What makes a home?

"If I can't move the heavens above, I will move Hell" Sah nodded. "Seems logical. Be careful." He watched both curiously in warily as Deimos worked. He felt bad about not being able to help more but he lacked creation knowledge or any  kitchen knowledge. He also didn't appreciate the cheshire cat grin. It made him want to move his scarce things even further from the general. Sah liked his blanket. He didn't want it to catch fire. Unable to take the risk, he quickly grabbed it and threw it over his shoulders like a cloak. Now that it was safe, he relaxed. Sah glanced up when Deimos spoke up. "Entertain you? Ah, I'm not great with jokes on the fly. Let me see...Oh! I'll tell you a story." Sah thought back to his puphood, recalling some of the more humorous exploits he had gotten up to. "Ok. So  there's a tradition back home. When we're teaching the pups how to fly. Of course we start them out with making small jumps from rocks or low tree branches. But once they're ready we'd take them to a cliff that overlooked the ocean. We'd tell them that as they're final test, they had to jump off an fly." Sah chuckled before he continued. "But that was a lie. Before they can jump, the older pups shove them off. They almost always end up catching the wind and flying. And if they don't, they try again. But when it was my turn to be shoved off, I may have reacted harshly. The second one of the older pups knocked into me, I whipped around and bit him. The force sent us both over the cliff and into the water. He was furious. But the adults and others up on the cliff were laughing. One actually lost their balance and fell. Basically the whole test ended up being a mess and so others jumped in just for fun. We had to to do the whole thing over again the next day."  Sah grinned. "And I'll be honest, on that second day I pushed the older pup off the cliff before anyone got the chance to push me. I was a petty pup." sah There stood the wolf in the winter wind Full of fearsome might There stood the wolf in the winter wind King of the winter night. -Tim Vallie

DEIMOS

the ocean does not apologize for its depth
and the mountains do not seek forgiveness

Most of the time Deimos was careful; a meticulous individual who thought, orchestrated, and calculated course of events, notions, and motions. The only time he ever reacted strictly on impulse might have been in the alarm or horror of family, friends, and loved ones being obliterated; a sharpening of abhorrence and devastation unfurling without a single hesitation. The grin had meant to be a tease, a way to defuse dramatics and theatrics, but he noticed his warning was taken in full stride. Still a coherent, comprehensible action, even if it spelled out a sense of distrust.

He’d seen many run, stare, and look at him as if he were naught more than a dangerous heathen. An infidel. A monster. In some instances he’d encouraged it, became it. And in other moments it just felt heartbreakingly lonely as the world left him to his isolation.

So his brows furrowed back together, and he applied his efforts to smaller proportions within the outset now, hands lingering in their gilded display while the manifestations of cookery took shape. Sah did take the opportunity presented to entertain as he worked; and so his head tilted a fraction, indicating he was listening.

Though it wasn’t a joke, at least it was a story – something to distract as he laid out the foundations of this oven on the wooden floor. Traditions of flying wolf cubs wasn’t something he thought he’d be hearing today, but nonetheless, he remained intrigued (a brow arching, the very small smile peeking through). A mild chuckle formed in the hollows of his throat at the notion of pettiness, of striking one’s adversaries before they had the opportunity to do so in return. “Did they ever hassle you again?”

for the space they take
and so, neither shall I

"If I can't move the heavens above, I will move Hell" Sah noticed Deimos's shift in body language at his action and internally flinched. He did trust Deimos. To a degree at least, more so then just about anyone else in Caido even. But that didn't change the fact that Sah had only known him for a few months and that Sah wasn't one to trust easily in general. Still the canine felt a bit bad at Deimos' clear reaction. Sah was glad that the story at least seemed to cheer the General up. "No, they didn't. There weren't any hard feelings between us. Just the playful teasing of pups. Though I did spar with them a few times afterwards, and if I was a little extra mischievous during those, well... Who can say?" Sah continued to watch Deimos work. "Are you sure there's nothing else I can do to contribute?" It felt wrong to have someone just doing this for him and for him to not help. sah There stood the wolf in the winter wind Full of fearsome might There stood the wolf in the winter wind King of the winter night. -Tim Vallie

DEIMOS

the ocean does not apologize for its depth
and the mountains do not seek forgiveness

It sounded as though the wolves weren’t much different from human counterparts and juveniles – prone to foolishness and mischief, to lengths of minor mutiny and revolution when the time was right or beneficial. They’d been quite similar in their youth by the sea, racing alongside tides, calling to gulls, chasing after the pretense of vagabonds and pretending to be sleuths, heralded by the sea, the surf, and the shoal, until they were truly of age to become something for themselves. Wild and reckless, youthful and emboldened, and not yet tarnished, tainted, by the sinking of time, space, and action. Those days were long gone now.

