Flashback Appeal to the Machine

[Lani Stranger]

38th of Spring, 507AV

Note :

Lani has had many names in her life, at this point she was known as Leavou, so that is the name I will be using. For more detail on that timeline, consult her plotnotes.

“Okay, watch the stream for a second, do you see how it bubbles when it hits the rocks?”

“Kind of.” The nine year old answered, not wanting to disagree with her mother, but not seeing the bubbling stay. The water seemed to hit the rocks, bubbled for a second; they disappear, washed down the stream again. “It bubbles a little bit.” She said.

“Yes, that means it is good to drink. As long as it doesn’t foam and stay, you can give the horses this water, and use it for yourself. Now, come on, we aren’t ready to collect the water yet, we have to set up the filtration system.” They walked back towards the camp; the sun was growing red, but not yet ready to set. The other three travelers were meandering about preparing to camp for the night. One woman fed the horses, one man had disappeared to hunt, and the other man set the tents for the night. Although they were not all very friendly or knew each other well, they were a mere ten days out from Alvadas and had fallen into a work-sharing rhythm, switching off skills as needed.

Leavou was their little helper, she didn’t know anything about surviving the wilderness, but was able to help when necessary and eager to learn. R’yse obviously got an uneven proportion of Leavou’s time, but the nine year old was happy to help where she could. She had seen her mother use the filtration system many times before, and so naturally the child thought she knew everything about it. The large metal pot, the clay filter that fit inside it for easy travel, some scraps of cloth, and a bag of charcoal were usually strapped to the tail of her own mount, a mule. It was used to carry their extra things, and herself, since it merely followed the other horses, and the nine year old did not have to direct it in any way.

Leavou lugged the pot up from the stable bags and brought it towards the center of their camp. The man was working on the tents surrounding it, and R’yse was in charge of water and fire for the night. An easy enough task to teach Leavou. She set the pot and funnel on the outside of the circle.

“Okay, so this is what we are going to do. Filter the water, start the fire, boil the water, repeat. The pot only holds about six gallons, and we will use most of that for cooking, so we will have to do it again tonight and in the morning so we have water for the day.” The nine year old gaped. She slept through most of the morning work, and didn’t realize how much work was into just getting the water.

“If the horses drink from the stream, why can’t we?” Leavou asked, pulling the charcoal bag from the pot while R’yse pulled the clay funnel.

“Because our stomachs are not as strong as the horses, and we will get sick. Throwing up, diarrhea, even death. Best not to chance it.” She explained, and the child frowned. That was a little more gory detail than she wanted to hear, but R’yse had never been one to hold details back.

“Why does the water make us sick?” She asked.

“I’m not sure, you will have to ask a follower of Rak’keli that.” R’yse said simply, and then stood, then stepped out of the camp to look intently at the trees beside the camp. “Okay, Leavou. We are looking for two things. Six branches about the size of your wrist, preferably dry and straight.”

[Lani Stranger]

The nine year old turned to look at the shrubbery, eyes immediately falling to the ground. She remembered that the driest branches could be found on the ground, since the tree branches still had moisture in them. Within a few chimes, R’yse had snagged four of the branches she was looking for, and Leavou summed it up to the expert eye of the adult. She grabbed two of her own, but they were more crooked, but at least dry. The consistency of the thickness was lacking as well, but the nine year old didn’t notice that. She presented them to her mother as they walked back to the camp, and R’yse nodded. “Those will do.”

When they reached the center of the camp again, R’yse took two of her branches, and pulled a pocket knife. “Now, help me strip all the little twigs and things off of the branch so it is even.” Leavou procured her own knife which she was now allowed to carry, and began following R’yse’s example. She ran the blade along the branch, watching the twigs snap off with ease, and did so on all sides until it was mostly clear. There were a few thicker pieces she had to saw at, that left little stumps where she had removed them, but the nine year old assessed it to be okay. R’yse was done with her one before Leavou was, and took the branch from the child to complete it, before handing it back.

