[The Sanctuary] It's Summer Already?

[Kavala]

Timestamp: Early Summer, 512 AV
Status: Open by Permission


The whetstone in Kavala's hands skimmed in a soft circular pattern up and down the length of the dagger she sharpened meticulously. There was a peacefulness about her that belied what she was actually doing with the weapons harness laying out on the makeshift table which was really no more than a few boards hammered together and propped up on other boards that were once part of one of Sanctuary's structures. Multiple daggers unsheathed lay next to the harness, some already with gleaming edges, others needing work. A set of tamo daggers carefully sheathed in each other were laid out across from the throwing blades. Kavala was dressed in loose trousers, a sleeveless tunic that was belted at her hips, and her long pale hair was braided on either side in plaints that followed the curve of her temples before flowing free of her scalp to fall in thick ropes in front of her ears.

A blue skinned toddler with a mop of white hair played with a wooden carved pack of glassbeaks on the table just inches from the daggers. The konti seemed unconcerned he would hurt himself as his make-believe wooden pack worked out complex strategy to take down an unfortunate wooden horse that seemed to be their victim. If the young boy got his way his wooden glassbeak pack would be feasting on a hearty meal in mere moments.

The pair looked so peaceful, so together, as the Konti put down the whetstone, changed it out for an oil laden cloth, and started rubbing the dagger until it gleamed. Once the edge was sharp again and all the metal filings rubbed clean, she set the dagger aside, picked up a whetstone and set to work repeating the procedure on the next dagger. She looked content, driven, but there was also an open spot on the other side of the table if anyone wanted to join her and maybe do some cleaning of their own.

[Tamilin]

They were not alone for long. Their new company was preceded by a small brown dog, unusual amidst the normal larger beasts that roamed Sanctuary, who bounded over to prop white paws on the edge of the table beside the toddler. Brown eyes peered at the wooden toys before a small wet nose probed at the lad's elbow, tail wagging steadily.

A light chuckle rose from the throat of the young woman who trailed after the sykanis, her red-brown hair drawn back in a neat braid that swayed against her shoulder-blades as she walked much as the dog's tail did in the summer-heated air. "Play nice, Tiva." Her voice was cautionary, warning her furry companion against rough play. Green eyes flicked to the other woman present as her pace slowed to a stop just short of the table, allowing the soft sound of whetstone against metal to fill the air again.

Tamilin wasn't entirely sure what to make of Kavala, even if she was now technically in the older woman's employ. Perhaps it was the strangeness of her appearance that arose from her race. Konti, pale, lightly scaled. Tam was accustomed to humans and the occasional akalak when her father's caravan had reached the Riverfall end of the route he traced at least once a year. Kelvic were not all that strange either, but konti?

Mentally shaking off the uncertainty that had halted her approach she moved forward. "Mind if I join you?" Tam settled in opposite Kavala with only the briefest hesitation for an answer. She too took out a dagger, though she only had the one to her name. The studious care in which she examined the sharpness and cleanness of the blade hinted at the fact that she was far from accustomed to this task. In truth, she'd only been coaxed into weaponry once her guardians had learned that she'd been truly determined to take up residence in Riverfall despite all the arguments they'd levered in her way. Taking care of the dagger had been easy enough to learn after seasons of tending tack, but using it was another matter.

[Kavala]

Tasifal, who was easily distracted on the best of days, reached for the small dog, petting it nicely at first then tightening its fingers in the dogs hair like all children were likely to do. Kavala reached out a hand, after dropping the whetstone, and rescued the dog with a 'Pet nicely..' comment to Tasival. She smiled at Tamilin and nodded.

"Sure. We're just having a bit of downtime. There's so much rebuilding I've neglected my daggers a great deal. What kind do you have?" Kavala asked, pushing the small basket towards Tamilin that sat beside her. It had spare whetstones, rags, and a vial of weapons oil in it.

