Fraternization (Solo)

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

91st Day of Spring, 512 AV (Later the same day after this thread.) Tock was back to work after the bit of excitement with the fire earlier. It had been a brief bit of adrenaline to mark the middle of the day, but after that it was business as usual. There were still repairs to be done, and the Bossman didn't let everyone go home early just because of a little fire down the street. Tock wasn't in such a good mood, though. Sure, she'd had a brief taste of what it meant to be the hero for the day, but there was something else on her mind. Her friend James. Was he even her friend anymore? For the first month or so that she'd been in Zeltiva and working for Jacques' crew, Tock had felt like she was getting pretty close to James. They had gotten close right at the beginning. They had shared a few awkward moments. But ever since the day James had seen what was going on between Tock and Satevis, he had been giving her the cold shoulder. And it was starting to piss her off. She was sitting off to the side, watching James from a distance as he worked on the foundation of a nearby house. She had her own work, of course. James was an apprentice mason, whereas Tock was a woodcarver. They worked on the same crew, but most times they had different tasks. Right now she was working on a wooden sign. One of the houses they were repairing today doubled as the owner's place of business. She was a local herbalist who had studied at the University, then set up shop in the city. In addition to fixing up the woman's house, Tock was making her a new sign to hang over the door. She started off with a drawing. She didn't know the first thing about herbs, so she'd simply asked the house's owner for some way to design the sign to her liking. The woman had supplied her with an aloe plant to study. She was carefully sketching out the shape of the leaves as best she could, drawing the image that would end up being engraved into the surface of the sign. She took some measurements of the plant, and turned it to one side and then another from time to time to get a better view of the leaves. She sketched out the appearance of the plant as precisely as she could, and was quite thankful that the leaves were simple, straight shoots instead of something more complicated. Once she had the plant sketched out, she measured and drew out the shape of the sign around it. It was mostly rectangular, but to fit the plant in with proper balance, there was a curve jutting out of the top and bottom edge. The plant would be 'potted' in the bottom part of the curve, and the words 'Kari's Herbs' would be written across the top. Once she had the design carefully drawn, she measured the proportions, sketching numbers along the sides to make sure she knew the exact sizes of everything, so that she could transfer the design to the sign. Then it was time to start the wood work.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock was measuring and cutting the wood for the sign when James walked by. She looked up and called out to him, "Oy, Dodger! Ya done ready ta-- Oy!" She glared at his back as he continued walking by. She shook her head, grumbling under her breath. Stupid man... she thought. Grinding her teeth, she continued her work, sawing through the boards to cut them to length. The top and bottom boards she cut with sharp angles, which would later be smoothed down to gentle curves. Once the boards were cut, she nailed the boards together, and the basic structure of the sign was set. She set it aside for the moment, working next on the post the sign would hang from. This consisted of three simple wooden beams, two cut and then nailed together at a ninety degree angle, and the third cut with forty five degree angles on each end so it could serve as a triangular cross brace. Once the post was assembled, she used a hand drill to drill two holes into the horizontal beam, and fed two bolts through the holes. Once they were tightened and secured with hooks on the bottom, the post was complete. Then she climbed a ladder and nailed the brace to the front of the house by the door. With the post secure, it would be ready to hang the sign from once it was complete. As she was climbing back down from the ladder, James appeared again, returning from the other direction with a cart full of bricks. Tock stepped over and planted herself firmly in front of the cart, planting her fists on her hips. "Whazzer problem, mate?" she demanded. She was getting tired of the attitude he'd been giving her for the last week and a half. "Excuse me," he said curtly. Tock didn't move. James sighed and said, "Tock, I've got work to