My greatest concern has been and will always be my sons. When Uncas raced after the girl, I could think of no better thing to do than follow. Marie was right, there were far more practical things we could have done but we didn't do them. Perhaps if we did, it might have been a smoother end.

But that is always the way. There are always things one could have done but didn't do. Our lives are full of those choices and the end of those paths always lead us to where we are now.

Marie, despite her fear and panic, was the most level headed out of us all in the end.

It's over now.

With my concern for my sons came the concern that Alice would not fit into this way of life, less so because she wouldn't try. But she has surprised me. She is learning. It seemed for a time that she was unhappy but I think she realised she was unhappy because her elders would have thought it too simple. It was shame that held her back. One day she let go of the shame and her happiness came rushing in like water over the falls. She is a slow learner but she is being taught to weave and cook. She will be fine for Summer and Autumn but Winter will be another bridge to cross at a different time. But the girls like to teach her and she likes to learn. My son is proud of her and to be hers.

I am too.

My white son and the dark haired Cora are making plans to move away. I have asked Hawkeye not to go far but they are spirits bound for adventure. They will go where the wind takes them and they have my blessing to do so.

We have named Alice 'Achomawi'. It means 'River'. I would have called her something different but the people here seem to know her differently from the person I see. She flows, they say, like a river. Her eyes are like the water and her movements wash across the land. I see it if I look hard enough but Uncas won't call her anything but her birth name.

Together, they are now Huchnom. 'The Mountain people'. I am amused, their story will surpass my own in time, if it hasn't already.

I look at my children now and see it as Marie has always done. My white son and his dark haired woman, Cora whose name I have yet to be told of, are meant to be. They fit like the sea fits the shore.

Uncas and Achomawi do not and it is for this reason that I see why they are so important to the circle of life. They have built a bridge. Their faith in each other has given us hope. Even as the crows around them try to steal one lover away from the other, they do not falter. Trust is embedded in them, made the roots grow deep.

They have blossomed, they are a beautiful tree meant for time to challenge and it will challenge them. But I, Chingachgook, will make sure they thrive. Even when the pastures of life turn dry and lifeless for lack of rain, I will push them on for I will not see the last of my people die while I live for no reason other than life was too difficult. I will not be the last of anything.

Marie has had faith from the beginning, it is only fair to reward it. But yes, the roots are deep, the trunk is strong, myself, Marie, Hawkeye and whoever else will grow into our family are the branches. Marie was the first to grow leaves.

They are bigger than us; Uncas and Achomawi. Fox and River.

As for Marie; she is gone. I have wept and wept and continue to weep even now. But my people's council fire is lit and there is space for her but she won't go. Illinois is for the taking now. We have thrown her ashes following the North wind in the biggest field we could find. She's not good with directions, but at least, this way, her spirit will know which way to start going.

Safe journey, Traveller. Until we meet again.


A/N Here we are at the end of this adventure. :( I hope the ending worked out well enough to live up to the hype of your anticipation. If not...please don't tell me, just pretend it was amazing. I won't have the time to write this chapter again for a good while now.

But on top of that, my best bit about writing these things (or any stories, for that matter) is watching my characters evolve. It's like they become their own people. Fun!
Thanks for all the reviews and all the support. Thanks for giving my less conventional story some buzz, 'twas nice. You're all heroes/heroines and I wish all the bestest things for you.

However, so inspired am I, that I've got another idea brewing in my head but whether or not that makes it to paper let alone here anytime soon, is another matter altogether. But again, thanks!

Don't forget to leave behind a review when you go and even if you've just arrived (or returning sometime in the future) and binged read the story, leave reviews. Even reviews for a story 1000 years old are a great thing.

Till the next time!