Placeholder Surviving The Weather II

[Nya Winters]

Timestamp: 46th of Spring, 516 AV

Continued from: Surviving The Weather I

The next day saw Nya sprawled out on Randal’s porch nibbling a banana and quizzing him on some of the things she’d read in the weather book. Randal looked patient, his designs for her Bungalow spread out over the table he had pulled into the shade of his awning.

“Tell me more sayings. I know you’ve heard a few?!” Nya said, stretching out and popping another piece of banana into her mouth. She was soaking up what Randal had to say and was combining it with what she’d learned both from her book and from him the previous day.

Randal sighed, wanting to get his design done undisturbed but resolved in the fact that the Kelvic would follow him around for the rest of the day until she had her answers. Nya was relatively easy to shoo away. All he had to do was give her a task, something that needed to be done, and she’d set off to do it and it would be done well. But he felt guilty because he knew the woman kept to herself mostly and had made very few friends among the settlers. She was, without a doubt, somewhat odd in that she didn’t roam around like the other Kelvics being wild animals. She instead was a knowledge seeker with a passion for learning. When she wanted to know something, she latched onto it like a proverbial dog with a bone and didn’t let go.

He wracked his brain for something to tell her. “When A Circle Manifests Around The Moon… There Will Be Rain Or Snow Soon.” The man said absently, his body still bent over his work desk, putting together the building plans for her bungalow.

Nya repeated the saying to herself then looked up at Randal, her brow furrowed. “What does that mean? I mean a ring around the moon? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.” The Kelvic said, looking back into her memory for any time she’d seen Leth ringed.

“Sometimes the moon gets a hazy ring around it… where you can see its glow against the clouds and it looks like it is backlit. Its not really a true ring, Nya, but more of an aura or halo. It’s the same phenomenon as the Red Skies At Night saying. There are dust particles in the air being pushed towards us and that means low pressure and rain or snow forthcoming. Remember that flask? If you suspended dirt in that water, the changing pressure on the flask would always drive the dirt around away from it in the water. The same thing happens in the air.” Randal explained.

Nya nodded, understanding this time. She had indeed seen a haze around the moon, but had never equated it with the coming weather. Nor had she thought of it as a ring. Humans always described things oddly.

“So does that mean when the moon is bright and clear with zero haze… where Leth looks crisp in the sky… its high pressure because there is no particles of dust obscuring our view of him and making him look blurred?” The Kelvic asked, reaching over and taking a mango from one of Randal’s fruit bowls and beginning to eat it. The feline rarely stopped eating. Her huge kelvic form demanded it.

“Exactly… and on nights you can see the moon… or even early mornings and early evenings… it’s a quick and simple way to predict the weather and thus know what’s coming and what you should do to prepare.” Randal added, glancing up at the Kelvic who was now eating another fruit no one had bothered to name yet.

[Nya Winters]

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“So how the moon looks can determine the weather. It’s not really much about Leth but about using all the tricks we can to see dust in the air. If there’s dust then there’s heavy air pushing it towards us. If there isn’t, the sky is crisp and clean. Humans! Randal I swear I don’t understand you. If that’s all it is about why don’t you just say look for the presence or absence of dust and here are all the ways to determine if its there? Hazy moon, red sky at night…. Red sun setting…. “ Nya began to tick the clues she remembered off on her fingers. Shaking her head, she glanced over at him and noticed that he nodded absently but was really more focused on calculating what appeared to be how much wood he’d need to order from the sawmill.

Nya sighed.

“I’m not bothering you am I?” She asked, starting to rise before deciding on just one more banana. Since coming to Syka her hair had begun to rapidly grow and had a smooth healthy sheen to it. Her nails were the same way and her skin had a dewy glow that she’d never enjoyed before. Nya credited it to her diet. The fruit was amazing and so too was all the fresh meat. Nibbling away at the snack, she watched as Randal absently shook his head.

“No, I don’t mind you following me around like a puppy and hounding me. But I know you are going to want to know more… its not all about the dust, Nya. It can actually be Leth himself.” Randal said, peeking up from where he was tallying a ledger to gauge her reaction. The Kelvic hissed at the dog analogy and then grinned when she saw he was baiting her.

“What do you mean its more about Leth himself? He influences the weather? How does that tie into survival here?” Nya furrowed her brow, trying to understand what Randal was hinting at.

