PM to join Hard at Work

[Naiya]

1st day of Fall, 515 AV
10th bell of morning

The fall sun gave them no relief yet, beating down nearly as hot as the days of summer. The wide expanse of sky was clear, no smatterings of clouds to provide relief. Instead the shade of the tent was Naiya's refuge, allowing her some relief from the sun as well as the fresh air out side of the tent that was slowly growing more crowded.

Perhaps soon they would need a proper pavilion tent. One with a double canopy for the horses and the zibri. Their herds were growing quite large, and their family was quickly following suit.

Her hands were busy as she mused, a small bag of porcupine quills sat beside her, she was tipping the quills, cutting the ends off with her knife. There was a slowly growing pile of open quills beside her. She circled the tip of each with the blade, carving a line around the quill so that she could then finish sawing off the ends.

She could hear the children gurgle and coo from the tent at her back, they grew quiet and Naiya thought that perhaps they were going down for a nap. Maybe Seirei would come sit with her while she worked, she would enjoy the company.

Once the quills were finished, she began to lay them on the ground. Forming a pattern in hopes of shaping the vest on the ground before she began threading the quills into a vest. The Blackwater man had requested first an armored tabard, then a quill vest for his son. She planned to make the layers of quills into a chest piece and a back piece, threading the hollow tubes into a vest that could be worn alone, and then sewing a simple cloth to fit beneath it.

Then the boy could wear it alone, or with the extra warmth of cloth. As she laid the quills in the dirt, forming the vest, she saw that it lacked something. She threaded her needle, more a weight than a necessary part of the process. The needle would pull the thread through the quill so Naiya would not have to struggle to stretch it through.

She didn't need much thread, she wanted a half sized quill for the space around the neck and shoulders, so she just needed twice the length of the half quill. She held one end of the thread, dropping the needle through the hollow space. The needle pulled the thread through ans Naiya tied the two ends together forming a loop of thread around the quill.

The thread would serve as the anchor, allowing her to tie the next quill to it, and the following quill to the one just before it. That would continue until the entire vest hung in the pattern she had formed in the dirt.

She strung two more quills on before standing and going to the wagon to fetch her kettle and two ceramic mugs. She filled the kettle with water from a skin, and placed it over the fire to warm.

Moving quietly so she would not disturb Seirei and the twins, she went inside the tent where the zibri milk from the morning sat in a shallow pool of water, a large drop cloth draped over the jugs to keep them cool. She partially filled one mug, adding cool milk to it before seeking the other woman's attention.

Offering, tea? She hesitated a moment, still tentative in the relationship with the woman. It would have been easy if they had just been friends, but Naiya was less sure of her footing with her as a member of the family. Working outside, alone, company welcome, invitation The more subtle parts of the sign were sometimes lost on the woman, so she had to consider carefully what signs to use. She thought she had managed, her invitation clear enough.... she hoped.

Naiya would return to the mug and the milk, finishing up preparations for the tea by trekking back across to the travois to find some of the dried herbs there. Mint and pineapple weed went into the tea, and she sought apple peel to add flavor as well. The pineapple weed was one she had sought often in her journeys out into the Sea, the plant was used to speed healing from infection. It was supposed to help strengthen the body to help fight the sickness, which with children in the pavilion was likely to be in high demand. The mint had many purposes, clearing congestion only one small purpose that would come in handy in the cool season. She placed the fruits of her labor beside the fire, waiting for the water to boil. Banti watched with curious eyes from the shade beside the quills, the cat had been lounging by Naiya's feet while she worked. She padded over to her Drykas as she slipped back inside, checking on Seirei once more to see if she would join her.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

A delicate bloom

aaa

Seirei was relieved when Lukar and Lira went down for their nap without a fuss. Yesterday, neither of them had wanted to take a nap. They had gotten into one of her pouches of beads, and Seirei had had her hands full making sure she got them all away from the twins before either of them could decide to put one in their mouths. Tasting things was one of the ways the twins learned about their world, despite being too young for solid food yet. But the beads were small enough that choking to death was a frightening possibility if Lukar or Lira accidentally swallowed one.

