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Post by aden on May 6, 2008 20:42:28 GMT -5
Aden raised an eyebrow slightly in response to the girl's quip about his mother. In times past, if some one had toyed with him in such a way, he'd have given them the cold shoulder. However, he simply didn't feel like allowing the girl to get to him and he replied by uttering, "She probably would..."
He then fell into step behind her, looking around with mild interest at the rest of the building's contents. He recognized one of the other men perusing some logs an aisle over as a utility bender who worked with his father. And while had had a moment, his mind also went back to what he had heard before about the girl's relationship with her parents, or at least her father.
If he was looking for her, then that meant she was likely living with someone else. And if that was the case, combined with the way she seemed not to care about his wishes for her, Aden assumed the two must have had some conflict in their past. Exactly what that was he could only speculate, but at least he decided that he would make sure to tip-toe around that subject in the future.
After seeing the carpenter select out a pir of scrapped planks and present them to the girl for approval, Aden brought himself out of his contemplations and whispered, "Three gold? We're doing a favor taking some scrap off his hands... You could probably get those for one gold piece and save some money for the materials to reattach them." He glanced down at the sled, taking note that the blades of the sled were made of the ends of a whale's rib bones. "You could probably make due with some leather straps to tie them in place and maybe some wood glue for added stability."
The carpenter came back into view with both planks of wood in hand several moments later. Both of them had been hastilly cut to about the right size by a waterbender who worked there. The fact that the man hadn't even taken the time to properly saw the precise dimensions confirmed Aden's opinion that the girl was greatly overpaying for something that would have likely ended up as firewood or kindling.
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Post by desna on May 6, 2008 21:10:09 GMT -5
Desna glanced at the boy crossing her arms lightly, she had a small pout but she didn't say all too much, honestly she didn't care how much she paid for this, she wanted to show the guy that she didn't need her father, she'd never needed him and she will never need in him the future. Her pride was an odd thing, with many people it made them do much stupider things though. This wasn't too horrid anyway, at least considering
She took the boards and handed him the scraps from her broken sled hefting them into her arms. She didn't mind the shoddy job, she could clean it up later with one of the knives at her house then she could smooth it clean with some of her grandfathers left over tools. Desna nodded curtly to the man giving him a smile and beginning to walk out.
Pikatti behind her got to his feet from his seated position and began to follow, his eyes tracked Aden carefully though, he wasn't as outright aggressive with him but still it was in his nature to be careful around new people. Before they knew it they were out the door, Desna had no desire to stick around there anymore. For some reason she was worried her family may make an unexpected appearance. She'd hate that.
The carpenter snagged Aden's shoulder though, not aggressively, just attempting to get his attention. He discreetly pressed the coins into his hand and gave the boy a sincere smile. Knowing her position he couldn't take the coins for scrap, she was just being stubborn, he didn't know exactly why she was so against her fathers attempt at connecting with her but he'd heard she lived on her own, that couldn't be easy. " Take care." With that the man let go of Aden and went back to work peddling his wood to a southerner who'd came in.
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Post by aden on May 6, 2008 22:34:31 GMT -5
Aden was surprised to feel the carpenter grab his arm. For the briefest moment he had to suppress an instinct to swipe his hand up and around, hooking the man's arm under the elbow and hyperextending the limb. Aden managed to stop that reflex before it ever took effect, however, as he reminded himself that he was no longer on the battlefield. Instead he simply looked at the man with his brow furrowed in confusion as Desna's money was pressed into his hand.
The carpenter's explanation was hardly accurate, and after a moment of contemplating why he had done this, Aden opened his mouth to protest. "But I can't-" he started to say, but without looking back the carpenter raised his hand and shook it side to side in a gesture that indicated Aden should stop speaking. The young warrior reluctantly bit his tongue on the matter and closed his hand tightly on the money. Now he had another problem on his hands.
Jogging to catch up with his shopping partner, he settled into a walk beside the girl. He maintained a respectable distance to placate her dog and then said casually, "One more stop and your sled should be ready to go."
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Post by desna on May 6, 2008 22:49:54 GMT -5
Away from the shop Desna found herself much more relaxed and in a better mood, not that she outwardly seemed to be in a poor mood before. Few things ruffled her enough to break her stride of smiles. Still the back of her mind was haunted by a few things from the past few minutes. She seemed to be looking about herself more than usual, not that her present company would notice, having not known her long enough to nail down her usual behavioral patterns.
