Blood from cut fingers was indeed on the dirty stone floor... not much, just little bits here and there. The smell was overpowering. Few of these females had any chance to clean, and dirt could be seen on their unwashed hands and feet.
Uraca was found sitting on the floor, as were most of the workers here. Chairs were only given to the most productive. This young female had an expression of intense concentration on her face. Her dark reddish skin was covered in sweat, and her yellow belly was already wet as well. She had taken off her top before working, as it was tight on her and made working in an already hot room even more difficult.
She was sore, bored and exhausted, having little time to sleep and even less to enjoy herself. The claws on her hands were cracked and worn from all the work, and the claws on her feet were in a similar state, due to all the walking she had to do to get to work. Uraca lived with one of Vaeri's cousins, where she was expected to not only earn her keep, but to turn a profit. Since she was paid by the piece, Uraca had to work for an extra two or three hours in order to do this.
The material she worked with was linen, a cloth which fetched a high price at the marketplaces, and was a prime export. The flax for the cloth was grown along oases and rivers, then brought in by horse and camels when it could not be floated up the river on a boat or barge. Most of this cloth would eventually end up in a tailor's shop in another city or another land, and few, if any of the buyers would ever know that it took nightmarish labor just to spin the cloth...
Rhiga approached her half-sister. Uraca looked up, eyes wide. She knew that Rhiga was not supposed to be here. The young female's short tail perked up at the sight of a friendly face.
"Sister! What are you doing here?" Uraca asked.
"I've gone to take you away from here. Mother's passed on. I've come to take you out of Hekaga. I know it is not your break yet, but-"
With that, Uraca immediately got up and stopped her work.
"If that's so, I don't want to be here another minute. I quit. When they don't see me at work, they will fire me anyway. Let's go." Uraca told Rhiga, pulling on her top.
Surprised by her lack of concern about mother's passing, Rhiga realized that life in the sweatshop had made Uraca colder than she was before... this happened a lot. Rhiga also knew that it was common for them to loosen up again after they stop work and they are no longer abused. Uraca walked out of the sweatshop and as she did so, Rhiga could see whip marks in her half-sister's back...
The forum should now be back up and running. Please don't hesitate to let us admins know if you run into any issues.