Peaceful times (closed) « Thread Started on Apr 26, 2009, 7:31pm »
*clang....clang....clang....SSSSSSSSsssssss*
Akane watched as the steam rushed upwards from the large bucket, battering against the wooden ceiling of the forge like a miniature thunderhead, only to be dispersed and eventual cooled into warm droplets of moisture. After a mental countdown, she pulled upwards on her tongs to reveal the horseshoe she'd just finished cooling, the metal no longer glowing red.
Still, she had to use caution; the horseshoe was still very hot and would burn human skin...the metal hook she hung it from, however, would not burn, and thus she set aside her creation to cool.
Standing back, she wiped her forehead and glanced outside, noting that the rain from earlier in the day had stopped and the sun was out in force. Wiping her sweaty hand on her sleeve, she walked to the door leading into the main shop and peeked inside.
"Father, I've finished the last shoe for that order. It should be cool enough to pack in the next twenty minutes," she said, peeking her head around the frame to look at the front of the store.
Kin stood behind the counter, sliding stones along his abacus as he tallied the days' sales. Looking back over his shoulder, he nodded once to his daughter and smiled,"Excellent. More good news; we've made enough money to purchase this winters' provisions and still have a bit left over."
Akane grinned a bit, stepping into the shop proper and leaned against the doorframe,"Perfect! When do we go to the city, father?" she asked, a little eagerly. The city offered her the chance to examine some of the more 'upper class' shops...and while she could never afford anything there, it didn't mean she couldn't look.
Kin shook his head lightly,"There is no 'we' this time, daughter. This time, I'm going on my own. The horsehoes for the city stable aren't so plentiful that I'll need your help, so there's no need for you to come."
Akane's grin faded,"Oh...I see."
"Instead, you will be running the forge while I am away."
Akane blinked again, not entirely sure she had heard her father correctly,"Father?" she asked, sounding a bit confused.
Kin chuckled lightly,"You're quickly reaching the point where I have nothing left to teach you. You know how to manage inventory and money, you know how to barter well, and your skills at the forge are well beyond most apprentices of your age. You're ready to handle a week on your own."
Akane felt her heart swell with pride; her father trusted her enough to let her take the reigns. Granted, it was only for a week...and then it was one of the least busy times of year, but it was the first time. She was at a loss for words; never before had she been praised so highly.
Her father stepped forward and offered his hand, knowing Akane would prefer this gesture of a hug. Sometimes he worried that he'd influenced his daughter too much; that she wasn't as feminine as she could be...but whenever he mentioned it, she simply smirked and said she wouldn't have it any other way.
Akane took her right glove off and shook his hand firmly, grinning from ear to ear,"You won't regret this da--father! It will be like you were never away!"
Kin shook his head, chuckling again,"I would hope not," he reached up with his left hand and clasped her on her shoulder,"I believe in you. You are ready to take over...I'm just not ready to retire just yet."
She shook her head and laughed,"Oh no father, you have a long time yet before you should put down your hammer and gloves."
"Thank you for humoring an old man," he said, before releasing Akane's hand and shoulder,"You're free for the rest of the afternoon to do as you please; I don't expect any other customers today."
It was evening. The sun which had been out in force since earlier in the afternoon was setting, and the unpolluted sky was filled with the pure, bright red of the setting sun. A good omen, said the fishermen of the village; red sky at night, sailor's delight.
That didn't mean much to Akane; her work took place indoors and on dry land, so bad weather didn't mean as much to her. The sunset, however, was more than welcome...it wasn't often that she, or her fellow villagers for that matter, got to see one. It was for this reason she found herself in amongst a large crowd on the pure white sand beach, watching as the fiery orb descended below the horizon.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" came a voice from beside her.
Starting for a moment, Akane look down and to her right, seeing the best of her few childhood friends standing next to her. Dressed in a simple buttercup yellow sundress, her raven black hair cascading down to her shoulders, Aika was one of the village beauties.
Akane, feeling suddenly self conscious about her height and clothing, turned her attention back out over the water. The tall girl never said anything, but sometimes she felt envious of her friend; everyone liked her, and no-one was intimidated by her presence. After a few moments, Akane nodded in reply and smiled a bit.
"It is. The fishermen are all excited about tomorrow, the red sky being a good omen and all," she said, before grinning lightly,"Maybe that means father will have a good trip as well."
"I heard from my father that Kin was undergoing the trip on his own. You are taking charge of the forge while he's away?"
