Ominous storm clouds had threatened Stonebarrow for much of the afternoon. A rumble here and there implied rain was soon to come. The day wanes and as the sun starts to slowly come down in the sky the clouds grow even thicker and darker. Whatever the storm may be bringing, it sure seems to sound as if it'll be fairly rough and very soon.

The door is open, but the inside of Zahnrad's shop is oddly quiet today. Several lamps are lit to help light various sections in absence of the usual sunlight that filters down from the skylights. Zahn's nowhere in obvious sight, but he seems to have definitely been here recently. A smoothly sanded and oiled oak staff rests against the lathe. His desk is also illuminated and some rather comprehensive designs seem to be spread out on it, neatly labeled.

At the open door to the shop, a large wicker rain-hat pokes inside and calls out, "Hello? Zahnrad?" The hat comes off to reveal Amelia, wearing an eelskin rain poncho over her overalls, with a large stone-headed axe slung against her back. "It's Amelia," she adds, just in case.

No response from within. The equipment seems to be shut down for now. No spinning gears, no moving belts.

Kadie curiosity draws Amelia deeper into the shop. It's not so ominous when things aren't whirling and rumbling. She sneaks over to the desk to see what the plans are for.

The top page is … well. It almost looks like a boat. It appears to be some sort of pontoon, connected to what looks like a couple of large springs and, quite frankly, butter churns. It also seems to have two wheels lining the bottom. A note at the bottom gives it a name: 'Lower landing pods for project 'Airhearte'. Amphibious landing capable. Oil and spring impact absorption.'

Scratching her head, Amelia puzzles over the drawing, trying to picture how big the thing must be. "He must go through a lot of lumber," she mutters.

If the numbers make sense, it's probably supposed to be about eight feet long and two feet wide. And apparently whatever it'll attach to requires two of them. Also, the notes seem to indicate the butter churns aren't butter churns – they're some sort of oil container with a piston. The notes claim the thickness of the oil aids in absorbing impacts.

Amelia shakes her head slightly. "Oil makes things slippery. How is it supposed to absorb 'impacts' though? Everyone knows you use sawdust to absorb spilled oil… " Her eyes drift over to the staff, next to the lathe. She goes over to it, abandoning the confusing diagrams for now. Reaching for the staff, however, the Kadie pauses. "It's just a staff. He wouldn't have tried to improve it in some weird way, would he?" she asks herself.

It looks like an ordinary staff. No strange fiddly bits, wraps, or studs are visible.

Cautiously, Amelia picks up the staff. When nothing springs out from the ends, she grins and checks the balance and heft, then takes off her axe and poncho to do a few exercises with the staff, swinging and twirling it without hitting any of the hanging belts or pulleys.

The staff seems quite well balanced and perfectly straight as far as can be seen with the naked eye. There are two odd-looking pins embedded in each end, but they don't seem to be buttons or anything that pops out. Maybe they're some sort of weights to make the balance closer to center.

"This is great!" Amelia says out loud as she dances about with the weapon. "Lots better than my old one!"

Something suddenly shifts in the corner of the room and a nearby piece of wood clatters to the floor.

Amelia freezes for a moment, then turns toward the fallen bit of wood. "Anybody there?" she calls as she stalks towards the corner with her staff firmly gripped.

No one replies. However there is this one foot that's sticking out from behind of pile of odd-looking bits.

The dark-furred Kadie nudges the foot gently with the end of the staff to see if it moves.

There's a groan from behind the pile and the foot slips out of view. " C'mon, mom, another hour," comes a complaining, groggy, voice. Zahnrad's voice.

Suppressing a giggle, Amelia peeks behind the woodpile to look at the sleeping squirrel, her mind briefly wondering where she can find a bowl of warm water. But she isn't that mean.

Zahn is curled up into a half-ball with his jacket over him like a small blanket. His tail is wrapped upward over his hands. His mouth is hanging slightly open and he's left a small puddle of drool on the floor. His ears are covered with a very silly looking set of earmuffs … probably why he didn't hear Amelia's questions.

Squatting down in front of the sleeping Kadie, Amelia clicks her teeth and tries to decide whether or not to wake him. "You were probably up all night finishing the staff for me, so I should let you sleep," she reasons. "Then again, I rushed through my chores this morning so I could get here before the storm broke." She flicks her tail around to tickle Zahn's nose.

Zahn's nose wiggles several times. Then suddenly, he sneezes and his eyes flick wide open. He jerks upright and grabs onto Amelia's tail and screams loudly, "I didn't do it!"

"Yark!" Amelia yelps at the outburst, falling backwards unto her rear. "What the heck do you dream about?" she demands, even though Zahn probably still can't hear her.

Zahn continues to hang onto Amelia's tail with a death-grip. He blinks a few times and looks at her. He starts to say something, then remembers the earmuffs. Quickly, he lets go of the tail and removes the muffs. "Gah, couldn't you have woken me a little more gently?" he says, complaining.

Combing out her tail, Amelia glares at Zahn and asks, "I barely touched you. What would have been more gentle?"

"Not tickling my nose," Zahn says with a grumble. He then just shrugs and glances over at Amelia's staff. "Ah, I see you found it. I hope it's good enough?" he says, looking rather hopeful.

"It's great!" Amelia enthuses, apparently forgetting about the slight against her waking-up-people skills. She rests the staff in her lap and runs her hands across it. "It's so smooth and straight! How long did you have to work on it?"

Zahnrad rubs his neck and considers that for a moment. "Ah, well, I think I finished around eight this morning, or so," he says as he counts off on his fingers. He actually seems to beam, saying, "You really like it? Great!" He flicks his tail into his lap and fiddles with the tip. "I was a bit worried."

