Solo Of Eagles and Men

Kanri is cutting a large number of glass beads for a commission. Suddenly, her assassin friend drops in for a visit, but for once, he is only out on a social call and wants to see how Kanri is doing.

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The westernmost tip of Kalea, Wind Reach is home to an amazing group of people and their giant eagle mounts. [Lore]

Of Eagles and Men

Postby Kanri on June 14th, 2013, 10:23 pm

Timestamp
19th of Summer, 513 AV
The Crafts Gallery
Time of Day: Late at Night


Kanri sat at a table in the Craft Gallery with a whole box of little glass balls she had made. Now all that was left was to sand the glass, due to the foggier effect she was after. She had made an extra five, as she had just figured out, between cracking or lopsided bottles and breaking accidents. She pointed a mental finger at her father, who had lost her last commission by dropping a box full of bottles in the Courtyard of the Sky. That since led to more than a few problems. More and more, she had become convinced that men were the bane of her existence and the source of all trouble in the world. Though, she didn't seem to talk with many girls her own age, so she wouldn't know...

Finding a thick, rough clothI wasn't sure if sandpaper existed in Mizahar so I'm playing it safe and assuming they had a cloth with a similar purpose. out for common use, Kanri began to rub little circles on the glass, attempting to creating a smooth, but cloudy surface to the beads. It also made them less slippery to the touch. She had never really tried the technique, though she had seen it used often enough. She was surprised how tedious finishing up even just the first bead was, because, as she discovered, it required a lot of patience. She also had to be careful not to dig into the bead too deeply, though she was able to smooth those mistakes out fairly well.

Someone pulled up a chair, directly opposite her on the other side of the table. She mumbled a hello and continued working, assuming they wouldn't care if she didn't look up.

"Hello, Kanri," a voice said, almost pointedly. It was the smooth velvety voice that she knew fairly well now.

Kanri looked up to see her assassin friend sitting opposite of her, tipping back slightly in his chair but grabbing the table. She smiled. It seemed uncharacteristic of him to be playful, even with something so simple as chair tipping. He wore plain brown Bryda and his tattoo was covered by a brown arm wrap, but he still wore the feathers in his hair and earrings in his ears. He also seemed to have acquired some new bling for his hands, with rings and bracelets adorning them heavily, though it could have been old and Kanri would never know. She didn't even know his name, for pity sake.

"It's you,” she whispered, smiling even brighter
Last edited by Kanri on June 14th, 2013, 10:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Kanri
A Sparrow Among Eagles
 
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Of Eagles and Men

Postby Kanri on June 14th, 2013, 10:29 pm

“I haven't seen you in a long time," Kanri commented, a mixture of delight and fear creeping into her voice.

“Naturally. I normally avoid you since you know what I am and you’re not an especially good secret keeper,” the man replied. He sounded like he was trying very hard not to sound emotional. That was odd. Usually, he was always so irritated with her for one thing or another, it was like you were walking on ice. Right now, though, he sounded much more approachable.

“Why are you here, then?” Kanri asked, cocking her head to one side.

She had just finished her first bead about now and began working on the second. Getting started was, by far, the worst part. She scratched in her slow, steady circles until it began to look more foggy, instead of many tiny scratched, and slowly worked her way around.

“I’ve noticed you seem down a lot lately. When I first met you, you were an obnoxiously bubbly little girl. You’ve grown up a lot in these past few months, but you also seemed depressed fairly often. You have so much you could be doing with yourself but instead, you sit here and beat through this glassworking, which you are only mediocre at. Would you care to explain why? Why are you so sad about everything? And why don’t you try to do something you enjoy and are actually decent at?” the man asked, sounding a bit bored, but growing more into his speech at the end. She noticed he had almost gone out of his way to sound bored, in the beginning.

“How strange. It was your fault I was on edge all Fall and Winter! Why do you suddenly care?” Kanri asked, suspiciously. She really had been a nervous wreck, though eventually the trauma faded from her mind. She was much better now, but she had a bunch of other things weighing on her mind.

