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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Tigra21 on 2024-10-28 20:01:56+00:00.

IMPORTANT

We are having a competition. And you can all take part if you so desire. We are doing a writing prompt once more for HoH.

The prizes are three custom rock carvings done by LegalGraveRobber. first place get's first dibs. second place second dibs. and so forth you get the idea. We will ship them anywhere in the world to whoever wins on our bill. if you wanna go have a look at them, hit up the discord.

Submissions have to be sent to me before the 15th of November, after which I shall post all the entries on the HoH subreddit. After which there shall be 2 weeks to vote, which shall happen on the discord as normal.

And your prompt shall be. "A story from Apuma's shelf"

Best of luck to those who wish to take part and I hope you enjoy the story.

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Following the departure of Baron, Grevi, and Tiguan, things had stayed busy at the keep. Sapphire had been no exception, working on salting and smoking the last supplies for Deriva. When they were complete, Jarix had been sent on his last trip of the year, the young blue taking on the deteriorating weather without much concern. No one was worried. He was a blue, and it wasn’t really a storm. His crew also had very nice winter gear available, so there should be little difficulty in making the flight.

For the people at the keep, and especially Wiperna and Raulf, the relief of the goats finally being gone had been palpable. Both of them took the evening to relax a little, safe in the knowledge that no damn goat would have gotten out only to show up on the roof of the chicken coop the following day.

But not only had Jarix rid them of the damn goats, he had brought back some fruit and other assorted berries less than a day later. Nothing good or even that sweet, and most of it well on the way to being dried for winter already. That was fixable though with a simple dunking in water. Tom had given up a recipe for them to try. He himself was far too busy, so it had fallen to Sapphire to gather up some volunteers, which she did happily. 

Most of the huntresses were busy, sadly. Dakota and Essy were taking Bo and Pho through some book classes on just what one could pick and what you should really leave alone in the forest. Jacky was of course helping in the forge, a job which Sapphire was quite pleased she hadn’t ended up needing to do. 

Raulf and Wiperna stated they had preparations to do before things got worse for the rest of their animals, much of their time having been dedicated to goat hunting. Ray was cleaning like a madwoman, there still being quite a bit of mess left over after the last hunt. Saph really didn’t want to put further work on the poor cripple, so had left her to it.

Fengi was free though, and she wanted in. She had ended up bringing Unkai along as well. Sapphire did consider going to fetch Maiko, but honestly she had no clue where he might even be. Most likely he would be working on Yldril, which she had no intention of getting involved with. The black dragon really hadn’t taken things well after the verbal bout with Tiguan, or more rightly their reaction to her espousing her opinion so vehemently. 

She had been forced to sleep outside, and had been fed nothing but salted game meat since. Sapphire had been avoiding her as best she could, but Fengi of course could not. The only work there had been for the dragon was assisting with the final moving about of materials to and from the warehouse to make it ready for winter.

The three of them had followed the strange jam recipe to a tee. Converting measurements was a bit tricky, but they managed. The important part was the ratios after all, rather than the actual amounts. The first batch hadn’t come out quite right. Apparently, their homemade jelly wasn’t quite the same as gelatin. What exactly the difference was, Sapphire didn’t know, but she was hardly a stellar cook. 

Tom had also warned them to boil the jars first to make sure they were properly clean. Saph wasn’t quite sure why that would make them cleaner, but she knew better than to question the human's methods. Kulinger had questioned if, perchance, the food situation wasn’t as good as they had all been led to believe when he walked in on them essentially trying to boil soup on a bunch of jars, but he bought the explanation well enough.

At least Sapphire hoped so, else they would be mocked for that one for weeks. Especially if it didn’t work this time. As the second attempt bubbled away on the simple stove in the large steel pot, silence reigned in the kitchen. This time they had used twice as much jelly, but Sapphire thought that maybe they had gotten it too hot last time, so she was watching the fire closely. It was flickering gently inside the old stove, flames licking lazily up the sides of the pot. Fengi and Unkai sat at stools behind her, backs to the large table they often used to work dough or other larger items prior to cooking. 

“Let’s hope this one turns out a little better,” Saph said to no one in particular, just wanting to break the silence as she added a few more dainty pieces of firewood. “It’s our last chance after all. No more berries.”

“Yup,” Fengi replied automatically, Unkai not weighing in. Saph couldn’t believe they didn’t actually have anything to talk about. Well she knew they did. The mood was just a little... quiet. She knew why of course, but how to broach the subject? Should she even?

She honestly did not know as she went to sit down next to Fengi on her own stool as well, all three of them watching the fires now. “Otherwise we will have to wait till next year.”

“Yup,” Fengi replied again, having nothing more to say.

They all stared for a while longer, the crackling fire and the sounds of the keep taking over. The bellows working away down below as Shiva shouted orders. The gentle tap tap tap of Kullinger labouring over gods knew what. Maybe he was repairing some of the old beds for use once more, or maybe Jacky had broken something again which required replacement. The lathe and milling machine weren’t running. Tink, Edita and Tom likely helping out in the forge instead judging by Shiva’s ordering about.

Above them, creaking beams as Jarix shifted in the greeting hall. The pitter patter of little feet on the floor as the kids ran around the dragon, likely playing some sort of game. If they had been higher up, maybe they could have heard Pho getting a question wrong again up in the library as Dakota did her best not to rub her face at the blackboard. 

Up on the highest floor Lothal was taking lessons from Nunuk. Later it would be Dakota’s turn. No one was talking about it, certainly not while Dakota was around, but it was clear what Nunuk was planning. She would be passing on the blade sooner rather than later. The Bizmati family's ancestral fangblade, the symbol of their keep and those who ruled it. Sapphire knew Dakota had always wanted to wield it, but now when it was so close, she clearly doubted she was ready.

Whether she was ready or not, Saph’s guess was that they would have a new lady before the next year was out, maybe even sooner. Perhaps even in time for spring. Now she had no illusions that Nunuk was going to simply throw in the towel. She would be at her daughter's side for as long as her health permitted. But she could no longer fight, nor could she lead by example as she had always done. 

The old Lady would become an advisor, much like her husband had been for many years already. It was rather rare they had need of a mage out here after all. And soon enough Linkosta would be taking over that role anyway. Sapphire knew that the two of them had been busy, working both on the things Tom wanted and that fancy book about dragon magic the Inquisition had gotten them. Linkosta couldn’t stop talking about what she had been learning and, of course, Apuma couldn’t avoid bragging about how smart she was for working so much of it out already.

To Sapphire's knowledge they hadn’t actually tried any of it out yet, but it shouldn’t be too long before Linkosta ran out of patience and Jarix was properly convinced that they knew what they were doing. As for their not-so-beloved inquisitorial friends, Paulin was spending her time doing what she seemed to be best at: listening, watching, and learning. 

Sapphire was certain she would have to help translate more of Tom’s things in the future. It wasn’t the worst job ever, but it was pretty bad. She would likely also have to train with Bo and Pho. Essy and Dakota did have other duties after all, especially Dakota. Though Essy did often spend quite a bit more time with the kids than the rest of them. 

Sapphire would probably be in charge of archery practice, even if the weather was cold. As long as it wasn’t too windy or raining they would go and take a few shots at the targets both on the range and from the sky. 

Outside, Wiperna was tending to her flock. She always got a bit more sentimental as things neared the end. A fair few of their livestock wouldn’t make it through winter. That was by design of course. It was always a feast when something was slaughtered during winter, a brief respite from the normally boring foods. Although this year was to be different; they had a cold box now. 

As they sat and watched, Sapphire’s mind long since having wandered off, Fengi let out a long deep yet still...

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