“Now we are just going to use these to prop the funnel over the pot.” She said, steadying the branch on one side of the wide metal pot. Leavou copied her, and set hers to match. R’yse motioned for her to pick up the funnel and, Leavou did so, positioning it over the branches. “Hold it.” R’yse directed, and the child held the clay out, realizing she was too eager.

“We put the cotton on the bottom, do you know why?” R’yse asked, taking the funnel from her, and flipping it over so the bottom was highest. She adjusted the cotton cloth over the end, and lined it up with a groove that was carved into the side of the funnel. “Hand me that leather strap.” R’yse motioned towards the worn leather that fell out from between the cotton swatches when she picked one up. Leavou did so, watching her mother. “Now, hold the cloth taut, and I will secure it.”

“So that nothing falls through?” Leavou finally answered her, holding the cloth down so R’yse could strap the leather into the grooves, keeping it tight over the bottom.

“Yes. Now, put that over the pot so it balances on the branches.” R’yse directed, and Leavou did so.

“Now we get sand and gravel and pine, yeah?”

“You are correct; do you know what order we have to put it in there?”

“Umm, charcoal on the bottom, pine on the top, sand and gravel in the middle?” Leavou asked, she had seen this done before; she just never paid too much attention.

“Close, now put the charcoal in.” R’yse directed and Leavou followed obediently, grabbing the charcoal bag and pouring some into the bottom of the filter. “Not too much, just a few inches.” She clarified, and Leavou stopped, turning the bag back up and tying it off. She looked back at R’yse.

[Lani Stranger]

“Now dirt and gravel?” R’yse nodded, and picked up the filter from the pot, heading towards the stream again. Leavou followed, and when she caught up, R’yse spoke. “But not just any dirt, you want to make sure it’s loose and thick, so that it catches any small things in the water, but does not go through the filter itself.” She explained, and it made sense to the nine year old. She imagined small tiny fish in the water, trying to swim through all the layers, but getting blocked by the gravel and dirt and charcoal. It made sense to her.

“Okay, little one, sand first, a few inches, then gravel.” R’yse explained, and Leavou was quick to scoop up the loose dry sediment that made up the bank. It was clear that this was left over from when the bank swelled during the spring, but it had not begun to swell yet. It was loose, not overgrown with anything, and had a light disbursement of gravel in it as well. R’yse set the filter down and joined her child, and together they put enough sand into the filter to make another few inches.

“Okay, that is good. Now gravel, same thing.” Leavou was getting the hang of the process, and waited for instruction on where to find the gravel, looking at R’yse expectantly. “Okay, find some gravel.” Her mother shrugged, and Leavou sighed, realizing that she had to find it herself. Immediately the child started looking around her. There was a little bit of light gravel in the sand they had just picked up, but she knew what R’yse wanted and was sure there would be more appropriately sized gravel… somewhere. She began looking around her, and when she began walking towards the pine trees, R’yse nodded her head in the other direction, and the child spun around, looking for what her mother was hinting at. In a few more ticks, she noticed the gravel larger and more apparent the closer to the stream it got.

She rolled up her pants and waded in slightly, feeling the dirt give to rocks underneath her, and began scooping out child-sized handfuls of gravel, showing them to R’yse. Once she located where the gravel was found, R’yse joined her, to help her gather all the gravel. They did one more layer of sand and gravel over this, and then the filter was nearly full. Leavou could certainly not carry it anymore. R’yse picked it up with ease as they walked back towards the camp. Now she set it on the pot and turned to Leavou.

[Lani Stranger]

“Are we missing anything else?”

“Ummmmmmmmmm…. Pine?” Leavou guessed, already looking around her for the trees. She grabbed her knife from her sheath and headed towards the trees that surrounded the clearing where they made camp. She headed towards the pine trees, feeling R’yse’s eyes on her, and investigated the lower branches for one that was thick enough. She knew it had to fit in the bottom of the funnel, although she still wasn’t entirely sure what it was for.

