Weekly Digest 130 - (#410 - #412) (Patreon)

Returning The Children

As Rian had promised, there was stew ready for them, and some bread as well. Both were no longer warm, but after how hot it had been in River's Fork, Lori had no objections to that.

Umu and Mikon had already finished eating by the time they'd arrived, but the two lingered as Rian and Riz sat down to eat. Taeclas—thankfully, she was wearing her headcloth today—and her wife had left, already finished eating.

"So, a few matters came up when I was talking to Yllian," Rian said. He was glancing over her shoulder for some reason, before nodding in satisfaction. Lori glanced behind her, but saw nothing but the table that the children who lived with Shanalorre ate at. It was empty at the moment, the children already finished eating and doing who-knows-what down in the second level. "He says that with the multiple harvests that Lidzuga was able to help them make, their food stores are finally growing instead of only holding even. Yllian says that River's Fork can afford to support a few more people now."

"I should hope so, since they have to support the miners."

That made Rian pause for a moment. "Ah. I think they meant, as well as a few more people."

"So we can send more miners? Good, the shelter can hold more, and it will get us copper faster."

Rian sighed for some reason. "As a result of this added capacity, Yllian said they can afford to welcome the children back home, since they have enough food to feed them now. So he asked me to arrange the children's return to River's Fork."

Ah. That's what Rian was talking about. "Ah. That's what you're talking about. Next time, just say it properly. Very well, inform Shanalorre and make what arrangements you need to."

Rian paused as if waiting for something. "Is that it?"

Lori frowned. "Is there anything else that needs to be done regarding them?"

"No… no, ah, just wondering if your orders were complete. I'll, ah, inform Shanalorre."

Lori stared at him. Then she pushed back her chair and stood up, the better to lean over the table and pat Rian on the head. "Good work, Rian. It took several months, but you've finally remembered to address Binder Shanalorre properly without being reminded. Keep up the good work."

He gave her an incredulous stare as she sat back down and went back to eating. Next to him, Umu, Mikon and Riz started snickering. "Are you mocking me?"

"Why would I do that? Remembering names properly is very difficult."

Rian continued to stare. "I honestly can't tell if you're serious."

"I'm Lori."

The two stared at each other for a moment more. Lori's face was completely impassive.

"So… anyway… Now that Lidzuga is no longer on probation, and we've seen that his boats have been of acceptable quality, I was wondering if I could modify the last two boat projects we're having him build."

Lori hummed. "I was considering having him cease making boats. We're running out of space to keep them."

"That's… true, but hear me out first. What if you had a dedicated boat for making beads?"

…what? "….what?"

"Your old shed is deep inside the demesne's boundaries now, and you haven't had time to build a new one," Rian said.

"Yes Rian, I am intimately familiar with the situation. Stop expositing things I already know and need no reminder of."

"Right… well, skipping ahead then, we have a lot of boat now. Why don't we turn one of the boats we currently have into a mobile work shed? Being in the river is far safer in terms of keeping away from beasts. Or if that's too unstable, then you can just beach the boat at the border, and then push it out into the river if a beast gets too close."

That… would actually be useful. The boats they had could fit her beadmaking equipment, and that was all she really needed for mass bead production. Though the boat would need things…

"I'll need a roof," Lori said.

"I'm sure that we can figure out some kind of solution. It shouldn't be too hard to put up some sort of awning, and—hey! The roof doesn't even need to be material! If you had places to anchor them, you could up in a roof of darkwisps, right?"

Lori tilted her head thoughtfully. "That could work," she agreed. "With no risk of beasts, having an immaterial roof will be sufficient to keep most of the heat off, and I can use the same anchor points for bindings to keep me cool."

"There you go! Lidz is going to make two more boats, so it's not like we'll be lacking for long. What do you say?"

It would be convenient… and the beads would already be on the boat, so no need to carry them around! "What would it take to convert one of the boats to this?"

"Well, it would depend on what sort of roof you want. Binding or physical?"

"At the moment, a physical roof is unnecessary," she mused. "All I will need are some posts I can embed stone into as anchor points."

"On the other hand," Rian countered, "summer should be ending soon, so it will start raining again. Not regularly, but you probably don't want to get wet… wait, I know. We still have a lot of straw from the harvest. How do you feel about a thatch roof? Would that might be enough to make a rainshade?"

