Home & Hearth

[Perdita Westcott]

Home & Hearth

121st Vhalar, 719

T

his was it. Her home. Perdita had finally chased her parents out and closed the door behind them. There was no doubt in her mind that they would have liked to have remained with her and just 'helped' a little more. However, she had smiled and thanked them, because if she wasn't firm Perdita knew that she would end up with them never leaving. Her parents were very loving and the young human woman was in no doubt just how loved she was. Yet, Perdita was quite happy being on her own and she had no doubt that she would make a success of this. Her parents had instilled her with calm confidence and now, she was just eager to get herself started.

Perdita had a plan and now she had to begin to execute that plan. In her living area, there was a plain wooden table and it was there where Perdita had set herself up to work. Her book-binding tools and materials were in her bedroom, but here in the living room was where she was going to start working on her transcription. Perdita was going to be approaching the Cathedral for a job. She needed to show them what she could do, first. So, she had decided that she was going to do this by creating some examples of her work. Perdita was under no illusions about the level of her skill but, equally, she did not doubt that she would be better and quickly. So, she made sure that she had every opportunity to do what she needed done to the very best of her existing skills.

First, Perdita got herself sorted in terms of her equipment. She had books with the information, but first things first, she had to get herself ready. Quills, ink, parchment. A ruler, pencils, chalks. Perdita was clear about what it was she was doing and she had a lot of things around her. Perdita was a clean person who lived largely without ornamentation or decoration; however, she wasn't organised or tidy. Her things were spread out all around the place and Perdita smiled.

Time to decide what it was that she was going to write from all the information she had. It was then, as she was beginning to look through her books, that Perdita heard a noise and turned to look. Was that something in the fireplace!?

[Perdita Westcott]

Home & Hearth

121st Vhalar, 719

C

ould she hear something? Perdita thought so and she stood, moving towards the fireplace. Again, there was a scuffling noise and a strange squeak and then, there was the sound of a piece of wood tumbling. Perdita lowered herself down to look, resting on her heels, and there, cowering in the corner of the fireplace, covered in soot, was a small kitten. The young woman's eyes lit with delight and she held out one hand, slowly, just holding it there. The small creature mewled at her and Perdita smiled.

"Hello little one," she said, quietly. The kitten gave a sudden sneeze, which delighted Perdita. "Have you been trying to clean my chimney? Come on, shall we have a look for some milk for you?" The small kitten seemed to her to be too tiny to have left its mother as it scampered towards her. Perdita lifted it gently in her hands, uncaring of the soot, ash and dust on it as she felt its minuscule body purr. Pouring a small bowl of milk was easy enough one-handed and she put the two of them on the kitchen range, just above her own waist-height and safe on the dark wood. She watched closely as the small creature lapped at the milk. "What are we going to do with you, then?" Perdita asked quietly, gently stroking the cat. It was a beautiful little thing, as far as she could tell it (under the dust) it was pure white with four black socks, a patch of black over one eye and two black ears. It lapped up the milk hungrily and she frowned with thought.

"So, you're going to need a name," Perdita looked down at the small creature and nodded, thoughtfully. "I think we'll call you Coal. That's what I was expecting to find in my fireplace, after all." That was settled then. Perdita smiled at the small mewling noise which seemed akin to a reply to her. She'd take that as acceptance, she decided. "And we'll need to make you a bed. I'm going to make a basket for you, and you can have my spare blanket, how does that sound?" It made sense to her to do that, since Coal would need somewhere to sleep. So, putting aside her intentions for a few breaks, she lifted the cat, and the dish, and made sure that the first could drink out of the second as they went back into the living area, where she put the two of them down.

Then, she made her way to grab her kit for basketweaving and she sat down, cross-legged, on the floor in the living area. In front of her she put some reeds and yarn. It was her intention to make a bed for the cat which was both sturdy and warm, comfortable and likely to last. So, she constructed the frame of it out of the reeds, interwoven in a basic braid, in order to give it some stability and strength. Then, there was the need for Coal to be comfortable and so Perdita doubled up the already-thick yarn and she weaved it in between the gaps in the flat circular mat of reed she was constructing. She didn't want any bits of the stuff sticking in Coal and making the cat uncomfortable. So, she carefully worked until she had a flat circle of woven reed and yarn, the firmness of the reed giving her the structure she needed, with the yarn softening the surface on which the cat would sleep. More than that, since they were so inexorably intertwined, it meant that Coal couldn't easily separate out the two.

Having made the flat circular base, Perdita turned it on its side and built up the sides of the bed. Just a few inches, nothing too big or the currently tiny creature couldn't get in there. Besides, she could increase the height easily, later. Again, she intertwined the yarn and, when it was done she looked down at it. The cat, in this time, had come and sat on her lap and currently was sleeping in the crook of her knee. As Perdita moved, the kitten stirred and she looked down. "It's not as good as something my mother would make. But look. Here. This is for you." She grabbed a throw from the armchair, putting it in the cat-basket and she placed Coal in there. Then, for a few moments Perdita watched as the young kitten walked over and around the bed, paws lifting like she was squashing grapes. When finally satisfied that the bed was suitably squashed and arranged, the cat flopped down and stretched out, contentedly.

[Perdita Westcott]

Home & Hearth

121st Vhalar, 719

S

he had taken time out to take care of Coal, but Perdita did not mind one bit. The poor thing was freezing and she wanted to ensure that it's welfare was taken care of. Glancing over to the small creature, she was pleased that Coal was sleeping, stretched out and with paws splayed in an obviously content manner. She would need to find out if there were any books in the library on caring for cats, Perdita determined. That would be a job for tomorrow. For now, though, she had to get started on what she was doing. The information in her book spoke of Ilaren, of her place in, and relationship with, Rharne. Perdita was going to make an illustrated page out of it, she had decided, in a variety of layouts and styles. Then, she'd take them as a portfolio example of her work. That would speak for itself and, she hoped, would secure her the job she wanted.

First, then, she attended to the layout. Four pieces of parchment and she worked on them individually. There was an illustration and, of course, she wanted to ensure that the lettering stood out. The initial letter of each page would be in a large, emboldened script ~ for two of them she thought she'd add in some colour. That would be a good thing to do, so she laid that information out. Initially, just drawing boxes to ensure that the size of different sections was in proportion, then she outlined the initial letter. It was a lot of detail, but it created a mindset in Perdita of contentment. She knew how she wanted it to look and, whilst she was very aware that she currently lacked the skill, she also knew that it was only a matter of time before she was the best book-binder and bookmaker in Idalos. Nothing else would do, because she was recording history.

Slowly, she started working on the lettering, making sure that she had drawn very fine equidistant lines to keep her lettering even and well-spaced. Preparing the parchment was more than half of the battle and when she had all four of the parchment sheets prepared, Perdita smiled, content with a good trials work. At the little mewping sound which escaped Coal, she let out a chuckle. "Alright, I'll put this away and then we can spend some time together, shall we?" It seemed, she thought as she looked down at the tiny creature, she wasn't going to be living alone after all. Her parents would be pleased, they were worried. But, she had no doubt at all. Everything was going to be just fine.

[Doran]

Perdita:

Knowledge:
Basketweaving x2
Drawing x2
Animal Husbandry x2

Loot: 1 kitten called Coal.
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 10

- - -

Comments: A Basketweaving PC!

For some reason, that really excites me!

This was a cute little thread. Such a small kitten climbing onto the roof (and crawling/falling through the chimney) is quite impressive!

Enjoy your rewards – and your new pet!