Solo Running Errands

[Palla Frostfawn]

42nd of Spring, 514 AV
Palla had things to do. On the top of her list was to get a bit of new furniture. She had paid off a good portion of her debt and was in need of an upgrade. Palla sat on her bed, followed by her two Silkena who jumped up onto the bed after her. She giggled, and petted both her dogs, Midnight and Purity in turn. I have no regrets about getting these dogs, none at all. I'm glad I got them, as they make life a lot less lonely, and I think they've really helped make me happier, too. I only wish I could spend more time with them. I take them out for a jog for a bell daily, and give them as much attention as I can before and after work, and on my off. At least I can take them for part of my trip, when I go to the bazaar.
Palla picked up her quill and started to write down in her journal the things she needed to buy, starting with a bookshelf.

Book Shelf- I need a bookshelf, along with books, on things like drawing, carving tips, maybe some tips for my dogs, even though Kavala covered pretty much everything. Maybe books about training Silkena?
Dog Beds- I need some sort of beds, I can't have these puppies continue to sleep at the foot of my bed, they're getting bigger, and soon the bed will be overtaken by them. Besides, they're messy and I don't want to wash my bedsheets so much. I wish I could make my own, but this turns more into carpentry then carving, and I know nothing about carpentry. I'm thinking about very shallow chests, lined with blankets, or just one box, with the base for one bed, and the lid for the second.I am imagining the gift boxes that you put clothes in, but Silkena sized and made of wood.
Blank Books- I think that, instead of buying books, I'll borrow them from the library and copy them down. Since I'll only be copying the vital parts, it will probably only take a few bells per book. Besides, I write fast.

As Palla was writing, ironically anout writing, her quill nib grew dull. She tried to sharpen it with her knife, but to no avail. Palla tried again and again, but only ended up with ink on her hands. She threw the quill away, and picked up one of her new quills I only have seven quills left!

Parchment-I want to practice drawing or painting, I don't know which one right now, but I think I will need paper for that.

Writing/Drawing Materials- Obviously, if I want to practice drawing or painting, I'll need paint and brushes, or ink sticks and charcoal if I want to practice those. I've always appreciated those types of art, and I would like to learn how to do them. I also need more quills, and I have to learn to sharpen my quills, too, because otherwise I'll be wasting money throwing quills away when I could have gotten more use out of them, even if quills are cheap.

Gardening Tools- My garden has a few flowers and bushes, but it could still use some more plants to spice it up a bit. I need shovels and the like, too, to dig up plants and things like that.

Palla finished her list, closed her notebook, and put the leashes on her dogs. They followed along as she left her condo building and set off towards the bazaar, which was a short walk away from her home. Soon, she was at the bustling bazaar and was ready to shop and weave her way through the crowd, making herself as small as she could to do so.

[Palla Frostfawn]

The dogs barked at everyone, drawing unwanted attention to Palla, but fortunately for her, the dogs at least restrained from jumping on people.

She looked at her dirty-looking white dog and much cleaner looking black dog. Even though Midnight looks much cleaner than Purity, Purity's dirty coat means that both of them must be as dirty as him. I'll have to give them both baths today. Oh, today will probably be such a busy day! Palla made a beeline for the same vendor that had sold her the journal that she was currently looking at to remember what she had to buy. She bought five more blank books, hoping to copy down the contents of some books, ten more quills, and another bottle of ink. Okay... After this, I have to go to the library... I can't forget, I only have so many days off!

Palla then went to a stall that had chests. Most of them were small boxes, small enough that Palla could have made them herself. Palla had her eyes on one of the bigger boxes, however. It was a bit too big for her dogs, but she figured they'd grow into it. It was hinged and shallow, so when she opened it up, there would be two attached trays, perfect for beds for her dogs. I hope Midnight and Purity like them!

Palla looked down at her restless dogs on their leashes and decided that hard wooden trays wouldn't make suitable beds without something to line them. Palla looked at her map, thinking that this probably wasn't the best place to get fabric. She looked at her map, and saw a place called Yards and Yards. Isn’t that a fabric store? I hope that’s a fabric store… Palla decided to opt out of going there, and got two yards of cheaper fabric, because while Palla liked for her dogs to have good things, she knew they wouldn’t appreciate fine fabric and would be just as happy on the thick, relatively soft fabric Palla bought from the bazaar.

