Gathering Materials (Kaeson, Nai'shee)

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

78th Day of Spring, 512 AV "You wanted to see me, Miss Zipporah?" Tock made her way into her boss's office, piloting her crutches through the doors with a huge grin on her face. At the sight of the grin, her boss sighed, and set down the quill he was writing with. He knew that grin. "I can only assume," he said, "that being as it's after business hours, and the dock job is quite finished, you're here to ask me for something." "Yup!" Tock cheerfully replied. She stopped her crutches in front of her boss's desk, bending her legs and just hanging there, rocking back and forth a bit, the springs on the crutches flexing to support her weight. "I needs a wagon." Jacques folded his hands, schooling himself to patience. "And why," he asked, "should I provide it for you? I appreciate the work you've done here, but you've only been in my employ for just under a month now. I don't make a habit of loaning my wagons--" "And 'orses," she interrupted, "I needs 'orses too." Jacques sighed, and rubbed his face. "Very well," he said. "Why should I loan you a wagon and horses? This isn't related to your job in any way. I've already agreed to let you harvest scrap from the job sites, and allowed you a fair amount of free reign with the crew..." She cut him off again, "Oy, free reign? Whatcha mean, doin' Eavin's job fer 'im? If'n 'e weren't such a lazy bum...!" Jacques held up a hand to silence her. "As I was saying," he continued, "I've been rather patient with your... eccentricities up until now, because you do good work, and yes, your efforts at organizing the crew have increased efficiency. However, you still haven't given me any reason why I should let you abscond with a wagon without supervision." "Wood," Tock said. Jacques blinked, stared at her, and waited for her to elaborate. When she didn't, he sighed and asked, "Wood, Miss Zipporah? What does that--?" "I need wood," she said, holding her arms up in frustration. "I ain't got no good stuff!" "I've told you," he said, "the scrap bins are yours to scavenge from, but--" "Oy, I can't build the big stuff wit' scrap!" Tock replied, waving a hand dismissively. "I need me some big lumber!" Jacques sighed again and said, "I cannot simply give you good lumber..." "Nah, nah, nah!" Tock said, waving her hands in front of her. "I don't need YER lumber. I just need yer wagon!" She grinned, figuring that was that. Jacques stared at her blankly, and now she sighed. Did she have to spell it all out to him? "Oy, Bossman, see," she explained, "I's gonna go outside the city an' get me up some lumber, aye? Nice big oak tree o' somethin'. But I can't 'aul it all back 'ere myself, aye? Specially not in 'ese babies," she patted her crutches lovingly. "So can I 'ave it?" she smiled at him, eagerly awaiting his 'yes'. Jacques folded his hands and took a breath. "Miss Zipporah," he said very slowly, "I cannot help but feel like we're going in circles." "Aye," she said with a hint of frustration, "if'n ye'd pay attention," she waved a finger at him. "No, Miss Zipporah," he said, his patience nearly worn. "I asked you a simple question, and you have yet to answer it." He waited, staring at her. She stared back. She scratched her head. Her face scrunched up in confusion. Jacques started tapping his fingers on the desk. "Why should I give you a wagon?" he asked again. "Oy, so's as I can 'aul my lumber back, why else!" she groaned, throwing her hands up in the air. She was losing her patience with her boss. Some people could be so dense. Jacques took a breath, and rubbed his hands over his face. "Alright," he said, "let's start over." Tock rolled her eyes. "What's in it for me if I let you take a wagon?" "Oy, why didn't ya just ASK that?" Tock replied. "Oy, so, I'll split the lumber wit' ya, aye?" They shared a long look again, and when she still got no response, Tock continued, "Oy, look, I's figure, gonna be at LEAST sixty mizahs worth o' wood," she held up a hand and started counting on her fingers, "'Alf's gonna be fer me," she ticked off one finger, tapping the index finger of her other hand against it. "A quarter's gonna be fer sold fer parts," she ticked off another finger, "an a quarter can go ta you, aye? 'At's like fifteen mizahs fer a day's wagon rental. Nice deal, aye?" Jacques took a breath and said, "So the deal is, a day's wagon use for fifteen mizahs of wood?" Tock nodded eagerly. "Why didn't you just say that from...?" he sighed, shaking his head and waving his hands to dismiss the whole conversation. "Very well, Miss Zipporah. Assuming its decent enough wood for our use, you have a deal. How long will you need the wagon for? The full day?" Tock nodded, grinning wide. "Maybe inta tomorrow," she said, "But I figures, we can get back 'fore tomorrow night. Maybe take two trips, if'n we cut down two trees. 'En I can get ya twice as much, aye?" Jacques agreed, if for no other reason than to get her out of his hair. Tock would have jumped for joy, if she'd designed her animated crutches to jump. * * * A short time later, the wagon pulled up outside Kaeson's place, slightly out of control with Tock at the reins. Her friend James was tugging on them to get the horses back under control. "Damnit Tock, not so fast!" he shouted, pulling the wagon to a halt. It was the first time she'd ever driven a wagon before, and she had insisted on taking a turn at the reins. Tock was laughing, having a great time. She pulled hard on the reins right along with him, stopping the horses and bouncing in her seat. Then she called out to Kaeson inside, "Oy! Mate! Lezgo, aye? Ain't got all day!"

