.:Two types of steel:. [Ailish and Kite]

[carbonflight]

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[atrb=background,http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/195/a/9/apt_back_by_carbonflight-d578smm.png] A small white she-cat sat quietly behind the counter of her shop, her paws delicately weaving a small needle through silk in the pattern of a twisting blackberry plant. She was almost perfectly still aside from her arms which were in a constant state of motion. She occasionally changed the color of her thread, but other than that was completely imperturbable. To any normal cat, it would appear that she was totally focused on her embroidery. However, in truth, over the years, she had become so skilled at needlework, that she hardly had to watch what her paws anymore. her work was, in a way, her time to think. "Someday," she said to herself, "I'm going to have the fanciest shop in all of the kingdom, and cats will come from near and far just to buy my things." She smiled at the thought.

[Kitsani]

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Kite, the Siamese in the shop next door, was having much different thoughts compared to the white feline a few doors down. He slouched across the counter, letting out a soft breath and sweating slightly from the heat in his forge and the labour he had just gone through hammering at a sword until it had a blade sharp enough to sell well. From where he slouched, he looked over at it from the corner of his eye. It had a long, steel blade and a wooden hilt, and once he summoned up the will the tom intended to carve some things into it, and then finally put it up on display for anyone if interest. Yes, that was one of Kite’s policies. He never sold the same thing twice, each weapon was one of a knid, like the customers that walked through his doors.

But today that door remained oddly still, and the tom was finding himself growing notably bored. He adjusted the goggles so they sat neatly on his forehead, pushing his fur out of his face. Deciding to get out of here, even if just for a little while, the tom got to his feet and padded outside. He glanced around, flustered. It actually seemed notably crowded today, and he picked his way through the passing cats uncomfortably, his gaze resting on different shops as he passed, not looking for anything specific but seeing if anything might catch his eye.

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[carbonflight]

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[atrb=background,http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/195/a/9/apt_back_by_carbonflight-d578smm.png] Something caught the she-cat's eye, one of the scarves was coming out of place in her display. She glared at if for a few seconds, hoping it wouldn't slip, but of course it did. She sighed, slapping her forehead and got up, placing the embroidery loop on the counter. Out on the display board, the scarf had successfully managed to pull a cloak down with it, which had, in turn messed up some of the beads strung around to make it look nice. The white cat groaned, adjusting her cloak -if she was going to go out standing on her now quite terrible looking display, she could at least do it without looking terrible herself- and walked out onto the display. She instantly slipped on the spilled beads, hitting the ground hard. A kitten passed by her window and giggled at her, pointing to show her mother.

[Kitsani]

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Kite paused as a little kitten scampered by, nearly stepping on his toes. The child seemed to have been snickering, and out of instinctive curiosity his bright blue gaze skittered over in the direction it had come from. He spotted with a blink of surprise a small she-cat who had seemed to slip, landing hard on the cobbled stones of the market square. Without really thinking about it, he rushed over, glancing down at the pale feline. He absolutely hated seeing anyone hurt, and quickly held out a paw in offer to help her up.

A very quiet cat, it took a bit to get Kite to say something, but he really felt he needed to ask. “You okay?” he meowed simply, his fur starting to threaten falling in his eyes again as he glanced down at her. Whether he meant physically or emotionally, he wasn’t sure. Both, he guessed. The tumble had looked quite painful, and having an ignorant child point and laugh at you after was salt in the wounds, probably not making her feel any better from where she lay. He spotted the culprit out of the corner of his eye; a few beads scattered across the floors. He blinked slightly, making a quiet note of that. Perhaps he could help out a bit by purchasing some; he could use that on a weapon for decoration. However, right now his main concern was whether or not the cat was okay as he had held out a bandaged paw awkwardly.

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[carbonflight]

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[atrb=background,http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/195/a/9/apt_back_by_carbonflight-d578smm.png] Ailish looked up at her savior, a blue eyed siamese cat, blushing so hard she thought her cheeks would catch fire. The blood pumping through her ears so loud she could hardly hear him. She wiped some of the gravel off of her face. "I'm okay," she whispered, feeling instantly stupid. The white cat lifted herself up, shaking away most of her embarrassment, "Thank you so much!" she said, taking his paw and shaking it. The tom looked a little nervous, but she mostly ignored it. As her mother had always said: the way to make a cat feel welcome is to act like you're happy to see them. Ailish cocked her head at him, "Could I offer you some tea?" she asked.