Leavou knew that they made pine tea when they were feeling ill, since it helped calm the stomach and clear it of sickness, if one was not yet sick. She imagined the pine branch acted like pine tea for the water, which seemed logical for her. She selected a thinner pin branch, and used the serrated inner edge of the knife to saw it off the tree, and bring it back. R’yse nodded, using one of the branches to dig a large flat hole in the center of the camp. Her mother paused when she returned, examining the branch and nodding. She could already see the sap dripping out of the bottom where Leavou had cut it.

“Okay, cut the branches and bark off of it, and make sure it fits in the nose of the funnel.” Leavou nodded, pulling her knife once again and doing with this branch as she did the last branches, removing it of its needles. Its bark was much softer and she was able to remove it like peeling a carrot or potato. It was a little thicker than that, and sometimes her knife got stuck making uneven divots in the wood. But soon enough the bark was off, and the branch was seeping its sticky sap, and she was proud. She walked over to R’yse to show her work. And her mother paused from packing the dirt, to look over.

R’yse took it from her, and using her own knife, chopped off a finger sized piece, and begun widdling the inside of it with skill that Leavou didn’t possess. She handed the little pine tube back to Leavou then, and spoke. “Okay, now you’ll need my help for this, you have to stick the branch into the opening of the funnel, snug with the cloth, so that all the water which seeps through go down the pine branch and into the pot.” R’yse explained, lifting the heavy funnel. Leavou poked the nose of the funnel underneath the cloth, and the charcoal gave way a little. With stick hands she stuffed the thin straw into the underside of the funnel, and pushed up against R’yse’s weight, twisting it into place. The cloth held it, and the charcoal gave way just enough for about a half an inch to stick into the nose of the funnel and the rest to stick out.

[Lani Stranger]

“Perfect, now we slowly fill it with water, and wait.” R’yse picked up a cooking pot and handed it to Leavou. The girl was excited, and grabbed it, scampering over to the stream to fill it, and pour it into the filter. She knew to do it slow, so the stream of water didn’t move the top layer of gravel too much. This pot didn’t even fill the funnel. She ran back to get another pot, walking it carefully back and pouring it in. This time it pooled a few inches above the gravel. She peered into the large metal pot to look for signs that it was clear, and the water was already dripping through, steady but not too fast, running down the length of the pine before descending into the pot below.

“Catch!” R’yse spoke in Kontinese, and Leavou’s head snapped up, throwing her hands out so her thumbs connected in a ‘w’ shape and snagging the branch from the air. She joined R’yse, knowing how to dig a pit for a fire already. It only had to be a few inches deep, and once they loosened the dirt well, they would pack it up in walls around the pit to make sure it was well and separated from the rest of the camp. Every few chimes, she ran to get more water, making sure the water was steadily dripping into the pot, it was going to take a while to fill.

Next R’yse grabbed the remaining branches, and handed Leavou one. “Okay, now do you want to learn how to feather branches for tinder?” R’yse asked, and Leavou nodded, she wanted to be helpful. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was turning bright colors of orange and pink. Shadows were disappearing even though it was still light out, and so they had to start the fire soon.

“Okay, you already know how to peel bark off a branch with your knife. It is similar to that, but you don’t go all the way. Just tilt your knife in, and scoop out a strand like this, but don’t cut it off.” R’yse demonstrated with her pine branches, and Leavou watched how smooth her mother’s knife slid down the branch doing just as she asked. Leavou expected hers would act the same, but she was wrong.

Her first slice just took some of the pliable new bark right off the young branch. It feel to the dirt and Leavou grunted.

“Patient, this is hard. It helps you get better with your carving too.” R’yse said, smoothly gliding her knife down the branch and doing it again. Leavou watched and then copied, doing the same this time she carved a thick wedge out of the branch, and it did not snap off. “A little thick there, but keep going. I’m going to go add more water and be right back.” R’yse encouraged, standing to grab the cooking pot and add more water to the filter.

