A Macabre Drinking Vessel

JP with Lorem and Omni

Gonyaul closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was reframing his thinking. One can’t solve a problem with the same level of thinking that created it. He needed to not focus his attention on the problem but on the solution.

He looked to Voah, “please keep look bucket and rope. I have idea.”

He went back to their supplies and pulled out his Arisha Ikeburer. He retrieved just the two long linen wraps that are meant to bind around the forearms. Returning, he began tied the ends together to have something that could work like a rope.

Gonyaul then began carefully looking around the bone piles. He retrieved the largest skull he could and turned it upside down. Then he took some sand and with his hands vigorously scrubbed it as clean looking as possible. He began weaving the linen around the open holes in the skull. It was his idea of a small bowl size bucket.

In her solemn, silent discomfort, Voah signed in agreement and began searching the area for anything that could act as a retrieving vessel. She peered into the mouth of the open well to gauge whether there was even any water to be had.

Gonyaul was meticulous in his attention to detail as he combined a skull and linen wraps to stand in for a small bucket and rope. He tested the upside down skull cavity by filling it with sand and holding it up to see if the sand would shift out. It did not, and was contained within the skull. He wagered sand was basically fluid enough to simulate what water would do. He emptied the skull and came back over to the well and Voah.

“We can try this.” He choked out. It may be a silly idea, but it was worth a shot in his mind. Sometimes his crazy ideas worked out and other times they were a bust, but he dared to try.

A thin sheen of sunlight reflected of the surface of water somewhere below, Voah couldn't tell the distance and in a thrill of hopeful excitement she nearly lost her balance as she turned and stood from her position at the well.

Her body, once the slender and athletically toned body of a dancer, had certainly withered a little on the journey since leaving the gate city. She had grown thinner. Skin stretched tight over muscle and bone. As she stumbled, it was evident to Gonyaul how worn she had become since her natalday.

"We may have some fortune. There is water."

Gonyaul placed a steading hand on Voah’s shoulder. He smiled and gave her a gentle hug before taking a position to lower his contraption. He asked Voah to hold onto him, for a counterbalance, while he lowered it carefully and slowly down. He didn’t want it to strike the side roughly.

It fell short of the water. Not to be discouraged he brought it back up. They would have to be patient just a moment more. He returned to his Ikeburer and worked on using the clothing itself to add to the length.

He went back and tried again. This time he could feel it fill with water. He slowly brought it up so as not to spill much water. It was a funny juxtaposition when he finally held the skull in his hands; a symbol of death filled with life giving water.

He brought it close to his face and sniffed it. Then took a very light sip. And inspected it visually. Everything seemed alright. He handed it to Voah. “You first.” He said pleased with the favorable outcome and the chance to satisfy a need for her.

Looking over the skull and into his eyes, Voah needn't say a word to express her adoration and appreciation for the man in front of her. Intelligent, resourceful and ever selfless. She thanked the Pillars for Gonyaul and for the water and with that she whispered a prayer to bless the water, hoping to banish any pestilence.

Her thirst overrode her concern of the macabre vessel. She took the skull in both of her hands and found a good angle from which to drink, tilting it back so the water spilled forth from the hole where the spine might have once been. It was a messy, gushing draft, that spilled down her chin but she took a mouthful. Thank Panolis it WAS cool, clean, fresh water and it seemed far sweeter than any fruit she could remember, but that was just her intense dehydration thinking. She let out a moan of refreshment and relief and pushed the skull gently into Gonyaul's hands.

"Thank you. And thank the Pillars." she said and bowed her head into two grateful hands.

When their eyes met, upon the exchange, it was a tender moment where no words needed to be spoken to relay their affection for one another. That moment he would never forget. And he felt a tingling of excitement creep its way up and down his spine.

Gonyaul felt a rise of pleasure from watching the relief drinking the water brought to Voah’s expression. Her cherishing sound for the cool liquid made even his dry mouth try it’s best to salivate.

When she was done, Gonyaul proceeded to draw a skull full for himself. The moment the cool water hit his lips he too made an involuntary sound of rapture. He had a new level of appreciation for water that he never would have experienced if it wasn’t for their struggles. He was grateful for that. In fact, he felt like he was savoring its taste with much more awareness; his five senses immersing themselves with every minute detail.

Gonyaul, after his first drink, continued to repeat drawing up more water one skull at a time. Each time he would double check the knots to ensure they were tight. He always let Voah drink her fill before taking some himself. He continued to do so until both had satisfied their long neglected thirst.

Even after they were hydrated, he pulled up yet another skull of water. “We need to proper clean your arm.”