we are not an orphanage | Glowfic Constellation

"Sower got to you too, huh?" says the woman, adjusting one of the girls' collars.

of-the-owls

Not exactly but close enough. "Yeah--I'm only in town for the convention, I was wondering if you knew where I could buy things for little children, here."

"Oh, I don't think they need shoes in the summer time and you might be home by fall, who knows."

of-the-owls

"Oh, fair enough, but--I don't have any other children, and he doesn't have any toys--I'd make them myself, obviously, but I traveled light coming here and I don't have the things I would use to make them."

"He's a boy? Get him a stick that he can swing like a sword or a wand."

of-the-owls

"...I guess that's fair. When I was small I always managed to bully my brother into playing with my dolls with me, so I didn't think of it like that." She's pretty sure children need More Than One Toy but she also totally sees this woman's point, Liushna is, well, freaking out a bit about being a first-time mother on no notice.

"I guess you could make him a straw doll, word is the Shelynites've been roped into an impromptu dollmaking class over at their place. But I'd go with a good stick for a boy."

of-the-owls

"That makes sense. --Thank you for humoring me, I always sort of expected I'd have more warning before my first child."

That gets a laugh.

of-the-owls

Liushna smiles and waves at her and goes off to the temple of Shelyn because she really does think a child should have more toys than just a stick.

The Shelynites apparently have a totally unrelated dollmaking tradition and it's generally a winter holiday thing but the out-of-towners know how even though this influx of spontaneous parenting is occurring in summer. They are all learning how to make dolls out of straw and string and scrap fabric.

of-the-owls

Liushna knows how to make dolls out of string and scrap fabric! She just didn't really have string and scrap fabric. Also the dolls she knows how to make have wings. ...She can make the wings smaller for Roderic/Rojix, she still hopes she can encourage his to grow big and strong but she doesn't want his belief in his own worth to hinge entirely on that working and for now his wings are itty bitty.

The Shelynites are supplying the string and scrap fabric for the occasion if she'll sit and hang out with everybody else who's making one!

of-the-owls

She absolutely will! She doesn't especially expect anyone else to want to do wings but if anyone does want to do a doll of, like, an angel or something, she can show them how. Also does Rojix want to try, she doesn't expect him to especially get anywhere but it's good for kids to try to make things.

One of them does want an angel doll now that she mentions it!

Rojix will take a piece of straw very solemnly and start picking at it with his nails.

of-the-owls

Liushna does not entirely understand what he's doing but she doesn't think he trusts her enough yet for her to ask. She will keep an eye on him while explaining how to do wings using a couple of knots in the string, and--she doesn't usually use straw but maybe if you do it like that--

The angel doll is pretty wonky but the kid is not in a position to be picky.

of-the-owls

It's very good for a first try! It's so nice to be making something with her hands; it's not something that tends to come up at the convention. The convention is an uphill slog of tolerating unpleasant people in the hopes that you will maybe have accomplished something at the end of it; this is cheerful chatter with pleasant people all of whom are definitely going to have a doll at the end of it. Soothing.

Once he has disintegrated his bit of straw to his satisfaction Rojix nods off in her lap.

of-the-owls

Awwwww. She will stroke him gently enough not to wake him, intermittently when she doesn't need both hands.

He startles the first few times her hand touches him but doesn't wake up all the way.

of-the-owls

Poor little one. Her heart twangs every time he demonstrates being unused to affection. She wonders how long he was in that awful place.

When she's finished two dolls, she lingers a while longer to help other people--she wants to make sure the church is well-repayed for letting her use their materials, and that means being as helpful as possible. Also if anyone involved in acquiring the scrap cloth knows where she can get non-scrap cloth, she wants to make him at least one shirt that frees his wings and also a kind of Itarii quasi-sling that will allow her to tie him to her back

The Songbird leading the class went to the fabric shop at thus and such a place.

of-the-owls

Thanks, that’s really helpful!

After she’s done at the temple, she’ll—actually when was the last time this child ate anything. He has teeth, so hopefully it won’t be a problem that she doesn’t have milk. She will locate a convenient street vendor.