[Solo] Making a decorative barrow (Mencari & Riven)

[one over three]

Mencari’s mind raced with possibilities as he made his way over to the nursery where he grew most of his saplings. Caring for the saplings was not one of his day to day concerns. He planted them, checked in on them occasionally, then cut them down when they were large enough to use for his latest structure. His primary concern was the creation of elaborate barrows for the entertainment and enjoyment of those who came to see them. Once and a while he would receive a request to create a structure that would be moved to one of the mare’s permanent homes, but most often his creations were smaller, temporary affairs that existed to delight and engage the viewer rather than to weather the passage of time. These smaller constructions were often highly experimental and built using somewhat questionable techniques, but they were always beautiful.

Once he’d reached the nursery he started walking up and down the rows of young trees, looking for the ones that were long enough, and springy enough, to suit his needs. He planned to have them sliced fairly thin and soaked in water for a time. The pines were a favourite of his due to their sticky sap and their particularly strong scent. They were hardly a good option for early summer though. There would be a few hundred flowers going into this arrangement and he would need a wood who’s scent wouldn’t compete with them.

He did have a few older, pre-shaped pieces of wood stored back home. There was nothing wrong with them, and their scent was more or less neutral by now, they just would be more difficult to cut and shape. There were a few strangle vines growing at the edge of his nursery and they were tempting. Some of them gave off an incredibly sweet smell that would be wonderful paired with that of the flowers. They were still young through, and he preferred to pull them down in the fall when they’d grown to their full height. Perhaps if the vines had started spreading to nearby trees he would be able to harvest the new growths and get his needed material without cutting into his future harvests. It would, after all, kill the trees it was growing on if left unchecked, and he really only needed one or two of the things for his winter crafts.

Moving away from the larger trees he started nudging his way through branches, looking for pups that had grown away from the primary vine. And… There! He smiled to himself as he pranced over to the little apple tree that was already beginning to bend under the weight of the killer vine. How perfect, he thought as he began slicing it apart.  

[one over three]

-----------Mencari-----------
He carefully coiled the vine, trimming off the smaller growths as he went. Each completed loop he would twist and add to the small pile off to the side. Once he had taken down all of the vine he turned to the tree and began processing it as well. The slightly sweet scent of apple would also blend well with the other items he planned on using. There was a small sled he kept near the nursery when it wasn’t in use so he went to get that. Once everything was tightly secured he turned to head back to his staging ground.

A few of the other stallions watched him as he passed, likely curious about what he was building this time. He didn’t pause, everyone knew by now that he didn’t speak so anyone who really wanted to know what he was up to usually just followed him back to the staging area. Despite this whenever he passed one of the particularly cute stallions he would wink and give him a little tail wiggle as he went by. It had been a long time since he worried all too much about if they were interested in stallions. If someone ever seemed uncomfortable he would make a mental note not to do it again but the vast majority of the other males would flirt back, even if some of them were just being silly. That didn’t offend him in the slightest though.  

[one over three]

-----------Riven-----------
Riven raised his head as the mute stallion passed by dragging a sled piled high with… sticks? Vines? He flicked his ear then turned to see the guy wink and do a little tail wiggle. Riven couldn’t help but laugh at the advance. Nothing new there. He stood up, then stretched and shook out his wings before starting off in the direction the mute stallion had gone in.

Riven never really had all that much to do and since he was more dexterous than some of the other stallions he would occasionally offer a claw to help Mencari with whatever strange sculpture he was working on that day. That or drag the sled back to the nursery for him. He was never all sure if Mencari knew he would occasionally return the sled to it’s regular spot. Sometimes the mute stallion just got so wrapped up in his sculptures that he would forget to do it himself.

He hummed a tune to himself as he approached the staging area. This was a circle that had been meticulously cleared of everything right down to the dirt. Sometimes things would be planted here, other times it would have rocks arranged as a floor, but whatever was going on it was always temporary. Once the structures had served their purpose they would be dismantled and the area would be made ready for whatever the next thing was going to be. Riven paused at the edge of the staging area, “Can I help with anything?”  

[one over three]

-----------Mencari-----------

Mencari twitched a little at his voice, as if entirely surprised that any of the others would intrude on his inner world. When he looked up and recognized the younger stallion, though, he smiled and nodded. He planned for there to be a few separate arches in this design and getting the sticks to bend just the right way while he bound them in place was always a fiddly little bit of work. He’d want to do the actual decorating of the structure himself but when it came to just building the core structure he always appreciated a bit of help. Fortunately, this young man in particular had offered a claw often enough that he had a very good idea of what needed to be done in most situations.

