Her sister told her of the white men. She had said that they landed on an island, one of her sister's, to the southeast, and that she felt that there were more on the way.
Shideezhi had also told her of her own children, taking notice of Muraco and Etu. She had a far greater amount of children at this point, and if her word was anything to go by, which it typically was, so did their youngest sister in the southernmost lands. She had been shocked, though, by their appearances, saying that her own children looked almost like her people, with just slightly paler skin. And so, she had been astonished as well as fascinated with the twins' pale skin and hair and bright eyes, reminding their mother of her own initial reaction to the two.
They eventually said their goodbyes and turned back. Now all she could do was continue on her way and await the inevitable.
Taking a small break from their journey to the north again, she sat watching the boys, Muraco drawing patterns and figures on the ground while Etu leaned against his brother, watching the world around him. A head of golden hair shot up as a flash of movement above them caught his eye. He staggered to his feet like a newborn fawn and she laughed fondly to herself as he then turned to her and pointed up to the great majestic bird drifting along in the cloudless sky. The beast was all brown with a shock of white here and there, most notably covering its entire head like that of a wise old man.
The boy gave his own laugh in response and turned back towards the sky, spreading his arms wide and raising himself to his toes. She smiled, walking up behind him and lifting him under his arms, spinning him him a circle and holding him securely in her arms before planting a kiss on his forehead. She looked back down towards Muraco as Etu laughed wholeheartedly in her arms. The boy on the ground had obviously grown tired, eyes drooping and struggling to stay open. She smiled down at him and scooped him up as she placed Etu back on his feet, who seemed to get the message and grabbed her hand as they began walking north once more.
When they had reached one of the more northern tribes, they had exchanged their light prairie clothing for heavier hides and furs in order to prepare for a cold winter.
The boys hadn't seen much of snow in their short lives, having spent much of the last few years navigating the warmer regions of their territories until they were strong enough to face a real winter in the north. So when soft white snowflakes began to fall from a gray sky, the two looked up curiously. Etu laughed as merrily as ever while a soft smile graced Muraco's lips. The two played and ran and caught snowflakes in their hands as it began to build up around their feet. Surprisingly, Etu was the one to go scampering back to the warmth of the huts sooner than Muraco, who seemed perfectly at home in the frigid air. The boy looked to the sky, visible breath twisting into the air like smoke, while the snow fell in a silent storm around him.
Author's Notes:
So, ah, I'm slightly worried that I hadn't made it all that clear in the last chapter, but Muraco is Canada and Etu is America. Just, ya know, in case you had a hard time deciphering my jumbled thoughts. Oh, and I should probably mention that, though it may not seem like it (and I probably should've planned this all out a bit better), at this point it's been probably about a decade or so since the boys were born (though being what they are and all, they still look like toddlers and don't speak very much), as they spend a while in each place that they go to (a few months to a year), and a while since she talked to her sister, since they've been traveling all this time and all that. So that means the settlers and some European countries will be coming into the picture soon. And I've already given away too much so I'm just gonna stop.
