had internally already written off this first round of snake, because she didn¡¯t know the proper process for smoking meat. Honestly, this was a test run. She hadn¡¯t rubbed any herbs or soaked the meat or anything, so she could only imagine what kind of jerky-like texture she¡¯d get out of that first smoking. But it would be a learning experience that helped them perfect it later on down the road.


    Checking the sundial, she determined it was roughly four o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Still a bit early for dinner, but she could at least start something interesting. She picked up five snake-steaks, and the clay pot that held the gazpacho they¡¯d made this morning in it. Dumping out the gazpacho and making quick work of washing the pot, she began the marinading process. Putting berries, rosemary and thyme in the pot, she mulled the berries a bit with a stick, and then added the snake steaks, before pouring water in to just cover the meat.


    She covered that with a basket, and then went to get another dried gourd from the pumpkin patch. Dahnei and Mohniit tagged along, the two of them wanting to stick close to their mother. Belbet assumed they were anxious from the sudden attack. So, to distract them, she had them help her roll the dried pumpkin home, and clean it out.


    They went through the arduous process of waxing the inside. And once it was done, she poured in boiled water, berries she¡¯d cut up, and honey. This, she left to mix until dinner as well.


    Dinner ended up being fried snake steaks, charred greens and herbs, and berry punch, which the children absolutely adored. Belbet sipped at it, and found herself wishing she had real sugar. But the smiles on her family¡¯s faces was worth suffering a bit.

 Chapter Fourteen - 3AM tears

    Chapter Fourteen - 3AM Tears


    -Summer-


    After dinner and the small time spent cleaning and patching up their wounds, the remaining light was spent adding to the storage building. They would need somewhere to put the dried lamia meat, after all. Mohniit even helped, bringing handfuls of sticks for them to weave into the floor and walls. No one really wanted to stray too far away from camp just then anyway. The children were still quite shaken up. Eefim had a scowl on his face that could rival any cold-hearted CEO. He kept rubbing at his chest, too, so much so that the tan skin reddened.


    By the time the light finally died, they had the walls in place, along with the door lashed in place. The only issue was that the roof wasn¡¯t done. Belbet did the mental calculations, and it would take several weeks for them to make and dry enough roof tiles to finish the roof. If only there was a way to speed up the drying process.


    ¡°Mama-¡± Dahnei tugged at Belbet¡¯s arm while she was in thought staring at the tiles in the dark. ¡°Mama, I had an idea.¡±


    Blinking down at her sweet daughter (I almost lost her, Dahnei almost died today-Belbet cut that thought off), she reached out to pull her into a swaying hug. ¡°Hmm? And what is this idea, my sweet girl?¡±


    Dahnei giggled and leaned into the soft dance of her mother¡¯s hold. ¡°Well. You made the smoker by making fire inside the clay, right?¡± She was doing so well learning all the new words Belbet was teaching her. ¡°Could we dry the tiles around a fire too? Make them faster?¡±


    Belbet thought about it, keeping up the little dance she danced with her five-year-old. ¡°Hmmmm¡­ You know, I think it could be worth a try. Let¡¯s get some of the tiles and set a fire up, Okay?¡±


    ¡°I can make the fire!¡± Dahnei shrieked in excitement, tossing herself off her mother¡¯s hold and towards the wood-pile. While Dahnei dragged sticks over to form a pyramid, Belbet gathered up twelve of the tiles that were already made but weren¡¯t dried yet. Once Dahnei¡¯s little fire was roaring, she stood the tiles up around the fire, hoping none of them would fall over. Two of them did almost immediately. Belbet figured out a system of sticks that managed to hold them all up in a circle around the fire.


    Belbet settled down to wait out the tiles, watching over the camp as she did. Kaion was taking his job as a tile-maker quite seriously. He was still bending sticks and patting the big rock down with ashes so that the clay tiles wouldn¡¯t stick to it. It was interesting, to watch his thick fingers work the clay into a smooth surface, to place the hooked catch on the squares, She tore her eyes away, lest she be caught staring again.


    Deenat was spending the evening weaving rope from the grasses they were drying, and Eefim was carving and creating spears for each of them with the already made rope. They were sitting closer together than usual, so perhaps it wasn¡¯t just Belbet who felt the effects of their almost-loss that afternoon.


    ¡°We should take the night in shifts, so we can dry as much of the meat as possible.¡± Deenat declared. She carefully didn¡¯t say it was because she was worried about being attacked again. Belbet heard it anyway.


    ¡°Sounds good. I want to check on the tiles through the night anyway.¡± Belbet explained, taking a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m not very tired right now. Deenat, why don¡¯t you take the first sleep shift. You too, Kaion.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay up too.¡± Eefim declared, squaring his shoulders.


    Belbet frowned, ¡°Children need their sleep.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a child! I¡¯m a hunter!¡± Eefim snapped back at her, and she gaped.


    ¡°Still a child.¡± Deenat declared, frowning. ¡°Child and hunter. You can be both, and you are. But you still need sleep. You worked hard today, slaying that snake.¡±


    Eefim¡¯s face turned ugly, the fire throwing harsh shadows on his crinkled nose. He started rubbing at his chest again, frowning. Deenat reached out, taking his hand and pulling it to her lips. She pressed a soft kiss there and then tugged him into a hug. Eefim relaxed enough that his shoulders no longer surrounded his ears.


    Belbet chewed her lip watching the two of them. She took a deep breath and sighed, ¡°We¡¯re all tired. We¡¯ve all had a bad day, and we were lucky no one was seriously injured. Eefim, you did amazing, slaying that thing. I¡¯m very proud of you, and I know everyone else is too.¡±


    Children need a lot of positive reinforcement to build a good self-image. Victoria knew this from watching her siblings parent their own children, and from the various videos and articles she had read on parenting and childcare. Had to be a good auntie, after all. Well, now she could translate that into being a good mother.


    The malaise of the day seemed to settle around everyone, and finally, Belbet couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Something had to be done. But how could she cheer everyone up? Delicious (in their experience) food hadn¡¯t done it. The surplus of food hadn¡¯t done it. What could cheer up a group of despondent, down-on-their-luck people?


    ¡°We survived-¡± She started, pulling the syllables into a song. She patted her thighs in a basic rhythm, and sang. ¡°We survived another day. We lived, we fought, we live still. Today there is fresh food to eat, tomorrow there will be too. We survived.¡±


    It was a simple song. Stupid, honestly, compared to some of the compositions Victoria had heard in her time. But it caught everyone¡¯s attention, and soon enough had the children patting along in a clumsy follow of the rhythm she¡¯d set up. Grinning at their enthusiasm, she picked up two sticks, handing them to Dahnei, miming how to tap them against a stone, watching as she discovered this new sound.


    ¡°We survived!¡± She crowed, loud and sharp, and Deenat¡¯s voice echoed just behind it. ¡°We survived another day! We lived, we fought, we live still! Today there is good food to eat, tomorrow there will be too. We survived!¡±


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    Soon the others picked up on the lyrics, and little Mohniit babbled along, singing whatever words his young mind caught on. Belbet started clapping along to their little beat, adding a counterpoint to the sharp sounds of the sticks. Soon, Kaion caught on, and started copying her little one-two-onetwothree clapping rhythm, and she could drop it to focus on keeping the lyrics going.


    A few minutes that felt like soaring hours passed by like this, with the lyrics changing as others sang bits. Eefim hummed, Dahnei drummed, Kaion clapped, and soon there was enough of a beat that Belbet felt uplifted, twirling around the fire in a strange, uncalculated dance. In the arc of it, she picked up Mohniit and swung him around, dancing with him too, while crying the words, his little croak of every other word coming back to her. The dancing was contagious, and Deenat pulled Eefim into a dance too, spinning and swirling and calling the words to the sky.


    Energy crescendoed into a slow-releasing wave, and soon, the exhaustion of the day caught up. Their swirling dance slowed to swaying, and the words cawed and crowed to the sky turned gentle, soft.


    ¡°You survived.¡± Belbet sang, low and reverberating, a lullaby now. ¡°You survived, and you lived. And tomorrow, there will be good food, and forevermore.¡±


    It was here, she let the vibrations of the song end, die out into the night. She patted Mohniit¡¯s little back as he leaned heavily into her hold, clearly sleepy if his little yawn against the skin of her throat was anything to go by. She led the children into the hut, Deenat following up as rear-guard.


    Laying Mohniit down in their bed, she gestured for Dahnei to curl up with him too. She hummed the tune of the song a little more, stroking a soft finger down her daughter¡¯s nose. The girl¡¯s eyes tried to follow it, before fluttering closed and huffing out a gentle breath. ¡°You survived¡­ You lived. And tomorrow¡­ and forevermore.¡±


    She sang, soft and gentle over the sounds of Deenat putting Eefim to bed as well. And if she sat there a little longer, to watch her babies sleeping, the swell of hurt, unshed tears behind her eyes, who was to say.


    Belbet left the hut feeling worse than she¡¯d gone in. Her breath shook with the effort of making it. She tried to focus on firing the tiles. When that chore alone didn¡¯t work, she turned to finishing the loom. She carved out a shuttle, the process painful. She kept nearly knicking her fingers with the sharp stone knives. A huff of frustration sent her dropping the crudely done thing next to the sticks that sort of resembled a loom. Turning her frustration to crafting a drop spindle next. A heavy piece of clay not even hardened yet, on the end of a stick was her first try. It took a few attempts to get the right weight on the end, and each successive failure hit her hard.


    When the clay fell off the final time she couldn¡¯t help the pained cry that left her throat as she tossed it onto the ground. It bounced, (an absurd moment that would have made her laugh) and she collapsed into actual tears.


    ¡°What am I doing?¡± She breathed through her sobs, gripping her upper arms tightly as if to hold back the flood inside her. She whispered, a part of her ever aware of Kaion asleep just a little ways away. ¡°She could have dieeeed-¡± A crack in her voice drew out the word, hot tears spilling down her cheeks in slow, itchy tracks.


    She tried to quiet the sobs, but they echoed in the dark night, and she was too tired, too frustrated to care. She¡¯d almost lost her children today, children Victoria had never even had. But they were family now, the only family she had in this place, those kids and Deenat and Eefim. What would she have done if one of them had died?


    Victoria had been so sheltered from death. The closest she¡¯d ever gotten was her grandmother¡¯s funeral when she was barely old enough to remember. She hadn¡¯t been there, though, when the woman died. She hadn¡¯t seen her death throws, or the blood spilling from her throa-Ah. Victoria¡¯s grandmother had died of cancer, not of- She choked out another sob stifled behind her hand.


    Death was so much closer here, so much more real. It was around every corner, and lurking in the cold, icy claws of the coming winter. There was so much to do, so much to prepare, her breath grew tight just thinking about it. She cried herself nearly into breathlessness, her cheeks slick with tears. She could barely breathe, her nose stuffed and her mouth covered to hide the sound of her breakdown from her children.


    Her eyes flicked once again to the only other person she could see at the moment. Kaion, sleeping in his lean-to. She couldn¡¯t see much of him. Just the tip of a dipped ear, his shoulder, and the broad muscles of his back. Her breath hitched again, and she closed her eyes. Could he hear her? Was he listening to her crying right now, wondering why this weak woman was sobbing next to the camp fire?


    Did he even feel the closeness of death? Did any of the people who lived here? Belbet hadn¡¯t. And look what happened to her. Victoria had been forced to come in and take over. She tried to breathe deeper, to force the sobs to stop. She needed to think about something else. She needed to distract herself. She turned her focus back on Kaion, thinking about him, instead of death loomed over her shoulders, ready to take her.


    It¡¯d be nice to have someone strong enough to lift heavier things, she supposed. A weak thing to think, and she felt weak thinking it. She and Deenat were no slouches, of course, but honestly, she doubted the two of them would be able to lift enough big logs to build a proper bridge across the river. And who knew, maybe as a sheep spirit, he¡¯d be able to herd sheep really easily. If they had sheep, she could spin wool, instead of tree fibers. She imagined putting a wool sweater on Mohniit, and how his little nose would crinkle. But he¡¯d be warm, for winter.


    She sighed softly as her tears dried on her cheeks, closing her eyes and rubbing at her temples. A headache was forming, and absurdly, she thought of Victoria¡¯s mother. She¡¯d always said, ¡®If you cry too much, you¡¯ll make yourself sick.¡¯ Standing up, she went to the punch-pumpkin and scooped some out. The sweet drink helped, but not enough to be comforting. She turned to the fire, and saw that there was still some willow bark tea left. She added that to the cup of berry punch and sipped. Not bad.


    Belbet turned to look at the spindle and quickly determined she wasn¡¯t going to be able to keep working on it like that in the dark. So, she moved to another project, putting together more clay tiles. It was hard to screw up clay tiles, even in the dark. It also reminded her to check the ones still being cured around the fire. The fire they¡¯d made was nowhere near going out, so she went back to making little forms, and then filling them with clay.


    She lost herself in the work for a few more hours, and only when the fire popped harshly, nearly out to embers, did she realize she¡¯d almost passed the entire night this way. Standing up again, she rubbed her face to rid it of the last bit of tears. Her eyes felt swollen and she still sniffed occasionally. She sighed, stoking the fire again, and then heading into the hut. She gently shook Deenat awake.


    The woman snorted herself to consciousness, and Belbet whispered, ¡°Your turn to watch the tiles.¡±


    Deenat groaned quietly, but got up, leaving her son alone in their bed. Belbet took a moment to stoke the fire in the hut too, before laying down next to her children. The both of them wiggled to get comfortable with the new addition to their space, before settling back into a comfortable sleep, and Belbet¡¯s heart cracked at the feeling of their furnace-hot skin against hers. She gathered them closer, making little whines sound from sleeping mouths, and then let herself close aching eyes and sleep.

 Chapter Fifteen - Mother Trophies

    Chapter Fifteen - Mother Trophies


    -Summer-


    Deenat yawned, stepping out into the midnight gloom. Staring at the weird instrument her sister had created, she decided not to touch it, lest she ruin some grand plan Belbet had put together. Reminded of her sister¡¯s grand plans, she looked around their camp, taking in the hulking shapes in the dark. Where had her sister come up with all of these ideas?


    Belbet had changed, after the fever. Quieter, more¡­ steady. And far more involved with the children. She barely left them alone while they were with the tribe. Today, however, she¡¯d made the mistake of letting Dahnei out of her sight while in the water. A rookie mistake, as if she¡¯d forgotten her own encounter with a snakewoman.


    Deenat glowered at the ground, her pretty face scrunching up like her son¡¯s. She¡¯d almost lost her baby sister that day, the vicious snake woman stealing her away. It¡¯d taken half the tribe to take that thing down. They were lucky that today they¡¯d had a mongoose-spirited person with them. Eefim was naturally better at fighting those creatures. Even as a child, he was sure to win against anything snake-ish. She couldn¡¯t help the sharp sense of pride in her chest at this knowledge.


    Her baby had swallowed a beast core, something normally reserved for tribal cheiftans. Sometimes, it is gifted to a strong, powerful warrior. But Deenat¡¯s sister had just¡­ given it to a child. If anything, it should have been Belbet¡¯s, as she was tribal leader. But she had gifted it to Deenat¡¯s son, instead of keeping it for herself.


    Who knew how it would help Eefim grow? Who knew how strong he would be, having eaten one this young? She grinned as she started a new batch of willow tea. More signs of her sister, here by the fire, tiles of clay, one half-finished. She must have dozed off in the middle of it, and that prompted her to wake Deenat. How clumsy. How cute.


    Deenat left the clay-making to those with more nimble fingers. She was not someone who had that skill. So, she focused on butchering more of the snake woman, tossing the offal and rotting bits of food into a pile to be used as fish-bait later. She was making slow work on getting the snakeskin off this thing too. The bones she put in a pile. She¡¯d seen her sister whittle one of the finger-sized ones into something earlier, and had no doubt that Belbet had plans for the rest of the bones too. One of the ribs that curved into a length the size of her own fingertips to elbow, she kept, planning to carve it into a bone knife. She stole away several of the spinal bones, planning to carve them into beautiful beads for Eefim to wear. He had killed the thing, he deserved it.


    When she got bored of cutting away meat and slicing between bones, she washed the bones she¡¯d kept away. Then, she began the process of first, carving the knife, then, the beads (she made them little bear-heads, to give him strength), and finally, a set of combs, one for each of the people in the camp. It took her the rest of the night since she had so much practice at carving bones.


    With the sun peaking over the horizon, she got to witness the waking of the camp once again. Specifically, she got to witness the big wolf hovering over at the edges of camp until her son woke up. Then, at the sight of Eefim coming out of the hut sleepily, it let out a huff. Eefim, as if in answer, tossed it some jerky from their storage. She stayed her tongue, having already agreed to Belbet¡¯s insane plan of keeping the predator around. It took the food, chomped it down, tail wagging. Then, it looked up, and Eefim sighed, before taking one of the snake filets and throwing that at it too.


    It ate that just as quickly, before making a whining noise. Eefim looked to his mother, and Deenat recognized the ¡®am I going to be beaten for this¡¯ look on his face. It took her a moment to figure out what he was referring to.


    Then, she got it. ¡°Yeah, go ahead. We¡¯re not going to be able to eat all this.¡± She gestured to the snake. Her boy grinned, taking up two more of the slices and moving just a little closer. The wolf¡¯s ears came forward, its tail standing straight up. It was worried. Eefim made small shushing noises he¡¯d learned from Belbet. The ears didn¡¯t lower, but the tail did. Eefim tossed one of the steaks to it.


    The third steak wasn¡¯t tossed until Eefim was within hands-distance of the beast. It caught it with a mighty snap of its jaws, and Eefim praised the beast. It huffed again, looked at Deenat¡¯s boy, and then turned and trotted away, clearly recognising there was no more food incoming. Or perhaps just full? ¡­Nah, she doubted that.


    ¡°It¡¯s terrifying.¡± Kaion¡¯s voice started her away from looking at her son. She turned to look at him. A virile male, one of the strongest looking ones she¡¯d seen in years, honestly. But sick right now, and therefore not appropriate for breeding. She tilted her head, giving him her attention.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The wolf could eat Eefim instead.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t.¡± Eefim chimed in, so close. ¡°He knows the food stops if he bites me.¡±


    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± Kaion demanded, and Eefim paused, eyes turned up as if thinking.


    ¡°...I just know. I can tell.¡± Eefim decided. ¡°Besides, it worked with the chicken.¡± He pointed to the bird, which had escaped the house at the same time Eefim had and was now heading to it¡¯s pile of snake offal and grasses.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°...Belbet decided to keep the chicken too?¡± Kaion asked, confirming.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Deenat snapped, the heat that came with defending her sister rising in her chest. How dare this man look down on her sister¡¯s strangeness.


    The man¡¯s ears lowered, and he looked away from Deenat, a sign she took to mean he wasn¡¯t pressing his luck. ¡°I only meant that it is¡­ strange, the way your sister¡¯s mind works.¡±


    ¡°So what if it¡¯s strange?¡± Deenat asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°She is a mother, she has two healthy children, a third on the way, she can be as strange as she wants, so long as it doesn¡¯t get us killed.¡±


    The man was handsome, sure, but he clearly didn¡¯t have much going on between those big horns, if Deenat was any judge. He shook his head, brow scrunched. ¡°She¡¯s fed us all well so far. I have no complaints.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Deenat huffed a breath through her nose. She looked down the length of the comb, seeing that it was a little crooked. She sighed and set about straightening it, ¡°That settles it then. Eefim, think you can catch us some more chickens? Live?¡±


    Eefim made a cute little moue with his lips that Deenat wanted to smoosh to make it go away. ¡°...I can.¡±


    ¡°Then do so. It¡¯ll make your aunt smile.¡±


    ¡°But breakfast?¡± Eefim whined.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be back in plenty of time. And if you aren¡¯t I¡¯ll save you some.¡± She swatted the air as if it were his excuses. ¡°Go on. Get going.¡±


    Eefim grumbled, but picked up his bow and the arrows his aunt had taught him to make. He headed into the woods, leaving Deenat alone in the quiet before-dawn camp with the ram once again.


    ¡°If you¡¯re here to sire more children, you¡¯re out of luck. Belbet¡¯s pregnant, I¡¯m infertile, and Dahnei is far too young.¡± Deenat declared, trying to figure out what was up with this strange man. Her knife sheered some of the bone from the comb she was carving. ¡°His ill-fated sister took too much with her when she left me. I¡¯ll never have another baby.¡± She gestured her head in Eefim¡¯s direction.


    ¡°How sad,¡± Kaion said, his condolences clear in his words. ¡°You must treasure him greatly, then. And no, I am not here to sire more children.¡±


    Deenat believed that about as much as she believed the snake woman was alive still. But she didn¡¯t call him out on it. Some males liked to wait between siring children. Some didn¡¯t. Whatever he chose to do, she would keep an eye on him. If Belbet was worried he was going to hurt them, then Deenat would do everything she could to make sure he didn¡¯t.


    ¡°As I said, I grew bored with my tribe. I¡¯m seeking¡­ newness. And your tribe provides quite handily. I don¡¯t want to do anything to put it at risk.¡±


    That, she believed. Still, she sniffed as if she didn¡¯t, and turned back to her carving. One comb finished, she set it aside to be used. She picked up one of the vertebrae she¡¯d grabbed, and started whittling it down.


