fandomtownies | Blackstone Foundry and Forge; Saturday [11/13].

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Blackstone Foundry and Forge; Saturday [11/13].

Thanks to a very fully belly and a relatively full fridge thanks to leftovers (which was impressive, considering the appetite of the guests for thay dinner!), Amaya went to bed last night dreaming of meat and skewers, and woke up the next morning charged and inspired to take a stab (ha!) at building up more for Dr. Lecter's growing culinary arsenal.

Only to come down to the shop and find a weapons wall full of inflatable and plastic swords, axes, cudgels, maces, and the like.

"Ah, zards!" she opined to tge rubber hammer laying against one of the anvils. "It's one of those weekends again!"

Which she usually didn't mind as much, on account of the fact that she usually changed with it and didn't know any better to be insulted by the implication of a weapons wall full of toys, but it seemed to have passed over her this time around. Which suited her just fine, as well. There'd be no complaints about spending a weekend being as awkward and shy as a wallflower in thick glasses and that awful headgear for her braces...

But this did sort of dash her plans for work that day.

"Well," she sighed, frowning at a few shuriken that now looked more like figet spinners, "back to the drawing board, I guess."

Quite literally, in this case, because what else could she do, really?

The Forge is open!

[[ me: I think i may take it easy this wee tiny. I work all weekend, so it'll just be a recipe for burn out....

Also me: 🤡🤡🤡 ]]

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It had been a busy morning already. But it was the weekend and best of all? His dad was no where to be seen!

So what else was a hyper 8-year old going to do but go out and have some fun? And at that moment, 'fun' involved looking for treasure... which he had already found several of, the small coins making a soft tink sound in his pocket. He was rich! (Pennies. They were actually the Fandom equivalent of pennies)

The glint of another one caught his eye, and as the boy stood up, admiring his find for a moment, he found himself standing at a window, looking into a rather interesting shop. Dwight slipped the coin into his pocket with the others and leaned closer to get a better look.

With the top of some tiny little head in the front window catching her eyes, Amaya suddenly realized the potential benefit in having remained her proper size and age for a chance this weekend...

So she took a moment to lean on the counter with a faint grin, waiting with a vague eye on the window, to see just what this kid....whoever he was...might decide to do next.

Dwight's caught sight of the swords and everything else hanging on the wall and his eyes went big.

"Oh cool! Swords!" he exclaimed as he ran into the shop and into full view of Amaya. He stood in front of one of the walls and gazed up in awe, like a kid in a candy shop (Because he kinda was- even as a little tyke Dwight loved this kind of stuff. He was all boy after all)

And how could Amaya not grin at something like that? She who notoriously doled out knives to alternate universe fake children like they were candy....

But she maintained that any kid of hers or Rosa's would be able to handle their blades, and that was a hill she would gladly die on!

"You like weapons, kid?" she asked, head tilted with her eyes shining with amusement, trying to see if she could pinpoint just who this might be.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed as he turned his attention from the wall to Amaya for a moment. "Swords are amazing. I like bows and arrows too. Those are the best because you don't have to get close to fight! And they look really cool too" he said taking up the classic archery pose, as if he was someone who regularly got into ranged fights with foul beasts and foes.

(was that enough of a hint for ya? XD )

Amaya was starting to get an idea, yeah, and if she was anywhere near the mark? Zounds, what a gift! Arms folding in front of her, she grinned at the boy's excitement.

"Say," she said, "that's some fine form you got there! Don't suppose a mighty warrior like yourself has a name, by any chance, does he?"

"I'm Dwight. Dwight the Dauntless" he replied with a playful grin of his own. "And who are you?" he asked with a curious glance around the shop. "Did you make all of these?"

"Dauntless, huh?" asked Amaya, who was absolutely filing that into the memory banks for later. "Well, good to meet ya, Dwight the Dauntless. I'm Amaya the Blacksmith. And, yeah, I guess you can say I made 'em all."

Not exactly in their current form, of course; they had the island to thank for that one! But po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe.

"Any in particular catching your eye?"

Amaya Blackstone, single handedly arming the youth of the island with fun, squishy weapons this weekend.

"That one" Dwight said pointing to one of the biggest ones on the wall, that was nearly as tall as he was. "I can kill all the dragons and goblins with that one!"

"Oh-ho!" Amaya belted out a teasing laugh as she went to get the massive inflatable sword down from the wall for him. "Can you, now? I'll believe it when I see it, mister! But then, I suppose we'll have to start calling you Dwight the Dauntless Dragon Destroyer after that!"

And, with that, turning the hilt toward him to take, she offered up the sword.

"You'll have to give those goblins an extra piece of your mind for me, though. Never cared much for the lot of 'em, if I'm being perfectly honest."

Dwight's eye grew big as he looked at the sword up close once it was in his hands. He smiled at Amaya as she gave him is possible new title. He liked the sound of that. He gave the sword a few practice swings and then looked back to Amaya.

