[Job Thread]

[Palla Frostfawn]

87th of Spring, 514 AV Palla awoke early that day, by her barking dogs that needed to go out. She took them out to do their business, then regretfully practically dragged the dogs, eager to go for a walk, back to her condo after a short, fifteen bell jog at an unusually fast pace for Palla that left her, an inexperienced runner, breathless. She would have to get used to it soon, for navigating the city was no easy feat, walking from tier to tier and navigating the streets. I'm glad I woke up early, I got to spend a little more time with my poor, neglected dogs. They're not actually neglected, though, and they get more attention with me than they would at The Sanctuary. Palla arrived at her condo again, and fixed herself a quick breakfast. She wolfed it down in a very unlady like manner. Alone, Palla always ate quickly, but in the presence of others, she tried to appear more polite, no matter how ravenous she was. After Palla finished eating, she made herself a sandwich and wrapped it in the extra fabric she had from her dog beds. She then put the carefully wrapped sandwich, in very sloppily cut excess fabric in her backpack. She decided that she needed more wood for her carvings at home. Palla planned to bring home some more common wood from her shop, but even that was running a bit low. There was about an eighth of her common wood remaining, a quarter of her unusual wood, and about half of her exotic wood left. Palla decided that she could hold on until the end of the season, and then she would really need to stock up on her wood again. There were only a few more days until the end of the season, and Palla decided that on her last day of the season off, coincidentally the last day of spring, she would get some more wood. Though local wood was rare in Riverfall, it was still relatively easy to access, especially since Palla knew where to get the wood from being a woodcarver. Palla considered this as she walked to her shop, savoring not having to jog since she had gotten up early, leaving her plenty of spare moments to take her time that morning. Palla arrived at her shop a couple of chimes early, and started setting up. She opened her toolkit with the same anticipation as she had the first day she had been at her shop. Those were also things that needed to be replaced, her tools, and she vowed to do that while she was getting her wood. For the moment, though, Palla's tools were holding up well enough from the use they had been subjected to, but were worn and didn't carve with nearly as much precision as they had at first. They would do in a pinch, but Palla wanted to ensure that her carvings were of the best quality she could make, and to do so, she would have the very best tools she could get her hands on. Palla could take the old tools home, and use the tools to do her home carvings. When Palla had inspiration, she grabbed her idea and carved it down as soon as possible. Having some carving tools at home, even those of relatively poor quality, would definitely beat just using a carving knife at home. After Palla planned to get new supplies, momentarily distracted, she then started to set up her tools. She laid them out in front of her, ready to carve. Palla grabbed a chunk of exotic wood, deciding that she felt like she could make a good carving. Palla pondered what to carve for about a chime, then after considering her options, she decided to carve a bird. Palla recalled the silk gulls from the park earlier that season, and decided to mimic those in wood. Palla made a nest out of clay, making, or at least trying to make, thin sticks of clay, trying to form them in the shape of a nest. Palla decided that contrasting wood colors, even by just a shade, would look good for this carving.

[Palla Frostfawn]

Palla picked up a medium sized chunk of exotic wood, deciding to make the nest out of that. She carefully carved out a bowl in the piece of wood, and then carved a circle around the bowl, leaving it as a short cylinder that was hollowed out at one side. Palla then carved it into the shape of a bowl, still leaving it roughly carved on the outside. The inside was smooth, but Palla left the outside without putting a finish on it, trying to mimic a rough nest with twigs sticking out of it. Palla could not actually carve the tiny twigs sticking out of it, however, and was content to leave it just how it was. Palla then used a slightly smaller chunk of exotic wood to make the silk gull, planning to make it big enough to snugly fit in the round nest. Palla thought that making removable pieces in her carvings would give them more appeal, by making them a bit more interactive than most decorations. Palla carved the silk gull carefully, making only a few minor mistakes due to the simplicity of the form of the birds. Palla sat the bird in it's nest, leaving a little bit of room for anything else someone may desire to put under the silk gull, as it "nested" on the items. Palla, satisfied with her work, placed the silk gull with the rest of her bird carvings, admired the carving that she thought was pretty good, if not for the lack of details on the rough nest. Palla, even as she was looking at her carving with her hands on her hips, was thinking about what to carve next. She pondered what to make. Palla had in her mind to make another animal, but she didn’t know what. As she was thinking, a customer walked into the store. Palla had been staring at her carving without realizing it, but when she heard a customer coming she spun around and looked at the young man. His skin was a dark shade of blue. Palla thought the Akalaks were such pretty colors, but kept her mouth shut as she was not sure they would appreciate it. Palla guessed the Akalak was about the same age as her, but she thought Akalaks aged differently than humans. OOCI know, the transitions aren't great