Her eyes looked over the wood and the pieces of the sled with a rather complacent satisfaction with their progress, she'd be able to have it fixed with enough time to speed through the little bit of shopping she had left to do. Then she could get home and make Pikatti his dinner before tending to the plants and heading off to bed. She loved to sleep, the more hours the better she felt. But she was getting ahead of herself, she'd need to actually get the sled together somehow, she wasn't exactly how sure that was going to work.
Blowing a strand of her choppy hair from her face she turned her aqua eyes on the boy at her side with a curious gaze, he said one more stop, she didn't know where that would take them exactly. Instead she stayed with him stride for stride, she didn't move closer to him though so Pikatti wouldn't be upset. He was adjusing though. " So general, where to next." A wider smile spread across her face, she liked that nickname, she might use it again
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Post by aden on May 7, 2008 22:30:20 GMT -5
Aden surreptitiously slid the gold from his hand into his pocket as he walked along wih her, aking care not to let the movement attract her attention. He figured he could find some chance to slip the money onto her sled while they were fixing it. Stealth was the key in this siuation.
In response to her quip about him giving orders like a general, he simply smiled slightly and pointed ahead of them to a stall that had racks of hides stretched out and on display. "The tanner's outlet," he said, "I figure the easiest way to reattach the wood is with some thin leather straps... Do you remember how it was originally held in place?"
The two arrived at the set of stands that belonged to the sales clerks of the tannery within a minute or so. Aden hung back briefly, scanning the visible stock with his eyes until he noticed a few spools of thin, inch-wide leather straps. Unless his shopping partner had some other suggestion, he would vote to simply get a dozen or so feet of the available straps. However, he held back from saying anything further.
Aden was curious if the girl knew these people as well. Thusfar her social circle has included everyone else on their stops.
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Post by desna on May 8, 2008 5:35:18 GMT -5
Desna nodded to Aden trying to remember exactly what kept her sled together before. It was just once piece, she never much questioned it before but straps sounded like something that would work, she didn't claim to know exactly what she was doing. The boy seemed to have a much better grasp on the mechanics of the whole situation.
" Um.." She murmured looking at the pieces of wood attempting to visualize the sled as one piece but that was still no help. Sometimes she thought she had the memory of an ice beetle. " Not really... my mind can be like a sieve sometimes." Desna continued to smile awkwardly feeling a little silly she couldn't remember. Oh well, as long as it wound up being fixed, she didn't mind all too much.
Her eyes scanned the items in the shop, her legs not stopping or hesitating back like her companions, she was attempting to remember if she needed anything else here for general use. She'd gotten her groceries mainly, there were a few things left, some fresh meat, but it was always cheaper to buy in bulk, she'd need her sled in order to do that, she could hack it up and store it when she was back home.
For a second her eyes flashed to the shop owner, there was a small aknowleding smile but not much else, not as if Desna frequented here all to much, they weren't on terms like she was with some other shop owners. There was little reason for her to get anything here on a regulat basis.
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Post by aden on May 8, 2008 9:27:09 GMT -5
Aden merelt retained a friendly smile as the girl admitted to not even knowing how her sled was previously put together. Personally, he was always paying attention to such details, but the toung bender supposed that not everyone was so inclined to figure out how things worked. Again, it was a habit he picked up from his father.
"Very well then," he said, stepping forward into the midst of outdoor shop. He side-stepped around one or two other people before stopping in front of the spools of leather. With a scrutinizing hand, he lifted up a piece of the material and rubbed it between his fingers. After a moment of conidering how tough it felt, he pulled a longer stretch of it free of the spool and then gave it a tug to see how strong it was. There was a little give, but otherwise it felt solid.
"Can I help you?" can the voice of a clerk who had spotted him testing their wares. The slight cautious edge to their voice made it obvious they weren't thrilled that Aden was stress-testing their merchandise.
"Yes," Aden said, placing the leather down. He turned to Desna briefly and said, "Four sections of four feet should be enough to do it." It was her sled, after all, and despite Aden's assistance it was still her decision on how to spend the money to repair it.
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Post by desna on May 8, 2008 12:47:31 GMT -5
Desna peeked around The boy looking at the thread, it was a little too close for Pikatti who was baring his fangs at Desna's side with a low growl emanating from his throat. She simply shushed him and watched the testing of the leather rather curiously. She didn't know much about things like these, luckily it seemed the captain knew enough about it.