She stared at him. "What is thatch?"

"… it's a method of roofing that uses straw, grasses and in some cases sufficiently big leaves. It's not very durable, at least compared to plank roofing, but it's lightweight and relatively quick to make, so it can keep the sun off you without being heavy enough to make the boat top-heavy."

Lori considered that. "Fine, see to it, although until the rain start it doesn't need to be prioritized. For now, some posts to act as anchor points for darkwisp bindings will suffice. How long will it take?"

"Well, the carpenters will be the ones to assess that, but… three days? A day to examine the boat and plan out what they're going to do, another day to cut up all the beams and set them in place, and maybe a third day for Taeclas to fuse everything together for added strength. The thatch roofing will probably take a little bit more time to complete. Unless it starts raining, we can get it done during the days you don't use the boat."

Lori nodded. “I’ll leave it to you, then. I will be going back to River’s Fork to begin excavating a water reservoir for the dragon shelter, and I’ll need a carpenter to go with me. I need two doors made, and they need to take measurements.”

“I’ll set it up. Anything else?”

She pointed at his plate. “Eat.”

––––––––––––––––––

Lori was at her table in her room, the various alloy samples they had made arrayed in front of her when there was a knock on her door. She stared at the wooden barrier, daring it to do that again—it can’t be Rian calling her down to dinner, lunch hadn’t been that long ago—when there was another knock. Now that she was paying attention to it, the knock was noticeably softer than the ones employed by Rian or Riz.

For a moment, she considered just ignoring the knocking—there was a third set of knocks—but she wasn’t Rian, who liked to use procrastination as a problem-solving tool. Sighing, she got up, her face already setting into a glare as she walked towards the door in her tsinelas as there was a fourth set of knocks.

“What?” Lori said as she opened her door. She blinked when she saw no one there, then looked down.

Shanalorre stared up as her. “Great Binder,” she said without preamble. “I have been informed that the children will be returning to River’s Fork soon. Is this correct?”

Lori stared at her for a moment. Ah, yes, Shanalorre was the children's caretaker, wasn't she? She suppose Lori should have also remembered to inform her. "Yes. The state of River's Fork's food supplies is such that it can safely support additional people, so it's safe to take the children back. I apologize for not informing you earlier, but you were absent while we were eating."

"I… see. When will they be transferred back to River's Fork?"

"You will need to coordinate with Rian. The children are your responsibility, after all. However, you will probably need to wait until the Coldhold returns." Their largest boat was currently gone, sent to gather more salt, and it would be a couple more days before it returned. It was the only one with the capacity to carry all the children as well as their things, as well as the safest vessel to carry them. "It is the only one of our boats with the capacity to carry all the children as well as their things, as well as the safest vessel to carry them."

Shanalorre nodded slowly. "The Coldhold should be back in two days if it maintains its usual travel time. I will inform the children so they can make preparations to leave." She paused briefly, staring up at Lori. "I am honestly surprised you have not found a reason to continue retaining them as hostages to ensure the compliance and obedience of their parents in River's Fork."

A mix of feelings filled Lori. Outrage, wariness, acknowledgement, even a small amount of approval… it was a reminder that for all Shanalorre's compliance and unobtrusiveness, the other was still a Dungeon Binder. While Lori would never considered using the children in that way, it was clear Shanalorre wasn't so limited. For all her deficiencies, Shanalorre had still been dutiful in caring for the idiots of her demesne back when she had ruled, and as the caretaker of the children had no doubt worried that Lori would do as a Dungeon Binder would have.

"Anyone idiotic enough to not comply or obey would not be stopped by the fact I hold their children," Lori said. "Besides, they're children. I would never hurt them bring them harm. I'm not their parents, after all." Shanalorre twitched, staring blankly up at Lori for a few moments, and she waited patiently until the other Dungeon Binder's left hand rose and slapped her cheek hard, blinked, and shook her head. The other Dungeon Binder's strange idiosyncrasies were familiar to Lori now.

"I… see. Thank you for explaining, Great Binder." Shanalorre gave her a bow. "I apologize for disturbing you."

"Yes, you did." Lori waved a hand dismissively. "Get going, you no doubt have arrangements to make."

