Closed Rise and Shine (Venser)

[Scarlet Rose]

25th of Summer, 514 AV

Morning. Scar hated the morning especially when by the time she had returned to her room the night before her mind was consumed with the blue eyed, blonde haired man she had met the previous night. It had taken her almost two bells to actually fall asleep and then she tossed and turned waking up way to often because she was afraid to over sleep and miss out on meeting up with Venser like they had planned. She jumped from bed and tossed her clothes back on before running quick fingers through her hair, darkened circles were under her eyes from her lack of sleep and she yawned with a large stretch from her fingers down to her toes. Next she pulled on her boots making sure they were laced up neatly so that she didn’t look like she just rolled out of bed to meet him.

“Petch.” She grumbled to herself just wanting to be back in bed under the covers sleeping until whenever she wanted to. If she had, had a choice she would have picked a different day or at least a later time. “He will just have to deal with me hating the morning.” The herb they had smoked the night before was no longer loosening her muscles and she felt the stiffness in her limbs. Every move she made was accented by pain from the adventures she’d had the past couple days but a few slow stretches helped loosen her up a bit.

Leaving her room the trek to Venser’s room wasn’t very long, just across the lobby and down the hall and she was there. It was definitely not enough time to fully way up. She was outside his door almost a full bell before they were due at the shop and she leaned a heavy shoulder against his doorframe while her knuckles rapped on his door almost loudly. She didn’t care who she woke up, if she was going to be awake other people could be awake as well. In her mind the other people didn’t matter, as long as she was able to wake him up in case he hadn’t gotten up yet she was happy. In fact she wished she was waking him up because that was just more satisfying in her mind then him being fully awake at this hour. Part of her would be ecstatic if he was just as miserable as her this early in the morning otherwise she wasn’t entire sure if she would be able to hide her desire to punch him if he happened to be one of those dreaded morning people.

“Venser, it’s Scar.” She spoke with the thick voice of sleep through the door while resting her head against the frame now. Another yawn parted her lips and she stifled it behind the back of her hand. She wouldn’t speak again until he opened the door but once he did she’d tilt her eyes up to his and narrow them. She was still pretty much pleasant towards him, pleasant for her anyways first thing in the morning. “I just want you to know I am not a fan of yours this morning Venser. Doesn’t matter how many fat men you punch for me. Shall we go?” Her lips quirked into a smirk and she backed up a step to give him space while her eyes tracked his movements.

[Venser Rush]

Venser Rush had not slept the night before. Wide-awake from the events that had transpired, the blonde had instead decided to delve into note-taking. His mind was far too consumed, a single-minded 'lust' (for it was the closest thing it could be equated to) building in his mind, shaping and thrust deep into the annals of his brain. He would not see the deep, dark lines building under his eyes. Time had replenished his store of djed, a meal, by now digested and spread through his body, settling his stomach, but a voracious hunger had stirred in his mind, as well. He found it welling, overwhelming, stirring and cycling through him, an eternal, damning and destructive game that the Rush twin chose to play driving him deeper into the reaches of possibility.

Auristics was the art of acquiring knowledge from the environment and from the auras of sentient beings alike. Reimancy was the magic that currently bit at him, as well. He had seen it performed, and had even learned to draw upon his own Res, but there was a furrowed shadow that stretched over his practical understanding of the magic that by all intuitive knowledge of djed that Venser had acquired during his delvings into the Flux and Malediction, should be entirely impossible. It broke the very essence of it, but more so than doing that, it also challenged his perception of the other magicks, as well

Djed is capable of more than flowing through the body. It can be more than essence of the soul given form in the physical shell of a human being. Djed is identity, an aspect of all life, interwoven and by those who are capable of harnessing it, power beyond mundane understanding.

The Rush twin pulled at the weave of his djed once again as he sat down upon the floor of his room. He closed off his mind from the world around him, pushing deeper into himself, the world naught but a blur as he, as he had before, visualized the silvery wisp in his mind. He pulled at it to no avail, tugging and clutching at the ethereal material until it solidified. Djed coursed through the Rush twin as he pulled at the wisp now turned into a ribbon, drawing the Res from the depths of his soul. Venser's body shook with the deep chills that coursed down his spine, a deep satisfaction brewing upon his features. Res formed sluggishly from his palms, the silvery wisps from each hand floating in separate streams. It took all of Venser's concentration for them to not scatter, sweat condensing upon his brow as his mind pulled into each stream, pulling at them.

Directing each of the streams, he willed them to coalesce and form a single bead before his eyes, a gaseous form no larger than the very center of Venser's palm floating in between his hands. The small, gaseous ball of djed had taken a chime to coalesce, and before that, three to form, but Venser's patience was rewarded with the ethereal, swirling Res that he found was under his control, if only for a moment...

When Scarlet knocked upon the door, Venser's concentration was entirely broken, the globe of Res dispersing without his focus to keep it held together. A scowl pursed his lips, frustration mounting within his thoughts as he lashed out mentally,

She had to interrupt NOW! Not even five chimes longer... Even just four! She had to come IMMEDIATELY.

