Enoch sucked in water from her hands, rinsed her mouth, spat, straightened, and then grasped her braid to wring the water out before she tossed it habitually over her shoulder. Glancing over herself to see where she needed to focus, Enoch rubbed water on her arms and chest, scrubbing until the blood on her flesh melted away. Crouching, she untied her leather straps and let her clothing fall loose into the water so she could scrub it clean as well, her fingernails scratching at the leather to free the strains. When she finished, she retied her leathers and cupped water once more, splashing it over her face before she strolled out.

“I do enjoy watching you wash.” Aarav grinned cheekily.
Enoch grinned back and flicked water at him with her fingers. “You should probably do the same. Some horrible woman seems to have bled on you. Oh, shut it,” Enoch laughed, cutting off the jokes that would surely follow. 
Aarav continued to smile, his elbows on his knees. “Are you going to stick around and watch me?”
“Hardly. It's not as arousing to watch men wash.” Enoch sat herself on the sand bank beside him. Mithi and the others had gone off somewhere. Somewhere in the village, she could feel the vibrations of drums and knew someone was preparing for dancing tonight. 
Making the same assumption, Aarav nudged her elbow. “You'll dance with me later, right? Maybe smoke a bit?”
“Maybe.”
“Then, maybe you can spend the night with me?”
Enoch grinned and shook her head. “So your brothers can watch us? No thank you.”
“Or, I can come to your hut.”
“Aw, and give you a chance to steal my mother's war axe?” Enoch leaned sideways and kissed his cheek. “Depends on how well you dance tonight.”

Rising to her feet, Enoch pretended not to see his abashed expression as she walked away. She went to her hut, sitting inside on the woven straw mat on the floor to clean her axe, digging into the grooves in the wood with her fingernails. As she worked, she glanced up at the metal axe mounted on the wall and smiled. In no way did she think Aarav would ever take it from her. It belonged to her mother, and now Enoch, through inheritance. It was still fun to tease him about it, though. 

He'd tried a few times to make it known that he wanted to officially court her, asking questions as thought testing the waters of her reaction. He seemed to be under the assumption that Enoch wasn't into commitment, which was something Enoch wasn't about to set straight. While she often felt a bit different than the rest of the tribe, she had always been unsettled about binding herself to a man and family and cementing herself into the village. She couldn't explain it, exactly, but there was just a yearning for adventure in her. Maybe she'd break away one day and travel to the other colonies. Maybe to the mountains and walk in snow. Or to the ocean to hunt for the ocean game, whatever that would be.
She couldn't exactly leave if she had a few of Aarav's sons and daughters running around, grabbing at her hip.

Finished with her weapon, Enoch set it aside carefully and dropped the cloth she used to clean it before she rolled onto her sleeping mat. It was dried grass, feathers, leathers, and fur, piled comfortably in a way that fit her body perfectly. She sprawled on her back, the bed beneath her fitting the contours of her body perfectly. Enoch raised her arms and bent her legs. Their huts were built in a way that kept the air cooler than the outside, but it was still hot enough to warrant fevers during midday naps. Laying so none of her limbs touched helped keep her cooler, and Enoch closed her eyes and drifted off, the heat making her sleepy.

Maybe an hour later, Enoch woke, her body flushed with heat. Groaning, she sat up, loose strands of hair sticking to any skin they could reach. Taking a moment, Enoch rubbed sleep from her eyes and combed her hair back with her fingers before she stepped out into the sun again. 

It seemed most of the village had slipped into their respective shelters to sleep through the hotter hour of the day. It was quiet and empty, though Enoch could still hear the sound of the drums from across the pond, and a bit closer, she could hear the tanner working on the hippo hide.

Turning right, Enoch walked to the hut beside hers, in which lived the ancient, retired huntress, Wnous. She was nearly blind, and had difficulty moving her fingers and performing every days tasks. Often as she could, Enoch would help her out. Wnous was sitting on the mat in her doorway, as usual, and Enoch approached and squatted before her. “Afternoon, Wnous, it's Enoch.” Wnous smiled toothily, several of her teeth missing. “Do you need anything today?”
Wnous raised her arm slowly and gestured. “Water?”
“Of course.”

So Enoch rose and picked up the jar that stored water for the elderly woman. She wandered back to the pond, which was empty and calm, and filled the jar. Carefully, she balanced it on her shoulder and walked back, placing it back where it belonged. “All full. Is there anything else?” Wnous shook her head, smiling once again. “At dinner, I'll make sure you get a serving of meat, okay?”
“Thank you,”

Finished with that task, Enoch wandered again, walking past the others huts and the bordering tipis to move toward what served as the village's center, even if that was technically the pond. There was a rather large hearth, bordered by three cooking pits, and large enough that, when lit well, hid anything on the opposite side. It didn't burn, now, but tonight it would burn brightly, judging by the preparations. 

It was never exactly a planned event, but a few times a moon's turn, they'd light the fire and cook game while dancing and playing music. It was usually joyous, a time used to celebrate new births, unions, or lives of the newly deceased. It was hard to be sad during a fire, with all the drinks and meat circulating. Enoch had tried when her mother passed, and had wound up quite drunk and danced half the night before she'd slumped over beside Valci and Mithi, falling asleep with her limbs tangled with theirs. 

The wood came from the neighboring areas; at least a two day walk in any direction. In the sweltering heat, the journeys were made only so often, usually the fires were made the day after. That being said, there was plenty in supply now, and Enoch circled around the storage tipi to assist the villagers who toiled to cut the trees into pieces. 

“Hello Sadr.” Enoch said to the weathered man with the hunched back, who was swinging his muscular arm downward to bite the bark with his axe. 
“Ah, Enoch.” he said, pausing in his task to seek and point to a spare axe for her. She grinned and fetched it, returning to stand beside him. “Finished hunting early?”
“I did. Don't want to get lazy, so here I am.”
“We appreciate the help.” Sadr turned and whistled. “Meda. Take a break.”
The rather pregnant Meda stepped back from the logs and dropped her axe, waddling to sit in the shade of a hut for water and rest. Enoch bent her legs and swung her axe. “I'll take a few pieces for Wnous. Little ones.”
“I knew there was a catch.” Sadr smiled. 
“You know she likes to mind her own hut.” Enoch chided the older man between swings.
“I know, I know. You can have however much she needs.”
“So, I did want to ask another favour, though.” Enoch asked, glancing at the older man after she pulled her axe from the wood. “The next time you go out to cut down trees, I'd like to go.”

“Is that so?” Sadr paused in his work, standing upright to gaze at her. “You want to leave the village?”
Ench shrugged, also standing to speak with him. “I venture a little to hunt. I think I'd like to see more. See different lands. I'm restless.”
Sadr chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Yeah, you've got the itch.” He lowered himself into position again and continued swinging. Enoch followed suit. “We leave in about ten nights. If you're up for it, get your supplies in order. You'll need a bedroll, a tent, plenty of rope, two axes, and rations for a week. Got all that?”
“I think so.” Enoch smiled brightly before she swung her axe again. She felt excitement, now, at the thought of heading out of the village on something more than a hunt. She'd see some place new!