Solo Firing Up

Nieve puts together a makeshift kiln.

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Syka is a new settlement of primarily humans on the east coast of Falyndar opposite of Riverfall on The Suvan Sea. [Syka Codex]

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Firing Up

Postby Nieve Glass on April 3rd, 2018, 12:03 am

62nd of Spring, 518 AV
Nieve stood in front of the section of sand she'd squared off, having drawn out the boundaries with a stick, hands on her hips and her lips pursed. She'd been in Syka long enough to settle down, and it was about time she got to work actually being useful.

However, for her, that required a kiln. Which she didn't have, which meant she would have to improvise. Quite frankly, she had no idea where to start. She hummed in thought, dropping down into a crouch. Near silent footsteps alerted her to Sinaetri's approaching presence behind her.

"What are you doing?" The Verusk questioned, her shadow casting over the small Kelvic. Evie tilted her head back to look up at her, squinting slightly.

"Thinking. I need to make a kiln. Or, well, a replacement for one." Sinaetri raised a brow, seeming surprised.

"A kiln? For pottery?"

"Yes. I make pottery. Randal said cups and such are needed pretty badly." Nieve sighed, turning her attention back to the space in front of her, brows furrowed as she chewed on her lower lip in thought.

Sinaetri made a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat. "I'm afraid I can't be of much use with this. Perhaps you should drop by the Commons, see if anyone knows something and would be willing to help?"

Nieve pondered that for a moment; she would have liked to figure something out on her own, but perhaps that would be her best bet. Before she recruited anyone, though, she wanted to at least be prepared.

"Help me gather some wood and kindle?" She asked Sinaetri as she hopped to her feet, batting her large green eyes at the taller woman. Sinaetri huffed out a breath that Evie recognized as a laugh.

"Enough, you don't have to plead with me. I'll help." Evie shot the woman a bright, wide grin, and bounded off towards the treeline without waiting. Sinaetri cast her eyes upwards before following after at a more leisurely pace.

The two worked in silence for awhile, rummaging around in the underbrush at the edge of the treeline to search for sticks and fallen branches. Some bigger pieces of wood might have been useful, but Nieve didn't feel like trying her luck venturing into the jungle to find some; in any case, she didn't even have an axe.

Birds cawed and chirped overhead, rustling through the treetops in bright flashes of plumage as the two gathered as much as they could before heading back to Nieve's designated area, dropping their findings into a pile. They'd managed to scrape together enough for a sizable fire.

Sinaetri brushed off her hands, casting her gaze to Nieve. "Now what?"
Evie pursed her lips. "Now I go look for help, I suppose."

Sinaetri inclined her head. "Good luck. I'll be around when you return, if you need any further assistance." The Verusk had been planning on practicing her dancing, but she could do that nearby. She liked when the Kelvic was productive, and wouldn't mind helping her; especially with something that would help the settlement.

"Thank you!" Evie grinned at her before turning and trotting off towards the Commons, loincloth swinging around her knees as she broke into a lope. Nieve kept a steady pace the whole way there, though she was breathless and panting by the time she made it. She slowed her footsteps, pausing to catch her breath before bounding up the steps to the Commons.

It was early afternoon, so they were fairly busy. People milled around, most of whom Nieve recognized by now, chatting and working. Still, while she recognized most of the people there, she wouldn't say she particularly knew them; that, and they all seemed busy.

Nieve hung back, her bright gaze scanning the deck for someone she was actually familiar with who she wouldn't mind going to bother, even if they were busy.

Word Count: 649; Total: 649
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Nieve Glass
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Firing Up

Postby Nieve Glass on June 7th, 2018, 3:55 am

The Kelvic would soon find herself disappointed. Nobody popped out at her as she gazed back and forth over the deck of the Commons; not wanting to bother a stranger, she ducked her head and slunk away, trotting at a slower pace back towards her tent.

