Solo Shopping On Zintia Peak

[Ennisa]

3rd Autumn 519 AV
"speech"

Inside her room at the Solar Winds, the woman with whom she shared it with was nowhere to be seen. Ennisa had not seen Itzi since yesterday morning. That didn't worry her, because she knew that Itzi sometimes spent time with friends and slept over at their place rather than make the long journey back home, especially if they were on a different peak and Itzi'd had a lot to drink. But Ennisa did feel a little lonely. When she was by herself, there was no-one for her to bounce off, no-one to make stupid conversation with, and that left her feeling somewhat empty. That lack of social interaction and lack of a friendly face made her strangely uneasy. As a result of that, as soon as she'd woken up, she felt a stirring to leave the apartment and go out into Lhavit, in search of a purchase she'd had as an idea in her head since yesterday.

She wiggled her feet into her boots and slung a cloak over her arm. Doubtless she wouldn't need it, but you never knew when living on a mountain. With a quick gulp of stale water from the cup on the side, she creaked open the door and shut it gently behind her. It was still early, and so she didn't see any of the neighbours, expect a little grey cat that slunk past her legs with a hoarse mewl as it headed upstairs. Ennisa went down the stairs, lost in her own world, until she got to the foyer and nodded at another resident who held the door open for her.

Outside, fingers of sunshine were creeping across buildings, and illuminated the streets with a golden glow. The sky was dotted with puffy clouds, which were illuminated with a gentle grey to lavender gradient that was pleasing to the eye. Ennisa looked around her and breathed in the clear air. There was much to be said for the wonders of Lhavit, the grand buildings and fancy shops, but sometimes it paid to simply appreciate the small pleasures of the city.

She didn't stop for long, however. Ennisa had a singular destination in mind, and she wasn't in the mood for dawdling. On Zintia Peak, she remembered that there was a location for buying books, and it was this place that she sought today. Ennisa set off with her usual purposeful stride. As it was still quite early, there were a handful of people up and about, but not a huge amount. Still, on Lhavit's unique schedule, it was after the dawn rest, so time for business even if some people were still rubbing sleep from their eyes.

Like Ennisa, who had not slept very well. She yawned behind her hand, and scanned the street she was following to see if she could remember where she was supposed to be going. It had been a while since she'd been to the book shop. The last time had probably been when she was a child, and still studying. The book her mother had bought for her then had lasted for all of her school years, until the paper had all but disintegrated, and she had written on both the back and the front cover. What was the shop name... Book-something?

She stopped at a street corner and looked both left and right before taking the right fork. Ennisa thought the shop was somewhere up here, definitely close to where the other shops were, but where... She bit her lip in frustration and tapped her fingers against her thigh a couple of times whilst she tried to figure out where she was going. After less than a chime, she ceded defeat and stopped the nearest passer-by with a question, "Hello, do you know where the book shop is? I'm looking to buy a notebook but I haven't been up this section of town for a while." She smiled confidently.

The lad she'd stopped must have only been about her age, but the air of superiority swam off him like a ripe perfume. He veritably turned his nose up at her, before deigning her with a reply, the merest point of his lightly tanned finger, "Up that way, you can't miss it. The Good Book." Then he waltzed off, his fashionable coat glittering in the autumn sunshine.

Pompous prick. What was it with people recently? First Mrs Saujha, that arrogant bitch, and now this man. Whatever. Ennisa looked in the direction the prick had pointed, and committed the name the Good Book to memory. Now that he mentioned it, she did remember. The Good Book, where she remembered the sharp smell of paper curing and the sweeter, more heady smell of the finished goods themselves.

credit : Ines

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

She grinned to herself, remembering the nostalgic days of her childhood, and kept walking up the street. She scanned the names of the shops and businesses that she passed, admired the beautiful architecture as always, and kept an eye out for the Good Book. Finally, after about fifteen chimes, she spotted the sign that advertised the shop's presence. It was dreadfully close to the Towers' Respite, an ornate building that was something of a curious mystery to Ennisa, who was far enough removed from the politicking and general apprehension surrounding mages and magic to fully understand the significance of the building.

