Post by Hikaru on Feb 6, 2019 15:20:15 GMT
“Slowly now,” Gastro instructed Hikaru.
He was a large and stocky Namekian, almost the tallest in the village. He was most definitely the bulkiest. He resembled something like a bear from earth. But he had round features giving him quite the baby-face. In spite of his physique, Gastro wasn’t a fighter. On the contrary, he was one of the most gentle Namekians Hikaru had ever met. No, Gastro’s physique came from working hard at construction. Something he was currently tutoring Hikaru on.
He gently made careful motions with his hands to guide Hikaru. She was floating high above pushing an expansive length of lumber. It was round resembling the trunk of an ajisa tree. The base was buried deeply in the earth holding the wood into place while Hikaru’s pushing slowly bent it into a curving arch.
“Move too quickly and it will snap. We must be patient and careful,” Gastro explained so that Hikaru would understand the theory behind the construction and not just process.
Hikaru bent the wood a little more, pausing when she heard it creak and letting it settle. She finally manage to bring the tip to reach the rods also bent in a similar position.
“Alright. It’s in place,” the human called down her soft voice just loud enough to make its way to Gastro.
“Wonderful,” he took a coil of rope and flew up towards Hikaru and floated beside her, “Now we tie it into place with its brethren. Here, let me show you the jalla knot. It’s a little complicated but its strong, which is important.”
Hikaru nodded in assent and then firmly held the wood in place while Gastro tied the knot. He moved slowly to show her each step, every loop of the rope. He then untied it and showed her again. Both were very patient beings and didn’t mind the repetition. He even offered to show her a third time, but Hikaru declined. She would attempt the knot on their next project.
Finally with the wood held firmly in place, Hikaru and Gastro floated back to the earth and looked over their work. Hikaru beheld several long poles of wood that were bent into an upside down bowl shape. This would be the frame for another home for the village. The iconic round white buildings of the Namekian people.
“I thought the Ajisa trees were sacred,” Hikaru said, “I’m surprised to see it used for lumber…”
“The Ajisa aren’t quite sacred,” Gastro responded carefully. He was picking his words trying to find the right way to explain, “Yes, its an important plant in our culture, but we grow it more for its beauty rather than for any sort of spiritual purpose. It would be a waste not to use it as a resource. Ajisa is a strong and pliable wood. It makes excellent timber.”
Hikaru hummed in understanding, appreciating the sensible nature of Namekians.
“Come,” Gastro said while clapping his mammoth hand on her shoulder, “Now I’ll show you how we mix the mulché!”
Hikaru cocked her head in a silent question.
Gastro chuckled and gestured for Hikaru to follow him, to which she obliged. He guided her down to a nearby river bank where a group of Namekians toiled in the different stages of creating white colored bricks. Hikaru glanced over her shoulder at the completed white circular buildings of the village in the distance.
“Ah,” Hikaru nodded when it clicked.
“Exactly,” Gastro grinned, then led Hikaru towards a small group of Namekians by the river bank. A few of them were small children giggling in the waters ‘helping’ the adults in digging up a light colored clay.
“Mulché is what we call the material we use to build our homes around the wood frames! We lay a foundation of bricks and build up and around the frame,” Gastro placed his hands on his hips while smiling down at Hikaru, “Afterwards we lay another layer of mulché and smooth that over the bricks to make it water and air tight!”
Hikaru’s eyes scanned across the Namekians as they moved in an orderly and practiced motion. They had the process down perfectly, everyone moving as a perfect team. It was impressive, but what made it even more impressive was the way everyone smiled and laughed together. Everyone was happy to work as a community. No one seemed to be forced into it. No one acted as if this was some sort of chore. Not for the first time, nor would it be the last time, Hikaru couldn’t help but sincerely admire the Namekian people.
“Come, I’ll explain each step in making mulché bricks and then we can assist in laying the brick work. It's the hardest work, and we can always use an extra pair of hands,” Gastro gestured Hikaru to follow him down to the bank. He snagged a bucket as he made his way down. He knelt and slipped off his shoes, rolled up his pant legs, and then waded into the cool water. Hikaru copied him, leaving her considerably smaller shoes besides his on the soft blue grass.
The water was cool and moved at a placid pace. Like most everything in Namek, it was peaceful. The current swirled around Hikaru’s calves, barely pulling her. The smooth clay beneath her feet squished up between her toes. It was quite a… strange sensation.
Gastro bent forward and scooped up a large handful of the pale clay, “Here, come look.”