do..." "Aye," she replied, "so does I. But I ain't gonna--" he tried to steer the cart around her, and she stepped right back into his path, grabbing the other end of the cart and bracing it so he couldn't move. "I ain't gonna deal wit'cher attitude no more, Bludger! Ya got some problem what wit' me an Satey..." "There's no problem," he said without meeting her eyes. "Now, I've got work to do..." She still didn't move. He tried to push the cart forward anyway, but she dug her heels in, and wouldn't let him. After a moment of struggling as he tried to move the cart around her, it tipped over, and bricks spilled out everywhere. "Now look what you did!" James screamed at her, throwing his arms up in frustration. Tock just glared at him before kneeling down to start cleaning up the bricks. "Oy," she said, "if'n ye'd jus' talk ta me 'stead o' 'avin' 'is attitude, I weren't done need ta--" "Just leave me alone, Tock," he said, snatching the bricks from her hands. She just knelt there and glared at him for a long moment, then got up and shouted, "Fine! Ugh! Ya Gods be damned stubborn ARSE!" She stalked back over to her own work station, turning her back towards him.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock was grumbling and muttering under her breath as she attacked the sign with her chisels, stripping away the excess wood around the frame. She was stabbing at the wood so hard that her superior, Phillip, had to come over to check on her. "Tock... TOCK!" he said, grabbing her wrist to stop her from causing any damage. She yanked her arm away, glaring at him. "Tock, I don't know what your problem is today, but you can't take it out on the work..." She grit her teeth, taking deep breaths through her nose, her knuckles going white on the handle of her chisel. "I's fine," she hissed through clenched teeth. She couldn't afford to get in trouble again for shouting at her boss or letting her temper show. She couldn't afford to get fired. "You're not fine," Phillip said, planting a hand on the table and leaning forward to talk in a more private tone. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you and James, and its none of my business, but--" "Then stay outta it," Tock hissed. She dug her chisel into the top of the work table and turned away from Phillip. If he kept talking, she was going to have a really hard time controlling her temper. In a soft voice, Phillip continued, "...but if its affecting your work, I'm afraid I have to make it my business..." Tock closed her eyes, clenching and unclenching her fist at her side. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone? "Now, I know you and James were 'involved', but if he ended it..." "WHAT?" Tock shouted, turning towards Phillip, red in the face. "Oy, who ever done said we was 'involved'!?" she screamed. "'At boy ain't done never touched me, an' 'e ain't gonna!" Phillip stepped back, raising his hands towards her. "Alright, alright," he said, trying to soothe her. "I'm sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusions. Just word around the crew is..." Tock narrowed her eyes at him. Word around the crew!? She cast a glare across the work site. Everyone was staring at her. Her shouting was causing a scene. And they all thought... She threw her chisel down on the table and told Phillip, "Ain't no matter what word on the crew is, aye Bossman? I ain't 'at kinda girl, got it?" She turned to the onlookers and shouted, "Y'all got 'at!? I AIN'T no floosy what lets a man 'tween my legs jus' cause 'e walks me 'ome at night, aye? Now don'tcha all got work ta do!?" Everyone turned away, eager to look busy now that they'd been caught snooping on the argument. "You need to cut the shouting and control your temper," Phillip told her. "I can understand if you're upset about the rumors, but that's no reason..." Tock just cast him a sharp look, and he cut off with a sigh. He leaned in closer and lowered his voice enough that no one would hear him. "Listen," he said, "I like you Tock, I do. But your temper is becoming a disruption. You do decent work, but you're part of a team here, understand? You can't go around shouting and bullying people when you're upset. Understand?" Tock grit her teeth and lowered her head. "Aye," she muttered. She glanced up at Phillip and said more firmly, "Aye, awright? I's done! Jus' lemme alone..." Phillip nodded, and said to her, "I honestly hope so. Because if there's another outburst, I'm going to have to send you home for the day..." Tock bit the inside of her cheek and just nodded. As Phillip walked away, she gave really serious consideration to whether she'd still get fired if she beat the snot out of James after they got done work today...

