You've Got to Be Beading Me (Feyra)

by **Vala** on March 13th, 2011, 7:18 pm

6th Day of Spring, 511 AV

Was it really the sixth already? Vala couldn’t believe it. Yesterday had passed so quickly, that everything seemed like a blur. she couldn’t even remember the extra six hours, added to her normal eight hours of work, of over time she had clocked at the Enclave so Kirna would give her an early day off today.

Vala rolled out of bed,right onto the stone floor, dragging the bed sheets with her. When she managed to untangle herself from the mess, Vala shook out the blanket on to the floor - a make shift meditation mat. The cool morning air was nippy against her bare flesh. still warm from sleep.

Since last winter, Vala had tried to spend at least ten to twenty chimes every morning and night just composing herself and her thoughts through meditation. She hadn’t broken the new ritual except once, when Ronin had surprised her with an early morning surprise visit. She sat down gingerly; the thin blankets were not enough to keep Vala’s bum from feeling the chill of the cold stone floor. she sat cross legged with her feet on the ground, she had tried to do the more zen stance of ankles on knees before but was still too far from that level of flexibility.

She breathed in. She breathed out. She breathed in. Air went out. Air went in.... So on and so forth for a good ten chimes. Vala tried to clear her mind. Trying not to think about the day. Trying not to think about the bustling Craft Gallery. Trying not to picture all of her tools carefully organized on Feyra’s work bench. Trying not to twitch her hands in anticipation for whatever work Feyra would have her do. Vala scrunched up her face - she was far too excited for a proper meditation session. She opened her eyes, shaking out her stiff limbs. She did a few push ups, crunches, and stretches - her regular morning routine, before putting her blanket back and fixing her bed.

It was still early - Vala always had trouble getting a good nights sleep the day before anything exciting. Feyra had never told her a specific time to meet her, but she supposed that as an Avora, she would be working all day. Vala finished dressing quickly, running off to the kitchens to get a quick breakfast before going to the Craft Gallery.

By the time Vala was fully ready for the day, it was 8th bell, and the city’s warrens were starting to fill up with working citizens. Vala entered the Craft Gallery common room, peering about while trying to stay out of everyones’ way. Her long, crimson hair cascaded down her back, save for a thin braid at her cheek, ending in a clear bead with black swirls.

OOC :

by **Feyra** on March 14th, 2011, 5:19 pm

Feyra groaned and rubbed her eyes. She really did not want to get up. She attempted to roll over and go back to sleep, but the sheets wrapped round her in an uncomfortably tight cocoon, and the only way to fix it was to get up. With a few disgruntled noises, and a seriously annoyed scowl, the Avora struggled out of bed, almost tripping herself up with the sheets - still tightly wrapped around her - as she did so. She wriggled her arms as much as she could, till the sheets loosened, before pulling them away from her and flinging them onto the bed in a messy heap.

She stared at them for a moment before stepping over with a sigh and straightening them out. She then dug around for her favourite black bryda, the one with tiny, tiny beads sewn into it's waistline and pulled them on, before wandering in search for her vinati. She found one - forest green - again with some tiny decorative beads, and put that on too, before running her fingers through her hair. She tied a couple of beads into it, but otherwise left it as it was. Feyra was not one for braiding or tying her hair, even when she worked. It was perhaps, one of the few things that set her apart from most full-blooded Inarta.

She was pulling on her boots by the time the seventh bell sounded. She grabbed her bag from the floor by her door and stepped out, heading for the kitchens. She ate her breakfast, all the while scouring the room for any sign of Vala but the Chiet was either still getting ready, or she was already waiting at the Gallery. With that thought, Feyra quickly ate the last of her meal, before hurrying onto the Gallery. She would hate for Vala to have gotten there before her, the Avora would feel bad if she had made the girl wait for her.

She reached the Craft Gallery at 30 chimes past the seventh bell, and breathed a sigh of relief. The Chiet had yet to appear, so she headed to her bench at a more relaxed pace. She pulled a few beads from her bag - all varying in design - and placed them on the bench, before stowing her bag where it wouldn't get tripped over. She then pointlessly straightened out her tools. They were already in place, so she was really just searching for something to do. If Vala didn't turn up in the next fifteen or so chimes, then she would start some work.