Today though, she wasn't there to sightsee or daydream about whatever happened in the magical places of Lhavit; she was here on a mission. She walked up to the door and pushed it open to walk inside the Good Book. The interior of the shop was an assault on her nostrils, but in a good way. For the most part, she was reminded of a more potent version of her workplace, so it was comforting in a way. The proprietor was nowhere to be seen, but the wares were displayed on a wide table in the centre of the room, around which were clustered the prototypes of the products in various stages of completedness.

Ennisa was in awe. The whole place had a fascination to her. To see how the books were created was as if she was seeing a type of magic, one which was firmly rooted in the physical world, but still nonetheless a magic as she had no idea how the pages went together and formed the completed item. She was the only one in there, so she wandered around, her eyes wide like saucers, as she absorbed all the interesting and intricate bits of the proprietor's livelihood and business.

When the shopkeeper appeared from wherever he had secreted himself, Ennisa was examining with wonder the wares on the table, so when the man said, "Hello there, how can I help?", she gasped and let out a tiny, nervous giggle. "Oh, hello! Aha, thanks. I'm looking for a notebook... something basic, just for my scribbles really." She smiled at the man, and looked him over.

He was a kindly looking man, she decided. Although he was bent, and looked old, his tan skin was warm and his eyes seemed to twinkle. His voice, when he replied, was soft and low with the merest hint of some strange accent. Ennisa decided she liked him. He said, "My student books would suit you then, I would say. Here, take a look. There's ink and quill as well, if need be. What are your scribbles, young lady? Are you a budding scholar?"

She grinned and shook her head ruefully. "No, I'm not a scholar. I got a new job at the Cosmos Centre, but I have to admit I haven't done much writing since I was a child. I wanted to practice my handwriting, y'know?" The shopkeeper nodded, and bustled over to pick up some reams of paper, which rustled together like branches rubbing in a summer evening breeze.

"Aye, the Cosmos Centre. A student's book would be good for practice, I'm sure. They're priced at two kina, miss. I'll be just a tick whilst I put these round the back." He left with the sheets of paper, so Ennisa looked over at the type of book he'd mentioned and softly turned the pages. The book was new and unbroken. The paper was good, surprisingly good quality, which Ennisa appreciated. She would also need to get ink and quill too; she doubted Youchi would let her take supplies from the Cosmos Centre.

She picked up the book and placed a small ink vial and brushy quill on top ready to put into her backpack once she'd paid. However, Ennisa being Ennisa, she prepared herself to attempt to haggle the price down a little. It felt somewhat rude, but, she reasoned to herself, you don't get if you don't ask. When the proprietor came back empty-handed, she withdrew her coin pouch and approached the man.

"I'd like to get one of the student books, a vial of ink and that quill, if you would. What price does that come to?" He tapped his chin, and said, "That'd come to three kina and five jade please, miss."

credit : Ines

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

"Oh, we could knock off the five jade kina, couldn't we? That's only a small amount." She smiled reassuringly at the man, who raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "I think not, young lady. 3 kina and five jade, otherwise I'll only put the price up." Ennisa let out a short, quiet sigh. "It was worth a shot, I suppose. Here you are." She dug out the coins and handed them over to his waiting hand. "What was your name, sir?"

"I'm Keper. Keper Masute, the owner of the Good Book. Was there anything else you needed?" Ennisa was disappointed to hear the slight note of reservedness in his voice, but she supposed it was to be expected. Not many people enjoyed being haggled with. To try and ease the situation somewhat, she put on the warmest tone of voice she could, and said, "Oh, no that's perfect Mr Masute. Thank you very much. Have a lovely day, now." With that, she packed her new purchases away carefully, and bid him farewell as she exited the shop.

Outside, she stepped a few paces from the doorway, and thought about what to do next. There were a few things she'd like to do, namely find somewhere to perch herself down and get a bit of practice in, but where she was currently didn't have much in the way of seating. She resolved to take a walk to Surya Plaza, where she'd undoubtedly be able to find a bench of some sort.

Navigating to Surya Plaza wasn't a difficult task. She set off in the direction of it and followed her nose until she heard a busker, which was a sure indication that she was close. When she turned the corner, her instincts proved correct, and she strode out into the wide open space with one hand in her pocket, quite content with the world at large and happy to be in a space full of other people.

