Seeing Barsa in the group of newcomers, Zura knew they had nothing to fear from them. She and the others at Flat Rocks worked at welcoming them. They built up the fire, set-up places to sit, brought food and teas. The young man carrying the child, a girl close to Fenti-Dumu's age, kept her in his arms. Barsa convinced the young man to let Zura give the child tea, apply a salve to her chest, and feed her a little bone marrow.

The other newcomers were anxious and frequently spoke to Barsa for reassurance. Barsa, meanwhile, could not stop smiling.

It was quite a gathering that night at Flat Rocks. So many stories to tell, Zura and Barsa's reunion, the scouting party's journey, the newcomers' stories, and the events at Flat Rocks – building the Thinking Circle, Skywatching, and the successful antelope hunt.

It was confusing as not everyone could understand each other. Those who could, helped with translation. The scouting party and the newcomers had spent enough time together that they understood the basics of each other's languages. Though he had not used it for many years, Barsa remembered his first language from growing up with Zura. On their long walk, he worked diligently with Dagan to learn the language of Flat Rocks.

All of the excited voices created a wall of sound. Finally, Nagar and Zura, with Barsa's help translating, convinced everyone to quiet down. They would go around the circle, one at a time, helping each other with translation. The bounty from the antelope meant that there was plenty to eat for all. Though the scouting party and newcomers were tired from their long walk, few people around the fire went to sleep before Sun-Man rose.

Nagar suggested, "Let's begin with Zura and Barsa's story, and then the story of the newcomers and how they survived the Ash Rain."

Zura began, "My mother had three children. I came first, then Barsa and finally, a little sister who died of a sickness when she was younger than Fenti-Dumu. Our mother was a wise woman, an elder, a Skywatcher, a healer and a skilled hunter. She knew how to read the tracks and signs of the animals and the cycles of the plants. Her mate was also knowledgeable of many things. They taught Barsa and me everything they knew until their End Days came.

"Barsa and I were as one for many years. When we were old enough, we began to go to the trading places and meet Others. I did not go as often but preferred staying at our bode, Skywatching in the Thinking Circle and healing when it was needed. Barsa liked to go trading, seeing new places, and meeting new people, learning their words. He started going farther and farther away, but he always came back. Then he met a young woman. He came back but could not forget her and so he left and we never saw him again. We heard that her family moved farther away and he went with them. That was a long time ago, but I think about him every day. And now he has come to live with me again at Flat Rocks. This is truly a welcome sign from the Ancients."

She spoke in the language of Flat Rocks, Barsa understood enough and knew the story well enough to translate to the newcomers. When Zura was done, the newcomers started talking amongst themselves.

Barsa spoke, "Not everyone wants to stay. We came to get help from you, Zura, for the little girl, Dara, and we understand there's a woman here who knows much about helping mothers when babies come."

Zura asked, "Did you leave others behind?"

"No, everyone else is dead."

"Then stay with us here. These are good people. But we're too few to survive easily. And you are too few alone."

"You're right. As always," and he smiled at her. "But some are not sure. Let us stay here for a while, wait until Wilki's baby is born. Maybe little Dara will get better and then we'll see what happens."

"Yes, and you are right too," Zura put her hand on his arm. "Let them decide. Please tell them that they can stay as long as they want and are free to go whenever they want."

He did and the newcomers relaxed a little. Seeing how Zura and Barsa were together gave them comfort. Watching the two side-by-side, the similarities were remarkable, even some of their hand gestures were the same. It was easy to see why Dagan had recognized Barsa at once.

Barsa began talking about his little group and what happened at their bode. Zura and Dagan translated his words for the Flat Rocks people, "We're all that is left of our bode. This is Wilki. She is pregnant with her first child. She is a healthy young woman who carries the hope of our future in her womb. There's no one left of our people who knows well how to care for women during childbirth. We heard that there was such a woman here," and he gestured to Nagar. "It was one of the reasons we decided to come."

"This is Grayla and Jolam. They are mated. Jolam came from a trading people and he joined us before the Ash Rain came. Grayla and Jolam, they say little and work as one," Barsa smiled. "They find things for us to eat when no one else can."

"And this is Nat, son of my mate. She died shortly after she gave birth to him. Nat is the bravest and strongest of all men," Barsa said proudly. "The girl, Dara, is the daughter of Nat's mate. She died not long before your scouting party came. She was kind and gentle and could no longer breathe. She was called to the Ancients. I'm afraid that little Dara will follow her soon, but Nat does not want her to leave him. I'm hoping that my sister, Zura, can help Dara, though it may be too late. It is the other reason we came."

Zura asked, "Brother, how did you survive the Ash Rain?"