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

After the outburst, Tock was working as carefully as she could to cut away the excess wood around the frame. Then she started filing it down, carefully smoothing out the rough edges into the desired shape. She hummed as she worked, and the humming helped calm her down and forget about James. The work itself helped calm her down. Once she had the outer edges of the sign filed down well, she took out her gouges and started etching the design across the surface. She took careful measurements, and dragged the gouge down the wood like a pen, drawing the design in the same proportions as her blueprints. She then flipped it over and etched the same exact design on the other side. By the time she'd etched in the plant, the name, and the decorative trim around the outer edge on both sides, she was feeling calm again. Until James came over to her. He stepped up cautiously, clearly feeling that the major outburst earlier meant this had gone on long enough. He scratched the back of his head, stammering a bit as he said, "H-hey, listen... Tock...?" "Ya say one more word ta me today," Tock replied as calmly as she could, "an' I's gonna punch ya dead in yer fool, stupid, rumor-spreadin' face." He opened his mouth to protest his innocence, and she looked up at him with a deadly serious glare. A glare bred on the streets of Sunberth. "An' if'n I done 'as ta punch ya, 'ey's gonna fire me. Which done means I'll 'as ta kill ya..." She looked him dead in the eye as she said this. "An' don'tcha think I won't, neither. So git lost." He just stared at her. She said it with such cold, calm certainty that all he could do was nod, and turn away. Tock glanced around to make sure no one else had heard her, then set back to work.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock continued working quietly, not wanting anything to do with another living soul this day. Maybe after work they could all go out drinking like usual and forget the whole thing. But for right now, she just wanted to be left alone. She didn't want to talk to anyone who thought she'd been bedding James. She worked on carving, using her mallet to gently tap on her chisel with a steady rhythm, cutting out the design in the wood. She cut out the shape of the plant, making a narrow impression into the wood, tap tap tapping away, humming to herself all the while. She carefully cut out the words across the top, and the simple lines of the decorative border around the edges. She was still tapping away when Jacques, the big Bossman, approached her. He stepped up calmly, arms crossed behind his back, full of professional demeanor. Before he could say a word to her, without looking up from her work Tock said, "Ain't no problems, Bossman." She knew Phillip had reported to him. Phillip was lead woodcarver, and the drunkard Eavin was the on site supervisor, but Jacques was the one who paid the whole lot of them. "Walk with me, Miss Zipporah," he said calmly. "I ain't done finished 'ere," Tock replied, still tapping on her chisel. "It can wait," Jacques said. "We'll only be a few minutes, then you can get back to work." Tock sighed and put her tools in her belt. At least if he was promising she could get back to work, that meant she wasn't fired. They started walking, and Choppy and Naily moved to follow. "Stay!" she told them, and the tools froze in place. Jacques eyed them warily. He seemed to still be stuck in between distrust of the magical contraptions, and appreciation for the way they were useful around the job site. Especially since he didn't have to pay them. They walked out if earshot of the rest of the crew. As soon as they were far enough, Tock stubbornly said, "Ain't gonna be no more shoutin', Bossman. Ain't gonna be nothin'. I jus' wanna do my job..." She hated getting in trouble. "Well," Jacques replied with a smirk, "shouting instead of punching is an improvement." Tock narrowed her eyes at him. He almost looked amused. He continued, "I've seen people like you before, Miss Zipporah." Tock snorted and folded her arms across her chest, "Ain't nobody like me, Bossman." Jacques chuckled and shook his head. "No," he replied, " no I suppose there aren't. But be that as it may, I've known people that share a... certain trait with you." Tock arched an eyebrow, wondering what 'trait' he could mean. "Perky?" she suggested. "Brilliant? Misunderstood? Redhead?" "Transitional," Jacques said. Tock frowned. "Huh?" Jacques chuckled and said, "You've been in the city, what, six weeks now?" Tock shrugged. "You're studying at the University. You're learning on the job here. You're putting on puppet shows..." He smiled at her, amusement in his eyes. "I saw a very different girl at that puppet show the other day than the one who just got into a screaming match with her supervisor." Tock frowned, looking at the ground as she walked, not sure what the Bossman was getting at. "How long has it been since you left Sunberth?" he asked. She shot him a sharp look. She hadn't told anyone on the job where she came from. "'Ow did ya...?" she asked. "Your accent," he replied. "It's characteristic of a certain neighborhood in Sunberth's west end. It's fascinating the variation you can find, just within a single city. For example, I don't know how much time you spend around Zeltiva's docks compared to, say, the neighborhood around the manors on the hill. But suffice to say, there is a substantial difference in the speech patterns between sailors and Zeltiva's wealthy." Tock just stared at him incredulously. Apparently her Bossman was better educated than she'd thought.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

"What difference does it make?" she asked him, staring at the ground. After a moment of silence, Jacques asked her, "Would you ever have put on a magic puppet show in Sunberth?" Tock laughed out loud. "Oy, no way!" she said. "'Ey'd as soon lynch me fer 'er!" Aside from the fact that Sunberth simply wasn't the sort of place for any kind of puppet show, a magic one, or magic of any kind used in public, would rile the people up so much that she wouldn't have been likely to live through the day. "Did you ever volunteer your time to help sick children there?" Jacques asked. "Nah..." she replied, wondering what he was getting at. "Would you have gotten up on stage, singing about how great the city was?" he asked. Her eyes widened and she stared at him in shock. He'd seen that? She hadn't expected anyone she knew was there, especially not her boss! She cleared her throat, scratching the back of her head, and asked, "Oy, whazzer point, Bossman?" Smiling softly, he said, "My point, Miss Zipporah, is that I see two sides to you. On the one hand," he held up a hand to illustrate the point, "there's the tempermental girl who causes disruptions on my work site and seems to be headed for trouble." He held out his other hand, "And on the other, there's this brilliant girl, who works hard, shows a variety of talents, and makes magic tools. One of those two girls could go quite far in this city. The other...?" he dropped his hands to his side and let out a sigh. "The other..." he said, "well, let's just say I'd be quite disappointed if she ruined things for you before you got your chance to shine..."