    ¡°What are you making?¡± Kaion asked.


    She raised an eyebrow, ¡°Has no mother made trophies for you before? My son slew a snake-woman. He deserves beads to decorate his hair or his neck. These-¡± She tapped the comb and extra bone with her knife, ¡°Are combs, to make combing hair easier. Mohniit cries if it is done by hand.¡±


    ¡°Mothers, no.¡± Kaion admitted, ¡°My own mother did not survive my birth. But I have had mates make gifts for me.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense.¡± She nodded. He was a strong (at least, based on his bone structure) man, and clearly attractive. ¡°Were you a hunter for your tribe?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes. Others, I put together baskets, fished. I would gather with the children sometimes.¡± Kaion shrugged, ¡°The Elk tribe followed herds of elk, and it was my job to return any elk that were too young to their herd.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll make a good shepherd then when we can find some sheep and goats to tame.¡± Belbet¡¯s voice joined their conversation as she emerged from the hut. Behind her were her children, both sleepy but awake. Their hair was truly a trainwreck, and Deenat took the opportunity to hand her sister the comb by its handle. ¡°Oh! A comb! Thank you, Deenat. This¡¯ll make life a lot easier.¡±


    Kaion spent a few minutes watching Belbet comb out her own long hair, before twisting it into a thick braid. Then, Belbet moved on to combing first her daughters, pulling it into two braids she secured with small strips of leather, and then her son¡¯s hair, but he fussed when she went to braid it, so she left his down in a glossy dark curtain.


    Belbet grinned, ¡°Shall I comb your hair too, Kaion?¡±


    The male snorted, ¡°Combs make my hair uncontrollable.¡± He shook his head, the curls weighed down only by the oils of his hair.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t use oils to protect the curls.¡± Belbet commented, moving instead to start combing Deenat¡¯s hair. She put up with her sister¡¯s ministrations, telling herself she didn¡¯t enjoy the teeth stroking through her own pale white hair. ¡°If we can make some oil that isn¡¯t animal-based, we can use it to oil your curls, and then they¡¯ll be easy to brush. Hell, since you¡¯re a ram, you might make your own lanolin, which would do the same.¡±


    Deenat could feel her sister¡¯s mind work in the slow strokes of the comb in her hair, and then in the tight tug of her fingers as she plaited it. But she wasn¡¯t doing it the normal way. She was¡­ braiding it upside down? Somehow? And very close to the skin. Deenat tried to pay attention to what her sister¡¯s fingers were doing, but it was impossible. By the end, Deenat couldn¡¯t feel any hair along the back of her neck. Belbet tucked and twisted, and all of Deenat¡¯s hair was in a ring around her head, braided.


    ¡°That¡­ is amazing.¡± Kaion commented, eyes wide.


    ¡°Oh, this is just a crown french braid. It¡¯s not anything speci-¡± Belbet¡¯s voice tapered off at the end, as Deenat felt out the crown with her fingers. ¡°Oh. Well, yeah. It¡¯s something I figured out some time ago. I haven¡¯t had the chance to test it until today, so¡­ thanks, Sister! It turned out well. It makes you even prettier.¡±


    Deenat frowned, shaking her head, ¡°How is it¡­ staying?¡± She asked, because although it did pull a little uncomfortably, and it was heavy, it was still not touching her shoulders. Dahnei came over and touched her aunts hair too, feeling the swirling strands.


    ¡°Oh, I tied it.¡± Belbet smiled, ¡°It¡¯ll stay for the most part, so long as you aren¡¯t jumping all over the place or running like crazy.¡± She tapped the comb against her leg, before sighing, ¡°We should start putting the finished tiles on the roof. We¡¯ve got a long, long time before we¡¯ll have enough tiles to cover the whole roof, so let¡¯s get to work okay?¡±


    ¡°Breakfast?¡± Mohniit reminded. Belbet smiled, and smudged her son¡¯s cheeks with the back of her fingers.


    ¡°We can have leftovers from last night.¡± Deenat¡¯s sister sighed softly, going to put the pot on the fire. If she was aware of the curious stare of the male in their group, or the worried one of her sister, she didn¡¯t say anything.

 Chapter Sixteen - Irreplaceable

    Chapter Sixteen - Irreplaceable


    -Summer-


    The headache stayed with Belbet that day, so much so she didn¡¯t even notice Eefim¡¯s absence until midway through breakfast. She paused, putting down the bowl of snake-and-vegetable chunks for a second. ¡°Where did Eefim go?¡±


    ¡°Sent him to get us more chickens,¡± Deenat explained. This sent a surge of panic through Belbet¡¯s belly, as she remembered the thrashing in the water and Eefim¡¯s shriek.


    ¡°Is that a good idea?¡± Belbet asked, frustration at her sister¡¯s dismissal of Eefim¡¯s safety rising. ¡°He could be attacked. He could get hurt!¡±


    Deenat raised a white eyebrow. ¡°He¡¯s strong. He¡¯ll get back here, and if he¡¯s hurt we can help him.¡±


    This did nothing to slow the annoyance. Belbet set down her bowl, standing up. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to keep your child safe, then that¡¯s fine. But I¡¯m going to go look for him.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t find him.¡± Kaion declared, and for a second, Belbet stared at him in terror, before he continued, ¡°He¡¯s been gone for hours, and you have no idea which directions he went. You could pass each other by. He¡¯s a capable hunter, and he took down a snake woman. He can handle himself.¡±


    ¡°He''s eleven!¡± Belbet found herself shrieking, her voice echoing off the cliffside and into the forest around him. Four pairs of wide eyes stared at her and she suddenly felt as if she was standing naked in front of a class full of teenagers. ¡°He¡¯s a child. He should be protected, even if you think he¡¯s strong and capable. Because what happens when he¡¯s not strong enough? Or not capable enough? Or when those things don¡¯t matter and he gets hurt anyway?¡±


    The two other adults flicked glances at each other, and an old frustration bubbled up in Victoria¡¯s mind. They thought she was being hysterical. This was just like when her brother had let the youngest go off in a park all by herself, and she was lost for hours. She¡¯d been furious then, but her brother had laughed it off.


    Belbet¡¯s lips thinned into a tight line, her eyes narrowing. ¡°You two treat that boy like he¡¯s replaceable. Like if he doesn¡¯t survive, we can always just make another one. Well, there will never be another Eefim, even if we pass his name along. He is one of a kind, and you will regret, deeply, if and when he dies. Especially if one little action on your part could have prevented it.¡±


    Her hissed words seemed to have an effect because Deenat suddenly couldn¡¯t look her in the eyes. Kaion was staring at her with a stormy expression too. Belbet felt the stir of a growl in the back of her throat, so she turned away, searching through the bone pile. She ignored the heat of their gazes on her back and pulled out the leg-bones of the chicken they¡¯d eaten a while ago.


    These, she took a stone knife to, sawing off the edges so the hollow tube was left. She then dug a little hole in the top of one side of the bone and began blowing through the edge, before adjusting the hole, digging bits out, and shaping it. If her children were going to fuss around in the forest without supervision, damn if she wasn¡¯t going to give them a way of summoning help from far away.


    Her whistle took her frustrated annoyance well, and eventually, it was capable of making a piercing shriek. It took some ingenuity and a bit of help from Deenat. When she noticed Belbet getting frustrated, the pale woman had brought over a small ball of dark sticky substance. ¡°Here. Try this. It might help hold a piece of wood. If you do that, the wind will pass through in a different way. It might be louder that way.¡±


    Belbet¡¯s frustrations melted away in the sight of her sister being so helpful. She sighed, the remaining space left with tired achiness. ¡°...It¡¯s a whistle. It¡¯s meant to be heard over long distances. If we give them to the kids, they can call for help even if we¡¯re not near them.¡±


    ¡°What was that noise?¡± Eefim called, walking through the dark woods and into camp. ¡°I could hear it a long way back.¡± He was carrying three hares tied to his furs, and two living, flapping chickens shrieking in his hand. Belbet blinked back in surprise, relief flooding her.


    Deenat explained to her son what Belbet was making, while Belbet took away the chickens to put in their little chicken pen. The three chickens seemed to get along, for the most part, picking at the food. Belbet wasn¡¯t able to actually pet them, they ran away from her when she tried. So she left them to their devices and turned back to her nephew.


    She wrapped the boy into a hug that he seemed surprised to be getting. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe. Please be careful and take this whistle with you when you leave the village. And if you could help me carve some more for your little cousins, I¡¯d be grateful.¡±


    Eefim, stunned, nodded. It seemed that he was so confused by this sudden affection that he forgot to ask about the new word. Belbet let go, patting his hair, before heading to check on the tiles. He turned to his mother and tilted his head, ¡°Aunt seems¡­ odd.¡±


    Deenat sighed, shaking her head. Her own hands were still whittling away on the bone-beads she was making. ¡°Your aunt did not sleep well. And babies always make a woman prone to anger.¡±


    Eefim¡¯s face lightened as his eyebrows rose. ¡°Oh. Okay.¡± He sat down next to his mother and began skinning and cleaning the rabbits. ¡°...I think I could go after something bigger if I had help carrying it back.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Have you seen any signs?¡± Deenat asked.


    ¡°Deer tracks. Some bigger ones, too. Deer tracks, I think.¡±


    Deenat leaned back, feeling along the edges of the beads, and nodded. ¡°That sounds like a good use of the day. Breakfast is over there, I¡¯ll finish dressing the hares. You eat, and then you and I will go.¡±


    Eefim grinned and rushed off to get his food. On the way, he passed Dahnei, showing Belbet a circle she¡¯d tied in some thin rope. Belbet smiled brightly. ¡°You know, you can use things like this to trap animals. That way, you don¡¯t have to hunt as much. You should practice, see what works.¡±


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    Belbet didn¡¯t know enough about traps to be able to recreate them, other than perhaps the box-one, with the stick that holds it up. Victoria had seen it enough in cartoons to maybe be able to recreate that. Dahnei perked up at the mission and nodded, already undoing the knot so she could try something new.


    The otter woman sighed, rubbing at one of her own fuzzy ears in a gesture she realized only after starting was self-soothing. She¡¯d realized, after the first two or so cups of willow bark tea that, while they were helpful, a single cup of tea every couple of hours wasn¡¯t going to overdose them. Victoria could tell that the cup of tea had much less of a pain-relief quality than the acetaminophen tablets she¡¯d taken in her own world.


    Getting up and letting Dahnei be, she headed for their little field. She clearly needed some time to sort herself out, if her temper was any indication. So, she took out her frustrations on the weeds, pulling up long strains of grass that couldn¡¯t possibly be the little buds she knew were waiting just below the surface. If she let herself, she could imagine a sort of thanks from the little curled lives below the surface. She allowed herself the fancy of imagining her own energy, the light curled in her belly, reaching out to caress them in return. It soothed her, somehow, and after a rather long time, she sighed and felt better.


    Removing herself from their fields, she looked to the sundial, although the heat itself told her it was just past noon without her having to look. She felt overheated, sweat sticky on her skin, but when she turned her thoughts towards going to the river to bathe, a soft fear stopped her. She shook her head and then her shoulders, as if shaking off the robe of that fear.


    ¡°Naptime, I think.¡± She called out, catching her little son up in her arms. He cried out in annoyance as he was taken away from the hole he was digging in the ground, but settled soon enough as Belbet rubbed his back.


    ¡°Are we no-¡± Dahnei started to ask, only to pause, and then shake her head. ¡°Nevermind.¡± She left the half-done knots of her research on the ground and followed her mother.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay out here,¡± Deenat said, and Belbet accepted that without fuss.


    It took several moments for Belbet to feel comfortable enough to settle, spent moving the hay around to try and get it more comfortable. But the more she moved it, the less comfortable it felt, and she grew frustrated and annoyed that it wasn¡¯t just a soft mattress like Victoria remembered.


    Eventually, her frustration lost to her exhaustion and she huffed, lying down. This allowed her worried babies to finally lay down and rest too. Dahnei didn¡¯t say anything, sensing that the annoyance leaking off her mother could easily turn on her instead. Even Mohniit kept quiet, settling in with little fuss.


    Her dreams left her unsettled, stark white towers of glass and steel striking at the sky. The world Victoria had known was devoid of life, no plants, no people. Nothing but those skyscrapers scraped clean of anything but metal and glass. She wandered among them, lost and desperate. She couldn¡¯t find what she was looking for.


    What was she looking for? She was unsure. In the dream, it felt important, impossible to live without. She wandered the streets, between the bones of civilization, searching for what she was missing.


    She woke with a sense of loss, and her children slumbering at her side. Sweaty and stifled from the heat of the day, she gently extracted herself from the pile of limbs, and exited the hut.


    She found it late in the evening, and the sundial suggested it was near ten at night. She sighed, looking around their home. Kaion had apparently continued to form the tiles industriously, now surrounded by the clay things. Looking at the little campfire they were proofing the tiles around, she counted. Six were drying there, six had dried yesterday¡­ this was going to go so slow that it¡¯d take them weeks to get enough.


    Her next stop was the smoker to check its contents. The sizzle and smell of the cooking meat was nice, although the warmth from the device was uncomfortable, even in the summer evening. She checked the embers, and sure enough, the fire she¡¯d built up to last a good four to five hours was near-burnt-out.


    Deenat and Eefim came out of the woods then, laden heavy with- ¡°Is that a Beaver?!¡± Belbet couldn¡¯t help but cry out, because to Victoria, it was absolutely huge. The thing had to have weighed as much as a grown woman. The victorious hunters dropped the dead beast near the campfire, the heavy thud and crack of its bones shaking the attention of the rest of their farm.


    ¡°Yes. We found it by the river. We counted at least twenty of them, and this one is fat.¡± Deenat explained.


    Belbet perked up at the mention of fat, even as Kaion frowned, ¡°We do not need more meat. We have too much as it is.¡±


    ¡°No, but we need the fat!¡± Belbet cried, laughing. ¡°There is so much we can do with this! We need to render down the fat and store it. The meat can be smoked with the snake meat. Ah, we¡¯ll need a bigger kiln for the tiles too. It¡¯s like a smoker, but the smoke comes out the top instead of the side like we made.¡±


    She didn¡¯t notice that her ramblings drew Deenat and Kaion to look at each other with relief. Eefim, however, did. He said nothing and just continued cutting the beaverskin off of his prey. Belbet began outlining a place to build the bigger kiln while waiting for her nephew to finish parting out the beast.


    Then, she took one of their cisterns and dumped out the water, setting it upside down to dry it, so that she could safely store the rendered down animal fat in there. Belbet¡¯s excitement was making her jittery, so she turned that energy next to stirring up the mud for the kiln too.


    She only stopped when Deenat called her over to the fire in the dark. ¡°While we were out, we found some more things you might be interested in.¡± Deenat pulled several new things out of her net bag, including an apple, a sunflower head full of seeds, and several hardshell nuts. Belbet couldn¡¯t help but grin, immediately snatching up a rock to begin bashing the shells open.


    The unholy glee in her face was enough for her family to shrink back and let her. The shells creaked and cracked and revealed almonds. Belbet immediately shoved one in her mouth, crunching at it, only to choke and spit out the almond meat entirely. She pulled a gulp of water into her mouth, swishing it and spitting it onto the ground. ¡°Okay¡­ Okay, these are bitter. Which means they¡¯re poisonous. We can¡¯t eat these without doing something to them first.¡±


    Belbet bit her lip, considering. ¡°...boiling or roasting them is the best option. We need to see if we can find any that are sweet, instead of bitter. We can collect these in the meantime, we just have to make sure the children don¡¯t eat any. As few as six of these-¡± She held up the little nut, ¡°Can kill a small child. It¡¯d take a lot to kill an adult, but only six to make an adult hurt. And even one can kill a baby in the womb.¡±


    Deenat seemed worried about the idea of such a thing. ¡°Should we keep gathering them then? It might be dangerous.¡±


    Belbet smiled, ¡°They¡¯re basically a replacement for meat. Plus, they can be made into bread. We¡¯ll just need some baskets, and to teach the kids to stay away.¡±


    Deenat nodded, and then paused and looked around, ¡°Where are-¡±


    Her question was answered as the hut door opened and a sleepy Dahnei and Mohniit clambered out of it. Belbet looked up and her eyes softened at the sight of her sleepy gremlins. ¡°Hello, babies.¡± She called, and the two made a beeline for her, burrowing into her sides. She laughed, before picking up one cracked open almond and holding it up for Dahnei and Mohniit to see. ¡°These are bitter almonds. They¡¯re a nut. They come in these green shells-¡± Here she picked up one of the green shells and showed them. ¡°We do not eat these until they have been cooked. Understand?¡±


    Dahnei nodded, ¡°Poison until cooked. Right.¡±


    ¡°Once cooked, though, they can be used for all sorts of things. Flour for bread, a paste to go on bread, a replacement for meat, if done right it can even be turned into oil to make your skin soft and beautiful. It probably just came ripe, which means we need to pick as much as we possibly can because they store well and will last all through winter in their shells.¡±

 Chapter Seventeen - From the Chest

    Chapter Seventeen - From the Chest


    -Summer-


    The girl¡¯s eyes sparkled in awe as she looked up at her mother. Belbet felt a flutter of movement in her belly, and paused, pressing a hand to the growing bump there. The flutter happened again.


    ¡°Ohhh.¡± She breathed out, the wind knocked out of her not because of the movement, but instead because of what it meant. She pressed a little harder, and sure enough, the little fluttering movement happened again and then stilled. ¡°The baby moved.¡±


    Deenat turned sharp eyes to her sister. ¡°Oh?¡±


    Belbet nodded, feeling her face heat with the urge to cry for some reason. ¡°The baby moved when Dahnei asked about the almonds.¡±


    ¡°...Well, you have been getting bigger. So it¡¯s clearly healthy. And by now, it would definitely move.¡± Deenat acknowledged.


    Dahnei bounced against her mother¡¯s side, ¡°I want to feel! I wanna feel!¡±


    ¡°The baby¡¯s too small for you to feel it right now. Your mother can feel it because it¡¯s in her belly.¡± Deenat explained. ¡°It will be several full moons before you can feel its movement.¡±


    ¡°Oooohhhh.¡± Mohniit breathed, reaching out to pat his mother¡¯s slightly bulging stomach. ¡°Baby.¡±


    ¡°Yep. There¡¯s another baby, like you, in there.¡± Belbet crooned, running her fingers over his ears. ¡°Mama¡¯s gonna have a third baby to look after soon. Will you help?¡±


    The little boy nodded furiously, and so did Dahnei at her side, prompting a laugh from Belbet that echoed against the cliffside behind their home. ¡°Such good children I have.¡± She murmured, kissing each on the forehead.


    Her gaze swept out over the crowd around the fire, and sighed, ¡°We should look for other nuts too. And apples. If we can get some more apples, we can make vinegar, and start making pickles to store for the winter too. Ah, we¡¯ll need more containers. We should probably get some more of the gourds from the pumpkin patch.¡±


    Her thoughts were interrupted by the growling of her belly, and she found herself laughing. ¡°But first, let¡¯s eat something.¡± She got up and started gathering ingredients together. She snagged a bit of fat off the beaver corpse and started by heating that in their little pot. Then, she cut up some of their dried peppers and herbs, tossing them in the oil to get the fragrance releasing into the air. While that cooked, she began chopping up bits of teal pumpkin meat and snake meat. She added some wild green onion they found to a mixture of ground-up amaranth. To this, she added some water to make a sort of pancake-like mix.


    She cooked the meat and pumpkin in the oil until it was nice and crispy, and then set that aside. In the oil now flavored of meat and pumpkin and spices, she poured the slurry in, cooking small cakes and pulling them out when they were crispy and brown as well. She ladled the meat and pumpkin on top of each cake and began handing them out to the family.


    They ate with greasy fingers and chattering mouths, and something in Belbet eased. Her family was here, they were safe, and they were eating well. She was happy. They were happy. She could do this. They could do this. This little home she was making would work.


    Even in the cold light of morning, after waking up to a chicken sitting on her chest, this feeling didn¡¯t pass. She gently shoved the clucking beast off of her and sat up to look around. Her sister, who had agreed to take watch last night, hadn¡¯t woken her, and this was a thorn in Belbet¡¯s side, but she had to admit, she felt much better now. Getting her sleep was clearly important.


    She stood up, only for the world to blur lightly. She stopped, leaning against the wall so as to not lose her balance. Low blood pressure, Victoria thought, maybe from the pregnancy? She let herself even out and then strode out into the early morning warmth. Still in the middle of dawn, the world was lit up in reds and oranges. Beautiful lights lit up the sky, the sharp points of stars still shining through despite the lightening of blue.


    Belbet sighed softly, spying the sleeping form of Kaion in his lean-to, defenselessly sprawled on his back, injured hoof out. Deenat sat across from him, carving tiny lines into the bone beads she¡¯d started making a while ago. Belbet nodded a greeting to her, before beginning the morning chores. Boiling water to fill the cisterns, building the smoker fire back up, and storing the smoked meat in large leaves tied with twine. These packages were put on the floor of the half-finished storage room. The smoker was then re-filled, and the process began again for another five hours. Checking the charcoal kiln, making sure it was done, and opening it up, which took time and made her black with charcoal dust and ash.


