Practice makes Perfect

Hotaru · 12-06-2011, 10:13 PM

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Thornbury, about noon, Hotaru is sitting on a boulder.

Word Count → 393

Every stroke moved down the wood with a practiced grace. The wood rasp felt heavy in Hotaru's cat like paws. The large file moved down the bows shaft, guided by feel and memory. The monotonous movement brought a sense of peace and tranquility to the otherwise disturbed female. It had been a long time since Hotaru had been truly happy. Carving had always given Hotaru a sense of purpose and made her feel special. Now the act made her feel normal, a sensation she had longed for since the day her eyes stopped working.

Several weeks ago, Hotaru had ventured out into the woods with Fawkes and a hatchet. Using the bird as a guide, Hotaru had been able to locate a fine, young osage orange tree. Despite her inability to see, the grey wolf had managed to chop down the tree without too much trouble. She had placed the felled branch in her house and allowed it to dry before beginning her work. Hotaru's goal was to turn the osage into a hunting bow. The blind woman wasn't sure why she was making a hunting bow, but the desire to carve something had compelled her to action.

Before her 'accident,' Hotaru had been a skilled woodworker who specialized in making works of art. Tools such as bows or staves were not out of her realm of expertise, but they never seemed to be much of a challenge for her. Now, Hotaru was not sure she could even make something as simple as a hunting bow. But she had to try.

Hotaru had spent a long time making this bow. She had shaped it with great care. The more Hotaru worked on the bow, the more confident she became. Hotaru could hear the sound of the wood, it's different growth rings apparent in their texture and clarity. The once large branch had been carved into the familiar shape of a bow. Hotaru had thinned the arms of the bow enough so she could begin working on the bows handle. Using the wood rasp, Hotaru began to shape the sides of the handle so that it would fit comfortably in her paws. The idea of making a bow conform her grip almost saddened Hotaru. The blind woman would never be able to hunt with the bow, so her creation would go unused and forgotten.

Table by Aly, code by the Mentors!

Orin Takekuro · 12-07-2011, 03:02 PM

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Orin Takekuro

:: 400+ ♥ Word Count ::

Up with the sun and in the stable… just as every one of Orin’s mornings had gone, this one was no different. Her daughter was missing (and presumably left on her own accord), the plans for her wedding were overwhelming, and on top of it all, she was starting to question the big decision she had made for her future. With so many things a mess, Orin focused on routine, trying to strive for some normalcy in the life that was quickly slipping out of her control. She was mechanical when she fed the hens, staring blankly at the floor as they pecked at the feed, and she was without warmth when she milked Soraya the Cow, despite how much she loved her. More chores, more chores… at least she knew them well and could work on auto pilot for a little while.

By the time the afternoon rolled around Orin had the morning’s work done. Even the stalls of the privately owned horses were cleaned – a job that was left for the animal’s owners unless she actually had the spare time and energy to do it. One for all, Orin didn’t mind cleaning those stalls when she had time. It was her job, after all.

Even though she looked, there was nothing more to do here, so she left the stables. The day was crisp and cold, a good December afternoon. She paused outside of the building to clean her hands with the water from one of the troughs – one meant for cleaning not for watering the animals - and then pulling her cloak around her shoulders, she wandered down the street.

It wasn’t long before she heard a scraping noise and her amber gaze lifted to see a woman sitting upon a stone. She cocked her head aside – was this the new one she had heard about? Orin was keen on her pack’s news and had heard from Shawchert of this woman’s arrival. There was something about her, though, something that he pointed out. Wasn’t she handicapped? Orin squinted as she walked toward the woman. Couldn’t be what Shawchert said, she thought to herself. Blind women can’t craft.

Yet as she came closer the woman never looked to her – save until possibly after she was close enough for the woman to hear her foot steps. Maybe she was just that in to her work. “Good afternoon,” she greeted as she approached. “We haven’t met yet. I’m Orin Takekuro.” She stopped just before the woman and held out her hand for a friendly shake.

