[Courtyard of the Sky] Transfer of Ownership (Vala and Ven)

[Risa Moontide]

(10th of Summer, 511AV)
The sun was a few bells past its highest crest, but its sink wasn't noticeable beyond the thin shadows leaking over the courtyard. Risa stood at one of the entrances, hands absently touching the pattern of the stone around her, the grooves and natural erosion her fingertips soaked in. Throughout the courtyard so many vendors and carts stood, all filled with people. Musicians roamed to and fro or dropped anchor around, playing for passersby and shoppers. Some even danced before these musicians, lost in the waves of their song. There are... a LOT of people here.

Risa took a few harrowed steps into the great marketplace. Her eyes zipped here and there, trying to take in the whole experience of this strange party, so familiar but so foreign. Drum beats were thick in her ears, so she let down her braided hair to help block out some of the noise. Fala flapped his wings excitedly on her shoulder, getting caught up in the feel of the open area, the high energy surrounding them both. A glint of light caught Risa's eye, the flash of light sparkling through some glass-blown jewelry tiding her interest. She only had a few miza's jingling in the thick trousers she wore, but they should not be wasted on petty pleasantries. Risa sighed.

Fala gave a pretty whistle and flapped his wings a few times before he jumped off Risa's shoulder, zipping up above her head. She smiled up at the bird as he circled above the crowd. After a moment the bird swooped over to the large perches, flapping down between two huge eagles. Fala glanced over at the other birds and tilted his head back, puffing out his chest in a noble duplicate. Risa laughed out loud at this point; the goofy bird looked so tiny as he copied the huge avians around him.

Risa was still giggling to herself as she moved swiftly through the crowd, calling out to Fala as she approached. When she was at the wall below, she called up louder, "Get down here, you!" Fala just shot his head up, looking towards the sky and puffing his chest further. The defiant bugger! Risa grinned up at her friend. "Fine, stay up there and be an eagle. I'm going to look around."

Risa looked back at the crowd around, more eyes on her from her loud spectacle than she planned. Many looked confused to her words, but most looked angry or annoyed by her intrusion. Risa just smiled as the eyes fell away, back to their tasks. She looked back around her at the booths, trying to understand what would cause them all to want to trade during this celebration. Curious... Let's figure this out.

[Vala]

