[Valkalah's Tears]That's the Spirit[Gillie]

[M'ki]

77 Summer, 514AV Ledger : 1lb Buckwheat Flour: 1GM 1dozen eggs: 1SM 3 hunks of cheese: 3SM 3 Glass Jars: 15SM M'ki let out a soft sigh as she tilted her face into the breeze, letting the sea air toy with her hair. It was unbound, though M'ki had the feeling that she would soon need to pull it back with a leather band of some sort if this breeze got any stronger. M'ki turned and rummaged in her pack, withdrawing the ingredients she'd bought earlier for practicing creating soulmist. The Konti had a couple of eggs, a wheel of cheese, and some flour with her, and with a pt-upon huff, M'ki selected one egg, a piece of cheese, and some flour, putting them in her mouth and beginning to chew. She had to resist the urge to gag; really, this was a disgusting texture. But, unfortunately, it was something that she was just going to have to get used to if she ever wanted to become a good Spiritist. At least she didn't have to swallow and regurgitate the mixture. That would have been a bit too much to stomach. Hah, stomach, M'ki thought, picking up her dagger and slicing the pad of her thumb, raising the bleeding digit and allowing the blood to drip down into her own mouth, mingling with the dough already there. Making a face, M'ki resumed chewing, focusing on the creation of the dough, and on making it the best dough she could to gift to a ghost. After a bit, M'ki spit the dough into her hand, lifting it to examine critically. It was an off-white color, emitting a soft glow. M'ki nodded; it wasn't the best soulmist ever created, but M'ki thought it was good for her (limited) skill. Nodding in satisfaction, the Konti pulled one of the glass jars she'd bought and carefully stored the newly-created soulmist in it. After replacing the now-full jar, M'ki pulled out one of the empty ones and dipped it into the nearby stream, filling it with water and using the liquid to rinse her mouth out. "Pah," she muttered, spitting the water to the side. "The things I do for hobbies."

[Gillie Dhu]

Gillie watched this mysterious Konti girl with interest from his perch atop a rock formation not far off. He'd been out wandering the outskirts of the city like he would on a day like this. Being alone had its perks: he was free to explore, gather information, and hone his skills whenever he wanted. This was such an occasion. He had headed towards Valkalah's Tears because he wanted to take some time to practice some swordsmanship.

However, he hadn't anticipated someone else having a similar idea.

Luckily, she hadn't seen him yet. He watched with interest, seated cross-legged atop his rock, one hand on his left knee and the other absentmindedly scratching just below his lower lip -- something he did when he was studying someone. Gillie raised an eyebrow when she spit the contents of her mouth into her hand. He couldn't tell what it was, but it looked pretty nasty. Konti were weird.

She filled a glass jar with the doughy-barf she'd made with her mouth, and then used another jar of water from the stream to rinse her mouth. Gillie figured this would be a good time to intervene. At least her mouth wasn't full now.

Grinning in his usual, unnerving way, he leaped down from his perch, folded his hands behind his head, and approached the girl.

"I've seen some pretty gross things," he said loudly, seeking to gain the Konti girl's attention, "and that one's definitely up there!"

Before she could respond, he plopped down next to her and winked. "They call me Gillie. Gillie Dhu. What the heck are you doing?"

[M'ki]

When the human had spoken, M'ki had yelped(she did not shriek) and almost tumbled off of her perch. Glaring at the boy, she said frostily. "I am M'ki, and I am practicing making soulmist." The Konti eyed the other warily, sizing him up-- he didn't seem to be aggressive-- just very curious. "What are you doing here?" she asked sharply; few people came out to Valkalah's Tears this time of day, which was what she had been counting on-- and even if they did, usually they were polite enough not to bother someone who was clearly busy. Giving herself a mental shake, M'ki reasoned with herself that no, she hadn't been clearly busy-- not when Gillie had approached her, anyway. She supposed she had to give him points for that, at least. Looking the human over once more, M'ki decided, "You're new. How long have you been in Riverfall?"

[Gillie Dhu]

"I am M'ki, and I am practicing making soulmist."

Soulmist, eh? Gillie thought, eyeing the girl with intrigue. Never heard of it. Must be something magical. Even though it looks like vomit.

Before he could reply, she continued, sharply demanding as to what he was doing there. Surely she realized this was a public location. She must have been really startled by his sudden appearance. Gillie rolled his eyes. Women.

"I came here to practice my swordplay," he said with a smile, brandishing his gladius and staring intently into its shimmering blade.

"You're new. How long have you been in Riverfall?"

Gillie looked over at the Konti and winked. "New, huh? Presumptions are dangerous things. I've been around Riverfall for as long as I can remember. I grew up here. But in the shadows. That's why you've never seen me before."

He returned his sword to its sheath. "Then again, I haven't seen you around before either. How long have you been here?"