[Palla Frostfawn]

Palla saw about the same amount of Akalaks as humans in her shop, unusual because Riverfall's population was made up mostly of them. She imagined it was because a lot of Akalaks would think her carvings too feminine, but she still saw a sizeable amount of Akalaks. Palla greeted the young Akalak with a smile, a nervous one as always, and her usual greeting. "H-Hello sir, how may I help you?" The Akalak looked at her blankly before chuckling. "Ah, you don't need to call me sir." The man said, but still refrained from giving Palla his name. If I shouldn't call him sir, why won't he give me his name? Palla wondered curiously. She still addressed the man with "How may I help you?" "A carving, of course." the man replied. "I don't know what kind." Palla guessed it was the man's light side talking, but still scrambled to find a carving that fit his personality so far. He seemed upbeat and friendly, at least, what Palla knew of him. Palla brought him a cheery looking squirrel, one that she remembered carving fondly. She had carved it a while back, near the beginning of the season. Palla had chosen a bit of exotic wood, carving the squirrel quickly but carefully. It had turned out to be one of her best works, a squirrel looking happily surprised, as if someone had thrown it a spontaneous party. Even though it was lacking subtle details that would make it a masterful work of art, it was still charming in its own way. Palla handed it to the man, hoping he would like it. It was hard to tell what kind of carving a customer would like just by meeting them for a few moments. Palla would rather have someone request something, even if she didn't currently have the said item in stock. Palla hoped the Akalak would like it, and to her delight, he did. His face split into a small grin, and he looked at her with a goofy smile still on his face. "Thanks, Palla." Palla wondered how the man knew her name, thinking until it hit her. I'm an idiot. My shop is called Palla's carvings! "No problem." Palla responded to the man. The man handed her a gold rimmed miza, and Palla waved as he walked out of the shop, back onto the streets of Riverfall. "Bye!" The man waved and bid her farewell, and Palla was probably never to see the man again. Well, Palla thought that takes care of that!

[Palla Frostfawn]