    She went to the river to wash off the charcoal, only to pause. She crept closer and noticed the tiny little green shoots on the beach. Right where her children had planted willow seeds surrounded by haphazard stone rings, small green sprouts reached for the sun. She couldn¡¯t help a gentle laugh, hope filling her at the sight. She reached out, and caressed the little things, feeling a soft pull at the energy swirling in her core. So she happily let the energy swirl between herself and these little things, only for a few moments.


    Then, she headed back to camp, calling her children with unfeigned excitement in her voice. A sleepy Dahnei stumbled out of the hut and towards her mother, chickens spilling into the camp area too. She picked the girl up, twirling her around, only to have to pause and get her bearings back, because wow did that make her dizzy.


    ¡°Mama, why are you so happy?" Dahnei giggled, even as she tried to hold her mother up.


    ¡°You did it! You and Mohniit! You made trees grow!¡± Belbet cooed, squishing her daughter¡¯s cheeks playfully. ¡°Is your brother still asleep?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh!¡± Dahnei laughed, pushing her mother¡¯s hands away and heading for the hut, ¡°Should I wake him?¡±


    ¡°No, no. Babies need their sleep.¡± She tugged on Dahnei¡¯s hand and pulled her down to the shoreside. ¡°Come look.¡±


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    She took her daughter to the side of the little row of trees, each with about a person¡¯s length between them. She rubbed her finger over the leaves gently and then watched as Dahnei did the same. Then, an idea struck her. ¡°Dahnei, do me a favor. Close your eyes, and imagine there is a light glowing in your body, okay?¡±


    Her daughter¡¯s eyes closed, trusting, and Belbet had no idea if it was working or not. ¡°Now, pretend that light moves around your body, starting here-¡± She poked the top of her daughter¡¯s head and then moved to poke the forehead, ¡°To here-¡± and throughout the chakras that had been so prevalent in all those ¡®homeopathic journals¡¯ Victoria read while researching how to heal at home without pharmacology. ¡°Now, imagine it swirling through those points, one giant circle, going round and round. Does it feel warm?¡±


    Dahnei breathed out and nodded, her brow drawn tight. Belbet continued. ¡°Now, imagine the same sort of energy, swirling around in the earth and through these little sprouts. Imagine that when you touch the leaves,¡± Here, she helped Dahnei to gently connect the pad of her finger with the green of the willow bud, ¡°you are connecting the circles, and your light moves into the plant, and from the plant into the ground, and then the ground moves light up through the plant into you. Can you see it?¡±


    Dahnei nodded, a grin forming on her face. ¡°Yes! I can feel it!¡±


    Belbet laughed, nodding at how brilliant her daughter¡¯s imagination was. ¡°I want you to come every day and do that, okay? With each of the willows. It¡¯ll help them grow.¡± Plus, it¡¯ll help Dahnei have a little bit of¡­ well, the closest to meditation they could get in this time. ¡°Let me or your aunt know when you¡¯re doing it, right, and keep this-¡± She handed Dahnei one of the whistles, now finished, ¡°With you. If you see anyone not already part of our family, you blow in here as hard as you can for as long as you can, okay?¡±


    The five-year-old nodded and took the whistle as if it were a sacred treasure. Belbet helped her loop the string around her neck, and it settled on her chest easily. ¡°And if you want, you can do the same thing in the garden, too. I do.¡±


    ¡°Mama does?¡± Dahnei asked, ¡°Is that why Mama glows sometimes?¡±


    That caught Belbet off guard. ¡°Huh?¡± She asked, turning to look at her baby.


    ¡°Yeah. When Mama¡¯s picking the weeds or planting things. You glow!¡± Dahnei reached up and pressed a hand right over where Belbet imagined the little gold swirl sat in her child-swollen belly. ¡°Right here!¡±


    ¡°I-I see.¡± Belbet accepted, although on the inside she was panicking. Glowed?! What the hell?! ¡°Maybe, baby. Who knows.¡±


    Dahnei accepted this answer with the sort of aplomb that only children could when faced with answers from their parents. Belbet felt twitchy and sweaty as they walked back into camp, and resolved to ask Deenat if she¡¯d seen such a thing.


    The conversation managed to happen while breakfast (a pumpkin and beaver meat slurry that was similar to oatmeal.) was cooking, with Deenat raising a pure white brow.


    ¡°Yes, you glow. It is similar to the shine that chieftains give off when they are fighting for their lives but gentler. I assumed you were doing it on purpose, so I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Deenat shrugged. ¡°It just means you are concentrating hard, and it will help your survival, right?¡±


    Belbet spluttered, ¡°I-I mean, maybe? I don¡¯t know? I didn¡¯t even know I was doing it!¡±


    Deenat paused in her work (putting mud on the kiln, which she¡¯d received instructions on how to do last night.) to look at her sister. ¡°It means you are on your way to becoming a very, very strong warrior.¡±


    This made Belbet snort out a laugh. ¡°Me? A warrior? Please.¡±


    ¡°Or, perhaps it means something completely different. You are quite strange.¡± Deenat conceded, ¡°Perhaps it means only what you make it to mean, the same way all of this does.¡± She gestured wide, to their growing homestead.


    Belbet looked around what she¡¯d managed to make, and sighed, ¡°Maybe.¡± She¡¯d have to keep an eye on it. Did it have to do with the golden orb she¡¯d dreamed about? Or perhaps it was something else entirely.


    ¡°I simply hope that when it comes time for Eefim to glow, you¡¯ll be able to guide him. I do not want him to be eaten up by the shine.¡±


    With that ominous declaration, Deenat turned back to forming the large kiln they were going to fire more tiles in, and Belbet made a sound akin to a dying balloon. ¡°What do you *mean* eaten up by the shine?!¡±


    Deenat spoke, her hands rubbing the clay smooth. ¡°Some warriors, after eating a beast core, are consumed by the shine, unable to control it. You controlled it, so you should know how to do so. Teach Eefim, so that he doesn¡¯t die.¡±


    Another metaphorical pile of bricks thrown on Belbet¡¯s head, ¡°wha- how-I¡­ I don¡¯t know how?!¡±


    Deenat stopped, turning to her sister with her eyes narrowed and her mouth pinched. ¡°Then figure it out. You fed my son a beast core. YOU have to save him if it hurts him.¡±


    Belbet¡¯s breath stuttered, and she found herself light-headed. She sat down, the pot bubbling in front of her. Dahnei settled a hand on her mama¡¯s shoulders, squeezing and massaging the way she¡¯d done for the old ladies and men of their old tribe. Belbet could feel her panic rising.


    As if summoned, Eefim left the hut, looking worse for wear, rubbing at his face. Belbet felt a frisson of alarm start up. ¡°Eefim, come sit by your aunt.¡± She called, and sure enough, the boy made a beeline for her and leaned against her side, which interfered with Dahnei rubbing her shoulders. Belbet sighed and wrapped an arm around Eefim¡¯s shoulder, squeezing him.


    ¡°Hey, how are you feeling?¡± She asked, stirring the pot.


    ¡°...strange,¡± Eefim answered, honesty dripping from him. ¡°My chest is warm¡­ and it hurts sometimes.¡±


    Belbet frowned, and asked, ¡°Did you have a dream? About swallowing a golden orb?¡±


    Eefim¡¯s nose wrinkled, and he shook his head. Belbet believed him, asking instead, ¡°Does anything else hurt?¡±


    ¡°No. It only hurts when I¡¯m not actively concentrating on it.¡± Eefim explained. ¡°Only when I let my guard down. Then it starts spreading to the rest of my body.¡±


    Belbet blinked, and something odd felt like it slid into place. ¡°Okay, do me a favor, close your eyes.¡± The second child today she¡¯d told that to, and Belbet was starting to wonder if she¡¯d gone insane.


    Eefim didn¡¯t hesitate either and closed his eyes. Belbet felt a squeeze of her heart at the trust these children had for her. Then, she focused and pressed a finger to Eefim¡¯s lower belly. ¡°Imagine all of that pain, all of that warmth, all of it swirling and condensing right here, into a gold ball. Make the ball as small as you can make it. Imagine the ball like a whirlpool that will suck in all that pain and warmth. Okay?¡±


    Eefim¡¯s face twisted again with effort as if he were actually physically drawing all the energy he felt and pressing it where she¡¯d pointed. He seemed to be focusing so hard, that Belbet didn¡¯t want to interrupt him. Eventually, however, the food was done and even little Mohniit had come out of the hut. Kaion asked what Eefim was doing, and Belbet could only explain it as, ¡®trying to control the beast core¡¯s energy in his body¡¯. It was a guess, but it felt right, and with this, Belbet was pretty sure her instincts would help her more than anything else.


    Pulling Eefim from his meditation, she gave him his breakfast, as she served everyone else. Then she took her own bowl and began to eat the slightly-spiced mush. She wished she could get ahold of salt. She really did.


    The family breakfast went well, if quiet, until Eefim spoke up. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to be much use until I get this energy under control. Is¡­ is it okay, if I take time to do that?¡±


    Belbet blinked, raising an eyebrow. She turned then, taking into consideration who they had and what needed to be done. ¡°...Yeah, that should be fine. Just keep us up on how much time you think it¡¯s going to need, okay? And if you feel like anything is wrong, don¡¯t hesitate to call me. Okay?¡±


    Eefim nodded, a steely look in his eyes, determination in his thin lips.

 Chapter Eighteen - Let You Touch Mine

    Chapter Eighteen - Let You Touch Mine


    -Summer-


    Without Eefim hunting and preparing the meat, Deenat had to step in to take over the smoking and sun-drying of the meats. This meant Belbet was left with the job of making the bigger kiln, which she managed to complete in a few hours of muddy back-breaking work. Setting that to cure, a huge fire inside thanks to the charcoal they¡¯d made, she turned her attention next on the field.


    This time, Dahnei joined her in her weed-picking exercise. As Belbet bent down to touch and coax the little sprouts of their food up above the soil, so did Dahnei. Mohniit followed behind them, but mostly his goal was to gather up as many rocks as he could find. Dahnei, however, was a fountain of questions that Belbet wasn¡¯t sure how to answer.


    ¡°How do you do the glowing thing, Mama?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Sweetheart.¡± Belbet closed her eyes and pressed her fingers just below the surface soil, taking a moment to think and feel that bright warmth in the dirt. Just like before, she moved it to her breath, drawing in breath and light from the earth, swirling it in that golden ball, and then passing it out back into the earth and the imagined seedlings beneath the surface.


    ¡°But you¡¯re glowing right now, Mama.¡±


    ¡°I am?¡± She asked, keeping her eyes closed. It was hard to keep up the rhythm while answering questions like this.


    ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s really pretty. Hard to look at, like the sun!¡± Her daughter¡¯s voice was close and Belbet could feel her breath on the side of her arm. Was Dahnei leaning right into Belbet¡¯s space? She didn¡¯t open her eyes to find out.


    ¡°All I¡¯m doing is imagining my own light moving down my arms, into the earth, and then when I breathe in, I take the light from the earth into my body, swirl it around in my belly. I breathe out, and pass the energy back to the earth and the seedlings just below the surface. If I glow while I do that, I don¡¯t know why.¡±


    The breath on her arm moved, and Belbet could hear Dahnei shuffle to another place in the garden. A crunch of dirt, and Belbet could picture Dahnei crouching down to push her hands into the dirt, to try what her mother had just described. Belbet turned her attention back to her own passing of energy.


    And she was startled into opening her eyes upon realizing she could SEE Dahnei¡¯s energy. It was gone, of course, the moment she opened her eyes, but when she closed them again, breathing out and focusing, there it was. Her own energy glowed a deep, forest green. But the energy flowing into the earth just a little ways from her (where she assumed Dahnei had crouched down) was a light, spring green, playful and wavering.


    ¡°Try to pull the energy back a little. Make it like a liquid that soaks into the ground with each breath, and then spread it as far as you can.¡± She coached, hoping it would make sense to the little girl.


    Sure enough, the little girl''s energy seemed to solidify and then melt, like water. It only lasted a little bit, however, and Belbet could only blame that on Dahnei¡¯s attention span. What could she really expect from a five-year-old child?


    When Dahnei began fidgeting a little too much, Belbet opened her eyes and decided that they should move on to the next activity, before she started getting destructive out of boredom. ¡°Want to help mama make soap?¡±


    Dahnei¡¯s little face lit up and she nodded, eager as always to learn. Belbet grinned right back, and took her hand. Since Mohniit seemed content to click his rocks together there in the garden, she let him be. She¡¯d be able to see him from the fire anyway.


    ¡°First thing we need to do is render down the fat.¡± Belbet began explaining, ¡°That means to take the fat, and make it liquid. That liquid can be stored and saved for later. Fat has tons of uses,¡± She continued, as she picked up the pile of cut-off-fat from Deenat¡¯s station. Carrying it over to the fire, she began to prepare the pot to render the fat. ¡°Like to make soap, to cook food in, to make lamps that light up the night without fires.¡±


    ¡°Ooooh,¡± The child commented, and Belbet had to roll her eyes in amusement. She settled the pan over the fire, and plopped the chunks of fat and gristle into the pan, waiting to hear the gentle sizzle of it melting. While that was happening, Belbet took out their other pot, and handed it to Dahnei.


    ¡°Go and fill this with ash, okay? Be careful not to burn yourself.¡± Dahnei nodded and ran off to do exactly that.


    ¡°What are you going to make now?¡± Kaion asked from where he was seated, filling in the tile-forms with clay. ¡°And how many of these tiles do we need to make?¡± She could see his frustration in the incline of his shoulders and the way his hands bunched on the tiles.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need a lot of tiles, since we¡¯re using them to cover the entire roof of the storehouse. Any leftover can be used when we renovate the hut. But you don¡¯t have to keep making them right now. We have a lot stored up waiting to be cured, so you can take a break.¡± She gestured to the clay tiles laying around drying in the sun.


    ¡°...We need baskets and pots still, yes?¡± Kaion asked, setting aside the tile he¡¯d just finished.


    ¡°Always.¡± Belbet laughed, nodding. ¡°We¡¯re going to need more pots to cook things in and store things too. It¡¯d be a big help if you wanted to put some together.¡±


    Kaion nodded, then stilled, his eyes drifting to his foot. Or perhaps he was just looking off into the middle distance, Belbet couldn¡¯t quite tell. After several moments of sizzling silence and stirring the fat, Belbet couldn¡¯t stand the silence anymore, and so spoke without thinking.


    ¡°Does your hoof hurt? Should I check on it for you?¡±


    His eyes flashed back to her, and the sharpness in them made her heart thump hard in her chest. ¡°If you would.¡± He said, his voice different from a few moments ago, almost¡­ warm. She nodded, leaving the wooden spoon someone had carved in the fat as it gently bubbled. She added a few more chunks, so they could start melting down too. Then, she shuffled around the fire to Kaion¡¯s side.


    He¡¯d shifted, sitting up straighter so that she could reach the digitigrade limb easily. As always, his legs were covered in a soft, curling white hair, not quite thick enough to be called fur, but definitely enough to be called hairy. She unwrapped the fur strips from his hoof, lifting it to look at it in the sunlight, careful not to get in her own way.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    The first thing she noticed was how much the redness and swelling had gone down. It was already looking much better, if she compared it to what it had looked like the first day he¡¯d been here. ¡°Does it hurt less?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It feels so much better.¡± Kaion commented. He didn¡¯t flinch when she pressed a gentle finger against the skin around the outside of the incision wound, checking for heat. No streaking redness that would indicate an infection. ¡°I should be able to resume work today or tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I believe I told you not for several days.¡± Belbet chided, standing up and going to get some of their boiled water. She poured some of this over the wound, cleaning it out again as best she could. She was quite amused by Kaion¡¯s hiding of his flinches, watching his hand bunch in the furs beneath him.


    As she was wrapping the wound, now packed with new medicine once again, he spoke again. ¡°I have¡­ never encountered an otter-spirited woman before.¡± His pause drew her eyes to look at him. She saw him looking at her, brow lightly drawn and lips almost smiling. ¡°Your ears look very soft.¡±


    Belbet found her cheeks warming. ¡°Thank you?¡± She asked, unsure if that was a compliment. Turns out it was, because he leaned forward, eyes more intent now.


    ¡°Could I touch them?¡±


    Her heart stuttered in her chest, and she found herself at a loss. He was looking at her the same way Mohniit did when she played with him, all curiosity and joy. In the end, she felt like it would be more painful to say no than to allow him a few seconds of feeling up her weird new ears. ¡°A-Alright.¡±


    She tied off his bandages, and then shuffled awkwardly closer to his torso, so that he wouldn¡¯t have to twist oddly to reach her head. She didn¡¯t even have to lean in. He reached up and before she realized what was happening, she felt his thick fingers rub along the edge of her small folded ears. She felt a shiver run down her spine, and her shoulders rose, as if they could hide her ears from his touch.


    His fingers pressed and kneaded the smooth fur along the outside of her ears and Belbet closed her eyes, trying not to flinch away. Soon, however, his fingers traced up over the rim of her ear, and down along the soft sensitive insides. She felt his fingertips lift and tug at her hair, where it connected with the fur of her ears.


    Then, his touch was gone, and she cautiously opened her eyes. Kaion was staring at her face, and for a moment, she wondered just how red she¡¯d gotten. His eyes flicked over the various points of her face, and then he spoke. ¡°Would you like to touch mine?¡±


    Startled by the generous offer, she nodded, her hair slipping around her shoulders from the loose braid she kept it in. Reaching up herself, she let her own fingers brush first over the hard keratin of his horns. They swirled, bumped and ridged, curling around his ears almost protectively. She focused entirely on them to avoid the heat in Kaion¡¯s gaze. Why wasn¡¯t he closing his eyes, like she had?


    After she¡¯d gotten her fill of the rough texture of the horns, she shifted to the long, folded lengths of Kaion¡¯s sheep-like ears. Sure enough, they were soft as lambs ears. The short fur lay smooth and the whole texture of the thing was just delightful to squeeze gently. She let her fingers linger along the length of them, tugging at the tip, before she let go entirely. She couldn¡¯t keep petting them, not now that she¡¯d seen how Kaion was looking at her.


    ¡°Th-they¡¯re very nice!¡± She declared, shifting immediately to stand. She made her way to the other side of the fire again, stirring the fat as if that was all she wanted out of life. She couldn¡¯t look at him. Her embarrassment rode her like a particularly enthusiastic two year old on it¡¯s father¡¯s back. She would have whined in her throat if he wasn¡¯t right across the fire and would hear it.


    She could feel his heated gaze on her for a few more moments while she avoided looking at him, only for his gaze to slip away onto something else. She let her emotions settle as she watched the fat bubble and melt into the pot. Deenat delivered another set of chunks next to her, patting her on the shoulder in solidarity as she passed.


    Dahnei came back with the pot filled with ashes, and Belbet shifted the pots so that both of them could sit over the stove-like fire. She poured water into the ashes, and began the process of boiling them. ¡°This is to make Lye,¡± She explained to Dahnei who was watching. ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous, we don¡¯t touch barehanded, okay? It¡¯ll eat your skin.¡±


    The little girl gasped, wide-eyed, and nodded. She watched the pot grow warm enough to bubble, and Belbet had to reach out and push her back to sitting on the log. ¡°The fumes off this can make you very sick. Don¡¯t breathe them in.¡±


    ¡°Oh okay.¡±


    ¡°You never answered my question.¡± Kaion interjected. Belbet blinked at him, lost as to what question he was talking about. ¡°What are you making?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Soap. We¡¯re making soap. It¡¯s something that helps you get clean, and helps clean dishes, so that you don¡¯t get sick. This stuff will be very useful.¡± Belbet explained. ¡°Plus, one big batch should last us one or two months.¡±


    ¡°Months?¡± Kaion raised a white brow. ¡°What are months?¡±


    ¡°Uh, the time it takes to go from new moon to full moon and back,¡± Belbet said, hoping that he would accept that. He seemed to, nodding along as if she made sense. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s a lot of time.¡±


    ¡°Mama, what¡¯s time?¡± Dahnei asked, and oh wow, that was a whole conversation Belbet wasn¡¯t sure she wanted to have right this second.


    ¡°Um¡­ Time is how we measure how long it takes to do something.¡± She said, and then realized that that was actually a pretty good explanation. ¡°The sundial measures time, and shows us how long hours are in the day.¡± This of course, lead to a lesson on how to tell time with the sundial.


    By the time her impromptu lesson was done, the ash was boiling merrily on the fire. Deenat had pulled out another round of smoked meat, and was packing it up in the leaves, and the sundial was reading a little after noon. Not that they needed the sundial when the blazing sun was overhead, making them all sweat.


    ¡°Mama¡­ Mama bath.¡± Mohniit demanded, tugging at Belbet¡¯s leg. His hair, slick with sweat, was sticking heavily to him, and yeah, she realized, he would be the hottest out of all of them, with his hair black like that. She sighed, pushing aside the instinctive fear that rose at the idea of taking them all to the river again.