“Leth goes through phases…. Waxing, waning… full, new… even quarters Nya. He does so every thirty days in a cycle. When two full moons happen in the same thirty day period, we get all kinds of crazy weather. I’m not sure why. There’s a lot of rain, and often times we get flooding and extreme tides. You need to be really careful about camps around tides… they can come very high up on the beach and they can backwash into rivers and streams flooding formally safe places to camp along the water’s edge. The Drykas believe when a Cresent Moon is looking like a bowl… you know with the tips pointed upwards… that a dry spell is coming. And when a new moon frowns down on you, the water pours out and can drown the land.” Randal said, laughing slightly . Nya gave this some thought and nodded, wondering if indeed it was true.

“So … not only do I have to mind the weather, I now have to watch the moon because He will make the weather milder or more extreme based on Leth’s phase and how He relates to Mizahar. Wonderful.” The Kelvic snorted in laughter and shook her head. “There’s so much to remember. It’s a wonder how civilization ever rose again after the Valterrian.” The Kelvic said, looking suddenly far more mature and far more human than she had a moment ago.

Randal watched her curiously, knowing more questions were to come.

[Nya Winters]

Nya tapped her chin thoughtfully, glanced at Randal, and then down at her nails. “The Moon gives signs, the Sky gives signs…. What other signs are there about weather and how to predict it to survive?” Nya asked, rising up from where she was lounging and walking over to the table where Randal was designing her bungalow. Her eyes scanned the design and nodded her approval. The man knew her, probably as well as anyone in the settlement or better, and he was designing her home with the large cat and its habits in mind. There were no narrow doorways, no low ceilings… it was lofty and beautiful with full access to the outside and wide comfortable furniture she could choose to lounge on in either form.

The Kelvic rested her hand on his shoulder in thanks, giving it a slight squeeze in appreciation of the detail he’d put into the work.

“That’s not an easy question to answer, Nya. Just keep your eyes open when you walk around. There are hints… dew on the plants in the morning means you will have a dry day forthcoming. Lacking dew, usually means dry winds are blowing pushed ahead of storms that bring rain and other adverse weather. All these things can be obscured by current rain or weather. You can smell rain coming sometimes… the same with snow. It burns the inside of your nose and you just feel it in the air. Plants get constricted in air pressure, and it causes them to release their scents. It’s like the air around them is squeezing their own internal air out… if you can smell pungent plants you might be facing low pressure. Double check with your campfire and with the other signs I’ve taught you. There’s other subtle signs plants will give. In pine forests, the trees that have pine cones will have the cones open up in dry air but close when the air is moist. Trees like here in the jungle will tend to curl their leaves in anticipation of rainstorms, sometimes to catch the very water that falls. There are also plants that will grow thicker husks when weather will be bad in certain years. The same goes for animals that grow thicker fur or even insects like caterpillars that grow woolier. They seem to know. I think Caiyha whispers to them.” Her teacher said softly, offering her a smile.

Nya laughed. “I wouldn’t doubt it. So… when things like caterpillars start to thicken up, that means you prepare for extra harsh winters. Store more food, warmer clothing, gather more firewood…. And in our case here in Syka make sure things are tied down. Build things from stone if possible to keep yourself cooler and more steady in the wind.” Nya added, looking thoughtful then tilting her head at Randal.

“I feel like you are more teaching me how to be super aware of the world around me and not just predict the weather or be prepared to survive. I feel like these lessons are about moving more closely with the world, being more aware, observing it…. Understanding what I see… instead of just complete survival.” The kelvic said thoughtfully as Randal smiled.

“You are right. I’m trying to teach you to live more in your world – the world of the gods – than you live than live in your own head. You will, ultimately, survive the world longer when you do so. By paying attention you are teaching yourself and training your senses to be sharper. Sometimes we see things without understanding what we see. Your survival depends on you training your brain to absolutely understand what it sees without putting much thought into it. These lessons will really help you a great deal with that if you let them and practice.” He said, watching her reaction.

Nya was pensive, letting it all sink in.

[Nya Winters]

The Kelvic pulled out a chair and plopped herself in it, leaning over the drawings and tracing the vision that would soon be the reality of her new home. It would be a combination of a house and leatherworking studio. She liked it already and was glad Randal was the one designing it. He’d asked her countless questions and now occasionally interrupted her pestering to ask a few more.