The older stallion paused to draw out a rough shape of the structure he wanted in the dirt that formed the base of his staging area. A few notes to the side indicated measurements and attachment points that would help clarify things for his helper. Once that was done he stood back to let the boy read it, fully expecting for there to be a few questions asked before they started working. He watched while Riven read, then tilted his head to one side in amusement when the boy straightened up and nodded. Was that it? Had he understood the directions in their entirety with no further explanation? He bristled with pride as the other stallion started going over the assembled materials.  

[one over three]

-----------Riven-----------

Riven went over the notes scrawled in the dirt, then compared them to the items the older stallion had assembled. It didn’t seem too complicated. Mencari likely just wanted him to hold things in place or tie a few tight knots to get the structure to hold together. Once he was fairly certain he knew what was going on he glanced over at the green maned male and nodded, “Ok, I think I understand so go ahead and lead the way.”

He waited for Mencari to dig the first holes and plant the first sticks. He gestured to the base, and Riven stepped in to tie a long cord around the bottom to keep them from pushing out the dirt. Then Mencari bent the tops together and he tied them in place as well. They repeated this a few more times to form a tunnel structure, then returned to the front to start building out the more elaborate structure on the building’s face. This was meant to include a wide, flat base, with a series additional arches at the top to form a half flower decoration. They set up the two flat surfaces on either side of the entry way before making a smaller arch on the ground and building the flower petals out around it. When this was finished they got the help of a few other of the gathered stallions to lift it up to the top of the arch while Mencari and Riven tied it in place.  

[one over three]

-----------Mencari-----------
Once the top was mounted Mencari stood back to look over his work. Thanks to the help of Riven and the others it had all come together far faster than he’d originally imagined it would. He smiled and nodded his thanks to the stallion’s who’d stuck around this long.

The building was a little off, but that was alright. He planned to decorate it fairly heavily and once that was done the small amount of oddness that was there would be entirely hidden. He wiggled his little tail in delight as he walked around the structure, checking all the bases to make sure they’d hold up to any rain or winds that came their way before he was ready to tear it down. Structures had only come down on him a couple of times in all the years he’d been making them, but it was something he planned to avoid at all costs in the future. It wouldn’t be so bad at this stage. A few more trees to fell, strip and tie in place. That would be all. Once he had the decor in place though having the whole thing fall would be disastrous. He’d considered building a wall to block winds a few times, but the concern of proper lighting always kept him from following through on it. Perhaps a removable solution should be his next project.

He huffed to himself as he began sketching in the dirt again, drawing out large areas where he planned to focus on different colours and textures.  

[one over three]

-----------Riven-----------
Riven watched the older stallion as he quickly got distracted with the next stage of planning. Fairly certain that the sledge would be forgotten about he grabbed the ropes and started pulling it back toward the nursery. He planned to stop by again in a few days. The staging area was usually just a total mess until the full presentation was finished and he had far less interest in the decor phase of the whole project. There really wasn’t much point in hanging around.

He dropped off the sledge at the nursery then started making his way down to the stream. There didn’t seem to be many guards around which gave him an odd feeling of being vulnerable, but also wanting to make a break for it. He’d been born and raised in the flock and had no doubt that the mares had his best interests in mind, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but be intensely curious about the world. Was it really as dangerous as he’d been lead to believe? Part of him doubted it. At the same time though it was pretty comfortable here, and he wasn’t really sure what he’d do all on his own.

He shook his head and turned to head back toward the centre of the stallion’s area. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot to do at the moment but he’d have to look around and see what he could find. The crafts area was always interesting and sometimes he’d be able to find someone willing to teach him.  

[one over three]

-----------Semira-----------
Semira was feeling a bit bored herself that afternoon. She was off guard duty for a break and she’d never really been all that good at entertaining herself. While normally she wasn’t all that interested in stallions she had heard that there was a stallion who looked a bit like her who had been captured a while back. She figured she’d head over and take a look with her worst-case scenario being that maybe she’d find some singer or dancer to entertain her for a few hours before she made her way back home. She’d originally planned to ask her aunt to come down with her but the older mare had seemed more interested in more handsome whistle stallions than anyone who was keener on entertainment, so Semira had ultimately decided to come down on her own. Auntie Jilaiya could come down and get an eye full on her own whenever she wanted, after all.

She kept to the main path for the most part. Her guard duties usually had her parole the boarders so this interior section was something she rarely saw. It seemed nice enough. The stallions who hung around here seemed to be the flashy sort. Most of them were probably whistle stallions looking for attention. A few were cute enough in their own way and for a moment she understood why her aunt was so keen on them. Down the path away she spotted a small group that had gathered to watch a trio of stallions sing. She shrugged to herself, then wandered over settle in at the back of the crowd.