Closed A Day With A Craftsman (Kurtsig)

[Allassanachassanya]

11th Winter 517 AV
"Speech"
"Others"

The owners of The Call of the Wilderness were not exactly friendly. Ssanya had found the shop last season, seen the notice asking for a cleaner pinned to the door, and enquired within as it had suggested on a whim. She didn't particularly care that cleaning was hard work, and that it was so far removed from her own interests. Mizas were mizas, and it was legal employment that would give her some spare money to use. The cleaning job was the first one she'd spotted, and so she spoke with the manager. To her surprise, he had seemed oddly desperate and had offered the job to her immediately. From then on, she'd worked when she could get to the shop. It wasn't enjoyable work, but in a way the soothing, regular ease of it made her comfortable.

Alvadas was now gripped with Winter. Ssanya already hated it, and cursed Morwen for apparently coming back to Mizahar at such an inopportune moment. The snake woman did not appreciate the cold. As such, she shivered with every step along the iced streets, trying to picture the luminous green building that was the music shop. It would be somewhere along the next street, she hoped.

Or the next.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, Ionu graced Ssanya with the Call of the Wilderness' appearance, and she jogged up the stone steps to plunge gratefully into the warmer building within. Like usual, the shop was still and musty. Ssanya had so far failed to eradicate the general scent of must that permeated through the very fabric of the carpets and the walls themselves. Even her efforts to tidy up the various crazy instruments that stacked against tables and chairs, floor and walls, had so far proved almost ineffectual. What had frustrated her to begin with, and what now she almost ignored, was that the instruments seemed to move around when she wasn't there.

It wouldn't surprise her. The Call of the Wilderness was not what she had been expecting. Half-taxidermist, half-music shop, the building was bigger than it looked and seemed to have such a wide and varied mix of all kinds of instruments that the snake woman could no longer be surprised. By any of it. First she'd tried to play a flute, but when it had spat her own spit right back at her she'd not attempted to play any of the instruments since. She was almost definitely sure that the owner practised Legacy though, and over the season she'd been there she had gradually developed a deep desire to launch upon him and ask the myriad of questions she had.

But she didn't. Whether that was through fear of her own discovery, or whether it was Corvin himself that put her off, she wasn't sure. She had a comfortable job that didn't pay well but let her buy her rent and food. Wasn't that enough? Corvin himself walked over to her as she burst into the room, but drifted away again with a mutter as he realised it wasn't a customer. That was unusual in itself, so she called after him quietly, her voice sounding strangely loud. "Are you waiting for sssomeone, Corvin?"

He started, and then nodded.
"Aye. We're getting a new bench, to go there. The carpenter is supposed to be here, but anyway you know what Alvadas is like." Corvin gestured to a space that had been roughly cleared. The instruments were stacked on either side, a harp, two gea'tars, some other kind of instrument involving numerous pipes and the body of a stuffed dog with dead, glass eyes that glinted menacingly in the light of the fluttering lantern positioned on the wall. Ssanya glanced at the floor, and saw her work staring back in her face. With a short puff of a sigh, Corvin wandered off to attend to a fresh-faced customer, and the snake woman gathered the dustpan and brush to begin tacking the filthy floor.

[Kurtsig]

"Speech"
"Others"

Winter could not have come soon enough. The cold air, snow and decorative icicles that were suspended on rooftops brought back memories of days gone by. Kurtsig smiled at the crunch of snow and crack of ice emitted by his footsteps on the streets of Alvadas. Winter had always put him in high spirits, unlike that of Summer. As he walked, his reminiscing was rudely interupted with his job lined up at The Call of the Wilderness. He was to craft a bench for the co-owner, Corvin Hunter. It had been his first real assignment since he decided to become a carpenter. All that was left was to find the damned place.

After what felt like an eternity of walking, an abrupt blast of snow manifested out of what seemed like nowhere. When it settled, the store he had been looking for stood before him. It seemed imposing at first, as Kurtsig was sure he hadn't seen the big building just moments ago. With gusto, Kurtsig looked up at the building. "This is the place! My first real job!, he thought before ascending the stone steps to the building. Hesitating to enter for just a moment, he looked down the street at the sheer beauty that Winter brings.

The door appeared to open on it's own as soon as Kurtsig turned the knob, though whether that was his overwhelming anticipation or the wonder of Ionu, he wasn't sure. Immediately, he was greeted by a warm sensation, as one would expect when entering a building during Winter, but it didn't take long for him to behold the many instruments and taxidermy items displayed throughout the ground floor. Additionally he could see a woman, faced away, presumably cleaning. He paid no mind to the woman and proceeded to ring a small bell at the front counter.

Moments later, footsteps could be heard coming down a staircase. An older gentlemen made his way before Kurtsig at the counter. "Ah, Kurtsig. You're late! However, I'll chalk that up to the icy conditions outside. Your task today is simple. I've got some wood in the storeroom. I want you to craft a bench for our customers to sit on in the lobby--and don't make it tacky!", Corvin barked before pointing to the spot where the bench would sit. Just as quickly as he came, he left back upstairs to help a customer.

Kurtsig took a moment to marvel at the works that the shop offered. The taxidermy items didn't particularly pique his interest but rather the wooded instruments. He never had a strong affinity for music, but he could definitely appreciate the beauty of the craftmanship behind some of the pieces. Perhaps someday he too could craft instruments once he learned the science behind how they're played.

Kurtsig knelt on the ground as he opened a bag which contained his tools,
laying them out methodically before heading to the storeroom, grabbing the wood he'd require for his task. He returned with the wood, and also once again noticing the same woman, still faced away, cleaning. Being his usual self, Kurtsig couldn't bring himself to say anything and began to prepare for his work.