"Huh? Worried about what?" Amelia asks, looking up from the staff.

Zahn shrugs slightly and says, "That you wouldn't like it since you didn't make it. I tried to get it perfectly balanced by inserting some weight pins in each end. It should balance on center."

"It's better than anything I could have ever made on my own," Amelia says, still grinning widely. "And since you made it, Clover Chalk can't accuse me of having wossname-envy."

Zahnrad scratches on his cheek lightly and asks, "Wossname-envy… ?"

"Well, that's not the term she used, but I don't want to embarrass you," Amelia says, and then scratches at her cheek and asks, "Are you hungry? I brought you some chestnuts if you want 'em."

Zahn thinks on that for a moment, then ohs. "I didn't even know Clover knew my name," he comments, then sniffs the air. "Food? Sure! I haven't eaten since, uhm… yesterday."

"I hope you like them warm," Amelia says, and reaches into the tuft of fur poking past the top of her overalls. It takes a moment of searching, but she finally produces a half dozen brown nuts. "Here you go!" she says, offering the nuts to Zahnrad.

Zahnrad stares at the nuts for a bit. "Uhm, that was, er, between … " he starts to say. He then takes the nuts and starts munching on then quietly, his ears flushing red briefly.

"I can't carry 'em in my cheeks without salivating," Amelia explains, and starts to get up. "Besides, they're chest-nuts, get it?" she adds, grinning as if this were the pinnacle of wit.

Zahn stuffs the remaining nuts in his mouth and mock-growls. He springs at Amelia and halts her from getting up. "Ith geth you for thath!" he says and starts to try and tickle the other Kadie!

"Hey! Ack!" Amelia yelps while laughing, going down under the larger Kadie. "Hah! No fair!" she barks, and finally tries to push Zahnrad off. "You've got all matted fur on half your face still!"

Zahnrad sits on top of Amelia, trying to look triumphant and bat at Amelia's hands all at once. It doesn't last long and he falls to the side, giggling. Slowly, he gets up and tries to comb out the side of his face.

Sitting up herself, Amelia hugs her sides after wiping at her eyes. "Ugh, next time I won't wear something that exposes my sides," she promises. "I gave Emmett a real knock on the ear when he did that, so count yourself lucky," she notes, still giggling a little.

Zahn grins and bats his eyelashes. "Aww," he says, teasing. "Besides, what will you wear next time? Armor?"

"Well, hopefully I'll have some new clothes by then," Amelia says, and leans back against the wall. "So, what do you need to do for the storm? I looks like a nasty one, and the wind was picking up and getting cold when I got here."

Zahnrad blinks, as if remembering something. "Storm… ? Oh … Dagh!" he says and leaps to his feet. The Kadie vaults himself over the pile of parts, actually does a forward flip, then starts running around the room, grabbing various things!

Setting the staff back against the lathe for safekeeping, Amelia retrieves her poncho and sturdy rain hat (made more for deflecting hailstones and other debris than for actually keeping out rain). She rests her axe against her shoulder and waits for Zahn to wind down.

Zahn runs around the room vaulting off gears and grabbing things here and there. He then starts tossing things to Amelia. It looks rather like some sort of tentacled flailing thing as it flies at her!

A bit more prepared this time, Amelia reaches up to catch the thing before it can hit her. "What is this thing?" she asks, once she's sure it isn't actually alive.

"Harness!" Zahn shouts. "You don't want to fall off and gets sucked into the gears, right? They can strip the hide off a pig in ten seconds!" He grabs a couple of hook-like items, a large hammer, and his usual toolbelt. He slows down and walks over towards Amelia and says, "By the way, thanks for coming. I really do appreciate it. You didn't have to."

"Sucked into the gears?" Amelia replies in a small voice. She sets down her axe and asks, "Oh, it's the least I could do. How do I put this thing on?"

"Yeah, well, not many people come to help out ol' crazy Zahnrad, y'know?" Zahn replies and walks behind Amelia. "Here, I'll help. The upper straps go over your shoulders. They're the ones that make a v pattern. The other two go around your waist," he explains.

The girl works it out, getting the harness strapped on over her poncho, which now looks like a short dress where the straps cinch it in. "What do we have to do? Disconnect the wheels?"

"Only if the storm gets real bad. The millers don't appreciate it if we cut the power on them unless there's no choice. We can cut the power to the Wingnut shops, though. I'll show you how that's done," Zahnrad says and checks over the buckling on Amelia's harness before donning his own. "First thing we want to do, though, is get the netting strung out over the power axles and gears to keep fish, or newts, or what have you, out of the mechanism."

"Oh, nets," Amelia says. Storm nets were a major industry for the Weavers in town.

Thunder rumbles overhead and Zahn flattens his ears. "I shouldn't have been sleeping," he grumbles. "I should have gotten the nets out by now." He quickly hooks some tools to his belt and says, "Okay, time to go. Stay close. You'll be fine; I'll keep an eye on you."

"I'd prefer a strong rope too," Amelia says, picking up her axe and heading for the door.

"There's rope at the dam that hooks to the harness," Zahn comments as he rolls the door out of the way. Outside, the wind is already howling and drops of rain are beginning to fall. He braces himself and heads out into the storm.

Tilting her hat down, Amelia follows.

Zahnrad guides Amelia through the blowing wind along some of the winding catwalks that lead up to the edge of the dam. He pops open a box nearby and pulls out some lengths of rope with catches on each end. He tosses one to Amelia, then snaps one of the catches on a ring on the harness. The other is quickly affixed to a taut guideline running alongside the railing. "Hook up," he says, "and I'll show you how to run one of the nets out. Then we'll split at the top and each run one out between the wheels."

Amelia hooks up the guideline to her harness, and gives it a few hard tugs to make sure it's secure. "Okay!" she calls over the wind.

