98, Introducing the clan
Three days later, Ayya, Tenac and Jason were riding out to the Che’hul. Jason had been looking forward to it for days. As they had left in the morning, he had asked Ayya’s mother for apples. She had given him two, and he had looked so disappointed Ayya had asked what was wrong. Turns out he wanted to bring apples for all the horses he was to meet, not just Estrela and Addon. Ayya had laughed as Tenac tried to explain that wouldn’t be possible. Bettina had packed a saddlebag full of apples and carrots and told Jason he could hand it out to his favourites. Ayya had made cinnamon and cardamum buns for the clan. Even if Tenac had told her repeatedly, she didn’t need to. She was not a guest. Ayya didn’t care, she liked her own little ritual. At the moment, Jason was happily sitting in front of Tenac, eating a cinnamon roll and looking at the grassland. The previous day, Tenac and Ayya had gone to the courthouse to start the official adoption in Salmisara. Even if the adoption was already legal in Domne, they both felt better to make it official in their homeland as well.
“How about we stop at the river and eat lunch?” Tenac suggested an hour later. If it had been Ayya and Tenac, they would have continued riding. But it would be good for Jason to get a break. They stopped in a lower part of the river bank that offered protection from the cold wind.
“Don’t go too close to the river, the ground can give way,” Ayya told Jason. He nodded and walked around to look at some bushes, and then he walked over to talk to Estrela and Addon. Both Ayya and Tenac had stopped worrying about the horses losing their temper with Jason. Both of them let him pat and scratch them to his heart’s content. They always stood still, being careful not to step on or push the small human by accident. Ayya called him over to the thick wool blanket she had put down on a fallen down tree. Jason hurried over and Tenac handed him a sandwich Bettina had provided them with. They ate and drank water and, after making sure Jason was okay, they continued on.
It was about two hours before sunset when they spotted the silhouette of the tents. Tenac pointed them out to Jason and Ayya could see the excitement on Jason’s face. As they rode into the camp, Cetu and Beruda were waiting for them. They looked with curiosity on Jason.
“Tenac, Ayya, welcome. If we knew you were coming, we would have arranged a feast,” Cetu said in Heulu.
“I’m sorry uncle, I have something urgent to talk to you about and we wanted you to meet Jason,” Tenac said in Common and introduced Jason.
“Hello, Jason. You are welcome as well,” Cetu said, also switching to Common, looking down at the boy.
“Hello. Thank you,” Jason said.
“I hope you are well after your long journey,” Cetu told Ayya.
“Very well, thank you, Cetu. I got something for you and for the tribe,” she said with a smile and handed him a box of her rolls.
“You know these gifts aren’t necessary. But they are welcome,” he told her and gave her a smile. “If you have something urgent to discuss, we might as well get it over with so we can enjoy each other’s company after,” he said. As they started walking towards his tent, Ayya gave Beruda a hug.
“Are you going to tell me what all this is about?” Beruda asked. She looked at Jason and then at Tenac.
“You will have to wait to find out at the same time as your husband,” Ayya told her. Beruda tutted. They walked into the tent and sat down in the sitting area. Ayya guided Jason to how he should sit, and he sat down between her and Tenac. Beruda came with a coffee pot and put by Cetu.
“Jason, have you tasted coffee?” Cetu asked.
“No, sir,” Jason answered. Cetu hummed and poured a small amount into a cup, then added plenty of water and honey before handing the cup to Jason. “Thank you,” Jason said and looked at Ayya.
“Be careful, it’s hot,” she told him. He nodded and took a small sip. He looked a little confused, but took another sip. Cetu seemed happy and poured a cup of black coffee for Ayya and then for Tenac. Beruda joined them and he poured a cup for her and lastly one for himself.
“So?” Cetu asked.
“I have been courting Ayya and have asked her to be my wife. She did me the honour of accepting,” Tenac said. Beruda let a happy little noise slip out and her husband looked at her with amusement.
“I’m pleased to hear it. You are more than welcome to the family officially,” he said.
“Thank you,” Ayya said.
“When we were in Dorme, we adopted Jason. As we want to give him a stable family, we would like to be married as soon as possible and we would like to hold the wedding in the clan,” Tenac continued. Another happy little noise came from Beruda.
“More happy news. I had almost lost hope for you, nephew. But when you go for it, you just do it all at once,” Cetu said and laughed. “Welcome to the family Jason, it is a pleasure to have you,” he then said, turning to Jason, who was still sipping his coffee.
“Thank you,” Jason said.
“And regarding the wedding, we would be honoured to have it in the clan. How soon are we talking?” Cetu asked.
“We were thinking within two months. But I want to warn you that my mother and Tariana have already started to plan who to invite and the guest list will be extensive,” Ayya said.
“Oh, of course, and we need to think about what food to serve,” Beruda said.
“It won’t be an issue. Would it be okay for us to invite the other chiefs?” Cetu asked.
“You are free to invite anyone you wish to. You are doing us a great honour,” Ayya said. Cetu just waved it away. They continued to discuss the practical aspects of the wedding. Ayya promised she would bring her mother and Tariana for a couple of days of planning. Cetu and Tenac talked about possible sites. They finally agreed on a place where the grazing usually were good in the spring and where there was room for the extended amount of tents that would be needed. They were invited to stay for the night.
“Just because you finally have got some sense and asked Ayya to marry you, doesn’t mean you will get out of sleeping with the men watching the herd,” Beruda told Tenac. Ayya laughed.
“Yes, aunt,” Tenac said.
“Do you mind if we go and show Jason the herd before it gets dark?” Ayya asked.
“Not at all. He has been so patient sitting listening to us. Be back in an hour for dinner,” Beruda said. Tenac got the saddlebags with the offering for the horses and he and Ayya took Jason to see the horses. As they walked up on a hill and looked out over the herd, Jason stood frozen and just looked out over them. Both Ayya and Tenac studied him as he studied the mass of horses.
“Wow,” Jason said. It sounded like a breath.
“Do you want to go closer?” Tenac asked. Jason nodded. “You need to stay close to Ayya and me. These horses aren’t like Addon and Estrela. They won’t hurt you on purpose, but you are small and they are big. You are not to go close to the herd unless a grownup is with you. Do you understand?” Tenac asked.
“Yes,” Jason said.
“Okay, let’s go,” Tenac told him and put his hand on Jason’s shoulder to guide him. They slowly walked through the hoard of horses and Ayya enjoyed it as she always did. She saw Esme and she walked up to her to pat her and make sure she looked healthy.
“This is Estrelas dame. That means mother,” Ayya told Jason.
“She is cute,” he said, reaching for the saddlebag. And when Tenac bent down, he fished out an apple and gave to Esme.
“She is with foal,” Tenac pointed out.
“What?” Ayya said. Now, when she looked at her, it was obvious.
“Looks like your wealth is growing,” he said with a smile.
“What do I do?” Ayya asked.
“Nothing, it looks like she will have her foal around the same time as the wedding. If you are lucky, we will get to see the little one then. After that, you will just have to wait for two years until it’s time to categorise the foal,” Tenac told her.
“I don’t know how to do that,” Ayya told him, and he chuckled.
“I will help you, you will be my wife then, after all,” Tenac said. somehow that thought made Ayya blush. They moved on through the horses. Tenac pointed out some of the horses he owned.
“Which horses were you thinking of for his first one?” Ayya asked in Heulu.
“The black one or the grey one,” he answered in Heulu as well.
