Solo A job that keeps you in shape.

[Licearsvansan]

Summer 35th year 513

A pair of hurried feet beat against the shimmering streets of Lhavit. The sound they made echoed out for blocks in the nearly empty roads. For most of Lhavit it was the noon rest, but for Svan it was time to work. Technically speaking, Svan wasn't even hired yet. What he was doing now was a sort of test for the Dhani.

Walking into the Dusk tower, Svan had both applied to become a student, and a worker to the tower. It had been a difficult process due to the fact that anyone with even moderate ability there could tell what he was, and what he was, was not exactly liked. Alses recommendation and tips however, had given Svan the edge that he needed to get the job. Still, it was made clear that Svan was new to the city, and if his lack of knowledge of Lhavit's layout caused him to take to long in any errands he was given it would reflect badly on the tower. Lhavit was small enough that one could learn to memorize the layout, but a native of Lhavit would be much better suited to the task. In other words, Svan had to prove that he could do just as well as any other citizen of the town, if not better.

Luckily for Svan, there were two advantages Svan currently had. It was summer, and he was Dhani. Rattler's had always been a good deal faster than other races. While he lacked the lightning-like swiftness of the vipers, he could still match the speeds of most human athletes. More importantly though, was the fact that his coldblooded body, had a near infinite supply of energy so long as Syna's light continued to warm the skyglass city. That is not to say that his muscles still couldn't grow tired though, because after running halfway through the entire city to reach the mage registry. Breathing heavily, Svan slowly walked up to the doors of the building and prepared to open them. However, when he pulled on the handle, he found it unwilling to budge. A note on the side of the door read, "Out of office, back at 12" Which, incidentally, was the time that Svan had to be back to the towers by...

"Petch."

[Licearsvansan]

Svan stood by the door and stared at it blankly for several ticks. It was as if he expected at any moment for the door to open, and for Hanie to tell him that it was just another joke. Unfortunately, there was no joke and the door remained shut as Svan stared at it. Slowly, the denial passed and rage began to set in. In a huff Svan turned around and marched over to the strongest wall he could find. The dull thump of a man angrily punching a skyglass wall echoed out throughout the Koten temple, followed shortly by the sound of a man groaning in pain. The Dhani stormed out of the building with his aching fist cupped into his left hand. He had a letter to deliver to a man that he didn't know, and he had just lost his only means of finding out where to go. Svan let out a terse laugh at his own incompetence. His only hope of finding someone was to ask for information at the wizard registry. He had assumed Hanie would know where to go since this was magic related business, but the more he thought about it, the less it made sense. Svan wasn't even sure what the person he was looking for did, and whether or not the person he was looking for was a wizard to begin with.

The Dhani considered trying to search for another building that could give him the location that he needed, but looking for that would be just as much trouble as finding the person he needed anyways. He wasn't about to despair though. He still had time, and he wasn't about to give up until then. As he walked out of the temple, Svan's eyes darted back and forth between the buildings. He scanned each and every sign he saw, and worked to commit it to memory. While looking at each sign would be helpful for the future, his main goal in doing so was to find the name of the man he had to deliver the letter to. Unfortunately, one bell was hardly enough time to look at every sign in the city, and the snake could only manage a brisk walk while scanning each building. It was a gamble, but with so few people awake to ask help from and little knowledge of the city, Svan had no other choice.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, a female's voice called out to him. Svan turned to find a small human child staring at him. She her brow was furrowed into a confused glare, and the way she was puffing out her cheeks... By the goddess is she angry with me? What did I do?

"What are you looking for?" The girl said in an almost accusatory voice.

Svan balked, "I-I don't think I understand. Did I do something to you?"

"You came down this road three times already."

The snake could only blink. Had he really already come down this way three times? He could have slapped himself for his own stupidity. So much for memorizing the signs.

"Tell me what are you looking for." The child demanded, her patience seemingly reaching its end.

"I'm looking for a man named Keper Masute. I have a letter for him." It took everything Svan had to keep his voice even when speaking with this brat. He didn't like being ordered around, especially not by a little girl that he could snap in half like a rotten tree branch.

The girl continued to stare him down for a couple ticks before warily responding, "You aren't going to eat him are you?"

Svan's eyes went wide at the girl's sudden assumption, but his astonishment quickly passed. This girl had obviously been told by someone that he was a Dhani. Still, the idea that his secret was known to this child bothered him. How many others knew what he was? Giving the girl his warmest smile, the snake replied, "No, I'm not going to eat him...do you think you can help me find him?"

"But Daddy said... The girl seemed conflicted. She was probably told not to trust him, but was also fighting the urge to help someone who seemed to need it. Svan waited silently as the girl's competing thoughts warred with each other. Suddenly her face lit up, "What if I deliver the letter for you? That way you can't eat him." She smiled nervously, proud of coming up with what she believed to be a good idea, but fearful that Svan might find flaw in it.