Zahnrad turns a couple knobs on another box a foot above his head. He pulls the front panel off. There are three ropes inside, all equally spaced out. He grabs all three and wraps them several times around his arm. "Now, follow me. The rope can be a bit stubborn, but it should give up for you, Bruiser," Zahnrad comments with a wide grin. Up the ramp he then goes, firmly pulling the rope lines behind him.

Making sure not to tangle her own line in the streaming ropes, Amelia scurries up the ramp as well. "Bruiser, eh?" she mutters. "I hate that nickname… "

Zahnrad looks back at Amelia and points out, "Hey, you call me Zany." It's slow going. The rope does tend to want to hang up often. But, at last they reach the top. Beneath them gears grind and groan as the wheel spins. Zahn takes the two outside ropes and ties them to hooks mounted on the first waterwheel and pulls a lever to pull them tight. The third rope he threads through a pulley, then around some sort of crank. He starts to spin the crank. At the end of the walk they came from, a net starts sliding slowly out as it's pulled by the third rope. It slides over the other two guide ropes through hollow spaced tubes.

"What do I do?" Amelia asks, watching the net's progress. "And it's not like I go out and pick fights, you know!"

"I know," Zahn says and watches the wheel spin momentarily. "Personally, I don't think the name fits you, really. You're different than what I thought," he says and glances back at Amelia. "Okay! I need you to run the nets for the remaining wheels. I need to do some computations to figure out if the wheels are close to the stress point or not and that'll take me a bit. Also, check each wheel and make sure it's not shaking?"

"Okay," the Kadie girl replies. "The storage boxes are in the same place for each wheel, right?" she asks, as she heads down the walkway to the next waterwheel.

Zahn sits down on the edge of the platform, his feet dangling a mere foot from the grinding gears beneath them. "Exactly. Just pull it across and then draw out the netting. Be careful, okay?" He looks up and flashes Amelia a smile.

"Of course I'll be careful," Amelia says, holding her hat down with one hand as she runs across to the next net box. Now how did it go? Twist the knobs and grab the three lines…

One of the knobs twists easily enough. The other seems to be a bit more stubborn; it doesn't want to release quite so easily…

"Stupid knob," Amelia grumbles. She unslings her axe and gives the recalcitrant knob a 'gentle' whack with the side of the axe head to try and loosen it up.

Sproing! And as if to get revenge for getting whacked, the cover pops free … and drops … right towards Amelia's feet.

"Hey!" the girl yelps and instinctively jumps backward, clutching the axe to her chest and forgetting that she's attached to the guide rope until the harness line goes taut.

The guideline holding the harness creaks ominously as the safety line snaps tight. Thankfully, it all holds and the panel clatters uselessly to the walkway. The three lines are readily visible in the box. "You doing okay?" Zahn shouts from where he's sitting. He probably couldn't hear the panel fall.

Amelia waits until her heart stops pounding in her ears, then carefully slings her axe onto her back again. "Just… lost my footing a little," she calls back, then goes to get the three lines. She makes sure to separate the winch line from the guide ones, and wraps them around her forearm like Zahn did. With a grunt, she starts to haul them out towards the anchor hooks.

Thankfully, the lines don't give the Kadie too much trouble; they only hang up once while she drags them over. They do take a lot more effort that they first looked, though. Within a couple of minutes, Amelia has made it to the next wheel.

Catching her breath, she ties off the guide lines like she was shown, and gets the winch line threaded through the pulley on her third try before hooking it up to the winch. "I think I underestimated how strong Zahn is," she says under her breath, and tries to turn the crank to pull out the netting.

The net slowly pulls across and over the various interlinks that feed into the town. Fortunately the winch is geared so that it takes little effort to crank it across. The wind has picked up more now and rain starts to come down in sheets. The nearby wheel groans behind Amelia and the gears beneath her feet creak and complain.

Remembering to check for shaking, Amelia looks over her shoulder at the wheel. To her, everything seems to be shaking and groaning, but how much is too much? And there's still the third net to run after this one.

Hard to say if it's too much or not. It's complaining loudly, but nothing seems to be cracking or breaking yet. Zahn's still sitting in the distance. It's hard to make out his expression through the rain, but he may be worried.

Locking down the winch once the net is fully deployed, Amelia heads for the third wheel, moving more carefully now that she has to use her claws on the rain-slicked walkway. "I'll check the wheel again on the way back," she promises to nobody in particular. "If it looks like it's shaking worse, I'll tell Zahn."

Amelia makes her way to the third box without much trouble. The sounds from the dam don't seem to change much and the knobs easily turn. Unfortunately, the lid seems to be stuck.

"Oh, come on now," she tells the lid, and tries to pry it open with her claws. "And you'd better not fall off either!" she adds, then thinks about the last door. She probably should have tied it down or something instead of leaving it on the walkway. "I'll get it on the way back," she mutters.

The lid seems to be pretty stubborn at first, then suddenly it gives way with an oddly wet popping sound. And within seconds, Amelia finds out why as a rain of slugs cascade out of the box and over her arms and the lid in her hands.

"AAaaagh!" the girl shouts, and starts flailing her arms about. Her poncho flaps about in the wind and her feet slip as a result of her panic. She sits down hard on the walkway, kept from falling into the gears by the safety harness, and continues to yell. "Slugs! I hate slugs! Dagh-blasted slimy bags o' snot!"

The slugs seem to go in every direction away from the screaming Kadie. A few stop and seem to crane their sluggy heads back and wiggle their eyestalks at her though. Maybe they're laughing? Even those move on after a moment. A concerned voice calls out, "Amelia! Are you okay? I'm coming!" Through the sheets of rain, Zahn's toe-claws can be heard digging and scraping as he hurries across the platform. He skids to a halt near Amelia and kneels down. "Are you all right?" he says, panting, as he checks the girl over.

