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 Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 2:10 pm
”I'm sorry, how many of you are there?” Dyakida asked. While she welcomed business, she wasn't sure if she was ready for the storm that had decided to hit her home.
“She's doing my weapon first!” the voice was young, overexcited, but so were the other voices.
“No, she's doing mine!”
“No mine!”
There were about four-to-seven young Alkidike women, either Blades all or a few young Warriors mixed in. Dyakida was having a hard time telling them apart – they were fighting and her ability to figure out positioning and voices was undermined by their movements and enthusiasm. All she knew was that there was a large group of them, and they all wanted a weapon from Dyakida.
”Please, Sisters.” she pleaded, trying to calm them down. Dyakida did not want a multiple-way brawl going on in her home.
One of them slammed her hands on Dyakida's kitchen table. “I'm going first.” she said, almost threateningly, “You will make my weapon first.”
“No she won't!”
The bickering continued and Dyakida rested her head in her hands, exasperated beyond all help.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 2:19 pm
Vollerei looked at her old spear, the crack that had happened months ago was now too big.. and made the weapon too dangerous to use. How could she know that the weapon wouldn't fail when she needed it most?
And now that she was back home for the festival surely there would be time to get a new one right? After dropping Niabi off, she headed for the nearest weapon smith she knew about.. only to find it filled with loud youngsters. That is rather impressive; she thought with amusement that soon vanished when they all started bickering over who would get a weapon first.
"SILENCE!" She bellowed; her voice far louder than any of the skinny girls present. She scowled at them. "You are all acting far too childish... It makes me think I should approach the elders and ask that you all be tested again.. see if you are all worthy of holding a weapon like adults." Who fought over who's weapon got done first? Sheesh! It was the time of the festival.. not war! Unless those whispers she'd heard on her way back meant something was happening....
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 3:26 pm
Dyakida winced at the loud voice that pierced through the bickering, then relaxed as she realized that, apparently, help was on the way. “Hey, don't cut in!” one of them snapped belligerently, shoving at one of the others. “Maybe you should be tested.” one of them taunted – not at Vollerei, but at one of her fellows. There were about five of them, though Dyakida had no way of knowing that, “You're a brat.” another shove, “So you have to go last, and if you're lucky you might get my leftover glory! Ha!” ”Ladies.” Dyakida said, trying to be heard above the clamor and bickering, ”Please. If you want something, ask one at a time and in turns, not all at once.” It was a reasonable suggestion, but it fell on deaf ears as they began to fight amongst themselves. Dyakida made a pained expression, silently imploring her 'savior' to help her with these youngsters...
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 4:32 pm
Vollerei dropped her spear off to the side. "I'm not here to cut ahead." She rolled her eyes; "So childish! Now.. which of you where here first? You get yours first, then the one who came after you and so on.. Really.. how can people who are going to be blades not know patience?" She glared at the girls as they started to argue again. "Shush! All of you! One at a time like the weapon maker says.. or you may find yourself without any weapon since she doesn't know who wants what! And if you continue like this you may find there aren't many on Chibale who'd be willing to deal with you and would have to leave to get a weapon.. and you little girls don't want that do you?" She said a bit mockingly.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 9:34 pm
“Patience is boring.” one of them huffed. ”Patience is a virtue.” Dyakida retorted, ”Now... Please, one of you go first.” she bit her lip to keep her exasperation out of her voice as best she could. The girls were not happy to listen to what Vollerei had to say, but they did anyway. Enough at least that one of them, with a modicum of rationality, decided to step up. “I'll go first.” she said, “You go second.” and so on. Those about to protest decided, with a look at the large warrior, that they might as well get it over with. They wanted a weapon, they wanted a custom weapon because those were the best, and their mothers had said they would pay for it, so... They each gave Dyakida their orders, which were fairly simple – they wanted weapons, and maybe weapons with some doodads on it, but nothing too far from store quality. They were, after all, too young to know what they really wanted. Dyakida made her notes, gave them each textured tags, and finally, was free of them. As the last sounds of their chatter faded away into the outside world, Dyakida slumped, rubbing her forehead just below where her feelers started. ”Thank you.” she said, tiredly, ”I should be happy that I am in such demand, but I swear the groups of desiring young folk get larger and rowdier every day...”
