[Port of Riverfall] Drawing Svefra [Alaia]

[Adney Tempest]

9th of summer,514

Adney woke up from his casinor. He rubbed his eyes a little before getting up to start his day. Adney found a shirt that was laying around the boat and put it on. He walked off deck onto the port. He smelled the fresh smell of the water on the port. "Man it is such a beautiful day. I hope it still like this for the rest of the day." Adney looked at the beautiful blue,clear water. It looked so inviting. Adney was about to take off his shirt to go for a swim but instead he decided to just keep it on and go in feet first. He swam, splashed and dove around the water. Adney got out of the water and sat on the port. He smiled and began to laugh. " Man that was fun I wish Tydus was here for this." Adney's smile turned to a straight face. He was thinking a lot of what happened this past week. His pod mates decided to leave him without saying anything to him. Adney was confused and sad at the same time."Why did the guys leave me like that? Did I do something wrong to not be a part of this awesome adventure?"



Adney slapped himself back to reality, he gave out a huge smile and got up off the port. He jumped into the water and began to swim a little ways out of the port. He began to do the front crawl and swam out until he was a little ways away from RiverFall. Adney was getting a little tired and began to swim back to the port. He returned to port and got on shore. He took off his shirt and just let the sun dry his body. He walked back onto his casinor and just relaxed. Adney just felt really bored and decided to just get on the ground and do some push ups. He pushed himself to do fifty push ups. Tired at thirty push ups Adney pushed himself to finish the push ups and made it to fifty push ups. He fell to the ground feeling the pain in his arms. Adney got up and began to sit down on his casinor. He began to wipe his face with his wet shirt from the sweat he made from the push-ups. Adney leaned his elbows onto his lap and just stayed quiet. "Man this just proves how bored I am. I really hope that something interesting happens here in RiverFall."

- Adney Tempest

[Alaia]

Alaia made her way down from her apartment in The Pearl House, it was convenient and lovely to be right by the docks as she enjoyed watching the sailors come and go and do their daily routines. She often spent the early hours before work here and today she decided to bring a canvas and her charcoals to hopefully find some inspiration for her latest piece. Her lace dress billowed around her in the sea breeze and her long light blonde hair twisted and danced with the wind. The konti woman took a sweet breath of air, relishing the scents and the sounds for a moment before she found a small empty crate. Glancing around she tried to find the owner but only spotted a group of men working nearby so she approached him hoping the crate belonged to them and that she could use it. “Excuse me?” Alaia’s voice was gentle but clear like a melodic bell as she greeted the men. “Would any of you to know who the crate belongs to? May I use it?” Each head turned towards her and they all offered their own versions of smiles before turning back to their work, only one remained attentive to her question. “Nay Miss … I don’t know who it belongs to but you’re welcome to use it – if anyone has a problem with that just send them my way.” He winked at her with a jovial nature that belied his sea weathered looks. The man’s thick calloused hand reached out to shake hers in greeting so Alaia placed her much smaller hand in his and beamed at him as she gave him a good shake. “Thank you.” She parted ways with him a moment later after exchanging a few more insignificant words of greetings and partings before she moved back to the empty crate. She cradled her art supplies in one hand while her other, with the help of a foot, tipped the empty crate on its side and then over once more so that she could sit on the closed bottom. Settling herself onto her new makeshift seat Alaia balanced her canvas on her lap and withdrew a single piece of charcoal that had been clearly used multiple times in the past considering the worn down condition of the piece. Poising the charcoal over the canvas she closed her eyes letting her body and mind calm to a better sense of self before she opened them slowly allowing the bright blue orbs to scan the docks for someone to capture. It was a moment before she spotted a man on his boat, well of course it was a man on his boat most people were on boats here at the docks. Actually he didn’t really look like a man, not in the sense of the word that people usually pictured when they first imagined a man. The sea weathered sailor she had met moments before was what one would typically picture when someone first said man – this male was young. Not a teenager either, somewhere in between that led her to admire the youth in his features that so many sea travels lost all to quickly. She watched as he disappeared to the deck of the boat for a moment, unable to see him actually preforming the pushups with the people walking back and forth between her and his boat but she continued to watch again until he settled back down in a seat. Before she knew what was happening her hand was moving across the canvas, she never looked down at the drawing as she captured the line of his jaw and the strong slope of his nose. Her motions were almost that of a trance, her gaze gentle and studying as she memorized his features across the distance that laid between them. Each stroke of the charcoal was feather light leaving barely-there marks until she looked down at the outline she was creating. His eyes were off slightly and she brushed the side of her hand against where she was trying to shape his gaze capturing that youthful look in his eyes and she started over again this time glancing between the image in her lap and his face.

