Everything Starts With a Meeting (Vala)

by **Feyra** on March 4th, 2011, 11:50 pm

Season of Spring, Day 4, 511AV

Feyra sighed as she placed a bag on the table. Market day was always tiring. Now that Spring was here, everyone seemed to want something new, and she'd been answering what seemed like endless enquiries on her glass beads. Can she make this, can she make that, will she ever consider this one? She had sold a few, not as many as she usually did, but today was a short market day - it was just after lunchtime and she was packing up. She wasn't overly fussed about it, there was the whole year ahead for successful market days.

She began gathering up some of the beads that were nearer the back of the table, leaving the front ones and some of her select favourites on display for a little longer. She pulled out some small lengths of fabric and started to divide the beads into piles that she could easily wrap up. She had devised this method of packing away herself after finding that a few beads chipped after she bundled them all into the bag together.

As she placed beads into various piles she started to hum. It was a lovely Spring day, and she was happy. Tired, but happy. She paused every now and then to make sure that she wasn't ignoring any potential customers, before returning to her sorting.

by **Vala** on March 5th, 2011, 12:25 am

As the midday light shone upon the wares of many Inartan artistans, displayed in the Courtyard of the Sky, a rainbow of glittering lights made one glass bead stand, stand out.

It was the first Market Day since the watchtowers had flared green, and the Courtyard of the Sky was bustling with eager customers. Among the crowd was Vala. In the cold chill of the open Spring Air, Vala clutched her katinu closer to her, trying to avoid making skin to skin contact with any of the other citizens.

Vala loved to look at all the new and innovative crafts, that the Avora displayed during market days. She ran one gloved finger across a pretty, but probably inefficient, glass pitcher. The stand keeper looked at her warily, silently questioning if the young chiet could afford something so obviously expensive. Vala felt the message and moved on, her eyes catching something a little ways off.

Vala had to bring her hand to her eyes, the glare of the bright, flashing rainbow of colors nearly blinding her. As she got closer she brought her hand down, to reveal a dazzling display of glass beads. she gasped at the sight - they were beautiful. The vain chiet instantly wanted one to braid in her hair, but frowned when she reached into her pockets and remembered she needed to stop drawing on her limited life savings.

She looked up at the stand keeper, hoping that maybe if she haggled the pretty trinkets down to a reasonable price, she could maybe afford just one. Her head tilted slightly, when a stroke of recognition hit her. “Do I know you?” Vala whispered, her voice raspy. She cleared her throat, realizing her rudeness to the higher ranking Avora. She tried again. “I”m sorry ma’am, but have we met before? I seem to recall your beautiful countenance, sometime last season I believe.” Vala smiled up at the woman. Her words chosen carefully for maximum effect: flattery was always helpful to ones cause.

by **Feyra** on March 5th, 2011, 12:45 am

"Do I know you?"
Feyra glanced up from her beads; she hadn't noticed anyone approach the table. She squinted into the bright light momentarily, before her eyes adjusted enough to see a young Inarta girl watching her, and it was apparent that it was she who had just spoken.

The Avora was about to answer, though with what words she did not know, when the girl spoke again. Her brow raised. This time, the words seemed carefully chosen; she was being addressed in a rather formal manner. Feyra quickly examined the girl. She must be a Chiet. It made sense that she would speak to her like that.

Again, she made to reply, but she paused. She too recognized the face before her, and it took a few moments to place it. "...sometime last season..." Then it clicked. She had met this girl before, down at the archery range.
"I do believe we met each other briefly at the archery range in the Winter."
She gave the Chiet a wide smile.
"My name is Feyra, I can't remember if we were actually introduced to each other properly." She paused again, trying to find a way of removing the formalities without wanting to be rude. It was perhaps, her human heritage showing through, or maybe it was just who she was, but she hated being called ma'am. It made her feel embarrassed. In the end though, she settled for something completely different.
"Do you like the glass?"

by **Vala** on March 5th, 2011, 1:04 am

Vala blushed when the lady did remember her: it boosted her confidence to know that an Avora would actually bother acknowledging her existence outside of just her usefulness. Real feelings began stirring within Vala, feelings of respect and genuine esteem. Feyra, the lady’s name was Feyra. Vala ran it over in her mind, it was pretty, she liked it. And if the Avora, a glassblower, obvious by her wares, had met her in the archery range, then Vala concluded she must have some skill in archery: which only led her to admire the lady further.

Feyra did not look much older than Vala, only a few years, but she was already quite successful. Vala felt a twinge of envy, marring her good feelings. She tried to remember anything else about her, nothing came up. The day at the archery range seemed so long ago now. The lady was nice now though, “Do you like the glass?” she had asked. Vala definitely liked it, she wanted one even more now. She nodded in response, biting her lip in nervousness. She wanted the lady to like her.

