Life In Mono [Crafting/Solo]

[Elkeid]

Today was to be a strange, yet exciting one for Elkeid, and in a good way; none of those of awkward encounters with Scoria or murderous little brats. Nope - today she would be exploring the Artisan subclass for the first time, having temporarily switched over from Brewer. She would actually be able to get drunk now, a thought that made her heart flutter and her hands tremble. It would be so nice to cut loose and experience intoxication again for the first time in months. 'But first…'

The woman went about setting up one of the canvases she had purchased earlier, and neatly arranged her paint and tools around on her desk. Her unwilling model for the day was to be Sorrel, who could not stand still for longer than a minute. "Sorrel, please." The werecat pleaded silently with his eyes. He was dressed in some rather stiff and uncomfortable formal wear. "I'll… play with you when this is all over, all right?" She gave no date or time, though, so the little werecat would be forced to estimate.

Elkeid picked up a pencil and began sketching the werecat's small body. Much like her drinking habits, her last sketch was a good while ago. The sketches done for her job outside of the game were largely technical ones; room layouts, furniture, etc. Drawing people was not something she was particularly good at, but her depictions of animals (mostly dogs and cats) were fairly decent. She found them easier to draw for some reason. Sorrel's sketch came out well because of it, though she made his face more dramatic than it appeared. The eyes were delightfully dangerous. If anyone were to gaze upon this image without knowing that she'd taken several liberties, they may mistake Sorrel for a threat.

The sketch was only the tip of the iceberg, though. It would look better once she painted it, and could fully exaggerate the extents she'd gone to with Sorrel's doppelganger. A lot of black paint was to be used for Sorrel's fur, and a bit of cream for his shirt and shorts combo. She had added a tail as well, even though werecats did not come equipped with them. The doppelganger's tail resembled that of her old cat, a smoky colored British short hair. It came to a stop just below Sorrel's ankles, with a slight curl at the end and a bit of ruffled fur.

The first few strokes of the brush were slow and uncertain. When was the last time she painted something that was not a wall? Certainly not after her college days. Elkeid was a neat enough painter that she did not paint outside of the lines, at least. Sorrel's face and eyes were what she focused on first, and they bore the somber expression she was going for. The eyes were especially striking, like their real life counterpart. Sorrel's yellow eyes were simply gorgeous, and she tried her damnedest to capture that. The only tricky part was adding shadow into the doppelganger's clothes and fur, for which she settled for using lighter or darker shades when necessary. They failed to be as impressive as the doppelganger's face and eyes, however.

She was quite pleased by how the painting was coming along. Her level was too low to produce a great work of art, but it wasn't crummy, either. It was definitely something she would hang up upon completion, rather than selling. There was something sentimental about creating your first piece. She even had one of her first crafted drinks still in her possession, and collected images of previous designs saved for more than the sake of her portfolio.

"How much longer, mum?!"

"Just a little while longer, Sorrel. Please be patient with mummy, all right?" Mummy. She would never say that around someone other than Sorrel, though it was unwise to entertain the boy's coping methods. What if he grew attached and wanted to see her when (or if) this was all over? 'Hopefully he doesn't live in Sweden,' was her final thought on the manner.

The final touch on the doppelganger was to be his tail, of which Elk had a little too much fun painting. If she allowed herself to get picky, she could spend a good deal of time perfecting it, but there was no way Sorrel would stand still long enough for her to do so. "Okay, Sorrel. You may sit down now."

"Really?! You really mean it, mum?!"

"Yes, dear. I need only paint the background now, and I don't need you to do so." Sorrel did not question her again. He scooted off to flop on their bed, and was so quiet afterwards that she assumed he was napping. Good. Maybe he would stay like that for the remainder of the day.

As for the background, Elk decided to keep it simple and began painting a two toned background in shades of blue. This was to give the illusion of Sorrel standing in the light of day. It would also nicely compliment their living quarters. 'I only wished we had an actual home and not a rented inn room, though.' Her funds were a little too low to consider buying, so they would just have to deal with it for the time being - or look around for help. There weren't many people Elk would feel comfortable asking for assistance, and her contacts list was even smaller. "I'll think of something," she said softly as she applied the finishing touches to the painting. A fancy little "E" was painted in the bottom right corner to show ownership and completion. She may have been done with the painting, but she was far from done with today.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Life In Mono

Notes:
Paint.

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
955

[Elkeid]

Next, Elkeid would attempt to make something that she may regret in the future: a stone whistle, researched by an Artisan named Adler. Sorrel, that rambunctious little scamp, would love to have such a thing, and will more than likely drive her up the wall by endlessly playing it. Like hell. This whistle was going to go to someone who could it to proper use, like a farmer or animal trainer. Now, how to go about carving it...?

Elkeid rifled through the recipe for the stone whistle. It seemed simple enough, and relied heavily upon her carving skills. She wasn't too confident in her abilities. The last time she messed with clay or stone was when she was in high school or a little before then. Well, there was no time like the present.

She set down a small piece of stone on a clean spot on her desk, along with a set of carving tools. An image included with the recipe was to be her model. 'I shall carve you like one of my French girls,' she thought as she picked up the stone and a tool.

The initial carving that followed focused solely on forming the stone into an oval shape. Thoughts of making it shaped like an animal's head or something like an arrowhead occurred to her, but this was her first time, so functionality mattered more than aesthetics to her right now.

It was rough and a little ugly, but she had fashioned the stone into the desired shape. She then spent the next few minutes smoothing the sides, resulting in a less crude base. Now that that was done, she could work out the finer details.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Life In Mono

Notes:
Stone whistle 1/2

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
281

[Elkeid]

With the base completed and smoothed to perfection (or as close as she could get it), Elkeid picked up a smaller tool, which was designed for scraping and digging. This was probably the hardest part - making the stone hollow, but not too much. She figured that the passageway was better off narrow, like a pipe.

Elkeid tucked the tip of her tongue into the corner of her cheek as she scratched further and further into the stone. The mouth piece turned out to be trickier than expected, though she was certain it was appropriately sized. It looked like the diaphragm in the picture, at least.

She flipped the whistle over and began fashioning the narrow exit hole. The idea here was to merge the exit hole with the entrance. This felt a lot easier than trying to dig straight through, at the risk of making the small air chamber crooked. She would learn from her mistakes, if so.

