• Memory • A Good Deed

[Malcolm]

111 Ashan 327
Lysoria, The Salt Lake

The woodshed was almost complete, with just the door left to go on. Malcolm had taken up the tools and got to work early, rising with the sun to get a head start on the day. He measured the doorframe up and checked it against the plans he had scribbled down in his journal before lifting the wooden rectangle to hold it against the gap where the door was going to go, checking to see that it would fit before completing it. It would go on snug of left as it was, but after a bit of sanding, would fit better.
He had spent the previous day inside, exploring Avari's small book collection, most of which had been stories about fictional adventures in the south of Idalos. There was one book, however, that had come in rather handy and seen the man make the trip all the way to town to pick up a certain type of hinge he had seen under one of the chapters about construction which had gone into great detail about the different types of hinges to choose from. Avari had recommended a butt hinge, a very strong hinge that wasn't possible to adjust once it had been fitted, for this reason Malcolm opted to use a flush hinge as it didn't require him to cut a recess in the frame. Of course it wouldn't hold as much weight, but the man decided three would do the job of two butt hinges.
He measured them out an equal distance from each other and felt the sun at his back heat up his shoulders through the black fabric of his shirt. The hinges were attached to the doorframe with screws, which Malcolm used a screwdriver to tighten until the wouldn't turn anymore. He lifted the door and realised that he wouldn't be able to attach it to the shed without some help, so to fill in the time, he hammered on the thin planks of wood to cover the face of the door on either side, and waited until one of the men came outside to ask for a hand. With the door screwed on, the shed was completed and all there was left to do, was cut some firewood.

[Malcolm]

One of the felled trees still lay in the field from their work a few days prior, too thin to be made into decent sized planks of wood, and so, Malcolm took to it with an axe, cutting and cleaning away all of the branches first before he got to work on the trunk. The tree's root system saw the rest of the tree hover a foot above the ground, which caused it to shake and readjust each time the axe went through it. Malcolm would cut a log away about a foot long and then split it into quarters which made it easier to stack inside the woodshed, where he had gone to the trouble of putting down a sturdy wooden floor to keep the logs dry.
Malcolm spent the better part of the morning cutting and splitting firewood until the tree was cleared away completely and everything was stacked a ready for the following cold season. He turned all of the branches into kindling and put it in a couple of buckets beside the shed before hanging the axe up again. Avari came out of the house with some clean drinking water in a cup and offered it to the man before looking over his work.
"You know you didn't have to."
"It was the least I could do," he smiled and drank the water before stacking the last of the wood, his muscles sore and the front of his shirt and underarms drenched with sweat.
"I appreciate it."
"I appreciate you letting us stay, I'll work on finding a place for myself as soon as I can make a bit of coin."
"You don't need to do that," the woman smiled, "you know you're welcome to stay as long as you want."
"You've done a lot for us, Avari, and I won't take advantage of your kindness longer than I have to. The others have managed to secure a room at the tavern in town, and as soon as another one become available I'll be off."
"Don't be silly," she smiled. "You will have that room all to yourself once the guys move on in a few trials, you can pay me back by doing some work around the farm. Fences need fixing, and I heard you say something about catching rainwater?
"Avari, you're too kind."
"You can call me Ava."

[Malcolm]

Ava was a wisp of a woman, long and lean with a narrow neck and defined jaw. She had light, thin eyebrows and a small mouth, her lower lip was slightly thicker than the top one, and often she stood with lips parted, and the bottoms of her top two teeth showing. Her nose was long and sharp, and her eyes were blue, the lashes often painted black while her hair was the colour of the sun, two trills after it had blinded a man, platinum, almost an off white, not very lush and cut just below the shoulder, usually worn tired back from her face.
The woman donned simple clothes, nothing too revealing, and other than her hands, face and neck, she seldom showed much of her sun-kissed skin. Ava wore a white apron over the top of her dress, if one could call it that, which pinched at her midsection and revealed just how slim she was, making her appear taller, or perhaps that was just down to the boots she chose to wear. Ava sat around talking to Malcolm while she peeled some apples for a pie she intended to make, and watched him shape some wood with a chisel and soft mallet.
"A gutter?"
"That's right," Malcolm smiled. "Hopefully it will channel the water down into the half barrel and collect enough when it rains for the animals to drink from," he worked as he said this, sanding the furrow until it was smooth.
"And what about people?"
"Well, yes," Malcolm nodded, "but you would still have to boil it first."
"And fish out the bugs," Ava winked.
Malcolm laughed.

[Malcolm]

Malcolm had made the gutter shallow at one end and used a chisel to chip out enough wood to make it gradually deeper on the other, hoping that this would cause any water it caught from the slanted roof of the woodshed to flow down into a corner piece he was yet to make, and further on still into the water bucket situated in the horse paddock nearby. Ava watched as he nailed the gutter to the underside of the roof frame, and handed him a few more nails when he ran out.
"You must have something better to do?" Malcolm smiled.
"Than annoy you while you work? Nothing comes to mind," the woman grinned gleefully.
"I don't know if I'm getting much work done," the man hammered in the last nail, straightening it up before giving it a few more light taps.
"Then my plan is working."
"Oh, and what plan is that exactly?"
"You'll see," Ava winked and disappeared inside the woodshed.

A few moments later Ava came out of the woodshed and tiptoed across the lawn on bare toes, arms folded across her chest, wearing nothing but an ill-fitting undergarment that looked like a small, shapeless dress which hung loose on her shoulders and stopped about mid-thigh. Malcolm put down the hammer and took off his work gloves, a dark brow raised questionably in regards to her state of dress and what she must be thinking.
Ava looked over her shoulder at the man and smirked. "You look a little overdressed for what I had planned."
Malcolm wasn't too sure what that was, but felt a fool to ask, and so he undid his belt and pulled it free from the loops of his pants, losing his shirt just as quickly.
The woman laughed an amused sound, and stepped towards the lake. "Last on in does the dishes!" Ava called and ran towards the lake, followed closely by Malcolm, who was still wrestling his pants loose which caught around his ankles and almost tripped him just before the shore.
He dove into the water, realising too late that Ava had stopped short at the last second, and leapt out like a startled cat, shivering, skin tight, and teeth chattering. "It's bloody freezing!" He protested, in response to which Ava only laughed. "That was cruel," he grinned, unable to keep a straight face.
"Maybe," the young woman smiled, "but now I know."
"Know what?" Malcolm inquired.
"Never you mind," Ava pressed her finger to the side of her nose, turned, and walked away to collect her clothes.

[Incubus]

Malcolm

Knowledge
Basic
Construction: Fitting a door to a frame
Fictional Adventures of South Idalos
Avari's Home: Always open to Malcolm
Ava: VERY Appreciative

Specific
Construction: a butt hinge, impossible to adjust once fitted
Construction: flush hinge, no recess necessary in the frame
Woodcutting: Bundling stored wood
Construction: Gutter Blueprint
Seduction: Gaining favor by utilizing your talents

Loot:
Injuries:
Fame: +1 General Good Deed
+2 Give a Gift (I count this as a gift!)
Total: +3

Story 5/5
Collaboration 0/5
Structure 5/5

Comments: Haha, that was an unexpected ending, but altogether a well put together thread, especially considering it's just boring construction! Yuck!
is being mostly facetious
Feel free to drop me a PM with questions/concerns. Good read!