Hotaru’s explanation brought an expression of wistfulness to the mage’s face, a moment of daydreaming about what it might be like to have a connection so deep and meaningful with another soul. ”A soulmate,” he said softly, before realizing he’d spoken aloud and clearing his throat awkwardly. He ducked his head to hide the flush of embarrassment as he went back to work with a will, trying to focus on the task at hand instead of his silly slips of the tongue.
The work went better than he had any right to hope for, though Hotaru’s adjusting of her outfit to cope with the heat brought another blush to the hunter’s cheeks, and a peek of appreciation over his shoulder from time to time, hoping she wouldn’t mind the admiration in his eyes.
A break for water and stretching was definitely in order afterwards, and Kel smiled shyly as Hotaru graciously accepted the mug. He looked down at the red-haired man below him with a little concern that he wasn’t drinking, but the old saying about leading a horse to water certainly held true with people, too. ”Well… if you change your mind, just let me know,” he called back, a little uncertainly. Then it was time to choose their next tasks, and he waved for Sam to grab the thinner boards and broad hinges to affix to them, and the slender slats to brace them.
Hotaru’s suggestion was met with a nod at the idea of a lip to the roof, but her mention of glass had him shaking his head with an abashed smile. ”Oh, I can’t afford glass windows. If the weather is nice I can leave the shutters open, and if it’s windy or raining hard I can close them. I’ll probably put some netting or something in to keep the animals out, but aside from that…” He shrugged, trying not to let himself feel too embarrassed at how modest his nest was compared to the castles the Queen must have known. ”But we can slant the roof up from the edge of the walls! I like that idea,” he agreed eagerly.
Then it was time to get to work.Samuel struggled to attach the hinges appropriately, and several boards cracked while he tried to create the supports for their undersides. The work took a while, and though it should have been a faster task than planking the walls, it still took him as long as Hotaru and Kel to complete after several false starts and mistakes. In spite of it all he did manage to make it work out, and two hours later the shutters were piled in place, ready to be lifted and attached to the windows.
Hotaru set to work with more efficiency. The floorboards extended out a little ways past the support posts of the walls so they had a place to stand as they worked, but still required a fair bit of balance to stay safely on. She was deft and graceful in managing it though, and her walls of simple wooden planks fitted together, a few feet tall where the windows would go, or all the way up (with the help of a small ladder) in between those windowed openings.
Kel was not so lucky. In spite of his experience, he was halfway through his side of the treehouse when he shifted his weight just the wrong way and slipped from the platform. He drew in a sharp breath, calling on the wind to save him—But of course, it could not, not on this world. A puff of air ruffled his hair, but something else stirred in him in his panic and a nearby vine was yanked into his hand. He was able to steady himself and pull himself back onto the platform, but he was badly shaken and his work suffered for it thereafter. He needed Hotaru’s help to finish his side, but once they were working together things went more smoothly and the walls were soon finished in time for the shutters to be affixed with Samuel’s help.
”If we can finish the roof, I’ll have enough to stay here tonight,” he thanked them both with shy gratitude. ”Maybe, if there’s time, we can even build a few things to make homier… but first, the roof. We’ll need to lay a supporting frame from the wall supports to the center trunk,” he nodded to Hotaru’s earlier idea of affixing them at an upward angle so heat could rise. ”And someone will need to weave palm fronts through the poles to make the roof itself. And then someone to bring them up and secure the frond panels into place? Start at the edge of the roof and work your way so each panel overlaps the one below,” he explained. ”I can do the weaving… or teach whoever wants to learn and do one of the other tasks.”
Roof time!
1. Frame the roof, angled up towards the center trunk of the tree
2. Weave palm fronds onto poles, crisneia style
3. Secure the thatching poles to the roof frame, working from the edge of the roof towards the center!
No posting order
The work went better than he had any right to hope for, though Hotaru’s adjusting of her outfit to cope with the heat brought another blush to the hunter’s cheeks, and a peek of appreciation over his shoulder from time to time, hoping she wouldn’t mind the admiration in his eyes.
A break for water and stretching was definitely in order afterwards, and Kel smiled shyly as Hotaru graciously accepted the mug. He looked down at the red-haired man below him with a little concern that he wasn’t drinking, but the old saying about leading a horse to water certainly held true with people, too. ”Well… if you change your mind, just let me know,” he called back, a little uncertainly. Then it was time to choose their next tasks, and he waved for Sam to grab the thinner boards and broad hinges to affix to them, and the slender slats to brace them.
Hotaru’s suggestion was met with a nod at the idea of a lip to the roof, but her mention of glass had him shaking his head with an abashed smile. ”Oh, I can’t afford glass windows. If the weather is nice I can leave the shutters open, and if it’s windy or raining hard I can close them. I’ll probably put some netting or something in to keep the animals out, but aside from that…” He shrugged, trying not to let himself feel too embarrassed at how modest his nest was compared to the castles the Queen must have known. ”But we can slant the roof up from the edge of the walls! I like that idea,” he agreed eagerly.
Then it was time to get to work.
Hotaru set to work with more efficiency. The floorboards extended out a little ways past the support posts of the walls so they had a place to stand as they worked, but still required a fair bit of balance to stay safely on. She was deft and graceful in managing it though, and her walls of simple wooden planks fitted together, a few feet tall where the windows would go, or all the way up (with the help of a small ladder) in between those windowed openings.
Kel was not so lucky. In spite of his experience, he was halfway through his side of the treehouse when he shifted his weight just the wrong way and slipped from the platform. He drew in a sharp breath, calling on the wind to save him—But of course, it could not, not on this world. A puff of air ruffled his hair, but something else stirred in him in his panic and a nearby vine was yanked into his hand. He was able to steady himself and pull himself back onto the platform, but he was badly shaken and his work suffered for it thereafter. He needed Hotaru’s help to finish his side, but once they were working together things went more smoothly and the walls were soon finished in time for the shutters to be affixed with Samuel’s help.
”If we can finish the roof, I’ll have enough to stay here tonight,” he thanked them both with shy gratitude. ”Maybe, if there’s time, we can even build a few things to make homier… but first, the roof. We’ll need to lay a supporting frame from the wall supports to the center trunk,” he nodded to Hotaru’s earlier idea of affixing them at an upward angle so heat could rise. ”And someone will need to weave palm fronts through the poles to make the roof itself. And then someone to bring them up and secure the frond panels into place? Start at the edge of the roof and work your way so each panel overlaps the one below,” he explained. ”I can do the weaving… or teach whoever wants to learn and do one of the other tasks.”
Roof time!
1. Frame the roof, angled up towards the center trunk of the tree
2. Weave palm fronds onto poles, crisneia style
3. Secure the thatching poles to the roof frame, working from the edge of the roof towards the center!
No posting order
