Solo Building Life Alone With Friends Part 2

[Tazrae]

Timestamp: 55th of Spring, 522 A.V.

Continued From: Building A Life Alone With Friends Part 1

“I love someone too… so I understand.” She said simply. Tazrae understood well how love changed everything so drastically so quickly. And she couldn’t be mad at him, not really, for the past molded the future and she wouldn’t change the past for anything. She wouldn’t change coming to Syka, starting an Inn, meeting Alric at the Outpost, and all the other connections she made since moving here. “And thank you for the Djedline. I am more grateful than you know.” She added, tilting her head thoughtfully. “I’ve inducted someone else into it…. a Nymkarta. He’s hunted like an animal by some very unsavory people. I think it might protect him and make all the difference in the world. He’s the one I love.” She added, surprised she’d voiced that at all.

Tony cleared his throat. “I understand you two seemed to have things to talk about, but lets get a move on with this okay?” He said, clapping Duncan on the back and gave Tazrae an intense stare. He’d heard some things, Taz suspected, that he probably shouldn’t have.

Taz nodded. “We need the footers rocked in so they don’t rot and we need a layer of gravel above the whole site so we can put up the pavilion.” Taz said, walking over and taking Duncan’s hand. "I’ve only got two elements, so far… fire and air. Is there any way I can help you?” She asked as Duncan nodded.

“Sure, sweep the area with air, brush away all the debris over the landscape you want me to gravel, and I will start on the footers. Just have Tony show me where they are, and hold the posts in level… using the level.” Taz nodded, knowing how to do what Duncan asked now that she was more practiced. The forbes in the underbrush were delicate because most of the ‘soil’ was sand and they would pull right out. It was like massive weeding with wind and she got started, moving in front of the two men as they went from post to post. Duncan would kneel down, feel the dimensions, and while Tony held the posts which were precut to the right height… Duncan would fill the footers with stone. The post would be set into stone then, rot proof, and durable.

Meanwhile Taz held her hands wide, called djed to convert to Res, and set it in whirlwinds out away from her and the two men, clearing debris and pulling small plants from the ground making it bare. The magic saved her bells of hard time clearing the land and left only bigger thicker brush that once she was done using the Reimancy, she could clear by hand. The Reimancy took less time than she thought, as she stayed ahead of the pair laying stone. Once it was completely clear as much as she could get, Taz fetched one of Randal’s ‘borrowed’ shovels and began taking a hatchet and shovel to those things that she couldn’t move with the air Reimancy. That part was hard work and she broke out into a sweat fast, having very little relief from the sun even though they were in the shade. Hacking away at sapplings, small palms, and harvesting bamboo was not easy work. But she did have a pile of firework together by the time Duncan was done with the footers.

Then together, the three of them laid the support girder beams out and began securing them to the posts, laying out the base of the floating deck. The next part were the rim joists, and Taz had to get the Ixam to help since they were heavy things. There were far more of them than the girder beams, so it took far more work to steady them. Tony marveled at how Taz got them all working together, but she explained that Caiyha’s Nura made it far easier. Plus, she’d promised them a big pig hunt after the floating deck was built.


Words: 661

[Tazrae]

Once the rim joists were attached to the beams, the middle joists were placed and nailed into their spots, with bridging placed between them for spacing. Taz’s shoulders ached and her arms hurt from hauling the wood and driving nails.

It was slow going, but with the three people helping, they were able to move much faster. Duncan stuck around for the hammering, it being something he could do if someone set the nails for him. That saved Tazrae’s worn arms more than once, and she was glad for her djedfather’s help. Duncan might have been blind, but he was a strong fit man regardless.

Once the rim joists, center joists, and all the bridging was in, Tony called a halt for the day and Taz thanked everyone for their help. Duncan had one more thing to do and he stepped back and did it, walking the length and breadth of the floating deck creating a thick layer of gravel, far too deep for jungle plants to grow up and out of. It was important since it would keep the vegetation from getting at the floating deck from underneath and rotting it out. Its sharp protrusions would also keep the soft sensitive bellies of lizards and snakes from slithering under the deck as well. Insects would move in, of course, but they wouldn’t bother the denizens above.

