Legend of Ransera

Alyssum didn't yelp. Mostly because her body didn't allow for that kind of vocalization. She did, however, squeak the moment the very large towering man appeared in her field of view. Her first instinct was that she was in trouble. That was usually what it meant when people approached her. More often than not, she played the role of a wanderer in a shadow. Rarely or at least barely known outside of Atinaw, those who knew her kinship when it was still strong. The people of Kalzasi didn't know her kinship, and they certainly didn't know her. Which meant if someone wanted anything to do with her, it was probably because she was in trouble. For a hot moment she couldn't help but think the one man for the last blacksmith she'd tried to get a job at had put a hit out on her! That would be ridiculous though. Right? Right???

After the initial panic find subsided slightly, she realized what the man speaking to her looked like. She didn't gawk at him because he was an Avialae since in her mind she couldn't see a difference between him and a winged Rathari like herself. At least, not on a surface level anyhow. She knew there were some substantial differences, but that didn't warrant gawking. What did was the fact she had to crane her neck all the way back to get a look at his face. This was something she had to do with quite a few people given her size, but it was still rather upsetting.

The number of squeaks she gave were barely audible. Her wings and tail noticeably fluffed up in a manner that was similar to a startled cat. No matter Talon's intentions of making himself seem friendly, it was obvious by her reaction the only thing he'd accomplished was startling the poor creature.

"Ah, uh, I um," she floundered over her words for a moment, the noises likely being quiet for him in the crowded Plaza but she was trying her best to yell and be audible. Stupid Sharvalain vocal cords. She gave another squeaky whimper, hanging her head slightly as though she'd just lost a struggle of some sort and wanted to throw in the towel. Her ears flattened against her head and she sighed. That was going well, terribly even. Was this the shopkeeper? Oh Gods, she was mortified now.

She tried to clear her throat and actually speak, but it was hard to raise her voice above the general bustle of what was going on in the plaza. "Hello," she said, only barely making herself audible enough. She did, however, immediately wince and put her hands to her throat right afterwards. She tail went from fluffed up in fear to practically lashing in frustration as she struggled to not only get her words right back make them loud enough. Maybe it would have been wise to come in her humanoid form instead of her true form, but then she'd probably just be chaotically shrieking since she didn't know the definition of volume control.

It was getting to be fairly late. She was cold, tired, and she was going to have to sleep in a tent tonight somewhere. If she couldn't get away with sleeping in what this city called its slums then she was going to have to find a place somewhere outside the city walls, and frankly, she wasn't sure which would be more dangerous for someone like herself! She could always transform into a Sharvalain, the benefit of being a Neoalt, but she wasn't sure if that would really help. The wilds around Kalzasi were probably the perfect habitat for her more beastly kin. It wouldn't be too outlandish for her to even stumble across one, or perhaps a roaming group. They might help her out like they did when she was a pup if she rolled around and looked pathetic enough... but money. She still needed more money.

Even with thoughts of money dancing in her head, she was certainly starting to contemplate giving up.

It was nothing short of a relief when he offered the idea that they go inside. That also meant there was no going back and returning when she was a bit more put together, so if she wanted a chance at a job it was either now or never! While she hadn't gotten the chance to check the Alchemy shop, this was her last shot at getting a job which required the capabilities of a smith. She could practice alchemy on her own, if need be there was even a Tower in the area she could flee to and hopefully find some labs to practice in till her stay in Kalzasi ended. But smithing? That required specific tools and she by no means wanted her skills getting rusty just because she didn't have the time or place to practice. She needed to get a job working under a smith. She was a Crow, after all, smithing was what her kinship did!

The door very easily came open with a click as the stranger retrieved the key and inserted it. The build they walked into was large, a blessing as far as Alyssum was concerned. As a winged creature herself, she didn't much enjoy tight or crowded places. While she didn't stretch her wings, she did seem noticeably more at ease once the door was closed. The pulled two little balls of cotton from her ears and stuck them back into her satchel, her ears perking up slightly. It was still noisy, the sounds of the plaza hammering at the door, but at least it was a little quieter and this man had a better chance of hearing her actually speak.

