Chapter 137: Rounding up

The next morning, Anaria woke to the sound of people moving around the settlement. Someone was splitting wood nearby, and the smell of food drifting from a cooking fire told her that the day had already begun.

She dressed quickly and stepped outside. The last few tasks from the recent construction work still needed attention, but most of the villagers had returned to their usual duties. A pair of men were checking the fence around the children’s play area, while women carried baskets towards the shelter where they worked.

Anaria was glad they had not abandoned the work halfway through. There was still no reason to begin another building project when the improvements they had made needed care and regular use.

Kenai sat outside with Ana, holding her steady while she tried to reach a wooden ring. The baby had grown stronger in the past few days and now protested whenever she was made to stay still for too long.

"She wants to get down," Anaria said, coming closer.

"I know. She has been trying to crawl towards the firewood since I brought her out." Kenai moved Ana farther from it before lowering her onto a blanket. "She can practise here."

Ana immediately leaned forward, determined to reach a small piece of wood near the blanket’s edge. Kenai moved it away and offered her the ring instead. She accepted it, though her attention kept drifting towards everything else around her.

Anaria smiled at them. "Keep her away from the tools. I don’t want to spend the morning pulling things out of her hands."

"I have been doing that already," Kenai replied. "Go on. I’ll stay with her until I finish here."

She touched Ana’s head before leaving them and walking towards the play area.

Children were playing near the climbing structure. Two villagers were working on the fence, trying to secure a pole that shifted whenever someone leaned against it.

"That part still isn’t firm?" Anaria asked.

One of the men shook his head. "We ran out of strong wood yesterday. The piece we used was too thin."

"Then let’s replace it. There’s no need to leave it like that when the children will be playing here."

They found a thicker piece of wood among the materials left from the earlier work. The men secured it while Anaria checked the other poles. Once the fence was firm, she walked around the climbing structure to make sure there were no sharp edges or loose pieces that could hurt the children.

The ground beneath it had already been softened with leaves and other suitable materials. A few children had gathered nearby, waiting for the adults to finish.

They secured it and tested it with their weight. When it held, Anaria let the children return to play, reminding them not to crowd one another on the steps.

At the women’s shelter, the last shelf had been fixed in place. The women had arranged their cloth and finished blankets above the ground, and they were preparing a few pieces of fruit to dry. Anaria stopped to see how they were managing.

"We put the fruit on these clean mats," one woman explained. "They can stay in the sun during the day. We will bring them inside before evening."

"That should work, as long as the mats stay clean and the fruit is protected from insects and animals," Anaria said. "If it rains, bring everything under cover straight away."

The woman nodded. "We know. We lost some fruit last time because the rain came sooner than we expected."

"Then we’ll have to keep an eye on the sky and not leave it too late."

She helped them move a few baskets to a drier corner of the shelter. The women had kept some of the supplies too close to the wall, where dampness could reach them. They shifted the baskets onto a raised wooden platform and left space between them so air could pass through.

When they finished, one of the women pointed towards a pile of roots. "We gathered more than we need for today. Should we keep these too?"

"Keep the ones that can last, and use the softer ones first. Check them regularly. If one begins to spoil, don’t leave it with the rest."

The woman examined the roots and began sorting them. Two others joined her, setting aside what they could preserve and taking the rest towards the cooking area.

Anaria visited the elders’ shelter next. The roof supports were secure, and the channel beside the building was clear. One elder was sweeping leaves away from the entrance while another checked the wooden supports.

"We should look at the other shelters before the rains come," Anaria said. "Some roofs may need fresh leaves, and we should make sure the ground slopes away from the entrances."

"We can ask the families to check their own shelters," the elder replied. "They know which parts leak when the rain is heavy."

"That would be better. If everyone checks now, we can gather materials for repairs before the weather changes."

Rylan arrived while they were talking. He had been helping clear the path near the well and had returned to tell the elders that the channel was flowing freely.

"The water has a clear path away from the shelters," he said. "We should check it again after the next rain, but there is nothing else to fix there today."

Anaria nodded. "Then we can leave that area alone for now. The villagers can finish checking their own shelters, and we can help where they need extra hands."

Kai was busy doing much the same near the tool area. He had repaired several handles and set aside the tools that needed more work. Anaria stopped beside him to ask whether anything important was missing.

"Nothing we need immediately," he told her. "A couple of handles will need replacing, but the tools we use most are ready."

"Keep the repaired ones somewhere dry. We don’t want the handles swelling or splitting because they were left in the rain."

"I’ll move them under the shelter."

The work had spread beyond the first group. A hunter had brought back meat, and two people were preparing it for smoking. Nearby, an older woman was showing a younger one how to dry slices of fruit without leaving them too thick. The settlement was beginning to make use of the advice without needing Anaria to direct every step.

A young man approached her with a basket. "My family gathered more roots than we can use. We can keep some for the rainy season, but should we bring the rest here?"

"Keep enough for your household first," Anaria said. "If you have extra, share it with someone who needs it or add it to the food being prepared for later. Just make sure you don’t give away what your family will need."

He considered this, then nodded. "I’ll speak with them."

When she returned to her shelter, Kenai was sitting on the ground with Ana between his legs. The baby had managed to crawl a short distance across the blanket and was now gripping the wooden ring with both hands. Kenai kept close, moving anything sharp or unsuitable out of her reach.

"She crawled farther today," he told Anaria.

Anaria crouched beside them. "Look at you, Ana."

The baby turned towards her voice, then immediately resumed trying to chew the ring.

Kenai laughed softly. "She doesn’t care about our praise. She wants to eat it."

"Most things look edible to her right now."

Rylan returned later and told Anaria that the elders had asked families to check their roofs before the end of the week. The remaining repairs would be handled as needed, and the finished communal spaces would be kept clean and in good condition.

Across the settlement, the women brought their drying mats under cover as the sun began to lower. The meat was being smoked, and baskets of roots had been moved away from the damp ground. Some families were still preparing their supplies, but the work was underway.

Anaria knew there would be more to think about. They would eventually need more room for supplies, and the storage space they had now might not be enough for a long rainy season. But that was a problem to consider after they understood how much food they could preserve and what materials they had available.

For now, she wanted them to finish the repairs, take care of their shelters, and get into the habit of keeping food aside when they could.

As evening approached, Anaria helped return the last of the mats to the women’s shelter. She checked that the baskets were raised from the ground and that the dried fruit was protected from animals. Then she left the women to continue their work.

The settlement was not suddenly prepared for every hardship, but it was taking sensible steps. The structures they had improved were being checked and maintained, and the villagers were learning to make better use of what they gathered.

When Anaria returned to Kenai, he was carrying Ana back inside. Their daughter had grown tired and was rubbing her face against his shoulder.

"She’s ready for sleep," he said.

Anaria followed them into the shelter. Outside, the villagers were finishing their evening tasks, and the cooking fires glowed between the homes.

They had not started another construction project today. Instead, they had finished the repairs already underway and begun preparing food for the days when gathering would be harder. It was a small but important step, and Anaria hoped the villagers would keep at it.

There was still time before the rains arrived. They would use it well.