An Open Smithy, The Blacksmith Is In. [Open]

Few blacksmith bothered with things like operational hours and such; being on call at all times of day and night was the hallmark of the craft. Working late into the night was common, working for days on end on a single order even more so. He'd never been one to really bother with caring, his lack of human nature meant that he worked on different time spans and different hours than many of the other smiths; to him a week was like an hour passing, night and day held little meaning beyond how long the shadows in the shop where. The advantage of having built his shop from scratch, he was able to build it from the volcanic rocks that formed deep in the earth, which when cooled became extraordinary strong and massively heat resistant; meaning he could work his craft in a part of the city that had few smithies around, meaning he had a far larger client base than he might have otherwise.

With few windows and a special filter grate over the chimney that trapped the embers and hot soot from his bellows safely, you would never know his shop was his work space, if you didn't already know. The shop front was well insulated from the heat of the smithing room, so unless the singular door to the basement work space was open, his shop was just a shop that sold weapons, armors, and crafts made from metal and volcanic glass and all the like.

Outside, above the main door, hung the sign that marked his wares; a single salamander with a lick of flame coming from it's open mouth. The windows in the front, which led to the show floor, where large and made to show off the inventory inside. The windows around the side of the building which gave the small amount of sunlight to the basement work space where extremely small and coated with soot so thick you could write your name in it. The front door was thrown open, inviting anyone and everyone to come inside and browse around; he was behind the counter doing the merchant thing, as he was on a rare day of having completely caught up with orders and having nothing left to do until some new or returning customers appeared.

Marquetta was still.. recovering so to speak. The humans had attempted to save her from her injuries when she had been found and the blood that they had given her – human blood of course – had done more harm then it had good to her Faery body. In the end of course she had ended up dying, and Avery had stolen away her body and buried it, which was precisely why she was alive now: she had been returned to the earth from which she was born. So, this was why, as yet another coughing hack escaped the female that she brought a slightly blooded white handkerchief to her mouth to catch any flecks of blood. When her coughing was finished she glanced down to see only a small bit of blood; much less then before. Good, she was almost done getting rid of the last of the foreign blood in her body.

Marquetta lifted her gaze once more – ignoring the whispers from the civilians around her about her appearance which was rags at best: a plaid shirt that buttoned up the front was frayed at the ends and whose sleeves had been ripped off leaving nothing behind but the decorative lace, and a pair of black pants which had been torn off around the knees and which were very ragged. Her feet were bare, her black hair thrown back into a messy ponytail, and there was a cloth – the only thing very white and pristine on her – that was wrapped around her eyes. She was, by no means, endearing to the civilians who saw her as nothing more then trash.

However, she gave zero fucks. Zero.

She was searching for a familiar face, or at least someone who could point her in the direction of Avery, and so far had come up with nothing. However, as she turned the corner she saw a sign that stood out: it was clearly a blacksmith shop and she headed in that direction quickly. She turned, clearly about to go into the shop when a hand suddenly caught her shoulder and a man's voice filled her ear ”Don't go in there. Your kind isn't wanted around these parts, why don't you leave and go off to some other city.”

Marquetta froze, and turned her head as if she were looking down at the hand on her shoulder – the man quickly withdrew it. She then turned her covered gaze onto the man and pointed at him. ”I go where eva' the fuck I please. Put your hand on me again and I'll cover you in the earth and then heat the bloody thing up and cook your arse nice and bloody slow!” Even as Marquetta spoke the air around her heated up, causing the air to shimmer and wave a bit. The man backed up, gulped, and then turned and quickly left. Marquetta, grinning a bit to herself, turned and walked into the shop....

"Welcome to the Salamander's Blac-... Marquetta?" Houjin was rarely at a loss for words; which given how little he spoke most of the time wasn't saying much. His people verbalized differently than humans, so words where given far less importance than by most species. He was in pure shock at the moment, though; the last he'd heard of Mar she was dead and buried, it was Avery that had told him so the last time he'd seen her, so he had absolutely no reason to doubt this knowledge. Yet, here she was, alive... if not ragged looking and dirty as the debris that humanity ignored in the alleyways of their cities.