"Slugs!" Amelia curses, and looks up at Zahn. "I'm fine! Help me up so I can kick those buggers into the gears! They got into the net-locker."

Zahn plucks a rogue slug off Amelia's shoulder and says, "Oh, I guess Herman invited friends. There used to be only one slug in there." He helps Amelia up, then hugs her tightly, "I'm glad you're okay. I was worried you fell!"

"I've got a safety line," Amelia reminded him, but still calms down a bit from the hug. "Wait a… Herman? You have a pet slug?"

Zahn lets go slowly. "Ah, not exactly. There was a slug that took up residence in the box some time ago. We sorta named him Herman and considered him the dam mascot," he admits with a sheepish grin. "You sure you're all right?"

"I'm already soaking wet, so I can't tell if I sat on any of the leaf-eating monsters," Amelia grumbles. "And I'm not about to check, either. Don't you know that slugs are hemma… partho… wossname-dites? Of course you don't, you aren't a farmer! But if you had to spend your mornings cleaning slime off your nuts, you wouldn't be kindly to slugs."

Zahnrad pats Amelia's shoulder lightly, then slicks back his wet hair. "The rain'll wash off the slime," he says comfortingly. "Can you get the last net pulled out? We have more to do after that… " Zahn's expression goes grim, as he adds, "We have to disconnect the gearing. The water is coming up too fast. If we don't, the strain will shatter the axles."

"Right, right," Amelia says, calming herself down again. "I'll pull the net." She reaches into the locker to grab the ropes, and hopes that's all she grabs. "That gearing stuff is simple to do, yeah?"

Thankfully, nothing seems to squish under Amelia's grip. "Fairly, yes. We just have to release the lock, then pull the disconnect lever," Zahn replies and offers to pull one of the ropes for Amelia.

Amelia hands over the winch-line to Zahn, and starts pulling the guide ropes over to their hooks.

Zahn sprints amazingly well over the walkway and reaches the other end well before Amelia. He's threading the line into the winch when she arrives. "See that block over there?" he says and nods toward a block around a nearby axle support. It has two rods sticking out of it with a hole through each one. Near it is a lever. "We have to pull those, then pull the lever. That's all. But, it can buck when the lever is pulled, so it's good to have someone on hand to make sure you don't get kicked off the ramp or break anything."

"And you normally do all of this by yourself?" Amelia asks while she ties off the guidelines.

"Yeah. Most people find excuses not to be here," Zahn grouses and kneels down to look at the gearing. "I'm pretty good at dodging things, so nothing too bad has happened yet." He stands back up and starts cranking the net across. It slides out rather easily thanks to the lubricating slime of the slugs. As the net gets closer, Amelia can even see there are still slugs clinging to it.

Shuddering, Amelia turns her attention to the locking block. "Should I go ahead and pull the rods out, or does it have to be sink-row-nosed with the lever?"

Zahn shakes his head and continues extending the net. "Look on the side of the block, you'll see a rod attached to the post. Pull it from its slot, slide it through the two bars, then pull up. When you hear a thunk, stop and just pull the lever," he explains.

The girl studies the other side of the block. She takes the rod handle from the slot, and tries to thread it through the holes in the other two rods. "Like this, right?" she asks, as lightning flashes deeper in the storm.

"Right. It works just like a handle now. We keep them greased so they should pull up pretty easily," Zahn says and finishes extending the nets just in time for the fish to start to fall. He moves away from the net to stand behind Amelia and places his hands on her waist to steady her. "Pull it, then the lever. I'll stabilize you," he says."

Bending at her knees, Amelia grabs the block-handle and straightens up to pull it, hoping it doesn't have to move farther than she can stretch.

The block is firm, but slides fairly easily. After it extends up about a foot, there is a dull thunk as some sort of locking seems to release. The lever jerks slightly. Zahn steadies himself and digs in his toe-claws.

Letting go of the rod, Amelia grabs the lever and gives it a yank, yelling, "Here goes!"

The lever shudders, then gives way … actually pushing back against Amelia! Beneath the Kadies, something makes a loud snap, then a grinding/scraping noise as the gearing pulls from the wheel locks and then eases to a halt.

"Oof!" Amelia presses back against Zahn as the lever pushes into her stomach. "Ouch, I can see what you mean about being knocked over. Do we have do this for the other wheels too?" she asks.

Zahn grunts and presses forward, countering the lever force with his weight. "Yes, we do," he says afterward as he steps back and releases Amelia. "If you like, I can just handle those," he offers. "And oh, in case one ever sticks, the locks can be cut. Better to break the lock, than the wheel."

"Let's go unlock them then," the girl says, "before it starts to hail. This wind is freezing!"

Zahn pats Amelia's shoulder, than makes his way back towards the second wheel. Even he's moving slower in the rain as the water … and fish … pound down. Unfortunately for Amelia, it also makes the net above rain a few slugs from the impacts on it.

The Kadie girl is doubly glad for the poncho, which is low enough to cover her back. She hates getting fish down her clothes. One hand reaches up to steady her hat, which at least keeps the slugs off of her if not the water.

Zahn's working at the next wheel. He's already sliding the lock release up. A moment later, it makes the familiar thud as it releases. He puts his hands on the lever, then stretches one leg back behind himself and against a rail post to stabilize when it kicks. "Now, if they'd listen to me, we wouldn't have to do this," he says.

"Because of your improved trans-mittens design?" Amelia asks, keeping close behind Zahn in case he slips when the lever jumps.