Next, Palla found a shop that sold artistic tools. The brushes and paints were relatively cheap, so Palla bought a lot of them. Two of each type of brush, and a half gallon of red, blue, and yellow paint. As an afterthough, Palla got the same amount of black and white paint, and a good amount of charcoal. Palla started to walk away, almost forgetting parchment. When she realized what she was forgetting, she rushed back to the stall, blushing, to purchase parchment. She decided to get 20 sheets. Palla, being very shy, didn't bother to haggle, although she noticed that the woman running the stall looked very tired, and Palla would probably be able to lower the prices with ease.
Palla made yet another stop at a stall that stood gardening tools and small plants. Palla decided to buy a few packets of seeds, one for a bright bush, another for a dwarf tree, yet another for some pretty flowers, and a shovel, hoe, and rake. Palla already had planned in her mind where to put her bush, the tree, and the flowers. She planned to put the bush along the back edge of her garden, along with the variety of different bushes that lined the back edge. The tree would go in the center, and the flowers would surround it. Even though the tree would be tiny, Palla thought it would be a good centerpiece.

Palla saw a flute on display at another stall and decided to buy it. She had always liked music, too, and decided that she could learn to play it with time. She also bought a music book, a blank book with scales for writing music on it, so that when she learned how to play the notes, she could write down notes to songs.
Palla decided to buy a fishing kit so she could try to get her own food. She was always up for saving Mizas, and didn't mind the extra cost, for she imagined being able to save a lot of coin once she progressed in fishing. She also bought a sewing kit, one that was very expensive, in her taste, but would prove useful if she could use it to fix small holes and the like in her clothes.

Palla found a good bookshelf, one that appeared to be able to hold a decent amount of books. She had it sent to her condo that very day, and noticed a young man dragging the sizable bookshelf on a wagon, taking it to windswept condos. Palla followed after him, walking slowly, trying to help pull the wagon with her dogs in tow. She gave up after dropping the leash of Midnight and having to chase him until she caught him all while trying to carry the dog beds and leashes. The man followed after her, placing the bookshelf in her house once he got there. Palla admired the bookshelf for a few moments, emptied her bulging backpack on her bed after the man left, and looked through her goods. Palla put up a hand to keep her dogs from jumping on her bed, and took the fabric out. She lined the beds with fabric and put them down on the ground near the door to her garden. Palla reluctantly left her condo for the library after putting her gardening tools in the garden and her paint supplies and other items in her blanket chest. She was sad to leave her dogs alone, but at least she had taken them out for a bit.

Prices so Far :

I won’t subtract prices until the end of the thread, but so far, here are the prices for Palla’s items.
Rake- 1 gm
Hoe- 3 gm
Shovel- 2 gm
Unusual seeds (3 packets)- 3 gm
2 yards of fabric- 1 gm
Dog Beds (Large chest)-2 gm
Parchment (20 sheets)- 4 gm
2 detail brushes- 1 gm
2 small brushes- 2 sm
2 large brushes- 1 sm 2 cm
2 medium brushes- 1 sm 6 cm
5 blank books- 15 gm
Vial of ink- 1 gm
20 sticks of charcoal- 1 sm
Paint (2.5 gal)- 5 gm
10 quills- 5 sm
music book- 4 gm
Flute (wood)- 5 sm
Sewing Kit- 28 gm
Fishing Kit- 10 gm
total so far: 67 gm 5 sm 8 cm

[Palla Frostfawn]

With a now light backpack, Palla set off towards the library. She planned to borrow a book about dog training, as well as some animal anatomy books. While Palla knew she wasn't good enough to draw the proportions correctly, she thought that recognizing animal anatomy would help her with proportions. Palla arrived at the library, not even realizing she was near until she was at the entrance. Palla walked into the building, looking down by force of habit. The Akalak probably noticed her, but said nothing. Palla walked by quietly, browsing the shelves until she found the sections that she needed. She found a book about animal anatomy and proportions, perfect for using to draw, and looked for a book about training dogs in the same section.

