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 Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:44 pm
Purchasing the oil
"There's not much you can do for it. At least not until the piping comes in."
"I know, but it's frustrating all the same. I was so sure I had some left over in the shed!"
The item being talked about was a wood stove and it was shadowed by two figures, one small and female, the other massive and male. The man, stooped slightly so he could take the length of thin, blackened metal off, sighed and nodded. "I was as well. But don't worry Sawyer, it should be in soon once I give the hardware store a call." The metal gave way from both the stove and the chimney with a small squeal, causing both to wince. The half-giant of a man turned the pipe over in his hands and displayed a large hole eaten into it. Some smaller ones were dotted around it as well and as the man ran a large finger over one, it gave way and opened up more.
"Age, Creole, or do you think just cheap metal?" Sawyer looked to her companion, waiting patiently for his response. The man shrugged at first, turning the pipe around more and blackening his own hands with soot. He didn't rightly know, but he was leaning more towards cheap metal. He couldn't rightly remember, but Creole was certain he had bought this only four years ago. No more than ten, that was for certain. He shrugged once more before giving his reply.
"Cheap metal. I'll order different this time, but in the meanwhile, no use crying over spilled milk. Why don't you get out of the house and go for a ride or something? I'll clean the stove and the chimney, that could of had something to do with it as well. Plus, you're running low on coffee." He grinned at Sawyer, reminding her of the original reason he had come over; an invitation of coffee and chatting. Only after discovering there was little left and when Creole was poking around the living room had the discovery of the holes in the smoke pipe been discovered. The half-elven woman chuckled and nodded, agreeing to his idea.
"All right, I'll go and get out of whatever little hair you have left. I'll make a day out of it, poke around shops or something." She turned and walked towards the door as she heard Creole's agreeing "There you go!" and the door to the stove open up. Sawyer made only one slight detour, a quick trip to the kitchen to grab her small money purse that she had left on the counter, before she was out the door. Her bicycle was waiting at the end of the walk where she had left it, and after maneuvering on the paths through her flower rich front garden she reached it. The sounds of Creole's tinkering were heard thanks to the open windows but they were quickly left behind and forgotten as Sawyer made her way down the dirt road towards the city.
It was about a half hour through the winding acreage that made up Creole's property before the dirt and rock littered road turned to tar. All the while she was humming a nameless tune she had heard on the radio and idly wondering what sort of things she would find in the shops she would be wandering into. First thing was first though, a stop to one of the cafe's for the cup of coffee she was denied, then to the grocer's to buy a tin of the ground beans for home. Sawyer did just that, taking her time with the first thing and spending a bit more to enjoy a warm muffin with it as well. After chatting with patrons for awhile after she left the coffeehouse.
"I think I'll leave the grocer's for last. That way I don't have to worry about the bag snapping or getting stolen." Sawyer nodded to her spoken aloud idea and mounted her bicycle again, heading north to a small part of the city that made her feel at home; small shops, flowers, and surprisingly little people there though the prices for the merchandise sold were decent on the wallet. Sawyer hopped off her bicycle as she reached this area, walking it through the narrow streets just in case someone was to come out of one of the buildings. She paused to window shop at the first store that came into view, leaning her transportation against her hip to adjust her ponytail of light brown hair. The shops wares were of the crystal and glass variety, things she didn't need but liked to look at, so she lingered for awhile but moved on once she saw all she could from the street.
More window shopping and the occasional stepping inside to poke around later Sawyer had been to and seen pretty much all she could. She had bought very little, but it was enough to keep her happy. The day was winding down and shops were closing and she wondered how Creole had managed on the stove and chimney cleaning. It made her wonder about her thatched roof as well, since the man whom she called 'brother' was extremely large and she didn't know if the roof could support him for long. A look of dismay crossed her features as she imagined arriving home to a hole in her roof and Creole knocked out cold on the floor below. Despite that it would make a rather large mess and cut into her funds to get her roof re-thatched, it was oddly comical. She was so stuck in her amused thoughts that she didn't see the flowerpot until her wheel collided with it. The jolt brought her out of her thoughts and she looked to the luckily undamaged pot before up to the building it was in front of.
"I don't remember this being here..." Intrigued, Sawyer parked her bicycle where it stood, and made her way up to the door. The bell that chimed overhead gave her a small start but she quickly shook it off as she entered. "Too late to back out now." Once she shut the door the wave of mingled scents came over her and she was surprised to find it wasn't heavy or unpleasant at all. Quite the contrary; it was light and each scent taken in by her nose was easily defined. Sawyer smiled at the woman in the far back behind the counter before starting her browsing. The variety of oils she found was astounding, but none seemed to spark her interest. When she came upon some odd scents that actually smelled like what they were listed as, she couldn't help but wonder if there was one to be a temporary replacement to her wood stove. She searched through the bottles for a matching scent but it turned up nothing. She looked to the back of the store where the woman was and shyly made her way over.
