i. d'ogne virtute / e d'ogni pene: leaving

[Hart]

16th Ashan, 721
12th break

"Yes, sorry, I'm going to need to leave the North End Lodge," Hart said to the person at the desk. "Sorry," he said again, when they said that they'd thought he'd be remaining at the North End for the remainder of Ashan. "I'm afraid there's been a family emergency, and I need to leave now," Hart said. "I'll need time to get my things, maybe an hour or so. Then I'll be out. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience."

Up the stairs, the community room that Hart and Wren shared with a number of others was empty. The others who lived in the room with them would be at work, or otherwise in the midst of their routines. Many of them wouldn't be at the North End until 17th break.

It was just Hart and Wren. Wren sat on the bed, his face turned down, his schoolbooks piled on his lap.

Hart grabbed the things from their room. All their things went in the domain bag. There were Wren's books from Viden, and the grey knit sweater that Wren used like a blanket when it was night. Hart offered the sweater to Wren now, and Wren grabbed it, pressing it against his face. He was quiet a moment, and then he sobbed into the sweater.

Hart placed the wooden puzzle toy he'd just grabbed from the table in the domain bag. Then he knelt in front of Wren. "I know it's difficult to leave Egilrun," Hart said. Wren hiccupped into the sweater, pressing it to his face. Hart ran a hand over the boy's head. "But we'll be back," Hart said. "It's just until we know that Ru and Kirei and Kirei's family are okay."

"I don't want to leave," Wren sobbed.

"I know," Hart said.

Wren moved the pile of books from his lap to the bed. Standing, he placed his arms around Hart's neck. He pushed his face and the sweater into Hart's shoulder, and sobbed. "I'm sorry," Hart said. "I know you were just getting used to being here."

"Do we get to say goodbye?" Wren hiccupped. "To, to Mr. Sawyer, and my teachers, and Mr. Gloom and, and..."

"I'm sorry," Hart said. "But we need to leave now."

Wren sobbed.

Holding the boy in his arms, despite how tall Wren was getting, Hart grabbed the domain bag and slung it over his other shoulder. He had a messenger bag as well, and he awkwardly slung that over his shoulder as well. He got up from where he'd been kneeling, holding Wren, and placed a note to Mr. Sawyer on the pile of schoolbooks on Wren's bed. The schoolbooks weren't Wren's, they were the school's, and so Wren had to leave them behind.

letter to mr. sawyer

Mr. Sawyer,

I'm very sorry not to be able to say goodbye to you and the others. Unfortunately, Wren and I will need to leave Egilrun for a number of days. Wren's very sad that we need to leave, and was upset that he wasn't able to say goodbye. Please say goodbye to the others for us.

I know that you and Wren got along very well, so though this is goodbye, don't be too upset. Assuming all goes well, Wren and I will be back in Egilrun before long. In the meantime, if you would, please take Wren's schoolbooks back to the school. There's no time for Wren and I to take the books back before leaving.

Goodbye Mr. Sawyer,
Hart and Wren

Mr. Sawyer,

I'm very sorry not to be able to say goodbye to you and the others. Unfortunately, Wren and I will need to leave Egilrun for a number of days. Wren's very sad that we need to leave, and was upset that he wasn't able to say goodbye. Please say goodbye to the others for us.

I know that you and Wren got along very well, so though this is goodbye, don't be too upset. Assuming all goes well, Wren and I will be back in Egilrun before long. In the meantime, if you would, please take Wren's schoolbooks back to the school. There's no time for Wren and I to take the books back before leaving.

Goodbye Mr. Sawyer,
Hart and Wren

Down the stairs, Hart slid a number of coins to the person behind the desk, as well as some letters that were addressed. "If you would," Hart said, "Could you have these letters delivered? I'm afraid there's not time for us to deliver them before we need to leave."

"Of course," the person said, and Hart thanked them before leaving the North End.

letters given to the desk

To Wren's teachers in Egilrun,

I'm sorry to inform you that Wren, of the age group 5 - 12, will be taking a leave of absence from school. Wren and I need to leave Egilrun; because of this, Wren will not be able to attend. I'm afraid I don't know how long the leave of absence will be, but I will endeavor to make it brief.

Because we need to leave Egilrun today, 16th Ashan, there's no time for Wren and I to take his schoolbooks to the school before leaving. I've arranged for a friend by the name of Mr. Sawyer to take back Wren's schoolbooks. Please contact the North End Lodge if there are any difficulties.

