<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d5/Ayshia.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Who:</strong>Valko<br/><strong>Where: </strong>Center of the Crane Hearth<br/><strong>When:</strong>Late afternoon<hr/><div style="text-align: justify;">Valko’s presence in the hearth was so…non-intrusive, Ayshia observed as she handed him a knotted end of the strands. They would be long enough to make a necklace out of it. “That’s good. I just want to see if it’s going to put up with the wear of beads.” Ayshia said and she gave him a grateful smile for helping. Ayshia was quite sure that her father would have done it without so much as a raised eyebrow, but since Valko had offered his help, she had to jump on it. Braiding was a repetitive movement that she had practiced a number of time in her hair, Naliya’s or Mira’s over the years, and so the process was rather quick; she didn’t have to think about it, her fingers danced with a mind of their own.<br/><br/>“I gave a try at everything my parents would allow me to. My father quickly discovered that I didn’t have the eye for carving.” Ayshia said and she glanced at her box. “Or building anything that required straight lines.” She chuckled softly and shrugged a shoulder. “I was still a child when I built that with my father’s supervision. Sewing and beading came when my mother was making something for a child and her hand was too big to get into the sleeve without a struggle. The thing with beading is that you have to keep just enough tension. If you pull too much, the clothing will wrinkled under, if you don’t pull enough, the bead will hang.” Ayshia explained without realizing that she was most likely  telling Valko something he already knew.<br/><br/>“My mother required my help, and we discovered how much of a natural at it I am. It took me a little longer before I agreed to make it my main occupation, but when my mother took to bed, I realized that I didn’t have all the time in the world to learn from her, that I could lose her. I became a sponge, learning all of her tricks, spending the maximum of time with her and…” Ayshia didn’t finish her sentence, feeling that she didn’t need to voice it aloud anyway. Everyone in the camp knew that her mother had passed and when it happened. <br/><br/>“Thank you.” Ayshia said, as she reached near the end of the shortest strand. It would definitely be long enough for the necklace. The water beside her was also getting hot enough for tea.<br/> </div>