[The Sanctuary] To Build a Home (All Staff)

[Riki Stormheart]

Timestamp: 65th of Summer, 511 AV Reason: Building the Sanctuary Kennels There had been talk about building kennels for the Sanctuary for a while now. The thought excited Riki. To think of all of the dogs they would be able to house! He could barely wait to get started. Word had been spread around the Sanctuary that anyone with construction skills would definitely be needed. Riki knew nothing about the art of building but he knew the kennel would help him learn along with giving him the chance to help some furry friends. The workers interested were to meet on the veranda. Riki had arrived to see he was a bit early, although he partially expected this. Despite being a twenty-four year old man he tended to get childishly excited about things like this. He watched eagerly at the door, hoping to see Kavala or Lakara walk through so they could get started or at least share ideas. Sadie sat at Riki's side, panting and wagging her tail eagerly. The Drykas ruffled her fur as he looked down at her. "Don't worry baby. The kennels are for the other dogs. You can still stay with me and Mizuriel in our room." Riki hoped she could at least. He loved Sadie like she was a little sister to him. She reminded him of Flower, his deceased canine friend and her mother. Although Sadie was a ghost dog, seeing the passed as they wandered through the world, she stood for life in his eyes. He had gained Rak'keli's favor saving her mother and he wanted nothing more than to keep saving lives.

[Lakara]

Rumors had been flying round the Sanctuary for a while now. Well, they had been traveling in whispers and hushed conversations. The Sanctuary had long been in dire need of a Kennel. It was one of the few things they didn't have here, so any dogs or similar creatures needing a place within the walls had ended up with accommodation quite unsuited for them. More recently, Lakara had heard the rumors shift into discussion. When was it going to happen, and who would build it? It seemed that the Kennels would be a definite project. Word had gone round the staff that a meeting would be help for those interested, and that was where the Konti was headed today. She stepped out onto the veranda and was greeted by the sight of Riki, and his lovely dog Sadie. A smile lit the Konti's face and she headed over to the pair. "Hello Riki, I had a feeling you might be here." She smiled warmly before bending down to greet Sadie. "And you too of course!" She gently petted the dog before straightening back up. "I wonder how this will happen... I don't suppose many of us here have a lot of knowledge with building."

[Ghedan Windhowl]

Ghedan walked quickly to the veranda, Glint trailing at his heels as usual. He had no experience with building whatsoever, but figured he could wield a hammer and hit a nail where he was told. If anything he was sure they could use an extra building the kennels. Besides, he enjoyed working with the Sanctuary staff as much as possible, so he jumped at any chance to help out. As he neared the veranda, he saw that Riki and Lakara were there already. He hoped more would come. It could be a rather interesting day if it ended up just being the three of them. Glint growled at Sadie half-heartedly. For whatever reason, the silver fox had taken to establishing independence from the other animals at the Sanctuary, and had followed Ghedan around with even more devotion. Ghedan had to admit that it was mildly annoying, but mildly humorous as well. Once he reached the two others, he voiced his concerns about the lack of workers, "So... I don't suppose either of you know who else will be showing up?"

[Kavala]

Tasi was fussy all morning. She suspected his gums bothered him, though there was no outright evidence for why he was screaming his fool little head off. She'd been up most of the night and the promise of any sort of sleep was long gone now that it was almost time for the meeting they were holding that morning about the kennels. Kavala's head pounded, and her frustration and exhaustion was growing by the minute as she added more numbing drops to the childs gums. "Please... Tasi. Please just stop. I don't know what you want. I don't know why are you are so upset." She said softly, gritting her teeth as another round of wailing ensued. For the millionth time, she wished her son was a kelvic or an animal so she'd KNOW what was wrong with him instead of having to guess all the time.

She didn't mind the child, loved him in fact, but he as generally a quiet baby and one that rarely fussed. Screaming his little fool head off all morning had done wonders for Kavala's otherwise good nature, because she was as growly as a bear and just about as frustrated as one. He wasn't experiencing gas, he wasn't ill that she could tell, he wasn't truly teething nor as he overly tired or wet or sporting a rash on his bottom or any of the things infants screamed about.

