The next order had been to work on a sign. It was for a few girls who were living together. She found her way to their door and stopped in front of it, pondering before knocking. For some reason, she couldn’t remember their names. All she knew was that they were starting up their own business of some sort and needed a sign. Eilea looked through her bag to see if she had brought the note they gave her with information, but couldn’t find it. Frustrated with herself, she decided to suck up her pride and knock on the door.
It took a while before one girl answered. “Oh, hello!” She said, and ran her hand through her short red hair. “You must be the strange carver girl, Anya was talking about.”
Eilea nodded.
“Well, we just would like a sign done, if that’s possible. We’re hoping to get a little glass pendant shop together.” She said, and then folded her arms. Eilea noticed that she was a couple years younger.
“Shany, is the black haired girl here?” Eilea heard someone ask. Then a smaller girl poked her head under the other girl’s arm. “Oh it is! Hi! I’m Rin!”
The Vantha wasn’t sure how to respond. Where was the girl she had met? “Uhm… okay, what do you have for me to work on?” She asked, hesitantly.
Shany nodded, then opened the door wider. “Come on in, you can work in here.” Eilea smiled, genuinely and walked in. Rin, the younger girl, immediately took her hand and pulled her towards the middle of the room. There was a large wooden board on the ground, about 3 feet by 1 and half feet. It wasn’t polished or even smooth. Eilea also noticed that on one wall hundreds of small glass charms and pendants hung on hooks. They were dozens of colors and multiple sizes. She also noticed a desk with various tools that she didn’t recognize.
“Eilea! You’re earlier than I expected!” It was a familiar voice.
“Nice to see you again, Anya!” She said, finally remembering the girl’s name. Anya was the one who had requested Eilea to carve the sign.
“Feel free to make it however you’d see fit!” Anya said with a grin. “And don’t be shy! If you need anything let one of us know, we’ll be around doing stuff.” She winked at Eilea. “And I meant that, if you need anything, we’ll be here.”
“Thanks!” Eilea said, and knelt down next to the board. Luckily she knew how to work on the sign, so that was no problem. The girl pulled out her woodcarving kit and laid out her tools.
The first thing she did was use the largest knife to shave away the sharp parts of the wood that stuck out awkwardly. Secondly she began to sand away the edges and the flattest part so she could begin the actual carving. Prepping the wood was one of the most important parts. Right before Eilea carved her first mark, she noticed that the youngest Inarta girl, Rin was sitting nearby, watching curiously. Eilea smiled at her. Rin smiled back, then inched closer.
“What are you doing?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.
“I’m just about to start actually carving the name of your shop into the wood. You can watch, if you’d like!” Eilea took the smallest U-shaped tool and began the beginning sketches on the wood. Rin moved closer, leaning over the wood to watch. Eilea finished the preliminary lines and then looked at the young girl “Would you like try?” She asked.
Rin smiled widely. “You’d let me?”
“I don’t see why not!” Eilea responded, then moved to the side. “Why don’t you sit over here, I’ll show you how to hold the tools!” She said softly. The young girl moved next to Eilea and sat cross-legged. Eilea took the girl’s hand and showed her hold to hold it. “Now, don’t ever cut towards yourself, always push away while carving.” She held the girl’s hand and showed her how to do it. “Now, you try.”
Rin made the first deep mark into the board. “I did it!” She exclaimed. Eilea smiled. “Can I try again?” Eilea looked up, to see Anya sitting in a nearby chair with a smirk on her face.
“It’s okay if I show her, right?” Eilea asked.
Anya nodded. “Of course! If she wants to learn, and you’re willing to teach, I don’t see a problem. it’ll probably do her good. And give her something to brag about.”
For the next twenty minutes Eilea showed Rin how to use the carving tools correctly. For the most part Rin was very careful. After a while she gave Eilea a hug and then ran off to go tell her friends. Eilea finished the job, creating whimsical imagery around the words “Pendant Shop” and “By the Sassy Sisters”, written in both Nari and Common, with instruction from the two oldest girls.
One the carving was done Eilea used a simple polish on the wood and then held it up for Anya and Shany to see.
“Girl, that’s cool. I like.” Shany said, and patted Eilea on the back. Anya nodded approvingly and took the sign to the nearby desk.
“Do you think you could carve some holes into this so I can tie some glass beads to dangle off of it?” Anya asked.
“Sure.”
The Vantha girl used the smallest U-shaped tool to carve five small holes on the bottom of the sign and three on the top. Then she stood by the watch the oldest sister tie multiple glass beads and pendants onto a fish line. It would look amazing once hung in the store window or above a door.
“The glass makes it look so much better!” Eilea exclaimed. Shany nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, but without you, we wouldn’t have such a great board to use.” Anya responded and gave the girl a hug. “Thank you helping us.”
“You’re welcome.” Eilea gathered up her things and moved towards the door. “I’m glad you’re happy. I have to get going though, one more place to go to.” She smiled kindly, happy to have made them happy.
Anya opened the door for her. “Don’t be a stranger and good luck! Be sure to stop by our shop when we get it up and going, I’ll be sure to give you a pretty necklace.”
“Alright, will do.” Eilea said. Anya gave her a kiss on the cheek and then shut the door, leaving Eilea to stand there, a bit awkwardly. It was a strange ending to a job. But no matter, with a smile of success on her face, Eilea began walking to her last job of the day. |
