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 Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:16 am
[1]
Nimia looked down at the pouch in her hand and counted through its contents for a third time with a sigh. While her family wasn’t destitute the addition of two more children and visiting family had put a strain on finances. It was Nimia’s job to stretch this as far as she could while also managing to gather enough supplies from the village to make the rest of her family’s visit comfortable.
Normally that wouldn’t be too hard. Her grandfathers had never shied away from an odd job or two to help, but it was her Aunt that worried her. Nimia tossed a withering look to Calliana.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:20 am
“Stop looking like you’ve swallowed something sour, Nimia. I came to help you; not rob you blind.” Calli scoffed. She didn’t even bother hiding her irritation. Ever since she’d first offered to help with the shopping, she couldn’t shake the feeling it was unwanted. The pair walked at an easy pace down the well-trodden path, with Calli occasionally lifting a hand to brush against a tree or stone along the way.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:21 am
[2]
“I didn’t-” Nimia frowned, her brows pinched from behind her glasses. “That’s not – I just...don’t want you to be disappointed. A Zenan village is a far cry from the Belrean cities you’re used to.” She knew that’s where her Aunt and Uncle had been raised during their formative years. While Nimia wasn’t sure exactly what city, especially given her grandfathers’ proclivity to travel, she knew it would leave it’s mark. “There isn’t much here and the vendors take pride in their wares.” She said as way of warning.
If Calli so much as sneered at one shop owner the whole lot would bar their doors. Nimia’s family couldn’t afford to be ostracized like that.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:22 am
Calliana rolled her eyes. “It’s not like we stayed in the city all the time. Sometimes we were there, sometimes it was on the road or in a farming village. Honestly, Nimia, have you paid for lodging in Belrea? No one can afford to stay long, not even the locals.” How much gold did she think her fathers had? They still worked, of course, but they weren’t rich. They’d always had what they needed and anything extra was earned.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:23 am
[3]
I suppose that makes sense. With Calliana’s attitude she sometimes forgot that she hadn’t come from a wealthy merchant’s family or some sort of nobility. It must be her confidence. Nimia had never met anyone with the level of self-assuredness that Calli had and didn’t know how the girl got through the day. She was both jealous of it and more than a little afraid.
As they neared the village familiar sounds assailed them. The braying of prey beasts in the stables, clanging metal from the forge, and several dozen villagers milling about. A few who knew her waved, pausing only when the unfamiliar sight of Calliana stalled them.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:24 am
Maybe she should have dressed more conservatively? Calliana’s wardrobe hadn’t changed much since coming to Tendaji from Belrea and while her family hadn’t said much – how could they? Half of them were barely dressed – these villagers certainly had opinions. One old woman they passed openly gasped before turning away and a few boys her age smiled a little brighter. She knew she was pretty; how could she be anything less? But she wasn’t here to flirt and have fun; she was here to shop. “Okay, what’s first?”
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:26 am
[4]
“A new tea kettle. Ilmryn broke ours and we just never replaced it.” Her little brother had gone through a moment where he’d slammed the kettle down a little too hard on the hearth and crushed it. Poor thing had felt awful about it, but the damage was done. “We can pick it up from Grandmother Vera. She’ll be at the tannery.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:27 am
“You want a tea kettle from a tanner?” Calli questioned as they walked. The main street was little more than rutted dirt path; a far cry from the posh cobblestones of Belrea. She chose not to mention that, though. When she looked up her eyes caught on a girl’s, one who was just a little older than herself, and paused. The similarities between the two of them were so striking that it took Calli a moment to remember why. She did Zenan blood, even if she tended to forget about it from time to time. This was her land, but it felt more like Nimia’s even if she was technically the outsider.
My family is so weird.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:28 am
[5]
“She does pottery on the side. It’s a hobby for her so she might not have one, but I’d like to look there first.” Nimia didn’t mention that the kettle might look a little off since Vera wasn’t exactly a professional, but to her that just made it more precious. The older woman often added little designs into the sides, making it a one-of-a-kind piece. When she looked back to Calliana she caught her staring at a villager, a far off look on her face and paused. How often was she able to spend time with others who looked like her? Nimia knew from experience that it was such an odd feeling; like you simultaneously filled a hole but opened another. When Calli turned so did she. “Maybe you’ll find one you’d like to take with you?”
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 12:04 pm
“Maybe.” It was a terrible idea, to bring a kettle on the road, but Calli already had her packs full. Anymore on the wagon and her Baba might just leave her behind. As they passed through the village, stopping only to let a caravan pass in front of them, she took in the sights before arriving at a modest home. It was made from a hearty stone, just thick enough to keep the cold out, and the windows were open so that the gag worthy scents of the tannery could seep out.
“Spirits above! What is that smell?!”
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 12:05 pm
[6]
See this; this was what Nimia was talking about! She’d very nearly knocked on the door when Calliana started to heave and her skin bristled. “Stop it!” She hissed, reaching back to put a hand on her Aunt’s elbow. “She’ll hear yo-”
“Oh I already have, dear.” An elderly Zenan woman stepped up to the doorway, a pensive sort of look on her face.
Nimia sucked in a breath. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright, Nimia. The process is an unpleasant one and if you don’t have the stomach for it then you just don’t.” She looked pointedly to Calliana. “I see you’ve brought me company.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 12:08 pm
Grandmother Vera had a harsh look about her that Calliana didn’t like. She looked at her as if inspecting some sort of object or a prized sow. Why Nimia tolerated her she didn’t know, but Calli wasn’t about to.
“I’m Nimia’s Aunt, Calliana. My fathers, brother and I are visiting so I offered to help with her shopping. I was told you dabbled in pottery?” While her words were calm as ever Calliana used her height to look down the tip of her nose at the woman.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 12:13 pm
[7]
“I’ve been known to do so from time to time.” She answered glibly. Vera’s eyes traveled from Calli to Nimia, a question in her brows. You brought her here? Nimia visibly shrank. There was a chance that Vera would grow to respect Calli as equals in their overbounding confidence -
-or they would tear one another apart.
Nimia worriedly worked a piece of her skirt between her thumb and forefinger. “Papa was wondering if you had any kettles for sell? You make such lovely designs.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 12:19 pm
When she turned toward her niece Calliana felt the sigh before she ever exhaled it. Nimia was stressed; more so than usual and it was her fault. She'd wanted the girl to trust her and now look at things.
"I was hoping to pick up something for my fathers as well. She said if I was looking for something to cherish I should come here." Which wasn't exactly a lie. An embellishment, perhaps, but far from a lie.
Vera studied the pair of them with a critical eye before humming and stepping back, motioning them inside. "Nimia, lead the way to the store room. You know the way. I have projects to attend to but if you see anything you like just bring it to the front room."
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 2:17 pm
[8]
Well that...went much better than expected. For a moment Nimia was left to stare and blink, her eyes owlishly large behind her glasses. With a pleasant - shell-shocked, even - smile she nodded and motioned for Calli to follow her.
The inside of Vera's home was just as much a workshop as it was a place of rest. Tools lined every surface, even the ornate table she'd somehow managed to wriggle in amongst the clutter. Nimia nimbly skittered around the piles, making her way toward the back storeroom and it's contents. "Watch your step; she's particular about her things."
And then Nimia pulled the door handle, revealing the treasure trove of ceramics inside.
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