[Adney Tempest]

Adney got up from the seat of his casinor and walked onto the port. He looked around and walked a little past his Casinor. Adney took off his shirt and decided to jump right back into the water. Adney swam under water for a chime and then came up for air. He decided to just stay a float, moving his arms and legs in a circular motion. Adney then got bored of floating and dove into the water. Adney enjoyed being underwater and loved seeing all the different types of fish and plants that were living here. He came back up for air and looked around making sure that he wasn't in the way of any boats trying to dock on the port. Adney smiled and decided to swim out past the port once again. He began to kick his legs and and started to front crawl out of the port. Once he felt like he was far from the port, he decided to swim back onto shore. When he got there he got back on the port and grabbed his shirt to dry himself off.

While Adney dried off he noticed there was a female by an empty crate.She was staring at him, making him feel uncomfortable. From what he can tell though she was really beautiful, with blonde hair, blue eyes and she was wearing a white,laced dress. Adney noticed that she was drawing something. He couldn't help but be curious so he decided to walk towards her and hopefully make small talk. As he got to her he smiled, "Hello there miss my name is Adney Tempest. I um noticed that you were staring at me. Did I do something wrong?" Adney looked at the canvas where the drawing was. "What are you drawing there if it is not to much to ask?"

- Adney Tempest

[Alaia]

The man she was drawing couldn’t seem to sit still and as she looked between him and her drawing she tried to capture that energy on paper though it wasn’t something that was exactly easy. The young Konti woman pushed the charcoal on the paper to outline his hair as if it was being blown by the wind hoping that would help her portray his youth and vigor with a clarity that was hard to put on canvas. Even as the male dove into the water she continued on drawing, this time looking more at the canvas then at him. She adjusted lines and smoothed out shapes in a slow and tedious fashion that charcoal often needed because there was only so much rubbing in you could do before the dark smudge became irreversible. When she finally glanced back up again, only an outline still in her lap she found him heading towards her and she paused the motions of her hand and her lips pulled into a warm smile that matched his. “Hello Adney Temptest.” She offered in common, her eyes drifting along his form briefly before they came back up to settle on his face. She laughed softly, the sound like distant chimes ringing. “You did nothing bad. I was looking for someone to draw …” she spoke each word slowly and carefully as common wasn’t her first language she didn’t want to confuse one phrase for another and be embarrassed. She shifted the canvas so he could see the outline of his face staring back at him with windswept hair and a smile that brightened his eyes. “…you have a nice image.” She turned the canvas back to herself and then bit her lower lip in thought. “I hope you don’t mind. You caught my eyes.” She offered in explanation while her webbed fingers moved in delicate motions to put away her charcoal. “I’m sorry I’m rude … my name is Alaia.” The scales that kissed her forehead, arms and legs shimmered in the sunlight as did the swirling opalescent marks that ran delicately along the left side of her face. “Do you mind if I draw you Adney?” She rose to her feet, barefoot as she was at the moment, she offered him the seat she had been sitting on. “If you like to sit? You were swimming quite well out there. You like to swim?” She smiled at him again and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, the charcoal that was smudged and darkened her hand left faint traces of black powder in her hair where her hand had touched. “Are you living on the boat I saw you on?"

[Adney Tempest]

“Hello Adney Temptest.You did nothing bad. I was looking for someone to draw …" Adney smiled at her response but noticed that she paused for a moment.The female began to turn the canvas for Adney to see.“…you have a nice image.” Adney began to blush at the comment. "Thank you." The female turned the canvas back to her. “I hope you don’t mind. You caught my eyes.” Adney shook his head. "I don't mind at all, it is not everyday that you are inspired by someone for a drawing." Adney began to smile at the young female. “I’m sorry I’m rude … my name is Alaia.” Adney smiled. "It is fine no need to apologize." Adney looked around the area and looked back at Alaia with a smile. “Do you mind if I draw you Adney?” Adney smiled with delight. "Nope don't mind at all." Adney rubbed his hands together with excitement. "I can't believe I am going to get drawn."

Alaia got out of her seat and offered it to Adney.“If you like to sit? You were swimming quite well out there. You like to swim?” Adney nodded and walked towards the seat. He took a seat and smiled."Thank you for the seat and thank you for the compliment. As a matter of fact I do love to swim, I am Svefra after all and we tend to enjoy being by the water more then we do land." Alaia smiled at Adney.“Are you living on the boat I saw you on?" Adney looked at the boat and then back at Alaia. "Yes I do I just got her actually." Adney smiled and began to stare at the sun " So Alaia what do you have me do now?" Adney was excited to know what he had to do now since he was being drawn. "I have never been drawn before so I don't know what I have to do."

