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Blackstone Foundry and Forge; Friday [02/08].

Amaya was spending most of her time toward between her favorite spots in the whole shop: forge, anvil, puttin grindstone, putting some of those sketches she'd been doing for the weapons she'd talked about with Beau into some nice, solid steel. Prototypes, though, of course. She had something a little special planned for the actual weapons, once she knew which ones Beau might want, but she had to put in an order for that. No harm in whipping up a few examples, though, to get an idea of weight, balance, feel...all that good stuff.

If anything, there were worse ways to spend a day, though she certainly wouldn't mind being interrupted a bit for any of those...ugh, holiday orders.

The Forge is open!

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"Morning Amaya," Seivarden said as she stepped through the door to the forge, ~~throwing a glance at the sign if it's still there.~~ "How are things going?"

~~It most certainly was!~~

"Ah, good morning, Captain!" said Amaya, looking up from where she was making small but steady strikes of her hammer onto a small, daggerlike weapon at the edge of her anvil. She smiled faintly to see Seivarden coming in, but turned her attention mostly back toward the work she was in the middle of. "Just give me a moment; this one's just about ready for a quenching, anyway."

So a few more ting, ting, tings, and Amaya lifted the still faintly-glowing blade up for a closer look, nodded with satisfaction, then plunged it into the small bucket on a stool nearby, releasing a bit of steam and a significant hisssss from the oil. She let it cool a moment before removing it, flicking a little of the excess oil toward the hardpacked dirt floor of the shop, whipped it clean with a cloth, set it aside, and then grinned at Seivarden as she brushed her gloves on her apron.

"What can I do you for? Here to pick up those pins?"

"I really look forward to seeing them," she said, smiling. "You're busy as usual? Business is good?"

"Could always be better," Amaya admitted with a faint grin, as she made her way over to the counter where she'd kept the pins for the time being, "but you won't find me complaining too much, I've still got plenty enough on my hands. Hoping to have a few more things, too, with the upcoming...ugh," forgive the brief departure in her cheerfulness to make a displeased face, "holiday on the way. Don't know if you noticed the sign, but I'm running a special for it, if you've got anyone you think might appreciate something like that..."

"I did see it," Seivarden said. "A nice alternative to flowers, I guess."

Not that she'd want a sword, but considering this place.

"Have you had a lot of people here asking about it? I don't really know anyone who... I mean, I'll think about it."

"Flowers only last so long," Amaya pointed out, sounding faintly like this might have been something shed rehearsed, at least in her head, a few times. "A weapon, with proper care, can last nearly forever. It's the kind of gift that really leaves a mark."

In more ways than one!

"Either way, there seems to be a little interest, and that's good enough for me. Got the idea when someone took interest in something I'd mentioned as a potential gift.

"But, in the meantime," Amaya had reached the counter and rummaged under it until she found the small little polished wood box she'd whipped up to hold the pins and set it down for Seivarder, "there's your pins. I hope they're what you had in mind. Not usually my usual job, as you know, but it was nice working on somet book ing a bit different, making sure to keep those skills up, too. And easy enough that I can try again if need be."

"I suppose... you can use weapons in different ways," Seivarden said, then, reminding herself that was not what Amaya had been thinking, added: "Never mind."

Then she had an idea. It might be a bad one.

"What kind of weapons?"

Anya tilted her head a little curiously, not only at that never mind but also because, on the list of people she'd imagine would ask about the special, Seivarden was....not even remotely near the top. Or even on it.

"Any weapons," she offered. "Big weapons, small weapons, even tiny ones. Swords, daggers, axes, halberd, mace, scythes >. Armor, too, if anyone'd be into that. Pretty much, if I've got it, it's an option, and even if I dont, I've probably got just enough time to whip something up before Thursday."

"Axes?" Seivarden asked.

And at that, Amaya's head tilted just a little bit more, her eyes narrowed on a kernel of an idea. Because of the people on that list, there was absolutely someone who would have gone straight for the axes, too.