A few minutes passed before she finally struck empty space. A bit of excitement filled Elk's body as she continued to widen and smooth the hole. She stopped upon achieving a decent passage, and dusted the whistle's mouth piece off. Sorrel, who was leaning towards Elk at the moment, sneezed and pulled back his head when she blew out the shavings and dust from within the whistle. The object itself gave a short, distinct sound. A second, sharper blast produced an ear piercing whistle. Sorrel looked displeased by this, but Elk was enjoying herself. She might actually keep this crummy little thing.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Life In Mono

Notes:
Stone whistle 2/2 idek man.

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
261

[Elkeid]

Okay, it was time for something easier. Elkeid squinted at the remaining recipes that she had yet to complete: sculptures, pottery, stone stamps and force accessories. A sculpture could take a while, pottery may or may not be time consuming, depending on what she made, she had no idea how to even start with making a stamp, and force accessories were interesting, but a bit out of her league right now. She might save that for last. Pottery could be done later, when she had an appropriate work bench to dirty - same with sculptures. So that left her stone stamps and accessories… she settled for the former. 'Time to learn how to make stamps, I guess.'

For this craft, she would need two common stones and some old ink. She had stocked up on the necessary crafting items while out in the market earlier that day, and was glad that she'd snagged some ink as well. "I guess I need to infuse the ink with the stone at some point?' She honestly had no freaking clue, but that seemed to make sense? Somewhat, anyway. What should the design be - oh, wait. She still needed to carve this, first. 'But why two separate pieces of stone?' Some of these recipes were just weird as hell.

Elkeid stared uncertainly at the piece of stone she held in her hands. Perhaps this was to serve as the base, and the other part the… part where ink was applied? She kind of wished that she had someone to help walk her through some of these crafting steps, but alas. Did she even know any Artisans? "Hm. All right." She picked up a carving tool and began whittling the stone down to something small and appropriately shaped for a stamp. It took a little longer than her stone whistle, as it was somewhat bigger and longer. Maybe she should remedy that and make it smaller? ’Just a little more,’ she thought as she worked.

That part was easy, at least. She was sure that it could function as the handle, too, and the second piece of stone would be the… ink receptacle. Or whatever. She carved that part to be smaller than the main piece, and decided the two parts could be held together with some old glue… after she was done with etching in the design, of which she was still indecisive. ”Wait…” Maybe the second stone was to be used as a “tray” of some sorts? That seemed like the better solution.

The picked up the second stone and devoted some time to carving it into a rectangular shape. After that was completed, albeit a little uneven and rough around the edges, she dug in a deep groove to hold the old ink. She was sure that this was correct (or perhaps that was merely wishful thinking?), though some confirmation would have been nice. This would just have to do, though. She smoothed the edges out and rounded the corners to suit the stamp, and then set it aside.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Who'd Have Known

Notes:
Stone stamp 1/2

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
508

[Elkeid]

"Design, design," she muttered to herself as she rolled the nude stamp around her fingers. It was unlikely that she would have use for this little contraption, so she should keep a potential customer in mind, on the off chance that anyone would want this crudely carved thing. Wait… Oxford was a Scribe. Maybe he could put it to good use? 'But…' When was the last time she saw Oxford? There was no use in catering to his interests if he wasn't around to receive said item. She considered sketching in her initials, too, but blech. That was too personal, and she would be better off just keeping the damn thing. So she did something she never thought she would do in a million years - she consulted Sorrel.

"Sorrel, dear. Come to mummy."

The little werecat was skulking about in a corner, likely avoiding Elkeid's nifty little stone whistle. She glanced at the item perched upon her desk, and shifted her eyes over to the little werecat. The gesture was easy enough to explain: "Come over here right now, or I will make your tiny furry ears bleed." Sorrel stared sullenly at her as he carefully made his way over. "Yes, mum?" If he had a tail, it would be swishing from side to side.

"Do you have any ideas for a stamp design - and nothing idiotic or childish, please."

Sorrel's eyebrows knitted together as he rubbed his chin with a small, furred hand. "How about… a butterfly!"

A butterfly? That was an odd choice. "Why that in particular?"

"I dunno. Butterflies are nice, though. You could also try an owl! They have um… what is it called? Owl carriers?"

"Pigeon carriers."

"Close enough! But yeah! Owls can be used to deliver mail, like in Harry Potter, and people use them as a sign of intelligence. So an owl stamp would be nice for a Scribe, I think."

By Jove, the boy was actually being useful for once! Elkeid would have to take him out for ice cream later. "Thank you, Sorrel. That was a well thought out and constructive answer." A very faint smile graced her lips for a brief moment. Even slight smiles like that were enough to make her face ache. "This ought to be easy," she muttered softly to herself as she lightly tapped the stamp with the end of her carving tool.

She sketched in a large circle, and then two smaller ones for eyes, which were on either side of a deep "V". A much smaller "V" was added for the beak, and the shoulders of the owl were added in afterwards. It wasn't what she would call a handsome owl, but it was distinguishable enough. Now it was time to combine the stamp with the ink.

Elkeid stared at the small container of ink, and then at the stamp. She pulled the stamp away from the tray, and after unstopping the ink bottle, carefully poured it into the ink receptacle. It was a perfect fit, though she could have made the tray deeper to accommodate more ink. Oh well. That was more than enough. She set the stamp back into the tray, and reached for a stray sheet of paper. She folded the paper into a faux letter, and after waiting a few seconds for the ink to stain the stamp, pressed it into the paper. The mark it left behind was that of the sketched owl, though the color would have been more impressive if she had left it to soak a little while longer. It worked, however, which was all that mattered. Elkeid moved the stamp over to the "complete" pile. It was time to get her hands dirty.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Stone stamp 2/2

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
620

[Elkeid]

The first thing Elkeid did the following day - aside from the standard morning rituals, such as breakfast, a bath, etc., was to head out to the market and acquire more clay. She had decided that what she had right now was not enough for the idea that struck her in a dream - or was it more of a nightmare? The reason for her minor confusion was the presence of Scoria and his sprite - Alraune in it. The foul little creature (whose lore that she was unfortunate enough to learn about) was holding hands and skating with Sorrel across a Glacier Field summoned up by Scoria. Flanked on either side by their respective guardians, it almost seemed like a bizarre scene from a romantic comedy or family film.

