Solo Hanging on the Wall

[Ashka]

70 Winter 517

Ashka lined up the rolled hangings for her house and counted them. She checked the number she needed to make a full set of walls, and then counted again. The numbers matched. She had enough, finally, to start hanging them in place. She picked up the first, slung it over her shoulder for ease of carrying, and took it over to the nearest wall of the house. She laid it at the foot of where it would, eventually, hang and went back for another. And another. And another, until all the hangings lined the foot of all the walls and she could be sure that this was enough. Even though she had counted them twice over.

She stood on the edge of the platform and looked up at the underside of the thatched roof with its neat patterned rows. Walls felt so - final. Like the land was closing in to hold her forever and she would never get back to the sea at all. She took a slow breath, then another, and clamped her mouth tight before the ache of longing could become more than an ache. It was just a bigger form of the tent, and the tent was all right. But then, she was used to tents when she stayed with her father. Even he never had, never wanted, a house like this.

She sighed again and turned to stand with her back to the inside of the house and her gaze on the sea. It was there, as always, ever present, ever changing. That was home, not some building. But without a ship... She shook her head sharply, throwing the thought away from her. Until or unless she got a ship big enough for her and Chaya, the house would have to do. She bent to the nearest roll of cloth, grabbed the top edge where the ties were, and lifted it towards the pole at the top of the wall.

Common, Pavi, Fratava

[Ashka]

She had braided the ends of the warp when she had finished the cloth itself, alternating between loops and straight braids. Now, she brought a central straight braid over the pole that marked the top of the wall, threaded it through the loop beside it, and hauled it tight. She knotted it back to itself and repeated the technique at the ends before working her way back to the middle. Despite all her efforts, it didn't hang quite straight but it did hit the floor, which helped to disguise the problem.

Ashka sighed and twitched at the cloth to no avail. After a moment, she moved on to the next length of cloth and bent to find the ties on that one. The first one flapped lightly in the breeze off the sea and the movement kept catching at the corner of her eye and distracting her. She found them eventually and dragged it up until she could fasten the first pair of ties over the pole. This time she took even more care to get the hanging straight even though it slowed her down. It felt very important to get it right. She knew in her head that it probably wasn't as important as it felt but her heart disagreed, and it was her heart that she chose to listen to for now.

She had to work from inside the house because that was the only place with room for her to stand as she worked. The hanging lengths of cloth blocked her view when they hung limp and offered glimpses of the outside world when they flapped. Each time she moved sideways to a new length of cloth she re-opened her view and then just as surely cut it off again.

Common, Pavi, Fratava

[Ashka]

The hangings were like the land closing around, Ashka decided. They cut her off from the sea except for quick glimpses. But they could, once they were all hung, be tied up out of the way to clear her view. If she ever got the chance, she would take Chaya back out on the sea. Would go back there herself if she could get a ship of her own. Her pod might not want her if she was unmarked, but plenty of sailors who were not Svefra went to sea without a mark to help them. She'd just have to work harder and plan better.

She hauled up another hanging and fastened the ties, then another. The light dimmed around her as she worked, cut off by the increasing number of hangings. The sooner she got them all in place, the sooner she could open up to the sea again. Maybe some day, if she stayed that long, she could decorate the panels too, but right now she didn't want to make more than she had to. It wasn't like she could pack the panels on her future ship and take them with her after all. Having more than she could ship was like an anchor pinning her to this spot. A few things would be nice, she admitted to herself, bending to lift another hanging. A table to work at and roll out dough on - she did miss the galley counters she had learnt to cook at. A couple of chairs to sit on instead of the ground. Some shelves for storage so that her materials and food didn't get tangled up together would be nice...

She reached the third side, bending and lifting, and tieing and hanging. There was no real door or window set for this house. She would just roll up or push between hangings to get in and out, or to let light and air in and out.

Common, Pavi, Fratava

[Ashka]

The house was a different shape from the Drykas pavilion her father lived in, but something about the cloth over a rigid frame reminded her of it. A pavilion only had one way in and out though, and this one - she could lift any side and climb down. She supposed she could mark the main entrance with something. She had more than enough pretty shells and similar to make a wind chime and hang it up to mark the entrance.

She reached the last corner and started along the last side. The light was growing very dim now, and Ashka was having to work as much by touch as by sight. Bend, feel for the ties, grasp, lift, knot one set, slide her hand along to find the others. Her view, when she had one, was mostly trees and bushes. She was on the wrong side to see the sea. It was like being below deck though, just a bit. Or in the back of the pavilion. Or just burrowed down in her bedroll, in her own tent, late at night when the sun was gone.

She sighed, tied the last tie on that hanging and moved sideways to the next one. A shanty came to mind and she sang softly under her breath as she hauled the hanging up to the pole and fumbled for the ties. "...rise up, rise up, rise up..." She got it through and pulled it tight and knotted it, and started on the next tie. The end of the task was in sight. Only a few more hangings to go, and then she could stop, could take in what she had done, could make plans for something more. She hauled harder, as if she was raising a sail rather than a wall and kept going.

Common, Pavi, Fratava

[Ashka]

Your Grades!

Please remember to edit your grading request. If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding your grade, please do not hesitate to send me a PM.

Name: Ashka
XP Award:

• Organisation 1
• Construction 4
• Bodybuilding 2
• Philosophy 1
• Planning 1
• Observation 1
• Singing 1

Lore:

• Construction: making walls from cloth
• Singing to keep rhythm
• Letting go of dreams
• Finished a house

Notes: Self graded