The snake struck a humored expression, "And whats to stop me from eating you when I come over there to give you the letter?" The girl was at least five meters away from Svan, but he could still see her face go pale.

It was clear she hadn't thought of that. He could practically feel the fear drifting off of her, but he had to admit that she was doing her darnedest to hide it. With the kind of fearful yet defiant gaze only a child could possess in the face of danger she answered, "Because I'm tough."

He couldn't help but chuckle. It was all he could do to keep himself from cracking up. Svan slowly began to approach the girl with a wide grin on his face. The poor child went from pale to downright ghostly. She kept her glare steady, but the closer he came the more fear he could see in it. Once she was within distance, he reached out a hand and placed it on her head. Her eyes shut quickly as she flinched, but didn't move away. When she opened her eyes the Dhani was staring kindly at her. "Now do you see? i'm not going to eat you." He could feel the girl slowly relaxing. "Now can you tel me where I can find Mr. Masute? He is going to be mad if he doesn't get his letter on time."

The girl raised her arm robotically and pointed to the left. "He has a store over by the Towers. Its called the Good Book."

Svan cursed himself. He had been so close when he first began, which meant he had come all this way for nothing. he had been tempted to ask the other student's of the towers where the man was, but had feared that it would have been a stupid question. Now it was more than half a bell later, and Svan was farther from his destination than he had ever been. Removing his hand from the girl's head Svan turned around and began sprinting off towards the towers "Thank you," he shout back to the girl as he turned the corner. He had wasted too much time already to spend it chatting with the girl any longer.

The towers were a fair deal away, and Syna was quickly climbing to her peak.

[Licearsvansan]

After sprinting through half the town, Svan reached the towers with 15 chimes to spare. The heat of the sun was beating down on him, and his internal temperature was reaching critical levels, but he had made it. Proud of this small accomplishment, Svan dragged himself over to the nearest bit of shade and collapsed in it. He wanted to push himself further, but his body had reached its limit. The thin layer of sweat that coated his skin was barely doing anything to cool him down, and if he pushed himself back into the merciless sun then there was the very real possibility that he would die. Being coldblooded DEFINITELY had its difficulties.

Relaxing under the shade of the tree, Svan looked out lazily and watched the world around him. Aside from the occasional Shinya, there was hardly anyone out. it was so strange for Svan to see a city this quiet this close to none. It made him feel anxious, as if something terrible was about to happen. Svan let out a weary sigh and slouched against the stump of the tree. He was always so paranoid that things would go wrong that he was never able to really relax in times like these. He glanced over to a passing Shinya. The moment I turn away, that man is going to come over and arrest me. Probably because there is some sort of law against touching a girl's hair that I didn't know about. But the man didn't come over. He didn't even seem to take notice of the snake staring at him. Instead the guard strolled right by without causing Svan the slightest bit of trouble. Almost disappointed at the lack of action, Svan frowned. Why didn't I just ask them for the man's address? The snake quickly realized that he had been anticipating being jumped by the guard only a moment before. Ah yes, good ol paranoia. Staying on his toes had kept him alive for these past dozen some years, but it had cost him dearly. When you saw a potential threat in everyone, it was difficult to make friends. Not to mention, the toll it took on him to stay on guard so often. Svan was sure he was going to have a full head of grey hair by the time he was 200.

After a few chimes to cool down, Svan lifted himself up and headed out of the shade. Not knowing where to go, the snake began scanning the buildings for any sign of 'The Good Book'. To his surprise, it had been right next to him. Not bothering to question his fortune, Svan walked up to the door and gave it a pull. Locked. Of course, because one little bit of good luck would be TOO much wouldn't i- Svan felt a tap on his shoulder and he quickly whipped around. Svan found himself staring at an old man with a kind looking features, and a smile that was downright contagious. He was holding a key in his hand, ready to unlock the door behind Svan.

"Can I help you?"

[Licearsvansan]

"Thisss-" Svan stopped for a moment to massage his throat, and morph away his accent. "This is for you I believe." The snake held out the letter to the man, eagerly waiting for him to take it. Just as the elderly looking man reached for it, Svan yanked it back. "You ARE Mr. Keper Masute....right?" Svan eyed the man warily, and Mr Masute responded with a laugh.

"I was the last time I checked." With a relaxed breath Svan handed the letter over to the man. Keper wasted no time opening the letter and scanning its contents. "Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "Come follow me inside."

While he was somewhat suspicious about being told to follow people into empty buildings after having delivered them a letter, he was far too concerned with getting out of the heat to care. Svan watched as keper fumbled with the lock, and followed close behind as he opened the door and went inside.

