I trudged along the dry path to my cave, the rock rough on my bare feet. The snow had completely melted while I was away, signifying the arrival of the hot season. I relished in the clear, mountain air. It had been so late when I had arrived home last night, that I hadn't gotten a chance to enjoy it yet.

"Hey, Celisae," Leu greeted as she bounded along beside me. I stopped to give her a big hug.

"Leu!" I exclaimed. It had been a week since I'd seen her, and I had missed her cheerfulness.

"How did it go?" she asked, pulling away.

"I got the dresses all tailored."

"Oh, I wish I could have gone with you," she said. "It would have been so much fun."

I wrinkled my nose. "To walk for three days both ways? With Sa k'u and Ul m'ka, nonetheless."

"I could've easily ignored them," she laughed. "But you have to admit, the trip would have been better if I'd been there to cheer you up."

I couldn't disagree with her. Every moment that I was away, I had wished that I had had my best friend with me. I wanted to tell her all about what had happened at the meeting, but right now, I needed to get started on making the dresses.

"We can catch up later. Right now, I need you to show me how to weave the dresses."

Leu nodded, and we headed to my cave. When we arrived, I noticed for the first time that my spinning wheel was gone. In its place sat a wooden loom. 

"Where's my spinning wheel?" I asked.

"We had to move it in order to make room for the loom," Leu explained. "We'll put it back once you are done with the dresses."

Leu headed straight to the loom and set down a small bag, pulling out a spool of yarn.

"Oh, I have thread right here," I said, pulling out the cotton thread from the bag that I had used at the meeting.

"It's fine, I have this cotton yarn. It's a lot stronger than the cotton thread you have there. I think it will be easier for you to learn on," Leu told me.

"OK," I said, placing the thread back in my bag before joining Leu by the loom.

"Alright, so let's get started," she began. "So first of all, the thread going up and down in the weave, and the thread going side to side is the weft. What you're going to do first is attach a piece of yarn to the first, top notch on the loom, then the bottom notch, and then continue this pattern until you've gone all the way across the loom." She demonstrated, setting up the loom in a matter of seconds.

"Once we have secured the thread, making sure that it is nice and tight, we're going to take another piece of yarn and begin to interlace it, going from left to right. We're going to go over and under the yarn already on the loom, making sure that we retain lots of tension so that the dresses don't fall apart." Her fingers danced nimbly across the loom.

"Now, we're going to push the thread down and do the same thing, except this time, we're going to start by going under the original yarn." She was demonstrating so fast, I could barely keep up. She finished quickly, and I stared in both awe and dismay at her perfect work. "Why don't you try it?" she offered. Though I was sufficiently intimidated, I took a piece of cotton fiber, and started weaving over and under, just like she had instructed. It took me ten times as long to finish, but she smiled approvingly when I was done.

"That's right!" she praised. "You're doing great!"

The tutorial lasted the entire day. I wanted to make sure that I knew exactly what to do when I started the dresses the next day. We had just finished weaving an entire piece of fabric when Pa m'sosec entered.

"Nal m'se would like to see you," she reported.

"Alright," I said, turning to Leu. "I'll be right back."

"Take your time. You've earned a break," Leu said, pleased with the progress I'd made. "When you get back I'll show you how to take it off the loom."

I followed Pa m'sosec to the matriarch's cave. Nal m'se awaited me with the other matriarchs.

"I'm glad to hear that all went well on the journey," she stated as I entered the room. I smiled, unsure how to respond.

"I've been getting lessons on how to weave so I can start the dresses tomorrow," I informed her. Nal m'se nodded with approval.

"That is good to hear. Get any lessons you need now, because once you start the dresses, no one may enter your cave."

My draw dropped a little, and I scrambled to contain my shock.

"N-not at all?" I stammered.

"I do not want the dresses to be disturbed. It would be a shame if one small accident destroyed all of your hard work."

Ul m'ka seemed disturbed by the news as well. "May I go in to monitor how the progress is going?" Ul m'ka requested.

"No, the only people allowed in the cave are Gea, Celisae, and myself," Nal m'se asserted, looking directly at me. "Not even Leu." Ul m'ka sulked in her seat behind Nal m'se.

I gulped. "Can I see Leu outside the cave?"

"Of course, just no one may go inside the cave," Nal m'se clarified.

I felt myself breathe a sigh of relief. For a moment, I thought that I was going to be kept in solitary confinement until the dresses were complete. The only problem was that I knew I'd go crazy sitting inside the cave all by myself. I loved being alone while in nature, but the thought of being cooped up for hours on end with no one around made me cringe. "May Gea sort her daily quota inside the cave while I work? I don't think I can stand sitting in a cave by myself for hours at a time."

Nal m'se pondered my request before finally giving in. "I'd prefer it if you had no distractions, but I suppose that I'll allow it."

"Thank you so much. Is there anything else you need to discuss with me?"

"No that is all. You may go now," Nal m'se dismissed. I dipped my head, then exited the cave.

Leu would be disappointed when I tell her the news, but at least I'd have Gea around. A huge grin spread across my face as I headed back to the cave as a realization set in: I didn't have to worry about Sa k'u and Ul m'ka anymore.