Solo Misery Ink

Taurina turns to practicing her skills when emotions make sleeping impossible

(This is a thread from Mizahar's fantasy roleplay forums. Why don't you register today? This message is not shown when you are logged in. Come roleplay with us, it's fun!)

Not found on any map, Endrykas is a large migrating tent city wherein the horseclans of Cyphrus gather to trade and exchange information. [Lore]

Moderator: Gossamer

Misery Ink

Postby Taurina on May 25th, 2017, 3:56 pm


Mid-Afternoon of the 41st of Spring 517


Emotions were still raw even ten days after the events that had transpired after Taurina’s homecoming from her adventure gone askew. She had not let anything go, but instead allowed all of her feelings to pool within her and remain there, trapped. All this did for her was increase her levels of moodiness and irritability. So, for the most part, she staid away from the family. She had taken to burying herself within her dividers beneath her blankets or remaining at work for as long as possible to avoid them all. The only times she came out was when she was needed to help keep the home functioning. It was not her wish to become a burden on them, she just did not want to hear anyone trying to make her feel better or telling her to get over herself.

The Ethaefal was miserable. And yet, she refused to do anything that would get rid of the misery. She refused to even attempt it.

Taurina blamed herself most. For being a fool. For not following the rules. She had not known them, but she blamed herself for that too. She should have asked before now. Before a whole season had past since her joining the pavilion. She could have said that pride had kept her from asking, but it was not that. It had just been ignorance to the fact that there were any rules within the pavilion. Such a silly thing to be ignorant about. Every family had rules and leaders who made them for the safety of all those within the family. She should have known that and asked after what her family’s own were as soon as being accepted by them. Would have avoided a whole lot of hurt if she had just done that one simple thing.

It was self imposed punishment really, this held in misery. The Eth just kept reminding herself of her mistake by letting it replay in her mind over and over. It drove out any and all happiness that she might possess, turning her into a right little rain cloud over pretty much anybody she ran across. She felt like laughter died around her, that all light was snuffed out by her darkness, and that boisterous conversations turned into gossiping whispers full of pity when she passed. Even at work she was not much better. Just enough to not scare the customers away, but it seemed like none staid longer than they had to. She was fairly certain that the Lilacwinds were tired of her face by this point. It did not matter that they had not said anything.

The morning had been filled with work. They had not been very busy outside of a few piercings and a small windmark job that Injal took on with Keil’s help. So Taurina had spent the time helping Jarorra put new ink in some empty jars. Jarorra had not bothered and asked after the Ethaefal’s darkened mood, but instead went on talking about other things. Little things that did not matter much, but Taurina was glad for the distraction. Perhaps Jarorra had noticed this and was being kind or maybe she just did not care about the Eth’s feelings. In her current state, Taurina believed the second option. When she was in her right mind again and looked back though, she would see that she was wrong in believing that.

After taking her leave from the Lilacwind pavilion in the early afternoon, Taurina had headed home. She had not known why she was returning home so early in the day, but she did it anyway. Mainly because she had no where else to go. Besides, she had not told anybody when she left that she was going anywhere besides her place of employment. Best not stray from her words and make them a lie. So, heart heavy, she had returned to the pavilion tent that resembled a storm cloud on the ground.

Taurina was thankful that she ran across no one on her way to the inside of the tent. She heard the distant voices of some, but it had been easy enough to slip through the entrance and get to her space without running into any of them. Starfire had even been successfully untacked and left with the other horses without her being spotted. They must all have been busy and sidetracked with something. Taurina did not mind much. She told herself that she liked the solitude and silence. That maybe it was lonely, but that she deserved nothing more.

At first, the Eth just laid on her bedroll and tried to find some sleep. She hoped to maybe catch a few bells of dreamless sleep, a reprieve from all her swarming thoughts. It was not even fifteen chimes later when she gave on that. She was wide awake and her mind buzzing with thoughts. It was no use trying to find sleep while in such a state. So she got up and looked around at all of the things she had within her space. It was kind of a mess. She had not cared this last move to even really clean up. Her stuff was all strewn about in lazy piles. Even her journal was not in its usual place beside her bedroll for easy access. She had purposely been avoiding the book, knowing that nothing good would come of her trying to sketch within it.

A sigh escaped Taurina’s throat before she let her chin fall on top of her balled up fists. She was sitting cross legged with her elbows digging into her knees. Her dull brown eyes swept over her piles again, searching for anything to keep herself busy with. It was not long after when her gaze landed on the box she kept all of her tattooing supplies in. That had been a good idea in the past when her mind had been thrown into a dark that made anything else too hard to manage. She could not ruin that with nightmarish imagines because she was not simply good enough yet. The focus would be distracting enough. Another sigh was released as the Eth drug herself up to a standing position and went to gather the box up in her hands.

Taurina walked back to her bedroll with the box clasped in her hands before she sat down once more. She crossed her legs and slumped over slightly before she flipped the lid open. Within the box she found all her equipment just how she had left it after the last time she practiced with it, which had not been very long ago. It was more organized than her life. That thought brought the tiniest of smiles to her lips.