Without waiting for an answer (perhaps due to his tendency to notice everything), Gillie continued, "So that soulmist stuff. What does it do? I mean, I figure it's got something to do with ghosts. You know, 'soul' and all. But is it like a weapon, or a face-cream, or something?"

[M'ki]

M'ki waited until Gillie was done speaking before addressing his questions. "It makes sense, then that I haven't seen you in the months I've been here. I've been here since about mid-Winter of last year." When he asked about the soulmist, M'ki sighed. She didn't much appreciate her business being pried into, but she supposed he was polite enough to ask, she could give him the courtesy of answering. "Soulmist is what makes up ghosts," she started. "However, ghosts don't actually have a whole lot themselves, and they want more. Spiritists, like myself, can make soulmist and give it to ghosts in exchange for favors. The soulmist strengthens the ghosts. I'm not very good at it yet, so the soulmist I made isn't the greatest, but the more skilled I become, the better quality the soulmist will be."

[Gillie Dhu]

"Mid-Winter, huh? That's a rough time to come into Riverfall. It's a wonder you made it in," Gillie wondered aloud, his eyebrows raised. Shortly after, he chuckled to himself at M'ki's explanation of soulmist. He leaned back on his elbows and crossed his extended legs. "So ghosts can't chew their own food, huh?"

Gillie somersaulted backwards and rose to his feet. With a smirk, the tactician said, "Hey, I've got an idea. I know we just met and all, but do you feel like teaching me a thing or two? I'm all for learning some new tricks."

He was pretty sure she would consent, but just in case, he added, "What do I need to make that soulmist-stuff?"

[M'ki]

M'ki snorted at the human's first words. "That's not why I was chewing it," she explained. "Soulmist is created by creating the mixture from the required ingredients, and then must spend time inside of the Spiritist's body in order to be anything other than a ball of paste." Watching Gillie somersault, M'ki mused that he reminded her of a puppy-- or perhaps one of those captivating little monkeys she'd seen in the market one day, that had scampered and capered all around its handler, performing tricks and entertaining passersby in return for mizas. Pulling herself back to the topic at hand, the Konti answered, "I suppose I could teach you a thing or two. If you think you can sit still long enough." M'ki was startled to realize that she was teasing the boy; she rarely opened up around strangers, but there was something about the human that just seemed... trustworthy. "You'll need flour, eggs, and soft cheese, to start with," she said, gesturing to her bag. She had enough for her to make one batch, and some for Gillie to try to use, if he wanted to. "Also some blood-- your own works best, I've read."

[Gillie Dhu]

"I suppose I could teach you a thing or two. If you think you can sit still long enough."

Gillie raised an eyebrow at the remark. His lips widened into a smirk. She's teasing me, he thought, finding humor in the situation. That's cute.

He crossed his arms back over his chest and leaned back on a sizable boulder. "My own blood, huh?" he said thoughtfully. After a moment of contemplation, he added, "I'm up for it. But walk me through the process again so I don't waste vital fluids for nothing."

He returned to her side and sat back down near her bag. He grinned and thumbed toward the bag. "Flour, eggs, cheese, blood. Chew. Spit. Smear. Summon. Right? I can do that."

[M'ki]

M'ki had to remind herself that Rak'keli would not look kindly upon her if she pushed the human off of the boulder he was currently sitting on. "No," she said shortly, striving for patience. The Konti took a breath to attempt to calm herself. "You measure out the main ingredients first-- the eggs, flour, and cheese. One egg, a decent hunk of cheese, and a handful of flour. Those must be mixed, either by hand or you can mix them in your mouth by chewing. Then you add the blood, and then the dough must go into your body. I choose to chew it because I don't fancy making myself puke every time I need some soulmist." M'ki helped Gillie measure the ingredients out. "And I don't have any skill in Summoning or anything of that sort, so no. I don't summon the ghost-- I find them hanging around wherever it is they like to hang around. Most times I gift them the soulmist and begin to earn their trust and friendship-- but few ghosts are trustworthy." Nodding to the ingredients, M'ki added. "Mix those together first and create the dough."

[Gillie Dhu]

Gillie popped the ingredients in his mouth and began to chew. The texture was horrible. Like mush. Gross. He grimaced, but glanced up at M'ki and managed to mumble, mouth full, "Noht haff-bad. Mm. Toistes loik chickun."

He remembered the necessity of blood for the dough, so he withdrew his gladius and allowed its blade to cut a little slice in his thumb. Mimicking M'ki's actions earlier, Gillie lifted his hand over his head and allowed a drop of the blood to fall into his mouth. Looking back at M'ki, still chewing, he inquired, "Loik diss, roight?"

When he had chewed for a little longer, he spit the dough out into his hand. It was lumpy, and a strange, off-white color. It looked a lot more like barf than M'ki's had, because he'd never done it before. Glancing at M'ki, he held up his creation and smiled sheepishly.

"Not sure why a ghost would want this, but here it is. Hah."