[Flashback] Bendi Buddies (Arilia)

[Vala]

Winter 506 AV Running through the halls of Skyinarta, a young dek, nearly ran into a master glassblower. The master cussed at the Dredge’s inherent clumsiness, kicking the boy, not too gently. “What is it you want? Be quick, I’m a busy man.” The Dek stumbled up, rubbing the sore spot in his ribs. He stuttered, barely audible. “I-i-i-i’m sorry, sir. I need to de-de-deliver a message.” The boy kept his head down, avoiding eye contact. Vord looked down at the boy with a look of disdain. The two men stood there in silence. “Is the message for me?” Vord finally asked, a little exasperated at the slow boy. “Oh!, uh... uh.... uh no! Sorry.” The boy muttered. Vord just sighed in annoyance, pushing the boy out of his way. He walked over to his tools, waiting for his two new apprentices for the day. Vord didn’t have to wait long, as a pretty young yasi, bounded towards him. He could tell she was sharp by the cunning look in her eyes, but he could also tell she seemed like trouble. Vala walked up to him, with a confidence unbefitting of her station. Vord prepared himself. Vala beemed up at the older Glassmaster. “Hello sir. Are you Vord? My name is Vala and I am a Yasi, and I’m supposed to work my Bendi with a glassmaster today, to make glass. Are you Vord?” Vala said in her sickly sweet voice, all in one breath. “Well, are you Vord sir?” Vord resisted the urge to smack the girl. She was cute, but her voice was aggravating - high and piercing. He did appreciate her enthusiasm though. He had seen her working in the Craft Gallery before; she seemed like a a good student. “Yes, I’m Vord.” He drawled. “We can start as soon as the other Yasi that is supposed to be working with you gets here. I think her name is... Arien...Aralla...” “Arila?” Vala offered. She had seen the girl before and recognized her name. She always seemed like a goody two shoes; Vala tried to avoid her; Vala never really liked the good ones.

[Arilia]

She was going to be late.

She had just realized what time it was, and where she was supposed to be right now. Or rather, her sister had reminded her. She never was good at remembering things. That always was, Aloria's, forte. But then again, everything was Aloria's forte. She was smart and stealthy and had amazing glass working skills. Their mother always said that when they turned fifteen, Aloria would most definitely be cast as an Artisan.

If it wasn't for her horrible hunting and archery, she would swear that their mother would have deemed Aloria fit to be an Endal.

She thanked Priskil that she had something that she could show Aloria up in. And show her up she did, much to Aloria's frustration.

"Arilia! What are you still doing here? And what are you doing on the floor?" called her sister as she barreled down the hallway. Arilia tossed her long curly fire red hair over a shoulder as she looked up at her sister from her spot on the ground.

"I know I know," she mumbled then sighed in relief when she found her other boot. Pulling it on, she glanced up at her sister's disapproving face. Though they had the same bright red hair, large emerald green eyes, small pointed noses, and defined pointed chins, they weren't exactly identical if you looked carefully enough. Where Aloria's beauty was soft and sweet, Arilia was a more lively and fiery kind of beauty.

"Vord isn't going to be happy with you tardiness Arilia," said her sister in a disapproving tone. Though the girls were both only ten, Aloria had the mind set of someone much older, and was often told so. Arilia on the other hand was known mainly for her archery, hunting, swordsmanship, and her quick temper.

"Alright, alright. I'm going," Arilia called as she flew out of the room on swift, silent feet. She was soon at the Craft Gallery, and she didn't slow down as she ran in at full speed. Turning a corner, she ran right into a young Dek, knocking him flat on the floor.

"Watch it!" she snapped at the Dek who watch clutching his ribs, though she knew the fault was hers. The boy however didn't say a word as he stood up and rushed away. Once the boy was gone, Arilia continued into the Gallery looking for the Glassmaster she was assigned to work with.

"Arila?" said a high voice and she immediately swiveled in the direction from which it came. She managed to locate a girl with her long red hair tied up in pigtails who was talking to and older master glassblower. This must be it, she thought to herself as she stepped closer to the duo.

Vord looked over the top of the small Yasi's head to notice another girl, younger than the one in front of him he was told, watching them. This must be the other one, he thought to himself as she took a step closer.

The girl was tall, Vord noticed. Much taller than most kids her age, which he guessed to be around nine or ten. Because of her height, she looked older, and the Glassmaster couldn't ignore the fiery spirit that shone through her eyes, or her unusual beauty.

This one was going to be a handful, Vord thought to himself as the young Yasi joined them.