“Alright,” she huffed, “let’s give this a try.”

A bottle of half full of black ink, a medium sized bone needle, a rag stained from previous use, and a piece of still usable skin was picked out from the organized box. Taurina closed the lid and set the skin out on top of it. She took a breath to gather herself and then set to work on cleaning her single needle chisel. This was going to work. It had to. If it did not, she did not know how she was going to get through the day with not being able to sleep.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

User avatar
Taurina
Lost in the Stars
 
Posts: 411
Words: 752473
Joined roleplay: January 18th, 2016, 4:18 am
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (1)
Guest Storyteller (1) Overlored (1)
2016 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

Misery Ink

Postby Taurina on June 24th, 2017, 1:42 am


It took great amounts of focus to draw the res from her body. After not practicing for so long, the Ethaefal had to remind herself how to do it. She had to become reacquainted with the feeling and remind herself when to stop. There was the fear of over giving despite her lack of knowledge on what the signs of it were exactly, but that was not why she restricted herself to only letting a small amount of the jelly like opalescent substance come out of her at this time. She simply did not need very much, just enough to clean out the very tip of her bone needle where she had spotted some remaining ink specs from last use. It did not really matter how dirty or clean her needles were for the practice work on skin from a long dead animal, but she did like to pretend like this was for real. Good habits were best introduced during beginning stages, not at the end when possessing them was absolutely necessary for success.

The res came out like a puddle of tears set in the center of Taurina’s palm. There was no more than the size of her fingertip before she willed herself to stop. Something within her did not want to stop. That part wanted to keep going, to pour itself out. The focus it took to just allow this small amount was a good distraction. Brown eyes locked on that “puddle” of res and focused in on it. Taurina willed it to become like a ball. This was a slow process that took her many chimes.

The Eth had never become full knowing about the magic she possessed. Progress would have been faster if she had not let it sit idle for so long, but she had. With other things going on she had not made herself pick up this “gift” she had begged for what felt like so long ago. Here, in her section of the pavilion surrounded by all of her piles of things during this time of emotional distress, she vowed not to let her magic sit idle any longer. She would practice, grow, and get better. Make it worth all the pain it had been to get it.

Once the res was formed into a ball, Taurina focused on lengthening it out. So while it remained spherical, it was longer than it was tall and resembled something of an earthworm. Already mentally tired, Taurina moved the res towards the needle tip. She thought back to the man she had met early on in her time in Endrykas. She had not seen him again and had never learned his name, but he knew of this magic. He had wielded it with such ease and knowing. She envied him now as she struggled. It was a wish to become that good. To know how to keep control after the res was changed into something else.

Taurina sighed, now was not the time for such things. Her elongated sphere of res had been successfully threaded through the hollow tip of the needle and up as far as it would go before running out. Very carefully, so that she did not puncture herself, she covered the very tip with a finger to trap the res in there. Then she willed it to change and instantly, res became water.

The Eth tipped the needle slowly back and then forward, working the water through it as best she could. After tilting the needle back so that the water was trapped within it, Taurina used her free hand to gather the stained rag she used for washing away excess ink. She bunched the rag up in her fist before holding it just below the needle tip. She turned her single needle chisel over then and let the small amount of water soak up into the stained rag. That now done, the Ethaefal went to move onto some actual tattooing practice. It had not been the best way to clean things, there was no heat to get rid of germs or anything that might remain, but it was all she had in her. It would just have to be enough and because she was not working on any sort of living creature, it was.

The technique of painting the ink on the top layer of skin before puncturing said skin to get the ink beneath it was something that Taurina had tried before. She liked the method, but it was always good to learn many methods. Maybe that was just an excuse for her inflicting self punishment in just about every way she could think of outside of physically hurting herself. The stick and poke method she was beginning to use now was likely the hardest and most time consuming way to do this kind of work. There was no way to guarantee a straight line or proportionate art. It did not matter how close she got her dots together, the work refused to turn out as anything half decent. The Eth grumbled at this as she dipped the tip of her needle into the ink jar to refill the space within it that was hollow.

Taurina found early on that the piece of skin she was using to practice on was actually be rather stiff and past its time when it should have been used. It had become tough which made poking a needle through it and getting ink to stay was a challenge just short of impossible. The Ethaefal knew she should just stop and go out to find some fresh skin to work with. There were plenty of hunters around Endrykas so it was not like it would be a hard task finding one willing to part with some animal skin in a trade for coin. However, she was stubborn. At least, she was being stubborn and in her stubbornness she refused to make anything easier on herself. It was foolish really, but she had been blind to her own foolishness for many days now so her current state of bowing to it was not much of a surprise.