Zahn glances back. "Right, it would switch the gearing to a different ratio, which would keep the axle rotating at a constant rate, instead of speeding up when the waterflow is worse," Zahn explains. "It's quite simple, the speed causes weights… " and as Zahn's explaining, a burst of fish fly down, splattering against the net and a few even bounce across the walkway. Unfortunately, one finds its way into the gearing and the lever bucks, hard, when Zahn isn't ready for it. It snaps back and out of his hands. Thankfully, with his head turned, it only glancingly connects with the back part of his skull. But … it's just enough. The Kadie jerks back from the impact, then seems to just go limp and slumps down to the walkway. The grinding beneath then continues … until the axle slows and stops as it seems to have disconnected successfully.

"Zahn!" Amelia yells and pulls him upright. She checks the back of his head for blood, and tries patting his cheek with her other hand. "Are you okay?"

No blood, thankfully, it slid and it glanced without any tearing. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem too responsive, either. A muffled groan and his eyes flick open briefly, looking out of focus and a bit confused.

"C'mon, you'll live," Amelia says. She takes a moment to unsling her axe, which she then swings and embeds into a support post. Without the axe in the way, she gets her shoulder under Zahn's armpit and tries to haul him up onto her back.

Zahn tries to struggle somewhat. "Last wheel. Disconnect. You," he manages to mutter. "Leave me. Disconnect. Come back." He blinks, wincing some.

"Okay, but don't fall off the walk," Amelia warns. Then she hurries as best she can to the third lock. She connects the handle-rod and braces her feet wide as she tries to lift the block.

Zahn flops back down to his knees and sort of sits there awkwardly. He winces and rubs the back of his head. As Amelia pulls the block … it doesn't move.

The girl tries again, cursing. "C'mon, lift!"

The block obstinately just won't move. Beneath the walkway, the creaking starts to get worse as the speed of the wheel approaches its maximum stress point. Amelia also notices something odd; the lock post seems to be bending some beneath the platform. The wheel force seems to be warping it just enough to probably make it unmovable.

Hurrying back to Zahn, she says, "The lock is jammed." As she yanks her axe from where she had stuck it, she asks, "Do I have to cut through the post? It's warped."

Zahn nods once, then wishes he hadn't. "Yes. You need to cut through the locking rods near the platform so it'll drop down and release the axle," he says, blinking as his vision clears. "Stay away from the lever. If it's warping, it'll snap hard," he adds and wobbly tries to get to his feet.

"Don't fall," Amelia tells the engineer as he tries to get up, then runs back to the locking block. She takes up a position as far from the lever as she can, spreads her legs for a better stance, and brings up her axe. Her hat flies off in the wind as she swings down against the first rod.

Zahn is busy steadying himself on the railing as Amelia takes her first swing. CHUNK! The blade sinks deeply into the wood, but not all the way through. The Wingnuts have apparently used very hard wood for the interconnects.

Yanking the axe free nearly sends Amelia over backwards, but the safety line keeps her upright. She raises up the axe and brings it down again as hard as she can.

CRACK! … CREAK! The first rod falls through and the post whips and buckles around. The second locking rod seems to be holding, but barely. Zahn is slowly making his way toward Amelia. He's gripping the rail pretty tightly.

"One down!" Amelia cries out to Zahn, grinning. Then she starts to hack at the remaining rod.

Zahn tries to give a 'thumbs up' and wobbles. The second rod seems to be a bit easier since it's taking the force of the axle and Amelia upon it. Within short order, the second rod snaps and falls. The lever then snaps back hard, missing the Kadie by mere inches as the axle kicks out of the wheel and grins to a halt.

Panting hard, Amelia lets the axe drop to the walkway for now. "At least it isn't hailing yet," she half-laughs.

A small fish splats against Amelia's poncho. Fortunately, the weather hasn't decided to be cruel and hail in response to that comment. Zahn makes his way over to Amelia finally and says, "Hey, good job." Another wince, then Zahnrad says, "Uhm, can I ask a favor?"

"As long as it doesn't require chopping any more wood," Amelia says, reaching out to steady the other Kadie.

Zahnrad leans heavily on Amelia, draping his arm over her shoulder. "Would you help me home? I need to call out and have the clan send down someone to look after the dam. I don't think I can right now," he admits glumly, as if having to abandon his machines is unthinkable to him.

"Which way is it?" Amelia asks, holding Zahn around the waist.

Zahn motions away from the dam and toward a nearby grove. "It's not far, thankfully," he says, "Third tree from the edge, the second elevator." He wobbles again briefly, then looks over at Amelia, offering a weak smile, "I'm sorry for the Bruiser comment, by the way."

"Well, I guess I can't hold it against you, since you do have a bruise now," Amelia says as she helps Zahn along.

Zahn chuckles lightly and just rests his head against Amelia's as they go. He doesn't say much as they walk, mainly just gestures this way and that. In short order, they make it to the elevator and Zahn shows her how to operate the hand crank to raise it. When it stops, they're at his cabin.

"Did you build it like this, or actually crash an airship into the tree?" Amelia asks. At least the brunt of the storm seems blocked out by the other trees, otherwise she doesn't think the pinwheel garden would survive for long.

Zahn gives Amelia a pained look. "I built it," he retorts and reaches out to the odd locking mechanism. His fingers dance over it, turning the gearing in apparently random patterns. He nods once, satisfied. A series of clicks and snaps can be heard all around the pair.

"You're sure you did that right?" Amelia asks nervously, thinking about the knock to Zahnrad's head. She keeps a close eye on the little panels around the door.

A shudder from the doorframe, then the door swings open. He grins and lightly pokes Amelia's side. "I could open it in my sleep. It's a simple mathematics lock based on the gear ratios required to have a machine of appro … mim … er, nevermind," he says. "You can, ah, come in. I'll call down and have them bring your staff by, and your ax," he offers.

