Spring Cleaning

[Alija]

2nd Spring 515

With a spring in her step, Alija entered the Armed Scholar, glad to be there. Lately, she'd been filled with such enthusiasm, and so much happiness. Spring was a good season, warming up with so many new opportunities. Compared to Winter, it seemed so much more alive, with flowers and insects, and people on the streets not in their homes. Perhaps this year would bring happiness and well being with it.

The shop was busy being prepared for the new year, a little late. It was a time for spring cleaning, and sales, to get the old stock off the shelves and time to forge something new. The shelves were only half full, Donovan having taken the swords, the knives, the helmets and the hinges to a ship wanting crates of trade material, whatever it was. There was still more, but they were the finer or newer pieces, more likely to be sold soon. It was Alija's job to first make the front of the shop presentable before starting to restock the shelves with what she believed would sell.

Tying her hair back into a messy bun, Alija managed to discover a broom hidden behind the counter and started to sweep the floor clean, getting rid of the dust and dirt that had built up. She hummed a little tune as she cleaned, watching people go past on their way to work or wherever they were going. There were the rich, dressed in extravagant attire, who seemed so nonchalant in the way they walked, and there were those who were late for one thing or another, rushing past people with expressions of anger or frustration.

It was amusing to see the expressions that no one wanted her to see, and comparing what she believed they were feeling to what their auras revealed was even more so, but Alija made sure to concentrate on the task at hand as much as enjoying herself while doing it.

A few sweeps later, Donovan returned to the shop, taking the broom out of her hand and starting to do her job for her. "I'll cover the floor. You can dust the shelves, and polish the things on them," he said with a smile, accidentally knocking over a pile of dust and sending it flying in a cloud of dust.

Alija smiled back, snatching the broom back almost as quickly as it had been taken from her. "How about I sweep, since you obviously aren't very good at it, and you take the dusting and polishing. You know, so you actually do some work not mess up what was almost finished!" She pushed him aside with a friendly smile, attempting to gather the dust up as effectively as possible. Donovan faked a sigh, taking a cloth from his pocket.

"Alright then, Miss Sweeping, I will. As long as I can spend more time in the forge after it."

"Fine, but I don't think you'll eve finish at that rate!" Alija replied, watching as Donovan stared at the grubby helmet, trying to find the cleanest patch.

The two stayed in conversation, gossiping on anything they could think of, both working, although Alija much faster than Donovan. Sweeping the floor didn't last anymore than a bell for Alija, while Donovan seemed like he had only just started when she had finished.

"Hey, Don? I'm going to the forge now, just so you know!" she called out but had disappeared into the store room to fetch some metal before waiting for a reply.

[Alija]

The minute she had entered the store room Alija realised that the cleaning up wasn't quite finished yet. This room was a total mess, unorganised and covered in a layer of dust. Random metal bars lay abandoned on the floor, and other pieces of scrap scattered between them. Some chests lay open, their insides scattered while others were locked shut, the locks rusted with age. Shelves were crammed with mixed materials and bits of ore decorated the spots in between.

Alija stormed back out. "Have you seen what state that room is in?" she snarled with a frown, her expression darkening at Donovan's friendly smile.

"Couldn't find a big enough bit of silver, few days ago. Had to look everywhere! Hope you don't mind the mess!" he grinned back, not noticing her expression, or not caring. He stopped what he was doing, checking out his hair in the reflection on a helmet.

"No, I don't mind. I don't think Rals minds either. No, no one would care in the slightest! You only turned the place upside down! How are you meant to find a specific type of metal now?" Her temper was coming through. Alija didn't like it, but she didn't like the mess either.

"Listen, I'm sorry! Nothing like a bit of spring cleaning can't fix, right? After all, that's what today is for, right?"

Alija scowled at him, returning to the mess of a room. Somehow she would have to sort out all those metals, putting them back to their places and just making the room more organised, or any future work would involve a long time searching for materials before even starting.
Perhaps she should start collecting piles of various metals, and then try to put them back in their places.