Around the eighth bell though, she caught sight of a girl who didn't seem to know where she was. She realized that it was Vala looking for her, so she waved her arm in the air to attract her attention. She didn't shout out, that was always a bad idea in a place that held such fragile things. She noticed a bead hanging by Vala's cheek, and she realized with a smile that it was the one she had given the Chiet a couple of days previously. She would wait till the girl came over to the bench, and after a greeting, the Avora would pause to see if there were any questions, of which she suspected there might be a couple.

ooc :

by **Vala** on March 15th, 2011, 3:43 am

Feyra had obviously woken up much earlier than Vala - the night owl. The Avora sat at her work bench, tools all splayed out neatly. She raised her arm in a friendly wave, beckoning Vala over; Vala weaved through the other workers quickly, stopping before Feyra. “I’m so sorry,” Vala bowed profusely. “I wasn’t sure what time I should have come... I should have come earlier” Vala muttered the last bit dejectedly; one of Vala's biggest flaws was her inability to ever really get anywhere on time.

Taking out two leather thongs from the pocket of her byrda, she tied up her long hair into two high pig tails, to keep them out of the way as they worked. “I caught up with all my hours at the Enclave, so I’m free to work for you all day. I have a lot of experience working with the blow pipes and punties, spinning them mostly - as a proper glassblowing apprentice should know. I also know all the safety rules, regulations, and protocols for a hotshop - I follow them religiously. I have never had an accident.” Vala lied, she had gotten into an accident as a yasi, but it wasn’t her fault so she didn’t mention it. “I have watched and read a lot about how to make beads, but I don't have any hands on experience...And you’ve already payed me for my service-” She gently touched her simple bead with a growing familiarity.

OOC :

by **Feyra** on March 16th, 2011, 6:53 pm

Feyra gave the Chiet a warm smile when she approached the bench.
"It's alright, I actually got here a little earlier than I usually do. Didn't want to keep you waiting, someone probably would have sent you out if you were just standing around." Her smile stretched to a grin. "Plus I never actually told you a time so it would have been my fault if you didn't show up till later."

She watched as the girl began to tie her hair back. She listened quietly as Vala fired off all the points she knew, giving a nod every now-and-again.
"Well that's good to know. Nobody likes accidents." She winked, working with the glass always put the Avora in an extremely good mood.
"I paid you for your service yesterday. You can keep whatever you make today if you like. If your first attempts are anything like mine were, then they wont be sellable. Though I had no experience, so you'll probably do a lot better." She paused before lightly clapping her hands together.
"For starters you won’t need to use a blowpipe.” She glanced at Vala, before decided to start her teaching. “Ready?” At a nod, she would turn to the bench.

“Right, well I’m going to start making one here. We’re going to start with plain, clear glass beads as it’ll be easier to start form the bottom up. We can do fancy stuff another time.” She smiled. “If you want to make one as I go along, then feel free. There’s plenty of equipment here, and don’t worry if it doesn’t work out right, you can just start afresh. I’ll be telling you what I’m doing as I go along, so just interrupt if there’s something I haven’t made clear, or if you can’t see how I’m doing what I’m saying. And tell me if I need to slow down too.”

With that said, Feyra picked a thin metal rod from the bench. She then began to coat it with a liquid. “This is a releasing agent. You need to coat your mandrel – which is the metal rod – with it. Basically, it’s a fireproof material, and it helps you slide the bead off at the end of creation.” She looked to see if Vala had decided to make one alongside her. If she had, then the Avora would wait for her to finish applying the agent.

by **Vala** on March 16th, 2011, 11:17 pm

There was something about working that put Vala in a good mood. She knew it was weird, but idle relaxation was far more stressful than productive activities. By giving Vala a ‘job’ and teaching her too, Feyra had basically garnered Vala’s respect and adoration - for life.

Vala nodded vigerously when Feyra asked if she was ready. She kept her lips sealed shut as not to babble anything embarrassing in her exitement. At the mention of clear beads, Vala had to clamp her hands over her mouth as not to squeal in delight. She coughed, trying to calm herself down.

