Chapter 147: River Outing Part 1

"Let’s get everyone together."

It takes a few minutes, but eventually everyone is ready. Twenty-five female guards join us in full armor, weapons secured and ready. The apprentice girls gather beside their mentors with their own equipment.

Sarah takes my right arm before we start walking. Lucy claims my left.

"You two planning to carry me?" I ask.

"No," Sarah says. "You’re helping carry us."

Lucy laughs.

Sarah’s pregnancy has changed her stride more than anyone else’s. Carrying four boys has pushed her belly far enough forward that she walks with a slow, careful waddle. Lucy waddles too, though not quite as much.

Amber starts beside us before one of the guards offers her an arm. She accepts immediately. Her smaller fox-kin frame makes carrying four babies especially cumbersome. Lyra takes another guard’s arm, her silver tail swaying behind her as she shortens her stride.

Lilly also accepts help from one of the women. Nyx and Mary manage on their own, although both take offered hands when we cross rough patches.

Nobody complains about the pace. The guards shorten their strides. The daughters spread around us in clusters, talking and laughing. Rixa walks with Ziva almost pressed against her side. Their matching dark-brown cat ears turn toward every burst of laughter around them, and Ziva never gets more than a step away from her older sister. Near the front, Kora keeps an eye on little Senko, who seems determined to walk twice as fast as everyone else despite having the shortest legs. The procession looks almost absurd when I glance back. More than a hundred people move together, with children between adults and armored guards along the outside. Sarah’s pace sets everyone else’s without anyone needing to say it. Whenever she slows, the entire column slows. One guard moves a branch out of Amber’s path. Another offers Lyra a steadier route around loose soil. Nobody treats the women as helpless. They are simply carrying four babies each, and there is no reason to make a short walk harder than necessary.

The river is only one hundred fifty yards away, but with this many people and several pregnant women, it takes longer than expected.

When the trees finally open and the river comes into view, several girls cheer.

"Stop here," I say.

The guards immediately become serious.

"All of you sweep the area before anyone gets comfortable. Apprentices go with your mentors. Check the banks, trees, brush, tracks, nests, everything."

"Yes, sir!"

Twenty-five guards spread out with their apprentices accompanying them.

Riley disappears into the trees with Mari and Zari. At least, I assume the one officially assigned as Riley’s mentor is Mari. The twins are completely identical, and I gave up trying to tell them apart a long time ago.

The rest of us wait well away from the water.

Nobody removes equipment or starts bathing. Sarah sits on a fallen log while Lucy lowers herself beside her. Amber and Lyra join them, both looking grateful to get off their feet.

I watch the tree line while we wait. The river sounds peaceful, but peaceful places in this forest can still have monsters hiding nearby.

About fifteen minutes later, the sweep teams begin returning.

"No fresh monster tracks," Gudrun reports.

"Nothing upriver," Haelia adds.

"Downriver is clear," Kaila says.

Other teams report checking the brush, animal trails, trees overlooking the bank, and the opposite shore. The reports continue until every guard and apprentice is accounted for.

Mari and Zari return together with Riley between them.

"Area secure," one twin says.

"Nothing unusual," the other finishes.

I have no idea which one spoke first.

Several mentors question their apprentices about what they noticed before giving their own reports. Amanda describes tracks she found near the bank. Annie explains where she would position an archer to watch the widest approach. Other girls point out patches of brush, blind spots, and places where someone could approach unseen. It is still training, even during family time.

"Remember what you saw," I tell them. "A safe area stays safe because somebody checked instead of assuming."

Several girls nod.

I look toward the guards. "All right. Establish the perimeter and start rotations. Nobody leaves a section uncovered."

The guards divide themselves without argument. The first watch remains armored while the others begin setting their equipment aside in an organized area near the bank.

As the off-duty women remove their armor, identical ruby-red satin collars become visible around their necks, each with polished gold buckles catching the sunlight. The collars had been hidden beneath the fitted neck protection of their armor. Sarah holds out the hand wearing her storage ring. A bar of soap appears in her palm. She passes it to one of the girls, and another appears in her hand. Lucy, Amber, Lyra, Hazel, and several other women begin doing the same.

"Before anyone starts playing, we are bathing first," Sarah says.

A chorus of disappointed noises comes from the daughters. Sarah raises an eyebrow. The noises stop.

"Pass these around." She said.

Bars of soap move from hand to hand until everyone has what they need.

