Timestamp: 40th of Fall, 520 A.V.
Tazrae woke up looking forward to the day. It was a day she'd been planning for a while. It was a combination of necessity and need. The Protea Inn needed a dock badly, not only to accommodate the Svefra that came and went from the settlement and overcrowded the main dock but for the visitors to have a nice place to fish.
Fishing was part of the draw of Syka. It was a sport that was popular and helped feed hungry mouths. And the dock off Swing Beach attracted big fish - groupers Mathias had called them - which hung around in the shade of what the fish must have decided were huge mangroves. The Innkeeper hoped a new dock for her place would do the same and attract big fish. Tazrae also looked forward to crab pots and lobster traps off the dock as well. It would be a super helpful source of food for her and her guests. After all, Tazrae wasn't opposed to cooking for the whole Settlement if they needed meals.
The young woman stretched out of her comfortably warm sheets and half sat up. She grunted for her legs were thoroughly pinned down by the half-grown pup that was sprawled at the foot of her bed. And naturally, her right foot was completely asleep. She loved waking up in Syka, though... big dogs and all. A breeze wafted through what constituted windows in Syka. Tazrae basically lived in an open-aired building that only became enclosed when storm shutters were closed and bound down tightly. The rest of the time, offshore breezes blew in during the night cooling the interior while onshore breezes did the same work during the day. Wildlife came and went, this time in the form of small jungle sparrows that were chirping on the window seal, pecking at the berries Tazrae had left there earlier in the form of an offering.
She could hear the lulling crash of the waves and the slight rustling of palm fronds and other vegetation scattered around The Protea. She slipped back the thin blanket and sheet, stretched, and laid her bare feet on the floor. The hardwood planks were warm, welcoming, and she smiled at the slowly lightening sky in the east.
The sunrise would be perfect.
It was such a beautiful morning. Tazrae skipped a morning shower because she was going to definitely get wet repeatedly today. And took a moment to walk out on the deck barefoot and still wrapped up in the oversized men's shirt she slept in. She rose on her tippy-toes and saw the growing pile of lumber Lars had kept delivering all week. They had eight big tie-off pilings poles, a huge pile of four by fours for the understructure. Then there were big hardwood planks after planks laid out for Tazrae to cut to size and nail on the understructure.
And then, there was Puk. Lars had promised the big guy would deliver the last load and what would be considered a huge crate of nails and big anchor rings that would affix the floating understructure of the dock to the tie-off pilings Puk was going to help drive. Taz looked forward to seeing her friend. He'd be bringing the last four biggest pilon logs for the end structure that Tazrae wanted to be covered. They would be enormously long poles to be driven into the sea and rise up high enough to hold up a roof.
She could already picture it. Tazrae closed her eyes and dreamed a moment.
But there wasn't much time for dreams. As she waited for Puk, Tazrae went about her morning routine. She put fresh bread in the oven after starting the kitchen fires. Then she cooked breakfast for all the guests - porridge this time - with a great deal of fresh fruit and juice on the side. She also made pastries with apples from Riverfall and cinnamon from Lhavit.
Then she laid out the feast and visited with her guests, suggesting things for them to do all day. It wasn't until nine hours into the day that Puk was supposed to be there and they'd get started on the dock. Tazrae was excited as she went about her morning chores, caring for the chickens, feeding Creech, and seeing to her newest family member Bree. Bree namely took care of herself, but she was shy around the guests and liked to spend part of the day submerged in the sea or soaking in one of the streams. Tazrae didn't mind her coming and going. The settlement was getting used to the giant riding lizard too.
So everything was all but done and Tazrae was taking a break when the appointed hour rolled around. The Innkeeper waited for her new friend, hopeful that he hadn't forgotten or had gotten sidetracked.
Word Count: 802