An inkling of a smile remained, but then his concentration honed back to the manifestations around him. He raised his head from his work at the inquiry, at the way the other renderings had begun to become scattered around him, as he made piece after piece, intending to meld and mold them in conjunction, to fit within the apparatus at some point. “You can put these together,” indicating the proportions, and then tapping at the diagram with one finger, indicating the directions and sketch to follow. It would save him some time, energy, and attentiveness, and then they could complete the task that much faster.

for the space they take
and so, neither shall I

"If I can't move the heavens above, I will move Hell" Sah took in the schematic and gave a tentative nod. "I'll give it a shot." He was a bit wary of the task at hand given his lack of experience, but he was glad that he could at least contribute something. Sah started by matching up the pieces to the schematic in the hopes of identifying just what each piece and portion was.  It took him a bit of time but he eventually got it sorted out. From there he began to meticulously piece it all together. The last thing he wanted was to make a mistake and have to restart. Or mess up a piece to the point that Deimos would have to remake it. After a bit of trial and error and a few splinters, Sah managed to put all of the thus far created pieces together. He looked over his work. "How's that? Does it look ok so far?" sah There stood the wolf in the winter wind Full of fearsome might There stood the wolf in the winter wind King of the winter night. -Tim Vallie

DEIMOS

the ocean does not apologize for its depth
and the mountains do not seek forgiveness

The Sword didn’t watch Sah very closely, save for a few quick glances from the corner of his eye every now and again. His concentration had funneled and furnished directly into the incantations, hands pulsing with their normal gilded glow, pieces and proportions forming beneath his palms. He could feel his attention beginning to waver from time to time though, a certain restlessness pooling between shoulders and spine, indicating he’d need a break before too long. Ordinarily, he didn’t have to apply his creative efforts for so long and in so many different conjectures; suddenly all the more appreciative of the weapons without intricate adornments.

Placing the last of the smaller fragments within, he ceased the motions simply to see Sah’s process. His eyes narrowed in speculation, and he shook his head, much like a hound, to dissipate any of the cobwebs forming along his mind. Gaze drifted immediately to what the other man had segmented together, and from the outside looking in, it looked good. “Well enough,” he laughed, and then stood up to stretch long limbs that had stiffened from sitting on the wooden floor, making motions around the parts already assembled and anything else needing to be done before they hastened it together. “I think if we place these in there,” pointing to the oven and its open proportions – looking like some not-yet-fully assembled skeleton. “We should be nearly done.”

for the space they take
and so, neither shall I

"If I can't move the heavens above, I will move Hell" "Good. I wasn't sure." Sah then grabbed the pieces and began to carefully place them into the oven. Biting his lip in concentration, he kept glancing back at the schematic to make sure everything was falling into place correctly. After a few moments he stood back and hummed contemplatively. "I think that's it? Are there any other pieces we need to include?" The oven looked like it was nearly, if not completely done. Granted, Sah wasn't the best judge for such things. Regardless it at least looked like the few ovens he'd seen before since coming to Caido. This oven did look good though and Sah was proud of what they'd accomplished thus far. He was also fantasizing about cookies. His dream of having his own constant supply seeming all the more realistic now that he had an oven of his own. Surely his nice neighbor would teach him how to make them if he asked? sah There stood the wolf in the winter wind Full of fearsome might There stood the wolf in the winter wind King of the winter night. -Tim Vallie

DEIMOS

the ocean does not apologize for its depth
and the mountains do not seek forgiveness

Deimos rose from the wooden floor, stretching out the bound muscles again, furrowing his brow, staring back at the oven. Pieces and proportions in place. Doors on hinges. Trays settled where they required. Switches and buttons adorned. “I do not think so.” And they wouldn’t really know until the oven was utilized, an attempt forged along the tribulations, schematics, and plans.

His hands went over the fringes and outside again, checking once more for any misplaced proportions, smoothing over any hardened edges. When he couldn’t find anything, he maneuvered around the forefront and back; scrupulous, meticulous, and detailed to a fault, even if the day had been long, and his thoughts echoed along some manner of fatigue. A few head tilts, a few more inspections and examinations, and all he could do was sigh, place his gaze back upon Sah’s with an air of tired mischief. “Want to try it?”

for the space they take
and so, neither shall I

"If I can't move the heavens above, I will move Hell" A small tilt to Sah's lips was followed by a determined glance at the oven. "Absolutely." Glancing out the window where some ningos were, his grin grew mischievous. "Any failed attempts we can use as projectiles to catch dinner." It'd ben an inefficient method but what else could horribly failed cookies be used for? "But uh...  how do we use the oven in the first place? How do we make cookies?" Sah glanced at Deimos curiously, hoping he had the answers. Surely the general knew the secrets about such important endeavors? Right? The canine was at a complete loss over such a topic but he was eager to learn. sah There stood the wolf in the winter wind Full of fearsome might There stood the wolf in the winter wind King of the winter night. -Tim Vallie