Sorrel and the sprite were giggling and playfully jostling each other while on the ice, and Elk and Scoria were trying to sabotage each other. The end result was Elkeid buried up to her waist in snow, legs flailing around helplessly in the air. Scoria was giggling like a madman, to the point where a Saint Bernard assisted him with a flask of milk. Things got hazy, but incredibly confusing after that. 'I can't believe I'm even doing this,' she thought to herself as she handed over a few coins to what appeared to be a mud stained woman aptly named "Mole". This woman apparently knew way too much about dirt and the like, which was the only reason Elk bothered to see her in the first place.

She hurried away from the short woman without further word, her nose free to wrinkle in distaste. Mole almost gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder beforehand. Did she think that they were buddies because they shared similar crafting classes? Assuming Mole was an Artisan, anyway. The Monk did not want to be associated with the Cleric (wait till @blackcoat got a load of this - a filthy Cleric!), and could feel herself being afflicted with urinary tract infection, just by being in the woman's presence. 'And I thought Sorrel hated water…'

The encounter with Mole and the odd dream about Scoria aside, today should be a rather fine one. She was going to craft a large flower pot for Scoria's Alraune, which she may or may not actually present to the Druid. By gifting it to the man, she was essentially saying that his familiar was homeless and uncared for, but the sprite itself might appreciate the gesture. Plus it would really stick in Scoria's craw. And train her Artisan levels up some, she supposed. "Ah~"

The soft sound was not a jab at Scoria, but rather Elkeid's way of saying that she was pleased with the spot she had found to do her crafting in. Said spot was a collection of tables and art supplies, with a kiln in one corner. There were a few other Adventurers crafting and exchanging ideas, though Elkeid chose to ignore them and seclude herself away from the kiln, which radiated warmth even at this distance. She scattered her clay and tools around, and sat down on a stool to begin on her craft.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Midnight City

Notes:
Nej.

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
530

[Elkeid]

She began by kneading the clay with her hands. This was a necessary step when fooling around with clay, or so a previous art teacher claimed. It was to… what, again? Something about removing bubbles, packets of air, reduce possibilities of explosions, and making it overall pliable and easier to work with. That sounded about right, anyway. She spent a few minutes doing this, feeling much like a masseuse with a putty like client. Her nose twitched at the dirt seeping into her skin and under her fingernails, but it could not be helped. She would have to suffer being Mole until she was done with this pot. 'I'll probably spend hours picking this stuff out of my nails.' It was a good thing they weren't very long, then; as her main attacks came from fisting things, it made little sense to maintain nails that would only break in an encounter.

Next, she took a length of wire and wrapped the ends around her hands until the middle was nice and taut. She used this to cut off a large piece of clay. The method to go about making her pot would most likely be by hand, without the aid of a spinning wheel - which she saw neither hide nor hair of out here. The last time she used a wheel to make a pot, the clay went sailing into the air and onto a neighbor's finely crafted pot, damn near smashing the thing to bits. It really wasn't on purpose, despite how much she'd coveted the other girl's craftsmanship. Pinch pots were bluh, so she would go with the coil method.

With the aid of a tool and her own hands, Elk transformed the hunk of clay into several coils that resembled large, clay worms or tiny snakes. She wrapped one coil into a spiral to form a bottom, and after scorching and dampening the clay with slurry, began wrapping the remaining pieces in a circle around the base. She continued to do so until she had something that Sorrel could comfortably stand in, and then worked on smoothing the interior and exterior of the pot.

A few of her fellow craftsmen stopped by to admire her work and offer a few useful pointers, and two wanted to know what she was going to do with her pot. Would she use it to store flowers, grow plants, hold junk, etc.? They were questions she could easily answer by telling the truth, but she wasn't too keen on these people thinking this was a romantic gesture for a lover, or that Scoria was a "friend." She knew all too well how presumptuous people could be, and was not in the mood to argue against them. "It's just a flower pot. No more and no less." One of the questioners was disappointed by her lackluster answer, while the just nodded and inquired if she had any plants in mind for it. These people sure were persistent, weren't they? "...Tiger lilies." She freaking hated tiger lilies, which just so happened to be the favorite of an ex.

After a bit more idle banter, the person went off to continue their business, leaving Elkeid to finish hers. All that was left for her to do now was to place the pot in the kiln, and hope that no one was moronic or dickish enough to toss a large chunk of clay in with the pottery. This was her first piece of pottery since grade school, and she was actually a little proud of it. If someone messed that up, there would be hell to pay.

Hell to pay.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Pottery~.

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
606

[Elkeid]

It was time for an intermission. The clay pot was carefully placed within the rapidly filling kiln, and after a brief chat with its operator, Elkeid decided to stretch her legs for a bit by taking a walk / extended break. It was almost a shame that system generated crafting made the work less reliable than handmade. Maybe she could do a few other things in the meantime, like not touching freaking clay or stone. 'I could try getting drunk.' She certainly would be able to now, now that she had switched subclasses from Brewer to Artisan. The passive skill preventing her from being inebriated was now gone, which meant she had only her natural defenses to rely on.

Elkeid idly picked clay from her hands and nails as she strayed away from the Artisan crafting section. The sounds of something heavy being set down caught her ears, and she just had to turn around to see what it was. The kiln operator, some unimportant Lander, had just closed off the kiln for the next few days. She silently preyed that no one was clumsy with their craft before they stored it in the kiln (Hell to pay,) and then forced herself to walk away from the area entirely.

A part of her really wanted to stop by a bar or inn and just get incredibly drunk to test her drinking tolerance, but it was still too early to drink, and she tried to do so responsibly. Passing out in the middle of a bar or starting a fight was far from that. So she ignored the inviting pubs and brewers that lined the streets. The people advertising for such establishments or crafters tried flagging her down and offering her fliers, but she paid them as much mind as a drunken bum lying in a ditch, which was to say "none". The only person to halt her progression was not attempting to sell her liquor or direct her to restaurant. It was a young girl with a cart full of flowers.