After a while of enjoying the busker she'd heard when she first got there, Ennisa looked around for a free bench and soon found one in a pleasant location. It looked out across the plaza, but was shaded from the autumn sun by a small tree, whose leaves were not yet fully yellowed and could still allow a little protection from Syna's warm rays. Ennisa plonked herself down and withdrew her new purchases from her rucksack.

She set the ink pot to one side, and balanced the new book on her knees. The book cracked satisfyingly when she opened it for the first time, and she smoothed her hand over the pages. With the quill lying flat across the sheets, she reached down and picked up the ink pot to unscrew the little lid. She rested this precariously on the bench beside her, and dipped the quill into the inky little pot.

What to write? Ennisa felt like the first entry in the journal should have some importance, but of course now that she had the book, she had no idea what to write within it's blank, inviting pages. She sighed through her nose, and gently rested the quill down so the inky nib didn't leave a trace on the paper, and rested the lid on top of the ink vial to stop it drying out.

-3.05 ki : student's book [2ki ], black ink vial (1 oz) [1 ki ], & quill [0.05 ki ]

credit : Ines

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

After putting some considerable thought in, Ennisa decided it didn't really matter what she wrote first. Some grand ideas had floated through her head, like writing a journal of all her deepest thoughts, or using the journal to put down the most elaborate trick she could think of. When it came to it, what did it matter if her notes were scribbles of nothing much in particular? Only she was going to read it, and she wasn't a perfectionist. So she picked up the quill, re-dipped it, and set pen to paper.

First, she put down her name. Her hand shook a little, especially at the strange angle she had it at due to balancing the book on her knees, but the writing was legible enough for her to understand. Next, she wrote her address. Then, she jotted down the date. Her numbers were scratchy and so she dipped the quill again and wrote over the original numbers, but of course, the paper was already a little damper than usual due to having already written, and she accidentally scratched a tiny hole through to the next page.

She cursed to herself and reminded herself not to re-write over anything else, lest she cause the same damage again, and continued her journaling. She wrote down all sorts of things as she sat at the bench. She started with her thoughts, about Itzi, then about Keper Masute and her rubbish attempts at haggling. On that subject she put down some more thoughts, along the lines of softening up the subject first rather than launching straight in, but soon she'd depleted her ideas, and she stopped for a moment to wring her hand out.

Now that she'd run out of creativity, she decided she would simply practice writing different letters in different ways. She dipped the quill into the ink pot, and tapped it to remove any excess ink. Then, as carefully as she could, she started to write her name, over and over again. The letters started off in her ordinary script, which was slightly right-slanted with each letter separate, but as she practised she started to try and join the letters together.

It was a slow and untidy process, especially balancing the book on her knees, but at the end of it she had a page full of different Ennisa's, with the bottom ones starting to look neat and, dare she say it, professional. She was satisfied with her work, and she blew the page to dry it a little faster, then sat up straighter to ease the crick from her neck.

During the time she had been writing, the sun had climbed a little higher into the sky, and the early autumn sunshine was casting stark shadows from its position high up in the sky. The nearest performers had switched over their spots with a tumbling team, who were delighting a small gaggle of children with their brightly dyed cloths and their clever tricks. Ennisa wiped the quill on a leaf to remove any ink and tightened the ink pot lid, so as to make sure nothing spilt inside her bag. She then placed her new purchases carefully within, but also absent-mindedly as she was watching the performers with idle curiosity as the children they were performing for wowed and laughed with delight.

She stood up and slung the backpack over her shoulders. It didn't take long for her to decide to go and look a little closer at the tumblers, who were now setting up their small stage area for a little show involving a long pole and what looked like a pile of multi-coloured balls. Ennisa, who had loved street performers since she was a child, wandered over and stood a little set aside from the crowd of children to watch the next part of the show.

credit : Ines

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

There were three performers. The nearest was already talking by the time Ennisa approached, so she missed the first part of what he'd said. His voice was thin and nasal, which was at odds with his gorgeously chiselled jawline, so much so that Ennisa felt mildly disturbed. She admired the troupe's fine, silky clothing as she listened to the rest of the man's announcement. "Welcome Masa to the balance, laydees and gents!" He bowed and gestured a petite young woman, whose eyes were focussed on the spot in front of her.