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2015 3:26 pm
"Impatience gets you killed." Vollerei added; "Whether in a hunt or battle,acting too soon can lead to wounds or death." She was glad that they didn't continue to misbehave; she would have hated to bring it up before the elders but she would have. Impatient children and idiots had no right to wield weapons; they would only hurt themselves or others. She shook her head as the finally left; "What is with all the kids these days? Don't they train them anymore? Or is it a 'get them a weapon and send them off since we don't want to deal with them' sort of thing." She grabbed her spear from where it leaned and laid it before the sister. "I'm here for a simple fix if you can.. if not than I'll have to get a new one." She was a bit nervous buying a weapon from someone who was blind... but people said this one did a good job so she was trusting them on it.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:16 am
”I hope that isn't the case...” she sighed, ”I would hate to see our tribe act that way. Training is not just knowing which end of the spear is sharp. Surely, their parents understand that. Perhaps they just don't listen anymore...” she reached her hand for the weapon, taking it into her hands, ”It's a shame I cannot craft a cure for impatience... a good weapon will only serve them as well as they use it...” she ran her hands along the spear, investigating its condition, its balance,and – very tenderly – its sharpness. ”At least I make the best weapons” it was not an idle boast – some of the weapon-crafting elders spoke with pride of her skills. Others spoke with envy. Some spoke with haterd, but they were unimportant at this time. Dyakida was young yet and her skills would only grow. ”And I can certainly fix your weapon with ease. It won't need too much, and so it will cost you nothing, Sister... though tales of sight are always appreciated.” she said, laying it out on the table and retrieving some supplies. ”The balance is off because of some damage to the shaft and wear, and the crystal needs some chiseling and re-sharpening, and it's attachment needs to be enhanced...” she listed, ”But all those are simple fixes and if you do not want something elaborate, I can do that right here while you wait if you please... though” she smiled, ”it will take some time... but you have patience.” she teased gently, ”So that should not be such a problem.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 3:34 pm
"It feels like people are getting weapons earlier. Of course, I got my spear when I was just learning to hunt so I could go hunting and feed myself instead of eating my mother's out of the house!" She said in an amused tone, "So I shouldn't be one to talk!" "Patinece can only be learned... and not all learn it." She shrugged. "They'll go hungry if they hunt without patience. But I get the feeling those young girls are ore worried about showing off weapons and fighting wars than hunting animals." The entire island seemed awash with young idiots who were talking about 'taking what was theirs'... as if the earthling's lands rightly belonged to the Alkidikes instead. "Tales of sight ehh?" She thought for a moment. "Mmm... You know those really delicious smelling stews? The ones that hiss and burble and have chunks of mysterious meat floating in them that tastes delicious but you don't want to know what's in them? Looks like it tastes. Delicious and mysterious." She chuckled; she actually knew what her mothers had put in it... but then she'd eaten almost everything in Juahur that could possibly be eaten! "I can wait.. though I was supposed to go last." She chuckled. "Looks like waiting around means I get my weapon first." The impatient girls would have thrown a fit!
