Timestamp: Fall 16, 515 AV
The air was beginning to cool, in much the same way that the leaves were beginning to change. Talya could see it now, as she padded softly through the forest, the fabric of her simple cotton dress swirling around her calves, her bag bouncing lightly against her back with each step that she took deeper into the forest, and farther away from Zeltiva. She had left the city early again, she wanted to be out in time to look up at the stars. She knew she would be if she kept up her pace, as the sun was just beginning to fall from its zenith. Just beginning to head into the western sky. As she looked up at it for a moment, the orb obscured in part by a flock of fluffy white clouds, she realized that it couldn't be much later than perhaps one, or one fifteen in the afternoon. With that in mind, she took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth, before continuing on her way. The rays that filtered down through the spaces between the trees illuminating her path- the unmarked road she took over a bed of uneven terrain. Terrain marked by shrubs, if not crass. By hard packed soil, if not occasional patches of stone, or a mixture of any of the above, (assuming of course, there wasn't a tree towering in the way).
Talya kept herself moving for the next half hour, driving herself further and further from the city. By then, she was just beginning to grow tired, the back of her legs aching, her muscles feeling as though they were bunching. Her face felt a little damp, and cooler than the rest of her. She thought that it smelled funny. She wiped sweat away from her brow with the back of her right hand, and flicked it onto the forest floor before continuing onward. She decided that she would begin looking for a place to set up camp, to ensure that she could get everything ready before night fell, and to ensure that she had some time to herself to relax before Leth's festivities. So she hiked her bag up farther on her shoulders, and continued for another few minutes, before she stumbled upon a small clearing she supposed would serve her needs. By the look of things, it appeared to be roughly rectangular, with a height of approximately eight feet, and a width of three, if not three and a half in some areas. It was covered in grass, and littered with aging dandelions. This worried her, as it meant it would be harder for her to control a fire, but she was so sick of looking, she settled for it, and set her bag down against the side of a nearby oak tree. She then stopped for a drink of water, and once she felt refreshed, decided to head out into the forest to gather the supplies she would need to build a fire.
Talya deemed this most important, for it would give her light and warmth, which she felt was far more important than a shelter, at least at first, for by its light you could build a shelter, if not find a naturally occurring one. Thus, she set out and moved into the thicket, keeping her eyes trained on the ground as she moved. For her first journey, she decided to gather kindling, and would pick up small twigs that had fallen onto the ground. On occasion, she would gather fallen leaves as well- some of them brown, some of them yellow or orange, or a mixture of a few colors, as sometimes occurred with the season. They didn't burn as well, she knew, but she needed as much as she could get to keep the fire going as long as she wanted to, so she picked up what she could, and sometimes, if her hands weren't full enough yet, would break twigs off fallen logs, or off the side of trees, (although she tended to avoid this, for the sake of protecting nature, and allowing the tree to grow unhindered). When she had filled her arms up with supplies, she returned to her camp, and dumped everything by her bag, and then made a second trip to collect kindling, and then a third, when she was done, and looked down on the pile she collected, she thought she had enough for her needs. If she didn't she could always go out for more.
Now, Talya needed to gather some firewood, so she set back out into the forest and scanned the terrain, sometimes moving back into areas where she had seen more fallen sticks and debris on her ventures for kindling. She would pick up each stick as long as it wasn't crawling with bugs, rotting, moldy, or damp for one reason or another, and set them in the crook of her left arm. When she was full, she returned to the clearing, and dumped them about a foot to the left of the kindling she had gathered. From there, she went out to gather more, and then returned when her hands were full. She made one final trip, and then returned to camp and dumped that as well before dry washing her hands. When she was done, she looked about the clearing- she decided she would set the fire up at the wider end. But since everything in the area was covered in grass, she would have to find a way to block the fire's passage, so she didn't light the area on fire. She began by moving over to the area she had settled on. With her bare hands, she dug into the grass, forcing her fingers into the earth. Her work was sloppy, but she tore away at it, and made a hole about an inch deep. From there, she continued the process, and made a sloppy circle, crawling across the ground until she was done.
From there, Talya picked up all the bits of earth and grass she had displaced, and tossed them aside into the forest. She dry washed her hands, allowing some of the dirt to fall away. She smiled- she was off to a good start, but it wasn't enough, she should ring the area with stone, to be on the safe side, and then gather some more water so she could put it out easily, if anything happened to go wrong, even still. With this in mind, Talya set back out into the forest, and moved over to the area where she had seen deposits of stone. She picked stones up at random, as long as they were about the size of her hand, (disregarding shape entirely). She set them in the crook of her left arm, and then when she had filled up, deposited them back at the camp, and then made a second trip. Then a third, when she was done, she knelt by the side of the circle she had made in the ground, and picked up a smooth grey stone. She set it on the inner portion of the circle- at the edge of the line. She pushed it lightly into the ground to be sure it would stay. Then she picked up another stone, and added it to the circle- placing it on the inner portion, against the ring, directly next to the first one she had placed. Then she crawled around the circle, continuing to add stones until she had worked her way around entirely. Pushing them into the ground now and again to make sure they would stay. She only had a few left over.
