Desert Respite; Inner Village

Desert Crow would walk toward the house of the one who smithed. There were no signs upon where anyone nor anything was, for there was no need for it. Everyone knew who was who and what was what, even if no one else did. He would lead Estelle inside, hoping she didn't get lost along the way, since much of this land looked the same.

Estelle had asked Ginos to follow but it was up to him whether he would or not. Once again, she was privy to this type of treatment, and as she silently followed Desert Crow her gaze would look over the architecture of the village, engraving every detail into her mind with her Dagger Sight. She would know her way around almost as well as some of the other villagers; at least, in regards to getting back to where Ginos had been. Her eyes would drift upwards to the sun again (if it's still up. The moon if it's up.)

(Also, I will translate this later.) "I do not wish to seem fickle, yet I ask of you to continue to watch over me, my love. I understand these people to be of your land, yet I don't feel the welcoming warmth I was shown by you..." She didn't want to offend the astral body by speaking ill of the people that it watched over. She spoke the truth about not feeling welcome, and if the sun were to choose its people over her, she would truly feel ostracized within the desert. Her hope and love were nature; including the stones of the buildings she traced her fingers over. If they abandoned her, she didn't know what would happen that day.

"Guide me well." She spoke to the stone, still in her native tongue, still ignorant that it would probably be unsettling to Desert Crow.

Desert Crow spoke up immediately once Estelle had come to his location, but it seemed like she was speaking to something or someone in another language again. This caught Desert Crow's attention for later. "Here's where you can get your smithing done. This is where all of that is done." There was not much else to say at that point. "The shop keeper is over there." Desert Crow pointed obscurely to what looked like a counter. He would wait here with Estelle while she did what she had to do, since it wasn't good to leave her without knowing if she would be okay getting back. That wouldn't make any sense. He leaned casually against the wall and waited patiently, gazing out of the window.

The response, or lack thereof from the sun or the earth itself gave Estelle a slight pause. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment, but she calmed soon after. 'I can't jump to conclusions.' She thought. If the sun had truly chosen its people over her, it would have at least let her know as such, as were the gist she got from its benevolence. So perhaps she had misjudged the people?

No. Even if she were overthinking their intentions, Desert Crow himself had already let out an aura of mistrust greater than when they first met. She had been in this situation before and knew she wasn't mistaken on being cautious. Then it hit her. Just as these things had happened to her to condition her to be cautious, something must have happened to the village itself in which they were being cautious of visitors. It was such a simple understanding that she had taken for granted. Always being the one segregated, she had forgotten that others experienced the same as she sometimes.

She looked to Desert Crow as he dismissed her with a somewhat aloof attitude. One of the rare few times she felt regret, she would prostrate herself by kneeling several feet away from the elder. "I am not one for idling within what ifs and what nots. I have sensed great turmoil within you and your people upon the arrival of myself and my shise. If we have done something that has offended you, I apologize. You have been on guard as have we, when it is simply a case of the unknown. Just as you do not know what or where I or my shise have come from, this world is knew to us as well. I assure you that we mean no harm to you or this village and are simple travelers with little to no knowledge about us. So as far as you have been so far, I graciously thank you for your hospitatlity."

She would rise immediately before going over to the blacksmith at the counter. If he had witnessed the scene, she would give him (or her) a friendly smile as well before placing the bundle of Gecoal skin and meat on the counter. "I am proficient with the forge. I would like to use it if possible. Your guidance would be appreciated, as I don't wish to overstep any boundaries."

Though she wasn't sure if her reasoning about the people was correct, the fact the sun felt no need to intervene gave her peace that she was in no immediate danger. She placed all of her faith within the sun and earth.

(Please edit your post. 'Desert Crow' is the person you're following, not 'Desert Owl.' The story won't make sense if we continue any further.)

A ray of light shone through the window of the shop Estelle was in brightly upon the wall upon Estelle's hand on the wall and well within eyesight, as if suddenly matching attention with Estelle and what she had done immediately. At that point, the Earth would begin helping out once she realized someone was asking for it.

