Prompt 1 (Diamond Dust): This time of year, snow is common. What’s uncommon is the single, strange snowfall where each snowflake that fell glistened like tiny diamonds. For the most part, the snow seems fairly normal—it’s cold, wet, and melts just like any other snow, it just also happens to look like tiny little gems are falling from the sky. Depending on who you’re with, it’s either incredibly strange, or incredibly romantic.
When the snow is coming down at its strongest, crystalized snowflakes trickle down with the rest of the snow. These are roughly the size of a quarter and are light and hollow. They are fragile, like glass, but glisten like a fine cut gem. No one can explain this anomaly, but these small snowflakes won't melt. And they are all over Destiny City. You can find them gently falling to the ground, or lying in the fresh fallen snow. There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly magical about them, but they are beautiful and make pretty keepsakes.
Sodalite had hoped that the weather would have cooperated a little more with what he had wanted for the meeting he'd was planning to ask for with General King Jet. It had been less than a week since he had cobbled together what sort of gift he would present to his exchange partner and now as he stood on a rooftop overlooking the city did the Lieutenant sigh in annoyance. Sure the snowflakes that were falling from the sky were creating the lovely image of the first dusting of snow but Sodalite had hoped that the meeting he was going to initiate had been just a little bit moderate for temperature.
Enough stalling. Just send the message before you chicken out and go home idiot. I could wait another day though. The message gave a deadline of near month's end. What if Jet is busy? Why wait? Just get things over with. Either he'll like the gift or he won't.
It had been this sort of mental back and forth that Sodalite had been experiencing since the morning after the late night he had spent researching what costs were associated with the idea that had been sparked and then taken off with that was literally causing the agent to experience stress headaches daily. Taking out his tablet pen, Sodalite gritted his teeth before penning a quick inquiry as to whether now or later would be an acceptable time to formally request a meeting so that they could exchange their gifts with each other.
Sodalite was a little nervous as he sent the message on its way, hopefully to be received, before sitting down on the ledge of the roof he currently occupied. His gaze swept over the lights that reflected from below his current vantage point and he sighed. The snowflakes that fell all around him glittered as they caught the source of light before melting as they landed on exposed skin or parts of his uniform. If Jet was receptive to his request then he'd send coordinates to meet in another location. A safer location ... away from those pesky members of Order.
xGuine
Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2023 7:46 am
Jet heard the sound from his tablet pen with the notice of a message. He’d been sitting at his usual spot in the park, enjoying the flecks of shimmering snow. He often powered down to his General level to avoid any unwanted attention, and tonight was no different.
Seeing that the message was from Sodalite got his attention at least. He’d already gotten a gift for the exchange and was going to set up a time to give it to him, but if the Lieutenant was ready to exchange gifts now, then Jet certainly wasn’t going to complain.
So he responded to confirm that they should meet up, and he began to put away the notebook he had out with him to doodle ideas for his next composition.
Once he received the coordinates, he teleported to the meeting place, and lifted a hand in greeting. “Having a good night so far, Lieutenant? Thanks for sending me a message.”
Feeling the surge of chaotic power arrive after a sending of coordinates had Sodalite turning to face the arrival before he gave a bow of respect to one of his General Kings before he straightened up and gave Jet a easy grin before he considered the question. Considering that right now Jet gave off the aura of a General and not the overbearing presence of a general king he pondered how he should answer before deciding to stick with the truth, "My night's been pretty uneventful for the most part. I've been curious about some of these stories I hear about certain events that seem to occur around the holiday season and I thought I'd investigate. Certainly this snow could be considered a little unusual given it's composition."
He was rambling. Sodalite stopped himself from speaking more before he inhaled sharply, "If I am being completely honest though with you sir, I'm probably experiencing a little bit of apprehension over this gift exchange. I've never done something of the like so I feel like I am a bit green when it comes to finding a suitable gift. I've been on the fence about being the one to reach out to request the best meeting time and I figured that it was best to just bite the bullet and ask if now was a good moment to meet up and exchange our gifts."
