The Wordsmith's Forge

>>In any case, really smooth roads are a modern thing.<<

Smooth roads were actually originally put in for bikes, not cars.

>>It would be easy in relatively flat territory, but harder in hills or forests.<<

It would be easy in relatively flat territory, but harder in hills or forests.<<

Drums/bells at regular intervals?

>>
Child soldiers are common in civilizations that are falling apart, especially if it's gone on long enough to use up the adults. <<

There'd also be a difference between a military group adopting orphans who would otherwise die and recruiting teens as new soldiers.

>>So in the Aftermath, those youth survivors would be band together and probably maintain what they could of military culture.<<

Especially if the older ones had wanted to enlist at eighteen.

>>They're not vicious. They waited as long as they could for him to recover before the food was running out and they had to leave. They also paid handsomely for the caravan to keep him. A vicious group, seen in many post-apocalyptic settings, would abandon or even kill a weakened member.<<

I'm not saying vicious-across-the-board, more... do they hurt folk and like it/not care? And do they hurt outsiders and like it/not care? Most groups will be supportive to and protective of their own folk, but less so to outsiders.

Sports teams, armies, gangs, and Immortan Joe's warboys can all be very affectionate and supportive of each other, while still being terrifyingly dangerous to outsiders.

There's a difference between "I haaate doing laundry," and "Doing laundry is dehumanizing, let me reassert myself with violence."

>>Well, reindeer are small, so like ostriches they would be limited to small riders.<<

They can carry adults, but maybe not gigantic adults. I wonder if one could also use sleds or wagons, or a mixed group of caribou and dogs as pack animals.
https://gearjunkie.com/reindeer-riders-tsaatan-mongolia

>>That's true. A lot of native tribes were either matriarchal or equal, stances strongly supported by current context. Patriarchal ones will have a hard time holding onto that.<<

Quakers are historically egalitarian, and tend towards older folks. I could see a small-town Meeting forming a social unit...and then picking up as many orphans as possible on top of whatever kids they already had. (Other churches might have formed a money base too.)

Also look at poor neighborhoods or ethnic minorities where menfolk are frequently elsewhere, other for work or in jail [which is stupid of society but does affect the social fabric if it goes on long enough].

I think some alternative lifestyles seem to be either essentially matriarchal, or gender-irrelevent with a focus on nurturing skills.

One could also look at organizations run for and by women. Grandmothers who get together every week to quilt, activists, escorts at abortion clinics...

>>Even if the situation overwhelms your capacity and you can't stop bad things from happening, just trying reduces the chance of crippling mental injury. In the Aftermath, that makes a big difference in who survives or not, and how functional they are afterwards.<<

Add in emotional suppourt and having realistic expectations. ("I can't fix everything but I can make this better.")