[PRP] Craftwork (Xopantla and Avani Shah)

[Geyser Eelborn]

A cave in the side of a volcano, home to millions of bats. An alcove lined with sand; deep caves full of guano and vents within a day's hike of the cave constantly re-lined with sulfur. Yes. Xopantla grinned. This was the perfect place for her workshop. And, of course, home. She could make shelves, she could store her materials here, she could mix them...heck, there was even a bamboo forest not far away where she could make the casings for her fireworks! The whole place was, without a doubt, utterly perfect. Beyond so. Hence why the fire cat had settled in here a few weeks ago. And after a few weeks of grueling work, sawing through bamboo with a home-made handaxe, making bowls out of clay by the river side, baking the clay, gathering sulfur and guano, the place was finally starting to smell the way Xopantla wanted to.

She didn't know where she'd come up with the idea for these. It had just sort of...happened in a dream. She'd seen it, not precisely in the form of instructions or of images of making it, but more like...the way the puzzle pieces fit together. How the ingredients would work together. But as she gazed at her shelves (one of the first things to be built) full of sulfur and guano, reviewing the image burned into her brain...she was short of one ingredient. Darz. She closed her eyes to gaze at the design imprinted on her spirit. Yes...the jagged, the angular...that's what she needed. A crisp, rounded shape. Hm...charcoal might just do it.

krusnik05

 

[krusnik05]

Since staying close by to the volcano to be with her friend whom she had a deep affection for, Avani had been able to discover many things about this environment. You know things to make out of or to make with and considering that she was on the path to wanting to become one of the best crafter's ever this has proven valuable.

That was why she was walking up the pathways along the side of the volcano. There were various nooks and cranies as well as caves that no doubt held treasures or someone occupying them. Avani would have to be very careful since she was from the Earth tribe and this was the hot spot for, obviously, Fire.

Humming a tune she stopped in front of a cave on the side of the volcano and took out a piece of charcoal. Now this little number she came across by accident..it was a good accident actually. Using the item she took out also a slab of rock, beginning to write down a tiny note in some scribble-scrabble and then went to the entrance writing on it as in to make a sign that this is where she was. "There. That should do it. This is where my trek ends so I can make more bags to carry whatever I find!." Her voice echoed in the cave, not really paying much attention to her surroundings that someone else lived there.

Geyser Eelborn

 

[Geyser Eelborn]

Xopantla was still deep in thought, eyes closed as she stared into the entrance to the bat tunnel. How did one make charcoal? Well, obviously, by lightly burning wood for a long time...but how could she find wood? Sure, there was a bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain, but the nearest wood, like, actual wood? That was about a day's journey towards the other side of the mountain! Darz na jarlgash! She would need to constantly supervise the charcoal as it burned. It was so frustrating, because she could even smell the charcoal...

Hey, wait a second. Loam? Wood? Leather? Rock? She could smell an Earth triber, too! And one standing inside her cave, at that! Xopantla whirled around to see a decorated earth tribe female laden with a leather satchel around her neck. "Oi!" she snapped. "Who invited you in here?!" Xopantla may have been short for a b'alam, but she strode forward as if she was the biggest magus in the whole of Weaving. She got into the stranger's face, blue eyes narrowed, and bared her teeth. "No, seriously. Who invited you in here?!"

krusnik05

Out of curiosity, who are you imagining as living on the other side of this volcano? If it's one of yours, we shall have to have a neighborly meeting...

 

[krusnik05]

Making another note on her stone slab she dropped the stone which cracked on the ground and dropped the charcoal she used as a writing instrument between them, all the while standing defensively in surprise. It was just her luck to enter someone else's home. Thankfully Yaotl wasn't with her or else he might be snappish and get into a temper. It wouldn't bore well for anyone, Avani thought with faint amusement. Shaking herself she lifted a paw in surrender and respect.

"Oh please forgive me. I really wasn't paying any attention and it wasn't my intention to come in here. Um well...no one invited me. I was just...uh... marking a mark to make sure that I reached up here. You know to go this far to search for more materials to be collected. I'm a crafter and want to know as much as possible with creating and building." Avani smiled friendly and offered a paw. "I'm Avani Shah. I hope you forgive me for the trespassing and well it's nice to meet you."