After quite bit of looking, and realizing that she was in the wrong section, Palla found a book about training dogs. She looked through it and decided it was suitable for her needs. It had all the basic commands, such as sit and stay. Palla's dogs sometimes sat on command, but Palla had a feeling that they didn't really know what they were doing, as they hardly ever listened. They wouldn't really stay either, Palla would just shorten their leases so they had a smaller area to run about in. Both Midnight and Purity responded to their names and would go to her when she called, but that was about it.

Palla decided to get a cookbook while she was at it, one with recipes ranging from bread to cake. The treats featured in the books sounded tantalizing, and Palla's mouth practically watered when thinking about them. Palla took that book, too, because she was naturally thin, even before she started exercising, so she didn't worry much about her weight. Even if she couldn't shed pounds so easily, she still would probably have given in to temptation and gotten the book, even though she would regret it later.

Palla went into the section in which books on magic were found. She tentatively opened one calledMorphing for Beginners, wondering what Morphing was.

The first step to learning morphing is to empty your mind and set it apart from your physical form.

What is morphing?[i] Palla flipped to the introduction page of the book.

Morphing is a discipline of magic that allows the user to reshape their physical body by controlling and spending their Djed.

Palla decided it sounded nice, but also a bit risky. [i] It kind of makes me nervous. What if something went wrong? Although, I do fantasise about what it would be like to fly. Even if could perform small scale transformations, like growing claws, it would be really nice. Maybe I should try it... No, it's too risky, I can't do that. Palla didn't have much experience with magic, and was a bit nervous to try things like it, even if there were no major risks.

Palla found a book that showed how to play notes of the flute. It listed all the basic notes, and which holes Palla would have to cover to make the sounds. She decided it would be useful, and added it to her stack.

Palla then went back to the section in which books about arts such as drawing and painting were kept and got another book, a slim volume this time, about taking care of artistic tools and yet another on different methods of drawing. Palla didn't know much about drawing or painting at all, and she figured she needed to read up as much as she could. Palla appreciated all types of art, especially carving, but she liked seeing sketches and paintings, too. She was too shy to learn something like acting, so she just stuck to solo crafts, things she wouldn't need to do with anyone else. Besides, doing something like acting, Palla would probably freeze on the stage and have to be carried off…

As Palla thought about this, her eyes turned a bit more purple as she smiled. She was pretty much alone in the library, or at least in this section, so she didn’t have to worry about talking to people until she checked the books out.

Palla got a book on gardening. It was thick, but not too heavy. It listed plants including the seeds for the ones Palla had gotten, and a page each of instructions on how to plant, grow, and keep them healthy in very small print. It also included sketches drawn in ink of the plants so Palla could identify them more easily. She knew next to nothing about gardening. Her garden was a mess of flowers and bushes that Palla had allowed to grow wild. The garden was healthy, and appeared to be doing well, but it was lacking any order.Palla also got a book on playing the flute, it showed how to play basic notes and contained a few small songs. Palla wanted to learn to play the flute, to make beautiful music as she made her carvings.

Palla lingered in the library until she decided she really had to leave. It will have been a bell and a half by the time I get home! She walked up to the front of the library. “C-Can I check these out?” Palla stammered The man responded kindly, but warned her: “Bring these back in two weeks you will be fined.” “T-Thank you” Palla stammered before setting off back home. She tried to focus on copying the books down, and she was indeed excited, as she had never owned books, and she thought her journal wouldn't count as a book. She hurried home,being careful to keep the books safe until she slowed to a halt in front of her condo, then continued to walk slowly into the building in which she lived. Her dogs jumped on her, barking. I am surprised I haven't had to pay a fine for these dogs. I guess they could be much louder.]

[Palla Frostfawn]

Palla went outside to her garden, leaving the door open so the dogs could go from garden to condo whenever they fancied. Palla looked at her book and decided to start by digging holes around her flowers, moving them to either side of her garden. She then dug holes on the sides of the garden, alternating flowers as she put them in. Palla had cut many roots of the plants due to not digging them up correctly, but they were mostly little roots, so the plants would probably survive, or at least, most of them. Palla was not good at gardening, she could plant the seeds fairly well, but she was worried about all of the little roots she had chopped off of the plants.