[Nai'shee]

Nai'shee, foolishly, stayed up late last night, reading at the Library. She got really warmed up for Reimancy and tried her best to learn most she could while she still can. She took a book Satevis recommended her long ago, now she was mostly reading about techniques to master. It wasn't going pretty well, Mistress Farah told her that she is hurrying instead of concentrating and she wasn't allowed to practice too much, so she wouldn't overgive. Professor Stonemiler told her she should practice Shielding, since she is learning it anyways, so Professor Farah wouldn't have to worry that much. She was way to immature to reasonably look at the situation, so she locked herself up with Reimancy books trying to learn something from theory. She wasn't immature enough to risk overgiving by practicing herself. Today she woke up to find beautiful weather, maybe even too hot. She realized she will be late to meet Kaeson and Tock at ten bells. She hurried to get ready, she put some food in her little bag, she concluded they will find some water, since there wasn't much more space. If not, she could ask Kaeson to carry some for her too. When she was fully suited up and supplied she headed for Kaeson's place. It was first time she was going there and she barely visited people's houses, so it felt weird. She knocked and awkwardly walked in when he answered the door. His eyes wore some dirty color, between blue and gray, which Nai'shee read as I'm-so-sleepy mood. She was there a little before time they agreed on, so they talked a bit, mostly about classes and today's journey. That is, until Tock shouted at them from the outside. She wore a wide smile and seemed extremely enthusiastic. Her friend, unknown to Nai'shee, was all abroad, he didn't seemed satisfied by Tock's driving. Oh, no, Tock's driving, Nai'shee thought helplessly. There was a tiny possibility that she knew how to do that, but judging by her friend, she wasn't too skilled. "Oh, hey there guys!", she said cheerfully. "Ready for what awaits?" She surprisingly quickly climbed a wagon. "So, what's the schedule?"

[Kaeson Dakano]

"Aloe is used to treat a variety of minor skin irritants...shallow injuries. More commonly used as a instant relief of sorts...sunburn, rashes ...the gel of the aloe leaf can be applied as a disinfectant...promotes skin growth...," Kaeson mumbled, writing down major points as he read them aloud.

Finishing his notes, Kaeson quickly read through his herbalism book and what he had written, cross-referencing the two for any glaring differences. Satisfied with what he had written, Kaeson continued on to drawing the aloe plant -- to be used as a visual reference. Mostly copying the image from his herbalism book, Kaeson took care to draw the plant's tough, fleshy, spearlike leaves. As a precaution, Kaeson also added some notes to his drawing, describing the texture, odor, and color of the plant. Things Kaeson couldn't add to the drawing on his own.

Finishing the drawing, Kaeson smiled and said, "Finally." Since he had made plans with Tock and Nai'shee, Kaeson had been taking time to take note of the variety of plants native to the area around Zeltiva. Originally, he had planned to take his herbalism book on the trip, but decided against it. The book had been borrowed from the library and Kaeson didn't think it was worth the risk, so instead Kaeson had copied descriptions of the more useful plants to take with him.

As Kaeson flipped through his notes, he silently thanked himself for being smart enough to not trust his own drawing ability. While Kaeson's drawing had...similarities with the plant they were supposed to look like, Kaeson doubted he would be able to identify them on the drawing alone. Luckily, Kaeson had been very thorough in his written descriptions of the plants.

...

Kaeson yawned as he opened the door for Nai'shee. Squinting his eyes at the morning sun, Kaeson muttered something along the lines of "Come in" when he noticed Nai'shee still standing outside.

"I still...*yawn*...have to pack," he managed to say, quickly adding, "Just woke up, sorry" before looking around his house for anything he might want to take on their trip. Grabbing his pack, Kaeson slowly made his way around the one room cottage grabbing anything he thought would be useful.

