Nina
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Post by Nina on Aug 12, 2024 22:56:04 GMT -6
With his bright colors, the Shalaya was easy to follow. Venus hopped along after him without giving it much thought. The nice weather added to the scenery to make the trip quite pleasant indeed. It took her by surprise when Tembal suddenly spoke. She stopped for a second to consider her answer, then suddenly rushed to fill in the gap she had created by doing so.
"Oh, not too long," she admitted. "We have been working hard to build an adequate forge, and it is a long process." No matter how long it took, it was important to take their time and get it right.
"Not to worry," she added in as an afterthought. She wanted to reassure him just in case he was asking because he was uncertain of her skill level. She didn't want him to think that the relatively new forge meant she as an individual wouldn't know how to help him. "I have plenty of experience in matters of metal."
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Post by Silver on Aug 12, 2024 23:15:07 GMT -6
"Oh, yea, yea, of course," he said hastily. Did he accidentally offend her? No, it didn't seem like it. There was something in the way she spoke that gave him plenty of confidence in her ability. It reminded him a lot of how his sister spoke about music.
"What's it like, building something like that? Do you do it all by yourself?" Tembal was legitimately curious about the process, since it was unlike anything he had ever done before. He tried to imagine what it would be like to build a whole forge, and from what he had seen peeking inside, not a small one.
A million more questions entered his mind, but he pushed most of them aside. He was used to doing that, since he figured out pretty early on that people didn't love being bombarded with questions even if they did like what they were talking about. He could talk forever, but that was a rare 'gift', or so he had been told.
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Aug 13, 2024 0:46:22 GMT -6
The longer he spoke, the more it seemed like he was genuinely interested in her craft. Though she found it a bit odd, she was more than happy to talk about it. It was the most important thing in her life at that moment, after all.
"Exhausting," she said, leading with a chuckle. "My partner and I built most of it ourselves, though we had some help here and there. It is very important to be sure that every piece is in the right place. Fire and metal are very dangerous if left unchecked, you know."
The idea that one day her creation would be filled with rivers of metal and flame was exciting, and it put a light behind her eyes. Even what they had working now was beautiful and perfect, like everything she had ever dreamed of. Above all else, it was exactly what she wanted - a place to practice her craft exactly as she pleased.
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Post by Silver on Aug 15, 2024 21:00:08 GMT -6
Tembal couldn't help but to let out an amused snort and smile as she admitted how exhausting it was to build the forge. It definitely wasn't what he was expecting her to say. As she elaborated, he was impressed by what she said. Just the two of them building something so big all on their own? That was a lot. He wasn't sure he would have been able to do it, but she seemed pretty tough, so he definitely believed it.
"Oh yea, that makes sense," he said with a nod of his head. He didn't think much about the mechanics of keeping something so dangerous under control. It wasn't like he could hurt anyone with his craft no matter how hard he tried.
"Well, what are you going to do next, like now that you're done? It must be strange to move on after all that effort, right?" As soon as he said it, he thought it might be a bit much to ask someone he just met, but he couldn't take it back now.
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Nina
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Posts: 231
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Post by Nina on Aug 19, 2024 20:21:02 GMT -6
"Move on?" she said, quite surprised by the suggestion. "No, there is always more work to be done. The motions of it may differ, but work remains the same."
She couldn't know exactly what he meant, of course, but the premise of the question felt flawed to her. There would be a transition, sure, but it didn't feel as meaningfully different as he seemed to be implying. Perhaps it had something to do with the nature of her work. Creating things within the forge and creating the forge itself felt inherently similar. If she had made a... bakery or something, would she feel the same way?
"What about you? Are you working on anything interesting?" she asked. As soon as the words came out, she realised that she didn't actually know anything about him. He had asked her a few questions about herself, which felt obvious considering the context in which they met, but he offered little about himself in response.
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Post by Silver on Aug 19, 2024 21:06:40 GMT -6
"Right..." he said, contemplating what she said about work. She definitely seemed like someone who took her work very seriously. It seemed really important to her. Quite the opposite of his own approach. He hardly took anything seriously. Maybe he could learn a thing or two from her.