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Hotaru · 12-07-2011, 10:12 PM

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Word Count → 323

The soft sound of wood against metal was in a way, hypnotic. The simple movements completely absorbed Hotaru's attention, and her focus was absolute. For once, Hotaru barely took notice of the world beyond her work. It seemed as is the universe shrank to encompass only Hotaru, the bolder, and the bow. Each stroke of her file lifted the scent of osage orange into air, masking all other smells. The bolder beneath Hotaru was sturdy, but rocked ever so slightly as she shifted her weight. Her bag of carving supplies lay at the rocks base and was open to reveal her precious tools. Even Fawkes, who was out on a hunting trip, disappeared from her universe.

The blind woman placed her wood wrasp on the ground beside her large paws. She lifted the bow in the air, and used her hand to trace the length of the bow. Hotaru focused on the handle which she was working on, her large paws feeling the dimensions of the wood. There was still a lot of work to be done. The handle needed to be narrowed and shaped.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught Hotaru's attention. She lifted her grey head and her red tipped ears twitched. Already the stranger had managed to come very close to her. A second later the voice of an unknown female could be heard. Hotaru blinked once in surprise. Orin, smelled strongly of Shawchert as well as the pack. The grey wolf could not see Orin's gesture so she made no move to respond. Instead, Hotaru simply said, "Hotaru. Does this look even to you?" She held the bow-to-be up for Orin to inspect. So far, Hotaru had done a fairly good job. Although one arm was slightly bigger than the other, and she had two growth rings on the back as apposed to one, the bow had been shaped properly and was well on its way to being done.

Table by Aly, code by the Mentors!

Orin Takekuro · 12-11-2011, 07:11 PM

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Orin Takekuro

:: 300+ ♥ Word Count ::

Maybe Shawchert had been right after all, maybe the woman was blind. Evident by the way she didn't notice her until her footsteps were within hearing distance, as well as the fact that she didn't take her hand. It was supremely odd the way the eyes never really looked at her, and a little unsettling. She had never met a blind person before. The world was usually far too harsh and unforgiving for such a disability. It was a wonder that Hotaru lived at all.

She dropped her hand and turned her eyes to the wood Hotaru held aloft. An eyebrow quirked and she wondered for a moment how she should know if it were off. She recognized it as a weapon of archery but past that she had no idea what kind of properties it has. “Umm... I guess?” Okay, that was a little rude, she should really try to be more helpful than that. She leaned over and eyed the bow a little better this time, and then offered. “Well if both sides are supposed to be even then this side-” she pointed “is fatter.” Then she realized her error, and quickly stammered, “I... I mean the left! No, the right. On your right.”

She had no clue how to properly fashion a bow, and had no idea that she should say something about the other aspects of construction – “growth rings” completely surpassed her knowledge of wood craft.

“So, I don't get it,” her words were very matter of fact. This was always Orin's way, just out with what she was thinking. “Are you blind? Shawchert told me you were. You... look... like you are. I don't understand how you're doing that. As a matter of fact, how did you even get here?”

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Hotaru · 12-13-2011, 12:46 AM

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Word Count → 236

It was obvious from Orin's response that she knew nothing about making a bow. Hotaru brought the bow back to her lap and frowned. She felt along the bow trying to pick up what Orin had said. True to her word, the right arm was in fact larger than the left. An easy fix. Hotaru ran the wood rasp down the right arm a few times and brought the bow back up for inspection. She repeated this process three times before she was content that both sides were even. "There. That should be even. Thank you. As for my eyes, yes I am blind. I had an... accident. Did Shawchert not tell you how we met?"

Hotaru was reluctant to mention her circumstances. Although she had stopped denying the fact that Cain had abandoned her, the idea still left a bad taste in her mouth. A frown crept across the grey wolf's face as the bitter memories coming back to her all at once. Hotaru didn't wait for Orin to answer her question before she started talking again. "Well to answer you question, I had a friend bring me here."

The blind woman was eager to change the topic. She didn't like remembering her past, and it had put her in a foul mood. "Say, do you want this bow? I can't use it and it would be a shame if the bow never got used."

Table by Aly, code by the Mentors!