[Lani Stranger]

Leavou continued to do it, more determined to get it right than remembering that it was necessary to start the fire. The young pine was pliable, but Leavou was not skilled, and by the time there was no more room for her to feather, she had a mess. A lot of strips of wood lay on the ground in front of her, there were a few thick wedges carved out, and even fewer curls of thin wood that fell out of the length of it, doing what she knew it was supposed to do.

When R’yse returned, she held her hand out for Leavou’s work, and the frustrated child slowly handed it over, it wasn’t good and she knew it. R’yse inspected it for a minute and then spoke up. “This is what you want to aim for.” She fingered the thin, but still uneven, curls of wood that extended from what was left of the wood. “But this will still burn. Go get water, and I will finish up here.” Leavou was grateful for the relief from work she was not good at. Water, she could fetch, wood, she could not carve. She grabbed the cooking pot, scampered down to the bank, filled it and returned for more. After a few more fill ups, the pot was over half full now, plenty enough to start boiling.

She knew that R’yse would be needing firewood soon, and so the girl stepped to the trees just aside the campsite and began plucking larger sized branches from the ground. She tested a few to make sure they weren’t wet, but the spring rains had not yet begun, and it was still a little chilly outside, so the branches were dry and perfect. Gathering up an armful she brought them back to her mother and dumped them. The man who had gone hunting was returning now, three rabbits over his shoulder. He saw Leavou’s haul, and brandished an axe from his belt.

“I’ll take it from here, doll.” He said in his rough Sylrian accent, and Leavou looked at R’yse who nodded to her. She went to get more water for the filter and then returned to see R’yse setting up the fire. She stacked the kindling in the center, and then teepeed the wood that Leavou had brought around it. With quick and practiced fingers, she tapped the flint and steel together until sparks flew onto some tinder she had on the side. R’yse blew on it and then set it in the fire.

“Now, we will wait until that burns down before putting the water in it and adding the big logs that Geudir brings back.” R’yse informed Leavou, and the little girl yawned. Syna was halfway through her descent now. The tents had been set, the fire was sparking and spreading through the thin branches she had gathered with ease. Within a few chimes the branches collapsed, and Geudir brought back four thick logs, carefully setting tem around the still burning branches so that they caught as well. Once that was done, Leavou hoisted the filter off the pot, and R’yse set it into the fire.

“Remember how long it has to boil for?”

“Five chimes.”

“Five chimes.” R’yse confirmed, nodding, and stepping back from the fire pit.

[Lani Stranger]

“Ay doll.” The Syliran spoke up and both Leavou and R’yse looked at him. Leavou with curiosity, and R’yse with skepticism. “Want to learn how to skin a rabbit?” He asked, LEavou looked at R’yse for confirmation and when the Konti nodded, she looked back at the Sylirian hopefully.

“Yes, please.” She answered in common with the utmost politeness, and stood, walking over to him. He had spread some pine needles in the dirt next to the fire and laid the stiff rabbits beside it. “Let me see yer knife there.” He commanded, and the girl showed him her multi-utility knife with it’s sharp point and serrated inner edge near the hilt. It was light weight and small compared to adult knives, as it was made for her hands. He shook his head and handed it back to her, and then handed her one of his smaller knives, which were very sharp.