    ¡°Alright little one.¡± She sighed, standing up. She eyed the water in the ash pot, and figured they had enough time without having to add more. ¡°Come on. Dahnei!¡±


    Her little daughter poked her head up from the scraps of rope that she was playing with, and when Belbet made a ¡®follow me¡¯ gesture, she abandoned them easily and followed after. Belbet helped Kaion, although the man seemed stable enough on his hooves, and even tried to brush her off as she slipped beneath his arm to support him.


    ¡°We need to make you some crutches.¡± She muttered, thinking on how that might be accomplished.


    A lovely river dip/swimming lesson later, she had a baby who was willing to lay on his back in the water, and a daughter who could doggy paddle. The children were learning quite quickly, and it was nice to see that the recent attack hadn¡¯t increased their fear of water. From here, she could even see Eefim, sitting on one of the rocks in the river, surrounded by the sounds of the waterfall and river. He seemed quite content to bask in it, eyes closed. If Belbet closed her own eyes, she could feel his energy moving, and she imagined it as an odd orange color. She didn¡¯t hover over his progress, though.


    Eventually, the heat of noon passed, and the children were sleepy, so a nap followed the water play. When they all woke up again, it was nearing six o''clock in the evening. The summer sun was still up and would be for another fourish hours, so they went back to work. Belbet continued adding water and ash to the ash pot, letting the solution brew for a few hours. Then, once she was content that she had a lot of decent lye water, she took the pot off the stove, so that it could cool and the ash could settle to the bottom.


    The rendered fat was going into the once-a-cistern at a record pace, the beaver huge and fatty enough to produce nearly enough to fill it up a quarter of the way. Since the pumpkin was easily the size of a truck tire, she was quite happy with this amount of fat. But while the work had to be done, it wasn¡¯t very attention-intensive. Which meant she had time to teach her babies.

 Chapter Nineteen - Parenting the Twos

    Chapter Nineteen - Parenting the Twos


    -Summer-


    She started with counting lessons. Most tribesmen could count to ten, using their fingers. But other numbers were harder. So, she started by teaching them how to count to twenty. Using their fingers and toes was a good start. But they started to lose the thread when she had them count pebbles instead. It was difficult for them, she understood, especially since Dahnei was still only five. Even five-year-olds in Victoria¡¯s world had trouble counting sometimes.


    Belbet was patient, even as she felt Kaion¡¯s eyes watching her lessons. Honestly, she didn¡¯t mind because at least that meant he was maybe picking something up too. The more of them could count, the better. It meant keeping track of the supplies better.


    Dinner was stir-fried snake meat and vegetables, and a soup with thick cut noodles. Belbet regretted that she was limited to so few recipes, but as always when her family dug in so happily, she couldn¡¯t help but feel that she was doing something right.


    That night, she took watch. She occupied herself with trying to perfect the spindle she¡¯d been making when she broke down. Now that she wasn¡¯t so freshly terrified, it was a little easier. The clay weight on the end of the stick was hardened now, so it wasn¡¯t falling off the stick every few seconds, and now it was just a matter of shaving off little bits of it until it was the right weight to properly spin.


    She spent the rest of the night spinning wood fiber into wood yarn, and the success was actually kind of nice. She felt accomplished, even if it was just something as simple as spinning thread.


    After a short nap, Belbet poured the lye into a new dried gourd that Deenat had gathered that morning. She didn¡¯t bother waxing it, since this gourd was probably not going to survive this process. Once the lye was in the gourd, she used one of their eating eggs to test it. She sighed when it sank to the bottom. ¡°Not a strong enough mixture.¡±


    Putting the lye back on the fire to boil down and concentrate, Belbet turned her attention to spinning more yarn. This of course drew Dahnei¡¯s attention, which meant Belbet spent a bit of time teaching her daughter (and her son, although who only knows how much the three-year-old understood) how to spin yarn.


    ¡°Thats right, just keep rolling the threads between your fingers, and then spin the spindle¡­ Just there.¡± Belbet guided her fingers, the sound of bubbling lye in the background, Deenat¡¯s humming as she cut through more beaver meat. Kaion was doing something, but honestly, Belbet wasn¡¯t sure what it was.


    Dahnei got bored after half a foot of yarn, which was typical, honestly. Even Belbet found it tedious to spin the yarn, but if they wanted any sort of matting for the floor, she had to. So, she put her mind to it.


    That is, until a squeal of joy from the garden drew her attention. She stood, following the sound and found Dahnei doing a little happy dance in the field, next to rows of little sprouts. ¡°Mama, mama, look! They grew! They grew!¡±


    ¡°Yes, baby, they grew.¡± She laughed, joining her daughter next to the sprouts. ¡°...If I remember correctly, this is where we planted the Calendula.¡± Tracing her finger over the little green shoots, she smiled. ¡°Calendula is good for a lot of things, but especially for easing muscle cramps, and helping ladies start their-¡± She paused, because Victoria wanted to call it a ¡®period¡¯ but Dahnei wouldn¡¯t know what that is. ¡°Their blood. It also helps with sore throats and coughing.¡±


    DAhnei¡¯s mouth was a round little ¡®Oh¡¯, and she nodded. ¡°These do all that?¡± She asked, tugging on one and accidentally pulling it out of the ground, ¡°No!¡± She cried, suddenly terrified. Belbet couldn¡¯t hide her laugh as Dahnei tried to shove the little sprout back into the ground.


    Belbet stopped her, taking the sprout and smiling. ¡°Once you pull something from the ground, it¡¯s very hard to get it to live after you put it back. Why don¡¯t you do me a favor, go get one of those clay cups that cracked. Do you remember?¡±


    Dahnei nodded before running off for the cup. Once she came back, Belbet showed her how to scoop some of the earth into the cup, and resettle the little sprout roots down in the new planter. ¡°Now, you have to water this, every day. Just like we do the garden here, okay?¡±


    Dahnei nodded, and took her plant to show her aunt, who stared at it, and then said, in a very confused voice, ¡°Good for you?¡±


    Belbet snorted, laughing as she began her daily routine of greeting and weeding the garden. When she was done, she felt lighter. As she returned to check on the boiling lye, Deenat called out to her. ¡°Did you see the wolf this morning?¡±


    Belbet frowned, turning her mind back to the early morning darkness. ¡°...No. I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see it yesterday either.¡± Deenat stated.


    ¡°Neither did I.¡± Kaion said. Belbet frowned in his direction, but only because she was thinking. The domestication of the wolf was necessary to begin the domestication of other species. Not only that, but it would make hunting so much easier to have a wolf on their side. So where could it possibly have gone?


    ¡°Perhaps we should look for it¡­¡± Belbet wondered aloud, thinking over the danger versus the reward.


    ¡°Might be dangerous,¡± Kaion muttered, leaning towards the conversation and away from whatever bit of wood and stone he was working with. ¡°Perhaps we should simply wait for a bit.¡±


    ¡°You might be right¡­ If the wolf comes back, everything¡¯s fine. We can afford to give it a day or two.¡± Belbet sighed, nodding. ¡°In the meantime, we¡¯ve got things to do.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    She pulled the boiling lye, now reduced by at least a fourth, off the fire and set it to the side to cool. She¡¯d egg-test it in a minute, but first, she wanted to get a batch of animal fat ready. Taking several spoonfuls of the half-solidified body fat, she started those liquifying. Taking that time to grind up some rosemary and add a little lye-water to it to make a mush, Belbet watched carefully. An egg test proved that the lye solution was the right concentration; only a quarter-sized bit of egg was left above the surface of the lye. Then, with spoonfuls, she began adding the rosemary lye mixture into the animal fat. This was followed by spoonfuls of the lye substance until it began to turn solid instead of clear.


    Once she was sure it was mixed properly, and the right half-cake-batter consistency, it was time to pour it. Pulling over one of the near-waterproof baskets, she poured the now-soap into the basket. Some leaked out, but away from the fire, it solidified enough to hold itself in, somewhat. It was still messy, though.


    Setting the messy basket aside, Belbet tilted her head back, looking up at the sky. Almost noon and Belbet was at a bit of a loss as to what to do next. She could spin more yarn¡­ She could check how many tiles they actually had, maybe start putting some of the cured ones into place. They were making them much faster now that they had a kiln that could fit about 14 tiles in one sitting.


    ¡°No!¡± came a little voice shrieking, and Belbet turned her attention then to her son, who seemed to be voicing displeasure at something Dahnei had just done. The older girl had abandoned her new potted plant in order to crouch down next to her brother. Her body blocked what exactly they were doing, so Belbet had to get up and head over.


    Once there, she could kind of see what the problem was. Mohniit had his blocks (still rough and not nearly as splinter-free as she would like) piled up in what might¡¯ve been a tower, if it weren¡¯t a little crooked. Mohniit and Dahnei were physically grappling over a single block. Dahnei making frustrated little, ¡°Let me-!¡±s at him.


    But Mohniit was not having it. With the hand that wasn¡¯t grabbing onto the block, he was smacking his sister¡¯s shoulders and face, trying to pry his toy from her grip. This startled Belbet, who hadn¡¯t considered her child violent until this moment. She jolted forward, grabbing Mohniit¡¯s wrist and frowning down at him, ¡°We do not hit!¡±


    Her voice, loud and sudden, along with the tight grip startled the little boy, who promptly shrieked in Belbet¡¯s face, making her flinch back. This loosened her grip on his wrist, and he yanked it out of her hold. Dahnei reached forward, dropping the block and grabbing her little brother around the waist.


    ¡°That¡¯s wrong!¡± Dahnei cried, shaking her head even as her brother started smacking her around the head again, shrieking his annoyance at being held.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Belbet cried, louder than both. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Dahnei, let go of your brother. Mohniit, we need to be quiet and talk about our feelings, okay?¡±


    The baby of course had no idea what she was going on about and continued squealing even after Dahnei had let go. His little fists waved through the air, and apparently, he was so upset he couldn¡¯t even manage words, because it was all baby screaming at this point.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Belbet asked Dahnei, hoping someone would be able to communicate.


    ¡°I just wanted to help!¡± The girl cried back.


    ¡°Dahnei, I asked what happened, not what you wanted to do.¡± Belbet corrected, ¡°Now, what happened.¡±


    ¡°Mohniit¡¯s block kept falling, and he was getting upset and whining, so I just picked up the block and tried to put it on, but he started hitting me!¡± Dahnei cried, her little nose scrunched up in annoyance.


    ¡°And hitting is wrong, that¡¯s right.¡± Belbet coached, ¡°But it sounds to me like your brother didn¡¯t want help. He wanted to try to do it on his own. You get annoyed when someone takes something away from you when you¡¯re trying to do it, right?¡±


    Dahnei frowned, glaring at the ground as she considered it. Belbet let her think, turning to her son, who was slapping the ground in impotent rage. She gentled her voice, ¡°Mohniit, baby boy, can you stop for a moment and talk with me? You¡¯re upset that your sister took your block, right?¡±


    The boy didn¡¯t stop his fit, still screaming, but at least his attention was on her now. ¡°No! No block, no!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You said no, and she took it anyway, and that was bad. You¡¯re right.¡± The affirmation seemed to calm him just a little. ¡°However, we don¡¯t hit, do we?¡±


    A thought occurred, then. Had Belbet ever expressed such a rule to the kids? That they shouldn¡¯t hit each other? That would explain the boy¡¯s confusion and adamance. She took a deep breath, and then lifted Dahnei¡¯s arm, showing Mohniit the red slap marks on her skin. ¡°See? You hurt Dahnei. You hurt sissy. You made her very sad.¡± Belbet made a face to Dahnei, who in confusion made one back.


    ¡°Hurt¡­?¡± This thought seemed to pause Mohniit¡¯s tantrum. He looked at the red marks on his sister¡¯s skin, who by now had caught on that she was supposed to act pitiful. When he looked up and saw her lip wibbling and her eyes squinched, he frowned and rubbed the skin. ¡°No. No hurt.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you didn¡¯t mean to hurt her, did you?¡± Belbet tried. ¡°Maybe next time, we can do something other than hitting, okay? You did very good, yelling loudly to get attention. Next time, let¡¯s do the same, and not hit, okay?¡±


    It was a toss-up as to whether the baby actually understood. But since he was rubbing at his sisters arm, she decided to try one more thing. ¡°Can you say you¡¯re sorry, baby? Can you say ¡°Sorry sissy¡±?¡±


    ¡°...Sorry sissy.¡± Mohniit copied, earning himself a hug from Dahnei.


    ¡°Sorry too, Mohniit.¡± Dahnei said, and Belbet felt warmth blossom in her heart.


    ¡°Ah, look at my babies. I have the best babies.¡± She cooed, gathering both of them up in a squealing, squirming hug. This lasted a few minutes before it was more squealing than laughter, at which point she let go.


    She let Mohniit drag her and Dahnei into a baby-led building mission, and it was quite entertaining, compared to sitting around stirring. However, it didn¡¯t hold her attention forever, as when Eefim came back into camp, looking much more relaxed, she found herself drawn to her nephew.


    ¡°Do you feel any better?¡± She asked, and the boy paused, his brow furrowing.


    ¡°I think so?¡± He shrugged one shoulder, clearly unsure. ¡°It feels less and less like I have to concentrate on holding it close. Almost like it¡¯s caught in something, yknow?¡± Belbet did not, but she nodded anyway.


    ¡°Well, so long as you don¡¯t feel any pain.¡± Belbet declared.


    Eefim nodded and continued his trek past his aunt and towards the hut they all shared. ¡°Going to bed?¡± she asked, wondering if he¡¯d worn himself out.


    ¡°Just going to grab a few snacks-¡± His words were interrupted by a mournful howl filling the air all around them. Belbet tensed, turning to look at the woods. She didn¡¯t hear another howl join it, so it had to be a lone wolf.


    Perhaps¡­ their lone wolf? ¡°Eefim, get your bow. Deenat, watch the babies!¡± She called, figuring they could at least take a look. Deenat would make sure everyone in camp was safe, so Belbet went and grabbed one of the sharpened spears they¡¯d made. Eefim appeared at her side, and together nephew and aunt ran out into the woods after the sounds of a wolf in pain.

 Chapter Twenty - Boy and His Dog

    Chapter Twenty - Boy And His Dog


    -Summer-


    Without the howls, it was much harder to find the source, and the wolf had gone quiet after only a few howls. Eefim seemed driven to get to him, though, and Belbet followed, vaulting over fallen logs, pushing through scratching brush. Loping along wasn¡¯t actually difficult anymore, and the Victoria part of her was amazed at how much ground they were covering.


    The trail led them south, following the river away from their cliffside home. Deeper into the woods, past the first aspen grove she¡¯d seen this side of the river. Even further, they actually passed the almond-tree grove. Eventually, Eefim threw out a hand, stopping his aunt. She looked at him, expecting him to have something to report. She wasn¡¯t disappointed when he knelt and pointed out pawprints in some dried-up mud. She personally didn¡¯t really recognize what sort of creature they belonged to, but when he pointed out the clawed tips and the four toes, she realized it could probably look like a dinosaur-sized dog footprint. Or maybe a wolf¡¯s footprint.


    They followed them, careful to remain quiet, lest they attract the attention of something worse. Belbet had plenty of time to be in awe of her little nephew¡¯s tracking skills. They only had to backtrack three or four times before they caught the sounds of their prey, a whimpering, growling struggle.


    They came upon him under a big tree that Victoria thought might be a sycamore. The big wolf was wrapped in vines that had been braided together. Someone had made a snare here, and it was tied up around the tree limbs, to hold the beast¡¯s weight. Whoever had put this together had clearly meant to catch something big and hold it for a long time. But as far as Belbet knew there wasn¡¯t anyone in this world that knew about traps.


    ¡°Cut him free.¡± Belbet pointed to the vines hanging from the tree.


    ¡°...I think he¡¯ll be calmer if I¡¯m down here near him. Can you cut him free, Aunt?¡± Eefim countered.


    Seeing that the beast was in fact whining heavily and trying to reach Eefim¡¯s side, despite being tied up, she had to agree. ¡°Alright, but if he charges you, put your knife between you and him, and aim for his belly.¡±


    Eefim nodded, taking up a stance just out of reach of the wolf, and holding out his hands as if to soothe the beast. Belbet climbed the first few branches and set about sawing the makeshift rope off.


    After a few minutes, the rope went slack, and the beast shook off the remaining bits, a loop of rope still around it¡¯s throat. Eefim immediately drew out some of the jerky the creature knew, and tossed it to him. The wolf sniffed it, before horking it down.


    ¡°He¡¯s safe, should we go?¡± Eefim asked.


    ¡°If we leave that rope on him, he could get caught on something and choke to death.¡± Belbet pointed out. Then, an idea came to her. ¡°...Pick up the end of it. See if he¡¯ll let you lead him.¡±


    Eefim gave his aunt a confused raise of the eyebrow, but did as she directed. Picking up the lead, he gave it a soft tug. The wolf looked at him, and huffed. As Eefim began to take steps back, however, the wolf gave a low growl, pulling back against the rope. With just that motion, Belbet could see it was favoring it¡¯s back leg. Had it been twisted while the wolf tried to escape the trap?


    ¡°Come on,¡± Eefim coaxed, showing the wolf some of the jerky, his brows drawn, lip bitten. The jerky didn¡¯t seem to attract the wolf¡¯s attention, however. It was biting desperately at the rope connecting it to Eefim. Between the wolf¡¯s weight and the jerking of the rope, Belbet realized that Eefim wasn¡¯t dragging the wolf anywhere.


    Belbet looked between her nephew and the wolf, and made a split decision. ¡°Give me the rope.¡± She reached over, taking the leaping lead from her nephew¡¯s hands and palming her knife. She dragged the rope to her, keeping it taught between herself and the wolf, trying to get as close as she could before the wolf turned those teeth on her.


    She stopped, once he dropped the rope to snap at her instead. In that instant, she pulled the rope and slashed the knife through it, cutting it as close to the wolf¡¯s body as she could reach. He launched himself at her, clearly intent on fighting off the threat to his life, only to have his entire bulk slammed to the side.


    Eefim, pulling a scream from his aunt in horror, had bulldozed into the wolf, a hand pushing up under it¡¯s jaw. Belbet dashed forward, trying to find some way to help and completely unable. Eefim was using every ounce of weight he had to roll the wolf onto it¡¯s back, pinning it with the same strength he¡¯d used to hold onto the snake-woman.


    The vicious growls and Eefim¡¯s own shouts shook Belbet¡¯s attention, even as she snatched the wolf¡¯s back legs, holding them so that Eefim wasn¡¯t gutted by the sharp claws of them. Eefim¡¯s growls grew muffled, and when Belbet managed to get a look, she realized he was holding the wolf¡¯s head in the dirt by it¡¯s underjaw, his own teeth pressed hard against it¡¯s throat.


    The legs in her arms and the body beneath Eefim went rigid still, soft whines crawling out of the throat that had been growling just minutes before. Eefim removed his teeth from the throat, but Belbet couldn¡¯t see what he was doing instead. She could still see his hand holding the wolf¡¯s head down, but she could only hear Eefim make soft shushing noises.


    Then, the oddest thing happened. Eefim¡¯s body began to glow a bright orange. Or rather, his belly began to glow, but his body blocked the light a bit? Belbet blinked and wondered if this was what her family meant when they said she glowed. She watched as boy and wolf looked at each other, glow between them, and then the wolf began to glow as well. Rimmed in that bright orange light, the wolf ceased whimpering, his tail thumping listlessly against the ground.


    Eefim let go, prompting Belbet to cry out, to warn him not to. But what she was warning against didn¡¯t come to pass. Once the wolf¡¯s jaw was free, it twisted it¡¯s head, but instead of biting as she¡¯d expected, it licked along Eefim¡¯s face and jaw, eliciting grossed out laughter from the boy.


    ¡°You can let him go now, Aunt,¡± the boy laughed, pushing the muzzle of the beast that had attacked them twice away. ¡°He knows we¡¯re not here to hurt him.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She croaked, confusion soaking in every word. Eefim climbed down off the wolf¡¯s chest, and began pushing his aunt back. She spluttered, but let him push her away from the wolf. The canine stood, shaking out it¡¯s coat and stretching as if it was just waking up.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine now. He won¡¯t hurt us. He knows we¡¯re not here to hurt him, and he knows we¡¯ll help him if he comes back with us.¡± Eefim stated, as if guiding his aunt through the process of realizing this.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Belbet demanded, her eyes still on the wolf, even as it limped a few feet away and sat down. ¡°What happened?¡±


    Eefim bit his lip, looking down with a furrowed brow, then he looked up at Belbet, staring her right in the eyes, brow drawn. ¡°I can understand him. In my heart.¡± He pressed a hand to his chest, as if that would convince her.


