Timestamp: 21st Day of Spring, 515 AV
Seirei glanced at the twins. Fortunately, they were asleep. She had a lot of work she wanted to get done today, and it was best to get it done while the kids were asleep. The last thing she needed was the distraction of twins who wanted to play while she was trying to do delicate work.
With one final glance at the twins, Seirei got her cooking pot out, and went outside. She headed into the supply tent and fetched a jug of water. She used the jug to fill the pot with water before returning it to the supply tent. Then she walked to the edge of camp where she had buried several good sized bones to prevent them from stinking up the camp. She dug up the bones, and headed back to her fire pit.
When she had everything she needed, Seirei began the task of digging a fire pit. Now that she was starting to get the hang of it, it was easier for her to consistently dig a proper fire pit. After she finished digging the pit itself, she lined the bottom of the pit with bits of dried bark that she'd collected while making beads. The bits of bark made perfect kindling. They were easy to carry around as they traveled from one camp to the next, and they tended to burn a bit longer than loose dried grass did. That made it easier for the bundles of twisted grass to catch fire.
Once Seirei had prepared the fire pit, she used her flint to strike sparks into the layer of bark lining the pit. It took her several attempts, but the bark finally caught on fire. Seirei carefully placed a bundle of twisted grass beside the small flame. Then she blew gently from an angle that pushed the tentative flame towards the bundle of grass. Her efforts succeeded, and the grass bundle caught flame.
Seirei carefully nursed the small flame into a decent sized blaze. Then she got the cooking stand she'd made, and hung the pot over the fire. She placed the bones into the pot, and left them to cook for a while. Trial and error had taught her that cooking the bones for three bells would soften them up enough to make them easier to carve without turning them brittle.
Seirei wanted to keep busy while the bones were cooking, so she went back into her tent to check on the twins. They were still sleeping peacefully, and Seirei hoped that they would continue to do so for a while longer. Assuming that the smell caused by the bones cooking didn't wake them up, she thought they would sleep for at least another bell or so. And Teisaia would be coming over around that time to watch them for a while so she could work in peace.
She selected some willow branches, grabbed her tools, and headed back outside once more. After settling herself, and making herself comfortable, it was time to get to work. Seirei began by using her knife to carefully strip the bark off of the branches she intended to use. As she worked, she collected the bits of bark into a pile so she could save them for kindling.
When she was done with that, she gave each branch a once over to make sure she hadn't missed any. Then she began the task of cutting the branches into pieces. She wasn't especially skilled at keeping exact track of the time by using the passage of the sun through the sky, but making beads was a very familiar task to her. She knew how long it took her to strip the bark off of a branch, or to cut said branch into usable pieces. And so she kept track of the time by the work that she did. By the time she had finished drilling holes in each of the pieces, the bones were ready to be worked.
.
.
.
Seirei glanced at the twins. Fortunately, they were asleep. She had a lot of work she wanted to get done today, and it was best to get it done while the kids were asleep. The last thing she needed was the distraction of twins who wanted to play while she was trying to do delicate work.
With one final glance at the twins, Seirei got her cooking pot out, and went outside. She headed into the supply tent and fetched a jug of water. She used the jug to fill the pot with water before returning it to the supply tent. Then she walked to the edge of camp where she had buried several good sized bones to prevent them from stinking up the camp. She dug up the bones, and headed back to her fire pit.
When she had everything she needed, Seirei began the task of digging a fire pit. Now that she was starting to get the hang of it, it was easier for her to consistently dig a proper fire pit. After she finished digging the pit itself, she lined the bottom of the pit with bits of dried bark that she'd collected while making beads. The bits of bark made perfect kindling. They were easy to carry around as they traveled from one camp to the next, and they tended to burn a bit longer than loose dried grass did. That made it easier for the bundles of twisted grass to catch fire.
Once Seirei had prepared the fire pit, she used her flint to strike sparks into the layer of bark lining the pit. It took her several attempts, but the bark finally caught on fire. Seirei carefully placed a bundle of twisted grass beside the small flame. Then she blew gently from an angle that pushed the tentative flame towards the bundle of grass. Her efforts succeeded, and the grass bundle caught flame.
Seirei carefully nursed the small flame into a decent sized blaze. Then she got the cooking stand she'd made, and hung the pot over the fire. She placed the bones into the pot, and left them to cook for a while. Trial and error had taught her that cooking the bones for three bells would soften them up enough to make them easier to carve without turning them brittle.
Seirei wanted to keep busy while the bones were cooking, so she went back into her tent to check on the twins. They were still sleeping peacefully, and Seirei hoped that they would continue to do so for a while longer. Assuming that the smell caused by the bones cooking didn't wake them up, she thought they would sleep for at least another bell or so. And Teisaia would be coming over around that time to watch them for a while so she could work in peace.
She selected some willow branches, grabbed her tools, and headed back outside once more. After settling herself, and making herself comfortable, it was time to get to work. Seirei began by using her knife to carefully strip the bark off of the branches she intended to use. As she worked, she collected the bits of bark into a pile so she could save them for kindling.
When she was done with that, she gave each branch a once over to make sure she hadn't missed any. Then she began the task of cutting the branches into pieces. She wasn't especially skilled at keeping exact track of the time by using the passage of the sun through the sky, but making beads was a very familiar task to her. She knew how long it took her to strip the bark off of a branch, or to cut said branch into usable pieces. And so she kept track of the time by the work that she did. By the time she had finished drilling holes in each of the pieces, the bones were ready to be worked.
.
.
.
