2018-03-21: How to Sharpen a Knife: Difference between revisions

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(Created page with "*'''Log: How to Sharpen a Knife''' *'''Cast:''' Character :: Riesenlied, Character :: Prissa *'''Where:''' Vane *'''Date:''' 21st March *'''Summary''': ''In which Mika...")
 
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*'''Where:''' Vane
*'''Where:''' Vane
*'''Date:''' 21st March
*'''Date:''' 21st March
*'''Summary''': ''In which Mikaia buys a pocketknife and learns how to keep it sharp.
*'''Summary''': ''In which Mikaia buys a pocketknife and learns how to keep it sharp.''


...
: ''...''


WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY DAUGHTER''
: ''WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY DAUGHTER''


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Latest revision as of 02:53, 22 March 2018

  • Log: How to Sharpen a Knife
  • Cast: Riesenlied, Prissa
  • Where: Vane
  • Date: 21st March
  • Summary: In which Mikaia buys a pocketknife and learns how to keep it sharp.
...
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY DAUGHTER


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied has been on a path of physical degradation for a while now, due to her contact with the Guardians and... in part due to her Tainted nature.

But it doesn't mean that she's stopped exercising -- far from it, Lily's recommendation for her physical therapy has only increased to try to stymie the atrophy her body is experiencing, and though she's largely found swordplay to be difficult to use in combat now... she still enjoys attempting to keep her form.

That is how the Hyadean is spending her time in Vane today -- on an open field not far from their tent, she's practicing her moves with a thin side-sword, going through various kata that has been granted through her through various disciplines over the years. Part of her problem are her tattered wings, which don't support her balance properly anymore... and the slight jittering and tremors in her arms disrupts the way her light blade moves across the air.

Mikaia is watching raptly as she says, "I still think mama's swordfighting is pretty..."

Riesenlied smiles warmly as she dabs at her cheek with a cloth, saying, "I'm glad... I've definitely grown slower, but..."

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Hi," says the onlooker, who came from off the road.

PRISSA is a woman with bare sleeves, a leather jerkin, travelling pants, and a pretty big bag prominently including a djembe-style drum. She has welder's glasses on, and the left side of her hair is in a dozen or so braids, with the other side held into flat smooth honey blondeness by little clips.

"Oh, excuse me," she says, raising a hand to wave and also show she's unarmed. "I was just on the road and I heard a sword swinging! Hi! Hey," this to Mikaia, then back to Riesenlied, "Hello." She says something tongue-twisty after but proceeds to:

"I'm in the trade, can I ask what kind of sword you've got there?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied looks slightly surprised, but smiles bashfully towards the woman as she approaches and pauses to catch her breath. "Oh, good morning..." Riesenlied's sword today is a very thin blade, slightly curved with a thin fluted groove and a nomadic wrap around its hilt, as well as a simple guard. "This-- this sword?" she sounds a bit surprised that the woman is interested.

"This was the blade of my people... I suppose they called it a dao, though this one is thinner than the ones the hunters normally use," Riesenlied explains after some time.

Mikaia bobbles and says, "Mom's really good with a sword! But she hasn't used it lately..."

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Yeah, that sword!" Prissa says, skipping closer. Her braids sway. "A dao," she says slowly, pursing her lips. She stops three yards away - outside of sword range - and says, "Could you turn it so I can see? It kind of reminds me of a rapier, but I see you've got a slashing situation there, right? Or am I guessing wrong?"

She asks Mikaia, "Izzat so? How come?" with the easy tone of one who often interrogates children.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"No, you're right... the dao of my people are primarily used for cutting, since they're adept horse riders," Riesenlied explains as she hands her the sword. It's rather old, all things considered -- the fatigue on the blade's metal is evident... but it's been well kept and maintained, by someone who knows what they're doing. "But this is a more slender form of it, a form they called a 'willow leaf sabre'."

Mikaia furrows her brow as she looks to mom, then, "Mom's been getting weaker, so it's been harder to use a sword properly..."

"It's all right... I can still find ways to contribute to our struggles," Riesenlied bashfully says, though there is a note of regret.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

Prissa seems surprised - but accepts the sword, with movements of honor. She raises it up to the sky, pausing to push her tinted glasses up to her forehead first. "A willow leaf saber. I was thinking it looked like a saber," she says in thought, "but it's straighter than most've the ones I see. Oh, wow. Yeah... hmmm... you've been using this for a while, huh! From your grandpa, perhaps?"

