She was too old for this. Too old for all of this.
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She had left ‘Souls for Freetown nearly two months before to see if she could purchase or barter for a handful of animals to take to AniWaya. They had quite a few new animals courtesy of one Lili Lane, but the more they acquired, the more they could trade to the other packs for that which the tribe needed. In the end she had walked away with several two pigs, four goats, and a pair of cages containing three egg-laying fowl she had been told were called pheasants.
Of the new stock, the birds were the most exotic. They were normal to see in ‘Souls, but difficult to obtain without a bow or extreme good luck with a snare. But she had sampled the produce from them and found it delicious, and so she had traded a good fur for them.
The pigs and goats had been attained by trading some bits and baubles that she had had, and a few that she had obtained before leaving, from Halifax. Jewelry, coins, some medical items, herbs that an apothecary was running low on, they were all eligible to be used, and use them she did. The only things ineligible for barter were her horse and herself.
The latter was already in use, she had discovered not long after arriving at the port town. She had met with a fellow trader on the way to Freetown and been drawn to his lovely body and exotic accent. They had coupled in the cool early spring night. After Desi, the femme had assumed that she could no longer bear puppies. That had been nearly two years before. But her stomach had swelled after that night. She had spent some time in Freetown, and then gathered her stock and headed back to ‘Souls, back to AniWaya, herding the animals ahead of her with a long, straight stick and with Galilahi’s help.
In hindsight, perhaps she should have remained in Freetown, raised the offspring that resulted from yet another single night of desire, made sure that everything was well. Instead, the ebony woman had insisted on pressing forward, intent on making it back to her tribe before the end of summer so the animals could be accommodated for as well as so the child or children could be named as per AniWayan tradition.
Pressed on, even when she began having labor pains earlier than expected, tying the animals with rope when they proved too difficult to herd solely atop Gali instead of walking beside her. Thus the bunch made their slow trek toward the Halcyon Mountains, edging along the mountains until she encountered a new pack’s smell and then speeding around it to find the pass through the mountains.
But it was midway through the mountains that she had had to stop, ushering all the animals before her. As a pop up storm threatened to rock the mountains to their roots, Hanna’s second litter had entered the world, three strong, but two dead. The one remaining child was tiny, smaller than Desi had been, and less than a pound in weight. Hanna feared this meant she would not be long in joining her littermates, but the tiny pup persevered past when her mother would have expected her soul to pass. That had been two days ago.
Even two days later, Hanna still wondered.
She had exited the cave soon after the storm had passed, ears ringing with the intensity of the blasts of thunder, exhausted from the birthing despite the pups’ small size. The two that had not lived, both male, was wrapped with their sister in one warm cloth. She would have to hurry on to AniWaya, but she was resolved not to leave her offspring on the mountain if there were any way she could get them to her home, though she would settle for Dahlia’s cemetery if she were given permission to put them next to their cousins.
It now appeared that Hanna would not even make it as far as Dahlia de Mai, however. She was extremely weak, and it was only Galilahi who was keeping her upright. She had not eaten, having failed to bring enough rations for the delay of birth, and had not had occasion to search for clean water. While it had not been long enough for each thing individually to kill her, together they were taking their toll. She had stepped but a few yards away from the bottommost slope when she could not go further. She stumbled, had the sense to tie to a tree the ropes that were still clutched tightly in the hand that did not cradle her children, and then lay down, tucking her bundle near her body, before blacking out.
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