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:15 am
“Your feeling is right.” said Dyakida, beginning her work. As she had said – it was simple enough. She needed to pay attention to her hands, of course, and to her materials, but she had practiced so much that this was almost second nature. “These girls... They sounded barely old enough to have finished their training. So many are caught up in this fervor...” She paused as she began to chisel and shape the crystal. It had gotten a little warped in the course of use – use which she hoped involved more beasts and Obans than anything else. A tap here, a tap there – she had to pay attention to the already existing crystal matrix. The original crafter of this weapon had carved it in this way for her own reason, and it merely needed some repairs, not full-on renovations. Dyakida did not recognize the work but that was not surprising. She couldn't be expected to tell every other weaponcrafter's work apart, after all – there were quite a few elders in the craft, and sometimes they shared commissions or did parts of the weapon and not the whole. Chiseling done, she began to smooth and whet it, renewing the blade. ”I'm partial to grilled fruits and vegetables myself...” she said, ”Though that does sound... interesting. And delicious.” and she hadn't had lunch yet. ”My cooking abilities are limited. I often get the duty, however, because I make edible food whereas some of my sisters... well, they may have discovered the long lost method of turning meat into stone. I need an assistant when I attempt to cook because of the dangers of using knives...” the irony – that she could make knives but not use them safely, was not lost on her – ”Which means that I have to rely on them to tell me what they see the food do...”She laughed. ”Exactly. They were insistent, you were not, and so I decided I'd rather do your repairs first.” She moved on to the spear shaft, ”A lesson in patience, not that they will ever know it.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 11:51 am
Volerei chuckled. "Need eyes for cooking? I usually go by scent more than sight. Since the meat can be done on the outside but not the inside!" Why people didn't learn to cook she didn't understand. Did they not want to eat? Or were too lazy? Cooking, for her, was as essential a skill as knowing how to hunt. "I've got a daughter who could help you.. tough she's very quiet and going to head off on her own soon..." She snorted; "They're all out of here and probably boasting about glories they will gain with their new weapons and not thinking of the real ramifications of getting the title of Blade!"
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 12:06 pm
”It can, can't it...” it was more thought than statement – Dyakida hadn't eaten much meat in her youth, and hadn't been the one to cook it besides. Not then – she'd been too busy playing and whittling to cook.
”Probably. I've noticed that our younger sisters like to boast and brag. It's all very empty – I prefer actual deeds, in the present, to deeds in the far flung future.” Dyakida tested the spear shaft's weight again, noting where it needed to be changed, now that it's blade was renewed. ”It's one thing to boast about what you've done. It's another to claim that you will do something. These young sisters...” she sighed, starting on some small carvings to change the spear's weight, ”They are just setting themselves up for dissappointment.”
She smoothed her carving and tilted her head, not looking up because what would the point be to that? ”Oh? Your daughter? How old is she?”
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 8:56 am
Vollerei nodded in agreement. "Mm hmm. But at that age its easier to boast and posture, thinking you can do anything since you've never actually been threatened or in a situation where they can die." She smiled at the question about her adopted daughter. "Neska's about 13 now, I really should start teaching the lass to fight but she's so quiet and shy I haven't done more than offer. Quiet the opposite of those brats that were just here." She chuckled. Her Neska was not one to boast like that at all! Or get into stupid situations like that... well... most of the time at least.
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 5:04 pm
”One can only hope that they live long enough to learn temperance... Then again...” she said, thinking, now, of some of the elders she knew, ”Even that is not certain.” She filed the edges of her carving down and checked the weight again before ensuring all things were secure. She set it down – it was a simple job, after all. ”Does she have any preference for weapons yet?” Dyakida asked, conversationally. It was, of course, important for her to know. It was her job.
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 7:56 pm
"Age doesn't always bring wisdom." Vollerei said with a chuckle. She herself was not the most wise at all! "Neska is...." Vollerei sighed and propped herself up against the counter. "Quiet.. shy.. not shown any interest in anything except a kinfa and her dolls. Some interest in cooking but nothing towards fighting. Sometimes I wonder if fighting's just not for her... " But the alkidikes always learned to fight.. Volle was worried about that; would Neska be teased or yelled at if she didn't learn to fight? Would Volle even force her adopted daughter to do so? But then... I can't protect her forever, she thought.
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 9:48 am
”Sometimes, I wonder...” Dyakida said, wary of what she was about to say, ”Sometimes, I wonder if maybe it would be better if Alkidikes who did not wish to fight didn't have to be... damaged...” like herself... ”...or old to take that path.” Peyla's chimes were the fanfare that announced the sprite's presence in the room. She settled on the table and gently patted her Alkidike's arm. Dyakida stroked the sprite, gently. ”With the way things are now, though, such a path would be a hard path to take...” she stretched her fingers, ”But maybe it would be the right one. For the tribe...” She sighed, and offered Vollerai her spear. ”There, it is done.” she said, ”Try it out for me, though – the true test of a weapon's readiness is in the hands of it's mistress.”
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