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Post by Ruko on Sept 19, 2009 11:48:28 GMT -5
Kalas walked gingerly into Parlet, expecting to see rows upon rows of black miner's faces. Instead, he saw a normal, bustling town. Sure, there were some black miner's faces, but it was more mild than he'd thought, and no one really looked awfully mean, like he'd imagined.
He turned to Alice, smiling. "I-I think th-this will b-be a n-nice t-town." It did seem like that. It hadn't been too far way from the last one, which was awesome, and they could probably get jobs here! If they could, they'd probably stay for a week, maybe more, maybe less, but if not, they'd move on quickly to the next town. Whichever that was. They'd have to ask.
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Post by TearsOfNightfall on Sept 19, 2009 18:10:25 GMT -5
Alice looked around as they stepped into the boundary of Parlet. It looked almost as active as the last one had, with people busily walking down the central main street and hurrying about between wooden and brick buildings and the market stands. The main difference between this town and the last was that it was caves that bordered the town, instead of the ocean.
"I-I think th-this will b-be a n-nice t-town." Kalas remarked, smiling up at her.
Alice returned the smile and nodded. "And it looks active, too." She added. "So we should be able to find someone who wants our help. I wonder who we should ask about jobs..." She wondered aloud.
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Post by Ruko on Sept 19, 2009 19:30:04 GMT -5
Kalas hadn't thought of that. It was just one of the many things that would never cross his mind unless someone else mentioned them. "I-I d-don't know." He looked around, trying to see if there was someone they could ask. "E-Everyone l-looks so b-busy."
The only people that were actually standing still were the merchants with their stalls, and they were usually busy haggling with someone. Who...? "U-Umm..." There was a man with a black miner's face lounging outside a building, smoking a pipe. "M-Maybe h-him?" Kalas pointed towards the man. He looked kinda scary, but then again, most people looked scary to him, so he wasn't always the best judge.
Kalas waited for Alice to make the first move. She was older than him by about five years, so she should go. Also, he really didn't want to go up and talk to him.
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Post by TearsOfNightfall on Sept 20, 2009 3:31:31 GMT -5
"M-Maybe h-him?"
Alice passed Kalas a glance as he made the suggestion, finding him pointing towards a man with a gruff, sooty face and a rough build. He looked scary. She blinked, just staring at him for a moment. He was indeed quite intimidating - she didn't necessarily like the thought of going up and disturbing him, but judging from the tell-tale dark stain on his face, he was likely a miner, and therefore likely to know something about available jobs in the field. It was the logical course of action. And she was the oldest, so therefore, she needed to make the most logical decision, instead of being a coward.
She hesitated a moment longer, before nodding and taking a few steps towards the man. "E...excuse me, sir..." She started as she approached. "Do you know anything about getting a job as a miner? Are there any jobs open?"
The man passed her a surprised glance, momentarily taking the pipe out of his mouth. He looked her and Kalas over. "For a lass and a kid?" He scoffed.
Alice grimaced slightly, now a bit annoyed. "Yes. We only need temporary jobs, for roughly around a week. Do you know if any are open?" She repeated more sternly.
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Post by Ruko on Sept 20, 2009 13:46:54 GMT -5
Kalas piped up, peering behind Alice. "P-Please?"
The man sighed. He clearly didn't want to be annoyed by them, but they weren't planning on budging. "Fine. We could probably find you a spot hauling coal or something like that." He waved his hand dismissively at them.
"All you kids showing up are really clogging up the mines. We need some of those +Anima. They keep disappearing, and it's a darn nuisance." He puffed on his pipe for a second, before looking down at them.
"Are either of you a +Anima? You know, half human half animal?" His face read that he really doubted it.
Kalas gave a small start. Half human half animal? Could that be what Alice was?
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Post by TearsOfNightfall on Sept 21, 2009 0:30:13 GMT -5
"Half human...half animal...?" Alice repeated in bewilderment. So...that's what the term '+anima' meant? She'd never heard of such a thing...it sounded kind of scary. But... She was quiet for a moment.
"Forget it." The man dismissed with another flick of his hand, taking their surprised faces as his answer.
"Wait...would that be like having wings?" Alice suddenly blurted out, unable to help herself.
The man suddenly looked back over towards them. "Hmm? If it were a bird +anima or one based on something else that could fly, then yes."
"Well..." She started slowly, shuffling her feet as she spoke. "I have wings...but..."
The miner's interest suddenly seemed perked, surprise showing on his face now. "You have wings, girl? Then I don't think there's much else you could be." There was a slight bewilderment in his own voice, as if he thought it odd that someone could be a +anima and not know. "You have markings on your shoulders then, right? That's where most of the birds have them."