“Be careful now, these are sharp. You need to cut carefully.” He warned, Leavou had never been a talkative child, and so she simply nodded, turning back to see what her mother thought. R’yse wasn’t paying attention. When she turned back, the Sylirian had the rabbit by its scruff as if it were a cat, but was holding it with two hands grinning at her. He yanked his hands apart and some fluff came off the back of the rabbit, readjusting his grip, he did it again, but this time the skin split down the middle of the hare with ease. With a powerful yank, he completely removed the skin from the rabbit’s hind and front until it was hanging by its neck. The nine year old shrieked, dropping the knife he just gave her and scrambling back. Shew as no stranger to dead animals, and she had seen raw carcasses before, but watching him skin the thin with such ease and power shocked her to a slightly fearful point, and she took a chime before she could inch back towards him, pick up her knife, and with all the acting her nine year old self could muster, especially after such a fearful reaction, looked at him and pointedly shrugged her shoulders. She rolled her eyes too, but she knew that he couldn’t see it in her soulless orbs during the shadows of the evening. He laughed at her fake indifference, and put the rabbit down on one of the few extra logs he brought. With a swift chop, he removed the head, skin with it. Then he took of each hind leg from the joint down, and then the front paws in a swift motion.

Then he held the rabbit above the pine needles, glided the sharp knife cleanly down its belly, letting the organs spill loose. A few fell right into the pine needles, releasing a wretched stench, and then a few organs remained attached somehow. With an expert hand, he simply reached into the abdomen, and yanked those organs out too, not caring what got on his hands.

[Lani Stranger]

“See, easy?” Leavou scrunched her nose, but she had never bowed down from a challenge. Instead of replying, she turned to her mother.

“I’m going to skin one rabbit.” She spoke in Kontinese, and R’yse laughed. The Sylirian seemed unfazed by them talking without him being able to understand.

“Now, since you got lil’ noodle arms, I’ll show you how the kiddun’s do it.” He said, picking up the second rabbit, and tossing her the third. She caught it, a little clumsily, and carefully twisted it in her hands so that she held it by it’s hind legs like he did. “Grab the knee joint, and the skin above the knee joint, and pull in opposite directions until the knee cracks.”

She leaned closer, fascinated, and watched him. With skill he slowly twisted the knee until there was an audible crack and then a pop as the joint broke free of the skin. She saw how he pulled the skin back from the joint, making it taut, so that when it broke, it tore through the skin easily.

She grabbed one knee and attempted to do the same, wrapping her hand tight around the rabbit’s thigh, and then grabbing its leg with the other hand and pushing it through. She heard the joint crack, but not with nearly as much force as he did, and the skin did not give way. She did it again, hearing the joint groan a little more, following her movements more easily now that it was broken, and then she heard the rip of skin as the bones broke through.

“Now, hook your finger in that skin there, and tear it down.” He directed, not praising or waiting. Leavou nodded, felt her finger in the slimy inside of the rabbit’s skin and then pulled it down the leg. She grimaced at the squishy sound it made, but knew this Sylirian would not cut her any slack for being grossed out, so she swallowed it down. She had to work her finger inside the skin around the leg before she could adequately pull the skin down, but after a few ticks she got it.

[Lani Stranger]

“Now, do the same with the other leg.” He directed, having already done his, but was waiting for her. This time when she snapped the leg joint, it was easier, she knew how the grip the skin so it would pull against the bone and break. She wiggled her little fingers under the skin to separate it, and then pulled it down as well.

“Now, finger it right here,” He pointed to the genitals with a slight grin. “To loosen her up.”

“Hey.” R’yse spoke up, a warning in her tone, and Leavou looked back, unsure of what the mna had said to illicit the reaction from R’yse. She ignored Leavou and looked directly at Geudir, who snickered.

“Just like the leg, you wanna loosen the skin all the way around the tail end.” He continued on, the unrecognized mischief out of his voice again. She followed his movements, but where it took him a few fingers, it took her whole hand. And she had to rip the skin from the genital and the tailbone to properly get it loose. Afterwards it hung at the rabbit’s hips. She had seen rabbits be skinned before, and logically know she could hold the feet with one hand and pull the skin with the other. Actually doing it, was harder than it seemed. The nine year old didn’t have a lot of strength and when she began pulling, like the Sylirian showed her, it was hard. She could feel the skin slipping, but it wasn’t a quick smooth movement like the large man could do, but many little tugs that tired her arm and made her switch the rabbit to her other hand, and begin tugging again. Again the Sylirian waited patiently, until the child had caught up with him.