Amelia helps Zahn across the threshold, and peers around curiously.

"Not a lot of things that appreciate getting wet," Amelia observes. "Do you have some blankets?"

Zahnrad tries to give Amelia a brief tour, pointing out his various waterwheel designs (including the one with the specialized transmission!). He then nods and motions toward a chest in the corner, saying, "Blankets inside." He finds his way to a nearby chair as she fetches blankets. He pulls an odd tube from the wall and blows in it, then says, "This is Zahnrad. We have a code yellow situation at the dam. Wheels disconnected, one lock broken. I suffered some minor impact wounds, had to withdraw to home. Please send backup. And, ah, go by my shop and fetch a staff there? It belongs to a friend, as does an axe up on the walkway." Silence, then a reply echoes from the tube, "Sending Deiter down to the dam to check things … Zahnrad! Are you hurt bad? Should I stop by?" He winces and mouths toward Amelia, "My mother… "

"Should I say hello?" Amelia asks, having taken off the safety harness and now pulling off her poncho.

Zahn waves his hands and mouths "No!" Quickly, he responds into the tube, "I just took a glancing blow to my head when the lever slipped early. It's nothing major." Silence, then a muffled giggling can be heard on the other end and a younger voice says, "Well, at least Zany didn't hit anything that matters!" Zahn shouts back into the tube, "Hey! I heard that!" His mother's voice comes back over, "All right, Zahnrad. We'll fetch the items and bring them by. Just get some rest."

With the blanket wrapped around her, Amelia fiddles underneath it until her soaked overalls hit the floor with a sodden thunk. Then she sits down and uses an edge of the blanket to start drying her tail.

Zahn sets the tube back into the wall. His eyes then go wide realizing what Amelia just did, even with the blanket in the way. "Er, uhm, you might want to hang those up to dry," he stammers as he undoes the safety harness and tosses it to the side. "Ah, I could go sit on the porch while you dry?" he offers.

"Where can I hang them?" Amelia asks, looking around for the little ceramic stove used to heat the typical Kadie cabin. "And you should lay down, like your mother said. I know that I'm exhausted, and I didn't get hit on the head."

Zahnrad motions to the corner where a bunch of boxes currently hide the stove and says, "You'll need to move the boxes. I haven't' needed it the past several nights." He gets up and pulls off his wet shirt, then throws that on the floor with a wet splut. Less wobbly this time, he makes it to the hammock and lays heavily in it and sighs, "Good idea. Ow."

Scooping up the excess blanket, Amelia goes over and starts clearing away the stuff around the stove. "Been sleeping in your workshop all that time?" she asks, as she gets the stove lit.

"Lately, yeah. Lots to get done," Zahnrad replies. "Working on the Airh… " he says, then stops. "Projects."

Zahn considers something, then adds, "There's a tailbrush in the desk drawer."

After arranging the various items of wet clothing near the stove to dry, Amelia retrieves the brush from the drawer. "Ah, thanks!" she says, and sits down near the stove as well before she starts brushing out her tail. "At least you keep your place pretty clean. I usually have Gilly Chalk come over to clean up mine every so often," she says, naming perhaps the smallest and most timid adult Lapi buck in Stonebarrow.

Zahn tilts his head to the side and watches Amelia. "Well, I don't want people messing up my diagrams and plans. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with someone else in here. You're the first person I've had in here except for family," he says.

"Oh?" Amelia asks, looking up. "I thought I heard a younger sibling over that speaking tube gizmo. They can't hear us now can they?"

Zahn shakes his head. "No, they can't hear us; the tube is closed. That was my brother, Gunther. He's always commenting that I'm crazy," he mutters. "My mother is Elsa Kettenrad, my father is Andreas Kettenrad. They're the only two allowed in here. They even know the code."

"So, does your mom come in and clean up for you?" Amelia asks. "None of my family ever come to my cabin."

"No, she doesn't. I asked them not to," Zahn replies. He's apparently staring at what of Amelia's tail he can see. "How come your family never comes to your cabin?"

"Too busy, and my tree is a bit isolated," Amelia says. "And things are still a little hot since I got into a fight with my brother Bron's fiancé. Even though I didn't start it. I don't pick fights. Except once last winter."

"I'm … sorry to hear that," Zahnrad replies as he rakes his hands through his own wet headfur to help it dry. "What happened last winter? I don't remember much, other than working on some designs in my shop. I don't get out a lot."

"Oh, I just had to beat up Mirabella Chalk so she'd let her brother Gilly come to my tree," Amelia says, setting down the brush and fluffing out her own curly hair to help it dry. "They claim I abducted him, but that's just sour grapes. It's not my fault that ice storm hit and he was stuck in my cabin for a few days. It's not like he minded."

Zahnrad blinks. "Why did Gilly want to come to your cabin that day, anyway? To clean?" he asks.

"Well, that's what I needed him for," Amelia says, and starts to roll her shoulders to keep them from getting stiff. "If he came though, then Mirabella would have to do the cleaning in their… hole, or whatever. Besides, I like Gilly. He's docile, and polite, and smells nice. He can cook and clean. Good snogger, very attentive, but pretty low-maintenance himself. If he could sew and was a Kadie I'd have married him. He's nice and fluffy too, which is important when you're iced in."

Zahnrad laughs and covers his eyes. Slowly, he shakes his head, commenting, "Ah! He's your boyfriend! I get it. Geeze, I really don't get out much."

Folding her arms across her chest, Amelia says, "He is not my boyfriend. He just… helps me relax when I need it, okay? It's practically what Lapis are for afterall. Although now I think about it, a Lapi doe wouldn't be right for you. Too demanding, I think. Maybe an Akwavi would be better."