She pauses for a moment at Mikaia's words, purses her lips, and instead of remarking on that, shifts down to grasp the sword and ask Riesenlied, "D'you mind if I swing it at the air a little? I just want to see how it handles. I promise you, if anything happens," fingertap on her drum thingy, "Fix it for you, good as new or better, no charge!"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied bobs her head to one side, with a soft wiggling of her horns. The dress is a little impractical for swordplay, so she's got a sleeveless shirt with armwarmers along with a skirt and leggings today, a bit more traditional as far as her garments go. "Something like that," Riesenlied half-answers. "It's been with me for a while..."

She bobs her head as Mikaia shifts a little away, and says, "Oh, please, go ahead."

The blade is relatively light as far as weapons go -- it's quick, whippy, and the curve does add weight and strength to cutting motions while still being relatively backed to be reasonable for thrusting. A happy medium between cuts and thrusts, so to speak. It lacks the refinements and fanciness of, say, knight's weapons with adorned ricassos or wire guards, but it isn't a noble weapon -- it's a weapon of the steppes it came from.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

Prissa takes a couple broad sweeps at the air. Whish! Fwish! She is not a trained fighter, it seems. There's a couple of lunges, one arm folded behind her like a farce of a fencer.

After this she pinches the blade and gently tests its flexibility. "Hmmm. It's beautiful!" she says. "What do you call it? I mean the sword itself, not the kind of sword."

As Prissa advances, she introduces herself as well: "I'm Prissa, the greatest weaponsmith of this age." Beat. "Well, they'll say it, later. I've just never seen things quite like this, are there many others? It was a cavalry thing, you said - I can tell it's got a good hard streak in the spine." To Mikaia, she asks, "Like ma, eh?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied does look pleased to see it in action, at least. The blade is flexible, but not so that it will bend rather than cut. "Oh... mm-- I honestly do not have a name for it..." Riesenlied admits, not having thought that far. She cups her cheek where the scales have grown over, in thought.

Mikaia tilts her head and says, "Woow, the greatest weaponsmith...!" her eyes light up, completely glossing over the 'they'll say it, later' part. She does giggle, though. "Mmm! Mom's very stubborn and won't give up..."

Riesenlied looks a bit bashful, saying, "Ah... I could source more for you, but this is the only one I have with me, unfortunately... there are variants, though. Thicker and broader ones, two-handed variants..."

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"How do you keep it sharp?" Prissa asks.

Then to Mikaia she says, rather kindly, "I can tell! She seems like a willow tree t'me." Back to Riesenlied, she says, then, "No, no, it's fine! It's steel, right? I can tell it's got at least two grades in it, d'you know if that's right?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied neps out for a moment as she's described like a willow tree, and she thinks for a moment. "Ah, I use a whetstone. Nothing fancy, I'm afraid... the last time I was able to take it to a workshop for proper reforming was quite a long time ago..."

Mikaia blinks as she asks, "Grades? Is it like, steel goes to school and goes up in grades...?"

"You're right. There's a softer iron in the core of the blade, and a hardened edge and side," Riesenlied explains, recalling back to the blacksmiths and how they forged the dao back in the day...

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Well that may be some of what's causing those micro stresses I saw," Prissa says. "Have you tried a whetting strap, like for razors? I don't know if you might could know them as something different," Prissa continues. "Whetstones are lovely but a lot of people use 'em in a way that in my opinion hurts more than it helps. It's not a problem in a war time situation but for a heirloom such as we have here, it adds up."

"Of course!" she tells Mikaia. "You use different metal for different purposes, and you can make all kinds of different kinds. You want to see an example, little miss?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"Oh... I see..." Riesenlied looks somewhat shy as she expresses, "I have never heard of such a tool, honestly. I have seen the wheels blacksmiths use in their forges, but I never thought of it as something I could have with me on the field."

Mikaia nods a few times and says, "Yes! I want to study alchemy, so seeing various kinds of metals really interests me!"

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Well those are for shaping," Prissa says, "but that's kind of a different kettle of beans." To Mikaia, she says - because it's easier than talking about grinding wheels vs. abrasive straps vs. magic to a woman with weird wings - "One mo!"

Into the bag she reaches. Out come two pieces of metal. "Now these are both steel," she says, handing them over to Mikaia, "and they're both about the same size, right? But try bending them." The darker one is nearly impossible - but the lighter one bends pretty easily!

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied looks rather interested, tilting her head as she says, "I have only been taught about... oh!" She does wander closer as she looks to the two pieces of metal, so does Mikaia.

"Oooh..." Mikaia pokes at the lighter one and nods. "Why's that? Is it because the other one is, umm, denser...?" she takes a guess.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"A little," Prissa says, "but the little tiny bits of the metal inside are in a different pattern. Here, try to bend 'em as hard as you can. If you really work at it you can totally break the black one!" It's... more of a dark gray, but that might just be her talking funny.

