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 Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:18 pm
Maritza was fundamentally unable to relax. Even when she had well earned downtime she could never seem to just stop for a few moments, let alone an entire day, and now that she was a mother at least she had a valid excuse for staying mobile. If she wasn’t busy on the bridge of her ship then surely the children needed something and even when they didn’t Uquin surely had a project or two. Even if he didn’t she could find ways to occupy herself with the man that didn’t involve sitting around; ways that had gotten them into more trouble than she’d ever considered.
Now that Uquin was out on call, however, and the children were inside napping she found herself at a loss. Too much noise and they would wake, but it wasn’t as if she could just stand around until one of them came around. So...Maritza disassembled the well.
Perhaps it was a little drastic, maybe a little much considering her limited time frame, but the contraption was painfully primitive. A simple pulley with a rope leading down a hole in the ground; boring! A few adjustments and she could make something truly spectacular….
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:46 am
[Padma via Discord]
You know, you really start to appreciate the modern amenities when you decide to live off in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, Padma's description of 'modern', she had come to learn, was vastly different from that of her new... mother? Ujana was right, that was just so awkward to say. Padma had been wary to leave Uzumati on his own, but he'd not been keen on coming with her this time, and Padma just couldn't pass up the chance to spend some time with her father and siblings.
Maritza was... a lucky surprise. Padma's feelings towards her were... complicated, but not negative per se. She wanted her father to be happy, and he seemed to be! Especially with three kids running around again - and Padma had thought Ujana was a handful!
Unfortunately, they hadn't had much chance to talk, one on one. The extent of their conversation, when they spoke previously, was related to the kids, and to the brief acknowledgement that yes Padma did live in the forest, with what could only be described as a wild man.
She'd gone looking for Maritza the moment she woke and realized that the bedroom was empty; only, she hadn't quite expected to find her tinkering at the base of their tree house. "Oh dear-- did the bucket fall in again?" She asked, concerned, as she came closer and peeked at what Maritza was working on.
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:55 am
[2/10]
Rather than move from her crouched position Maritza simply craned her head to take in the woman at her side. It was...easier to talk to her than it was Ujana but that didn’t mean things were any less awkward. Most of their conversations revolved around her father, the children or a variety of other safe topics. Under normal circumstances Maritza would have aired whatever grievances they had with one another out in the open, be done with it, and move on one way or the other. However, since doing that with Padma’s sister and having it blow back in her face Maritza had chosen the simpler route.
It wasn’t as if she’d ever sought to upset Ujana; the woman had just been naturally pissed and Maritza didn’t take kindly to yelling.
“It always falls in, that’s the problem. The design may have worked temporarily, but it’s primitive. I’ve been making out an idea-” She motioned vaguely to a few sheets of strewn about papers held down by a stone. “-to get the water from the well up to the treehouse. No more buckets; just a series of pipes and pressure.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:03 pm
[Padma via Discord]
Padma forced her expression into a smile, although there was a tug of anxious embarrassment at that term. Padma wasn't a proud person, but she also didn't like being looked down on, and this wasn't the first time Maritza had somewhat casually remarked upon on 'primitive' their life was. She'd said much the same of their treehouse, and of modes of travel between Matori and Tale. Padma didn't know if that meant Maritza thought herself better than they were (if she did why would she have chosen to come visit, or even have children with a leaf man?), or if she simply hadn't considered the way her words might be taken.
Still... Padma was a curious woman, and she squatted down to peek at the plans, even if they looked incomprehensible to her. "That's wonderful - thank you!" She said, politely. "Er... what if it breaks while you are away though? Will we still have room to draw the water ourselves as a back up?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:08 pm
[3/10]
Maritza pulled one of her sheets closer and held it up with one hand as she gesticulated with the other. "I've been trying to work with the children so that the design is both simple enough that they can understand it and if something happens they'll be able to at least find the source. Anything else has been written out for Uquin." Of course she didn't believe her children were advanced enough to be able to understand the complexities of this venture just yet, but at the very least they would be able to tell their father where the problem was. She had no doubts that as long as her instructions were clear enough he could fix the problem while she was gone.
