InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "HRG is watching you!"

Eli Donovan (edonovan) wrote in oldwest_rpg,
@ 2008-05-01 21:59:00

Entry tags:

eli donovan, margaret may

Idle hands are the devil's tools...
Who: Eli Donovan - Margaret May Austin
Where: just outside the stables, easily accessible from the rest of the town
When: May 2, 1867 -- afternoon
Status: Complete
Summary: Eli takes his work outdoors to enjoy the sunshine.

***

Eli hefted a saddle onto the fencepost with a grunt, the stirrups swinging lazily in the afternoon breeze. He squinted toward the rest of the stalls, mentally cataloging the rest of the saddles and tack to be repaired or cleaned. It was one of those tedious chores he could have done indoors, or given to one of the other lads, but it got him outside, and he didn't mind a bit of mindless work now and again. Oiling and patching the leather kept his hands busy and his thoughts loose, and if he took his work out of doors, he'd occasionally find himself hailed by one of his neighbors. He never minded the interruptions, either -- that was the beauty of mindless work.

The fence was the perfect height for his purposes, as well; as long as he settled the saddle he was working on solidly on the top slats, he didn't have to stoop to see what he was doing, nor did he have to bear the weight of the saddle on his lap for hours at a time. It kept him on his feet, but a little standing never hurt anyone, least of all Eli Donovan. It probably wouldn't have been such a convenient arrangement if he was of a more average height, but then again, he'd long since accepted that he wasn't going to get any taller, but he surely wasn't going to get any shorter, either.

With a deft hand, Eli cut a thin cord into several lengths, and threaded it through the holes he'd already punched in the heavy leather. His knots were sure and tight as he laced the pieces together, the next cord dangling from his teeth as he made his repairs.

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boxedhershadow
2008-05-02 06:26 am UTC (link)

The children for some reason, were restless. She couldn't get any of them to focus on any one thing, especially the math she was trying to teach them, and their chatter was starting to irritate her. The children in San Diego had never caught such spring fever, had never been so distracted. She wasn't sure what else to do, but to take them out of the class room and perhaps get them to burn off some of that energy. She had ten students in attendance that day, a small amount by any one's count. Children were constantly in and out of school, depending on their family and their parent's jobs. She had noticed the kids who came from families who had live stock or lived further out came less frequently. She suspected that they were roped in to doing work around their homes on a regular basis to keep up their livelihood. The idea made her frown, no child should be denied an education. She knew what poverty could be like, but she also remembered how having knowledge had set her free to do what she wanted, for the most part anyway.

Taking the children through town on a walk, she had them keep together, and she kept a very watchful eye on them. It wasn't completely against the rules to take the children out of the classroom, but she was sure it probably wasn't smiled upon either. Tucking back some stray hair she continued to walk with the kids, who didn't mind her and kept on with their chatter, some stopping here and there to look at one thing or another. Margaret May quickly shooed them on, so that they didn't disturb the townsfolk. As they came to the edge of town, there was more room, less people and an easier time to see them all. Sensing their teacher relaxing a few of the children broke away from the group and started running about, calling out to the others to follow.

She hadn't really realized how far they'd gone on their trek and noticed that there was a long fence running the length of where her kids were out running about in a rousing game of...well she couldn't really tell what they were on about, but it seemed like harmless fun so she let them be. She worried though, that they were trespassing and gazing down the length of fence she noticed a man working on a saddle. She worried her lip and considered calling the children back. She decided to not though, hoping the children weren't distracting him, or worse, doing damage to his property.

Grabbing at her skirt a bit she lifted it to walk over the soft grass towards where he was, studying him as she approached, knowing that the kids weren't exactly something that would go unnoticed. He looked familiar to her, then many of the faces in town were starting to become familiar and yet she knew none of their names or who they were. "Afternoon!" She called with a small smile, as she stepped closer, just on the other side of the fence.

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edonovan
2008-05-02 02:52 pm UTC (link)

Eli had seen the children make a break for fence, and hid a smile. He'd have been itching for the outdoors himself on a day like this, in their shoes, and likely would have driven his mother or schoolteacher to the edge of sanity with his impatience. As long as they didn't spook the horses, he didn't have any problem with them getting a bit of a holiday in the yard -- Aand since the more skittish horses were safely in their stalls, that wasn't a very likely event.

He looked up at the young woman crossing toward him, his fingers not even pausing at his repairs. Must be their teacher -- he'd seen her around town, of course, and he flashed her a grin.

"Afternoon, ma'am," he called back. His eyes flicked back toward the children, amused. "Getting a little restless, were they?" he asked with a chuckle.

	boxedhershadow 2008-05-05 11:05 pm UTC (link)
	"Eli then." she said with a smile and a nod and then picking up her skirts to go and catch up with her kids. "I hope to be seeing you soon. I'll make sure to leave the youngin's next time." She said with a laugh and headed off, attempting to catch up to her class who had already almost a whole field ahead of her. (Reply to this) (Parent)