Then she remembered that she had yet to introduce herself. Vala bit her lip harder, as a personal punishment. “My name’s Vala.” She said meekly, barely audible over the buzz of the market. “I really like your beads. Especially that one,” Vala pointed to a medium sized bead, clear with black and gray swirls, her gloved finger. She tried to look up, but she wanted to maintain respect so she kept her gaze low, at the lady’s red lips instead of her eyes. “I uh... how much might they cost?” Vala asked hopefully.

by **Feyra** on March 5th, 2011, 8:02 am

Feyra smiled when she caught a faint blush creep into the girls cheeks. She wracked her brain, trying to remember anything about the young Chiet. If they had met at the archery range, then she mush know how to shoot an arrow. Fey figured that the girl was a better aim than herself; she hit more trees than targets.

Her head tilted a little to the right when she spotted the girl biting her lip. Was she nervous? All the same, Feyra offered her another bright smile when she nodded as an answer. This in turn led her mind to wander momentarily, trying to figure out what her job was. Maybe she wanted to be a hunter or something. In any case, if she wanted to learn about glass, Feyra would teach her...she had to get that into conversation somewhere...

She was bought out of her little reverie when the Chiet spoke. Vala. Fey nodded, it was pretty name. She had to lean forward slightly to hear the girl, her voice was soft and the noise of the market was doing well in swallowing it. She drew her gaze down to where the gloved finger pointed.
"This one? Well the price actually depends on the pattern. The medium ones, like that one, sell for anywhere between 8 and 25 pinions." Feyra shrugged. "But it's the end of my market so I'm practically giving them away at the moment." She laughed lightly. "Everything must go and all that." She paused and looked at the girl again. She was looking down a little, so it was hard to find eye-contact. "That one would probably sell for...maybe 10. But like I said, it's the end of the day so...how much would you want to give? Go as cheap as you like." She smiled at the girl again, hoping she hadn't talked too much.

by **Vala** on March 5th, 2011, 10:48 pm

10 Pinions were more than reasonable, a steal almost. Vala pulled back and threw up a few emotional defenses; she grew wary when people got ‘too’ nice; she tried not to squint, or show any other signs of her growing distrust; she still wanted to the lady to like her. “10 Pinions? Its so pretty, it looks more like 25 pinion-” Vala pinched herself, realizing she was being an idiot - who negotiates a higher price? “I meant, its so pretty but,” She reached into the pocket of her byrda and pulled out the ten pinions she always kept in her pocket for emergencies - any more then ten and she ran the risk of splurging on things she really didn’t need, stuff like pretty beads, no matter how they complemented her eyes. “Well you see... I uh,” Vala chewed on her her lips, acting embarrassed. “Well I only have 10 pinions on me... and,” Her words were interrupted by an audible gulp. Vala was horrible at negotiating. She had never really tried it before... always getting conned into paying full price and more. She was genuinely embarrassed to ask someone to lower their price, paying them less than they deserved, when she really liked their wares. “Can I have it for 9 P-pinions? Please miss?” Vala finally managed to stutter out. She secretly wished that the Feyra hadn’t given her the opportunity to haggle or negotiate, which was only really an opportunity to make a fool of herself. And before she could stop the bubbling out of more nonsense, Vala offered, “If you want I can help you pack up your wares or do anything else you might need help with. That is to help pay, for the bead, and uh... I’m fairly good at organizing and what not.” What not? Vala pinched herself again for saying something so stupid. She sucked her lips in, hoping that would shut her up and prevent any more nonsense.

Vala was honestly a hard worker - one that procrastinated like crazy, but a hard worker nonetheless. She preferred to offer work instead of Pinions, since as a Chiet her wages were laughable, but her labor, as long it was honest work, she was more than willing to give up since it was as good as any Avora or Endal's, especially if it meant learning something new. She even began hosting fantastical notions of Feyra becoming her ‘knight in shining armor’ - taking Vala up as her new apprentice and pulling her out of the obscurities of her lower class. Her eyes glassed over as she waited for Feyra’s response.

by **Feyra** on March 6th, 2011, 7:35 pm

Feyra's brow raised slightly when the girl spoke of pricing higher. Sure, the bead was pretty, she quite liked it herself, but in terms of it's creation, it was relatively simple, and also quite cheap, seeing as the base of it was just clear glass; hence the cheaper price tag.
She looked at the younger girl, curious as embarrassment seemed to overcome her. At the words she spoke, Feyra nodded internally, remembering Chiet lived on lower wages than Avora like herself. A single Pinion wouldn't make much of a difference to Feyra, 9 would be more than enough for the bead. She was about to smile and accept the offer, but she quickly closed her mouth when Vala continued to speak.

