[Orual]

"I've got the hammer!" Rie called, already halfway up the ladder. She got onto the roof, and stopped. "Oh, I guess you found one. Must be for the horse-shoes. Oh well, I don't have a horse, so I've only been in here once. Now we have two!"

Derufin handed her a leather pouch filled with nails, and she took it and began working. She'd repaired the roof for her mother's smithy before, so she was a veteran at this sort of thing. "If you're to work in my shop with me, you'll know how to do everything to keep a smithy in working order," her mother would always insist. "And leaving a roof with shingles missing isn't working toward a good smithy."

The midday sun beat down on Rie's dark hair, and it began slipping out of the loose ponytail that she had tied it back in. Impatiently she knelt and tied it back again. As she shook her head to make sure it was tight enough, she threw herself off balance and nearly fell off of the roof. She gave a little shout and flailed her arms wildly, trying to regain her balance, but it only served to throw her off more. Luckily Derufin caught her arm and pulled her back on just in time. "Thanks!" she said, catching her breath. She flushed in embarrassment. "Ah, sorry about that. This is the second time. Perhaps I ought to learn something from this?" Rie thought for a moment. "But either way, I won't, likely. Let's keep on this roof." She turned her face back to her work to keep from meeting Derufin's eyes. How embarrassing! Twice this happened. At least she hadn't really fallen...