" So sixteen feet?" Before she was able to lay her hands on it to get the desired amount the clerk made his way over to them taking the spool and winding out the appropriate amount, he wasn't pleased to have teen handling his wares. Few people would be. In a small huff Desna placed a free hand on her hip with the arms nearly dissapearing beneath the poncho. Did the guy think they were going to steal it or something? It was rather rude.
"Three copper a foot, is this all?" Desna nodded taking the bundle and handing over four silver pieces and eight coppers. She slipped the leather into her poncho for transport and picked up her bag once more making her way to someplace less crowded to fix the thing.
Pikatti moved himself between Desna and Aden, trying to keep them from one another. The boy wasn't worth trusting, if he hurt Desna, there would be fur flying, the glare he sent the boys way warned that much. Desna on the other hand wasn't too worried about it. " Now's the fun part huh?"
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Post by aden on May 8, 2008 14:28:56 GMT -5
Aden gave the girl some room to handle her business, but was a little surprised when her dog began growling at him in earnest. He cast his glance down at the animal, holding up open palms to show that he was doing no harm, though he dared not try to pet him. By now he'd hoped that the girl's pet would have accepted him as a friend, or at least a neutral entity. Aden made a mental note to carry around a piece of seal jerky in the future in the off-chance he came across the pair again.
Once the financial transaction was complete, he followed the girl away from the marketplace and over to a less-crowded area. There was a bit of a clearing in the space beside a staircase that lead down to the market. The two made their way over and then Aden began setting up the sled for repairs.
"Shouldn't be too hard," he thought out loud, positioning the sled and planks together so he could analyze the best method of attachment. The rest of the sled seemed put together by a combination of methods including adhesives, pegs, and some thinner leather ties. In their case, just some sturdy leather should do the trick and save them a bit of mess and complication.
After a few moments of thought, he laid the first plank into position and asked, "Could you hand me two of the straps?"
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Post by desna on May 8, 2008 14:46:13 GMT -5
She increased her pace to match her companions, it seemed he walked at a brisk pace, she usually took long lazy strides but she didn't want to be left behind so she found herself catching his mark as they walked, all the while Pikatti was shooting him glares and small growls or a flash of teeth. She let a mildly concerned look go out to the dog but he was just doing his job. As long as he didn't try and bite the boy, well, Pikatti could be rather assertive sometimes.
Desna stroked Pikatti's fur and gave the animal a chiding look. She got down to eye level with him and rested her nose against his giving the animal a playful smile, it was like he was a protective brother, he didn't mean any harm, just wanted whatever was best for her, she couldn't punish him too much for trying to keep her safe. " He's helping us, no more growling or you don't get another treat." Pikatti looked back at her rather bemused, he could growl at who ever he wanted to. But now in a sour mood he just moved near the stair case and plopped down, curling up, and watching the boy suspiciously.
Retrieving the leather from her poncho she held the strips out to the boy and knelt down near the sled watching him work with a little interest. Should this happen again she would want to be able to take care of it on her own. She disliked asking for help, this was a fair trade, something a little different so there was no humility in it. Nothing to make her nervous, and as far as she knew she wouldn't see the boy again so no reason to concern herself with too much about him. She set her bag behind her looking at the wooden pieces, not daring to move them.
" So you think it'll work?" Her eyes flashed up to meet his with a small smile pulling a her lips, she was sure it would, some conversation was what she was aiming for anyway.
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Post by aden on May 8, 2008 17:23:04 GMT -5
Aden accepted the leather and deposited one on the ground while keeping the other in his hand. "Shouldn't be too hard," he said in response to the girl's question. He was focused on the task at hand, however, and didn't look toward her while speaking. Instead he straightened out the strip of leather in his hand as he crouched beside the sled and tried to visualize the particular knotwork that this would require.
"As long as it's tied tight and properly, it should hold well," he said, filling the silence while he mentally walked through each step of the process. "And if it comes undone, then you can always re-tie it." Another few seconds passed in thought before Aden finally nodded to himself and then moved to kneel by the sled.
Making sure not to twist the strap at all, he located the center of the length and placed it over the part of the plank that just past the edge of the sled. Carefully keeping that point in place over the plank, he slipped both remaining ends of the strap down and under the piece of wood that supported the cross-boards on that side. After feeding them through the narrow gap between that piece of wood and the sled's rails, he looped them up and over the plank again.
