Child's Play (Vitru, Jilitse, Ora, Open)

[Jilitse]

Yes, yes, perhaps she was mad. But Jilitse would not perish in Sahova, where madness will consume her insignificant unlife. Being mad enough to do something dangerous that had no certainty of success was raw courage. The Nuit thought, she'd rather be mad that see herself perish.

It would have been wonderful to watch It work, had he not been too small. Jilitse peered at the Pycon a lot, trying to observe his techniques. It seemed to be quite knowledgeable in putting gears together, maybe the elaborate plan it showed them earlier was being acted out diligently.

"A long long time ago..." Jilitse began, finding this humorous. This Nuit was always amused whenever she referred to a time before the Valterrian, or the Valterrian itself. "during the Valterrian, Sagallius, former Court Mage of the Empire of Alahea, the most powerful wizard of his time - perhaps out of ambition and out of madness - desired to become the most powerful being in the world. He saw the Valterrian as an opportunity to make himself more powerful. In order to take his righteous place as one of the Gods of Mizahar," the Nuit continued, "he decided to launch his own attack at the god of Doors and Travel, Aquiras. The god was caught off-handed and Sagallius stole the Aquiras' heart, leaving Aquiras in a a vegetative state. He is still alive, but is in a coma." The delivery was emotionless. "His lover, the Goddess Priskil, whom I seek, has sworn to be enemy of Sagallius. I see her as a key instrument, an important factor, to my success."

To Ora, she said, "Oh, but I do believe this is not hope I have, but rather, blind optimism. I know my mission in life barely has a chance of success, and yet I hypothesize that hope is not something I must pursue, but rather one that must ensue in itself. I should say I could feel hope building up on me now, but rather vicariously, as I see how diligent the Pycon is in pursuing his goal of repairing the doll, and hearing how you are following your desire, your mission, with a firm sense of resolution."

She wondered, slipping back into theorizing, what would a small twig from the fire have to do with the doll?

[Ora Sa'vina]

The hours that passed while Vitru worked were filled with little, some talking, but not very much. Ora tended the fire and occasionally would move to look at what the small man was doing. She watched him intently when her eyes were there, even though the tiny motions and gears he fiddled with were something Ora understood little of. The Konti would have asked the small man many questions if he didn't seem to have been working so intensely. Small, deep noises came from the Pycon as he muttered to the work below him, an odd sound coming from such a little thing, deep and gravely.

The Konti found herself dozing off next to the fire for a short while, no more than an hour. Her dreams were of little regard, she imagined herself in Riverfall, finding her father, staying with him and learning from him. Her dreams were roused once the Pycon spoke to her. She only caught the end of his words, a small twig from the fire. The logs had turned to dust some time ago, a few stray bits of wood were left. Near the edge of the coal was the end of a stick, quickly, Ora snatched it up, the end of the twig was blackened, but no longer burning.

The Konti handed the stick towards the Pycon, her attention moving from the doll he had tended to Jilitse as she began to speak, explaining Aquiras' position on helping. As she listened to the story of what had happened between Sagallius and Aquiras, Ora found it hard to see how Aqurias would be able to help the Nuit while he was in a comatose state. That question was answered quickly, the Gods lover, Priskil, no doubt the Goddess wanted her lover again.

The young woman nodded slightly as she explained herself. Not hope, but blind optimism? Ora thought over that phrase, blind optimism was the same thing as hope to the Konti. Perhaps it was not exactly the same as hope would be, but it was very close, perhaps it would be close enough for Priskil to help the Nuit. Ora hoped this was the likely outcome, for the Nuit's sake. "Whether you call it hope or blind optimism, I think you have a good chance, Jilitse, Priskil must miss Aquiras' company, why would she not help to get him back?"

[Vitru]

Secret :

Oh dear me, I apologize for the MASSIVE delay on responding! We'll be wrapping up soon though

Vitru grunted softly as the proffered stick passed his view. His work had consumed him and taken him from the conversation except for slantwise glances at the two women as he fitted the small pieces into place. He made sure to keep his work facing the fire so it was lit in case the other two wanted to take a closer look as he made the finishing touches to his project. He fitted the final piece, a small crank, through a hole in the back of the head where it would be the least conspicuous, before attaching the top of the head and closing away the gears from sight.

He took a brief moment to speak as he took the twig and considered the doll before him. "Yes, Ora, It imagines that Priskill might be quite motivated to save Aquiras, but It imagines that her trust is not given lightly. It wonders if Jilitse has the fortitude to do whatever Priskill might ask of Jilitse?" As he finished the last sentence, he took the stick in hand and placed it against the face of the doll. A brief scraping across the face left a blackened grin to complement the sightless eyes on the otherwise featureless doll.

The smile was lopsided, and lacked really any aesthetic appeal whatsoever. Vitru, however, appeared satisfied. "It is finished, It believes. It fears It does not have art supplies, nor the talent to use them if It wished. So this will suffice." He holds the completed doll out to Jilitse "Perhaps mistress Jilitse would care to do It the honor of testing the workmanship?"