Palla walked back to the small room in which she carved, pulling her chair out to sit in it. She sat down and scooted herself back in after grabbing a small blob of clay and a chunk of common wood. Palla arranged all of her tools to her satisfaction and picked up her small saw, carving the wood into a roughly round shape. She switched to a shallow gouge, carving the shape into a rounder circle by honing in on the edges and smoothing them out. Palla put down her shallow gouge, and picked up a v gouge to carve designs into the wood. Palla 'drew' a row of triangles on the edge of her circle, and then carved a cross in the middle, lines crossing at the very center of the piece. She carved a flower in each quadrant of the circle, and then smaller stars around each of them, the stars forming a circle altogether through each if the four quadrants. Palla drew a row of hearts in random sizes in the small amount of space left over between the row of triangles and row of stars. She found it interesting, the odd pattern in wood. It wasn't going to sell well, or at least Palla thought so, but Palla liked it, in a weird way. Palla shelved the carving, hiding it behind some of her carvings that were better, but figured it would eventually sell. All of her carvings did, eventually. People had different tastes than her and therefore, wanted things that Palla may not have considered her favorites. Palla quickly ate her lunch after that, and went back to work. Palla decided to work on working with clay, instead of carvings. All of her shelves were full, and she wouldn't need to restock anytime soon, though could hold many more carvings if filled to the point of overflowing, probably about twice or three times as many. Still, in a couple of season's time, Palla wanted to buy more shelf sets. They were relatively cheap, and wouldn't hurt her funds that she was putting towards a bigger condo too much. Even if they did, Palla would prioritize her shop over luxury. After all, her shop provided the luxury she lived in. Palla was grateful that she could afford a relatively high lifestyle, and tried to be kind to the less fortunate. You wouldn't really see many poor people in Riverfall, though, and that was one of the reasons Palla moved there; it is a very well-off city. Back to clay... Palla grabbed the blob of clay that she had left on the table for the previous carving, unused. She formed a bit of the blob into the shape of a small person, forming coils for the legs and arms, making small balls for the hands and a slightly ovular one for the face. Palla made a longer, squarish shape for the torso, and ovular spheres for the feet. Palla then decided to score and slip, making small crosshatched marks on the bottom of the rectangle and the top of the leg coils with her short, chewed down fingernails. I really need to get a clay knife, this is not going to work. Quality tools make quality products, after all. My clay works aren't even close to being quality, though. Palla decided to get a knife for her clay, too, even though she didn't need it. Palla decided that with time, her clay works might improve, and she could work with clay on her off days. Even so, Palla couldn't indulge in the clay making time at work often. Eventually, her stores would run low, and Palla always wanted to make sure she had a surplus of everything, to prepare for the worst. Palla scored and used water for slip on the arms next, messily gluing the clay together. Palla attached the head, and tried to bend it so the hardly recognizable person was sitting. The head fell off, and the right arm did the same. Palla tried again and again, and she finally managed to make the clay figures stay. Soon, her clay time came to a close. Palla decided that she should stop after about half a bell. This, after all, was a carving shop, not a place to fail at making clay things. She cleaned off her table, and put the clay and bowl of rainwater she used for slip back under her table. Palla got out a block of wood, suddenly bored with carving and clay objects.

[Palla Frostfawn]

A human male walked into the shop as Palla sighed, staring at her table. She greeted him with a genuine smile, as even though she didn't like human interaction, the customer provided a much needed break from her usual slow day. She greeted the man with "H-Hello, Sir. H-How can I help you?" "Hello, I'd like a carving for a friend. What do you think she'd like?" The man declared in a loud, jolly voice. I bet it's for a girlfriend. "Could you tell me a bit about her so I can try to find something that would be fitting?" Palla asked hesitantly. I can't just guess how she'll be like without knowing him. Choosing carvings to fit customers was hard, though Palla was decidedly getting better. The man was silent for a moment, contemplating. "Well, she's beautiful. She loves to laugh, and she whistles often. She's the kindest woman you will ever meet." Palla decided that her wild guess was correct, by the look in the man's eyes and the way he described her. "W-Well, I have a pair of doves." Palla thought they looked very cheery..."...And yet romantic." [i] Did I just say that out loud? My petching mouth. I hope he doesn't take offense... The man was very gentle about it, however, and laughed. "Is it really that obvious?" Palla didn't respond. The man smiled, and Palla got the doves off of her shelf. She handed them to the man, and he looked at her, then back at the doves, and handed her a gold miza. "Perfect." Palla smiled at the man, whose name she had not gotten, left the shop. Palla went back to the small caving room and sat down. She grabbed her gouges and lined them up along the edge of the table. Palla picked up a small chunk of common wood that was lying on the corner of her table, and put it back. Palla then put her gouges, which she had lined up in order of how she would put them back, into her kit. She went home, walking slowly, savoring the fresh air.

[Ragdoll]

Grade Awarded!

Skills

Skill	Points
Carving	5
Observation	3
Pottery	3
Planning	2
Socialization	2
Animal Husbandry	1
Cooking	1
Business	1

Lores

• Dragging the Dogs
• Carving: A Silk Gull's Shape
• It's Called Palla's Carvings for a Reason
• Want: Improve Skill with Clay
• Want: Get Clay Tools
• Feeling the Love Tonight
• Riverfall Location: Palla's Carvings
• Layout of Palla's Carvings

Comments

So I went ahead and gave you location lores since I noticed you didn't have them. This was an enjoyable read, though-can't wait to grade more of Palla's threads! c:

Don't forget to edit your grading request! Though I try my hardest to award you what you deserve, I may occasionally mess things up! If there's something you'd like to discuss about your grade, then please don't hesitate to send me a PM and I'll be happy to work things out with you.