Vala picked up a spare metal rod on Feyra’s bench - it was smarter to reinforce Feyra’s teaching lesson by actually practicing hands on. “Mandral.” Vala said as she held the rod in her right hand, staring at it intently. “Mandrel, mandrel, mandrel, mandrel...” She muttered, repeating sevral times to really enforce its name into her memory - knowing a tools proper name was nearly as important as knowing its proper function.

Before coating the mandrel with the releasing agent she tried to build a familiarity with the weight and length, basically the feel, of the mandrel. She wasn’t use to working with glass at such a small scale - let alone have her hands mere inches away = blow pipes always allowed for a safe distance of a yard since as an assistant/ apprentice, Vala was usually regulated to the blowing end. Having molten hot, anything, glass was enough to make anyone extra wary. “So I just coat it like this?” Vala asked rhetorically, as she replayed the image of Feyra’s movements in her head.

Vala had to do everything perfectly - even if it brought her to tears from frustration or even exhaustion. No matter how simple the task Vala always made sure to do her best.

When she finished coating the mandrel with the agent, sure she had done it perfectly, Vala held it out for Feyra to inspect. “Ready for the next step, ma’am.

by **Feyra** on March 17th, 2011, 6:40 pm

Beside her, Feyra could hear the Chiet mumbling something over and over. "Mandrel, mandrel..." She smiled slightly, before giving Vala some more information on the tool. All the while she continued to apply the relesing agent till there was a sufficient amount.
"You can get different sizes of mandrels, depending on how large you want the hole in your bead to be. The ones we're using now are the size I used to make the bead in your hair there. If you want to make a really tiny bead, you can use wire, but you have to make sure that it doesn't melt."

She glanced over at Vala when the girl spoke. She watched for a moment, scrutinizing the Chiet's actions before nodding.
"Yep, you seem to have the technique there."
She waited till Vala held the mandrel out to her and she smiled.
"Looks fine to me!" She turned back to the bench and pointed at the two flame torches she had attached to it. The Avora had borrowed a second one for Vala to use today.
"The next step is to get some glass onto your mandrel using these flame torches." It appeared to be a copper rod, and Feyra pointed to the bent front end of the one nearest her. "This is the end that produces flame. Flames are blue, by the way, so don't be surprised when you turn it on." She then pointed at the back end which had a golden ring attached. "This controls the intensity of the flame it produces when you turn it. And obviously it will also turn it on and off." She then motioned to the actual rod that ran between the two ends. "If you look carefully, you'll see some glyphs on this. Basically the fire is created because the torch is infused with reimancy, and the glyphs help with that. Though don't ask any specifics about that part, because I don't really know much about magic."

She then picked up a glass rod and held it out for Vala to take before picking up another for herself. "What we have to do here, is melt the glass and transfer it to the mandrel. But we need to heat up the mandrel first." She motioned for Vala not to step too close, stepped to the far side of her flame torch so the Chiet could still see, and then turned the ring. She then placed the end of her mandrel - the part coated in the releasing agent - into the flame.
"You don't want to have the heat too high either, or else you might accidentally melt the whole torch. You see how big the flame on mine is? That's what you're aiming for." She paused to inspect her mandrel. "While I do this part you'll probably want to try and do yours at the same time. I wont be able to stop once I've started as the glass will cool down too much." Feyra grinned before pulling her mandrel out of the flame and holding it behind the torch.

She then started to move the glass rod in and out of the flame. "Okay so we need the glass to melt and go all syrupy. If you move it around at first, it will help prevent the glass from popping or breaking." She didn't look up at Vala when she spoke now, as she preferred to keep an eye on the glass. After a moment, she stopped moving the glass and simply held it in the flame before speaking again. "We want the glass to start glowing, because that means that it's pretty much ready to be manipulated." After a few more moments, the glass started to glow. "When it glows like this, move it into the hottest part of the flame and start rotating it." Feyra deftly began to rotate the rod with one hand - the other was still holding her mandrel behind the torch. When she first started making beads, she found this part one of the trickiest. It wasn't easy to rotate something using only one hand, although some seemed to get the hang of it almost instantly. "We rotate it so that the melting glass forms into a blob. If we didn't rotate it, then basically the melting glass would just fall of the end and make a mess on the bench."

