Closed [The Enclave] Fire and Water

[Skerry]

10th Winter 513AV

The turnout seemed better than last time, something that Palia was pleased with. The last seminar had had a good turnout, true but not everyone had arrived at the same time. There had been quite a few stragglers for that one who had arrived late enough that she had had to explain everything all over again. She'd done so much talking that day that she'd been hoarse the next day. Today, however most of those stragglers seemed to be present for her first class so perhaps she wouldn't have to repeat herself as much. It was good to know that her intimidating demeanour had had a positive effect for once.

Today's set up was simple. There was a pile of wood which she could arrange as needed to show different fire making arrangements. There were different sorts of tinder and kindling and some necessary tools for starting fires. There were also containers of water placed on the table to show what state they might find it in and how it would look after being treated.

The Endal had gone to a lot of effort to prepare everything for this seminar because she knew exactly how important fire and water were to someone trapped in the wilderness, a fact that she knew had to be driven well and truly home. There was a lot to get through and the knowledge that she passed on today would be vitally important so the woman had to hope that she could get it all into the heads of these hunters. If one person interrupted her, she was going to be highly displeased.

Striding forward from her place at the table, the Endal clapped her hands to get the attention of the gathered hunters.

"If I could have everyone's attention please, I'd like to begin!" she called over the murmuring of the group, waiting patiently for silence to descend as she scanned the faces of those there.

[Alori Sai]

Alori had been one of those stragglers that had arrived later than sooner. The tiny Endal had a lot to do now that she had risen in the cast, as well as a much bigger place to take care of. For a time, she had been staying with Lavira, but she had to return home and keep the place up from time to time. The teen settled in after entering the Enclave and looked around.

She expected to find her sister somewhere close by unless the falconer had decided at the last minute not to attend. Alori had been hesitant, but after remembering the chaos that ensued during the storm two seasons ago, she realized that she really needed to come and so did Lavira. Pulling the hood down of her Katinu, she sat back and crossed one leg over the other, the Bryda she wore flared out at the bottle and almost completely covered her cream colored boots.

Sighing, she readjusted the scarf that she had tucked into the neck of her Katinu, before rubbing her hands to together and looking around while she waited for something to happen. Vira I swear if you back out on me, I'm so going to hurt you.

[Turrin]

For some odd reason, Turrin has been in a incredibility cheerful mood. Maybe it was the bird in the morning or the kitchen might have put a little bit more honey in the oatmeal, but the Endal was excited to the learn about fire and water. He already knew how to make a fire, but it could be good to learn different techniques. When he looked at Palia, she leaned up against the table with the same scowl the Myrian got to know and love. Since he was in a good mood, Turrin made his way through the crowd and said with a mischievous smile to his teacher, “Turrin is present, and I am ready to learn, so what is this class about again?” The Myrian wanted to try make the stone faced woman smile or even better laugh, but he knew the woman wouldn't break sour mood ever. If she did, Ivak might decide that it was to cold out in Mizahar and come back to his cozy warm prison in Kalea. When Turrin was finished with his greeting to Palia, he looked around the crowd and noticed Alori taking off the hood of her Katinu. The Endal had been having strange dreams lately, and he wanted to ask if his fellow Endal was experiencing dreams after the Blue Elk incident. Turrin had been plagued with strange dreams involving a broken tower and large red eyed creature. However, the most unnerving thing was him firing the clear arrow into the heart of Azira. He would have went to the Dreaming Lady for clarity on his strange dreams, but the cursed Valintar closed it at the first of winter, and now he was left to interpret the strange dreams all by himself. After days of careful and painful nights pondering the meaning of these dreams, He only came up with one conclusion. He might be in love with Azira. Turrin originally thought the dreams were nightmare trying to keep him away from the broken tower, but now, maybe the broken tower was where Azira and him were supposed to spend the rest of there lives. After he spent his life savings on some Sultros' plate mail and a bucket helmet. He might actually enjoy the rest of his life with her. Turrin walked over to Alori, gave the young Endal a nod, and ask quietly, “Hello Alori fine day isn't it? Are you having strange dreams lately? Because I keep having odd dreams about broken tower in a field and ared eyed beast, but the most disturbing thing...” Turrin paused for half a chime trying to muster up the words and finally said it to her, “... I think my dreams telling me that Azira is my true love! Should I invest in helmet now, or should I get quality one from Sultros later?” oocTurrin's dream interpretation was a epic fail!

[Lavira]

Vira was, for once, running behind. She had woken nearly a bell after sunrise and let loose an endless stream of curses at her tardiness. The teen hastened to dress, pulling a clean vinati and bryda on as well as grabbing her katinu and sontav, tying the latter into place by combination of teeth and fingers with practiced ease while she practically ran down the warrens.

