Word Count: +3 ● Rowan is also present in this thread, as a note. Larkspur is using the horse confiscated from the man Janos killed; it's nondescript right now. <<; This is the Second Barn Construction thread.
With help from the quiet coyote, a pen had been constructed in the area where Larkspur intended to keep the sheep and horses. It was suitable for keeping them overnight, and especially on these clear nights, but when winter came they would need to have something solid. Sirius had been adamant about keeping the buildings as hidden as possible, which Larkspur agreed with. As such, he had begun using the worn wood from the crumbling buildings to serve as his base. The tools he had brought back proved useful in dismantling these, and he had gotten that part done without much hassle.
Now, though, came the actual construction. His plan was a simple one—with some larger stones, including the blocky ones left by the buildings the humans had left behind, he would frame out the foundation. By using stones and wood, he was avoiding later issues. Water could seep in to the low ground, and stones would simply hold this, as opposed to rotting. He had brought Rowan with him in order to help with small parts of this project, for she was too small to lift the stones. However, her abilities lay elsewhere; she had drawn out a shape to his liking by using a thick stick, and now was mixing a combination of silt and water that would serve as mortar for the stones.
The burly wolf, meanwhile, had begun to move the heavy stones with the aid of their newest horse. Though smaller than his own, the animal could still drag the blocks into place. Larkspur was leading him by the bridle, the harness constructed for such a thing strapped around the animal. They had moved only a few so far, but one section of wall had been made clear. There was a gap within it large enough for the horse to pass through, for this was where he intended to have the door present.
You looked lonely :o. HI MEL JEREMIAH WILL HELP YOU word count: 448
[html]
The mottled canine was unsure about this whole thing. But then, that was nothing new; uncertainty seemed to be a way of life for him. He'd graciously accepted Eris' invitation to join Salsola, but the more he learned about the pack, the more doubtful he became. He hoped this was only because it was a world he was so unused to; in the Holt community, everyone believed the same things, and there was never any tolerance of any belief otherwise. Salsola was a whole different pot of stew; there seemed to be an overarching belief system by which the pack functioned on a larger scale, but Jeremiah was coming to find that each individual member was entitled to their own beliefs as long as the larger pack rituals were not challenged. The way the pack dealt with doubt had been made clear to the shepherd, however; he had to be absolutely positive that Salsola was a place he didn't want to be, because to leave mean a permanent ostracism from the pack, and possibly even threats on his life -- though this had not been explicitly stated -- were he to anger the Family enough. For now, he would live with his doubts quietly, and see how this went.
The Aussie had spent his time between meetings with Eris slowly scouting out the Salsola territory and trying to become familiar with his new home. It was this he was doing now, clad in his simple white shirt and leather workpants which were the only clothes he owned. Across his chest lay the strap of his messenger bag, in which he carried a few essentials: the small copy of his Holy Bible, a canteen of spring water, dried jerky to munch on, and so forth. He had not been wandering long when his brown eyes deciphered, through the foliage, a male beginning what was a very familiar activity. He had participated in many barn raisings back in Appalachia, and recognized the beginnings of the foundations the male was laying.
Though the pretty female mixing the mortar held little interest to the dog, the male himself was not so easily overlooked by Jeremiah; even though he had given up trying to evade his unnatural feelings, he still felt an immense guilt as he appreciated the strong, dark form of the male, touched here and there by patches of white. He stood for only a moment, watching the bulging muscles do their work, before coming close enough to be seen. He ducked his head in respect before speaking. Good day to thee, sir, he said, his voice soft. Thy barn wouldst rise much more quickly were there others to help thee.
The stranger’s arrival was noticed by Rowan first, who let out a small yip to alert Larkspur. The black wolf paused with his task, Trader snorting at the motion. While he had seen dogs before, in passing, he still found their appearance very strange. Rowan was part dog, but only in her fur—this man was something entirely new to Larkspur. Thus he stared at the man and further stared at the old English which made understanding him slightly difficult. Accented as it was, Larkspur struggled with his still-limited grasp of English. Rowan was still, awaiting an order from the man she called master; she did not know what he would wish her to do yet.
Finally, Larkspur made sense of the words and let out a grunt. “D’y plan to help, then?” The dog didn’t look very strong, but there was other work that could be done. This was the first barn Larkspur had built, so perhaps the stranger would have some insight as far as the construction aspect of the matter at hand.