The process was long and tiring. At times it was easy to distinguish the metal, the bundles of rods or chests labelled, or the metal clearly only one type, but other times, Alija struggled to put a name to them. Some times it was the light, and others the lack of knowledge or experience of working with them, and those times Alija decided that she would use her auristics, allowing her mind to relax and tune in to the djed and aura of the object she was looking at. Her eyes would blur until only the faint mist around it would be clear, and facts would emerge slowly but steadily. Little by little, Alija would be able to determine the metal, the auras eventually revealing themselves. The problem was what they would represent, but she would compare the unknown aura with the aura of the metals she already knew, or with those that were labelled, and figure it out. She dedicated the new ones to memory.

Suddenly, Donovan burst through the door. "Hey! I found some metal rods behind a shelf! Here!" he happily exclaimed, dropping them with a loud clank. Alija growled at him. Donovan, seeing Alija's anger in him, stepped back, escaping through the door.

[Alija]

Well, now she had more sorting to do. Alija swore under her breath, picking up the bundle of rods. Closing her eyes, she took deep breaths, trying to settle her anger and calm her mind so she could focus on her magic. Slowly, she felt her normal vision fade away. Her senses became dampened, then heightened, and she opened her eyes, letting the new vision guide her.

Metal auras were barely visible, thin little slivers around the inanimate object. There were no thoughts, no feelings and so there was only a little to be learned. Djed focused on her eyes, that sense most confident with the magic. The other objects faded away into non-existence, until there was only light smoke left.

It was a dark colour, tarnished with hints of red and orange. Little sections protruded, the bumps on the metal's surface. The colours and the shape of the smoke distinguished it as nickel, not silver as she had first expected. Then again, if it was silver, Rals would have never left it out in the main shop, ready to be taken. He wouldn't have left other metals too, but perhaps it wasn't him. The culprit was already forming in her mind.

A weak headache started to brew, and, feeling a pain behind her eyes, Alija dropped her magic, hoping that she hadn't gone to far. It did seem that her whole day had been spent on Auristics, but it couldn't have been, could it?

Alija dropped the rods with the rest of the nickel, scanning the room. That shelf there looked fit to hold all the brass. And since the two chests over there both held copper, the rest could go there too.

Alija pulled up a large lump of iron, feeling the strain in her arms. She wasn't used to holding such a large amount, since most projects didn't require too much. She stopped, dropping it, before bending her knees to pick it up again. Alija slowly shuffled forward, putting down the metal as she felt tired. Eventually, she managed to move all metal into their new spaces.
Deciding to organise it better, Alija strode out to see Donovan flirting with a young lady, who was slowly nodding and batting her eyelashes at him. Alija walked over, hitting him on his head. "And the cleaning? Tell your girlfriend to get out, you're working now, not socialising!"

The lady stared at Alija in shock. "Listen, darling, if you're jealous, you don't need to take it out on him. Not everyone has pretty looks like me, that's true, but Donney here can't help himself. I have that charm. Besides, he needs at least one pretty woman in his life!" she snorted, looking Alija up and down with disgust. Alija growled back. "Temper darling. You'll never get anyone like that."

Alija wasn't listening. That girl didn't deserve a response. The blacksmith made her way to the counter, taking a quill inkpot and scrap of paper. Into the store room. She made sure to slam the door.

[Alija]

Alija sat crossed legged on the floor, the ink opened and ready beside her. She dipped the quill in the ink, before writing as neatly as possible on the top of the sheet. New Organisation, as done by Alija Piper Then, below, she tried to draw out the positions of the shelves and chests, basing them on the edge of the paper. She frowned, annoyed by the uneven lines and the lack of scale. Well, at least you could tell what she meant. Alija stood up, ready to label.

Walking around the room, Alija stopped every other step, quickly jotting down the type of metal in the according spot. Her handwriting was messy and almost unreadable. Luckily, it was just almost unreadable, and not quite completely. When she had finished, Alija fished out a nail, hammering the paper onto the inside of the store room door. There. Now this was all sorted, it just needed a little dusting.

Alija smiled, glad that the job was almost done. Unless, of course, the forge was in just a bad mess as the rest of the shop was. In fact, she didn't doubt it. Donovan had been in such a messy mood recently, and the forge hadn't been cleaned for what felt like seasons. In fact, Alija couldn't remember ever properly cleaning it since she had started working there. The equipment could all be given a quick clean, and the fireplace could be cleared out, all the old ash and bits of left over fuel swept out.