    ¡°...Okay, does this have to do with you glowing just now?¡± Belbet asked, setting her hands on his shoulders, hoping to ground him.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Eefim declared. ¡°Exactly! It was like, the core energy? The energy I was having so much trouble with¡­ it¡¯s going through him now too! And then it comes back to me, and it¡¯s so much easier to focus once it does. I don¡¯t even have to be sitting now!¡±


    This information staggered Belbet, but she took a deep breath and nodded, ¡°Okay. Alright, that¡¯s fine. He¡¯s not going to attack, and you¡¯re fine, right? No pain, no sinking feelings, nothing?¡±


    Eefim shook his head, the boy¡¯s ears perked up and his eyes sparkling. He looked right as rain, honestly. Belbet sighed, the tension refusing to leave her shoulders. But there was nothing she could do now, unless she wanted to attack an animal that was a) not harming them and b) hurt. So she nodded, ¡°Alright¡­ Let¡¯s get out of here then, before the trapper gets back.¡±


    The two of them turned and began heading back, their furry follower a few steps in front of Eefim. ¡°What¡¯s a trapper?¡± the boy asked as they followed their path back home.


    Eefim¡¯s question took Belbet off guard a little. It shouldn¡¯t have, she realized a second later, ¡°What the wolf was caught in, that¡¯s called a trap. Your cousin, Dahnei¡¯s been working on making some for us. But that one was made by someone else. Someone who uses traps is called a Trapper. They use traps to catch animals instead of hunting.¡±


    ¡°...Isn¡¯t that mean to the animal?¡± Eefim asked, his face scrunched in defense of metaphorical animals. Or, maybe in defense of the real animal walking in front of him, brushy tail swaying left and right, Belbet thought.


    ¡°It can be. Most traps are meant to hold the animal until it either dies, or until the hunter can get there to kill the animal themselves. It¡¯s a way to get meat without having to track it through the forest, which uses a lot of energy.¡±


    Eefim held a branch out of the way of his aunt as she explained. ¡°If we spend all day hunting, and come back with nothing, it was a waste of time, right? But if we set up four traps, and none of them catch anything today, but two of them catch something tomorrow, the only energy wasted is the few moments to set them up and then the moments to kill whatever was caught in them.¡±


    Eefim nodded, his eyes never leaving the wolf before them as it limped along. Belbet couldn¡¯t see any sign of blood on its back left leg, but she thought maybe it had twisted it somehow trying to get out of the trap. She didn¡¯t really know what to do for a wolf whose leg was twisted, other than making it rest.


    ¡°Eefim-¡± She called, and he turned to look at her, not slowing his steps even slightly, ¡°You can understand him, right?¡±


    The boy nodded.


    ¡°Can he understand you?¡± She asked, ¡°Like, if I asked you to tell him that when we get back to camp, he needs to rest and not walk around much on that leg until it feels better?¡±


    Eefim considered it, and then ducked under a branch. ¡°I could try to make him understand that¡­ but I don¡¯t know how much he really would.¡±


    She supposed that was fair. She couldn¡¯t exactly say she¡¯d be able to make him understand it. Or else, what were the cones of shame for, if not because animals didn¡¯t always understand what was best for them? The wolf was panting in the midafternoon heat, and she felt overheated. She could tell Eefim did too, so she suggested a stop by the river, which they could then follow up to their home.


    The rush of the water alongside their trip also provided her a nice white noise to slow her thoughts. The more she turned over what happened, the more confused she grew. Her own core, her glow, the golden ball in her belly had never allowed her to spread that glow to another creature. She¡¯d pushed it into the ground and the plants around her, and that had felt quite pleasant, however. Should she try with a creature? She could try on one of the chickens, maybe¡­


    That said, did the ability to spread one¡¯s glow mean that Eefim also had a core? Was his orange, considering the glow? She should have asked what color her own glow was, perhaps color had something to do with it? Was this some kind of magic inherent in this world? Victoria¡¯s world had so many stories about so many different types of magic and abilities that it was impossible to assume this wasn¡¯t something special too.


    She¡¯d turned it over in circles so much that by the time the Farm came into sight, she was sick of thinking altogether. The three of them rounded the big boulders at the edge of their little water-fall-induced swimming hole to find their entire family taking a watery break as well. Deenat was holding Mohniit, and Kaion was once again on his rock, pouring water over his bulk. Belbet had to be careful not to get stuck watching the water drip down his body.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the wolf to camp,¡± Eefim called. ¡°See you guys soon.¡±


    Belbet waved her nephew off, before heading into the water herself. ¡°Sister!¡± She called, and Deenat turned to her, Mohniit letting out a happy shriek as he slapped the water. Belbet laughed, reaching out to take her boy, Deenat handing him over with a relieved sigh.


    ¡°He missed you,¡± Deenat said, her eyes soft as she watched the two of them.


    ¡°Did he?¡± Belbet cooed, rubbing one of his boy¡¯s cheeks until he made an annoyed sound and buried his face in her neck. ¡°I missed Mohniit too. Does Mohniit want to blow bubbles?¡±


    The boy threw himself back so hard that he almost unbalanced Belbet, his cry of ¡°Yah!¡± echoing around the rocks. Belbet laughed, and nodded, shifting him in her arms so he can face the water. Within seconds, the boy¡¯s face was in the water and bubbles were popping to the surface.


    She made sure he was close enough to the surface that if he choked or spluttered she could yank him up and then turned her attention to Dahnei, who was practicing moving her arms while walking. ¡°You¡¯re doing great Dahnei! Think you can turn over on your back, and try to float like wood does?¡±


    The girl looked at her, one brow raised, before turning and leaning back into the water. She flailed several times, before coming up spluttering with a face full of thunder. ¡°No! I keep falling!¡±


    Belbet sighed, waiting for Mohniit to resurface for a breath, before wading over to her daughter and settling a hand on her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re going to. Water isn¡¯t solid, so when you lean against it, it¡¯s going to move out of your way. But, once you give it your weight, it will support you. That¡¯s what it means to float.¡±


    The girl looked entirely dubious but nodded. She leaned back into the water, and Belbet smiled, ¡°Try spreading your arms out. It¡¯ll help you balance, and feel more in control.¡± Dahnei did as she was told, under the watchful eye of her baby brother. Mohniit forewent bubbles in lieu of watching his sister try to float on her back.


    However, anytime the girl lifted her feet from the riverbed, her practiced spread stance went to hell, arms flailing as soon as the water rose up against her face. Belbet sighed, trying not to let her frustration leak out. She didn¡¯t have the option of passing the baby off to someone, so she couldn¡¯t support her daughter the way Victoria did when teaching her nieces and nephews how to swim.


    She tilted her head, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Dahnei. You can always try again later. Just play around for now, okay?¡±


    Dahnei nodded, but there was a stubborn set about her lips that made Belbet think maybe she was sulking. Such a cute child, Belbet thought as she watched Dahnei turn over and start doggy paddling around. Very cute.

 Chapter Twenty-One - Field Trip Prep

    Chapter Twenty-One - Field Trip Prep


    -Summer-


    ¡°Belbet,¡± Kaion called, drawing her to come sit next to him on the rock. ¡°Was that the wolf I saw with Eefim?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± She admitted, ¡°something very strange happened while we were out there. I think it will be staying close to camp now, because of it.¡±


    Kaion shrugged a shoulder, as if to tell her they had all the time in the world for her to speak about it.


    ¡°...We found the wolf trapped in a snare.¡± When Kaion gave her a blank stare, she sighed, ¡°A trap, a complicated rope knot that trapped the wolf so someone could come to kill it later. I¡¯ve been trying to teach Dahnei how to make them. Anyway, it was trapped, and when we got it free, it still had the rope around its throat. When I tried to get it off¡­ The wolf tried to attack me.¡±


    Here, Kaion¡¯s handsome face glowered, and Belbet continued before he could feel guilty for not being there. ¡°Eefim tackled the beast, pinning it down, and¡­ Something happened. Eefim¡¯s glow spread and passed to the wolf, and¡­ the wolf went calm. Then Eefim started saying he could understand him, and that he wasn¡¯t going to hurt anyone.¡±


    The white-haired man scowled in his ¡®I¡¯m thinking and I don¡¯t like it¡± face. She found it quite amusing and giggled, which prompted Mohniit to look at it and giggle too. ¡°Strange.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I think it has to do with Eefim¡¯s core. Have you ever had a dream, where you¡¯re just an animal, and you ate a golden glowing ball?¡±


    Kaion raised an eyebrow, ¡°No. Not that I remember.¡± Judging by his tone he was amused by her as much as she was by him.


    ¡°See, that¡¯s what he said too. How about a beast core? Have you ever eaten one?¡± She asked, watching him. He lifted the bowl, dripping a river of cool water down his pecs and abs. She had to tear her eyes back up to his face.


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve never earned the right to eat one.¡± Kaion explained.


    ¡°Earned?¡± Belbet tilted her head. ¡°Are they uncommon?¡±


    ¡°...They only appear in beasts stronger and faster than normal beasts. It usually takes a whole tribe to take them down, or a very, very strong chieftain who has eaten cores before.¡± Kaion explained. ¡°Therefore, they are only to be given to chieftains.¡±


    Belbet blinked, realizing she may have made a mistake. ¡°It¡¯s not harmful for children¡­ right?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never seen or heard of one given to a child before.¡± Kaion said, tone amused as he turned his body to look at her. Another sluice of water down his chest, and he continued to speak, ¡°By rights, it should have gone to you.¡±


    Belbet¡¯s mind froze at the thought, before gently shoving aside the fact that this man considered her a chieftain. ¡°I think, putting aside who it should have gone to, the energy changed something in Eefim. Made it to where he was able to connect to the beast. I¡¯m thinking of trying it myself with one of the chickens, to see if it¡¯s something we can recreate.¡±


    ¡°You would wish to bind your life to a chicken?¡± Kaion asked, and Belbet burst out laughing at his expression of incredulity.


    ¡°No, not really. But it¡¯s the only animal we have available to test it on.¡± She explained, ¡°We could also hold off on that experiment for now, and observe Eefim¡¯s progress with the wolf.¡± She wished she had the ability to take notes but even cuniform tablets would be beyond her right now, with the technology they had. She sighed, disappointment filling her bones, only to put the feeling away when Kaion spoke again.


    ¡°I think that for the best. But you should ask Deenat. She might have ideas too. Perhaps we can come up with some training to help.¡±


    ¡°Training?¡± Belbet found herself asking.


    ¡°To help him get stronger. The stronger a chieftain is, the more prosperous a tribe.¡± Kaion nodded, ¡°And with training, he will be strong. The chieftain in my tribe would go out and test himself against any creature he thought might have a core. He fought quite a bit, but he was a hippopotamus-spirit, and so, therefore, enjoyed fighting.¡±


    Belbet tried to imagine what someone with a hippopotamus animal spirit would look like. Honestly, she just thought of a large man with grey skin and a huge mouth. She didn¡¯t share this thought with Kaion. Instead, she said, ¡°Did he also glow?¡±


    ¡°When he was fighting, yes.¡± Kaion nodded, ¡°A different color, though. Not green, like you. He glowed a red, like a flower.¡±


    How interesting. Different colors¡­ If mine is green, and Eefim¡¯s was orange, and the chieftains was red, Belbet considered, ¡°Do you think color has something to do with power level? How strong a person is?¡±


    Kaion shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve only ever seen my clan¡¯s chieftain glow.¡±


    Splashing drew their attention, and Belbet grinned upon seeing her nephew and sister join them in the water. Soon enough, however, playing gave way to the soft tiredness that lead then to napping away the hottest hours of the day. Once the noonday nap was over, the ever-constant string of chores kept their attention.


    They were still in the process of drying all the snake meat, curing enough tiles to make the roof of the storage area, and tending the earth holding their future spoils. Belbet was rather pleased to see the sight of the wolf curled up on some of the fur scraps they¡¯d managed to somewhat dry. It was gnawing on one of the snake woman¡¯s ribs and looked quite content.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Kaion called Belbet over to his lean to, and held out what looked like some sticks and string in his hand. She let him place it in her own, and then upon inspecting it realized it was in fact, a chord-drill. With this primitive tool, made of a stone spear-point tied to a stick, which was then wrapped with rope that, attached to another stick, would spin the spear-pointed-stick. It was a bit of a complicated device, and Belbet had been waiting on Dahnei to make her a spear-point so she could make her own, but here he was, providing it for her.


    ¡°I saw you attempting to carve the holes out of the toys with a knife. It didn¡¯t seem to be working.¡± Kaion explained. ¡°I thought this might work better.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ really is very useful. Thank you, Kaion.¡± Belbet gave him her sweetest smile, touched that he¡¯d thought of such a thing. She turned to the drill too quickly to notice the widening of his eyes or the pinking of his cheeks.


    Instead, she turned to the toys she¡¯d been making, finally able to drill out the hole in the horse¡¯s legs and wheels. Then, carving the axle-sticks, she put the toy together and tested it. Sure enough, it rolled. It wasn¡¯t perfect, and it got stuck occasionally, but, ¡°I did it!¡±


    She stood, laughing and turning this way and that out of excitement. Then, she hopped over to where her son was sitting, building a pile of rocks that was slowly falling down. She held out the horse. ¡°Ah, Mohniit? Baby boy?¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem intent on looking at her, until she wiggled her fingers at him. Attracted by the movement, he turned, lifting his lop-ears to hear her better. She smiled at him, and held out the horse again. ¡°Here. A toy for you.¡±


    The boy looked over the strange thing, and didn¡¯t reach out to take it. Then, Belbet decided to demonstrate. She rolled the horse along the ground, and watched Mohniit¡¯s face light up. He immediately snatched the wooden toy from his mother¡¯s hand and started pushing it along the ground. A sharp joy filled Belbet at the sight, since it meant she¡¯d finally brought something that wasn¡¯t JUST about survival into these children¡¯s lives.


    The joy of that rode her all the way through teaching Dahnei how to make stuffed flatbread dumplings, the after-dinner chores of cleaning their pots and dishes, gathering the chickens into the hut, forming and curing more tiles, and everything else that needed to be done before they could all pass out.


    The morning came with a certainty that she¡¯d dreamt, but no notion of what she¡¯d dreamt, only colors and sounds. Belbet¡¯s morning greeted her with a nice breeze and the sight of clouds whisping across the sky. She began the morning chores to the clucks of the chickens finding their feed, passing by the wolf, who was still laying across his fur bedding. He lifted his head to look at her, and she carefully did not meet his eyes.


    They were planning to spend most of the day out of the camp, so she set about creating several flatcakes out of flour, eggs and water, since they would last the day without going bad. With this, she made up some scrambled eggs with snake meat mixed in, along with a small mix of fresh, ground up herbs. The smell woke their perpetual guest, and Kaion yawned as he sat up.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of bread.¡± He commented, upon the sight of the sheer amount of batter Belbet had made.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re going to be doing a lot of work today, picking and hauling nuts and fruit. So we can¡¯t really come back to eat when we get hungry. We¡¯ll be able to take these with us, and they won¡¯t weigh much.¡± She commented.


    ¡°You intend to collect those then?¡± He nodded in the direction of the uncracked nuts that were still sitting on a leaf near the cooking center.


    ¡°Yes, absolutely.¡± She smiled, ¡°But we¡¯re going to have to have you watch the camp, I think. I have to take my little ones with me, since they¡¯ll be able to get to places Deenat and I can¡¯t.¡±


    Kaion frowned, but he didn¡¯t disagree. ¡°What will you use them for?¡±


    Belbet considered, ¡°Well¡­ the hulls can be used as animal bedding, they can be tilled into the soil to make it richer, which makes plants grow better. The nuts, I already explained about. The apples I¡¯m going to make vinegar with, which is a liquid that can help us preserve the vegetables we forage and grow through winter.¡±


    Kaion raised an eyebrow, and she had learned that this meant he wanted to hear more. ¡°Well, the reason food goes bad is because air touches it. But because water and air work well together, things grow in the water that rots the food there, too. But, if you make vinegar,¡± She paused, about to try and explain how fermentation works, before realizing it would confuse him, ¡°vinegar keeps the air from touching the food, and doesn¡¯t work well with air, so the food pickles, which preserves it.¡±


    She could tell he wasn¡¯t quite connecting how everything worked from the way one of his eyes squinted. However, trying to explain more would just be¡­ confusing. ¡°You¡¯ll see when I get it set up. Pickles are super tasty.¡±


    ¡°I will await it with bated breath,¡± He assured her, although his tone was dry and teasing. She couldn¡¯t help a sharp laugh, and without thinking, she reached over and pushed his shoulder. He rocked with the force of it, lips quirking in a smile she found quite adorable.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± she continued, ¡°If you want to walk around camp while we¡¯re gone, I can get you a big stick to use as a crutch. You just shouldn¡¯t touch the ground with your hoof much. If you do, though, I¡¯ll clean and bandage it tonight, just to be safe.¡± Honestly, he really shouldn¡¯t be putting any pressure on it for another week, but she could tell it was driving him crazy being confined to bed.


    ¡°It would be nice to stretch my legs.¡± He admitted, doing just that. Belbet was careful to keep her eyes off the curled fur that hid the firm muscles beneath. Breakfast required her focus, so she kept it there. There was no way she noticed exactly how his ankle worked, or the fact that his hooves were actually a dark slate color, rather than black.


    By the time she¡¯d finished the cakes, the children had come out of the hut, sleepily grumbling by the fire. Deenat had joined them as well, rubbing at the now-messy braid crown on her skull. Belbet chuckled, and waved Deenat to sit in front of her. She took down the braids, and gently rubbed at her sister¡¯s poor hurting head. In only a few moments, she had Deenat melted into a puddle at her knees.


    ¡°So, after breakfast, we¡¯ll pack up the cakes, and find the almond grove and the apple trees. We¡¯ll need to take as many baskets as we have.¡± Belbet explained, watching Eefim smile a small smile at his mother¡¯s loose sprawl.


    ¡°Many apples!¡± Mohniit cried, clapping his little hands.


    ¡°Yes, baby. Many apples.¡± Belbet encouraged him, her fingers tugging at the baby hairs at the base of his neck gently. He made a happy little purring sound that Belbet was almost 100% sure wasn¡¯t a human noise. She found it too adorable to be disturbed by it.


    ¡°Too many of the fruit will rot. It¡¯s better to leave it near the trees, it will attract insects.¡± Deenat commented, sitting up properly and running her hands through her now-wavy hair.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can fix that. Everyone, eat up. We¡¯ve got a long walk ahead of us.¡± Belbet started handing everyone their food, joining her family in their breakfast.


    Food eaten, she strapped the baskets to Dahnei, Eefim and Deenat¡¯s back, before letting Deenat do the same with her. Their trek through the woods was filled with the sounds of birds and animals, the sounds of the children playing as they walked, and the soft gurgling of the river they always kept to their right.


    Belbet kept an eye out for anything of use, and made the lovely discovery that blackberries had come into season. She filled the bottom of Mohniit¡¯s little basket with them, making sure there was plenty of room for other things too. An elderberry bush was a lovely discovery, and she packed some of those berries into the basket as well.


    It was a lovely walk, and by the time they reached the apple grove that Deenat had found, everyone was very excited to begin picking the small, hard apples.

 Chapter Twenty-Two - Apple Picking

    Chapter Twenty-Two - Apple Picking


    -Summer-


    The tree branches, thin and wirey as they were, were laden and heavy with small green apples. Picking one told Belbet with just a squeeze that they weren¡¯t ripe, or even close to ripe. But for what she needed them for, this would be perfectly fine. She nodded to herself, putting the unripe fruit in the basket on her back.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯re not going to collect a lot of this fruit today. Just about half a basket will do. Most of this isn¡¯t ripe yet, so look for fruit that has red on it, if at all available. We¡¯ll have to come back later in the season when they¡¯re ripe.¡± She grinned, pointing at the branches, ¡°But! We¡¯re going to collect a bunch of applewood. The wood makes meat taste really good when it¡¯s smoked with it!¡±


    Dahnei made a sound of wonderment, while Eefim grinned. ¡°How much should we collect?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Let¡¯s each get a bundle of sticks about as big around as Mohniit¡¯s waist, and tie it to our baskets. That should be enough for a little while.¡± Belbet stated.


    It took them a good two hours to cut enough branches and collect the apples. Then, Deenat lead them to the east, away from the river, and towards the almond grove. Upon arriving, Belbet was quite happy to see these trees heavy with the unmolested almond fruits too. Green little balls, high up in the trees branches, and she lifted Mohniit onto her shoulders so that he could reach up and pick them (and handfuls of leaves as well, but who was counting?).


    It took a while for everyone to get the hang of picking them, but soon they had a rhythm going, and baskets were slowly filling up. Belbet was quite surprised to see that it was, in fact, Eefim who grew bored first and wandered off. She didn¡¯t bother wrangling him in, because they had plenty of hands for this job, and he was probably going to hunt, which would get them more fur for winter.


    Another hour passed before she saw the boy again, as he came charging out of the woodland brush, calling (in a happy tone, because if he wasn¡¯t, she¡¯d have panicked) for his aunt and mother to follow him. Looking down at the basket she and Mohniit had been filling, she figured it wouldn¡¯t hurt to let themselves be distracted for a little bit before lunch.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Deenat asked, frowning at her son. Really, she ruined her pretty face when she did that, but Belbet wasn¡¯t going to bring that up just now.