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Jacques headed off to attend to other business, leaving Tock with a lot to think about. She headed back to her workspace, and spotted Phillip there, checking over her work on the sign. Gritting her teeth, she stepped up to him and muttered, "I's sorry..." "What?" he asked, either because he hadn't heard her, or because he couldn't believe what he'd heard. "I's SORRY, okay?" she yelled. Then she ground her teeth, realizing she was doing it again. She lowered her voice, and forced herself to be calm. "I's sorry I done yelled at ya, an' she ain't gonna 'appen again, aye? So 'at's 'at..." He smiled and gave her a small nod, then said, "And I'm sorry I insulted you with my assumptions about you and James." As he walked off, Tock let out a slight sound of surprise. She'd apologized, then he'd apologized in return. "Huh..." she muttered to herself. "So 'at's 'ow 'at works..."

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock continued her work, sanding and smoothing the lines of her carving until all the rough spots were worked out. She spent some extra time with her gouges touching up the lettering across the top, adding small serif marks at the edges of the letters and capping the K and A. Then she turned the sign over a few times to compare the work on both sides, making sure it was as identical as possible. She made a few adjustments, adding a touch here, widening one of the leaves there, to make sure the images on each side matched up. Then she started painting. The background of the sign was painted a cheerful goldenrod, with the leaves, lettering, and border in a dark green. She took her time with the brush, since it was easy to end up with gloopy patches stuck in the grooves of the carving. She used a fine tipped brush for most of it, running it gently into the grooves that carved out each letter. As she was setting it aside so the first side could dry before she could do the other side, Bram the locksmith came over to work on the door. He was an older gentleman, and presumably a bit wiser than the rest of the crew. His gentle, patient nature reminded Tock of her Granddad. She stopped her own work to go assist him, as she often did on the job. They worked silently at first, which was one of the things she liked about Bram. He also always let her make her own mistakes without correcting her until she asked for help. She slid the pieces of the lock into the hole in the door, adjusting the tumbler to an unlocked position. She'd done this a few times before, so this part was easy. Though this lock was a little different from the ones she'd done before. As she was struggling to align the latch, Bram said quietly, "You know, James always told the men not to say those things about you..." Tock cursed and lost her focus, snapping the latch down on her finger. She pulled her hand back with a yelp, sucking on her finger to relieve the pain. She cast a glare at Bram, but forced herself to wait a moment and calm down. "Ain't nobody's business," she muttered. Bram adjusted the alignment of the latch slightly so she could slide the pieces together, and handed her a screwdriver. "You're right," he said, "and that's exactly what James always told everyone, when they asked what happened after he walked you home at night. He also insisted that you were a perfect lady, and told the rest of the crew they should be ashamed of themselves." Tock frowned and punched the door, then winced in pain. She shook her hand, noticing some red marks where she'd split the skin. Great,, she thought. Now she was going to have to apologize to someone again.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock finished assembling the lock, then screwed the plate onto the door. Then cursed and pulled the whole thing back apart when she realized she'd installed the latch upside down and it wouldn't lock that way. She adjusted the pieces, rescrewed the plate on, and checked the lock. It jammed. She finally admitted defeat and asked Bram for help. He showed her how to align the tumbler properly, and guided her through the rest of the assembly until the lock was working smoothly. Then he headed to the next house, leaving Tock alone with her guilt over what she'd said to James. The paint on the first side of the sign was dry by now, so she flipped it over and started an identical job on the other. She glanced across the way to James, who was making a point not to look anywhere near her. She had to finish her work before she could go talk to him. After carefully painting the second side of the sign, she held it upright so she could touch up the first side, then leaned it against something so it could finish drying without the wet spots touching anything. Then, taking a deep breath and saying a rare prayer to the Gods for help, she headed over to James.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

