Daily Tasks of Survival <South Pole>

[ituha]

Only the sound of a paddle dipping into the water broke the peaceful silence of the early morning, the sun still hid from view beyond the horizon but its rays were slowly beginning to lighten the inky black sky. A soft ocean breeze blew in as well, the chill it brought with it would have seemed frigid to anyone not accustomed to such climates.

Ituha dug her paddle into the water on the boat’s starboard side, bringing it into a slow turn. The fix she’d applied the night before seemed to be holding up quite well, evident by the lack of water in the bottom of the canoe. And mother said I’d have to scrap this boat for firewood, thought the Southerner, shaking her head and grinning to herself.

As the boat came about, Ituha spotted the faint light from a small fire up ahead and to her right – her home village. Paddling a bit quicker now, switching from side to side to maintain a straight course, she cruised her way nearer to the shore and back up along the coastline, headed for a small inlet near the village.

The boat was holding up just fine after the collision with an iceberg that had occurred the day before. The hull had been scraped and had begun to leak but Ituha had managed to get back to the inlet before it became a serious issue. Now, after repairs a thorough test run, she felt that the boat was ready for work again.

As the firelight grew clearer, Ituha wondered who would be awake; she tended to be the first up and about in the mornings, preferring to slip out to her boat or to hunt before the others, particularly her mother, awakened. It didn’t much matter though, she figured, she’d simply slip back into the village, retrieve her fishing and turtlecrabbing gear and then return to her boat.

Quietly she paddled her way up the inlet and beached the bow of her canoe on the pebble-strewn shore. Once back on solid earth, she grabbed the bow and pulled the boat further onto land to make the loading of the gear easier. She knelt and checked the repair to the boat’s hull one more, satisfied that it would be no trouble; she rose and turned toward the village, tromping off through the snow.

The stocky woman walked carefully around a few small tents, attempting to quiet the crunch of the snow beneath her feet, not wanting to awaken the sleeping inhabitants. She circled the fire once, and finding no one about, made her way to what appeared to be a large heap of snow.

Plunging a mitten clad hand through the surface of the snow heap; Ituha took hold of an objet and pulled it up, out of the snow. The object was rectangle shaped, about two feet in length and about a foot wide and tall, made of bone and wood lashed together with kelp rope.

Ituha gave the Turtlecrab “Pot” a good shaking to clear out the snow and ice that had accumulated within and upon it overnight. The pots were truly fascinating contraptions, they looked like small cages made of bone and the like with a one-way door at each end that allowed the Turtlecrabs to get in, but not out. Inside the pot a small hook was attached from which to hang bait.

Once it was clear of ice and snow, the parka-clad woman set it aside and reached once more into the heap of snow, this time retrieving a coil of rope that was attached to the pot at one end and at the other, an inflated and sealed Tigerseal bladder was affixed. Ituha broke the ice off of the coiled rope and checked the bladder, which would act as a buoy, for any damage.

After both checked out, she returned to rummaging about through snow heap, within it she would find three more Turtlecrab Pots. Once she had the pots ready, she’d make a quick stop by the food storage hut to find some bait and something for breakfast, then she planned to pick up a harpoon and the other fishing equipment and load the lot into her boat.

[sayen]

In the frosty morning air the crunch of Sayen's mukluks were the only things that broke the silence as the rotund Water Tribe girl waddled up the swell to the public food storage hut, her cream-colored polar leopard romping along side her. Their bellies grumbled as the thought of smoked fish and boiled seaweed and lichen for breakfast. Or, if they were lucky, maybe there was a few sea-prunes left to snag for a stew.

"Maybe it would put Tiriaq in a good mood today. That would make Mom happy," Sayen mused. Her brother had been such a handful lately, and with their father gone, her mother was as helpless as a newborn kitten. Sure, she cooked and cleaned, but she was constantly worried and often sick in bed with fear. Tiriaq lashed out at others and was generally angsty. But Sayen couldn't despair. She had to keep the family going. For her dad. It was what he would have wanted. No point in mourning him if the possibility of his safety was still there.

Citlali nudged Sayen's mittened hand when they approched the food storage hut.