He about leaped over the counter and raced to her, pulling her inside of the door and shutting it behind them, allowing the special self-bolting lock he'd installed to cycle and give them come privacy. "You look of death, Marquetta. You smell of death, at that. What happened, I was told... Avery told me she buried you, that you'd been killed. Come," he about dove over the counter once more, grabbing some chairs for them to sit on; he wasn't entirely sure she could stand long the way she looked, and setting them in the open space in front of the counter. "Sit, rest. Please, do you need or want anything? My shop is a bit sparse, you know me, but I do have some food and drink here."

Marquetta couldn't believe her eyes or rather her earth sensing ability: oh she had been hoping when she saw the sign, but there had been so much doubt wormed with that hope that it really hadn't taken root. However, he was Houjin in the flesh, all but leaping over the counter to come usher her inside and close the door behind them. She sat in one of the offered chairs and then reached into her shirt's pocket, pulling out the blood specked handkerchief. She brought it to her mouth as another coughing fit took over her. ”Damned humans...”, she managed to get out between coughs. As soon as it was over the bloody handkerchief was returned to her pocket and she settled back properly and comfortably. ”I'll take a bit of water... get this nasty taste of blood out of my mouth.” She sighed a bit, rubbed at her face, and then shook her head.

”Aye, Avery didn't lie. I was dead. We were attacked, and she was exhausted to the point to where she couldn't keep her wind shield up. Someone tried to attack her from behind and I took the hit – don't remember much after that except for little flashes. The bloody humans found me and tried to save me, pumped me full of their blood – which is why I'm coughing it up now. Fae and human blood don't mix and my body is rejecting it – not coughing up as much as I was thankfully. Anyway, Avery buried me in the earth I'm assuming – it was her hand writing on the grave stone I saw after I dug myself out. Don't think she knew that if you returned a Faery to their place of 'birth' that they would rise again.”

”It doesn't happen often; but I was so in-tuned with Earth and Fire by the time I died that her burying me near a volcano apparently did the trick. Where is she, anyway? Is she here?”

Water... he had plenty of that. He had to have water on hand for his work; and he used extremely pure water from deep within the earth for it; the water on the surface, no matter how 'pure' humans thought it was, wouldn't work; not for the type of uses he needed it for. That he didn't drink water meant he didn't run out of his stores often, so there was plenty. "One moment, let me get your water first."

He was behind the counter and down into the work room quickly; he had a cold room down there where he kept some of the water for speed quenching, it was the cleanest in the shop, and would be far more refreshing than the hot stuff out of the barrels that sat in the main work space. Returning with a pitcher and a hastily formed glass cup, he pour her some and handed it to her before sitting down in his own chair. "It must have been one of the untouched ones, then; humans have started mining the ores from the sands and soils around them; they have realized that many of the volcanic slopes are brimming with the irons and minerals they covet. You where lucky, extremely so. I have not seen Avery in... days? Weeks... I have no real concept of time, anymore. I spent all my time in front of my forge, billows, and anvil recently. So long as she's in the region, it would not take us long to find her."

Marquetta took the water Houjin handed her and took a sip of it. She instantly relaxed: this was so much better then the bottled water she had swiped from a human's cart in the market. This was truly refreshing. She downed the rest in her cup quickly, the blood taste quickly washed from her mouth. The water was doing wonders for her body and as it refreshed her a small glimmer of light appeared around her form: her body finishing the healing process and removing the last of the toxic blood from her system. ”That's so much better... now that's water. Not that bottled crap the humans have... “

”Pretty sure I scared quite a few humans nearby when I rose; not sure what they were doing though. Plenty of noisy machinery...”