She watched her children sleep for a few chimes. The twins could get into all kinds of mischief when they were awake, but you'd never know it looking at them now. They looked so innocent, and beautiful. Seirei smiled softly. They were growing quickly, too. In a few more months, they'd be a year old. It was hard to imagine.

After a while, Seirei began looking around for something to work on while her children were asleep. Her eyes settled briefly on the pouch of beads. She could always make some more beads. Beads were small, and easy to pack up for traveling. They could be painted, or carved...or both. And they could be used for so many different things. It was impossible to have too many beads.

So Seirei gathered up several willow branches. As she did so, she saw a bowl she had made a few weeks ago. The bowl itself was finished. But Seirei had gotten an idea for a pattern she wanted to try. If it worked, it would give the impression of a flowering vine circling the bowl. After a few ticks of thought, Seirei scooped up the bowl as well. Then she gathered her tools, and left the tent. Outside, she would be able to take full advantage of the light, and work without the risk of waking the twins before they were ready.

When she left the tent, she saw Naiya emerging from a tent with a mug in hand. She saw Seirei, and signed something that took Seirei a few ticks to understand. One sign meant "offering," and the other had aspects of a sign that meant "drink." Seirei recognized that sign, but she was having difficulty trying to figure out what kind of drink was being offered. It was a hot drink since Seirei recognized elements of the sight that meant "hot," or at least she thought she did. And a hot drink almost certainly meant tea. Seirei smiled, and nodded. Then she signed a hesitant "thanks." She thought she was starting to understand some pavi signs more easily, but it was something she often had to think about first.

Naiya started signing again, and Seirei stared at her hands carefully, wanting to try and understand what was being said. It was an invitation. And after a few ticks, Seirei realized it was an invitation to join Naiya as she worked. She smiled, and nodded. It would be good to have company as she worked. Seirei wondered if Naiya would be interested in carving. If so, she would be happy to teach the other woman. Naiya had done so much for her. Seirei would happily to anything she could to help her friend in return. And giving carving lessons would be a pleasure, not a chore.

Seirei was about to follow Naiya outside, but she realized that she had set aside a pouch of beads she wanted to carve designs on. So she moved to grab the pouch as well. That way, if she was inspired to work on them while she was working on the design for the bowl, they would be close at hand. By the time she'd found the pouch of beads, Naiya was gone. She returned a couple of chimes later, though, and this time, Seirei followed her out.

"What are you working on?" Seirei asked curiously.

Her pavi was heavily accented, and her words were spoken carefully, as she tried to make certain that she was pronouncing them correctly. But her grasp on spoken pavi was greater than her grasp on pavi signs, and it showed.

Serei reached into her tool kit, and pulled out a knife. Then she positioned one of the willow branches so she could work on it easily. When she was ready, she began carefully stripping the bark off of the branch.

"I'll need to go to the Zeis River to get more willow branches soon." she mused out loud as she worked.

[Naiya]

Seirei accepted both of her offers, and that was a pleasure in itself. Despite Naiya's offers coming only in sign, Seirei had understood, and the two of them stepped back outside, Banti trotting happily at their heels.

They settled in beside one another their trade tools set beside them, Naiya picked the quills back up, feeling a lacking in the design as it stood. Seirei spoke, her pavi was careful, accented, but improving all the time. She considered how to explain for a moment, distracted by the thoughts she had of what was missing from it.

"I am making a decorative vest, a gift for Blackwater's son." She plucked at the quills she had laid out, searching for something that would make the vest more than a line of quills. "It seems boring, now. It needs something else." She mused aloud, searching for cord to add braids to the design. Perhaps she could wrap a stone in cord, to hang from the shoulders. She angled the middle quills, creating a 'v' shape at the neck of the chest piece. That was better, it would give the piece some more character. She needed more, the cord would likely do it, or perhaps she could find feathers to add.

"I didn't think this would give me so much trouble," She told Seirei, looking over to watch as she stripped bark from the branch in her hand. "I'll need to find some stones, perhaps feathers as well, maybe we can go together to find supplies?" Lighthearted offer, shaped her hands as she spoke.