“You know…. I have pretty good instincts. Sometimes my whiskers twitch and I know its going to rain.” Nya reported helpfully, keeping the lines of their conversation going. “I think sometimes in my animal form I can sense bad weather coming.” She admitted, knowing it was true.

Randal grinned at her. “Animals are great at that sort of thing, Nya. You can always tell they are sensing something coming by noting changes in feeding patterns, behavior, and sometimes they even vocalize…. birds will be filling the jungle with birdsong and then suddenly go silent. That sort of thing… deer or herds of elephants might start heading for high ground…. That sort of thing.” He added, looking at her speculatively. “Even if the hippos are out feeding and suddenly head for the river again… or come out of the river at dusk unusually, then we need to be wary. You should follow them… head to high ground, head to the river…. Do what they do as long as they are calm in what they are doing. Don’t go against what their nature and instinct is telling them. Pay attention to your instinct as well.” He added, watching her think the things he said through carefully.

“What about fish? Do the ocean animals or the things along the beach do anything unusal?” Nya asked, curious if ocean storms or surges could be predicted as well.

Randal thought for a moment. “I do know schools of fish will come and feed gluttonously at the surface just prior to a storm so they can dive deep and wait for it to pass. There’s far more food at the surface than in deep water so that is one major sign. If you are out fishing and you have a great catch, that might mean you need to catch extra or seek shelter early because the weather will be turning soon. Its good to smoke extra food like fish if you have a catch that’s excessive because you might not have the ability to cook it in the days to come if things get really wet from a storm.” He suggested, looking around as if thinking of what else he could add.

That all made sense to Nya. She’d personally witnessed the behavior herself but hadn’t actually connected all the clues together as to why the fish were at the surface feeding. “They are sensing pressure changes in the air I imagine… .I bet air pressure effects water pressure too which in turn the fish can sense.” Nya linked up her facts together and extrapolated carefully, glad she was able to infer from one thing what was happening in another scenario.

The Founder chuckled. “Something like that…. I bet you aren’t wrong.”

“I’ve witnessed turtles and snakes all heading to high ground together. It’s very strange. I bet that’s related to the weather as well. I imagine floodwaters are difficult for them to navigate so they get out of their way rather than risk being drowned.” The Kelvic added, catching on quickly to examples she’d found in the wild of things that were clearly in nature as well.

“Don’t forget birds…. Its harder for birds to fly in low pressure… something about how their wings work. So if they are flying high, the weather will likely be clear for a day or two… maybe longer. If they are flying near the ground, they are definitely indicating weather changes and a storm coming in. Often along the coast, seabirds will just gather on the beach and not fly at all… or move inland so you will see them all vanish. Just watch Nature, Nya…. She will tell you all you need to know.” Randal assured her.

The Kelvic smiled, thinking he was indeed right.

[Nya Winters]

Randal snorted finally, gathered all his papers together, and looked up at Nya. “I need to get to work on this if my client is going to be happy.” Nya grinned, nodded, and started to rise. Randal enjoyed her company though and didn’t want to chase her off just yet. He took pity on her wandering loneliness and gave her one more opportunity. “I’ll let you ask one more question then I have to head out to the sawmill.” He said, pausing for her to think of a really good one and ask.

Nya took her time. She finished rising, and then paced the length of his porch under the awning. “Okay… weather and survival. What’s the one biggest danger in the Jungle in regards to survival and what do you do about it?” The Kelvic finally said after a long long pause.

The Founder laughed and threw out his hands. “The heat. When you say weather and survival, that’s the one obvious thing. If you don’t stay cool and hydrated, you will suffer a whole host of things including Dehydration, Heat Exhaustion, Heat Cramps, and even Heat Stroke. Now I’ll tell you what each of those is and how to prevent them Nya, but then that needs to be it for the day. You can come back tomorrow and we can go on a walk up the coast and talk about foraging or something… during my break on your bungalow. But too many things around here need to be built so I can’t be in teaching mode all the time.” The man said, a grin on his face as Nya nodded.

“Okay, what is Dehydration….” Randal asked.

Nya knew what this one was already. The healer had already talked about it quite a bit. “IT’s the loss of water in your body. WE have a lot of water inside us so when its lost and note replaced we suffer uh… sluggishness and listlessness… right?” The kelvic said, having already been taught this.

