18th of Spring, 522 A.V.
Cleon wasn’t a hard man to find which worked a little in his favor from time to time. This time however he was looking to be sought by Randal in particular, hungry for the opportunity the man had mentioned off hand days ago. As such he found himself loitering outside of the founder’s surf shop with his kit bound neatly near where he stood.
He’d come early to make sure he wouldn’t miss him, and sure enough he saw the man coming down along the beach, looking a bit more unkempt than usual. This was a different sort of unkempt, aside from the usual as through the hair on the top of the man’s head Cleon could see horns emerging, although an attempt had been made to disguise them with the way he had brushed his thick hair. Cleon didn’t know what to make of it in the slightest and wondered if it had anything to do with what Faye had been experiencing, although he decided to keep his mouth shut about the subject for now.
Whatever was happening, Cleon wasn’t going to press the point. He was here to work, not ask unnecessary questions and besides he had his own problems to think of. That was partially the reason he had come here in the first place as he hoped keeping busy with work, enough so that he wasn’t just constantly dwelling on his fixations. He needed to feel productive, and this was as good a way as any.
When Randal got close enough, Cleon picked up his kit, and closed the few stps to the founder with his set of tools firmly cradled in his arms. Now with a bit of a better look, he could see that portions of the man’s face had changed as well to something a shade more bestial that matched along his loping gait. It was a little disconcerting to see him so afflicted, but Cleon swallowed past his reservations as he approached the man.
“Excuse me Randal? I was wondering if you still needed a hand? I brought my own tools.” Cleon said. Randal gave him a briefly confused look, then recognition slid across his features and he smiled.
“Sure. As it happens I could really use a clerk to mind the shop when I’m away, and if you are any good with those tools, I might even let you work on a few boards eventually. Have you ever surfed before?” Randal asked as they shook hands, and then walked up the stairs to the second level of the shop.
Cleon shook his head. “I’m not that good actually, I was hoping to learn as I went.” Cleon explained hastily.
Randal nodded. “That’s fine, it will mean a slower start, but I’ll show you what you need to work on in the meantime. You’ll also want to get on learning how to surf as soon as possible. Kind of important even if you are just going to be clerking here for now. Hmmm… When are you usually free?” Randal asked.
Cleon narrowed his eyes and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose as a eye watering headache came to the fore. It wasn’t anything Randal had said, rather it was a side effect of these fixations that had left him feeling more than a little hollow lately.
“Sorry, headache. That sounds great, and I guess I’m free whenever I’m not needed here.” Cleon said with a shrug as he got a good look at the shop’s interior. It was quite nice, the upper level anyways as the space seemed quite cozy the way it had all been laid out. He wouldn’t mind working here one bit even if he hadn’t the faintest idea about what he would be doing yet. It couldn’t be as stressful as thieving he consoled himself.
“Alright, we’ll work something out so I can show you the ropes. Its easy enough to get the hang of once I show you what’s what, although it might be tricky with the sea the way it is currently. Oh well, the community pool should do the trick to at least explain to you the basics. Are you any good at swimming? Up here we’ve got our service area where people can come take a look at the finished boards and hang out when they aren’t out there enjoying the surf. I don’t expect to see much of that except from the more confident swimmers, and people that are familiar with the dangers the water presents during this season. We’ve got our own limited bar up here to keep our guests entertained and generally keep them looking at the boards so they might make a purchase.” Randal said, walking across the room till he reached a stairwell that lead down.
“Underneath here is my workshop where I put the boards together. Before that, take a look at some of the finished boards up here so you’ve got an idea about what we’re going to be making down there. Here, I’ll take one down.” Randal said, sliding one of the wooden boards off of its pegs, then setting it down across the counter.
“This is a full sized surf board, and when used properly it will let you stand on top of it while riding the waves before they crash in the shallows near the beach. The bigger the wave, the more fun you’ll have, but you have to be careful and know the water you are surfing in. Right now you’d likely to not survive one trip as you could be caught by a riptide or a confused shark if you even tried so we’ll keep you beach side for now. You’ll want to be at least decent at swimming before you even try to surf those waves.” Randal explained.
Cleon nodded, chewing on his pinky nail as he gave the surfboard a good look, wondering how exactly he got it into this uniquely solid looking shape that felt lighter than it had any right to be.
