Burning Trees and Wishful Thinking [Nira'lia]

[Ruka]

“Don't know.” Ruka answered nonchalantly, lazily picking her way through the Alvadas streets. She glanced over her shoulder at the Konti girl, shooting her a reassuring smile. “Ms. Irene said that Ionu's Mercy finds you, but you don't find it. I suppose that's good, because I'd never make it to work if I had to go searching.”

She laughed humorously, slowing down to walk side-by-side with the other girl. The cold, snowy temperature that had been in the city before had been replaced with the blistering heat of summer, and soon Ruka found herself panting slightly as small beads of sweat rolled down her temple. She glanced around their area, hoping to catch sign of the hospital, and being greatly disappointed when it didn't appear.

“Hopefully it'll appear soon. It might be busy picking up injured people ...” Tilting her head up towards the sky, she watched the clouds move leisurely through their blue ocean. She waited for one of the fluffy white cotton balls to float in front of the blazing yellow orb, obscuring the ground below and offering the people even a tiny bit of solace. Of course, that didn't happen. As if Ionu had heard her silent plea and decided to spite her, the clouds began floating away from the sun, traveling around it before returning to their normal path.

“Of course ...” Sighing, she turned back to the Konti beside her, smiling slightly in her direction. “So you want to become a doctor at Ionu's Mercy, right? At least, I think that's what you said ...” Ruka paused momentarily, forcing herself to think back to the reason Nira'lia wanted to find the hospital in the first place. Not being able to pull anything up, she simply shook her head and continued.

“That would be great if you get hired! I haven't really met anyone besides, Ms. Irene. It gets kind of lonely having no one there to talk to on my free time.” As they rounded a corner, a grin lit up Ruka's face as her eyes instantly locked onto the looming stone building, a place that had become a second home to her in the past few weeks. “Ah! There it is!”

Ruka quickened her pace, weaving through the throngs of people, only pausing at the entrance to make sure the other girl didn't get swept away. “I'll introduce you to Ms. Irene when we get inside.” She informed, pushing the door open and holding it for Nira'lia to enter through first.

[Nira'lia]

It took a while for Nira'lia to realize that the weather had become warm. With a frown, she took her coat off and folded it neatly in her arms. She preferred the cold weather rather than the scorching heat of summer, but she could do nothing about the whims of the city. "Yes, I do want to work there..." replied Nira'lia in a hushed tone. Her mind was starting to drift away. When Ruka suddenly exclaimed the hospital's presence, Nira'lia gaped and was pushed back to the present. The Konti hastened her pace as she fought to keep up with Ruka. Before heading inside, Nira'lia looked up at the hospital's appearance, as if memorizing it. She had no idea that its appearance changed constantly, and this action would most likely remain futile for the future. Nodding at Ruka, Nira'lia entered through the doors and took a quick look around. They entered a high ceilinged room with beautiful tapestries that depicted the healing arts. In awe, Nira'lia stared at her surroundings. "Amazing!" There didn't seem to be anyone around, which Nira'lia believed was a good thing for a hospital. It simply meant that nobody was in need of medical assistance. Nira'lia's eyes turned to a woman. The woman was tending to a little girl, and Nira'lia automatically assumed she was Miss Irene. Smiling, Nira'lia saw that Irene was just about finished with the little girl, and soon enough was sending the patient away. With excitement, the Konti practically rushed over to the woman. "Hello, Miss Irene?" she asked, completely forgetting that Ruka had said she was going to introduce them. "My name is Nira'lia... I was hoping to get a job here. I'm a medic and I was recently blessed by Rak'keli."

[Nira'lia]

OOCRuka has been inactive for weeks now, so I’m just going to finish this as a solo. Miss Irene looked at the Konti from head to toe, as if judging her. “Alright, I have no reason to turn you down… however, as a test and also as your first task, go ahead and prepare the leaves. I’m assuming you and Ruka brought back a hundred leaves, am I right?” Nira’lia nodded, though she had a blank expression. Prepare the leaves? Awkwardly, she gave a sheepish smile and said, “I… how would I prepare the leaves, Miss Irene? Unfortunately, I’m new in the city and I’ve never had a chance to work with Torch leaves.” Fortunate for Nira’lia, Miss Irene seemed to understand her situation. Nodding, she said, “It’s not too difficult. Ground the entire leaf, excluding the stem, into a fine, golden-red powder… then put it into a small pan of boiling water. It has to cool for an entire day so you can leave it that way, and I’ll take care of the rest.” Miss Irene then pointed to the corner of the room, to a table. There were several tools on the table, including a mortar and pestle, which was what Nira’lia needed. Near the table was a hearth, with pots and pans. Smiling to herself, the Konti approached Ruka and asked for the box. At the same time, she told Ruka what she had been told to do, and she thanked the girl for bringing her there. Then, she went to the table to start on her first task. Nira’lia opened the box of leaves and set it on the table. She took a handful and put them in the mortar after she took off the stems. The leaf had a dry texture to it, which was probably why it could be grounded into a powdery substance. The Konti had done this type of task before, but never alone—her sister had always guided her through it. Since this was the first time she was grounding leaves on her own, she hoped she would get it right. The mortar was a bigger size than usual, so she was able to put in around a dozen leaves. She then picked up the pestle and started to grind the leaves. Because of its dry texture, the task was not too difficult. The leaves broke apart easily, though it took her minutes until it turned into a slightly powdery substance. The red tint of the leaf seemed to be taking over, which was a curious sight to see. It was turning to a golden-red color, just like Miss Irene had said.

