Once an isolated and dying township, an influx of academics, adventurers and thrill seekers have made Scalvoris Town their home. From scholars' tea shops to a new satellite campus for Viden Academy, this is an exciting place to visit or make your home!
It hadn't been all that long ago that Kirei had been trapped in the form of a caracal. Now that Kura had helped her to see that she wasn't as bad a person as she'd feared, it was time that she get back to her life. She had done part of that already. Much of the past several trials had been spent talking things out with her family.
Aiden had wanted to talk to her, both with the kids' present, and in private. Each of the older kids had had something that they wanted to say as well. So had she, for that matter.
Working things out with her family had been both the hard part, and the easy part all at the same time. For almost an arc, the world had been very clear to her. Everything had fallen into one of a few categories; family, predator, prey, threat, and not important. Even now that she had been able to shift back into her bipedal form, her mind still saw everything the way she had when she had been a caracal. That made it hard for her to go out among other people aside from her family for a number of reasons.
And yet, it was time that she did just that. Her employers at Cally's had been very understanding about the whole thing. While suffering from the "trauma she had endured," she had been allowed to work as a hunter rather than as a chef because Aiden had gone to the restaurant with a story that was a lot more believable than "she's stuck in the form of an animal, and we don't know when...or if she will ever be able to be herself again." But now it was time to go back and do what she had been hired for. And that terrified her.
"It will be okay, Kirei." Aiden said softly.
Kirei jumped a little, her ears twitching as she turned to face the man that meant so much to her.
"I didn't hear you come in."
Aiden chuckled.
"And that bothers you, doesn't it?"
Kirei nodded.
"I'm sorry. I thought you had heard me, but you were pretty caught up in your thoughts when I came in. What's troubling you?"
Kirei's first thought was to tell Aiden that she was fine because she didn't want to worry him. She didn't want to be a burden on the people that she cared about. But thinking like that was part of what had caused her to be trapped in her caracal form.
"Am I really ready to go back to Cally's? It's been so long. And I may look normal again...well...mostly normal, at least, but I still think the way that I did when I was a caracal. What if someone gets too close to me, and I lash out at them, thinking that they're a threat?"
"I don't think you need to worry about that, Kirei. I can still see the caracal in you at times...and I think it's likely that I always will. But as a caracal, you were a lot stronger than two legged people. You shouldn't see them as a threat because were it to come to a fight between them and a caracal, you would win."
"Not against a hunter."
Aiden frowned thoughtfully.
"That may be true, but how many of the people you are likely to encounter at Cally's, or in the streets on the way there are likely to be carrying a weapon?"
Kirei thought about that for a few trills, and realized that Aiden was right. It didn't fix everything, but at least she wasn't going to have to worry about attacking someone out of instinct just because they got too close to her. Probably. It would have to be enough.
"Thank you, Aiden. I should probably get going. I wouldn't want to be late on my first day back to the restaurant."
Aiden nodded.
"Good luck, Kirei. Not that you'll need it." he said with a smile.
Last edited by Kirei Qe'Azour on Thu Oct 01, 2020 11:33 pm, edited 2 times in total. word count: 700
Kirei felt more than a little apprehension as she slowly made her way through the streets to Cally's. The talk she had had with Aiden had helped a lot, but it had only covered one of her fears. Kirei wasn't vain by any definition. But she now looked...very odd. There weren't many people walking around with the ears and tail of a caracal, after all. And while they weren't visible now, she had the retractable claws she had had in her caracal form as well. People stared at her as she walked past them in the streets. Mothers ushered their children away from her in case she was dangerous. Kirei wasn't looking forward to the questions that her coworkers at Cally's were sure to have as soon as they saw her. Would they even be willing to let her keep working there? Cally's was a high end establishment, after all. They had a reputation to maintain. And she didn't exactly fit the part. Then again, as a chef, she wouldn't be seen by the customers much, so perhaps it wouldn't be as much of an issue as it would have been had she been one of the waitresses.
As she continued to make her way towards Cally's, she yawned, and rubbed her eyes irritably. That was another thing. Ever since she had managed to turn back into her bipedal form, she had felt tired and out of sorts during the trial. That was only to be expected of course, since caracals were nocturnal. She had fought the natural cycle of her caracal form as much as she could so that she could still spend time with her family, but it had left her feeling much as she did now; tired, and out of sorts.
When she reached her destination, Kirei took a few trills to compose herself before gathering up her courage, and walking into the restaurant.
"Welcome back, Kirei! Are you feeling better, I hope?" Jo'get asked as she came in behind her.
Kirei turned to face the other woman. She was a chef that she had worked with in the past. Kirei had to resist the urge to flinch when the other woman's eyes widened as she got a good look at Kirei.
"Kirei...? she asked in shocked confusion.
Kirei really hadn't been looking forward to trying to explain why she looked the way she did now. Telling people that she had turned into a caracal would beg the questions of how and why such a thing could happen. And Kirei wasn't willing to answer either. Her sister didn't want the fact that she was Karem's daughter getting out to the public, and Kirei trusted her sister. If Kura didn't want people to know that she was a mortalborn, then Kirei didn't think it was a good idea to tell other people that she was one either.