"Could you stand on the other side of the plank?" he asked suddenly, glancing over at the girl. "In a moment I'm going to pull these as tight as I can, and I'll need you to keep the plank from whacking me in the face." Aden offered a slight smile, both from the humorous mental image and to encourage the girl to join in the repairs. He was well acquainted with the feeling of standing off to the side while other people did things without you, and he figured he could at least make his newfound companion feel included in the fixing of her own sled.
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Post by desna on May 8, 2008 20:05:22 GMT -5
Her eyes followed his movements just as Pikatti did, though her gaze wasn't exactly nearly as obtrusive, this was really the first time she was taking note of the boys appearance in honesty. She'd pretty much focused on her activities, the shopping, her mental list. But now that they were somewhere relatively quiet she watched him. The first thing she noticed when he helped her up were her eyes. She'd never seen such a pale icy blue. It was interesting enough. His face was, well, it was alright, she never really marked anyone as hansom or pretty. It didn't seem like such an important detail.
His features were something she could most likely pick out of a crowd, his hair kept in a rather common style. All together he was rather normal, still he knew enough about building, had a mother, and didn't know much about shopping. She smiled a touch, she'd commited his face to memory, she didn't generally forget people after she'd seen them once or twice.
It didn't seem like he was noticing her anyway, he was watching the sled and holding the leather strip like he was in a trance.Desna looked away from him watching his movements so she could replicate it as she needed to. nodding in acknowledgeable and moving to the other side of the sled holding the plank down firmly, she had a small grin on her face. As amazing as if would be to watch some random boy hurt himself she figured it would be cruel. " So..." Desna turned her aqua eyes up at him looking at him from a slightly lower angle with strands of her hair framing her face and wistfully falling along her forehead and cheeks.
"If I let go just to see the look on your face you're probably not going to help me huh?" It was meant in jest but she debated actually doing it, lucky for him she decided it would be a bad idea.
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Post by aden on May 8, 2008 20:26:52 GMT -5
Aden glanced at the girl with an eyebrow slightly raised at her question. Truth be told he could probably just hold down the plank on his own by kneeling on it and tying the knot from the other side. He was just being thoughtful by letting her help.
"Well, if you do decided to let go, I would suggest you move your head back first.," he said, tugging up as hard as he could while pressing the plank down with his foot. "Else... you might get an uppercut from this plank..." Aden's voiced was strained ever so slightly as he stretched the leather strap and then crossed the ends over each other, keeping the ends taut.
"Now," he said, taking a moment to breathe as he kept up the effort of pulling the leather straps, "If you could press down on the spot where the straps cross... Then I can tie that knot and repeat it on this side, then we'll be a quarter of the way done."
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Post by desna on May 8, 2008 21:35:47 GMT -5
Desna giggled a bit holding the board down as he tugged on the leather, she was rather impressed that he was still doing this. Some people would have dissaproved of her quip and stormed off. Apperantly this boy had a bit more back bone. He even managed to turn it against her.
" Aye aye captain" She chimed pressing her fingers down down on the knot watching him tie it up. Perhaps she could fancy him a friend for a while, he seemed nice, tolerant of her antics, in fact he'd even shot a few remarks back at her, she liked that. Her female friends were getting old, some still retained their desire for youthful antics, but most were growing up and growing out of touch with her. Marriages and family got in the way of friendships, they out grew her while she was just playing her life away, she'd never admit that she longed for them to stay with her. She let them go.
Her eyes focused on the strips. Why was it that she was thinking all these depressing things. She frowned a bit looking at the sled, she needed to cheer up, no one liked a downer, it made people worry.
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Post by aden on May 9, 2008 13:48:18 GMT -5
Aden smirked slightly as the girl produced yet another nickname for him. He quickly tied the knot to hold the plank in place and then looped them back down again. He fed them through the gap between the rail and the supporting plank amd then smoothed them out before crossing them once more and pulling them tight.
This time he managed to keep the tension on the knot with some dextrous manipulation of his own grip and finished up that side by looping the extra length of strap around the plank and keeping it in place with another knot.
"That should hold it," Aden said, observing his work as he picked up a second piece of leather and moved around to the other side of the sled. He swiftly went about repeating the same process, but slowed down after feeding the straps under the support plank and requested the girl's help once more. "I'm going to need your finger again in a moment," he said, pulling the straps tight and folding them over each other.
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