The girl herself was wearing a flower crown atop her lovely blonde head. She was obviously a Lander, though that mattered little to Elkeid. Something about the crown upon her head gave Elk an idea for an accessory. She could try her hand at making one for @blackcoat (for reasons she did not bother trying to understand). "I would like to buy a bunch of those flowers, dear."

The little girl flashed Elkeid a charming smile. "Sure thing, Miss!"

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Nej.

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
420

[Elkeid]

With her arms laden with a bunch of flowers, Elkeid made a beeline for the inn room that she called "home". The words of advertisers and shop owners fell on deaf ears. She had a new goal in mind, and was much too focused on working out the details in her head to pay any attention to the people around her. This could be her first accessory. There wasn't anything else that immediately came to mind (other than smoking pipes, but that would require some aid or a set of concise instructions), and this was easy enough to construct. It was just a crown made of flowers. How hard could that be? And it would be… "free" to Blackcoat. "Free" as in she would make him cook for her in return. Maybe some steak…? Steak would be good. She could probably order some later if she wanted, but the food here was not very stellar, and some Landers tried to scam people with system generated food.

"Sorrel," she said softly as she entered her room. The little werecat glanced over at her from the desk. He had a quill clenched in one fist, and the other pressed palm down on a piece of parchment. She assumed he was scribbling some hideous thing for her to fawn over and tack to the fridge with a magnet shaped like a W. That kid was really invested in this false family shtick. "I'm going to need you to help me with something."

Sorrel squinted at the bouquet of flowers in her arms. "Why do have those?" What was with that funny look?

"I bought these - for crafting." The boy's expression did not change from skeptical. Did he really think that she was out seeing someone? She was going to bonk him extra hard on the head for that. "I'm not lying. I'm going to make a flower crown for a friend, and I need someone to act as a mannequin. You're the perfect dummy for the task." She set the flowers down beside him on the desk, and took out a length of thin wire. "Now, turn around and face me." Never mind the fact that his head was much smaller than Blackcoat's. She could always adjust the band later.

The boy did as he was told without complaint, though he still seemed to doubt here. Elkeid loosely wrapped the wire around his head and held it in place for a moment as she measured the width. Did males even wear flower crowns? And of those who did, how many of them were straight? 'It's not like Blackcoat is very manly, anyway.' He was kind of a pushover.

She snipped the wire, leaving enough of a length to make adjustments possible later, and shooed Sorrel to the side. With the wire retaining its circular shape, Elkeid carefully tied the ends together, and placed it on top of Sorrel's drawing of what looked like a giant, scaly worm (dragon?). Next, she reached for the bouquet of flowers. She had a colorful arrangement of roses, posies and snapdragons, chosen to brighten up the Cleric's dark hair. The look on his face was bound to be priceless.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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[attr="class","alkaid"]

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Bonnie & Clyde

Notes:
Force Accessory 1/3 posts

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
532

[Elkeid]

She began the second step, which was to arrange the flowers around the wire. That part would come as soon as she got them into a design she fancied. The smaller flowers should obviously go near the ends, and the larger ones stationed in the middle. That meant that the roses would be sandwiched between the posies and snapdragons, the latter two of which would be mixed together. This would give the flower crown a bit of "flair".

Sorrel watched on in silence, his forehead wrinkling into a slight frown. He apparently did not approve of this soon to be accessory. "Um… it doesn't look like it will be very sturdy."

"It's an accessory, Sorrel. It's there to look pretty and give bonuses to the person wearing it. Besides, if I added something like clay, that might make it a tad too heavy to comfortably wear around." She paused her preparations to tug at the prayer beads wrapped around one wrist, and then tapped her earrings and the piece of jewelry hanging around her neck. "Do you see these? These are accessories, too, and they're just as fragile as this flower crown." That was not a very strong argument, was it? Flowers were nowhere near as resilient as stone or gems. She would have to compromise. "Fine. I can make a frame for it with a little clay and stone. That way the whole thing does not need to be dismantled every time the flowers die." She supposed she could try making it hollow, too.

The flowers and wire were pushed to the side to make room for one common clay and four common stones. Why on earth did force accessories require five ingredients? Elkeid just shook her head as she picked up one of the stones and began carving it. She would use the clay as an adhesive for the stones, which were to be fashioned into a smooth semicircle - ideally.

One by one, she turned the pieces of stone into hollowed husks of their former selves, and went over them several times to shape and thin them to form suitable “tubes”. Once she was satisfied with the outcome, Elkeid sketched in thin lines around the front of the stones. These lines were to accommodate the wire, to give the flower crown the illusion of embedded flowers. She waved at Sorrel to come over. ”I’m not done with you yet.”

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Force accessory 2/3 posts

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
402

[Elkeid]

Sorrel was not pleased with being the guinea pig, but he would just have to deal. She made him sit in the chair as she loomed overhead, carefully piecing stone and clay together to encircle his little head. The stone pieces were obviously a little too long and wide for the shape of his head, and he had to help hold them up for her, but it should definitely be enough to accommodate Blackcoat's shaggy head. "Hold on for just a few more moments, alright?" Sorrel made a soft noise of agreement, though he looked very uncomfortable.

She left him alone like that for a minute, but returned with what looked to be a headband made of paper. This went around Sorrel's forehead after she gingerly removed the crown. Sorrel whimpered and squirmed at the coldness of fresh clay sticking to his fur. That's right. The paper had clay smeared on the back to make it stay on his head. "Don't glare at me, Mr. This was all your idea, remember? This way we can ensure that it is stable and sturdy." Sorrel's lower lip trembled, his eyes threatening to overflow with tears. "Can it, you big baby." She was not the sort to be swayed by tears, and he knew it.

The paper band was left to sit for a few minutes, and then Elkeid went back to applying the stone and clay pieces around the cat's head. The pieces stuck on easier this time around, leaving room for adjustments. "This was a really good idea, Sorrel. Thank you~." The werecat huffed from his spot in the chair.

"How long do I have to sit here for?!"

"Until the band dries, I guess. I just need it to set for a while before I can safely remove it. While that waits, though, I can add the wires and flowers. I bet you're glad I measured these beforehand, eh~?" Sorrel's huffiness did not decrease. "Fine~. Be that way, Mr. Grumpy Whiskers~."

