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#Post#: 1037--------------------------------------------------
Birdsong (Damon & Vanessa)
By: DolittleMax Date: June 17, 2020, 2:06 am
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It was early one morning and Damon awoke once more to the
freezing air he'd come to know in Uleplex. Though his hearth
still burned with fire, Damon's breath caused mist to float on
the air in his room. With a resigned sigh, he swung his feet
over the edge of his mattress and hurried to the basin atop his
dresser. With a grimace, he melted the surface of the water
which had frozen over in his sleep.
"Sh*tSh*tSh*it-" he cursed as he used the numbing water to
splash his face, officially waking himself for the day of hard
work. Simple clothes he slipped on; trousers, a shirt, a coat
and his boots before heading downstairs into the shop. His
apprentices wouldn't be here until later in the day- Damon had
given them the morning off -and as such had to attend to opening
up his store himself. The silent shop left him room to think,
his hand drifting to the coin that hung about his neck. He
wondered what Asena was up to this month, he hadn't got a letter
so far... Though, he had tried to send it to her last known
location, unsure if it even reached her.
With a gesture of his hand, the furnace was lit and the flames
began to swell when Damon tossed coal onto it, shovelful by
shovelful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, turning his sign on the door to say 'OPEN' he moved and
began to work on some of the remainding orders. He had a horse
bit to repair, some shoes to cast and a few weapons to maintain.
Before long he was elbows deep in works and humming to himself,
a tune he once sang back in his home villiage. For a moment, the
melody deviated and he frowned at himself, thinkin he'd gone off
tune. It wasn't until he stopped humming that he realised the
voice was coming from elsewhere. Putting down the sword he was
heating, he went the the back-window, usually covered by a small
door and pushed it open a little to see where the voice was
coming from.
#Post#: 1048--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chapter 0.10: Birdsong (Damon & Vanessa)
By: DolittleMax Date: June 17, 2020, 6:11 pm
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Damon heard the familiar tune of an old mountain song, the tune
ringing out through the morning in an angelic call. He pushed
open the heavy shutters to peer out, spotting a figure balancing
precariously on the edge of the bridge. It was a dainty figure,
her arms out to keep her balance as she sang. He felt a smile
creep onto his face; she was insane to be out singing this
early. Surely she was freezing. As she kept singing, he wanted
to applaud; her voice was amazing- but he did not want to scare
her, not when she was balanced like she was. So instead, he dug
deep into his dusty repertoire of songs to vaguely recall the
lyrics. Giving his throat a little clear, he let his own deep
rich voice call out to match hers as she continued to sing.
I am the voice in the fields when the summer's gone
The dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow
Ne'er do I sleep throughout all the cold winter long
I am the force that in springtime will grow
He stopped and watched her with an amused look, "I sure hope to
gods springtime does come. If I have to wake up and brush
icicles off my beard any longer I'm going to lose my mind. I'm
Damon, the smith- well, obviously. I've just got my furnace
ablaze, care for a coffee or tea?"
He didn't want to appear creepy, but he was curious about this
woman- who he hadn't seen around before -and her voice and why
she was out so early.
#Post#: 1077--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chapter 0.10: Birdsong (Damon & Vanessa)
By: DolittleMax Date: June 19, 2020, 5:04 pm
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Damon gave a small sigh and clicked his tongue in disappointment
as she ran away. He hoped he hadn’t done anything to frighten
her off, he was just curious to know her. He leant out the
window and looked at the snowy landscape for a few moments
longer, chin in hand.
The sound of the door bell chiming as someone entered was what
finally drew him out of his thoughts. For the remainder of the
day, that song played through his mind as he worked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Damon rose once more to the freezing air and set about his
business. Last night had been a terrible night for sleep as he’d
dreamed of nothing else but Asena; how she felt and smiled- how
she tasted- All in all, it had been a little difficult to get
himself to a state in which he could fall asleep. So this
morning, as he worked, he also dipped from a large mug of
coffee. He’d paused pumping the billows to take another deep
draft from the mug when he once more heard the
delicate voice from outside. He hurried to the window and
pressed his ear to the wood to try and listen to the song. This
time it was different but it was one he still knew vaguely.
