Completed [Job Thread 1]Roses Are Red, Connal is for Joint Pain

A help wanted sign in a quaint corner store has Narifa enlisted as an employee of Zintia's most well-known herbalism shop.

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The Diamond of Kalea is located on Kalea's extreme west coast and called as such because its completely made of a crystalline substance called Skyglass. Home of the Alvina of the Stars, cultural mecca of knowledge seekers, and rife with Ethaefal, this remote city shimmers with its own unique light.

[Job Thread 1]Roses Are Red, Connal is for Joint Pain

Postby Narifa on July 15th, 2018, 6:59 pm

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    7th Summer 518 AV
It was pure chance that brought Narifa to the front of the mysteriously bright store. She'd been in Lhavit for a solid two days at this point, steadily leaving bits and pieces of herself around her new residence. Along with the necessary room decor, of course. With the events at Okomo Day and all the time she'd spent filling out citizenship paperwork, Narifa hadn't had much time at all to explore the labyrinthine city. It was only fitting that, during the closest thing she had to some free time, she start her journey with Lhavit's major plazas. Unfortunately, Surya square had been especially crowded that morning, and she didn't think that it was going to clear out any time soon; a state which, given time, would prove constant.

So the traveler had ventured a bit farther along the skyglass windows and stone walls, making absolutely sure she categorized every remote landmark to find her way back. The fog was thickening with the movements of the sun. The air through which she cautiously stepped was grey and chilly, slipping into the folds of her meager traveling clothes. The Inarta was surprised that it could be this cold during a summer season, too accustomed was she to the rippling heat of Mount Skyinarta. She made a note in the back of her head to get outerwear that was more suitable for this weather. Her Wind Reach attire would not allow for comfortable living away from Wind Reach.

Lost in her thoughts, Narifa only slowed her stride when she happened upon a wide space not unlike that of Surya Plaza. Her eyes jumped off the nearest and most visible buildings, searching for any kind of sign that would reveal where she'd ended up. A plaque above her head was revealed when the fog parted at random. 'Sundial Circle', it read, and the Inarta woman compared the name to the locations she'd marked on her mental map of the area. All she could remember about it however, was that it was the resting place of the Koten Temple, and a gateway of sorts to a shrine for the Goddess Syna.

Delighted at having discovered some place new, Narifa clapped her hands together and sent a prayer up to the Ukalas, for the help at pushing her steps in the right direction. Into the triangle she delved, passing by beautiful gardens and the massive sundial for which the space was named. This was a wonderful place for her first lone adventure, she decided, and it truly was. The flow of people here was sparse. There was only a smattering of shops to be seen, and no cart vendors shouted at her about the quality of their goods. It was peaceful.

Until something did shout at her. No corporeal person was attached to the call. No frantic waving of trade items under her nose. Certainly no pushing and shoving to get in front of the shouter first. It was nothing like that. She turned into the triangle plaza proper and was immediately being shouted at by a blinding white sign, plastered front and center on a pristine shop window. Bold letter emblazoned across the poster declared 'Help Wanted - Inquire Inside', and Narifa hadn't realized today was the day to go searching for a job.

But here she was, sparing a glance towards All Things Wild's shop sign before toeing open the front door and heading inside. A pleasant parade of smells assaulted her senses as she entered the building. Herbs of all blends and varieties made themselves known in every nook and cranny of the building: hanging from the ceiling, crushed in shelves of jars, dispersing into the air via oils and tinctures and other medicinal products. It reminded her of her garden back home, complete with the tranquility and solitude she sometimes required to bolster her spirits. Narifa fell in love.

An older woman with fine greying hair and a kind lift to her features was standing at the counter, dust cloth in hand, humming an off-key tune while she wiped the piece down. The Inarta came to a stop in front of her.

"Um, hello there. I was just wondering about the sign you have posted in the window..."

And that is how Narifa found herself on the first stepping stone in her quest to becoming a master glasscrafter. She'd always loved working with plants, anyway.