While she was still trying to get her bearing, he disappeared and quickly reappeared, carrying what seemed to be food! Her eyes lit up for a moment while it was offered to her. In particular, her gaze rested on the dried meat and she visibly swallowed. She'd forgotten just how hungry she was. Living mostly on the road as she did, it was often she went a couple days without eating. It was simply the way of things considering the majority of her meals came from hunting. The bread worried her slightly. Bread was made from wheat, and wheat was a plant product. Sharvalain were mostly carnivorous, they could eat plant products but only in small amounts. She wasn't going to kill herself in her true form trying to eat a piece of bread, and she'd done what other Sharvalain might considering overindulging when she was hungry on the side of the road and couldn't kill enough to feed herself.

Maybe if she finished this up quickly and ate the bread slowly, she'd be able to leave before her body started trying to digest the bread and she could take her humanoid form for a couple hours while she waited. It'd been a while since she'd had bread of any kind to be honest. And she was so very, very hungry... In the end she took both, scarfing down the dried meat a lot faster and slowly nibbling on the bread afterwards.

Talon's gentle smile and the offer of food did a lot to visibly calm down the Rathari. Just out of curiosity, just to double check she was actually safe in here and not getting conned (she probably should have checked before she ate the food if she was being honest), she used her own access to Semblance to check his aura. Much as she'd been expecting, it was large. It was also noticeably gentle, tinged with kindness and warmth. She felt herself fully relax, the muscles in her back going slack slightly and her wings slowly untensing to curl around her in a more gentle fashion.

"Hello, I apologize for the fact I can't talk very loudly. As you can tell I'm a Rathari, a Sharvalain specifically. We can't vocalize very loudly, so if it sounds like I'm whispering, I'm not trying to. I'm actually yelling right now just to keep this volume," she said, flinching slightly as her throat started to stress over the effort of talking at such a volume. She eventually gave up and hoped he would just be okay trying to listen to her talking at her normal volume. "I'm actually not here as a customer, instead, I was wondering if you were looking for another set of hands. I'm a traveler by trade and I wander between cities, when I stop in one I look for local smiths and alchemist who might need my specific skill set. You can't really tell because my hood mostly covers me, but the robe I'm wearing is actually a Scholia Arcana robe. I'm initiated and semblance and exceptionally familiar with Alchemy and Scrivening, though I know a couple other magics as well. If you're willing to let me work here until I leave come next season, then I'd even be willing to teach you some of what I know if you so desire. I'm also a smith by trade, even if I don't look it, trained by one of the finest smiths in all of Atinaw."

She hoped beyond hope he'd take her offer.

She shook her head at the implication of not sharing such things, nose wrinkling up slightly. "I'm a red robe, sir, I don't believe in hiding knowledge. Least of all magic. While I do occasionally pedal my skills as a teacher, usually I don't charge for knowledge regarding magic. I can't necessarily provide you resources for alchemy, not some of the greater specifics of family recipes, but I wouldn't actually mind helping you get acquainted with the basics." She paused, ears twitching slightly. She tilted her head to the side, humming. "Regarding my experience smithing, I'm decent. In fact, I'd say I'm fairly good even. My adopted uncle was a smith over in Raellon territory. Raellon because our kinship also focused on mixing magic and smithing. On great occasion, we'd take trips to Hopsfel and he'd teach me everything he knew. For weapons, to armor, to the creation process for Atvalthal Steel. If there's one thing I'm not willing to share, it's probably the recipe for that. Not like it would matter since I don't think Kalzasi has the proper components. That aside, my uncle wasn't well acquainted with Runeforging because he favored alchemy, but he had the forge in his house from when his own father used to use it. I was able to find some of the old books and while I'm probably not as skilled as you are I know enough of the basics that I can reinforce anything I forge."

