|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:55 pm
There were many keys about, as Hanze lost them from time to time, and had to buy new ones from him. It didn't take a long search to uncover one in the shop. Tensa folded his hands together as he listened to the melody, plunked out precisely and methodically, the way a true Koto player would, if he were made of a tiny metal comb. It had a sweet kind of delicate quality to the sound, one that was perfect for most Haka, and those with sensitive hearing.
He was handed the key but set it beside him. Amikai still had a few more boxes to construct. He instead took the box from him and set it out on one of the shelves beside the others, ready to be sold. Tensa gazed over his merchandise lovingly, from the engraved and oiled woods, to the little bits of bare clockwork that peeked out from other odd moving contraptions. It was a work he loved to do, but one that was sadly ahead of its time.
"Thank you for giving me this job..." Amikai was speaking to him, and Tensa directed a dark ear his way. He returned to his seat and smiled at his employee.
"Thank you for accepting it. There are many things I cannot achieve on my own, and your presence here is most welcome." He replied, finally pulling his brush out of the cup and resuming his work on his latest invention. It was a two wheeled contraption, laid out in a line, and the pulley he had thought to interject was in the form of a rope, or...a line or chain of some sort connecting a gear twist to the rear wheel. The contraption was moved manually, by shifting the gear twist in a circle...But would one best move it with their hands, or...perhaps by pedaling? They would need to steer... Tensa shifted the contraption forward, adding handlebars so one could steer. What he was inventing in essence was a primitive bicycle.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 6:48 pm
Nodding, Amikai paused a moment and peered curiously after Tensa and his new project. He watched for a few seconds before dropping his attention back to his own task, pulling the parts for a second music box in front of him and beginning the whole process anew. He paused now and then, shaking out his hands, working the craps from his fingers. By the time he'd nearly finished constructing the final box that Tensa had laid out, he seemed to have settled quietly into the task, the tension slowly easing out of his shoulders as he worked.
Finally he straightened from the final music box, rolling his fingers around absently as he did so, giving all the boxes a critical once over. He checked screws, finally pleased that he'd finished to the best of abilities even if he had very little idea as to what mess up a music box and what wouldn't - didn't have an idea about what to look for.
Amikai cleared his throat, glancing toward Tensa. He shot the new invention a sidelong glance, but apparently didn't see anything terribly worrisome about the construction or design. Nothing that looked like it was explode and crash out of the sky and kill someone anyway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 9:15 am
They worked in silence for a long while, Tensa carefully working out the kinks in his new invention, Amikai carefully working out the kinks in the music boxes and his shoulders. Finally, and right on time, he washed out his brush and set it aside, admiring his designs for a while. His employee then screwed in the last panel and began eyeing the boxes critically.
Straightening out, Tensa rolled his shoulders, feeling for the first time the effects of his sitting around hunched over all day. That-- and he hadn't eaten. It was time for food. The Haka blew lightly over his parchments, to dry the ink faster before he rolled them up and set them in his sleeves. He also, he mused faintly, had orders to fill.
And no, nothing about this contraption was capable of exploding, would take a short miracle to ever become airborne high enough to crash out of, and killing someone? That would be quite a task in this as well, though going at high speeds and colliding would surely be nasty on both ends. As long as one was careful, it should prove to be perfectly safe.
Pleased with himself, Tensa gave Amikai a slightly weary smile.
"Let's take another break huh? I didn't have much a chance to relax at lunch. Would you like to accompany me as I fill some orders? After, how'd you like to take a trip to the bath house? I don't feel up to re-opening until this evening."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:05 pm
Straightening himself out, almost like the act of unbending the curve in a wire, Amikai's wings flexed out unconsciously just a little in either direction, shaking out the stiffness before closing back again, acutely or subconsciously aware of the limitations of the space so he didn't go knocking anything off any of the nearby workspace or shelves. That done, he slid off the stool and returned Tensa's weary expression with a slight crooked smile of his own.
"That would be fine, Riyuyi-sama," he answered, complacently enough and rather apathetic all things considered. That said, he didn't exactly have much else to do and it wasn't as if he minded the company - even if the younger Hanze had a tendency to ask questions that he didn't seem to realize made an old gehaka like himself flitter and flutter nervously.
Besides, an honest-to-gods trip to the bath house sounded more than enjoyable, particularly to his shoulders.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:49 am
Tensa motioned for Amikai to follow as he led them out of the shop, closed and locked the door, which was sort of a useless gesture, as anyone who really wanted to get inside could break the door without much effort. Still, it couldn't do much hurt.
Fortunately, the streets calmed down since lunch, and even Tensa's half meandering gait didn't land him lost in the crowd, especially since this time he knew where he was going. However, it seemed he spent a dangerous amount of time lost in his own head instead of watching those around him. They made a few stops, one to a food vendor, who provided a bento box lunch, another to a blacksmith, another trip to the carpenter, and a trip to a new shop belonging to a young Haka fellow who was a chemist. The reason was because he had started selling items featuring rubber, which he had treated chemically to be elastic and flexible, while no longer tacky.
All in all, the orders took all in about two hours, Tensa chatting amiably with Amikai as they strode from shop to shop. Afterward, he turned his sights to the bath house, the final destination of the day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:16 am
Amikai followed, falling into Tensa's sedate pace somewhat awkwardly given their differences in stride and simple nature. Tensa wandered, Amikai tended to move quietly, albeit usually with some level of purpose. Instead, he found himself tending to shorten his strides, wobbling in and out of a straight line simply to keep from overtaking the younger Haka. Strangely, he didn't mind and soon enough the faintly weaving mannerism of his step had sunken in so he didn't have to think 'two steps here, one step there - don't trod on his heels.'
Chatting back when necessary, standing up straight and doing his best to look presentable when they arrived at their various stops (the older Gehaka seemed to quickly develop a habit of compulsively smoothing back the gray hair at his temples before stepping into a shop), Amikai trailed along behind Tensa contentedly enough until, finally, they turned in the direction of the bath house. Despite himself, and perhaps unconsciously, his stride turned into a slightly more forward and rolling gait.
((For the sake of the board, did you want to move this into a different thread specifically for a bath house or just continue on here?))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:15 pm
((Let's move this to the bath house, then others may poke in and disturb them biggrin ))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