"What are you making?" Curious inquiry "Later perhaps you would like to try carving bone? I saved the teeth from a boar, some of them were not sharp and would make good earrings or perhaps jewelry if you carved them... but of course, it is just an idea."

She waited patiently, working back at her vest, with the addition of cord she could string them together in different ways, although the loops would still work best for the supporting pieces.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Seirei paused in her work, and glanced at the vest thoughtfully. The idea of making clothes was a fascinating one. It was a very practical skill, and one that would save money as buying cloth was usually cheaper than buying the finished product. It was the same in many things. Buying a bag of twigs or a block of wood was cheaper than buying a bag of beads, or a wooden figurine. Learning how to make clothes would be a very useful skill. Especially with two growing children who would be growing out of their clothes almost faster than Seirei would be able to buy them.

Seirei didn't think that the vest looked all that plain, but then, she had no real way to judge such a thing. She hadn't ever seen a quill vest before. But it seemed to her that colored beads might help. Possibly beads painted in the colors of the Clan the person the vest was meant for came from? Naiya had said the vest was for a member of the Blackwater family. It wasn't a name Seirei was familiar with, but that wasn't really surprising.

"Would wooden beads help? Colored ones, maybe?" she asked hesitantly.

Seirei finished stripping the bark off of the branch she was working on while she waited for an answer. Then she scooped the bits of bark into a pile carefully, and selected another branch. When Naiya made the suggestion that they go search for supplies together, Seirei smiled, and nodded. Along with the verbal suggestion, her friend made a sign that Seirei recognized as meaning "lighthearted offer." She silently thanked Teisaia and Rytira for helping her to get a better grasp on pavi. Without their help, she wouldn't have known what that sign meant.

"I'd like that." she said simply, adding the signs for "gratitude," and "pleasant company makes a task go faster."

Naiya asked what she was making, and Seirei smiled again. Any chance to discuss her passion was a welcome one.

"I'm making wooden beads. I can never seem to have enough of them. They can be used for so many different things, and it's easy to carry them around, so I try to keep a large supply of them on hand. I find that if I paint them different Clan colors, they sell especially well. And carving designs on them gives me good practice in detail work."

Seirei blushed, and ducked her head, signing a quick apology.

"I'm sorry. I tend to ramble on a lot any time someone asks me about something related to carving. It's...well...carving is very important to me." she said softly.

When her friend made the suggestion of carving bone, and mentioning some boar teeth she had, Seirei's eyes lit up with intense interest, and she nodded quickly.

"I would love to do that, if you don't mind. I've experimented with bone a little bit in the past, but I haven't been able to get much of it to work with. I could definitely make some earrings if I had teeth to work with. I wouldn't be able to carve anything elaborate on them, but I could manage something simple for a design. Maybe a grass pattern?" she asked excitedly.

The signs that accompanied her words reflected her "great interest," "excitement," and "great pleasure" at the offer.

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[Naiya]

She fussed further, arranging and rearranging the quills that fell below the drape of the shoulders. Her v-shape further complimented by the other quills falling towards the outer edge. That would shape the vest into something more interesting, but it would be odd around the edges, perhaps she could keep the outer row straight? She realigned the quills, the slope falling flat into the edge. It was an interesting shape, perhaps complex enough for a child. The flat quills on the edge would allow her to have a steady point to tie the rest of the pattern to, and she could add decorations there, too.

"Colored beads," Naiya mused, considering how they might fit into her delicate plan, "The Blackwaters are of the diamond clan, but perhaps beads would be appropriate..." She paused, then decided that her statement might need clarification to someone new to the Drykas people. "The diamond clan wears whites, and silver jewelry to display their colors, beads would not necessarily decry their clan. They might be well suited, however, if you had some that appeared silver? Or perhaps just black ones and blue ones?"

Naiya eyed her template once more, looking at the vest she had formed in the dirt. Perhaps it would be better, she thought, to make it more simple with the quills, and add interest with the beads, feathers, and cords. She scattered the quills, organizing them into groups by size. The ones that were similar lengths going together, small, medium and large.

