Day 69

well, I got back in one piece, and left my boat next to my sled, and went inside for a lunch of meat and soup. I then got to work carving out the rudder and oars using the trimmings and such so as not to waste the material. It took me the rest of the day but I got the basic shape done for a basic rudder. My oars came along pretty quickly as well, quickly cutting them into paddles wasn't all that difficult. The longest part was sanding them down to a good finish. It was dark by the time I finished, and I ate a light dinner, before heading upstairs to bed.

I got up the next day early, my stomach grumbling, I might not have been consuming enough food, considering my mana expenditure. I usually refilled with the ever-present snow and never worried about it, but now that I didn't have a near-constant supply of water right beside me at all times, I was going to have to be more cognizant of my usage and remember to visit the river a lot. I ate my usual breakfast and started dragging the boat to the river, the oars and rudder sitting inside.

I got to the edge, and once again tied the canoe off, before getting in, carrying Lupe with me. I didn't think I'd get dragged away, but if I did, I wouldn't want to leave Lupe behind to fend for himself. I scooted the boat into the water, before finally entering, and I quickly tightened the rope, slowly letting off slack into the river till we were a good way in. and quickly attached the rudder, and put the oars in the oarlocks. It all worked seamlessly, the rudder was basic, so pulling it left guided right and vice versa.

It was fun, we drifted back and forth, as I played with the rudder and the oars, before finding them sufficient and guided myself back to shore. We hopped out, and Lupe splayed out on the ground, a dizzy emoticon over his head. I commiserated with him, the first few times I had gotten on the water, I had gotten violently seasick, but that bastard Boris kept dragging me back for fishing trips. I swear to god he did it on purpose, but eventually, I got used to it. I then found out that he didn't like going as fast as I did, and I showed him how fast my other car was, a tricked out muscle car I blew a half year of savings on, and drove in the dead of night, on long straight highways, at the highest of speeds. Good times.

I pulled the boat a ways from the bank and tied the rope around my waist, before hopping into the river, instantly I felt the pull, like a riptide, the water beneath was going much faster then the top, I was happy I held on tight to the rope, else I would have felt like I was going to be torn in two by the current alone. Lupe stayed on the shore, watching me struggle a bit in the water. I quickly pulled myself back to the bank, and sat down, feeling very refreshed. The cold had woken me up fully, the sun pouring over me already started drying me, no clouds in the sky,

It felt good to go for even the brief swim, feeling weightless was always nice, especially when it wasn't from falling. Lupe seemed to be feeling better, and I grabbed an empty bag, and filled it with water, before pouring it over Lupe, repeating the process till his fur turned clean. He shook himself dry and laid down next to me, the sun drying us both. It was nice, a calm day, nothing scary had appeared, and I was able to lay in the sun, my long coat acting as a blanket. I swear I didn't mean to, but I fell asleep, the sun warming me to just the right temp, like a warm toasty blanket, and it wasn't even humid.

I woke up cold, the sun was no longer overhead, and the shadows cast by the trees were covering me. I got to my feet, completely dry, and relaxed, it was always nice to not have to do much in a day. I turned and shook Lupe awake, who seemed to have had the same idea as me, and he was sleeping on his side, head next to my left hand. He got to his feet, shaking the listlessness from himself and we started back home, dragging the boat behind me.

We had a late lunch, early dinner, and I got to drawing out my nest idea or design for a boat. The canoe was nice, but it was more my back up at this point. I needed something now that I could move fast in, a magic speedboat of sorts. I started drawing up how I could power it, steam maybe, I would have an ample supply of water for both steam and mana, but I had no idea how to create a piston system. If I knew how I'd run back to my car, and take apart the engine, but I had no idea if I'd be able to even get to look like I had put it together properly.

Maybe a boat with a long tail, that reached into the faster water below the river, that could work, maybe. It would be a pain to drag and test, and if it got to the speed I was thinking it might, it might break the leather. I could add a sail too, even though it didn't seem windy... no I should keep it simple for now, one add-on at a time. I also started drawing up plans for a log trap, I was going through the meat slowly but I still wanted to have an ample supply.

I finished drawing out my future plans to the sound of night falling, the calls of birds, and the cries of bugs and such. It was weird, I hadn't felt or really seen any bugs in or around my hut, or upstairs for that matter. I wasn't complaining, it was just off. I chalked it up to magic of some sort, or I really had been that smelly, and it had ingrained into my housing. Regardless I headed upstairs, and dived into my bedding, Lupe falling next to me, and I of course started meditating, before falling asleep.