Frustration evolved into complete rage, swirling wildly in his mind as his eyes widened, the Rush twin taking his time to rise to his feet and in the process, kick at the table near his bed. It did damage to neither Venser nor the table, though pain coursed through Venser's foot, frustration arise all the more before he cast his gaze towards the door.

Breathe... Relax. You were the one that orchestrated her arrival at this time.

And then she lashed out at him, however mildly.

Oh?

A smirk materialized upon the Rush twin's lips as he opened the door, his eyes cast to hold the woman's gaze, noting the dark lines that had formed underneath her eyelids.

"We're in agreement, then. You haven't earned any additional respect. A damsel in distress isn't exactly the most reliable of assistants, my dear Scar."

The Rush twin winked at the woman, a smirk cast over his features before he brought with him his key, and his rucksack. The Rush twin did not speak to the woman as he led her through Tarsin's and beyond the docks. It was only when the pair had entered the Merchant's Ring that he finally uttered,

"We'll try to open as quickly as possible. Mikayas should be at the shop around midday, as I previously indicated, and patronage does not usually enter the shop until he does. Valdar, wherever the bloody petch that bastard is, will come to replace us at that time, but that does not lead to the opinion that we need to linger. If we work quickly, we can leave by the tenth bell and actually move on to more interesting matters.

Deal?"

The Rush twin motioned for the woman to enter the Emporium before him, motioning to the sculptures riddling the floor as he remarked,

"Watch out, the Emporium's floor plan, or rather, lack thereof is a veritable maze."

[Scarlet Rose]

The circles under Venser’s eyes were the first thing to catch her attention, her smirk turning into a look of lazy satisfaction that she wasn’t the only one who had little to no sleep. Scar’s eyes glittered with amusement at his words and she shrugged a careful shoulder while tucking hair behind the opposite ear. “Good thing I’m not a damsel nor am I in distress anymore dear Venser, thanks to you that is.” She bowed ever so subtly at the waist, clearly enjoying herself before she fell into step behind him and added “Besides, if I was a damsel I sure as petch wouldn’t be awake this early without my beauty sleep.” The soft laugh that caressed her words faded just as quickly as it had appeared and she let herself settle into a pace that kept her at his side. The silence that followed their greetings was comfortable and actually preferred; it allowed her to wake up some with the warming of her limbs and the sweet morning air.

While they walked she took in the surrounding areas, her eyes occasionally shifting to him and watching him instead as curiosity burned in her gut just as it had the night before. The morning fog on the water clung to her curls making them fall flat but she knew that just meant they would be even more persistent later, the thought making her scowl. When they reached the shop she focused on him once more, his words washing over her quietly as he outlined the morning. “I’d love nothing more than to do something interesting after this.” She paused and added a half beat later. “Just tell me how high to jump Venser and you’ve got a deal.” She commented sincerely despite her favoritism towards playful comments she stepped into the shop and made sure to watch her footing, waiting for him out of the way.

Turning around on the balls of her feet her eyes scanned the dark shop. The shadows still lurked in the emporium, not yet being chased away by the rising sun but there were places the light was already revealing due to the large doors she just entered through and this was where her eyes focused. He wasn’t lying when he stated that it was a maze and she couldn’t help the worried she cast around the shop. “I’m going to get so lost.” She paused in awe as she stared at some of the carvings and then she grinned at the room almost as if she was challenging it, her words whispered more to the winding paths then the man behind her. “This should be fun.”

From what Scar could see of the shop it was well worn and old, the tiles had seen better days but that only made her more at ease. It was the obvious age pulled her in, welcoming her in a warm embrace like a grandfather with a pipe but she forced her eyes to pull from her surroundings and land on Venser. “You said last night there was wood to be carried in?” Her head tilted to the side subtly as she recalled his descriptions of the night before. She wanted to get started, her fingers were itching to do something otherwise she would want to pick up the carvings surrounding her and examine them. A smile pressed against her lips before she asked with honest interest “If we have time later, will you show me one you did?” She motioned to the room with a brief wave, he had said he was a wood carver so something in here must be his but first it was time to work.

[Venser Rush]

In the life of an artisan, there was nothing but time. Mikayas' Emporium had no more than three orders ever come in a single day. Orders were usually on the larger scale, religious in nature, or simply garish, or beautiful designs carved from blocks of wood and shaped by the man Venser had considered his mentor for more than a year. The Rush twin enjoyed Mikayas' workplace, to an extent, but as of late felt the very present limitations that came with investing so much of his time in a craft that was steeped not in the transcendent, but deeply and eternally set into the mundane.

Mikayas had tutored the Rush twin, slightly, regarding the history of the craft, though Venser retained only that the ancient Gods had come together so that all men could know their images and create a visage for the common man to imprint into the media that surrounded them. Stone and clay born of the earth, ceramics, wood, and bone (a medium that Venser understoof better than most) all shaped and formed into images. Carving was, at its inception, a religious practice. Venser had always considered it amusing that while he carved an image for religious purposes at work, his own was very much ignored and reserved instead in the workings of magic.

Magic, by its very definition, is change incarnate. It only makes sense to use it to show reverence for Harameus.