Seirei accepted the offer to forage together, and Naiya nodded, the incline of her head shaping not now, soon. Seirei's explanation of her work was filled with the passion the Drykas, and it brought a happiness to Naiya's posture that was more to do with the woman's growth since she had become a Drykas than it was to do with her explanation. The young woman's passion was quickly tempered by an apology, to which Naiya offered unneeded, good to have passion.

"Earrings?" Naiya asked, great interest in the shaping of her hands, excitement in her posture, "Perhaps we could make necklaces, too. Or armbands!" That brought her to other plans, the gift she was crafting for Shahar. Other plans, secret Naiya signed to Seirei, "I want to make a gift for Shahar, a surprise. A band for his arm, with gifts from Khida and I, hair, feathers, and if you want, a carved bone tusk, to remind him of you?" Offering, special gift, no answer needed now, help later.

Wait, going, will bring. She signed, standing and leaving the piles of quills to retrieve the teeth, and cord for her own work. She brought the longer tusks too, so that Seirei could carve them once she had more practice. If not for Shahar, then certainly to make other decoration with. She exchanged the teeth for the beads, on her return, allowing them both a few minutes to work with their new supplies.

Naiya pulled the smallest of the quills, lining them up in the center of what would be her vest. Picking through the beads she took the smallest ones, placing them at the side of the short quills, laying chord down on either side. Perhaps a many threaded braid would allow her to decorate both edges of the vest, and add decoration to the sides as well. She placed the longer quills on the other side of the chord, adding beads on the edges of those as well.

The vest began to take a stronger pattern, her mind placing beads and braids ahead of her hands, the outer braid would hold feathers, other beads, loose quills.

She continued, laying both bead and quills, planning how the chords would now hold the vest together, the shoulders would instead be beaded straps. She worked slowly, careful not to bump or otherwise disturb the patterning she added.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Seirei listened to Naiya's about what colors members of the Diamond Clan tended to wear. It made a lot of sense. Teisaia, Rytira, and Terrin wore a lot of reds, and they were from the Ruby Clan. She hadn't realized that different Clans wore different colored clothes, but it did make perfect sense that they would. They were different colored beads to represent their clans...so why not clothes, too?

"I don't have any silver beads, but I do have both black and blue ones. I'll go get some for you."

Seirei stood, and retreated into her tent. She rummaged through the pouches she kept her beads in until she found a generous handful worth of each color. Then she returned, and offered them to Naiya.

"Are these enough?" she asked.

When Naiya suggested making necklaces and armbands in addition to earrings, Seirei felt a thrill of anticipation run up her spine. She nodded eagerly in agreement. That sounded like a wonderful idea, and the sheer joy she felt at the prospect was echoed in her words, signs, and posture.

"I'd love to do that. I think it would be a lot of fun to work on something like that together. I have some more beads, and we could use the boar teeth, and if you have some more feathers, we could use those too, and..."

Seirei took a deep breath, and forced herself to stop her excited babbling. Her mind raced through several possible ideas in rapid succession. She wanted to start immediately, but she knew that that simply wasn't practical. Even so, it was hard not to fidget eagerly like an excited child.

Naiya mentioned an armband she was making for Shahar. One with decorations made by herself, and Khida. Then she asked if Seirei wanted to make something, too. She smiled, and nodded.

"I would love to." she said simply.

She loved the idea of carving something to add to the armband for Shahar. It was like being included in their family, and it gave Seirei a wonderful feeling of belonging. Her friend went to get the teeth. When she returned, Seirei looked them over carefully, her mind racing with ideas. There were some larger tusks, too. Ones Seirei could work with once she had more practice working with bone.

"These are wonderful. Thank you." she said sincerely, signing her gratitude as well.

Naiya returned to her work, and Seirei did as well. She finished up the branch she had been working with; first cutting it up into pieces, then drilling holes into each piece. They needed to dry out before she could shape them, so Seirei spread them out around her. Then she went into her tent briefly, only to return with her burin. She wanted to start working with the teeth immediately. So she chose one, and closed her eyes. In her mind's eye, she imagined what she wanted to carve. Shahar was a hunter. A grass pattern would be a good symbol for him because it was where he went out to hunt. Seirei had seen him using a javelin, so she thought she should work the shape of one into the image as well. Perhaps in the center with tall grass growing up around it?