But that couldn't possibly be it. For one thing, that idea...would be terrible. And for the other thing, it would be...bad. Just bad.

So Amaya's look was a little reluctantly speculative as she decided to just shrug and ask, "Well. What kind of woman doesn't love an axe?"

Seivarden knew it was a bad idea. And yet...

Amaya's last question made her frown a little though. "Are axes mainly for women?"

Of course, the person she was thinking of was a woman, but gender here was so complicated.

And Amaya waved a dismissive hand at it, feeling at least slightly better that the question had just confused Seivarden rather than ringing any bells. Perhaps her initial thought was wrong after all, which was good, because then she didn't have to worry about the moral dilemma of being a good friend against the economic dilemma of still wanting to make a sale.

"It's just a saying," she said. "Axes can be for anyone, of course. Men. Women. ...Children."

Please don't give children axes, folks.

"Either way, I've got 'em, and plenty, or I can make you up a new one, whatever you're looking to do."

It was a bad idea.

"I might know someone who would appreciate an axe," Seivarden said. "Do you do deliveries as well?"

"I sure can," said Amaya, gaining a bit of a proud sort of grin to go along with her nod, because she knew that sign was going to be a great idea, and she now felt confident that her first thought was clearly wrong. She even felt a little bad for thinking it, because someone would have to be extremely stupid to think...

"Already planning on making at least one other one that day, too," she said. "You want to have a look around, see if you see something they might like? Or, since I know you're not as familiar with these types of weapons, you can tell me a little about them, and I'll try to use my own eye for these things to pick up something real nice that they'll like."

"I don't know anything about axes," Seivarden admitted. "What would you recommend. I think I need some expert advice here."

It had to be a good axe, especially when you intended to send it to an expert.

Amaya nodded again, looking thoughtful, trying to think of how to go about this without any of it getting mushy, since that's what the whole...ugh, holiday was all about in the end. But she'd do her part to make it as practical and straightforward as she could.

"Well, then, let's start with this: is this person likely to actually use the axe, or would it more likely be a part of a collection or decor?"

Edited 2019-02-08 22:55 (UTC)

"She should be able to use it," Seivarden said, since the person in question would no doubt easily spot a fake weapon. "More practical than decorative."

Another nod, as Amaya seemed to be flipping throuhg a catalog in her head of all the available axes and eliminating a few of the options. "And what are we thinking on size?" she ventured. "She a big axe, little axe, or somewhere 'round the middle sized axe person?"

"A big axe." Seivarden didn't really know, but felt that was the safest bet.

Although: "How big is a big axe?"

Big enough to almost immediately make Amaya's expression break out into one of the biggest grins she could manage. How big is a big axe? Clearly, she and Seivarden did not spend a whole lot of time talkiing weapons if she even had to ask a quetion like that.

"Oh," she said, with no small amount of pride, "they're big. There's something real satisfying about crafting the head of a truly great greataxe. Big Bertha over there," she hitched a thumb in the direction of the Weapon's Wall, "is my biggest, and she's so big, even I have trouble lifting her. If you want big, I've got you covered, and that'll definitely make a statement."

What kind of statement exactly would be interesting to discover, too.

"But most greataxes," she added, turning to fetch of more traditionally sized one from the wall and offered it out if Seivarden wanted a closer look, "will run you right around this size. That's a good slashing weapon, that is, especially to handle any swarming hordes with relative ease, assuming your friend's not the type to skip arm day."

Lifting half those things would practically constitute as a full arm day in and of itself.

Seivarden took a step closer to have a look, then reached out to take hold of it. "I don't think she's facing swarming hordes a lot," although who knew, "but I want it to be useful and impressive."

"And useful and impressive definitely describes a greataxe," Amaya allowed, "with or without the hordes. But, just for comparrison's sake, here's the next one down, size wise."

And she went to get a slightly smaller axe from the wall to offer out for Sievarden to inspect, a fine quality weapon all on its own, but it did look a little puny following such a formitable greataxe.

Having had to make an effort not to drop the bigger axe, Seivarden had to admit that the smaller one was easier to wield. But then again, this was Rosa.