Alija wouldn't mind doing the extra work, if it meant that the workplace would be much cleaner and less dusty. It wasn't like she was going to get anything done anyway. It was too late to start up a fire and begin to restock the shelves. Cleaning up was all that she had time for. Alija smiled softly. The day had passed so quickly, especially for one where she cleaned all day. The arguments and her anger with Donovan had faded so quickly, and seemed like it happened years ago.

Alija promised herself that when she went into the forge, she wouldn't even look at the rest of the shop. She could still hear light murmurs through the wall, signs that the woman was still there with Donovan, which, of course,would mean that he had done little to no work. Alija took a deep breath, before slipping out the store room.

She was just about to enter the forge when the woman called out to her. “That's right, run and hide. No one wants to see you anyway!”

[Alija]

Alija turned round furiously. She would get her back, and the first way she thought of doing that was trying to see if her aura revealed anything. Alija, as she had done so many times that day, gathered up her djed for one final time, letting it soak through her body and reveal the flame of the woman standing there. Her head hurt, a deep pain spreading through it, but Alija continued, her anger enough to keep her going.

And then she stopped. It was evident in the aura, the misty green smoke that obscured and hid. The woman was hiding something, hiding guilt. Alija opened her eyes to the real world. She took a few steps sideways, walking around the pair, who were staring at her weirdly. There. There was a little glint, very easy to pass over, hidden under her cloak. In fact, it was only because of the light from that direction.

Alija stormed over, grabbing the item with shrieks from the girl. She batted Alija away, but the stolen dagger slipped out, rattling onto the floor. Donovan looked at her with shock.

“That's... that's ours! I was cleaning that this morning! You... you stole!” he shouted at her, “Thief!”

The woman tried to smile, uttering out a hurried explanation, but Donovan wouldn't listen. Seizing the moment, she grabbed him, pulling him into a long and deep kiss. When they finally broke free, Donovan was calm, no longer shouting names. If it was just him, the woman would have got away with it, and he would have turned a blind eye to another other things she took at a future point. However, Alija was there too.

She grabbed a chunk of the woman's hair, dragging her to the door through screams and kicks, and more than a few swears, most directed at Alija. Alija pulled open the door, throwing the woman out. The thief landed on the floor, throwing up a little dust. She looked up at Alija, who had caught her unawares by the hair.

“What? Are you going to hand me to the Wave Guard now?” she snarled, eyes ferocious. Alija thought for a second before replying.

“No. Just never come back here again.”

The blacksmith turned, slamming the door behind her. Donovan looked at her with a startled expression.

“How... how did you know that she had stolen something?” he asked, amazed.

“Magic,” Alija replied simply, getting a smile from Donovan, “No, really. I used auristics. Her aura looked guilty, and after a closer look, I saw the stolen dagger.”

Donovan frowned, “You could be looking at my aura right now, couldn't you? Isn't that rude?”

Alija smiled, agreeing with him, “She seemed a little off, so I thought I'd check. And no, I'm not using the magic now. Head hurts too much. I don't think I could manage another one.”

“You have to teach me!” Donovan demanded.

“Maybe one day.” Or never. If the magic section of the university existed, they wouldn't have accepted him, so why should she? “Now, I assume, since you've spent all day working here, you're done, so you can clean up the forge. My head hurts too much to do anything.”

“Or you're trying to get out of doing work.”

“Says the person who has been polishing the same helmet for bells.”

Smiling, Donovan gave in, heading into the forge. It was hard to believe that only a little before that she was furious at him. Well, moods change quickly, don't they?

[Sayana]

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request. If there's anything I may have missed, please PM me and I'll be happy to look into it.

 

Alija

Skills

• Cleaning: 2
• Singing: 1
• Observation: 5
• Intelligence: 2
• Auristics: 4
• Persuasion: 2
• Socialization: 2
• Rhetoric: 2
• Organization: 3
• Investigation: 3
• Meditation: 1
• Endurance: 2
• Bodybuilding: 1
• Planning: 1
• Drawing: 1
• Writing: 1
• Unarmed Combat: 1
• Intimidation: 1

Lores

• Location: Armed Scholar
• Aursitics: Identifying common metals using their aura
• Organization: Creating labels
• Investigation: Using auristics to detect guilt

Comments: Wonderful thread. I enjoyed reading all the 'other' things that a blacksmith might do. I also liked the little bit about Alija discovering the thief. Great thread.

Your Grader,

Sayana

Boxcode design: Firenze