"I'm going to fit this piece-" She motioned to the sheet, "-over the well and while you shouldn't have to move it, should something happen it will be easy enough that one person can do it."
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:13 pm
[Padma via Discord]
N...not that Padma didn't believe in Maritza! Unfortunately, she didn't know the woman well enough to judge how this venture would go, or if she was the type to leave something half finished. "That's so thoughtful, Miss Maritza." Padma praised, eyeing the plans. Could her father really understand these things? "Is this common in Belrea? Pipes and... pressure? And it comes all the way up to the treehouse, you said?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:19 pm
[4/10]
"Miss Maritza?" She scrunched her nose and rolled her eyes. "That's sweet, but I- No, Maritza or Ritz is fine." 'Miss' made her seem like a sweet bakery shop owner or a dainty Captain's wife. She was neither a wife nor a baker and had no ambitions of being sweet enough for the moniker.
"Oh I've never seen it before." She answered in a very blasé tone. "It seems simple enough, though. Like the steam pipes on my ship; with enough pressure the water should jut up from the well straight up to the landing." She pointed with her finger from the well itself, then straight up and in an arch towards the tree house. "I'll have a set of cogs up there that you crank to create the pressure and once a valve is switched it should pull the water. When you're done you just shut off the valve and the water will fall back down."
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:50 pm
[Padma via Discord]
Oh. Well- at least Maritza was just as weirded out by the idea of calling her 'mom' as Padma was. She smiled and nodded at the instructions, though her expression shifted to surprised as she continued. She'd never seen it before? Padma was torn between excitement for such a novel idea (which it SEEMED like Maritza had thought out--), and somewhat horrified that their family would be guinea pigs for this experiment. "...A-ah." She bit her lip, unsure if she should ask more or interrupt the woman's tinkering more than she already had.
"Well I... I'm sure papa and the children will enjoy it. Uzumati and I get water from collecting the rain, or from a spring not far from our home so... it all sounds much more sophisticated than I've become used to."
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:55 pm
[5/10]
"You know you can say whatever you're thinking, right?" Ever the straight shooter, Maritza couldn't help noticing the way Padma almost seemed to be holding back and it was starting to get irritating. If she had something on her mind why didn't she just say it? Of course she was polite and she may not have been as bold as her sister, but having an expression like that was just as telling as words without the benefit of actual words.
"Ah, yeah, about Uzumati." Leaning back on her haunches a little, Maritza rested her forearms on her knees and looked at Padma. "What's his story?" At first Maritza had assumed the stories she'd heard about Padma's...beau were made up by the kids until she actually saw him. "I know he lives in the wild, but why?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:54 pm
[Padma via Discord]
Could she? Padma grimaced at the blunt suggestion, stealing a quick look at the woman who seemed... agitated. "I'm worried, but that's only because I don't understand it. But I know you know more about this than me - and I want to trust that it will work. Just-- I don't know you well enough to know if that's a good idea or not-" Had she said too much? Padma breathed out a somewhat breathless sigh. As for Uzumati-- "From what he's been able to tell me, he was orphaned young, and raised himself. Unfortunately his memories of people trying to coax him back to society were of strangers chasing him, so it's made him wary of villages. I've... suggested we move back, but he's still not too comfortable with the idea so..."
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 7:09 pm
[6/10]
Maritza gave a breathless laugh. "Your father would say none of my ideas are good. Or, well, that they have merit but I'm reckless. Something like that." He certainly thought she was smart enough to do as she pleased, but some of the looks Uquin tossed her way when Maritza talked about her plans were absolutely priceless. "I've had pipes explode in my face before because of the pressure which is exactly why I'm going to fashion some out of branches instead of metal. That way if it builds up too much they'll just crack instead of hurting someone." There was an almost too casual way of which she spoke, as if this kind of thing was just a part of life for her and that's because it was.
"...I'd prefer if you called me out on things. You don't have to tiptoe around me because of your father; if you don't like something, say it, and if you're feeling something just feel it. You don't owe me respect just because of him." She didn't know where she stood on the aspect of being 'step-motherly' but Maritza did know that whatever relationship she had with these women she wanted it built on mutual respect and trust. If Padma was worried about what she did she wanted her to say something about it; what happened if she left, Padma was scared of this thing, and simply never used it? Then what would have been the point of making it? "I know...this is a probably a situation you never asked for, it definitely shocked me, but I don't want it to be negative."