As she stepped onto the balance, Ennisa's eyes diverted up to the top of her head. She had a pile of blonde hair that was heaped haphazardly there, and to Ennisa's surprise, nestled amongst that thatch of hair was a sleeping dove. The children sat in front of her gasped and giggled in a rush of whispers as they spotted it too. The woman turned to the crowd and theatrically raised a finger to her lips, her eyes wide and outlined in khol. "Shh!" Ennisa pressed her lips shut. The kids did too, but then from behind the woman the third member of the cast came creeping. Several of the children pointed to draw the woman's attention, but every time she turned around, the young man ducked down or hid behind the nasal man where he couldn't be seen.

The bird's nest woman started to dance on the balance. Ennisa watched her feet landing with admiration at her skill and dexterity. The young man whose task it was to distract the woman was doing a brilliant job; everytime he got close he tapped her ankle or her foot, or once, he even grabbed her hand for the briefest of moments. Each time, Ennisa was absolutely certain that the lapse in concentration would cause the woman to fall over and the dove to fly off, but she didn't seem phased.

The children were working themselves into hysterics of suppressed laughter, which made Ennisa chuckle to herself as well. Finally, before the bird's nest woman could finish off her dance, the young man finally scored a hit. The woman tumbled off the balance and, at the same time, she reached up to her head and extracted the bird, which she flew into the crowd. The children shrieked in unison and even Ennisa flinched, even though the dove merely fluttered gently to the ground and sat there, pecking without a care in the world.

When the little troupe joined arms and bowed, Ennisa clapped, and the children followed suit. "Thank you, thank you!" The spokesman exclaimed, and they bowed again. Ennisa smiled and threw a jade kina at the young woman who caught it in her cupped palms, and nodded a thanks. Before the next act started, she wandered away.

The troupe's acting had made her think. As she walked, she wondered. Just how difficult was it, anyway, to balance on a pole like that? Ennisa was always up for a challenge. It couldn't be any harder than learning how to climb trees, right? She narrowed her eyes and diverted towards the bridge that lead over Tenten to Sartu Peak. Next stop, the Trail of Waterfalls.

credit : Ines

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

It took Ennisa about one bell to walk across the two bridges and the various streets and footpaths to reach the Trail of Waterfalls. She was beginning to get a bit peckish, but usually she ate an evening meal later on, so she ignored the occasional grumbling emanating from her stomach. Her feet were beginning to ache a touch too, as she'd been on her feet most of the day so far. Even so, she continued walking down the path to join up with the first part of the trail.

She'd gone to the Trail of Waterfalls because of the balancing act, and from memory, the trail had some low, wooden planks for her to practice on without falling to her death somewhere on the mountain. She was glad to see that she was correct. Ennisa jogged down the wooden path, passed a couple having a lovely afternoon stroll, and headed straight for the edge of the path where a protective strut had been raised on one side to stop people walking off into the shallow ponds to the right of the walkway. When she reached the spot, she dumped her bag down on the side and gathered herself.

All she had to do was concentrate, put one foot in front of the other, aaaand... She set one foot on the rounded pole, and before she could even add the other foot, she wobbled. She narrowed her eyes, and tried again. One foot in front of the other, and... She stepped up onto the pole. This was thicker than the one the bird's nest hair woman had so elegantly danced upon, but Ennisa was beginning to respect her skill even more now. She unstuck her foot from where it was and swiftly moved it in front of the other. Unfortunately, because she had been to hasty, the quick movement unbalanced her, and she cursed and jumped onto the safety of the path before she fell into the pool.

Petch! It was a challenge now. She scooped her hair back from her face, and tried again. She put one foot down resolutely, then hopped up to stand on the pole. She found that if she stood still, it was actually harder to stay balanced, so she began to walk along the pole. For at least ten ticks, she didn't fall, so even when she did hop back down she whooped softly to herself at the small victory.

The couple passed her by, giving her a side look as if to say, 'what on earth is she up to?' but Ennisa didn't particularly care. She wasn't really paying attention to them either. All her energy was focussed on this new interest. By now, she was able to half-run along the pole for about thirty ticks before she fell off. She was nowhere near as graceful as the lady at Surya Plaza, but she was pleased anyway.

Nevertheless, she continued. She discovered, after a while, that if she raised her arms out to the side she could balance a little more easily, so she practised walking in that manner. She went backwards and forwards, the sunshine flickering down onto her pale blonde hair through the constantly shifting leaves above her, whilst water trickled endlessly over mossy rocks.

