open || text, video || [ un: daughter-sea]

[seaboard]

TO THE CARE OF: any who may be of good constitution and can transport items.

In regards to the procurement of any and all harvested produce that is yet heretofore unaccounted for in tithes. I care not whether it is meat, berry, vegetable, honey or herb. Any amount of salt, flour, vinegar, cloves and cherry leaves if it may be found.

I have no coin, nor is it my concern. I will preserve the food that is brought to me and give it in return to you. Our larders must be as full as they can before the coming winter and summer.

In exchange, I will teach you to cook, preserve your own food, and gut fish.

- Second-Child, Lady Gilia St. Loe, Daughter-Sea, who presides in the Harbouryards.

[ A little pause, and then the video clicks on afterwards. Of one, frazzled Gilia in a run-down kitchen she's repaired as best she can, if badly. But tucked up in her wimple and veil, as ever, in jarring bright clashing colours. Even if the veil is sliding back from her forehead in her work and curls are attempting to spring out in every direction with their inch of freedom - and one rather large bruise across her cheek that has turned a festering yellow-purple colour of healing, and the smear of butter on her chin.

Busy with, apparently, dicing apart turnips with a cleaving knife that goes thud,thud,thud quickly in smooth, heavy slices. Stops to see the thing is on, it was supposed to light up and make irritating sounds, yes, good - and uses that huge knife to gesture to herself briefly in a sweep. ]

I forgot the size of this city, and that you will have not a wit of knowing me from a plank of wood. I am Lady Gilia. I am out at dawn fishing, but I should be back by mid morn. [ A pause. ] ... If there was peppercorn, of a good price, that could be found... it should be better to taste, later, if that expense is not too great to you. But please do not worry on such luxuries if not.

Comments

un: kuruko

[telepathy]

are you going to dry it out to last that long?
why not wait and gather more later?

@EIVOR

[ulfrkysst]

To the Lady Gilia St. Loe, Second-Child, Daughter-Sea, regarding the preserving and cooking of provisions for the winter:

I am gladdened to know there is at least one woman among the Restless who is learned in such matters. I will help you. It is not a task for one person.

Written in the district of Serene, Stygia.
Eivor of the Raven Clan.

un: songbird

[windsongs]

[ Mom did you serious just post a formal letter of intent? ]

do you have somewhere to store everything?
and I don't necessarily have anything I can contribute right now, but I can go to the markets and see what they've got
what should I look for? what keeps best?

[ She considers coming up with a flowery sign off but decides against it. ]

[seaboard]

I can do that, yes.

It may be impossible. Snows can prevent people from leaving their houses for days, if not weeks, at times. Even if it is possible to leave, nothing is growing, not until at least spring, and even then...

These cities have no space to grow much yourself. We'd be relying on what is brought in, which will not be until mid to late spring if we are lucky.

[seaboard]

[ Ah! A fellow sensible person! Eivor you're going to end up being her favourite person at this rate. ]

Eivor of the Raven Clan,

I would be most glad of your help, how ever that you may be best able to give it. I fear my fingers will turn to shrivelled and dry as bark soon, the rate I must work.

[ Salting food like this does nothing for one's skin, least of all. ]

Whenever you are in the Harbour, please call upon me. Though do not feel I would only wish to see you for such things, I am glad for any company.

[seaboard]

There are shelves, cupboards, and one sturdy table here. I wish that I had more, a proper cellar and larder, but this is the room that I could find...

I suppose cabbage is always safest, but turnip, carrot, peas, squash, these are also do well. But vinegar - any kind of sour wine, and salt, is always deeply, deeply important.

[windsongs]

salt and vinegar might be a little spendy but I can see what I can do!
I'd be interested to learn about what you do with everything too

we've got stuff that lets you keep things fresh and cool for longer so I'm not really used to having to preserve stuff
it's a good thing you're here to make sure all of us know about this kind of stuff Gilia! ❤️

[telepathy]

whats snow

[ulfrkysst]

Lady Gilia:

I shall be well pleased to pay you a visit. It is too easy to keep to oneself in this realm, where we do not have our friends and family.

[seaboard]

[ Ah, well. ]

I suppose... think of it like... rain, that has turned to little cold petals, as it cools, it turns solid. That then freezes everything else it touches, and can build up into piles so high you cannot walk through it.

And yes, it will freeze you too, leeches the heat out of your bones.

[seaboard]

Just so. So many people and yet...

I have no business feeling lonely, certainly, but I feel numbness in my tongue when I try.

[seaboard]

That does sound strange. Have you never been snowed in? Unable to pass paths and roads because of ice or snow melt flooding?

[windsongs]

not personally, you'd have to go further north to have that happen
or in the mountains. it can get pretty cold there in the winter!
we don't get a lot of snow in Tokyo (where I'm from) but I wish we did!! ❄️☃️
maybe enough to make a little snowman on a balcony, but not any more than that

[seaboard]

We set children to make snow mice, though I think now that is more to get them out from under their parent's feet for a few hours.

[windsongs]

snow mice!! that sounds adorable!
whenever we would get enough snow my mom and I would build little snow families on our balcony

[telepathy]

[ they have a different word, among the clans, for the white tipped mountains. but that word doesn't matter — she understands now. ]

the only rain where i come from falls during the summer

[seaboard]

Only? Goodness. I have heard of places such as that, but I can scarce imagine them, it is always raining where I hail from.

Winter to summer, always more rain.

[seaboard]

They serve Ancient Time, and we say that the mice run to Time and whisper all that passes in the world. So we make the snow mice to hurry them along.

[windsongs]

so they're kind of like little historians telling Ancient Time about everything that's happened?
how do the snow mice make that go quicker>

[ulfrkysst]

All the more reason to form new bonds with our new neighbors.

Perhaps I will come to you now. I am not yet accustomed to the immediacy of these messages and still find it easier to speak while looking at another's face. [Read: texting is dumb, why are kids these days always on their phones, etc]

[seaboard]

[ kids these days with their electricity and freely accessible running water in their house and widely available books -!! ]

Please do. I cannot find myself quite right with them at all. Is it supposed to be like speaking, or like letters?

I await you most eagerly.

[seaboard]

The scriptures say that quicker is not exactly it, truthfully, but that all things exist concurrently to Ancient Time, beginning, middle, and end. The Mice inform Time the correct order of which things are meant to occur as they are of the mortal world, and remind the Ancient Power that things most progress in a... line, as opposed to how time perceives to Spirits, which is a spiral.

So the priests have learned, at least.

[windsongs]

[ Wait a minute. ]

spirits perceive time differently in your world?

that makes sense, since I know where I'm from there's usually a distinct difference between the world of mortals and men
and the spiritual world. spirit and spiritual being very vague terms from what I can tell
or I guess maybe different planes would be more accurate? I'm still not 100% on that. I know there's a lot of overlap though but I was still working that out myself before
you know

but time moving at different speeds makes a lot of sense! there are tons of stories from back home that could be explained by something like that!

[seaboard]

Time passes differently for many different creatures of the world. A hound does not concern themselves for the future beyond a few days, but the sharks from the coldest waters live many hundreds of years, longer than any mortal might.

[windsongs]

oh I see what you mean
since they all have different life expectancies, they view time different
that makes sense