[Residance] Kail's House

[Kail D'Rea]

Kail lives in a small cottage near the edge of Mura, the land side. While she wanted a house nearer the sea, she could barely afford a home on the land side. She was able to find what was considered a starter home in the city and is determined to make it feel like home.

She set up a chair near the simple hearth and covered outside of the fireplace with paper on which she practiced her writing in years past. On the top of the hearth she put some of her better works and a small pot she had for flowers. She does keep the inside of the hearth free of clutter and laid for a fire, but Kail doesn’t focus on cooking: she’s usually too busy with her work for much more than bread and cheese, fresh fruit or vegetables or a combination washed down with milk and when she does cook, it’s a small fire that she puts out promptly. Because of this, she wasn’t really worried about the paper catching fire. Besides, it was too warm to need much heat on the island and she prefers candles to read and write by when she needs them after the long island days. She is happy with the area though and usually has her small table set up in front of the chair and can be found there happily working at all hours of the night.

The table and chair themselves match the chest that is on the other side of the room near the bunk. All three had been hand-me-downs from her older sister. Tia had set up her own home some time ago and when she was able to afford better, had offered Kail the battered starter furniture. Still, it was what she needed and being practical, Kail was happy to accept. She kept her small supply of clothing and her beloved calligraphy set in the trunk which she also papered over with writing she had done that she likes well enough to use, but not well enough to worry about.

Her bunk is small, as fit a Konti, and covered in several old blankets to make it comfortable enough to sleep on. There is also a light cover blanket in Kail’s favorite color, pale blue. The blanket is often wrinkled or askew as Kail is comfortable ignoring little household tasks if she has work to do, or can find work to do. She almost never has visitors, so she only worries about making the bed or clearing her work off the table when she’s expecting someone.

The same was not true of the outside of the cottage. Built of stone, like everything else in Mura, the cottage has carefully planted creepers growing up the sides and narrow, stone lined flower beds along the front. Kail always takes time to keep them weeded and watered and the grass in front of them cut. She had splurged and purchased two of her favorite blue flowers to plant on either side of the door when she first moved in, but the rest are wild flowers.

In the back of the cottage is a small garden. Kail selects her plants based on hardiness, ease of eating, and taste. She always has plenty of tomatoes, but also grows cucumbers, peas, carrots and radishes for salads and occasionally tries her own spinach or lettuce, too. It doesn’t always make it. She usually allows enough space for one type of melon, which she rotates and has a permanent patch of raspberries on one side that she is still waiting to mature enough for a good crop of her favorite fruit. While not born with a green thumb, Kail likes to garden and felt she needed something to get her outside once in a while, not to mention the cost savings of growing her own food.