Hittin' Things [Atzi]

[Rhuryc]

27th Spring, 511 AV Iceglaze Hold Rhuryc often took to work before most of the hold's inhabitants were awake. The sun had yet to rise and already the smith was at his craft. He stepped into the forge without much ado and discarded his cloak and coat, the furred, heavy fabric left far away from anything that would catch it aflame. Like any other morning he started by opening the window beside the coals. A cool, drafty wind aired the smithy out, clearing the soot and stuffed atmosphere of the previous day's work. What was not familiar was his new tail. Almost literally. Atzi stumbled into the workshop after the man. Often times smiths found it distracting to have individuals hover around them as they worked, but Rhuryc found the presence of the Kelvic comforting and oddly focusing. Still, the previous day she had been left to her own devices while he worked, today, maybe he would find some way to make use of her. "Atzi?" His baritone cut through the silence of the room. "Watching me hit things with a hammer can't be entertaining." Rhuryc paused and grabbed at the fire poker that sat beside the forge. As the Kelvic made her way over he held the item aloft for her to grab. "Starting a fire is easy. Most of the coals are good and will last for a while. I clean the basin out in the evenings so you won't have to start with that, you just. . ." The man paused again as he reached for the flint and steal nearby. With a fresh application of some kindling and a bit of oil, he clacked the two materials together until a suitable spark hit the mass and snapped up in a gentle, red flame. He continued to strike the metal until there was enough spots coated in heat that the fire would spread of its own accord. With a gesture he mimicked for the woman to prod the fire. "If it starts to die, just give it a bit of a poke. Shift it around so the flame spreads. The coals should do most of the work for you." While she was busy with that Rhuryc stepped away from the forge and fetched the list of orders near the tools. He grimaced. More links. And frames. Chains? How thrilling. Well, he still had enough wire at least. Shifting back over to the anvil, he grabbed several items from the table: hammer, chisel, winch, and various other small necessities. Next he meandered about the smithy grabbing raw metals and ores, bringing them over to the Kelvic as she went about her own exercises. He stacked several ingots and unshaped iron beside the as-of yet-roaring fires while sending the occasion glance in Atzi's direction. He smiled. She looked healthier. And him? His muscles were still sore, his body weaker than it should have been, but as always he kept it within, his exterior calm as ever. "Maybe you can help with the chains." Rhuryc grimaced. Was this what it was like to have an apprentice?

[Atzi]

Atzi wouldn't have woken up as early as Rhuryc had she not been attached to him every moment she could manage. The Kelvic woke to Rhuryc waking, early, very early. Atzi did not care for early mornings, but if Rhuryc was awake and about, she would be as well. The young woman dressed in a morning fog, pulling on breeches, her new blouse, boots and finishing off her ensemble with the golden locket and fur cloak. The locket was slipped under her blouse, hidden between her breasts. The duo left the warmth of the small home and ventured out into the cold, Atzi would never adjust to such low temperatures, but before she could vocalize her distress, Rhuryc lead them into the warmth of the smithy. It was a comfortable room to the tiger, warm with the sharp smell of fire and iron. Golden eyes watched Rhuryc as he tossed aside his cloak, Atzi followed suit, dropping her out door gear ontop of Rhuryc's. The young woman's eyes ventured from her bondmate over the surroundings, such a strange place, so many things the woman had never seen before. She couldn't help but let her thin fingers trail over the various tools that rested around the shop. “Atzi?” The Kelvic snapped to attention, a small instant spreading across her face as Rhuryc spoke her name. She loved the way Rhuryc said her name, it made her toes tingle. “Watching me hit things with a hammer can't be entertaining.” The red head shook her head slightly, it wouldn't be terribly amusing, she didn't quite understand the purpose of such actions. Rhuryc began to explain a task to the Kelvic. By no means was Atzi slow, but words were confusion, actions were much clearer. Without prompting, Rhuryc began to demonstrate what he expected of her, starting a fire. Fire. Gold eyes seemed to glaze over as she watched the small orange sparks land on the kindling. Clack. The Kelvic's heart began to pound. Fire was bad. The woman quickly snapped out of it as Rhuryc began to speak again. She was there, he would be safe, she would be here if something happened, there was no reason to worry, the Kelvic would never leave Rhuryc's side. A smile returned to the woman's face as the man gestured. “I think I can manage that.” The Kelvic took a step forward and began to get to work, taking an iron rod and nudged the growing fire occasionally. The woman's mind wandered, fire was not a bad thing, why was it an issue now? There was a fire last night, and the night before. Rhuryc had made them a fire to heat the house. This fire was going to be larger, was that it? The orange glow was burned into the back of her mind, silhouettes of trees against a background of orange which licked the sky. Atzi shook her head. She wouldn't let that happen again. She would die before that would happen again. Baritone broke Atzi's thoughts. “Maybe you can help with the chains.” Rhuryc looked displeased. “You do not like making chains?” The Kelvic put down her fire poker and bounced cheerfully towards Rhuryc. “I would love to help. Maybe it can be fun with help.” A familiar smile crossed the womans face as she looked up into green eyes. “But... How...” The woman paused, looking away from Rhuryc and about the room. She tapped her lower lip with her index finger. “How do you make chains..?” The tiger looked up at Rhuryc, befuddled.