Zahn wipes his eyes and says, "I'm sorry, Amelia. I, erg. I … didn't mean to offend." He lets his arms swing from the hammock idly. "I don't need anyone. I've got my shop, my plans, and my machines which take care of getting me food and all that," he replies. He shakes his head, "Plus, everyone thinks I'm crazy, anyway. When people come by my shop, it's usually to try and spy to see if I'm going to blow myself up. I … no one understands."

Amelia stands up and walks over to the hammock. "Let me see the back of your head," she says.

Zahn rolls to the side so he faces the wall. "I'm not even sure I can explain it. I just want to do something amazing; I want to be remembered. I want to soar and become part of the endless blue sky, above everything in a timeless place. I don't want to die a slave to the mills and gears that run this town," he says with a soft sigh.

After checking that bump isn't oozing or looking worse, Amelia asks, "And then what?"

Nothing oozing. It's just a nasty lump. "See the world? Fly around it? Revolutionize airships?" Zahn offers as possibilities.

"What, for the rest of your life?" Amelia says, and tugs on Zahn's shoulder to let him know he can lie back again.

Zahnrad rolls back to look up at Amelia. "Sure. Even I'm honest with myself about a few things; I'm pretty strange. I have to work at something, or I'd just feel lonely. I see the world as arcs, angles, patterns, and designs. Like your tail; did you know it's what I would call near perfect? I bet the arcs it forms when curled have perfect proportion," he says.

Amelia looks over her shoulder and watches as she curls her tail back and forth. "I've got perfect proportions and curves?" she asks. "But you said my right arm was a little bit longer than my left."

"I was speaking of your tail. Even your arm differences aren't noticeable unless you measure them. I can't readily tell by just looking at you," Zahnrad replies with a shrug. He waves a hand and says, "And you know, you're a lot different than what I'd always hear around town."

"That's because I'm 'pretty strange' and you know how people react to that," Amelia says. "If I were a guy or a witch, it would be different." She eyes the hammock, and gives it a little nudge to see if it rocks. "You can really sleep in this without falling out? Is it rigged to keep you steady or did you just have to practice a lot?"

The hammock does rock. "No, it moves," Zahn comments. "I don't move a whole lot when I sleep, so it's pretty easy. Plus, it curves to fit my body, which makes it safer," he explains.

"Safer, really?" Amelia asks, and gets a wicked grin. "Even if I do… this?" she asks, and starts tickling the Kadie's exposed stomach and sides.

Zahnrad gahs and jerks upright! The hammock bucks and swings as he tries to fend off the onslaught of tickling. Unfortunately, it also causes the bed to rock a bit too much, flip, then deposit Zahnrad face-first onto the floor. "Ow," he mutters.

"Oops! I'm sorry!" Amelia says, holding her hands to her muzzle to keep herself from laughing. "I guess safe for someone who builds and flies his own airships is a bit different than it is for anyone else," she says, and kneels down to help Zahn back up.

"It's safe for one person," Zahn insists! He gets to his feet and dusts himself off, then shoves Amelia backward toward the hammock. "Try it for yourself!"

Amelia eeps and falls back onto the hammock, getting the blanket tangled in it as it spins around, until she's hanging upside down facing the wall as she bonks her head on the floor. "Ouch!" she complains, and tries to free her arms from the mess.

Zahn grins, but doesn't laugh. He spins Amelia up so she's nose to nose with him. He grins wickedly and says, "Oh … whups! Somebody looks stuck."

"Wait!" Amelia calls out, too late. With her arms tangled up, she can't pull the blanket up, and is bare from the waist up. "Don't look down," she growls, "and don't let go either."

"Amelia, I wouldn't do anything like that," Zahnrad replies with an honest sincerity to his voice when he realizes just why he shouldn't look down. And as he's trying to figure out a way to get Amelia out of this with her modesty intact, there's a knock at the door. It then opens and an older Kadie lady walks in, saying, "Zahn, we found the items you were asking about. I didn't know you knew some… " She stops right there, blinking repeatedly at the scene she's witnessing.

"This probably isn't what you think it is, Mrs. Kettenrad," Amelia says over Zahn's shoulder. "We were just fooling around and… "

"Oh, no no, dearie, it's okay," Elsa Kettenrad says quickly and insists, "You don't have to explain! Zahn's quite the adult after all and it's not really my business." Zahn, however, is clenching both his jaw and eyes shut. When Amelia says 'fooling', he gives the hammock a hard shake and says, quickly, "She tripped over some papers and fell into the hammock, I was just trying to preserve her modesty. This is Amelia Blacktail." Mrs. Kettenrad doesn't look convinced, however and says, "Blacktail? The latest Frog Princess Blacktail?"

"I swear I didn't hit Zahn!" Amelia yelps. "It was the locking lever thingy! I haven't laid a hand on him!"

Mrs. Kettenrad raises an eyebrow and sets the staff and axe to the side. "Never said you did, Miss Blacktail," she replies with a smile. "Zahn wouldn't invite someone up here he didn't trust and I imagine anyone who hit him, he wouldn't trust, yes? Simple logic. I didn't even know you knew my son." Zahn takes in a deep breath and says, "I offered to replace her staff for saving the town. That's all. She offered to help at the dam today as payment, though she didn't need to. She just helped me back here after the lever gave." Mrs. Kettenrad just mmmmhmmms.

"I don't suppose you could help untangle me from this, Mrs. Kettenrad?" Amelia asks, forcing a wide smile. "I don't think Zahnrad is really comfortable with it, and if he screws his eyes shut any tighter I'm afraid they'll pop out the back of his head."

