James lifted up a long, straight tree-trunk, probably from a fallen sapling. He lay it on top of the frames and flew down to pick up another, hooking it in his front legs and setting it along the shorter extension of the house, the whole thing making an L shape.

"What do I do?", he repeated, brows furrowing in thought as he watched Sharp wrap and tie up the branches securely, "Well... I'm hoping to be a powerful spell caster someday. But... I'm also a father, first and foremost. Anything I do now is for my family. I suppose once my children are independent I can focus on myself again, but until then? This is all for them."

He lifted up a branch to cross the frame of the house, the other sections already done except for this, "Oh drat- nevermind spell casting, I suppose. My spells keep bloody failing. Could you tie this against the posts? I'm going to stack rocks against the outside and use clay to keep them stable. It will keep the rain and wind out much better."

James kept the branch stable, holding it up with his wings and head so that Sharp could do her thing.

@Sharp

Sharp's claws tapped against the edge of the roof as the Pegasus spoke. For a creature with no paws he was surprisingly nimble at hoisting the logs. Maybe she should take notes!

"A spellcaster!" the lizard awed. "I've never been good with spells." No kidding-- the last time she tried she nearly gave a heart attack to her future child. "And a father! I've always had shinies and made things, and I don't think that having Huma and Aerie around really changed that. I just in... incorp..." how do you say that one word, again? "Incorporated! I just incorporated them into my life!"

Once again, all these long words! Regardless, it seemed James' spell didn't work as well as he thought it did, and that was where the lizard came in! "On it!" She gripped the edge with her jaws (thank god he was holding it up) and carefully tied the twine around it's edge as well. Nice and stable once again.

Sharp marveled a bit at the intelligence the dark horse displayed. "Stones! Yes! You're really good at this! Who taught you?" the last bit was just a playful question spoken around the bark of the wood. "Do I got competition?"

© ©

@James

James flushed a bit and landed once the branch was stable, looking away with a smile, "Er, I taught myself. Over many a trial and error. I noticed that a wooden house didn't keep rain out or hold up as much as a stone one, but a wooden frame is entirely possible if you cover it in rock, and a thatched roof would be easy to replace and fix if there are leaks."

He'd thought this through, clearly.

He smiled at Sharp's tease and shook his head, "None, I'm afraid. I'm doing this for my family, no other reason. You could even use this idea if you wanted."

James started to roll over rocks, balancing them within the frame, and then on each other. He'd have to do a bottom layer first before he started with a top one. That would have to happen the next day.

@Sharp

Sharp smiled a bit at the dark pegasus, leaning down over the beams to look at him. "Smart! I'll keep this house in mind!"

The rest of the roof-tightening was spent in relative quiet-- if you exclude her constant figeting, that is. Tapping her spiny tail, clinking her gem, letting her paws slide against the bark. The little movements she did every day.

Eventually she noticed she had spent a great deal of time on the roof, and by this point the frames were largely complete. James was rolling stones over now, so she decided to scramble down there to help. Rock after rock, pushed by her little snout across the grass. She wasn't strong enough to stack them like the equine, but she did set them where she could and pushed the rest close to James for him to do.

Sharp hummed a little tune, then looked up at him. "Anything else to do?"

© ©

@James

James shook his mane out, the braids loosening again, "We just need to pack clay over and between the rocks to keep them stable. There's plenty near the river, but I've already gathered plenty to use. My daughter helped me dig out a stream to use and we have a nice little pond, now."

He made his way over to it and pointed at the little pond they'd made, a stream running from the main river to here.

"We'll wet the clay and pack it in, and once it dries and becomes rock hard under the lights, it should be rock-hard," he said, "Though some light magic would definitely help a bit..."

As his magic failed, he sighed. Either he'd keep having to braid his mane or he'd need to get a haircut. Probably both.

@Sharp

Finishing up this thread uwu

Sharp perched atop the rocks, listening to James speak. It didn't look like there wasn't much left to do-- except for pack over the stones with clay, of course. Now, Sharp had done that many times over, mainly for using the mud as glue. But unfortunately, this didn't seem like something she could help with. She was simply too small to easily glob all that clay on, and the day was whiling away.

"Woof! That's a good pond! And a good build! Hm, I think I'm gonna hav'ta go, though." she scrambled down to the pool shores, nudging her head towards the cart. "Still gotta bring Fuzzy around the cave. Was fun helping!"

And with that she scurried back to her cart, Aerie still sleeping soundly inside, and nudged her mouth around the handle. With one last turn to the pegasus, Sharp chirruped, "Have fun parenting! And building! Lemme know how it goes!"

And then she left.

© ©

A very clunky Sharp exit.

@James

James perked up as Sharp suddenly got up, "Oh! Alright! You have fun now, and bring Fuzzy to visit sometime! You're both welcome here if you wish to visit!"

He waved with a wing and watched them head off, a smile on his face. With the frame done, he was confident that the rest of the house would be a piece of cake to finish up. Well, hopefully.

He headed down to the river to rebraid his mane there and to get a drink, content.

@Sharp
Exit James