The Snowy Cottage [Mission/Solo]

Spoiler:

This isn't going so well.... Hana thought, pulling herself off the cold, muddy ground. This simply wouldn't do. That oversized cloak Mikoto was forcing her to wear was irritating. It was getting in her way every time she tried to walk, and she kept tripping over it! She actually considered ripping off the hem, but that would anger Mikoto. Perhaps taking it off would be a better idea, unless she wanted to end up with bruises everywhere. She took off her cloak, folding it into a neat pile before stuffing it into her backpack. Without the cloak on, she found it much easier to move about. Unlike what she usually wore, however, today's outfit was much more casual and plain. Her outfit had a huge rip going down the side, in which appeared there after Hana had been so careless as to let an enemy swing his blade at her side. She hadn't had the time to mend it either, so she was stuck with a jumper in which she wore a black blouse inside and a pair of sneakers.

Arriving at the village entrance, Hana took a quick glance about the area. It seemed quite remote and peaceful. This was so much like the home Mikoto and her had dreamed of living in someday. Perhaps one day, that wish might be fulfilled. Hana walked towards the designated area where she was to meet the client, passing by a few shops that sold all sorts of trinkets, food and others. She then spotted a man, who seemed to be in his 50s or so, standing in the middle of a flat landscape as she neared the area. Walking up to him, she pulled out a piece of paper. "Good day sir. I assume you're my client, Mr. Bartre?" She greeted. The man took one look at the crinkled paper, then nodded, smiling at her. Yep! You're the wizard here to help, aren't you? Well thank you for coming, ya? Sorry if it's a bother. I know you young kids don't usually do all this boring stuff, but I'm an old man already, and this old geezer won't be able to manage building an entire house on his own, ya? So I get that you can do it, ya? Also, no using magic. Wizards should be physically strong too, ya?" he spoke in a jolly manner, his voice loud and clear. Hana had a bit of trouble coping with his 'Ya's' whenever he spoke, but nodded silently. "Let's begin, ya?"

"Of course. So, are there any blueprints for me to get started off with, Mr Bartre?" she asked. He chuckled. "Of course I do, my dear! Now, don't need to be so polite with me! Call me gramps, ya!" he said cheerfully. Hana wondered how he could be so loud, and not get a sore throat. The man dug around in his pockets for a short while, then pulled out a folded piece of paper. It looked pretty worn out to her, and she could see some smudges here and there. "Hoho! It's beautiful isn't it! Why, my daughter, Nino, will be so pleased to live in such a lovely cottage. Now, my son should arrive soon. In the meantime, please do get started. I'll go look for him, and I'll be right back, ya?" he informed her, gently placing the blueprint into her hand, then walked away, whistling a merry tune.

"Alright, time to get started... she thought to herself, pulling back her pink hair into a ponytail and keeping it in place with a hair-band. She then walked over to the pile of wood and other materials that had been provided, then took a good few minutes or so to study the blueprint and make sure she had enough materials and the necessary tools before she began building. She began with the frame first. She spent the next three hours hauling planks of wood from one place to another, then piecing them together and hammering them into place with nails. She'd nearly gotten her fingers smashed a few times, but she managed to avoid doing so anyway. After a while, she decided to take a short break, and took a few gulps of water from the canteen she'd brought along with her in her backpack. She should've brought a cap and sunscreen - the heat was unbearable. Even with the hard hat on, she could still feel the damn sun roasting her brains. It definitely did not help at all, especially when she was not really fond of the heat.

After a short break, Hana went back to work, finishing up on the frame just as a tall, buff-looking man arrived. He had lightly tanned skin, dark brown hair and a pair of brown eyes. He wore a plain white shirt and a matching pair of sweatpants. "Hello there, miss! I'm Ninko, old man Bartre's son, and I'm here to help get a nice little house up for my sister." he greeted cheerfully. She nodded. "I'm Hana. Here is the blueprint." she said, handing him the blueprint before taking a quick, thorough check to see whether she'd built the frame correctly, and hammered some nails that were jutting out back into the wood before taking a step back to look at what she'd managed to finish so far.

After processing the information, and memorizing a bit of what they needed to do, Ninko tucked the blueprint into his pocket and picked up a few planks of wood, instructing Hana to start with the walls. She nodded, and grabbed up as many planks as she could carry, then dragged them over to where a wall was to be built.

A few minutes into the job, Hana was singing softly to herself, knowing that Ninko was all the way on the other side of the currently incomplete cottage, and thus he wouldn't be able to hear her song, especially with all the noise caused by the hammers and the chainsaw he was using. Apparently some of the planks were a bit longer than required, so he had decided to deal with them himself. Hana on the other hand, was assigned to put up the planks that he had fixed. It wasn't that much of a trouble at all, although she would've preferred it if she could've used magic for the job. At least she wouldn't have to keep running off to get more nails when she ran out, and could instead make her own.

Hana flinched when she hit her index finger with the hammer, dropping the tool to the ground and holding her hand up to inspect her throbbing finger. It was red, but fortunately it wasn't bleeding. He picked up her hammer again, ignoring the pain like she always did, as well as the look of worry Ninko cast to her. Seeing that she wasn't bothered by it, Ninko returned to work.