She kept an eye on Tasi, who'd turned his glassbeak pack from hunting wooden horses to hunting very enormous (for their caving size) real life Sykanis'. The dog didn't seem to mind and Kavala didn't bat an eyelash as the small little creature leaped up onto the table which was large enough to seat about twelve if it had too. No dogs on the table wasn't exactly a rule when you had Imperial Watchers walking around as tall as the table was already.

"I'm sorry we haven't gotten the kennels up yet. Between what I can do and what I can have hired done as I can afford it is vastly different. Its going to be a nice place though, when all the rebuilding is done. It's just the list of wants and needs is really growing in terms of what to put on the map. Sometimes I think we are going to grow too big for our own good." Kavala said, smiling slightly.

"It's my hope with Kadrath's death, someone will take over the kennels and begin working with the dogs specifically. Its nice to have them roaming everywhere, but I'd be way more comfortable if we had some place to pen them up too." Kavala said softly, shaking her head. The Sanctuary was slightly zoolike with all the internal buildings knocked down.

Tasival, having given up on hunting Tiva with his wooden glassbeaks and was now gently wrestling the little dog, who was just about the perfect size for him. Tasival and his opponent were staying well away from the knives so Kavala let them wrestle, mindful of where the edges of the table were in case either of them got too close.

"You sure this zoo hasn't bothered you yet? It'd bother me if I wasn't used to it." Kavala said with a smile, studying Tamilin. "I don't think I even know where you came from before this. I just know you're a good worker. Want to tell me a little about yourself?" She asked curiously, moving on to another dagger and glancing sharply at Tasival as the boy began to bark loudly. He quieted almost immediately but kept wrestling Tiva.

[Tamilin]

Tiva was remarkably well behaved for a small dog who was infrequently around small children. She didn't growl or pull away when tiny fingers curled into her fur and pulled, though her tail wagging did pause for a moment. With the rules established by the two women, the sykanis plunged herself with abandon into play with Tasival. Being careful, of course. She knew she was being kept an eye on.

her mistress paused in her inspection of the dagger in her hands as Kavala spoke. "It is always nice to have a chance to be still and rest for a moment." She agreed with a small smile, then broke off to peer into the basket at the whetstones before picking one that was to her liking. "Mine's just a serviceable hand-me-down, well made but nothing special. My uncle gave it to me, along with some lessons in how to take care of it and use it when I have to."

Her gaze flickered over to the dog and toddler when Tiva hopped up onto the table to better mock-bite at the wooden toys that were 'hunting' her. Tamilin had to grin at the scene, improbable as it would be in more realistic terms. Then her gaze dropped to her dagger, beginning to run the whetstone along its edge with careful strokes.

"Oh its alright, I usually let Tiva sleep with me anyway. And the other dogs don't bother me either. Might have a brief scene when Tiva meets someone she hasn't already, but nothing ever comes of it. And having space is a good thing, means we've room to grow ourselves. Better than being cramped." Which was about as philosophical as Tamilin got, generally. "I'm willing to help with that, the dogs seem to like me well enough." Her green eyes lifted briefly as she volunteered, glancing up at Kavala.

Her attention was diverted then as Tasival essentially tackled Tiva, the pair wrestling merrily and making soft noises that could have been growls. It made her giggle to see them, though she was mindful of either of them... well, Tasival... getting too close to the edge of the table. A tumble would ruin the play quicker than anything.

"Oh, I'm used to more mayhem than this." Tamilin admitted under Kavala's prying eyes. "My father owns a caravan, which travels between Riverfall and Syliras. He usually deals in livestock, which don't take to ship travel very well. I helped with the animals once I was big enough to not get trampled too easily." She paused, remembering. "So I suppose I'm not really from anywhere in particular. Father wanted me to learn the trade, find a good man who'd be an asset to the business. But I was tired of always roaming around, and didn't want to get left behind to have a baby every year and balance the books for whomever I ended up with." Her smile was wry as she shrugged her shoulders. "So Uncle Eldin and Aunt Ada helped me, taught me what I need to know and convinced Father to give me Savash and Tiva. Helped me raise and train them. And I chose Riverfall. Came here."

