Northstar Vale honeybee

by now she was pronounced with child.

and there was still more to grow.

today she had energy. and in imitation of aquene, she began to look for the basic plants she had learned to identify: mint, parsnip, lady-slipper, comfrey, clover, milkweed.

tamar hummed as she worked. the sun was not so harsh here, not with the great sunspire mountain to block it.

The sweet hum of Tamar’s voice played like a melody, leading the redstone figure to where she was nosing at herbs. Arsenio watched her for several minutes, admiring the way that she delicately observed the plants. He wondered if she had learned a good deal about their healing properties from Aquene, or if they had not had the opportunity to share the medicines that the Mereo healer used.

Tamar, his voice sang into the vale. Arsenio approached her flank, brushing his snout to the plush sandy fur near her ribs. The cold of his snout lingered there for a moment to drink in her scent before he smiled to his wife. My love, what plants have you found today?

"plants!"

she kissed his cheek, enjoying how radiant he was in the good summerlight.

"aquene taught me some things. i would like to learn others. epoch will need its own healer."

The hearty chuckle that followed her exclamation was warm with his love for her. It was a strange shift, moving from the mesa to the canyon and then to the vale. All three of the territories had beauty of their own that was so unlike the others. Arsenio had admired them for different reasons. When he thought of where a family might grow and flourish, it could only be the vale.

You know, I believed you would make a fine medic. You have a gentle touch and a loving voice. Even the most direly wounded would feel cared for under your watchful eye, Tamar. The mercenary man nodded his head as if in agreement with himself. Arsenio had once hoped that Aquene would teach Tamar all that she knew about the healing arts. He hoped that she might still provide that insight when her family had joined them in Epoch. Do you know what these plants might do? he gestured toward a smelly green herb that was sharp with the fragrance of mint.

she reddened.

she blushed! "you flatter me so much, arsenio!" but she was pleased, and it showed in the pale glow of her eyes.

he moved and motioned. "spearmint. it is good for cough, especially in children." she looked at the bunch of it as their own babes moved in her belly.

"i am glad they are going to be born before winter."

The redstone man would have flattered her more, if he did not feel as though it would become overwhelming. She carried his praise with beauty and grace unlike anyone he’d seen. Loving compliments shone in her eyes, but Tamar had a perfect way about her. To Arsenio, she was the shining image of his heart.

Spearmint, she identified the plant with little hesitation. She even offered that it would help soothe coughs. Arsenio believed this would prove beneficial during the cold months. It would not be long before snow would cover the treetops and ice would creep along the water of their lakes.

Tamar said that she was happy their children would be born before the snows.

I am, too. They will be young when winter arrives, but old enough to learn how they might survive through it. A pause to allow for the man to think. He had not asked his wife what she might want to teach in Epoch. What he saw her doing and what she desired were two different matters. He did not want to assign her a role. He wanted her to discover it for herself.

Tell me, what would you wish to teach the young minds of Epoch? What knowledge would you wish to share with our babies? His heart beat swiftly at the mention of their children.

our babies.

she felt her chin begin to tremble. she laughed aloud and looked down at the still-surreal swell of her belly. "i would teach them singing. and healing. but i would teach them mostly to be kind. to listen." 

she looked up at him. "to learn."

survival was exactly why tamar had said what she did. she was pleased that she did not need to explain this fear to arsenio. [b]"what will you tell them?"

Tamar’s answer softened him. The wide smile faded to an expression of gentle devotion.

She would teach them to be kind. She would teach them to listen and to learn. A vision of their young ones filled his head. He saw them hurrying after their mother, eager to learn what she might share with them. He saw her singing songs to them – the sweetness of her voice filling the vale, filling his heart with joy. Arsenio might have felt tears spring to his eyes with these daydreams, but her question pulled him from his thoughts and back to their conversation.

I will tell them that their mother is the most beautiful, he planted a kiss on her snout, the most lovely, another kiss at her cheek, the most caring in all the world. I will tell them that they are loved. I will tell them that they are good. Arsenio would be all of the things that his father had not been.

she thought it marvelous that he adored her so much.

it was in all of him. tamar did not know how she had come to be so loved. and so a small part of her grew with fear, that she would lose this as she had lost other things. other emotions. other faces.

she clung to arsenio for a moment, heart racing wildly. "you will be a very good father."

And you will be the best mother.

Tamar could not have known that her words sparked fear in Arsenio. He had never considered himself to be a father or made of what good fathers were made of. He had never known love from the man who had helped create him. For years, he had harbored ill feelings toward the man. For years, he had wondered what a whole family might look like.

Now tell me, my love… what does this plant do?

He motioned toward a plant with large green leaves that looked as though they shined with the touch of the sun. Their stems were thin but held the weight of the leaf well so that they cast a good deal of shade beneath them. Trees for smaller creatures, he thought.

tamar's eyes were wet.

she hoped only that she could fulfill this dream that they had begun to create. she kept the fear close and willed it away for now.

she studied the greenery with an intense look. "it looks a little like — ivy." she sniffed its bright surface. "i wonder if it is sticky. if it is, the cut parts can be used to hold wounds together."

We can fade this one and maybe have one set a few days or a week after the babies are born? <3

That was smart.

Arsenio pulled his head back and glanced toward his wife. He had never considered that sticky plants would assist in holding wounds together. He admired that she had come up with that so swiftly. The redstone figure sniffed at the ivy-esque leaves and nodded his head.

You will teach me, yes? There are many things you know that I do not.

The man looked expectantly at his wife. He carried his pride easily. He had always been confident in the few things that he knew well. But Arsenio was not bold enough to believe that Tamar could not teach him what she had learned. In return, he would share his knowledge with her in any way that she desired.

absolutely! <3

"i will teach you all that i know, arsenio."

it was the foundation of epoch, after all.

they were its foundation. 

and in her grew the seeds for a new nation.

tamar was utterly, completely content.