Dinosaurs on Earth

Chapter 6

Shieila and Shimal pressed their legs against their dinosaurs and took off. Sagemho galloped hard to keep up with Soryum. Clouds of dust were raised from groups of dinosaurs galloping suddenly. Everyone split to their side of the plaza, and splitting off to their ha'tes. Sagemho began to slow a bit, probably tired from keeping up with Soryum. Shimal slowed Soryum, but Shieila said, "go on, we're almost there anyways." Shimal nodded, and sped off. "Come on Sagemho. You can do it!" Shieila whispered. As they reached Shieila's ha'te, Sagemho slowed, and Shieila dismounted. She held the door flap open, and let Sagemho through first. Inside the ha'te, Shieila hugged Sagemho, and listened to the tyrannosaurus stomping. She hoped that her new velociraptor-skin mattress would cover up her human scent. She heard the tyrannosaurus sniffing the open top of her ha'te. Shieila held her breath. A few snorts from the tyrannosaurus. He clumped away. More footfalls, walking away from the Zil'Marou.
"Everything was spared! Thank the goodness!" Imstron proclaimed. All the tent-clips unclipped, and as everyone began to come out, Imstron added- "Hasley's women's and girl's sword lessons will be the day after tomorrow, at topsun."

"Watew well!" Shamlei exclaimed. Shieila and Shamlei were playing Guess It, where one person-Shieila-would draw something, and another person-Shamlei-would guess it.
"You are right!" Shieila said. She made another scratch in the dirt for round 10. "What do you think this is?" Shieila began drawing in the dirt, a triangle with a rounded bottom, a flap open. A pile of rocks drawn inside of the ha'te. Clay pushed into the ground to make a fire.
"Ha'te, ha'te!" Shamlei guessed.
"Exactly," Shieila said. Another scratch to the side. The two scuffed away the dirt, and patted it down.
"Can I twy to draw?" Shamlei asked.
"Of course," Shieila said. "Here, these are the rounds you draw," Shieila drew a horizontal line under the 11 small vertical lines. Shamlei thought for a second, then drew a wobbly oval. Shieila watched as she put two dots, and a semicircle with a line on top. Shamlei drew a horizontal line in the semicircle, and lots of vertical lines. Shamlei drew more vertical lines on either side of the oval.
"Is that... A person?" Shieila questioned. Shamlei giggled.
"No! It you Siaya!"
"That's a beautiful drawing, Shamlei. Do you want to put a scratch in the dirt for your round?"
"Yes, Siaya, yes!" Shieila drew, and thought about being an apprentice drawer. Hickory, the current drawer, would teach Shieila how to find clay efficiently, and how to carve a stick to make the different lines.
"That is you on Sadhemho, Siaya. Aw you doing the," Shamlei paused. "An-ky-lo-soh-is dance?" Shieila looked at what she had drawn. It was herself- rearing up on Sagemho, with the sun shining down on her back.
"Yes," she said, "yes it is."

Shieila squinted in the moonlight. Inside her ha'te, she had dug a little hole to replenish her clay supply. It had dwindled because of her uptake of drawing. Children of the Zil'Marou were encouraged to try an assortment of skills that would help them in all the different jobs that were available. Shieila found a bit of clay, and put it in a woven cup for use later. Shieila drew late into the night, all the while wondering, what if this Summer is the Summer I am Asked?