Sodalite's gaze flicked to the snow that continued to fall before he bit his lower lip before summoning what looked like an old-fashioned scroll tied up neatly with a green ribbon before clearing his throat. He walked closer to Jet before extending the scroll for the General to take from him, "Despite my apprehension though I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, General King Jet."
Guine
The message inside the scroll is written in calligraphy style and reads as such:
To General King Jet,
I, Lieutenant Sodalite, do hereby declare the intent to fully fund one thirty minute music lesson on an instrument of your personal choice. I also have decided that I will fund the rental cost of whatever instrument is chosen for that one lesson. This last decision is one that I made on my own.
Please accept this gift of generosity that I bequeath to you this holiday season. You can redeem this lesson at any time of your choosing. Just reach out to me with the information of where you would like to have your lesson and I will make myself available to cover the costs associated with what I have transcribed above.
Merry Christmas,
Lieutenant Sodalite
PS: I think General Aquamarine would be displeased if he learned that I went over the proposed price range for a gift. I do not know if this will sit with him well or not.
Jet laughed softly. Not at Sodalite’s expense, but because he could understand the uncertainty. He could also understand the strangeness of Destiny City.
“Don’t worry about it too much. Although you’re making me nervous that maybe my gift will be a disappointment if you’ve put a lot of thought into yours,” he smiled, but made a small, sympathetic grimace.
He held his hand out to graciously take the scroll to glance inside. He couldn’t keep himself from smiling at the offer, although laughed again once he got to the end. Maybe a little awkwardly because he certainly could imagine Aquamarine fussing about following directions.
“Thank you. This is very generous of you. Do you have any recommendations for instruments to try? I don’t mind something inexpensive, so Aqua doesn’t get cranky. But I don’t want to make you think I’m ungrateful for your generosity. I feel a bit guilty now since I kept to the price limit,” he admitted, and retrieved the wrapped gift from his subspace.
It was in plain brown paper wrapping, but once opened it revealed a book. A journal to be more precise. The edges of the pages were silver, and the hard cover was an intricate design of dark blues and greens and silver, in a pattern most commonly associated with Art Deco. There was a silver pen as well that could be attached to the inside edge of the book.
“For your writing, in case you’re inspired. It’s always a pain when I feel like jotting something down but don’t have anything to write on.”
Even if Jet had stuck to the rules regarding the price limit on gifts Sodalite was still pleasantly surprised at the overall design of the writing book that he found wrapped up in the plain paper that Jet had chosen to utilise for wrapping paper. He gently traced the designs that were done tastefully in the colors that he had stated having a preference for before he examined the pen before affixing it back to the inner cover.
As he had been unwrapping his own gift had Sodalite been thinking about what Jet had asked of him in regards to what sort of instrument he might have suggestions of. Instead of giving a flippant response the lieutenant instead fell silent. There were a lot of instruments out there that a beginning musician could try but there was also the consideration that Jet was fairly, probably more than fairly, adept with a piano if he had remembered Jet's information correctly.
"I'm not quite sure I can give a suitable suggestion given your proclivity for the piano. An organ would probably be too similar in design. There are a lot of instruments out there though that are extremely different and difficult to master. It was my hope that you might find another that you could enjoy as much as the piano."
He glanced back down the book that he held reverently in his hands before pausing, "do you know more about the different groups of instruments out there?"
Even as Sodalite asked the question did his gaze catch on something that didn't quite look like a snowflake before running his finger gently along the closed book once more. Even if it was just a fancy writing book, Sodalite had been pleasantly surprised by the feeling of appreciation that had gone through him at the reveal. The book would surely be covered in his scribblings in no time at all.
Guine
Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 1:25 pm
Jet laughed softly in good humor. There was nothing funny about what Sodalite said, but Jet was in a good mood and sometimes it manifested in a laugh or at least a smile. He was in a particularly good mood with Sodalite’s attention to details.
“Oh? Have you heard me playing before? The Queen gave me permission to have a keyboard in my office but I’ve been trying to be respectful of everyone’s work and usually keep headphones plugged in,” he admitted with a thoughtful hum.