As she was rotating her glass, she spared a glance to Vala.
"How're you doing?"

ooc :

by **Vala** on March 18th, 2011, 1:36 pm

Flame torches were nothing new to Vala - they were a common sight in the glass reverie. She had never really bothered to research them though, guiltily skimming over them in the glass working books since she hadn’t ever expected to use them herself. Now she made sure to pay extra attention to every word Feyra said, wishing she had brought her journal so she could have taken notes.

Vala followed Feyra’s finger to the golden ring. The ring that would supposedly control the ‘blue flame’ - she was skeptical of the blue fire, it seemed unnatural. As an apprentice Vala hadn’t yet been allowed to use the glyphed tools - they were very expensive. She had read a little about them, but if she was going to do any more work with Feyra she considered doing a little outside reading after today. She cringed when Feyra mentioned Reimancy - while a common magic around Wind Reach she was still hesitant to mention that she had the potential, having already gone through the initiation; she wasn’t afraid of the power, she was afraid of having to relive her violent ‘rape’, but if Feyra didn’t have much experience then Vala was glad, because then she would be less likely to mention it further.

Heating up the mandrel was under same concept as heating up the larger blow pipe. Vala knew that if the pipe, or mandrel, was too cool compared to the glass then they wouldn’t stick. After watching Feyra turn the ring, Vala attempted to do the same. Without any experience, she underestimated the ring’s sensitivity. First she turned to little and only a lick of blue fire spurted out, then she turned too much and it nearly burned her eyebrows off. She tried one last time and got it just a little under Feyra’s temperature - Vala didn’t try touching it again, figuring it was better to be a little cooler than normal than too hot and melt the mandrel or the torch itself.

With the mandrel at about the right temperature Vala stuck her glass rod into the flames with her other hand. She turned it with practiced ease, at first - it was much easier at this smaller scale for her weak arms compared to the long and heavy blow pipes and punties; she wondered if bead making was actually her true calling...

When the glass began to glow - not as hot as when put into ovens - Vala moved the rod closer to the hotter parts as Feyra said. Sweat dripped down her brow as she felt her hands heating up. She was afraid her hands would get so slippery that she would accidentally drop the tools or glass. She bit her lip nervously.

Vala was use to two hands but she was still fairly proficient with one. She continued to rotate at a steady pace, albeit a little too slow, the glass blobbed at the end but was lumpy compared to Feyra’s

She looked up at Feyra to respond, “I think-” she stopped mid sentence, pausing to look back down at her work, realizing she would probably make a mistake if she wasn’t paying absolute attention to the glass. “-sorry. I think I’m doing ok. This one handed thing is a little tough though. I’m afraid my hand will cramp...” She voiced out her fear.

OOC :

by **Feyra** on March 18th, 2011, 2:47 pm

Feyra watched from the corner of her eye as Vala moved to turn on the flame torch she had to use. The flame that it produced was tiny, and the Chiets second try wasn't much better. Feyra actually flinched at the violent blue fire the torch spat out. She was going to say something, but she held her tongue when Vala's third attempt produced a steady blue flame, a little smaller than her own. The Avora moved round her own torch, giving the flame a wide berth while still holding her mandrel in it. She gently touched Vala's ring, turning it just a fraction, so that the size of the flame was pretty much identical to hers.
"It doesn't matter a whole lot," She didn't want Vala to feel she had done it wrong, because she hadn't, "but I'm just a perfectionist." She grinned.

When Vala placed her glass rod into the flame, and began to turn it, Feyra gave a satisfied nod. The girl seemed to be turning the rod easily; it seemed that any practice she had previously had with the larger blowpipes was helping her here. All the while, the Avora was still working on her own glass; the glances she flicked to Vala lasted not even a second, but it was enough time for her to assess how the Chiet was doing.

