Welcome to Gaia! ::

Shikoba was determined to become a blacksmith.

Originally the thought had startled her and was almost an annoying solution for her indecisiveness about the future but Shikoba realized it was the perfect excuse to craft whatever she wanted. If she took up such a role then she could add trinkets, unique designs and the like to weapons for her Sisters and not have to interact with them socially for hunts and training. It was a compromise that would satisfy her desire for solitude and allow her to help out the others at the same time. When she was growing up her mother had drilled in all of the fighting styles and weapons that were possible in their culture but Shikoba felt distanced from the idea of fighting unless it was for self preservation. After all was it absolutely necessary to slaughter others when one could simply make things and trade them peacefully instead? Just thinking about slaughtering others for power made her stomach twist in disgust. Shikoba had never forgotten the moment with the Yaeli boy and how her mother’s hatred had ruined such a fine encounter. He had been sweet and generous with trading so why in the world would she want to attack him? It was all so ridiculous. Shikoba huffed at the memory while she twisted some wires into a necklace setting. “That blue stone he had would have fit in here perfectly. I was so close to getting it from him!”

A sigh left her lips as she stared at her creation. It seemed so empty without a centerpiece. Shikoba pursed her lips thoughtfully as she stared around the small workspace that she had created in the shallow cave along the cliffs. She was sitting on a soft pile of feathers and furs, her legs crossed beneath the small wooden bench she had personally carved and brought up into the cave. Beads and coils of metal were scattered along its surface along with various shells and stones but none seemed to truly please her. Pale pink fingers trailed over the smaller pile of stones one final time before she settled on a onyx stone that she had found along the shorelines earlier that week. “I suppose you will suffice for now.” She murmured softly before twisting the stone in place and setting the necklace aside.

Leaning back on her elbows, Shikoba let out a small chuckle. If only her mother could see her now. The Extremist wanted her to work hard and become something like an amazon or a guardian while Shikoba was finding collecting and crafting far more enticing. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have the skills that other Sisters had but the Elaria had far more drive to be creative. She had been listening to some of the older Elaria who had crossed into the new island and their concerns made her realize that they were missing something vital - a blacksmith. Only one Alkidike had crossed with them who had such skills and she was already past her finer years and they were discussing finding her an apprentice. The thought made Shikoba smile thoughtfully. What else would be a better way to continue doing what she wanted? She was desperate to cast off her mother’s influence and crossing the ocean had only been the first step. Shikoba was known to have a blunt personality, an abrasive nature with a tongue whose sharp words knew no mercy to any Sister. Her mother had forced her to be silent and obedient for far too long and the freedom Kiros brought to her was beginning to allow her true spirit to flourish. Shikoba loved gathering and being creative more than hunting and planning on how to dominate the world. Hurting earthlings seemed like a folly and she was thankful that other Elaria had started to rebel against the extreme natures of their founding mothers, the Extremists. They had already been beaten once and what had that brought them? Nothing but an island of stone where they were stuck in a small corner of the world, their heads up their behinds to the point that they didn’t even see the sun. It had almost cost them in the past and she had rejoiced to hear that they had to suck up their pride to beg for the Chibale Alkidikes to help them. That was another interesting thing she had overheard from the older Elaria who had smuggled letters back and forth between the two islands. Shikoba could just imagine the rage on her mother’s face whenever the issue arose. Honestly? If things got resolved that was great but she truly hoped that the others grew up and learned their lesson soon enough. How much longer would they let the hatred of the past control their lives?

She for one was not going to let that control her future. That was why she wanted to help by crafting rather than destroying. If she could create weapons that would protect her Sisters rather than harm others then she would gladly do it. Shikoba would always choose to create rather than destroy because the world they had been gifted was lovely. Isle Kiros had taken her breath whenever they first arrived with its beauty and gave her such a fresh breath of hope that she refused to let it go to ruin. She would protect this island and keep any that wished to destroy their new lives here away. It was why she didn’t stop training and kept up with her weapon practice despite her decision to volunteer as the new apprentice to the blacksmith in the settlement. Shikoba was not a stranger to multi-tasking and felt confident that she could keep up with all of her studies. She had forced herself to be a quick learner because of her mother’s watchful eye and that was one of the few things that Shikoba was thankful towards the Alkidike for. She just hoped that the older blacksmith would have an open mind about exactly how Shikoba wanted to craft and the flourish that she enjoyed adding to weapons. What was wrong with defending their home with some style? The thought made her lips curve upwards into a small grin as she studied the bow that she had made for herself out of the silvery trees decorating their new home. Shikoba thought it was beautiful and she had even engraved it with flowering vines that were dyed a deep crimson from the berries she had found growing around the encampment. The arrows had feathers of indigo with crimson tips that she had gathered from around the lake in the upper isle and she had made certain every arrowhead had some sort of etching within the metal. Even if it was the smallest of blossoms, the engraving would mark the arrows as her own. Shikoba planned on showing the bow and arrows to the blacksmith in hopes that her craftsmanship would earn the older Alkidike’s trust so that she could become her apprentice. It was the reason she had spent days making certain every inch of the bow was perfect. She had tested it herself while hunting along the cliffs and surely enough it had found its mark easily after a few adjustments.

“Should I craft other weapons first?” She mused as she looked around her little cave once more. Perhaps a spear? Shikoba wasn’t exactly an expert with metal crafting yet and didn’t have a forge but she could do something simple with a wooden pole and add a sharpened stone until she could get a hold of more metal for the weapon. She was confident in her bow but what if it wasn’t enough to please the others? “Tsk.” Shikoba let out a sigh as she realized that her solitary nature would perhaps not be in her favor this time. What if someone already had connections and was the prime candidate instead of her? The thought made her frown and she was nearly tempted to barge into the encampment and seek out the blacksmith right away. No, I’ll need more tact than that if so. What would she do? Go and throw a tantrum if that were the case? Shikoba shook her head and twisted strands of maroon dreads in her fingers thoughtfully. “I’ll go and gather information and then see how to best approach.” She decided after a moment of deep contemplation about the whole situation. Either way she knew that she was determined in her decision to become a blacksmith. Shikoba wanted to craft and would do her best to prove that she was worthy and capable of becoming a skilled artisan to help her Sisters out. It was after all to her benefit in the end so that she could continue crafting in peace without the pressure of other tasks. The thought made Shikoba’s lips curve upwards into a small smile. She could already imagine herself at a forge, happily working away on weapons and later being able to add her own finishing touches to make them truly unique.

(WC: 1511)