With Help - Farming and Swordsmanship

[Aura Thesin]

Continued from "With Help - Friends?"


Aura found the old man's company agreeable. Ken chatted amiably, filling most silences with a rambling discourse on life, people, and his observations of both. This suited Aura just fine, as she wasn't one to warm up to people quickly.

After nearly an hour of walking, they rounded a bend in the road to see the town of Shim spread before them. Aura took note of the manor on the hill overlooking the town, mentally noting Ken's warning. They continued down the road, and were soon standing outside a well maintained farm house.

She followed Ken as he gave her a quick tour of the place, nodding as he explained various details of the little farm. It was cozy, and Aura felt right at home. She fought off another stab of homesickness with a frown and a slight shake of her head, then followed Ken toward the dojo. She stepped in front of him to open the door, holding it open for him to enter. It smelled slightly of stale sweat, so she began to wander around and open the windows. The fresh air quickly drew the smell away, and Aura thought it would be a nice enough place to sleep. Sleeping anywhere that was not outside in the weather would be fine by her.

After a brief inspection of her new sleeping quarters, Aura asked Ken, "Is there anything you would like me to start on today, Ken? The walk here seems to have stretched out my legs some, so I might be able to begin working for my quarters today, if there's anything you need done."

She glanced around, then shrugged her right shoulder out of her pack strap and let it dangle by one strap. She brought the bag around in front of her and dug through it, pulling out a thin, worn blanket. Aura smiled sheepishly as she held it up before him.

"And I don't suppose you might have another blanket I could borrow as well, and maybe a pillow?"

[Coax]

Ken enjoyed the sight of his farm. It probably came with his advanced age, but these days, he really didn't like to travel away from his home. He didn't mind the occasional trip into town to sell his tea and buy supplies, but if it turned into an overnight trip, he preferred to let his granddaughter handle it.

When Aura asked if there was anything she could start on," he grinned. "Yes, you may have noticed the dojo smells a bit like a ... well, dojo. If you were willing, I would like to see it put to rights, cleaning it up and doing any minor repairs that you think aren't too difficult."

He frowned as he thought about her request for a pillow. "To be honest, the blanket is easy, but I never used a pillow when I was in the military. Mind you, I would have appreciated one I guess, but we always had this desire to appear tough. Now, I'm too hold to change and I just fold an extra blanket under my head. I'll find something though. I think Gerda has several goose down pillows tucked away. A fox killed several of the neighbors geese a few months back and Gerda bought the bodies. We ate well on them and she used the feathers and down in several projects as I recall."

As he strode off to get a blanket and whatever he could find for a pillow, he called over his shoulder. "Be sure and don't overdo it." The dojo did need a thorough cleaning, but it shouldn't overtax her. Ken was still of the opinion that this young lady he had invited to stay and train with him was something of a fragile flower.

[Aura Thesin]

Aura absently nodded to Ken as he took his leave, looking around the room. She studied the room, which took up nearly the entire building. The room was nearly ten paces wide, and double that in length. The longer sides each had two windows, while the shorter sides only had one. The door she and Ken had entered through was on the long side nearest the house, while there was another door Aura assumed led to a privy or storage closet on the far, shorter wall.

There were a couple of places where equipment had been set haphazardly in corners, the less used pieces gathering a bit of dust. The sun streaming in through the now open windows showed the dust motes as they drifted lazily on the light breeze coming in through those same windows.

With the windows open, the room brightened considerably, and Aura had noticed that the windows were a little dirty and needed some cleaning. She wasn't adverse to cleaning, and in fact somewhat enjoyed the opportunity to do something mundane. She had been pressed into cleaning service at the monastery she had attended back home, as the monks kept no servants and tidied up after themselves. Some of the more routine tasks, such as cleaning windows and floors on a monthly basis, was done by the students who learned from the monks.

Aura looked down at the floor. It could use a good cleaning, she decided. She saw scuff marks from boots and bits of dirt and dried mud that had been brought in on those boots. She looked around for cleaning supplies, but the only thing that looked relatively useful at the moment was a straw broom. Shrugging, she went over to it, gave it a quick inspection to discover it was usable, and began sweeping the dirt and dust from the floor. This was as good of a place to start as any, until Ken showed her where she could find other cleaning supplies.

This is what Ken would discover her doing when he arrived back with a blanket for her.