(no subject)
Flavor of the Day - 11/09/09 - Fungible with Hot Fudge
Story : knights
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1263 - around the same time as On the Loose
Word Count : 515
Word of the Day : Fungible : something that is exchangeable or substitutable; interchangeable
“Well?” said Reida. She stepped back to study her work, frowned, and leaned in to swipe a thumb across a rough bit of clay under its eye.
Poised behind her, staring at the likeness of Kairn that had come to join them, Sethan couldn’t help but shake his head. “Uncanny,” he said. Reida flashed him a grin. “But we could do with a bit less detail. It just has to be good enough to fool anyone that’s seen the posters.”
“Have you seen those posters?” said Reida, her expression growing dark. She turned her glare on the sculpture and gave one of its eyelids a pinch. “You’d swear they got him to pose for it.”
“And no one is going to see these up close,” Sethan said. “Anyone that does is going to get a nice little surprise and swear Kairn left it for them anyway.” Scowl deepening, she gave the clay plastered skull a turn and its other cheek a rub with her thumb. “We wouldn’t want them thinking it’s too good a ruse, now would we?”
Her lips twitched a bit at that, though the frown was quick to return. “We want it to pass well enough though,” she said.
“Well enough,“ Sethan repeated. “This took you a good six hours.” A broad sweep of his hand covered the rest of the empty skeletons set about the barn turned workshop. “We’re a bit short on time, you know.”
Reida snorted. “Time’s not a worry,” she said. “What do you think the bandages are for?”
“I was wondering that, actually.”
“Here.” She wiped the slip from her hands onto her apron and reached for the parcel in the straw. “Watch.”
Sethan stood quietly as Reida turned a pile of limp stips of cloth out onto the floor, turning now and then to look and shake his head at the skeleton with Kairn’s face. Its sculpted eyes met his with typical Kairn bewilderment.
“Now.” Squating in the hay, Reida dredged a bit of bandage in the water, pulled it up and gently wrung it out. She rose slowly, turning to face the skeleton. “Damn.” She stopped, the dripping bandage hanging draped across her hands. “I need to fire it first. You’ve gone and gotten me all twisted around. Anyway,” she frowned at the wet cloth, crumpled it and tossed it to the side, “you wrap the bandages over the clay, wait for the plaster to harden. Take it off and you’ve got yourself a nice little mold. Fill them up and by morning we’ll have a small army of Kairns. You’ll have to help me paint them though.”
“Not a bad plan,” said Sethan.
Reida sniffed. “Of course.”
“There’s a reason I keep you around.” Reida snorted and shook her head, but she was grinning. “And then we just have to scatter them around town and hope they get notice.”
“That will be the hard part.”
Sweeping back the straw with his boots to make room for the firing sigils, Sethan shook his head again. “Mass producing Kairns,” he said. “What have we come to?”
Story : knights
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1263 - around the same time as On the Loose
Word Count : 515
Word of the Day : Fungible : something that is exchangeable or substitutable; interchangeable
“Well?” said Reida. She stepped back to study her work, frowned, and leaned in to swipe a thumb across a rough bit of clay under its eye.
Poised behind her, staring at the likeness of Kairn that had come to join them, Sethan couldn’t help but shake his head. “Uncanny,” he said. Reida flashed him a grin. “But we could do with a bit less detail. It just has to be good enough to fool anyone that’s seen the posters.”
“Have you seen those posters?” said Reida, her expression growing dark. She turned her glare on the sculpture and gave one of its eyelids a pinch. “You’d swear they got him to pose for it.”
“And no one is going to see these up close,” Sethan said. “Anyone that does is going to get a nice little surprise and swear Kairn left it for them anyway.” Scowl deepening, she gave the clay plastered skull a turn and its other cheek a rub with her thumb. “We wouldn’t want them thinking it’s too good a ruse, now would we?”
Her lips twitched a bit at that, though the frown was quick to return. “We want it to pass well enough though,” she said.
“Well enough,“ Sethan repeated. “This took you a good six hours.” A broad sweep of his hand covered the rest of the empty skeletons set about the barn turned workshop. “We’re a bit short on time, you know.”
Reida snorted. “Time’s not a worry,” she said. “What do you think the bandages are for?”
“I was wondering that, actually.”
“Here.” She wiped the slip from her hands onto her apron and reached for the parcel in the straw. “Watch.”
Sethan stood quietly as Reida turned a pile of limp stips of cloth out onto the floor, turning now and then to look and shake his head at the skeleton with Kairn’s face. Its sculpted eyes met his with typical Kairn bewilderment.
“Now.” Squating in the hay, Reida dredged a bit of bandage in the water, pulled it up and gently wrung it out. She rose slowly, turning to face the skeleton. “Damn.” She stopped, the dripping bandage hanging draped across her hands. “I need to fire it first. You’ve gone and gotten me all twisted around. Anyway,” she frowned at the wet cloth, crumpled it and tossed it to the side, “you wrap the bandages over the clay, wait for the plaster to harden. Take it off and you’ve got yourself a nice little mold. Fill them up and by morning we’ll have a small army of Kairns. You’ll have to help me paint them though.”
“Not a bad plan,” said Sethan.
Reida sniffed. “Of course.”
“There’s a reason I keep you around.” Reida snorted and shook her head, but she was grinning. “And then we just have to scatter them around town and hope they get notice.”
“That will be the hard part.”
Sweeping back the straw with his boots to make room for the firing sigils, Sethan shook his head again. “Mass producing Kairns,” he said. “What have we come to?”