“We’ll put that on the to do list. Manning the counter is pretty self explanatory. You offer our patrons drinks, show them the boards, chat them up about the subject and generally try to be as accommodating as possible while they are here. Also we offer painting and repainting services, so make sure everyone new to the shop knows that if I’m not around. With that settled, how about I give you a look at what’s below. I’ve got a few boards in various stages I can show you before we see what we’re working with.” Randal said gesturing to the stairwell, and then Cleon followed him down where he saw just that. There were a couple of half boards already set up, looking more like odd wooden fish skeletons held together by small green ropes. He continued walking over towards the back where he had several sheets of thin wood set up along the wall while on the table there was a set of cut outs, a small black jar, and a charcoal pencil.
“Just set your tools on the table.” Randal said as he pulled over one of the sheets of wood that looked like two wide boards had been glued together in the middle with a soot colored substance. “Like I said earlier, it is not particularly hard once you get used to it, but it is a complicated process so pay attention. We start out with an outline before you make your cut.” Randal said, picking up one of the cut outs and holding it to the sheet of wood before tracing the curved outline with his free hand. Then he flipped the sheet around, and handed over the charcoal pencil to Cleon. “Here you give it a try.”
Taking the charcoal pencil, and with Randal holding the wood cut out for him, he traced around its curved top, first outlining the left side of the board before going on to do the right. The cutout helped considerably to keep his line straight, though he doubted his ability to do the same when the tools would come into play. Perhaps sensing his hesitancy, Randal went over to Cleon’s kit bag, unrolling it and examining the tools for a moment before he picked out a fat blade pole saw and walked back over to the wood sheet.
“Here, place you hand on the handle, and just follow along where I guide you with my motions.” Randal said, and Cleon did as he as asked, gingerly laying his hand over the handle before the man’s much larger one clasped the handle over his. Then Randal started rocking his had subtly back and forth, Cleon watching on as the saw bit into the sheet of wood before continuing to cut smoothly along the curve of the board, basically following the outline as he continued all the way to where the board ended. Then they did the same on the other side, again gently rocking the blade back and forth rapidly as they continued along the sheet of would until the outline was completely cut out. Then Cleon took a step back as Randal pulled it away from the wood sheet and then let the sheet fall onto the floor while he set the board on the table.
WC - 1,556
He’d come early to make sure he wouldn’t miss him, and sure enough he saw the man coming down along the beach, looking a bit more unkempt than usual. This was a different sort of unkempt, aside from the usual as through the hair on the top of the man’s head Cleon could see horns emerging, although an attempt had been made to disguise them with the way he had brushed his thick hair. Cleon didn’t know what to make of it in the slightest and wondered if it had anything to do with what Faye had been experiencing, although he decided to keep his mouth shut about the subject for now.
Whatever was happening, Cleon wasn’t going to press the point. He was here to work, not ask unnecessary questions and besides he had his own problems to think of. That was partially the reason he had come here in the first place as he hoped keeping busy with work, enough so that he wasn’t just constantly dwelling on his fixations. He needed to feel productive, and this was as good a way as any.
When Randal got close enough, Cleon picked up his kit, and closed the few stps to the founder with his set of tools firmly cradled in his arms. Now with a bit of a better look, he could see that portions of the man’s face had changed as well to something a shade more bestial that matched along his loping gait. It was a little disconcerting to see him so afflicted, but Cleon swallowed past his reservations as he approached the man.
“Excuse me Randal? I was wondering if you still needed a hand? I brought my own tools.” Cleon said. Randal gave him a briefly confused look, then recognition slid across his features and he smiled.
“Sure. As it happens I could really use a clerk to mind the shop when I’m away, and if you are any good with those tools, I might even let you work on a few boards eventually. Have you ever surfed before?” Randal asked as they shook hands, and then walked up the stairs to the second level of the shop.
Cleon shook his head. “I’m not that good actually, I was hoping to learn as I went.” Cleon explained hastily.
Randal nodded. “That’s fine, it will mean a slower start, but I’ll show you what you need to work on in the meantime. You’ll also want to get on learning how to surf as soon as possible. Kind of important even if you are just going to be clerking here for now. Hmmm… When are you usually free?” Randal asked.