“Kanri, you’re a bright, young child. I let you live because I thought you were harmless, like a little sparrow. But when I don’t hear you sing, I get worried. I’ll admit, I like you. So, talk!” the man explained again, a sparkle of tenderness in his usually cross face.

Kanri put down her second bead, which had gone faster than the first. She picked up another bead. Remarkably, it was only her third. “You’re in for a long story…” At least she had a lot of beads to sand over in the meantime…
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Kanri
A Sparrow Among Eagles
 
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Of Eagles and Men

Postby Kanri on June 29th, 2013, 6:03 am

"To start with, you are asking about my glass working. I guess, I have just never seen any other thing for me to do. Besides, I am not very good at anything else in that would put me in the Avora Caste, so I do this. I may not be great at it, but I am learning, now that I'm actually focusing. But, when I was younger, I always wanted to be a storyteller. You see, I had a very good friend who told great stories but he was really sick all the time, you see? And so, he died and all his stories died with him. Except the ones he told me. I tried to never forget those. Some were funny, some were confusing, some were insightful, and some reflected his sadness. At least, I think he was sad sometimes. I tried to help, but maybe I didn't do a good job. I could never be as good as he was at what he did. And my parents did not approve. They always were disappointed in all of my choices all the time. I was lucky to grow up with them at all, I feel like I have to try to do something in return. But nothing is good enough for them... nothing... But at least, by doing this, my glass working, I can try."

Kanri had more trouble on her third bead, as she kept pushing in too hard when she got mad or excited, leaving visible scratches. She wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying, she was just talking and letting all of her thoughts tumble out in a completely disorganized way. But her friend seemed to follow just fine.

"So, maybe I will have the opportunity to become a storyteller someday, somehow. Maybe through writing or speaking or however I do it. But as of right now, I can only do this. And I can only do what I can do right now..."

As Kanri swapped over to her fourth bead, the man considered what she had said, his hand on his clean-shaven chin.

"Perhaps the reason your parents are angry with you is because you didn't have the conviction to follow your dreams and instead conformed to societal norms. Don't you pride yourself in being who you are?" He commented insightfully. He didn't even sound bored, Kanri was surprised. He must have been in a very good mood that day.

"But who am I? I'll never know here. I have to be somewhere away from all this pressure if I'm ever going to find out!"
Last edited by Kanri on June 30th, 2013, 7:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Kanri
A Sparrow Among Eagles
 
Posts: 162
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Of Eagles and Men

Postby Kanri on June 29th, 2013, 6:22 am

"Why are you so convinced that if you travel somewhere else that it will automatically solve all of your problems? You say that you want to find out who you are but if you can't know in your home environment, how will you ever know anywhere else?" the man objected, frustration creeping into his voice.

Kanri's hand slipped and really put a streak into the next bead. It made her even more mad. She set down her work for a moment and stood up.

"You can't know that either! You have no idea how much I just want to get out of here! I'm just trapped here and no one understands what I want. No one understands this feeling that something out there will save me! If I just sit here forever, I'll lose sight of whatever pieces of myself are left!"

The man met her gaze evenly with his bright, calculating eyes. Kanri felt her anger slip away and she sat back down with a defeated slump. She was hopeless. She just wanted to be able to pursue her dreams without an entire society deciding what she was allowed or not allowed to do, defining what it meant to be successful.

"Isn't there anything that you just can't possibly abandon here? Anything that would keep you here to try to figure out who you are without going on a massive campaign?" the man asked, once she had settled down and returned to sanding the bead to its foggy texture. Kanri shook her head. "What about that boy you're always seeing?"

"Ardal? I'm not with him that much, am I? Well, he's nice and all but... I don't know. I'm sorry, I guess I'm just fickle... I'm just not interested in boys right now. I make it a point not to worry about them," Kanri explained. Although, she suspected as she blundered out excuses, she was also trying to explain that situation to herself. "Maybe, it's just another defense I made..."

"That excuse certainly sounds like you're running from something, but we can confront one problem a day," the man said, kindly redirecting the conversation for her.

Kanri did a quick recount of the sanded beads. She was at six, but she wasn't sure when she had gotten to the other two. But she wasn't miscounting, as she could easily count to six, so she must have down them sometime. She picked up her lucky seventh bead and gently polished that. She thought she was really getting the technique down, though she wasn't entirely sure.

