Completed A House Warming To Remember

[Naadiya]

A House Warming To Remember 1st of Summer, 522 AV The smells of vanilla and catnip filled the summer air as Naadiya stared up at the staircase to her new home. She could hardly believe the building process had already been finished. It felt as though the whole thing had taken such a long stretch to actually be completed, especially as everyone struggled with one curse or another. Her own curse had made it very hard to feel comfortable in her own skin but there had been people who were not even able to actually continue their normal daily activities because of said curses. And one, Naadiya lamented, who did not live to see the season change. Goddess protect her soul. Spring was always a time of change and renewal, but for the inhabitants of Syka, it was had been anything but. Tormented both physically, and mentally, one and all had been pushed to their limits and forced to either use logic and creativity to adapt or else suffer on the daily basis. Naadiya’s approach had been adapting and enduring. She’d had little success in find the root cause of her curse and had to find ways of living with it instead. Baths became less frequent, and the water used was kept at a fairly hot temperature but those things were not new to a desert nomad, she’d only been giving up luxuries of comfort. However, the inability to drink a cool beverage or even certain particularly juicy fruits if there were colder than herself, that had really taken some of the pleasure from eating, especially in Syka with its fruitful bounty. It was like she had a dietary allergy that caused not a rash or stomach problems but the growth of a penis… a dietary allergy that would also be triggered by rain, swimming, any cool moisture did the job, really. But his morning Naadiya had woken up feeling brand new. Like years had been wiped right off her shoulders and her veins flowed with enthusiasm. Even so, before she had left the inn that morning, her last few bells in the room that had already been paid for, were used to prepare a steamy hot bath. All it would take would be a little surprise visit from little Naadiy-O to turn her day sour, so she made sure the water was nice and hot, despite whatever hint of blooming confidence had started to ferment in her stomach. Best not to risk it, she decided as she submerged herself in the herbal scented lava water. Into the tub, she had poured a jarful of a mint tea and now wafted the invigorating aroma. It was almost enough to ward off the headaches completely but Naadiya still had a coffee before she grabbed the last bits of luggage she still had and carried it all off to her new home. Now she stood at the lowest step, unable to walk the rest of the way up. With her nerves were boiling over and nearly taking over, Naadiya’s right hand gripped the hand rail like she meant to choke the life out of it, or wring it like a rag. 520

[Naadiya]

The lofted cabin had cost a pretty miza but now she had a place of her own. The feeling was liberating, empowering and terrifying. She’d gone from living as part of a large family roaming the desert with others in a caravan, to a ship full of Svefra and then an inn full of people trying to find their footing. Each move had lessened the amount of people around her more and more. And now she would be alone. What was meant to be a celebratory moment, somehow did not really feel like it. She had made the walk from the inn alone with her backpack, ruck sack and various bags full of clothes tied to the straps of both. She looked like a camel, and thinking of it, she missed the feeling of having a mount. They could be the best kind of friends. They helped carry the load, and even carry you and shorten the trip. Naadiya had never seen a camel or even a horse anywhere in Syka and had to admit she missed the creatures despite recognizing how ill suited they would be for the environment. Naadiya often wondered if she too was ill suited for the coastal jungle. Too late now, she thought, looking up at what two seasons of work had bought for her. Now I’m here. I will adapt and endure. The whole idea was a bit daunting but with a renewed vigor to her step, Naadiya climbed the stairs so fast she nearly tripped carrying so much and only one free hand to steady herself. But the last step finally arrived and so did she. Taking a moment to catch her breath and unload her bags, Naadiya stretched her back and touched her toes, thinking of how those stairs on a daily basis were sure to leave her with the thighs of a goddess before long. When Naadiya had been given the key to her new home, the first she’d done with it was stash it away somewhere no one was likely to find and she was not likely to forget. Last season, she had been gifted a collection of charms that had begun to accumulate on her wrist, and while all were quite useful, one of them would eliminate the need for house keys… her own or anyone else’s, if she had understood Talivindra’s description correctly. And since she had still been unable to remove the bracelet, Naadiya figured she could also never loose her keys. Reaching her door, however, she found it had been left unlocked by whomever had been the last to enter. As Talivindra made a case about putting on the finishing touches before Naadiya saw the grande reveal with all the furniture placed, it was a fair assumption that she would be the one to blame. Naadiya put her hand on the knob and took a deep breath both excited and nervous. Slowly, she let the door swing in and smiled as she took her first step into what would be her new home in Syka. 509

[Naadiya]