[Rhuryc]

Rhuryc returned the smile. It was nice having someone who he could speak to while he worked. She brought a certain energy into the mix. After years of the same, repetitive tasks the job was nothing short of second nature. His mind wandered far more than he cared to admit. The rhythmic, ever present music of the forge was ingrained in his mind. Maybe it could be fun. Then again, he very much doubted it. Instead he entertained himself with guessing how long it would take for Atzi to get bored. "With patience." He started as he reached aside and grabbed the product of his past few day's work. Wire. A large quantity of it. Coiled and ready, he had an entire box full of the stuff. Thick, heavy, massive quantities of seemingly useless metal. "First you wind the wire. With, ah." He paused and stepped over to a table littered with tools. Shifting about, he produced a thin, wide rod. "This. Here." He offered the item to Atzi before he found a second one and returned to the mass of wire. "Just, like this." He removed a set of the raw metal from its resting place and placed the edge between his thumb and forefinger. While he held the nameless tool in one hand he spooled the wire about with the other, wrapping it about the rod and under the layer before down the entire length. The rod itself reached from Rhuryc's midsection to the floor. "Make sure it's taunt, wined it." He demonstrated farther, twisting the rod a few times and pulling on the remaining spool of wire. He set both items aside and glanced at Atzi, ensuring that she was still following. Once staisfied, he grabbed another set of tools - hammer and chisel - then turned back toward the spooled wire. "Then you cut. Separate each ring into a link. That's the first bit anyway. Once we have enough individual pieces we can move onto the next step, otherwise you lose a lot of time. So. Watch." Clink. Chink. Rhuryc held the chisel up against the first ring and lightly tapped the end with his hammer. Delicate, yet firm, it took a few strokes between he broke free and the piece fell free from the rest. It looked easy enough, though the fact that his hands remained so still was a feat in itself. Afterward he stopped and handed the second set of tools over to the Kelvic. "You give it a shot. Just be gentle with it."

[Atzi]

With patience? Atzi was not one for patience, she was far to energetic to take careful time with much of anything. The kelvic shifted slightly to watch his motions as he gathered the wire he had previously made. He began to explain the process of making the links, taking a thin metal rod which he carefully wrapped around the metal stick. Rhuryc was careful with his actions, and Atzi watched closely, the wire was wrapped around the rod tightly, each ring that was created was touching another. “Make sure it's taunt, wined it.” Atzi could tell that this would not be the most enjoyable day. A small frown flashed across her face as she watched him work, the pole was long, and to the kelvic the task looked like it would take centuries to finish. Green eyes flashed up to Atzi slightly disappointed face. She was following, more-or-less. A small nod and smile was all the response she gave the man before he continued. Cutting the little links looked much more amusing than the task of winding the damned things. The woman listened to Rhuryc and followed what he said, watching intently to the man's small, careful movements. Atzi enjoyed watching Rhuryc work, his movements were precise and steady. The set of tools that were handed to the kelvic put her off, she wasn't sure how to manage this feat without ruining Rhuryc's work. Meekly she took the tools and looked at them for a few moments. Atzi had never held a hammer before, nor a chisel. This whole task was alien and strange, exciting, perhaps at a glance, but upon further inspection, it was clearly not her cup of tea. After a chime of examining the hammer and chisel she moved to be close to the wrapped wire. Awkwardly, Atzi placed the chisel against the top ring, her hands were shaking, trying to keep the chisel in place was harder than the woman expected. With a small tap, Atzi struck the back of the chisel with the hammer, and with that tap, the chisel clattered to the floor, she'd lost her grip. “Damn it.” The red head muttered, picking the tool back up and trying again. A few more taps were able to happen before the chisel slipped out of her hand and clattered to the ground. A frown seemed engraved on the woman's face, her eyebrows knit together as her eyes seemed to cross as she focused. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. It took Atzi almost three times as long for her to break off a single ring. Her face began to flush in frustration, why couldn't Rhuryc be a hunter? Or a Furrier? She could be useful at those things! But this? This? The woman took a deep breath, she wasn't about to let Rhuryc down, he was trying to teach her, and she would learn, even if it drove her to the brink of insanity. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. A ring fell to the floor, that was a little faster than the last one, and she didn't drop the chisel! Improvement! The kelvic smiled weakly as she continued to tap at the rings. It took nearly half a bell for all the rings to tinkle onto the floor. With a sigh of relief, Atzi set the chisel and hammer down. She turned to face Rhuryc with a proud smile, surrounded but the little bits of metal she'd broken off. “There! Now what?”