Satisfied that she knew what she wanted to use for her pattern, Seirei began transforming the image in her mind into reality. Using her burin, she carved a ring of grass around the base of the tooth she was working with. She tried to carve at an angle that would suggest a wind blowing through the grass. Once she had finished with that, she moved onto the javelin, carving its image into what would be the front of her design. When she was done, it rose high above the grass, taking up nearly the full height of the tooth. Then she added thinner lines to form the tall grass growing around the weapon. But she made sure that the javelin was taller than the grass. To her, it symbolized that Shahar stood strong, master of his prey. She smiled as she worked, putting her feelings of friendship and respect into the carving.

"What do you think?" she asked when she was finished.

"This was just a practice run, of course. I'll use another of the teeth you gave me for his armband. But I wanted to practice making the design first so I wouldn't make any mistakes when I carve it for Shahar." she added shyly.

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[Naiya]

They worked in peace, shared gratitude between them. Naiya could only hope that the carving materials were worth the price of the beads Seirei had given her. She would ask later, once she knew how many she had used.

She began her braids, tying the many cords together into a single knot, before weaving a few strands and passing one through the first of the beads. She strung the quills, the new design simply a hanging vest, but still more intricate than the first.

She was attaching the first string to the second set of cords when Seirei paused, offering the tooth for inspection. Naiya had to finish the weaving of the bands together before she could look, but when she did, she held out her hand seeking permission to have a closer look.

The tooth was fairly small, yet the carving seemed to have only been slightly more difficult for the woman, a practice run, she had called it. Yet she could see the grass bending to the wind and the javelin even had the band that distinguished it from other hunters.

"It's beautiful." Great skill She said simply, finding no higher praise than to compliment her ability. "Would it be possible to drill a hole through the top? To run string through?" Her hands shaped a lack of knowledge hoping to explain that her question was one of her own ignorance rather than one questioning the other woman's ability.

The kettle began to call, not yet the shrill cry of intensely boiling water, but it would be soon. She used a bundled scrap of cloth to lift the lid, allowing the steam to escape without being forced through the small hole of the spout.

She poured the tea into two ceramic mugs, sprinkling a bit of dried mint over the top. She turned back to her new sister and offered her the mug before sitting back down to work.

She threaded a few more quills on, then added a bead to the out side of the braid, and when she found one of her cords had grown too short, she tied a feather to it, letting it hand outside the braid. A new cord tied onto the main strand, and she continued. Adding beads and feathers to the sides of the vest, and following the pattern of the quills.

When she finished the front of the vest, she set the work aside, her tea nearly empty and gone cold. She watched Seirei work, waiting until the woman was ready.

When Seirei did turn to Naiya, she smiled glad to have the woman working beside her.

"Are you nearly ready to go look for wood and perhaps some more decorations for jewelry?"

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Naiya seemed to like her work. That thought sent a thrill of pride and pleasure running through her. Carving was everything to her. It was so much a part of her that there wouldn't be anything left if she lost it. Nothing that was worth anything, at least. So when someone liked her work, it validated her in ways that nothing else could.

When her friend asked if it were possible to drill a hole into the fang in order to attach it to a string, Seirei glanced at the newly carved fang thoughtfully. It should be possible. One drilled holes in wooden pieces to turn them into beads, after all. And she had seen beads made out of bone before, too. Would drilling a hole in a tooth be any harder than drilling one through bone? It didn't seem likely that it would be. So she nodded cautiously.

"It should be possible, yes." she said slowly.

The signs for "uncertain," and "never tried before." accompanied her words.

"As long as the fang isn't so brittle that drilling a hole through it would cause it to shatter, or crack, then it is possible. And if it were, I think I would have seen signs of that while I was carving it." she added with more confidence.

Eager to try, Seirei stood, and left to get the rest of her tools. When she returned, she pulled her drill out of her carving kit. Then she hesitated. She had learned that flint was better to use when working with bone than a metal knife was. A fang was likely to be the same. Her metal drill would likely wear out a lot faster when used on a fang than it would on wood. Seirei didn't want to take the chance that her hunch was right. Even working with a small fang like this might damage her drill, or wear it out to the point that it needed to be sharpened.