The inside of the builing was a tight squeeze, and yet Svan felt as if he could have stretched out easily. Books were stacked neatly all over the place and Svan could literally taste the paper in the air. Keper lead Svan over to a massive stack of bound papers, and books. He looked back towards the serpent with kind eyes. "Here you go."

"What?"

The man looked confused at Svan's reply. "This is the stuff you ordered." Keper seemed to realize that Svan had no idea that he was supposed to be doing a pick up as well. "Ah I'm sorry, I man from the dusk tower came here a few days ago asking if I could get together a large number of books for him. He had a couple requests that would take time for me to complete so I told him to come back in half a week and he could pick it up. I thought you knew about this."

Svan frowned, obviously he had not. The snake stared down at the multiple piles of books lying on the ground for him. It was almost the twelfth bell, which meant that Svan was all but out of time. Bending down Svan wrapped his two hands over the twine wrapping over two piled of books. Then, he moved his hand over to grab a third and forth. The weight was tremendous, enough to make an ordinary human's arms give out. But for Svan, it was merely incredibly difficult. Keper opened his mouth to say something, but Svan interrupted, "I got it.....can you open the door?". The Dhani felt like his arms were on fire already, and his thoughts were already drifting to the idea of shifting into his more powerful form. Unfortunately, it probably was poor manners to take of one's pants in public.....and to turn into a giant snake monster.

Keper quickly got the door, and looked back towards Svan. "Are you sure you can carry that?"

The Dhani nodded, and continued out the door. In a strained breath he managed a quick 'thank you', and began hurrying back to the dusk tower. As he made his way back, Svan did his best to let his mind wander from its current task. It quickly fell upon the meeting that had caused this whole mess in the first place. The interview. Just as Alses had prompted him Svan had done his best to be honest with the questions that were asked of him. For the umpteenth time in his life, Svan was grateful to his mother for teaching him how to speak the truth without condemning one's self. He didn't dare tell half lies, but he had given his answers a slightly better twist than he usually would in causal conversation. He spoke about himself in the same way an obsessive person might refer to themselves as a "perfectionist" in an interview. If they noticed then they didn't seem to mind. Why would they? Being able to put a positive twist on the harsh truth was a useful skill in any profession that required even the slightest bit of socializing. Still, Svan had been forced to tell the whole truth, and even admit that his main goal in joining the tower was to learn familiary. That had gotten him mixed reactions. Some were impressed by his sincerity and determination, but others seemed to frown upon the idea of him wanting to learn multiple magics. Those people didn't matter though. He was already a morpher, its not like he could have won those people's favor to begin with. After a fair deal of talking, and enough questions to make Svan feel as if he was on trial, Svan was finally informed that he would be able allowed to enter the towers as a student. As for the job... that was still being decided.

Svan trudged up to the building with steady resolve. Thankfully, another student beat the snake to the door, and did him the favor of holding it open. With books in hand, Svan walked through the doors and muttered a thanks to the man who had been so kind to help him. As the doors closed, the human quickly scuttled up the stairs and left the snake alone with his books. Apparently the lack of sweat on the snake's brow had led the young student to believe that he didn't need help carrying this load. Svan carefully set the books on the ground and rested his weight on his knees. With no one to see him, the Dhani had nothing to fear in revealing just how tired he was. Just as Svan took in a deep welcome breath, the doors of the tower quickly opened. The bubble of air caught in his throat and the snake choked in surprise. Steadying himself, Svan turned to see who had entered only to find that it was the secretarty.

"I see you're getting good work out in now that you have had a chance to rest up."

"Rest?" The snake looked dumbfounded.

"Yes, I assume you got your noon rest in before fetching these correct?" Svan's confused silence quickly answered the question. "Do you mean to imply that you were trying to complete the pick up the entire time?" The secretary let out a bark of laughter, "You must have been waiting an eternity by Keper's store."

Svan responded by looking away bashfully. He didn't have to admit to walking aimlessly around the city for an bell as long as they didn't ask.

"You really are new to this city...Take those books upstairs with me, I will show you where they go, and send you to your next task."

The snake's eyes shot up, "Wait, does this mean I have the job?" He asked eagerly.

The secretary, already halfway up the stairs, looked back towards Svan, "For now."

[Elysium]

Svan

XP:
Running +3
Persuasion +2
Rhetoric +2
Land Navigation +1

Lore:
How to Get Lost in Lhavit
Lhavit: Rest Periods
Keper Masute, Bookbinder
Lhavit: The Good Book
Persuasion: Reasoning With a Child

Notes: Good work! This is a great example of a job thread. If you have any questions, send me a message.

and so, the journey continues...