Her companion laughed. “Very good… and the treatment is simple. Drink lots of water…. And it is consequently the same as the prevention too… .drink lots of water. You can’t change how hot it is outside, but you can keep yourself healthy in the intense heat.” The Founder reached out and affectionately scratched Nya’s head, stroking her brindled hair back, pleased the Kelvic was clever.

“Okay I knew that one but what is the difference between Dehydration and Heat Exhaustion? You mentioned that was next.” The Forest cat said, eager to compare and contrast both things.

“Heat exhaustion is also caused by too much loss of water added with too much loss of salt. You get dizzy, nauseous, often form a headache, get cramps, rapid weak pulse, and your skin feels cool and clammy.. sometimes even wet.” The Founder said, still in the process of packing up his diagrams and rolling them so he could slide it into the leather map case Nya had made him. “ You treat it by moving the person to a cool shady place to rest, loosen their clothing, put their feet up, and give them water… you can also give them a bit of salt that will help them. Don’t give them sea water… but actual salt that’s been dehydrated and crystalized. You want to absolutely control the amount.” Randal advised, then tapped the lid on his case. He turned back to Nya and leaned against the porch railing.

“Are heat cramps then caused by the loss of too much water too?” The Kelvic asked causing Randal to shake his head. “Loss of too much salt. You get painful muscle cramps which immediately go away as soon as you get salt back in them. Basically treat them the exact same way you would for Heat exhaustion.” The man said, while Nya mentally took notes, wanting to remember this for the future.

“What about Heatstroke then….. ?” She asked, curious how it could be different.

“Heatstroke is also called sunstroke and is caused by your body completely shutting down its ability to regulate its own temperature. It happens when you get dehydrated too, but usually from diarrhea or you just aren’t used to the climate. This one is bad and it can kill quickly. You can tell its heat stroke because the person gets hot, red, dry skin and stop sweating when they should be. They feel very hot and have a rapid pulse…. They often complain of having spots before their eyes and get all the same things as Heat Exhaustion and Cramps but the headaches, nausea, and dizziness is followed by mental confusion and sudden collapse. It’s absolutely imperative you treat dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat cramps immediately because if it leads to Heat Stroke you are going to be in trouble.” Randal said, shaking his head sadly. He’d seen a few deaths from Heatstroke and it hadn’t been pretty.

“Do you treat it the same way you do the other ones?” Nya asked, curious.

Randal shook his head. “No, in this case you get them as cool as possible. Dump them in a cool creek, pour water over there, fan them, and if you can get a mage around… ice them up. Duncan has saved many a life with his water reimancy. Feed them a bit of salt with water, and then rub their arms and legs rapidly to get the circulation going. You need to get a heatstroke victum help immediately. Preferablly to a healer if you can…. They are going to need every bit of your attention to not die.” Randal said, shaking his head sadly.

“Unfortunately we’ve lost a few newcomers here in Syka to Heatstroke. Be on guard against it, Nya….” Randal said, slinging his mapcase over his bare shoulder and giving her a grin. “Come for lunch tomorrow… bring something to roast. I’ll have some fresh bread and fruit to trade.” Nya grinned, nodded, and picked up her survival pack. She didn’t mind Randal giving her the boot. He’d given her some very valuable information today and she was grateful for it.

“Thanks for the chat….” The Kelvic said as the pair departed, both splitting up to go different directions.

[Nya Winters]

Grading

Nya

Wilderness Survival +5, Meteorology +5, Research +3, Socialization +3, Medicine +1

Lores

Meteorology: Telling The Weather By How The Moon Looks, WS: The Moon Gives Clues To How To Prepair, Meteorology: Phases Of The Moon, WS: Moon Phases Effect Tides & Weather, WS: Tree Cones Give Sign Of Weather, Insects: Coat Thickness On Caterpillars Predict Seasonal Weather, WS: Animal Behavior Predicts Weather, WS: Fish Feeding Predicts Weather & Frequency OF Storms, WS: Animals Heading To High Ground Predicts Storms Coming, WS: Heat Negatively Affecting A Body, Medicine: Heatstroke & Care, Medicine: Signs Of Dehydration, Medicine: Heat Exhaustion, Medicine: Heat Stroke, Medicine: Treatments of Dehydration, Heat Exhaustion, and Heat Stroke.