Then to Riesenlied, she says in tones of hazarding a guess, "How are you liking things around here?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Mikaia lets out a >_<!! expression of effort as she tries to bend the metals, finding them very enjoyable to play and understand! She's a very precocious little girl, eager to learn.

"Oh... Miss Miria has been so very kind to me," Riesenlied gestures to the Premiere's Guildhouse. "We are not from around here, as you might be able to guess..." Not that it was difficult to guess, with the unusual sword and their beastwoman features. "Where are you from, Miss Prissa? I'm not very-- ah, familiar with this continent..."

So goes the tone of someone who's very bad at lying!

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

To be fair the metal is actually probably not going to break under Mikaia's grubby little hands. Prissa has hella upper arm strength even if she is not bulky. Also, she might be used to doing it with a hammer. Still, the other one's really springy!

"Oh yeah, the Ausa lady," Prissa says, with a nod. Then she says, "Eh, around; I ran away from home, so I kind of want to cultivate an air of mystery."

She then winks. "I figured you were probably, y'know." She points upwards. Wink wink. "It's fine! I heard about it. Not you in specific, but, the thing in general."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied blinks a few times, about 'the thing in general'... "Ah... I should-- also warn you that I am wanted by the Althenan Guard, if that changes things." Mikaia furrows her brow to say, "Mom, you don't have to say that--"

"I-- just don't want to cause you any trouble if anyone saw us together, is all," Riesenlied is painfully honest. Mikaia hands the metals back to Prissa after playing with them some more. "That was really cool, Miss Prissa! You really are the greatest weaponsmith ever!"

H-how does that figure?

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"It's true," Prissa tells Mikaia. Then to Riesenlied, she cups her ear. "Eh? What's that? You said you're wanting some dried cheese shards? Sorry, forge messes with my hearing sometimes."

Her voice lowers. "what'd they get you for"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied looks-- plainly embarrassed, glancing around, and stammers in a softer tone, "It's... a very long story. I'm not sure I can summarise it without looking rather like like I'm genuinely cucco..." A pause. "That's a rather uncouth use of 'cucco'. I will complain to whoever came up with that."

Mikaia furrows her brow and says softly, "The place mommy came from had lots of bad guys, but she didn't want to do anythin' with them anymore...!"

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

Prissa blinks several times. "I don't get it," she says, "but I getcha. If you don't want to say, don't sweat it. I'm sympathetic! But professional," she adds.

Back to Mikaia, she says, "Yeah, I bet. It's got a bad reputation. Say, though, little lady - do you have a pocket knife?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied bashfully nods as she says, "I'm sorry... it might-- be for the better. It is probably so outlandish you'd think less of me." The way she looks up to the Blue Star is, uh, kind of telling, though. She really doesn't hide her tells at all.

Mikaia tilts her head to go, "P-pocket knife? I'm not a gangster kind of girl...!" with a lightly flummoxed tone.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

Prissa looks at Riesenlied again for a moment, blinking. Her eyes are kind of strange, though she pushes her glasses back down before smiling at her and giving her an 'OK!' sign with one hand. Probably...? Yeah, don't worry about it.

"I dunno," she tells Mikaia. "You look pretty rough to me. And a knife is super ladylike! I ask because I got a bunch for sale, you see."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied nods somewhat relievedly to Prissa, as she picks up her dao and re-sheathes it in a rather pretty sheath -- again, it's got the nomadic look with a feathered tassel to it. Mikaia hesitates for a moment, before Riesenlied encourages, "As long as you keep it properly."

"O-okay... how much is it?" Mikaia is buying pocket knives!! Oh no!!

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Hmmmm," Prissa muses. "How does... sixty sound to you? I'll sharpen it up for you too."

Inwardly Prissa thinks: I'm barely making money there, but the greenwood ones weren't moving anyway... and if this really is some kind of invader from space, she'll think kindly of me!

"If you want that reforged sometime," she tells Riese, "It's going to be more than that, but I can do it, no sweat. Or if it breaks in action or anything."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"I'd be happy to..." Riesenlied nods. "I've been wondering if it could be made lighter, even..." though part of the equation is that she still has to recoup what strength and coordination she's lost. The weapon can't make up the entirety of the distance.

"U-umm..." Mikaia rummages into her pocket purse and hands over some-- gella.

Those sure are weird marks on the minting of those silver coins. Who ever heard of the Bernadelli Insurance Company? "Here you go!"

