48th Ymiden, 722
It was a beautiful trial. The sky was a bright blue, and was free of any clouds. It was hot, but pleasantly so, unlike the intense heat of Saun. Seira and Seri were taking advantage of the weather by taking Taerin for a nice long walk. They started in the Glass Quarter, and Seira admired all of the beautiful houses that could be found there. She felt lucky that she and her sister had been able to find a house for sale in the Glass Quarter. And luckier still that it was next door to their mother's house so that they could still see her every trial while still being independent.
Taerin took her time as they walked, stopping to sniff each and every bush that they passed along the way. Seira found the way that Taerin approached the bushes, much like greeting an old friend to be both adorable, and amusing. After walking through the Glass Quarter, they headed into the Earth Quarter and went to the Azurewind market. Neither sister needed to buy anything, nor would they be able to afford much in the more refined of the two markets found in the Earth Quarter. But Seira enjoyed browsing through the wares all the same; especially the stalls that offered wooden items for sale. She was always on the lookout for new ideas for things to try making herself. And Taerin didn't really care where they went; she just loved being out on a walk with her humans so Seira and Seri usually took her for a walk in places that they liked to go themselves.
"Did you hear about the fire in the school?"
Seira froze at the words. While the speaker had not been speaking to her, her voice had been raised enough to carry through the crowd so that her friends could hear it. Standing near the group as she was, Seira couldn't help but overhear it.
"No I haven't. What happened?" another person asked, this one a young man judging by the sound of his voice.
Seri frowned when she saw that Seira had stopped walking. She quickly went back to see what was going on.
"What's wrong, Seira?" Seri asked.
Seira quickly motioned for her to be quiet, indicating that something had caught her attention. She saw her sister frown again, but Seri didn't speak again, and she turned her attention to the people Seira had indicated.
"A fire broke out in the school that my sister's daughter goes to. Everyone was rescued, and no one was hurt, thank Ilaren, but the school itself has been badly damaged. They need a lot of supplies for the children, and they're calling for volunteers to help them rebuild. That's why I'm here; to buy supplies for the kids."
Seira's eyes widened as she turned to Seri.
"You want to help, don't you?" Seri asked quietly.
Seira simply nodded. Already, she was wondering if anything she had taught herself about working with wood so far would be of any use in helping to rebuild a school. If nothing else, she could at least buy some school supplies and donate them to the cause, but she wanted to do more if it were at all possible.
"I want to help too." Seri said firmly.
"Why don't I take Taerin home while you go buy some school supplies, and find out where the school is? I'll meet you in the Earth Market, and we can go to the school from there."
Seira nodded again. As Seri started heading for home with Taerin, she was already turning to the woman who had first spoken.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear what you said about the school fire. I'd like to help too. Where is the school that was damaged by the fire? I can donate some school supplies, and I'd like to help in other ways too if I can."
The woman told her where the school was, and Seira thanked her sincerely. Then she headed over to the Earth Market as quickly as she could. Since she knew exactly what she wanted, Seira browsed through the stalls quickly, looking for ones that sold books first. Once she found those, she looked for books that she remembered using when she was in school. Her search had her visiting several stalls, and she found enough books to provide school books for nine children. The books were far from new, and they looked it. But they were usable. There weren't any missing or torn pages. Nor were they written in. They looked somewhat worse for wear, but the bindings weren't broken, and the covers were worn, but not damaged in any way. The books themselves were suitable for a variety of ages ranging from eleven to fifteen when most children graduated. She didn't know what books the younger children used since she had never used them herself. But she planned to ask what books were needed when she arrived at the school so she could come back and buy more if needed.
"Sorry I took so long. Did you get everything you needed?"
Seira jumped a little at the sound of her sister's voice. She had been so focused on what she was doing that she hadn't noticed Seri's arrival.
"Not yet. I found some books that the kids should be able to use, but I also want to see if I can get some paper, pens, ink wells...that sort of thing."
The merchant she had just paid for her books approached them. He was a middle aged man with red hair, and a ready smile.
"Are you looking for supplies to donate to the school too?" he asked.
Seira nodded.
"My brother's stall is five stalls down to your right over there." he said as he pointed in the direction the stall in question was in.
"He sells the kind of supplies that you're looking for."
"Thank you." Seira said politely.
She and Seri hurried off in the direction that the merchant had indicated. Seira found the stall she was looking for easily enough, and she began browsing through the wares that were available. She was hoping to buy a large quantity of paper to donate, but she was looking for a particular kind of paper. Seira didn't want to buy the best quality paper she could find because that was an unneeded expense. The children weren't going to be using it to write important formal documents, after all. She needed sturdy, cheap paper that they could use for taking notes and doing homework on.
It didn't take her long to find what she wanted and make her purchases. Then she turned to Seri.
"Now I'm ready to go." she told her.
