Sanctuary by the River

It'd been a busy day and Viessa was so weary. It was a quiet evening as those who had stayed through the night had gone on their way. Sometimes she wished they would stay, especially because there were times when there weren't people around for weeks at a time. She was content with the work being done to her establishment; it'd come a long way since being just a hole in a hill.

It still had a lot of work to be done and she knew that it would take a lot of time and effort for it to flourish.

She used the golden rays of the waning sun to look down at the net full of stuff she'd found close to the mouth of the river where there was some new crates and such being washed ashore every week or so with each shipwreck that was relinquished by the mists.

Today's haul made her giddy. Some of it was much needed cookware, a nice potbellied cauldron that was small enough to boil water in faster, namely. There were other things, of course, but nothing so grand as the cauldron. She hummed as she sorted things and examined them...

The sound of a familiar and friendly voice came to her ears, his accent was somewhat like a song, she thought for a moment randomly and for no particular reason. His visits were always pleasant and a surprise to the young woman. She wasn't complaining since he wasn't hard to want to see. She thought of him more often each time he came to see her, she liked his company. It was welcome more than some others. She did not think about more than friendly things at the moment seeing as she was never the type to think about people in the sense that more could be there and perhaps neither saw it yet, or perhaps even some admiration of his face as he talked maybe once or twice. He was handsome and she had eyes, it is what it is. Being practically raised in a holy place meant that she was unfamiliar with flirtation, admiration beyond looking, and much more.

It made her more kind and trusting than she should have been, but it was the nature of her upbringing that caused tha trust she put into people who wandered about the island after being in the mist themselves.

"Good day to you!" she said cheerfully, then hefted the somewhat rusty cauldron and placed that near her firepit to be ready for her process. She'd also managed to find some rusty ladles, which she tossed into the cauldron, and then she ignored the rest that was laid out on a table that was now near that cooking fire. "What brings you here today?" she asked as she straightened her form.

For the first time since he had met her, she was clad in something more practical than robes. She was clad in doe skin breeches and a shoe that resembled moccasins, and a home spun shirt. The breeches were not skin tight, but they did flatter her figure, one that was toning up as she worked to carve a place for herself in this new world. The homespun blouse was cinched with a belt enough to give a glimpse of other curves, the sleeves were not there so he would be able to see how toned her arms were from the heavy lifting. She had her hair in a braid that hung over her shoulder to keep her neck cool.

"It has been busy. There are folks who have been returning for mending and such, so I've been getting plenty of help as of late." She was tired but happy. The place was starting to feel like home to her. "I have been working on dragging things from the beach that washed up on shore. Some things have even drifted this far down river, though it's not always something good. Some of the building materials were salvaged from the shipwrecks if the wood was usable. All in all, I am glad to say that people have been helpful in return for my help. Of course, I do not ask them but I am grateful for the help nevertheless. I am beginning to wonder if I should hire someone to assist me permanently now, and they, of course, will be given a home and food. Maybe even a few folks, like a trader." She lifted her hand to her chin for a moment and then nodded firmly.

"I don't see why not both," she went on cheerfully. "It seems like it would be much easier to run a place like this if there were folks like that. Would you put out the word for me on your next journey, please?" she asked then, her dark eyes sparkling.

'Thank you..." She smiled. She tucked a hair behind her ear and thought for a bit. She always liked it when he stopped by. He was a kind fellow and she was appreciative of his presence whenever he came around. "I think I want to cook something other than stew tonight for myself. I don't see why I couldn't make some for you as well. I am sure you wouldn't mind the stew, but I wouldn't mind sharing some roast venison with you. I've got more than enough to go around if you are willing to stay more than just a few hours. I've got some other things made too. I feel like celebrating. And I'll even share with those who might show up later, but they don't need to know I offered to you first." She chuckled.

She set about getting ready to do just that, gazing over her shoulder with a smile, clearly open to the company while she cooked. In fact, she said, "We could even do it together as we catch up if you'd like. That is to say, I wouldn't mind some company, my friend."

"I think for today, we can relax more. There's not a lack of tasks to do, never is around here, but you are not required to labor when you are here." She chuckled and paused, her gaze finding his face again, dark eyes dancing merrily. She still looked somewhat tired, though the color was high in her cheeks even still. Her mouth quirked into a pretty smile and she flashed her imperfect front teeth. She not only had a slight overbite, that which caused her upper lip to come out just slightly more than the bottom when she was neutral of expression... But she also had a slight overlapping of her two front teeth. She'd never smiled at him until then in that particular manner, as if comfortable with his companionship.

She moved to gather things for cooking supper. The meat was from earlier that day, kept cool while she worked. She decided to choose a haunch of pork from one of the wild boar like creatures that roamed the area. She grabbed precious salt and spices, herbs, vegetables. All of those things were put into a basket, though she wrapped the meat in waxed fabric. She grabbed a bunch of potatoes and then set about grabbing other things. She was only in the house for maybe five minutes before coming back out and spreading things out on her prep table. She went back in the house only long enough to grab the loaves of bread she had kept rising that needed baking anyway. The loaves were already in clay pots that had covers to keep the steam in, and those would be put into the coals as the roasted the meat.

She glanced over to him and said, "If you would like some ale or wine, feel free." She nodded over to the small barrels that had been tapped. There were clay jugs filled with honey mead, though there was only two of those.

She wasn't blind, when she did look up, she noticed his body language and wondered what she had said. She looked down and started to wash vegetables in the bowl of water she had grabbed, pressing her lips together quietly for a moment. "Like I said, there isn't a lack of anything to do around here. I could use some wood split most right now, but everything else is maybe just odd jobs." She looked up when he asked about the alcohol and then she murmured, "No, they were brought from some the debris that washed up weeks ago. I don't particularly care to imbibe, but it's there for someone to have in moderation. I do ask people to practice restraint and only do it when they aren't about to start working."

She started to chop the veggies, looking back down at her task.

She was distracted by the meal prep at first, but after she began to stir things, she was able to glance over for a moment and paused for a moment longer than she should have. Now, having been in the secular area of life once upon a time, it didn't occur to her until that moment what a fine figure a male form cut. In this case, she admired his movements and such and even sighed. But then she got back to work, no sense even thinking a certain way. Her eyes did return to him a few times more.... to check on him, she thought, and then made it appoint to hide her gazer for fear he would eventually be onto her and she wasn't supposed to admire a man anyway. Why, it went against her teachings. It was just that he was doing a fine job of it, that's all.