Also, Palla didn't realize how closely she had packed the plants together, and didn't know how much that would affect the plants, who would now have difficulty growing in those cramped conditions. Palla looked over, and realized that her dogs were getting even dirtier, playing in the holes that she had yet to cover up. Palla didn't want to let the now dirt-covered dogs in until she washed them off, but realized that they would get just as dirty if she left them outside. Palla took them in, and with great difficulty, dragged the water tub filled with rainwater from her now mostly barren garden to her condo. She washed the dogs with the soap Kavala gave her, and let them dry themselves off by shaking and running around in her condo. Palla decided that she was done with gardening for today, as all of her existing plants were planted. Palla made up her mind to plant the seeds after work tomorrow.

While her dogs were busy entertaining each other, Palla carefully put the gardening book away and got out the book on drawing.

OOCI'm assuming on my CS that these have been planted. I will edit that out if I have to do a planting thread.

[Palla Frostfawn]

Palla opened the book and looked at the sketches and instructions inside. The book mostly talked about animal proportions, and had many quick sketches in them illustrating the animals. Palla decided that the book was perfect for her needs, even if it didn't say anywhere that it was made for drawing. Palla drew a few circles, and a bridge in between them. She drew two lines connecting the circles to make a body, and another two connecting a pair of circles for the head to the body. Palla looked at the horse and realized she could not mimic proportions. At all.

Palla tried to put more feeling into the next picture, this time with paint. She tried to paint a fire, drowning out all of her fears. It turned into a blob of red and yellow and orange, covering a mess of black. Palla threw both of her pictures away, deciding they were both terrible. Palla got out another sheet of parchment trying to sketch circles and then lines again to draw a horse. The picture was terrible, not even recognizable.

She decided to take a break from drawing and copy down instructions and other things from her books. First, she copied down paintbrush care at the front of a blank book.

Gather your used brushes by a container of water. Gently clean the brush off in your hand until the brush is satisfactorily cleaned, to the best it can be at this stage. Do this by rubbing the brush in your hand gently with dabbing or swirling motions. Wet the bar of soap and work soap into the hair of the brush. Repeat cleaning the brush with your hand, using the same motions to wipe it clean. Rinse the brushes and repeat until the brush is clean. Re-form the brushes into their original shape after cleaning, and lay them out to dry.

Palla followed the instructions, doing just as the book said, being very careful with her new paintbrushes. When done cleaning them, she laid them out to dry, and started to copy things down about animal proportions.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Even as she did this, she couldn't shake the thought of morphing. What if she could make herself perfect, fix everything about herself? Would it make her more confident? Stop her stammering? Palla decided to start meditating. Even though she had convinced herself she wasn't going to do it, Palla couldn't shake the thoughts of morphing, changing shape and reaching for perfection from her mind. I can turn back at any time. Just because I'm meditating doesn't mean I am a morpher. Besides, I should probably meditate anyways. Isn't it supposed to calm people? It may help with my stammering...

Palla sat down on her bed, legs crossed, trying to focus on meditating. She took deep breaths, focusing on that. After less than a chime, Palla was distracted by her dogs. She closed her eyes and tried again. Breathe in and out. In and out. Palla felt a bit relaxed, but it was probably just wishful thinking. Palla went out to her garden, closing the door behind her as she sat down on the earth. She tried again to calm herself, but again, she was distracted. Simple things, like a bird chirping, interrupted her. Palla closed her eyes and tried once more.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

She was interrupted by her dogs again, they wanted to go out. Palla took them outside to do their business, and then took them for a jog. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she shortened her stride, trying to catch her breath. She liked to run, but wasn't the greatest runner at all.

Pala tried to run through the pain of her sore legs from running harder than usual yesterday, but was still slower than she usually was. Her dogs kept her going, pulling on their leashes, urging her to go faster. Palla tried to keep up, but she never could. Her dogs, after all, were built to run, but she wasn't so sure the same was true for herself. Still, she felt herself getting a bit better.