Lori watched to make sure the other Dungeon Binder left before she went back to her room and once more locked the door. Should she be worried that Shanalorre was planning to take the demesne's children hostage against Lori? The thought was extremely concerning. The children trusted the other Dungeon Binder, and she was ideally positioned to act…

No.

Lori dismissed the concern. Shanalorre was many things, but she wasn't an idiot. Overwhelmed, under-equipped, under-staffed, ignorant and ineffectual she might have been, the other Dungeon Binder had never been an idiot.

Besides, Shanalorre was already barred from sharp objects, such that she was limited to digging out her garden with a blunt stuck. If she tried anything, the brat would just knock her over.

Lori went back to her table, casually slipping off her tsinelas and resting her feet on them as she went back to the alloy samples. In addition to the flattened blocks of alloy, there were also the lengths of wire that had had been drawn, with the sole exception of a wire of earthwisp alloy. The alloy had been too hard and rigid to be drawn into a wire, and all attempts had ended in failure. The smiths had suggested that it would be possible to draw it hot, but Lori had told them not to proceed with that test at the moment.

The wires that hadbeen drawn were all very fine, and a note from Rian informed her that copper was a poor metal to test for greater ductility, as copper was already a metal naturally well-suited to be drawn into strands. That being said, there was also an added note that the smiths had found the airwisp alloy, waterwisp allloy, and lightwisp-airwisp alloy to be easier to draw into wire, especially at the smallest hole of the draw plate. The draw test would have to be repeated with a metal that's more difficult to draw into wire…

––––––––––––––––––

Shana, We Need To Talk

Shana should have known this was going to happen. After all, the stated—and according to Binder Lolilyuri, only—reason the children had been taken to Lorian Demesne was so that they would be safer from dragons and to relieve the strain on River's Fork Demesne food supplies. She had been working with Wizard Lidzuga to specifically change that situation as she had imbued all of the meanings that he placed on crops and trees. With multiple harvests of grain, and more intended to come over the fading end of summer and the coming autumn, her once-demesne would have more than enough grain when winter arrived.

So of course that the children that had been in her care would be sent back now that there was enough to eat.

She should have known that this was going to happen, that the children would eventually have to leave, and she would be all—

…

…

…

Her left arm rose and slapped her cheek hard, picking up her flow of thought where it had fallen, and she stared at her own hand in surprise. That… was new. Was the thought of the children leaving her care really so overwhelming? No, she hadn't gone '… … …' yet from simply thinking of the subject, and it had only occurred during the second iteration of the thought, so it must have been something else related to the topic.

…

She would examine the flow of thought to understand what had caused it to break later. She was a Dungeon Binder, even if she was a failed one. A Dungeon Binder could not be distracted or hindered from performing their duties. The difficulties she was experiencing didn’t matter, only the fulfillment of her work. That meant that she needed to prepare the children to go back to River’s Fork to their fa—

…

…

…

Her left arm rose and slapped her cheek hard, and she picked up her flow of thought where it had fallen. She needed to go inform the children to prepare to go back to their homes in River’s Fork.

First, however, she needed to apologize to Lord Rian for simply running off while he was speaking to her.

––––––––––––––––––

Her announcement that they would be returning to River's Fork permanently was met with excitement and it took some effort to get the children to all settle down enough that they wouldn't be disturbing the surrounding tables too badly. Fortunately, the other tables did not seem too bothered. Those who heard her informing the children seemed approving and congratulating the children on finally being able to go home—

…

…

…

…

…

Shana found herself coming back to her senses as the disruptive emotions receded. "Thank you, Yoshka," she said as her little cousin's hand mashed her cheek. As much as she'd gotten used to rousing herself by slapping her cheek, Yoshka's method was much gentler. Even with how her cousin liked to play with her face afterwards—the way Yoshka was doing now, rubbing Shana'a face in little circles—she still preferred it. She sat patiently as her cousin played with her face and pulled up the corners of her mouth.

"There! Now you're smiling, Shasha!" Yoshka said gleefully.

"I don't think it counts when it's because you're holding my face, Yoshka," Shana said, and indeed, when the hands holding her mouth in place were removed, her expression returned to its usual smooth expression.

Her cousin ignored her. "We're really going home, Shasha?"

