An Afternoon at Home

by **Khida** on March 26th, 2015, 12:15 am

Rue remained quiet as she followed; so quiet, that Khida might have thought she didn't follow, except for the sounds of her strides disturbing the grass. It was in mutual silence that they returned to the Dawnwhisper camp, one burdened by herbs and pensive reflection, the other burdened by nothing at all. Khida paused to check where she had left the rabbit carcass, and found the space unsurprisingly empty; she wondered which cat had appropriated it, but could see none of their furry faces anywhere around. Certainly not any which looked satisfied and smug, nor others frustrated and disappointed.

The next thing Khida checked was the pot beside the fire. It remained at a lively, noisy simmer. She stirred everything up, meat still pink and roots still firm against the moving spoon. Of course, it had only been a matter of chimes since they set it up; stew took much, much longer to cook. Satisfied she had seen all she needed to of it, Khida stood aside so Rue could add her contributions to the pot, leaving the spoon for the red-haired Drykas to use.

As the girl finished her washing, the Kelvic drifted away to check on the horses, leaving Rue and the stew to themselves. She found Drelah just beyond the tents, head down and teeth at work upon the grass; Dainellas stood a little further out, busily engaged in the same activity. The Seme greeted her with a whuff and a nudge of his nose, standing steady with his ears pricked amiably forward while she scratched at his neck. After a few moments, Khida patted his neck and continued back along the horse's flank, combing her fingers through his coat and inspecting for nuisance pests as she went.

Common | Pavi | someone else

by **Naiya** on March 31st, 2015, 1:19 am

There was a new silence between them, not the same as when she had arrived, the quiet of new company and meeting unexpectedly. Instead they shared a different quiet now, a more companionable space filled with things to be done rather than idle chatter.

It was enough to satisfy Rue. She rose from the water to find Khida had moved to the horses. Running her hands over one's coat, presumably checking him for harmful pests or wounds that needed attention. It was as good a pass time as any.

She glanced around, searching the grass for the cats that called Shahar - and Khida's - camp home. They were not to be found, even when she approached the fire. They weren't dogs, she supposed, they were not likely not come at the slight chance of food. All the same, she searched for them while she tore the tops off the sage and ripped the leaves into smaller segments before sprinkling them into the simmering pot.

Khida had left the spoon, and Rue took it up now, a familiar weapon in the fight to feed a family every day. Though, looking around here, perhaps it was not so much of a struggle.

After she gave the pot a stir, the set the spoon back where she had found it, and she laid the hyssop beside that. Either they would use it soon, or proximity to the fire would dry it out and they would be able to use it later.

Regardless she had another plant to deal with. The sage was hardy, even torn free of it's base and carried about used for the meal, it would likely live to be used again. Or at least it might if she planted it. She wandered around the camp some, seeking a spot that might host the plant best, and then after a quick assessment of the ground she decided that a sort of middle ground between the worn path of walking to the water and the edge of the small run would serve them best.

She kicked at the ground with the heel of her boot, knocking a bit of dirt loose before crouching to turn up the the rest of the hole by hand. She dropped the plant inside, tucking it's roots deep into the earth, enough so that she had to leave a quarter of the stem buried in the earth. Hopefully it would prevent the tender roots from baking in the heat, something further aided by the sun's slow decent towards the horizon. It would spend the evening in the sun, and then have the entire night to adjust to it's new environment. Perhaps it would survive. She packed the dirt back around the plant, and then washed the dirt from her hands in the stream once more.

by **Khida** on April 15th, 2015, 12:15 am

The horse's dark coat was not soft, but not unpleasantly coarse either -- something like covert feathers, made stiff enough to withstand the contact of wind and water and dirt. With all the grasses gone to seed, he had managed to collect a considerable number of them on his coat; they seemed to come in two types, either round and fuzzy or angular and spiky. Those posed a nuisance better resolved with a comb, but Khida picked out the ones her fingers ran across anyway. They were mostly along the Seme's legs and belly, but with the height the grasses might grow to, every now and again one stuck to his flanks or got caught up in his mane.

Eventually, the Kelvic simply had to give up and resort to fetching the proper tool for the job, signing wait back soon towards the horse. On her return from the tent, she noticed Rue stepping away from the cookfire, greenery in hand. She paused to watch the red-haired girl scuff at the dirt, then settle down to dig properly, evidently planting whatever remained of... whichever herb that was. Khida didn't really dwell on the matter; so far as she was concerned, the Drykas could do as she pleased with it. In the meantime, she continued on her way to rejoin Drelah -- who was swishing his tail, all attention directed towards the Kelvic. Was that a sign of patience or a sign of frustration?

In any case, she held up the comb for the horse to see, then set about applying it to his coat. Short strokes did best at removing the seeds, the comb's teeth catching only a few each time and easing them loose under gentle pressure; but by the same token, that meant the task would take a good while to do properly. After a little while, Khida leaned up to peer over the Seme's bulk at the other woman in camp. The red-haired Drykas seemed to have finished with her work in the earth, given that she had moved on over to the stream. Once she looked up, Khida lifted a hand to wave at her over Drelah's back, a simple and brief motion. She followed the gesture with come do, delivered in casual manner, the shapes of her signs somewhat distorted by the effort to reach above the horse.