The taller girl blushed a bit, but failed to keep the excited tone from her voice,"Yes. It's the first time; I feel nervous and happy at the same time...it's confusing."
Aika giggled and looked up at her friend,"Then we must go to the inn tonight and celebrate!"
"I really shouldn't...I need to be awake tomorrow at dawn to prepare the forge..."
Aika was having none of that, however, and grasped again by the hand and began pulling her friend in the direction of the inn; a small, but well-tended wood and stone building whose common room acted as a social gathering place for the village.
"You've always been too busy lately! Shiro, Daisuke and I have all missed you! It is a shame in a village this small that we don't see each other that often."
"Well...alright. I suppose an hour or two wouldn't hurt..." Akane murmured, noticing the difference in the size of her hand and Aika's.
"I would not have taken no for an answer, silly girl," laughed her friend.
---------------------------------------
The inside of the common room was filled with the light from brass lanterns and from the main fireplace, chasing the shadows from the main granite floor and most of rough, wooden tables. There were still some corners, however, where those shadows lurked and cowered, waiting for their chance to spring forth once more...in one of those corners at four youths, several empty wooden tankards sitting off to one side for the serving wench to come take, while others filled with fresh mead sat before each.
"I'm telling you, ish a big mishtake to try dish, Shiro!" murmured Daisuke, a lanky teen with short dusty brown hair and emerald green eyes.
"Nahhh; no way a blacksmish's dau...daugh...girl can beatsh a fisherman's son!" came Shiro's reply as he rolled up the sleeve of his loose white cotton shirt, before bracing his elbow against the surface of the table in a traditional 'arm wrestling' posture.
"Akane, don't do thish...yer gonna kill him!" Aika pleaded, a hint of worry mixed in with the humor in her eyes.
"Sorry Aika! Itsh to late...can't blame the mead for shayin' shomething like that!" hiccuped again, rolling up her own sleeve and mimicking her other friend, grasping his hand firmly. A feral grin broke across her face,"Prepare to meet yer doom, Shiro!"
After a quick count of three from Daisuke, the battle was on...but even from the start, it was clear who was stronger. Shiro was by no means weak; working with his father in the boats, hauling heavy lines, barrels, and anchors on a daily basis had made him a powerful young man.
But he was still no match for Akane. Combined with the physically demanding blacksmith work, she simply had natural strength; it had been that way since they were children.
Their arms shook as strength met strength, their hands not moving in either direction for a full minute. Shiro began to turn bright red from strain, while Akane looked to be only half-way trying. After the minute path, the tall girl began to look bored and applied more of her strength, easily crushing her opponent after only a few more seconds. With a resounding thud, Akane forced Shiro's hand down onto the table.
"And the winner ish Akane!" chortled Daisuke.
"How many times dosh that make now? A hundred? I don't think I can count that high!" giggled Aika as she took another drink of mead from her tankard.
"Damn, and I thought I had her thish time..." said Shiro with a chuckle while rubbing his hand.
"Shomeday you might, Shiro...but not tonight!" laughed again who, like her friend Aika, took a drink mead, enjoying the flavor of the drink immensely as it smoothly went down her throat. After a moment, she put her now empty tankard down on the table and grinned,"But yer shtronger, Shiro, I have to admit."
Looking out the nearest window, Akane frowned in her lightly drunken stupor, noticing just how dark it was,"Uh oh...I think I've been here too long...gotta get up early tomorrow..." she began, trying to get to her feet.
On the second attempt, much to the amusement of her friends, Akane managed to get fully to her feet without swaying too badly. Reaching up and rubbing her forehead, she grumbled lightly.
"I'm going to be in shutch agony tomorrow...shouldn't have lishened to you Aika..."
The raven-haired girl laughed and got to her feet as well; not having drank quite as much, she was a bit more steady on her feet and walked over to brace her staggering friend,"I'll shee you home, Akane...yer in rough shape."
"Thanksh Aika..." she murmured, blushing lightly as she felt Aika's warmth pressing against her side.
Saying goodnight, the two girls left the common room and, shortly after, the inn proper.
It was after sunset on Akane's first day of tending her fathers' forge alone. The sky wasn't clear like the previous evening; clouds laden with rain discharged their cargo in a fine mist, causing an eerie near-fog over the land. The trees around the village, which greatly resembled the pine trees of Earth, hung heavy with moisture.