- Adney Tempest

[Alaia]

Alaia’s lips pulled into a kind and serene smile when the boy, Adney, took a seat where she had been sitting. At first she didn’t speak and instead she looked around for another seat for herself, blue eyes searching until she spotted another crate. Moving towards it she quickly grasped the edge and dragged it to sit in front of him but also making sure she wasn’t in the way of the sailors moving about the socks. “Svefra….” She murmured his race under her breath, more to herself then to him. “…worshipers of Laviku.” She smiled at that since the God was one of the few she actually prayed to depending on the situation. “Yes, of course you like the sea better then.” She offered him with a sense of instant kinship. While she was not one of Laviku’s children her own Goddess was closely entwined with him. As a konti she lived a lot of her time in the water so she enjoyed the knowledge Laviku was in her life through prayer. Sitting down she pressed her legs together in a dainty tilt and she placed the canvas back on her thighs making her it was rested and wouldn’t wobble to much when she went back to drawing him. “I don’t need you to do things, just be you?” She wasn’t used to people posing for her since she usually drew them from a distance but since he was here in front of her she figured she’d get to know him. Pulling her charcoal back out she looked at the canvas with her head tilted and she chewed her bottom lip in thought before she asked in her rough common. “What is the name of your boat? Tell me of sailing? I’ve never sailed.” Without any further hesitation her charcoal met the canvas again and she started darkening the lines she had already drawn into some sense of permanency. She was happy with the rough shapes she had created, now it was time to start giving them life and depth so that when you looked at the drawing you could almost feel the svefra. First she used the dust from the now darkened lines and smoothed it out across his face creating faint contours to his face that would hint at the way his upper cheek rounded to his lower cheek and the strength that was held in his young jaw. Lifting the canvas to her face she’d blow on the piece to spread the rest of the dust into the air and away from the picture so she wouldn’t accidently smudge it where she didn’t want to smudge it. The angles of his nose were straight and square and his brow was slightly heavy over his eyes but there was an unmistakable softness to the harder lines as she worked them until she was content. Every once and a while she’d glance back up at him and smile at him with encouragement to let him know he was doing just fine if he moved around because it didn’t bother her drawing. Using the charcoal sparingly she added some more darkness to the shape of his jaw and chin, the eyes were still untouched as she was saving them for last. The eyes of a svefra was the most important thing to capture, they were so unique and vibrant in their coloring and as she only had a black piece of charcoal she knew she couldn’t capture the pure blue of his gaze. She would have to settle in capturing the life there instead, but not yet she was still filling in the features – flaws, perfections and all – of the rest of his face.

[Adney Tempest]

Adney watched as he saw Alaia quickly grabbed another crate and brought it back for her to sit on. Adney felt a little embarrassed that he didn't help her with bringing the crate over here. “Yes, of course you like the sea better then.” Adney nodded in agreement. “I don’t need you to do things, just be you?” Adney smiled and nodded. "Oh ok, yeah I can do that. That is easy." Adney began to fiddle his thumb for a little bit then he began to sway left and right and hummed a merry tune. He closed his eyes and just smiled. “What is the name of your boat? Tell me of sailing? I’ve never sailed.” Adney stopped everything and looked at Alaia with a smile before he said anything he looked at his boat and looked back at Alaia. "Well since I just got her I don't really have a name for her yet, but I can tell you about sailing. Sailing is amazing I just enjoy it. It makes me feel like I am free and I can basically go anywhere I want to go. I don't know if that makes sense to you or not but sailing is amazing."

Adney went quiet again and began to sway left and right once again. While swaying he began to talk to Alaia. "So tell me a little bit about yourself Alaia? where are you from? what are your favorite hobbies and do you have any pets?" Adney was curious to know about Alaia she was a very interesting person. She had blue eyes, blonde hair. He thought that she could have been Svefra until he noticed that she had scales on her forehead, arms and legs. He tried to ignore it but the thought just kept coming back to him. "What is She? I mean she looks human but I don't remember seeing humans with scales on their body." Adney just ignored it and hoped that the questions he asked her will have the answers he was looking for.

- Adney Tempest

[Alaia]

