Submission (#7541) Approved

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8 December 2024, 17:10:18 PST (2 months ago)
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11 January 2025, 08:52:26 PST (1 month ago) by wintry-chan

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With their previous ordeal over, the two decided to take a break… travelling to Ahza.

 

Well, less of a break and more as a next stop, as Shiva now needed to acquire accessories from merchants in Ahza for her gemstones, which were only available from the travelling caravans in the desert. Still, Shiva wasn’t sure which was worse. Zevija was already hot, humid and dusty. Ahza was hot, dry and sandy. Getting soot on herself was already a travesty, but getting sand in her fur was an absolute pain and something she absolutely abhorred. Even after thorough cleansing, she would still find some caught within her hair or mane days later.

 

Ifrit, however, seemed to be having the time of his life. He sank his claws into the sand, seemingly oblivious to the scorching heat as the sun-warmed granules dug into his skin, laughing cheerfully as he kicked up fistfuls of sand. Shiva regarded him with absolute disdain and disgust, scooting away as he flopped over, rolling about as he sent up small flurries of sand and dust into the air.

 

“Aww, come on Shiv, the sand’s nice and warm. Besides, you’re gonna need a good handful of this stuff for later, yah?”

 

Shiva frowned.

 

While they did secure a good handful of gems, all of which were of satisfactory grade, she still needed to procure other items, namely, jewelry accessories such as chains, clasps and studs, and even other material like glass. Which… unfortunately was made from sand. That said…

 

“You’re just using this as an excuse to play around, are you not? Besides, I’ve been told desert sand wouldn’t be the best for making glass. I’m only here to deal with the caravans. We’ve already collected a good amount of sand from the beaches of Palu’au, remember?”

 

It was why they had stopped by Palu’au Islands first before heading to Ahza, considering they had to traverse through Kyendi, due to it being too dangerous to cut across Vahl d’Sari, even if flying above. While he didn’t talk about it much, Shiva had heard that when Ifrit was younger, and had stumbled across an overwild border. While the exposure wasn’t long enough to be life-threatening, it was enough to disrupt his mana flow, leaving him with veins of corruption. He often joked about it looking cool, the flecks of mana seeping through the cracks seeming to simulate lava flow, but even she could tell it caused him pain on occasion, even if he didn’t show it.

 

She’d be loath to admit she had a soft spot for his well-being, what with him acting reckless half the time, but it would certainly weigh on her conscience should any harm come to him because of her. And so their detour led them to the tropical islands, where she relished in a specialty drink or two as a treat to get away from the sweltering heat of Zevija, and instructed Ifrit to gather copious amounts of sand from the beach, which he was all too happy to do. Of course she treated him to some drinks as well, but he seemed more content playing about, running about the beach like a starstruck kittom seeing the sand and sea for the first time.

All that being said, while she was told that beach sand would yield better quality glass, sand was still sand. The sand from Palu’au Islands were slightly more coarse, and while the breeze was nice, the salty sea air was going to wreak havoc on her coat. The desert sand was more refined, but that only made the distribution of the heat from the sun even more of a pain, to the point of being unbearable to stand on.

 

Despite being a djinnin and generally being hardier against the elements, Shiva still made sure to wear proper leg coverings to protect her pawpads, as well as attire that covered most of her face and hair from the sandstorms (despite sand still getting into her hair regardless), while Ifrit frolicked about without a care, the barbarian.

 

“Mm, well, couldn’t hurt to get some more sand, right? There's still some good quality stuff mixed in, and we can leave it to the artisans to sort through things as needed.”

 

Shiva couldn’t argue with him there. The money saved from buying the refined gemstones and glass would go directly to the artisans refining them, and she would make absolutely sure everything was up to standard. Still, she couldn’t help but judge him slightly for seemingly using it as an excuse to not accompany her when she dealt with the merchants. Despite having more than enough to pay whatever price they asked, she knew for sure they would probably try to swindle her, and had no desire paying a high price for faulty items. She would absolutely get her money’s worth, even if she had to haggle her way through their absurd pricing.

 

Ifrit may have been content sticking by her side in Zevija due to being more familiar with the vendors there as well as having various connections within his home region, but he had little sway outside of his hometown. To be honest, having him with her during the business negotiations would probably be detrimental.

 

She sighed, giving him a weary look.

 

“Very well. We don’t need nearly as much sand as we did from Palu’au, but if you wish to gather some here, that’s fine. Just make sure you’re able to carry it all back to Zevija.”

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Thumbnail for ELN2923: Ifrit

ELN2923: Ifrit

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Thumbnail for MYO-ELN743: Shiva

MYO-ELN743: Shiva

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