She thought about Houjin's words for a moment and peered outside. The world had changed since she was gone, but in a not-natural method, so she had no idea of knowing how long she had been gone. Shrugging she returned her attention back to Houjin. ”I have no idea of telling myself how much time has papssed.. This world is... different... then it had been. There are landmasses on it that aren't natural, that aren't meant to be there. It goes even beyond human creation; it's something magical, but not my kind of magic. Odd really. Don't like it... I suppose I'll have to get used to it though.” Marquetta knew she would have to get used to it; for you either evolved or you died – it was the way of the world.

"I don't know if Avery would want to see my though, honestly.. if I could find her. We had a big fight before we were attacked...", she said suddenly, frowning.

"I had noticed that myself. Someone has been... playing, with this world; it is disconcerting, to say the least. Far beyond the power of any beings I know of. The humans... I believe they have discovered... what is the word they use... technology? from beyond their normal means. It seems humans from parts of the world long separated from this have arrived, and brought their knowledge with them. It has been... strange to watch. Weapons beyond anything humans had before, made using methods beyond what even the non-human craftsmen have access too. There is something about them... very few have any sort of magic about them, yet they are far more destructive. I do not like it, personally. Thankfully, most humans still value high levels of craftsmanship, so I have managed to stay busy, and not lose me livelihood, as many of the lesser smiths did. It seems to help that I am able to enchant my work, so a degree."

With the door locked, and someone that was familiar with his true nature with him, he allowed himself to 'relax' in a way; he was allowing his body to settle into a more comfortable shape; he'd recently started working harder on perfecting his natural camouflage abilities, but it took energy and never felt right. With him relaxing and settling; his eyes would turn solid black, more natural to a salamander like him, wafts of smoke would escape with each breath he exhaled. Around his body appeared a band of what would look like charred skin, however it was merely his natural appearance showing through; his true skin was a slightly cooled magma flow, a skin of solid rock cracked and broken to show the flowing molten material below. His fingers and hands changed slightly, becoming larger and out of proportion for his 'human' body, fingers flatter and longer, with strange ridges replacing his fingerprints. The temperature of the room would rise sharply; but to the both of them it would be far more comfortable, his natural body temperature was extremely high compared to most beings, enough so that he raised the ambient temperature easily.

"You may have been fighting... however, we both know Avery. She would want to see you, to know you are alive and well. She was... devastated, when she came to me. I would not be surprised if she has not found any sort of closure, and is still suffering over what happened."

”Hm. That reminds me... I need to find a way to make money in this world, again. The bastards who were after Avery and I destroyed my home; with their damned technology; and raided the place.” Ideas were forming in Marquetta's mind, but she didn't know how well they would work. In days of old she could easily work a construction job and build things made out the metals of the earth as well as the earth itself without issue – manipulation of either was in her blood. But with all of the technology that the humans now had.. well, those skills were less and less needed – or wanted. Even if any structure Marquetta built was likely to be far more sound then one built by human hands. ”My particular skill set doesn't seem needed very much – the humans want cheap supplies and cheaper labor... even if a simple earthquake kills them all because of it.”

Marquetta fell quiet as she thought about Houjin's words. If she were truthful she didn't even remember what they had been fighting about, but it had definitely been nasty. Oh her and Avery were known for going at it once in a while, but this had been brutal, and had only been stopped when they came under attack by an outside source. Still, though, from what Houjin was saying Avery had been devastated and that was the kind of pain you didn't get over. No, she would definitely have to find Avery and let her know she was alive, and let her know she was alive because of Avery. ”I'm going to have to continue my search for Avery then: I don't want her to think I'm dead when I'm not, not if she's suffering over it. Besides, I doubt she remembers anymore about what our fight was about then I do... I'm sure it was over something stupid I said - can't always control that hot headed temper of mine.”

Marquetta was relaxing more, especially as the heat within the room rose. She had no qualms with Houjin's true form, and in fact a bit of her own showed through - the tips of her ears became more pointed then round, her eyes that were once solid brown seemed to gain a reddish glow in them like the embers of a fire that were nearly out, and from her back came forth two deeply green wings that were by no means solid but seemed made out of pure magic: the air around her gave off a distinct smell of burning wood which was her natural scent.