Feyra did not look up when Vala responded to her enquiry, but she did see that the girl had done.
"Don't worry about it. It is tricky at first. A lot of people think that it's easier than using the bigger blowpipes, but you actually need a lot more control to keep the glass smooth, and to not burn yourself." She paused to inspect her own glass. "If your had is cramping, you can switch the rod and the mandrel over, but you have to be very quick. And don't worry if your glass isn't perfectly smooth, we can take care of any lumps and bumps in a bit."

She next moved her mandrel from behind the flame torch. "The next thing we have to do is to get the glass from the rod here, onto the mandrel. You have a good sized blob on the end there, so it should work okay for you." She then touched her mandrel to the very tip of the blob that had formed on her rod before beginning to rotate it. "I'm afraid we have more turning to do." She spared Vala a small smile. "You need to take your mandrel and touch it to the very tip of the melted glass. Don't stick it right into the middle because that'll end in disaster. When you touch the glass, start rotating the mandrel right away. You're aiming to wind the melting glass onto it." She made sure that Vala could clearly see what she was doing if she glanced over. "You don't have to wind it too quickly either. If you do it a little slower, the coating will be more even. You basically want to replicate the blob you had on the glass, so you might find you have to move your mandrel around a little."

Feyra fell silent for a moment or two while she concentrated on her glass. The blob was pretty much transferred from the glass now, so she slowly pulled the glass rod away from her mandrel. "When you have your blob on the mandrel, you can start pulling the rod away." She placed her rod onto the large, heatproof surface of her bench so that it was out of the way, and then moved her new bead into the hotter part of the flame, still rotating it. "When you pull away, again don't do it too quickly. We don't want any melted glass flying off and burning you. And try not to let your rod touch mine when you put it on the bench or they'll stick together." Again she paused to scrutinize her bead. "This is the part where you can get rid of any bumps or dips. Just carry on turning it in the center of the flame for a bit. If your hands are cramping you can use two here, just be careful not to put them too far down the mandrel because of the heat." She was not being patronizing by reinforcing the fact that it was hot. She had seen many a glassworker get too excited at the formation of their bead and grip the mandrel too far down. That usually ended in shattered glass and burned skin.

by **Vala** on March 20th, 2011, 3:34 pm

Feyra suggested switching the glass rod to the other hand while simultaneously switching the mandrel as well; Vala continued to spin - a cramping hand was far better than spilling molten glass. Vala did try pacing her self more - slowing down her spins to prevent them from being too jerky - flicking molten glass at one’s face was just as bad as dropping it onto the bench. Vala was never good at gathering, well with a blow pipe anyway, always did have trouble looking into the giant batch oven with her tiny frame. She was happy now: this was the first experience she had with gathering that she didn’t have to use a step stool for.

Her left hand was definitely starting to ache spinning the glass rod; beads of sweat ran down the side of Vala’s face. “The next thing we have to do is to get the glass from the rod here, onto the mandrel...” Feyra explained to Vala. Vala tried to look over at Feyra as she physically demonstrated it. She was careful only to touch it at the very tip of the melted glass - just like one would do in a larger batch oven.

Vala began to wind the melted glass around her mandrel, slowly, surely, making sure not to get careless in her excitement. She tried to make it even, but the glass rod began too cool faster than Vala anticipated and lumps began to pop up all over. Vala hissed in frustration, but continued to wind until she had collected about just as much as Feyra. She slowed down in her winding to take a quick glance over at Feyra, making sure she was doing it right. When Vala figured she had enough glass gathered she began to pull slowly, like Feyra said. She only managed to spare a quick glance as Feyra pulled away her own rod; this made Vala unsure of how fast she should pull away, but she wasn’t one to pansy out. She began pulling slowly, but not slowly enough; a drop of glass flew up, but thankfully it landed harmlessly on the floor. Vala released a sigh of relief, hoping Feyra hadn’t noticed her carelessness.

The thin mandrel, now with a blob of clear molten glass, continued to spin steadily in Vala’s right hand as she gingerly placed her glass rod besides Feyra’s but not too close for them to touch. With her left hand now free, Vala shook it out to try and get the achy feeling out - barely worked. She switched the mandrel to her left hand to shake out her right - worked a little better. Though Feyra suggested two hands, Vala always felt using two hands didn’t give her the amount of control one needed for a small project. She tried to spin the mandrel in the fire with her left hand to give her right hand a break: Vala was secretly trying to train herself to be ambidextrous; she would save her steadier right hand when she needed to do detail work.