That pretty much summed up her life story, Tamilin thought. Yes, she hadn't mentioned Mother or Brother, or the fact that they'd been kelvic. They were both probably gone by now. Perhaps she'd neices or nephews somewhere, but rather doubted it. Her gaze fell again, back to the dagger which she began to sharpen again.

[Kavala]

Kavala smiled, moved Tasival further into the depths of the table and away from the edge, and nodded. "Your father would have gotten along well with mine. He was nothing but talk about becoming a better healer so it would make me more valuable to the Drykas because I couldn't give them human children. I even went off to Mura when I was old enough to take care of myself to further my studies. But that was the only travel I ever did. I can't imagine moving up and down the Kabrin Road for a living. They must like it though." She added, looking thoughtful.

"I don't pretend to know a lot about dogs, but we have so many of them here. We lost Kadrath, our Kennel Master, to what we suspect was a glassbeak attack. Since then, they've been chaotic without a kennels, of which we need to build. We'll do it above ground with Reimancy, possibly near the clinic location we have picked out. We'll need someone to run it, and the job comes with board below in the Within, where its safe from other Djed Storms for the most part. You'll need to learn a great deal of medicine too. Thats how it works here. Everyone helps, but at least with you if you choose you can focus on medicine pertaining to the Dogs. They'll need a full time healer especially if we are breeding." She said softly, nodding.

"I' moved around a lot as a child too. My pavilion was a sapphire clan addition. It was a good family. It's gone now. How did your father and his caravan weather the storm?" She asked, curious.

[Tamilin]

It was with a rueful smile that Tamilin responded to talk about fathers. "Makes me wonder if not all fathers are like that, pushing you toward where they think is best." She murmured, wondering if Kavala's father had been more invested in his daughter's upbringing than her own had been. After all, her father had left her mostly to her own devices until she was old enough to wed. "Father would say that its a living, traveling like he does. He's fairly successful. But it was rather fun, seeing something new every morning. When it wasn't terrifying because of beasts or bandits." She frowned a little at the thought, hands going still and resting in her lap.

Gratefully she averted her attention into talk about the dogs, gazing drifting once more to Tiva who'd broken out of the wrestling match to lay sprawled on the table. The little sykanis was panting lightly, but had a merry twinkle to her eye as she watched Tasival. "I'd enjoy learning more." She said simply, already pondering ways to increase her knowledge on the subject of dogs and tending to them. Her reading skills were alright, perhaps she could get ahold of a book or two to read in the evenings, when the days that were sure to be full of hands-on experience were through.

Kavala's words broke into her thoughts, and Tam blinked before looking back to the other woman. "They were wintering in Riverfall, fortunately. Winter's a bad time to be traveling, whether it be by land or sea. All those storms. And with the way the city closed up before the storm, everyone was safe. Last I knew they were headed north again, left in mid-spring. Took a few extra mercenaries with them, cause of the strange creatures that popped up."

For a moment Tam hesitated, deciding whether or not to risk being seen as prying. But the easy conversation decided her, and she ventured her own inquiry. "What was it like, living with the drykas?"

[Kavala]

Kavala smiled, set aside her last whetstone and carefully wiped down all the newly sharpened daggers. The tamo daggers fitted into each other s hilts, locking back into pale shafts of white bone that turned them into no more than small club with two black hilts erupting halfway between the ends. She fitted them back on the weapons harness and replaced the throwing daggers as well. "It sounds settled then. You move in here. You can choose whichever room you want that's not already taken in the lower quarters. That will give you full run of the kitchen, library, and any of the workrooms below. I'll give you a tour in a few minutes." Kavala said, smiling. "It pays 6 gold a day too, and when you get your skills with herbs and healing up, it will pay even more. I want you to be able to learn what things the dogs can use medicine wise and be able to make them for clients. Everyone always has something wrong, from a yeast infection in an ear to a swollen eye to a twisted bowel. You'll need to learn how to keep them all happy, all the clients. I'll help. But it won't be easy at first. " Kavala said, certain of this.