“Now, poke a hole right here between the head and the arms with your fingers.” He brought his rabbit up to the fire light to show her, and she heard the water boiling vigorously, but paid attention. He made it look easy, popping his fingers right through. So the nine year old did the same with confidence.

First, she jammed her forefinger into the skin, and it didn’t break. “Ow.” She sighed, and then took her thumb and tried the same move. She jammed it to, but it hurt less, so she tried again, digging her nail into the skin to help. The Sylirian clearly grew impatient because he handed her her knife, and she took it, making a small incision on each side, and then sheepishly putting it down. But just as he did not praise her for doing something right, he did not shame her for not being able to do something.

[Lani Stranger]

“Now, just slip the arms out.” He instructed, and she did so, this was easier. She accidently broke an elbow trying to stuff one arm out, but she figured it would be okay. The Sylirian didn’t say anything, so neither did she.

“Now, just chop the head off.” He said simply, and although the nine year old got the feeling she should feel weird about that sentence being said nonchalantly, she did not question it. He brought the log around and placed it between them, placing the his rabbit on it and with a swift movement of his large knife he took the head off, then each hind leg and the forepaws, chop, chop, chop, chop. Then with a practiced hand he sliced the belly and let the organs fall, picking out the last few. He seemed to glance at them for a second, and then held it hand out for her rabbit. She handed it to him, and he did the same with hers. It all took him less than a chime.

“Now, look at the organs, can you tell which one is the liver?” He asked, and she peered at the stinky lumps that rested on the pine needles, she could see the intestines, because they were long, but she could not tell one lump from another. He pointed to a pink half-circle looking one. It looked like a soft stone, and in the pile of organs, she used her knife to poke out the other two.

“You see how they are an even light color? That is good. If they were speckled or two dark, you cannot eat the rabbit. It’s rare to come across in the spring, and away from people, but always look at their livers before you eat them.” He told her. His Sylirian wife was picking up the rabbit carcasses from beside him already, preparing to roast them. She had some nuts and rice grains set out.

“Before we get to Lhavit, I’ll show you how to hunt these. You should learn to take care of yourself out here, with how often that mum of yers travels.” He grinned towards Ryse who was using a cloth in each hand to carefully lift the boiling water out of the fire. She set it in the dirt beside the fire, and set a metal ladle in it.

“Leavou, pour some rice in the cooking pot.”R’yse directed. “One handful for each of us. I will go cool a pot of water to wash it with.” Leavou nodded scooping five handfuls in. It didn’t look like enough for five people, even with three rabbits and some nuts. So she checked to make sure no one was looking, and scooped an extra handful of rice in. She did not think about the rice was meant to last them through their journey, just that she was hungry and wanted some.

When R’yse returned she poured some water in with the rice and gently pushed the tops of her fingers into the rice, twirling it around so that it released the starch. Draining it into the dirt, R’yse let her do the next two, and then ladled hot water into the pot. “You want to fill it so that the water is one notch of your finger above the rice.” R’yse stuck her finger into the pot quickly to show Leavou, but took it out quickly. The other Sylirian man walked over.

“Garlic, rosemary, thyme, pepper, salt, and caraway seed.” He said, which meant almost nothing to the nine year old, but R’yse responded positively, so she offered him the pot to pour the dried herbs in. He added a little bit of oil, and took the pot from her, setting it into the fire. Leavou sat back then, as the adults began cooking properly, setting the nuts out on a pan to roast, and then propping the rabbits up over the pan so that their oils dripped in with the nuts as they cooked. It was a good meal for five, and while it wasn’t sparse, Leavou knew they carried much more food with them, and wasn’t sure why they weren’t using it for a greater variety meal. But they hadn’t been touching a lot of their rations since they left, so she didn’t question it too much, not for now.

Word Count: 5,156