Open Sheets in the wind

[Dove Brown]

Dove suppressed a sigh. No reason? No...except that she was young, and small, and a girl, and looked inexperienced, and had no job title. Those were reasons enough for many older, taller, men. Did knights even know how good they had it that everyone was expected to take orders from them? He certainly seemed amused by the pole, and when she looked up from unfolding the cloth, he'd taken the other side of it and was issueing orders about the other pieces. He was getting the job done though, and the rising heat meant that it was too hot to stand around arguing, even with her hat shading her head and neck.

She grasped her corner of the cloth and led the way across the rough, baked hard, ground to their chosen poles, her farmer's boots making handling the lumps and bumps with little difficulty. As she'd thought, the pole was taller than her scant five feet of height, and she tipped her head back to survey the top of it with a grimace. There were ties stitched into the corners of the cloth, she saw, and that would help. She didn't ask for help. It didn't even occur to her that she should, for all the other three were taller and would most likely have an easier time of it. She had worked - had had to work - around her limitations all her life and this was no different. She steadied herself with a hand around the pole, and then stretched up to reach the top of the pole. The sun dazzled her and with her head tipped back, the hat was no help. She fumbled with the ties, her teeth digging into her lip in concentration, her eyes screwed almost closed against the light, and finally resorted to using the simple knot she used every morning to tie off her braided hair. That at least she could tie without looking at it.

[Samuel Longwell]

The group trudged over to where Dove was leading them, Samuel noticed the two men in particular were dragging their feet. He just didn't have the energy to try and encourage them to speed up, so he kept silent. The knight stumbled on the uneven ground, adding to his growing discomfort. He had had enough with it all; the heat, the unmotivated helpers, the manual labour. With a sigh, he arrived at the pole he needed to attach his corner of the cloth to. He knew it was the heat making him more irritable than usual, but that knowledge didn't help him stay enthusiastic. Being out in the scorching sun was a necessary evil, not something that the knight enjoyed.

Samuel bent his head to the job at hand; attempting to tie a knot around the pole. Sweaty fingers made it more difficult, but eventually he had attached the cloth to the pole well enough that it didn't fall off when he tugged on it. Another small sigh escaped his lips as he looked around the field, one hand shielding his eyes from the sun. More poles were starting to spring up, several of the workers had found their rhythm and were progressing through the fields at a fair pace. Which meant there was plenty of cloth that needed putting up.

“I guess we should get another covering up then.” Samuel said, “Back we go.” The walk back to the corner of the field seemed to take even longer than it had on the way out, but the knight wasn't sure if that was because he was walking slower or it was just in his mind. He glanced over the mounds of cloth, then had an idea. “Wouldn't it be better to take several pieces of cloth at once?” he asked, “Then we don't have to make as many trips.” His brow creased, frown lines deepening as he wished he had thought of it before.

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Dove Brown]

Dove was quietly relieved to see that she wasn't the only one struggling with the ties, and just as quietly wary to see the increasingly grumpy looks on the faces of the men. It was probably the heat driving their unhappiness, but she'd been the target for her father's anger too many times to be easy around angry men. When the knight asked her about moving several covers at once, she shrugged. "If that works for you, it makes no difference to me." She took off her hat and fanned herself with the brim. "You can't drive a cart across a ripe crop without wrecking it - I'm used to crossing and re-crossing fields for harvest and other things...part of my job." She shrugged again and clapped the hat back on her head. "But then again, I'm only a farmer, not a knight."

She looked round for a spot close to several sets of poles. "There?" she suggested. She took a mouthful of water from her waterskin as she waited for the final decision from the men, then helped to carry a small pile of covers to the chosen location. There were poles going up in other fields, she realised, the shade of her hat helping her see under the glare of the sun. If she finished here before the work day was over, she decided, she'd head off to see if the next nearest field needed another hand. She didn't expect the men to do that much, it wasn't their job after all - though they'd likely be going hungry too if the crops failed. Farmers like her learned to look ahead a whole crop cycle and pace the work accordingly. Knights, as she'd once told an exhausted squire, trained endurance for fights - quick, deep supplies and quick results. Farmers trained their endurance to keep going through long days of hard work. It wasn't, she reminded herself with a wry smile, the first time she'd outlasted someone from the knighthood at plain hard work.