So she put her drill away, and pulled out a piece of flint instead. Holding it carefully so she wouldn't cut herself, Seirei began trying to bore a hole near the top of her fang with the flint blade. It took a while, but her efforts paid off. The hole wasn't completely round as it would have been if it were made by a drill, and it took longer than using a drill would have. But the fang didn't crack or splinter, and the hole was perfectly usable as far as putting a string through it was concerned. When she was finished, she held the fang up with a shy smile so that Naiya could see her success.

Naiya asked her if she was ready to go look for more wood, and decorations for jewelry, and her shy smile turned into an eager grin as she nodded.

"I know that we can find willows by rivers, and those are good for making beads. But do you know where we can find other types of trees? Willow branches are too thin for making much other than beads, and sometimes spoons. What kind of things should I be looking for for jewelry decorations? Since I make a lot of beads, I've been thinking about making necklaces and such out of some of them to have more variety of goods to sell. Knowing what kinds of things would make good decorations would help with that."

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[Naiya]

Her own work put aside, Naiya watched with interest as Seirei fondled tools and made choices that Naiya herself couldn't begin to fathom.

The end result was indeed what Naiya needed, a hole through the fang that would allow her to string it together with the rest of the armband. Excitement shaped her hands as she looked the shy smile of her friend, "This will be perfect."

Naiya shrugged her head, mostly unsure of the answers to Seirei's questions. "I don't know much about carving, so I don't know what wood is good." She did know where to find other trees, and where to find feathers and stones that would be pretty in jewelry.

"I think," again her hands shaped that she was unsure, "Stones and feathers make nice decorations, woven grass makes interesting textures." She looked for a moment at the other woman, "I think perhaps beads in different shapes are important too, like fangs or claws, or made to look like feathers or animals." She was only stating ideas, she still had no idea the difficulty of suck work. She would leave it to Seirei to decide if an idea was too difficult for the two of them to tackle. "Perhaps even carving the teeth and bones of small animals would make interesting decorations."

"If you would teach me to carve," gentle inquiry, desire to help "I can help too." She shaped her desire as she moved, gathering baskets and after a moment, coaxing Aani into coming too, the body sled behind her.

"Lets start with Willows, and see what else we can find."

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Seirei smiled at her friend's praise. She felt a rush of pleasure at the compliment. Carving was so much a part of her that complimenting something she had carved felt like an acceptance of her in a way. In some ways, it was a validation of her as a person, and not merely a thing to be used and bred. After her time as a captive, it was like a soothing balm on her spirit.

"Fruit trees are good for making beads. Willows are good for that too, because their branches are thin enough to use. But the scent of the fruit lingers in the wood of its tree. And that scent lingers in the beads as well. So using twigs from fruit trees to make beads is best. For other things...it depends what you're making. Some kinds of wood have a good scent. Others, a nice dark, or light color. Some are harder to carve than others. What kinds of trees do you know how to find?"

Seirei listened to Naiya's ideas about different kinds of decorations, and nodded thoughtfully. Small stones would be good if she had a tool strong enough to drill through them. Would a burin work? Stone was harder than bone, wasn't it? If bone wore out metal knives and drills quickly, wouldn't that be even more of a problem with stone? Maybe they could be tied into a necklace somehow instead of having to drill a hole in them? Feathers sounded nice, too.

Maybe nuts, and seeds, too?" she mused out loud.

When Naiya mentioned her teaching the other woman how to carve, her eyes lit up with pure delight, and she smiled brightly as she nodded eagerly. She could talk about carving endlessly if someone showed any interest in it. But to actually have the chance to teach someone the craft she loved so much? Part of Seirei wanted to start immediately. But common sense won, so she didn't suggest it.

"I would love to teach you how to carve, Naiya! It would mean a lot to me." eager anticipation, delight

Seirei nodded.

"Yes. Starting with willows is good. We should bring a travois with us. It will be easier to bring the wood back that way, and we will be able to carry more with us that way."

Seirei's posture, and expression were clear indications of how eager she was to get started.

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