"Oh. Yes, we'll get some food, Citlali," Sayen assured her friend. Citlali purred smuggly as Sayen opened the door and entered. Their family's food barrel was near the front. The contents were waning; she'd have to do some batering. Tiriaq ate so much food that their family's rations were barely enough to go through the week. Well. She could probably do some darning or mending for a hunter in exchange for a little more fish, but for now she took a sack and grabbed a fish, lichen and seaweed.

"Aw, no sea-prunes," she sighed. "I'll have to make sure I keep some next time and make a special meal for Tiriaq next week."

[ituha]

After checking over the pots, Ituha was satisfied that they were in all in good shape. She'd checked over the lines carefully to ensure that none of the rope had been damaged, either by the cold or just simply from use. It wouldn't matter how many crabs were in the pot, if you couldn't pull it back up, she knew.

Leaving the pots stacked up in a nice pile, now clean of snow and ice, Ituha turned and headed off toward the village's little armory and storage hut. The structure was built partially underground, beneath the snow, with the roof only a few feet above the ground level. The entrance was a rather tight fit and Ituha had to squeeze through, pushing aside the thick Tigerseal skin door flaps that covered the entrance.

Once inside, Ituha selected a three and a half foot harpoon from a wooden weapon rack alongside one wall. Next, she made her way to the rear of the oil lamp lit armory/storage hut and retrieved a bundled up fishing net and a spool of roughly twenty-five to thirty feet of fishing line, a bone hook positioned along its length every three feet.

Careful not to catch her fingers on the sharp hooks, she held the spool in her left hand, the harpoon in her right, and the net bundled up under her arm. Carefully she backed out of the hut and crunched through the snow back to the where she'd left the Turtlecrab pots, setting the new items upon the stack.

Ituha had just one last stop to make now, before she'd start moving her equipment out to the boat. Taking a deep breath and letting it out through her nose in a great puff of steam, the Southerner made here way off to the food storage hut.

As she slipped into the hut, Ituha pulled off her mittens, it would make things easier while rummaging about through the bait barrels and food for her lunch. Once inside, she realized she wasn't alone, nearly walking right into Miss Sayen on her way out.

"Oop," muttered Ituha, as she pressed herself up against the left wall of the entranceway to allow the smaller woman more room to pass by.

"Morning, Sayen," she said, realizing her voice was a bit raspy, "Hey, you think you could give me a hand with my fishing gear and the like when you're done there?" asked Ituha, pointing at the sack and fish the young woman was holding.

Couldn't hurt to ask, Ituha figured. Making only one or two trips out to the boat instead of three saved a bit of time that could be used later for fishing.

[sakari]

"Now you guys stay here, and hush." Sakari said, her voice raspy and soft, as she untied her sled team from the sled. She took them over to a tether staked into the ground, well away from the sled to prevent them from getting into her stuff. One of the larger, dumber Polar Bear Dogs mistook the word "hush" for "mush". It darted forward, pulling along some of the other dogs that were already cozily nested in the snow, but then turned back, a confused look on his face as to why on one else was running. Sakari just chucked softly and pet the Polar Bear Dog on its head. "You dumb brute. This is why you're never going to be a lead dog. If I hadn't raised you myself, I would think you were dropped on the head a few too many times as a puppy." she said. Her quiet, raspy voice and constant sniffling seemed to imply that she had spent just a few too many days out on her hunt. Lack of rest and constant travel was taking a toll on her. Despite her rather mocking words, she said it in such a tone that the polar bear dog wagged his tail excitedly at her. Sakari just chuckled and walked back over to the sled. She pulled back the leather sheet covering her stuff and pulled out a bag.

Having forgotten her snowshoes, her feet sunk into the snow as she trudged forward towards the village off in the distance. This slowed her dramatically, but she didn't seem to care. She was fine and warm, her dogs needed a while to rest, and not to mention, it was very early to be going into the neighboring village anyways. At this rate, however, everyone would be awake by the time she made it there.

----

About 45 minutes passed by the time Sakari made it to the village; she had to tie her polar bear dogs very far off to prevent them from causing any disturbance, meaning what would have taken about 25 minutes by sled took almost twice that. She sighed in relief to have made it there and collapsed in the snow outside of a small hut. This illness had left her exhausted. Really, it was foolish to be out wandering to other villages and hunting in this condition, but it struck her so quickly while she was out that she didn't even see it coming. Needless to say, the past few days were hard on her: the one animal she saw, she scared away with a sudden sneeze. But, she wouldn't go home empty handed; this other village was generally quite open to trade, so perhaps she had a chance at getting something useful from them.

