Easing Through Eaulir - 119 4A

[Nara-pyon]

Fading faded away and turned into Winter, but with how far south the travelers were, it made little difference to them except that it now rained at least one day a week, often more. Travel was therefore slower, and so it took longer than the predicted week that Kyrie had said to leave Gemia behind. They weren't on a schedule, however, so it didn't really bother most of them.

The humidity was so strong, however, that Daenis couldn't go outside at all, and though there were long stretches (due to the rain) when everyone stayed inside, others still took turns staying inside with her so that she would never be alone. Rose was starting to be able to spend entire days traveling, and she had finally shed her cloak, realizing that it wasn't worth the heat prostration to keep it on. She still didn't change the type of clothes she wore, though: she tried pants a few times, but she preferred the breeziness her skirts gave her legs.

With all of the extra time indoors, most people busied themselves with projects. Andarien and Shoneah made blueprints for a second sewing machine for Iorlas and Holly with the hopes of being able to make it once they could make the necessary molds and tools for it. Daeron worked hard, designing and beginning to make the furniture that would be required for the enlarged kitchen and dining space, as well as those bits of furniture that Rose and Holly had not been able to take with them from Valdell. Jassin ended up helping Daeron. He didn't have experience as a carpenter, but he recognized Daeron's need for help, and he was eager to learn the craft, realizing that whenever he and Lashrael found somewhere to live, they would need a way to make a living - or, if they ended up somewhere on their own, would need a house to live in and furniture of their own. Wren and Khetal worked together in the gardens, and Wren even took to helping Khetal with his research - soon enough there were rumours going around about the two of them becoming an item, which they either didn't hear, or simply ignored. Shiro actually started to take time out from his own studies, helping Andarien and Shoneah with the finer points of the sewing machines so that they would be even more helpful for Holly and Iorlas. Earendil worked with Kyrie on maps and helped Lin with her writing, adding his views on some of their experiences to broaden it a bit. Mirania and Lamruil continued to work on their tree house home, expanding it and personalizing it more every day. They even took to teaching some of the others to climb - Wren was still learning, after all, and then Lashrael also expressed a desire to learn.

Overall, they kept themselves busy, and at last they arrived in Eaulir. It was a small country, as Kyrie showed them on one of her maps, and it had two basic regions: inland, which was rainforest, as they had been traveling through for the past month and a half, and coast, which actually covered most of the country. The coast was beautiful, too: mile after mile of sandy beaches, with sandbars that, in some areas, stretched into the ocean for nearly half a mile. There was only one settlement, Kyrie informed them, and it had only a small and ever-changing population. It would be a while before they would reach it, no matter whether they traveled through the inland forest or via the coast.

"That leaves us with three options," she said one morning when the group was still more or less all present after breakfast. "We can go through the rainforest - which, with the rain we've been having, will present us with some difficulty; or we can go along the coast, though it is storm season and the water could present a hazard to us; or we could travel along the stretch where the trees begin, where the coast meets the forest, which will probably be the easiest route."

Then, with a smile, she added, "Besides, then we can hunt in the forest or spend time on the beach as we feel like it."

[Kara Winters]

Miyuki tilted her head a bit, looking up from the work she was doing. She was currently working on some layouts for the new kitchen, and sometimes it was nice to be in the same room where everyone else was.

"The forest sounds great then," she commented.
Lin nodded at this, "I agree... it would be safer and easier to travel along the forest then..."

She glanced over at her husband to see what he thought, but she was sure that is what they were going to choose.

Holly, sat near by listening as she was modifying one of the last of her clothes. She didn't realize how many clothes she had made for herself (mainly to show the population that the style would work). With the exception of her traveling clothes, nothing was left unmodified, there was no reason not to show her tail (and by extension her ears).

Maybe she should wait until she made ribbons for her tail?

[Nara-pyon]

Earendil nodded. "What's our timeline?" he asked, more out of curiosity than concern.

