Flashback Give and Take (Solo)

[Sosicly Magnolia]

90th of Spring, 504AV Sosicly threw her mothers loom across the table as soon as she was alone. Enasis had left to go purchase more thread, expecting Sosicly to be done with the small cloth she was practicing to make. But the girl had no intention of finishing as she made to grab her knapsack. Checking that she still had her ink and other supplies the girl slipped out of the Magnolia Web headed for the Orchard Market. Her knapsack got in the way as usual, impeding her slow crawl along the roads. But she reached her destination with only a few disappointed looks, most ignoring the mute girl. And when she finally reached her destination she perched on one of the empty stalls and peered around. A majority were empty, and the few that were open looked uninteresting but the Market was the last place Enasis would look. Again she scanned the stalls, looking for something she could waste her a miza on. There was a food stall but she had already eaten breakfast, a writing supply stall, of course there was a weavers stall. Sosicly reached for the road again and slipped closer, again landing on an empty stall. From here she could see a few similar stalls, a general stall, probably a medicine stall, as if she didn’t have enough, and a rock stall. Her lips quirked sardonically and the girl headed directly over. When Sosicly finally reached the stall she found that all it had was rock, of assorted sizes. Some slightly clear but most solid and ranging from small to something that looked like it might send the stall careening down into the abyss. A small shiver went up her spine, and she looked around for an attendant but seen no one. Bored she plucked up one rock and held it up as if to get more light.

[Sosicly Magnolia]

“Good choice.” Sosicly clenched the rocked in a painful grip, flinched and turned to face her attacker. Who turned out to be a very late middle-aged, ash colored hair, and pale amethyst eyed man. Irritated at being startled she raised an eyebrow and with obvious sass twirled a free finger in a ‘woo-hoo’ motion. “What, you don’t think that rock is special? That it doesn’t hold treasure?!” His tone matched her gesture perfectly, and Sosicly stared at the man carefully. Her face clearly stated what she thought of his statement but the man only smiled wider, “Should I prove it to you? But lets make it interesting. If there’s something inside I keep it, if there’s nothing I’ll pay you to take the rock.” Still clearly thinking the man was too old to be running a stall Sosicly waved at hand at him to continue, and set the rock back on the table. But the man did nothing save disappear for a moment behind a small desk looking area, and return to hand her a hammer. “Go ahead. Prove me right.” Her eyes narrowed at his tone and the hammer vibrated up her arm when she swung down. But the rock shattered, a small bit of dust making her choke while she handed the hammer back. Unimpressed with the pile, Sosicly raised an eyebrow while the man continued to look smug even as he picked up the pieces of rock and took them too a small bowl of water. There he dropped them in, swirled the bowl and grinning slapped it in front of Sosicly. “That, my dra-non-believer, is Amethyst Quartz.”

[Sosicly Magnolia]

Said girl stared in shock at the small shimmering pieces. She wasted no time pulling apiece out and staring at it in surprise. It was a stone she often seen on the dresses of the dancers. When the shock wore off she glared but the man grinned; “Now I’ll make you another deal. You help me with getting some ready, and I’ll give you one piece." Sosicly looked skeptically at the man, then at the small piece, he patted her head. “You will choose the piece, Dra, but not from here. These need way more much more work than you can do. Now, we work!” He took said hand and tugged her around the stall to reveal an assortment of tools; the child immediately reached for one with her free hand but was gently tapped away. “Those are not for you, this is for you.” He had pulled out a small piece of leather and a sharp smelling liquid beside her, to which she wrinkled her nose at and pushed it back at him. He pushed it back with a little grin, leaning on the small table, Sosicly glared and tried to push it back but he kept his fingers in place. They engaged in a small staring contest that Sosicly lost, she pouted at the bowl of what she thought might be quartz. “You’re right. It’s quartz, this one’s clear because they come in different colors. Now you dip that in the vinegar and rub the stones till they shine.” The little girl looked incredulously at the full bowl of quartz but the elder Symenestra had already turned away to work with the stones she had spilt open. With a little huff she sat crossed-legged on the floor and pulled the bowls down with her. When she situated herself she tugged the leather piece down next and began to set to work when another bowl, this one empty, was placed beside her. “For the cleaned ones.” She nodded seriously; ready to work now the more she reminded herself that she’d get to keep one. Gingerly the girl dapped at the vinegar and picked up one of the small pieces of quartz, and for a tick was unsure of what to do. The girl let out a small huff, looked back at the man in annoyance once more and viciously scrubbed the stone. It flew from her fingers with a soundless pop and landed a few inches away. Sosicly snatched it up delicately, with her nails this time, and stared at the piece in reproach. “With your fingers, Dra or you’re going to ruin my stones.” Sosicly flinched at the voice, her eyes raised to meet amused purple. He waved his hand, and the girl adjusted the stone, scrubbing a little softer and clenching it between her fingers. She would be picking a big piece now.

[Sosicly Magnolia]

Her eyes had begun drifting shut shortly after she lost count, the only thing keeping her awake was the waft of vinegar that burned her everything. And there was a weariness in her arms that made her feel like she gone all across Kalinor but there was no pain in her chest to accompany it. Scrubbing the last piece with a little more hurry than she should, Sosicly stood up in triumph. Then cringed at the needles that shot up her leg. “Well, looks like you held up your end, Dra.” He smiled at patted her head, “Which piece are you going to get?” Sosicly looked at the piece in her hand, no bigger than a pebble or a bead. With a grin she held it up, shouldered her pack, and after a small hesitation gave the older Sym a wave and hurried home. Not even slightly surprised when all her mother did was hold out the loom and tapped her foot. But every time she was frustrated with the loom, Sosicly happily played with her small piece of quartz and grinned to herself. OOCI’m not expecting much skill wise (or at all), just maybe a few relevant lore’s. It was mainly to flesh out how she got into jewelcrafting, and I debated turning it in for grading but decided maybe I should.

[Flyaway]

+2 Geology, +1 Jewelcrafting

Identifying Amethyst Quartz, Quartz comes in many colors, Wise Gem Hunter: Demenos Acacia, Stones are Delicate, Ambition: Jewel Crafting

Item Consequences: +1 Small Amethyst Quartz

Secret :

I enjoyed the interaction between characters a whole lot. Keep up the good work Saucy

If you feel I have graded unfairly, or have any questions, feel free to PM me.