"You must be Arolla...Aerlla..."

"Arilia," the girl said tersely.

"Of course," Vord said as he mentally confirmed his earlier thought. Definitely going to be a piece of work this one. Put together with the other, it was going to be a long ten days for him.

"I assume you know Nala here," he said indicating to the Yasi at his side.

"Vala," she piped up with a big smile.

Arilia turned to look down at the girl in front of her and immediately narrowed her eyes. She knew her. Aloria had talked to her about her. Something about how this girl would avoid her for no reason at all.

Though her sister was a pain, Arilia was fiercely protective of the more naive twin. If this girl was going to give her sister attitude, thought Arilia, attitude was what she was going to get back.

Arilia nodded sharply and crossed her long willowy arms across her chest as she aimed a look at the other girl, brilliant green eyes narrowed. The other Yasi, picking up on the mood, stared right back with her dark blue eyes.

Vord, after looking from one to the other, looked skywards and sighed deeply.

[Vala]

Vala looked over the other girl, Arilla. Arilla had given her a ‘look’, one of those I-know-what-you-are looks. Vala smiled pleasantly at Arilla, baring her pearly white teeth; trying her best to hide the coldness behind it; she was going to work with the girl for the next ten days, it would be stupid to create tension... well this early in the bendi anyway. Vord cleared his throat gruffly, to catch the girls’ attention. “I’m not sure if you guys have any experience - doesn’t really matter to me, but I expect you girls to follow my instructions to the letter. A mistake, however small, however careless, can set my work back days...” He frowned, forgetting something. He rubbed his fiery red beard, tugging sharply as he suddenly remembered. “And you could get hurt! So don’t do anything stupid. If I see either of you fooling around then I will have both of you removed.” He furrowed his bushy brows and looked down at the smaller girls imposingly. “And I will make sure you are assigned to the dredge class for your idiocracy, but...” He smiled, but his gruff features only made him look even more menacing. “if you guys work well, and prove to me your worth then I will make sure you learn as much as I can impart to you, and maybe even help you guys earn an apprenticeship when the time comes. Now that the rules are clear, tell me what you know so I can properly assign you to tasks. The Valintar has commissioned me to make fifty utilitarian vases for the city - nothing too difficult, just time consuming.” He waited for the girls to answer his question. “Well,” Vala said seriously, trying to sound professional. She even held her hands down at her sides to prevent her from fidgeting as she talked. “I have had five bendis with other glassworker masters, so far. They have only let me spin the blow pipe or punty or blow into the pipe as another master worked on it. Ever since then I try to do arm exercises to keep my arms fit for the spinning. I have also tried to gather... twice, but...” Vala bit her lip in embarrassment, mumbling out the last bit. “I’m still a little too short and have trouble looking into the batch oven as I dip the blow pipe in unless I have a stool...” She blushed, resenting her slight frame, wishing she would just grow already. She did pick her head up in pride when she said, "One master, Raku, who guided me through two of my bendis has told me that he might be interested in taking me up as an apprentice." Vord nodded and looked to the other girl, waiting for her answer.

[Arilia]

Arilia was looking at the other girl trying not to smirk at her obvious embarrassment, so she didn't see Vord turn to her. After a moment, the Glassmaster cleared his throat, trying to catch the attention of the younger girl.

Arilia took her time turning her eyes up to Vord. Once they did however, he noticed the mischievous glint in them. He waited for the Yasi to speak, but when she didn't he sighed. She most likely didn't pay attention to a single word he had said, and that was going to be a problem.

"What," said the older man slowly, "do you know about glassworking?"

The girl tipped her head to one side in consideration, crossing her long arms over her chest. Vala was subconsciously tapping her foot against the floor as she waited impatiently for the other Yasi to speak. The flaming red in her cheeks was dying down and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't want Arilia to have an embarrassing pitfall as well.

"Well," said Arilia after a moment. "This is my first bendi with a glassworker master." From the corner of her eye she saw a small triumphant grin appear on Vala's pixie-like face.

"My previous bendi have always been more... physical." At that, Vord raised his bushy eyebrows in question.

"You know, hunting, or sword-working, stuff like that. I've even done one with an Endal," the young girl said proudly and successfully wiped the grin off the other Yasi's face.

"I see. Now, would you like to tell me what good any of that is to me?" asked the older man and Arilia faltered for a moment.

"I... well..." the girl stuttered.

"Listen," said Vord. "While it may be impressive that a Yasi of your age has done all that, none of it matters to me. What does matter, however, is what you know about glassworking. And as you've said that this is your first bendi in glassworking, I'm guessing that you don't know much."