"We'll need to build a kennels soon too. Very soon." She added, looking thoughtful.

"I'd like to meet your family someday too, maybe when they are back here next winter? It will be nice to have some trade connections because there are things traders can get from north of here that we can't get on the grass - even things from Mura." She added, seeing Tamlin as not only valuable for herself, but valuable for her family connections as well.

"Being Drykas..." Kavala said, looking thoughtful and finally answering Tamlin's question... "Is one of the best things ever. There's a freedom and connection to the land I can't easily explain. I would still be on the Grass if things hadn't happened to lead me here. I was... returning to my pavilion, coming home from Mura when my horse ran across a tripwire and went down. I was injured badly and captured. They were slavers going to sell food and pleasure slaves to the Zith. I was so young. In the equivalent of maybe your human early teens... it was a bad thing. None of the women were expected to live so they treated us very badly. An Akalak raiding party rescued us and suddenly I found myself here, owing a life debt." Kavala said softly.

"It's hard to loose freedom when thats all you've ever known your whole entire life. I had to buy it back here, a little piece at a time. Tasival is just part of that." Kavala added, glancing at Tamilin, hoping there was no judgement there. She'd left a lot unsaid, but then again she knew she didn't have to go into great detail for any sensible person to guess what slavery then a form of continued slavery with the Akalak was like. "I've bought back my freedom though. The Akalak were fair about it. I've paid my debt, and now all that is here made by my hands is mine." She said, smiling gently.

"It is my gift to the world. I think everyone needs to give something back. What will your gift be, Tamilin?" Kavala asked, quite seriously.

[Tamilin]

In between their talking Tamilin worked at her dagger with the whetstone she held, honing edges she already kept as sharp as her skills allowed. Eventually she was satisfied, at least for now, and set the whetstone back in its basket and put away the dagger. Without those two items to grasp, she busied her hands instead with reaching out to pet the sykanis who happily slid closer.

A grin crossed her features as Kavala confirmed her shift in position from mere groom and handler to being in charge of the dogs. It was quite more than she'd expected to be allowed to do after such a short span of being employed here. But with circumstances being what they were... Tamilin wasn't about to argue. Negotiate, now... that was a different matter. "And Sivash? Would I be expected to pay for feed and board, or would his needs be included in the deal?" It was important to get that sorted out as quickly as possible. "If you have any books or scrolls on the subject, I can read tolerably well in common and tukant, and learn just that little bit faster."

One hand rose to brush back a lock of hair that had escaped from her braid in a thoughtful gesture at the mention of meeting her family. "I can probably arrange that. Father would appreciate forging a trade connection with Sanctuary as well." Though much could happen in a few seasons' time, so Tamilin couldn't guarantee anything. But there was a good probability that things would work out.

At last Kavala approached the subject of her question, and Tamilin was all ears. She had a sense of understanding when it came to words of freedom, curiosity about the connection to the land. But when the older woman went on to explain how she in turn had ended up in Riverfall, Tam was an appreciative audience. A sympathetic wince was her response to the tripwire, a slightly horrified covering of her lips with her wings arising from the mention of slavers. Green eyes rounded in increasing concern when the Zith were brought into the equation, and then her features gentled and her nose wrinkled slightly when it wound down to owing a life debt.