"Me? Nah..." Actually, he was so out of things to do that he decided to dig through an old pile of junk, which was what led him here in the first place.
"I guess I'm just trying to figure it out as I go along, you know? That's how I found this thing I want you to look at."
"Sorry, that's not the most exciting answer, is it? I guess I'm just not the hard working type," he said with a laugh at the end. It felt weird to say it out loud, but it was true. He couldn't imagine being as dedicated and hard working as her.
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Nina
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Posts: 231
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Post by Nina on Aug 20, 2024 3:19:51 GMT -6
It was quite clear that the two of them were very different. Every time he spoke, Venus found herself surprised at what he had to say, and it seemed like the opposite was also true. Would they ever have crossed paths under any other circumstances? Her passion for metal sure did bring her to some interesting places, come to think of it.
"That sounds nice," she said. Her tone indicated that she was quite earnest. It clearly wasn't the same approach she had to life, but it did sound fun in its own way.
At that point, Venus wasn't sure what else she should say. Did he want to be comforted? No, he was laughing at himself. It also felt wrong to just agree with him, even if his description seemed apt from what she had seen so far.
"Well, work isn't everything," she said with a smirk. She knew how funny that sounded coming from her, and she figured he would probably see it that way, too.
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Post by Silver on Aug 20, 2024 4:03:32 GMT -6
Though he hadn't been expecting it, Tembal found her words strangely comforting. He wasn't quite sure how to respond, so he was relieved when he noticed that they were right around the corner from his home.
"Look at that, we made it!" he said. "Just this way, stay close." He probably did need to say that, since his excitement made him unintentionally speed up on his way through the lair into the back room where the antiques were kept.
"Here it is. Isn't it cool?" he floated over and landed next to his prize. It was a tattered old frame barely holding up a huge metal gong. He ran his claws down the front of the piece just to feel the ridges in the metal. "I think if we fix it up, we could incorporate it in our show somehow, wouldn't that be so cool? Oh! I guess I never said - I make music, with my friends, and my sister, I guess."
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Aug 20, 2024 4:20:08 GMT -6
Just as she thought they were really understanding one another, he zipped off again. His enthusiasm was contagious, and Venus eagerly hopped along after him. She was dying to know what he was so excited about.
Venus carefully stepped over a long list of strange objects before she was close enough to get a good look at the gong. The cymbal itself was in rough condition, but she could tell that it was extremely well formed. Whoever made it clearly took great pride in their work. It made her smile.
"Breathtaking," she said. "You want to ring it? Once it is repaired, I am sure it will have a beautiful sound."
A cracked gong made a miserable sound, but once it was returned to its former glory, she could only imagine how lovely it must be. It certainly lived up to the hype. It also made her happy to think it would be put to good use.
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Post by Silver on Aug 20, 2024 4:37:00 GMT -6
"Oh I just knew you'd love it," Tembal said, hardly able to contain his excitement. Everything was coming together so perfectly. All she had to do was fix it, then he had to learn how to play it, and he was already imagining himself dramatically ringing it before a cheering crowd. Well, perhaps he was getting just a little ahead of himself.
"So you think you can fix it? That's great!" he was so excited he wanted to hug her, but he did manage to contain himself.
"Well, what do you think we should do next? Like... I guess you can't do it here, right, so we'll have to... bring it back with us? It's pretty heavy, I don't know if I can carry it, and I don't want you to have to do all the work, and..."
Well, perhaps if he stopped talking for just a second, she could answer at least one of those questions.
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Nina
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Posts: 231
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Post by Nina on Aug 20, 2024 4:46:45 GMT -6
Venus was a bit concerned about matching the excellent craftsmanship of the original, but she was confident that between her and Galena, they could work it out. Besides, what other options were there? They either fixed it to the best of their ability, or it continued to sit in here, silent and forgotten. It was obvious to her that the right choice was to repair it.
"Yes, well..." she hardly got a word in while he started rambling. Venus rolled her eyes and interjected. "Not to worry, my partner can help me carry it."
"In the meantime, I can draft up a plan for the repairs. It will take a bit of time, however." She wondered what Galena would say about her finding even more work on her only day off.
"Say, when this is all done, you will play it for me, won't you? I'd love to hear your music."
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