"Think I've got everything...," Kaeson said, doing a second take around his house before he and Nai'shee went outside. "Water pack, herbalism notes, some food...Yeah, I think that's it Nai'shee, let's go wait for--"

"Oy! Mate! Lezgo, aye? Ain't got all day!"

"Tock," he finished.

Going outside, Kaeson nodded quickly at James and Tock as he threw his pack over the side of the wagon. Jumping up besides Tock, he said a quick hello to James. Then, Kaeson noticed that Tock was driving.

Visibly worried, Kaeson asked, "You're...driving?"

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

"'Course I's drivin'!" Tock replied with a grin, flicking the reins. James groaned and grabbed hold of them, helping get the horses under control. "A strong flick like that, and they think you want them to run," he told her, casting her an annoyed glare. Tock had never driven a wagon before, but James was used to driving goods back and forth on the job site. His main job was an apprentice mason, but everyone on the crew helped out in a variety of areas. "Aye, gotcha," she told him, holding the reins and tugging on them to get the horses to turn towards the city gate. James gave a harder pull along with her, to make sure they turned hard enough. Each time Tock pulled on the reins, the horses were weaving this way and that, not keeping a very straight path, so James had to keep constantly correcting for her. Once they were headed straight down the road, Tock turned halfway to talk to the others. "Okay, 'ere we go," she said. "Couple o' 'ours, maybe, so's as we's far 'nough ta get out where ain't nobody gonna care if'n we does some choppin'. But not so's fars as we can't still see the city, aye? Don't wanna get eaten by nothin' aye? Aye." There was only room for three people on the seat in the front of the wagon. Since Kaeson had climbed up next to Tock, that meant Nai would be in the back. She would notice a blanket in the corner, and there was some movement from underneath it, as if something living were hiding under it. "Oy, any o' the rest o' ya bring an axe?" she asked, looking them over. They had packs and food, but no tools that she could see. "O' am I the only one?" She shook her head. Leave it to the rest of them not to plan ahead. Nai would also notice an axe and a large woodcutter's saw lying in the back of the wagon, near the blanket. They had some strangely shaped metal poles attached to the handles, with joints, hinges, and springs on all the moving parts.

[Nai'shee]

Being driven by Tock on not so straight road wasn't the best thing to start a new day with. Nai'shee's head complained, warning her to stop jumping across the wagon, but she had no ways of either helping Tock or convincing her to allow her friend to do it instead. She tried to give desperate sight to Kaeson or Tock's friend, in front of her, but she guessed they won't be turning around. Instead, she took a look at her part of wagon more carefully. There was a blanket on the seat, on the top right side of it, and it seemed to be moving. There was Tock's driving again, but it seemed to be really moving, it wasn't dependent on her... erm... skills. Beside it laid something that reminded Nai'shee of axe. However, it was nothing like normal axe. It had joints, hinges and springs all over it. She wondered if it had anything to do with Golems Tock told her about. "Couple of hours?", Nai'shee asked in despair. She knew this ride is going to last couple of hours, but the problem was this wasn't exactly ride. "Come on, Tock, give me a break, allow your friend to drive this thing!" It was already too late when she realized how cruel it sounded, but she was really in danger of getting headache and that thing moving underneath the blanked began to seem really scary. She wanted to ask about it, but she wasn't sure if it really was Minerva's fault. "Erm-", Nai'shee said innocently. She had no axe, but she felt stupid not to remember thing like that. She could probably borrow it from someone, at least some Minerva's coworker. She knew Kaeson also didn't bring one, since she watched him get ready. "I completely forgot", she finished, shrugging. "But, never mind it, could you introduce us, or me, to your friend?"

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson wondered if Tock noticed the people on the road as they road to the city gates. True, she hadn't managed to hit anyone but Kaeson had managed to remember a few of the more choice swears they had been called and if Tock continued driving, he wouldn't mind repiting two or three of the more imaginative ones.

Finally, having left the city a safer place, Kaeson managed to relax a little and was able to take in some of the scenery. Kaeson had tried to avoid the wildlands whenever possible, the rumors had been enough to restrict him to sea travel. Looking around however, Kaeson had trouble imaging anything happening to them out here. They were riding in one of the several valleys that marked the way between the mountains to Zeltiva and to Kaeson everything looked relatively safe.

Still, Kaeson was happy to be out of the city for once, even if it would only be for a day or two.

Once the road had straightened out, Tock explained how long the trip would take and why they needed to head out so far. Kaeson turned around to watch Zeltiva shrink in the distance, and exchanged looks with Nai'shee. Kaeson smiled sympathetically, and mouthed, "You can sit in the front on the way back...it's not so bad up here." Kaeson noticed the blanket as well as the axe and the woodcutter's saw with the strange attachments, turning to Tock and asking,"What did you DO to the tools?" Kaeson paused, and chuckled a little as he came up with his own answer, "You didn't animate them did you?" He asked Tock, laughing.

