Chapter 8

"Honey, that's wonderful news! I love you! Are you sure?" John said to Vedeya, hugging her tightly, then pushing her to arms length to inspect her tearful face.

They were in their second camp, the half day rest in the hidden camp being mostly just a collapse wherever you fell, after the camels and horses had been attended to. The caravan felt secure enough to make a full camp, with hot meals and tents set up on this day, though.

By now, the entire camp had done away with the wool and felt tents, using their profits in the shares companies to buy into the silk tents. They were a very wealthy happy band. All the wives owned fine silk robes, lived in silk tents, had silver chafing dishes and tea sets, in fine wooden boxes.

It was as if they were all wealthy merchants, instead of drovers and guards, especially as most of the guards and drovers were trading in the accumulated wealth from their participation in the shares companies to buy space on the camels for their own goods. Most of the group owned at least half a camel of transport, and had filled it with their own hopes, dreams, and best guesses of what would be of profit.

Vedeya was crying with happiness, not with worry. They were in great shape financially to have many children, but it had taken almost a year since she and Zithrusa had tripped John, tied him down, and made him take her as his also-wife for her to produce life within her, a child from her body. Talus was her also-son, and as much her child as he was John and Zithrusa's, but she would now be able to experience it herself, and nurse a baby at her breast.

John's carvings of Vedeya weren't nymph, but goddess. As her pregnancy progressed, he carved her capturing her essence, of love, motherhood, potential. One carving had her looking down with an expression (more felt than actually carved.) Of gentle love at her expanding belly, one arm holding it in a gentle embrace, suggesting the mothers love to be. It was very emotionally charged, and brought feelings up which choked the voice and dampened the eye of all who beheld it.

The little nomads got right back with the program, carrying weights, scouting and hiding, tracking and attacking, hunting and spying. Tuk was training them to a very exacting degree, and they were not disappointing, not even the littlest ones. Zithrusa taught them counting and barter, and of course the fan language and the family's sporting games.

The little nomads adapted the fan language and barter signals into a very expressive gesture language that was subtle and complex, and they carried on conversations without anyone besides Zithrusa, John, Tuk and Vedeya knowing they were even talking, much less what they were saying.

John of course knew, having been trained in barter signals and fan, and Tuk was their general, and learned as they taught themselves. Vedeya had them teach her in exchange for teaching them the head tilt and eye movement language, which they promptly incorporated into their own developing language.

Soon enough though, the parents learned in self defense, and then everyone was making subtle movements with their hands, or their stance, how they held their heads and how fast they blinked. They would go for a full day without a spoken word, but with much said. Even the camels seemed to pick up some of the language, obeying unspoken commands of the drovers.

Everyone practiced weapons skills, and more of the children were able to use the children's bow. The ones not strong enough yet kept trying, but meanwhile just used the sling to pot game. The practice arrows got a very good workout, and Tuk was able to instill the archers meditation from the start, making the little nomads 'one with the arrow' and very accurate right along.

Sukuli developed a wicked head butt in her fighting style, lunging her long neck forward with devastating results, so John made her a stabbing spike for her forehead, making her promise not to head butt anyone of the troupe while wearing it. She rolled her eyes at John, like she would be so stupid, and so she wore it always, like an ungainly unicorn, and refrained from practicing her head butt except for designated targets.

John got a little nostalgic for the little towns, the trees, the animals and people of his former life. He began to carve eagles and otters and mink and bears and fish. He began carving canoes and kayaks and boats and planes. Then he thought about boats, and what would be a good design for this time.

The most stable design would be a catamaran, and it could carry lots of cargo in a net between the hulls, if it was waterproofed. Maybe Africa had some rubber suitable for waterproofing silk, or rubberizing linen. John began building model cats, and the caravan just shook their heads when he floated his little boats in the springs of the wadis they passed.

John realized that he would have to go out to sea in a boat at some time or other, and he was determined that it would be in a boat of his own making, rather than in an unstable coracle of a tub. Another reason to find a latex sap which could waterproof fabric, survival suits for his people, especially his wives and children.

John thrilled again to think that he was going to be a daddy again. He had gathered about him the best protection and wealth possible in these uncertain times, and as a group, mobile, aware and deadly, they could form Zithrusa's wall of people around themselves, combined with the advantage of not having fixed walls to defend, trapping them as much as they protected.

Any children he fathered had an excellent chance of surviving in these circumstances.

Talus continued to bloom and develop, he was as focused on his goals as Tuk. For such a small person, he was as brave and true as any grown man, loyal and trustworthy, putting the needs of the group above his own childish wants. John suspected it was in the march across the open desert, that Talus had experienced his own version of spirit quest, and had become a man, so to speak, five to eight years earlier than was usual for little warriors. He was still a loving son and a fun playmate, but when it counted, he was a dedicated warrior.

Sukuli continued to carry fabrics and non breakables, and John had the drovers rig her a quick release rope she could pull to drop her load if needed. She knew she could get unencumbered, but she didn't do so without cause, mostly carrying her load as a camel, but when the caravan was under attack, she would drop her load and charge into battle, defending her herd like a true warrior should.