The boy flailed at her turned back while she sorting through the flowers. Elkeid could see him with her peripheral vision, but merely ignored him to focus on the task at hand. She started with the posies and snapdragons, which she tied in a pattern of snapdragon, poise, snapdragon, by their stems to the wire. The roses came next, standing proud in the middle, and the pattern of snapdragon, poise, snapdragon resumed. The hard part would be fitting the band into the stone base, and for that she preferred to let it finish drying.

It only took two minutes for the paper band around Sorrel's head to dry to something she could work with, but he still fussed and wiggled his nose in impatience. She gave him the look, which many might refer to as the "mom stare," which was good enough. "Now, don't you move an inch," she said as she slowly worked the wire of the flower base into the stone base perched upon Sorrel's head. For a moment she feared that the lines were too thin, but then she got one side into the deep groove there, and the rest was easy as pie. "Now don't you look pretty?" Sorrel made a face. Elkeid flicked him hard on the ear. "You can take this off now. I'll leave the paper part on for a little while longer, though. I do not wish to disturb the clay so soon." Some of the clay was decently dry already, but not to the point she could trust it to hold up on its own.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Force accessory 3/3 posts

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
595

[Elkeid]

The inclination to paint struck Elkeid the following day. She still needed to get around to sculpting something, the only common craft left on her list, but could not be bothered to do. And what would she sculpt, anyway? She glanced at the large hunk of stone near her feet and shook her head. Later. She would figure it out later. All that came to mind now were those hideous sculptures from Beetlejuice. What sane person would want such a thing on their property? She sure as hell didn't. So instead of being… productive wasn't the word, but it was close enough - she would be fooling around until she could think of something.

She did not even bother to sketch out something. Elkeid picked up a brush, dipped it into a little glob of green paint, and began painting a tiny gremlin. She changed her mind at the last minute, and gave the gremlin goblin like features. Her memory of Gremlins was hazy, so this was easier to paint, although she had not hassled goblins since that time with Blackcoat - 'Oho~!' That was what she was going to do.

Mr. Goblin was not abandoned, though. She spent a good few minutes on adding tribal tattoos, a makeshift weapon and a lopsided grin to his person. The goblin adapted a fighting stance, despite the fact that he was going skyclad. And he was fighting… @blackcoat. Or would be, once she added the man's portrait.

Painting Blackcoat was simple when you cut corners; a tall figure wrapped shoddily made Lander gear and equipped with a wooden staff. He was brandishing his staff like a baseball bat, against a naked goblin with a broken blade and a strip of leather wrapped at the base to form a "handle." It almost seemed perfect, but something was missing. Oh, right. The tears and look of despair upon Blackcoat's face. Large tears and a downturned mouth were added to painting of Blackcoat. A sneer was formed on the goblin's countenance. And in the background of the filthy swamp was her, standing proud over a pile of fallen goblins. Elkeid added a cigarette to her doppelganger for good measure. Kicking sweaty, naked goblin ass was exhausting.

Oh yes. This was gorgeous. Blackcoat would just love to have this memento hanging above his bed. But it wasn't quite done yet. Elkeid painted in a small, shitty campfire, where pieces of questionable meat roasted over the pathetic little flame. She then added in the rest of the swamp - twisted little trees with long hanging moss, a whole lot of dirt and mud, some Possessed Tree Stumps and a few scattered bushes. Aaaand a little blood and grime on Blackcoat's cheek. It was more or less an accurate depiction of that day, minus Blackcoat choking on goblin moonshine like a little bitch.

She set the painting aside, in a small pile of crafted goods she would pawn off on the man when she got the chance. He had the flower crown, the stone stamp she still had no use for, and now this embarrassing painting. Perhaps she could sculpt him something equally awkward, like parts of the female anatomy that could be dismantled and reassembled. “This is how the female body works, you scrub.” That sounded like far too much work, though, and she did not have a proper mirror or willing female assistant.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Another painting.

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
567

[Elkeid]

Tentacles? Elkeid blinked in confusion at the request sitting in front of her. She had placed her first advertisement up for her craft a few days prior, after raising her Artisan level up to a decent level. This was her very first request, and boy, was it an odd one! The request was for a force accessory, which was the last thing she'd crafted. Sculptures were still on the list to be made, but eh. She would get around to it once she found something suitable. "This is a very strange accessory." The person was requesting a… tentacle sword. The fact that it was a sword was not the part she found surprising. It was obviously designed to be for show. It was the shape of the sword of which she thought was more than a little unorthodox. A tentacle sword? Seriously? It was a good thing that she was getting paid for her troubles.

Elkeid scattered the necessary items (one common clay and four common stones) around on her work desk, thankful that Sorrel was playing in the park for a change. There was something… obscene about these piece, and she did not wish to expose the young boy to its peculiarities. Tentacles were good for two things, from what she'd experienced from life: eating and Japanese pornography. Elkeid held little interest in porn, but she was quite fond of calamari. It was a little chewy, but… Okay, she was starting to get a little off track now. It was time to get creative.

She tore off a piece of paper from her notebook, and sketched a quick design into it with a pencil. A tentacle sword would of course need a guard to protect the hand, like most swords, and the "blade" would need to be wavy. As an afterthought, Elkeid added a row of teeth in front of the guard, to give the "sword" the appearance of a mouth with a wiggling "tongue." No lie - it was kind of a creepy sketch, but got the point across. Now she just had to figure out how to… put it all together. It was probably best to start with the tentacle; it would have time to dry while she did the base and handle.

"I feel so dirty doing this…" Her face was a light shade of red as she took the clay and kneaded it into a pliable substance. Lucky for her, she had some experience with… elongating things. Yes, that was one way to put it. Elongating. She was allegedly good at it, according to a previous boyfriend. The woman made a face as she took the clay and rolled it between her palms, causing the clay to turn into a thick, long snake. She twisted it a bit so that it was wavy, but not as crooked as the aforementioned ex-boyfriend. Said ex-boyfriend also was not longer than the length of her forearm. That would have been painful to deal with. Her pelvis ached at just the thought.

