|
Rosalyn had been growing a new bow in the freehold lately. The strange plant she'd spun together of thorns and another plant streaked with metallic veins had matured in the past few days. The bow had been shaped into an elegant recurve and golden art nouveau loops and swirls had grown into the weapon itself.
Spicy enters the Freehold Hollow and walks about the area with her focus vaguely wandering between various spots. Her skin glisten lightly like fresh fallen snow with streaks of black ice that all lead to her dark ice eyes. She carries along the smell of food and finally arrives where Rosalyn is. "Whatcha working on Lady?" she asks curious.
The 'stem', or perhaps umbilical cord that had held the bow to the branch had withered and Rosalyn carefully clipped the silver stem with a pair of metal cutters. She hummed to the bow and it practically vibrated with purpose, though it still seemed a bit raw and unfinished. Ros settled back to sit cross legged and smiled to Spicy. "A new bow. It's almost done. She's been a bit fickle but we're coming to terms with one another now."
Spicy smiles and roll her shoulder "I wonder how well I'd do with a bow." The Ogress set the big bag aside and watches on with a sharp curiosity. "Any more work to be done?" she asks, the leather of her jacket crinkling.
"Just some refining now. Sanding and polishing, then buffing up the metal so it really shines. Could you hand me the bag over there please?" She pointed to a tote that held some supplies from Home Depot. "And a string, of course," she said with a little chuckle. "I could string it up now but a little love and care to finish the process will hopefully help her treat me kindly."
Spicy swiftly moves to grab the tote bag and hand it over to Rosalyn. "What kind of material is a bow string made out of." She smiles brightly and seems content to watch. "Need me to hold it while you scrub or something"?
"Very kind of you," she said gratefully, happy to take advantage of Spicy's offer to hold it steady while she sanded down a few sharp thorns and metallic burrs. "Strings can be made of many things. Traditionally it might be linen, silk, or gut. Modern bows use some sort of synthetic. This one... I've been thinking of using piano wire, or violin strings. So she can really sing."
"Oh that's an amazing little twist on the artistry!" Spicy comments, she's strong and steady and it makes it rather easy for Rosalyn to work on polishing the bow. "Does that kind of thing matter when you hedgespin the whole thing?" she asks, curious.
"Hmmm... Yes and no? You can shape the Hedge to you will with any sort of hook to hang your hat on. One who is strong might use physical might to bend and shape a branch into order while a singer might seduce the hedge into cooperating with their voice. It responds to thoughts and feelings more than anything. But to craft a Hedgespun tool or clothing that will remain is a little more involved. Having a story or theme to build on helps keep the project... Hmmm... Coherent?"
"Not particularly but that's on me, I'm missing a few of the pieces to understand Hedgespinning i think." Spicy comments, stepping closer to the Bow to examine something while there is a little break in whatever Ros does. "How does one ... get a story to spin into a knife? That just feels... er... not possible?"
Rosalyn let Spicy take the time to examine the work she'd done and relaxed a moment, grinning. "Everyone has a story to tell, an image that catches in your mind. A dream that happens over and over. Finding a story to spin is like standing before a blank canvas. You can paint whatever you like, but you need to know what it is before you can start if you want it to be any good. This bow... She is the beauty that I found in the Hedge while searching for a way home. What do you see when you close your eyes?"
Spicy shrugs and sigh slightly "Usually it's pretty dark and not just in a 'because I got my eyes closed' kind of way." She comments with a light smile. "A lot of voices and sounds comes to mind though." She offers, vaguely as she let Rosalyn continue her work, watching with keen attention.
"Weapons are not always things of beauty," she pointed out. "Craft your dagger from the voices you hear in your heart and mind. Find one that can cut you to the quick, and it'll cut your enemies even deeper." Ros shrugged and leaned back into the sanding. "That's my theory of it anyways. I'm sure there are other schools of thought. The Hedge and Hedgespinning are an awful lot like dreams though. If you navigation or crafting like a mundane task you'll likely wind up astray." She sat back again and held up the fully sanded bow. It was silky smooth- smoother than the physical effort she'd put into it would have suggested possible, and even the lines of the entire bow had softened from simple plantlike organic curves into a sinuous shape that was just a little better than it had been before.
