fandomtownies | Blackstone Foundry and Forge; Friday [04/19].

After numerous setbacks and complications that made finishing the finer details on some fussy work either particularly difficult or downright impossible, Amaya had finally managed to finish the set of knives and stars for Beau, had them ready to go for her in a nice little velvet-lined box for whenever she had a chance to pass the news onto her and she could pick them up. Which was great, because Amaya (of course) already had another project in mind that she was itching to get to, because she had only about a week to get all the work she wanted to do done to pattern the steel for Seivarden's sword.

Which involved a lot of forging and hammering and then cutting. Forging those pieces together again, hammering them out, then cutting them again. First in halves, then in quarters, then into little tiny pieces to be forged together all in a row. Forge, hammer, cut, forge, hammer, cut. Fold it a couple of times here and there. Lather, rinse, repeat.

She imagined some people might think that was an awful lot of work to put into a blade for someone who didn't even like swords, but...well, those people were clearly missing the point that the better half of the reason she was doing it was because she enjoyed it.

Damascus steel was just so, so satisfying.

The Forge is open!

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Seivarden had a knife to pay for, not that she strictly speaking had bought it, but she felt obliged to pay for her daughter's purchases, even if they were unsuitable for a ten year old.

"Good morning, Amaya," she greeted as she stepped through the door. "Busy day?"

She would be worried if Amaya couldn't keep herself busy.

"Ah, 'morning, Captain," said Amaya, glancing up from where she was working at the anvil, just enough to futilely attempt to toss her hair back a bit before returning to hammering steadily at what appeared to be a large square block of steel on a stick, rotating it smoothly after every couple of ringing hits or so. "Busy enough that you'll have to just wait on me a moment to just finish this up. Just a couple more strikes'll just about do it."

And after those few more strikes, she held the block up for a closer inspection, turning it around, checking the edges, and was clearly satisfied with how they looked, as she set the still-glowing cube back down along with her hammer, took a second to wipe her hands on her skirt, and her attention turned finally to Seivarden.

"That'll do for now," she said. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you're here to see me about a knife."

Seivarden watched Amaya as she finished those last strikes, smiling a little, and she kept smiling as she replied:

"Yes, a knife. I'm here to pay for it, but what were you thinking? Etnys was only ten."

"Late bloomer, then, eh?" Amaya teased, grinning a little, but she knew it probably wouldn't be good to let that one linger too long, and she laughed. "Don't worry, though. What I gave her was mostly a showman's knife, relatively dull. I'd be surprised if she could even properly cut an onion with it.

"And the bill," she added, "is in part for medical expenses. Just about nearly had a heart attack when she came waltzing in here."

Especially since, if you really started to break things down, that was the only one that would have even made a ounce of sense.

"What did she do?" Seivarden asked immediately, only getting the obvious meaning a few seconds later.

"I mean... You had two, didn't you? Etnys liked Zephyr, she told me they had been playing. It must have been a few busy days for you. She really liked the knife, by the way, and took it home with her. I'm glad to hear it wasn't a sharp one, she refused to let go of it.

She should probably stop talking about Etnys, for the sake of everyone, including herself.

"I had two," Amaya all but groaned, rolling her eyes, then shaking her head with a sigh. "Doubt I'd be able to survive a third, but I will say, she seemed like a great kid. Anyone who could get Zephyr to settle down for more than five minutes is alright in my book."

But then something else Seivarden said caught up with her and she snorted, grinning faintly. "Took it home with her, you said? So I've got a knife out there in space now?"

"You do," Seivarden said with a grin. "Hadn't thought of that. Your craftsmanship will be admired."

She was fairly sure that was true. And she did her best to hide hide her feelings when her imagination turned to picturing the conversation about it in her family.

"I should hope so," Amaya said, because otherwise, really, she'd have to start questioning why no one out there had any good taste at all. "That's really something, though, but I'll be honest, I'm just glad it's all over and we can put that one behind us until next year, at least."

Even if she was trying not to think about next year. If trends still followed, she really would have a third, and that was nearly enough to make her start considering Daventry real estate again.

Just hope that you had one with Seivarden who'd be happy to look after any kid of hers that showed up, especially if the other parent fled.

Seivarden looked away. "Well," she said. "It's a bit quiet since she left. I suppose it's better for her at home, but..."

Realizing that she was heading into 'feelings' territory, she added: "So, what projects are you planning?"

"Well, that one," Amaya, who would have been grateful for the serve in topic if she'd have been even remotely aware it was headed that way, cocked her head toward the cube, "is pretty top secret, a bit hush-hush. You understand. But I'll be using it to mostly move Fjord along on some new skills. Take advantage of these couple of weeks before I'm teaching at the school to actually be teaching my aprrentice. Scheduling didn't leave a whole lot of room for that, so we've got some catching up to do.

"Other than that," she shrugged a little, "a bit quiet on the to-do list, but nothing wrong with that. Means I can focus on what I've got going, get myself prepared for my summer class, and maybe find the incoming batch of students and teachers have at least a few weapons enthusiasts."

"What are you going to teach?" Seivarden asked, leaning against a shelf that she had given a push to make sure it wasn't on wheels.

Edited 2019-04-20 15:22 (UTC)

"Going back to my roots for the summer," Amaya's grin was a proud one, with a small pump of her fist. "Creative Weaponry, first class I taught here, what seems ages ago back when I wasn't even sure I wanted to do it, but just wanted the extra money. Still a bit like my shop class, though, really, just with fewer fancy machines, a little more focused and with a little more Danger Shop involved. Should be fun. Always interesting seeing what those kids come up with."

And there was probably going to be fewer accussations of just trying to weasel out free labor out of the whole gig this time around.

"But Amaya," Seivarden said, grinning. "Do the kids here really need more weapons?"

Sorry, Amaya, Seivarden couldn't resist teasing you.

And by now, really, Seivarden should know what the answer to a question like that would be.

"Always," she said, grinning back. "No such thing as too many weapons."

Said the woman selling them.

"You're selling them," Seivarden said, as if she could read the narrative.

"Although at least they learn how to not hurt themselves. I rarely meet the students, I just get to read the news about them. They seem about the same as the adults."

Interpret that as you like, Amaya.

"I mean," Amaya shrugged a little. "At that point, they basically are , just maybe with the edges not quite fully formed yet. And some of 'em got experiences that'd make some full grown adults seem stunted by comparrison. But everyone's got their different experiences. What's good for one's not going to be best for all. It's an exciting time for them, though, because they're just beginning to figure it all out. I was about their age when I finally got around to picking up a hammer, after all, and I haven't looked back since."

"What made you pick up a hammer?" Seivarden asked. "Did someone realize you'r be good at it?"

She smiled a little. "I'm curious though, are the kids here just the ones that end up in the military where they're from, or do most people lack other professions?"

Blackstone Foundry and Forge; Friday [04/19].

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