Geyser Eelborn

Nope not one of mines she is imagining even though he does live inside the volcano. No she is referring to Yaotl Yolotli who belongs to Caitlyn Hellstorm. They have....a deep affection for each other that is growing outside of here and making its way in here. Of course with a lot of interaction from time to time with Xavier. XD Definitely check out Yaotl and Xavier is always open for interactions.

 

[Geyser Eelborn]

Well...the phrase "please forgive me" was technically an apology. Xopantla let her hackles lower once again, but her eyes were still narrowed. She glanced at the rock that had fallen when she had startled her unexpected guest. Slate, from the looks of it--sedimentary rock, clearly not from around here. So, she traveled, did she? It was pretty pale slate, too, more light green than the usual blue-black, hey, wait a minute! Sparks flew inside Xopantla's mind as she saw the black object dropped against the stone. So, she hadn't been imagining the smell of charcoal after all! With that, Xoey's fur flattened even further and her ears perked up. Her shoulders sagged back into a relaxed state and her ears swung forward to point towards the stranger.

"Apology accepted," she mumbled. "So, you're basically making a map?" She scooped up the pieces of slate and laid out the pieces like a puzzle. She frowned. "We haven't got much in the way of this rock up here, so I'm afraid I can't replace it." She glanced up at the offered paw, then at the Earth Triber's face. Nnng. She didn't like anyone from outside Fire Tribe, but maybe this one was alright, at least in a business sense... "Xopantla, fireworks maker. If there's anything I can get you around here, I'd be sure grateful to exchange it for some charcoal, if you can get more. It's just what I need to complete my project, Avani Shah. Nice to meet a fellow crafter."

She stretched out her paws. "Not much around here but sulphur and niter, though. I guess if you want some obsidian, I can get you some. A few minutes napping and it makes a sharp blade, useful for cutting and lancing. Though it's not too uncommon up here in the volcano range. Where are you from that you're poking around volcanoes looking for supplies?"

krusnik05

 

[krusnik05]

Geyser Eelborn

Avani was nervous that this female, whose den she mistakened as an empty space, wouldn't accept her apology and possibly kick her down the cliff. That is what she would have done if it was someone trespassing in her home but only after asking what they were doing there in the first place. Seeing that this Fire tribess calmed, Avani also calmed down smiling some more. "Thank you for accepting my apology." Breathing out a sigh of relief, Avani blinked a few times. This female...Xopantla was a fireworks maker?

"Fire works? Oh I totally want to know about that." It sounded interesting and dangerous. Avani laughed and nodded. "Yeah I have some charcoal. How much of it would you need to complete the project? I can try to ge as much as possible for you." Avani said smiling slightly and bringing out several more paw full pieces of charcoal.

The sound of obsidian made into a sharp blade and used for cutting and lancing sounded incredibly more useful than sharpened rocks. "I would be appreciative for a trade of charcoal and a sharpened obsidian. As for where I come from. Well funny thing about that since obviously I'm not a Fire triber but I live on the lower levels right next to the earth with a Fire male." It might sound taboo for two different tribes to stick together so early in life but she was connected to this male because they were friends, deep friends. "I travel as much as I can in order to discover useful materials and learn what to do with them and how to use them. It's important to have things that might make life a little easier. Don't you think?"  

[Geyser Eelborn]

The earth tribess looked relieved. Xopantla wasn't sure what to think about that--she knew for a fact that she was, herself, cranky, territorial, cantankerous, and unfriendly. She didn't want anyone getting ideas otherwise and thinking she'd be nice all the time to anyone and everyone. No, darnit! She was fire tribe! Fire and brimstone and obsidian and smoke! Lava and magma, not just steam or, or dust, or whatever it was that represented other tribes. Presumably some sort of rock? Huh. Well, point was, Xopantla knew she wasn't nice, and she didn't want anyone getting it into their head that she was. But, on the other hand...someone she could trade with...and, better yet, for her ego, at least, someone who was curious about her work and thought it sounded dangerous...well...maybe she could afford to let Avani Shah be illusioned. Maybe.