Taurina forced the needle tip through the skin. Ink poured out and spilled over, making a mess over the marked skin. Too much ink. Too tough skin. She knew better and yet, she refused to acknowledge that she did. Instead she just grabbed her stained rag and rubbed it over the area. The ink smudged so that a whole side of the skin piece was stained with traces of the liquid. What was left where Taurina had stabbed her needle through? A hole. She had poked too hard and left a hole in the too hard skin. The Ethaefal groaned with frustration. She put down her tools and pressed her palms into her eyes as she held back a sob.

The Ethaefal felt so useless and incompetent. She felt like something had it out to get her and whatever it was, it was winning. She could not even do something that would help her progress in her work successfully. Another sob was held back, though her throat bobbed. Taurina brought hands down her face and looked down at the failed work. With a look of discouragement and utter betrayal, she threw the dried skin back into the box of supplies and closed the lid shut, giving up on it. What was she going to do now without anything to practice on? She had no idea.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

User avatar
Taurina
Lost in the Stars
 
Posts: 411
Words: 752473
Joined roleplay: January 18th, 2016, 4:18 am
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (1)
Guest Storyteller (1) Overlored (1)
2016 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

Misery Ink

Postby Taurina on June 26th, 2017, 4:07 am


Brown eyes that shined like caramel in Syna’s light stared down dull and spiritless at the closed box. The other supples still remained outside of the container and Taurina had no desire to put any of the other things away. She did not even put the stopper back on the jar of black ink even though she knew leaving it out for the open would only cause the ink within to become dry and useless. The needle she had used would not be much better off if she left it as it was either. The ink would dry on that and soak into the pours of the bone making it so much harder to get it clean. It would be possible, just hard and, in her current state, not likely something she would deem worthy of worrying about. Taurina blew out a huff through her nose before she fell back on her bedroll and stared up at the ceiling.

The flap that she could remove to reveal the sky was closed now, blocking Syna’s rays. It was all just as well. Taurina did not wish to look up at the daytime sky and be reminded of the form she was in. While she had grown used to this form and the switching, she still saw it as lesser. She preferred the ethereal Ethaefal form gifted by her god. That body was stronger, pretty, unmarked by the flaws of life, and -more than anything- it was god blessed. A reflection of what Taurina desired to be. Though.. lately.. maybe the earthbound form was a better reflection. Broken and scarred.

Taurina could see pictures forming before her mind’s eye along the canvas of the ceiling. Between where seams came together in straight lines, the Eth created murals along the panels. The first was of Starfire, of course. Her shining ray of hope and peace amongst the darkness. Maybe she would add Melody in there as well. There was a sudden twist of guilt at that thought. She had not given her colorsplash hardly any attention as of late. There was so much focus on getting closer to Starfire, learning him and forming that bond with him that the Eth had neglected her mare. The pair of horses did not like each other and that had not changed. Maybe if she gave them both attention they would learn tolerance for one another. Taurina sighed once more and moved on. She did not have the energy to try at the present moment.

Taurina kept staring at the panels of the ceiling, imagining different things she could put on them. She thought of maybe creating another version of what had once been her windmarks. The swirls of chaos with the Stormblood knot at the center. All of that mess rooted in family. The Eth smiled ever so slightly before she remembered… she was pushing the family away at the moment. Another stab of guilt. A troubled look came over her face before she abruptly sat up and shoved the thoughts away. Determined to ignore her own conscious, she began to move. Began to distract herself.

The Eth suddenly had the urge to take care of the things that she had left out of the box. The stopper was placed securely on the top of the ink jar, shoved in with the harsh press of her palm before she was satisfied with the seal. The bone needle was rubbed clean as much as possible with the stained rag before Taurina went back to her reimancy. She once more focused on her palm and drew out another little puddle of res. A dull throb thumped against her temples, but she continued on until another fingertip amount had been drawn out. The throbbing worsened as she focused on making another long, tube like structure with the res. Like before, she moved the res into the hollow of the needle before turning it to water.

The cleaning process was much the same as last time, a back and forth tilt to work the water through the bone as much as possible. When she was satisfied, the water was transferred to the stained rag. With the wet fabric of the rag, Taurina wiped down the outside of the needle a second time to work off as much ink as she could. It was not perfect, far from it. The needle needed proper cleaning and sterilization, but she did not have the tools to do that here and she was not going back to the Lilacwinds now just for that. In her mind, she was giving them what she thought was a wanted break from her presence. So she let this shoddy cleaning of her tool be enough before she stood to her feet.

The Ethaefal’s head still throbbed. Not a sign of true overgiving, but of simple exhaustion. However, Taurina did not know the difference so she worried. Had those little bits of unpracticed magic been too much for her? She sure hoped not, but worried nonetheless. That was added to the list of things she wanted to distract herself from. It was as though she thought ignoring all her problems and worries that they would just disappear. A solid philosophy for someone too scared to face their own anxieties that would just cause more trouble.

Taurina moved back and forth along the far wall of her section since that was where the most space was. She did not really know what she was doing or what she wanted to do. The practice she had done had not brought her any closer to peace than she had been before. Actually, it might have made things worse. She kept looking to her pack as if she was going to take some mizas and find some hunter to sell her an untreated pelt, but then she would just look away and keep walking. There was no one thing stopping her from doing that. Mostly she just did not want to. She had no desire to leave her room again and risk seeing somebody.

