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Dyakida enjoyed the annual celebration on Chibale. Although she was not selling her wares at the festival, she felt that the festivities would be profitable indeed. One could not put a price on entertainment value, after all, and Dyakida hadn't taken a proper break in a long time.

A friend of a friend had offered to put her up during her stay on the isles, and she couldn't help but be grateful to them for letting her open her storefront in their house. Sisters, after all, needed weapons still and with war in the air... well, she could take a break during the festival itself, but in the meantime... there was work to be done.

However, not just yet. All her current projects had been completed, and so she took a moment for herself, sipping some fruit juice as she rested.

Dyakida lifted her head and listened, trying to recognize the voice. ”Good day!” she greeted, uncertain of just who it was – and also what time it was. 'Good day' was a fair assumption, considering the sun she could feel heating the world outside her patch of shade, but since her sleep schedule could be erratic, she wasn't sure if it was morning, afternoon, or early evening. It didn't much matter – she worked night or day, whenever she was inspired to do so.

She sipped her juice, analyzing the voice - It was a familiar voice, a little deep but otherwise not particularly remarkable. ”You aren't interrupting at all.” she said, smiling, ”I'm sorry, who are you?”

”Oh!” The name vaguely rang a bell. Dyakida remembered nuts strewn across a path like hard little falling traps, and a sprite that would not stop playing her tricks. ”Yes! Now I remember.” That had been quite an intense day, and people still brought it up at the market when they weren't feeling kind. ”Well, thank you again for that.” she stretched against her shaded seat, ”What can I do for you, Bhima?” she asked, relaxedly, ”Another set of blades, or modifications to ones you already have?” that was what most wanted from her.

She hoped that one day someone would ask for her company, or a walk, or something fun. Maybe. She sipped at the fruit juice and wondered, briefly, if it had gone a little bad... but no, she was just relaxed, taking her break, and enjoying the sun. Besides, when Briella was around, she had plenty of company, and Kaalnia's company was hard to avoid.

Dyakida raised her eyebrows, pausing mid sip. “Stolen?!” she exclaimed, putting the cup down, “That's terrible! Of course.” She stood up, using the tree as a guide, “Well, lets go inside and you can tell me about the blades you want.” She eased her way to the doorway of the not entirely familiar Chibale house she was staying in and made her way past the pots at the door and the warmth of the oven that held the cooking fire. At the far end of the dining table, her questing fingers came upon the textured labels that she used to help her give weapons to the correct customers – here was one of her workspaces, a place she had set up to do minor things like taking orders and making small edits. Her host preferred her to do the major things outside, on a mat, but in here she could safely and comfortably do the actual business end of things. “Oh, lately? I've been making weapons for our sisters and small toys for my host to sell at the festival. Both are, apparently, in high demand these days.” she smiled, a little self-mockingly. Weapons were always in high demand. She made her way to a chair and sat in it, smoothing the cloth over her workspace. That was when she realized she was missing something - “Ah, my juice!” she said, cursing mildly and humorously at her forgetfulness, “Mm, I'll get it later.” Maybe it would turn to wine in this heat? She set out one of her bark slates and a stylus and steepled her fingers. “Well, Bhima, tell me about the blades you want.”

”You were attacked by bandits while babysitting?!” Dyakida remarked, surprised. That was not a typical hazard of babysitting, so far as she knew... unless... Well, the way things were going these days... Hmmm ”What sort of bandits were they?” And what sort of child were you sitting for? The last question was important, but she did not want to ask it out loud. If the child was a hybrid, then the bandits might well have been sisters, sent to intimidate. If the child was an earthling... well, maybe random bandits were a hazard that they faced.

At least no one was hurt, though... ”Thank the goddess for that. Though, I assume the child” or children ”was upset for a while.” such seemed to be the way of children, after all.

Dyakida scrawled abstract notes into her bark tablet – so much faster to understand than words when touched. Not elaborate was good – it meant basic materials and basic techniques, and it meant that she wouldn't have to find something unusual for this sister. She could feel the air of Bhima's movement and 'looked' up, about to ask about it, when she returned.

Broader at the tip than the base – yes that did make an interesting weight. And juice. Wait... Dyakida reached out her hand and wrapped her fingers around the cup, a smile playing on her face.

Ahh. She had gotten her juice. ”Thank you.” she said, finishing her notes and taking a sip of the lovely cool liquid. ”Ah, yes. Toys.” she groped along her desk until she found what she was looking for, moving it out from the mess of objects that it had somehow fallen behind. Her fingers danced over it, feeling the nooks and crannies of the small painted wooden object. It was a carved Radaku, it's proportions slightly off but otherwise symmetrical. ”I find it excellent practice for my carving skills and when weapons are not in such demand, I sometimes trade for materials...” she rubbed at an area where the paint had dripped. ”Obviously, I don't paint them.” she added, a little modestly.

