Just outside her door, Sierra hung her bundled catch before ducking into her little home. With the morning sun a little higher, her work table was well lit and she could see the scattering of tools that she left out from last night. Around the little mechanical bird and its cage were several tools made for her small hands made of metal and wood.
One of the village's more skilled smiths had made the metal tools specially for her and her very un-halfling-like hands at the cost of a small horde of coppers and nearly as many favors. It wouldn't do to leave them out and dirty.
The wooden tools were made by her own hands and were, by their nature, fragile and easily remade. They consisted of picks, spacers and hooked tipped rods of various lengths. Some she might get made in metal at some point, but these work for her needs.
She placed her small bag on the table and started to place her tools back into the leather pouch she made for them. Each tool had its own slot in the unrolled pouch and she took care to place everything back in its place. The wooden tools going in quickly while the metal ones each got a wipe with a towel and a once-over with her eyes before returning to their spots.
Once everything was in the pouch and rolled up, she turned back to her bag. She pulled out two tangled messes of wood, twine, and fur: traps that had either failed or been broken by whatever they briefly held. Sierra's plan was to salvage what she could of the traps before remaking them. Though first, she wanted to see if she could figure out if they had failed or were broken by a larger catch. If the former, she might think about how to improve the trap to avoid a failure in the future.
As she looked at the traps and was about to sit to work on them, her belly rumbled. She hadn't grabbed anything to eat before going to check her traps and if she started working now, she wouldn't eat until nooning. That is if she didn't work through Midday. Shaking her head, she placed the bird in the cage and put the whole thing carefully in her bag. There was surely some morning porridge already to serve at the village. And she had to go there to trade her catch and return the now working bird. Three birds with a single shot, right?
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When the trees started to thin along the path, Sierra began to see the stone-hewn wall of the first farm before the village. The golden light began to warm her exposed scales as more of it broke through the parting tree tops. As she neared the farm, a light floral scent drifted on the breeze.
Beyond the stone wall, Sierra could just start to make out hints of red peeking through the dark green leaves on the trellis frames. Without thinking, she crossed the path to walk along the wall's well-worn path. She was able to take in the scent that was just beginning to carry a sweetness that promised an early harvest this year.
Following the worn path beside the wall, she soon spotted the halflings of the farm harvesting heads of lettuce from underneath the frames that held the strawberries off the ground. As one of the children ran by with an empty basket, they waved at her and continued to the parent that surely was waiting for the basket.
'An early harvest for the first crop of the spring is a promising sign for the village,' Sierra thought to herself as she reached the end of the walled field and came to the main road that led into the village. She decided to stay on the lake side of the well traveled and rutted road. The last rain was only a couple days ago, but the road mud dried quickly and could leave some rough ruts that could jolt an inexperienced cart driver in unexpected directions.
As she entered the village proper, the houses and workshops were getting closer together. Soon the chirping of birds was replaced with the morning hustle and greetings of her fellow villagers. Wisps of smoke from chimneys were beginning to thicken as bakers and smiths alike began their days.
Drawing up to the window of one house, she could smell the warm scent of freshly baked bread. "Miss Darcy, are those meat rolls I smell?" she called out in a teasing and sing-song tone.
In the same way she had for almost every other morning for the last several years, the older halfling asked back, "Sierra, hun, you know that the meat rolls are for the farmer's lunches."
A plump older woman moved to the window and smiled out to Sierra from behind her neatly kept grey hair. On the window beside her, she placed a small wrapped and steaming bread bun. "Oh my, I see you were able to get quite the catch today. Do tell the butcher that I would like one of those fine critters for my stew," she said, her sweet motherly tone always gave Sierra a warm feeling.
Pulling out a couple coppers, Sierra placed it on the window sill with a smile, "I'll make sure he puts the best one aside for you, Miss Darcy. But this batch left me with a couple broken traps that I'll need to fix before tonight." She reached over and took the bundle and the bun before giving a bow.
As she turned to head further into the village, Miss Darcy called out to her. "Oh, dear, I nearly forgot. There was a young human runner that rushed past not that long ago. They might be from the caravan we are expecting. Be careful, you hear."
Sierra turned and waved, "Yes, Auntie, I will be." Her tail flicked once against the ground, betraying her unease at the news, despite her calm reply. She turned back towards the village and frowned slightly. Because the weather was shaping up, she hadn't grabbed her hood and cloak. Now she would have to stay out of sight in case that human was the rash type.
Taking a bite of the warm bun, she gave a purring growl as the still hot meat within hit her tongue. It was hard for her to stay upset with the promise of Miss Darcy's meat buns soon to fill her belly.
She slipped between two houses, heading toward the butcher by way of the side paths.
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