The card lay tauntingly blank on the table. It had been a full market rotation since Vala had written anything new, and sales were starting to show. (Not really; Vala was just panicking, but at least she was 'motivated'.) She momentarily moved her stylus to her left hand so she could flex her right. It was an improper stance, but Vala couldn't help and slouch. She even cupped her face with her hand, hair pulled back tight into two high pig tails, to blind herself to the rest of the busy market. It took another three chesty sighs before she was finally in the zone to compose. Birthdays sucked. Well of course they did - to a girl who had no friends to celebrate it with… But no matter how much she envied others for being able to enjoy something she never did, she could at least enjoy the profit she made from tacky birthday cards. It wasn't that hard to come up with a tone for birthday cards, options easily ranged from joyful, congratulatory, happy, merry; you know - the obvious ones. The most difficult chore of composing something absolutely corny that it would be sure to sell, was trying to rhyme. Then there were times, very rare these times, a gift these times, but these times did come - when inspiration, er, a jumble of relevant words came together in one's brain and just happened to sound good together. Each year your birthday reminds me That I really want to say Great! The stylus flew across the clay tablet as Vala wrote the lines with sweeping strokes. Calligraphic fonts were severely limited when working with clay, and for a rough draft composition, Vala preferred the simple but elegant font that required more fleetness of wrist flicks than heavy handed stroke weight control. Using her left thumb, Vala smudged out the last character; she had only messed up one of the serifs, but a perfectionist has got to do, what a perfectionist has got to do. Once she got the first two lines perfectly penned, Vala groaned, realizing she had to come up with more… What would someone want to say to someone on their birthday? Vala wracked her brain… joy, especially for another person, was probably the hardest thing Vala found to 'empathize'. What rhymed with say? Vala sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Day! Day rhymed with say… but what… Vala sighed. I'm very glad I know you; I think of you each day. Vala beamed with a crazed intensity as she scribbled down the next two lines. First verse complete. She was so ecstatic to be plowing through the job so quickly that her strokes wobbled slightly, so much so that some of the curved strokes were too narrow to add some serifs . Vala didn't bother correcting them - she was on a roll. Next verse! I hope you enjoy your birthday, All the pleasures it has in store, And because I appreciate you, I hope you have many more! "DONE!" (not entirely) Vala exclaimed. Warden, dealing with a customer in the stall right to her left, gave Vala a warning glance to keep her voice down. Vala had the decency to blush 'sheepishly'. Now that she had the write up done - potentially the 'crappiest' work she had ever done as a sell out card writer - well now Vala had to write it all out proper on real card stock - with no mistakes. This time, even Warden could hear her sigh. And this time, he gave her a warning glare. Vala had broken out of her composing zone so she managed to catch Warden's warning, but she was also observant enough to notice that while Warden's eyes may have been shooting daggers, the twitch right at the corner of the old man's lips told Vala he understood her position. She also noticed his fingers impatiently tapping against the counter - she thought his current customer looked particularly crotchety. Before the customer could start reaming her out, Vala tried to distract herself from relevant work by scanning the crowd. It didn't take long for her wandering gaze to catch sight of a foreigner in a green dress, possibly olive green. She wasn't particularly fond of outsiders in her city, but business was business. And there was a possibility she could be well off; few chiet could afford a pet as elegant as the bird perched at her shoulder. Vala waited until the best possible moment. Too early would seem to desperate; too late, well, was just too late. So just as Risa was only a yard away from her stall, Vala called out in the sweetest voice she could muster, her siren call. "Excuse me ma'am! Would you be interested in any cards or maybe just your name all pretty like to hang on your wall?" Vala smiled, her cheeks dimpling perfectly. She even batted her eyelashes for good measure. Acting nice was tiring, but it beat the doldrums of calligraphy. OOC Note : Your CS says Risa is fluent in Common and Fravala, but nothing about Nari. Vala can speak Common (that will be in red), so if Risa can't understand her than she can just say so, and common will be the first language she tries next.

[Risa Moontide]

Risa eyed the various trinkets and novelties of this part of the market. Most of the words around were in the thicker tongue the northerners spoke, but she heard some small amounts of common mixed in. One thing she heard less frequently than she was used to was a startling lack of Fratava that she had heard in so many marketplaces before. It was so strange not to hear it; she found herself mumbling Fratava words beneath her breath as she passed by traders, trying to remember the language from so long ago.

Risa smelled something in the air, the smell of salt and of a slow roast. Someone must have been bartering some kind of well-prepared food nearby, though she couldn't see any such shop in her vicinity. The gentle breeze carried the scents of mountain seasonings around, seeming so foreign but decadent to her. She wished she knew where the food was, her stomach groaning at the thought, but she had fish waiting on her ship and now wasn't the time to be sampling northern delights.

The voice that rang behind her was clearly a call but Risa nearly let it pass without recognition. The pretty voice was louder than the others though, and it piqued her interest. I wonder what they're saying? Finally turning, she noticed the girl trying to capture her attention and widened her eyes a little. The first words out of her mouth were still in Fravala, the language caught on her mind. "Her trade runs toward others, of course." Risa then saw no one else around that the words could have been focused towards. "Me?" The girl's eyes were locked onto her, so Risa waved her hands defensively. "I'm sorry, I don't speak the language."

