Chapter III, Ready 7

During the course of the day, Flindra had been gathering dry sticks and pine needles.  Her Papa had told her many times that it was not always easy to find dry kindling when setting up a camp.  It was better to gather dry tinder when she found it, making it a certainty that she could start a fire when she needed it.  She dug in her pockets and pulled out her store of kindling.  Placing them on the ground before her, she soon had a small, smokeless fire burning.  The fire was really too small to provide a great deal of warmth.  Its main purpose was to add a little comfort to her lonely camp.

Flindra ate a simple meal of bread and cheese.  She washed the food down with the cold water of the creek.  Once her supply of bread was gone, she would exist on berries and dried, smoked meat.  Dakra had given her a good supply of dried foods since she would not have time to do much foraging.

Before going to bed, she packed everything back in her saddlebags just in case she needed to break camp in a hurry.  She raked some pine needles into a pile with her foot and spread out her sleeping furs on top.  Her saddle would be her pillow until she found Kewero and she placed it on the uphill end of her bed.  Finally, she strung her bow, took several arrows out of the quiver, and left the bow within a quick reach of her bed.

She slipped off her boots and crawled into her rustic bed.  As she rested in her furs, Flindra looked up into the starry sky and wondered if she would ever know happiness and the comforts of home again.  She knew the best way to overcome her sorrow was to focus on the goodness of the Spirit and to thank Him for her safe journey.

"Thank you, Beloved Spirit, for keeping me safe today and guiding my footsteps.  Look after my family, dear Lord, and keep them from harm.  Thank you for all the many blessings of my life."

Her attention was drawn to the night noises.  A squirrel had been disturbed from his slumber and was barking his outrage to the world.  The darting movements in the underbrush indicated the source of the squirrel's alarm - a fox was hunting on the ground.  The squirrel's warning barks would alert all the other potential prey.  The fox needed to move on before tonight's hunt would be successful.  Flindra continued to listen to the drama of the forest as she closed her eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.