Hearthstone had been bustling as of late with everyone that would normally spend their days out and about sticking to the sheltered interiors of the castle thanks to the endless rains that the Auster winter brought. She certainly didn't mind. After all, that gave her all the more opportunities to catch her wandering children and spend time with them. Now that their first litter was a staggering two years old and their second was getting into their first year she knew it was going to be increasingly difficult to pin them down for little lessons and moments together so she'd take whatever moments she could, no matter how brief.

Briar was in the castle's lounge, elbow deep in piles of furs that she had pulled from their storage and piles of wool that had been sheered from their alpacas when she spotted Nelu passing by in the hallway. "Nelu! Mind lending your mother a paw or two?" she called to him, smiling as she paused her pillow stuffing to get his attention. She knew that the crafting and cooking she usually spent the bulk of her day doing wasn't nearly as exciting as the fight training and the like that they usually did with their father so she didn't often try to rope them into her chores, but if it was too rainy to go out why not see if they would join her? She gestured a paw to the stack of empty pillow cases she had already sewn together with one side being left open to be able to put in the stuffing. "All of these materials have just been sitting in storage waiting to be used so what better way to pass some time on a rainy day?"

"Briar Carpathius"

Winter arrived in Auster bring sheets of rain that stretched on for days at a time. The earth was muddy and saturated making it a poor time to be out and about. Not that Nelu minded, it simply meant another day spent inside crafting which was an activity he particularly enjoyed. Of his many hobbies he was developing a growing passion for pottery. He had long since moved on from simple clay pots and was now focused on ceramics. He had done some earthen kiln firing through burying pottery and creating a tepee of flaming sticks over it. Now he wanted to construct an indoor kiln.

The process was slow, but showing promise. In the corner of his room there was a small, raised brick platform with bricks all along the walls. He didn't know it but it had housed a cast iron stove at one point. One by one they were stacking up bricks, many found loose around the castle and it was no easy task. Really only Nelu and Samiri had the ability to grab the brings and bring the up the castle steps to Nelu's room but every trip brought them closer to an indoor kiln.

Nelu set down the last brick and took a drink of water before sitting back and admiring his work. Ahh yes this was most excellent. The kiln would serve a dual purpose, creating ceramics and helping to heat his room as winter moved further and further into Auster.

Deciding it was time for a break he headed down the halls of the castle before his mother called to him. "Of course, mother." He entered the room and noticed the wealth of furs set about as well as the alpaca wool. Briar gestured to the empty pillow cases and he swiftly realized she needed help stuffing them. "Certainly, I was just taking a break from my kiln. Samiri can help with sewing them closed if you wish." His squirrel monkey peered up from between his shoulder blades where she'd been nestled deep in his fur.

Nelu settled down and held the pillow open with his teeth and one paw, while using the other to scoop alpaca wool into it and press it in. Samiri saw the process then bounded down to assist, allowing Nelu to speak as he worked. He nodded appreciatively to the little creature. "Has your day been quite busy, mother?"

Total WC: 691 / 1500

Her sweet boy agreed readily and she gave him a pleased smile as he came in to join her. In truth she could have completed the pillows on her own without much issue, but she was very glad that he didn't mind spending time with his mom even if it was to stuff pillows. She did now that Nelu was the most crafty of her children so perhaps it wasn't such a bad task to ask for him to join in on after all. It sounded like she had caught him at a good time as he explained that he was taking a break from the kiln he had been working on. At the mention of his companion's help, she glanced up to where Samiri was perched on his shoulders and gave the monkey a grateful smile. "That would be wonderful. Thank you, Samiri." Even though she had gotten quite adept at sewing in her own way, she knew how dexterous primate's little fingers could be. She had seen Gwynevere's Blue work his magic on more than one occasion. Samiri was sure to make quicker work of it than they would.

