Cracks in the Glass (open)

[Dymphna]

“Oh. Will you explain it while you go? I’ve always wanted to come watch glass being worked, but I’ve never had the chance to. I work too much. Um,” she said, glancing at the two of them as she moved to sit down. “As an herbalist… If that wasn’t guessable by my need for bottles. Do you do windmarks? I may know someone that needs a new windmark – Though I haven’t actually seen if he needs them or he’s hiding them somewhere on his body. I mean. I haven’t tried to get his clothes off or anything, but…” She paused, looking at the pile of glass and screwing up her face. “I just might have some extra business for you is all. But I haven’t – I haven’t seen him naked.” She leaned forward, putting her face into her hands as if exhausted by the fact that her mouth moved before she had a chance to censor herself.

[Raylin Sunsetfeather]

Raylin let out a small laugh. "It's ok, theres no need to be embaresed! My Wind Marks are on my back, so you normally can't see them. If we were in Wind Reach though, you would be able to see it because I would be wearing a vinati." she said smiling to herself as she search through a cupboard, "I would love to help your friend with his Wind Marks!"

Soon after saying this she found the mold that she needed and removed it from the cupboard. Turning back to the other Drykas she said, "This is the mold for the glass vials. We use molds mostly for projects that don't need too much detail like vials and certain cups. Though we will sometimes carve patterns into them somtimes for decoration, like with the candle holder." She then walked back over to the table and placed the mold on it. She then picked up the glass cutter and the ladle. Raylin turned to her spectators and explained how she used the two objects. The ladle, to melt the glass, and the glass cutter, as the name suggests, to cut glass.

Turning back to the table, she took one of the opaque pieces of glass and started to cut it into smaller pieces. Each piece Raylin cut she put into the ladle until it was full of mizas sized fragments. She carefully placed the ladle into the hot furnace. The Raylin turned back to the other two Drykas.
"Any questions or comments so far?" she said with a smile.

[Kayiri]

Wind Reach? What was this place? Definitely not a city of the Drykas. No, it must be filled with... other people, people who did not know the difficulties that came with living in a home as fickle as the Sea he was in at this very moment. They were probably all weak due to this lack of challenge. Vinati? Pah, it must be some form of clothing they wore. Someone, however, enjoyed sharing about a culture he knew nothing about, so he did not speak out.

Hurrah! Another Drykas joined the ranks of those who had bonded with a Strider, completing their passage into an adult! Another warrior, no doubt. He would do his Pavilion proud, then, if a Strider had chosen him. The man thumped his chest with a fist in satisfaction. After a short chuckle at her bluntness, he spoke to Dymphna. "Tell your friend that I give him my blessing, and that I hope that we shall meet on the field of battle to spin tales of valor together in the future!" he declared, a grin claiming his face.

"Tell him to get the damned thing on his arms. He can flaunt them more easily, that way. Then, no one can deny that he is bound to one of the Striders of the Sea. Much easier to boast about when its on your arm instead of your back," he didn't motion to his Wind Marks like he normally would, considering they had already been pointed out not a minute before. He wasn't *that* cocky.

[Dymphna]

“I mean, I want to see him na…” She sort of trailed off again, blinking as she turned even redder than before. That hadn’t been what she’d meant to say, but instead the thought meant only for herself in the back of her head. “Properly marked. He deserves something beautiful for his journey back to us…” The smile she gave was a soft one, too sweet to be anything short of very strong sentiment. She looked up at Raylin, glanced at Kayiri, and then turned her attention back to the glass. “Mine are on my arm. Up here.” She patted her shoulder. She had two rather large ones as she was on her second Strider, but they were covered by the buttoned up sleeves of her dress. “I’ll suggest the arm to him, yes…” She cleared her throat, feeling the burn in her skin die down a little. Her eyes lifted back up to Raylin. “You’re part-Inarta then? My pavilion has stories that many generations ago one of the wives came from Windreach. That’s why my father and I have red hair…”

[Edalene]

Edalene was bored. It was becoming a common feature in her life, rather disconcerting. On her third circle of Endrykas today. She loved the city, loved the hustle and bustle, but walking past the same places three times without seeing anyone to distract you? Could get rather boring. She was on her way past the Amythest Pavillion's glasswork studio, when she heard raised voices. Finally! A chance to, maybe, just maybe, have a proper conversation today! She ran inside, catching snippets of conversation on the way in. She burst through, interrupting the conversation. "Hi! I'm Eda! Or Edalene, whatever. Were you talking about windmarks? I haven't got any windmarks yet, haven't got a Strider, my clan's not too happy about that. Oh well. Sorry, did I interrupt something?" Edalene looked around the tent, surveying the three other Drykas in the room. They looked as if they had been in the middle of a conversation. Guilt settled in. "Sorry, if you were having a conversation, I can leave... Sorry!"

[Raylin Sunsetfeather]

"Yes, I am. Good guess." replied Raylin, "My mother is Inarta. She taught me all I know when it comes to making things out of glass. My father came to bring me and my mother here when I was ten. I haven't been back since, then again, I don't know if I would want to go back." She then looked over to Kayiri who looked somewhat confused.

