The men had returned early. A blessing, then, from the Mother; She must have been busy with them. It would explain why She had not spoken to Asterre the previous evening. They continued to move, always eastward, as much as they could while following the river, anyway. Many of the women and children ran ahead to fish, and the men and women alike gathered what berries and grains they could from the river banks. The trees were growing more plentiful the farther east they walked, and one of the women had asked permission from the Mother to cut a tree down. It was not their way. The woman knew that. Until they found the land of their people, they would not leave scars upon the earth. The fallen branches and droppings of the animals would be enough for the their fires. They always had been before. It was not winter, after all.
The hunting parties would return in a day or two; Mother bless, they would return with some success. Their horses were still few, and while the more experienced women were teaching the horses how to accept and bear a rider, getting them used to the basic saddles they used, they would not be ready for hunting for some time. Still, tame though they might be, teaching them to be useful might be another matter. It would happen, for most, but how long it took...
That night, at the fires, a child asked Madrea Bedeos to tell them a story, apparently on behalf of the whole lot of kids. It was the daughter of their best woodcarver, Phiala, who had made the Madrea's walking staff. Sighing contentedly, the Madrea told the child, whose name was Joujio(she had not yet received her Bleeding Name), to bring the others around, as she began.
"Have you heard the story of the First Couple and the Seven Fanged Snake?" They had, of course. Many times before. But they all shook their heads eagerly nonetheless. "Well then! I'll have to speak with your fathers about that, now won't I?" the Madrea asked, a sly smile dancing on her lips.
"Ah well...I suppose I'll have to tell you myself. You see, it is an important story. The Mother was resting after having made the first Man, as she did with every gift, and the First Woman and the First Man were wandering through the lands they called home then, free of the darkness that would come later, with the Mother's frailty, as creatures sought to destroy the marvels she had wrought..."
The Istanians would see how far east they could get, where the Mother would lead them. The Madrea had resolved to listen for Her guidance again that night, once many of the others were asleep; they would have tried to prevent her, saying that she would strain herself. They might be right. But to be witness to Her was worth it. The auguries must be made.
The young women had been growing anxious, though. The nurses were caring for their children, and they had little to do on the journey. Asterre had told them to go scouting, if it would get them out of the way. A surprising number had taken her up on the offer. They were going to head out in the morning on those few horses they'd already had tamed, to see who and what was nearby. Perhaps they could find potential converts to the Mother's way.