Sinaetri glanced up from where she was stretching when she heard Nieve's returning footsteps. "That was fast. No luck?" She raised a brow seeing that the girl had returned alone.

"No luck," Nieve agreed, looking slightly put out.

"That's alright. We shall just make do on our own," Sinaetri sighed, giving up on her plans for the day, and straightened up.

Nieve padded back over to the marked-off area in the sand, propping her hands on her hips. "Kilns are just...boxes with fires in them, right?" She glanced to Sinaetri uncertainly, looking for confirmation. "And a shelf to rest the pottery."

"I don't know anything about pottery, I'm afraid. But the basic concept seems similar to that, yes. Not unlike an oven." Sinaetri watched the Kelvic shift her weight from foot to foot, fidgeting as she thought. Could the girl ever stand still?

Nieve frowned, winding her finger through her curls and tugging at them, chewing on her lip; one could almost see the wheels in her brain turning and grinding. She didn't know how to build actual walls, nor did she think she had the materials for it.

Evie cast her gaze downwards, wriggling her toes in the sand; she blinked, an idea dawning on her. The more she considered it, the more it seemed feasible. She jerked her chin up, beaming as she clasped her hands together. "I've got it!" She announced.

"Oh?" The Kelvic assumed by the slight raise of the older woman's brows that she was amused, but it was difficult to say.

"We need to dig it. A bit further back than here, more towards the treeline, where the ground is firmer." Sinaetri considered for a moment before inclining her head.

"That could work," the Verusk agreed.

Pleased, Nieve scuffed out the lines she'd drawn, and moved back towards the treeline, where the sand was slightly more dense, and made a new square. It was still far enough from the underbrush that any fire she built would be a fair distance away from the start of the treeline. Content with that, she settled down onto her knees, and began pushing sand away.

"I don't suppose you have a shovel." It wasn't a question as Sinaetri gracefully lowered herself down beside Nieve, beginning to help the Kelvic dig.

"Nope." She answered anyway; it didn't take long for the two working together to reach the firmer, slightly damp layer of sand beneath the dry, loose layer on the surface.

Once that layer was reached, the two set out digging to deepen and widen the hole until it almost filled the space that Nieve had marked out. With that done, Nieve leaned into the small hole to pat down the bottom and sides, evening out and firming the sand. The hole was uneven and not overly large; just over one foot deep, and just under two feet across either way, but it would do.

Word Count: 532; Total: 1,181
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Nieve Glass
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Posts: 94
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Firing Up

Postby Nieve Glass on June 7th, 2018, 4:01 am

"Now what?" Sinaetri questioned, sitting back on her heels and brushing the sand from her palms, carefully doing so away from her clothing, before cleaning the underneath of her long nails. Nieve simple brushed her palms off on her loincloth.

"Now...hm." Now what, indeed. Kilns usually had the pottery above the fire, with walls and a roof. But all Nieve had was a hole in the ground. She didn't know the specifics, but she assumed that simply building a fire and placing the pottery above it wouldn't work in such a scenario. Kilns were always much hotter than any open fire she'd ever experienced.

Was there a way to build a roof? Perhaps she could layer planks of wood over the hole. But what if it got so hot that they caught fire? Nieve was pulled out of her thoughts by Sinaetri nudging her thigh.

"What are you thinking." A statement, not a question.

"It needs to be closed off somehow, I think. To get hot enough." Of course, Nieve had no idea if that was actually true, but it seemed logical enough. Otherwise people would just set their pottery over open fires. Right?

Sinaetri tapped a claw to her scaled chin, considering the hole in front of them. Nieve glanced from the hole to the nearby pile of wood they'd collected earlier. She'd already established the pottery needed to be in what was essentially a closed chamber.

"Well, the hottest part of the fire is the center." Sinaetri interrupted Nieve's thoughts, and the Kelvic glanced at her, curious to see where she was going. She spoke slightly slower than usual, still thinking as she spoke. "So the pottery should be close to that. But it should also be enclosed. What if..." She hesitated for a moment. "Would it be possible to set the fire over the pottery?"