Gods, Alori's going to kill me for getting there late...

~Talking to yourself again, lass?~

You know, eavesdropping is rude, Mohya.

~She's not going to kill you, deary, but you'll owe her.~

Not this time, I think. Do you know what time we got in last night?

~Second bell, if I recall right.~

Exactly.

And the teen closed her mind to the bird, nearly crashing into a group of Yasi when she rounded a bend in the warren and began the uphill climb. It would take a few chimes to get to the Enclave now but she knew she wouldn't make it in time either way; the Endal hosting the classes was supposed be a hardass on top of that. She came to another turn, rounded it, her thoughts distracted for a moment wh-

BAM!!

"Ah!" She yelped, falling backwards and grabbing her nose, blood seeping out from between her fingers. "Oh come on! Damnit, ah!" The Endal kept one hand pressed against her nose and rolled onto her side so that her free hand had leverage to help her back onto her feet. The Chiet she'd run into was holding their forehead, wincing and squinting. There was a box of gems on the floor that had been dropped and the other was now working to get it cleaned up. She managed to spare a few apologies to Vira, though for once the Endal could not afford to stop.

Grumbling under her breath, Vira bent and released her nose, a fresh gush of blood pouring out onto the floor, and tore a piece from the bottom of her bryda to press against her nose. She would clean up once she got there (it was a Water class too, afterall...); the teacher would surely have some water.

So it was that Vira showed up with a bloody face, eyes that looked like they hadn't seen much sleep in the last several days, and a scowl that truly did not fit her features. She spared Turrin a glance, and any others she might recognize before hurrying over to Alori's side, her head shaking to deny any kind of explanation, saying a bit slurredly, "Don't wanna talk about it." It was a murmur for the teacher had begun! What a dreadful start.

[Skerry]

The assembled Endal and Avora became quiet quickly, a fact that made her scowl soften ever so slightly. Many that were present had been here for the last class and word had gotten around to the newcomers as well that she demanded everyone's utmost attention. Good, there should be no disrespect this time. Well aside from Turrin but she would find some way to get him back for that tone. She just didn't know what just yet but now wasn't the time to think about such things.

Clearing her throat, Palia launched into the introduction. "Today I will be teaching you about making fire and acquiring water. Now you might think, oh this stuff is Yasi stuff, well guess what? It's not. Keeping warm and having clean water to drink are essential if you're going to survive in the wilderness. If you haven't fire, you'll have no heat source, sure but you'll also have no water supply. Why? Because you can't boil water without a fire and you can't drink it unless it's boiled. So that's why fire is your first priority before water. Water is more important than food, actually if you have no water and you have food you shouldn't eat. Food but no water leads to digestion problems and you don't want to go there. But here's a fun fact for you all so that you understand how important water is. You can go three weeks without food so that isn't a major problem in the wilderness. However, if you go three days without water you...will...die!"

The woman stopped to give her words a chance to sink in but also to give herself a chance to examine the late arrival. A slip of a girl had come in late, an Endal that Palia thought she'd seen around but only from a distance. The girl hadn't swaggered in, all cocky and arrogant and full of her own self-importance. No, she'd looked distraught when she'd seen the middle aged woman speaking and she had cloth clutched to her nose. The smears of blood weren't completely obscured by the material and so she was either having a natural nosebleed or else she'd smashed into someone or something.

Now that she had seen the girl close up, she knew who she was, even if only from whispers, the scar gave it away. She couldn't remember the Endal's name (Lavinia? Laria?) but she decided the young woman had enough on her plate. So she said nothing, she didn't say anything to call attention to the Endal, just moved to collect some clean water in a cloth from one of the containers as she continued speaking.

"Now as I was saying, fire is a higher priority than water so I will begin with fire making. Many of you will decide that you know how to do it, great but that doesn't mean that there isn't a better way, a way more suited to certain conditions so try to be open minded," Palia told the group, moving with the damp cloth to hand it to the latecomer. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly as if she was about to smile at the girl but her eyes showed her reassurance and understanding as she met the half blind gaze. Looking away, she met no one's gaze as she moved back to the front.

"I'll give you a chance to ask questions between the sections and at the end but does anyone have any questions before I begin?"

[Alori Sai]

Alori had been somewhat lost in thought, the teen had been having more strange dreams again. It wasn't as rare for her as it had been for some, Alori had been having strange dreams for seasons. Dreams about broken friendships, destruction of the city and those that she cared for. Fire, dark Wind eagles made of ash, she'd had these dreams before so when it came to the new stream of dreams, she wasn't that surprised.