The whole process had taken nearly two hours. She wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, as her chest rose and fell more heavily. Her throat felt dry, and her dress was a little dusty. She dry washed her hands, and then stopped for a drink of water, before moving back to the ring she had created. It was stone, outlined in dirt, and then followed by grass. The Ethaefal supposed it would do, and moved over to her firewood to collect some. She moved it over to the circle, and then began placing the wooden beams. She began by creating a square. From there, she made another square out of wood on top of that, but she angled it a bit differently so the wood would balance better. From the top, it looked as though she were making a star. Then, when she got those to balance, she added a final layer, which returned things to the way they had been. This left her with a sort of star-shaped box, perhaps a foot high, if that. Talya smiled as she dry washed her hands, and then retrieved her kindling, dumping a large pile rather unceremoniously into the center of the box she had made. She then spread it out with her hands, so that it blanketed the forest floor far more evenly.
Talya dry washed her hands again, and then took another drink of water, draining her waterskin. She would have to be sure to gather water now, and of course, boil it to make sure it was safe to drinking. After making the mental note, she decided to finish building her fire, before going to get the water. She figured there was a chance she could blow it out with her reimancy before it got out of hand anyway. With this in mind, she retrieved her flint and steel from her pack and moved over to the wooden box. She knelt beside it, holding her body slightly over it. She held the flint in the right hand, the steel in the left, and then she raised her left hand. She then lowered it, as she tilted the flint toward the kindling at the center of the box. The steel crashed down, and clicked against the flint. Talya dragged it across the surface, and down toward the kindling. Then she raised her hand, and did it again and again, striking the two together repeatedly. About fourteen minutes later, she had begun to form sparks. Within another seven minutes, one of them took to the kindling. She could smell it as she set her supplies down, and pulled away a little. She could see a little trickle of grey smoke, as a smoldering orange glow came from deep within the blanket of kindling.
Talya smiled as she pursed her lips, and then blew on the flames. Fanning them so that they grew higher and higher, reaching for the sky. She blew and blew, until it crackled and popped, spitting sparks of its own, and a steadier stream of smoke. Satisfied now that it would be fine on its own, as it had grown strong enough, Talya gathered her flint and steel, and stuck it back in her bag. She gathered her waterskin, and put it back as well, before sealing everything up. She was certain the fire would be ok as she moved away into the forest, in search of the water she knew she would need soon enough.
The air was beginning to cool, in much the same way that the leaves were beginning to change. Talya could see it now, as she padded softly through the forest, the fabric of her simple cotton dress swirling around her calves, her bag bouncing lightly against her back with each step that she took deeper into the forest, and farther away from Zeltiva. She had left the city early again, she wanted to be out in time to look up at the stars. She knew she would be if she kept up her pace, as the sun was just beginning to fall from its zenith. Just beginning to head into the western sky. As she looked up at it for a moment, the orb obscured in part by a flock of fluffy white clouds, she realized that it couldn't be much later than perhaps one, or one fifteen in the afternoon. With that in mind, she took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth, before continuing on her way. The rays that filtered down through the spaces between the trees illuminating her path- the unmarked road she took over a bed of uneven terrain. Terrain marked by shrubs, if not crass. By hard packed soil, if not occasional patches of stone, or a mixture of any of the above, (assuming of course, there wasn't a tree towering in the way).
Talya kept herself moving for the next half hour, driving herself further and further from the city. By then, she was just beginning to grow tired, the back of her legs aching, her muscles feeling as though they were bunching. Her face felt a little damp, and cooler than the rest of her. She thought that it smelled funny. She wiped sweat away from her brow with the back of her right hand, and flicked it onto the forest floor before continuing onward. She decided that she would begin looking for a place to set up camp, to ensure that she could get everything ready before night fell, and to ensure that she had some time to herself to relax before Leth's festivities. So she hiked her bag up farther on her shoulders, and continued for another few minutes, before she stumbled upon a small clearing she supposed would serve her needs. By the look of things, it appeared to be roughly rectangular, with a height of approximately eight feet, and a width of three, if not three and a half in some areas. It was covered in grass, and littered with aging dandelions. This worried her, as it meant it would be harder for her to control a fire, but she was so sick of looking, she settled for it, and set her bag down against the side of a nearby oak tree. She then stopped for a drink of water, and once she felt refreshed, decided to head out into the forest to gather the supplies she would need to build a fire.