"Yes, Yoshka, you're going home," Shana repeated patiently.

"For how long?"

Shana stared at her cousin for a moment, before she understood the question. "This isn't going to be just a visit, Yoshka," Shana clarified. "Everyone is going back home to stay."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really-really?"

"Really-really?"

"Really-really-really?"

"Yes, Yoshka, really."

"So we'll be living with tota and tyatya and Verik aga—"

…

…

…

…

…

"—asha? Shasha?"

Shana came back to her senses again with Yoshka's hand on her cheek. She swiftly picked up her flow of thought where it had fallen. "Sorry, Yoshka. Yes, you will be living with them again back in River's Fork."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Shana said., making a show of looking towards the kitchen. "Oh, look, the food is ready." She turned back to the table. "Koyan, Kayas, get everyone ready to get food."

Between her and the two sisters, they were able to get the children settled down enough to not cause more than the usual commotion in the lines to get food. Thankfully, once all the children had food in their hands they became occupied with eating, although they remained excited.

After dinner, the children who hadn't taken a bath before dinner—which was nearly all of them—were taken to correct that deficiency, the clothes they were wearing soaked and wrung to get out the day's sweat while they changed into another set. Tomorrow, they would need to give everyone's clothes a proper washing with soap, so that they would at least be returning home in relatively clean clothes. Shana would not let it be said she had been deficient in caring for her charges.

After the bath, Shana and the two weavers herded the children back to her house so they could start getting ready to sleep. In addition to the few bedrolls some of the children had brought with them, they also had a large mat made from dried stems of ropeweed that Koyan and Kayas had woven. While the mat was thin, it was a layer between the sleepers and the stone floor, and the various blankets laid atop it provided sufficient cushioning.

Once the bedding was laid out, it was only a matter of waiting for the children to get sleepy enough to finally settle down and go to sleep. During this time, Shana sat at the table that the Great Binder had made for her and compiled the reports she had been given that day as part of her duties of keeping track of the demesne's foods and material inventory. While she had been not been very well-practiced when she had first made her agreement with Binder Lolilyuri the previous year, Shana had since had several opportunities to practicing her writing skills. Her letters were legible, if blocky and childish, though her numbers were more refined. She had far more opportunity to practice writing numbers, after all.

Now she was one of the few people in the demesne with a pen—or at least, a pen not made from a beast feather—and paper to help her keep records. She had practiced using the pen, gently 'writing' on a scrap of leather to make subtle lines barely visible even under bright sunlight, before she had dared using it with ink. Now after weeks of writing with it, she was confident far more confident in her handwriting. Using the pen, it was also far easier to write using small characters, which allowed her to make optimum use of the sheets of paper.

It could be said that no one knew the current state of Lorian Demesne better than her. The total amount of meat they had stored in the cold rooms, the fat they had available to turn into soap, the total number of barrels of grain they had, the amount of tubers they had stored as well as other food stuffs… while a few people in the demesne might know how much they had of one or two things they had in storage, Shana knew exactly how much they had at the end of most days, and it was part of her duties to inform Lord Rian of this inventory.

Shana worked as the children tired themselves out, although she had looked up and greeted Karina and other guests when they had come over to take advantage of the bound tool that Binder Lolilyuri had given them. In the confines of her house, the constant refreshing breeze that the bound tool generated was a wonderful luxury that drew no end of visitors with an excuse to stay the night, the blankets and bedrolls that they brought with them providing added cushioning against the cold stone floor. The other children of the demesne came and went as they pleased, and while not everyone stayed the night—even her most frequent guest Karina only stayed over every other night—they all had a standing invitation to do so, should they desire.

By the time Shana had finished with the updates to the day's inventory, most of the children had settled down and several were curled up on the mat and bedrolls. Koyan had already settled onto the bed, a dozing Yoshka curled up next to her, while Kayas lay on her bedroll on the floor, surrounded by Febe, Adgwyne, Phami and Tazel, who were all curled up around her, pressed against her sides. Shana placed the stone that glowed with lightwisps inside her bath bucket, arranging her towel to limit how much light shone of the ceiling. Once it was to her satisfaction, she finally lay down on her bed, curling up next to her little cousin.