The thought went as quickly as it had come, and the result left Venser acutely aware of the woman's words. Despite her earlier disrespect, she was obviously interested in the Rush twin and his endeavors. It showed in her speech and in how willing she was to linger within the shop. The Emporium was by no means spacious, nor was it appealing in any sense of the word so early in the day. The sun was still set low over the sky, rays of iridescence spilling over the distant, Ravokian horizon. In the break of dawn's first light, the rising sculptures of the Emporium stood in their eternal vigil, darkness clutching at each one in turn. The Woman with the Lotus Blossom looked much like a beautiful, yet ghastly specter in the darkness of the shop, her companion, a small, beaver-looking creature, a vigilant, vicious minion crouched to attack.

Time would pass and later on, the shop would look less menacing, but in the morning, the opening was a daunting sight.

"The stock should be around the side of the building. We need to take it upstairs. Luckily, there is a pulley system that works on a platform that can assist us in that endeavor. It's rather difficult to use, and is much simpler with two people, which is why I brought you with me. I rarely open, so I'm not entirely sure how it works."

Usually, Venser came into the shop after Mikayas' suppliers had already left, but the Rush twin was told to come today in the morning, so he would. Mikayas allowed him more freedoms with his employment than an ordinary employer would. It was in Ven's best interests to placate his 'Master.'

"I can show you several, actually. I've done finishings on the majority of the works in the shop. And there are at least two in the place that are my own works. Engravings, at the very least, are my original work. I work as both a carver and an engraver for Mikayas, after all."

The Rush twin could not ignore the second aspect of his profession. It was, after all, the reason why me made more money than his colleague, Valdar, did.

[Scarlet Rose]

Scar couldn’t help but silently chuckle to herself when Venser spoke, she carefully bit her tongue back and simply let her eyes crease at the corner with her amusement. She hadn’t realized he was a carver and engraver, good thing she fought the urge to speak. Sometimes her sensibility kicked in, she wanted the job he had possibly offered her anyways. Nodding her head to his words instead the fiery red head shifted her weight around his and back out the door. “Might as well get started then.” Glancing into the shop she looked back at him “I don’t know if you have stuff you need to do in here but if you do I can load wood onto a cart no problem. Do what you need to do and I’ll bring it in and then we can figure out this pulley system.”

She wasn’t exactly a business woman, she didn’t know if there was anything special to do other then bring in the wood but she knew that had to be done so she was driven to turn from him and slip back out the door. Whether or not he followed her or went deeper into the shop she moved cautiously around the side of the building after all it was just last night that she came unexpectedly face to face with the fat man. No one was around however, it was rather quiet out and the morning fog still cling to the city but it was beginning to diminish as the rays of syna started to pierce through.

The pile of wood was sitting where Venser had said it would be, her lips pursed slightly at the size of the pieces but she quickly pushed on towards the pile. A small cart leaned against the side of the building nearby and she wrinkled her nose wondering exactly how many she could fit before she couldn’t handle the weight anymore. Suddenly it dawned on her that she didn’t know how many logs Venser wanted brought in. Frowning at her own stupidity for not asking she pushed the sleeves up on her shirt to expose her pale arms, the pale morning light glinting off the even paler scars that littered her arms in a randomness that clearly stated they had not been intentional.

Moving the cart closer to the stack she reached for the first log and lifted, her side shooting with pain where she had bruised herself in the bar fight a few nights ago. She relished the pain though and other then an instinctual quick gasp the young woman ignored it. She was careful when she placed the wood into the hand cart, there was no reason to rush and risk damaging property that wasn’t hers. After two more logs were loaded, for a total of three, she gripped the handles on the cart and pushed. The cart groaned and so did she. Using her weight to combat the resistance she pushed the cart towards the front of the building, her slight frame tensing and pain lacing her muscles as she maneuvered it around the corner to the front of the building.

Once there she parked the cart by the door and then gripped one log, her bruised side protesting, and cradled it on top of her shoulder so that she could walk it into the shop. With careful movements she moved over to where the pulley system was and bent with her knees until she could lower the log without damaging it on the ground. Unloading the rest of her cart she began the process all over again. Her mind wandered while she worked; unless Venser spoke to her she let the monotony of the physical labor burn through her muscles and bring a sheen of sweat to her forehead. She didn’t know the plan would be for after work but she wasn’t too concerned about it, typically she could find herself something fun to do and she rather make an impression here if she could. The possibilities of staying in the city were looming over her head and she needed to have a backup plan. Venser became her back up plan.

Scar would just bring in wood until she was stopped or until she had no more room to carefully put logs, whichever came first. The sun was fully up by now and her hair, damped before by the fog, frizzed slightly as it dried out. Perfect. Large eyes darted around the shop now that the light was pouring in and her mouth gaped a little, she still couldn’t imagine the skill hands had to have for such intricate work. “Petch…” She muttered to herself before looking for Venser. “Pulley now or pulley later?”

[Nemesis]

. Thread Grade Pending Greetings! If you decide to return to us, fling me a PM and your grade will be posted. Thank ye, -Nemesis