"Gomennasai~" someone somewhere said, whether it was within earshot or not. Random crowd ramblings throughout the day had such things hurled through the air as frequent as they would be. At this point, Tina would attempt to resolve the issue by being as helpful as possible. As a planet, she was not as well developed in some places because she had not matured yet, so some of her people may have come off this way due to lack of exposure to outsiders in general. With the sun's easy look, the tension in the air would dissuade under the sun's emanation, just as had been in the desert earlier. At that point, the consciousness of the Veritas would be more focused on the interdimensional being that was simply foreign to this world in more ways than just was normally understood. With what happened to the planet and the Witches during the time of their reign under Head Witch Zita before her fall, there were some areas of this reality that were still scarred from the excessive force of the Witches and were now distraught by default by outsiders in general because of their history. They hadn't gotten over the problems of fear and terror or natural suspicion that came with being under the tyranny of Head Witch Zita. Yet, only the Veritas, itself, would be recounting those times consciously in books or something right now trying to learn more about it, and find ways to pass on the information to regions such as this. As of now, all that was possible was to be as they were until shown some kindness or differentiation from the treatment of the Witches to help open them up to outsiders a little more freely, since the Witches was simply a first impression on outsiders in general. First impressions have lasting effects, and it could be seen in this people from how they'd treated Estelle and Ginos naturally.

Desert Crow was looking away from Estelle and up at the sun, admiring it for a moment, when suddenly it would shine and Desert Crow would see Estelle get down on her knees and apologize. "S-sure," he'd say, not understanding this custom either, but it seemed like there was some sort of sincerity in her apology. Perhaps she'd felt that no one would be so easy about any sort of foreigner entering the land and doing so many strange things. "It's fine." They weren't all a very social nor expressive group of people; at least, not to newcomers. It was a new experience.

When Estelle was finished, Desert Crow would smile at her with still an estranged face, seeing that their interaction was clearly strained because of his own mistrust of her, as an outsider. She seemed to be a good soul, like his grandfather, Desert Owl said, but it was unclear of what her true intentions were here. Either way, when the owner of the store came out, a friend of Desert Crow's, he would nod his head in acknowledgement to him and say, "This foreigner is with me." That was all that needed to be said. It seemed like their lack of communication was also strange to the foreigner, which was why she might have been doing these things. Desert Crow thought to himself, staring back out the window as Estelle took care of her business.

The owner of the store nodded his head in acknowledgement of Desert Crow and would immediately begin to treat this foreigner with a little more friendliness and ease, now that he knew that this person was associated with his friend. That made it easier to trust her. "You're with the Crow? Well then. I suppose that you may make use of my resources here, friend." At once, Estelle would be taken to the forging area. "Let me know if you need anything," he would say somewhat halfheartedly, still remaining cautious naturally of this person, even with her association to Desert Crow.

Naturally they were still on guard, just like she would be. But it would be the natural guard many people had within new places and within new situations. Her friendly smile remained as she interacted with the blacksmith. 'These two would make fine shise.' She thought with a small blush.

The echo of 'sorry' caught her attention. It was in a different language than the other voices about. For the most part, it intrigued her. Through sheer guessing, (due to not knowing what else it could've been) she would think that it were one of the spirits of nature answering her. 'It's quite alright. Thank you for being here.'

With that, Estelle laid out the materials she had gathered from the desert. First and foremost, she needed to see what was around that would be able to pierce the hide of the Gecoal. There was no need to tan it or even harden it. Making it stiff would depreciate the fact that it was a very a hard and flexible natural armor. "This skin is from a creature native to these lands. Would you perhaps know something strong enough to pierce it's outter hide?"

"Ah, one of the flying fire serpents," the owner would say, as they were called in the village. "You will be needing special materials harder than steel in order to inflict damage upon its hide." It was clear that this foreigner truly was foreign, since everyone here already knew how to hunt and how to hunt these creatures of the desert. He would move to his table and assemble some of his finer work materials for Estelle's needs, but naturally nothing of too high value, which was used to work on different materials of a higher and finer quality. The hide of the flying fire serpents was indeed very strong and durable, good for protection from many basic blows, but something like a very hard and dense metal could easily break it, like the shell of a lobster. "All of the crafting materials you need are right here. Once Estelle was set, the owner of the shop would begin to speak to Desert Crow.

Estelle sweatdropped at the name of the creature. "Flying fire serpent...?" She cocked her head to the side rather cutely. Well, as far as classifications of a genus went, that was pretty straight forward.

"Thank you very much." She offered to the blacksmith.

She set to work almost immediately and one would notice a diligent shift within her. She became focused and almost content. Hunting and crafting were her two main joys in life; the two things that could bring her sheer happiness and peace. Cooking was a craft for her as well. She enjoyed these things far more than fighting. The only thing that came even remotely close to the feelings was sex. Yet, she had never 'made love' with anyone and had only simply had 'wild fucks'.