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Narifa
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[Job Thread 1]Roses Are Red, Connal is for Joint Pain

Postby Narifa on July 23rd, 2018, 8:51 pm

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    8th Summer 518 AV
A bell chimed as the front door of All Things Wild opened and Narifa stepped inside, a fuzzy feeling of gratitude radiating off of the girl. Today would be her first day working with Kita and Remas, and the young traveler couldn't be more excited. The 'Help Wanted' sign had disappeared from the window not a few chimes after she'd inquired about it at the register yesterday morning. Kita Sendell had been the very image of kind and gracious, prompting Narifa into a fairly short interview with just a wave of her dust cloth and a call to her son.

Now there the much older woman stood, straightening out the collection of items on display in one of the shop's bay windows. Sundial Circle was quiet in the grey and dewy light of early morning. The buildings around the empty space had yet to open their doors, their many services and wares remaining only a distant thought in their sleeping clientele's dreams. For now.

The herb shop's proprietor spotted her soon enough and ushered her deeper inside with a soft 'Good morning, Narifa'. The Inarta hadn't been too attentive of the building's layout the other day, so when the pair headed into a fairly large workshop at the end of a hallway lined with mysteriously dark jars, she was a little surprised. For such a small facade, All Things Wild had a deceptively large interior. It was incredibly dark, in the workshop, and everywhere Narifa looked there were plants. Herbs littered the ceiling, the walls, most every surface she could see, and at times even certain spots on the floor. Some of the flora she could identify, like the jile berries stuffed into a jar to her right. But most of it Narifa couldn't even begin to place. It was a wonderful room of silence and the overwhelming smell of dried earth.

Kita grabbed a stool and led Narifa over to a table covered with philtering equipment, chattering about the job all the while. Thankfully, Narifa had recieved a crash course education in certain tools and techniques for this particular skill, before her Master had left. He hadn't intended to leave her with such a skeletal grasp of the process, but what's done is done, and Narifa was grateful that her tiny bit of knowledge could prove useful now. She would be asked to come in a few times a week and help Kita prepare tinctures, salves, distillations and more to sell up front. Sometimes she would be asked to prepare items on her own, for specific requests. Narifa, alongside Remas, would also be charged with taking stock and placing orders when they ran out of certain materials. All in all, it was a position that would allow the girl to better her talents, and to meet more of the world she now inhabited.

Kita plopped herself down onto the stool and began fiddling with the table.

"Since today is your first day, and since you're not too familiar with everything yet, I'm going to have you watch me make this connal balm for one of our regulars. I will explain everything that I do as I do it, and if you have any questions feel free to stop me," The grey-haired lady glanced up to find the herbs she would need before getting up to collect them, "Then I'll have you make it."

The glassblower let everything Kita said wash over her body. She gulped as quietly as she could. She hoped that time hadn't dulled her familiarity with the tools.

"And don't worry about taking too long. Remas will hold down the fort while we're gone."

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Narifa
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[Job Thread 1]Roses Are Red, Connal is for Joint Pain

Postby Narifa on July 30th, 2018, 12:07 pm

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    8th Summer 518 AV
Watching the older woman work was absolutely fascinating. She handled every tool, every material, with a delicate touch and a demanding force. These herbs would bend to Kita's will, whether they desired it or not. Narifa would even bet that if these plants had a conscience they'd run straight into Kita's hands either way. She was a concise professor as well. The proprietor was skilled enough in philtering that her knowledge of the craft had practically become a part of her. Kita understood these herbs. She understood these reactions. She knew how to help ease the lives of countless Lhavitians.

Her only current obstacle was trying to impart that same knowledge onto her newest charge.

Narifa watched Kita's every movement with slack-jawed wonder. It wasn't the product she was making that was truly fascinating. Connal balm seemed actually quite simple to make, and the Inarta was grateful that the woman had chosen to start off with something similar to what Master had shown her. No, it was the ease with which Kita made it that She was fast in her movements and in her explanations, but the young traveler did her best to keep up. This was not an everyday event. It definitely wasn't anything that she wanted to miss.