Thank you for teaching Wren, and for all your advice,
Hart

To Wren's teachers in Egilrun,

I'm sorry to inform you that Wren, of the age group 5 - 12, will be taking a leave of absence from school. Wren and I need to leave Egilrun; because of this, Wren will not be able to attend. I'm afraid I don't know how long the leave of absence will be, but I will endeavor to make it brief.

Because we need to leave Egilrun today, 16th Ashan, there's no time for Wren and I to take his schoolbooks to the school before leaving. I've arranged for a friend by the name of Mr. Sawyer to take back Wren's schoolbooks. Please contact the North End Lodge if there are any difficulties.

Thank you for teaching Wren, and for all your advice,
Hart

To my employers,

I'm very sorry, but I will need to take a leave of absence from work. Please know that I do not take this leave of absence trivially. I'm afraid I don't know how long I will need to leave Egilrun, but I will endeavor to make my absence brief. Thank you for employing me. Please know that I am sorry for leaving.

Hart

To my employers,

I'm very sorry, but I will need to take a leave of absence from work. Please know that I do not take this leave of absence trivially. I'm afraid I don't know how long I will need to leave Egilrun, but I will endeavor to make my absence brief. Thank you for employing me. Please know that I am sorry for leaving.

Hart

Woe,

I'm sorry, but I will be leaving Egilrun today, 16th Ashan. I understand that my leaving is abrupt, and I apologize. I apologize, as well, if my leaving gives you difficulties.

Hart

Woe,

I'm sorry, but I will be leaving Egilrun today, 16th Ashan. I understand that my leaving is abrupt, and I apologize. I apologize, as well, if my leaving gives you difficulties.

Hart

Outside the North End Lodge, Hart placed Wren on the ground to double knot the laces of his boots, and then Wren's. He adjusted the bags on his shoulders, and checked his and Wren's coats. Hart offered his hand to Wren and Wren grabbed it. The boy still held the grey knit sweater. He'd stopped sobbing, but his eyes were red.

"I'm sorry," Hart said to him, and they began the long walk to Kirei's house in Sweetwine.

Notes: Removing the word count of the transcripts, the word count of this post is about 950 words.

Notes 4/6/21: Edited in a link.

[Hart]

16th Ashan, 721
18th break

Hart rummaged in the domain bag for the tent he'd purchased in Viden. The tent appeared in his grasp, in the bag, and Hart grabbed it with both hands. The tent was heavy, and awkward to get out of the domain bag. But keeping it in the domain bag was better than having to walk with it on his back. Hart pulled the tent out and placed it on the ground.

He began the small task of assembling it.

The tent wasn't difficult to assemble, but Hart was exhausted from travel, and exhausted emotionally. The feeling that Ru wasn't there was difficult not to respond to. Hart was assembling the tent when, abruptly, tears fell down his face. He brushed the tears away with a shoulder, and then with a hand when they kept falling.

You need to set up the tent, he thought. Doing small tasks had let him write the letters in Egilrun, and get their things, and begin the long walk to Sweetwine.

Small tasks.

Hart laid the tent's canvas out on the ground. The corners of the tent needed to be staked, pulling the canvas taut. The design of the tent was simple, and so there were only three tent poles. Hart positioned the poles and pulled the canvas taut by its ropes, tying the ropes to more stakes hammered into the ground.

The tent assembled, Hart threw the waterproofed canvas over it. He staked that down, as well. Then he sat back on his heels, looking the tent over.

He just needed to do small tasks, one by one. If he did that, he would get through this.

He didn't know that there was something wrong with Ru. He knew there was something wrong with the ability that let him sense that she was safe and well. The ability wasn't there. Because of that, it felt like Ru wasn't there.

But he didn't know.

Small tasks, he thought, and said, "Wren, did you get the firewood?"

Wren tromped out of the nearby wood. His arms were piled high with sticks. Another day, Hart wouldn't have been able to hide a smile at the boy's stoic determination.

But today he said, "Thank you for your hard work. Do you want to learn how to build a fire?" Wren nodded, wearing the grey knit sweater under his coat. He was wearing Hart's coat as well, because he'd been cold. The tent and fire would help warm him.

"Let's see what you got. Lots of sticks. In a fire, these kind of sticks are called kindling. We'll need to get tinder, small dried things like leaves or old bark or dried grass, and more wood for the fire as well." Wren nodded. "Let's put the sticks here, and go back to the wood."



The sun had begun to set by the time the fire was built, but Wren smiled at the flames. Hart showed him how to set more kindling on the fire as it burned, and when it was time, he showed Wren how to set the bigger wood in the fire, to keep it burning.