Digressing, the huntress in question spread the hide of the Gecoal out and began to cut off the lingering meat on the hide now that she had time to do so precisely. She would not discard the meat; she could make a simple jerky of it later for when they were low on rations. Afterward, she began to scrub the inside of the hide, cleaning it as best she could. Making it into clothing meant she didn't want any parasites or such to remain of course.

Once that was done, she activated her dagger sight once more to judge the actual size of the hide. Within moments she was able to calculate how much armor she could really make with it, as well as how much would be left over for other things. She was on the ground on her knees, looking almost like a young woman looking over her own art, though this wasn't too far off. She was humming softly to herself as she worked as well.

'I could put seals on the inside if I had some leather to line it with. That way I can strengthen it with energy. It would become a very rare piece too. Plus it would last longer as actual clothing instead of simple armor to be discarded once used...' As she thought about this, she had already been cutting the hide into the sections that she knew she could make. The first piece she cut was big, being almost 1/3 of the whole thing length wise.

"I hate to bother you again, shise, but would you perhaps have some thin leather I can line the inner hide with? Just enough for this piece and a breast plate?"

The owner was feeling more content with the sun beaming brightly through the windows. The warmth of the air brought an ease to his soul. It looked like Desert Crow was feeling something similar, with how the two were chatting.

When the owner was interrupted by Estelle, he didn't seem at all as bothered as he may have normally been. Instead, he seemed to be more actively willing to assist her. "Right here," he'd say, taking out some of the basic material from under his stony counter and leaving them out for Estelle to take as she saw fit. As kindly as he was feeling, he wondered about how this woman sought to pay for these services. "Are you offering me these spoils in exchange for the use of my tools?" It was only customary, yet having forgotten that she was a foreigner during his haste to catch up with Desert Crow, the owner hadn't realized that the woman wouldn't know about how to pay.

"I'll cover for her," Desert Crow said, knowing that she was an interdimensional being and probably had nothing of any value that would be known to them. "I doubt she has anything to wager."

(+1 for Kindness. The area is less tense now.)

Estelle beamed brighter from not only her work and the influence of the sun, but also because of the clerk. "I had intended on surprising you with a piece once I finished as payment." She admitted. (I really had thought about that during the last post too. Ironic again.) When Desert Crow said he'd cover her, she didn't want to refuse the offer in fear of sounding rude, but made a statement anyway. "If what I have to offer is to your liking, please accept it in stead of Desert Crow as well."

She bounced over to the leather works jovially, taking long and short strips. The smaller strings she would make even smaller with scissors before finally getting to work on the bigger piece of Gecoal hide. She lined up a large piece of leather to the inside of the Gecoal hide before methodically making small punctures through them both along the edges. Once this was down all around it, she debated whether to make a loose fit by tying them together then. For the sake of the craft, however, she instead decided to steam them together first.

Moving over the forge and bellows, she used water from the cactus to create burst of hot steam while putting the hide and leather over the tanner. The sweat of the hide and leather would cause them to stick together, and only through manually pressing them together could she get them to bind. It was rather crude, but it worked to hold pieces together for several weeks at least, when done right.

Once they were matted together, she would go back to the leather strings and begin to thread them through the puncture holes she had made earlier. Like this, she had created the actual lining of the piece of armor. This would all take time as she did this manually.

Even when she became powerful enough to simply create clothing with 'magic' or other energies, she always went out of her way to do things manually. There was far more satisfaction in creating something with her bare hands. Touching, smelling, seeing, and doing. It became far more personal this way and she loved every single second of it. It was one of the few things she always loved about losing her abilities. She was forced to do things this way.

The only drawback was the amount of time and patience required for this work. To those watching, if they did not find interest in this, they would undoubtedly become bored.

Once the lining was complete, Estelle would get to work on more small leather pieces. With a few needles of the cactus, she began to pierce pieces together. When she folded the hide itself into a sort of cone, the blacksmith and Desert Crow would be able to see that she was making a skirt out of the biggest piece of hide.

Blissfully unaware, alongside the others, of the happenings within the desert...

The owner seemed shocked to hear that the woman considered making him something, wondering why she would go through the trouble. "Oh... Well that's fine. You needn't worry yourself too much. I don't need much." Looking at the meat from the Gecoal, knowing that this was liable to be bartered just as much as anything. "If anything, all you need to do is split your meat with me." It seemed like the owner of the forge was a little more easygoing and lenient than perhaps Desert Owl and Desert Crow had been, though he still didn't know that Estelle was from another realm entirely and not just from outside the desert. "Though if you insist, I will judge what it is you have to give to me after you're done and see if I like it more." That seemed to be the best way to handle this form of exchange.