Back and forth. Back and forth. Pause. Restart.

Taurina groaned and brought both her hands up to her hair. She fisted her fingers through the multicolored mop of tangles and braids. Frustration and restlessness vibrated through her. Blowing out her cheeks, Taurina released her hair and crossed her arms over her chest. Her gaze fell to her bedroll where some of her things still remained outside of the box. She sighed and went to the supplies before she shoved the lid open once more. With forced gentleness, she put the single needle chisel back with the others and put the ink jar in its place. The box was shut and the rag draped over the top to dry. Taurina moved the whole thing over to the side of her room before returning to the bedroll.

Taurina knew that she would not be able to sleep, but she also knew that she was not going to be able to do anything productive at all. So she just laid down and willed herself into stillness. Until night came it was all she could think to do with herself. Even if it was pointless and did nothing good for anyone.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

User avatar
Taurina
Lost in the Stars
 
Posts: 411
Words: 752473
Joined roleplay: January 18th, 2016, 4:18 am
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (1)
Guest Storyteller (1) Overlored (1)
2016 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

Misery Ink

Postby Taurina on June 26th, 2017, 7:16 pm


Early Morning of the 42nd of Spring 517


The night had not been much better than the day. Taurina spent the time beneath Leth’s gaze out with Starfire. The stallion was her calm, her rock, through the emotions that swirled within her being. He was the constant reminder that she had become one of the Drykas because he saw something within her that was worthy of being chosen. She was at a loss of exactly what that was because she did not feel worthy, but he knew and that was enough. The night before, however, it had not mattered. She spent more time crying into his coat that she did anything else. All she had wanted was distraction, but her soul was agitated. Peace was not coming to it.

In the dusty light of morning, Taurina set out for work before she had a chance to run into anybody within the pavilion. That is, anyone besides Asher. It was to him she said her ‘good mornings’ and told where she was going. She knew he was worried for her as he was always around the pavilion and saw her most. The others probably were as well, but she did not put herself in their paths to really know that. Asher was easy to interact with because he never pressured her to open up. He took more of an ’you’ll talk about it when your ready and we’ll be waiting’ approach to things such as what was going on with the Eth lately and for that she was thankful.

It was the Lilacwind pavilion that the Ethaefal could be found in now. It was still a bit too early for the work to start, but the two Lilacwinds were already present and getting ready for the day. Taurina helped by doing whatever they told her too. Tasks like making sure all the ink jars were neatly organized and easy to get to. Making sure all the chisels were intact and that none needed repairing. Reorganizing the cushions and furs so they did not look so messy strewn about everywhere. None of the tasks were hard and all were able to be done within a handful of chimes. Taurina could even do most of them without much thought which was good, she was very tired due to the very little sleep she had gotten ahold of in the last twenty-four bells.

“That should be good for now, now we wait for the clients to start pouring in,” Jarorra chirped as she plopped down with a scroll of parchment and a charcoal pencil.

Taurina gave her a vacant smile in response. Not knowing what to do with herself, the Ethaefal went over to the stash of cleaned ink jars and absently inspected them. She had already done it before so she knew they were all clean of ink, but she did it again. She told herself that double checking was always good for catching anything she might have missed. Really though, she just did not want to remain idle for too long.

“Hey Taurina, how are your tattooing skills progressing?” Taurina lifted her gaze to Injal when she heard his voice so close.

Taurina’s brow furrowed for a tick as she digested the question and picked it apart. Then she felt her ears turn red before she cast her gaze back down to the jar in her hands in shame, not answering him at first.

“Jarorra told me you are looking to move up, thought I’d see how ready you were,” Injal continued and Taurina’s blush deepened.

“I’m.. uh.. struggling,” she admitted, slouching her shoulders in defeat.

There was a pause and the silence cause the Ethaefal to shyly lift her gaze to her mentor.

“I see. Well what are you struggling with?” the man asked with kindness and patience vibrating through his voice.

Taurina blinked, slightly surprised. She should not have been because the Lilacwinds had never been anything but kind to her. Yet, she was.

“Um.. well I do not have a proper chisel and the single needle ones make it hard to do anything of real value,” the Eth explained, “Getting the ink so that there is not too much or too little has been hard as well, though that might just be because of the skin I’ve been using.. it’s been.. well..” Difficult.

Injal was silent for a moment, thinking before he nodded and signed for Taurina to get up and follow. The Eth looked at him for a moment like he might be crazy before she gave in. Carefully, she put the jar she had been holding down with the other and stood to her feet. The female then followed her mentor as he gathered things. He pulled out one of the smaller chisels, grabbed a jar of blue ink, got one of the clean rags, and then last he got a piece of practice skin from a box Taurina had not known existed. Injal then took Taurina over to a space where she could practice and sat her down with the collection of supplies placed in front of her.