She listened intently as Kita fiddled with the temperature of her flame and reiterated how important temperature was to philtering. It was important to many a process, and failure to maintain constant and high heat levels was something Narifa had been all too familiar with when she first began learning her trades. The older woman ground a few leaves from the the herbs that would end up in the finished product and pointed over to a shelf in the distance.

"We also have plenty of books, codices, indexes, and various manuals that you may delve into at any time. Sooner, rather than later, would probably be best. You'll find chapters on the diverse properties of all the herbs we have in storage, and numerous pages of my own own notes from throughout my apprentice period. Understanding the natural medicinal uses of these plants is no easy task, Narifa."

Kita deftly finished the connal balm as if in the blink of an eye. She poured the mixture into a a small glass container and set it aside, swiveling around to face her hire.

"Now we let it cool to room temperature before placing it in the ice box for another few tolls to harden the liquid. This balm may seem simple, but in fact requires much concentration. In order for the process to go as smoothly as possible and end with the best outcome, one needs a feather light hand. Even a single heavy breath could throw off your measurements. It is not easy, young one. Are you up to the challenge?"

Narifa nodded vigorously. She wanted to learn. She would knock down as many obstacles and open as many doors as she needed to, and finally she had found a door that put her on the trail to becoming a master glasscrafter. She would not back down because she hadn't yet acquired the knowledge. Books couldn't scare her.

Kita beamed, "Wonderful. Take this seat here. I'll have you make three, and I'll be watching the whole time..."

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Narifa
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[Job Thread 1]Roses Are Red, Connal is for Joint Pain

Postby Narifa on August 3rd, 2018, 7:35 pm

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    84th Summer 518 AV
Narifa gingerly situated herself on the stool. She scanned the table, trying to remember the basic uses of every one of the meticulously placed tools. Her hands twitched with a very distant muscle memory.

Kita stood watch next to her, "Arlight, so first I'm going to have you start with grinding, just like I did. Good, you grabbed the right tools! Each herb concoction requires a different amount of pressure if grinding is a part of the process. For connal balm, you need to utilize a very light downward press, or else you risk unbalancing the natural properties of the herb. It is a very basic technique that many inexperienced philterers forget to factor in."

As Kita delved into her explanations, Narifa recalled the way her fingers had delicately snaked around the pestle. She swayed side to side in an attempt to mimic the older woman's body movements during her work. The smell of the room combined with the soothing lowlight had her in a quasi-trance, her arms moving back and forth, hands dancing from tool to tool. Kita's voice had an oddly calming lilt to it. The two of them had created their own atmosphere in the rapidly vanishing morning. Scrape, dump, heat. Scrape, dump, heat. A pattern emerged in the process, and with expert guidance, Narifa finally completed her first jar of joint pain medicine.

With triumph, she set the concoction next to Kita's to cool, and turned to grin at the shop owner. The moment shattered however, when Kita's son burst into the workshop.

"Mom!" Remas called, "Mr. O'Connor just rushed into the store. He's frantic and asking for you."

The sought-after woman sucked her teeth and shook her head before wiping her hands off on the nearest rag. She made to follow her son back up front, but doubled back to ask, "Narifa, could you continue with the next two? I needed these in by the end of the day today."

Narifa nodded with an unsure face, "You go it, Ms. Sendell."

And so she was left alone in the dark, cluttered back room of All Things Wild. She cast her eyes around, silently sending up a prayer to whoever would listen. She hoped she didn't mess this up and lose a job not a day after she'd finally gotten one. With a huff of determination, Narifa glared at the philtering tools.

"Alright, Narifa. You can do this. It's easy," She waggled a finger at the table, and hoped no one else was lurking to see it, "Don't you mess up, now."