So rather than think of painful possibilities, Elkeid decided to add in a few suction cup designs to the tentacle, or whatever the blasted things were called. She could only think of octopi now, so the cups seemed like an appropriate addition. It only helped to increase the number of uncomfortable thoughts flooding her mind, though. The imagery of the suction cups sticking and releasing - 'Ugh.' This was horrible. It was definitely a good thing that Sorrel was not home. He would have way too many awkward questions to ask her, like "Why are you blushing?," "What is that?" and "Can I help?"

With a face redder than when she started, Elkeid set the completed tentacle aside. There was no way she was going to let this thing sit out in the sun to dry. She was going to let it sit in here and dry, but first hollow it out to speed up the process. That meant touching the damn thing again, which only made her feel worse about the situation. This was somehow worse than actually shaping the damn thing. 'Why me?' Ugh. UGH!

Now she was feeling oddly flustered, in ways she could not verbally express, and would certainly not wish to, lest someone happened to be lingering nearby, just waiting to use it against her as blackmail. The worst part was that she was nowhere near done, but at least the next step would just be the base of the damned “sword.” Bullshit. This was total bullshit, but a commission was a commission, and it was not overly perverted.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Force accessory P1

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
767

[Elkeid]

Elkeid's hands trembled as she reached for the assortment of stone material and her set of carving tools. She would have to calm down, else she ran the risk of cutting herself while carving the hilt for the "sword". The largest chunk of stone she chose for the task was to be the base. She could use the others to enhance the appearance or something. 'Oh, that's right. The teeth.' Surely the stones could be filed down to resemble a jabbed row of sharp teeth.

She first began by hollowing out half of the stone, so that the end of the tentacle could be fitted into the groove and sealed shut. How regular sword were made, she had no idea, but this was a false one made of clay and stone, so it did not really matter how she went about doing it, as long as it was completed. This was also pretty much the "boring" step, which meant that innuendos or other awkward scenarios would occur less frequently. Just let her carve in piece, damn it.

And carve she did. Elkeid spun the partially hollowed hilt around to focus on the other end, which was still in the form of a block. She worked on whittling and smoothing the edges and sides down to form a comfortable grip for a hand, and carved what appeared to be an eye into it. Had she had any gem stones lying around, she would have made a spot wide enough to accommodate one. 'Alas…' Then again, that may have been too much, even if the possibility of a gem eye glinting in dull light did send shivers down her spine. One might be able to shrug it off as a mere hunk of jewelry, until they saw the curved tentacle and row of jagged teeth… It made her itchy just thinking about it.

Once the hilt was basically completed, Elk moved on to breaking down the remaining stone into smaller chunks, which she then began transforming into false teeth. The stones were smoother and easier to carve, and pretty soon the pile of shavings on her desk was greater than when she had started. She dug small grooves around the hilt, and made small tabs on the stone teeth to click them into place. The end result was a little rough, but somehow this appearance made the entire thing a bit more… terrifying.

Her least favorite part was sliding the tentacle home into the hollow she had made for it in the hilt. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as she squeezed the tentacle in. A bit of extra clay was then used to cover the entrance and keep the tentacle in place. It was more or less drier than when she started, and at a consistency that could tolerate paint. Yes, that was right - she was going to paint the tentacle, along with the hilt. It would not be complete without some color, nor would it sufficiently strike fear in the hearts of Japanese school girls everywhere.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Force accessory P2

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
506

[Elkeid]

Now it was time for the final step, the step that would free her from the insanity of this commission: the paint job. It might also make her slightly uneasy, but that would have to be overlooked until she was done with her task. She cleaned off her desk, first, which was absolutely filthy with stone shavings, and deposited them into the little wastebasket in the corner of the room. Her carving tools were put away, and her assortment of brushes and paint were neatly set on her desk. Painting was such a relaxing hobby for her.

For colors, Elkeid decided on a salmon color for the tentacle, with a darker shade of pink for the little suction cups. She also considered a bit of bluish pink to add in places, to simulate saliva. That would obviously have to come last, though. As for the hilt and teeth, the former would be a shade of brown, and the latter white. As for the eye… red, perhaps? Yes, red would be just fine.

She began by mixing some red and white paint together, until she had the desired shade of pink. Then, after setting down some used newspaper under the tentasword, she selected one of her larger brushes. Elkeid began coating the tentacle in paint, careful to avoid the suction cups for now. She painted what she reasonably could without having to flip the tentacle over. She would only do that after one side dried, so that she could paint the naked part.

While that side of the tentacle dried, she cleaned her brush and picked up a smaller one. With that tool in hand, she started to paint the teeth set into the hilt of the sword white. This part was easy enough, and would not require further painting afterwards. After she had successfully done that part, Elk moved on to painting the hilt brown, only after cleaning her current brush and swapping to the larger one, of course. By the time she was finished with that side, the tentacle was dry and ready to be flipped over.

Elkeid lifted and turned it to the side, supporting it with one hand while she resumed painting the underside of the hilt brown. Afterwards, she would complete the painting needed for the rest of the tentacle, and dabbed bits of blue pink paint around it in a long, snaking line. It was all pretty much done now, save for the little eye that needed tending to, and that only took five minutes or so to perfect. It would take a little longer for the rest of the sword to fully dry, but once it was… It wasn’t half bad. The buyer was sure to be pleased with his new accessory, which Elkeid took the liberty of adding in an effect for the soon to be proud owner of hentai nightmares. It was a force accessory and tentacle, so she figured that giving it an increased physical damage boost was more than appropriate.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Force accessory P3

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
500

[Elkeid]

Bring me a horse and I am yours forever, was a very peculiar way to start a letter, but Elkeid was not one to turn down a request - provided they were within reason, of course. The monk was nestled comfortably in an armchair she had rescued from the side of a road, a comfy "little" number that was overstuffed and had a bit of stuffing leaking out the back, yet was far more comfortable than her own bed. She held her pipe, Immortal Smoke, pinned between her lips, little wisps of smoke coming out of the end.

Sorrel, her tiny werecat guardian friend, was perched on the edge of her armchair, dressed like a little gangster with his fedora tilted forward and obscuring his eyes. In her club like armor, Le Disko, Elkeid stood (more like sat) in stark contrast. Sorrel was on the cusp of level twenty now, with his subclasses at more dignified levels. He was at least able to take better care of himself nowadays, though was still very much a hyperactive brat. This same brat also brought in her customer requests from the local boards, like the one she held in one hand.