Risa did a quick scan of the booth, though, trying to determine what was being peddled before her. The collection of ink, clay, and quills confused her. Risa couldn't help but move towards the table, curious about the seemingly random set of objects here. Without thought her hand grabbed a quill and she examined the well-crafted feather. Her other hand felt up and down the soft vane.
oocSorry, I was a little intimidated or I would have posted faster. You posts are so good! It took me a long time to feel like this would be adequate enough

[Vala]

Vala only smiled brighter, her small teeth glistening hungrily in the light. So she was a foreigner. Vala slipped easily into common, though her sharp Inartan accent easily gave her away. “No problem ma’am. Common sounds nicer anyway, no?” It was second nature to ply the customer with compliments. Warden would have been proud; Vala even managed to keep the irritation from her face and tone when the ‘customer’ so insolently manhandled her precious tools. She was just about to tell Risa off when she realized her folly. Vala almost slapped herself across the face for momentarily forgetting Warden’s advice – Never pass up a sale. While it was usually Warden’s stall that peddled tools, who said Vala couldn’t as well? (nay sayers include her nonexistent suppliers, for starters) Relying on the meager business acumen she had managed to absorb from Warden, Vala came up with a ‘brilliant’ plan: to compensate for the miserable quality of her quills, Vala would dazzle the girl with overwhelming quantity. In retrospect, Vala was getting a little ahead of hersef; Risa had only touched a quill, she hadn’t even really mentioned proper interest, but the copying work wasn’t going to get procrastinated on its own… Relying on instinct, Vala began to press Risa with more than just pleading looks. ”Are you a scholar ma’am? I could just tell you were smart; you look very smart indeed. In need of some quills? What would you say to 20 quills for just one measly ole Pinion? Eh? Best deal you’re going to get.” It was honestly a steal, but then again any practiced calligrapher could just pick up an errant feather, though certain ones were preferable, and dress it with their pen knife until it was ready to be writ with. There were other quills, gifts from Warden, of better quality, but Vala used those herself. Thankfully her favorite ones were carefully tucked away beneath the counter. The ones Risa had gotten her hands on, were the ones Vala had been practicing her quill dressing skill on earlier that morning. Vala leaned in close, trying to ply Risa further from sheer will. OOC Note : When is Ven supposed to join us? And dressing a quill is using a small knife to cut the end to a special point so that the ink can be held without creating an ink stain at every drop while flowing so that it doesn’t have to be refilled after every stroke.

[Ven]

Ven ran from left to right underneath every stall vendor he could in order to avoid the crowd, if he ever picked a day that was good for him to revert it was today. TODAY. Of all days these humans had to throw some despicable carnival or party or whatever they were celebrating, it was annoying him though that he had such limited mobility in order to get through. Uhh, Where is Vala?!?Without Vala I'm doomed to walk down the line of insanity and perhaps even- his head felt dizzy as the odorous smell filled the stall he was in. Had the man sitting behind him released horrid gas? Uuuhh It's already happening... He hid his nose in his paws, looking swiftly among the crowd. I've GOT to get out of here, now where's Vala. He looked back and forth as his nose recovered, the sounds of people and laughter echoed underneath the stalls and into his ears giving him a mass headache. It's official, and will always remain official: Ven absolutely hates parties. Just when he thought his sense of smell recovered the human that sat in his stall did it again, and this time he heard it. Both his eyes and nose were in sharp pain, why was this happening to him. Why why why?!? When he turned to see just who was vending this stall, a fat man was sitting down. No wonder why it's so horrible..... He turned to the crowd once more, and saw an exquisite stall that was finely decorated. I've got to get out of here. He waited no more, the only chance he had was now. Quickly he bolted from under the stall and dashed to his next target, avoiding any and every human that didn't dare to look down at their feet. He was flawless with his agility, he moved with grace and was already nearly there....then his speed caused him to lose control and slide into the stall, bumping his head into the side really hard. OUCH! His mind was completely dazed, the blood finally rushed back into his mind which left him blind. What he didn't expect was something picking him up, he didn't know what it was but something, or someone had actually picked him up. "Oh look at the cute little foxy!" His vision was clear, and a maniacal old woman was below...puckering her lips. Who's this old useless pestering hag? Great of all the wonderful stalls I get stuck with a miserable nut. He couldn't help but look at her funny, which amazing must've been cute for the nut. "Awww so cuuuute!" She hugged him close, squeezing the life and breathe out him. He managed to let out a low growl after she finally stopped shaking him back and forth. "Oh now don't get mean!" She used her finger to slightly pull up his lips. "Hmm, don't look rabid....." For you old bat, I'd go rabid any day. His expression was clear as was his situation: He was trapped, she was senile, this party sucked...and Ven hated parties along with old people now. He managed to look over to his left, two stalls down there was Vala making a sale with a foreigner. Hey hey Vala, it's me. Save me!!!! He thought, but he remembered that he was a fox...and that Vala wasn't a telepathic mind reader. Other wise she would've turned right when he thought that, but she didn't. He knew where he wanted to go though, now the only problem was getting there. He looked up at the old bat who had was also giving a sales pitch, but had just finished and returned her attention to him. This situation can be dealt with.... I just have to find a way out of here somehow. He returned her gaze with what would've been an icy glare, but the old hag didn't notice. She only smiled and pet him roughly, which he hated the most. He looked over to Vala, hoping she would look over and notice him. When she does he'll be ready, his face was already plain as day: Save me!!