She paused for another moment, ears twitching again. She twisted her head towards the door, neck-craning slightly, before shaking her head and turning back towards Talon. While she didn't turn away from Talon, her ears did continue to twist this way and that, her head occasionally tilting. She began to play with a ring on her left forefinger, a ring that probably would have gone unnoticed before due to the fact she'd mostly had her hands woven behind her back and intermittently tucked into her cloak. Now that she was actually playing with it, the sparkling ring caught in the light and sharply contrasted her skin, the insignia on it being very clearly that of the Scholia Arcana. Even if she was good at controlling her emotions enough to the point of tricking Talon (which someone like Alyssum very much wasn't) it would be near impossible to fake the ring.

"I won't stay more than a season unless I managed to get citizenship. Even then I'll probably leave when the weather gets warm, but I really, really need a job. I have things I need to do, and I'm willing to break my back to help you around here. I don't have much, not even an inn room if I'm being honest. It's miserable, especially during Frost, but I don't mind that. I just... need to save up a lot of money. Badly. If you say no then I can probably still go ask the alchemist shop if they're willing to take me, but I'd prefer to be somewhere I'm comfortable with. I- please, I won't even ask for much in terms of pay," she said, flattening her ears against her head. She was just so tired and worn. She wanted a bed and somewhere warm to sleep, but at this point, her tent would even be preferable. As long as it was still there. No telling what kind of people lived in this city.

Was anyone desperate enough to steal a tent? She hoped not. She still didn't have the money to spend on an inn room so she'd either be sleeping on the street or trying to find herself a suitable cave to live in.

"Alyssum, my name's Alyssum," she took the offered hand, giving him a tired but friendly smile.

Alyssum had had a rough couple of days if she was being honest. To hear Talon's words was a massive relief and her shoulders very visibly sagged. She'd traveled nonstop for the last couple days because she couldn't find an airship that would actually allow her horse. She would sell the thing, but she needed it if she was being honest. As for the chapterhouse, that was mostly just a stroke of bad luck. It was currently under renovations to account for the larger amount of mages who'd been there the last season, even though that, in turn, had only been a fluke. She wasn't made aware of this fact prior to coming to Kalzasi. So she'd been struggling while she waited for that to be over.

She positively lit up listening to him. A job, he could offer her a job! "I do," she said, searching through her belt satchels for the paperwork. She'd been careful about putting in one of the pockets that faced inwards so it couldn't be snagged off of her even if someone managed to get through the heavy layer of cloak with concealed this particular satchel. In her fumbling a couple of dried plants, rocks, and what looked to be teeth ended up tumbling out of it, to which she quickly quicked up the fallen regents. She managed to hand it over to Talon, the papers absolutely reeking fo the scent of herbs, as was the life of Alyssum. The only reason she didn't today was because she'd been careful to wash the scent out in her preparation to beg for a job. By the same time tomorrow, the entire Skyforging would probably have the lingering scents of mint and lavender thanks to Alyssum, twinged with hot steel.

She turned a certain shade of crimson when he offered her the place to sleep in his office. "Oh, no, that'll be fine. The chapterhouse for the Arcana should be finished with its renovations soon. They told me it would just be a couple more days the last time I checked in," she said with a nervous laugh. She really must have been coming off as pathetic. "Though..." her ears flattened to her head as she glanced outside. "Depending on how the weather turns, I might have to take the offer for a night or two until they're done..." Even though it was only early Frost there was already snow starting to fall. What had been a sunny morning had quickly turned into a blustery evening. "I still need to find a safe place for my stuff and my horse," she muttered mostly to herself, the sounds completely unintelligible without the specific use of something to hear her, like Talon's Semblance.

It wasn't like she'd take up much room, she reasoned with herself. If she was going to sleep in the office it would probably be in faunis form. That was how she'd slept ever since she'd had to start traveling without an actual companion.

"Yes! That sounds like a perfectly agreeable deal," she said, her face alight with joy. A job, a job! She'd finally managed to snag one!