Hikaru stepped forward and Gastro held out the clay, “We gather the clay in buckets, but we can’t simply just scoop it up and be on our way. Hold out your hands.”
Hikaru obliged and the large Namekian dropped the dripping mass into her hands with a hefty plop. It squelched in her fingers much like it had in her toes.
“What do you feel?”
Hikaru cocked her head at the simple question and sifted the mass in her hands and felt, “Stones… pebbles.”
“Correct,” Gastro nodded, “Small bits don’t matter too much, but the large ones can weaken the brick. So we have to pick those out. Here.”
He held the bucket out and then it was Hikaru’s turn to drop the clay with a hefty plop of her own. For the next forty-five minutes she and Gastro gathered buckets of clay and sifted out larger stones. Then they passed the buckets to grateful workers who emptied the buckets in to larger clay vases for later storage. He then took Hikaru towards the next step in the process. This time a different group of Namekians were sitting at a long table and seemed to be shredding-
“Ajisa leaves?” Hikaru asked.
Gastro nodded, “We use the wood for timber and we use the leaves in mixing mulché. Nothing goes to waste.”
They both sat on a bench, the other Namekians shifted to make room at the table. Gastro took a knife and showed Hikaru the proper technique in shredding the leaves.
“We have to shred it thinly for the same reason we pick out the pebbles from the clay,” Gastro said, “Large chunks will weaken the bricks.”
The cutting of the Ajisa leaves was a fair more tedious process than sifting through the clay, but Hikaru found the process soothing. She had filled a large bowl with shredded leaves before she even realized it. Gastro then scooped up the bowl and showed her towards an area where the shredded leaves were being laid out in the sun.
“We can’t use fresh leaves, it’s too… sproingy” Gastro said.
Hikaru cocked an eyebrow at him and he laughed. He traded the large bowl of fresh cut leaves for a bowl of the dried leaves and showed it to Hikaru.
“The dried leaves keep their shape a little better,” he explained.
Hikaru examined the bowl. The dried leaves reminded her a bit of hay or straw. Gastro led Hikaru over to where another group of Namekians where working at a long trough. They were mixing the dried Ajisa leaves into the clay from the riverbed. Gastro gave the bowl to a Namekian at the head of the trough where he was spreading the shredded leaves he already had.
“The shredded leaves make the bricks stronger. We don’t have a specific ratio in clay to leaves. Most of the village have been making these bricks for so long we can just sort of… feel when it’s right. It has now become mulché!” Gastro said with a nod of his head.
Once again they moved on to the next step of the process. It seemed there were so many steps but they were also very simple.
Next the mulché was placed into wooden forms. These shaped the mud mixture into the bricks that would be used to build the homes. Gastro showed how to evenly level at the bricks. It was important that they all be uniform in size so they could fit flush together. Fitting tightly together would help keep the structure strong.
“And now comes the longest part of the process. Lets go over there. To the top of that hill,” Gastro pointed off to the distance.
It was a quick walk to the top of hill where the sun shone down brightly on rows and rows of mulché bricks. There were easily hundreds.
“We have other hills with similar collections. We need to work in batches because the bricks need to dry for several weeks,” he knelt and lifted up one of the hefty stone blocks and gave it to Hikaru. It was surprisingly dense, “The bricks are done drying and these are the ones we’ll be using for our building. See how the sun has shrunk them down to tighter and heavier squares?”
Hikaru nodded moving the brick from one hand to the other appreciating its weight before giving it back.
“Alright, time to load up!”
The rest of the day was spent loading carts with mulché bricks, piling them high in the back, and then pulling the carts by hand to the frame she and Gastro had completed together earlier in the day. They worked until the third meal bell rang from the village. There was no night in Namek, so the people measured their time into rest periods. They were called meals, but it was mostly an adopted term since Namekians didn’t eat. It was more a period for families to meet together and trade shifts of activity. Never having a night means that the Namekian people could work around the clock, taking different shifts to rest and sleep.
It had taken Hikaru a bit to adapt, but it was nothing a few blackout curtains over the window in her borrowed room couldn’t cure. Sometimes a few of the villagers needed to remind Hikaru to take her rest period. She had a tendency to over work herself. Sometimes unknowingly, sometimes on purpose.
But today, Hikaru was under Gastro’s watchful eye and he made sure to drag her away from the work when the third meal bell rang. He may not need to eat, but she certainly did, as he was quick to remind her.
He invited her to spend her rest period with him and his partner Paddo. While Gastro had taken to construction, Paddo had taken to gardening. So he always had fresh produce for Hikaru. He was glad to see someone enjoy them.
