Build me up

Pripyat Soul · 05-18-2011, 02:11 PM

[html]

wc 599

The cloud colored girl responded well to his increased humor, and this did not sit well with the sour boy. Why it meant so much to keep everyone else at a distance Pripyat Soul could not explain, but the girl's soft grin made his stomach churn. It was as if the more the adolescent creature bonded with anyone else, the less of him that was available for remembering and holding onto the memory of his mother, what was left of his father, and then devoting the rest of him to whatever other worthy creature caught his eye. So far it had only been Arye who turned his head from his perpetual bad mood, and even she did not produce lasting effects for more than a few hours. And so when Saxif lapsed back into silence Pripyat was glad for that, setting back to his work with earnest.

Both piles grew, though one grew at a much faster rate than the other. As they cleared the area it was clear that years of moisture, rain and snow, had worked their way into the boards and many of them were now useless. They could burn them perhaps, fuel for a fire, but aside from that they no longer had any use. How the barn had lasted as long as it did up until the snow storm was beyond Pripyat. They had needed a new one at some point; the heavy snow fall had simply sped up the inevitable. After some time of silent work the girl's voice caught in his ears again and he turned to her, never too far away but often forgotten when she ceased speaking.

Foundations. His mind went back to the cracked and creviced concrete. A problem he didn't particularly want to deal with, but it had to be dealt with by someone. Much to the boy's indifferent Saxif lurched into a lengthy explanation of foundations, or what could happen with a bad one. Prip did not know this girl's uncle, or his family, and so aside from the lesson of bad foundations make for bad homes, he did not absorbed much of her speech. Finally she fell quiet and more to fill the silence than to add anything to the conversation he thought out loud. "Maybe we can just repair this one. Fill in the cracks with little stones and then something that will harden. Clay or something?" Pripyat sighed and peered up at the sun, the day was only half over and already it felt like it had been forever.

Saxif seemed to be thinking along the same lines, for suddenly she seemed turned off to the work. Her gentle voice inquired of the most basic needs and her ever present smile shot a pang of guilt through him. It wasn't fair to this girl that he was thorny and unkind, she hadn't done anything but responded to her leader's request to send help to Phoenix Valley. Mustering a smile of his own, however forced it was, he tried to speak kindly. "I'll find us something. Hold on." And with that he was off.

Returning he held two hares, one in each hand. The meat wasn't fresh for he hadn't the time or energy to hunt, but he made use of the meat that they caught and stored for occasions such as this. Striding up to the girl he held out the rabbit, "Here." and with that he sat where he was, unmindful of the mess that still lay scattered about them, and set to work on consuming his rabbit, Saxif almost forgotten once more.

Login




Remember me Lost Password?