Another mountain song if he recalled. With tentative hands, as
to not scare her off again, he pushed open the shutters and let
her finish the verse before joining in.
Guileless son, your spirit will hate her
The flower who married
My brother the traitor
And you will expose
His paltaple behavior,
For you are the proof of how he betrayed her loyalty.
Damon let his voice entwine with her, moving to compliment each
note she sang with his deeper voice. It had been a while since
he had sang in front of anyone. Until yesterday, the last time
he had sung was in that tavern with Asena as he twirled her and
dared to call her his. Damon leant on the windowsill and watched
as he sung.
#Post#: 1234--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chapter 0.10: Birdsong (Damon & Vanessa)
By: DolittleMax Date: July 1, 2020, 8:48 pm
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Damon gave a little sigh as she left, resting his chin in his
hand as she scurried away. Who was this woman? Why did she
insist on singing old mountain songs outside his window- and why
was she so flighty?
He gave a shrug and went about his day, training his apprentices
in his smithing duties and being quite pleased at their
progress. Soon enough they'd be competent to run the hot-shop
without him and he could finally get a day off. With that happy
realisation in mind he fell asleep.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
It was well into the morning and Damon had quite forgotten about
the mystery singer; well, until he heard the ethereal voice
calling from outside again. He listened, not immediately sure of
which song until she reached a better known part of it. He was
so distracted by the voice, he hadn't noticed he'd let the steel
he was hammering get cold. He quickly put it back in the furnace
to reheat before hurrying to the window he wiped his hands on
his apron before going to the door and opening it, a little more
nervous about singing since she was right there but he did so
anyway. Even if it was a little softer...
Open your eyes with me
See paradise with me
Awake and arise with me
#Post#: 1251--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chapter 0.10: Birdsong (Damon & Vanessa)
By: DolittleMax Date: July 6, 2020, 9:14 am
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Damon blinked as he saw that she held two bowls of soup and
seemed to be gesturing for him to join her. At the gesture, he
felt a small waves of excitement since he’d been wanting to
speak to her. Perhaps this was his chance to finally speak to
her. He gave a quick glance over his shoulder at the shop and
gave a shrug. If anyone came in he’d hear them and move back to
serve them.
He quickly used his arms to lift himself up onto the windowsills
and climb through. With light steps, he moved and took the soup
from her. He had no idea what to say now, after all they’d only
sung before. Damon cleared his throat a little, “I’m uh- My name
is Damon... uh, what’s yours?”
#Post#: 1295--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chapter 0.10: Birdsong (Damon & Vanessa)
By: DolittleMax Date: July 12, 2020, 1:29 am
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After all the timid to and fro, Damon hadn’t quite expected the
stranger to be so well spoken and forward. He blinked for a few
seconds as she introduced herself and inquired after his voice;
his ears reddened with embarrassment at the compliment.
“I uh- No, I don’t sing for work. I’m a smith” he said gesturing
to his shop “I haven’t really sung much since I left my
hometown. I used to joke around with the bars at the tavern
quite often...” he said, voice trailing off for a moment as
flashes of red hair and the sound of her laughter echoed through
his mind. His heart gave a desperate and longing throb as he
recalled exactly the last time he’d sung. Shaking this from his
thoughts, he quirked a brow at the girl.
“What about you, mm? Do you sing for a living? Your voice is
something to behold”
He ate some of the soup, enjoying the feel of it’s warmth and
it’s taste greatly. He’d have to try and recreate this himself
later.
#Post#: 1336--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chapter 0.10: Birdsong (Damon & Vanessa)
By: DolittleMax Date: July 19, 2020, 2:29 am
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So her vocals were her way of making money? You’d want to have a
half decent voice if that’s how you got by; no wonder her airy
tone was so lovely. As she asked if he had heard of her, he felt
a pang of guilt. He hadn’t.
