A series of written thoughts stashed away in a box of parchment, written meticulously and precisely, as if the writer had taken great pains to make their handwriting as legible and clear as possible. The author's handwriting is a bit sloppier this time, and there are crossed out words where they shouldn't be - likely a sign of fatigue and indicating that he was writing well into the night when he should have been in bed.
A scrap of paper has been attached to this entry. It reads:
One cooking pot, at least two gallons in size - Miss Pansyblossom
A kindling axe, made to be durable - Miss Adriellyn
A handful of springs, to use in toymaking, and a small, point-precision chisel, also for toymaking, preferably steel-make - Mister Daerist
Well, it's been a while since I've written one of these. Hello, sheet of paper.
I've gotten quite caught up with the flurry of things to do these past weeks. For one, I did visit my family at long last, and while they're still happy to see me, I know that they're rather cross with me for keep delaying the visit for an entire year, and it'll take a bit of time before things go back to normal.
Mum and dad Pa especially, they gave me a good scolding when they got back from the Comb and Wattle, but I think Pa had a wee bit too much to drink, because he was alternating between crying and yelling at me for being gone so long. Ma even had to hold him up so he wouldn't go cras tumbling down on the floor, and I felt absolutely horrible for his reaction, so a lot of our conversation was mostly me hagg hugging him and telling him that I'm back, and some incoherent babbling on his side. We put him to bed together, all four of us, and that was the first time it felt like the Hornbranch clan was complete, even if the youngest and oldest of the children were disappointed and angry at their middling brother, as they should be.
Poor Pa, though. He looked utterly destroyed and hungover come morning. Came to talk to me that morning with Ma. I hugged them both. Told them I loved them and was sorry for being gone so long. Then I started crying, I think, and then I think Finn and Hilda came and joined us too. Breakfast was quiet that day, but there was something peaceful about it. I think things will be okay. Probably not the same as before, but okay.
When I left to go back to Bree for wyr, I took Hilda with me, because she'd never really known Bree, only from quick visits when we were younger and accompanying Pa to the market. Finn came too, because he wanted to see where I lived and what it was like working in Bree. We got rooms in the Pony for them and I showed them where I worked, what I did with Aunt Sandra. I think Finn was actually a little bit impressed maybe with the progress I'd made under Hucklebush.
Hilda was rather enthusiastic when it came to touring Bree, and I think she wants to move here too, though I'm not sure how that would work, since I live with Master Hucklebush, and she'd have to find a pers someone in Bree who would take her as an apprentice. Finn and I told her to think carefully about her decisions.
Oh, and I have a dog now. I picked him up from the Combe kennels before leaving for Bree. He's a cute little runt puppy, auburn and cream-coloured fur, and I can already tell he's going to be a troublemaker when he grows up. I named him Little Thimble, but I think Thimble on it's own is an adorable pe nickname for a pup like him. He really likes his belly and ear scratches, and he's always looking up at people with those big puppy eyes, begging them for food attention. Master Hucklebush loves him because he thinks Thimble's cuteness will draw customers to the Sunday market stall, so I've fashioned him a little dog-tag (among a few others because I don't want him to lose them) in the shape of a hum hammer so that people know he's from the Smithy.
Speaking of markets, since Thimble belonged to me, Master Hucklebush set me on merchant duty that Sunday. It was rather nerve-wracking stressful, because I'm not quite used to talking to so many people at once, and it was a bit of a struggle to take orders (Curse those bloody letters), package items, and keep the customers interest all at once. Tylva thankfully came by at some point to chat and play with Thimble (It's actually cute how much she fawns over him) before he could cause some sort of mischief, and I met mister Loakee again too. We had a pleasant chat, catching up a bit on one another, and he went off to miss Bottle's stall when the number of customers at my stall began to rise swell. I did catch him and Tylva sparring ver exchanging heated words at some point, however, so I do worry that one of these days he might find himself with broken finger or arms or face if he pushes his luck too much.
There were many new people to meet at the Market. There was miss Adriellyn, who wanted a kindling axe and seemed to be a good friend of Audea's, miss Pansyblossom, whose father sells delicious pickles, mister Daerist, a toymaker from Dale, and also mister Egoldir, a quiet scholar. The latter two were rather fun to watch as they tried to figure out how to deal with Thimble, who kept walking up to people and giving them those weaponized puppy eyes of his. Miss Lissabeth was also there as always, selling her soaps and candles, and Mister Cutwil with his game and boar fat (How many crates does he have of that stuff??). I think a baker was there at some point too, though she didn't come by the stall and I was too busy with the customers to leave my own. At the end of the night, miss Pansyblossom gave me a crock of soup to take home, such a kind sweet lass she is, and I went home happy with the money that was made and with dinner for Finn and Hilda.
There's so much more to write, but I can feel myself falling asleep drifting off just about now. Maybe I'll write another entry later, when I feel more awake.