"I have said it before, and I will say it again; you are free to stay with me as long as you wish. I have no use for the currency I am given in return for my work, outside of paying the taxes the city levees on the businesses and such, so you are free to as much as you desire. I believe I have a rather... well, a dragon would likely salivate if they where to see my bank ledger. I could plate the entire world in a layer of gold a few miles thick if I converted my saved monies to gold coins. I have absolutely no use for it, otherwise." The truth, he wasn't stupid when it came to money and trade, he just had no use for coins and the like. His people didn't value material wealth, and he didn't need 'food' as most races understood it. By merely sleeping in the magma flows deep underground and consuming a few pounds of pure coal or wood every other day, he remained perfectly healthy and happy; and as he built his shop by hand, he owned it outright, and had no debts to anyone.

"You are sadly correct about the lack of want for skilled craftsmen and labor now. Humans are so... what is the word... fleeting, that they cannot appreciate the work of a master anymore. Now that they have discovered ways to extend their lives, they are trying to fit a lifetime of experience into every moment, so waiting is abhorrent to them. A pity, really. They are just hastening their end, really. If they would just stop for a moment an observe the elder races, they would realize that they are doing it all wrong."

He had nothing to comment over when it came to their tempers, or their fighting, what they did in the privacy of their own home and lives was none of his business. He would not pry, nor did he feel the need to. "As much as I agree that sooner is far better than later in finding Avery... we should take a week or so before we leave. That way, you have some time to rest and finish recovering, as well as a chance to acquire some new clothing and the necessary travel supplies and paperwork. I have... connections, that will allow me to procure some identification papers for you. They will work well enough to get you across the borders of the various counties, so long as they are not... inspected, heavily. So long as we don't draw attention to ourselves as we travel, we will be alright."

Marquetta nodded to Houjin's statement: it was true he had definitely said it on more then one occasion in the past that she was welcome to stay. And that was what she was going to do. There was no point trying to force her presence on the human populace, especially considering they saw her as nothing more then some sort of vagrant. No, better she stay with Houjin who wouldn't cause her rather hot headed temper to show. Besides, she could trust him – she couldn't trust anyone else in the city.

Then she thought about what he said next and just shook her head. ”I've seen the buildings they call such. They'd all be in a world of hell if this volcano decided to start to awaken – even if it didn't outright erupt the earthquakes it would cause would be more then enough to bring almost any of these buildings tumbling to the ground – at least the new ones.”

She relaxed a bit more into the chair; her useless wings twitching behind her – oh she could fly, but given she used to the earth itself to see? That.. was a bad idea. ”Aye, I agree. I show up looking like this and Avery will lose her mind. It's bad enough she's probably going to beat herself up over burying me and leaving, even if there's no way she could have known. Plus, it'll give me a chance like you said to finish recovering... I'd be better already had those humans not tried to help. My body doesn't like their medicine... “

"You must give them some credit. The intention was pure, or at least kind. Most humans have good enough hearts, even if as a group they can be a terrible force for horrifying things. However, that can be said of most races; individually, we embody the aspects that make us what we are, together... less so. Few races, when taken as a whole, have any true sort of cohesion and regularity."

He could only smile over the thought of the volcano awakening; oh sure, the very notion of the loss of life was appalling in the extreme to him, but he was a creature of flame and smoke and earth and fire and heat; a volcano was a perfect habitat for him. His people where so far removed from their watery ancestry that little beyond their general form remained; it was a fluke of evolution that dictated that their original forms where still the best adaptation to the harsh environment they adapted to. "Few human societies ever built for earthquakes, even when craftsmanship was valued and they lived in fear of them. The humans here have forgotten that fear, therefore they have fallen prey to the human fallacy of supremacy of the world. They believe that their technology is superior to the old ways, and have written off the other races as myths and legends and fairy tales, so even when confronted with our kinds, they ignore us, or call foul, as they put it. They tell stories about us now, bedtime tales to scare or placate their children. It is why they treat us so terribly, we should not exist by their logic, we are animals and beasts and monsters. It makes living among them... difficult, at times. It was never easy to begin with, but now... I do not understand how the more humanoid races manage it."