"This looks amazing and I suppose I'll attempt something for practice soon enough. Get some confidence in." She ponders and considers for a brief moment. "I could see one of those working well for something a little sneakier than like..." points to the bag she dropped earlier. "The giant sword I keep." she smiles. "How hard is it to learn archery?"
"Give it a try! Ianthe the Summer teaches archery, but I can teach you too I suppose. I've never taught it before. I learned some as a young lady. Lawn archery for sport with bows that barely had any draw weight at all. We probably could have shot at someone and not even pierced the skin. But... You can pick up a lot when need forces your hand."
"Given what I lift I think I could probably pull a lot of weight." A little nod and a flex of her arm. "Yeah I imagine it can be the case." she smiles a little bit. "I wasn't exactly a warrior when I got dragged into the other place, honestly."
She laughed. "I wasn't either! I'm still not- or I don't consider myself to be a warrior. Not like our Summer sisters and brothers. But... The world now is not a kind place and wish to survive long enough to make my place in it. I do most of my shooting mounted, so I can escape in good order should the tides turn against me."
"Is your mount like a horse?" She asks, tilting her head to the side and smiles her way. "Or is it like a Hedge being?" she roll her shoulder "Because getting one of those to like me would be really cool, eventually, when I have something more solid to feed them off of."
Ros' expression softened to one of adoration, and she dug into her bag for a pot of wax finisher and a buffing cloth. "I do ride horses- I actually work for a stable in town. But Elio is a unicorn from the Hedge. He's, ah, more of a carnivorous type than the swooning over virgins type, however. I'm sure you'll meet him eventually so be wary of letting his teeth get too close."
"Oh I see, I think horses are omnivorous, aren't they?" She asks curious at the imagine of a biting Unicorn. "Not that any of that matters for a Hedge beast." Spicy remembers. "Can you take them into the real world or is that a bad idea?"
"Horses technically are, but it's actually pretty rare for them to chow down on an unsuspecting ducklet. They do just fine feeding as herbivores. Elio's favorite thing to eat is a type of hedge weasle creature that makes little holes in and alongside trods. The holes can break a traveller's ankle and the little bastards will swarm trying to get a meal while you're down... Not that they're much of a threat to those like us, but creatures like horses or deer and whatnot don't do very well with a broken leg." Rosalyn chattered on as she worked, polishing and polishing... "Not all mounts can go into the mortal world. They're all a little different. Elio can though. He's stronger than most."
"Do they all look like horse or can they look like weird things too?" She tilt her head. "Sorry about the many weird questions, I'm kind of trying to push my understanding of stuff like this and I try to learn wheneever I get an opportunity." she smiles as she explains herself.
"I don't mind! They're a favorite topic of mine, actually. Mounts can be literally anything you can get to agree to carry you. They're smart. Some are smarter than others but I wouldn't underestimate any of them. No simple beast from the Hedge is going to give you it's loyalty and stick around permanently. You can't simply treat them the way you would a real horse." Ros held up the bow to examine the finish. The threads of gold practically glowed in the light. "Elio is my friend and ally, but he's his own creature. If he decides not to come when I call one day, it will be his choice. Several of us in the freehold have mounts in various shapes though. Some can fly, some can run fast as the wind, others can carry more than a single rider..."
"Can all of them talk? I know some hedge beast can or hob goblins? I don't know for sure honestly." She scratch the back of her neck, maybe a little embarassed somehow. "Or do you need to like, have a special contract or deal with them to understand?"
Ros shook her head. "No special contract necessary. And... Some can talk, some can't. Elio doesn't, though he has plenty to 'say' without vocalizing in English."
"So a bit like a dog or a cat when they get into your path and try to get you to feed them?" Spicy seems amused by the idea. "And I suppose like, they eat Glamour right? Like the rest of the Hedge people?" She reaches inside of the big bag and pulls out a small purple fruit "Want one?"
"Thank you!" She set aside the bow and accepted the fruit. "And exactly! He's not exactly shy about his feelings. He's even got a crush on one of the Summer's mounts," she said with a laugh. "I'll take you out to the Hedge if you want to try to meet something to be your mount."
"That would be really nice, but I do need to consider the long term care first. Maybe add a stable to my hollow." she tap her finger on her chin. "That could be good or maybe not, I don't know for fure yet." she stretches out.
"It depends on the creature," Ros pointed out. "Not all will want to be enclosed in a stable, or to stay in your hollow at all times. Elio only comes when I call. Otherwise he roams the Hedge at will. Well, sometimes he invites me to go with him. Or will come here with me."