“Shasha…” Yoshka said sleepily, one eye only half-opening. “Goo’ nigh’…”

Shana gently kissed her forehead. “Good night, Yoshka. You’ll be home soon…”

She began to hum the tune of a marching song that she remembered hearing sung among the militia. Without all the colorful language, references to bellringing, and the promises of bloody violence, and hummed at a slower tempo, the tune was almost appropriate for lulling her cousin to sleep. It was one of the few songs she could use, because most of the rest had been hummed to her by—

…

…

…

…

…

––––––––––––––––––

Shana left the comforting darkness of empty, thoughtless sleep, and everything hurt all over again. Tota was dead. Tyatya was dead. Yoshka was leaving to live in Reiver’s Fork again, and Shana was going to be left all alone again…!

She lay curled up in bed, unable to fight back tears as she shook. Next to her, Yoshka slept deeply, her elbow partially pressed against Shana’s stomach. She couldn’t lose her! She couldn’t lose Yoshka! She couldn’t…!

Sobbing quietly, Shana curled up in the crowded bed, trying to stifle her voice to not wake anyone, trying to deny the world, deny her pain, deny herself…

Abruptly, the sobbing stopped.

Slowly, carefully, Shana sat up. Face smooth, she fastidiously dabbed at the tears on her face. Turning carefully, she slipped her tsinelas on to her feet and stood up quietly. Walking over to the partially covered bucket, she drew out the radiant stone that Binder Lolilyuri had given her. With quiet steps, Shana skirted to edges of the room to avoid all the children still asleep, moving until she reached the door. Opening it carefully, she slipped outside.

The light of the red moon was alone in the sky, bathing the world with the color of blood. It was still far into the middle of the night, and dawn was still hours away, leaving the demesne empty, everyone still in the homes. Bugs flitted back and forth, and out of the corner of her eye she saw little beasts scurrying.

Shana walked purposefully towards the second bath house, which were on the other side of the row of houses across from hers. The doors into the baths were closed but not barred, and Shana slipped into the women’s baths, closing the door behind her. Inside, the space was dark, the bound tool that provided light from the ceiling deactivated for now. Entering the antechamber with its shelves for everyone’s clothes, Shana merely slipped off her tsinelas, padding across the stone floor on bare feet. The main bathing chamber was empty, the soaking pools drained of water, although the central basin was still full of water in case there were any late-night bathers, or water was needed for any reason.

The stone in her hands lighting the way, Shana walked carefully towards the central basin. Kneeling down beside the basin, she leaned forward until she could see her reflection. The darkness of the baths and the light in her hands bathed her face in light, and her reflection was vivid on the water.

For a moment, she stared down into the eyes of her reflection.

“Shana,” she said softly, “we need to talk.”

––––––––––––––––––

You Fall Beneath That Purview

"I realize that you wish to not be bothered," Shana continued as she straightened, turning her back to the basin to sit down in a more comfortable position, her gaze towards the entrance into the bathing area. "I understand you want to have as little as possible to do with the world."

In the silence of the empty baths, her quiet words echoed slightly. She laid down the glowing stone next to her, where it could cast its light towards the door without the radiance shining in her eyes.

"It's why I am here. It is why I am now managing our affairs and duties. I needed to be a Dungeon Binder, a functional Dungeon Binder, so now I am, barring occasional difficulties. And it is these difficulties I wish to discuss."

There was silence in the baths again.

"The disruptions caused when I am overwhelmed are unfortunate but manageable. Therefore, this recent issue that has arisen is concerning." Shana couldn't brace herself. There was nothing to brace with or against, no physical force for her with withstand. She carefully arranged the sequence of her next words carefully before she said them, or even thought about them. "The children in our care are now free to return to River's Fork. However, it is not a permanent separation. There will be many opportunities to see them again. This is not a tragic event."

Shana paused for a moment, even if there wasn't really a need. She'd known what she was going to say even before the words had left her mouth. She was not one who spoke before she thought, and her mouth didn't work faster than her brain. A Dungeon Binder couldn't be so impulsive, after all. Binder Lolilyuri wasn't, her words and actions all clearly well-considered and planned.