Feyra smiled. "Tell you what, you help me pack up here, and you can have the bead. Don't bother with the Pinions." If she was perfectly honest, she would much rather the help than the money, and the company would also be nice. It wasn't often she was able to have a nice conversation whilst working. She placed her hands on the table, putting her weight through her arms and waited for the girl to decide.

by **Vala** on March 7th, 2011, 2:42 am

REALLY? Vala wanted to scream. Scream in joy that is. A free bead for just helping pack up was even better than finding a shiny new pinion on the ground, because this meant actually getting to talk to and maybe even befriend a real live Avora glassworker instead of just doing the dirty work behind the scenes. Vala tried to thank Feyra profusely, but all that came out was a stuttering jumble of pleased squeaks. "Th-th-ah yay." Vala eventually clamped her hands over her mouth to stop the flow of immature nonsense. Something about the beautiful spring day and the effervescent rainbow of colors dancing before Vala's eyes that just got her feeling all giddy and silly.

Vala closed her eyes, slowly peeking one open to make sure Feyra wasn't just messing with her, secretly laughing behind her back. When Feyra's pleasant, albeit somewhat confused (from Vala's reactions), smile maintained its genuine appearance, Vala bit her lip hard to regain control. "Sorry, I'm not usually like this, I promise. I just haven't had the funds to have something, or anything, pretty to have. And I just really like this bead too. Burned most of my Pinions on a new journal actually… Sorry, off topic. So what can I do?" Vala's hands fluttered excitedly, ready to get to work.

Though she was acting like a silly Yasi, Vala was still conscious enough to keep track of her most important life motive - to become a master Glassblower. She would wait until she wormed her way into Feyra's good graces, by helping the best she could, before gently angling to conversation to a possible apprenticeship.

by **Feyra** on March 7th, 2011, 5:26 pm

To say the girls reaction was not what Feyra had been expecting was an understatement. Who got excited about packing up a market stall? Or maybe it was the bead. Either way, a bemused smile worked it's way over her mouth. The Chiet was actually rather sweet, what with her stammered thanks, and her apparent embarrassment at becoming over-excited. She gave a light laugh when Vala managed to speak with coherent sentences again.
"Hmm a journal...I should get myself one of them. Might be more organized." She grinned at the girl and motioned for her to come round to the back of the table.
"All that really needs doing is putting the beads away. But it takes a little bit of time to ensure that they wont chip during transit from here back to my house."

She bent down and pulled some string and some fabric strips from her bag, handing a couple to the Chiet. They were long and thin, and made of a simple cotton.
"Here, I'll show you."
She laid a strip on the table and smoothed it out, before gathering ten beads up.
"I never wrap more than ten beads at a time."
She placed the beads on the fabric two at a time, for only two beads fitted across the width of the fabric. When two were placed on, she folded the end over them, and then folded the whole part - beads included - over again. Then she placed the next two beads on and folded that over. She repeated this 'till all ten beads were wrapped, then tied the bundle up with some string.
"It's quite simple really, it just takes a little while." She smiled and shrugged, placing the bundle into a bag under the table. She moved up the table a little, so that Vala would have room to lay her own fabric down.

OOC :

by **Vala** on March 8th, 2011, 1:51 am

Vala nodded, taking the offered fabric and rolling them between her finger tips to feel the simple cotton's bland texture, as she watched Feyra work.

It seemed like an easy enough job: place the beads on the cloth, two at a time, fold them up, put another two on the strip, fold up some more, on an on until all ten beads were wrapped, then tie off with string. She nodded once more before pulling one piece of cloth off the others and laying on the table, keeping the others to her left hand side. "Ok I think I got this." A strip of pink peeked out of the sides of Vala's pursed lips as she worked: her brows furrowed as she stuck her tongue out in concentration.

Feyra had moved over, to give Vala some space to work, but was thankfully close enough for Vala to watch her work again. The glass beads were sturdy, no doubt about that, but they were still glass and Vala wasn't going to risk breaking anything. She picked out the ten plainest beads from the remaining lot - if she WAS going to break something might as well break a cheap one. She held them up to the light before getting to work. She smiled at the sight of the sweeping swirls of color within the clear glass. She put two red together and began wrapping them up. She looked over at Feyra to make sure she was wrapping them up the right way; she looked back down at hers; looked again and Feyra's; unraveled her attempt and tried again.

It took her a few tries to finally wrap it tight enough so the beads wouldn't have space to rattle, but Vala fist pumped in satisfaction when she finally got it right. Her glow of good cheer faltered when she picked up a single blue bead. It was a beautifully simple, single color bead, a deep sapphire blue that glittered before Vala's eyes, mocking her. She resisted the urge to crush it in her fist or throw it on the ground; her fingers shook from the effort. She managed to put it down, close to Feyra, hoping she would wrap it up before any more thoughts of Fois popped up and ruined the day. She hoped Feyra didn't notice her moment of weakness. She worked harder, faster, concentrating more on wrapping to help her forget.

When Vala had finished wrapping up three sets - thirty, simple and pretty, beads - she tried to start some friendly, albeit self-promoting oriented, conversation. "When did you learn how to make glass beads? Do you make vases, or any thing bigger? When did you know you were going to be a Glassblower? What's it like?" She stopped herself, realizing, in her eagerness, she hadn't given Feyra any time to actually answer her questions. She blushed again, feeling so silly and immature by the successful Avora.

OCC :