Kyrie tapped her finger lightly on the table. "Winter has just set in," she said thoughtfully. "Give it a week, perhaps two to make it to the Water Elven settlement, and we're still in Winter. If we head north, we're going to end up in cold and snow - which I know most of us can handle, and which might even be helpful in getting us safely through Poleria, but Holly and Rose have spent most of their lives, or at least the latest part of their lives, in heat and humidity. To go directly from that into snow will be a powerful shock to their bodies and may make them fall ill."

She looked around at them all. "My recommendation is that we wait out Winter here in Eaulir before heading north."

[Kara Winters]

"We can do that," Lin murmured thoughtfully, "No sense in anyone falling ill from cold."

Holly paused in what she was doing and looked up.

"Out of curiousity, how cold is it in the spring? Is it something I should prepare for?"

She could make things if she had furs for herself and Rose.

[Nara-pyon]

Kyrie twisted around in her chair and looked at Holly.

"Not cold enough for furs, though you will need those when we pass through the northern countries," she answered, "but cool enough that you'll need thick clothes at the very least, and probably a fur-lined cloak. Good boots and gloves would be wise as well."

She glanced at Rose and added, "You'll need similar clothes as well."

Rose turned to Holly. "Is that doable in the time we have?" she asked.

Iorlas also turned to Holly to get her answer. She would use the opportunity to learn more, of course.

[Kara Winters]

Holly thought about it, "Make at least one set of clothes before we go, yes. I can't make glove, I can knit mitts, but you'd lose a great deal of dexterity in your hands wearing those, and I'm not a shoemaker, so boots I can't do. That would take equipment and know-how that I don't have. Though I could make some really thick socks... if I knit them..."

She thought about it a bit more.

"I just need thicker cloth, since the cloth we use is normally light and airy, or I could just make us a pair of long johns to wear under our clothes, that might help... Maybe pants would be better... it's been a long time since I've worn pants..."

There were lolita (prince) style pants, but she didn't normally wear them before coming here and didn't wear them at all coming here.

[Nara-pyon]

Iorlas smiled. "Well, we will do what we can, and I will do all that I can to help you with that. We can see what we have in the storage rooms for materials."

Even knitting would require yarn, which they didn't have, so it would be interesting to see what they would be able to come up with.

"Though I think," she added thoughtfully, "Wren has been growing cotton in one of her gardens ... we could see if any of it is harvest-able yet."

[Kara Winters]

"We would need a spinning wheel to turn it into thread, and a loom if were to be turned into cloth..." Holly murmured thoughtfully, "The cloth would be rough though unless treated, and that requires a mill, we don't have that kind of knowledge. I can spin things though, with both a drop spindle and a spinning wheel, but all it would be good for is knitting."

Fortunately, Holly had brought many things with her, things that wouldn't be possible to have if not for Miyuki's runed bag.

"I do have yarn though, and I have cloth, it's just not cloth that would be thick enough for a colder climate. Though.. I guess we could make do with what we have, and I can knit a few sweaters and put together a few coats, and jackets, which would be warmer than a cloak."

Though she would like to make at least one cloak for herself, because it was something that Holly never made for herself due to her bonnet.

[Nara-pyon]

"Well, you'll have lots of time to work on it," Kyrie smiled. "And once we arrive in Shiezin, you'll be able to buy more of the things that you need. We'll also be able to collect more furs here - jaguars have beautiful pelts, especially the black or white ones, though white jaguars are incredibly rare. There are other animals, too."

Then she checked herself. "I forgot, the furs from here aren't very warm ... well, we can dig through the storage and see how many winter furs we have left."

"Though if the furs from here aren't as warm, then maybe they're the best ones to use for Spring clothes," Iorlas suggested.

"True," Kyrie agreed.

"Are we going to do any traveling today?" Earendil asked, going back to their original topic.

Kyrie glanced at Lashrael, who shrugged. "We're in Eaulir now," she said simply. "I don't know anything about whether or not it's safe to stay here for an extended period of time."

Kyrie laughed. "I was more wondering about the weather than the people."