For sometime now the young Endal had been certain that destruction was coming to their people. She had tried her best to shake the feelings and heed the words of others that they were only dreams. However deep down, she knew they were more than that. The problem was, she didn't understand what was coming, when, or how to prevent it. It was a lot to take, and she had been trying when Turrin showed up.

It was hard not to notice him in a room when he towered over everyone, but she hadn't noticed until he spoke. "Hey you. You're taking this course too? I was worried that there wouldn't be anyone here that I knew." The question about dreams caused her eyes to widen and only made the foreboding feeling swell inside her. "Y-you have those too?" she asked, her voice slightly worried. But her worried were quickly doused when he proclaimed his love for Azira the huntress. "Oh? Really? Wait..what did you dream?"

Suddenly Lavira arrived with red eyes and bloody face. "Gods..Vira.."she started to say more but she was shushed by her sister and the teacher started to talk. Alori half listened out of one ear while still looking at her friend. "Hey, did you get into a fight?"

[Turrin]

When Turrin looked at Alori and said with a smile, “I figure I should take advantage of courses when they are available.” The Endal watched the expression on Alori's face when he mentioned the dreams to her. The Endal knew from her expression that she was experiencing them too. Suddenly, the young Endal was full of surprise when he mentioned his dream woman. Turrin kind of blushed to himself, looked away, and said softly, “I keep having dreams about me shooting a glass arrow into the heart of Azira. It has to mean something doesn't? I mulled over the symbolism for days and came up to conclusion that I was in love with her.” Turrin couldn't really believe his conclusion at first because he was already starting to have feelings for another woman. The thought of loving Azira kind of scared him because he wasn't sure if she was going to kiss him or stab him deeper into the relationship. The unpredictability in her personality didn't make him feel comfortable. He knew that he should have kept his thoughts to himself, but he needed to talk to anyone at the moment. When Lavira entered the room, Turrin raised an eyebrow at blood on her face. He was about to ask a question, but Alori asked the question for him. Suddenly, the instructor started to talk, so he turned his attention to her. The instructor started to tell them that fire was more important than water in a survival situation. He was surprised to hear it because he always thought water was more important. However, she explained the water needed to be boiled first before drinking it. He was curious for the reason why, but he was sure that she would explain it later in the lecture. Another fact that the Myrian didn't know was a person can survive three weeks without food, but they could only survive three days without water. When Palia paused to answer questions, Turrin decided to ask a question of his own, “Since the weather as been unpredictable lately, how do you keep wood dry if it is raining or covered in snow? Also, how safe is rain water or snow? Do you still have to boil the water in those situation?”

[Kovac]

Kovac had changed his mind. Lavira had tried to convince him to go to the next session Palia was holding for the hunters. The class on Tracking and Trapping did prove worthwhile, but sitting in the Enclave all day listening to that curmudgeonly woman drone on did wear on him. Lavira had huffed at him and stalked out, rushing to arrive before the class started. Kovac had watched her leave, paced around the aerie a bit before he gave in and headed out.

He walked into the Enclave, Palia already going on about fire. The half-bred Avora offered a wane smile, then hurried down next to Lavira. She was holding her nose, blood still dripping between her fingers. "Vira!" He quipped in a hoarse whisper, "what the petch happened to you?" She tried to explain, some unintelligible words whispered from behind her hand. Kovac looked over to Alori, seeing the girl had no clue either. "You better go clean that up, and lay down. I will take notes and share what we learn." He instructed, knowing the only way she would leave was if he promised to stay for the class. The Endal nodded from behind her hand, moving to her feet and gingerly exiting the chamber.

Kovac dropped into the seat Lavira vacated, shot a smile at Alori, then turned his attention to the unamused instructor.

[Skerry]

e
Unsurprisingly there weren’t any questions. They were like her, they just wanted this to be over and done with and she didn’t blame them. It was going to be a long stretch and there was no point drawing it out anymore than necessary. No point asking a question that might be answered anyway. The only eventful thing that happened during her pause for possible questions was the entrance of another hunter, one that she remembered from the Tracking and Trapping class. He was late, something that she didn’t appreciate and he also started a quick, quiet conversation with the Endal with the nose bleed. Whatever the hunter said to her made the impaired girl leave quickly. More disruption. Palia shot a filthy look in Kovac’s direction before clearing her throat.