This was the first request of the batch she had received today, and would hopefully be the weirdest. Elkeid took a deep pull on her pipe before reading further:

No, this is not some oddball way of flirting. I am sure you are quite the lovely woman-

Little tendrils of smoke escaped from Elk's nostrils as she snorted in wry amusement.

- but I am very attached to my work and studies. The request I have for you is for a solitary sculpture of equine proportions, but with the upper body of a man, much like one would expect from a centaur. I would like this sculpture to be the size of a miniature pony, and pale white or alabaster, if possible. I am looking to place it within the garden of my home, you see. You can expect to be paid handsomely for hard work and effort.

Sincerely,
Colonel Angus

Colonel Angus? Cunnilingus? It certainly sounded that way to Elkeid. She said nothing of it to Sorrel, who was far too young to understand or appreciate references to adult past times. She exhaled a long stream of smoke as she set the letter aside and requested the cat lad to pass the second along. The letter was ridiculously colorful and cheery, so much so that it made Elk long to place her aviator goggles on her face. The cutesy depiction of food gave her the impression of a chef or obsessive food lover.

Hello! My name is Hazelnut, and I would like to request some... I guess you could call them sculptures? They're of food, though. Like, uuum… I run a cafe that sells pastries, but our food is cute and tiny? It's called Small Cakes! ^o^

Aaaanyway, Ms. Elkeid, I would like to purchase some mock food carved out of… well, whatever you have would be nice! I'm just going to be using them as displays, anyway, so that the customers will have a good idea of what to expect. Oh, and I have included some free food samples, to help you out (and sample! ;])! ^o^ The sculptures should be the same size as the samples, and as realistic as possible! Please let me know in advance if you can't fill the order, though. ^w^;

Elkeid nodded to Sorrel, who then handed her a small package. It contained a plate of smaller than usual pastries, like the size one would make for small children or dogs. An included donut with pink frosting and brown sprinkles was small enough to rest comfortably in the palm of her hand, and was just the right size for Sorrel's dainty little paws. The average person might end up eating an extra pastry, which was a rather clever marketing technique.

A blade shaped like a pair of scissors is what I crave - preferably red. Purely decorative is what I have in mind, but also big. Big enough to place above my mantle and appear menacing.

- Kirie

That request was a little odd, but not too much so. Her last letter was relatively normal, at least. It mostly consisted of painting and pottery requests, which would be a lovely break from all the sculptures she would be making this week. At least the pastry deal would be relatively easy. 'It looks like I won't be adventuring much this week.' Not that she particularly minded, anyway.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Reading requests.

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
762

[Elkeid]

Elkeid took a few more minutes to finish off the tobacco in her pipe, all the while coming up with ideas for how she was to go about her orders. Would it be best to do the big work first, or start with the smaller stuff? Either way, the bigger items would take longer to fire, and she would like to get them all done in one go, if possible. Then she could work on the paintings while the pottery was… no, wait. Sculptures didn't need to be fire, right? Just chipped out of stone. So that meant she should focus on the pottery first, and do the sculpting while those were roasting in the kiln. The paintings could be done during that time as well, provided she did not waste any time. Three days was the standard firing time.

She exhaled one final time, savoring the flavor of the tobacco as it funneled its way through her nostrils. It was so nice to be able to smoke like this again, even if it was from a pipe. She might never go back to cigarettes again. "Fetch me my pen, Sorrel, and then start hauling in some stone and clay from the storage room." She gently set her pipe aside to sort through her papers, and once Sorrel had delivered her pen, began responding to the requests. Yes, she would be taking on all of these, and yes, they could expect to have the products in a week's time.

The woman had long since moved out of her cramped hotel room and into the upstairs apartment of an aging Lander couple. They apparently rented out to Adventurers, who were more than willing to pay more than the average Lander for decent housing. Elkeid was one of those Adventurers who would gladly pay a bit more, but she would also like to have her own house or apartment. Unfortunately, that would not be happening anytime soon; better housing would cost most of her funds, and then there was furniture and the like to consider… And food, of course. A guild would likely be easiest, but… there were currently none that appealed to her.

She left her small den and the comfort of her armchair to join Sorrel in her crafting room, which had once been the old wife's sewing room. It was a little bit smaller than the den, but perfect for what she had in mind for it. There was a solitary table that took up one wall of the room, two stools and a chair, and then there was the small closet that was her "storage room". The top shelf housed her paint, brushes, and carving tools, and the rest of the closet was filled to the brim with stone and clay blocks.

The closet door was now ajar and blocks of materials were set down near the table. Sorrel gazed up at her with big, expectant eyes, but before he could ask or say anything, Elkeid dismissed him with a curt nod of her head. "Why don't you go outside and play for a bit? I'm going to be busy for a while." "A while" was an understatement, but she would surely be done with something by the time supper was ready.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Closer...

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
544

[Elkeid]

The first items of today were to be fairly simple ones - flower pots. She had made a much larger one for Scoria's Alraune, so making two regular sized ones should be a breeze. Her hands itched to hold her pipe, though, an urge she squelched by wrapping her hands around some clay. The mud was cheap, but bent and twisted under her fingertips. After beating out any possible air bubbles from the clay, Elkeid took out a thin length of wire and sliced a nice little slab off of it.

She flattened and shaped this slab with a carving tool, until it was in the rough shape of a square. From there she sliced off a few more slabs, and by scorching the ends and locking them together with some with clay, had formed the basic outline of the flower pot. She picked up a length of discarded clay and rolled it between her hands until it was shaped like a long coil, and scorched this and the top of the flower pot as well.

Elkeid hummed softly to herself as she smoothed the cracks, and with tender care flipped the pot over to etch in a fanciful E into the bottom of the base. She did the same for the second flower pot she had to craft, and placed both pots near the back of the table, against the wall. The pots sat there for a good ten minutes or so while she washed up and put her remaining clay and tools up. That same clay would be smacked around and shaped into something else later.

