Women Who Are Not Osts,...Or Not Osts, Yet

Turns his thoughts to the women who are not osts in his world. The ones that he considers friends, who he has some sort of trust in.



Kaeli of the sense of humor. He enjoys the conversations that they have had. After he had first come to these fires, she was the one who had extended the effort to get to know the man that stood in the shadows leaned up against the wagon simply observing. Having a friend among the healers is not an entirely bad concept. She is the mate of Jai, the iron worker and a trusted friend. Never has he seen two people so meant for each other, unless it might be his parents.



Aponi, the struggler. The young woman has overcome much to gain favor and her place at the Ubar's fires. Beautiful, funny and loving. She is not Tuchuk by blood, but she has found a way to be Tuchuk by heart. If it weren't from his past experiences and the promise he had made to his parents, perhaps he would have gotten to know her better, but that is no how it was to be. And rightly so, for she has found her heart in Tengfei, another that had to overcome many obstacles to secure his place here. It has turned out to be a productive union, thus far.



Tarra, the spex. A woman of talents and hard earned wisdom about life. He values her input; however he does not always heed it. He is a man, and will set his own destiny, as any man will. Often her words can edge up to the line of being disrespectful of others, but that is who she is. She is open with her ideas and her words, does not hold back, which is sometimes appreciated, and sometimes not. He considers her a friend, someone that he can trust and gain wisdom from. Strong, determined, but there is also a softness to her towards those she cares about. He has seen it often. How can you not respect her and want her to be counted among your friends?



Cana, the mate of his brother. What can he say about her, other than Ba'atar is one lucky bastard, not that he always realizes it, but he is. But she is more than simply the mate of a man. She is a mother, a sister, a friend, a confidante to many, and one of the best kaiila trainers they have. She reminds him of the willow trees that grow along the banks of some of the streams on their lands. Beautiful, graceful, dignified, but possessing a strength at the core that makes her able to withstand the harsh winds of life that assault her.



Then there are the newer additions to the fires, the younger women that are just coming into their own. The fact that he would be made guardian over some of them had never occurred to him when he agreed to sit upon the grays. Now just how do you do that, and remain unbiased?



Yamka, the leather worker. Over many moons he has sat and watched her grow, mature into a beautiful young woman. She is no longer the childlike creature that thought to tackle him at the fires one night. At that time, she had reminded him of a sleen pup, all feet and legs, and not sure what to do with either of them. But no more. A beautiful woman with a tenderness about her. Still naive in many ways, but he can see her growing into her own almost daily. She has asked to get to know him better, and he actually thinks she will make a good friend. She just has to get over the ost thing, because she does not fall into that category.



Seveya, the artisan. They have probably gotten off on bad footing, but perhaps that will change. He simply wanted to test her mettle, to see if she was as closed to ideas as she seemed to be on first blush. He does understand how she feels about her art, sort of. He just hopes that she will soon learn that she has to be more than her art, that there is more to her than colors upon a canvas. That is what he wants to see. Will the real Seveya step up? He hopes it is soon, because he has already given permission for her to be ringed and he hopes that is not a mistake.


Asria, the year keeper? Not exactly sure where to classify her at the moment. A woman that has just lost a mate, who has a child to guide, that needs to pick up the strings of this new life that has been thrust upon her. She will be given some leeway because of all of this. She too needs to find her niche' at the first fires, her offering of what she brings to them. This is one of the reasons that he has asked Cana to guide her, to mentor her. Besides, he likes the child Lei. Beautiful, smart and not one to back down. A lot of spirit in that one.



Mezoo, the spex. That is for another time.