Talya deemed this most important, for it would give her light and warmth, which she felt was far more important than a shelter, at least at first, for by its light you could build a shelter, if not find a naturally occurring one. Thus, she set out and moved into the thicket, keeping her eyes trained on the ground as she moved. For her first journey, she decided to gather kindling, and would pick up small twigs that had fallen onto the ground. On occasion, she would gather fallen leaves as well- some of them brown, some of them yellow or orange, or a mixture of a few colors, as sometimes occurred with the season. They didn't burn as well, she knew, but she needed as much as she could get to keep the fire going as long as she wanted to, so she picked up what she could, and sometimes, if her hands weren't full enough yet, would break twigs off fallen logs, or off the side of trees, (although she tended to avoid this, for the sake of protecting nature, and allowing the tree to grow unhindered). When she had filled her arms up with supplies, she returned to her camp, and dumped everything by her bag, and then made a second trip to collect kindling, and then a third, when she was done, and looked down on the pile she collected, she thought she had enough for her needs. If she didn't she could always go out for more.
Now, Talya needed to gather some firewood, so she set back out into the forest and scanned the terrain, sometimes moving back into areas where she had seen more fallen sticks and debris on her ventures for kindling. She would pick up each stick as long as it wasn't crawling with bugs, rotting, moldy, or damp for one reason or another, and set them in the crook of her left arm. When she was full, she returned to the clearing, and dumped them about a foot to the left of the kindling she had gathered. From there, she went out to gather more, and then returned when her hands were full. She made one final trip, and then returned to camp and dumped that as well before dry washing her hands. When she was done, she looked about the clearing- she decided she would set the fire up at the wider end. But since everything in the area was covered in grass, she would have to find a way to block the fire's passage, so she didn't light the area on fire. She began by moving over to the area she had settled on. With her bare hands, she dug into the grass, forcing her fingers into the earth. Her work was sloppy, but she tore away at it, and made a hole about an inch deep. From there, she continued the process, and made a sloppy circle, crawling across the ground until she was done.
From there, Talya picked up all the bits of earth and grass she had displaced, and tossed them aside into the forest. She dry washed her hands, allowing some of the dirt to fall away. She smiled- she was off to a good start, but it wasn't enough, she should ring the area with stone, to be on the safe side, and then gather some more water so she could put it out easily, if anything happened to go wrong, even still. With this in mind, Talya set back out into the forest, and moved over to the area where she had seen deposits of stone. She picked stones up at random, as long as they were about the size of her hand, (disregarding shape entirely). She set them in the crook of her left arm, and then when she had filled up, deposited them back at the camp, and then made a second trip. Then a third, when she was done, she knelt by the side of the circle she had made in the ground, and picked up a smooth grey stone. She set it on the inner portion of the circle- at the edge of the line. She pushed it lightly into the ground to be sure it would stay. Then she picked up another stone, and added it to the circle- placing it on the inner portion, against the ring, directly next to the first one she had placed. Then she crawled around the circle, continuing to add stones until she had worked her way around entirely. Pushing them into the ground now and again to make sure they would stay. She only had a few left over.
The whole process had taken nearly two hours. She wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, as her chest rose and fell more heavily. Her throat felt dry, and her dress was a little dusty. She dry washed her hands, and then stopped for a drink of water, before moving back to the ring she had created. It was stone, outlined in dirt, and then followed by grass. The Ethaefal supposed it would do, and moved over to her firewood to collect some. She moved it over to the circle, and then began placing the wooden beams. She began by creating a square. From there, she made another square out of wood on top of that, but she angled it a bit differently so the wood would balance better. From the top, it looked as though she were making a star. Then, when she got those to balance, she added a final layer, which returned things to the way they had been. This left her with a sort of star-shaped box, perhaps a foot high, if that. Talya smiled as she dry washed her hands, and then retrieved her kindling, dumping a large pile rather unceremoniously into the center of the box she had made. She then spread it out with her hands, so that it blanketed the forest floor far more evenly.
Talya dry washed her hands again, and then took another drink of water, draining her waterskin. She would have to be sure to gather water now, and of course, boil it to make sure it was safe to drinking. After making the mental note, she decided to finish building her fire, before going to get the water. She figured there was a chance she could blow it out with her reimancy before it got out of hand anyway. With this in mind, she retrieved her flint and steel from her pack and moved over to the wooden box. She knelt beside it, holding her body slightly over it. She held the flint in the right hand, the steel in the left, and then she raised her left hand. She then lowered it, as she tilted the flint toward the kindling at the center of the box. The steel crashed down, and clicked against the flint. Talya dragged it across the surface, and down toward the kindling. Then she raised her hand, and did it again and again, striking the two together repeatedly. About fourteen minutes later, she had begun to form sparks. Within another seven minutes, one of them took to the kindling. She could smell it as she set her supplies down, and pulled away a little. She could see a little trickle of grey smoke, as a smoldering orange glow came from deep within the blanket of kindling.
Talya smiled as she pursed her lips, and then blew on the flames. Fanning them so that they grew higher and higher, reaching for the sky. She blew and blew, until it crackled and popped, spitting sparks of its own, and a steadier stream of smoke. Satisfied now that it would be fine on its own, as it had grown strong enough, Talya gathered her flint and steel, and stuck it back in her bag. She gathered her waterskin, and put it back as well, before sealing everything up. She was certain the fire would be ok as she moved away into the forest, in search of the water she knew she would need soon enough.