Was that...okay? Was it too much?
Listening to her talk about Uzumati was distressing. "Hopefully his parents are dead." Maritza balked, then just as quickly caught herself, "Sorry that's - ugh, I'm bad with words. I just hope he wasn't purposefully abandoned, is what I meant. Leaving them as long as I have to is hard enough; I can't imagine just leaving and never coming back..." Her eyes traveled up to the tree house.
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Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2020 4:34 pm
[Padma via Discord]
He would? Would Uquin prefer that Padma try and dissuade Maritza from this? Padma bit her lip again, only to look at the woman with horror at how casually she mentioned pipes exploding on her. It was... considerate that she was thinking of ways to save them from that, but also terrifying. "Oh - that's--"
Before she could say much more though, Maritza had changed the subject, and Padma barked out a laugh despite herself, smothering a hand over her mouth. "Miss-- ... Maritza, I- if I'm 'tiptoeing' around you it's just because of how I am, not because of Papa." She vowed, with a small smile. She let that be that, for now - she could always return to the topic, later, but she gave a nod that she hoped the woman would understand as her dedication to try and be more blunt with her.
Thankfully, Padma had relaxed enough that she didn't balk, like Maritza did, at her misstep. "No, I-- I feel the same way." She reassured, only to fall silent at the poignant moment, where Maritza gazed fretfully up towards where her children napped.
Padma's eyes softened. "... If they don't understand now, then they will. They all light up like stars when you come home."
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Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2020 4:43 pm
[7/10]
"I worry about it while I'm away. That they think I've abandoned them; and if they don't think it now then they will." Her entire childhood had revolved around being raised by a single mother whose work came before her children. She always made sure they were well cared for, but the woman had never really spent much personal time with them. Maritza tried to be better than that, really she did, but sometimes she worried...
"As long as they can see that I've tried...that's good enough for me." Between the hazard pay and just the pay itself Maritza was in no position to walk away from her work. Not that she wanted to to begin with; she'd already sacrificed promotions for her family, but she wouldn't give it up entirely.
Shifting the tone back to Padma, Maritza had to ask, "Do you like living out there? With Uzumati?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2020 4:52 pm
[Padma via Discord]
There wasn't much Padma could say to that. She wasn't a mother, after all - but she did remember being young and feeling abandoned by her mother, even before her death. But she knew that, now, she didn't hate her mother. Hopefully that was enough for Maritza.
"Mm... I miss the village sometimes." Padma admitted with a guilty smile. "But it's also so exciting, building a life out there with him. It's better now that we've finished the house." It wasn't the most beautiful treehouse she'd ever seen, but it was sturdy, secure, and leak proof - so she supposed it didn't matter how lumpy it was.
"It has been a bit difficult as far as getting money for supplies. Uzumati... is used to doing everything on his own. Gathering, hunting- but I suppose I'm used to certain luxuries, and I worry, so I've tried to keep prepared for emergencies. Like another flood, or... or him getting hurt. It's a bit stressful if I'm honest."
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Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2020 4:59 pm
[8/10]
As they talked Maritza started to shift around the well. She wasn't used to staying in one place for so long and even though she was paying attention to what the other woman had to say Maritza just needed to move. "You've just now finished the house? Where were you staying before?" Pausing over the lip of the well, Maritza turned her scattered pupils towards Padma. Had they been sleeping in a cave this whole time? Surely not!
"If you'd like I could give you coin." She folded a length of rope over in her arms, formed a loop and did it once more to create a sort of figure '8'. When it was sturdy enough she stepped through it, then tightened it around her upper thighs. "Being self-sufficient is all well and good, but it's as you said; there are certain things you've grown accustomed to that he isn't."
It wouldn't bother her in the least to send funds to Uquin's daughter. After all she was still sending a small stipend to her brother in Belrea as well as the coin she had sent to Uquin every time she received payment. "As for the floods and Uzumati getting hurt...well-" She tossed the rest of the rope over the top of the well box and slung one leg over the lip. "-pick a God and pray. There's plenty over here to choose from."
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