With Hikaru in tow, Gastro lead her down to the village, and then to his home.
Word Count: 1937
He was a large and stocky Namekian, almost the tallest in the village. He was most definitely the bulkiest. He resembled something like a bear from earth. But he had round features giving him quite the baby-face. In spite of his physique, Gastro wasn’t a fighter. On the contrary, he was one of the most gentle Namekians Hikaru had ever met. No, Gastro’s physique came from working hard at construction. Something he was currently tutoring Hikaru on.
He gently made careful motions with his hands to guide Hikaru. She was floating high above pushing an expansive length of lumber. It was round resembling the trunk of an ajisa tree. The base was buried deeply in the earth holding the wood into place while Hikaru’s pushing slowly bent it into a curving arch.
“Move too quickly and it will snap. We must be patient and careful,” Gastro explained so that Hikaru would understand the theory behind the construction and not just process.
Hikaru bent the wood a little more, pausing when she heard it creak and letting it settle. She finally manage to bring the tip to reach the rods also bent in a similar position.
“Alright. It’s in place,” the human called down her soft voice just loud enough to make its way to Gastro.
“Wonderful,” he took a coil of rope and flew up towards Hikaru and floated beside her, “Now we tie it into place with its brethren. Here, let me show you the jalla knot. It’s a little complicated but its strong, which is important.”
Hikaru nodded in assent and then firmly held the wood in place while Gastro tied the knot. He moved slowly to show her each step, every loop of the rope. He then untied it and showed her again. Both were very patient beings and didn’t mind the repetition. He even offered to show her a third time, but Hikaru declined. She would attempt the knot on their next project.
Finally with the wood held firmly in place, Hikaru and Gastro floated back to the earth and looked over their work. Hikaru beheld several long poles of wood that were bent into an upside down bowl shape. This would be the frame for another home for the village. The iconic round white buildings of the Namekian people.
“I thought the Ajisa trees were sacred,” Hikaru said, “I’m surprised to see it used for lumber…”
“The Ajisa aren’t quite sacred,” Gastro responded carefully. He was picking his words trying to find the right way to explain, “Yes, its an important plant in our culture, but we grow it more for its beauty rather than for any sort of spiritual purpose. It would be a waste not to use it as a resource. Ajisa is a strong and pliable wood. It makes excellent timber.”
Hikaru hummed in understanding, appreciating the sensible nature of Namekians.
“Come,” Gastro said while clapping his mammoth hand on her shoulder, “Now I’ll show you how we mix the mulché!”
Hikaru cocked her head in a silent question.
Gastro chuckled and gestured for Hikaru to follow him, to which she obliged. He guided her down to a nearby river bank where a group of Namekians toiled in the different stages of creating white colored bricks. Hikaru glanced over her shoulder at the completed white circular buildings of the village in the distance.
“Ah,” Hikaru nodded when it clicked.
“Exactly,” Gastro grinned, then led Hikaru towards a small group of Namekians by the river bank. A few of them were small children giggling in the waters ‘helping’ the adults in digging up a light colored clay.
“Mulché is what we call the material we use to build our homes around the wood frames! We lay a foundation of bricks and build up and around the frame,” Gastro placed his hands on his hips while smiling down at Hikaru, “Afterwards we lay another layer of mulché and smooth that over the bricks to make it water and air tight!”
Hikaru’s eyes scanned across the Namekians as they moved in an orderly and practiced motion. They had the process down perfectly, everyone moving as a perfect team. It was impressive, but what made it even more impressive was the way everyone smiled and laughed together. Everyone was happy to work as a community. No one seemed to be forced into it. No one acted as if this was some sort of chore. Not for the first time, nor would it be the last time, Hikaru couldn’t help but sincerely admire the Namekian people.
“Come, I’ll explain each step in making mulché bricks and then we can assist in laying the brick work. It's the hardest work, and we can always use an extra pair of hands,” Gastro gestured Hikaru to follow him down to the bank. He snagged a bucket as he made his way down. He knelt and slipped off his shoes, rolled up his pant legs, and then waded into the cool water. Hikaru copied him, leaving her considerably smaller shoes besides his on the soft blue grass.
The water was cool and moved at a placid pace. Like most everything in Namek, it was peaceful. The current swirled around Hikaru’s calves, barely pulling her. The smooth clay beneath her feet squished up between her toes. It was quite a… strange sensation.
Gastro bent forward and scooped up a large handful of the pale clay, “Here, come look.”
Hikaru stepped forward and Gastro held out the clay, “We gather the clay in buckets, but we can’t simply just scoop it up and be on our way. Hold out your hands.”