“Let’s see how you do with this,” the mentor encouraged with a twinkle in his eyes.

Taurina looked at him with uncertainty for a moment before she realized he was completely serious and not going to take no for an answer. So she did as she was told and took the chisel in her hand. Her eyes worked over the tools again before she noticed some things were not among them. With a sign of one moment, Taurina got up and went to fetch some things that she wanted in addition. She grabbed one of the shallow dishes that they used to help evenly distribute ink on the chisels and she found a paintbrush. Then she returned and sat down once more, Injal still in his place ready to watch her.

“You have no paint, what is the brush for?” Injal asked with only curiousness in his voice.

Taurina smiled very lightly.

“Well I did figure one thing out that makes things slightly easier. It will be better with the chisel I think.” Watch.

Taurina first poured some of the ink carefully into the shallow dish, making sure not to spill any. Then she dipped the paintbrush in the ink, being sure to get a decent amount onto it before turning to the practice skin. She looked at the skin a moment before deciding what she was going to put there. With a single, straight line, she decided. Only, she did not tell Injal what it was. He would have to wait and see.

After the line of ink had been successfully transferred onto the skin, Taurina put down the brush and picked up the chisel. Applying pressure carefully and as evenly as she could, the Eth sent the multiple sharp points of the chisel into the skin over the still wet ink. This caused the ink to be carried down with the bone needle tips and deposited into the skin. Taurina lifted the chisel up, glad to find that no deep holes had been left in the skin. She set the chisel down and grabbed the rag. Easily, she wiped away any excess ink and looked down at her work. There was a thin, but even line left where she had wanted it to be. Looking up to Injal, Taurina smiled.

“What do you think?” she asked, almost nervous of what his reaction was going to be.

“Interesting, very interesting indeed,” was Injal’s response, those sparkles of before still lingering in his eyes.

Taurina smiled. Already this day was more successful than the one before it had been.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

User avatar
Taurina
Lost in the Stars
 
Posts: 411
Words: 752473
Joined roleplay: January 18th, 2016, 4:18 am
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (1)
Guest Storyteller (1) Overlored (1)
2016 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

Misery Ink

Postby Taurina on June 27th, 2017, 10:56 pm


“This way does seem to make the process longer,” Injal pointed out after Taurina had formed a few more thin lines using the same method of painting the ink on and then inserting the needles, “don’t you think?”

The Ethaefal was wiping away the remnants of ink from her latest line. The chisel made quick work of creating the lines. Well, quicker work than the single needle ones did. The lines were thin and Taurina had to take in the account that this skin was flat. It did not have the curves or consistency real skin still apart of a human body would have. Still, it was better than the worn pieces she had left in her own kit.

“It does,” Taurina agreed, “because you cannot paint the whole thing down in ink and then work along it with the chisel. The ink won’t stay useable that long.”

Taurina bit down on her lower lip in thought. There had to be a way to make the process faster. The dipping the tips of the needles in the ink and then tattooing the skin was a bit faster, but then there was a greater risk for wasting ink. If one was careful, this way did not waste so much ink, but it was slower. One had to take the time to paint down the design section by section and slowly work their way around. Taurina was also unsure how this method would work when it got to the little details and shading. She had not yet gotten that far.

“Something to think about,” Injal commented slowly before point out, “you should also probably paint down your design like Jarorra showed you that one time so that you have the outline to follow. Keep your proportions from going awry.” Potential to create difficulty.

Releasing her lip, the Eth gave a nod. Her mentor was right. Even if the image was clear in her mind, there was no way that going piece by piece like this would create an end result that was anything but a warped mess of what it was suppose to be. So Taurina got to her feet once more and went through the pavilion on the hunt for some paint and another paintbrush. She checked in with Jarorra as she did, making sure she was not needed elsewhere. The female Drykas just waved her off, telling her that they were all good and not busy yet. The Eth was therefore free to do whatever her male mentor had requested of her. With a nod of acceptance, Taurina continued her hunt.

The Eth found a bottle of red paint and a tiny detail brush to use before returning to her work. Injal was still there, waiting patiently. He gave her a friendly smile when his gaze landed on her that Taurina echoed back to him. It felt good to be doing something successfully. Her mind, for the first time in awhile, was silent of all its usual doubt and fear. She did not really let herself realize it full on, worried that if she did it would only trigger all the noise into coming back. Instead, she just opened the bottle of paint and began carefully apply it to the skin in a design that branched off the lines she had already created in ink.

“Don’t worry about it being perfect. Doesn’t need to be,” Injal reminded gently.

Taurina nodded slowly, noticing how extremely she was focusing on each turn of the tiny brush. She was not much of a painter. The only skill she had in it was drawing from what she knew of sketching. Nothing was really the same though. The brush worked more precisely than messy charcoal, but her lines were shaky. Because she pressed too hard, the bristles of the brush spread creating an unwanted width in the design. Pressing not quite so hard gave her the thinner lines she wanted, but now things were uneven. Some lines were wide when she forgot to control the pressure with which she pressed and other lines were thin from when she did remember to control. All lines were shaky, though occasionally -by some stroke of luck- she would get one smooth curve here and there. When she was all done and looked down at the work, she frowned. It was a mess. One could hardly tell what it was. She only knew because in her mind she knew what it was suppose to be.