"That's what I was talking about," Lashrael murmured with a smile. "I don't know what the weather tendencies are here. I know it's currently quite warm, already twenty seven degrees, and very humid. It may rain this afternoon, or it may hold off until evening."

"Well, we could make some progress this morning at least," Earendil pointed out.

[Kara Winters]

Holly let herself think about it, because of the weather where she was living was always hot and humid, she hasn't worked with furs in a long time. However, she was already thinking of some ideas, but it depended on the fur.

While she thought, the others continued to talk about the trip.

"Let's give it a go then," Lin suggested, "At the very least, so we can be closer to where we need to be for the Winter."

[Nara-pyon]

"Then all those walking today, get ready," Kyrie announced, pushing her chair back and rising from the table. She stretched. "It's going to be warm, so dress for it."

A large number of people opted to stay inside that morning, and Kyrie, Earendil, Jassin and Lashrael were some of the very few who decided to walk. Lashrael and Jassin had spent much of their time in Gemia inside so as not to cause problems with the population - the humans were very distrustful of them - and they were used to the heat and humidity, so they were glad to be out. Earendil always wanted to see as much of whatever country they were in as he could, and Kyrie of course was their guide.

[Kara Winters]

Holly decided to stay in, she would finish up her current project and start on coming up with proper spring clothes for her and Rose. She would have to think more on it, just because it had been a while since she was in a place that required spring clothing. Though after being in hot weather for so long, she might like it.

While she was acclimatized to the hot weather, she did miss the cool weather, and some days were just awful where Gemina was. It was just, Holly couldn't wear less in fear of being discovered.

Lin decided to walk, to be with Earendil, and Miyuki was always up to seeing what the landscape was like. She never knew if she would come across something interesting. Eron also decided to walk, but this would allow him to feel the earth as they went along. Scout out what might be in the dirt.

[Nara-pyon]

They had already been on the go for an hour or so already when suddenly Kyrie snapped her fingers and turned to Eron.

"I nearly forgot," she said, sounding sheepish. "Andarien was in a rush to get into the forge and didn't have a chance to talk to you, but he asked me to ask you to keep your senses open for any interesting metals, if you wouldn't mind. He and Shoneah are running low on a few, I don't know which, but he's also open to trying to work with new ones."

She pursed her lips. "I don't know what kind of metals might be around here - if any at all, but it's just something to keep in mind."

[Kara Winters]

"I don't mind," Eron replied, "I was curious what I could find here. It's always kind of interesting."

Mineral extraction was becoming a specialty of his, because it was easier and less work (or damaging) to have him use earth magic to extract it rather than to mine it at times. It was tiring work, but when he found a vein of minerals, it was always satisfying.

And, he could use earth magic to help in smithing, but it wasn't really something he was interested in. Not when Andarien already had quite a gift for it with little to no help at all.

[Nara-pyon]

Their travel was quite calm and uninterrupted, and when they stopped to set up the tent at lunch time, Lashrael and Jassin first headed off to do some hunting. A few of the others set up the tent so that they could either go inside or the others could come out.

"Pity it's going to rain," Mirania murmured ruefully, looking up at the sky. "It would be nice to have a good fire."

The sky had really clouded over during the course of the morning, and the clouds were quite thick now. The air was very humid, and despite the fact that it was noon, it was as dark as though it were evening, and getting darker.

[Kara Winters]

"Maybe next time," Eron murmured.

It was hard to focus on sensing when he was worried about it raining. Rain here, he found, came quickly and unexpectedly. It liked to dump buckets of water on them at times. It was hard to believe the tent was so sturdy, though he supposed with the way it was made, it could collapse and no one would be the wiser until the next day. As long as it was staked in well, that was all that mattered.

"I just hope the storm will cut through the humidity a bit..."

[Nara-pyon]

"It usually does," Kyrie assured Eron. "Just wait, once we're closer to the beach, the humidity will dissipate, even when it's preparing to rain."