James had been working hard all day, and the foundation was already almost done. Without a word, Tock stepped up and grabbed a brick. James didn't notice her until he'd already spread the mortar, and reached for the brick to find it in her hands. He stared at her for a moment as if expecting she was going to hit him with it. Instead she just set it in place, adjusting it. James stared at her for a moment as she picked up the next brick. Then silently, he adjusted the one she'd set and laid the mortar for the next. They worked in silence for several minutes, Tock laying each brick in place and lining it up straight with the others. James adjusted them from time to time when the placement didn't meet his standards. He didn't say a single word to her, likely still expecting her to make good on her earlier threats. Then while adjusting a brick, their hands accidentally touched, and he pulled away as if she'd bitten him. She frowned and said, "I's sorry, awright?" He didn't even look up at her. She snatched the trowel from his hands and started slapping the mortar in place herself. "I thought you done been the one what told everyone ya got 'tween my legs. Bram said ya weren't. So I's sorry..." She kept putting the mortar in place, spreading it inexpertly. James tried to take the trowel back, but she pulled it out of his reach and continued working. She wasn't giving it back to him until he started talking to her again (despite her earlier demand that he keep quiet). She kept moving down the line, smoothing out the mortar, and keeping out of James's reach. Finally he said, "That's too much!" She looked up at him, then at the mortar. She should have known this... he'd taught her the first day. "Here, let me," he said, reaching for the trowel again. She yanked it away, and scraped off some of the mortar herself. James sighed, and set another brick in place. "I done said I's sorry," Tock said. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was supposed to say he was sorry now. But he just kept quiet, laying the bricks in place. Carefully spreading the mortar, Tock repeated, "I done said, I's sorry!" "I heard you the first time," he said curtly. Tock stopped her work and turned to glare at him. He shrugged, "What? So you're sorry. Good for you..." "Ya bloody...!" she growled, clenching her fist around the trowel. She grit her teeth and pushed the outburst down. James just stared at her. Through clenched teeth she said, "Ya done owes me an apology what fer 'ow ya done been treatin' me. Jus' cause I's wit' Satey now..." "I don't have any problem with your boyfriend," James said. "I don't even know him. With tears welling in her eyes, Tock replied, "'At ain't even what I done means, an' ya know it!" James lowered his eyes. Tock took a breath and said, "Oy, look, ya ain't never made a move, didja?" James looked away, his face turning red. "I ain't a total fool, mate. I might not be the brightest gal 'bout 'is kinda thing, but I ain't so dense I don't know what 'ow a bloke feels. But ya kept pullin' 'way, didn't ya? So don'tcha go gettin' yer knickers in a bunch, jus' cause someone else came along what went fer what 'e wanted..." She declined to mention that she had made the first move with Satevis. Frankly, she had made the first move with James too... Sure, she'd been drunk each time, but she'd practically invited him into her bed, and as much as she respected him for deciding not to take advantage of her in an inebriated state, he also hadn't bothered to try anything when she was sober, either. Satevis, on the other hand, had fully responded to her advances. He'd been respectful enough not to let it go too far yet, but he'd curled her toes more than one with the way he kissed her. She started to feel a little warm just thinking about it. "Look, I'm happy for you, okay?" James said, still not meeting her eyes. "'En when ya gonna start talkin' ta me 'gain, aye?" she asked. "Yer the first friend what I done made when I moved 'ere..." She wasn't very good at making friends. Even though she no longer had the least interest in anything physical happening with James, she still wanted to be his friend. "I don't know..." he muttered. All she could do was stare at him. "Fine," she said, dropping the mortar bucket and trowel on the ground at his feet. "I guess I done thought ya was better an' 'at. But if'n ya can't be 'appy fer me cause I done found a boy what makes me 'appy, 'en..." She trailed off, shaking her head, and turned to leave. She didn't bother looking back.