"Strange things happen in Scalvoris, Jo'get. You know that. I'm still me."
It wasn't even a lie. Strange things did happen here in Scalvoris quite frequently.
"True enough." Jo'get said with a weak laugh.
Kirei felt a wave of relief as her coworker seemed to accept her explanation. Then she paused as she fought the need to yawn for a few trills.
"Do you know where our boss is? I have something I'd like to talk to her about."
It was an idea that she had thought of when she'd heard about what happened on Faldrass. There were so many refugees that needed help. Cally's had been created as a means of catering to the rich. The money earned here went to help the Soup Kitchen, Luna's Dream orphanage, and Beacon, as well as the trainees that were learning a good career here. Kirei wanted to help the refugees if she could. So she had thought of the idea of holding a fund raiser dinner. The cost of the meals, and any money that the people who attended chose to donate would go to helping the refugees. Kirei thought that her idea was similar to the concept that had created Cally's. The desire to help people in need was the same, at least. So she hoped that her boss would think that her idea had merit.
Kirei thought her idea through once more as she made her way to Trudi's office. When she knocked on the door and announced herself, she didn't have long to wait before she was ushered into the room.
"Welcome back, Kirei. It's good..." Trudi's voice trailed off in shock as she looked up from her work, and saw Kirei's ears.
"Did..."
The other woman stopped, and swallowed hard, still staring. Kirei twitched, not liking the feeling of being stared at. She had to remind herself that Trudi was her employer, and a friend of sorts, not a potential threat.
"Is that...part of why..." Trudi tried again.
Kirei nodded.
"Strange things happen in Scalvoris. Everyone knows that. I got caught up in something that I couldn't control, and...things happened."
It was Trudi's turn to nod.
"Well, in any case, I'm glad that you're feeling better, and that you've come back to us. Was there something that you wanted to talk about, or were you just coming to let me know that you were back?"
"There's something I'd like to talk to you about. I know that much of the money that Cally's makes goes into places that help others in need, such as the Soup Kitchen. What I'd like to do is similar to that. When the volcano on Faldrass erupted, thousands were left with nothing but their lives. Some are staying with people who have opened their homes to them while others are living in the camp outside Beacon. I want to help them."
Trudi looked interested.
"What do you have in mind?"
"We could hold a fund raiser here. We could have the waiters and waitresses tell our customers about it when they come in. And we could make posters and spread them throughout the city to advertise it. Maybe we could even write a letter to the council telling them about it and asking them to help us advertise it. It might be something we should tell them that we're doing in any case. And all of the money raised would be given to the refugees to help them rebuild their lives."
"We could do that...are you proposing that we simply donate the money we make from serving dinner that night to the refugees?"
Kirei shook her head. Her initial idea had been that simple, but she had had a few other ideas on how to improve it.
"We would ask people who wanted to come to pay an entrance fee in addition to the cost of their meals. And we would hold an auction while our customers were eating. The entrance fee would be for that more than for the meal itself. Some of our customers are master craftspeople, and wealthy shop owners. We could ask them to donate something for the auction, and if they did, they wouldn't have to pay the entrance fee if they come to the event unless they want to contribute that much more to the refugees. All of the money made from the auction, the entrance fees, and the dinner would go to the refugees."
"I like it. When do you think we should hold the event?"
"Something like this will take a long time to prepare for. We'll need time to get things to sell at the auction, time to advertise the event, time to plan the meal...I was thinking that we could hold the event in Zi'da. Maybe we could even make it part of the holiday festivities that season. That would give us plenty of time to get everything organized."
"Consider it done. Since this is your idea, I'd like you to help with organizing it. You can plan the meal we serve at the event, and help us get the things we will be selling at the auction. I will call a staff meeting at the end of the night so you can tell the others about your idea. For now, the kitchen is waiting for you." Trudi said with a smile.
Kirei grinned. It felt good to get back to cooking. She had missed it while she had been trapped in her caracal form. And she felt a sense of pride and achievement that Trudi had liked her idea. She was looking forward to getting started.
Loot: - Lost: - Wealth: - Injuries: - Renown: 5, for attracting attention and coming up with an idea for an event. Magic XP: - Skill Review: Appropriate to level. Points: 10
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Comments: I appreciate in how much detail you wrote about how the change back to her bipedal form affected Kirei. That was fascinating to read. It’s understandable that she’s terrified of returning to her old job, especially considering that she has the ears and tail of a caracal now. Fortunately, Aiden was there to support her and talk to her. He seems like a very nice person!
Even though people were surprised by Kirei’s appearance, I’m confident that they’ll get used to it before long. Kirei’s statement that strange things happen in Scalvoris was true; besides, Scalvoris has always seemed like a rather open-minded place to me. I enjoyed the interaction with Trudi, and I like Kirei’s idea for a fundraising event. I hope there’ll be a thread about it!
Enjoy your rewards!
P.S.: In your review requested, you wrote that you weren't sure which skills are being used in this thread. I think your review request looks fine. I might have added "Leadership" since you requested knowledges for it though.