Hikaru obliged and the large Namekian dropped the dripping mass into her hands with a hefty plop. It squelched in her fingers much like it had in her toes.
“What do you feel?”
Hikaru cocked her head at the simple question and sifted the mass in her hands and felt, “Stones… pebbles.”
“Correct,” Gastro nodded, “Small bits don’t matter too much, but the large ones can weaken the brick. So we have to pick those out. Here.”
He held the bucket out and then it was Hikaru’s turn to drop the clay with a hefty plop of her own. For the next forty-five minutes she and Gastro gathered buckets of clay and sifted out larger stones. Then they passed the buckets to grateful workers who emptied the buckets in to larger clay vases for later storage. He then took Hikaru towards the next step in the process. This time a different group of Namekians were sitting at a long table and seemed to be shredding-
“Ajisa leaves?” Hikaru asked.
Gastro nodded, “We use the wood for timber and we use the leaves in mixing mulché. Nothing goes to waste.”
They both sat on a bench, the other Namekians shifted to make room at the table. Gastro took a knife and showed Hikaru the proper technique in shredding the leaves.
“We have to shred it thinly for the same reason we pick out the pebbles from the clay,” Gastro said, “Large chunks will weaken the bricks.”
The cutting of the Ajisa leaves was a fair more tedious process than sifting through the clay, but Hikaru found the process soothing. She had filled a large bowl with shredded leaves before she even realized it. Gastro then scooped up the bowl and showed her towards an area where the shredded leaves were being laid out in the sun.
“We can’t use fresh leaves, it’s too… sproingy” Gastro said.
Hikaru cocked an eyebrow at him and he laughed. He traded the large bowl of fresh cut leaves for a bowl of the dried leaves and showed it to Hikaru.
“The dried leaves keep their shape a little better,” he explained.
Hikaru examined the bowl. The dried leaves reminded her a bit of hay or straw. Gastro led Hikaru over to where another group of Namekians where working at a long trough. They were mixing the dried Ajisa leaves into the clay from the riverbed. Gastro gave the bowl to a Namekian at the head of the trough where he was spreading the shredded leaves he already had.
“The shredded leaves make the bricks stronger. We don’t have a specific ratio in clay to leaves. Most of the village have been making these bricks for so long we can just sort of… feel when it’s right. It has now become mulché!” Gastro said with a nod of his head.
Once again they moved on to the next step of the process. It seemed there were so many steps but they were also very simple.
Next the mulché was placed into wooden forms. These shaped the mud mixture into the bricks that would be used to build the homes. Gastro showed how to evenly level at the bricks. It was important that they all be uniform in size so they could fit flush together. Fitting tightly together would help keep the structure strong.
“And now comes the longest part of the process. Lets go over there. To the top of that hill,” Gastro pointed off to the distance.
It was a quick walk to the top of hill where the sun shone down brightly on rows and rows of mulché bricks. There were easily hundreds.
“We have other hills with similar collections. We need to work in batches because the bricks need to dry for several weeks,” he knelt and lifted up one of the hefty stone blocks and gave it to Hikaru. It was surprisingly dense, “The bricks are done drying and these are the ones we’ll be using for our building. See how the sun has shrunk them down to tighter and heavier squares?”
Hikaru nodded moving the brick from one hand to the other appreciating its weight before giving it back.
“Alright, time to load up!”
The rest of the day was spent loading carts with mulché bricks, piling them high in the back, and then pulling the carts by hand to the frame she and Gastro had completed together earlier in the day. They worked until the third meal bell rang from the village. There was no night in Namek, so the people measured their time into rest periods. They were called meals, but it was mostly an adopted term since Namekians didn’t eat. It was more a period for families to meet together and trade shifts of activity. Never having a night means that the Namekian people could work around the clock, taking different shifts to rest and sleep.
It had taken Hikaru a bit to adapt, but it was nothing a few blackout curtains over the window in her borrowed room couldn’t cure. Sometimes a few of the villagers needed to remind Hikaru to take her rest period. She had a tendency to over work herself. Sometimes unknowingly, sometimes on purpose.
But today, Hikaru was under Gastro’s watchful eye and he made sure to drag her away from the work when the third meal bell rang. He may not need to eat, but she certainly did, as he was quick to remind her.
He invited her to spend her rest period with him and his partner Paddo. While Gastro had taken to construction, Paddo had taken to gardening. So he always had fresh produce for Hikaru. He was glad to see someone enjoy them.
With Hikaru in tow, Gastro lead her down to the village, and then to his home.
Word Count: 1937