Duncan offered Taz a hug, one more apology, and made her promise to come see him if she ever needed anything. Tony smiled as well and promised to come back when it was time to erect the pavilion in a day or two when the deck was planked and sanded and stained. Taz could do all of that herself between her duties at the Inn and to the surrounding community.

The truth was, Tazrae needed this project to keep her sanity. If it went too fast it wouldn’t do what she needed it to do in her life. She needed it to fill her days, especially her evenings, so she could hold onto something while the curse was holding onto her. The hard part was done. All that needed doing now was cutting the decking and putting on the ledgers. Tony escorted Duncan home and took himself off, leaving Taz with the half finished project.

And of course, she filled the world with music as she worked… Inhaling deeply, she started on a little ditty that she loved, one that reminded her of someone far away who didn’t exactly remember her.

“I'll tell the world, I'll sing a song
It's a better place since you came along
Since you came along
Your touch is sunlight through the trees
Your kisses are the ocean breeze
Everything's alright when you're with me.”

She paused, using her Res then to blow the back of her hair up and cool her body with the artificial wind she created, swirling it around her and smiling. Alric was magic, and when she sang about him or used her Res all she could think about was him… and what he meant to her. She pumped more Res into the breeze and started singing once more, taking a break from the hammering and sanding. It would all be done soon anyhow.

“And ahh, you're my favorite thing
Ahh, all the love that you bring
Well, it feels like I've opened my eyes again
And the colors are golden and bright again
There's a song in my heart, I feel like I belong
It's a better place since you came along
It's a better place since you came along
I see the whole world in your eyes
It's like I've known you all my life
We just feel so right
So I pour my heart into your hands
It's like you really understand
You love the way I am…”

Words: 639

[Tazrae]

Tazrae started on the decking planks that day, cutting a bunch of them to size while she kept djed flowing from her lips as she blew on the boards as she cut. The sawdust blew away, into a pile off to one side, not sure if she’d use it for something or simply burn it in one of the fires. When it got to dark to see, she’d use her Reimancy to light tiki torches and keep the work going. She didn’t make the work without its use and practice as well. She’d often keep a ball of burning fire near her, forcing herself to split her concentration between it and the boards she was cutting to lay on the deck.

By making it dance, dip high, dip low, blaze higher with air added, and pulled back to a tiny spark with air taken away, Taz could practice as she nailed and as she sawed. Then, there was the endless mindless pounding of nails as she laid the decking across the joists. It was amazing for her upper body strength, working her muscles repeatedly and causing her to always be sweaty and sore. She’d pound nails until she couldn’t hold the hammer anymore, then she’d trade off and saw boards until the decking was completely covered.

“And ahh, you're my favorite thing
Ahh, all the happiness you bring
Well, it feels like I've opened my eyes again
And the colors are golden and bright again
And the sun paints the skies and the wind sings our song
It's a better place since you came along
It's a better place since you came along”

She stood up, took a break, and spun in a circle, sending up a small storm of palm leaves around her as she blew out Res between the verses. She laughed, not being able to help it, glad to be building, feeling better and feeling free in the simple art of creating. She danced forwards, back, and played tag with the breeze she created through the palms all around them. When she was done, she finished the last verse of the song and got back to work.

“Now I'm alright
Now I'm alright
Everything's alright
'Cause it feels like I've opened my eyes again
And the colors are golden and bright again
There's a song in my heart, I feel like I belong
It's a better place since you came along
It's a better place since you came along”

The stairs were simple… just two steps up on footers that Duncan had laid with posts when he was here. She measured and cut the stringers, having been taught by Randal when they built The Protea. Then she laid the treads out the long way, facing the sand. She didn’t add railing to this deck, nor did she add railing to the stringer skirts. She wanted the Ixam to come and go easily and have ways in and ways out without damaging the wood. The floating deck was about thirty to twenty eight inches off the gravel, depending upon the landscape, so she didn’t feel the need for safety. It was an easy jump for both humans and lizards. And she felt freer without the bars of rails around what was going to be her full-time home.