"You uh....You wouldn't happen to have an oil that smells like wood burning in a wood stove or campfire would you?" Sawyer looked sheepish, it was probably an odd request but the woman behind the counter merely smiled and nodded, moving out from behind the wooden stand with the cash register and motioning for the half-elf to follow. With a nod Sawyer did, looking at the bottles as she walked past them and keeping herself only a few steps behind. Within a few minutes the woman turned back to Sawyer, holding out a bottle of fallow and tan colored oil. With a gracious smile Sawyer took it, the woman leaving to return to the cash box as she did so. A content hum escaped Sawyer as she opened the bottle and wafted the scent towards her. Exactly what she was looking for, and she was certain it would smell even better when lit. Still humming she brought the bottle to the woman, told her this was exactly it, and bought the oil and burner. She left happily, carefully putting her newest purchase in her bicycle's basket and heading straight home without her usual second look of things in the windows.
When she reached her door she found a note from Creole tacked on, the ink telling her that he had cleaned the stove but not the chimney since he had the same fear she had about that, and had made iced tea which was now in the fridge. She folded the paper against her side and made her way in, putting away the things she had bought, and realizing she had forgot to buy coffee. Once her eyes caught site of the brown paper bag that had the oil and burner, however, that realization melted away into a simple knowing she could always get it tomorrow. Sawyer fished out the burner and the oil, placing both on the counter. A small frown creased her face and she shook her head. It wouldn't be best to light it here. Instead, she brought it to the living room where the stove sat looking clean but unused and without its normal pipe sticking out the back of it. Sawyer put the burner up on the flat top of the stove, poured a little of the oil into the cup. She reached for a pack of matches and was about to light it but stopped.
"This evening will be better. I can enjoy it fully then, once the chores are done and the day is wound down." Her hand withdrew from the wick of the tea candle and instead of lighting, Sawyer only admired it, excited for the rest of the day to pass so she could relax to such a familiar scent that reminded her of home.
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 10:01 am
Lighting Prompt (Required to reach Lit Scent stage) You have just purchased an oil burner and a specific scented oil from the Solace Scents shop and you can't wait to light it! Now that you're home, it's time to find the perfect place to light that scent! However, strange things seem to happen when you do... particularly with the smoke...
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 2:39 pm
Finally a light
Life seems to crop up at the most inopportune times. After arriving home with the burner and oil, several bouts of bad news showed up without welcome or word. Sawyer found herself working long and taking ill, among other things, so the woodsmoke scent had been pushed far from her mind for a manner of months.
The burner, candle, and oil had only been touched once in that span of time, and only briefly, moved from the top of the wood stove to a corner by the young woman's companion, who covered the cup with a thin sheet of paper so nothing would contaminate the tan colored oil. Since then, the entire set had collected a fine layer of dust and had been, seemingly, forgotten by both.
---
It was August now, just skirting September, and the summer heat and activities that caused the straying were finally coming to a close. Sawyer stood between two large planters in her front garden, trimming back some summer flowers that had died for this season. Her dust colored hair was tied up with a ribbon and she wore her well broken in gardening clothes, mind set to the task at hand. Her scarred face was still held a twinge of gray from her two month bout with illness, but otherwise she was healthy and extremely happy to be back outside again.
Snip...Snip...Snip
The hand shears she held clipped wilted flower heads and stems off with no difficulty. The rhythmic 'snip' of the blades coming together was almost hypnotic, and the half-elf found herself drifting off into a lazy daydream. Which was a bad move, for as soon as she was off in her daze, the blades snipped one of the fingers of her other hand, rather than the plant it was holding. Sawyer came back to reality at once and dropping her shears on the stone surface of the planter.
"Must've nipped a vessel." Was all she could say, watching the cut in her digit start to bleed out. With nothing on her and her shirt dirty from the work she had been doing, Sawyer turned on her heel and made for the inside of her home.
Once through the door fat droplets of blood fell on the floor, leaving a trail behind Sawyer. This followed her all the way to the bathroom where her first aid was stored, and only after she washed her cut and wrapped it up tight did she actually see the spotting. She sighed, leaving the bathroom to find the mop and bucket. Her cut hand throbbed uncomfortably but she did her best to pay it no mind. She had had worse after all.
Upon seeing that the mop wasn't in its usual place inside the kitchen broom cupboard, the half-elf grabbed a scrub brush instead of going to look for it. Once blood soaked in, it was impossible to get out and ran the risk of making people sick with bacteria and such. The bristles were soaked in the kitchen sink and a liquid soap for hardwood was applied to it. Sawyer got to work, starting from the front door and working in towards the bathroom on her hands and knees. The soap was an older brand, one that Creole had brought over one time, and twice she had to stop and sneeze.