[ituha]

As Sayen passed her by and left the food storage hut, closely followed by her Polar Leopard, Ituha shrugged to herself. It looked like she would be making three trips out to her boat this morning. She didn’t take Sayen’s abrupt leaving the wrong way, however, and understood that the younger girl had obligations to her family, her younger brother especially. Ituha knew Tiriaq could be a bit of a handful at times.

Sauntering into the main room of the food storage hut, Ituha began to poke around the various barrels and the like. Most were marked, one for each family and several community food barrels as well. The wood they were constructed from seemed quite old, but had a heavy coat of Tiger Seal fat derived lacquer covering them, preventing the wood from rotting when exposed to the wet ice and snow that was literally everywhere.

Toward the back, she found the bait buckets. Containing the least desirable bits of fish and other animals caught and hunted, Ituha knew she could find a good amount of meat and the like that would do well to attract Turtlecrabs into her pots as well as to entice Tuna to hook themselves on her long line whilst trawling. There were several empty buckets nearby and she selected one of these and dumped about half of the contents of one of the bait buckets into her bucket before moving on.

Fortunately, the food storage hut had ample lighting, provided by a slow burning oil lamp that hung overhead from a hook imbedded into the ice ceiling, and Ituha was able to quickly find her family’s food barrel. Pulling out several large bundles of food wrapped in seaweed leaves, the Southerner carefully opened each one, inspecting the contents of each until she found some of her favorite foodstuffs. She quickly put back that which she would not take with her and set her bundled lunch over next to her bait bucket.

Before leaving, however, there was just one last thing Ituha wished to take with her. Smirking a bit as she spotted the dried meat racks, the stocky Southerner made her way over and selected two or three choice pieces of Tiger Seal jerky – most definitely her favorite snack of all. Once everything was stacked neatly, Ituha slipped back through the entrance way and out into the quiet morning.

Only two or three steps out of the food storage hut and the bait bucket slipped from the young woman’s hand, sinking several inches into the snow on impact, but staying upright. Ituha stood very still, her mouth open slightly, a confused and rather dumb look plastered upon her face as she stared down at the body sprawled out before her.

Before doing anything, Ituha looked around the village, frantically turning her head surveying the area. Had this woman, who now lay before, her been attacked? What could have happened? Satisfied that no one was around, she took two more steps forward and knelt down beside the body of the mystery woman. With another quick look around to make certain no one would show up and start questioning her, Ituha set her hand upon the woman’s side, rolling her over onto her back somewhat.

Touching a hand to the woman’s cheek, Ituha was relived to find warmth; she still seemed to be alive. Carefully, she lifted the mystery woman up to a seated position, supporting her with one arm and her side. She certainly was tall, though it mattered little to Ituha, she knew her own strength quite well and if need be, she could quickly move this visitor inside where she could be looked after.

“Miss?” Ituha asked, patting her free hand against the woman’s cheek in an attempt to rouse her, “Miss? Are you alright?” Whoever she was, she was Water Tribe and Ituha quickly set her fishing plans aside. If her “guest” was going to require aid she would have the best the younger woman could offer. Ituha put the people of her Tribe above all else, she would simply have to double her efforts out on her boat the next day.

[sakari]

The blur of a woman's face came into view as Sakari slowly regained consiousness. Her blue eyes had a distant, glassy look in them. "Eh.......hi........" she said weakly. A bit dazed and confused, it took her a few moments to realize what had happen, that she had lost consiousness. "Erm....sorry about that.... I just kinda....collapsed on my way into the village, I suppose." she muttered, hardly able to speak. She seemed to act as though being ill was a crime to apologize for.

She slowly staggered to her feet and instant dizziness filled her head, causing her to sway uneasily. She put her hand up to her head and her forehead wrinkled from an awful headache, along with the awkward dizzy feeling. She picked up her leather bag that had sunk into the snow when she fell. She brushed it off before slinging it over her shoulder.