Now both the owner and Desert Crow were watching Estelle work. The owner admired her work and her craftsmanship from afar, finding her style and technique to be unique and effective. Though it seemed like standard forgery, and it was, there was a vigor inside of Estelle that made it unique of which the eyes of Desert Crow and the owner could see very clearly. "That's some fine work you're doing there," the owner finally said, being one to admire handiwork and craft due to being a craftsman, himself. "I like your spirit," he'd continue, as if he were able to see it clearly from the way Estelle was working. Even if she didn't notice it, they did due to their special natural ability to see spirits.

Another stranger walked into the door, covered in a cloak and widely unnoticed by the rest of the village, having slipped in when no one was looking. He also donned a large hat-like piece that covered his eyes and his face. When his presence had gotten someone's attention, he would look to whomever acknowledged him and would ask, "... What is that powerful presence I felt in the desert?" Without telling his name nor where he was from, he sought information about whatever it was that had been occurring in the desert, of which he felt before he came; something like Estelle had been feeling.

Estelle had been so engrossed in her work that she almost didn't feel the happenings of the desert through her connection with the sun. However, once she had finished the skirt armor as well as a small holding bag, her attention found her surroundings again. The shop owner's request to split the meat was well received. She had a lot, and as she said before, even the thinnest pieces of meat could be used for sustenance in the form of jerky. Plus she still had the cactus, which was a fairly healthy alternative to meat as well. Upon hearing that he wanted to judge the piece she was going to make for him, she nodded excitedly, a determined smile adorning her lips.

In the midst of working on the final piece, however, the entrance of another would draw her attention. She had no prior warning, not even from the sun, yet the person's presence unnerved her a bit. She immediately went back on guard, her smile fading and her body seemingly becoming a bit rigid. The persons attire alone was cause for alarm. Where she was completely naked, not a single inch of skin could be seen on this intruder.

He simply asked a question without making his presence known. He gave them no greeting. What reason did they have to believe he was anything but a threat. The way the villagers had treated herself and her shise upon arrival was indifferent enough and they had been nothing but kind towards the natives. This rude person...however...She awaited Desert Crow or the shop owner's response to the unknown person.

The intensity of the environment was rigid enough for emanations like flames to form from the tension, leaving an aura over the ones in the area who were feeling similarly to Estelle. Beside her, nearly cloaked over her, was a presence that was like the form of fire, but transparent like heat. It was intense enough for her to see visibly, but not for others to recognize without the connection. She would hear only the faint passing of words on the wind saying to her, "This person is dangerous." The concentration faded very swiftly, yet also lingered over Estelle and the area as a general presence in the air; as 'Tension,' itself. "Be Careful."

Desert Crow was the first to shift his gaze to the covered stranger, who was already asking too much about this place. "What's it to you?" he snapped with a low murmur, approaching cautiously. He could sense something powerful here and it was stirring him up much more than Estelle was. The man oozed suspicion, considering he'd been asking about something only the people native to this land, specifically were aware of. There was no way he was the same as Estelle, which justified caution and precaution due to the Tension.

The Owner of the shop would draw nearer to Estelle. He crouched a bit and whispered something to her, asking if she were alright or was being disturbed in any way. He also mentioned that he had some weapons in the back if she knew how to fight and wanted to use them.

The newcomer who was wrapped in mystery huffed gruffly, figuring that he would be greeted in such a manner. He didn't seem too eager to sit around playing 20 Questions, either. "It was powerful," he finally said straight forward, leaving nothing to the imagination. "I didn't expect to find such power on this planet nor in a desert region, but because I did, now I'm interested in this power, myself." There was probably a lot here that could be used for acquiring more power in this new place, and that strong presence that was felt was first on this man's list.

When the same powerful presence passed by again in the room, which he could tell because of his own keen and honed senses, unknown to the villagers, the stranger became appalled and said, "It's here, isn't it...? That power..." His eyes began to glow from under the shadow of his hat, sharp and focused on the rise in energy in the area. An aura started to glow around him and his jacket fluttered a bit.

Estelle was more than prepared to face whomever this person was, regardless of their nature. Her motivation was to protect the land and the people there, for the sake of the spirits and gods that resided over them. The sun, the earth, and even the wind she had gotten a brief feel of were sentient in this world. She would put as much effort into keeping them happy as they would for her.

The feeling of yet another presence coming to her aid almost made her eyes widen yet she held it back for fear of alerting the strange person. This was a presence she had not felt before, and it spoke to her directly. This was the first time a Peace had directly addressed her and with such clarity. In that moment she was able to put the pieces together.