“Don’t fret. None of us are brilliant painters. It is just a guide, get to work on the ink,” Injal encouraged, no doubt seeing the deep frown that was causing creases in the woman’s face.

Taurina sighed. He was right, the work did not need to be perfect or even decent. She could work on making it look better when adding the ink. Taurina took a deep breath and held it for five ticks before she released it in a slow stream of air. Slowly, she relaxed with the release of air. Her tensed muscles were rolled and her face became once more neutral, softening her features. She reached over and closed the bottle of paint before setting aside the detail brush that she had practically ruined in her unknowing hands. Something she would have to either figure out how to mend or give coin for a replacement later. Picking up the skin, the Eth blew on it a few times before checking to make sure the paint had dried.

Once she was sure that the paint was all try and would not mix too badly with the ink, she set the skin back down and picked up her tattooing tools once more. She opened the ink jar once more (she had closed it after pouring some of the contents into the shallow dish earlier to preserve the ink within) and poured just a small amount of the ink out into the dish once again before sealing it shut once more. The brush that had been being used for painting on the ink was picked up and dipped in the blue liquid. After taking another breath that was in turn released, Taurina began to trace a line of paint with a line of ink over the top of it.

The Ethaefal could feel Injal’s gaze watching her closely as she put down the brush and picked up the chisel again. The points of the needles were lined up with the fresh line of ink before Taurina gave a firm press that sent the tips under the first layers of the practice skin. She kept herself from pressing too hard, knowing that would create holes in the practice skin. In a real person that would draw too much blood, causing a wound rather than effectively tattoo anything. That made it important to learn how much pressure to apply at this stage rather than later. Taurina lifted the chisel and moved it away, wiping away excess ink with her rag before giving a satisfied nod. She had not punctured any holes into the practice skin and a thin line of ink like the others was left under the top layers of skin just like she had wanted it to be. It was a start at least.

Encouraged by her success, Taurina kept going.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

User avatar
Taurina
Lost in the Stars
 
Posts: 411
Words: 752473
Joined roleplay: January 18th, 2016, 4:18 am
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (1)
Guest Storyteller (1) Overlored (1)
2016 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

Misery Ink

Postby Taurina on June 28th, 2017, 12:27 am


Several more lines were created at the top of the design Taurina had created. The lines were all thin, but the Eth had plans to come back and make them thinker. The top of the design was very much like an arrowhead. Only the point at the top was something that was very sharp and the lines that converged were straight in either direction. Not quite what the Ethaefal wanted, but it was a baseline for the rest of the work. The paintbrush full of ink was used to paint a line beneath the right side of the arrow, a smaller reflection of the line above it. Chisel was brought up and pressed down over the same area, successfully transferring the ink down below the top layers of skin. Chisel was lifted, the excess ink wiped away, and the process repeated on the other side.

“What are you creating there?” it was Jarrora’s voice that inquired curiously.

Taurina looked up and saw the bright and friendly woman leaning over her husband’s shoulder to see what was going on. The Eth saw Injal shake his head and shrug, a signal that showed he had not the slightest clue. Taurina smiled mischievously. It was not a hard guess as it had been the only thing that would come to mind. A symbol of the only thing that had really been on her mind as of late. Everything else she thought about was just noise, distraction. She did not tell the Lilacwinds though, waiting for them to either realize on their own or to tell them later when the work was complete.

“Wait and see,” was all the Ethaefal said in reply with a bit of playfulness in her voice.

Jarorra frowned, but Taurina could tell by watching her that the frown stemmed from no real emotion for the woman’s eyes were still sparkling and curious.

“Well alright then, don’t you leave without showing me,” she demanded without any real threat behind her words before she wandered off to deal with whatever work she had to do at the present moment.

Once the female Drykas left, Taurina turned back to her work. She was creating crossing lines beneath the double arrow now. Her work was shoddy really, not even a half decent replica of what she was going for. Hopefully after some more layers and added details that would change. Not that the Eth was planning on showing anybody outside of her employers, but it was important to her to get it right.

“You seem to got this down, getting faster too. If you need me I’ll be around, going to get some work done,” Injal told the Eth after some time, standing to his feet.

“Oh.. alright. You sure you don’t need any help?” Taurina asked as she paused from her work once more and looked up to him.

Taurina knew she was technically here to do a job, not to more successfully practice her tattooing skills. If she was needed for anything, this would be dropped and picked up later. Even if it did disappoint her to stop now that she had fallen into a steady pace.

“No, no. I am good,” Injal assured, signing keep at it before he left her.