    ¡°I found deer tracks! A lot of them! And some other tracks I¡¯ve never seen before!¡± He cried, excitement bouncing on his toes. ¡°Come on, follow me!¡±


    Packing up the little ones and the baskets onto their shoulders, Belbet and Deenat followed their enthusiastic child into the woods. However, even Belbet could tell that the area was starting to thin out somewhat. An odd, horrible smell started to grow, and Belbet had to wonder what had died, or at the very least, used the bathroom. After about fifteenish minutes, the trees thinned to a few every feet, then to one or two every foot, and then it spaced out into what was-


    Her foot slid into some mud and she found herself shuddering at the feeling. The grasses had grown tall around them, reaching her shoulder easily. She tightened her hand around Dahnei¡¯s, and hefted her son (and his rather heavy basket) onto her hip. Deenat, realizing what was bothering her, came forward and took Dahnei¡¯s hand. This let Belbet resettle the child carefully.


    The mud sucked at their feet, and drew Belbet¡¯s attention. Sure enough, like Eefim, she saw the various tracks, all different, curving in and around the grasses. She also saw water rising up in the tracks that were particularly deep. She looked up at her nephew who was trotting ahead of them with thick, wet slapping sounds. The mud was even wetter where he was standing.


    ¡°Careful.¡± Deenat warned. ¡°Don¡¯t fall.¡±


    ¡°Look!¡± Mohniit cried, tugging at Belbet¡¯s hair painfully. Hissing in pain, Belbet turned to look and found herself frozen.


    There, across the muddy field of tall grasses, stood what could only be called a horse. Well, it did look different from Victoria¡¯s knowledge of horses, striped and spotted like a tapir as it was. It was also stubbier, its nose and neck wider than Victoria had ever seen on a horse. But it had four legs, and it was chewing on the grasses. The dark tan of its fur blended with the dead and dying stalks of grass, the white and brown spots and stripes breaking up its shape in the distance.


    Another joined it, coming out of the trees. And then another. ¡°It¡¯s.. It¡¯s a herd.¡± Belbet breathed. ¡°That¡¯s a herd of horses.¡±


    ¡°Horses?¡± Dahnei questioned, her eyes never leaving the big herbivores who, for the most part, were staying on their side of the muddy plane.


    ¡°Yes. Big, four legged animals. If we can get some babies and raise them, they can be very useful. They run faster and farther than humans ever could, and they can pull and carry far more.¡± Belbet answered. ¡°We¡¯ll need to keep watch on them. They probably come-¡±


    She watched as several of them lowered their head down to the roots of the grasses. It caught her attention because it was¡­ well, unexpected. Why would they go for the roots whent here was tasty grass leaves up above? And plenty of them?


    An idea struck her, and she knelt down, wetting her fingers with the water. Pressing it to her lips, she licked them, only to gasp in joy. ¡°Salt! This is a salt marsh!¡± She cried, laughing joy tipping over her lips as she cleared the mud from her face. ¡°We have to dig. We have to dig to collect the water here, and we have to boil it.¡±


    Now Deenat was looking at her, her attention split between the large herbivores and her sister¡¯s insane idea. ¡°Is now really the time?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. Very much so.¡± She set down her little son, and started cutting at the roots of some of the grass around them. ¡°We need to make a large enough area that we can dig down. Help me cut away the grass. We can take it back with us and use it to make baskets. Dahnei, you help too.¡±


    Confused, the little girl pulled out her own handaxe and began cutting at the thick, fibrous stalks, and, like her mother, tossing them into a pile in the mud. Mohniit joined the ceremonies by sitting on the ground, in the mud, and digging like his mother had said they should do.


    Perhaps the thing that surprised Belbet the most was the sheer amount of snails she was finding. Small ones, no bigger than a fingernail, but so many of them as to be interesting. She told the children to put the snails in one of the baskets, and suddenly Mohniit had a new fun errand to do. He picked the snails off the grass and delivered them to the basket with a single minded joy that Belbet had to carefully not laugh at.


    Another messy, busy few hours and Belbet had managed to get a fire going. She¡¯d had Deenat run back to camp and bring one of their clay pots, while she and the children had dug a pit into the mud that was slowly filling with salty brackish water. Victoria¡¯s hopes were so high that Belbet had to keep reminding herself that this salt would be nothing as clean and white as the salt of Victoria¡¯s homeland. But the thought of having salt to cook with, to preserve things with, was too much for her not to be smiling the entire time.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    She¡¯d pushed lunch off so long that the heat of the day, kept at bay by the mudwater, had made her children cranky. Mohniit and Dahnei both fell into fits at the minor inconveniences their particular jobs raised. Dahnei began to cry when a stalk of grass whipped her in the face instead of being cut as she¡¯d intended. Mohniit gave a frustrated shriek when he dropped a handful of snails and they started escaping before he could pick them up properly.


    Pulling her crying children into a hug, she shooshed them gently, although her own frustration bubbled beneath the surface. ¡°We¡¯ll take a break, alright? We¡¯ll eat, and drink, and then we can play in the mud some.¡±


    This seemed to quiet their fits into sniffles, and she took out the cakes she¡¯d made that morning and handed them out. Even with muddy hands, the food was still delicious after the hard work. Their little lunch break was joined by the horses, who seemed to have decided this was a good foraging area. Did they come here often? Was this common grazing ground for them? Belbet certainly hoped so.


    After a nice break where she helped the children build mudcastles, they turned their attention back to the mudhole, only to discover something interesting.


    ¡°Mama, what are those?¡± Dahnei asked, pointing at what was clearly three hand-sized crabs crawling over and around each other in their salt water hole.


    ¡°Those¡­ are crabs.¡± Belbet explained, frowning. ¡°Most of them are edible, so we should catch them. But we can¡¯t let them die before we cook them, or they taste different.¡±


    ¡°How are we supposed to bring them back alive?¡± Eefim asked, his lips pursed. The kid had a point. Victoria had only ever seen them alive in tanks in a restaurant, with little rubber bands around their pincers. And these didn¡¯t seem like they¡¯d be amenable to staying in a basket that wasn¡¯t sealed somehow.


    Belbet thought for a moment. ¡°...Dahnei, think you can weave us a lid for the basket quickly?¡±


    The girl nodded, and got started right away, weaving a little square of the green grasses around them. Belbet didn¡¯t watch her do it, instead dropping their clay pot over top of the crabs to keep the three of them from escaping. Then, she began digging another water hole, not too far away from the one the crabs had claimed. Luckily, water seeped into that hole as well.


    By the time Dahnei had finished the basket lid, about two hours later, the sky was turning orange with dusk, and Belbet was ready to start boiling the first pot of water. So, picking up a sturdy stick, she knocked the pot over, disorienting the three crabs who scuttled this way and that.


    It took a lot of corralling with sticks and poking at them, but eventually, Belbet got one of the crabs to grab her stick enough she could fling him into the almond basket. Dahnei, whose job was to close the lid until the next crab was ready, slammed the lid she¡¯d made down on top of it before it could climb out.


    Unfortunately, when she opened it so that Belbet could throw in the second crab she found, the first one was close enough to the edge that it managed to climb out onto the side. Belbet panicked, crying ¡°Close the lid!¡±


    She tried to shove the errant crab into the basket before the lid closed, only to miss and end up smacking the lid off and out of Dahnei¡¯s hands. The girl cried out in surprise, and the second crab also escaped the basket, sliding down the other side of the woven grass.


    ¡°They¡¯re getting away!¡± Eefim cried, frowning. He crowded close too, using a stick to reach out and shove the first crab towards the opening, while Belbet attempted the same with her crab. They ended up shoving the crabs against each other, which let them use their waving claws to grab onto the edge of the basket.


    ¡°Crab!¡± Mohniit¡¯s little voice immediately snapped Belbet¡¯s attention to him.


    ¡°No!¡± Belbet cried, too late as Mohniit snatched up the third crab by one of its arms. He¡¯d managed to capture one pincer, but the other came up and cruelly grabbed at Mohniit¡¯s face, catching his hair as he jerked out of the way with a shriek. Luckily, the baby dropped the crab, which instead of pinching him scuttled towards freedom.


    One crab gone, two chances left. Belbet turned her attention back to the two that were fighting her and Eefim¡¯s attentions. She gave a soft growl, and decided to do something stupid. She snatched one of the crabs with the hand that wasn¡¯t holding the stick. This of course, had immediate repercussions, the pinchy kind. She bit back her scream as the pincers of the beast snipped into her flesh, but she couldn¡¯t fight back the instinctive urge to fling it off of her.


    Two crabs gone. One to go.


    Her hand dripped blood, the pain a hot flash in her mind, but she pushed it down because she could see Eefim about to pull the same stupid stunt. ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Goodness, she was yelling quite a lot today, ¡°It¡¯ll pinch you too. Grab it from the back, behind it¡¯s legs.¡±


    Maybe picking it up like that would help? She hoped so, otherwise, her own painful lesson would mean nothing. And, sure enough, when he picked the escaping crab up this way, it was almost docile. He put it back in the basket, and put the lid over it, and there it was. They had a live crab.


    ¡°Good job.¡± Belbet smiled, trying not to be angry over how painful the treating of her little cut would be. The only mud they had available was full of salt, and their clothing was covered in it, so there was no chance of cleaning the wound.


    After the painful experience of treating her little wound, she turned her attention back to the boiling pot, happy to see that the mud at the bottom was starting to crackle and dry. She anticipated some decent (if silty) salt. While they waited for the salt to boil down, she set the children on collecting more snails and grass. The sound of her cries of earlier pain had startled off the horses, which filled her with regret.


    Soon, Deenat insisted it was time to go back. Belbet grumbled, the heat and the pain of her finger, combined with the fact that they hadn¡¯t boiled nearly enough muddy water for it to turn into salt, meant her plan had gone completely off the rails. But Deenat was right, they didn¡¯t want to get caught out here at night. So Belbet put Eefim on the job of marking trees, so they¡¯d know how to get back here.


    They made their slow way back, packs laden with their treasures, and arrived just as the sun began to slip beneath the horizon. Belbet sent the kids to go wash off the worst of the salt mud before it started getting itchy, while she set up the clay pot with the salt-mud to boil. She added more water, from their boiled stock, so that it might help clear some of that brackish mud. Around her, the others were slowly working through the before-bed chores too.


    The chickens put away, the meat checked and moved to the storage room, the treasures they¡¯d brought back sorted and put away too. Belbet took a few moments to pour some boiling water into one of their smaller clay jars, a drinking jar that hadn¡¯t quite shaped right. She swirled the boiling water around to sterilize the inside of the jar.


    Then, pouring out the boiling water into the mud-water, she cut up some apples into chunks, spooned some honey in, poured water over them, and then tied an animal skin over the top as tight as she could with some twine. This, she set inside the storage hut where it was less likely to get knocked over.


    Kaion raised an inquisitive eyebrow at it, and Belbet smiled, ¡°You¡¯ll see in a few weeks.¡±


    ¡°Mama!¡± Mohniit cried, running forward on surprisingly steady legs for a two year old, and wrapping his arms around his mama¡¯s thigh. Belbet smiled, running a hand along his ears.


    ¡°Yes?¡± She asked, having learned by now the difference between his ¡°Mama!¡±¡¯s. This one meant he wanted something.


    ¡°Noise!¡± the boy cried, and Belbet looked at him, an eyebrow raised. ¡°Noise! Noise words!¡±


    Clearly what he wanted was something he didn¡¯t have the words for. She dropped into a crouch, surprised at how agile this body was and how little her knees protested such an action. ¡°Hm¡­ Words and noise¡­ Did someone say something you want me to say?¡±


    A whine and head shake was her answer, so she continued, ¡°Is it something you want me to do?¡±


    A nod, and a tug at her hair. ¡°Noise! Words! Noisy words!¡±


    ¡°...Noisy words¡­¡± It clicked, and she smiled, ¡°Singing? Like when the snake lady came? You want me to sing?¡±


    This lit the child up like Christmas, and he was bouncing and clapping his hands.

 Chapter Twenty-Three - Late Night Conversation

    Chapter Twenty-Three - Late Night Conversation


    -Summer-


    So apparently, her son wanted a song. Somehow, the love of music had passed to this child, and she was quite happy that it had done so. She started clapping in a rhythm, humming a tune so simple she couldn¡¯t imagine anyone not learning it.


    Sure enough, Mohniit picked it up, humming along with her, his little claps almost but not quite hitting the same beats as her own. She moved from humming to singing nonsense, just little la-la-las and oooh-ho-hos. What mattered was the sounds, the making of them, the music that they became.


    A pleasant time spent around the fire, teaching a little one to sing, and then it was off to bed.


    This proved to be a mistake, when she woke up to a hoarse scream outside. Stumbling out into the predawn dark, she realized that she really woke up like this far too much. The door opened to reveal the yelling was coming from Kaion, who had run afoul of the crab.


    Apparently, the crab had escaped from the basket, took a trip over the ground and miraculously found its way into Kaion¡¯s bed. Kaion had rolled over on it, and that was all it took. Now poor Kaion was struggling to get a very determined crab off of his belly.


    She blinked at the sight, and stepped forward to help, but Kaion finally managed to flick the crab off into the darkness. Still sleepy, she continued until she could sit down next to where he was furiously rubbing the pinched red skin.


    ¡°Not the best way to wake up, is it?¡± She asked, waving Deenat, who had sleepily stuck her head out to see what was happening, back inside.


    ¡°No.¡± Kaion grumbled, letting her move his hand so she could see.


    ¡°That is definitely going to bruise.¡± She sighed, standing up to go get some of the herb-paste she¡¯d made to treat his foot. Smearing some of it on the bruise, she looked up at him, only to catch him watching her. She felt heat bloom in her cheeks, hidden by the darkness. ¡°Ah¡­ What is it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my question.¡± Kaion muttered, shifting his gaze from her face towards the gloom around their camp. ¡°What was that thing?¡±


    ¡°A crab.¡± Belbet replied. ¡°They can be good to eat¡­ but they have to be prepared fresh, which is why we were trying to keep it alive. But, it¡¯s gone now, so no point crying over spilled milk.¡±


    He turned his gaze to her again, mouth doing a strange thing, softening on one edge and turning up in confusion at the other. But he didn¡¯t ask about the idiom. Instead, he reached out, brushing her thick hair behind her ear. ¡°You sleep very lightly.¡±


    She could feel the heat in her cheeks triple, but she didn¡¯t move away, even when his fingers lingered against the soft edge of her ear. ¡°W-Well, yeah. Hard not to, when I¡¯ve got children to look after. Anything could happen, while I¡¯m asleep.¡±


    ¡°It leaves you tired. Is there any way to ease your worries? Maybe you¡¯ll be able to sleep better, if we do.¡± Kaion asked, and Belbet wondered if she¡¯d ever heard him speak so much in one sitting. Perhaps when he was telling her about his chieftain. She turned her mind to what he said, thinking it over. Shifting so that one of her legs was under her, and the other stretched out, she sat down next to him properly.


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯d feel better if we had a proper fence. Something sturdy that could keep out intruders. But that¡¯s way far off. We have to worry about sustainability first. We need to get enough food stored up for winter, and enough furs to make clothing that will last through blizzards. We also need better blankets and a more sustainable way of getting water. The river might freeze during winter, and then we¡¯d really have trouble getting water.¡±


    It felt good, spilling all these worries out. Kaion was silent, unjudgemental, as she babbled on.


    ¡°There are so many things I want to make¡­ So many things I want my children to have, but¡­ I can¡¯t possibly make them all. There¡¯s not enough time in the day, not enough hands. But inviting others to join us¡­ That¡¯s dangerous too. You¡¯ve been lovely, but what if someone we invite here decides it¡¯s better if they¡¯re in charge? Or worse, hurts us to drive us away, so that they can have everything we own?¡±


    She sighed, resting her head on her knee. ¡°There¡¯s so much to worry about. So much can go wrong. We¡¯ve been¡­ incredibly lucky. One injury I can¡¯t treat, one illness that spreads too quickly, one bad harvest or thief in the night, even one bad hailstorm¡­ we all die.¡±


    ¡°...Death is part of life.¡± Kaion interjected, drawing her eyes to him. He gazed at her the way a person gazes at painting they can¡¯t quite figure out the shape of. ¡°You fear it so much it paralyzes you.¡±


    ¡°Of course I fear it. Who will care for my children if I die? Who will I live for, if they die?¡± She demands, defensive.


    ¡°Whether you fear it or not, you will die. Someday, without warning. Everyone dies.¡± Kaion said it as if it was meant to be soothing.


    While Belbet knew that to be true, Victoria shook at the thought. ¡°...But we should have more time. Why do we have to live in so much fear, constantly, without any rest?¡±


    ¡°Because if we don¡¯t¡­ we die.¡± Kaion explained, and Belbet closed her eyes. She grit her teeth, as his answer rattled around her mind. ¡°Because if we don¡¯t struggle, we learn nothing. And if we learn nothing, then those that come after us will have nothing.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    She couldn¡¯t argue with that. She scrubbed at her face, her hands rough from all the work Belbet has done in her life. ¡°It¡¯s too early in the morning to talk about stuff like this.¡± She whined, pushing off this train of thought for another day. ¡°We both need to get more sleep.¡±


    She stood up, patting his shoulder gently, as she headed back for the hut, unaware that his eyes followed her as she went.


    Climbing back into the furs with her babies, she found her mind unsettled and unwilling to sleep. Even when she closed her eyes, her thoughts wouldn¡¯t settle. Mohniit, clingy thing he was, threw an arm over her chest, and she sighed. ¡®What am I going to do with you?¡¯ she thought to herself, fondness bubbling up in her heart as she tucked his arm back against his side.


    Dahnei whimpered in her sleep, and Belbet reached over Mohniit to smoothe her hair. ¡®Whatever nightmare you might have, I hope to chase it away.¡¯ She felt her breath catch in her chest, a note hummed out without really thinking. Then another, and once again, she found herself humming a lullaby.


    She felt her eyes latch shut as her humming trailed off tunelessly, sleep finally coming.


    Voices wove in and out of her dreams, but she wasn¡¯t really capable of pinpointing what they were saying. When she did wake, even the impressions of those voices faded from her mind. Instead, they were replaced by the real sounds of her youngest laughing outside, and the sounds of movement and work.


    She rolled over, empty space around her, and crawled out of bed. Her feet took her outside and to the campfire, with Kaion watching her from across the way, hands covered in clay again. His tiles were starting to look even better than the ones Belbet had made herself. She waved at him, settling in her usual place.


    Breakfast had been made, or rather put together. A bowl filled with shredded meat and berries, and she found herself popping them into her mouth quickly. ¡°Where is everyone?¡±


    ¡°Deenat and Eefim are watering the field. Dahnei is checking the fish trap, and Mohniit is right over there with his blocks.¡± Kaion answered, nodding in Mohniit¡¯s direction. She turned to look at her little boy, as he smacked his block tower with the horse. She wondered what exactly his game was, but was too tired to actually comment.


    ¡°I see.¡± She murmured, another bite of meat going into her mouth. Then she frowned, realizing, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you all wake me up?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re so tired you look as if you¡¯re dead.¡± Kaion answered, a soft smile belaying his harsh words.


    ¡°Rude.¡± Belbet huffed.


    ¡°Take the day. Sleep, play. Rest.¡± Kaion demanded, ¡°You¡¯re stretched too thin.¡±


    Belbet felt stretched. She felt like she¡¯d somehow lost track of what or who she was. ¡°...Maybe that¡¯s a good idea.¡± Finishing the bowl of fruit and meat, she stood up, stretching. Doing so, she caught the scent coming from her own armpits and her nose wrinkled.


    She looked over to the basket of soap, and crouched over it to poke it. It wasn¡¯t fully solidified, that would take more than a single night with how thick it was. But, the top layer was. So, she used her handaxe to scrape some off the top, and carried it with her to the river.


    There, she stripped down, placing her furs and almost leathers on the sands. Victoria was quite dissapointed that the soap didn¡¯t lather the way her body washes used to, but Belbet was just happy with the rosemary scent that came from the soap as she scrubbed her body. The slippery soap feel was the same, though, so it satisfied her somewhat. She scrubbed as much as she could with soap on her fingertips, careful not to use all of it.


    She still had to wash her clothes, after all. Soon, she had an audience. Little Mohniit, sitting next to her clothes and suckling on his own fingers. She didn¡¯t think he was hungry, just bored. She smiled ruefully, ¡°Want a wash too?¡± She asked, ¡°Well, strip down.¡±


    The boy grunted, pulling at the furs tied around his waist. She sighed, turning back the few steps to shore, so that she could help him. Soon his furs joined hers, and she sat in the shallows with him (ignoring how the rocks pressed uncomfortably at her skin). There, she rubbed soap all over his little body and even some in his long hair.


    She helped him lean back so she could rinse it out once he was done, his ears pressed against his head so hard she almost had to laugh. Then, she let him sit in the shallows, while she applied soap and sand to their clothes, scrubbing as much as she could. Her hands felt raw and painful, but when she rinsed them out, they looked¡­ Well, no they still looked like unformed fur skins that barely resembled anything like clothing.


    She sighed, lamenting the lack of any actual cloth. The idea of tanning the furs into leather came to her, certainly, but once again, Victoria¡¯s lack of actual knowledge on the subject made her hesitant. She had heard that fat was used in tanning, and so was bark, but she didn¡¯t know how. Then she paused, looking at the clothing in her hands.


