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 managed, but now, I see that it is even worse than I thought.

Next time we are driven from our little homes and what little lives we have, I would like more comfortable accommodations. Do note this, whomever manages these sort of things, hm?

Comments

[of-mindelan.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

[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.livejournal.com]

[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.livejournal.com]

[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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

[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.livejournal.com]

[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.