"Our bode was growing and Nat and I began to look for another cave nearby where some of us could live. We found a narrow opening that went deep into the hill and using a fire stick, we walked in and saw that it opened into a much larger space. It had a spring far back inside. We worked to make the opening larger.

"Those you see here are those that were living in this new cave. When the Ash Rain blew hardest, we stayed deep in the cave. All of the people in our old bode died soon from the Ash Rain. We could not get to them until the worst was over and then it was too late. No one was left alive.

"Since the Ash Rain ended, we are starting to find more food again and, except for Dara, are stronger. Before Tars' scouting party came, we were deciding what to do. Should we try to find Others? But where should we go? I wanted to find you, Zura, and see if anyone was still alive from my old bode but thought it would be too far for Wilki and Dara."

He stopped then and let them think about what he had said. He turned to Tars, and asked him to continue the story about when the scouting party came.

"We found other bodes but it was always the same. No one was alive anymore. And like the other times we went looking, sometimes there were signs that the End Days for people came at the hands of Violent Ones. It made us afraid and it made us careful. Still we thought we might find other people like we found Zura, Dagan, and Esri. We decided to continue for a few more days and then go back to Flat Rocks. On our way back, we walked farther away from the River of Life to see new places.

"The first day we began on our return walk to Flat Rocks, we saw footprints from people. We found a place to hide and sent Dagan to follow the tracks. He found the cave Barsa described. We watched before showing ourselves to see if the people were Violent Ones. When Dagan saw Barsa, Dagan was certain that Barsa was the brother you often spoke of, Zura. He looks so much like you. Dagan convinced us that we should make contact soon."

Dagan continued, "And the next morning I saw Barsa and Nat walking by themselves. I made noise coming up behind them. They turned and I stopped. I knew they might be afraid and might attack me. I yelled in the words of our old bode – 'Barsa, brother of Zura. She wants to see you!' and Barsa grabbed Nat's arm and stared at me like I was a river spirit." Dagan laughed.

Barsa jumped in, "'Who are you?' I cried. I could not believe what Dagan was saying. I had not heard anyone say your name in so many years, Zura. I wanted to run to Dagan and touch him and feel like I was touching you, but Nat was worried it was a trick."

Dagan said, "We talked for a long time before we moved closer to each other. It was like talking to Zura. I told Barsa everything. How Zura raised me and raised Esri. How Zura, Esri, and I came to the Flat Rocks bode, the people at Flat Rocks, and, now, our scouting party to find others. And Barsa told me his story."

Barsa said, "Our groups met several times. In the end, it was Dara and Wilki who convinced us to go and not wait. The trip here was long and difficult. It was good we didn't know how far it was but now that we are here, I feel it was wise."

Nat spoke gruffly to Barsa, "It's good for Wilki but Dara is now weaker and when her End Days come she will not be near the final place of her mother. After Wilki's baby comes and Wilki is ready to travel, I'll go back to our bode with Wilki and take Dara either as she is or her bones to be with her mother. Others can come with me or not as they choose." Barsa did not translate Nat's words to the Flat Rocks people.

Esri stood and motioned Fenti-Dumu to stand beside her, "Fenti-Dumu and I made a song for when you returned. We will sing it for you."

Esri and Fenti-Dumu worried they might never be able to sing their song to the scouting party. What if they had never returned? Seeing everyone around the bodefire again and Zura's brother with the newcomers, it was the happy occasion they hoped it would be and they sang with joy.

Kai began tapping a log with a stick as they sang, others joined him. By the time they ended, everyone was smiling. Even little Dara opened her eyes and lifted her head to smile at the two singers.

The talking went on about the Thinking Circle, the antelope hunt, and then moved to quiet conversations while some people slept. Tars made certain that at least one person among the Flat Rocks people was always awake to watch the newcomers, and the newcomers also made sure one of them was awake to keep watch. While Zura and Barsa's relationship made it easier for people to start trusting each other, it would take time before the trust was complete.

All through the stories, Saba watched Dagan and Riga. When she first saw Dagan walking back to Flat Rocks with the huge smile on his face, she assumed that it meant he was paired with Riga. But she saw that his happiness was for the reunion of Barsa and Zura, and she continued to wonder what had happened with Riga.

Dagan and Riga sat next to each other and exchanged comments during the stories. Riga often put her hand on Dagan's arm but he never reached out to Riga and often looked over at Saba.

In Saba's experience, with newly paired people, the touching happened both ways. While Dagan was quiet, he was not shy. If he was paired with Riga, Saba felt it would be obvious. But maybe she was imagining that the pairing had not happened because that is what she wanted so badly. As people started going to their sleeping spots, Dagan came over to her and put his hands on her shoulders and said, "It's nice to see your face again."