The Ethaefal watched after him for a handful of ticks before she accepted that she was not needed. Picking the paintbrush full of ink once again, she painted down more lines. This time she started working on the thickness of the first arrow lines. She wanted them thinest at the top and thickest towards the bottom. Keeping this in mind, she started at the bottom of the left side. To try and maybe make the work a little faster, she painted two lines of ink. One on either side of the first thin line. She thought that maybe, if she moved fast enough, she could get two lines of ink under the top layers of skin before it was too dried to work properly.

The chisel was picked up, lined up over the top line of painted ink, and pressed down upon. Instead of wiping the excess ink away right away, Taurina moved to the bottom line of painted ink and went through the same steps. She held her breath through the whole thing, scared that it would not work. When she pulled the chisel up from the lower line, however, there were no signs that it had failed. Putting down the chisel and picking up her rag, Taurina wiped away all of the excess ink. What was left were two thin lines of blue ink on either side of the line that had been made first. Taurina blinked, surprised that it had worked. Though, there was a minor set back. The new lines were spaced away from the middle line so that skin shone through instead of all three connecting to creating one solid part of the arrow.

Taurina frowned, the space between her eyebrows wrinkling to create creases in her skin. The muscles of her cheeks pulled inward as she pursed her lips and moved her lower jaw in a side to side motion. The Eth was thinking, debating on where to go from where she was. She could do it again and try to fill the blank space, but she could not guarantee that the space would be filled and not missed again. Sure she could paint there and aim for the wet ink, but there was no guarantee she would hit just the right spot. This as because when she painted down the ink first it blocked her view just enough to make where the tiny details needed to go invisible to the naked eye. It made it guess work rather than something she could do with the precision such work required.

Looking around at her various tools, Taurina took a moment to decide what she needed to do. What she even could do. Since the shallow dish was running low on ink anyway, Taurina opened up the ink jar once more and poured enough of the ink out so that there was a very thin layer of it over the bottom of the dish. After that was done, she sealed the jar up shut again and moved it out of the way. She went back to the old method of things and dipped the tips of the bone needles attached to the chisel into the ink. Then she brought the chisel over and carefully lined it up over where the space was between the already inked middle and top lines. With steady hands, Taurina pressed down with what had proved to be just enough pressure to work in getting the ink under the top layers of the practice skin.

Taurina lifted the tool and wiped away the excess ink to find that her idea had worked. There was no longer space there and the line was thicker because of it. Satisfied, Taurina repeated this same process on the space between the middle line and the bottom line. It worked once more and the lower part of the left of her top arrow was thicker than everything else she had inked upon this piece of practice skin. With this success in mind, the Ethaefal started working on the rest of the very top arrow. She concluded that the basic lines she could get down with the method of painting the ink first, but for the details she would have to revert back to the method of filling the needle tips and then pressing the ink into the skin.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

User avatar
Taurina
Lost in the Stars
 
Posts: 411
Words: 752473
Joined roleplay: January 18th, 2016, 4:18 am
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (1)
Guest Storyteller (1) Overlored (1)
2016 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

Misery Ink

Postby Taurina on June 28th, 2017, 1:36 am


It was afternoon before Taurina decided to call it quits for the day. Her hands were sore from repetitive motion and her back ached in multiple places from leaning over for so long. In truth, her body had been hurting for many bells now. She had just become numb to the pain, rather that pain than the kind that had been in her head for so many days. Now though she just could not take it anymore. When she sat up straight, she winced. No amount of bringing each other her hand to either shoulder and rubbing up the base of her neck was helping. It seemed best to just be finished for the time being and come back to it.

Besides, the tattoo was not looking so bad anymore. The lines had been filled in and thickened through alternating between the two methods the Ethaefal had learned. She found if she worked fast enough that she could get multiple lines of painted ink beneath the skin before the ink dried. She also found that if she really worked to control how she pressed the chisel in while full of ink, she could conserve some of it so that there was enough for two or three applications under the skin before she needed to refill it with ink.

This whole process was a learning curve really. Sometimes Taurina did really well and other times she did not. After going over it many times, the top of her arrow looked at least halfway to decent if not a little better than that. The lines were solid even if not perfectly straight. The edges were a little wavier than she would have liked. The top was thinner in width than the bottom, though, which was something she had been trying to do. The second arrow was much the same, though that one was all around the same thickness. Not really the goal, but just how things had turned out. Far from perfection, but closer than it would have been had the Eth been stuck doing it with her single needle chisel. She definitely preferred the multi-needle ones that everyone at the Lilacwind pavilion used.

“Oh are you done?!” Jarorra’s voice was cheery as she made her way over to where Taurina was cleaning up.

The Ethaefal looked up at the Drykas woman and gave a shy smile before shaking her head. She covered the work that had been done up with her hand so that Jarorra could not get a clear view of it.

“Just for the day, I have to come back to it,” Taurina told her.

Jarorra frowned in response. Taurina hastily told her through sign about the aching in her back and about how she was for sure going to come back to the work. However, in her haste to rid Jarorra of her frown, she had uncovered the work which had given the other Drykas a chance to surge forward and take it. It was Taurina’s turn to frown.