Finally, after she had slipped off one too many times, she perched her bum down on the wooden pole and rested for a moment. She closed her eyes, and breathed in the scents of the water, the leaf mould, and the pleasant mustiness of a woodland succumbing to autumn.

credit : Ines

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

The next bright spark of an idea was to write her discoveries down. She stretched, stood, and walked over to her bag, which was only a few paces away. Once she'd acquired this, she walked over to the nearest bench, mostly because that provided a slightly more stable writing environment than the side of a path. The bench looked out over a pleasant clearing in the trees, where sunlight streamed down onto the mossy green ground. She stared at nature's beauty for a short while, then set up the book for her to write within.

She reached for the quill and the ink, and dipped this into the black liquid. She tapped it clean of ink and thought about what to actually put down. She settled on writing down a description of the tumbling troupe. She recalled the woman's hair, and the nasal voice of the man. Her descriptions lacked something which she couldn't place a finger on. All she knew was that when she read it back, the words seemed dull and lifeless. Nevertheless, she wasn't all that fussed with the quality, because she was focusing on the actual script.

Every time she placed pen to paper, her handwriting seemed to get better. Admittedly, it was in infinitesimally small doses, but she was happy with that nonetheless. It was still difficult to remember to try and loop words together, so occasionally a word would start off with detached letters and gradually join up, but by the end of her rudimentary description, she was achieving slightly better looking letters.

Next, she underlined a section, and titled it 'Balancing'. She quickly jotted down what she had learned, namely that it helped to stick your hands out sideways, then tapped the remaining ink into the ink pot. It had taken perhaps five-to-ten chimes to get everything down, so she let the ink dry and snapped the book shut before stowing everything away in her bag.

She waggled her feet a little from side to side, and briefly hummed a nameless tune to herself. For half a chime, she idled. Finally, she let all her breath out in a swift, sharp sigh, and stood up abruptly. For Ennisa, it was time to return home. There would be a fair bit of walking to reach the apartment, and she knew she would be getting hungry soon.

There was also the nagging feeling of missing Itzi. With the plucky redhead in mind, Ennisa began her trek back up the short section of the trail she'd wandered down. Once she reached the exit, she took a few wrong turns until she found herself on one of the main paths through the city. She passed by shops, businesses, houses, all of them typically resplendent. Mostly, she daydreamed about this and that, about people she'd seen, or memories of something inane she'd done a few days ago.

She walked like this for a while, until she found herself back home. She tested the handle and found the room unlocked, so she stepped in and shut the door beside her. To Ennisa's delight, Itzi was home. "Hey, welcome back!", she enthused as she went up to give her friend a hug, "You been alright Itzi?"

The two women embraced and stepped back. Itzi smiled, but Ennisa thought she caught a glimpse of something not quite right in her expression. However, as Itzi merely replied, "I've been fine thanks Enni, you?" She almost went to prompt her further, but she stopped with the words on her lips. Never mind. Itzi had brightened almost immediately anyway and was now looking like her normal self. "Oh, I've been grand. Look, I got this today!" She proceeded to withdraw the new purchase and the two of them spent the next few bells chatting and catching up. Yet Ennisa didn't forget that little, uneasy look she'd seen passing across her friend's face. Sooner or later, she would find out exactly what was going on with Itzi.

credit : Ines

[Madeira Dusk]

Grades Awarded!

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Ennisa

Skills

• Observation: 5xp
• Land Navigation: 3xp
• Socialization: 4xp
• Planning: 3xp
• Negotiation: 1xp
• Writing: 2xp
• Calligraphy: 2xp
• Acrobatics: 1xp

Lores

• Lore of the discomfort of loneliness
• Land Navigation: navigating by landmarks
• Location: the Good Book
• Negotiation: making an offer
• People: Keper Masute, Good Book owner
• Calligraphy: the delicacy of writing with a quill
• Location: Trail of Waterfalls
• Lore of busking inspiration

Awards & Retribution
+Book, blank: -2ki
+Ink vial (1 oz): -1ki
+Quill: -1jk
+Busker tip: -1jk

Notes
Just reading about Ennisa's day-in-the-life gives me energy. Excellent read.