Logs:Ovine Island
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| RL Date: 1 August, 2013 |
| Who: N'ky, Norrick |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: N'ky takes Norrick to see where his - their? - ovine project will take shape. |
| Where: Ovine Island, Southern Continent |
| When: Day 26, Month 5, Turn 32 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: Southern heat. |
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| It's a glorious spring day down in Southern when Cailluneth bursts out of between, carrying both N'ky and Norrick, her straps laden down various supplies. She circles lazily down, down, down, to one of the many little islands that pepper the Southern coastline; when she finally lands, it's on a beach that looks barely big enough to hold her - and, indeed, her hindlegs and tail end up in the water, forequarters only on the sand. N'ky slips down from her back and helps Norrick too if he needs it, before starting to bring down the cargo his lifemate carries. The beach they're on is surrounded by a thick swathe of trees, though from the air it was clear to see that beyond them there is open land, grassy areas reaching up over a little central peak. "So," N'ky says with a grin as he tugs down the last of the wooden stakes, letting them fall with a clatter to the ground before he starts unbuckling Cai's straps. "What do you think of Ovine Island?" Norrick is getting better at getting up and down when riding a dragon. He hits the sand with a bit of a grin though, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Damn, I knew it'd be hot.." His head shakes then as he takes a look around, settling his hands a bit toward his spine to lean back. "Ovine Island? Come on now, you've got to think of something better than that. But it's great. There was plenty of land out that way, right?" He waves off toward the trees then, peering at N'ky curiously. N'ky's rummaging in a bag as Norrick speaks, and tosses him a pair of shorts when he's done. "Here," he grins, pulling out a pair for himself and shimmying out of his leathers to change into them. They're battered, clearly well-worked in, and he sits in the sand to jam his feet into his boots once more. "I like the name Ovine Island." He pulls a face, not sure what's so bad about it as he look sover to where Norrick's waving. "Yep. There's not much of it that's flat, but there's plenty of grazing ground. We're going to hike along the shore, then cut in up a little stream. There's a cave system at the end of it, and I figured we could set up pens there." Hence all of the wood. "Cailluneth will carry it for us, but she can't land there because it's too tight, so she'll sort of lower it in." Which would explain the excessive lengths of rope wrapped around all those planks. Norrick takes the shorts with a grateful nod, getting rid of his own pants in order to step into them. He lays the pants out on the sand carelessly then, shedding his jacket and outer tunic as well. Reaches is cold! "Doesn't need to be all flat, they'll be fine." He heads back over to N'ky then, nodding as the greenrider talks. "Mmhm..a cave would be a good shelter for 'em, easier to keep them contained and out of the weather when need be. No problem." After all, the stablehand came quite ready to work! A bag of supplies is then picked up and tossed at Norrick, while N'ky picks up his own load and settles it on his back. "I figured we'd set up pens for shearing, more than for containing them long-term; if they're penned in all the time, I'm going to have to come every day to feed them and stuff, and..." He shrugs that away as an impossibility. "But if we keep them penned in down here for just long enough, then they'll know it's secure and hopefully they'll come down here if there's a storm... Southern's storms can get bad." The greenrider cants his head to signal for his friend to follow as he heads off along the beach. For her part, Cailluneth settles herself comfortably, watching them leave. Norrick swings his pack up and onto his back, shouldering it. He nods though. "That's true enough. Better than having to come down here in a storm, too, trying to herd them all in." Indeed, hopefully the animals would be smart enough to seek shelter. He starts after N'ky then, keeping pace with the greenrider easily. "How many you got so far?" "So far?" N'ky plodges through the sand, leading the way just on the fringe of the greenery before turning up the stream when they come across it, as mentioned earlier. "None, so far. I've only just really found the island... just before Cailluneth went proddy." He pushes a leafy branch out of the way as they pass, allowing it to swish back when they're safely out of the way. "That had me grounded for nearly a sevenday, and then I was back on duty, then you came, and I've not been out here since." He shrugs. "Once we've got the pen in place though, I figured you could help me come up with a rig or something, so Cailluneth can carry a couple at a time without hurting them." Norrick shakes his head slightly, laughing. He gives N'ky a faint slap on the back then as they continue, nodding. "And here I thought it'd been going on for a bit longer than that. Well I'm glad I get to help out in building all of this." He ducks another branch, trudging easily through the brush as they move along. "Still, hopefully we'll have a little more time to come out here and get it all done." N'ky shakes his head. "Nah, it's not been going on that long. I've just been culling the wild herds on the mainland. That's where we'll take our herd from - we'll pick out the best of what's there, and then maybe even buy a couple next time there's a Beastcraft fair on - I'd like to breed a little more refinement into them, but I don't know how Northern stock will cope down here." "Mmhm. I'm sure the ones livin' 'round this region - and wildly - are better suited for it, in the long run." Norrick chuckles softly at that, but shakes his head. "Dunno about the differences in wool quality though. Might be somethin' to look into with the Beastcraft." "The wool's ok. It's passable, but it's not as good a quality as what you'd get from, say, Far Reach." N'ky shrugs, snagging a piece of fruit from a low-hanging branch as they pass. The trees are already thinning, and it's getting brighter as they walk towards the open area. "I figure though that if their fleece is too heavy, they'll be too hot here. Too fine, and then they'll maybe have to be indoors during a Southern winter. Whereas right now, they're able to live naturally, and they don't need my help." Another piece of fruit is plucked from a similar tree, this piece tossed at Norrick. "What would you reckon to bringing woolies here?" Norrick takes the fruit with a grin, biting into it eagerly. "True enough. So why bring in northern stock anyway? I'd check with the different holds raising them along the southern continent, see how well their stocks are doing. Otherwise, there's plenty to choose from and breed from the wilds." He chews as he heads out of the more wooded area, grinning at the sight of the rest of the island. "Oh, I reckon it'll be a right good idea.." N'ky spits out a mouthful of pips as they near the edge of the trees, beyond which the stream leads to a craggy-looking hill. "Woolies might be harder to round up without a runner. Cailluneth's good, but she's not that agile, you know? And if they get somewhere where she can't scare them out, then..." He shrugs. "Maybe could do with a couple of canines, too, to help with that... but then where would they stay the rest of the time? I don't think Cailluneth would tolerate them in our weyr." Norrick makes a face at that, nodding. "Canines would be ideal, but yeah..couldn't leave them here. I've sure got nowhere to keep them, either." Problems that would have to be figured out eventually. He claps N'ky on the shoulder though, giving a nod. "Let's see that cave, eh?" "Yeah, they can be worked out later." N'ky agrees with a nod, shifting the weight of his pack on his back and pointing up ahead. "It's just around that outcropping there - it's kinda perfect, really. There's a... well, you'll see, won't you?" What's the point in wasting breath describing it, when his friend can see it with his own two eyes in a matter of minutes? Laughing, he reaches over to thump playfully Norrick on the shoulder, before sprinting off ahead and calling back, "Race you!" |
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