Jonayla stepped out into the bright morning sunshine. She greeted her mother Ayla and the man of the hearth Jondalar. She proceeded over to her mother who was offering her a cup of tea. Jonayla loved tea and her mother always had it waiting for her every morning. She gulped it down and was ready for the morning. When her tea and breakfast was gone she went down to the creek to have a bath. The last thing she removed when she got undressed was a very simple leather bag that she wore around her neck. Inside this bag was a small piece or red ochre. Her mother called it an amulet. She didn't exactly understand total meaning behind this amulet, she only knew that it was something that was very important to her mother, a custom from some ancient people who meant a lot to her. Jonayla very much enjoyed bathing, the slippery smooth feel of the soap root in her hands and all over her body, the cool creek water was refreshing and invigorating. After her swim in the creek, she dried herself off and went back to her hearth. She took her time going back to the cave, observing the new plants that were popping up everywhere. She couldn't wait until her mother decided that it was time to refill her otter skin medicine bag. That was one of Jonayla's favorite things to do, she treasured the time alone with her mother in the forest, learning about all the medicinal plants. She had been told that she had inherited her mother's skillful healing hands and quick learning. Compared to the other children her age, Jonayla was far beyond her years in knowledge of healing. Her mother would need extra help this year, with the new baby on the way she wouldn't be able to bend over to pick plants. Jonayla was very excited about the baby, she hoped it was a little sister, but either way she would be extremely happy. As she neared the cave her friend Bria greeted her. Bria was the closest one in the cave to Jonayla's age. They were the best of friends and could be spotted together from dawn until dusk. Unless Jonayla was with her mother in the woods or Bria was called away to do something. Today they were going to practice using their thread-pullers. Thread pullers were something that Jonayla was very proud of because her mother had invented them, ever since then the whole cave gave up using awls to sew. Hand-in- hand they went off to join the other girls in their sewing. Jonayla was working on making a blanket for the new baby.

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Meanwhile, back at the cave, Ayla busied herself cleaning up from breakfast while Jondalar gathered his hunting equipment. The men of the cave were preparing for their first hunt of the season, following the hunt would be a big feast. Ayla decided that the day was a perfect one to take Whinney out for a ride in the meadow so she went off to find her beloved mare. Ayla greeted the mare by calling out her name "Whinney", which actually sounded like a horses whinney. No one else in the cave was able to copy the exact animal sounds that Ayla could imitate. The horse nudged Ayla gently. They had been very close friends ever since Ayla had rescued Whinney as a foal those many years ago when she was alone in the Valley. That was before Jondalar, before her life had become wonderful. Ayla patted Whinney's bulging belly, she too was expecting a baby soon. That had come as a surprise because nobody had known there were other horses near by, but eleven months ago Whinney had disappeared for four days, and when she came back it was discovered she was pregnant. Two months later, Ayla missed her moon time and came to the conclusion that she too was pregnant. She and Jondalar were overjoyed at this news and eagerly awaited the arrival of both babies. After a through inspection of both Whinney and Racer, she hopped on Whinney's bareback and galloped off into the sunshine.

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