[Kitsani]

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The edge’s of Kite’s lips twitched into the slightest of smiles as she claimed she was alright, and picked herself off the ground. He was relieved; for a second there he had been quite worried. Oblivious to the slightly rosy colour the pretty pale she-cat’s cheeks had taken, he simply nodded quietly as she thanked him, pleased with himself for having been around to lend a hand. There didn’t seem to be enough helpful cats these days, and he thought with a slight pang to the kitten and its mother. Although he was very skittish around others – especially she-cats – Kite didn’t feel too awkward after having helped Ailish. It wasn’t as if he was being judged on the spot, and then deemed rude for his silence. It was as if he felt relieved he had already made an impression by helping her, and now he wouldn’t have to worry too much about coming off as too withdrawn. He often fretted that cats thought ill of him for it.

At her offer for tea, however, he blinked with genuine surprise. He pushed the fur from his face uneasily, “S-Sure, I’d love some,” he stammered. It was surprising; he hadn’t expected anything in return, and he didn’t know what to think. But if this was her way of giving back, who was he to say no to such a kind, sweet hearted offer? He smiled slightly, his blue gaze fixed on the she-cat as he tried absentmindedly to read her expressions. It wasn’t really as if Kite met new felines every day.

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[carbonflight]

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[atrb=background,http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/195/a/9/apt_back_by_carbonflight-d578smm.png] The white she-cat beamed at him, "Fantastic!" she mewed, "Come on, I've got a stove in the back room I've been waiting for an excuse to use." She lead him into the little shop. Inside of it was every imaginable sort of trinket. To their sides, there were huge shelves that covered the walls. A ladder on wheels made it possible to reach the tops of them. Behind the main desk was another huge shelf, covered in every type of tea in the kingdom and beyond. The little desk was actually quite tidy, with a little bouquet of roses. Ailish scurried behind a cloth that covered a doorway- the entrance to her back room and came out a few minutes later with two mugs of hot water. She somehow managed to climb up the ladder and push off the wall with her paw, sending her sliding across the room. She put out a paw and stopped herself perfectly in front of the herbal tea (it was clear that she did this a lot). She took a ladle and put the strawberry tea mixture into the filter above her water, all without spilling any tea. She looked over to Kite calmly, "What would you like?" she asked.

[Kitsani]

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Kite followed quietly as the pale she-cat led him into the shop, and he blinked in slight surprise to himself as he gazed around. He had never been in here before, and it smelled so much sweeter than in his weaponry shop. It was almost foreign being in a store that didn’t seem to smell of steel, but this place was certainly very cleanly and…pretty? There was so many fabrics and bits and bobs, the Siamese tom was sure that any crafty felines would go to town if they could get their paws on half of this stuff.

He watched quietly as the feline moved about fluently, and it was clear she knew what she was doing when Kite remarked that he hadn’t even learned her name. He considered asking her of it, but his shy nature kept his mouth clamped shut. Alright, maybe if he introduced himself first, it would be as weird? He parted his mouth slightly to speak, and flicked a tail in surprise as just then she turned and asked him a question. What would he like…? He mused for a moment, and then figured she must be referring to the different types of tea. Kite hadn’t had tea for as long as he could remember, and he stammered his reply awkwardly, “O-Oh, I don’t really know… maybe something s…sweet?” He managed to say. He twiddled with the bandages around his arms awkwardly as he spoke, his blue eyes quickly wandering again, distracted by all the colours and things from inside here.

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[carbonflight]

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[atrb=background,http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/195/a/9/apt_back_by_carbonflight-d578smm.png] Ailish tried not to laugh, "I'll get you some lavender." She set her cup down on a rung of the ladder and picked up his, filling the filter with the dried, purple lavender flowers. She smiled when she caught the smell of it. Ailish had a knack for picking out teas for others. A few years of working at the palace had taught her that oftentimes, cats could be indecisive about what they would like, and the help had to be ready to give them their recommendation. She had learned that lesson the hard way, when she had just started her work for the royals, royals get mad when they have to wait, even when they're only waiting for themselves. She quickly climbed down the ladder to set the two mugs on her desk. "Oh, I'm sorry," she looked down at the desk, although there wasn't much desk to look at, it was mostly covered in cloths with embroidery patterns sketched over them. She picked up a few of them and placed them on a shelf, she pushed the rest of them away, clearing enough space for them. "There," she smiled, placing some honey on it, "that will have to do I guess. I wasn't really expecting company." She pulled up a stool for herself and passed the siamese tom his tea.