The dangers of glassworking numbered in the dozens - the number one: heat. Skin melting, eyebrow burning, blister festering heat. Vala knew the dangers from experience, she had been burned enough to be double wary plus a little paranoid. She knew Feyra was just trying to be helpful but her petty nature couldn’t allow her not to feel a little annoyed. Vala forced herself to focus on her work, trying to get all the lumps all evened out. “I think I’m getting the hang of this.” Vala whispered triumphantly. She wanted to start up some friendly conversation with Feyra; she loved work but everyone needed social contact everyone in a while - she planned to wait until she finished her first bead.

OOC :

by **Vala** on May 7th, 2011, 1:05 am

Feyra continued her lesson, suddenly remembering a large order she had to get finished, after she finished teaching Vala. The order was difficult, far out of Vala’s skill level; Feyra would have invited the girl, she showed potential and eagerness, but that wasn’t enough, she needed someone with experience – maybe another day.

The next step was to continue rotating the mandrel with the molten glass wrapped around, in the flame until it was completely, perfectly round. Vala’s tongue poked out as she concentrated as hard as she could on the task at hand. This was all about keeping steady, the slightest twitch would get everything all wobbly and would probably make Vala cry. It took a good three chimes at this step, the burning flame of the magecrafted torch bringing a sweat to Vala’s temple. She wanted desperately to wipe her forehead with her sleeve but didn’t dare move an arm, unless it was to spin the mandrel, until she had the flame off and down on the work bench.

Vala nodded, but only slightly, to express she heard and understood Feyra’s next instruction. For the next step Vala had to shift her sitting position to angle towards the mandrel on Feyra’s workbench. This step was nothing new to her, except for maybe the scale. Vala was far more use to spinning the large, larger than her, punties and blowpipes wrapped in molten glass, on the tables of stunningly beautiful marble marvels on the far end of the glass reverie.

Feyra, distracted by her thoughts, the conversation between the two was kept to a minimum; they continued to work in relative silence. Vala was glad for the in depth yet fast pace at which Feyra worked. She wished she too could work at such a level one day. Vala continued to roll the molten glass bead across the marvel until it was fairly solid and no longer in danger of warping at the slightest shake. Feyra had suggested for Vala to keep it at the simplest shape – flat circle. If she worked again, maybe she could try other styles.

The next step would be to wait for it to cool. Rotating the mandrel until the glass ball stopped glowing with inner heat, Feyra led Vala to a nearby holder oven. Vala had used those before as well – she adeptly balanced the mandrel and bead in a rack with other cooling mandrels. The heat from the holder oven was about half of what the hand torch had been. Vala blinked, as the wave of heat rushed to her face, flushing her pale cheeks.

With one done competently, Feyra felt comfortable allowing Vala to work a little longer with her extra tools while she worked on her own duties. Of course most of Vala’s work would go to the city – yes, Feyra was using Vala to help her fill her due for free (well at the price of a bead and lesson), but Vala didn’t mind and had been promised at least a few of the ones she made.

With the process well secured in her mind, Vala continued to make the very simple, clear glass beads with Feyra chiming in every now and then to give advice and constructive criticism. She didn’t even mind to much when Vala completely warped an entire bead when she had sneezed while working with the torch.

Several hours passed by in a flash, they even worked through the lunch hour. By then the first couple beads Vala had made for were cool enough to be taken out of the holding oven and be slipped off the mandrel. Vala could barely breathe she was so excited. It was a lot faster to cool beads than it was to cool larger pieces.

Vala stood before the oven opening, eagerly anticipating the rush of sudden volcanic heat. She pulled out the first bead she made. It wasn’t perfect. It was simple. And it was beautiful. Vala lovingly twisted and pulled off the cooled bead of the still warm mandrel, pliers gripping the metal. She gasped, her eyes a little watery. “Are you sure I can keep it?” When Feyra nodded, Vala couldn’t help but squeal in glee.

Vala’s Beads :