“Still, sometimes I want to take it to some of the larger, open rooms in the Castle. See how the acoustics are. As for different groups of instruments, I’ve wondered about all kinds. Strings, wind, percussion. Although I can’t imagine anyone would be thrilled about me practicing the drums in the Castle.”
Had Sodalite heard Jet playing before? Given the chance that he sort of chose to avoid going into a place that he hardly knew much about without Prehnite to act as a guide it was hardly a likely scenario. Instead of blurting that out though to the wrong audience the lieutenant remembered that he was in the presence of someone much higher up on the totem pole of the Negaverse than he was. "Truthfully speaking, I've not heard you playing before. I've sought to remain top side for most of my work at the moment unless I'm needed."
Sodalite paused before bringing out his tablet and flipping to the message that had come from Aquamarine, "If I'm being entirely honest with you sir, most of what I've relied on the past little while was this little profile that was sent to me. Your words gave me something to brainstorm in terms of a perfect gift and then I vetoed other options that I'd felt were not up to par," here Sodalite actually gave his own little chuckle, "I think I'm cursed at times with my ability to come up with creative solutions to any problem I have at hand."
And it seemed that Jet had a good handle at least of some other groupings of instruments. The thought that the general would even entertain percussion as an option and the repercussions of percussion in the Castle brought a hint of amusement to Sodalite's expression, "People may not be thrilled if you chose to practice drums I would agree, but really, do they have a say in the matter?"
Guine
Sorry for the delay on this tag
Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2024 8:30 am
Jet laughed again, just as warm as before.
“I suppose that depends on who you’re asking, whether anyone else has a say in the matter,” he hummed with amusement. “As for me, I welcome and respect the opinions of others. I was a Lieutenant too, once. Fourteen and with nothing to my name. I acknowledge that I had a different experience than many who join the Negaverse. I wasn’t aware of the hardships within the ranks that others faced, since I mostly kept to myself and did my duty. Even if I knew, I don’t think I would have known what to do about anything.”
He paused and offered Sodalite a smile. “What I mean to say… if you have anything you would like to share, or discuss, or offer as an opinion on how we can make the Negaverse stronger and more united, my door is always open. I’d be happy to play for you, too! Although I can understand wanting to keep busy. My gift is perfect though, thank you. I think it was very creative.”
It might have been a little different than what they were all used to, but Jet thoroughly enjoyed meeting Sodalite officially. Clearly he would have to convince Aquamarine to do things like this more often.
Sodalite appeared thoughtful at the request that Jet had just laid out on the figurative table, as it were. Had he thoughts or opinions yet on how he might be able to help the Negaverse improve? That was going to take some deeper thinking and soul searching it seemed. Perhaps his new writing book would come in handy even sooner than he could have imagined. It would also serve a different purpose than jotting down poetry verses. He absently ran his fingers along the cover again before hearing the second part of Jet's offer.
"I might find the time to come listen to you play, if your offering the experience. It would be nice to have a different reason to be summoned into the dark kingdom besides duty. A reprieve of such I guess."
Was he going too far in showing a little of the distaste he harboured for the gloomy underground? Probably, but he was also being completely honest at the moment. It was a rare moment when Sodalite would let down his guard but there were times. There was a brief sigh before he smiled, "I will keep what you said in mind about coming to you with opinions and news to share. I'm also extremely pleased that you are satisfied with what I chose to give to you as a gift."
Sodalite's gaze travelled to the skies above them before he reached down to pick up one of the stranger looking snowflakes before passing it over to the General King, "a strange thing these snowflakes, but they do make excellent keepsakes."
Guine
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2024 12:20 pm
Jet offered the Lieutenant a smile and a nod. He meant it when he said his door would always be open. He didn’t take things like that very lightly. And he looked excited at the idea of having an audience!
He held out his hand to accept the snowflake and laughed, because Sodalite was right. It was very unique and he was delighted by how it sparkled and shined.
“Thank you. I will keep this safe as well,” he decided.