Cleon narrowed his eyes and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose as a eye watering headache came to the fore. It wasn’t anything Randal had said, rather it was a side effect of these fixations that had left him feeling more than a little hollow lately.
“Sorry, headache. That sounds great, and I guess I’m free whenever I’m not needed here.” Cleon said with a shrug as he got a good look at the shop’s interior. It was quite nice, the upper level anyways as the space seemed quite cozy the way it had all been laid out. He wouldn’t mind working here one bit even if he hadn’t the faintest idea about what he would be doing yet. It couldn’t be as stressful as thieving he consoled himself.
“Alright, we’ll work something out so I can show you the ropes. Its easy enough to get the hang of once I show you what’s what, although it might be tricky with the sea the way it is currently. Oh well, the community pool should do the trick to at least explain to you the basics. Are you any good at swimming? Up here we’ve got our service area where people can come take a look at the finished boards and hang out when they aren’t out there enjoying the surf. I don’t expect to see much of that except from the more confident swimmers, and people that are familiar with the dangers the water presents during this season. We’ve got our own limited bar up here to keep our guests entertained and generally keep them looking at the boards so they might make a purchase.” Randal said, walking across the room till he reached a stairwell that lead down.
“Underneath here is my workshop where I put the boards together. Before that, take a look at some of the finished boards up here so you’ve got an idea about what we’re going to be making down there. Here, I’ll take one down.” Randal said, sliding one of the wooden boards off of its pegs, then setting it down across the counter.
“This is a full sized surf board, and when used properly it will let you stand on top of it while riding the waves before they crash in the shallows near the beach. The bigger the wave, the more fun you’ll have, but you have to be careful and know the water you are surfing in. Right now you’d likely to not survive one trip as you could be caught by a riptide or a confused shark if you even tried so we’ll keep you beach side for now. You’ll want to be at least decent at swimming before you even try to surf those waves.” Randal explained.
Cleon nodded, chewing on his pinky nail as he gave the surfboard a good look, wondering how exactly he got it into this uniquely solid looking shape that felt lighter than it had any right to be.
“We’ll put that on the to do list. Manning the counter is pretty self explanatory. You offer our patrons drinks, show them the boards, chat them up about the subject and generally try to be as accommodating as possible while they are here. Also we offer painting and repainting services, so make sure everyone new to the shop knows that if I’m not around. With that settled, how about I give you a look at what’s below. I’ve got a few boards in various stages I can show you before we see what we’re working with.” Randal said gesturing to the stairwell, and then Cleon followed him down where he saw just that. There were a couple of half boards already set up, looking more like odd wooden fish skeletons held together by small green ropes. He continued walking over towards the back where he had several sheets of thin wood set up along the wall while on the table there was a set of cut outs, a small black jar, and a charcoal pencil.
“Just set your tools on the table.” Randal said as he pulled over one of the sheets of wood that looked like two wide boards had been glued together in the middle with a soot colored substance. “Like I said earlier, it is not particularly hard once you get used to it, but it is a complicated process so pay attention. We start out with an outline before you make your cut.” Randal said, picking up one of the cut outs and holding it to the sheet of wood before tracing the curved outline with his free hand. Then he flipped the sheet around, and handed over the charcoal pencil to Cleon. “Here you give it a try.”
Taking the charcoal pencil, and with Randal holding the wood cut out for him, he traced around its curved top, first outlining the left side of the board before going on to do the right. The cutout helped considerably to keep his line straight, though he doubted his ability to do the same when the tools would come into play. Perhaps sensing his hesitancy, Randal went over to Cleon’s kit bag, unrolling it and examining the tools for a moment before he picked out a fat blade pole saw and walked back over to the wood sheet.
“Here, place you hand on the handle, and just follow along where I guide you with my motions.” Randal said, and Cleon did as he as asked, gingerly laying his hand over the handle before the man’s much larger one clasped the handle over his. Then Randal started rocking his had subtly back and forth, Cleon watching on as the saw bit into the sheet of wood before continuing to cut smoothly along the curve of the board, basically following the outline as he continued all the way to where the board ended. Then they did the same on the other side, again gently rocking the blade back and forth rapidly as they continued along the sheet of would until the outline was completely cut out. Then Cleon took a step back as Randal pulled it away from the wood sheet and then let the sheet fall onto the floor while he set the board on the table.
WC - 1,556
