On the move
If there was one thing Shukri didn't enjoy about his life as a nomad it was days in which the camp had to be broken down and packed up for a long haul to it's next semi permanent location. The mornings always felt unnaturally long and it was unusually rough work to start the day off with. Even now with years of traveling under his belt it never ceased to amaze the young man just how much stuff there was to be taken apart and carefully packed onto Capramels, into backpacks or onto litters. Everyone had to help though, well everyone but the smallest of the younglings, so that made things go a little smoother even if the mornings still dragged on.
Currently Shukri was sitting beside a campfire, watching the sun rise as he sipped a hot drink from a clay mug. The warm beverage would help wake him up and give him the energy to work without sitting heavily on his stomach like a proper morning meal would have. Later, once they were on their way Shukri would be able to eat some berries as well as dried and salted meat to curb his hunger while he walked. Meals were more spread out while traveling, with a large dinner at night when they stopped to rest for the night and a more almost grazing style of eating going on throughout the day.
Once his drink was finished Shukri stood and stretched, reaching up towards the pastel coloured sky, it's bright colours accented by the hazy golden air. There was little chance for Shukri to enjoy the beauty of the sauti sky in the morning as it was time to begin packing and the pale haired boy was soon on his way to his tent. Everything he owned would be rolled up or folded and stuffed into a large backpack that he would need to carry for the next week and a half.
While his parents had access to two of the Capramels in the band's herd, the creatures' carrying capactiy would be taken up mostly by their things, general family items and Isra's things as she was too small to really carry anything but her own water flask. Shukri was responsible for hauling his own belongings like everyone else his age who did not have an animal to bear part of the burden for them.
It was not the end of the world though for the young Prentice, years of doing this had strengthened his body and Shruki supposed this gradual weight training was what helped the nomadic wind tribe to prosper. It wasn't uncommon to see a wind tribe members with a pack on their back and a pouch or two hanging from their waist, they had learned from the time they were younglings to bare extra weight and now it came naturally to them. These days Shukri rarely caught a pouches fabric on a rock while climbing as he was so used to their presence and knew the room they took up as if they were extensions of his body.
The first thing that got packed up was Shrukri's sleeping mat, it was made of the hide of a capramel. It was too warm to need to wear fur in Sauti for the most part so hides of fur bearing animals were most often used to make sleeping mats or tents. Shukri found it a bonus that his sleeping mat was easy to clean, a solid shake flung that dust that had settled into it into the air before he began to roll it up. A few shakes and the occasional brushing to prevent matting was all that was needed for the prentice to have something soft and comfortable to sleep on. A good thing since as much as Shukri loved rocks he was not keen on sleeping just upon the ground.
Carefully the pale haired boy rolled up the length of warm brown fur and stuffed it into the bottom of his back. Putting it on the bottom helped prevent anything with sharp edges he put in from tearing a hole in the fabric at the bottom. This and tricks on how to distribute weight evenly in the pack and amongst the pouches on his belt were all things he had learned over the years from his parents.
Shukri was truly going to miss this camp he noted as he continued to pack, gathering up thing and placing them in the bag so as to fit as snuggly and take up as little room as possible. He had a lot of good or at least interesting memories of the few weeks the band had spent here. After all it was in this area that he'd learned of the new tribes and met so many new friends. While sometimes memories and acquaintances faded in his mind Shukri doubted he would ever forget rescuing Maya or being rescued himself by Chalcedony after being forced out of the cave of bones. Even little things like telling the story of the great jewel to his siblings and watching Faiza attempt to out-stare a sail scale would be tied to this place. It was rare for Shukri to become attached to a campground and the surrounding area but this time he couldn't help it.
His band might never return to this exact spot or even this general area in their many travels and yet it would remain locked in Shukri's mind as a special place. He would even without a map remember the steps it took to get from here to the cave of bones and to the mysterious mountain that had held the legendary beast. Of course that adventure was it's own separate memory in a way. The mountain in question was only a little over a half days walk from the camp what had happened inside gave it a unique place in his mind.
***
The sun had fully risen and was making it's way slowly across the sky by the time everyone was packed up and the group was ready to go. Shukri watched was the group began to move out. Leaders and elders at the front, followed by the healers and their patients, then families and finally the herdsmen and women bringing up the rear with the Capramels not being used as beasts of burden. Of course lining the sides of the train of people were riders and guards, making sure that no one strayed too far from the main group and that no predators or bandits approached. It was rare but on occasion a rogue nomad or a small group of them would attempt to rob a traveling band of their food, water and other valuables. Fortunately Shukri had only even seen bandits twice in his life and each time they had kept their distance unwilling to take on those who defended the band.
Once he was walking Shukri let his mind wander back to the topic of the Alkidike and other earthling tribes. He was moving further away from the borders of Sauti now and it would be hard if not impossible to find those he had met again. Not only were they too moving on but some were returning to their own homes. He was but a Prentice still, bound to his tribe and unable to travel such great distances simply on a whim. Shukri didn't even if if when he had a proper title in the tribe if he could bring himself to leave anyways. Any distance he traveled away from the band would also have to be calculated with return trip time and time to catch up with them if they'd moved on since then. He'd need a better reason than "I want to see the world" to go wandering off for weeks at a time. He would be responsible for contributing more seriously to the tribe then and unless he had a purpose for visiting Tale or Jauhar Shukri doubted he would have the chance to go and potentially see those he had befriended again.
Shukri was dragged from his thoughts by the sound of music start up from the front of the train. It was customary for the first day of travel to include music and singing to help get everyone off on the right foot. The strain of suddenly needing to walk for most of the the day was lifted when there was good music and story songs to join along with. Whatever worries Shukri had about the future were pushed to the far recesses of his mind as he lifted his voice in song, joining his family and friends as they sang a humorous little ditty about a caravan with the worst luck in all of Sauti and the various misfortunes that befell them in their travels. The lighthearted tune was one of Shukri's favorites even if it had some tricky sections near the middle that even he tripped over his tongue trying to say properly and at the right speed.
Shukri's mood was chipper and his steps light as he briskly walked alongside his siblings, striding towards his new temporary home wherever it would be. some things in his life might change, and people might pass in and out of it but Shukri would always have his family and his band and the traditions like this that he had grown up with. For him it was enough.
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