[Nira'lia]

When she was satisfied with her work, she put the powder into a nearby bowl. Its amount was not a lot, and she figured out that this was why Miss Irene specifically wanted a hundred or more leaves. Nira’lia continued, she placed more leaves in the mortar and continued to grind them just like before. Nira’lia was halfway through the leaves when she realized that her wrist was starting to hurt. With a sigh, she massaged it for a few seconds. ‘How does Cecilia do this…?’ she mused to herself, thinking about her older sister. Nira’lia forced herself to continue her work, even if her wrist was in pain. Finally, she managed to finish her task. She placed the last batch of powder in the bowl and scraped off any excess from the mortar. After she did that, she went over to the hearth and was relieved to see that there was a fire going. To her luck, one of the pots also had water in it. She heaved the pot and placed it over the fire, all the while wincing at its weight Patiently, she waited for the water to boil, all the while massaging her aching wrist. Blinking, she realized that she could ease her strained muscle. It was silly, but since she was not yet used to the fact that she could heal now, she often forgot that she could. Putting a hand over her right wrist, she closed her eyes and prayed for Rak’keli’s power. Concentrating, she felt a warm power surge to her wrist and slowly ease the tension. Smiling, she thanked Rak’keli. Her wrist no longer hurt. She also saw that the pot was boiling, so with a nearby piece of thick cloth, she took it and placed it on the stone floor. With a huge ladle, she scooped up boiling water into one of the empty pans. Finally, she retrieved the powder of the torch leaves and discarded it into the pan of boiling water.

[Nira'lia]

Enthusiastic at her work, she hurriedly went to call Miss Irene. A satisfied and silly grin was on her face when she found the woman. “Miss Irene!” she said as she strode over to her. “I’m done!” The woman nodded and walked to the pan to inspect the Konti’s work. Nira’lia followed right behind her. Miss Irene looked at the pan that was resting on the floor, and she did a clucking sound with her mouth. “Dear, why did you leave it on the floor like that? You should put it on the table, away from the rest of the pots and pans… someone might throw it away if they didn’t know any better.” Nira’lia blinked as the woman took the thick piece of cloth and leaned down to take the pan. Miss Irene walked over to the table Nira’lia had used before, and she asked the Konti to put aside the tools as she placed the pan on the table. “One more thing… don’t just dump the powder, alright? Don’t forget to mix it in the water first. Yes, it’s powder and it will be disperse naturally, but not as much as we want it to,” she said. With that, she reached for a nearby spoon and started to spin it around the water. The reddish-gold powder swirled in the water, and Nira’lia felt embarrassed. She should have known that. Miss Irene placed the spoon aside and turned to Nira’lia. “Well, nonetheless, good job. Welcome to Ionu’s Mercy, and I will be expecting you first thing tomorrow morning… we’ll see what else you can do then.” The Konti almost gushed with happiness. She nodded abruptly. “Yes! Thank you! I will do my best!” Miss Irene nodded, and then started to walk away. “Alright, you take care on your way home,” she added With a huge smile, Nira’lia started to walk towards the exit. She was excited for tomorrow, and the days that followed. She had never had an official job before, and she couldn’t wait to start.

[Fallacy]

XP Award! Name:Ruka XP Award: Cleaning- 1 Interrogation- 3 Herbalism- 3 Observation- 3 Storytelling- 2 Rhetoric- 4 Climbing- 1 Philtering- 1 Mathematics- 1 Medicine-2 Lore: Mistress Irene Ionu's Mercy Being sent on an errand The hymetis plant Inviting someone on the journey Speaking of granny Torch leaves Healing (Basic) Divination (Basic) The order of transcendence (basic) The emerald pond A new friend Notes: Name:Nira'lia XP Award: Drawing- 1 Herbalism- 3 Writing- 1 Observation- 3 Rhetoric- 4 Leadership- 1 Interrogation- 3 Philtering- 2 Mathematics- 1 Medicine- 4 Lore: Ionu's Mercy You should be more careful The hymetis plant In need of a job Torch leaves Should have been more careful The order of transcendence (basic) The emerald pond A new job: at ionu's mercy A new friend Mistress Irene Notes: Your SS thread has been updated to reflect your new employment Any questions or concerns about the rewards gained please send a PM