[Rhuryc]

It was almost painful to watch. And oddly reminiscent. When he was first learning Rhuryc remembered how bored he was as a child. The constant, rhythmic patterns, undeveloped muscles, and not a lick of patience to speak of. He felt sympathetic for the poor girl. Once she batted off the first ring he knew it would be useless - no doubt the rest as well, with an unsteady hand and the way she hacked at the chains most of the overlap would be ruined, the wire useless. He stopped forward. Coming in behind Atzi, he stood over the shorter woman and wrapped his arms around her sides, gently grabbing the backs of her hands, his calloused, suitably larger fingers wrapping about her own. "Gentle, but firm." Rhuryc said, his head hovering just over hers. He took control for a few moments, grasping the tools through her as a medium and tapping at the exposed rings. The technique was light, precise, and just strong enough to wedge between the exposed wire. A few taps and a ring sprang right off. He did this for some time, standing patiently behind while he applied pressure to the Kelvic's grip and guided her through the process. Over time his insistence lessened. Before too long he stepped back altogether and allowed for Atzi to go off on her own. In the meantime he busied himself with other, simple projects. Like spanning more of the wire. He hoisted a few lines over the forge itself, tying one end over a rail and allowing it to lie for the time being. Only when she called for his attention did Rhuryc return to the woman. "Flattening." He shot her a grin. This part was just as thrilling as the last. Collecting a majority of the rings, Rhuryc brought the mass of a pile over to the wire he had just set up. He strung each link over the lines then set them to rest over the fire, the metal heating while never touching the exposed flame. "You have to reheat the metal sometimes. To make the links whole again the gap needs to be closed. It's easy enough to just weld the edges back into one another. After that we punch holes in the flat, and place rivets so we can connect the links together. It's tedious." He turned, glancing over his shoulder at Atzi. "I know. Don't have to stay, I won't fault you for filling your time another way, Atzi." He offered a grin in earnest after he finished. Without waiting for much of a response he returned to the rod from before and continued coiling wire, repeating the process of cutting while waiting for the links to warm.

[Atzi]