"Could.... could you teach me to use it better?" he asked, suddenly seeming a bit shy and uncertain. "I know there's a better way than just slashing at things. If I wanna be Dwight the Dauntless Dragon Destroyer, I need to get better!"

"I'm gonna be honest with you, Dwight," said Amaya. "I can make 'em until there's no tomorrow, but when it comes to actually using the weapons, 'stick 'em with the pointy end' is sort of the depth of my knowledge. I've got plenty of practice dummies, though," she gestured toward the dummies in question, "and you can have a go at it for as long as you'd like. And maybe I can still figure out a few pointers to throw at you here and there. How's that sound?"

"Yeah awesome!" Dwight shouted as he grabbed the toy sword and ran towards the dummies, giving one a really good whack with the 'thankfully' harmless blade.

He could be here a while Amaya. Hope you didn't mind a hyperactive boy whacking away at your dummies. Just like older Dwight, his younger self was very prone to getting lost in an activity and losing track of everything else around him when he got into the zone with something.

Amaya didn't mind one bit. She kind of wish she'd brought maybe a little more coffee downstairs with her so she could just sort of enjoy the show a little more as she settled back behind the counter and watched with amused grin all but plastered on her face, but, oh well. And he was probably going to just tucker himself out eventually, right?

....right?

"Try a little more to the left and up a bit!" she called out in suggestion. "Really get 'em where the squishy bits are!"

Amaya.

And this is why people took issues with you giving actual live steel to fake children that were never going to happen.

"Like this, Amaya?" Dwight called out, far too excitedly as he lunged towards the dummy, delivering a fairly decent jab to the stomach area.

He flashed her a broad smile and a thumbs up before he went back at it for another round. Eventually though he started to get tired, for the time being, and walked back over to where Amaya was sitting and sank onto the ground, the sword in his lap as he breathed hard from the workout.

"It's a really good sword" he said as he held it up and towards Amaya. "I... I don't have any money with me other than this" he said as he reached into his pocket with his other hand and dug out the few coins he had found earlier. "I know it's not enough for something as nice as this. But thanks for letting me use it for so long" he said with a sincere smile as he held out one hand with the sword and the other with the coins to Amaya.

And, in that moment, Amaya decided without a doubt (not that there was any in the first place), that little Dwight was alright.

And she figured, with what she knew about big Dwight...that she wouldn't be too off the mark with this next move.

"I'll tell ya what, Dwight the Dauntless," she offered. "I'll let you keep a hold on it for now--who else is going to take down all those dragons and goblins if you just left it here? But!" And here she shot him a crooked grin. "You're gonna have to earn it. You're not afraid of a little hard work, now, are ya, Dwight?"

"Really??? You mean it? I can keep it?" Dwight resisted the urge to throw his arms around Amaya and give her a hug. But he remembered his manners, at least partly, and just gave a big nod.

"Yeah, I can do whatever you need me to do!" he said with a slight puff of his chest, just so she didn't think he couldn't and reconsidered the offer.

Irene had been tempted to stay in the toy store below the flat she'd woken up in, but eventually curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she'd gone out wandering.

But there were toys in here, too, and more importantly, they were the sorts of toys that looked like they were actually fun! Maybe if she got a play sword, she could find someone to fight her! A duel!

"Hello," she said politely, waving to Amaya before pointing to an inflated mace. "What is that?"

It looked violent and fun. Like a sword but more.

Obviously, Amaya wasn't quite sure who this one was yet, but one thing was certain: she definitely had good taste.

"That, little lady," she informed her, "is what's known as a mace. Think you want to give it a try?"

"Yes, please," Irene said, both polite and fairly confident for a nine year-old as she stepped closer to the mace. "What do you use it for?"

She presumed it was hitting things. (She would like it to be for hitting things, in any case. It would be wildly disappointing if it was for cooking or horses or something. It also kind of looked like a scepter? Like maybe it was for if you were a princess and needed to hit something.)

"Well," Amaya mused, moving over from around the counter to the wall so she could take the mace in question down and consider it, "typically...you use this guy for a good smashing."

She swung it down dramatically for effect, although, really, there wasn't likely to be much smashing in its current form.

"Maybe a little bit of crushing," another description-worthy swing, "or a good ol' bludgeoning, too! Don't believe me?"

She gave it a little twirl in her hand so that when she handed it over to the girl, she held it with the handle her way.

"Try for yourself."

The twirl was sort of impressive, and it showed on Irene's face as she reached out to take the mace.

"Bludgeoning?" she repeated, just a touch gleeful as she took the mace and held it with both hands before looking around for a target to bludgeon.

An anvil? Anvils in cartoons were always just falling on people and she wasn't sure what one was doing here, but she was at least reasonably sure she wouldn't hurt anything if she hit it with this mace thing. (Though, if Amaya had invited her to try this out and now was going to be mad about her hitting things, Irene was going to try to negotiate that because that was a trap, thank you.)

