[Open] A Stitch In Time

[stitch_witch]

WHO: Lark, Open
WHERE: The Warrens
WHAT: Volcano Event
WHEN: August
WARNINGS: N/A

I. Doggone Problems | Walk to the Warrens

There is a lot to juggle when you're evacuating. This is always going to be something that is difficult. There are always things underfoot, or things forgotten, or things dropped. There is always some trouble. But Lark... wasn't really prepared for the current problem before her.

Which was of course Little Bear. The dog, massive, lean, covered in blonde curls and looking every inch like a wolfhound, was pressed close to her side and whimpering. Which, of course, was in no way something easy for her to handle when she was having to adjust packs and try not to trip over him.

"I know," she tries to soothe as she shifts a large bag full of spindles of wool from one arm to the other as the dog has circled her again, "I know you're upset. But we'll be safe."

She trusts that much. But how do you convey that to a dog without petting them? Something she decidedly cannot do at this moment?

II. Yards of Cloth

Now that they are here, there is so much work to do. Which of course Lark understood and had been doing her best with. Time was something she had ample amounts of. Space?

Well, the small, cut off end of a corridor she had been using to sleep in was not exactly suitable for what she was doing now. Which meant the woman was sitting near the middle of the large space the charming little Funfronds had brought them to, trying to get work done while the little creatures watched. The work at the moment was in arranging spools of thread in a grid.

"Alright now," she says to the Funfronds, because who else is she going to talk to. She hasn't noticed anyone else close to her. "This is where we add a little magic. I tell the threads to be cloth, and they'll leave themselves together."

And there's going to be a lot of fabric out of nowhere very, very soon.

"I just wish I had someone to change the spools while I work."

Comments

1.

[crystalmaster]

Radley is pretty loaded down with supplies too, especially food. But he sees the problem and struggles to go over.

"Hey there," he greets them both. Looking to Little Bear, he adds, "This is really stressful, huh?"

[stitch_witch]

"Radley," she says, trying not to sound as tired as she feels from all of this. The dog, the supplies, this whole thing...

"Quite," she agrees as Little Bear moves to try and circle Radley, but there's the leash, and that keeps him from reaching without tugging Lark. "It would be unwise to let him race off on his own of course."

[crystalmaster]

Radley reaches them and tries to balance everything enough to bend and pet Little Bear. “Yeah, we don’t want that. Maybe with the two of us here, we can try to keep him calm enough to get where we all need to go?”

[stitch_witch]

"Maybe," she says, looking quite relieved that Radley would be able to help her handle it, even if only a little bit.

"He's scared of earthquakes," she says after a while. "He was trapped in a cave in caused by one when he was a pup."

[crystalmaster]

Radley starts. "That's awful. No wonder you're so freaked out now, huh?" he says to Little Bear.

[stitch_witch]

Exactly. The dog whimpers and does a doggie foot shuffle. This is just so much of a problem for him.

"The children protected him last time. And this space is... different. I imagine metal doesn't smell well to him."

[crystalmaster]

"Yeah, I'm sure it wouldn't," Radley frowns, pondering the problem. "Would a food treat help at all, do you think?"

[stitch_witch]

"Likely," she agrees. "But I didn't pack his treats. There was so much to bring and it slipped my mind."

And she really had let the dog down like that.

[crystalmaster]

"Maybe something else food then? I'm bringing as much as I can of everything," Radley says. He probably has the ingredients to make the dog treats too, although he won't be able to make them up until they get to where they're going.

[stitch_witch]

"That sounds wise. Unfortunately getting through my bags is difficult."

Though if she can tell him where in his to look, that might work too.

[crystalmaster]

"It might be easier for me to get something out of mine," Radley says. "Maybe some jerky?" He lowers a bag enough to reach into it.

[stitch_witch]

"That sounds perfect," she says, dipping her hand in. "He is a fan of jerky. It will give him something to munch when we stop, and something to carry otherwise."

[crystalmaster]

"Cool. There should be a bunch of it right on top," Radley says. "I threw a lot in."

[stitch_witch]

"Oh you're wonderful to think of that. It will shred well for stews."

She finally wins a piece free and holds it down. Little Bear makes a pleased noise before chomping the jerky into his mouth.

[crystalmaster]

"Yeah, I figured it'd be pretty useful for this kinda thing," Radley smiles.

He's happy to see Little Bear enjoying it.

[stitch_witch]

"I might enjoy one myself in a while."

Because that would be very useful. BUt for now, time to keep walking.

[crystalmaster]

Radley nods thoughtfully. "I might too."

He resumes walking again as well.

[stitch_witch]

"Have you ever been near a volcano before?" she asks, her voice soft. "This is new for me."

[crystalmaster]

"I haven't," Radley says. "I've only seen information about what it's like."

[stitch_witch]

"That is more than I have. That sort of power is not something the Circles face. There is nothing more dangerous than trying to stay the earth about its processes."

And it was not likely to be something she could control either.

[crystalmaster]

"Yeah, I wouldn't think trying to stop a volcano would go over well," Radley says.

[stitch_witch]

"Oh no. One of my daughters tried to control the tide itself. Turned strong stone into sand with the power."

Not to mention what happened when a Circle tried to channel and store the power of an earthquake.

[crystalmaster]

"Yikes. I guess Mother Nature refuses to be controlled without dire consequences," Radley grimaces.

[stitch_witch]

"When all magic comes from nature, it's wise not to play with that," she says. "The very forces of nature are bigger than we are."

[crystalmaster]

"It does, huh?" Radley ponders. "I never thought of it that way before."

[stitch_witch]

"There is nothing stronger than nature. We can redirect it for a while, but in the end it is always stronger."

And she didn't like that very much. She almost lost a child to that foolishness.

[crystalmaster]

"Well, I mean, I never thought of nature being responsible for magic," Radley elaborates. "I'm not sure I ever really thought about where magic comes from."

[stitch_witch]

"Many people do not. Of course back home a lot of those are University mages. They can sometimes forget the balances that are shifted when magic is worked."

But their job is to do what otherwise might seem impossible.

[crystalmaster]

"They're studying at a university and forget that? Or isn't that taught there?"

[stitch_witch]

"It isn't quite taught there. Academic mages and Ambient mages learn very different ways and disciplines. We're more in tune with the natural cycles by our nature after all."

Especially since the majority of ambient mages were trained in the temples.

[crystalmaster]

"Oh. I see. That makes sense. Are there a lot of conflicts between the different mages?" Radley could imagine there might be back home.

[stitch_witch]

"No, there are not," she says as she keeps walking. Maybe she should get some of that jerky too. "Though what conflicts there are can come before a council of mages to judge fault."

Which she didn't feel it was necessary to point out she was part of. A representatives of the Temples and their place in not only magic training, but the authority of ambient mages as well.

[crystalmaster]

"That's good. But having a plan for when it does happen is useful."

Radley looks around, hoping they're getting close to where they need to go. "It looks like Little Bear's happy with his treat. Would you like any?"

[stitch_witch]

"Please," she says with a smile. "Just a small one. It is nice to have something to work on while walking."

And the extra energy sounds right.

[crystalmaster]

"Okay." Radley smiles and gets a piece out for her.

[stitch_witch]

She takes it happily and for a moment just holds it.

"Thank you, Radley. For helping with Little Bear.

[crystalmaster]

"Sure," Radley smiles. "I'm glad I could."

move to wrap this?

[stitch_witch]

"You always seem good at making things a little bit better," she laughs. "It's a pleasure."

Sure.

[crystalmaster]

Radley looks both surprised and pleased at that. "That's what my friends back home said too," he muses.