Timestamp: 50th of Fall, 520 A.V.
Tazrae put a gentle hand on Bree’s snout and scratched some patchy skin there. The Ixam was shedding again. She’d have to make some oil to help the creature and keep her from being so itchy. The giant lizard trilled and her eyes immediately half-lidded. She was curled around Tazrae, devoid of tack, after having spent much of the morning playing in the surf which was probably why her snout was peeling.
The Ixam loved the water. Tazrae couldn’t blame her as the young Innkeeper loved the sea just as much. Part of her toes had webbing in them, so Taz suspected the aquatic nature of the creature she’d befriended ran strong in her blood. The Innkeeper had only one guest currently and he’d been fed, the dishes cleaned, and the room made up for the day. She’d packed her guest a lunch for his excursion around Syka, and would only have to be back early evening to make some dinner if the man returned.
Until then she had the late morning and early afternoon free. She’d arranged to meet Randal here who had offered to teach her some lessons in firecraft – both theory and practice – since he’d been dropping by lately and helping himself to breakfast at The Protea Inn. So, while Bree played in the waves, Tazrae waited with Creature who was decidedly too lazy for his own good. He was currently curled up in Bree’s front legs, snoozing away. He’d had his round of barking, chasing gulls, and playing in the shallow surf pretending to chase the Ixam.
Taz rose when she saw the Founder approach, a pair of some sort of huge wooden boards tucked under one arm effortlessly. She squinted as if to see and realized it was a paddle board with a long paddle tucked beside it under his arm. He was dressed similarly to her. Shirtless, barefooted, and with short legged Isuas pants the man looked comfortable in his own skin. Taz wore only a peach colored crochet bikini with an oversized shirt that was brightly patterned with embroidered leaves. She jumped up, raced to Randal, and paused while he gently laid the boards and paddles down. They hugged briefly.
“Juli said you wanted some firecraft lessons?” He asked, looking at the woman thoughtfully. She studied him in turn, wondering what he was thinking. “And I’m dropping this off. It looks thick and heavy, but I used corkwood for the center and very very thin wood for the outside so it floats nicely. I brought my own in case you wanted lessons after the firecraft talk. And I have to say I’m glad you decided you wanted one. It wasn’t hard to make and if people see you paddling around having a good time, they might come to the mercantile and buy more. I left several more stocked there with paddles. I’m going to ask 20 gold for them… but I’ll take your payment out in breakfasts.” He said with a grin.
“I think you’ll like paddleboarding. The offer still stands to teach you to surf when you can swim better… but for now I think this is more your style. I also made yours a lot bigger than it needs to be for your size so you can take Creature along with you if you want too. Bree’s out of luck.” He said with a smile to the still-lounging lizardess.
“I’d LOVE a lesson!” She said, glad that Randal was offering. “On both actually. I feel like I know nothing about fire. I can build a fire, but I don’t even think I have that one correct. I could know so much more. And everything around here can get so wet so fast. I’d love to learn how to build a fire in the damp. Things like that….” She said, her eyes shining with excitement.
Randal nodded. “Why don’t you go put Creech up at the Inn. We’ll take the paddleboards out and talk about fire. I can teach you a lot without even touching fire, then we can come back here and work a bit more on it.” He said gently.
Tazrae nodded, reached around to call to the pup, and both of them headed up the beach to the Inn. She gently locked the pup in her room with food and water. The young Innkeeper then returned to the beach with her survival pack just in case. Bree was back playing in the waves, and Randal was ready to show her how to launch the paddleboard and talk about fire.
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