But in any case, she lifted the inflated mace over her head and eagerly brought it down on the anvil in what she hoped was a bludgeon. She'd never bludgeoned before, you see. "Like that?"

"Just so!" Amaya informed her, with an impressed grin and a pump of her fist. "I'd say you're quite the natural!" Her expression, though, went playfully sceptical, squinting her eyes at the girl. "You sure you never wielded one of those before?"

Funnily enough, Irene was kind of a natural at hitting things. Granted, she'd eventually gravitate towards lighter, bendier instruments, but still.

"Never! Thank you," Irene told her, clearly pleased as could be. "Can I have it? I have money."

She even had a posh little purse that she was fumbling open. Granted, the money in there was almost certainly not in American dollars, but she was at least aware that commerce was a thing.

"Weapon like that," Amaya looked a little doubtful, "usually costs a lot..."

Usually. Even knowing that it would turn back to normal eventually, not even Amaya could really bring herself to charge someone full price for an inflatable toy...

"But I might be able to give you a discount, if you're willing to throw in your name. I generally make it a habit of knowing who I'm selling my fine wares to, anyway."

And, hopefully, that meant Amaya could track the person down when all this blew over to maybe have a laugh, and either get the weapon back or a proper price for it!

"Oh, of course." That made sense -- you needed to know who you sold things like this to! She straightened up with finishing-school posture, and extended a polite, dainty little hand. "My name is Irene. Do you need me to sign something?"

Adults signed things when they made purchases sometimes, so Irene was just going act like she knew why and it was a matter of course. She didn't want to seem like she didn't know how to buy a mace, okay.

"Huh."

You know, up until that proper little polite offer of her hand, Amaya didn't think she'd have been able to see it. Maybe just because it was hard to picture such a formitable, undeniable woman as just a little girl, so this took a rather fascinating new turn.

It was hard not to appreciate that little Irene was a bludgeoning type a kid underneath that polished veneer, though, she had to admit, and she grinned, taking that dainty little hand with her own.

"Pleasure to meet you, Irene," said Amaya, "and to do business with you. And I'm Amaya."

Now to decide on a price, she supposed, though it was a little easier to lowball it when she figured Irene would be good for it, one way or another, when everything went and set itself right again.

And if she was wrong and she decided to be a hard-ass about it, well...Lesson learned. Time to just make a new one.

"And how's..." Not to mention, she had no idea what this kid had on her, anyway, but the thought of sending little Irene home with a mace that would wind up being an actual mace once little Irene was't so little again was too good to pass up. "...twenty bucks strike you?"

Boy, she hoped Irene wasn't going to be a hard-ass about this.

If anything, adult Irene would insist on overpaying for it, once she was herself and realized she'd made out like a bandit with an actual mace. (And especially given that the only time she'd never had to wield a weapon in Fandom, her riding crop had been more useful than her pistol, so it might well prove itself valuable in a future invasion or something!)

"Seems fair," Irene decided as though she knew anything at all about the price of weapons, digging into her purse and producing a purpleish £20 note. (Which, given the current exchange rate, meant Amaya was already getting an extra six or so dollars already, lucky her.) "Is that all right?"

Irene very possibly didn't know she was in America at the moment. She also wasn't especially worried about it. Everyone took money with the Queen on it, right? Or at least they should.

And in any case, she certainly hoped it would be all right, since Irene was already idly swinging the mace as though unable to contain the urge to bludgeon again.

Well, Amaya's own preferred form of currency was still shiny gold coins, but she'd gotten used to taking just about anything and sorting it out with the currency exchange later when she had the chance.

And, really, just the thought of Irene later with the actual mace was pretty much priceless. What a sight to behold!

"I think this'll do quite nicely," Amaya said with a small, professional nod. "Thank you. Just be mightful of what you go smashing and crushing and bludgeoning with that thing, because I'll warn you, we've got a very strict return policy here."

Not really, but Amaya got to thinking about what might happen to the actual mace if the inflatable one ended up getitng deflated, and she was both mildly disturbed by the prospect and also insanely curious.

"I'll be very careful," Irene assured her with a firm little nod, and she would be! Even at this age, she was very careful and deliberate, at least at first -- eventually the temptation to bludgeon things with abandon would probably prove too much to resist. "I won't hit anyone 'round the head or anything."

A pause, a slightly mischievous slant to her smile, and Irene added, "Unless they really deserve it, anyway."

Amaya was just about to say something in that pause, but before she could get it out, there it was, from the mouth of babes, as it were, beating her to the punch, and she had to laugh.

"Took the words right out of my mouth!" she said with approval. "You've got some spunk, there, Irene, but I can't say I'm at all surprised."

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Blackstone Foundry and Forge; Saturday [11/13].

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