"No problem, Avani. Might want to be careful, though. Most B'alam leave a scent around their home if they live there for long enough. Guess I smell mostly like sulfur and guano, though. Stuff like that. I guess anyone could've missed that smell. Charcoal's the key, though." She wandered over to the wall of the cave and pressed her forehead against it. Eyes closed, she concentrated on the design in her mind. Wisps of sooty, living flame; sharp pinpricks of white needles...and that round but crisp shape, all jagged but alive... "About...As much as...say..." She opened her eyes and looked around. "Maybe as much as that rock weighs?" She pointed to a stone near the entrance of the cave. It wasn't much bigger than twice the size of a head. "Experimentation and suchlike," she explained. The design, as it was, in her head was all brown. She wanted colors. Something that would react to the fire? But first, she'd have to figure out the concentrations. "I can pay you back with as much weight in obsidian." There. A fair bargain by her reckoning.

With the hard thinking out of the way, the difficult part began: socialization. And that began with the matter of an Earth tribess living with a Fire triber. Xopantla's eyes narrowed. How dare she?! How dare she steal a good, strong, worthy Fire triber from plenty of possible eligible Fire tribesses, hog him all to herself, keep him up? Couldn't she find an Earth Triber to satisfy her girlish needs? Not that she should want to. Fire Tribe is superior to them all. I mean, if I were Earth Tribe, I'd choose a Fire Tribe mate! But...perhaps that was it. Perhaps she wanted someone superior to her own make.

Not that Xopantla was jealous. Heh, no. No, she didn't need a mate. Not yet, anyway, and Fire Tribe or not...admittedly, he probably would not be up to standards. Neh. Fine. Avani could keep her..."friend" or whatever he was. She forced her face to relax. "Didn't know there were other B'alam on my mountain. You're the first person who's come up to say hello. So, what is it you make? Everything, or something in particular?"

krusnik05

 

[krusnik05]

Geyser Eelborn

Avani listened to Xopantla and nodded but then shrugged slightly. "This is the first time I've gone exploring this far. I normally don't because I don't have Yaotl with me but also I don't want to get hurt from the extreme heat that is in her. Yaotl might be upset and call me childish or something silly." The earth tribess laughed at the mention of her friend Yaotl. It was very strange to have a male friend that meant as much to her as her crafting.

Bringing herself back to the present as she didn't want to offend Xopantla, Avani smiled brightly at the question she was asked. "I make everything. It's no fun in limiting yourself to just one or a few things. Unless of course that is your passion then that is something different. But I want to travel all over the world to learn as much as possible. I want to be able to understand certain things that can be made by others and then learn how to create things that benefit everyone in the general sense. But charcoal....That one was made by accident."  

[Geyser Eelborn]

Xopantla snorted. She did not have friends of her own, but she could certainly put herself in this Fire Triber's paws (to a point). She would not have let a thick-furred friend go wandering up a volcano all by herself. Especially if her neighbor was a short-tempered, sooty, snooty Fire Tribess with a mean streak a mile wide. "I can sort of understand that from...Yaotl. Just don't go too far into the mountain. The heat outside's bad enough, but from the caldera, whoof, it is muggy in there." She had been up there a few times herself to collect sulfur. It was more than a little stuffy up there, and you had to watch out for occasional spurts of lava. She could withstand heat, but even Fire Tribe was immune to burns.

"Accident?" Disappointment settled heavily and quickly into her heart, and she struggled not to let it turn to anger in her voice. "Oh. But...if you know where I can find some charcoal..." I'll just have to make it myself. I knew it before, I know it now--I'll just burn some wood down in the forest. It'll take a while, but it isn't a big deal. Not a big deal at all. No. It isn't. I just have to keep telling myself that. "Tell you what," she said, struck by sudden inspiration, "I'll trade you what you have right now for an equal amount of obsidian. What do you say?"

krusnik05

 

[krusnik05]

Geyser Eelborn

Avani watched and listened to the Fire Tribess taking heed to her warnings but watched closely at the female. There was something dangerous about but then that was to be expected when in the lair of the Fire Tribers. However at the offer in trade Avani blinked then shook her head. "No, no, no, you misunderstand me. I make charcoal by accident and can actually make a good amount of it depending on how much you need without hurting the earth so much." The last thing she wanted to do was harm her home but neither did she want to leave this Fire Tribess without the means to further her project. "I just need some fire and this....pottery type object that I made from mud and of course wood for it to work. It's difficult to explain but I can always show you how to make some for yourself."