Painting a Memory

I have a list of names.

Cana
Fonce
The grumpy man that would not let me in to see Cana several days ago
Silken
Tarra
Tug

I have a strip of leather, about the length of my arm but only half as high. I have already stretched it over wood to keep it taught while I work and I gave it a base coat of soft pink color. I know, pink is odd, this is after all, a gift for a boy. The pink will not be seen when I am finished but will lend warmth to my rendition. I want the boy to feel warm when he unrolls this, as I know he will, late at night, when he is alone.

I want to give him a piece of his father.

I have never met the man and I have only glimpsed his first son, the one they call tug. I have never seen him smile though. I suppose that is my goal then, to make the boy smile. I know this is a task Ba'atar has given me and that is how I should view it but.. I don't. This is a gift for a First Son. For a boy who should know his father. In a way, though Lei will never see this, it is for her too.

"I am going to see how Fonce is doing with his wagon wheel repair." Lei told me casually, as if this was perfectly normal. My little warrior princess.

"I am sure he will be pleased to see you." I grinned at her. She nodded smugly and left me in peace. I listened to her leaving our space and singing some little ditty about apricots and Ubaras. When she was gone I turned back to my pink canvas. I still needed to speak to all of those people and lastly to Tug. It was the boy’s memory I wanted to capture best. I suppose I am a little bit of an odd year keeper. I do not enjoy the beaded calendars that are most common. I prefer the stories we tell and I prefer to paint the memories. I do not think anyone knows this about me yet, I am somewhat ashamed of my lack of clan skill. I worry that it will not be found useful.

There is a lot riding on my piece, on my gift of memory for Tug. Still I can only see this as a gift for him. I do not want to create something to impress the Ubar or even Cana.. I want to make the child smile. I want to give him something to pull out and look at when he feels alone.

I want to give him a piece of his Father.

The first thing I will paint.. are the hands. Taycos hands.