PM to join A New Pair of Shoes (Ken)

[Jessor Yellowmoss]

7th of Spring, 515 AV

"Come on, Badger. We're almost there."

The girl cooed various reassuring sounds in Pavi to the jittery horse, but nothing seemed to ease his nerves.

As hard as it was to convince her Strider to walk through the crowded streets of Sunberth, it was even harder for Jessor to convince herself that everything was okay. Riding a horse down through the Commons was not a usual thing to do, and so Jessor's form atop the tall, grey stallion drew the eyes of many. Few of these eyes held a friendly gaze, though. Some held jealousy at the obviously costly horse she rode, others seemed curious as to its origin. Some peered behind her in search of a parade while others still glared at her for her disruption of the relative peace.

Jessor just kept riding.

Slowly but surely, Jessor eased the horse through and past the stalls and up to the location she was looking for. The Knight's Armory was her destination for the day. Her purpose was to commission a new pair of horse shoes for her beloved Badger. Jessor slid her hand down to her belt and fingered the lightweight bag of Mizas as she patted Badger's side reassuringly. She could only hope that she had enough to cover the price, for Sunberth was not the place one wanted to be when one was in debt.

Leaving her horse momentarily, Jessor strode to the door and opened it, calling inside loudly and quickly. "Hello? Do you take requests here?"

[Kentsa]

Ken's arm ached slightly as he rubbed his shoulder, his break just started and he was about to take a drink from his water-skin when he heard a feminine voice attempting to talk through the constant rings and smashes that were caused by steel hitting steel.
Ken walked quickly to where he heard the voice and he greeted the woman with a small smile. "What is it you need Miss...?" Ken asked loudly his voice cutting through the smashes of steel, he then gestured her to go outside so they wouldn't have to yell, his throat was starting to hurt anyways. Grabbing his water-skin he managed to get a drink out of it and he waited for her to respond.
(Sorry for my short-ish post I have lacked inspiration lately.

[Jessor Yellowmoss]

Jessor slipped back outside, nodding to the man who had answered her. Now that he was in the light, she could see that the blacksmith wasn't terrible to look at.

He was tall- taller than Jessor by a long shot- and well-muscled in a way that reminded Jessor of a weathered knight. His eyes were striking, and nearly distracting in a way that caught her breath and her curiosity. One eye was the color of forest leaves, while the other was a steely blue. Even his hair, which was short and spiked, was enchanting in some way, with multicolored hidden throughout.

Clearing her throat, which was inexplicably dry, the Drykas began again.

"Do you take requests here? Like..." The girl cut herself off, turning to face Badger and strolling over to him. Would you be able to fit Badger here for a new pair of shoes?" Jessor lifted the hoof of her Strider, showing the blacksmith in case he needed to size up the hoof.

As Jessor knelt, the bag of Mizas at her side jangled quietly, reminding the girl of the second question she was supposed to ask.
"And about how much would it cost, do you think?"

[Kentsa]

When his multicolored eyes adjusted to the new found light Ken gave the girl a nod. "Give me a couple of seconds, I need to grab a couple of things to measure Badger's hooves." Ken stated. "It wont be a terrible amount maybe 4-7 Silver Mizas per shoe." Ken said while opening the door, walking in he let the door shut while going over to his section of the forge.
Grabbing a couple of things, Ken put them in a small crate and he then walked back out to her holding the crate in his left arm. When he reached her he then set the crate down by his feet and he then gently lifted Badger's leg and began to measure the hoof. Within a couple minutes he put the tools back inside of the crate and stood up with a small smile.
"Most horses squirm a lot more when I measure them." Ken stated while grabbing a large apple from crate, giving the apple to Badger he then dusted off his knees and took another drink.

[Jessor Yellowmoss]

Jessor smiled at the blacksmith's off-handed praise. She had trained Badger from a young age to tolerate a multitude of intrusions that may occur, and so his obediance in such a situation was a source of great pride for the Drykas.

"I've been training him to stay calm around others, and I think he's doing quite well. Thank you, Mister...Uh..." Jessor's voice trailed off awardly as she realized that she did not know the smith's name, nor he hers.

"I'm sorry, I must have forgotten to give my name. I'm Jessor Yellowmoss, and this fella here is Badger, as you probably guessed. What's your name?"

[Kentsa]

"Ken, my name is Ken Knights." He stated, Ken was never this talkative nor was he ever this smiley. Whats going on? Why was he acting like this?
"Each shoe will cost five silver mizas and they will be ready tomorrow morning." Ken said with a small nod. Giving Badger a pat on the back he then turned his back about to walk back inside of the forge.

[Jessor Yellowmoss]

Jessor watched the smith- Ken- walk back into the armory with a dazed look while Badger squirmed in happiness at the touch of the man with the apples. It was only when Badger nuzzled the back of her head and snorted a good deal of horse snot and spit into her messy hair that she returned to reality. Unperturbed by the gunk in her hair, Jessor reached into her bag and pulled out her ever-present bone comb, running it through the mess.