“Hey, it is not ready yet!” Taurina went to grab for the skin back, but Jarorra waved her away with a single hand.

Taurina glared before deciding it was not worth it. Jarorra had already looked and seen. It was not like it would hurt anything, Taurina was just worried about being judged. As if Jarorra had ever been anything but kind to her.

“It is a good start,” the female Lilacwind praised as she turned and handed the work back to the Eth, “no gaps in your color, though the outer lines are a bit wobbly. No curves either, all straight lines. Need to work on that. Grow used to everything.”

It was all advice that Jarorra gave. No harsh criticism or words meant to be discouraging. Taurina’s cheeks burned crimson at the near compliments and advice she was given. She felt foolish for having thought that anything else would come out of her mentor’s mouth.

“T-thanks,” she stammered, taking the skin back in her hands.

Taurina looked down at the work and saw what Jarrora was seeing. There was nothing that curved in her work. It was all very straight and boxy aside from the accidental wavy lines. She needed to work on smoothy out her lines and putting in some twists and turns. Any work she did on others, unless it was like the very clear cut windmarks she had once seen on Rufio, would include such things. She needed to learn, become versatile so that she may cater to whatever future clients might want from her.

“No need to thank me, just keep at it,” Jarorra encouraged, “you’ll be working with the rest of us in no time.”

Taurina gave another shy smile. She hoped that was true. To be working beside them instead of just as a helping hand was something she so badly wanted. It was not as though she did not like her job of being someone who did whatever anyone needed of her, but she wanted to be able to do everything just as the rest of them were able. She looked forward to the day when she would see a set of windmarks on a Drykas just out and about in the tent city and know that she had been the one to create them. That very idea sent a wave of excitement through her that was like a tingling sensation down her spine.

“What are you think about?” Jarorra’s question brought Taurina out of her imagination, “you look really happy about something.”

“Oh.. um.. it is foolish. Don’t worry about it,” Taurina brushed it off, not wanting to admit the dream out loud as if that would jinx it into not coming true.

“Well, whatever it is, you should keep thinking about it. It is nice to see you looking happy about something for a change,” Jarorra encouraged with a gentle smile after a pause of silence.

Taurina gave an attempt at a smile in response, not knowing how else to respond. She knew that she had been far too sad as of late. Subjecting everybody to the swings of her mood which could not have been pleasant. One of the main reasons for her wanting to stay far away from everyone. Yet, she could not do that here. Work was work, she could not avoid it because her stubbornness was causing her to not face her emotions. The Ethaefal sighed and nodded.

“I will try,” she promised not only Jarorra, but herself as well.

“I am glad,” Jarorra said in response before she had to go over to a client who had just arrived for her.

After Jarorra left her, Taurina went back to cleaning up the mess she made. She used water from a waterskin instead of her magic to clean the brushes and wipe off the chisel. It would need to be sterilized again before being used on a Drykas, but this would do until that could be done. She put the ink jar back with the others and the paint bottle went back to where she had found it. The brush she had used for the ink was thoroughly cleaned and free of damage so she put that one back. The other brush had not been so lucky. The bristles were frayed and pointing in many different directions despite her trying to get it back to how it had been before. So Taurina was forced to throw that one out.

Before she left, the Eth gave Injal two gold mizas. He did not want to take it, but she insisted. Payment for the skin she had used and the brush she had ruined. She just hoped it was enough. After double checking that everything she had used was put away or put in the pile of things to be sterilized, Taurina gathered her own things and headed out to Starfire. She met him outside of the Lilacwind pavilion and after mounting him, the pair headed home in the heat of the afternoon.

Despite the successful day though, Taurina was not looking forward to reaching the pavilion. Even with her promise to try to be happy, the waves of emotions were coming back already and the doubt was swirling within her head. The Eth sighed, hoping that soon the days would return to how they had once been. She missed those days.

Ledger-2GM

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

User avatar
Taurina
Lost in the Stars
 
Posts: 411
Words: 752473
Joined roleplay: January 18th, 2016, 4:18 am
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (1)
Guest Storyteller (1) Overlored (1)
2016 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

Misery Ink

Postby J'Ak on September 30th, 2017, 5:48 pm

Image
G R A D E



xp

Observation +2
Cleaning +3
Reimancy +2
Tattooing +3
Organisation +1
Rhetoric +1
Socialization +1
Endurance +1
Painting +2


lores

Reimancy: Being wary of over-giving
Over-giving: The desire to keep using magic
Tattooing: Stick & poke technique
Ink left unsealed will dry out
Endurance: Keeping busy to cope with feelings
Asher: Let's others choose when they're ready to talk
Organization: Creating a welcoming interior
Painting: Outlining whole works helps keep proportions
Painting: Different pressure creates stroke thickness
Taurina: Excited to surprise others
Taurina: Her dreams keep her going


  
User avatar
J'Ak
Player
 
Posts: 52
Words: 8630
Joined roleplay: March 15th, 2015, 2:35 pm
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests