The Venns and the cups beneath the stair
On Anvil Row, Mara Venn shares a forge-backed home with her antlered husband Oru, their son Pip, former apprentice Hessa, and Clinker, a one-eyed roof cat. Mara gleans cooling baths; Oru repairs straps for bodies standard equipment ignores. Pip collects stamped washers. Hessa has stayed after the apprenticeship ended.
Their argument is the cupboard. Oru needs enough room to turn without scraping an antler. Mara needs the only dependable dry storage. Pip's habit of hiding useful objects in a wall gap complicates both claims. When the forge wall goes cold for cleaning, everyone moves together without making a ceremony of it.
In Cupstairs, Iri tends breathing vessels while her sister-by-choice Dan sells cupsteam breakfast. They live with Dan's infant and Elder Pellin, who rents the window alcove. Iri needs humidity; the infant's lungs need protection from mold. Curtains, vent times, separate moss rotations, and careful work order keep the shared room usable. Three matching, unchipped cups are their luxury, brought out when someone returns after an absence.
A kitchen afloat
Silt & Daughter occupies a retired barge leaning toward its stove. Old Silt smokes fish. Veya manages suppliers; Moss leaves on freight routes and returns with spices, scars, and other people's coats. Veya's girlfriend Ren maintains the hull. Deckhands and couriers join the sleeping arrangements.
Whoever must work first eats nearest the exit. A wrapped plate means someone is expected. Two plates mean the household does not know whether the absent person is traveling alone. Messages pass through food deliveries while Old Silt insists he knows nothing about it.
The Bellrig sleepers
Retired rigger Omm, bell tenders Sen and Vale, porter Kett, and Vale's child Lala sleep around a system whose bells never stop. Omm teaches with small rope constructions because his knees no longer trust ladders. Kett protects his sensitive hearing during tests. Sen and Vale each resent a different part of Omm's expectations.
The household schedules meals, medicine, and arguments by warning patterns rather than a clock. Nobody imitates an emergency bell for fun. Lala gets one birthday exception with a small untuned spoon.