"Hmm, I'd have to make it something fun for the mount." She nods "Oh, by the way , need anything else done with the bow?" Spicy asks pointing to the bow still resting in Rosalyn's hands.
Ros shook her head and grinned like crazy. "Just a string now. I'll let the finish on it rest a day or two."
"Are you leaving it here or are you taking it somewhere else?" Spicy asks as she bite into a fruit herself, wincing a little bit at the taste.
"I'll take it home. Now that it's off the vine it's a wee bit more mobile. and not that I don't trust my fellow freeholders, but I'll not going to just tempt Fate or sticky fingers!"
"Well yeah!" She smiles "No reason to risk it, want an escort back to your home or something?" She shrug her shoulder. "I'm not a summer courtier, but I can protect someone." she points to the bow. "I mean, you do have precious cargo."
She chuckled. "Sure, come take a walk with me."
"Sure." Spicy gather her things and heave the heavy bag onto her shoulder, just like when she came in and takes a good deep breath before seemingly be ready to go. "Where?"
"Up near Fairmount park. Not a big place but it suffices." She smiled wryly. "Im used to a bit bigger but it just gives me an excuse to spend more time out and about."
"Alright, then let's be on our way." A nod as she begin to walk toward the exit of the Hollow.
---
Spicy keeps company to Rosalyn on her way back toward her home near the park, her hands are stuffed into her pocket and she's been happy to offer casual chitchat. "How long have you been around Philly?"
"Only a couple months," she admitted. The bow was wrapped up and tucked into a wheeled hard shell case for safe keeping. "I'm still 'fresh meat' I guess the term is."
"Depends on if you're vegetarian or not, I suppose?" Spicy comments with a joking smiles and bump shoulder as she walks alongside Rosalyn. "I'm not much older in terms of my return either."
"Well welcome back to Philly then. Unless you were from somewhere else first?" She asked curiously.
"Yep, Alaska. I think Fairbanks." She Said with a little shrug of her shoulders. "Could've been Anchorage too, I don't know for sure."
"My goodness! What on earth were you doing up in the frozen territory! Were your family miners?"
"no, they were..." frozen for a moment "I don't remember clearly"
Ros went silent and then patted Spicy's shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "It's not easy, is it."
"it's really disturbing." she tries to smile but it fades "I'm not sure why I forgot about that and not like, other stuff?"
"We've all been... scattered in the thorns," she agreed. "I'm sure there are things we don't even remember that we don't remember."
Spicy quickly nod. "yes. What kind of food do you prefer?" she ask, trying to change the topic
"I've a weakness for seafood. And fried foods. Stars above, I love fried food. Terrible for me but what can you do?"
"I Can cook some for you is what I can do" she giggles a little bit
She laughed. "Now that would be something. What kind of food do you like?"
"Hot, spicy food. I can't stand cold or frozen stuff" she shows her ice wrought teeth off
She smirked. "Is that where you took your name from then? We should try a spicy fish fry sometime."
"Kind of, someone gave me the nickname when I started working in a soup kitchen" spicy smiles
"After everything you've been through and you're volunteering at soup kitchens? I've barely been able to take care of myself."
" it helps me to connect with people," she chuckles "it's not like I got my stuff together yet either"
"While I've been focusing more on connecting with horses," Ros said with chagrin.
"I love animals too, I'd have gotten a dog or a cat if I could've" spicy smile
"You still could! I've been thinking about getting a bird. Falconry bird you know?"
Spicy nods "now that I have a bit of money, I think I could afford to" she smiles. "falconry? Now that's a thing I never thought about!"
"They do it in Mongolia. I've seen videos on the internet. Riding and hunting with their birds..."
"what kind of bird would you like? An owl?" she ask a little curious.
"Probably a hawk of some kind," Ros chuckled. "Or something from the hedge."
"hmm, that could be cute, a little flying rabbit" spicy chuckles
"Ha! That'd be amazing. Maybe if you go looking for a friend I'll go looking for a new one at the same time too." She smiled. "My place is just up here. Thank you for walking me home."
Spicy takes a bow. "no problem! Was fun to talk!"
"It was, wasn't it?" Ros seemed almost surprised at how much she'd enjoyed their conversation. "Let's do it again."
|