"Yoshka leaving will not mean you will be al—"

…

…

…

Her left arm rose and slapped her cheek hard, and she picked up her flow of thought where it had fallen. “You are not losing anyone. They will simply be absent and residing in another demesne. Yoshka leaving will not mean you will be al—"

…

…

…

Her left arm rose and slapped her cheek hard, and she picked up her flow of thought where it had fallen. “You will not be alone,” Shana reiterated. “Karina will be present. Koyan and Kayas will be present, should I allow them to continue their residency in my house after the children are no longer under our care. We will have several opportunities to visit River’s Fork. Yoshka leaving will not mean you will be al—”

…

…

…

Her left arm rose and slapped her cheek hard, and Shana shook her head, wincing. For a moment, silence filled the empty baths again, broken only by the sound of Shana’s breathing.

"I will not drop the subject," Shana said eventually. "I respect the reasons that you are upset, but in this instance, they are unwarranted. Yoshka will not be dead. She will merely be absent from our sight. It will be no different from how she stays inside the dungeon while we are outside assisting with imbuing the crops in the fields. You do not become upset when Yoshka is separated from us during that time. Why are you reacting in this manner now?"

There was no answer as Shana sat next to the bath’s central basin, her left hand raised where she could see it and slowly flexing the fingers open and closed. The movements were even and regular, not pausing as Shana watched her fingers.

"It is the same. Yoshka will merely be far from us, just as she was over the winter. You were not upset at being separated from her then. You did not even give the matter consideration when we left River’s Fork to fulfill our agreement with Binder Lolilyuri.” She waited a moment, but there was only silence. “You know I’m right.”

The silence returned around her. Shana’s eyes were starting to feel heavy again, the stimulation for the brief walk beginning to wear off.

Carefully, she stood up, shaking her head. She did not want to press the issue in that state. If she went ‘… … …’ again now, she might fall asleep. Picking up her rock to let it light the way, Shana left the empty room.

In the anteroom with its empty shelves, she paused in the act of slipping her tsinelas back onto her feet. “Because one of my duties is to care for the children from River’s Fork who are here alone,” she said. “And you by definition fall beneath that purview.”

She finished slipping on the woven reed footwear.

“Yes, a Dungeon Binder is not a child. However, I am the one fulfilling the duties of a Dungeon Binder. You are not.”

Holding up the light in her hands she opened the door, sweeping the light and her eyes back and forth to check for chokers and other small beasts before stepping out and closing the door to the baths behind her. Shana made her way back to her house.

Closing the door behind her as she slipped inside quietly, Shana skirted the edge of the room, and placed the glowing stone back into her bath bucket before returning to the side of the bed. Carefully moving Yoshka’s arm from where it had splayed in her absence, she lay down on her side, staring at her cousin in the dim light until her eyelids were pulled inexorably downward, and she was consumed by the darkness behind her eyes—

––––––––––––––––––

Shana woke up early, as had become her regular routine, leaving the comforting void of empty, thoughtless sleep, and everything hurt all over again. Tota was dead. Tyatya was dead. Dyadya resented her. Mushka had grown distant. Yoshka was going to leave her, and she would be left all alone…

She lay on the bed, staring tiredly at the dark ceiling, tears starting to run down her cheeks as she took deep, deliberate breaths, hands folded over her stomach. With each breath, she felt magic filling her, enriching the life within her, energizing her thoughts to wakefulness, even if she didn’t want it to…

She closed her eyes trying to ignore the world a little longer, ignore her pain, ignore herself…

Eventually, Shana opened her eyes again, wiping the tears from her face. She had work to do.

The rest of the day was unremarkable. She imbued the meanings that Wizard Taeclas tamed onto the crops, the two of them continuing to work to accelerate their growth. They had barely managed to harvest a third of the crops in the field, even while using their poles to tame and imbue as deeply into the crops as possible, but even so, Wizard Taeclas and the farmers had calculated that they would still be able to complete harvesting the fields early enough that they could do further harvests, even if not with the full field.

A portion of the field they'd already harvested had been replanted and was already growing green shoots. Wizard Taeclas had not yet tamed meanings onto the shoots, deeming them to immature, but the farmers were keeping them well-watered. Thankfully, they were not wanting for water despite the heat. The river was as high as ever, and still flowing strong. Lord Rian had told her he suspected that Lori's River— "Because it's probably only a matter of time before she starts calling it that,"—was a very long one, so long that it was possible that its source was somewhere that was receiving rain. Shana supposed that would explain it.