[Palla Frostfawn]

Palla took a detour on her way home, to Bastani Bakery. She was greeted with the tantalizing smell of fresh bread, cakes, and other items. Palla bought a loaf of bread, then rushed out before she could be tempted anymore by the delicious treats. Palla then went to the butcher shop, buying a half pound of beef sausage and another half pound of pork sausage before saying a timid goodbye and leaving. She also bought many scraps of dried meat to feed her dogs for the week. Palla made yet another shop at the bazaar, to buy some dried fruits. She ended up buying 2 pounds of dried apples from a kind-looking vendor, and was convinced by the same vendor to buy a pound of raisins.

More Prices :

loaf of bread- 2 cm
meat scraps- 2 sm
pork sausage- 5 sm
beef sausage- 1 gm
dried apples- 2 gm
raisins- 1 gm
total for this post: 4 gm 5 sm 2 cm

After her jog and the trip to buy food, Palla took her and her dogs back to the condo to practice playing her recorder. Palla was thinking of buying a larger condo once her business took off a bit more, as it was a bit cramped right now for her and her dogs. Oh well, the dogs can experience space when we go outside, they will be fine for now. As for me, I really don’t need space at the moment. I have enough for more than my basic functions. I should be grateful. Still, as Palla looked around her condo, she longed for more space.
Palla sighed and got out the book on playing the flute.

[b] Holding the Flute[/b[
The first step to playing the flute is to get a comfortable position for playing. Hold the flute horizontally and aim the flute to your right. Make your left palm face you, and cover the three hole closest to the hole you blow into. Use your index, middle and ring finger to do this. Using your right hand, cover the lower three holes in the same way, but with your palm facing away. You should be able to hold the flute with minimal discomfort without being in playing position by balancing the flute using your thumbs, right pinky, and your left index finger(the side of it).

Palla tried holding it like the book said, but it was a struggle for her. She eventually managed to do it though. She had no problem holding the book horizontally and aiming it to her right, and she could, though with much effort, cover the three holes closest to her. She had trouble, however, covering both sets of holes. Palla, having bought a very simple flute-like instrument, a recorder, realized she could hold it a bit differently. She didn’t know, though.

Palla tried all sorts of positions, even once aiming the flute upwards, laughing a bit to herself as she thought she looked ridiculous. She eventually aimed the recorder a bit downwards, holding it out straight in front of herself. She decided that felt right, and looked at the book once more.
It showed different ways of covering the holes, and Palla decided that was how to play the notes. She couldn’t name the notes, but could produce a sound from the flute that while horrid-sounding, was made in the correct way. Palla decided to get a book about recorders another day, because she didn’t realize that what she had was a recorder, not a flute. Palla elected to go to the library tomorrow and get a book about playing the flute instead of a recorder.

Sourcehttp://www.thewidgetforge.com/projects/flute/howtoflute.html I tried to re-word it a bit, but am still citing it here to avoid plagarism.

[Palla Frostfawn]

After Palla finished making eardrum-bursting sounds with her flute, she decided to make something with her carving knife and a small bit of local wood she had at home. Palla, lacking inspiration as always, decided to make a weapon. A training weapon would be useless, she thought, so why not make something she could actually use? Palla decided to fashion a club, one looking as un-primitive as possible. Palla carved a long stick with a sizeable girth, slowly tapering down into a handle. She carved her name into the handle, as well as a line of ivy twisting along the handle. Palla chuckled at the thought of using such a delicate looking object as a weapon as she carved lines of ivy all over the club. Her dogs, meanwhile, were barking at her feet as she sat at her table, carving the club. Palla put the usable pieces of wood away, then threw away the wood shavings.

She then turned her full attention to her dogs, filling their hand made bowlsI’m assuming Palla already bought things like the water basin, and fashioned bowls in the thread with Kavala. with extra scraps of meat and petting them after they gobbled their food up.She scratched each of the dogs in turn in their favorite places, and then listened to their barks of happiness as they ran around the condo, yipping. They eventually tired out, and Palla brought her newly bought box out, opened it, and lined the insides with the fabric she had gotten earlier. She directed her dogs to the box, picking the half asleep dogs up and placing them in either half of the boxes. She petted them and waited until they fell asleep. Palla, now ravenous, broke off a slice from her loaf of bread and quickly ate it. She did the same with two more slices of bread and then drank some water. Palla supplemented her meal with a small amount of meat and fruit, and now full and tired, climbed into her bed. She esoon fellasleep, adn slept a sound, sleep filled with peaceful dreams.