DEIMOS

the ocean does not apologize for its depth
and the mountains do not seek forgiveness

While the General had legitimately meant turning the thing on and seeing if it even functioned, his brow arched at the notions of cookies. He’d had a sweet tooth and inclinations towards baked goods since he was very young, including snatching them from windowsills when his mother had put them out to cool – and he’d spent several hours looking around her shoulder as Stone tended to family meals. Making his own had come with time and practice, a fair amount of mistakes, and the layers of mischief. And there was a pang, deep in his chest, residual and still, where he could remember doing the same with Amalia. Those days were gone.

This one was now – and not without its potential for blunders either. Deimos didn’t answer the first inquiry, because he wasn’t certain if they had enough for the second. “That depends on if you have the ingredients.” He began a list, one finger rising after another, anticipating, waiting, for Sah to start responding or keeping track. “Flour. Baking powder. Baking soda. Butter. Eggs. Sugar.” He paused, considering, tilting his head a little. “Vanilla.”

for the space they take
and so, neither shall I

"If I can't move the heavens above, I will move Hell" Sah blinked as Deimos began his list. Each ingredient making his hope sink. Baking soda? Baking powder? What...? His confusion was plain on his face. "I have no idea what half of that is." He deadpanned. "I definetly don't have those." The canine's tone was a bit mournful at this admission. Seems he'd have to wait on getting his sweets. "May as well see if it turns on at least." Sah glanced at the oven almost accusingly. As if the contraption itself was to blame for his lack of foresight. "How do we turn it on anyway?" He realized that even if he he'd helped create the device, Sah had zero knowledge whatsoever of how an oven worked. sah There stood the wolf in the winter wind Full of fearsome might There stood the wolf in the winter wind King of the winter night. -Tim Vallie

DEIMOS

the ocean does not apologize for its depth
and the mountains do not seek forgiveness

Deimos might’ve guessed, based on previous experiences, that Sah wouldn’t have known what a majority of those supplies were. But he sighed anyway, contorting another piece of parchment through his elemental facets, and began writing them down, legible and precise. “You should be able to get all of them at the market,” to which he raised his head and gazed at the window – the sun long since devoured by the evening sky. “Tomorrow.” It only made him realize how long the day had been – and he’d yet to go home and wall himself within the barracks, prepare his soul for the following morning. Something within his mind was fatiguing; the mental drain of Wardening, of calculating oven specifications, and now this particular roadblock.

This time he withheld the next sigh flickering and billowing through his chest.Tired and drained he might’ve been, but his cranium was always calculating. There were alternatives, and he was certainly hungry too. “Grab some ningos,” to which his head nodded, jaw inclining, in the direction he’d last seen the numb, foolish birds, “and we can bake those.” Much like a chicken, he supposed – it didn’t always have to be desserts.

As for turning the contraption on? The beast angled forward, to where he’d placed a knob, a switch, to turn. Standing aside so Sah could view the action, the monolith clicked it over once, and waited for something to happen.

for the space they take
and so, neither shall I

"If I can't move the heavens above, I will move Hell" Sah sighed but nodded, still a bit disappointed but mostly placated. He perked up significantly at the idea of baking a ningo and was soon out the door. Grabbing a sword in hand on the way, he headed straight for some of the ningos hanging out around the building. Within only a few minutes he came back holding a pair of the birds. "Got 'em." He placed the birds down on the counter, grinning triumphantly when upon Deimos' prompting, the oven came to life with little trouble. "So how do we bake them?" Sah asked eagerly, looking forward to both testing out the oven and getting a decent dinner out of it. sah There stood the wolf in the winter wind Full of fearsome might There stood the wolf in the winter wind King of the winter night. -Tim Vallie

DEIMOS

the ocean does not apologize for its depth
and the mountains do not seek forgiveness

Sah’s contributions were swift, and before long, with no guilt left to harbor in slaying the damned, idiotic birds. He set his accord in plucking, removing the feathers quickly, and then put those aside too, in case the Abandoned wanted to utilize them for a pillow or any other means in the future. Meanwhile, he went over some other instructions, mind wandering back and forth, multi-tasking. “Place them in a pan and get the oven to a certain temperature,” at this, he eyed the stove itself, waiting until the object had warmed up enough. He grabbed ahold of a pan, probably conjured by him earlier anyway, who knew anymore – and his eyes went around, glancing for some proportion of seasoning, or butter to slide along the rim, ensuring the bird’s didn’t stick.

As for the other inquiry, he shrugged his shoulders, and then opened the door, sliding the fowl within. “How long it takes depends on the weight of the animal. These should probably take an hour.”

for the space they take
and so, neither shall I