Kora crouches beside Senko.

"You’re staying with me in the water, little fox."

"I can swim!"

"Can you?"

Senko pauses. "No."

Several girls laugh.

"Then you’re definitely staying with me." Kora said.

Senko grabs Kora’s hand.

People begin entering the river in groups, leaving plenty of space for the guards who remain on watch. Sarah takes my arm again as we step into the water.

"Oh, that feels wonderful," she sighs when the water reaches her belly.

Lucy comes in beside us.

Amber and Lyra follow, each moving carefully until the water begins supporting some of their weight.

Lyra closes her silver eyes. "I might live here."

"No," Sarah says.

"I could."

"No." Amber laughs.

Around us, everyone begins washing. The river is wide enough that even our enormous group has plenty of room. Guards remain positioned around the perimeter while their off-duty companions bathe with everyone else. The beast-kin girls handle washing their tails with practiced ease. Fox-kin work soap through their thick, fluffy tails while the wolf-kin and dog-kin thoroughly scrub and rinse their heavier fur. The cat-kin finish much faster with their thinner tails. Older girls occasionally help the youngest ones rinse places they have trouble reaching. Kora stays in the shallows with Senko. She helps work soap through the little fox-kin girl’s enormous fluffy tail before carefully rinsing it clean. Once they finish, Kora takes both of Senko’s hands.

"I’m swimming!" Senko announces, kicking furiously.

"Your feet are touching the bottom."

"I’m still swimming!"

Kora laughs.

Nearby, Rixa helps Ziva rinse her long dark-brown hair. Ziva stays close enough that their matching dark-brown tails occasionally brush together. Thara and Eldra wash nearby while talking about what they want to do once bathing is finished.

Sarah finishes rinsing her hair and moves toward Kora and Senko.

"Here, let me help." She said.

Kora keeps one hand on Senko while Sarah checks the little girl’s pale-golden hair and fluffy pale-golden tail for any remaining soap.

"You missed a little."

Kora laughs. "Apparently I need more practice washing little foxes."

Sarah rinses the last bit away.

"There you go. All clean."

Senko beams. "Thank you, Mom."

Sarah freezes.

Senko’s smile slowly disappears. "What?"

Sarah’s eyes immediately fill with tears.

She carefully lowers herself as much as her belly allows and wraps both arms around Senko.

"Nothing is wrong," Sarah says quickly. "Nothing at all."

Senko looks confused. "I called you Mom."

"I know."

"Was I not supposed to?"

Sarah hugs her tighter. "You can call me Mom every day for the rest of your life if you want to."

Senko smiles again and wraps her little arms around Sarah’s neck. Lucy wipes at her eyes. Amber does the same. Lyra smiles while Hazel presses a hand over her mouth. I rest a hand on Sarah’s shoulder and smile down at them. Sarah looks up at me with tears running down her cheeks.

"She called me Mom."

"I heard."

"I’m not even—"

She glances down at her belly.

I squeeze her shoulder. "You became her mother before those four boys decided to make you waddle everywhere."

Sarah laughs through her tears.

Senko pulls away and looks at Kora. "Mom says I’m clean."

Kora grins. "She certainly does."

A few nearby younger daughters exchange glances. One quietly says the word "Mom" as if testing how it sounds. Sarah hears her. Her expression almost breaks again.

"One at a time," I whisper.

She laughs. By the time everyone finishes bathing, the remaining soap disappears back into storage rings and the children become increasingly impatient.

"Are we done bathing now?" Sage asks.

Sarah looks around at dozens of expectant faces. "Yes."

The river erupts. Girls splash into deeper water. Beast-kin tails cut through the surface. Someone shrieks when a wolf-kin shakes water everywhere, spraying everyone nearby. A group immediately retaliates with a wave of splashing.

The guards begin their first rotation. Freshly bathed women leave the river to dry and put their armor back on while the guards they replace finally get their turn. I float beside Sarah, Lucy, Amber, and Lyra while chaos spreads around us.

Sarah rests a hand on her belly and smiles. "This was a good idea."

I look at our daughters playing, the guards watching from the bank, and Senko clinging happily to Kora while repeatedly calling for "Mom" whenever Sarah drifts more than a few feet away.

"Yeah," I say.

For once, nobody is marching toward another city, fighting monsters, buying supplies, or building something. We’re just a family at the river. And we still have the entire afternoon ahead of us.