They both settled in with a pillow case each between their paws, the pile of alpaca wool between them, and she resumed her work tucking clumps of the wool into the pillows and pushing it into the corners so that it there was no voids within its filling. "Oh, no more busy than usual," she assured her son, glancing up at him with a little smile. "Actually, with all of the rain and the colder whether I've had more and more free time on my paws. Going out and foraging the grapes and berries for our wines takes a surprisingly large amount of time." It had actually been a nice change of pace to be able to work on some other projects now that the peak season for those crucial ingredients had passed. She loved making the Hallows' wine and was proud that it had become such a popular commodity for the pack, but she did enjoy crafting and spending her time on other passions from time to time.

"How's your kiln coming along?" she asked with interest, giving him her full attention. "I know you've been putting a lot of time into it! I can't wait to see it in action." Any time any of her children picked up on a more unique or niche interest she always tried to encourage it and give them whatever supplies or support they needed for it. Of course she wanted them all to be proficient fighters or hunters, but she would always have a soft spot for creative, intellectual activities.

WC: 1140 / 1500

"Briar Carpathius"

Nelu shifted the case to give Samiri easier access, sitting down as he did so. As he'd grown his height was becoming more and more apparent. He now towered over his companions and had to adjust when they did tasks together. He examined the stitching as he moved his paws. He couldn't help but look at something and wonder how it was made, immediately thinking up ways to make his own version of such objects. Especially with Samiri's help. Her deft little hands made delicate work possible and there were days he found himself jealous of her flexible fingers.

After Samiri finished filling the pillow the first go around, Nelu reached his paw inside and patted everything down, trying to get the filling evenly distributed. He then patted the outside of the pillow to test the tension. Hmm… not quite. He reached a paw back in and loosened the wool in area's where it was to firm, trying to get an even spread before motioning to Samiri to add more. Between the two of them they were making quick work, soon finding a rhythm.

Nelu listened as his mother spoke, explaining that she'd had more down time since the rain. She spoke of foraging grapes and berries and the amount of time that took. "If you like, next time you go I am happy to assist." Between the two. of them and their companions perhaps the task would not take quite as long. Also, perhaps if he got first hand experience with everything his mother had to consider and do, perhaps he could find away to make the process swifter.

His ears perked up at the mention of the kiln. "Quite well! I will soon be ready to test it and we can make adjustments from there. It will be so much more convenient to fire the clay in the castle and I believe doing it this way will allow for higher heat. Possibly more options when it comes to adorning the pottery." He wouldn't know for sure til he started his experiments but he did hope to make his mother something special once he was satisfied with his progress. Perhaps he could make her an assortment of ceramic berry bowls.


WC: 1511 / 1500

Briar smiled happily as Nelu offered his assistance with her foraging the next time that she ventured out to do so. "I'd love that! An extra set of paws is always welcome." She never minded the time that she ended up spending on the wines and other various products that they ended up producing with the fruits and berries she gathered since they had become such a large part of what The Hallows was known for in their trades and gifts, but it did take up quite a lot of her time and kept her busy most days. She liked keeping busy and having a task to occupy her, but even she knew she needed to find a better balance between her time spent on work and leisure.

Briar listened with interest as Nelu talked about the kiln he had been building and how close he was to testing it. "That's wonderful! I can't wait to see what you come up with," she replied as she finished up the pillow she was working on and passed it off to her son's companion to finish stitching up the open edge of it. "Maybe you can see if your aunt Gwyn could use some small pots for her herb mixtures. I know she goes through a lot of them and it would be some small things for you to start with." There was no shortage of uses for containers and pots of all sorts, but that was one of the first uses that came to her mind at least. "I'm interested to see what kind of adornments you're able to do too. I know a piece of poetry doesn't need to be pretty to get the job done, but I certainly do like when it is." Maybe she was a little vain in that way, but she didn't think there was anything wrong with wanting her space to look nice and taking pride in her surroundings.

"Briar Carpathius"