And still he cried.

She winced and bundled him up anyhow, letting him do so. At this point, the only way to get him to stop was to hope he cried himself to sleep. So she set off slowly, eyes dark shadowed and bloodshot, for the meeting about the kennels. She had no choice but to take Tasi and simply look apologetic as he as still crying when she arrived.

[Raiha]

Kanikra left the mews, Diallo in tow, hair braided, leathers on and ready to work, as always. The blue-skinned female had told her sister-soul that she wanted the body today, and Raiha had, with good grace, let her have it, as she usually did. Ever since Akajia had more or less readjusted the the two of them, Kanikra and Raiha got along a lot better. Kanikra, knowing one of her strengths was secrecy and the element of surprise, did a very good job masquerading as Raiha. The only one who had ever had encounters that were different, truly different between the two souls of the Akalak, was Kavala, and even then, Kanikra did her damnedest to make sure that it was hard to know who was who at any given moment. Sometimes it was even Raiha whacking the stuffing out of a dummy with Kanikra's maces, and sometimes it was Kanikra trying to improve with the Raiha's suvai.

But the Akontak was certainly interested in a kennel. Even if it was more for the whelping facilities and boarding other peoples' dogs and hiding the bitches when they went into heat and they weren't looking to be bred just yet. Besides, Raiha had had a marvelous time building the mews with Kavala - it had been a strangely good bonding experience for the two of them. She could hear Tasi squalling as long legs crossed the length of Sanctuary towards the Verandah. Good lungs that one had. He'd have them all with headaches before the end of the day if this kept up. That wouldn't do.

"Morning," she greeted them mildly, and approached the infant Akontak, squatting down in front of Kavala and reaching out to touch the little boy's hand with one careful finger, looking to work it into a fist. Up close and personal, Kavala could practically see the Akontak's pupils contract just a little more, just as they had under the water. Diallo, for his part, eyed the other host of gathered animals and wasn't inclined to do anything about them. Kavala's mood would determine how antagonistic she could be today, too. "Do you have any left of that drink they like so much in the tavern? The strong stuff?" Surely she wasn't suggesting liquoring the infant up... But if Kavala was right and it was his gums, well, it might make the ache go away.

[Riki Stormheart]

OOCI am really sorry this took so long!

Riki felt a wave of excitement when he saw Lakara reach the veranda. She was one of the people he knew better around the Sanctuary. "Hello Lakara! I couldn't help but be interested in the kennels. The more animals we can help, the better." He smiled when he saw the Konti petting Sadie. It made him happy to see that his co-worker liked his canine companion. He liked to think she was an approachable dog. Sadie wagged her tail happily as the Konti stroked her fur, giving Lakara small licks over her fingers. Riki shrugged at the Kontis words. "I don't know really. I know nothing about building. All of my knowledge is with animals and medicine. Hopefully some other people will show up though. Someone here has to have some knowledge on building." Riki had heard Kavala knew a bit. She would have to if she was keeping the Sanctuary in such good shape. At the appearance of Ghedan and Glint, Sadie whined quietly at the fox's growl before scampering off behind Riki's legs. "Awww, don't worry Sade, you're okay." He ruffled her fur softly before looking back to the Drykas. "I'm not sure. I don't think we have met. I'm Riki Stormheart and this is Lakara." No sooner did Riki speak, did the others arrive. First Kavala and then Raiha shortly after. Riki was excited to see Kavala. He had yet to finally see her newborn child. He motioned to the others to follow if they so chooses and walked over to Kavala and Raiha, Sadie padding loyally at his feet. "Kavala, he is beautiful." Riki smiled as he looked at the baby boy. An Akontak, he could barely believe he was seeing one of the amazing children before him. Raiha was amazing all on her own but a child Akontak as well? It amazed him to no end. He was a bit jealous of the woman, although not in a malicious way. He envied all parents. He wished to have a child of his own but he was far from home and of course, had no significant other to speak of. It was a good kind of jealous. "Kavala, Raiha, do either of you know anything about building?" He looked back to Gheden and Lakara. "We have the willing to help but sadly we'll need a little direction on how to build."