She set to work. The herbs went in the mortar, and the pestle rested on top, feather light like she was shown. The words 'very light downward press' became her mantra, echoing in her ears as her wrist turned over and over. Herbs ground, she scraped them out of the bowl and onto the scale. From there, she feel back into her previous trance, dumped the grinds into their liquid agent, heated it up to ensure the properties of the herbs dispersed, and so on and so forth. The process didn't take very long at all, and Narifa was left with a liquid that seemed much clearer than it was supposed to be.

She placed it next to the first tear, and the corners of her lips turned down in sadness. It was too clear, and the grinds she'd tried to boil remained floating on the surface of the medicinal substance. Narifa heaved an extremely disappointed sigh.

"What did I do wrong? I ground it, heated, mixed...I did that, and Kita corrected my hold on that part..." She dropped her head into her hands as she thought back on every movement of her body. The feeling of the pestle ghosted between her fingers and suddenly she knew what she had done wrong. Her press had been much to hard. She must have ground the herbs too finely, and unbalanced their natural uses. She was disgusted with the fact that she'd make such a base error. Kita had even made extra certain that she knew how important pressure was!

Narifa rubbed her hands together to get her blood pumping and her focus zeroed in on what she was doing. The bad balm was pushed to her other side for an imaginary discard pile. She couldn't' make the same mistake again. These herbs were precious, and materials could be quite difficult to come by these days. Her fingers interlaced themselves as she stretched out, let go and shook her wrists.

"Ok, attempt number 2. Here we go. Don't let Ms. Sendell down." She set about the process once more.

Word Count: 774

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Narifa
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Posts: 67
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[Job Thread 1]Roses Are Red, Connal is for Joint Pain

Postby Narifa on August 16th, 2018, 12:07 pm

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    84th Summer 518 AV
Kita had yet to return by the time Narifa successfully finished the second container of balm and was starting on the third. Her wrist had begun to ache, unused to the excessive grinding motions that philtering required. It was a small wonder that the slowing down of her movements didn't throw off the whole third batch. If she had let this one fall into disaster, the bottomless pits of embarrassment would have claimed her, and Kita's disappointment would have made her heart heavy with despair. Narifa wanted to do well. She wanted to keep this job by any means necessary. She wanted to learn.

She refused to let some intense mortar and pestle action deter her.

With the memory of Kita's words flowing in and out of her ears, Narifa deftly went about the process for the third time, taking care to be as precise as possible with every twitch of her finger tips. Grind, dump, heat, drain. Monotonously, she finished off the last pile of herb dust. Now all there was to do was wait for everything to cool. Narifa slumped down on the stool, upper body shaking with the effort of keeping so still and careful. She swiped a sticky forearm across her face. A streak of powder caught on the bridge of her nose and was to remain there until she realized.

Narifa heaved a sigh in her moment of rest, before clambering off the chair and setting off in search of her missing employer.

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Narifa
Victim of Wanderlust and Endless Optimism
 
Posts: 67
Words: 66429
Joined roleplay: May 19th, 2018, 12:13 pm
Race: Human, Inarta
Character sheet
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[Job Thread 1]Roses Are Red, Connal is for Joint Pain

Postby Madeira Dusk on August 25th, 2018, 2:14 am

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Narifa

Skills
  • Planning: 2xp
  • Land Navigation: 1xp
  • Observation: 4xp
  • Philtering: 3xp
  • Herbalism: 3xp
  • Endurance: 1xp

Lores
  • Location: Surya Square
  • Lhavit: chilly summers
  • Location: Sundial Circle
  • Location: All Things Wild
  • People: Kita Sendell
  • Kita Sendell: has a kind face
  • Lore of expected duties of an employee of All Things Wild
  • Philtering: always maintain a constant temperature
  • Philtering: how to make Connal balm
  • Philtering: the proper way to grind herbs
  • Lore of determination

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Notes
Narifa's earnest determination really got to me. You cant help but cheer her on! <3
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