"What do you think Badger? Did he like us?" She asked as she attempted to tame her own mane.

He liked one of us, Badger's eyes seemed to say. If she had not known better, Jessor would have sworn she saw the stallion roll his big brown eyes at her. However, this look could have been a misinterpretation, for only seconds later, Badger began to turn around and face the direction of Tent City, and of home, indicating that he was ready to leave.

Jessor, however, wasn't quite ready. The thought of leaving made her turn around and rush back into the armory, just for a moment. Out of breath- could it be only from that short sprint?- the girl opened the door and asked for Mr. Knights.

"Ken? Ken Knights?" She shouted over the din of crashing metal and crackling fires, "It's Jessor again. Do you think you could bring the shoes to The Pig's Foot Tavern tomorrow? I'd love to meet you there to pick them up, and perhaps have a drink while we're there?"

[Kentsa]

When he heard her he shouted back. "Sure!"
---
Within minutes Ken started on the shoes, his mind was racing, it seemed as if she liked him but why? What kind of girl would like him? He was freakish, a mistake and on top of that he was a killer. Should he let her make that mistake? No he shouldn't. But this wouldn't stop him from working on her order.
The smashing of his hammer on the iron was quite loud and within an hour or so the first shoe was done, hanging on a cold iron rack. The second was finished within an hour but sometime during the process he nearly slammed the hammer onto his thumb. The third was finished at a quicker pace due to the fact that he memorized the measurements after the second shoe. The fourth was finished at a faster pace then the third and his arm was slightly numb.
Ken wiped a bead of sweat off of his brow and he saw that night was starting to fall. It was time for his run and he unknowingly worked over-time finishing the shoes. He then nodded to his boss and walked out of the building chewing on a mint leaf.
---
He knew that if he pushed himself harder he would become better and that was correct. His legs were sore and his lungs were burning, despite all of this he felt amazing with all of that adrenaline pumping. Now that he was back home from the mile run he walked inside and he then proceeded to clean himself and go to bed.

[Jessor Yellowmoss]

At home in her tent, Jessor tossed and turned. It seemed to her that she could hear each little creak outdoors. She could hear the old drunks coming home and stumbling into their tents. She could see the shadows of thieves cruising through the nights, looking for their next victim. She could hear the sounds of Badger outside, snorting in his sleep, and she could feel the heavy breathing of her sleeping kits beside her. It wasn't that these things weren't normally there, but tonight, they seemed to bother her more than ever.

Flipping over one last time, Jessor found herself facing the door, wondering if she might go out it. The night was a great time for thinking, she knew, and thinking through some of what was happening may help her.

So up Jessor got, and outside she went. She went without any of her animals, for they would only distract her. This was her time.

Out beneath the stars and in the fresh, cool night air, Jessor could finally take a deep breath and relax. She let her mind wander to the day's events, thinking over everything she had done in turn. But when her mind got to the happenings at the armory, her mind seemed to get stuck in a rut. All she could picture were those multicolored eyes staring at her with such an intense look that she couldn't quite place.

She knew she liked him. She wouldn't deny it. But what she also knew was that she was not staying in Sunberth. Things would never work long distance, as neither of them would have enough to send mail regularly, even if they could find a courier who would run that far. Jessor knew it wouldn't work, and she knew she shouldn't lead Ken on, but the idea of a close friend, and perhaps more, was just too tempting. She simply couldn't resist the lure of potential love.

Back at the tent, Jessor found that while the night air had done her good, she still could not sleep, and so she tossed and turned again and again until Syna peeked through her tent in the morning.

[Kentsa]

In his sleep Ken was mumbling and sweating profusely, his mind was plagued with nightmares of his past.
In a dark chamber a teen was being beaten for disrespecting his master. He was held up by ropes while the torturers took turns lashing him with a whip.
In a dark room a large man stood over a boy that was barely a teen with a lecherous grin on his face.
With that Ken awoke angry, frightened and scared while swinging his sword that he keeps by his bed at all times in case if there is an intruder. The sword was about to be stabbed into the wall when he came back to his senses realizing that it was only a dream. Wiping the cold sweat from his face he washed himself and put his clothes on. Just another morning.
Ken proceeded to leave his apartment with his sword sheathed on his back and he then walked down to the Knights Armory to grab the shoes. He arrived in about a half an hour and proceeded to put them into a crate while thinking of what was to come. He still had an hour before anyone came to the armory and he had two hours till it was time to meet up so he decided to get some practice in.
Ken was quick and efficient as he went through multiple stances and strikes with the sword often changing between a one and two handed grip. Despite the fact that the armory was filled with obstacles he didn't hit a single thing keeping his movements fluid and graceful.
Ken left the forge feeling much better, and when he arrived at the tavern he was a couple of minutes early holding the crate of horse shoes under his left arm. When he walked in he greeted the bar tender and sat down on a chair waiting for Jessor.