Mrs. Kettenrad looks over the situation again and puts her hand on her hip. "Well, I could, but I always taught my children to figure out their own problems. It's good for them," she says. Zahnrad just whimpers.

"Well, Zahn is pretty inventive," Amelia admits, and starts squirming again to try and free her hands. "Is there any chance that you won't mention this to anyone?" she asks the woman, still forcing that smile.

Elsa gets a smile that well, could mean a great many things. "Of course I won't, dearie," she says with a smile. "I'm just glad to see Zahn coming out of his shop and meeting people. Please, come by our trees more often; it'll be good for him." Again, Zahn just whimpers. She rubs her hands together and smiles, saying, "Well, I'll leave you two to your little problem. Nice meeting you, Miss Blacktail. Good job on giving that frog beast what-for."

"Thanks, ma'am," Amelia says, then manages to free one of her arms, which she wraps around Zahn's shoulder to keep herself steady. "There we go! Halfway there now."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Mrs. Kettenrad says oddly as she turns around and walks out of the cabin. Zahn lets out a soft hiss of breath. All he can manage to say is, "Sorry." Even his ears droop.

There's a snort, and then Amelia can't help but laugh a little. "Oh my! Well, you might as well open your eyes, I don't think we can get any more embarrassed than this, and you need to unwind this thing," she says.

"It's all just angles and curves, remember?" Amelia adds.

Zahnrad opens his eyes, but still doesn't look down. He just looks into Amelia's eyes, expression just … strange. "See what I have to live with?" he says weakly. He looks to the right and left of the hammock, considering. "Can you hold onto my neck to balance yourself? I have an idea."

Amelia shifts her grip to Zahn's neck. "Okay. If you can get my tail free I can cover up with that some."

"Just hold on tight," Zahn says, followed by another 'sorry'. He then releases his own arms and spreads them out wide, gripping far out on the hammock. He takes a slow, deep, breath, and shifts his legs a bit. Then Zahn starts to lift up. His whole body seems to shift some as his muscles tense up to bear the load and his body becoming a lot harder than it was a moment ago. Slowly, he lifts the whole hammock upward until the hanging cords are loose. He grunts and flicks his right wrist … several times. Finally, it comes free from the hook. He pulls that arm in to make it easier to hold, then carefully eases toward the wall where he can unhook the other side. He lets out a soft sigh, then slowly lowers the Kadie back to the ground and lets go of the hammock so she's sitting on her backside, sort of. He puts his arms around her and says, "Okay, can you untangle yourself?"

"I might be able to," Amelia says, and twists and tugs until her other arm comes free. "Yeah! It's all a bit looser now," she says, and fumbles around as she unwraps the blanket without looking, since her head is pretty much resting on Zahn's shoulder. "My feet were starting to fall asleep," she notes, managing to untangle a leg.

The tail comes free next, and flits around to get the circulation back and to give Zahn something to watch while Amy gets her other leg loose.

"I can imagine. You looked a bit squeezed," Zahn replies and looks at the wall behind her. "I… " he says to say, then just shakes his head. "Nevermind."

"Okay, I think I can stand up now," Amelia reports, and holds an edge of the blanket in one hand. "Your chest fur is tickling me too. Should be safe to let go now?"

Zahn closes his eyes and carefully releases his arms. He then scoots back and sits on the floor.

Amy gets up and wobbles a bit, then drapes the blanket over Zahn rather than wrestle with it further. She goes to the stove, and figures her overalls are dry enough. She steps into them, pulls the straps up over shoulders, and says, "Okay, you can take the blanket off without being traumatized now."

"It wouldn't have traumatized me," Zahn replies as he pulls the blanket off. He looks at Amelia for a moment, looking rather lost for words. "I just… I respect you, and your privacy," he says, sounding as if that's not quite it, but as close as he can manage.

Putting her hands on her hips, Amelia says, "You really are strange. I like that." With a grin, she adds, "After we clean up the castle, I'll show you something neat that you won't be afraid to look at, okay?"

"I wasn't afraid!" Zahn insists. "I've seen airships, right, they're shaped like … er, anyway! Sure." He slowly gets to his feet and rubs the back of his neck, wincing when he brushes over the bump. "And thanks again for helping save the town and helping out at the dam today. I appreciated the company."

"It was fun, in a cold, wet, slimy sort of way," Amelia agrees. She picks up her poncho, and slips it on. "It didn't look too stormy when your mom barged in, so I guess I'll head home. I gotta work out again to make sure I don't go stiff from all the pulling and stuff." She rubs the top of her head where she bumped it on the floor, and smirks again.

Zahn's reddening ears say enough. He coughs once and nods, "I have to fix my bed, looks like. Maybe I'll work some more on a few ideas I had the other day," he says, rubbing his chin. A moment later a shout can be heard outside, the younger voice from the tube earlier. "Hey! I think Zahn's got a girl up there!" Zahn takes a breath and says, "Or I have to kill my brother."

Amy laughs again, and says, "Hey, call me anytime if you want some company." She pats Zahn on the cheek, then picks up her staff and axe. "Besides, your mom invited me to dinner! I hope she's a good cook," she adds, before stepping out and heading for the elevator. "And I'm a woman you little twerp!" she calls down towards the voice of Zahn's brother.

Zahnrad stands there, sort of blinking. Sure, he can process angles, but people just seem to vex him. "Ah, yeah, she's pretty good. Her kitchen is really neat, I automated parts so it'll just send food to folks. No huge effort for her most of the time," he says as he leans out the door and waves to Amelia. "And stop by the shop anytime you're free. If I'm not busy, I'd like the company." From below, Gunther says, "He sure would! Go Zahn!" Zahn grumbles and whacks a button on the wall. A moment later a rather upset 'yark!' can be heard from below as a released water balloon hits its target.