"I'm Sakari, a hunter from one of the other villages. I've passed through here several times before......... I came here to trade...... I have some things that my village got from the earth kingdom recently that might be of interest to you, and my Polar Bear Dogs need food......" she said. "I don't have much on me, but maybe something will be worth trading.... Its been a very unsuccessful hunt, and do not wish to return empty handed...." she explained. Now that she was a bit steadier on her feet, she seemed to ignore the fact that she was sick. ((Oh snap, sorry this post is so short D: If I can think of more to add before you post, I will be sure to do so. *writers block*))

[ahnah]

Ahnah awoke in her igloo, Nanuq curled against her chest and her mother on the other side of the animal hide bed. Carefully the larger woman stood, weary to keep her duaghterand mother covered in the fur blanket. The air was warm, the coals of the small fire in the middle of the small house keeping the inside a desent tempature. In silence she dressed in her outside clothes, pulling her parka on last. She fanned the coals and added a bit more to the fire to get it started then left the igloo for food to start breakfast.

Outside it was chilly, but the wind was fairly mild. Walking across the small gap between her house and the storage hut Ahnah streached her stiff limbs, feeling a bit foolish when she finally noticed the two people near her destination. One was a very familiar girl, Ituha, Ahnah was only a few years older than her, but the other woman was a stranger.

"G'morning," she said smiling as she neared, her pudgy cheeks lifting in a cheery sort f way. Her smile gave way to a slightly more worried expression when it seemed that the stranger wasn't feeling well. She didn't want to intrude on the two girls conversation, but it wasn't in her nature to just walk by without a word.

[ituha]

The mystery woman seemed to come out of her unconscious state, speaking quietly in a weakened tone. Whoever she was, she did not seem well in the least and Ituha gave her a worried, questioning look as she began to regain her senses and the like. Just collapsed on her way into the village? Ituha thought, furrowing her brow. Had she been out on the ice and tundra in this shape? If so, for how long?

Before Ituha could ask any questions, the woman began to slowly rise to her feet, wobbling a bit as she did, though this did not surprise the younger Southerner as this “guest’s” illness seemed to have sapped a great deal of her stength. “Hey now, hang on.. you’re not well, Miss. You’ve gotta stop and rest or something..” Ituha said, in a knowing tone, holding up her hand.

The woman began to speak, explaining herself, and Ituha set her hands upon her hips, listening. She had been out hunting!? In such a condition? The stocky Southerner shifted her weight from one foot to the other, causing a slight crunch as the snow was compacted. At the mention of the Polar Bear dogs, Ituha felt compelled to take a quick look around, were the dogs nearby?

Despite the fact that her father was an experienced musher, Ituha had been forced to live with a mild phobia of the creatures since one of her father’s had snapped at her at a young age. Several of her father’s dogs had gone with the men to fight the Fire Nation in the Earth Kingdom, though some, the younger and older ones, had to be left behind in the village. For the most part, Ituha avoided them and left their care to the others of her village.

“Came here to trade?” Ituha asked, she was familiar with the various little trading networks between the villages of her tribe and knew this to be fairly common, though she wasn’t certain if she’d ever met Sakari before. “We can talk trade later, Miss Sakari. Right now, I think you need to sit down and take a rest or somethin’. It’d be criminal’ve me to let’cha stay on your feet and whatnot when you’re sick, you know?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Ituha observed Ahnah approaching from around the food storage hut. She knew of the older woman, knew she was skilled with a needle and thread, but had never really gotten the chance to get to know her. Ituha had spent most of her playtime as a child with the boys of the village, so it wasn’t too peculiar that the two had never really interacted. Waving to Ahnah, Ituha called to her, “Hey, Ahnah, we’ve got a guest here stayin’ ‘till she feels better. She ought to stick around bein’ sick’n all, don’tcha think?”

The stocky Southerner turned back to Sakari and grinned, “Can’t let’cha go anywhere ‘till I’m good’n certain you’re alright,” she gestured to the food storage hut, “We can feed your dogs and whatnot, don’t worry any,” she said, though she still had yet to actually see the animals. Never once, did it cross her mind that she might be interfering with Sakari's plans for the day, Ituha simply knew the harsh conditions of the South Pole could easily prove fatal to one in less than ideal health and felt honest concern for the visitor.