Arilia scowled as Vord finished speaking, but she immediately straightened her back and lifted her chin. Her pride had her jumping to her own defence.

"That may be, but I can learn. I pick things up fast. And I'm strong. And," she said shooting a glance at Vala, "I am tall enough to look into a batch oven," she said with a smirk and it was Vala's turn to scowl.

[Vala]

The boiling animosity building within Vala's chest was growing harder and harder to ignore. And to Vala’s dismay she was having more and more trouble keeping her reactions in check, if she didn’t pay more attention she risked Vord seeing her un-composed and acting petty. She was here to work, not to socialize. She smiled harder. The other girl may not care what people thought about her, but Vala knew image was everything.

Since the other girl had yet to learn anything about glassworking, Vala saw her only as a liability. Vala figured Arilla probably hadn’t even read up on proper safety procedures - as did Vord. “Please tell me you’ve at least looked up...” Vord stopped mid-sentence. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just assume neither of you know any safety procedures so that no one gets hurt from a foolish mistake.” Vord had seen Vala working with his peers before - it was hard to miss the girl’s flashy pig tails; it was a little surprising they hadn’t been burned off in an accident yet. He knew, from general talk and observation that girl was a dedicated worker who studied harder than most, even with her physical limitations. So he also knew, that she probably knew every safety rule a master glass blower knew, but the other girl was new and he wasn’t in the mood to try and teach them separately, plus repetition never hurt anyone.

“Follow me.” Vord called out as he walked out of the Craft Gallery’s common room towards the bustling Glass Reverie. “Vala, since you say you have some glass working experience, tell me how hot the ovens are.”

For every one of Vord’s steps, Vala took two; she had to near jog to keep up. “Well sir, for the glass to be malleable enough to work with it needs to be kept near molten. All ovens in Wind Reach are powered by the fires of Skyinarta, and are controlled by Reimancy masters. The first oven glassworkers use, the batch oven, is the hottest of the ovens, and that is where the glass to be gathered is kept. The second oven, the glory hole or drum oven, is still very hot, but kept at a cooler temperature since it is meant to just reheat the pieces while they are on the punty or blow pipe. The third oven, which goes by garage, holder, or annealing oven, is the coolest of all the ovens because it is used to keep the finished pieces warm while the other add-ons are being made or blown, or it is used to gradually cool the piece down to room temperature-”

Vord was surprised the girl was so learned for a yasi, especially since she had yet to earn an apprenticeship. He even allowed the fanciful notion of taking her as his own apprentice swim around in his thoughts for a few moments before waving it away. “And why do we gradually cool glass pieces?”

Vala was offended from being interrupted while she was on a roll, especially in such a condescending tone, but she tried to make sure Vord couldn’t hear it in her voice. “Because sir, if we let the glass cool too fast, then it will crack.” She tried to sound a little more humble - it was good to answer questions correctly, but acting too smart had a nasty habit of biting Vala in the ass in the form of an annoyed teacher - a lesson she had learned quite early.

Vala knew what she was talking about from her experience in bendi’s but she was still grateful that she had taken the time to visit the enclave and brush up with some glassblowing books at the Enclave, the afternoon before. She wondered, since Arilla didn’t know squat about glass working, and probably didn’t care as much as her, if Vord would focus on her training more than the other girl. She beamed at the thought and at Vord’s half hearted compliment - “Good job, Vala.”

The three walked in silence, weaving through others milling about in the Glass Reverie. “Ok this is my, er our, workbench.” Vord pointed at the neat and organized tools. “These are put in a very specific order, to my liking actually. Move something to where it shouldn’t be, and I’ll send you away for the day. Now I got to take care of some business real quick, you two stay here. Don’t touch anything. Play nice and... Arilla why don’t you tell Vala what you do know, and ask her what you wa- need to know, like safety procedures and the like. Ok well... I’ll be right back.... don’t touch anything.” Vord looked warily at the girls, staring down at them, before walking off.

When Vord was out of sight, Vala turned to Arilla. Her smile dropping, leaving only a cold, emotionless stare, akin to a porcelain doll’s. Her voice was just as modulated and monotone as her visage. “I do not know what I have done to offend you - frankly it does not matter to me in the least, but we need to work together for ten days. If you do not want to work, then just ask and I will pick up the work load for you, just as long as you can look busy when Vord is around. Now, if you tell me what you know, I can fill you in on the rest of the basics.” Vala’s dark blue eyes, seemed darker in the fiery glow of the Reverie.