The Jaded Leopard

Chapter Two

Days passed, and the snow had melted to a more tolerable level. Everyone in the small crofter's village knew that the clouds would come and once again drown them in snow, so they enjoyed this rare, beautiful day. The clouds had parted, and weak rays of sunlight shone down upon the mountains and the lowlands. Women laughed and gossiped as they hung the washing out to dry, and older children ran about their chores, cutting wood and herding the goats. The smaller children, still free from the task of working about the house, ran about crazily in the snow, chasing one another and giggling. Sometimes one of the smaller children would fall, face-first, into the snow, but stand up again and go tottering after the others, still giggling. The dogs barked and chased after the playful children as well, and a sense of well-being enveloped the village.

Roksana carried the newly chopped wood her father had just cut to a wood pile at the side of the house. "That ought to see us through the winter." she sighed, placing the last of the wood on the pile. She brushed off her hands on her thick pants and shivered slightly under her woolen coat as a chill breeze whistled past her. She was glad she wasn't being forced to wear a skirt- the wind would've cut into her, and probably frozen her legs.

"Spring will come soon- you'll see." Akilina said, placing a bundle of branches and twigs for kindling near the pile.

Roksana sighed in exasperation, throwing her arms in the air. "It's taking so long, though!"

Akilina snorted and rolled her eyes at her younger sister. "We're only midway through winter. And you know winter lasts longer this far north." She gave her sister an exasperated look, as if to say 'You've lived here for 16 years, you should know this already."

Roksana sat on the woodpile. "I know, but still. These woolen coats get itchy after a while. I can't wait until spring and the snow melts, and the lowlands turn green with color." She cupped her face in her hands, a smile beginning to spread on her face. "Then the goats can graze, and they'll have baby goats...." She trailed off, still daydreaming.

"Speaking of which," Akilina said, her lips curling into a smile, "Nana gave birth to a kid earlier this morning. It's an early one and still a little weak, but father says it'll make it. It's a buck."

Roksana smiled with sheer joy. Nana was Papa's prized doe. She was old, but she was strong and stubborn. Doubtless her kid would be the same. "Just another thing to keep me occupied." But truthfully, she didn't mind taking care of the goats, and was especially fond of Nana as well.

Akilina shook her head at her sister, before smiling slightly. "I'll finish up here. You go see Nana and her kid."

"Thank you!" Roksana jumped up from her seat on the woodpile, knocking over a few logs in the process, and ran to the lean-to next to the house where the goats lived. The lean-to was made roughly of wood, and used to be an old shed where Papa had kept his tools. However, it was spacious enough to provide room for their herd of seven goats. Nana would be in the single little stall at the end, where Papa housed does with newly born kids.

Roksana opened the gate to the rough-hewn pen surrounding the lean-to, and the goats trotted up to her eagerly, bleating for food and nosing her pockets in search of a treat. Roksana patted each one as she went, and the goats soon departed, going back to nosing the snow for the wilted grass that was hidden underneath once they realized she had not arrived to feed them.

Roksana entered the lean-to, glad to be out of the cold, and promptly walked to the stall at the end. She smiled down at Nana and her new son, her heart softening at the sight of the old she-goat and her kid.

"Why, Nana, he's beautiful! No doubt he'll be a handsome buck." She smiled, stroking the new mother's velvet nose. Nana bleated up at Roksana, butting her head gently against her hand so she could scratch her behind her stubby horns, where she liked being scratched best.