"I'll have the bigger one."

"The bigger one it is!" Amaya pumped her fist slightly in approval. "A fine choice, Captain. I guess now we just have to make delivery arrangements and settle payment."

"How much do I owe you for the pins and the axe?" Seivarden asked. "Oh, and delivery. Rosa Diaz, MHA #3."

She smiled, pleased to have that arranged. "Now I'm really curious to see the pins."

"Oh, well, the pins, plus the axe," said Amaya, pulling out her little notepad for the quick calculation, "that'll run you--"

And that was the precise moment the rest of it caught up with her and she blinked, feeling pretty certain she must have heard something wrong there, roar of the forge, could get pretty loud sometimes, after all.

"Sorry, what was that again?"

"What?" Seivarden said, pulling out her wallet.

"Sorry," Amaya apologized again, already laughing it off a little, because, yeah, she definitely must have misheard. "For a second there, I thought you said you wanted it delivered to Diaz. You'll want to run that by my again; I didn't actually catch who you said."

"I... said Rosa Diaz." Seivarden frowned. "Is that a problem?"

"...Uhhh...."

And Amaya was stuck for a moment, not knowing how to even begin answer that question.

She, of course, liked to keep herself firmly removed from other people's business, especially incredibly personal business like the business she knew had once existed and gone up in some rather heavy-duty movie-related flames not too long ago between Seivarden and Diaz. But she considered both of them friends, and now that moral dilemma she thought she'd been free from came sneaking right back.

Maybe Seivarden was joking? Pulling her leg? But, nope. That there was the face of a person who was actually seriously willing to waltz right into this bad idea without a second thought, wasn't it? Maybe she didn't realize it was a bad idea? Zounds, maybe it actually wasn't. She didn't know. She kept her business hers and other people's theirs...

"MMnope," she decided, with a shake of her head and jotting that down. "No problem. Just send the big giant axe to Rosa Diaz for the mushy holiday. Got it."

Hey, maybe if she just said it outloud, Seivarden would realize what it sounded like.

She lifted two worried brows at her. "You want to include a note in there?"

"No," Seivarden said, smirking a little. "Let her guess."

Amaya did seem nervous though. "Are you sure there's not a problem?"

And there was the friend side of her pulling just a tiny bit more weight than the businesswoman side of her, as well as the fact that an anonymous gift of an obvious Blackstone weapon would only end in Diaz storming in here, demanding answers.

She wrinkled her nose a little over one last point of debate, but if she was going to wind up being involved somehow either way, she should at least attempt to waylay it a bit

So she looked at Seivarden for a moment, considering her and the situation carefully. "You sure this is a good idea, Captain?"

Diaz did love a good axe, though, there was no denying that, so maybe Seivarden was actually on to somehting here...

"Well," Seivarden began. "We're not really on speaking terms, and I don't get why she's upset, but she likes axes so..." She gestured towards the axe. "It might cheer her up. And I mean, If there was a note from me she'd probably just..." She shrugged.

Amaya sort of looked away awkwardly for a moment, wondering if she should enlighten Seivarden to any of the rather colorful and lengthy rants she'd been privy to regarding that topic precisely, but nope. Not her business. Not getting into it. Her business was the manufacturing and selling of weapons and she was sticking to it.

Especially if Seivarden didn't even want credit for it. That actually touched a little bit on--

--nope. Not involving herself. This was business, straight and simple.

"I'll admit," she allowed, "if there was anything she could get on a day like that that'd cheer her up, I'd be willing to bet a few shiny gold coins that it would be something like this. I guess I do have one big follow-up question, though..."

"Oh?" Seivarden looked at her.

"Yeah," Amaya grinned at Seivarden so that she knew she was joking. Mostly. "What do you want inscribed on your tombstone once she finds out it came from you?"

Seivarden grinned back: "You don't think I can defend myself?"

Rosa wouldn't attack her, would she?

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Blackstone Foundry and Forge; Friday [02/08].

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