[The Valintar] Shining Entrance (Flicker)

[Risa Moontide]

(2nd of Summer, 511AV)
Risa approached the entrance to the large office of the Valintar, pulling on the grey feather growing from her ear. The sun was high in the sky, so little light managed to leak into the tunnels behind her. The smell of this place was so strange, so dusty and earthy. She took another step on the still ground, the vibrations seemed to sink into the mountain. It's so quiet here. Fala picked playfully at her locks, knocking on her beads with small clangs of his brilliant orange beak.

Risa entered the brightly-lit building and froze. The large panels of glass colored the room, painting the portrait on the sky in large brush strokes of light all over the ground. It was marvelous. Risa could feel her wide eyes but couldn't stop herself from gawking at the array of light. Fala pecked her hair again, echoing the plink of the bead throughout the room. The sound caught Risa's attention and she had to look away from the bright pattern. She quickly scanned the room, looking for this person she was supposed to meet.

[Flicker]

The recently shut door behind Risa opened and a man as equally approachable as Val entered. Kaden closed the reception door behind him and approached the young Svefra with an almost paternal smile. "A little birdy told me you were coming to visit," he tried to broach the reason for her visit but stopped at the wide eyed gawking. Reevaluating his tactics, Kade sank onto the comfortable sofa lining one wall and let her look around. "I'll admit, my office is one of the flashier places in Mt. Skyinarta but I can guarantee you'll find more fascinating sights the longer you're here," he commented in the hopes of drawing her into an easy going conversation.

[Risa Moontide]

Risa smiled politely at the man, slowly moving through the large office space. "I'm sorry, I just find the light so... interesting..." She stared to stare at the roof again, taking in her new vantage point. The light was so entrancing, like the sun filtered through water. Risa quickly closed her eyes before she lost herself. She hated how easy it was to capture her mind, how her brain grabbed onto patterns and wouldn't let go.

"My name is Risa Moontide." Risa smiled and moved to the couch as she spoke, sitting close to the stranger. From her shoulder Fala whistled out loud and shrill, a merry tune like he was announcing his presence. "Fala, my tavan. I was told this is where I'm supposed to go?" Risa bore no thought to whether this friendly gentleman would know what a tavan even was.

Risa spied the ship below and stood up, slowly walking towards it, in slow dream-like strides. "Is that your ship?" she asked, spotting the beautiful craftsmanship. This was familiar, much more so than the surroundings around her. It was safe and comfortable. "Is it trapt here on this lake?" A pang hit her chest at the thought, a boat without an ocean. But it had to have some purpose somehow.

[Flicker]

Kaden appreciated the girl’s interest and awe at the superb craftsmanship displayed here in his office. Naiveté and innocence rolled off the girl in waves, a small pang of regret at throwing her to the harsh world of Wind Reach brought a momentary look of worry. “It’s lovely to meet you,” he responded, worry replaced with a look affectionate warmth. He was one of the few Inarta in possession of manners, she would find. Val was the other one. “I’m Kaden, the Valintar here. It’s lovely to meet you Fala,” he continued, pushing up with a slight creaking of his aging bones to retrieve a bird treat from his own pet bird’s empty perch. With expert knowledge, he offered the treat to the little bird and got in a soft pat of its head as it ate. “All newcomers see me that are planning on staying for a while,” he began to explain when she caught sight of his toy boat and changed the subject. Delighted at the turn this had taken, he accompanied her to the boat and walked her out to it. “Yes, this is mine, and yes, it’s trapped, I suppose. We are not the great seafaring race your people are.” He was clearly all right with that fact, too. “Do you know much of boast?” This could be a most fortuitous turn of events.

[Risa Moontide]

Risa didn't notice the pang of worry in the man's face; it passed by with such quickness like many social cues she was given. She gave the man a warm smile, and Fala gleefully accepted the treat as well, his bright eyes now watching Kaden playfully.

Risa grinned as Kaden led her out onto his small vessel. The slow rocking made her close her eyes when she stepped aboard. "I'm so far from home." She spoke quietly, her voice a mere whisper. Risa opened her brilliant blue eyes after a moment, just getting a feel for the sailboat. "I hope to stay at least until Fall. I've not heard but tales of your winter months, but I feel I'd not enjoy it." Her hand traced the low bulwark.