Wren looked determined, holding onto some wood that he wanted to set in the fire when it was needed. "I'll let you know when," Hart said, and Wren nodded, his eyes on the flames. His face was lit with rosy light.

Looking at Wren, Hart thought, We'll be okay. It had been a difficult morning; it had been a difficult day. Wren had been quiet while they'd walked, unsmiling. But building the fire had helped him. Maybe, like Hart, he'd needed a small task to get through.

"You hungry?" Hart asked, and Wren nodded.

16th Ashan, 721
20th break

When they'd eaten, they sat near the fire. All was quiet; the fire popped to the soft music of the wilds during night. Wren was falling asleep, and Hart needed to move him into the tent.

He noticed some boots sitting next to the tent.

For a moment, he thought there was someone in the camp. The boots were set outside of the entrance of the tent, like someone had taken them off before going in. But when he went to the tent, there was no one in it.

When he looked at the boots, Hart noticed they were his. They should have been in the domain bag, but he was exhausted. Maybe he'd taken the boots out when he was assembling the tent.

Yawning, Hart picked up the boots. He was going to put them back in the domain bag. But, looking at them, he didn't. Walking back over to the fire, Hart sat. He removed the boots he'd been wearing and set them aside. The boots he'd grabbed were of much poorer quality than the boots he'd been wearing. The leather was old and stained, and he knew one of them had a split in it.

But he pulled the boots on, tying up the laces and knotting them.

Yawning again, Hart put the boots he'd been wearing in the domain bag. Then, standing, he looked around at the camp and, more distantly, the wilds.

"I don't have much," Hart said. "But I have a fire, and a tent, and I have a bit of dinner left over. It's not much, like I said, and the food's packed away to eat in the morning. But if you want some, let me know."

"Okay," he said, and then, using a small knife, he pricked one of his fingers. He placed a drop of his blood at the cardinal points of the campsite and at the tent's entrance, thinking of Wren, of Ru, of

safety

.

"I'm going in for the night," Hart said, and picked up Wren. The boy was limp in his arms, asleep, and Hart moved him into the tent, which seemed bigger on the inside. It felt cozy, and safe. The heat and the low popping of the fire was nice, and warm, and Hart laid Wren down on a bedroll. He found a soft, warm blanket and laid it over the sleeping boy, tucking him in.

"I'm sorry we had to leave Egilrun," Hart said. "I know it's difficult, sometimes, to live with me."

Hart went back outside and grabbed their things from the fireside. The fire outside looked good, it looked safe, having burned down to embers. Hart went back in the tent, setting the domain bag and the messenger bag down.

The bedroll he'd laid out for himself was more comfortable than he'd thought it would be. Though he didn't much feel the

cold

, the blanket he'd laid out was warming. Hart thought of Wren smiling at the flames.

We'll be okay, he thought.

He shut his eyes and went to sleep.

Notes: The boots are Hart's 250 renown signature item, approved here. The ability Safe Camp is detailed here. The ability Winter's Warmth is detailed here.

[Jackalope]

Experience: +10 xp

Knowledge:
Skill
Caregiving: The amount of time for a child to get used to living in a new location
Discipline: Do small tasks to manage difficult emotions
Fieldcraft: Assembling a tent
Fieldcraft: Building a campfire

Ability:
Ezere Ability: Winter's Warmth: Wards off the cold
Sojourn Ability: Safe Camp: Use a drop of blood at the cardinal directions of your camp and a drop of blood at the Safe Camp's entrance

NONSKILL KNOWLEDGE Location:
The North End Lodge in Egilrun

Skillplay: Appropriate to level

Loot: Getting Hart's Road-Kissed boots in a thread, as per renown in the wiki. The PSF approval for the boots is linked in the thread.

Injuries/Overstepping: None.

Renown: +5. Hart’s departure caused a bit of a stir in this small town. Not necessarily in ways beneficial to Hart’s reputation, but-hey, no such thing as bad renown, amiright?

Comments: My first Hart thread. Of virtual onions with penne pasta!

Oh, this was such a touching thread. Poor Wren, a young boy with an old man’s scars. Hart doing his best to be emotionally supportive while insisting on a course of action he knows is traumatic and difficult for the kid. Trying to do as much right by other people as his decision permits, which isn’t much.

The theme of focusing on little things (and also keeping Wren busy) to keep strong negative emotions in check comes across well in this thread. This is just a beginning of a major Hart arc, I understand, so it will be interesting how the rest of the threads play out.

Enjoy your rewards!