Rhuryc's palms were rough against the backs of Atzi's, but still familiar. Rhuryc hadn't been a terribly touchy individual, and any physical contact initiated by him by treasured by the Kelvic. Atzi felt her heart skip for a moment, strange, it had never done that before, perhaps she was still sick. The woman shook the strange feeling that came forth at the mans touch. His arms were around her sides, his hands on hers. A smile crossed the Kelvics face, perhaps making chains wouldn't be so bad. “Gentle, but firm.” Her controlled her like a puppet, tapping another ring off. Atzi went through the motions, letting Rhuryc guide her. His grip loosened slowly, letting the Kelvic take control of the tools, her movements were set, steady compared to the moments before Rhuryc had helped her. After a handful or two of rings had clinked to the floor, Atzi felt the man slowly move away from her. She listened as he busied himself with other tasks, her attention mostly remaining on the rings yet to be broken off. Atzi continued to tap carefully at the spooled wire, her motions were much better compared to the first ring, but no where as smooth as they had been with Rhuryc's assistance. The woman finished up soon enough and upon finishing her attention moved back to Rhuryc. “Flattening.” Gold eyes watched the man as he gathered the rings and then threaded each ring onto the metal rod which he had placed over the fire. Atzi looked up at the rings, hanging just out of reach of the flames. Rhuryc continued to speak, explaining more about the links. Most of what he said went over Atzi's head, but she tried to focus and understand. For the kelvic, heating metal to the point of it being malleable was unheard of. “It's tedious.” The woman nodded slowly at his words, she agreed, the whole processes was tedious. “I know. Don't have to stay, I won't fault you for filling your time another way, Atzi.” The woman blinked a few times at Rhuryc. Why would she leave him to do this tedious task alone? He had asked her to help make the chains, and she damned well would fulfill his request. Gold eyes watched as he returned to winding the wire around the rod. Atzi took a few steps to stand behind him, watching from around his side. He knew what he was doing, he was experienced, Atzi, was not. Perhaps if she watched him long enough she'd be as good as him? Unfortunately, no, she knew better than that. “I will stay and help you. A tedious task is made better with company.” The woman smiled up at Rhuryc. “Can I try to coil the wire again? I haven't been able to get that quite.” The woman tried to feign interest, but it wouldn't be too hard to tell that this was the last thing she would ever put on a “things to do for fun” list. The woman took the wire and returned to what she had been doing before, slowly wrapping the wire around the rod. Such a dull task, but misery loves company, and at least she had company. “How long have you been doing this, Rhuryc? You're quite good at it. Did you have someone teach you or did you just see someone doing this and figured it would make for a fun evening?” Atzi smirked over her shoulder at Rhuryc, she was jesting, the kelvic could tell that making chains was not his most favored task.

[Rhuryc]

"Certainly." Rhuryc stood aside from the rod and motioned for Atzi to take her place. It was almost endearing how she stuck it out, though he imagined she would not be volunteering to follow him into the forge tomorrow. Nevertheless they worked. Free now, Rhuryc stepped over to the hanging links and kept a close eye on them as they heated. Waiting too long would just melt the blasted things. "Years now. I don't remember when I started." When did he start as a smith? There was no particular event he could recall, though with how the daily routine was so tedious it felt as if he had been working metal since forever. He paused for a long while before answering Atzi's next question. That was odd. in his common demeanor he was always quick to respond, more than willing to answer most any question. In this, though, there was a degree of hesitance. Ah, these links were finished. He reached up and removed the wire set from over the forge. Each link was transported to a nearby anvil and he grabbed his hammer, sliding the incomplete chain off and holding each steady with the acquisition of a small set of tongs. Clink. He hit the first one, the edges flattening together. He could show Atzi once she finished cutting the rest. "My father taught me." Clink. He set another link aside. "For a while. When I was a child." Of course when he was a child. Rhuryc quirked a brow at his choice of words then shrugged, returning to the task at hand. His pace slowed. The hammer lowered and sent vibrations through the hammer, his vision obscured for just a moment as he missed the link. Strange. He blinked. When was the last time that happened? His head tilted as he studied the metal, the hammer coming down again to finish the mold. Clink. Chink. "Damnit." He whispered, his hushed frustration almost palpable throughout the forge. With a shake he brought over the next set in the series on repeated the motions while casting away the piece he ruined. "But that was some time ago. I suppose one day I decided it would make for a fun evening if I had some coin in my pocket." He shot Atzi a grin. Hiding his scowl was easy. "When you're done with that go ahead and string the links over the wires and make sure to tie the ends off over the forge."

[Atzi]