The man was after whichever Peace was speaking to her at the moment. (She doesn't know what a Peace is, it's just easier to refer to it through narration.)

Estelle would nod to the shop owner instead of giving a verbal anecdote to her well being. His offer of weapons was answered with a warm smile that let him know she was fine. However, she would stand to follow him into the back of his shop, hoping whichever Peace was speaking with her would allow its presence to follow her.

'This person is after a great power. Yours is the only one great enough to cause a stir.' Estelle spoke to Ignis. 'It's safe to assume he is after you. I will be careful, but I want to protect you if I can as well.' She didn't need to add as if he needed it. Estelle knew she was only a bug compared to whatever power was aiding her at the moment. She couldn't feel Reiji anymore either, meaning he would not be giving her aid.

The fiery Presence that was over Estelle spread out naturally as a vibration over the entire village, progressively getting larger and also causing 'Tension' among the tribe, who lived in relatively close proximity of each other and also were a village of 'Lost Weapons,' which were still 'Instruments' that were resonant with each others' wavelengths all within a certain proximity. It would draw them near to this location naturally. "Some Of The Villagers May Be A Threat Because Of The Fear Of Outsiders," the flaming aura whispered to Estelle again, alerting her of what sort of danger she may be in. "I Came To Protect You, But Someone Discovered My Presence." It sounded almost like this were all happening because of a misunderstanding and only by chance, yet also with intention behind it from different parties. "I Fear He Will Make Their Fear Worse, And Then Come To Dislike You." Already, Estelle was being treated precariously due to her nature as a Foreigner in a land where Foreigners were naturally distrusted due to lack of exposure. "Please, Lead Him Into The Desert And I Will Provide For You From There By Bestowing You With My Blessings Whilst You Are Within My Land." Estelle treaded all the Corona Badlands, which were Forbidden to the Magnus Ignis, who is the Presence that had been guiding her and speaking with her the entire time.

Desert Crow narrowed his eyes deeply at the foreigner, keen on his interest in power. "Hmm... Is that right?" That meant that he'd already seen the Spirit that rested over the land. "Hold on just a sec." Desert Crow turned to the shopkeep and whispered to ask his 'Paps' for a 'Reading.' He would know what it meant as long as Desert Crow was mentioned to him.

Meanwhile, Desert Crow, who was surprisingly more amicable toward Foreigner Estelle over this newcomer would stay to fend for her should she need assistance and keep the other Foreigner at bay. "Go out into the desert," he started to answer, knowing that giving the man what he wanted at the moment would buy him time, "The Spirit of the Desert always congregated out in the Eternal Desert and does not come near here. You're out of luck." Desert Crow scrunched his nose, gritting his teeth. "Go back the way you came, Foreigner." He smirked. "Then you'll find it." Desert Crow chuckled.

"The Desert?" The Otherworlder was somewhat befuddled and frustrated with this response, especially the attitude that came from it. "I just came from there..." He uttered on, analyzing the area. "... I could have sworn that I felt it come here..." It seemed like it was all around him, yet he knew that couldn't be right, so instead he searched for the actual manifestation.

The villagers seemed to know something more about the power, however, which caught the Otherworlder's eye. They were hiding something about the energy that was felt, and it was clear in their secretive motions. This made him wonder. "Tell me how to summon it," he said, knowing the word 'summon' was common in terms of drawing up anything. "I need to know everything you know." Whatever information they had, this person was going to overcome the power and acquire it for himself to become powerful in the land and in other realms, as he'd been doing.

"I'll show you the way, Shise. This power you seek is something I searched for and recently found. I was simply here to prepare." She lied, of course. She didn't need the man to get hostile with her and she couldn't tell him the power he sought was indeed all around them at the moment. She didn't know if it could manifest itself into a physical being, but it told her to lead the man into the desert. She placed her utmost faith in Ignis; Hoping to help him as much as he had already helped her.

"It is in the desert. You wouldn't have been able to find it simply by looking." As she spoke, Estelle laid the last piece that she owed to the shop owner. It was a medium sized shield made from the remaining hide of the Gecoal. She placed the meat that the man had asked for alongside. "I thank you graciously for allowing me your time and resources. By the worlds will shall we meet again."

With her words, she donned her newly made skirt, still leaving herself topless. However, she fixed her hair to hang over her breast as to cover herself just a bit more modestly. The tension she felt towards the villagers was overshadowed by her irritation aimed at the cloaked man. Regardless of if they, the villagers, found her presence no longer wanted, she would respect them as the desert had respected her. "Farewell." She whispered to Desert Crow as she passed him and exited the shop.