Why do a two-person job all by herself, when there was a second person right over there, to all appearances at loose ends?

Khida space Common | Pavi
other space Common | Pavi

by **Naiya** on April 17th, 2015, 8:22 pm

When she rose from the stream shaking water from her hands, her attention was caught by Khida, working a comb over the hair of the horse, Drelah. She beckoned to Rue, and then signed roughly command tempered by a gentle intent.

Rue did not mind lending a hand, and she started towards Khida before realizing she would be of little use empty handed. Comb, inquiry, another, where? The signs were rough, not so much speaking as hoping for an explanation further than her current plan of 'there must be another here somewhere'.

Direction from the other woman was quick in coming, and simple enough to follow. So she did as told, finding the comb easily enough, and went to join her companion from the other side of the Seme.

She offered her hand to him as she approached, letting him breathe in her scent, not that she was entirely strange to the horse, but it was better not to startle a creature who could kick or bite at her. Horses were much bigger than Rue, she felt no need to inspire them to cause her harm. So she let the large dark haired creature check her out, her smell her person, and her comb, before she moved to his side to begin grooming him.

She quickly found the cause for concern, the grass was in seed, and the horse had accumulated a number of prickly burrs in his hair. That was problematic, but what troubled her more than the collection on his sides, was the collection that may have gathered on his undersides.

She ran her hand gently over his shoulder, careful of the grass seeds there, and followed it down to the softly wrinkled underside, where she found still more of the sharply tipped seeds.

Under more Rue signed to Khida, following with spoken words "They are more sensitive underneath, take extra care there." Then she applied the comb, brushing softly at the grass spurs beneath the horses legs. Those were the most important ones.

by **Khida** on January 12th, 2017, 4:56 am

Another, the woman requested, and Khida pointed in the direction of the tent, where she'd left the rest of their grooming tools just inside the door. She seemed to find the kit with little trouble, the sound of her footsteps retreating and then promptly returning, joining the Kelvic and the horse.

Working her comb through the horse's coat one hand-sized patch at a time, Khida observed the red-haired girl from the edge of her vision, quietly approving of her considerate approach towards the Seme. Not that she expected any different; the girl was Drykas, after all. The redhead set herself to combing Drelah's other side, dividing the task neatly between them.

The placid gelding seemed to bask in their ministrations, his posture free of tension, his ears relaxed in their angle, his dark eyes soft. As she came down to the horse's haunches, a flicker of motion caught Khida's attention -- a gesture from her companion. The Kelvic didn't see enough of it to follow, but the redhead elaborated with words; below, careful. Careful, Khida signed back in affirmation, before continuing with the task at hand. It was a timely admonition, as she was just about to make a pass back over the horse's flanks; but unnecessary, because of course the belly was the softest part. It always was.

Comb, strip, comb, strip; forward and back, top to bottom. Each time she cleaned the tool's teeth, a veritable rain of grass seeds dropped to the earth; Khida wondered how many of them would grow in the spring, or be snatched up by hungry songbirds and rodents. Aside from that soft patter, the rustle of hair through comb, the quiet susurrus of simmering stew -- aside from those things, silence settled down over the camp like a blanket. The companionable kind of silence, born of hands occupied with work, minds turned to a monotonous, meditative chore.

oocWould you like to wrap this up with a bit of introspection on Rue's part? Or I can add a concluding line here. Either way, we can finally get this turned in!

Khida space Common | Pavi
other space Common | Pavi

by **Naiya** on February 9th, 2017, 8:39 pm

She danced her comb softly against the underside of the dark coated creature, the gentle circles loosening the seeds and gathering in the bristles. She shook them loose from her comb, hand returning to the smooth shoulder in front of her.

Khida had known, or rather it was clear that she'd never thought not to be careful, not to treat the horse with the utmost care. It should have occurred to Rue that anyone of a Drykas slant would know better. Perhaps she was lending herself to nonsense, trying to impress the woman who clearly didn't care for such things.

A woman of action, perhaps. Or rather of different social cues than Rue was accustomed to. Different clearly, in many ways. Good company, however, in the quiet of their work. Naiya could only try to match her behaviors, falling into the silence in much the same way she would fall to silence in the presence of a strider. They didn't care if she spoke, they cared what she did and how she behaved.

Perhaps the woman who worked across from her was similar in that way. Not given to fruitless chatter, but to communicating only what was important. It would certainly be easier to navigate such a world this way than in the loaded silence of anger or displeasure that laced the weave of cloth in her home.

It was certainly a much less stressful silence that they shared. Comfortable. The burble of the nearby rill, the slow pop of cooking food, and the soothing rhythm of the combs stroking across hair. This was a home worth revisiting.

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Naiya space Pavi | Common | Tukant
other space Pavi | Common | Tukant

by **Rufio** on March 17th, 2017, 1:28 pm

C A T 'S G O T Y A G R A D E

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Closed An Afternoon at Home