[Kitsani]

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He watched quietly as she pulled some purple flowers by the name of lavender that he hadn’t seen before. But when they started to brew in the hot tea, it filled the room with a new, soft yet sweet smell. He took it gratefully, smiling and nodding with a quiet, “Thanks.” He took a small sip, surprised by the heat of it and setting it down to let it cool off, but savouring the drink he had already taken from it. It was in fact very sweet, and he flicked an ear very cheerfully. “That’s perfect, thank you,” he purred again, glancing in the cup with kittish curiosity. It was a dark colour, but he appreciated it with newfound fondness of it’s taste, and he couldn’t help but wonder if all lavender tea tasted that well or if this she-cat just had a knack for it.

One again he found himself pondering her name slightly, and figuring it would be best to know it after she had been quite kind to him he socked his head to the side curiously. “My name i-is Kite,” he mrrowed, feeling a slight flicker of pride and satisfaction at himself for forming yet another sentence. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t, it was simply because he felt himself constantly stricken into surprised silence whenever others tried to uphold conversations with him. It never really got any easier, he found.

His bright bleu eyes moved from Ailish to just about everywhere else. It was a bad habit, zoning out into his mind. He wondered aimlessly why she had been outside in the first place, and how the beads seemed to have gotten everywhere. He also mused on how she was feeling and if she was still sore; that had been a bit of a tumble, but of course, Kite never spoke his mind. Hopefully the white shop-keeper felt better by now.

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[carbonflight]

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[atrb=background,http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/195/a/9/apt_back_by_carbonflight-d578smm.png] The white she-cat put some honey into her tea and smiled, "Ailish Corbon," she pointed to herself with a paw, "it's a pleasure to meat you." She took a sip of the tea. Steam rose from the cup, clouding the air between them. "Also, you're welcome, I got the lavender in the forest, it's very fresh, which is why it tastes better than some of the other tea I have." She looked outside, clouds were clouding the once sunny sky, and she could smell thunder. It was funny that it would rain, so deep in the summer, but these things did happen. She put her cup down quickly, and went to close the door. She had thought tea might be a bit inappropriate for such fine weather, but apparently, it would be fine. She looked out of the door. The kit who had laughed at her was standing with it's mother, while she examined some breakfast scones. It pointed up at the sky, taking inaudibly, the mother looked up and quickly thanked the baker for her time and left. A few raindrops slid down the glass door, they looked in a strange way, cautious, like they weren't sure whether they were ready to start raining. All around the market, shop owners put up closed signs, and the vendors sitting behind their stalls packed up and left. She turned the sign to closed. There wasn't much point in keeping open if there were no buyers in sight. She turned around and went back to her seat. "Looks like a storm's coming," she raised her paw at a window. "Funny," she added, "it's been so nice out lately."

[Kitsani]

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Kite nodded quietly. So her name was Ailish? He felt a prickle of pride he managed to learn somebody’s name today. He hadn’t expected it, especially since his original day plans had been to loiter in his weaponry shop all day. The Siamese tom though listened silently as she explained how she had harvested the ingredients freshly, so he nodded thanks again with a small smile; the tea was in fact very good.
He stayed quiet, drinking absentmindedly at the tea as he, too noticed how it had started to get bad outside. Luckily for him, his little store didn’t tend to move around so much since moving a forge is a real pain, so he just flicked his tail aimlessly. However, he couldn’t help but strongly dislike the rain. It tended to bring back darker memories, and limited the places you could go; Kite didn’t really like that about it.

“It’s a shame,” He meowed into his cup, taking another small drink now that it had cooled off a bit. “I liked the sun,” he admitted, setting the drink down and yawning slightly. The Siamese did however, enjoy being wet, and as a kitten he would often jump and splash in puddles whenever it was raining out. His mother of course, scolded him and his brothers for trekking mud into the house, but they never really took much thought to it. They all knew they would do it again next time it rained.

