Citizen 204 Zoisen

Artist: Alliion 

The breeze in the wind had begun to pick up, leaves fell as the air seemed to get colder day by day. Zoisen wasn’t much of a winter enjoyer, but he did love the fall. It was his favorite time of year and he practically begged the Elders each year to prolong it just a bit.

With the cold weather up and coming there was no time to waste. Zoisen had been asked by peers to help in a momentous project to erect a statue in his local town. He just felt blessed at the chance to be part of something so magnificent.

Zoisen walked along the cobbled road leading out of town, his love of sculptures and art made him dirty his hands occasionally. He didn’t mind though, the dirt of creation in a piece really gave a fun story to tell. The stone under his feet began to fade into the warm earth.

His ears swayed in the wind and caught the sound of rushing water. This was the perfect spot, a calm and wide area of the river outside of town was usually packed with clay and other sculpting materials he could use.

Carefully he removed his leather bag and hung it on a nearby tree. He unbuttoned the clatch and dug around for wraps and laid them on the grass below the bag. He took a deep and cathartic breath readying himself for the cold water. He stretched and his plated back stopped him when he went too far.

The water rippled as he slowly waded through the currents. His scales felt cold as the water hit them but he pressed forward into the murk of the water. His webbed feet often picked up sand and making it harder to spot the materials he was looking for. The water flowed up to his shoulders and as he inhaled enough air to make his chest large he took the plunge.

The river got quite deep in this portion, the riverbed often was quite clean as everyone did their part to take care of the river. He used his long tail to push himself gently across the sand, eyes adjusting to the clumps of sand flying by.

Zoisen swiveled around a rocky pillar at the bottom of the bed looking for the brown clay among rocks and sand. It usually wasn’t difficult to spot but today the water was murkier than he expected. He instead took a chance to run his fingers along the rock hoping to feel the smooth texture of clay deposits.

Luck found him quite quickly as he came across a deposit that snaked its way between the cracks of stone. Carefully he pulled a tool from the waterproof pack he had grabbed from his larger bag. He narrowed his eyes at the deposit and took the sharp-edge tool along the seam. The clay seemed to just peel off, he worked on it slowly to ensure he didn’t lose any small pieces in the slow current.

He balled up what he had collected in his hands, his lungs begging for a breath of fresh air. Zoisen snaked his body to the surface, still holding the clay between his front paws. He carefully waded back over to the shore where he had set down his bag. He laid the clay and patted it down flat onto the wraps he had put out before. The clay slowly began to dry, although there wasn’t too much quite yet.

He didn’t feel satisfied and likely would need to use the next few days to gather a full amount, but for now Zoisen was feeling one more large deposit of clay might do the trick.

Once again he took a dive into the murky river swimming along the bottom, picking up rocks, and feeling crevices with his hand. He came upon a large resting boulder that looked to have several large eroded spots on its underside. Zoisen felt good about this one, he used his tail to pit himself under the large rock and positioned his back legs on another rock pillar. He shoved with all of his strength and was able to move the rock just enough to dig the sand out with his tail.

He swiveled around to see clay that was stuck under the rock, but his hand could just now reach it. He quickly gathered it hoping to get home in time for lunch. He managed to dig a large amount of clay out as he sputtered back to the surface, almost too focused on the task to remember to breathe.

His back legs finally touched the grass and he was finally free of the cold water - at least until tomorrow. He had gathered a much larger haul than he needed for the day and was more than pleased with his work. He wrapped the clay up in his pack and slung it around his shoulder for good measure.

Soon he would be able to craft one of his greatest art pieces yet.

Author: Alliion