While it was usually too hot to work outside during the afternoons, there were some exceptions, and laundry was one of them. the presence of the water, the laundry area's location along the riverbank, and the way the open walls allowed the breezes to pass through meant it was always relatively cool, if humid. Because of the heat, there were usually several people there in the afternoons doing laundry, since the heat meant clothes on the washing lines would be dry well before the afternoon was over.

This afternoon, it was full of children doing laundry, with various degrees of success. To be more specific, many of them were trying to assist in doing laundry as Shana, Koyan, Kayas, some of the twins' siblings, and Ateh Mikon helped wash the children's clothes.

Shana assisted as best as she could, making sure that the clothes were grouped together by owner. In the beginning, she had tried to get the children involved in washing their own clothes, but that idea had been swiftly exiled from the demesne, since their assistance actually made things take longer. Thanking the women for their assistance always seemed ineffectual as she had nothing to recompense them for their time and efforts. At least this should be the last time, since the children would all be returning to River's Fork soon, and she would be all al—

…

…

…

"—dy Binder? Lady Binder? Are you—?"

Her left arm rose and slapped her cheek hard, and she picked up her flow of thought where it had fallen. "I am well Koyan, Kayas," she told the two women, who had both stepped forward to try and catch her hand. they had once more been too slow, but she was grateful they continued to make the attempt. "My apologies for allowing my attention to wander. What did you wish to speak of?"

The two continued to look uncomfortable—most people would have had difficulty identifying their expressions, and would probably think they simply looked disgusted—but they didn't press the subject. No one did anymore.

"Uh, Lady Binder, what's going to happen to the two of us?" Koyan said, her finger flicking back and forth to point at herself and her twin. "Since you won't need us anymore."

Shana nodded. "I see no reason why you cannot continue to reside in my house," she said. "The same rules will continue to apply, however." The two women relaxed, looking glad that they wouldn't be asked to go back to live with their parents and siblings. "If that is all…"

Shana watched the two walk back with their sisters to the Dungeon, no doubt to return to weaving, before turning to head back to her house. At this hour, it was empty, which was the best time to sweep the floor. Despite best efforts, having several children coming in every night still tracked in dust. While they managed to limit that dirt around the vicinity of the door at night, it always found a way to spread. Their broom was made of bundles of straw from two harvests ago, something Rybelle was kind enough to make for her. It was better for sweeping than the broom made of beast feathers that had fallen into disuse. With the door closed and her glowing stone serving to provide her with light, Shana began sweeping, starting with the underside of the bed.

"It has been a day," she said aloud as she moved the bedrolls, blankets and pillows on the bed to her table—then had to take a moment to make sure the ink bottle was well stoppered and the pen and papers were put away—so she could carefully lift up one side of the bed to more easily sweep under it. "Are you ready to consider this situation calmly and rationally?"

Shana methodically swept the dirt under the bed, sweeping up some pieces of straw and bits of leaves that had made their may underneath. That done, she carefully set down the bed before beginning to systematically sweep around it.

"As you can see, even after the children leave, we will still have Koyan and Kayas with us. There will also be the children of the demesne to socialize with. Karina will always be present. Even you must recognize that she is a friend. We will hardly be in solitude."

She carefully swept the corner next to the bed, and dust that had been pretending to be part of the Whispered stone was revealed and drawn out, added to the dirt that would be exiled from her house.

"When the children return to River's Fork, you will not be alo—"

…

…

…

…

…

Shana came back to her senses, sweat trickling down her brow and broom about to fall from her hand. She let out a sigh as she tightened her grip on the broom once more.

All the children in her care were good children, but even so, good children still managed to give her difficulties. And this one was being willfully petulant, it seemed.

"Yes, you are," Shana said absently as she began sweeping the corner next to her table. Thankfully, there was plenty of space under the table, which made her work easy. "Don't deny it. You are being deliberately petulant about this matter. Admitting you are incorrect about this matter does not invalidate your pain."

Resisting the urge to activate the bound tool to give herself a breeze—the moving air would spread the dirt around and make her work harder—Shana focused on cleaning her house. She would not have the children under her care residing in a clay pit.

Even when they were being petulant.

"Yes, you are."