[Risa Moontide]

Risa was still staring at the barbs of the feather, just watching the way they flew out of the stem. Risa didn't realize what quality the quill was really in, how good (or bad) the cutting and tempering was. She could see herself penning letters, writing out tomes and scrolls. So scholarly! It was a nice idea. Maybe I could learn some writing!

Risa focused back up at the saleswoman before her. "A pinion for twenty?" She wanted these quills now, just wanted to own them. Risa quickly dug into her pockets. She grinned saying, "One second!" as she searched her bag. Finally Risa pulled out the pinion and laid it on the table. "I'll take them!"

A few stalls in the other direction, a large man was lifting some boxes. They were heavy and the three went above his nose, making it hard to see before him. His large frame rippled from the strain as he stood up, the heavy crates shaking a bit before they regained balance. He grunted as he pulled them up, an angry yet tired growl. Unbeknownst to Risa he began walking in her direction.

Risa had the quills from the stall in a bunch now and was stuffing them in her bag. She looked down the stalls and saw the cute fox, big eyes looking more and more cute rather than as though they were pleading for help. "They sell foxes here too?" Risa tried to mentally count the coin she carried on her. Maybe I could spend it? Risa was looking up while trying to count, brow furrowed, and as she turned to leave her hand grabbed a shiny ink vial off of Vala's stall.

Risa turned quickly to move towards the fox, taking a step back. As she did so she pushed back into the lumbering man carrying the boxes, neither seeing the movement of the other. The man made a quick movement towards Risa to try and regain his balance, but only succeeded in pushing her back forward. His leg caught the ground and they both went down, his cargo hitting the ground with a loud crack of wood and the sound of broken glass and her body pushing into Vala's stall, shoving it back and spilling everything on top.

Angry voices in Nari soon followed the destructive scene.

[Flicker]

Experience for Risa: Observation 2 Theft 1 Lore for Risa: The hectic nature of Market Day among the Inarta The sound of Nari Market day is one big party Vala’s trade products Being Walked into by a big guy and causing the destruction of his property Comments: Nice! She now has one less pinion, or gold miza if you haven’t gotten the money switched out, and twenty more quills and one shiny bottle of ink Experience for Vala: Composing 1 Calligraphy 1 Observation 1 Acting 2 Business 1 Observation 1 Lore for Vala: The Tacky Nature of Birthday Cards Sacrificing quality in the excitement of composing Warden’s warning signals Attempting to warm a customer up Comments: One pinion richer, twenty quills down, a bunch of smashed stuff, and one stolen vial of ink gone. Good job on conveying the attempt at business practices! Experience for Ven: Sneaking 1 Observation 1 Lore for Ven: The Hectic Nature of Market day Market Day is one big party The downside of being a cute little fox: being fawned over by old ladies Comments: Ven is adorable. Guys, don't be afraid to just post a few times without whoever is missing and finish up the thread.