Answering Tock, he said,"Nope, I didn't anything except some water, my herbalism notes, and some food."
Smacking his head, he added,"But, I bet an axe would've been a smart idea, huh?

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

A wicked, proud, and perhaps slightly demented look crossed Tock's eyes at Kaeson's question. "'Course I did," she said, chuckling. "'Ey's 'beauts, 'ey is! Bwa ha ha!" She was quite proud of her new 'family', which was now up to six members. And that was just the beginning. Tock's driving got a bit better once they left the city, mostly because there simply wasn't anything to run into, the road being quite clear of obstacles or pedestrians. Foot traffic was rare outside the city. The road ran mostly straight, with gentle curves around the hills, and it was nothing she couldn't handle (though the wagon did veer a bit from side to side here and there). When Nai asked about James, Tock said, "Oy, aye! 'Is's me mate, James. We done work together. 'E does masonry, mostly. James, 'at's Kaeson, we's both at the Uni, an' Nai," she nodded towards the girl in the back, "we met on the job." James nodded to them both, and gave Nai a smile. "Yeah, I think I remember seeing you at the docks," he said. He had been working off a ways from Tock's team that day, repairing some of the masonry work on the dock foundations. Tock and Nai, on the other hand, had been helping repair an office shack. The rustling under the blanket continued, and finally a little wheeled hammer rolled out from underneath it. It rolled up to Nai, its wheels squeaking with the rhythm of a small dog's panting, and nudged her leg with its head. It kept rubbing against her eagerly, gazing up at her with little glass lenses affixed to the axle of its wheels. Meanwhile, in the corner of the wagon, a foot and a half long wooden and metal spider crawled out from under the wagon, crouching in the corner. Tock glanced back over her shoulder and said, "Oy, don't mind 'em, Conch! 'Ey's my babies! 'Ere, give 'em one o' 'ese," she reached into her tool belt and pulled out a few nails, handing them back to Nai. The hammer peered up at them, and started bobbing his head up and down excitedly. "'Ose'll keep 'im 'appy. Won't 'ey, Naily?" She smiled lovingly at the wheeled hammer, though he was intently focused on the nails that Nai now had. He shifted back and forth on his wheels, making them squeak like a puppy's eager whine.

[Kaeson Dakano]

Nai'shee :

Just jump in whenever you get back!

Kaeson smiled as he saw the animated hammer nudge up against Nai'shee, and would watch in fascination if she gave Naily the nails. Turning to Tock, while keeping a curious eye on Naily, Kaeson asked all sorts of questions regarding her recent animations - maybe too many questions for Tock's liking. "Did you use yourself as the soul example? How did you get it to act so...so friendly, what behavioral model was used? -- what directives did you give? Have you tested it out yet? Can you still use the tools, or are they fully automatic?" Hardly taking the time to wait for a response, Kaeson surely would have gone on for hours about Naily -- if he hadn't seen the spider that is.

"Oh, wow, Tock." Kaeson muttered, as he jumped into the back of the wagon. Kaeson had always been interested in a more personal style of animation -- he had always been interested in the idea of animating his own pet, something Tock had apparently already done. Turning around to Tock, Kaeson asked, "Where'd you get the idea for him?"

More interested now in the animated spider then anything else on the wagon, Kaeson slowly made his way towards the small animation. He had no idea of knowing the animation had been given the instincts of a real spider, and was too deep in his own thoughts to notice the subtle changes in the automaton's demeanor. The animated spider had been carefully observing everything on the wagon, been now seemed to have eyes solely for Kaeson. As Kaeson stretched his arms out towards the spider, Kaeson failed to notice the way it tried to make itself smaller as well as the small "fangs" that adorned its mouth.