Nieve blinked. The fire over the pottery? She never would have thought of that. Could it work? She glanced to the hole in front of them, trying to visualize it. The pottery settled at the flattened-out bottom, with sticks piled on top.

"That would break the pottery though, to just pile sticks on it, wouldn't it? And how would that work, the pottery wouldn't be near the fire..." Nieve asked, doubtfully, but she was running the idea through her head. Excitement bubbled in her chest the more she considered it. "But it's not the fire we need, just the heat! If we could secure the wood for the fire, prop it just above the hole, or even in the sand..."

She trailed off, grinning widely. She had no idea if it would actually work, but it was certainly a start. "That's perfect, Sinaetri! It's worth a try at least!" Even if it didn't work, it could give them something to go off of.

"I'm glad I could help." The Verusk inclined her head, and Evie grinned at her.

"I'm going to go get some clay, just make some basic stuff and see if this will actually work." She had no idea how long the kiln, if it could really be called that, would take to fire the pottery. Presumably until the fire went out; but then how big should she make the fire?

Nieve was beginning to realize it would take a lot of trial and error to see if this would work. Perhaps she would be better off simply using the communal kiln, or even just saving up and having a small one built when she had her home constructed.

But she'd already dragged Sinaetri into it, and the two had a plan; besides, it would be nice to have her own kiln until she could afford to have a real one built. So, resolutely, Nieve sprang up to her feet in a fluid motion and trotted over to her tent. She wasn't going far into the jungle, just far enough to reach the small stream that ran through her piece of land, but even so she didn't want to be as exposed as she was.

word Count: 675; Total: 1,856
Last edited by Nieve Glass on June 7th, 2018, 4:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Nieve Glass
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Posts: 94
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Joined roleplay: September 26th, 2017, 3:10 am
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Firing Up

Postby Nieve Glass on June 7th, 2018, 4:04 am

She quickly swapped her loincloth and scarf for her linen pants and shirt, tugging on her leather boots over her bare feet. She grabbed one of the tin bowls stacked in the corner of her tent before ducking back out and making her way to the edge of the jungle.

The stream was easy to spot from where she stood. Nieve, short as she was, didn't have to duck beneath any branches as she stepped into the underbrush. Entering the jungle was like entering a whole different world; even just a few short steps into the trees, the noises from the beach became dimmed and distant. The heat from the sun beating down lessened slightly in the shade, only to be replaced with a thick wall of humidity.

Nieve frowned, batting at the insects that buzzed around her face. She regretted not putting on any insect repellent, but she wouldn't be long, so she simply grit her teeth and ducked her head as she walked towards the stream.

Crouching down beside it, Evie dropped the tin bowl to the ground beside her, and splashed her hands into the stream. The water was warm, the current slow as she dug her fingers into the clay along the bank. She dug out a handful, dropping it into the bowl at her side, before plunging her hands back into the stream.

It didn't take her long to fill the bowl. Cupping her hands to collect some water, she splashed some in on top of the clay she'd collected to keep it moist before wiping her hands off on her pants, scooping up the bowl and standing again.

Pleased with her haul, Evie wasted no time in making a beeline for the beach, glad to be out of the humid, bug-filled air. Making her way back to her tent, she stripped out of her jungle clothes, not bothering to dress again as she plopped down at the mouth of her tent, snagging two metal plates from inside, ready to begin sculpting the clay in front of her.

She didn't need anything fancy or even functional, seeing as she didn't even know if the kiln she was going to set up would work. Pulling a chunk of clay out of the bowl, Nieve kneaded it between her fingers, rolling it into a smooth ball between her palms. The clay had more of a red tinge than she was accustomed to, but Evie found that she liked the colour.