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[carbonflight]

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[atrb=background,http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/195/a/9/apt_back_by_carbonflight-d578smm.png] Ailish down again and shrugged at his comment about not liking rain. "Really?" she remarked, "I love the cold weather, it's too hot in the summer with this thick fur." The white she-cat lifted her snowy white tail up as an example. She too, remembered playing in the rain as a kit. Her father would take her out to the festival fields and they would have mud wars, throwing globs of mud at each other until their white fur was stained brown. When they got home, her mother would sigh and tell them that they needed to wash off in the stream before they even came into the house for proper baths. She looked down at her tea nostalgically. It seemed like everything had some memory of her parents connected to it. Especially in this shop. It had been her mother who had taught her embroidery and sewing, and her father who had taught her wire work. She absentmindedly picked up a piece of wire on the table and started bending and twisting it. The wire changed shape over and over again, just a flicker between her paws most of the time. Like her embroidery, she had been making the wire figures for so long, she hardly needed to look. Every day, she spent probably hours fiddling with the steel threads, and now, more often than not, she wasn't even sure what she was making until it was done. She looked down at her current wire sculpture. It was three cats: two big ones and a little one, all dancing in a circle. Ailish choked on her tea a bit, then looked away, out the window. Rain hammered on the wooden roof and made muddy puddles in the cobblestone streets. The falling drops of water- creators tears- splattered in them. The sky growled with the thunder of a summer storm, dark cumulus prowled the sky like wolves. She sighed and took a sip of her tea.

[Kitsani]

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Kite chuckled under his breath and nodded. He could imagine it got hot under there. He was suddenly quite grateful for his short fur, slaving over ovens and such all day forging weapons would probably become quite a hardy lifestyle if he too had a pelt that long and thick. He glanced down at his long, thin tail, speckled and feathered at the end, and he gave it a slight flick in acknowledgement. His had a somewhat thin, gangly appearance sometimes, as if he didn’t look like the most balanced tom there was. Probably because he had no balance at all! He couldn’t dance to save his life, and he seemed to constantly be dropping things on his toes or forgetting things were still searing hot when he picked them up. If it wasn’t for the fact that he sometimes needed his fire ability, he would probably wear gloves everywhere.

He blinked of at Ailish, noticing in the silence she had fidgeted a piece of wire into a family, and he felt a pang of pity for her. He was lucky; he actually had family in the form of a younger sibling. And oh, how Kite loved that little kid dearly. Without them, he would probably feel very alone out here, especially since making friends was far from the tom’s strong suite. He always spoke to his family, leaned and relied on them when he needed it. Of course, he longed for his mother, who wasn’t here anymore, but he made do with that he already had. He let out a soft sigh, glancing out the window at the stormy disarray of clouds, scattered aimlessly across the darkened sky.

“The weather is getting worse,” he remarked quietly, flinching visibly as thunder snarled in the distance, and the Siamese had to grip the table to resist hiding underneath it. “O-Oh dear, I’m not very fond of thunder…” he admitted quietly, his bright blue eyes somewhat panicked as he forced a nervous laugh. How embarrassing! Scared witless over a little thunder, and in front of Ailish, too. He tried to steel himself, but it didn’t work very well as he only managed to stop his tail from trembling, but his gaze still flitted about worriedly.

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[carbonflight]

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[atrb=background,http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/195/a/9/apt_back_by_carbonflight-d578smm.png] Ailish noticed the tom's nervousness at the thunder and gave him a sidelong glance, "No one is afraid of nothing," she murmured. She thought to herself for a moment, what was she afraid of? Death. She answered herself, glaring down at the little wire sculpture. She slipped it into her satchel, hanging on the back of the chair. "There's nothing to be ashamed of," she said, although she wasn't sure whether she was talking to Kite or herself. Outside, wind rattled the windows, rain pouring down on the roofs of the shops like a barrage of arrows sent from the heavens. "These summer storms are the worst," the Birman cat sighed, "you never know how long they'll last; could be hours, could be minutes, could be weeks." She placed a paw on her forehead in exasperation and took a sip of tea. It was sweet, with the tinniest hint of bitterness. Somehow she always found the right tea for the right occasion.