Alice was silent for a moment, absently putting her palms on her shoulders as she nodded. She realized her heart was pounding. The strange, dark designs on her shoulder blades had been there for as long as she could remember, although she was unsure of whether or not she'd had them in first years - there was no one to ask. She'd automatically assumed that they were some sort of symbol of the bringer of misfortune that she was. But...now this man was saying that she was something else? He was calling her part animal? A '+anima?'
The man raised an eyebrow, turning in his chair to face her. "Show me." He instructed, still somehow sounding skeptical.
Alice hesitated just a moment longer, before she suddenly moved down her hands and let black, feathered wings spread from her shoulders as feathers appeared down her arms and ankles.
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Post by Ruko on Sept 21, 2009 16:42:40 GMT -5
So... Alice was a +Anima, then? Not a bringer of misfortune or whatever she'd called herself yesterday? Kalas's face expressed a bit of relief. That made things a whole lot better. But then she released her wings, and Kalas took a step back, nervous. They still kind of freaked him out...
The man's eyes grew slightly wider, though he didn't seem overly surprised. He must've seen them plenty of times before. Noticing Kalas's reaction, he turned to him. "You didn't know, kid?" He sighed. "It's becoming a +Anima that usually drives families apart."
Kalas shook his head. It just took him a little to get used to, and he and Alice weren't family. They were... friends? Companions? Fellow Travelers? He really didn't know. "N-No, I k-knew." He swallowed, then finished his train of thought. "A-And we're n-not f-family. W-We're just t-traveling t-together."
The man raised an eyebrow. "Not family, huh? You don't see many people like you..." Kalas swallowed nervously, unsure if that was a good thing. "Well, if you're a +Anima, girl, we can find work for you..." He nodded at Kalas. "I'm not sure about the kid, though."
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Post by TearsOfNightfall on Sept 21, 2009 22:26:02 GMT -5
Alice quickly put her wings away, keeping the man's gaze. "We're companions, just like he said. Please, will you let him work too?" She pleaded, though keeping her voice stern.
If she had to, she would be alright working by herself - she'd already spent a lot of Kalas' money, so she wouldn't mind making some herself to repay him. But it seemed like he wanted to work, too, and hadn't the man just said a few moments ago that he could probably find them some job hauling coal at the least? Maybe he'd raised his mental standards now that he'd apparently found a '+anima'...
+Anima... That term still sounded so strange. The man still seemed convinced that that's what she was even after seeing her wings, but... Her mind was swarming, she didn't think she could think about it now, though. She didn't even know what it was that she should think.
The man scratched his chin, giving another puff on his pipe before looking back down at Kalas. "Well...I don't know..." He started, sounding uncertain. "Just how badly do you want to work, kid? The jobs you'd get probably wouldn't be fun."
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Post by Ruko on Sept 22, 2009 18:22:01 GMT -5
Kalas nodded at the man. "I-I'll do w-whatever y-you n-need me to, m-mister." He exhaled, nervous. He never was very good at talking to people in the first place, but now...
"I-I can w-work hard, s-sir! I-I'll do m-my b-best at e-every j-job you g-give me, a-and-" The man waved a dirty hand at Kalas, cutting him off.
"Alright, alright kid, you can work here. It'll just be for a week, so I don't think you'll slow us down too much..." Kalas bit back a retort. He wouldn't slow them down! He'd do his very best! The man, however, was looking away from the two, and beckoning to another dirty-faced man, though not as dirty as the first. "Ernie! Get over here!"
The new man, apparently 'Ernie', meandered over. "Two new recruits?" He examined them, rubbing his bearded chin thoughtfully. "What're your names?"
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Post by TearsOfNightfall on Sept 23, 2009 2:16:02 GMT -5
"I'm Alice...and this is Kalas" Alice chimed thankfully, introducing them both as Kalas both looked a bit nervous and understandably rather annoyed. She forced a smile on her face even though she'd already decided that she didn't much care for these men. Well, the first one, anyway, she hoped this new man, Ernie, would be different. But...a job was a job, and they were the one's who'd asked. At least they'd decided to let them both work there.
"They only want to work for one week." The first man suddenly cut in. "The lass is a +anima - a bird of some sort. I reckon' maybe a raven. The kid is just with her. I figure he might be useful as a supply hauler or somethin' of that sort."
"Very well, then." Ernie decided. "We could always use more help, even if it is just for a week. We're rather...understaffed, right now." A slight frown was visible on his face, before he quickly hid it. "Follow me, I'll show you to the mines." He turned, gesturing for them to follow.
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Post by Ruko on Sept 23, 2009 22:01:59 GMT -5
Understaffed? That was strange. If the people here were so welcoming to +Anima, who were apparently like Alice, Kalas thought that they'd come flocking here. And besides, for wanderers like themselves, this place was a sure fire way to get a job. It just didn't make any sense!