”Right so most of you should be aware of using flint and steel to start a fire but shall we look at something a little more basic? The main thing you need, regardless of what method you use, is tinde, kindling and wood. I’ll discuss tinder first because it’s the first thing you need to actually light your fire. Tinder is anything that will ignite with the slightest spark. Dry materials like grass, leaves, fungus and such will work. You can also create tinder and kindling from wood, which is particularly good in damp conditions. You strip off any damp layers until you reach a drier centre. When you have that you make a feather stick, which means you peel sections off so that that the stick actually looks like a feather.” Palia reached for a stick on the table and held it up so that they could see what she was actually talking about. Visuals always helped. ”Other examples of kindling aside from a feather stick is things like small twigs and certain types of bark.

So for the hand drill method, you need a piece of wood to start your fire on known as a fire board. A fireboard should be made of soft wood about a quarter inch thick but not so soft that it’ll crumble. To find out if a wood is soft or not, you cut some of the bark away and run your fingernail along it. If your nail makes an impression easily then it’s a soft wood. Once you make your fireboard, you need to cut a v-shaped notch into the side of it and then make a depression beside it, like this.” The Endal picked up a board from the table and raised it for them all to see. ”Bark goes under the notch and you place a spindle, a twigless, fairly straight stick of about 2 feet long and you put it in the depression. The diameter shouldn’t be too thin or you’ll bore through your fireboard. Maybe a quarter of an inch will work. You need to apply pressure onto the board and spin the spindle between your palms without lifting the spindle until you get an ember. As soon as you have an ember, you knock it onto the bark and you transfer your bark to your nest of tinder and blow gently until it flames. Believe me when I say it isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

The woman pinched the bridge of her nose in thought. Whether to split it, answer questions and come back to more methods afterwards or finish methods and then have questions... No, she’d just get through fire starting methods altogether and the hunters would just have to bear with her.

”The Bow Drill method works very well, I think. You need a number of things to start it though. You need a bear block made of hardwood with a depression cut into it. You use that for holding the spindle in place. You want as little friction as possible on it so lubricate it. How? Wipe your face to get oils off it and then rub it around the depression. Don’t judge, it helps. You make a spindle, or drill like in the hand bow method but you make it shorter by about a foot. You lubricate the end that goes into the depression in the bear block, so not the end that you’re actually starting the fire with. Like the previous method, you need to create a fire board with a depression and a notch and then you set up your bow. You can use your actual bow, or similar wood if you aren’t comfortable risking it. You just need to twist the spindle into the string, hold the bow in one hand and the bear block in the other. You hold the spindle in place and start your drilling with the bow pointed slightly downwards at a steady pace, only speeding up when you see smoke. Embers go in a tinder nest and you have it.

That just leaves the old reliable flint and steel. Now everyone with any experience should know how to do this but perhaps the new apprentices don’t? Well, you need your flint and steel obviously and you need something that will light quickly but you can still pick up. Charred cloth will work as will bundles of tinder fungus. You can get a spark in two ways. The first is to place the tinder on top of the flint and strike it with the steel. The second which is easier to do normally is to place your tinder on the ground or in your fire set up and strike sparks downwards with your flint and steel. Then it’s the usual blowing and whatnot to get the fire going properly and the adding of kindling. And that is all that I’m going to teach you on starting methods.

“Any questions?”
e

[Alori Sai]

Turrin was an interesting fellow to say the least, he had odd quirks that showed the difference in him, but all in all he seemed like a good man. Like him, she also took on any training that she could get whenever she could get it. Her early hunting days had been very rough since no one wanted to help her and that, in the long run, gave others an edge on her. However, Alori wouldn't give up and the teen did her best with what she had to use. "Yea, I had the same thought. It could really help out in winter yea know?"

The mixed blood's dream of Azira was disturbing, and she stared at him wide eyed as he spoke. Being in love was all well and good, but to dream that he killed the woman was more that off-putting. "Umm..so..that was creepy. You probably shouldn't tell her about that dream..like at all." She really hoped that he wouldn't, poor Azira would be frighten, that or she would stab him than and there. After speaking with Turrin Alori had been going back and forth, while checking on her sister and listening to the instructor.

Lavira wouldn't' tell her what happened and before she could get another word in, Kovac jumped in, ushered her sister off and took her place. The little Endal just stared at him with wide eyes for a moment. "What is going on here? This is all crazy." She glanced around and noticed the instructor looking at Kovac and huffed a breath before she settled down again. When the instructor began to speak, the teen paid close attention to what was said. It was a much better example of how to do it right, and explained things, that while she had already did it, she understood the reasons why what worked and what didn't.

Alori didn't have any questions and so she settled in, bundled in her coat and watched and listened. She made key notes in her mind, things that she would remember easily enough the next time that she went out to hunt.

OOCSo sorry about the late reply