At the time, Raaij only partially understood. Martan's and Lillain's words had become much clearer over the passing Cycles of the Sun. Shaih and he had kept faith with those two Gods. Neither had spoken of what happened in the City, except rarely, when they were absolutely sure that they were away from all other Beings. Mostly, they wondered if their two benefactors were still among the breathing. Thoughts of Martan and Liith grew less frequent as time passed--and then only for a brief moment. Raaij and Shaih's thoughts were mostly upon the living who surrounded them and shared their lives. The Gods had presented them with a trained Beast to hitch to their cart. Whether they cloned it like the babies or just went out and captured a wild one, neither ever knew. The pair heeded their benefactors and traveled until they found Greenvale, a village that they liked and whose people were glad to have them settle there. Neither of them ever spoke the name of their true village of origin. It seemed best not to. Their life here had been good. Shaih had died three Sun Cycles ago, after many good years together. He missed her, but was not lonely. He lived now with his daughter, Hotha, and her family. She had three surviving children and one them, Shiilra, had a son of her own. His son, Jainen, lived three huts away with his growing family. No. He was not lonely at all. Life was still good. ___________________________________ And so ends the story. Thanks for hanging in there! Could have done more with this one; added some smoke and/or steam, put something in the pots but I'm so sick of this project that I just didn't want to bother. As always, thanks for all your feedback and encouragements. All are appreciated. Jeremy CREDITS: Fireplace and pots: Ravyn's "FirePit" from her "Smugglers-Traders Camp" Collection (Renderosity). Hut and Vases: AM's "African Village Toolkit" (DAZ). Rug: From "Wigwam" which was part of a collection called "Native American." (Purchased a long time ago on a site far, far away!). Figures: midnightstories "Kaytex" and "Kaytox" figures (Renderosity).