Shaking his head in bewilderment, Kalas followed Ernie, who led them through the town, until they came to what looked like one of the largest caves. "This is our main cave," Ernie explained, stopping. "Most of our other caves branch off from it." He turned around, eyeing them up and down. "You'll probably be working there." He stopped for a moment, reconsidering. "Or, at least the kid will." Kalas felt himself swelling with indignation. What was the point of asking his name if he didn't use it?
A woman walked over, wearing a tank and small shorts. She was lightly dusted in coal dust from head to toe, and was holding a clipboard. "New recruits?"
Ernie nodded, jabbing his thumb in their direction. "The lass, Alice, is a bird +Anima, and the kid is Kalas."
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Post by TearsOfNightfall on Sept 24, 2009 3:53:51 GMT -5
"All right, then." The woman chimed, marking something down on her clipboard. "Welcome to the mines."
"Thank you." Alice smiled, starting to feel a little excited in spite of herself. This would be the first actual job she'd had for a while.
"They're only going to stay for about a week." Ernie added. "So I think we should put them to work right away. Is that okay with you two?" He asked, looking down at the two new recruits.
"It's okay with Alice." The girl answered, waiting for her companion's response. It was a bit sudden - they'd been traveling for a while without much rest, but the more they worked, the more money they would make.
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Post by Ruko on Sept 24, 2009 20:22:35 GMT -5
Kalas nodded, agreeing with Alice. "Y-Yes. I-I'm good w-with i-it." He stammered, blushing slightly. The woman jotted something down, and Ernie turned to her.
"I'm leaving them in your capable hands, then." She nodded absentmindedly, and he vanished in the crowd of people. The woman surveyed them, looking like she was thinking.
"Alright." She frowned slightly, for reasons unknown. "I'm Miss Jane. The boys call me boss. I really don't care. Now, I wanna get a few things straight." She pointed at them menacingly. "What I say, you do. No questions asked."
Miss Jane folded her arms, lost in thought. "First, we'll start the kid off hauling supplies. Lass, you come, too." She marched off, and Kalas quickly followed.
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Post by TearsOfNightfall on Sept 25, 2009 4:23:23 GMT -5
Alice hurriedly padded after Miss Jane and Kalas, walking in the direction of the caves.
The woman lead them inside, the three of them entering the busy mines. Alice was surprised how noisy it was inside - the clanks and thuds of tools could be heard echoing from both nearby and far ahead, and so could the voices of workers.
She looked around. The tunnel they were in now was lit by torches that had been set up along the wall, and there was a rail with a cart placed on it that ran all the way up and down it. It continued a good ways down, but there were also, narrower, dimmer passages branching off from it all along the walls. The woman came to a stop when the reached the cart.
"As you can see..." Miss Jane started. "Our mine is quite large - it spans the whole area around the town, it even goes underneath it in some instances. It's grown a lot throughout the years - the tunnels have had to have been made longer as we exhaust the minerals we find. Because of this, hauling supplies can be quite a chore."
She looked them both over again. "Kid, you'll stick with the main cart here. This is where everything heading either to or from the smaller passages will be dumped. Pick up the findings and unneeded supplies from the workers in the branch-off tunnels when they bring it in their smaller carts, and drop off anything they say they need or we tell you to give them."
She moved her gaze to Alice. "And lass, because your a bird +anima you should be able to travel quickly. Your job then will be to push those smaller carts for the workers in all the branch-off tunnels. You are to routinely travel to each one in order, and see if they are any carts that need to be pushed either to or from the main tunnel..."
Miss Jane paused, her already stern gaze hardening. "And one more thing. When you hear a bell echoing from the main tunnel, that means that the work day is over, and you must leave the mines immediately! Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to be in the tunnels after dark. And that especially goes for +anima." Her eyes briefly focused on the girl. "...You two got all of that?"
"Err...yes, but why...?" Alice started, slightly uneased by the woman's voice as she gave the last rule. She suddenly recalled the rumors she'd previously overheard, making her feel a bit anxious.
"I said no questions, remember?" Miss Jane reprimanded harshly, making Alice shrink back. "Do you two have all of that? Are you clear on what you're supposed to be doing?" She repeated.
Alice nodded. "Yes...Alice understands..."
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Post by Ruko on Sept 25, 2009 20:48:03 GMT -5
As Miss Jane told Kalas his instructions, Kalas repeated them over and over in his head, not paying attention to the rest. He had to remember! The only reason they had hired him in the first place was because of Alice, so he had to make sure he remembered all of his instructions.
Hearing the last question Miss Jane asked, Kalas nodded vigorously. "Yes, I know what to do."
She smiled at them both with perfectly white teeth, which was kind of scary looking with her black face as well. "Good. Now get to work!"
Kalas waved a quick good-bye to Alice, picking his way to the rock to several smaller mine carts that were on the end of paths. He began to pick up the stuff from inside, and put it in the main cart. It seemed fairly easy enough, though some of the stuff was kind of heavy, and he had to carry it alone, walking slowly. All in all, it wasn't that hard.
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