Seven purple files

[proudambassador]

I do not suppose there are any beds that are not hard as a rock down here? I have tried one in nearly every cabin, and they are all most uncomfortable. It would be better to sleep on the ground! When we were banished out of the tree last time, the accommodations, they were much better. I am not impressed. This place, it has always been poorly

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[of_mindelan]

[She hadn't actually spent twenty minutes cutting evergreen branches. More like eight; there had been a pine with long, relatively soft needles within sight of her writing, and it hadn't taken long to cut a selection of branches.

Moving them was a little more of an issue, but not much. Mindelan was big, powerfully built, and this was an easy Wilderness to carry things in. She struck on lashing them together and pulling them behind her.

Once she was closer to the main camp, with a lot more people around, she hefted the bundle and shook off any dirt and fallen needles, wrinkling her nose a little. She knew she should love the scent of pine, but for some reason the sap sometimes made her think of vertigo.

The bundle was bulky, but she didn't find it too heavy as she came up to the cabins. Now... someone with a blue tarp...

...Was that a fin?]

[proudambassador]

[At first he spent way too much time glaring at the tarp. It could be full of bugs, and he really didn't want bugs to crawl on him. It was undignified, like this entire place. Then he realized that he could at least manage this. After all, someone else was doing the dangerous part

[of_mindelan]

[It wasn't a fin, but... She gave a mental shrug and told herself not to stare. Other than that - he did have a bit of the look she thought would go with a clueless, wealthy cityman, though a bit older than she'd expected. Taller, too, though without taking the... hair into account he was still shorter than her.]

That's me. So you're Ambassador. [She hefted the boughs a little higher.] Where do you want this?

[proudambassador]

[At the question he stared at the branches before starting to talk slowly.] I do not think I have thought that far ahead. Where does one sleep when they are sleeping on these?

[But he wasn't about to sleep outside. He was already stuck in enough of an undignified position as it was. Ambassador gestured at a cabin that didn't seem to have people in it.] Here. In here. It is better than outside, no?

[Being thoughtful for once, he held the door open for her. She was a rather imposing person, all things considered, and there was something that rung a distant bell in his mind. Maybe once he'd known someone like this - it was his best guess. Mindelan meant nothing to him, and she didn't seem... familiar, really.]

[of_mindelan]

Typically in a tent, but that could just be me. [There's just a slight note of self-deprecation; otherwise her voice is as polite and neutral as before.]

Thank you. [Mindelan can't help but think that whoever had made the cabin assignments had done a terrible job. One of the people she'd been assigned with had been allergic to cats, and the thought of joining another cabin had seemed less appealing than roughing it.] I'll set this up along the wall, if that's fine.

[Wherever was good, she started laying down the branches, parallel to each other and interlocking, moving with a dogged certainty. Her body remembered this. There were enough branches for a few layers; the final product does look pile-ish, but ordered.] With the tarp, it makes a kind of mattress. It's not as soft as feathers, but it's more supportive than straw.

[proudambassador]

A tent. There are tents? [Not that it matters that much, since they're in a cabin now and not in a tent. He doesn't want to be in a tent anyway. They seem like floppy, rainy things.]

And I, I thank you. This, it does not make a great deal of sense to me. It is most confusing. Yes. Against the wall, it is very fine.

[When the pile was made he started to see the point of how it worked. It wasn't like he was sleeping on the kindling for a bonfire, it was actually stacked in a way that made sense. Nodding, Ambassador started spreading the tarp over top of it.] I would not have thought of this, and my back would have hurt every day we were here. So I must thank you. At the least, my back will not hurt so much, no? And you, you are sleeping on one of these?

[of_mindelan]

Out in the supply cabin. They're not all the kind I'm familiar with. [Dome tents, ones with mesh windows, etc, are a mystery to her.]

Right now I am. [She watches him do it.]

Now, you'll want to tuck it under a little too, because they'll start spreading out. [Making a sort of bed frame out of logs helped prevent that, but that was a bit more charity than she felt like extending. Most of the firewood wasn't big enough, and fallen timber was heavy and hard to find.] In a week or so the branches will dry out and it won't be as good, but maybe by then you'll be able to go back home.

[proudambassador]

And if you do not know them, my good Mindelan, then there is no hope for me knowing. [Life should be far more simple. Comfortable beds, plenty of booze, some gambling tables... he would be set. What did he know about being outdoors? Nothing. Bugs bit, beds were hard. It wasn't right.]

[He did what he could to tuck it in. Ambassador wasn't experienced with making a bed, though he'd been starting to work on the basics recently in the Sphere. It was much better that the bed be comfortable and not all bunched up, after all. ] A week or so. My good Mindelan, if we are not out of here in a week or so, I will be most upset. What is there even to do? Sit around outside?

[of_mindelan]

[She blinks. How do you even begin...?]

[Ambassador's a cityman, she reminds herself. She could gather her thoughts and put together a speech, and it wouldn't matter.]

It's an acquired taste, really.

[proudambassador]

[Seeing the blink, he wonders if he should explain himself more.]

Myself, I do not spend a good deal of time outdoors, from what I can tell, hm? We each have little things to which we are accustomed. What is it about it that is an acquired taste?

[of_mindelan]

[Mindelan shrugs one heavy shoulder.]

Lots of things. [She prefers listening to speaking, but it's not like she can't go on about something.] Not everyone who'd like it here is very physically active, but it helps. Curiosity, too. Some people find places like this great for thinking in.

If someone doesn't start looking for something to occupy themselves with out here, it doesn't come looking for them. [Better be honest.] I'd hope it wouldn't, anyway. One disaster at a time is enough.

[proudambassador]

Thinking, and running around like a lunatic. Those are the choices? [Ambassador shook his head with a snort.] Crazy. This world, it is filled with crazy people. What is there to think about? Will the bugs bite? Will our little houses be blown to bits?

[Really. What sort of people enjoyed a place like this? Rustic was not in. It should never have BEEN in.] The very last thing that any of us needs is something to come attacking us down here. No, no, there is no need for more trouble on top of what we have.

But you, you have made this trouble a little less troublesome, and for that, I thank you.

[of_mindelan]

[She raises an eyebrow, but otherwise her expression doesn't change.] As I said, it's an acquired taste.

I'm glad I could help.

[proudambassador]

[There wasn't much else to say. Acquiring a taste for something unpleasant made no sense to him, and the sooner he was out of here the better.]

As am I. Perhaps now I will be able to sleep.