Jeremiah stood, hand hooked into the strap of his messenger bag, as the dark wolf appraised him. He thought he knew what the male was thinking; the Aussie was not broad in stature, but average, and though his muscles were lean and hard he was not as sturdily built as the barn builder. He was being sized up. That was okay. Jeremiah couldn't fault the wolf for that, considering the dog had been doing exactly the same only moments before, though for entirely different reasons. It never occurred to him that the burly male may have just been surprised to see him.
D'you plan to help, then? The merle canine grinned before lifting the bag from his shoulders and leaning it against s nearby tree. Aye, he said affably, I do, if thou wilt allow it. My name is Jeremiah. His eyes considered the work done thus far, and he wondered if this was the first structure the dark wolf had built. I see where thou plan'st to have thy structure. Had'st thee thought to place thy stones within the ground? Thy barn wilt stand sturdier for it. I would help thee dig the trenches, if thou would'st like.
For a non-native speaker, hearing the common tongue twisted into such a peculiar dialect made it remarkably hard to understand. Larkspur had to sound out the words in his head, repeating them and attempting to translate as best he could. It was difficult. As he had told Sirius, he was not clever. A barbaric intelligence was all he needed to survive; he would do just fine with that.
Stones in the ground. That was a remarkable idea, and Larkspur looked visibly surprised by it. This seemed ingenious to him; it had never even occurred that stones would be able to hold the wood. He wished suddenly this man had been present when the fence was built, but for its size, the beams were sturdy. Tlanti’s child (he did not know what else to call the coyote) had aided him well in the leather weaving, which contained the sheep during the night and horses when they were not in use.
“I am grateful for all help,” he said slowly, sounding out the words as if they were unfamiliar. “I am Larkspur. She is Rowan,” at her name, the dog-wolf looked up attentively. “, she does not speak English. She is my slave.” There was a subtle warning in his voice; he was protective of the girl because she was his.
“I was going to pile the stones on the ground, but your idea is better,” the Arbiter added.
Aw, poor Larkspur, lol. I'm sorry he has trouble understanding Jere :3.
[html]
Jeremiah grinned at the flash of surprise which crossed the dark male's face. It would be a lie to say that he hadn't been just a little intimidated by the wolf, and this small show of humanity seemed to ease the tension just a little. He nodded as the wolf introduced himself at Larkspur, and, noting the protective note in his voice, thought it would be best to not acknowledge the slave he introduced as Rowan. The mottled dog was still unsure how he felt about the practice of slavery, which seemed to be fully accepted in Salsola. It was not a practice which the Holts had ever held, though they had neither condemned nor supported it. It was simply something which had never come up in his teachings. His Bible had many instances of slavery, however, and Jeremiah had yet to find any passages condemning it. So despite the fact that he was unsure of the criteria which required one to be a slave -- the ones he'd seen so far hadn't seemed to be any less intelligent or able than the pack members, though they tended to be very quiet -- he was content to live and let live as far as the issue of slaves went.
The shepherd smiled humbly as Larkspur compliment his idea. I thank thee, Larkspur, he said. Thy barn still would'st stand were thy stones above the ground, but placing them within will guarantee that it wilt stand much longer. He walked over to where the other male had placed his stones and laid a hand upon them. 'Twould not be much more work to bury them. If thou wilt simply dig thy trench in front of them and moveth thy stones forward into it, 'twould only move thy barn forward a small bit. We should need to carve out a shallow indention in each stone where thou wilt have thy beams, and then use the mortar thy Rowan wert mixing to secure thy beams to the stones. Then it is simply a matter of securing the walls to thy beams. He turned back toward Larkspur, putting his hands on his hips and giving the ebony male a genuine smile. Dost thou have use of a shovel?
Word Count: ● It's fun! He also does not realize Jer is gay but will be like "LOL THAT EXPLAINS THINGS". I figure he can shift to his lupus or secui form in order to dig? :O
Eris had been the first to introduce him to slavery, when Molca had arrived by way of chance. The subservient girl was a nice addition to their home, for she had eased the burden of children. Now that they were older, and now that he and Eris lived in separate homes, he had found Rowan even more useful than Molca. At least Rowan he could speak to, and Rowan was pleasant to look at—she was rounded and long haired and red.
Pleased that the dog was so willing to help, Larkspur tried very hard to listen to his words. It took him longer to understand the archaic English, but he desperately wished to take advantage of his knowledge. So the ideas were put forth and Larkspur formulated the words into a visual plan. An expression of understanding crossed his face as he finally grasped the concept.
The orange-eyed wolf snorted bullishly at the display by the effeminate male, finding the posture womanly. “I don’t,” he said apologetically. “But I can dig if you think yer strong enough t’move the rocks in after me.”