The windows had been left shuttered, whatever light illumined the room, was coming in from where Naadiya entered. She hadn’t even taken her fourth step inside when the doors swung shut behind her. As she spun to face whatever had caused the door to close, something was thrown over Naadiya’s head. Is this a hood? No, it’s a net! she thought, as she felt the material against her skin. Having heard of so many stories from locals who had escaped from slavery, Naadiya immediately tensed before the panic started to seep in. She still could not see very well, but her eyes were already starting to adjust to the dim lighting, but she saw no one ahead of her. Naadiya was sliding her feet back instead of stepping, trying to avoid tripping on the net or anything else. Her back hunched down a bit and her fingers grabbed at the net, trying viciously to cause a tear. On her right hand, Naadiya wore a set of fias. While she did not normally wear the weapons, she was still trying to get her hands used to the feel of them and thought there would be no better way to familiarize herself with the weight and limits of the claws than to simply wear them, even if she could hardly use them. Pure necessity had caused her to leave her left hand bare. After having first worn the pair at once, she quickly realized her lack of skill made doing so more of a disadvantage than an advantage. She took a deep and lightly quivering breath, there was no time to panic, doing so would only make the situation worse. Even so, panic had a fairly firm grip on her stomach. Focusing had taken so long, or had it only been a few ticks? It had hard to tell, but one thing she did know: she was prey, unprepared and already captured. Naadiya tried to rip the net apart, with her bare hand and the bladed one but luck was not on her side just then. I have scissors in my bag! she thought, knowing full well she did not have the time to look for them. Giving up on trying to cut through or find another tool, Naadiya thought of the weights. The net must have had weights, she was certain she’d heard them hit the wooden floors. Round ones… they rolled, I’m sure I heard that too! Sliding her foot to the side did not take long for it to hit one of the metal spheres. Naadiya dropped down grab it and lift it over her head, but even as she released herself, something heavy came at her stomach. The blow did not hurt so much as caught her unaware and knocked the wind out of her in a couple of seconds. Doubled over and forcing herself to breathe, Naadiya felt a hand brace itself on her back and then with a sudden push, it threw her down. Just barely breaking her fall with her arms, Naadiya managed to bend her elbows as she fell to prevent the shock from jolting up from wrist to elbow to shoulder. Rolling over as quickly as she could, Naadiya grabbed the net on the floor and yanked it. The person, whoever they were, had stepped in their own net once it had been rendered useless and lost their foot when Naadiya pulled. The expected thud of a fallen body never came. The intruder had caught their fall before it even happened. Naadiya still held the net as she pulled herself up, her sharpened metal nails barely glinting in the sparse light. She needed more light. Her back was turned to the front entrance as she inched her way towards it. There was a movement to her left then something flew at her head. The impact was soft. A pillow? Couch cushion? She was smacked in the face with another cushion just as she reached back with one hand and threw open the front doors again. 672

[Naadiya]

When the light poured in, it revealed the bright smile and red-scaled facade of Talivindra with another pillow ready to be launched. This one Naadiya caught, careful to not tear into the fabric with the fias. “What are you doing!?” “Is this how you are going to defend yourself if someone worse than me had come to attack you!?” “I— what?” “You are living by yourself now. You need to be better able to defend yourself in case something happened!” “When was the last time there was a home invasion in Syka?” “Exactly, we are due for some! But it’s not even just that and you know it. Snakes get quite big over here, what if you woke up to one of those? Or a leopard? Or another monkey? Especially after that whole baboon fiasco.” Naadiya had started to ball up the fallen net and handed it Tal who just shrugged and waved it away. “I meant to get some lessons with Zayne or D’varrus! It’s just, I got really busy! At least I’m armed!” She said, waving the finger blades in the air unimpressively. “Yes! You have very pretty claws that you can barely even use, that’s like getting a guard-cat, not very effective.” Naadiya rolled her eyes as she gathered the thrown cushions and returned them to where they should go. “I do still want a cat, it would help with rodents.” Talivindra snapped her fingers a couple of times in front of Naadiya’s face. “Rodents are not the biggest problem you might face living here by yourself, you do realize that right?” “You’re right, instead I need to worry about friends coming in and attacking me for no good reason. You’re kind of ruining the whole ‘home-coming’ thing, you know. These are brand new pillows!” “Buraga posted something at the Commons. The main part of it does not apply to you… I don’t think you qualify” the verusk woman said with almost obvious disapproval before continuing. “But he’s also calling on anyone who does not yet meet the standards, to join the Ranger Reserve…. Looks like Syka is starting to build an army of sorts, or at least a defense force. I’m not sure how effective your claws would be, but from what you’ve said, you’re not terrible with a bow and I know you have a sharp eye, you may want to go and lend a hand when needed.” Naadiya made no comment at the fact that she had never heard or seen any combat type of display coming from Talivindra and catching someone off-guard with a net and flying pillows could hardly be considered the best attack tactics. “Whatever lessons you have with D’varrus should be on top of the ones you will take with Zayne and whatever else Buraga might suggest.” Naadiya scoffed, “I’m sorry, how many bells do you think there are in a single day?! I have a job, in case you forgot. And it has been increasingly more time consuming than I’d expected!” 506

[Naadiya]