Pulling the plate onto her lap, Nieve flattened the ball down into a disc on the metal surface before beginning to pull the edges up slightly. They flopped, too thin to hold themselves up, so Evie pulled some more clay from the bowl, working it into the edges and thickening them until they stood by themselves.

She added some more clay to the bottom as well, the shape of a small, shallow bowl beginning to take form. It was easier to work with a wheel, but since she wasn't too worried about the outcome, the Kelvic simply did the best she could with her fingers.

She ran her fingertips around the edge of the shallow clay bowl, flattening out lumps and squeezing along the rim to make the clay around the top firmer. She pressed down along the sides towards the bottom, making sure there weren't any gaps in the clay.

With the basic shape down, Nieve set it to the side on the second dish, and pulled another clump of clay, squeezing it between her fingers before beginning to roll it again. So involved with her work, the Kelvic didn't even notice Sinaetri silently approach from the side to watch her.

Flattening the ball out, Nieve tapered the top and bottom until she had an oval before pressing her fingers to the back of it and pushing upwards, making the oval concave. Scraping some more clay out of its bowl, she added onto the top of the oval, thickening it out.

Using her nail, Nieve scraped two circles in the oval towards the top, then pressed two small slits in the middle, and finally pressed her nails in the clay towards the bottom, making two crescents on one top of the other.

A small giggle of amusement left Nieve; it was a tiny, crude replica of some sort of mask, the basic shapes of a human face engraved into the clay. She had no idea how well the engravings would come out once the clay was fired, if indeed the kiln worked, but she was just having fun with it.

Word Count: 764; Total: 2,620
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Nieve Glass
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Posts: 94
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Firing Up

Postby Nieve Glass on June 7th, 2018, 4:09 am

It had been awhile since she'd had clay between her fingers, and the feeling was almost cathartic. "Is that a face?" Sinaetri spoke up suddenly, and Nieve jumped, nearly digging her fingers into the the tiny clay 'mask' she still held.

"Sinaetri! You scared me," Nieve flushed, embarrassed that she hadn't picked up on the other's presence, even with her sense of hearing and smell. The Verusk smiled faintly.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to watch you work. I've never seen you so quiet or still."

Nieve wasn't sure if the words were meant as a compliment or not, so she chose to ignore them, instead responding to the original question. "It is a face, yeah. I was just messing around. I don't want to go through the trouble of trying to make something serious if the kiln won't work."

Sinaetri nodded in understanding, watching Nieve set the small sculpture aside and scrape the last of the clay out of the bowl. "Why not make a palm tree," The Verusk suggested as Nieve rolled the clay, scrutinizing it between her hands.

"A palm tree? I could try that." Nieve scooted over slightly to allow Sinaetri to sit beside her; she didn't mind the Verusk's presence, even though she was watching her work. Sinaetri was quiet and serene enough that it was easy for Nieve to focus despite her presence.

Rolling the ball between her palms until it narrowed out into a cylinder, Nieve flattened one end, pushing some of the clay around it down and out, widening it into a base. She pulled some clay from the top of the cylinder, shortening it until the structure sat on its base without wobbling.

Splitting the remaining clay into three small balls, Nieve flattened them, repeating the process of creating an oval three times. She scored her nail down the middle of each oval, creating the basic shape of a leaf, and then examined the 'trunk', if it could really be called that.

It was lopsided and probably too narrow, the base uneven, and Nieve had no idea how to go about sticking the leaves onto it. She flattened the top somewhat, widening it out as much as she could without leaving the rest of the trunk too narrow, and then pressed one end of a 'leaf' onto the top, the other two following suit.

The end result was a somewhat narrow, short cylinder, with two flared ends, one of which had three ovals sticking out of it almost perpendicular to the ground. The 'leaves' drooped slightly, too thin to have any structure.

"It's better than I could do," Sinaetri offered, as Nieve frowned at the sad-looking sculpture of a palm tree.

