Perfect.

Jenny grinned from her place in the wagon, pushing her pale braid back over her shoulder. The young red-haired human beside her returned the smile, and flicked the reigns, moving the oxen into a trot.

Jenny was so glad that she'd asked where the Goth culture had come from after the concert they'd seen. It had sent her father off into a rant, and in a little time they'd ended up here in the fourth century, on the other side of the Danube from the Roman Empire. And Jenny hadn't been so happy in ages. The land in this time period was beautiful, rolling green as far as the eye could see. Everywhere, there was laughter as the wagon wheels creaked and the cattle called.

"Can you see the lambs, Jenn-nea?" the young man called to her over the creak of the wheels. With one hand, he pointed out a few lambs gamboling ahead of the sheep herd. One nearly turned a summersault in the air. Jenny laughed, and the red haired man laughed with her. "See? They are as happy as me to be on the move again!"

The Tervigini tribe were on the move to better grazing land, and the day was perfect for travel. The sky stretched on forever, a blue more blue than the eye could take in all at once, the sun at the peak of the heavens like a blazing marble. The wind whistled across her face, sweet with the scent of grass.

Beside her, the man called Ailwin glanced into the bed of his wagons, checking the bundles placed inside. He nodded to himself, then clicked his tongue, urging the oxen forward. Jenny looked around. The people of the tribe rode or walked and talked around the wagon, laughing and prodding their animals forward. Some rode ahead and back, passing along information. It seemed that almost everyone over the age of eight had a horse. Young children ran laughing between the wagons, their hair shining in the sun. Some of them had hair even lighter than Jenny's own, while others had deep blonde or red locks. Dark hair was apparently pretty rare, and her father's hair had engendered a few comments. But they'd been lucky. The Doctor had told them that he and his daughter were travelling from a death ceremony of a cousin in another tribe, and they'd been welcomed to travel with the tribe as long as they were headed in the same direction. Jenny could see him from her seat on the wagon, walking among the people and chattering like a com-box on fast-forward. The red cloak he'd chosen set off his dark hair, though the long linen tunic, baggy linen trousers and low boots he'd put on in the Wardrobe made him look stick-thin next to the tall, stocky Tervigini. She smiled. He was having a good time.

The blue cloak she'd chosen slipped from her shoulder again. With a frown, she pulled it up.

"I think that cloak may be too big for you." Ailwin teased her. "I think it must be." Jenny agreed, trying to keep to the people's speaking style, "It's one of my father's, and the clasps are set for him." She undid the clasped brooches, re-organizing the fabric tighter around her shoulders, though she really didn't need the warmth. But the cloak was thin, and seemed to be more for fashion than heat.

The wagons tracked across the endless rolling land, pacing the sun overhead. As the sun began to set, the first wagon in the train stopped. Ailwin laughed. "Finally! My backside has no love of this wagon!"

People gathered around the wagons, lifting down long spars of wood. In very short time three corralles were set up, the sheep and goats driven into one, the horses into another and the cows in the last. The oxen were loosed and left to graze.

The Doctor grinned at his daughter. "Having fun?" Jenny grinned back, nodding.
"There's not much recorded on this time period," her father said, " so it's a great chance to pick up more of their dialect and customs. Friendly people too. The Romans really should've tried to make friends with them, you know." He broke off as Ailwin came walking over.

"Well friends, will you join us for the Setting and the Blessing tonight?" "We will and gladly." The Doctor said jovially. He shot his daughter an excited smile as Ailwin walked away. "Know what that means? We're going to observe some of their religious rites. Nearly completely unstudied, Gothic religious beliefs. What a chance! C'mon, let's get a good spot in the queue."

Reverently, two carved stones were lifted from the backs of the first wagon in line, and set in the ground. A song was sung, and a black goat and a white sheep were brought out and killed in front of the stones while a fire pit was dug. Then the men set a fire, skinned the animals, and began to cook them. From somewhere in the crowd, some sort of flute blew. A stringed instrument joined in, and in no time there was dancing.

Late in the evening, they sat around the fire, eating the Blessing meat, drinking mead and chatting. Jenny, who'd been hearing stories about Carloman's time dealing with Roman soldiers and playing at wrestling with the young warriors, watched as Ailwin pulled a small bronze figure of a horse from his belt. He touched the meat to the horse's mouth, whispering a few words.

"Is that your lucky charm?" Jenny asked, biting into her share of the meat. Ailwin smiled. "The Horse is my guardian," he said, holding out the little figurine. It was finely modeled, with one hoof up pawing the air and its head thrown back. "when I was a child I was struck in the leg by a wild horse. It should have shattered the bone, but it left me only with a scar. The Women with Wit examined me, and told my parents that I had been blessed by the spirit of the Horse. So I honor her always."

Jenny nodded. A lot of early cultures had this idea. "It's lovely." Ailwin nodded, and fingered the little horse.

"Jenn-nea, do you think your people will come the Summer Festival?" Jenny glanced at the young man, and shrugged. "Perhaps."

Ailwin nodded, staring at the fire. "I am nineteen years old. I've been in three cattle-raids. I have two fine horses, goods, ten head of cattle, six in calf, and sixteen sheep. I enjoy talking with you. If you have no man in your sights…think of me come the summer?"

Jenny smiled. "I'll do that." Then she leaned over, and kissed him on the cheek. He grinned.