    Rawhide, which was hard and firm and used as a treat for dogs, wasn¡¯t treated. It was just left to dry, right? Yet these furs, the ones they¡¯re wearing were flexible. Not soft, the way cloth was, but enough that they didn¡¯t scrape against the skin uncomfortably. Of course they stank, as so much about this world did.


    Finally, sure that the clothes were at least somewhat washed, she laid them out on a sunny boulder, and returned to her child playing in the water. The gentle coolness of the water rushing past soothed some of the ache in her arms from scrubbing. She leaned back into the water, looking up at the bright blue sky.


    The clamber of a toddler into her lap made her groan, adjusting her limbs so that he didn¡¯t elbow her in the chest. ¡°Is the water too cold?¡± She asked him, running fingers through his hair, now tangling from the soap.


    ¡°Ehn.¡± One of those baby noises that contained multitudes, and she hefted the two of them out of the water and onto the bank. It wasn¡¯t yet noon, but it was getting there, the sun tempered only by light, wispy clouds. Returning back to the camp, Belbet struggled with Victoria¡¯s need to be clothed in front of others.


    Kaion looked up, nodding, before turning back to his work. Part of Belbet was a bit confused why he didn¡¯t even mention it, and she refused to admit to being a little let down that he didn¡¯t at least linger on her form. Going inside the hut, she settled the two of them in the furs of their bed, where they could dry off.


    Squeezing out the water from her thick hair, she watched her little bunny baby shake his own head. The slap of his wet hair against his skin was a little funny, and she reached out to help him ring out his own hair too. ¡°Ah, what pretty hair.¡± She cooed, before taking his cheeks in her hand and squishing them. ¡°My baby boy has such pretty hair.¡±


    The boy didn¡¯t appreciate the compliment, or the smooshing of his cheeks, pushing at his mother¡¯s hands. She sighed, letting her hands fall, as she curled up on the furbed. The toddler stayed upright, reaching for some of the straw and playing with it, Belbet honestly kind of admired the child¡¯s ability to turn anything into entertainment for himself.


    A nap sounded lovely right then.

 Chapter Twenty-Four - Rain Watching

    Chapter Twenty-Four - Rain Watching


    -Summer-


    Her nap helped her push through, so she decided to make it a regular thing. For the next few days of foraging, farming, and collecting, the midday naps became a requirement, along with quite a bit more lounging than she¡¯d been allowing for before.


    Belbet had forgotten the biggest rule of all. Human beings, like all large predatory species, need to lounge after large meals. They need rest, relaxation, the ability to sit still and do nothing for a while. She¡¯d pushed herself for two weeks, feeling the yawning stretch of time between what Victoria knew and how Belbet survived. She¡¯d panicked, not realizing that this was a marathon run, not a sprint.


    Thinking this over, she cast her eyes to the skies and realized something interesting, as the moon rose. The moon was half-full. Or rather, it was waning, and at half-full righT this moment. Since she¡¯d done her daily tally earlier, she¡¯d realized it had taken 8 days for it to wane halfway. She wondered if that meant in another 8 days, it¡¯d be the new moon. 16 days¡­ Ah, would this be a fantastical 30 day moon cycle? That¡¯s a bit different from Victoria¡¯s 28 day moon cycle, but¡­ It would make making a calendar much easier.


    Pushing thoughts of calendars and moon phases out of her head, she focused on what she¡¯d been doing. Over the course of the next five days, she slowed down, quite a bit. The tiles were still piling up, and they didn¡¯t have enough to cover the roof of the storage house yet, so she only worried about it when they needed to be changed out of the kiln. The charcoal store they were building up was sufficient currently for their summer days, so one run of the reusable charcoal kiln a day was enough for them to be able to store up for winter.


    They were still taking turns curing and smoking the snake meat, as well as curing fish they were pulling in regularly from the river now. And, she was slowly but surely boiling down the salty mud to create actual salt. It was difficult, and the salt was adding a gritty texture to their food she didn¡¯t like, but it was salt nonetheless. On the bright side, she was starting to get hungrier, so it was hard to notice the grit. She found herself eating more than anyone at their meals, and had to check often that the children were getting their fill.


    Without pushing so hard, she discovered more time to spend with the children, too. Teaching them numbers and counting, how to tie knots and keep track of things properly. She sang songs with them, and taught them games like hide and seek, tag, tic-tac-toe and other things Victoria remembered from her childhood.


    The increased downtime also let her weave together some hats out of the wood-string she¡¯d been spinning. Nothing too extravagant, just some hats similar to what she¡¯d seen on asian historical dramas as Victoria. Coned things that they can tie under their chin, that would keep the sun off their necks and faces. The actual weaving process of them only took a few hours, and once she showed Dahnei and Eefim, they took to the project quickly. This allowed her to show them how to weave sandals for them all too.


    This helped quite a bit with the need to wash and clean their feet at night before bed. Instilling basic hygiene in her family was taking up a ridiculous amount of energy, honestly. Was it so hard to ask them to wash their hands before they eat, after they use the small latrine they¡¯d dug up, and before they go to sleep? She hadn¡¯t seen any sign of the children sickening yet, but it was the summer. Another thing she worried over was the idea of summer insects, like mosquitos, carrying illnesses.


    She really wished she knew which plants to burn to provide the smoke that would keep them away from the camp. But sadly it wasn¡¯t something Victoria had memorized. Instead, they had to start experiments on what would keep the most bugs away. It was mostly entertaining for the children, who would scream out if they saw a bug, or if they got bit.


    It turned out, thanks to the experiments, that pretty much any smoke will work to keep insects away. For the most part anyway.


    Time passed, and Kaion¡¯s hoof healed enough that Belbet was no longer concerned he was going to get it infected if he walked on it. He took to that with aplomb, striding around the camp so much that it honestly wore him out. By the end of the day, he was looking rough. Belbet banished him to his little lean-to to take a nap and rest before he depleted his body¡¯s stamina entirely.


    The next day dawned cloudy and oddly cool. Belbet took one look at the huge pile of tiles they¡¯d been working on for 11 days now, and decided that now was the best time to see how their progress was going. So, she rallied everyone to start putting together the tile ceiling of the storagehouse.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    It was difficult work, and Kaion, who was the tallest of them, spent most of his time stretching up. By noon, everyone was sore and annoyed. Tempers flared, and this led, once more, to the children fighting. Belbet managed to bribe them into peace by offering sweet berry drinks.


    Sacrificing a little honey into the drink, she had some herself, and honestly, she was quite happy with the result. After their cooling bath and nap, the afternoon held less tempers and more sweetness, teaching the children how to check if the eggs were growing well inside their shells. This earned her surprised and happy gasps, which melted her heart with sweetness.


    When she announced that she thought some of the eggs might hatch as soon as the end of the week, she was met with wiggly excitement, and a question from her little girl that made her laugh. ¡°Mama, can¡¯t we tell them to hurry up!¡±


    ¡°No, sweetness, no. Not any more than we can tell your baby sibling to hurry up.¡± She reminded, rubbing her belly to draw the girl¡¯s attention there. Sure enough, grubby little hands pressed against her belly and the little girl grinned.


    ¡°Can we candle mama¡¯s belly too?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No, no. But someday, far in the future¡­. There might be tools that let doctors look into a woman¡¯s belly and see the baby.¡± She said, making the truthful statement sound like a fairy tale.


    ¡°Silly mommy!¡± Dahnei laughed, dismissing her mother¡¯s strange words. Her eyes sparkled, as she turned back to the eggs on the hearth. Belbet had added feathers from the various fowl Eefim had brought back to the ¡®nest¡¯ around the eggs. This helped retain the heat of the day and coals, so that the eggs were always warm. Not that they needed much help at the moment, with how hot it was even in their dark little house.


    The blast of cool that came when she opened the door told her exactly how well they¡¯d done insulating their little hut. After all, if it was still baking hot in there, that meant the heat would stay in winter too. That helped her feel a tiny bit better, even when she came across several of the tiles that had shattered, unsecured before their nap and knocked down by the wind.


    She sighed, before blinking as a thought occurred to her. Wasn¡¯t shattered pottery a really pretty look? She considered it, as she picked up her weaving, and went back to it, her fingers twisting and tying the rough bark string into a wider hat than she¡¯d made for herself. This one she intended for her youngest to wear. Mohniit had black hair, and like herself, tended to overheat really badly. So, she was going to give him as much shade as she could.


    It was only when the first rumble of thunder in the heavens sounded that she remembered rain at all. She bolted up onto her feet, setting side the weaving and darting towards the pumpkin cisterns they still hadn¡¯t filled. Turning one on its side she rolled it out away from the cliff and out into the open. She took the lid they¡¯d cut into it off, and set it to the side. Then, she did that with the second and then third as well.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Deenat asked, looking up from where she sat next to the fire. Her legs were stretched out in front of her, and she looked for all the world like she was trying to touch her toes.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting ready to collect rainwater!¡± Belbet explained, smiling with an almost rabid joy.


    ¡°In the gourds?!¡± Eefim asked, his alarm turning into a similar excitement to his aunts halfway through the sentence. He stood too and ran to get the gourds settled out, open and waiting as the first raindrops fell.


    ¡°Water! Water!¡± Mohniit shrieked, caught up in the excitement and stamping his little feet about it. Belbet laughed at the sight, only to turn and notice her other baby frowning.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Dahnei?¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t the water put out our fires?¡± Dahnei looked to the smoker. Then, she turned and looked at all the snake meat. ¡°Won¡¯t the water make the meat bad too?¡±


    Belbet paused, surprised at this deduction. ¡°What makes you think that, honey?¡±


    ¡°Whenever it rained, the elders complained¡­ and then for the next several days, we¡¯d have to throw out food because it got covered in fuzzy stuff.¡± Dahnei wrinkled her nose at the memory, ¡°It smelled bad.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯d be mold.¡± Belbet chuckled, nodding. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll have to be very careful not to let the meat mold before we smoke it. That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to cover it up. Why don¡¯t you go grab every skin you can, and throw them over the snake meat, hm? That way it won¡¯t get as wet.¡± This wasn¡¯t a perfect solution, and Belbet knew it, as the water would be running along the ground too if it rained hard enough and the meat was on the ground. But it was a start.


    Soon after, the sky opened in a light rainfall that honestly didn¡¯t even put out their camping fire. It was a little disappointing, but also very relaxing. With everyone piled into the little hut, it was very crowded, but cozy. Watching the rain out the front door was spellbinding. With Mohniit pressed up against her side, and Dahnei sticking her hand out into the water, Belbet was reminded of the days when Victoria would sit on her eldest brother¡¯s front porch, all the little nieces around her, watching the rainfall just like this. Perhaps it was a universal thing, this ancient activity of rain watching.

 Chapter Twenty-Five - Stories of Spirits

    Chapter Twenty-Five - Stories of Spirits


    -Summer-


    Of course, even watching rain gets boring after a while. This prompted Belbet to get out her little day counter. Thinking to the moon she¡¯d seen last night, which hadn¡¯t even really been a sliver, she figured tonight was probably the last night before a New Moon on the Blue Moon. With fourteen tallies on the skin already and one to be made tonight, that meant the New Moon would be at 15 days into the lunar cycle. Which, unless there¡¯s something funky about the way this world works (which is an unfortunate possibility for her logic-loving-brain), meant that the lunar cycle of the Blue Moon was a 30 day long cycle. Which would make this time-keeping thing somewhat easier!


    ¡°Alright, so if the Blue moon is indicative of our months, that should be pretty easy to keep track of. Tomorrow will be the last day of this month, and then the day after that will start a new month! Yes. Okay, so then with that, I can kind of extrapolate roughly when things should happen¡­¡±


    Belbet mumbled to herself as she sketched out in a corner a rough calendar of ten squares in three rows. Time was incredibly important when it came to planting and harvesting. Sometimes it meant the difference between a destroyed harvest and a successful one. If she could figure out a calendar, they could start making an Almanac, which would, in itself, help with future planning.


    ¡°Ugh, I really need paper.¡± She sighed, rubbing at her eyes which were a little tired from peering at marks like this in the low light of their little hut.


    The reminder of mold had her mind ticking away, as Dahnei poked at the fire in their hearth with a long stick. She needed more ways to store the meat. But honestly, other than salting it and smoking it, they were very limited to what they could do. She didn¡¯t dare store it in the water in the river, because god only knew what was in that water. If she could make a double-well clay container, that would be used, but right now she was still figuring out the right amount of water to clay and firing it, and that just wasn¡¯t something she could rush.


    What other ways were there to preserve meat for a long time? ¡­Sausages. She could make sausages. But the problem with that was that she didn¡¯t have a way of grinding the meat. Other than a mortar and pestle, which would be¡­ well. She supposes that a mallet would also work¡­ That wouldn¡¯t be too hard to make. She could see if Deenat would be able to find and smooth some wood to make something to pound the food into something usable.


    But the problem became curing the sausage. They needed Salt for that. And with the little amounts of salt she¡¯d been able to extract from the mud they¡¯d brought back, she was beginning to think she was doing it wrong. Belbet sat, staring at the ceiling and pondering back to what Victoria knew of how salt was procured. Salt rocks could be mined, but they didn¡¯t have the technology, nor the knowledge of how to find a salt mine. And they definitely didn¡¯t have the proximity to a salt-water lake or sea.


    See, if they had sea-water, she could just evaporate the water in a pot and then they¡¯d have salt!


    She paused, blinking.


    ¡°Mama?¡± Dahnei asked, tilting her head to put it in Belbet¡¯s field of vision. ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Yeah, baby, just fine. I just realized that I¡¯ve been doing something wrong this whole time, is all.¡± She admitted, smiling brightly.


    While Dahnei was stunned by this admission, Mohniit pulled on Belbet¡¯s arm, drawing her attention to him. ¡°Mama wrong?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Mama made a mistake. Adults do that sometimes. They do something wrong, or they say something wrong. You know what to do when you make a mistake?¡± She asked, hoping that turning this into a teachable moment would help in the future to get these kiddoes to admit when they made mistakes too.


    ¡°Wha?¡± Mohniit asked.


    ¡°If you hurt someone, you say sorry. But either way, you change the behavior. So since I made a mistake by trying to make salt by boiling mud, I need to find a different way to do it, don¡¯t I? She asked.


    With Dahnei¡¯s nod and Mohniit¡¯s grunt of assent, she smiled, ¡°So I¡¯m thinking since we don¡¯t want a bunch of rocks and dirt in our salt, we need to find a way to sift that stuff out while we¡¯re making the salt. So, we need a Seive. Hey, Eefim, wanna hand your auntie some of the Lamia hair too?¡±


    The boy looked up from the knots he was working on, the black hair long since dried and stored in a round basket. He nodded, picking up a handful of the knotted stuff and passing it over to his aunt. Belbet made a face, the human hair feeling icky to Victoria¡¯s modern sensibilities. She swallowed down and went to work. First, she needed to unknot it. Taking a comb to it resolved that mess into a lanky line of hair on the floor. Then, with skills honed from recent weaving of wooden fibers, she began twisting the hair into yarn. She was really glad she¡¯d put together a drop spindle, as this would have been a time-consuming and annoying task without it.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°What are you doing now?¡± Kaion¡¯s rumbling voice asked from where he was curled near the entrance of the little hut. Honestly, with all of them in there, it was a bit crowded. Eefin and Deenat were sitting on their own little leaf-pile bed, and Belbet was on hers with her two kiddoes and now Kaion was taking up a quarter of the entry way/walkway with his own bulk. Technically, if he wanted to, he could lay down in the walkway between the two sleeping areas in front of the hearth, but he was working on something too, stone knife cutting away at some wood.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to weave netting from this hair. And then, I¡¯m going to affix that netting to a circle of wood, at which point we¡¯ll use it to remove big debris from things like the salt and grain and other stuff. The practice for it will also be usable as fishing nets and fencing.¡± She explained.


    ¡°Fishing nets?¡± Kaion asked, doing that thing he does where he slowly pries more information from her by engaging her willingness to talk about her plans. She felt like maybe she should be annoyed by it, but honestly, it was nice to talk about what she was trying to do.


    ¡°Yeah. Nets can be dragged through the water to catch fish that might otherwise escape us. It can also be used to make a farm in the river where we can raise the fish and make them fatter.¡± She smiled warmly over at him. ¡°The fatter the fish, the more meat. Plus, it¡¯ll make drying and storing them easier.¡±


    Thunder growled overhead and Mohniit and Dahnei both flinched, diving for the safety of their mother¡¯s sides, causing her to drop the spindle. ¡°Ah! Kids! Come on¡­¡± She mumbled, frowning as her yarn unraveled some. She began again on that section, realizing that if she wanted to be able to have steady hands for this one, she¡¯d need to figure out some way to distract her very scared children.


    ¡°Deenat, didn¡¯t the tribe have stories about what it means when the sky rumbles like that?¡± Belbet asked, trying to get her quiet sister to engage if only so that Belbet could focus on her work.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ yes.¡± Deenat put aside the bones she was carving and the children perked up, all three of them. ¡°Long ago, before people had Spirits, and before words were things said with meaning, the Spirits were bored and had nothing to do. All of them locked up in the heavens, they were tripping over each other and anger was about to explode into a great fight.¡±


    Belbet blinked, surprised. So there was mythos behind the Spirits? She wondered if maybe that could help her understand how exactly humanity became like this in this world.


    ¡°The Spirits couldn¡¯t be left be, so before things became a bloodbath, Bear Spirit gave a great roar and called all the Spirit¡¯s attentions. Her big, heavy paws raised and she gestured. ¡®Look at all of you. You¡¯re so strong, so fast, so smart, and yet none of you have half the voice I do!¡¯ She challenged, lifting her great snout up. Now, Bear Spirit is a humble Spirit, and does not usually have this sort of bravado.


    ¡°The smarter of the spirits understood what she was doing,¡± Deenat continued, as Eefim¡¯s lips took on a pleased grin. ¡°The more competitive however, didn¡¯t care. Eagle Spirit shrieked out, ¡®Not true! My shriek can be heard across the world!¡¯ and then Tiger Spirit snarled, ¡®My roar is louder and stronger! It can shake anyone to their bones!¡¯ Of course, Bear Spirit sniffed, and tilted her great shaggy head, ¡®Prove it.¡¯¡±


    Dahnei giggled, wiggling in her seat while her long tail did figure eights of excitement, ¡°She made them fight!¡±


    ¡°She did,¡± Deenat agreed, ¡°Soon, all of the louder, more violent spirits were so engaged in roaring and shrieking and crying out, that there was no more fighting. Instead, it was so entertaining that the smarter spirits, the happier spirits were crying with laughter, Bear looked over her works and was quite content to see that the Spirits would no longer be warring with one another, but were instead spending time together as a family.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why it rains and rumbles.¡± Belbet finished for her, smiling broadly. ¡°I love that story! It really shows how fighting can be defused with the right words. Thank you, Deenat.¡±


    ¡°Hm. That¡¯s a different story from ours.¡± Kaion muttered, smiling. ¡°Our tribe tells a story wh-¡± He paused, upon realizing that he suddenly had the attention of everyone in the hut. He straightened up and took a deep breath, assuming the mantle of story teller.


    ¡°The Great Elk Spirit is responsible for the safety and well-being of every being, every spirit and every child. And so, it falls to him to remind these charges of his that it is time to run, to hide, to keep moving. In the spirit world, there is morning and night, just like our world. But the timing is different. Their mornings and nights are different, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, sometimes so fast you can¡¯t even tell the time between.¡±


    He smiled, and leaned forward. ¡°But we can always tell when the Great Elk wakes up and begins to drive his herd. For the rumble of his hooves wakens the others and their feet cause more rumbling. Every so often, the Elk would strike a friend, the crack of his horns against theirs a show of their friendship or rivalry. And soon after his hooves wake them, the movement of their herdly meanderings shakes the dew off of the plants in their Spirit world, causing it to drop here in our world as rain.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Dahnei blinks, and tilts her head, ¡°I thought Elephant was the leader of all the spirits?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. There¡¯s no leader of all Spirits.¡± Deenat corrected, shaking her head. ¡°Each tribe trusts certain spirits more than others, and some tribes trust no spirits at all. Chief Gyos and Chief Pukk before him were the ones who started that ¡®Elephant is the leader¡¯ thing. Don¡¯t listen to them.¡±


    Belbet considered then, and frowned down at her weaving. What sort of Mythos would be women here, in their farm? What sort of stories should she tell that might someday form the basis of a religion, millennia down the road. Was that even something she could consider? Something she should consider? She shook such existential thoughts away from her mind. That way lead to madness, after all. Just focus on the day-to-day. The rest will fall into place.

 Chapter Twenty-Six - Newcomers

    Chapter Twenty-Six - Newcomers


    -Summer-


    The next day, after determining that the drizzle had ended, Belbet went out to restoke the fire, only to find it incredibly difficult to do with wet wood. She sighed, mentally rearranging her priority list to include crafting a shelter over their woodstock pile. One very difficult to start and smokey fire later, the morning breakfast began. It was simple this morning, some berries and greens as well as fried snake. The children didn¡¯t whine, despite the sameness of it, and Belbet assumed it was because they were just happy to have full bellies so often.


    In fact, looking over her babies, the last six weeks of regular meals and exercise have in fact filled in their little faces some. She was quite happy with that, since it meant that she was at the very least providing a more healthy environment than the tribe had.


