Summer 67, 517
Karyk sat atop the deck of Badger, the sairque whose rigging he worked on just two days prior. Tools sitting next to him, legs dangled over the side as Karyk tap-tapped a choose into the wood of the railing above him. The ship was nearly done, mostly just accessorizing and the like needed finished. He switched to a different chisel, broader, as he started pushing it through the wood slowly, carefully, as the shavings curled off. Scrape, scrape, he pushed it along the base of the railing. Once he'd finished that first one, he started above it, adding an upward curve to each push. It wasn't amazing by any means, but he was making waves into the wood.
Push it up, shaving falls away, then push it up again from the opposite side, more shavings falling away. It was slow, careful work. Hardly artistic, but they didn't mind. The customer hadn't specified any specific design on the rails, and if they wanted it done differently, they could pay extra. So it was a good time to practice, or so Karyk's foreman thought. Once Karyk had the rough design carved, he pulled a piece of shell parchment from his woodworking kit and began rubbing it against the rail, feeling the wood begin to smooth down. It really was an ingenious invention, ground shells and bones bonded to parchment by a sticky gum. In Zeltiva they harvested it from seaweeds, though he suspected it came from tree sap here in Ravok.
Once that section was smoothed down, Karyk ran is fingers over it. The design was amateur, something a child might draw in reference to waves, barely more than curved triangles. He moved downward to the spindles of the rail. No fancy design here, they just needed smoothed down. He ran the parchment down along the curves, smoothing it without taking much of the wood with it. Once he was done, he saw the rest of the crew packing up for the day. Wiping his damp brow Karyk stood up and stretched his stiff back. Badger sure was a pretty ship, all dark woods and sails. Sairques were a good, efficient ship, coast huggers, loved by merchants for their speed and high cargo space for the cost.
Karyk packed away his tools, slinging his pack over his shoulders, and nodded at the foreman who watched him leave. Planning on heading straight home, the previous day's events with Shiress still weighing heavily on his mind, Karyk made his way through the layers of security Ravok employed around the shipyard. There would be no all evening trip to the tavern tonight. He'd grab some food for the kids and head home, spend some time with them. Shiress had been right. If he focused on them, things probably would get a bit easier. He really needed to find a proper way to thank her sometime. It was a shame she was suffering from her illness. They hadn't even gotten to talk about her family that he knew.
Stepping out to the canals, Karyk looked up and down the water ways and didn't see a single ravosala in sight. Weird. So he sat down there, pulled off his boots and set them next to him, dipping his feet into the warm waters.
A bit bored, a whistle started out from his lips, Karyk bobbing back and forth with the light tune, tapping on the wood with his finger tips. It wasn't long until the lyrics soon followed.
Did I catch her eye or her ire?
Hips so wide, swaying to and fro
Settin' my loins on fire
I think her name was Jojo
Wait, no, that weren't her name
What were her name again?
Karin? Elin? Aislyn maybe?
Cara? Fiona? Phoebe?
I didn't catch her eye, that I know
Legs so long, marchin' up to me
Despite her scowl, I said 'ello
I think her name was Gigi
Wait, no, that weren't her name
What were her name again?
Merevai? Annie? Leona maybe?
Siara, Lorna, Dovey?
She slapped my across the face
Breasts so full, bouncin' here and there
I fell without a lick of grace
I think her name was Sarah
Wait, no, that weren't her name
What were her name again?
Ramona? Alexa? Waisana maybe?
Corelai? Selene? Nephti?
She poured me ale all about
Hair so long, were a caravan
And there I lay, without a doubt
I knew her name, 'twas Maryann
Or was it Annabell?
by Karyk on June 15th, 2017, 12:20 am 