[Kavala]

Kavala nodded to Raiha and looked thoughtful. "I have strong spirits in the lab for the plants. Do you think putting them on his gums would help? I should know this.. but I have no idea about babies. I don't remember much about being one and I was the youngest born in my Pavilion. Tamar died before she gave Vanator any children.. so there was no one around. I'll try anything." Kavala said, sending Aweston back to the lab for the spirits knowing he knew where they were. When he returned with the bottle, she'd take a little and apply it to Tasi's gums hoping. She had numbing agent aplenty in the herbal supplies, but none of it was anything she could put in a baby's mouth and not worry about poisoning him.

Tasi kept screaming. His little fists balled up as he cried, angry and seemingly enraged at being woken up at all. Kavala worried that while Raiha had a sickly childhood, Tasi would have a angry one. She needed to meet other parents with Akontak children and ask their advice. The problem was that the Akontaks were very rare and most of the Konti who had them were either married and busy with their lives or back in Mura. Kavala winced, her eyes watering, and simply handed the boy to Raiha after administrating the alcohol. She loved her son, but after bells and bells of his crying this morning, she had absolutely no patience left and every nerve she'd had to begin with was gone... just gone.

She smiled at Rikki and Lakara and quietly made introductions to everyone and the baby - those that hadn't met him yet - and moved on. Kavala took Tasival everywhere, like most Drykas did, so it was surprising in a way none of them had met the child yet. But knowing how busy Sanctuary had been in the spring it wasn't surprising in other ways. Plus she'd been gone to Endrykas recently.

At Rikki's question, Kavala answered quietly. "Raiha and I built the Bloodbane's barn. I'm sure we can manage a kennels. I'll need more wood and its going to be expensive, but with all the dogs I brought back from Endrykas, we can't leave them in stalls forever, especially the pups. So the first thing we need to talk about is what we want each individual enclosure to be like. Do we want it mainly building? Mainly fence? What's best for the dogs? Who wants to start with ideas?" Kavala said, moving to slip off the backpack and take out a few sticks of light charcoal and some large sheets of hide she could make notes on or even sketch on. They really needed a sort of planning blackboard but Kavala hadn't managed to find one yet. Chalk would have been the best, but if she used the charcoal lightly it would erase with rubbing. "So first things first, we need to brainstorm..."

Tasi kept screaming but she just talked over him, hoping the alcohol would work soon enough. There wasn't anything physically wrong with him besides his sore gums... the healer in her knew that. So she just let him cry, hoping the meeting would carry on around the noise.

[Raiha]

Raiha was actually rather surprised that Kavala passed Tasi to her sister, but Kanikra was as close to pleased as she ever got. She took the baby, and crossed her eyes at Tasi, sticking her tongue out at him as she wiggled him a little, her fingers ghosting along his sides as she tickled him. After a few moments of that, she tucked him under her arm so that he was looking at the dogs on the ground. Diallo’s ears had flattened against the noise from the infant, but he lifted his head to press a cold, wet nose against Tasi’s. He liked the boy, considering how often Raiha babysat him, and Diallo was an old hand at little ones. He’d helped raise the geese, after all. Kanikra settled on the ground by the dog before putting the Akontak infant in her lap and folding her arms around him. “Nomnomnom,” she murmured at the baby, pretending to nibble on his ears before turning him around and looking at him and letting him look at her.

No one would ever even begin to guess that that was Kanikra. She chalked it up to proper acting. She wasn’t always able to trick Kavala, so today was already a success. Anything that she managed after this was just extra cinnamon-sugar on the apples.