One of these times was just as she was passing the doorway that lead into the sitting room. Sawyer turned her head and let one fly, spittle spraying out from her lips as she did so. Almost disgusted, she wiped her lower face and opened her eyes, shutting them again almost immediately as the sun spiked off something glassy on a shelf in the corner and hit her fully in the face.
"Oh my eyes..." The same sleeve wiped at her eyes this time and she turned back to scrubbing the floor. She couldn't recall that shelf having anything on it...No matter for right now though, she had a task to get done. Scrub the floor with the soaped up brush then wash it down with water and finally dry it all up. Sounded long and difficult in her head, but it was really a breeze.
Once the tasks were done and that stretch of floor was cleaned up with none of the blood having set in, Sawyer turned her attention to the sitting room. Once again the light reflected off the corner shelf, but this time she was prepared with a hand over her eyes like a visor. Sitting on that shelf was the burner. A look of surprise came over her face as the half-elf realized she hadn't seen the item, or even lit it once, in over two months. She went over to the burner and cautiously lifted the paper off the oil cup. No dust fell in and the oil was just as clear as it was when she first poured it.
After casting the paper aside Sawyer carefully lifted the burner, cup, and candle from the shelf, bringing them all to the kitchen for a clean up. The first two shone like new after, but the candle seemed determined to hold onto its dust and remained an off gray-tan color. As she put the three pieces back together, she felt bad for having to neglect it for so long and even forget it was in her possession. Life was a whirlwind these past few months. Well, now that things had settled down for the most part, she would give the oil burner the attention it deserved. But where to put it? The kitchen didn't seem right and she didn't want to keep it in her room, just in case she feel asleep before blowing the light out. The sitting room was dusty and outside was out of the question.
"...The spare room." It came to her like an afterthought, but once she got it in her head it seemed like a great idea. The room was empty save for a spare bed, side table, rocking chair, and bookcase so it was the perfect place to sit back and let the scent waft around. With a spring in her step Sawyer took up the stairs, carefully balancing the item in her good hand while the other turned the knob and pushed the door inward.
The spare room, like the rest of the home, was wooden all around. There was a faint breeze coming in through the open window and once the burner was down on the table it was promptly closed. A pack of matches was procured from the drawer of the bedside table. Once a match was struck, Sawyer leaned down and lit the dusty candle wick. She shook the match out, taking it with her as she walked by the window and sat down in the rocking chair.
Given the age of the oil in the cup, she wasn't surprised at how long it took to heat up. The match in her hand had long since gone cold at the head, and Sawyer had been absentmindedly twirling it between her fingers. She let herself start to daydream while looking out the window, but the smokey scent brought her back again and in the most pleasant way possible. Her head turned to the cup, watching the flame dance beneath it and the smoke rising out on top. At first it looked normal enough, soft plumes of nearly transparent vapor rising out and curling up above the little bowl, but soon she started to see shapes forming as the oil burned on.
Animals, human figures, lines with triangular points at one end...They never lasted for long and it was almost like her eyes were playing tricks on her. Sawyer shook her head, it was just a trick of the light that was pouring in from the window, the dust dancing in the air, and the smoke rising up of course. Still, it was rather interesting, pretty even, and she didn't find herself even a twinge afraid of it. Calming, that was the right word for it.
The half-elf continued to watch the show until well past dusk, the sun nothing but a faint orange twinge in the distance. A knock on the door downstairs made her jump, even though she had been expecting company earlier in the day. Creole obviously, and he had brought dinner. Rising from her chair Sawyer saw the artistic show she had been watching earlier this afternoon had faded back into normal curling smoke. Her smile was slightly sad when she stood before it, innerly hoping there would be more to the performance. As another round of knocking was heard, followed by the door opening and a rumbled 'hello?', Sawyer blew out the candle, letting the burner rest till after dinner.
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Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 9:06 pm
Awakening Prompt (Required To Reach Child stage) Having run into your last ounce of oil, you mournfully place it into it's burner and light it, letting the aroma spread throughout your home happily. ------ [For Those Who Want To RP Witnessing The Event]You leave for a moment, deciding you felt peckish after smelling something so wonderful, and grabbed a snack from your kitchen. When you return you witness something absolutely amazing. The end result of the incident being a child on the floor of the room. Describe the sight, and the reactions of both you and the child at the end of it all.------ [For Those Who Want To RP Finding The Child Only]Having remembered something you needed to do, you ran out of your home quickly, forgetting all about the burning oils inside. You return content, having completed your task only to find a small child wandering the halls of your home, leaving oily foot steps behind, leading to a cracked burner, and split candle wax. Describe your reaction, and how you deal with the oil tracking child.
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