    ¡°Hey! There¡¯s tracks here!¡± Eefim cried out, at the very edge of their little camp, and this drew the adults to come take a look. Turns out they were small footprints in the mud. After comparing it looked like they were somewhere between Eefim¡¯s and Belbet¡¯s footsizes. ¡°Probably a woman, then¡­¡± Belbet murmured, considering.


    What was a woman doing creeping around the edges of their camp in the rain? ¡°These weren¡¯t here yesterday, were they?¡± She looked to Eefim, and her nephew shook his head. A whine from within the camp drew their attention away from these tracks, as the wolf had decided he was going to try and get up.


    ¡°Ah, ah!¡± Belbet yelped, running back towards the wolf and gently pushing hands against it¡¯s side, despite it¡¯s growling at her. ¡°No! Lay down!¡±


    The wolf didn¡¯t seem to get the hint, getting a little louder with it¡¯s growling. It snapped at Belbet¡¯s hands until she pulled them back, but still when she tossed one of their cuts of snake-meat into his snout, he turned those growls onto the meat and lapped up his breakfast.


    ¡°Jesus christ-¡± Belbet mumbled to herself, shaking her head and turning to go back to the gathering, only to run nose-first into Kaion¡¯s chest. He caught and steadied her as she yelped and nearly fell.


    ¡°Did you just put your hands on an injured wolf?!¡± He asked, knowing full well the answer. Belbet felt sheepish heat rise to her cheeks, her mouth opening to defend herself, only to be cut off. ¡°Never mind, not important. Come on.¡±


    Despite his own limping, he tugged her back towards their breakfast. ¡°Eefim and Deenat are going to track the prints and see if they can¡¯t find the woman who left them. In the meantime, you and I are going to watch camp and see if we can¡¯t make progress.¡±


    ¡°S-Sure!¡± Belbet acknowledged, startled by how proactive the man was being. ¡­If all she had to do to get more than a few sentences out of him was put herself in danger¡­ nope, still not worth it.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s priority today?¡± He asked, eyes sharp and warm on her. Belbet swallowed, and took up her food again, shoveling it into her mouth in order to avoid having to speak.


    When she¡¯d composed herself, she chucked her chin towards the smoker, ¡°Obviously we have to get the smoker up and running again, or that snake meat is gonna go to waste. We also need to check the tiles we left drying and make sure none of them got deformed by the rain. I¡¯m also thinking we should build a little roof over the woodpile, so that our wood doesn¡¯t get as wet when it rains. And I want to check our cisterns and see how much water we got from the rain.¡±


    He nodded, as if keeping track of everything she said. ¡°Sounds like a lot.¡±


    ¡°Well, Dahnei can probably handle tracking down the sticks to make the roof.¡± She looked to her daughter who blinked up at her. ¡°Do you think you can find poles like what we used to make the hut?¡±


    Dahnei considered for a moment, before nodding. ¡°Yeah!¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.¡°Perfect. Thank you baby.¡±


    ¡°And what about the smoker?¡± Kaion asked, looking to the half-finished thing. Belbet sighed and considered it as well. She should check it for structural integrity, and if it was good to go, she might be able to do their first test run. ¡°I can handle the tiles, if you want to focus on that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure!¡± Belbet smiled brightly, glad that this was easy enough to compromise about. With their jobs decided, they finished their food and she turned her eyes towards the smoker. Eefim had finished the lid last night and had brought it into the hut with them during the rain, so it was at least somewhat dry.


    After feeling along the inside and outside of the smoker, she determined that the main barrel had in fact not suffered any damage. So, she put some meat on the sticks, and put them through the holes, so that they could do a test run, and then started a fire underneath. She watched as the smoke rose, escaping out of the sides of the lid and the hole in the center.


    ¡°Alright, now we just keep feeding it wood, and in a while, we¡¯ll check on the meat to see if it¡¯s sufficiently smoked.¡± She sighed, wiping sweat from her brow. The heat of the day was starting to rise, now that the rain was done, and worse, it was humid too. She sighed, turning to check on the garden.


    The rain hadn¡¯t dislodged any of the tiny calendula or echinacea sprouts that were growing there. She smiled, and touched each one with a fingertip, imagining the curling lift of their energy rising to meet her own. Just as every time before, she took a deep breath and as she worked the soil, weeding and adjusting, she imagined her energy sliding through her body and out into the earth, and then returning to her.


    As she did so, she considered what she¡¯d learned from Deenat regarding the beast cores and how they interacted with people. She poked at the little golden ball in her own stomach and wondered if that too was a type of core. She let herself sink into the work while mentally watching the energy pass through the veins of her and into that ball.


    She only came out of it when she heard voices. Looking up, she was startled to see Kaion holding a conversation with two adults she¡¯d never seen before. She headed out of the garden and towards their surprise guests. As she did, Kaion turned and looked towards her, ¡°Ah, here she is.¡±


    ¡°Greetings!¡± Belbet put on her best customer service smile, ¡°I¡¯m Belbet of Willowcliff Farm. Nice to meet you!¡±


    Both men seemed surprised by this response, although the wagging tail on the wolf-eared one indicated this was a happy surprise. The other, whose only animal-esque feature was the snake-skin pattern on his cheeks and yellow, slit-pupiled eyes, raised a hand as if to mimic the wave Belbet had given while coming over.


    ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Mermel, formerly of the Beaver Clan. This is Olleb, of the same clan.¡± The dog-man explained, grinning brightly. ¡°We were just explaining to your man here, we saw the smoke from your fires during the rain yesterday, and were wondering if we could take shelter with your tribe for a day or two? We¡¯d be happy to trade labor for a bit of food, if you have it. If not, we can find our own.¡±


    Belbet blinked, ¡°Oh! Well, sure. A few days won¡¯t be a problem. You can help us eat some of the surplus my nephew hunted for us. And, um. Kaion isn¡¯t my man, but he is a part of our Farm, as long as he¡¯d like to be. You two are welcome to the same treatment, or to come and go as you please.¡±


    She gestured for them to follow her to the main fire. She pulled some of their berry-and-honey punch, and provided it in two rough cups for those two. ¡°As for labor, we can really use some help, actually. We¡¯re running out of hands around here. But, before we talk about that, there are a few ru-¡± She paused and considered. Rules were made to be broken, but laws¡­ laws had consequences. ¡°A few laws that must be followed.¡±


    The dog-boy, who¡¯s ears and tail were black-and-white furred, making her think of a husky or maybe a malamute from Victoria¡¯s world, nodded, ¡°Of course!¡±


    His snake-skinned companion nodded, sending his sleek black hair cascading over his shoulders.


    ¡°One, no violence towards anyone within the Farm will be tolerated. Expulsion or even physical punishment and/or death will be the punishment for that. Second, under no circumstances are either of you to be alone with my or my sister¡¯s children. Same punishments. If they are within sight of Kaion, myself, or my sister, Deenat, then you¡¯re fine. If they are not, the same punishments as for violence will be enacted.¡±


    The two looked to each other, eyebrow raising on each of them in curiosity, and then nodded.


    ¡°Third, all food found must to brought before the whole Farm, to see if any of it can be useful for other things besides eating. If you wish to keep your own separate, that¡¯s fine, but if you choose to do so, you do not get to share in what the Farm shares. Mealtimes are always shared, three times a day.¡±


    The Snake frowned, raising a hand, ¡°This seems similar to every other tribe. Why¡­ so specific?¡±


    ¡°Because punishing you for rules that weren¡¯t explicitly told to you would be unfair.¡± Belbet explained, smiling. ¡°Now, if you both agree to these rules, let¡¯s get started on making your shelter for however long you¡¯re here.¡±

 Chapter Twenty-Seven - Idealistic Approach

    Chapter Twenty-Seven - Idealistic Approach


    -Summer-


    The work of putting together a lean-to for the two newcomers (who were okay with sharing, they said) was quick work. The kids were getting used to what needed to be done each time. Mermel was an energetic person, and took to taking down trees with surprising ease. He was able to bring down enough big timber that the skeleton for Deenat and Eefim¡¯s hut was up and braced before they even had to think about it. And since Deenat had been working on making rope in her down time, it was easy to secure the poles without having to lean this particular hut against the cliffside!


    Belbet wanted to cheer, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that she was absolutely exhausted from gathering the midsized poles that would be needed to weave the walls of her sister¡¯s hut. Instead, she fielded questions while the boys worked on pounding the dirt into the proper shapes and pouring the ash-cement she had Dahnei mixing up for them.


    ¡°So what¡¯s with the poles?¡± Olleb asked, his voice quiet and easy to miss.


    ¡°Hm? Oh. We¡¯re making buildings, like that hut.¡± She pointed to their little home, and then to the storage-hut which still had no roof. ¡°And that is our storage hut. That¡¯s where we¡¯ll keep the Farm¡¯s excess foods so that when winter comes, it¡¯ll be easy for us to survive.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t plan to keep moving?¡± Olleb asked, tilting his head, those uncanny yellow eyes following her movements.


    ¡°No, not really?¡± She explained, maintaining her customer service smile. ¡°You see, our goal is to make this Farm into a Village. And then into a City. Our home will be here, forever.¡±


    Olleb nodded, following her directions to weave what would basically become the mesh walls of the hut.


    ¡°So how did you and Mermel meet?¡± She asked, curious about their newcomers. Olleb didn¡¯t seem to be willing to speak much on it, however.


    ¡°We¡­ grew up together. In Beaver Clan.¡± He answered, pushing his knotted sleek hair behind him. Belbet nodded, noting that the smoke from the smoker was growing thinner.


    She stood, ¡°I¡¯m still listening, I just have to add some wood to this-¡± She explained, as she did just that, stoking the flames within the smoker higher. On her way back to his side, she checked the cistern pumpkins, and found them filled with a decent amount of water. She tested their weight and found she could easily lift them, even when they were half-filled like this, so she combined them into the boiled water cistern, and stored the rest, counting two full cisterns and one quarter-full cistern. A good water supply for now.


    ¡°His mother was the Brood Mother.¡± Olleb explained, before realizing from her blank look that this clearly was something she didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Mermel¡¯s mother kept the children with her during the days when the adults were working or hunting. She taught them stories and songs and how to find food that was edible and how to weave baskets and such. Beaver Clan wasn¡¯t very big, only 10 breeding adults or so, but there were close to fifteen children, not counting babies.¡±


    She nodded encouragingly, moving now to begin mixing the mud for the adobe for the walls. ¡°I see. Go ahead and tie those off, the walls are pretty much done so now we just need to build the clay-oven and then sculpt the walls.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Olleb nodded, and that was about when Mermel crashed through the underbrush, bringing more big poles to store. I instructed him to start digging out pole-holes for the wood-storage area. Dahnei came over with a basket full of the ash-cement, and dropped it off by Mermel, and came back to Belbet¡¯s side.


    Belbet spared a moment to pet her hair and give her a thank you, before asking her to see to lunch, since the sun was getting high in the sky. The Grey-moon crescent that had been hanging around for days now stood in the sky as well, but did them no good. She took a deep breath and turned back to her work, Just like with the oven in her hut, she built up a hearth and then a bit of a cylinder, big enough for a fire. Open on one side of the cylinder, she built the chimney to be as tall as the poles and supported it on the outside with poles. They¡¯d have to be removed after the clay oven was fired.


    Starting up that fire was easy now that she¡¯d done it in her own home so many times. Olleb had gone off, instructed to find sticks so that we could put a temporary roof of leaves-and-stick thatch on it.


    Dahnei¡¯s bright voice called all of them to meal an hour or so later, and Belbet regretted not teaching the girl how to grind flour, because at this point, the food was a repeat of the morning. Herb-and-honey soaked fish with greens and berries. What Victoria would not give for a pasta dinner.


    While they were eating, Kaion reported, ¡°The tiles are done, and are firing again. I¡¯ve added the finished tiles to the hut¡¯s roof.¡± He ignored where, beside him, Mermel was chewing through the fish at lightning speed, bones and all. For a moment, Belbet panicked because couldn¡¯t dogs die choking on bones?


    She put it out of her mind, focusing instead on the report. ¡°That¡¯s great news! Do you think you can build another kiln so we can fire some other stuff while we¡¯re working on it?¡±


    Kaion blinked, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯d be too hard to do.¡±


    ¡°Perfect!¡± Belbet crowed, sipping some of her berry juice. A bird took off in the forest, and her eyes tracked its path up and over the cliff. She stood up, and stretched, before finishing off her berry juice. Mohniit looked up from his meal, drippings coming off his face.


    ¡°Bath!¡± He exclaimed, and Belbet was knocked out of her stretch by an instant laugh.


    ¡°Yes, baby, yes!¡± She laughed, nodding, ¡°Time for bathtime!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the soap!¡± Dahnei cried, abandoning her food to run for the basket of almost-cured soap. It was a lot more solid now, which was good.


    ¡°Soap?¡± Mermel asked, looking around, and Victoria had the mental image suddenly of a big dog being told it was about to have a bath. She grinned, and nodded as she ushered her little clan towards the river.


    ¡°Yep!¡± Belbet said, as she and her babies began stripping. She tried not to feel self-conscious, but their furs needed cleaning, and this was a good time to clean her guests as well. ¡°We wash our clothes and ourselves. It helps avoid illness and keep us safe. Ah, Dahnei, run and grab the combs, baby?¡±


    Dahnei gave an affirmative grunt and took off with the kind of energy only a child could muster in this kind of heat. As always, Belbet took her children into the water and washed them down first, soap in hand, before turning them loose to rinse off and play. Then, she turned her attention back to the furs, taking the soap to them as well.


    After their guests watched her, she gave them each a sliver and told them to clean themselves and their clothes. Then, she began coming out her own hair, and then Dahnei and Mohniit¡¯s. Another round of playing before she was able to sit down and rest in the cool water. Mermel turned his attention on her then, and bounded forward, splashing water everywhere.


    ¡°Hey, hey, you¡¯re Belbet, right? I¡¯m Mermel.¡± He grinned, ¡°That food was really yummy, so thank you! Do you guys eat like that all the time?¡±


    ¡°Most days, yes.¡± She smiled, reminded of a very energetic dog that hadn¡¯t been walked all day. ¡°The goal is to have so much food we don¡¯t have to worry about where our food is coming from for WEEKS.¡± She explained.


    ¡°That¡­ sounds amazing.¡± He breathed.

 Chapter Twenty-Eight - Similarities

    Chapter Twenty-Eight - Similarities


    -Summer-


    Mermel¡¯s enthusiasm only grew as Belbet coaxed herself into explaining more. She gestured to the small swell in the river, where the fish traps were. From here, they could see the sticks poking up out of the water and the ripples caused by the caught-but-not-dead fish.


    ¡°Like with those, the goal is to bring in food without risking our lives, or spending so much energy as one might hunting. That way, we can spend that energy on other things. Work smarter, not harder.¡±


    It was one of Victoria¡¯s favorite sayings, although she wasn¡¯t always good at following through on it. Fundamentally though, it meant not just looking for better ways to do something, but also easier ways too.


    ¡°That¡¯s a funny saying. Most people just do whatever has always been done.¡± Mermel tilted his head, canine ears flopping just a little in confusion. Mohniit, whining in Dahnei¡¯s arms, pitched a fit until he was deposited into his mother¡¯s lap, sleepy and mumbly.


    Petting his hair softly, she nodded, ¡°Yes, but if someone doesn¡¯t grow, they wither. We¡¯re going to grow as much as we can, for all of time. That¡¯s how we make survival easier not just for us, but for those that come after us. We must always consider those that come after us, as well.¡±


    ¡°Too much growth can stifle a thing.¡± Kaion reminded, frowning. Belbet nodded, thinking of weeds strangling good seedlings. ¡°If left to grow, the horns or tusks on an animal can grow inward and pierce them. How do we avoid such a thing, in this case?¡±


    ¡°Growth without purpose stifles,¡± Belbet emphasized, ¡°Carefully tended, growth supports and provides. Running unchecked, however, with no thought for the future or those who come after, growth eats up everything around it. So we have to make sure to give back in equal measure. That¡¯s how we survive.¡± Belbet said, trailing a bowl through the water. She brought it up to sluice the water over Mohniit and herself.


    ¡°That¡¯s how I grow the seedlings, breathing in the energy of the earth. Sharing my own energy back. A circle of energy between me and the earth, and it makes the seedlings healthier.¡± Now Belbet was mostly musing to herself, although all of the adults were paying attention. Her own eyes were out over the water, where her eldest daughter was leaning back on her own, splashing when she lost her balance, but trying.


    A fierce sort of pride welled up in her heart and she couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°I believe that, as adults, we have a responsibility to leave this world better for those that come after us, just like as children, we have a responsibility to learn as much as we can about the world and ourselves. I don¡¯t ever want to stifle a child¡¯s spirit, or to cause them to make themselves small.¡±


    ¡°Beaver Clan was similar.¡± Olleb commented, his first words in a while. He seemed to shrink a little, leaning into Mermel¡¯s side, The shaggy man nodded as if to encourage his thinner friend. ¡°The Brood Mother had final say on what children were able to say or do, and it was a very respected role, with the responsibility of shaping the next generation. Mermel¡¯s mother always said that children were precious.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°They¡¯re the future.¡± Belbet nodded, letting her smile blossom on her face, even as she turned it up to the sun, to warm.


    ¡°Future?¡± Olleb asked, tilting his head now. She could see how these two were raised together, since they seemed very similar in mannerism.


    ¡°Yes. The time that comes after our lives. The time that comes after we pass on.¡± She smiled, ¡°The future is something that we can look forward to. Like a story we tell ourselves to give ourselves something to work towards.¡± She said, hoping she wasn¡¯t overselling her own wisdom. Honestly, the Victoria part of her was a bit embarrassed to be saying such things so openly. But it also felt like a relief to speak her intentions out, rather than keep them swirling in her head as if she was alone in this whole thing.


    It hit her like a bolt of lightning. She wasn¡¯t alone. It wasn¡¯t just her against the world, anymore. She¡¯d known that, sort of, after all, she¡¯d had Dahnei and Mohniit with her the entire time, but¡­ Now she had Deenat and Kaion too. Two adults who seemed intent on sticking around and helping her.


    There was a family in that, a community to be created. Her eyes prickled, but she sniffed back the feeling and smiled instead, soothed just a bit as if the wild danger that had simmered on her shoulders, much like the now-missing pain of her dislocated shoulder, was healing now. The cascading burble of the waterfall made her think of the white noise of a city. It was a different sound, of course, but it was noise nonetheless.


    ¡°AUNT!¡± A voice called over the din, and Belbet snapped to look. Eefim stood at the edge of the river, his calves being lapped at by the ripples, and his arm waving at them to come in.


    ¡°Ah, looks like bath time is over for today.¡± She sighed, shifting to slide off of the sitting rock and into the water. She shivered as it came up over her hips, and cradled the warm bundle of her now-dozing Mohniit close to her. She smiled to the three men, and chucked her chin towards the shore. ¡°You guys are welcome to stay here, or join us on shore. Either way. Mohniit!¡±


    Her daughter turned to look at her, already on her way back to the rivershore, and waited for Belbet to swish to her side through the water. The two of them came to the pebbly shore together, and out onto the beach, the water sluicing from their naked bodies, as Belbet picked up her still-damp furs with a wrinkled nose.


    The three of them walked the few feet back to camp, where Eefim had settled down to his work picking the feathers from birds he must have hunted while he and Deenat were out looking for the source of the prints. Deenat was holding a thick pole of some wood, carefully carving off the end into a sharp point, which worried Belbet some.


    ¡°That¡¯s a big spear¡­¡± She commented, as she pushed open the door of the finished hut, setting her sleepy boy down in their furs. She brushed his dark hair out of his face and placed a gentle kiss to his temple, before turning back to where her sister was sitting at the fire. ¡°Are we going to be hunting something that will need that?¡±


    ¡°Protection, just in case.¡± Deenat mumbled. ¡°We didn¡¯t find the source of those tracks, so we need to be prepared in case it¡¯s a raider.¡±


    Victoria-in-Belbet blinked, surprised that raider was already a word, but when she thought about it, it made sense. Belbet had memories of rogue males and small groups sometimes trying to steal from the Lynx tribe¡¯s meagre hunts. She nodded, and turned her face to Eefim, who was still plucking. ¡°Those feathers will come in handy, so-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t burn them, I know, auntie. You¡¯ve said so before.¡± He said, a whine of annoyance in his voice. She blinked, surprised by the attitude. But she supposed after running around in the forest for so long, the boy was probably hungry, and therefore grumpy.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She smiled at him, deciding to let this one slide. Even still, after preparing a quick meal for Eefim and Deenat, who had missed breakfast and lunch both, she and Dahnei settled in for nap-time.

 Notice -

    This is not an actual chapter.


    This notice is just to let you know that, as the author''s computer has ''screwed the pooch'' so to speak, until another is found and put together, the author cannot effectively write new chapters. As such, we will be taking a one week hiatus. Another computer is in the process of being procured, so no worries. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Thank you so much for your patience and indulgence. And thank you for loving this story. We never would have made it this far without you, and your continued support is the only thing that keeps this author going.