Orin Takekuro · 12-14-2011, 06:43 PM

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Orin Takekuro

:: 500+ ♥ Word Count ::

There she went again, saying something insensitive and offending her pack mate. But Orin didn’t know how Hotaru became that way and was supremely curious. She also didn’t know that she might have insulted the woman either. She was direct with her questions when she was curious, and there were likely many more. It’s not that she wanted to be rude; she just thirsted for knowledge, like always.

She nodded inelegantly. “Well, I heard about your joining and that Shawchert was the first to meet you. But well, that same day there were… other things going on so I never really got the full story.” In fact, the day Hotaru had come to Cercatori just so happened to be the first day Orin had logged anything in the History book since the spring. For months she avoided books, never returning to the book store in which she once lived and denying her former responsibility of being the pack’s Storico. That day something had happened to her, a dam had broken and by fate she discovered the book in Shawchert’s treetop hut and updated all the terrible events that needed to be recorded. That had finally started her healing process. There was still much to update in the log, including Hotaru’s recent membership within the pack, and she was still leary of her old responsibility… but it would probably happen. Even now, though she didn’t really know it, she was gathering information about this new member to enter into the pack’s history book.

“Must have been a good friend, it’s not easy to find someone you trust these days.” She wondered what kind of adventure it must have been getting here. If a friend brought her here did they know the pack? How did they know to bring her to Cercatori, one of the rare places in the world where someone with such a disability wouldn’t be killed for her weakness? Maybe it was planned, or maybe fate smiled upon this one. Orin smiled on her, too, even if she couldn’t see it.

She watched as Hotaru fixed the bow, working the ends until they were even with each other, and Orin’s head cocked sideways in amazement. Maybe she was disabled but she wasn’t an invalid. She still had quite a talent despite the failure of her eyes.

Then the woman did something unexpected. She held the bow aloft and offered it to Orin. Her golden eyes widened and she gasped softly. What would she do with a bow? Well… She ihad been recieving some combat training recently and was too slight to carry the heftier melee weapons that many of her kind were partial to. The bow appeared to be light weight, and she knew from her books that the smaller folk were partial to these types of ranged weapons.

She reached out gently and touched the bow, barely brushing it with the pads of her fingers but not yet taking it out of Hotaru’s hands. “I could… have it? Really? You don’t want to try to sell it? Oh… I’ve never had a bow before. But it’s… it’s really beautiful. I would love it…” For all she knew it could have been a simple bow, but she still thought it was amazing. Maybe it was because it was made by a blind woman, or maybe it was because it was about to become a gift, or possibly it was because she had never seen an archery bow before.

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Hotaru · 12-14-2011, 09:12 PM

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Word Count → 359

It wasn't that Hotaru didn't like Orin. Orin seemed nice, and was fairly polite when she talked. She tried to help answer Hotaru's questions despite her lack of experience and her questions were reasonable. The problem was the subject that her questions broached. With each new inquiry, Hotaru's mood soured even more. The memories stung like a thousand bees and ripped at her heart in the most unpleasant ways. The grey wolf did her best to hide her displeasure, but she was not able to mask her feelings completely. A small frown and a twitch of her tail betrayed her mood, if only just a little.

An almost inaudible growl escaped from Hotaru's lips when Orin mentioned her "friend." Cain, was not her friend. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Cain, who had once been Hotaru's savior, was now a dark figure of her past. Cain had simply up and left Hotaru at the pack boarders. Hotaru doubted Cain even knew the pack whom he had entrusted her to. In fact, the male had left Hotaru inside the pack boarders turning the poor blind wolf into a trespasser. It was not lost on her how delicate her situation had been, which only fueled her hatred for Cain. "A friend indeed..." Hotaru said in an icy tone.

Working on the bow had managed to cool Hotaru off a little. Her mood was further improved at Orin's evident surprise. The blind woman had offered the bow on a whim, and the whim was bearing some sweet fruit. Hotaru gently pulled the bow away from Orin's touch and chuckled lightly. "It's not done yet. There is still a lot of work that needs to go into the bow. The arms need to be thinner, the bow needs to be strung, and the handle needs to be shaped. However, if you would lend me your paw I can have this done by the end of the day." Hotaru held the bow out again for Orin to take. "I shape my handles to the wolf. If you can tell me where improvements need to be made, I can shape it your grip. "

Table by Aly, code by the Mentors!

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