[Samuel Longwell]

“No use spending more time on something than we need to though.” Samuel said. “Better to get things done as quickly as we can so we can get out of the sun.” He wiped his forehead, nodding when Dove suggested where to head to. It was a good a place as any, it had enough poles to put up several covers and wasn't too close to where other groups were working. “Let's head over there then,” he said, “just like the lass said.”

Just do this, then you can head back to the outpost, Samuel thought to himself as they picked up a bundle of cloth. His clothes were drenched by his sweat, his water skin was near empty, and he could feel his stomach complaining about the lack of food. He'd done his part, and he had patrol early the next morning. He couldn't tire himself out too much otherwise he'd be no use to anybody. The knight sighed, he realised he was just making excuses but the toll the heat had taken on him meant he just didn't care.

The first cloth attached without too much difficulty, but when they were lifting the second cover up one of the other men in the group tripped, pulling hard on the cloth as he fell headlong into the dirt. Dragged suddenly forward by the cloth, Samuel stumbled and fell to one knee. He yelped as pain flashed up his leg. He pulled himself up, scowling at the man who'd pulled him over.

“Could you try and be more careful?” Samuel said scathingly. “This is hard enough without you hindering us don't you think?” The other man shot an angry look at the knight, but seeing the expression on Samuel's face he didn't reply. The knight took a deep breath, fighting to avoid losing his temper. His knuckles turned white as he clenched the cloth as tightly as he could.

The other covers went up without too much trouble. Samuel kept his eyes low throughout, avoiding eye contact with the man who had tripped. He knew the farmer hadn't done it on purpose but all the trekking across the fields had made the knight particularly irritable. He didn't want to do something he'd regret.

Once they were done, Samuel looked over the field and saw that it was nearly entirely protected now. He hoped it would be enough, there were lots of mouths to feed in the great city. If too much of the crop failed then he didn't know what they were going to do.

“Well that's that.” Samuel said. Now that it was done his temper had cooled slightly. The realisation that he didn't have to do anymore manual labour lifted his spirits enough that a tired smile crossed his face. “Good to meet you Dove,” he said, then turned to leave. “I'll see you around.”

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Dove Brown]

Dove didn't blame the knight for wanting to get out of the sun - it was hot, after all - but anything that didn't get done today would have to be done tomorrow, and tomorrow would be just as hot, so it really didn't make much difference to her. It would make a difference to the crops though, and that did matter to her. She'd just trudge her way down to the river once she was done working, cool off in the water, have a long drink, and see if there were any fish in her fish trap. Then it was another walk home, and cleaning, and cooking, and mending, and the rest of the work that wasn't ever going to get done if she didn't do it.

Now she trudged from pole to pole, fighting the ties with sweaty fingers, until she was jolted by one of the other's falling. The knight was yanked to one knee with what sounded like a yelp of pain but the words he snapped sounded more like anger. Dove reacted instinctively to it by becoming quieter and putting more effort in, even as she kept one wary eye on him. Her fear showed up in tense muscles and hunched shoulders, and made her even clumsier with the ties. He had power over her, like her father had, and size over her, like her father had, and he was angry, like her father always sounded before he lashed out at her.

She was relieved when they finished the stack of cloths and he turned to go. "Yes, ser," she acknowledged quietly, "I'm sure you'll see me around when you're patrolling. I'm out here most days." She watched him go, and then went, in her turn, back across the field for another cloth. The job wasn't finished yet, there were still plants uncovered. She'd been through one failed harvest already in her short life. She had no desire to court another one.

[Samuel Longwell]

Grading Complete Please edit your grade request thread so that it's obvious that it's been graded. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions/problems with your grade. Name: Dove XP Award: Logic 2 Observation 3 Running 1 Construction 5 Socialisation 2 Rhetoric 1 Leadership 2 Endurance 1 Planning 1 Lore: Squires and knights are unlikely to be going hungry first Samuel Longwell: Large knight Leadership: Older men often have problems with listening to a girl Samuel Longwell: Backed Dove up Outlasting a knight at plain hard work Samuel Longwell: Triggers unpleasant memories Name: Samuel XP Award: Leadership 3 Intimidation 2 Endurance 4 Observation 2 Construction 4 Socialisation 1 Planning 1 Lore: Dove Brown: Young farmer Dove Brown: Has a problem with knights? Endurance: Heat makes every task harder Self: Hard work induces a temper Rewards: +3 Shield points (Helping people of the city) Notes: I enjoyed writing with you Dove, I think it was a good introduction for the two. As always, your portrayal of Dove's fear is very well crafted. Enjoy your grades.