“Years now. I don't remember when I started.” Atzi listened carefully as she continued to wrap the wire along the rod, it was clear that her method was much less efficient and much slower; not to mention not as tightly wrapped. Atzi continued though, he was determined to complete this task. “Years?” The kelvic's concept of time was much different compared to the average human. Atzi was nine years old, not particularly young for a Kelvic, she would likely get to her thirties or forties, but years were nearly her whole life. Silence fell across the shop as the man mulled over Atzi's other question. The woman took little of it for a chime, but then found herself glancing at the man. He had never taken this long to answer her before, perhaps he didn't hear her? No, he was clearly mulling something over. The woman stopped wrapping to watch Rhuryc move across the shop, gathering the hot rings and beginning to hammer one at a time. “My father taught me. For a while. When I was a child.” The woman nodded and slowly turned back to her task, finishing wrapping the wire just as the man cursed. Had Atzi been a normal human, she likely wouldn't have heard the expletive, but her hearing was sharp. The woman looked over at Rhuryc, he messed up? No, there was more to it than just that, she could feel it. The woman stood and placed the hammer and chisel down next to where she was working. The red head took a step towards Rhuryc and then looked into his face for a short moment before the golden eyes glanced down at his work. “But that was some time ago. I suppose one day I decided it would make for a fun evening if I had some coin in my pocket.” The man grinned, it appeared genuine, but there was still a twinge Atzi couldn't shake. “What happened?” She pried, there was more, she knew it, whether he shared was entirely up to him, but she wasn't about to feign ignorance. Her eyes moved back up from the rings to Rhuryc's face for a short while before she moved back to the wrapped wire with a small nod of acknowledgement. She would undoubtedly have to ask for clarification about tying off ends. The Kelvic resumed the repetitive and slow task of break the rings off. Tap. Tap. Tap. Clink. Tap. Tap. Tap. Clink. She was getting better, but a few of the rings continued to escape the rod mangled and useless.

[Rhuryc]

The hammering came to a stop. Rhuryc glanced into nothingness for what seemed like hours before he continued, the break in the pattern lasting for now more than a chime or two in reality. Right. Focus. Chink. Switch. Chink. Flatten. Each link was closed when he was done with it, shifting it aside and discarding it to be dealt with later. There was hesitance in his work. For once. The mention of Rhuryc's past always set uneasily with the man, the various misdeeds of his own and those around him stirring difficult emotion. It was never easy to talk about people you've killed. Or watched die. "He died." He said between hammerfalls. "Long ago when I was a boy. I was thirteen, I think. That's not important though." Wasn't it? He had never really dealt with the loss of his father. Thought about it, sure, but never dealt with. For now he shifted his attention back to the work. Discarding the current project for now he stood and made his way back to the forge, removing the links that hung over the fire and collecting the new coils from where Atzi had been cutting. A third of them were useless. He cast those aside and motioned for the Kelvic to follow him, demonstrating the process in a simplistic fashion. He would take down a wire, slid a row of rings across one edge, then wrap it about one side of the forge to suspend them over the heat. Easy. He offered the second wire to Atzi to let her try. "You get used to it as time goes by." He spoke again, changing the subject away from his past. Maybe one of these days he would say something. "Or you don't and you lose your mind." A grin followed. Lighten the mood. Though there was no ignoring the dark cloud that now hung over the man's head.

[Atzi]

The Kelvic listened as she worked, pausing at the suddenly sinister and almost empty feeling that surrounded Atzi. “He died.” The woman nodded slowly, she shouldn't had pried, the feeling that filled her stomach was one of discomfort. “That's not important though.” The phrase rang in her ears like an alarm. Not important. Golden eyes remained on the wire, silent for a moment. What a strange thing to say. The Kelvic was not close to her parents, it was not the way she was raised, but when her mother died, her brother died before he had a chance, each time it was important. Not as important as Az'Rial, but important non-the-less. “I'm sorry.” She quietly said to the wrapped wire before her. Her fingers fumbled. Stupid. You shouldn't have dug. Silence fell between the two, only the music of the forge filled their ears. Atzi didn't care for the noises, too distracting, made it hard to listen for the important things. The Kelvic watched closely as Rhuryc tied the wire up with the rings hanging on it. He handed her the other one, it was her turn to hang it. Atzi moved closer to the heat, even though all her instincts were telling her not to, to turn and run. Fire bad, fire bad. She did as she was shown, placing the wire above the forge and, shit. The wire slipped, and off fell nearly half the rings before Atzi was able to grab the wire, her hand getting dangerously close to the flames, the woman cursed under her breath as she set the few remaining rings over the forge and securing the damned thing. “You get used to it as time goes by. Or you don't and you lose your mind.” Atzi felt like she was already losing her mind. The kelvic looked at her hand, it was red, she should have just let all the rings fall. Hindsight's a bitch. The woman looked up at Rhuryc, he seemed chipper, but the pit of her stomach still twisted. “Now what? Wrap again?”