"I actually don't know too much of the boat itself. What I did know," she said, moving to starboard and waving her hand towards the lake. "... is this. It's a quarter wind, nice and firm, perfect sailing for going large southwest. It's not strong enough to cause much heeling, fortunately. The water seems still, but there is some kind of movement below, perhaps caves. It's not fast enough to follow sea, either." Her eyes picked out as much of the features of the ocean in front of her as they could, identifying the possible paths that could have been before her. "And what about you? I can tell you it's quite the ship, but I only saw one being built when I was much younger. Do you know much of boats?"

[Flicker]

A compassionate smile crossed the Valintar’s face at the girl’s first admissions. He stepped aboard with her, in full possession of a set of sea legs. She wasn’t as far from home as she could be, nor would she enjoy the trap Skyinarta became in the winter. It wasn’t for everyone. Kaden ran his hands over the worn wood, peering out over the lake as she spoke. It would do. “I do not know much of boats, to be honest, nowhere near as much as one such as yourself,” he admitted, and segue wayed smoothly. “But that is why we have people like you working down in Thunder Bay, fishing and repairing or building ships. Your pick, really, what you’d like to do down there,” Kaden turned to the girl, eyebrows lifting in curiosity. Rarely did he allow someone any wiggle room in their job placement. But rarely did a Svefra show up on his doorstep.

[Risa Moontide]

Risa eyed the way the man stepped aboard, obviously expecting the slow dip of the displacement. She gave him her own smile, her face gaining a comforted solace. Maybe these people aren't so different after all. Risa straitened out her skirt, still admiring the woodwork surrounding her. "Fishing tends to be more exciting the boat maintenance, to me anyway. I'd gladly help with fishing, anything I could do to assist."

It was then that it hit her: this was some kind of job offer with the town's... Lia? more than a friendly chat with some older man. Risa smiled suddenly, looking back at Kaden's friendly attitude. He seemed both concerned and thoughtful. Risa wished she had realized her purpose here before, perhaps she wouldn't have acted like such a foolish girl. "Oh! This is like a placement thing, right? I'm sorry, I didn't realize!" She respectfully bowed herself before the Valintar, adding, "I'm willing to let you chart my course, Lia'Kaden."

[Flicker]

Kaden nodded at her acceptance of the job and turned once more to the water. No fish sipped from the placid surface of the lake, and in the day hours, the neon creatures stifled their awing displays. A kind but amused smile took a few years off his face but faded into paternal affection once more. Val apparently hadn’t told her what she’d be doing here in his office. At the bow, he reached over and gave her shoulder a short squeeze, recognizing the respectful gesture and willingness to follow their ways. “Thank you, Risa. You’ll report down at the settlement in Thunder Bay the day after tomorrow. I’ll give you tomorrow to look around both the city and the docks down there. There are some common rooms you can rent, the Darniva Commonrooms, or you could probably sleep down on the boats if you’d like. Your caste while you’re here is going to be Avora, but you’d better work hard during the day and give the people the stories they want at night.” True, it was a stretch to name her an Avora, but he didn’t want her run down as a Chiet. The Svefra were a treat to have visit the city and, barring this one getting into trouble, he wanted more to come in the years to follow. “As an Avora you’ll have decent meals at your own schedule and won’t have to take any disrespect from anyone except the Endal. But watch your toes with them, they’ve got a lot of pull and if you displease them won’t appreciate your elevated status. It means you get allotted more resources than your job should allow. Understand?”

[Risa Moontide]

Risa didn’t quite get what Kaden was saying. Several of his words were foreign and she knew so little about Wind Reach. Regardless, the prospects and privileges he mentioned sounded good enough, in fact they didn’t sound much different than what she was always used to. So that must have been a good thing. Endal must mean like rude powerful people or something, like royalty?

Still, she kept a smile on her face as she answered, “That sounds great! I’ll make sure not to take being an… Ah-vore-ah… for granted.” Risa knew she had pronounced the word funny, but tried to keep things positive as they had been. “I’ll work as hard as I can to make sure I help with fishing and learn about the ways here. Thank you, Kaden.”

[Flicker]

Kaden stepped from the boat in order to offer an unnecessary hand to the young lady in disembarking as well. He couldn’t help but be polite to the young Svefra, hoping that she enjoyed her stay in the city and would come back soon. “Thank you, Risa. I have more business to attend to, but I don’t doubt that we’ll run into each other again,” he said warmly, guiding her back through the office and to the door. “If you need anything, or don’t understand something, feel free to drop by.” OOCShe has her job!