In between making faces at the boy, and sticking her fingers in tight little fists to let him squeeze, Kanikra nodded at what Kavala was saying. “And the addition with the mews. It’s nothing that we cannot handle.” The infant’s eyes were a clear gold, and she studied them and wiggled her fingers in his grip. “For the individual enclosures, my first thoughts,” that was a lie, seeing as they were Raiha’s thoughts on the matter, “would be to have them being mostly building... particularly with the cold weather coming. I can imagine that once the pups are old enough to climb around and waddle they probably won’t be staying in there much anyway. So we could always pen up an area to give their mothers a break and let the pups play with each other and socialize.” Kanikra didn’t need to confirm with Raiha what she already knew - those pups would be underfoot and everywhere.

“Where do you want to locate the building?” she glanced up at Kavala as Diallo settled in and stuck his head in Tasi’s lap and snuffled him before letting out a sigh. “That would give us a better idea of how we would want to go and design with the space constraints in mind.”

[Riki Stormheart]

Riki smiled lightly as he watched Kavala pass her child to Raiha. It was a great show of trust between the women. The Drykas simply watched as the Akontak entertained the child hoping that her actions could calm the boy. It was not that the child annoyed him. He could not say that at all. While Riki was more knowledgeable in animal children than more personable children, he knew at times both babies, as well as pups needed to cry out. The Drykas just wanted the boy to be calm and happy, not just for his sake, but for his mother's. "I agree with Raiha, mostly building would be good. We wouldn't want the pups to freeze." He tried to think of what he would want for Sadie if she was going into the kennel. "I think some fencing would be good though. That way when the weather is nice the dogs can wander outside if needed." He would have been sad to hear that the animals had to be cooped up inside unless someone came in to walk them around. Of course, he knew he would take any chance he could to take the dogs out. He could not deny that he had a soft spot for them. "Maybe we could have a way where they dogs could come and go from the building to the fenced in yard when they please?" The more freedom the dogs had, the better. "Also, maybe we should have rooms for breeding and for dogs that need room on their own. Sadly, you never know when you can get an aggressive dog." He was not sure if any of the current dogs were too bad but one never knew about strays. "Also, maybe a room for medical work?" As for where the kennels should be placed, Riki did not have as much insight. "Wherever we place it, we will want the kennel to be available to the outside. If some of the dogs are from Endrykas they are going to want a little bit of room to roam. At least that is what I am thinking."

[Kavala]

Kavala could hardly believe what she was seeing. And, if she wasn't mistaken, that wasn't Raiha making the faces, it was Kani. The new mother kept one eye on her child and one on the Akontak as she slowly nodded, sat down, and began to listen to what everyone had to say. She'd brought back eighteen dogs in various stages of pregnancy or growth from Endrykas, but many of the dogs could roam Sanctuary once they were trained without being kenneled. The point, however, was that each dog needed a place and some of them could double up housing if and when the dogs did need to be confined. Kavala also wanted to build on and have a place for a kennel master to stay with the dogs, so someone would be near them at all time.

She knew the cost of building things and she knew what size of a facility she wanted... so as she sat about sketching she came to the realization that they'd probably have to hire builders. She knew a man from town that would likely jump at the chance, since he'd helped her put the living quarters on Sanctuary which was the reason she'd been able to build the second floor and mews on.

But this was a whole new project. You couldn't add a second story on a building that was poorly constructed to begin with.

"How about this...." She said, inking in some finishing touches on her sketch with measurements and all included.

"I know a builder in town that could do this work. If we think about it like this... its a 48 by 24 foot building. We desperately need additional housing here for people as well. 48 by 24 feet is a 1152 sq building... not counting the outside run space.. .we can fence those ourselves. A barn costs 1,500 GM for 1,600 sq feet... that's 448 extra... So we put a living space on a second story that's about 450 and call it good... with a stairway up to it outside. I can hire the work done, the builders put it up and we do the individual kennels fencing and decorating the place including the finish work ourselves. I can probably get the entire cost cut down to 1000 gold since we already have the land and if we finish the insides ourselves. Sound reasonable? I can go talk to the man tomorrow morning. Do you guys think these would be enough kennels...? Living quarters downstairs and upstairs that would house two more people. Space is getting tight here but we'd have to put the building besides the main facility off to one side near the road. What do you think?" She asked, still watching Raiha or her twin play with her son.