Words: 551

[Tazrae]

In those days, she discovered living in Syka had its benefits. Syka had access to huge hardwoods, deep grained and beautifully patterned wood that was superior in damp conditions and in the mold inducing environment. She loved the wood as she laid it out, marveling at how pretty the decks were turning out to be. The floors would be a thing of beauty in this space, Taz decided as she finally laid the last board and took a hand sander and began to sand.

Sanding took two more days where she was on her hands and knees stroking the wood along its grain. That was equally backbreaking, and she lost weight as she skipped meals because between cooking at the Inn and cleaning their rooms, doing their laundry, and working on the floating deck, she had no time for relaxation. When the deck was done, she made another trip to Standing Tall and bought a bucket of stain and sealer that Sorian guaranteed would make the floors gleam. Taz applied it as Sorian advised and left the deck partially covered with tarps that weren’t allowed to touch the wood for two days.

When they were done, sanded, and sealed with the remainder of the stain and sealer she’d picked up from Standing Tall, then Taz simply stood before it and felt happy. Happy was a fleeting feeling for her. It truly was. She grabbed a hold of it when she could, and embraced it close to her heart. When she’d absorbed all of it she felt she could … she turned and gave it a last look.

Tazrae hadn’t planned to put her home on a floating deck, but now that the work was done, she realized Tony was right. She got a good nights sleep, awoke in her tent to the chores of the Inn, and when she had a free moment, she walked to Tropical Fever Fashions and found Tony working at an Isuas Loom. He was more than glad for the break, and had remembered working on the deck for a Pavilion but not erecting the Pavilion itself. So he listened through Tazrae’s introduction, her explanation, and easily followed her back to Garden Beach, where they finally tackled the Pavilion itself.

They erected the Pavilion as Tony had configured it and it fit perfectly on the floating deck. It took Ixam pulling on guidewires and guidelines and posts being nailed into the deck itself, but when they were done the structure was solid, waterproof, and would hold up against substantial storm winds. It was also light, airy, and open to the world in a way that Tazrae’s tent and the structures at The Protea were not. He showed her how to do the running stitch that allowed the walls to seal tight to the roof canvases, and he also showed her how to roll up the walls themselves or roll down the mosquito netting to keep the critters out.

Tony went one further, and helped Tazrae carefully unwrap all the carefully stowed furniture from its oilskin wrappers and moved it piece by piece inside the pavilion, filling up Tazrae’s world in a temporary way. They started with the great rug first, and Tony sighed at how beautiful it was. “You picked well.” He simply said, then helped her put together the bed, lay the mattresses, and move the end tables in place. The wardrobe was the last and heaviest, something they almost couldn’t get moved because Tazrae wasn’t another man and wasn’t as strong as Tony. But little by little they got everything in place, even her lovely wing-backed chair with its matching ottoman. The chest got placed, and Taz could assess what else she needed for the setup. It was simple… a small table and a couple of chairs on the decking outside the pavilion.

Tony took his leave then, thanking her even as she thanked him… and she stood for the first time alone before her new home… and loved every single thing about it.

Word: 669

[Tazrae]

Grading

Tazrae –

Leadership +1, Reimancy +3, Body Building +3, Gardening +1, Construction +3, Singing +2, Carpentry +3, Sewing +1

Leadership: Directing A Build, Reimancy: Creating Whirlwinds, Gardening: Clearing Land, Construction: Laying Out Girder Beams, Construction: Setting Bridging, Reimancy: Using Res To Air Condition Oneself, Reimancy: Using Reimancy To Assist Carpentry, Reimancy: Fine Fireball Control, Body Building: Sawing Planks, Sanding & Sealing Deck, Construction: Sealing Wood, Carpentry: Staining Wood, Sewing: Running Stitch, Body Building: Moving Furniture