"It doesn't really matter anyway. I just need to make sure this works. They need to dry out a bit first, though." That being said, Nieve shifted into her feline form in a small whirl of lights. She stretched out, spreading her wings wide for a moment, before hopping into Sinaetri's lap.

"I have things to do, you know." The Verusk said, but one of her hands settled onto Nieve's back anyway, beginning to idly stroke. Nieve purred as she tucked her paws beneath her, wings folding along her flanks; one could easily imagine the pleased smirk on her face as she closed her eyes, settling in for a nap as Sinaetri stroked her back.

Word Count: 569; Total: 3,189
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Nieve Glass
Feathery feline
 
Posts: 94
Words: 99031
Joined roleplay: September 26th, 2017, 3:10 am
Location: Syka
Race: Kelvic
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Medals: 1
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Firing Up

Postby Nieve Glass on June 7th, 2018, 4:17 am

It was a few hours before Nieve woke. She blinked sleepily, stretching her front legs out, spreading her toes as she yawned, fangs glinting in the late afternoon light. Shaking herself out, she stood, bumping her forehead into Sinaetri's chin. The Verusk hadn't moved since she'd fallen asleep.

Sinaetri opened her eyes, inhaling deeply as she glanced down at Nieve. The yowlwing jumped nimbly off her lap, and a moment later Nieve stood on two legs in front of her. Her stomach rumbled slightly, and the curly-haired girl glanced down. She would need to eat as soon as she finished with the kiln; but that took priority. She was excited to see how it turned out.

"Were you meditating the whole time I was asleep?" Nieve asked, as she picked up the tin dish carefully. With the three sculptures on the metal dish, Nieve turned to carry it back over to the hole they'd dug earlier, Sinaetri following.

The sun was past its highest point in the sky by then, beginning to steadily draw towards the horizon. "Yes. It was finally a chance for some peace and quiet."

"You could have moved me, you know," Nieve laughed, stopping by the hole, placing the dish carefully at the bottom.

"I would have if I needed to."

Nieve had no doubts about that. Silence fell over the two as they moved the sticks over to the hole. Evie examined it before beginning to go through the pile. She pulled out the longest branches first, embedding one end in the sand near the top of the hole, and embedding the other end on the other side.

There were four sticks long enough to embed in such a manner; Nieve carefully arranged the rest over the four sticks, allowing them to serve as a base. She dropped some kindling and smaller sticks in as well for good measure. "Alright, let's give this a shot, then."

Sinaetri had the foresight to bring the flint and steel from Nieve's tent, so she simply handed them over to the Kelvic. Nieve angled the steel towards where she'd set up a small pile of kindle, striking the flint against it once, twice, three times. Sparks flew and finally landed in the kindling, beginning to burn and slowly ignite.

Mindful of the large area and the long sticks, Nieve reached out and used the piece of steel to poke some tinder, allowing it to fall between two sticks. She leaned forward, gently wafting her hand over the tinder until the sticks began to catch.

It didn't take long for the fire to get going properly. It blazed up, bigger than the campfire Nieve had set up in front of her tent, crackling hotly. "Now we wait, I guess." Nieve stood back, admiring the blaze.

She wasn't concerned about leaving the fire unattended; it was still a fair bit away from the jungle, surrounded on all sides by several meters of loose sand, and it wasn't particularly windy. "I'm curious to see how this turns out," Sinaetri admitted. Nieve opened her mouth to agree but was cut off by another, louder growl from her stomach. Her cheeks flushed bright pink, and Sinaetri let out a rare chuckle.

"I think perhaps it's time for dinner," She said, beginning to walk away from the fire. Nieve nodded her agreement, and scampered after, wondering what was on the menu at the Tidepool Bar.

Word Count: 570; Total: 3,759
User avatar
Nieve Glass
Feathery feline
 
Posts: 94
Words: 99031
Joined roleplay: September 26th, 2017, 3:10 am
Location: Syka
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 1
Mizahar Grader (1)


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