The tall blond girl finished closing up shop and decided to take a stroll into the woods. It had been a long, long time since she'd visited the pool in the woods which had shown her what she was destined to become, and she felt a strange pull to return to it.
Walking through the thick underbrush along an old hunting path, she felt an odd sense of unease; it had been years, and the forest had changed somewhat over that time...yet she felt as if she were unerringly heading in the right direction.
All around her she could hear the life of the forest; birds calling, small rodents chittering, the trees creaking and swaying softly in the breeze. Taking a deep breath, she smelled the refreshing scent of evergreens and earth. All sounds and smells she was familiar and comfortable with; they helped calm her unease.
Stepping through a ring of particularly dense bushes, she almost tripped over a small grey stone that was jutting out of the ground and fell into the very pool she sought; however, her hand swiftly shot out to a nearby tree trunk and maintained her balance, her fingers gripping the rough bark of the tree tightly.
Swallowing lightly, she stepped over to the pool while clasping her hands behind her back. Peering into the placid, dark waters, she was mildly disappointed to see only her own reflection looking back on her. Akane was about to turn away when suddenly everything in the forest around her suddenly became silent and still; even the trees fell silent as the breeze died.
The blond swallowed again, noticing that the water had begun to ripple faintly; as if someone had thrown a small stone into the centre of the pool. Suddenly, the water stilled again...and began to show images of things beyond Akane's comprehension.
A ball of yellow fire, surrounded by what looked like round pebbles of various sizes and colours...each one accompanied by a symbol. On the third pebble away from the fire, Akane recognized it as the symbol she bore upon her pendant when she was transformed.
"What...what is this?" she murmured, not understanding.
And then...just as suddenly as it had started, the vision ceased.
Stepping back from the pool, the tall young woman was too lost in thought to notice that life had returned to the forest around her. Making her way back to the village on autopilot, she tried to decipher what the pool had shown her.
Re: Peaceful times. « Reply #3 on May 7, 2009, 7:27pm »
Akane didn't go back to the pond for several days. Her work at the forge picked up, and then she had to ensure that everything was tip-top when her father returned; the events at the pool were pushed to the back of her mind by her duties.
It was, however, on the third night after her fathers' return that she once again felt the overpowering urge, this time far stronger, to return. She tried to ignore it, tried to concentrate on sleep...but sleep would not come, and the urge only grew.
Thus, it was at roughly midnight local time when she found herself standing in front of it once again. The sky was moonless; Sif had hidden her face behind a screen of clouds. Despite the overcast, it was not raining in the slightest.
As she stood at the edge of the pool, Akane felt the breeze gently brush by her, almost as if it sensed her unease and was trying to reassure her with gentle caresses. The trees around her murmured and sighed in the wind, while the familiar sounds of nocturnal woodland animals seemed to take on an urging note.
Step by step, she moved towards the pool...tension and unease filling her more and more the closer she got. Her hands clenched tightly into fists, turning white as she felt the strange urge forcing her closer. Finally, her fear ignited her will, and she brought herself to a complete stop at the very edge of the pool.
It was almost as if some mystical force, at this point, rolled its eyes and decided that there had been enough stalling.
Hearing something rustling in the bush behind her, Akane spun to face the sound. Her right foot, however, caught on some moss growing nearby mid-spin and sent her falling back into the pool, her arms flailing right until the very moment she splashes down. Water was sent high into the air, and then fell back into the pool with a series of faint secondary splashes.
Akane held her breath, and began to move her arms and legs in a 'treading water' motion before trying to return to the surface. She was surprised to discover that she was being held firmly in place by something unseen. She began to feel panic for a brief moment, before being replaced by shock as the water around her began to glow.
It parted around her almost like a gel, leaving her completely dry and in her own personal 'bubble'. A series of strange symbols appeared just outside the 'bubble' in a circle, like a dial, with one rune lit in a reddish glow. The 'dial' began to spin, pausing for a moment on each symbol before moving to the next. Finally, it stopped on the symbol that Akane recognized as the one that appeared in the stone on her necklace when she transformed.
After a few moments, the 'dial' faded and Akane suddenly felt as if she were being hurled forward at a tremendous pace. The 'pool' seemed to blur and disappear around her, replaced by what eerily resembled a tunnel, with a bright light winking into existence some distance in front of her.
Akane didn't notice that, somehow, she had entered her transformed state. She did notice, however, that she had begun to scream at the top of her lungs, her fear finally getting the better of her.
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