”Speaking of materials, I could use your help.” Normally, she would not charge anything for such a simple weapon for a sister – no money, no goods, no services – but in this case, she could use the help. ”If you didn't mind offering it.”

”... I can understand that.” Dyakida said delicately. She was all too familiar with the sort of terrors that could come with the onset of night. When she had been living with Dyakida, Yitzah's fear had been palpable – and audible – almost every night, and she had heard that Kaalnia had been stricken with nightmares after the tournament, and that they still haunted her. Dyakida herself had no nightmares about the beast that took her sight – in a sense, she had already had them, was living them, and had long since found that to be sightless wasn't so bad after all. Give or take.

”Well, a friend of mine, a crystal merchant at the Andile market, tells me that they have managed to get their hands on some remarkable crystal. They claim that it is a large, two toned crystal – rare, as crystals typically are one color and opacity and – generally – quality through and through the sample. Two colors would imply that somehow two crystals grew together, but they also claim that it is uniform in quality and relatively fine to boot. I expect that it looks quite pretty and I know a high-ranking sister who would be delighted to have a weapon crafted from such a material. If it exists. Unfortunately, though I trust this Sister's goods, she cannot describe anything to my satisfaction, especially not subtle things like tones and patterns. Looks are as important to my work as any other craft, and I would appreciate it, if possible, you could accompany me to the marketplace tomorrow and help me inspect this piece and tell me exactly what she means by two-toned. If not, I will have to wait for one of the other Sisters to be free to help me.” And by then, she might have lst the oppurtunity for a truely remarkable weapon. Plus, if Bhima went with her, she would have a set of eyes to help her with other shopping preparations - always nice to have. "Your help would be so very much appreciated."

Peyla answered the question on her own, chiming a greeting before flying into the room. She ignored Bhima – apparently her memory was not the best – and, sounding very pleased with herself, lowered a wreath onto Dyakida's head.

”Thank you, Peyla.” Dyakida said, a little sarcastically, to the tune of a very, very pleased sprite. The wreath sagged rakishly, and Dyakida could only imagine what she must look like as the sprite, her work done, flew off to do whatever she needed to do.

Peyla had been trying to make things lately, probably a reaction to the stress in the household. They hid it well, but with things as they were everybody was feeling a little off. So Peyla tried... Key word. Tried.

Dyakida removed the wreath and set it aside. ”And thank you.” she said to Bhima, ”I'll see you tomorrow, then.”

~~~

The market bustled and churned with Alkidikes, their movements making her antennae vibrate in a distracting (though not bad) way. ”My contact's stall should be here.” she said, gesturing in a direction and hoping she hadn't gotten turned around... but even if she had been, she had a guide. Her mistake would be easily fixed.

The shopkeeper noted Dyakida nearby and smiled pleasantly. This Sister was versed in the trader's art, however, of being able to look and sound completely sincere, regardless of her true thoughts, that much was clear from her easy gestures and calm demeanor. Had she intended to trick Dyakida, or sell her a falsely two-toned crystal? Or was she really a friend, one of many who made sure to let the crafter know when fine items passed into their posession?

It was hard to say.

But it was probably the latter. Dyakida made good friends. The merchant was probably just hoping to make other deals with this other, sighted Alkidike. "I believe I know exactly what you're looking for." she began to rummage - theatrically, almost - into a pile of wrapped bundles within her stall. She was positioned in such a way that she seemed busy, working, and effortful - as if she was working especially hard to find the perfect crystal for the crafter. But, of course, she was still able to see what the other Alkidike might do. "Feel free to look at what else I have - crystals of all colors, great for jewelery and carving."

Dyakida listened to the merchant, approaching quietly and leaning on her staff as the woman shuffled through cloth and hide. She had heard that some of the large carving crystals were displayed at the front, but most of them were in the back due to the space available to the storekeeper, wrapped carefully to prevent unintentional chipping. The best quality pieces for her craft were also not always the ones that 'showed' the best, not that that mattered much to the crafter.

She took out a large bundle, smoothing it's wrapping - again theatrically - onto the counter, revealing it almost unintentionally. "This is it, yes? Prime crystal from the jungle, a big slab perfect for sword craft or spear craft or anything else you choose to craft with it. Good heft, good structure, few flaws, but look!" She unwrapped the covering completely, "Two colors, not just one - in the same crystal. No ingrowth of another crystal, no strange crack or flaw causing the color that will break when you strike it, no; just different colors. Extra rare." she winked at Bhima.

Dyakida had heard the spiel before. She touched the crystal, picking it up and feeling its weight, and knocking on it gently with one of her small hammers to best gauge it's quality. It was good in those respects, a nice piece of crystal. She put it back on it's cloth cushioning and tilted her head towards Bhima. "Well?" she said, smiling slightly, "What does it look like?"