Elkeid started to call for Sorrel to come and collect the pots for firing, before remembering that she had sent him out to play nearly an hour ago. Well, no biggie. The small kiln was in the basement; the old man made a living selling plates and the like. It was basically the reason she had rented this place out. It was just perfect for what she had in mind, though she did have to sync whatever firing she needed with the old man's schedule. Luckily for her, he did not load it until the end of the week, so she could get her stuff in and out before he needed to use it.

The trek downstairs was a brief and uneventful one. Elkeid took a moment to poke her head into the kitchen, curious as to what Minnie, the old man's wife, had on the menu for today. Judging from the pots on the stove, and remnants of chopped vegetables, Elk assumed that soup would be on the menu tonight. It was probably more of Minnie’s famous lamb stew, with a side of diced potatoes and hunks of freshly baked bread. The smell of slowly cooking food was enough to make her stomach gently rumble.

Minnie was the sort to make heavy food that stuck to your ribs, like the large breakfast that could tide you over well past lunch time. Large platters of flapjacks, eggs, ham and bacon had been on the menu for this morning, and Elk was unable to finish half of her plate. What she didn’t eat, Sorrel scarfed down. Minnie and her husband thought this was adorable for some reason. Elkeid found it to be a bit too much, despite Minnie’s insistence that she was “too” skinny and could use with some extra meat on her bones. Elkeid did not think so, and was more than happy to keep to her smaller portions.

Millie called out to Elk to remind her that dinner would be ready in a few hours, and that she had already reminded Sorrel. The old couple was convinced that the werecat was Elk's son, and she had yet to see a reason to correct them. It benefited them both, for one; the old couple took pity on who they thought to be a single mother, meaning that their rent came with a discount. They were also rather fond of the boy, and treated him like the grandson they had never had. It was all rather heartwarming.

The kiln would be even warmer once it was at its zenith. Elkeid placed her pots on a shelf within the kiln, and set it at a moderate firing setting. She didn't want to turn the clay into puddles, after all.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

[newclass=.alkaid]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 100px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Artificial Nocturne

Notes:
Just some pottery.

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
725

[Elkeid]

Elkeid stretched her long arms over her head and cracked the bones in her arm, shoulders and back. Now that the pottery part was said and done with (for now, at least) she could focus on one of the easier sculptures - the tiny pastry set. She could do the paintings next, but there was no big rush; there were still three days until the pottery was finished firing, and she would like to send the entire order back in one lump sum.

She plucked the smallest stone she had from her closet - roughly the size of a basketball - and with a simple hammer smashed it into smaller bits. Sorrel would have thrown a fit at the sound, and might not bother her during sculpting if he happened to witness such a scene. That would work wonderfully in her favor, of course.

The chunks of stone were carefully sorted based on size and texture, and beside them she placed the platter of pastries - a donut, a crepe and some kind of tart. They were all very colorful creations, which meant that Elkeid would have to step up her A game… by making the prettiest false food sculptures you ever did see. People were going to look at these sculptures and want to gobble them down quicker than the blink of an ice.

"I hate a moral coward, one who lacks a manly spark," she sang absentmindedly to herself as she selected a circular stone and began carving away. "I just detest a man afraid to go home in the dark." She could not remember where she had picked up such a song, but could not help but think that @blackcoat was somehow responsible. It was a good song, though. Classy, even.

She turned the stone over and over in her fingers, carving away at the hardened edges to get the desired round and smooth shape. By the time she was done, a small pile of shavings sat on the table. This pile grew and grew as she whittled two more stones into the base shapes needed for the crepe and tart. The shavings were pushed to the side and dumped into her small waste basket.

"I'm a member of the Midnight Crew," she sang softly to herself as she picked up a smaller tool built for designing tiny details. "I'm a night owl and a wise bird too, home with the milk in the morning." With this she etched out the frosting and sprinkles for the donut, vaguely wondering if such a design would make for a good, albeit odd, pipe design. A much smaller pile of shavings formed as she detailed the crepe and tart (decidedly strawberry).

Elkeid blew dust and debris from her small sculptures, and thoroughly examined them for faults or inconsistencies. It was the donut that gave her the most trouble, but that was hardly an issue in the end. By the time she started painting, it was supper time already. Elkeid, in the middle of adding color to the frosting of the donut, gingerly set the sculpture down and covered her paint. Her paintbrush was left to soak in a cup of water. Her stomach, on the other hand, was softly growling and demanding nourishment.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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Muse:
I'm a Member of the Midnight Crew

Notes:
Pastry sculptures halfway done.

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
543

[Elkeid]

When she returned to her room, Elkeid's stomach was fit to burst. Minnie had insisted that Elk eat more than usual, and there was no arguing with that woman when she had her mind set on something. So she had wolfed down two bowls of stew, an extra helping of potatoes, and two hunks of bread the size of her fist. Sorrel had somehow managed to eat twice that, and had waddled off to his room to relax and allow the food to digest. That was all fine and dandy for him, but Elk still had some work to do. Unfortunately, it was just a wee bit difficult to do said work with her body weighed down and the urge to lie down and curl up with a good book teasing her.

So she just moved her comfy armchair into her crafting room. It would likely not make matters any better, but at least she had something comfortable to recline on while she finished the task of painting the little sculptures. The miniature donut was her first target, and was completed in a good thirty or forty minutes. She was especially careful about detail when it came to painting, and there were the sprinkles on the donut to consider. The tart took considerably less time, and the crepe was not much longer. Items with mostly one color or of slightly varying shades were the easiest to paint.

Elkeid still felt full when she was finally done with the paint job, but also rather content. She stretched and let out a small yawn, before dropping her arms down by her sides. It was a little too late to go out and send off a passage, though she could still wrap the items up and ship them off the following day. It really had been a tiring day, but at least it was a productive one.

She found some newspaper to secure the items, and stored the wrapped sculptures into a small box. Her props were cleaned up and carelessly tossed outside the window for the stray dogs or rats to find and eat. Elkeid did not have much of a sweet tooth, and did not think Sorrel should use his too often. Speaking of Sorrel… the boy was already fast asleep when she went into his room to check up on him, and did not stir when she placed a very light kiss on his forehead. Hey - she had to keep up appearances with the old folks.

coded by benetnasch of THQ / ET

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[attr="class","alkaid"]

Muse:
Ray Gun

Notes:
Pastry sculptures done.

Tags:
Elkeid

Words:
417