“I can’t say I have, I’m from a very distant and rural pine
growing village. Not much in the way of famous singers gets out
that far- but I’m sure your performances are something to
behold”
He continued eating his soup for a moment, finishing it off
before looking to her.
“So what brings you into the freezing cold at this time a
morning to sing? I can’t say I’d very much enjoy freezing
outside when I could be in a perfectly good theatre”
#Post#: 1391--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chapter 0.10: Birdsong (Damon & Vanessa)
By: DolittleMax Date: July 25, 2020, 7:11 am
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Damon noted her burp with a twinge of amusement, but said
nothing. Women were often self conscious about that kind of
thing and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. What he did
note however was the hint to her Heli magis. She was one in the
same. It was interesting that her Heli seemed so accessible;
perhaps she had used it more often? But not be able to control
it also had the same effect. Lucky for Damon he struggled with
letting the Magis out rather than keeping it in like his fiancé
Asena did. While one resulted in much more frustration, the
other meant more damage.
Her odd compliment about liking the colourlessness of Uleplex
mad him chuckle a little; he played with his Magis, letting a
little drop of flame weave in and out of his fingers as he
spoke.
“You like the landscape, huh? I suppose it’s nice in a grand
majestic ‘fear the power of the planet’ kind of way. But I’m
often homesick for the rich colours of my hometown. The woods
were alway full, brimming with greenery and the sky- I miss the
deep azure skies and the rich gold of the wheat fields-“ he
realised he was rambling and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I suppose it takes getting used to, living here when in all my
life I’ve never had to wear more than two layers. This whole
‘never able to get warm’ thing is a nightmare for me.”
When Vanessa paid a blessing to Embra, Damon tensed. Of course
he would be associated with them since he was in the religious
capital of the Flames, but hearing Embra called his goddess sent
a wave of apprehension through him. He said nothing but gave a
small nod to her words, not wishing to debate religion or his
lack of.
Quickly changing tact he looked at her with a quirked brow, “Is
there perhaps a performance I might be able to attend where you
would be singing? After all, I do believe I am sorely at a
disadvantage having not heard you on stage”
#Post#: 1421--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chapter 0.10: Birdsong (Damon & Vanessa)
By: DolittleMax Date: July 29, 2020, 8:59 pm
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As she looked him up and down, he felt that odd sickness in his
stomach and a pang of annoyance. During his whole childhood he'd
experienced those looks; a son of a unwed mother, child of
Embra, weakling within the church or a poor boy. It deflated him
a little to think that this potential friendship was already
tainted by such prejudice.
He hid it though and gave her a tight smile, setting the empty
bowl on the wall between them- almost like a barrier -before
giving a stretch, "Ah, I see. Well, I have a long day of labour
ahead of me. I better let you get back to practice"
He hopped off and started back toward his shop, calling "Thanks
for the food" over his shoulder as he went back inside. He'd
wasted enough time for the morning and should get back to his
commissions.
The tinge of disappointment seemed to stain his day and put him
in a darker mood than usual; he missed Asena keenly throughout
the day.
Damon couldn't pretend to be what he wasn't.
He wasn't rich.
He wasn't nobility.
He wasn't well-dressed.
He'd never be any part of the nightinggale's world...
Just like he wasn't a part of Asena's for the time being...
#Post#: 1498--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chapter 0.10: Birdsong (Damon & Vanessa)
By: DolittleMax Date: August 18, 2020, 5:56 am
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Malachi was already busy at work, beating out the facade of a
shield and strengthening the metal bindings on it. He still had
more horse gear, a few axes, a few shoes and a house visit to
make. He was going to be busy all day.
He hummed a tune his mother used to sing for him as he hammered
at the metal, sweat across his brow as he used his magis to keep
the blade warmer for longer. The words of the song slipped
muttered from his mouth as his thoughts were really else where.
He’d been in negotiations with potential new locations to start
another smith in his chain. Thinking that the plan would be to
let the twins run this one while he went and started another,
finding an apprentice there and repeating the process.
If the door opened, he didn’t hear it and probably would not
notice since he was engrossed in his own thoughts and the loud
hammering of his work.
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