She smiled at him, then glanced at the sky. She wasn't sure how long it would be before the rain came, and she only hoped that Jassin and Lashrael would be back before it did.

"Lunch is ready," Lancaeriel said, poking her head out of the tent. "Come on in."

[Kara Winters]

"Coming!" Eron got up from his spot, brushing the dirt off his pants.

Perhaps, he thought to himself, when they settled where they would be for the winter, he would try seriously to scout out for more minerals.

"Coming, or will you be waiting for Jassin and Lashrael?" Eron inquired.

[Nara-pyon]

"I'll come in," Kyrie smiled at Eron, also standing up. "They could be a while. There's no rush for meat or furs, and they're a newlywed couple who have been stuck in a tent of nearly twenty strangers for the past month, after decades of not having seen each other at all. If they're not back by nightfall, I might ask Uruloki to go look for them, but aside from that, I'm not going to concern myself."

She knew that every time she returned home from a trip, she and Ahkshi preferred to be left alone for a while.

She pulled the tent flap aside for Eron and held it for him. "Go ahead," she murmured.

[Kara Winters]

Entering the tent, almost everyone else was there already.

Holly was setting the table, and actually having left her bonnet in her room. Despite what she thought (and probably many others), her transition to being herself didn't happen very quickly. A decade of habits and paranoia was hard to break. She was also, far more reserved and polite than most Gaians he was familiar with (or nekos for that matter).

"Just in time," Miyuki grinned.

She had taken to helping with meals again, as knowing how to cook (and practicing) was important in order to sell a lot of the things she tended stock up on.

[Nara-pyon]

"In time?" Kyrie repeated curiously. "We were just called - is there a rush?"

She found an empty chair and sat down, looking round at the others as she did so and taking a quick head count, more out of habit than anything else.

[Kara Winters]

"Miyuki was distracted by something in the oven and didn't hear Lanceriael calling," Lin explained as she sat down.

Lin had been watching, Miyuki's mind was half on the food she was making and she was sure the other half was planning something. Whether that was spices for food, or how to make the stoves and ovens more effective, she wasn't sure.

[Nara-pyon]

"Like Andarien when he's working," Shoneah laughed.

"You're sure you're both adopted?" Cael chuckled at Miyuki and Andarien. "You are rather too similar not to be related by blood."

Andarien blushed and focused his attention on the food that Miyuki and Lancaeriel were putting on the table.

[Kara Winters]

Miyuki though laughed, even though she was a bit sheepish about it. Though more for the fact she didn't hear Lancaeriel than anything else.

"Well we did grow up together," Miyuki grinned.

And Miyuki had heard her mother comment on occasion on how both of them were just as bad as she was when she was a child.

[Nara-pyon]

Though it was technically true, Earendil couldn't help but think about Miyuki's comment a bit further. Sure, Andarien and Miyuki had grown up in the same vicinity as each other, but for a long time they hadn't spent a lot of time together. Miyuki had already been doing her own thing by the time Andarien came around, and for a long time they had not spent time together. It hadn't been until they'd explored Wing Haven and Andarien had run away that they'd realized how fragile the relationship between the siblings had been, and they'd had to go out of their way to get the two to spend time together.

Maybe that had all been as a result of their habits of focusing on what they were doing rather than those around them. Which told him that it wasn't growing up together that had given them the habit, but that it had been innately inside both of them all along.

At least things had gotten better between them since then.

"And really, there's nothing wrong with such dedication," Lancaeriel smiled.

By that time, lunch was all on the table, and they dug in. By mid-afternoon, Jassin and Lashrael were back with a couple of fossas strung up between them. They hung them from a tree outside to let them bleed out, and by supper time, when they finally took the fossas inside, it had begun to rain. In minutes it turned torrential, forcing everyone indoors. It lasted two days, and while that might have made some people antsy if they'd been stuck in a room all that time, the gardens and dojo allowed everyone to get as much exercise as they needed. Some of the group trained or sparred, some did strictly hobby-ish things ... overall they did whatever they felt like doing.

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