The image on the canvas was looking more and more like the boy sitting in front of her and she was almost done with the basic shading and contour lines of his features then she would only have his beautiful blue eyes left. Her hand paused in her drawing as he suddenly stopped moving around and he began to talk about his boat and sailing. She smiled gently at him then and nodded gently “I understand. Sailing … it is a passion for you. I hope you name her soon…” Alaia would glance towards the boat and then back at him with a grin “Something so beautiful and loved should have a name.” His eyes. She stared into them for a long moment before she glanced back at her eyeless drawing and she started to sketch them in with the lightest strokes she could. The iris’s were simple in shape, most iris’s were the same shape so that’s not where the trouble came it. The real chore would be getting the flecks of light right and conveying the youthful innocence of this Svefra. It had been a long time since she met someone so lively. “Me?” She questioned slowly as she thought on an answer that would make sense in common. “I’m simple. I grew in Mura like most Konti …” she tilted her head though she didn’t glance back up at him for the moment, part of her was a little home sick but that was only because she was used to Mura and not so used to living away from it yet. “…I’m a healer. That is my job and my life. My hobbies … this is my hobby…” She nodded to the drawing she was completing of him. Looking back up she shrugged a delicate shoulder at him “There isn’t any to tell … I have no pets.” She wasn’t trying to be secretive, she was answering his questions fully enough but her mind was on his eyes as she drew them. She began darkening the faint details she had put in and every once and a while she’d just look up at him for a long moment without a word and then look back down. Carefully the edge of her charcoal would avoid places where she had voided for reasons of light reflection and she’d let her hand move to the next layer of his eyes. “I lived in Riverfall since the spring.” She finally offered to him hoping she was being a bit warmer then she probably was, it was so easy to get distracted by drawing. The eyes were so layered they stood out from the rest of the drawing just as she had wanted them to. She wanted to showcase the very attribute that was so prized by his race so she hoped with the life she tried to portray in the gaze that people’s gaze would be drawn there first. Lifting it up she held it at arm’s length from herself looking it over to make sure she liked it before she turned it for him to look at “What do you think Adney?” She watched him from the top of the canvas to gauge his reaction, sometimes people didn’t like what they saw staring back at them in her drawings though she always assumed this wasn’t her problem. She drew people as she saw them, perhaps if those people wanted to like what they saw then they should have been better people. In Alaia’s mind evil was just as beautiful as Adney’s innocent positivity when it came to a drawing.

[Adney Tempest]

“I understand. Sailing … it is a passion for you. I hope you name her soon…” Adney smiled and began to look at the boat. "Oh trust me I will be sure to name her." Adney saw that Alaia was also looking at the boat and then looked back at him with a grin which made Adney smile a lot wider.“Something so beautiful and loved should have a name.” Adney nodded in agreement and went to fiddling with his thumbs. Adney noticed that Alaia stared into his eyes a little longer before she looked back at the canvas. “Me? “I’m simple. I grew in Mura like most Konti …” Adney began to snap his fingers and laughed. "That makes so much sense right now especially with the scales showing on your forehead, arms and legs." Adney began to quiet down and listened some more with what Alaia had to say.“…I’m a healer. That is my job and my life. My hobbies … this is my hobby…” Adney nodded and smiled. "Ok so what does a healer do exactly? and I am sorry for the questions but my whole life I have been out at sea. We come to cities but we are only here a day or two then it is back out to sea so I don't really know much things." Adney smiled hoping that she would understand.

“There isn’t any to tell … I have no pets.” Adney smiled. "Have you ever thought to have a pet or you are not a pet person?" Adney began to cock his eyebrow and rub his chin curiously.“I lived in Riverfall since the spring.” Adney began to dance in his chair. "Oh nice, how do you like it here in Riverfall?" Adney was still dancing but was still listening to what Alaia had to say. Then Adney stopped when he saw Alaia show him the drawing. “What do you think Adney?” Adney's jaw dropped when he saw the drawing. "That is Amazing! I mean you got everything down from my eyes to my jaw line it is just perfect."

- Adney Tempest

[Alaia]

The Konti grinned from ear to ear when he approved of the portrait she created of him. She was glad he liked it and so she spun it back around and leaned it on the ground beside the crate carefully so that she could put away her charcoal and clap her hands together to get any loose dust from her skin. “A healer … we heal … you know when you have a cut or break a bone or are sick …” she nodded softly and her smile slowly fell into a simple but pleasant upturn of her lips. “Hasn’t anyone had to heal you from your family? Perhaps a splinter?” Alaia reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear leaving the charcoal residue on both the yellow strands and the very tip of her ear where she had touched accidently. “I love Riverfall, of course I miss Mura I lived there most my life … but Riverfall is wonderful … I’ll be leaving temporarily at some point this summer. At least that’s the plan. I want to explore, I have no idea where I go yet.” She would pick up the drawing again and then stand to her feet, her eyes scanning over the boy for a moment before she chuckled softly to herself. “I’ve never had a pet. I’ve never thought of owning one. I like animals though.” Using her foot she’d slowly scoot the crate back to where she found it, the sound of the scraping made a few men turn her way. Offering them an apologetic smile and then she’d pushed it a little farther out of the way before she turned back to her new friend. “I should go. I have work and I must shower.” She held up her dirty hands as she claimed to need a shower. “It was nice to meet you Adney, thank you for letting me draw.” She glanced down at the canvas in her hands and grinned “You were an inspiration.” Alaia would grasp the canvas on a clear portion and hold it slightly away from her body so the charcoal didn’t rub off on her white outfit. She’d pause slightly and glanced towards the Svefra “I hope to see you again Adney.” With that said she’d head back the way she came along the docks and make her way home where she would put the portrait of him near all the rest of the canvases she had already completed.