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Well... That's a complex question," Prissa says as she takes Mikaia's money, counts it out, pockets it... "It's all a question of trade offs, you know! With the metal you have there, if it's lighter it won't be as strong... unless you make the blade shorter. I could carve out a blood groove but that's not gonna work so well for something that thin. If I was going to really make something... I'd need some special materials.."

She shows two knives to Mikaia. Both have greenish handles, but the shades are different. "Which do you want?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Mikaia suddenly lights up at the mention of special materials, like her alchemist future desires the idea of rare materials that are both shiny and wonderful to behold. "Ooh... um, the lighter green." A pause, and she promises, "I'll keep it very safe and only use if I'm in danger, mommy!"

Riesenlied nods gently, knowing that Mikaia's street-smart enough to know that. "Okay..."

"What do you mean by special materials, though? What kinds of specially made swords have you created?"

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Well, I've heard... legends of something called Mythril, for instance," Prissa says, tapping her fingers on the drum 'head' and then asiding to Mikaia, "You can use it for loads of stuff. A sharp knife can save your life, but a knife that's blunt can - hm - anyway, never mind."

"Anyway, Mythril takes the form of blue crystalline ore... I've never seen it myself, of course. BUt there's lots of other things... rare additives... A tiny bit of gold is beautiful and can actually add some interesting properties, but of course, it's super duper expensive, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"Mee...thrill?" Riesenlied sounds a little curious, Mikaia looking down towards the knife and-- nodding slowly. She puts it into the sleeve of her tiny little teng-- Beastgirl robe.

"Hmm... it is worth considering, though. I've-- never been one to hunt for rare ores, to be truthful, but I will keep an eye out for it," Riesenlied smiles warmly.

If anything, she's been on the search for her rare brethren to keep them away from such hands... is Mythril any different, she wonders?

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Might not be something you have up there," Prissa admits.

Then to Mikaia she says, "You want to see my super secret sharpening technique?" To Riesenlied, she looks... and then makes a show out of side-muttering to Mikaia, "I don't know if we should let mom watch..."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied looks a little embarrassed, horns wiggling again. "M-maybe not, no..."

Mikaia looks towards Prissa, as if she's been caught in a scandal! "U-uuu, but I never keep anything secret to mom... but..." Riesenlied looks just a little dithering as she says, "W-well, if you want to show just her...!" So obedient. Mikaia could easily be spoiled.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Oh - well, okay!" Prissa says, with a shrug.

"So you take the honing stone... and a few drops of oil... then, see, you do it in circles, right? And then the other way around... this way you're shaping the metal a tiny bit but you're not losing nearly as much. Get it?"

  • +2% melee weapon damage!

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Mikaia nods studiously as she says, "Is the oil to... make it so that it grinds less?" with a bit of an awed expression. Riesenlied seems content to just watch pleasantly next to her, happy to let Mikaia absorb any and all knowledge she's curious about as she grows.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Exactly! It makes it smoother as well as giving a - okay this is like a craft secret so I have to be vague - but it makes it so only the metal that doesn't fit gets moved around. Like when you use soap in the bath," Prissa says, if with a trailing interrogative because do they use soap on the Blue Star? Do they even know what that is?

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"Ohh... that makes sense! It's only the unclean bits of the metal... or... something?" Mikaia looks a little apologetic for a moment, perhaps thinking of Tainted metal and pure metal... Riesenlied nods in turn, smiling as she pats her on the head. "Let's keep a note of that in your alchemist's notebook, Mikaia."

Mikaia perks up and goes, "Right!" and opens up a flowery journal with headers of: 'TODAY I LEARNT...'

aaa cute

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Pretty much," says Prissa.

(They don't even have words for some of this, Prissa thinks.)

"Ahhhh that is SO CUTE did you make that here?! I want one!!" Prissa then exclaims.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"Yeah! I've got a journal for different kinds of ores, herbs, materials..." Mikaia looks enthused as she flips it over to where there's a cute dry-leaf print of various kinds of herbs. There's... a whole bunch of proper nouns in there that don't make sense. 'Adlehyde'. 'November City'. 'Little Twister'.

Riesenlied doesn't seem to notice, smiling warmly as she says, "You've been so diligent at cataloguing everything..."

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

"Is that a chemical?" Prissa says, about Adelhyde. "You know, it really is a bunch of good luck that you guys' language isn't like, super different! Like I see your letters are a little different but unless that actually says "Burrotripe" - that's A D L E H Y D E, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied realises the jig really is just... up, at this point, so she nods and says, "Adlehyde, yes. It's a kingdom..." Mikaia expresses quietly, "I haven't seen it myself... I really hope it's doing well after all that's happened." Riesenlied has a sad look on her face for a moment, patting her hand to Mikaia's head.