TockSorry about the short post and the 'whisper' fail haha, seems like I'm learning somethng new everyday XD. Also feel free to let Kaeson get bitten by the automaton, he's far to interested in it to let it bother him much haha

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

"'E's a puppy!" Tock said cheerfully when Kaeson started asking about Naily. "An' 'e's a lover, too. Made 'im from a right friendly pup, I did!" She was quite proud of her baby. Though she got offended when Kaeson asked about still using the tools by hand. "Oy, don'tcha dare!" she said, shooting him a hurt frown. "'Ey's my babies! Ya don't go swingin' a girl's baby 'round usin' 'im like 'e's a tool! 'E's people, an' ya better treat 'im nice!" As far as she was concerned, her babies had ceased to be mere 'tools' the moment she started building them. They were her family, and they helped her build stuff because they liked it. The same went for Bitey. Tock has birthed him from her own soul, and he was a part of her. "Play nice wit' 'im," she said. "'E bites..." She said this with great pride. Bitey didn't like any people except his mother, and would lash out defensively if Kaeson got any closer, snapping his metal fangs for the offending hand. Before long, they were far enough from the city to avoid anyone that might yell at them for lumberjacking without permission. With James's help, Tock pulled the wagon off the road onto a relatively clear area by a stand of trees. She then stood up in the wagon, balancing on her good foot, and scanned the trees until she found one she liked. She pointed at a large oak and said, "'At one." She climbed carefully down, and recruited James's help getting into her crutches. Then she summoned forth her babies. "Naily, c'mere baby," she said, making kissy noises at him. He rolled down to the end of the wagon and plopped down onto the ground, rolling across the grass to nuzzle her leg. She tossed a handful of nails into the grass to keep him busy. "Choppy, Cutty, come!" she said. The animated axe got up right away, clambering forward on long, metal, stork-like legs. He followed her hand motions like a trained animal as she guided him over to the tree. Then she glanced back and saw that the saw hadn't moved. She frowned and snapped her fingers at him, saying, "Cutty! Oy, come on sweetie, come!" The saw lurched into motion all of a sudden as if she'd just woken it from a nap. It clambered down from the wagon and trotted over like a pony on four metal legs. "Sit... SIT!" she told him, and on the second command he settled down to the ground. Tock frowned at Cutty for a moment, then turned back to Choppy. She directed him over to the tree and said, "Leg up!" He raised one leg and leaned it against the tree. Stretched out like this, the axe head was aimed horizontally at the tree, just as a woodsman would hold it to chop. "Grip!" she said, and he flexed his little clawed feet to grip the ground and the tree for leverage. "Aaaaaaand... Chop! Good boy!" She grinned wide as the axe started chopping into the tree. The springs on the axle flexed with each time it drew back, and added force to the forward arc of the spring. The Automaton started chopping with a regular rhythm. It wouldn't get tired or need a break. Tock would just need to direct it to adjust its position now and then, and it would continue until she told it to stop. The main flaw was that it wasn't smart enough to know when to stop on its own. If she didn't tell it to stop, it would keep swinging even if it was hitting nothing but air.

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson quickly withdrew his hands from Bitey as Tock told him Bitey bites. "Well, with a name like that...," Kaeson muttered to himself, still showing interest in the spidery automaton albeit from a safe distance. "Show me your fangs little one," Kaeson cooed softly to Bitey. He was immensely interested in the idea of giving an automaton retractable fangs, and wondered if Tock had thought along the same lines when animating her pet. Kaeson was looking around for Tock to ask if the fangs were retractable when Syna's light reflected off two something's underneath what Kaeson assumed to be Bitey's mouth. "Nails?" Kaeson wondered why there would be nails coming out of the automatons mouth, thinkng that there had there been an accident with Naily. "Oh, NAILS," Kaeson repeated as the reasoning behind the odd placement of the nails came rushing to him. "They're the fangs."

For the rest of their drive, Kaeson continued observing Bitey from a relatively safe distance -- far enough to where Kaeson would hopefully have enough to time to get out of the way should the automaton decide to try and bite him, but close enough to observe the spidery animation in detail.

Having no skill with Auristics or any other method of divining the the inner workings of Bitey, Kaeson's interest in the automaton decreased substantially and returned his gaze to the world around him. Hearing Tock all her automatons, Kaeson quickly grabbed his pack and got out of their way. Kaeson had seen the saw and the axe in the wagon, and while he was certainly interested in those two as well, Kaeson had no intention of putting his hands anywhere near 'Choppy' and 'Cutty' -- especially when they were working.

Looking around the small clearing Kaeson frowned. Kaeson had already managed to identify a sizeable chunk of the plants and herbs that grew on the outskirts of where they had stopped the wagon, and it didn't seem like any of the flora Kaeson had hoped to encounter grew in the area. Kaeson sighed, saying, "At least we're cutting down a white oak -- I should be able to use the bark in a couple of recipes in the book," to no one in particular. Kaeson had been wanting to start making some basic sun balms to protect against the harsher of Syna's rays, especially since summer was right around the corner. If he was lucky, Kaeson would be able to find some suitable ingredients here and have the balms ready to sell for the summer.

Calling to the rest of the group Kaeson yelled,"So what does everyone think? This look like a good place to set up camp?"