Just Another Day

The skies had finally cleared enough the afternoons were sunny and bright, yet the mornings remained hazy and foggy. Maheke made sure Shanku earned their keep by having her help prepare meals and keep their hut tidy. Katari and Hilael were free to come and go as they pleased, and mostly kept company with Eru. Katari enjoyed swapping hunting and trapping tips with Eru, and Hilael was intrigued by the different plants to be found out in the prairie. Little was seen of Anoki as he was busy helping repair and reinforce the Heyen's longhouse they kept in the Nyre.

"Well, cub, I wasn't sure how useful you'd be, but I've been pleasantly surprised," Maheke commented as Shanku helped her gather some plants for meals and medicine.

"I've done my fair share of mending and minding across L'aernth," Shanku remarked. "And I did live on my own for months at a time. I'm fairly sufficient."

"You'll make that cub a good wife some day," Maheke nodded approvingly.

"Who?" Shanku asked warily. She wasn't sure if the older dam was referencing Eru or Katari, and at the moment, she wasn't sure which one she would want referenced.

"Either one, I suppose," Maheke shrugged. "When you're of age."

"Well I hope that's still a long ways off," Shanku shuddered. "I'm not ready to settle down yet. There's too much left to see and do!"

"Eru would be a good match for you, then," Maheke said. "He has a touch of wanderlust himself. He could go with you. But, I suppose your young friend does as well, otherwise he wouldn't be out here with you, although he doesn't seem as keen on it."

"Eh, he's followed me farther than this before," Shanku said. "His parents just don't approve of us spending much time together since most Sylvans think ill of wanderlust."

"Perhaps they will come around. A little roaming never hurt anybody," Maheke said. "After all, if you don't wander at least a little bit, you never meet anybody new, and the family blood starts to get stale."

"Yeah, I know," Shanku replied. "It's why there are rules that after every two generations, you have to take a mate from one of the other villages, and after every five it has to be from another clan."

"We satisfied that quite well by letting Zihna go off with Dai," Maheke chuckled. "I just hope we didn't weaken her line by doing so."

"I don't think so," Shanku said. "Those in Mruha do it every so often, and they're just as stout and fiesty as any other kurach."

"Where will you go after you have left us?" Maheke asked pleasantly.

"Home, I suppose," Shanku replied thoughtfully. "I don't really have anywhere else to go at the moment. I used to travel the Nyre regularly during the winter, and I do feel a pull to go south again, but it feels too soon for that."

"Follow your gut and the winds will never lead you astray," Maheke advised. "The old animal instincts in us are much wiser than our heads."

"Duly noted," Shanku said warmly. The conversation drifted to plants, cooking, and other delectable subjects that kept Shanku's full focus for the remainder of their gathering.

The evenings were about the only time she got to see much of Eru or Kadin, and those two were about as opposite as Shanku and Hilael. Eru was serious and withdrawn, while Kadin was more rambunctious and playful, and often could bring out Eru's playful side if he pestered his uncle enough. Twice Shanku and Kadin were able to sneak in a game of batting around a ball made of sewn leather stuffed with straw, and when caught had to quickly break it up. The second time they had managed to get a lot of the other cubs involved.

"I think she's just mad because we were winning," Shanku whispered to Kadin.

"Probably so. You'd think she'd be happy I can beat them so easily," Kadin whispered back.

Both received a swat from a wooden spoon to the tops of their heads and a gesture to separate.

"I thought Sylvans were strict!" Shanku grumbled.

"Different kind of strict. Sylvans just toss you into the wild when you won't behave. We get nagged to death!" Kadin sighed.

"And you two in particular need more supervision than normal cubs. There's no telling what mischief you would make if I did not keep you on a short leash!" Maheke scolded them.

"I'd make that spoon disappear, for starters," Kadin muttered, and was promptly swatted again.