[ahnah]

Ahnah but aside her task of getting breakfast ready and walked closer to the two other women, the stranger looked absolutely aweful and she couldn't believe she would even think about going out in such a condition and more than that she couldn't believe her village had let her go.

"Naw, She shouldn't even be out in the first place by the looks of her," The husky woman observed their guest, "If she needs a place to stay until she's better I'd be glad to lay out a pallet. I bet a nice warm bed and ahot soup will have her back on her feet in no time," Crossing her arms over her chest she looked at the guest.

"What's her name?" Ahnah gave a wide smile, she always loved meeting new people, though that didn't happen much in such a small community it was a pleasant surprise when ever the chance came around.

[ituha]

“Oh but I… my Dogs are…” Sakari muttered, gesturing out towards the tundra to the east of the village and taking a few unsteady steps in that direction. “Now, now, you’re not goin’ out there again, nuh uh,” said Ituha holding up both hands in an attempt to get the ill huntress to stop. She seemed to become wobbly once more and the stocky Southerner was convinced that she should be taken immediately to the village healer. As Ahnah approached, her words helped to reinforce Ituha’s argument and she quickly turned and gave the older woman a grateful nod, it was good to have backup.

Sakari gave the newcomer a semi-delirious looked and opened her mouth to speak, “Uhhhhh… I’m… Saaakaaaarrrr…” and with that, the huntress tottered, stumbled and fell forward. Ituha caught the forward motion out of the corner of her eye and lunged forward and down, wrapping both arms around the sickly woman’s waist before she tumbled face-first into the freezing cold snow that lay piled up everywhere. Struggling somewhat with the weight, she repositioned her feet and tightened her grip before pulling Sakari up from where she’d caught her, only two feet from the cold snow.

“Er…” Ituha began, shifting the unconscious woman into a better position so that her limp left arm rested over the stocky Southerner’s shoulder while Ituha’s own right arm circled her back, propping her up, “I think we… ought’a get Miss Sakari here over to Tiilaqiia right quick,” she said, looking to Ahnah and referring to the village’s elder healer. Though there were no Waterbenders left in the Southern tribe, Tiilaqiia knew many herbal secrets and had, in her possession, scrolls on healing and the like that had originally come from the Northern Tribe decades ago. Her skill was well known amongst the villagers and if anyone could help the poor woman regain her health, it would be Tiilaqiia.

Taking a few steps forward, supporting Sakari’s weight as she went, Ituha began to realize this wouldn’t as easy as she had first thought, but she didn’t want to seem weak and adjusted her grip some before continuing. “Ahn,” she said, calling the woman she barely knew by a short name, “can you.. maybe gimme a little hand here? Or… go get Tiilaqiia up’n about? It’s still pretty early and I figure she may still be sleepin’,” Ituha asked, peering over to the older tribeswoman.

[ahnah]

Ahnah nodded, she had made a slight move forward to help hold up the girl, but Ituha was probably right, Tiilaqiia was probably still asleep, she had never really been an early riser. Turning toward the well known igloo belong to the old woman she headed off at a trot, though it was a bit slow considering her size.

Ducking inside she and Ituha had been quite right, Tiilaqiia was fast a sleep a dying fire warming her home. Now inside Ahnah wished she had taken a deep breath outside. It had been awhile since she had been in the healers hut, but the stink was hard to forget. It was all the herbs and remedies, their pungnent smells mixing and hanging in the air. She was sure if most of the scents were seperated from one another they might be pleasent, but all together in the small space it was enough to make one gag.

She shook her head and continued forward, shaking the old womans shoulder one she kneeled next to her pelt.

"Tiilaqiia, you have a patient," she was sure to keep her voice low, but in the quiet of the room it still seemed loud. The old woman sat up straight as if she'd never been sleeping, and without a word she got up and started moving around the igloo, grabbing a pot, stroking the fire.

"What's her illness?" She asked as she porused her shelf of dried herbs and powders.

"Uhh, I'm not sure," Ahnah stood, being sure to keep to the side so she wouldn't be in the way, "She collapsed just outside, seems like fatigue," she wished she could be more helpful, but she didn't know anymore, hopefully Ituha would have a better idea, but she doubted it.