That was something Tam was aware of, having been drilled with the subject of Akalaks and the consequences of being a woman who owed anything to one of them. It had been meant to scare her out of picking Riverfall to make her start in, make her decide to begin her solo career in Syliras. Needless to say, it hadn't achieved its desired effect, but had given her a wary outlook on the subject. But it wasn't something she would ever consider holding against Kavala, having learned all that she had. A few pregnancies were certainly much better than torture and eventual death! And yet... only Tasival? Her gaze was thoughtful as she gazed at the toddler, then to his mother, and she offered a small smile. A smile that perhaps held a touch of admiration and approval.

"I don't know yet, but that's part of the adventure. What I do know, is that you end up giving smaller gifts to the people you meet along the way long before you make an impact on the world." Words of wisdom paraphrased from her aunt, spoken long ago to a much younger Tamilin, words that had stuck with her.

[Kavala]

Kavala met Tamilin's eyes and smiled. Tamilin had something about her that drew Kavala, though the Konti couldn't have explained it if she tired. There was warmth and humility and a fair assessment of her own skills. There was a simple straightforward offering of 'This is who I am. No more no less... you decide if it suits.' Well, it did suit Kavala, very well, she thought. And despite the fact that in the past humans had proven very unreliable, Kavala had a feeling Tamilin would prove them all wrong and be there when and where she was needed.

That was a good feeling.

But when Tamilin asked about her horse, Kavala couldn't help but smile. Her grin turned into an outright laugh and she shook her head. "If you notice, we treat our horses better than we treat each other. Sure there's a place for your Sivash. And her stay is included in your salary. One more mouth to feed is never a big deal. Though we might have to build her a stall. We're lacking those around here right now, though the construction is coming along nicely." Kavala said, looking thoughtful. "But there's always the sea cave... its where the rest of the stock is housed. I can take you on a tour if you want... select a room, and see where your horse can stay until we have a proper barn. Tiva, of course, can go where you go. That's no problem, unless your working on an animal that's sick and needs quarantined... then its only for Tiva's own good she stay away." Kavala added.

She was pleased Tamilin wasn't opposed to introducing her to Tam's family and possibly more contacts for getting supplies from the north. They would need them come next spring again, for much of the Sanctuary's foreign stores would be low by that time.

"As for learning, I've noticed a lot of animal healing is not written in books. We learn by fire, treating what comes in when it happens and then documenting it later. I suspect we have a great deal more written knowledge here in The Sanctuary than say even the Opal Order has in Mura on the subjects. What I'm basically saying is that working here, you will be expected to write the books that younger men and women will be looking for in times to come. They are needed, sorely lacking, and it will come to be that we learn all that was lost and more if we are lucky and keep good notes and heal wisely not foolishly." Kavala said softly, pushing her chair back and collecting her son. She left the weapons harness sitting on the table the basket of whetstones, oil, and cloths.

"Ready for a tour? I'm not sure if you've been below or not yet." Kavala said, her eyes twinkling.

[Tamilin]

For a moment, a very brief moment, did Tamilin experience a flutter of confusion and the possibility for a darker emotion when Kavala smiled and laughed in response to her inquiry about her horse. But those emotions swiftly faded when the Konti went on to assure the young woman that the gelding's care would be included in her pay, and Tamilin's face brightened in a grin. "Savash is well trained to picket, he's rarely been in a stall since I got him. So spending some time in a pasture won't hurt him any while things are being built." She was quick to point out, hoping to assure Kavala that there was no need for a rush for construction in that regard.

There was another moment of mixed emotions when Kavala told her that she'd have no access to reading material to speed her learning. A bit of disappointment, more than balanced by determination. "Then perhaps I should invest in parchment and ink, to make notes." And perhaps eventually put all those note together in a book, like Kavala said. Already she was planning a future trip into the city, thinking of all the things she might need, should they not be available here.

Following Kavala's lead, Tamilin rose as well. Tiva was quick to jump down to the ground when it appeared everyone was leaving, and stood staring expectantly up at her mistress, waiting to see what was next. "Yes, a tour would be nice. I haven't really been below yet."