they would camp here for a time. the chieftain's wife had given birth, but aiman had kept himself well away from the snow shelter. not only was he a slave, he was a man, and he had learned enough of their ways to understand he was unwanted at such a site. his breath spiraled around his head, shaking a little, for aiman had discovered something he wished to keep for himself.
it was the entire shell of a beetle, and he dug the rest of the glittering carapace from the bank of a thin stream where he had been foraging. at once his eyes filled with tears; he held the bit of dead luster to his chest with a low sob, for in its appearance he saw Ra and His barge, and understood that the gods had not forsaken him.
wet eyes slowly opened to a hateful glare, and it slid with icy contemplation in the direction of the snow den and its precious glowing newness.