The man seemed to be considering something as she did this. He thought in silence until she had gotten about halfway down with the seventh bead. Then, he said, “Alright, if you are set on leaving, I have a proposal for you.”
Last edited by Kanri on June 30th, 2013, 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Kanri
A Sparrow Among Eagles
 
Posts: 162
Words: 107623
Joined roleplay: July 29th, 2012, 11:11 pm
Location: Wind Reach
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Of Eagles and Men

Postby Kanri on June 29th, 2013, 7:02 am

"A proposal? That sounds ridiculous, you know," Kanri muttered, staring intently at the bead she was working to hide her excitement.

"There is a trading post in Wind Reach that has been expanded and recently started accepting passengers going in and out of Wind Reach. While you would have to do some hard lifting work, which I don't think you'd manage easily, that trading post goes anywhere and everywhere. That is your best bet to get out of Wind Reach. However, if you were to go too far, you might never make it back here. But, if you are really desperate to get out of here, you could try that. I can set introduce you to a fairly responsible Endal that I know, although that doesn't mean cheaper fee or anything. The pair are fairly reliable and quiet, so if you left, they probably wouldn't say too much. Does that sound agreeable to you?"

Kanri's heart skipped a beat and she held her breath as it sank in, afraid if she exhaled, the offer would disappear like a dream. There was a way to get out of this city! Not only get out, but get far away fast!And now, she could travel everywhere and be just like the hero in all of her favorite stories! She could go everywhere and tell her stories and no one would ever be able to tell her otherwise. For the first time ever, Kanri felt like she could see the door of the cage swinging open. All it would take is for her to have the courage to fly free.

"Well?" the man asked, snapping her out of her daze.

"Oh, yes! Yes! Yes! Most definitely yes! Please, I'll do anything to pay you back for that. Thank you so much! This is just... Oh my, thank you! It's just so incredible! I never thought that it would actually happen!" Kanri exploded, all of her energy pouring out in a quick succession of notes. She panted from talking so quickly and some passerby even gave her a glare but right then, she felt too overjoyed to care. She could have jumped from the highest cloud and not gotten hurt. She added, as an afterthought, "I guess not all men are stupid troublemakers..."

Her friend raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "No, they aren't. Now, you'd better pay attention to that bead or you'll really ruin it."

Kanri looked down to see huge, deep gash marks in the glass. Or rather, they looked huge to her, when in actuality, they weren't even the deepness of most water drops. That bead was certainly ruined. She put it aside and picked up the next, but she felt much better doing it now. It felt less tedious and exciting.

“I’m glad that cheered you up. I’ll leave you to your work for now. My friend is flying to Zeltiva on the 72nd of this Summer. Be sure you are there. And be sure that this is what you really want…” the man’s last words sounded a tad ominous, but Kanri was too excited to notice.

Kanri finished up her eighth bead right as he left. That would be her lucky number from her on out, she decided. Besides, she might need some luck in the coming days.
User avatar
Kanri
A Sparrow Among Eagles
 
Posts: 162
Words: 107623
Joined roleplay: July 29th, 2012, 11:11 pm
Location: Wind Reach
Race: Human, Inarta
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets

Of Eagles and Men

Postby Harrier on July 8th, 2013, 7:02 pm

Image

Skills Amount
Glassworking 1
Interrogation 1
Rhetoric 2


Lore
Figuring out what you really want
Wind Reach: Escaping the Cage
“You won’t convince me, killer”
The walls we build up for ourselves
“Forget glass, I wanna write!”
Zeltiva: A way out


Bonus:

Additional Comments: I found some really good links for you that include a bunch of glass working terms! In your initial post of Kanri working on the beads, I think what you were going for was Sandblasting, which is really different from hand polishing. Sandblasting can get you the smooth, cloudy finish you’re desiring or leave a smooth etching (like leaving a tag or signature). I can PM the links if you'd like!

I couldn’t really give you much in skills so I tried to give you some extra Lore.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions or concerns.

Fly on,
~Harrier
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