username - Irrylath
name - Astir
link to round one post -
hereAstir shivered, wishing for warmth. It was the third time this winter the heat had been turned off, only this time they didn’t know if it would be turned back on. The past two times it was only for a day or two because they forgot to pay the heating bill, but they had lost their job since then. This time, they would have to be careful about how they spent their money, and be glad they have a wood burning stove.
Food would be a priority, as would an axe. Warmer clothes would also be a good idea, as they moved here during the summer from a much warmer climate, and still didn’t have winter weight clothes.
They bundled up, putting on as many layers as possible, and headed to the closest food pantry. It would be their best bet to make their money last, and a way to get non-perishable goods. After getting as much food as the people their allowed them to take for a one month period of time, they left and headed to a thrift store close by. There Astir bought a weeks worth of clothes, a thick coat, and some laundry detergent. After being given permission to change clothes in a restroom, they left the store, old clothes and laundry detergent in one bag, food in the other.
They headed home to put away their purchases. Once those were put up, they headed back out to get the axe they needed. Headed for a more pricey store then the others briefly scared them, but the knew that it was more important to get a good axe than a cheap one.
Glad that they already owned a ladder, they walked outside with it and the axe. The axe would allow them to get wood from the nearby forest, however, the forest is on someone else’s private property. The question now was, how desperate are you? Are you desperate enough to trespass and technically destroy their neighbor’s property, or will you only cut off limbs on your property, or will you only collect dead wood?
Walking outside near the fence line, they looked at the ground to determine if there was any fallen wood. Finding that there was, they collected that first, as that meant hurting the trees far less than cutting into them. They collected enough for the fire to run until midday the next day.
They did this all winter, collecting wood off the ground whenever possible, and when it wasn’t, they cut down branches on their property or close to power and phone lines. Thay also visited the food pantry once a month until spring.
Eventually, spring came, and with it, more opportunities for jobs. Astir decided to work at the thrift store, and volunteer at the food pantry. They primarily did this to help others out of similar situations to the one they just left, but also because they knew it would be a way to meet others in their new hometown.
[500 of 500 words, exchanged both art pieces for words]