“You haven’t heard? Dawn and Tony seem to have made a full recovery. I’m not sure if the girl Lexi has decided to stay and help Dawn around the shop, but in any case, she’ll be needing far less help.” If it was true, this had been the first Naadiya had heard of any of this. She gave Talivindra an inquisitive look in response. “What? I like to keep myself informed! And some people will just go on and on when they are having their hair worked on. Also, they are paying! The Rangers I mean, it’s a paid position, the Reserves as well. I don’t know how much or if it’s coming from Buraga himself or the Founders, but I know the Rangers will be paid based on skills and the Reserve will receive half-wages on top of whatever you make from Dawn.” Her interest was sparked, wanting to fill in the gap left in her coin purse by the recent purchase of the home and business. Naadiya arched an eyebrow and turned to face Talivindra and listen in closer. The latter went into more details as Naadiya made them some tea. She hardly stopped to look around at her surroundings, but immediately started opening shutters, letting light in, and maneuvering the kitchen as if she had been living there for years. Everything was where she would instinctively look for it. It was something you really only had when you were living in a place of your own. It was something she’d never had before. Fire lit. Kettle filled. Water boiled. Tea poured. Naadiya’s fias had once again been returned to her bag and she stretched her fingers one by one in relief before tapping lacquered nails on the side of the wooden cup as she waited for the brew to cool and took a whiff. The smell was not strong enough for her liking. Naadiya reached for a handful of fresh mint growing on small pots along the windows and pinched some off before mincing it roughly with her fingertips and dropping the leaves in her cup. Better. From a basket near the window, Naadiya grabbed a lemon that she rolled on the counter, putting pressure to soften the fruit and release its juices. She sliced the lemon and after squeezing half into her own cup, she offered some to Talivindra who refused it, drinking her tea as it was. “Perhaps I will see if there is something I could do for the Reserve,” Naadiya said between sips. “Only, I wouldn’t want to be getting in people’s way.” They kept talking as Naadiya cleaned up their cups and went upstairs to store her things. Occasionally Naadiya asked if and how Talivindra would volunteer herself, but those questions were always dodged. Naadiya wondered if the Verusk truly though her feigns had convinced Naadiya or if she simply did not care. The first space they walked into was Naadiya’s workroom. Though Naadiya’s original design had the privy as the first thing one would step into upon reaching the second floor, after several very logical if persistent conversations with Talivindra, she had decided to change the design and opted for a more private bathing area. As she walked into the room she admired all of its contents: the couple of looms, a good sized table she could work on, wheeled stools she could adjust the height of and plenty of storage all along the walls. 575

[Naadiya]

She looked at the shelves that lined most available wall space that was now windowed. They were all empty, but she planned on filling them soon enough. Opening one of her bags and taking out a few weaving tools, Naadiya stored them near where they would be used. She’d gotten a small drawer unit to be nestled in between the looms so that which ever one she wanted to work she would have easy access to the needed tools. Eventually she would get more tools, there was never enough shuttles in a weaver’s workshop, but for now it felt good to know she was already filling in the empty spaces of her new home. The shelf nearest the door to the bedroom, she had decided would be the one she’d keep patterns, inspirations, notes, ledgers and the like, while the opposite end, would hold yarns as well as textiles that were finished or awaiting some other treatment. Essentially on one side were all things that pertained to paper, while the other housed those aligned with fabric. Eyeballing the available space along the shelves, she made a rough estimate of how much spun yarn she could keep and wondered if she would be buying raw material this season. Probably not, if Dawn and Tony are going to be able to spin again, she made a mental note, then decided to make a physical one as well and did so in her notebook, also adding in how much yarn she would be able to buy and keep stored in the room. Naadiya wanted to weave a few specific patterns soon, beautiful floral blooms in shades of red and burgundy with star-shaped centers. Making some educated guesses at what she would need to buy form Dawn, Naadiya wrote down each color and the number of spools she may need always rounding up just in case. Now that all the weavers were back to weaving, Naadiya did not want to run the chance of the Swiftwaters running out of a color just when she needed it. The notebook, Naadiya stashed in her bag from where she’d draw it out once more as needed. Talivindra had been going on and on about the precision it had taken to carve the details around the home but Naadiya barely heard her. The verusk was focused on the window frames and the the size of the tub, but all Naadiya could think of was how different it would be to not have to share a bathroom with anyone. “Anyway, I think you should go and see where Buraga thinks you would be most useful,” Talivindra said as the two descended the stairs. “He’d know better than I, wouldn’t he?” Naadiya mused, her hand running over the wooden stair rail. Oh, yes this is nice. she gave Talivindra an impressed smile while keeping her comment silent, no need to add to the woman’s ego. But those rails were beautifully smoothed out, going with the natural curves of the wood, lacking any sort of symmetry or regularity but perfectly beautiful nonetheless. “Aren’t you coming as well?” Naadiya asked, noticing how quick the verusk was to push her into civic duty while at the same time considering herself as outside the settlement and its worries. Perhaps she fears that getting attached will have its downfalls. She did afterall, somehow, escape Rhysol’s curses. Maybe she doesn’t want to risk another god’s wrath. “I have another matter to see to…” Talivindra replied, not surprising Naadiya in the least. “Of course you do.” 590