"Windreach is pretty much the exact oppisite of Endrykas when it comes to certain things. It's in the montains, quiet close to a volcano. Instead of Striders that run on the ground, they have giant birds, named Wind Eagles, that fly in the sky. They stay stationary in there montains, unlike here, where we move as the seasons change. Though there are still similaritys, such as the use of wraps, and the worshiping of Zulrav." she explained as she started to turn back to the furnace to continue her work.

Just then, a young girl ran into the studio. Her huried introduction and sudden apperence startled Raylin, making her jump a bit. With the girls apology, Raylin hade calmed down enough to answer. "It's ok, you can stay! Have a seat." she said motioning toward the last remaining chair. Raylin then grabbed a pair of metal tongs and checked the glass. By now it had melted into a nice, bright orange liquid.

[Kayiri]

The proud man chuckled as Dymphna tripped over her own words, letting things she would most likely rather have kept secret loose into the world. There was something sadistically funny about watching other people stumble over their words. Maybe it was just because he was often a victim of it as well. Ah, humanity and its cute little quirks.

Bah, worshipers of Zulrav. No one could claim the worship and respect Zulrav on the same level as the Drykas, especially people who lived in mountains and spent too much time with birds. Kayiri shook his head in a subtle manner. "They should leave the apparent safety of their mountains and learn how to really live: on the ground, fighting to steal every little breath from the cold hands of Dira. *That* is life," he said dismissively. The Drykas was ever so slightly more than a little racist, but that tended to happen when one spent their whole life in one culture, with little to no contact with other peoples.

Ears perked up as a familiar voice chimed out, oddly more talkative than it had been the last time he had heard it. Eyes opened and danced through the room until they fell upon the youthful and slightly-familiar face of Edalene, a fellow member of the Diamond clan. The man leaned forward in his seat, placing his elbows on his thighs so he could look out past Dymphna.

"Aha! My ears don't deceive me, it is indeed my favorite Warrior-in-the-making! Come on, Eda, take a seat, settle in, we'll be here for a while yet," he shook his head vigorously as she apologized, and made a beckoning motion with one of his arms. The same arm gestured to the chair next to him, and a foot pulled it out a bit to allow her to sit in it. "Tell me, Eda, what brings you here?" His green eyes were entirely focused on her now, watching her movements observantly.

[Dymphna]

Dymphna was truly pleased that the attention had passed off of her. She grinned as the new voice came a little awkwardly into the conversation. She blinked a few times, looking at the new woman. Her hand lifted up to give the woman a wave. "Dymphna Whitefeather - Opal Clan."

[Raylin Sunsetfeather]

Raylin let out a small chuckling and gave a small shake of her head at the man's words. "If you don't die from falling off of cliffs or in one of the many brawls, then the castes might kill you off, especially the dek. Instead of the weather that tends to be the problem here, it's the social structure thats the problem in Wind Reach. If you don't have a useful talent or don't look like the rest of the Inarta, you'll probably be thrown into the Dek caste. In that caste all you do all day is work. If you have childeren, they are taken away from you to go live with the other parent or in a large nursery." The sad truth sent a shiver down her spine as she thought of how her mother had to fight so that she wouldn't be put with the Dek.

She then pushed the thought away and turned her attention back toward the young girl. "My name is Raylin Sunsetfeather from the Amethyst Pavilion." she said with a smile. Looking back at the ladle of molten glass, she move it with her tongs so that she would be able to collect it. She then grabed the glassblowing pipe and carfully lifted it so that she could put the end of the pipe into the ladle.

Raylin then removed the pipe from the ladle, a bright orange glob now on the end of it. She then brought the pipe over to the table beside her. Putting the end of the pipe into the mold, she inhaled away from the pipe and then exhaled slowly into the end of pipe. As she exhaled, the liquide glass became thiner and started to take the shape of the mold that it was being blown into, much like the candle holder she had been making before. Once it had fully taken the shape of the mold, she cut off the excess and carefuly removed the pipe. Then, with a wet cloth, she dampend the outside to cool it off.

[Edalene]

Having run into the studio and sufficiently have made an embarrassment of herself, Edalene paused, surveying the occupants of the room. Two unfamiliar faces and one far too familiar, far too goodlooking one. Blushing, she took a couple of hesitant steps closer into the pavillion.

Really, Eda, really? You just have to embarrass yourself at every available opportunity, don't you?

Watching the glass maker jump, she realised just how intrusive she'd been. She mumbled an apology, nodding her head, grateful when she gained the permission to join the demonstration. Glancing at just where the last remaining seat was, next to the familiar Kayiri, she walked closer and sat next to him, smiling minutely at his insinuation of warrior ability. "Warrior in the making? Hardly, Kayiri," she said, laughing quitely. Impressive, Eda, you actually sounded like a normal Drykas just then. "Again, I was wandering the city, bored as it were-- this is really becoming a feature of our meetings, isn't it?" Turning, Eda addressed the whole group. "I beg your pardon for my intrusion, but with my lack of windmarks, I've always found this art fascinating. I appreciate you letting me sit in and watch. Smiling to herself, she imaginarily patted herself on her back. Hurrah for fake sophistication!

Eda nodded at both the greetings, from Dymphna and Raylin. "Greetings. I am Edalene, of the Diamond Clan. It is lovely to meet both of you. And, uh, lovely to see you again, Kayiri." With that slightly revealing remark, Edalene settled in to watch the proceedings in the glass studio, with interest.