[Jilitse]

"The Pycon is right. I have been without a god nor a goddess for a long time, so why now? The purpose may be reasonable, the intentions well placed, but the timing would not be quite right." She gave a faint smile towards It. "I should say my task is big enough to be carried by a being such as I. Killing Sagallius is an adventure in its ultimate form: a test of soul and ability and character and attitude and heart. I daresay I have fortitude, but I suspect I could muster up enough will power to make it happen. Although, I have yet to learn where to find Priskil, it feels like finding an Order of Radiance's chapter house might be a good start." She took the doll gently into her hands.

"To be honest, I really have no idea with regards to aestheticism." She gave attention to the doll. The Nuit then wiggled it a little, tipping it forward and backward. Unsatisfied, she used her fingers to flick the blinking eyelids, checking for any signs that something went wrong. She repeated shaking the doll and finally commented, "I think the left eyelid blinks a little slower than the right, but the precision is a non-issue. It does seem to work." Jilitse pivoted herself and faced Ora, holding out the doll in front of the Konti. She tipped the doll forward and backward, making sure Ora would see the blinking eyes.

"What do you think about the smile?" The Nuit inclined hear head to one side and waited for the Konti's answer. She added, "The sooty grin makes it look like a Nuit. Is that bad?"

[Ora Sa'vina]

The Konti listened to the small clay man as he conversed with the Nuit, it was unlikely the Goddess would give out her trust to just anyone, their commitment and desire would need to be proven. Her eyes moved to look at Jilitse as she commented on his words, she obviously knew what she was getting into and had no intention of stopping; did this give her heart? The young woman said nothing, her eyes moved to continue watching the small man work, taking the stick from her he pressed the burnt end against the dolls face, scratching across the surface. The smile It made was crooked, lopsided and was not a normal looking smile.

A smile crossed Ora's face as Vitru exclaimed his completion of the doll. He held the toy up for Jilitse to take and examine for mechanical workmanship. The Konti peered over the Nuit's shoulder, looking into the face of the doll as Jilitse tipped it back and forth. Ora watched as she examined, flicking the eyelids open and finally commenting on the workmanship before turning to hold the lifeless doll in front of the Konti, tipping it back and forth while she spoke.

The smile on the doll was in someways off-putting and unsettling, but in many ways, Ora found herself enjoying the crooked dark line the crossed over the dolls face. Violet eyes remained on the doll for a few moments, a small smirk resting across the Konti's face. "I like it," Her eyes moved to glance between the woman before her and the small man resting on the table. "The smile gives it character, it is like he enjoys causing mischief." Her gaze stopped on Jilitse as she addressed the similarity to a Nuit that the doll now had. "No, it is not. I see nothing wrong with a Nuit." Ora smiled at the dark woman, the Konti had met a Nuit for the first time and felt no reason to fear them, whether this was a good thing for the naive woman to feel was irrelevant to Ora.

"I think the little boy will greatly enjoy having his toy back," She looked over at the Pycon with a warm smile. "I am sure he misses it."

[Vitru]

The Pycon seemed pleased by Ora's remarks regarding his craftsmanship, but dismayed at the small hiccup in his gadgetry deep within the dolls wooden head.

"It appreciates Ora's opinion of It's work, but mistress Jilitse has noticed a flaw that It was afraid may show up."

He took the doll back and cradled the head gently between his small hands. "It hopes the child will like it nonetheless. It fears It's skill will never match that of the great artisans of Syliras." His voice was tinged with sadness, a longing to fulfill his place in the world.

The Pycon paused, lost in thought yet again. "It fears the sun must be rising by now. It has likely kept both Jilitse and Ora far longer than they had originally intended." He motioned to the door, "It will undertake the last part of It's journey with the doll this afternoon. With any luck It will find the young child who was so heartbroken by the loss of the doll." Vitru sets the doll to one side and looks from the pale Konti to the Nuit. "It hopes that Ora and Jilitse view the time spent with It not as time wasted."

As the two women stoop up and strode to the door, Vitru hoped that they might return again, his shop was ever more cheerful when the taller races were there to feed his sense of adventure with their grandiose tales.


OOCSorry about that guys, I've been in and out of clinics for the past month trying to get a problem with my leg cleared up. Unless either of you have any last posts, this should about wrap it up. And we ought to either way because I don't want to keep you guys hanging and waiting on a post from me!

[Ataraxia]

Vitru XP Observation + 2, Drawing +1, Gadgeteering + 2, Rhetoric + 3, Acrobatics + 1 Lore Meeting the Living Dead | Commanding a Konti | Finding makeshift art supplies Ora Sa'vina XP Observation +1, Rhetoric + 3 Lore Considering her father's fate | To serve a Pycons beck and call Jilitse XP Observation + 2, Rhetoric + 3 Lore Serving as a Pycon's carriage, Remembering a Pycon's death, An eye for detail Comments A fun story! Interesting how Pycons get around, and how non-human characters interact with one another. Sorry I couldn't give out more, but I did what I could seeing as this was primarily dialog. PM me with questions or concerns and what have you, and don't be shy.