Marquetta nodded; the words Houjin spoke were true enough. The humans had been trying to save her, unaware that she was something other, and by doing so had ended up harming her more then helping. But, the intention of the matter had been pure, there was no denying that. Which was why, as annoying as it was to be coughing blood, she was going to let it slide. ”True enough. I guess I can't hold it against them for trying to help.”

”Yes, I noticed that. When I first... awoke... for the lack of a better word, I wandered aimlessly at first. While I was doing so I picked up on snatches of conversation. Bedtime stories, children playing pretend. It was why those humans attacked Avery and I.” Marquetta sighed softly. ”Avery's race makes her so close to that of a vampire that the humans who find out about her don't stop to think, to ask questions. They only see her as a threat. They have no idea that she cannot feed from them: their blood would do nothing more then make her sick. It's magic she feeds off of... “ Marquetta shook her head with a frown, suddenly hoping that where ever it was that Avery was she was at least comfortable and safe.

”Anyway, it's why I kept my true self hidden... minus when I threatened that guy who touched me. Humans, I noticed, like to put their hands on people a lot... At least some of them.”

"Vampires would be one of the few elder races humans would still recognize and outright fear, as they are one of the few natural predators that humanity hasn't fooled itself into besting. Unfortunately, they lump many different races under the blanket term of 'vampire'. Sad, really; how blind they've become."

From outside, the small bell that hung beside the door rang; it was well known that he locked his door when he was working at his bellows, so the locals and such would ring the bell to get his attention. "Wonderful. One moment; let me turn them away." He rose to his feet and inhaled deeply, focusing for a moment and pulling himself into a fully 'human' form once more. Moving to the door, he undid the latch and opened it a crack, enough to stick his head out and look around. "May I help you?"

"Are you open, blacksmith?"

"Not at the moment, no. I have a small emergency I must attend to, please return tomorrow."

"Oh. Alright. Tomorrow, then. Excuse me."

"Farewell." He closed the door and allowed the latch to reset, returning to his chair and allowing his form to shift back to what was a comfortable balance for him. "Amazing, not a single new customer for days, and now my services are suddenly needed. Oh well."

He paused a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "From what I've seen, male humans have this almost pathological need to be in contact with and harass the females of the species. Strange behaviors, these humans have." He had absolutely no concept of sex and sexuality; not in the ways that most races and species did. He was was barely old enough to be considered anything but a child by his people's standards, and his people's reproductive cycles and such where highly different from that of most of the 'higher' races. For all their evolution, they where still very similar to other amphibious creatures; they had a very... hands off, style of reproduction, and no concept of 'gender roles'. Human behavior, any race's behavior really, in relation to sexuality and such was alien and confusing to him.

Marquetta heard the bell and tilted her head, curiously. She then, upon realizing it was a doorbell of sorts, watched as Houjin change back once more and got up to answer the door. While he was busy turning away the customer Marquetta focused on her earth sensing ability, using it to see the small city of Soubi Shigai as a whole: it was rather busy and populated for being so tiny, and she could see a school as the main focus of this population – the school was a bit odd and it didn't take Marquetta long to realize that it was a school that taught magic. Odd, but not unheard of.

When Houjin returned she focused back on him and couldn't help but grin a bit. ”Yeah... that they do. 'Course, they realize what a grave mistake that is when they try and touch someone like me.” She frowned suddenly, contemplating. ”Of course, then they always want to turn around and make me seem like the bad guy for snapping and losing my temper... Oh well.” She shrugged a bit.

"I believe the more advanced thinkers of the race call it 'sexism'. Something about how the patriarchal natural of the race is changing, and the once dominant males refuse to change with it. Strange, backwards creatures, all of them." He was never without the special apron that all blacksmiths wore; it was made of a specially woven wool and silk mixture that was impregnated with oils that refused to burn; it was the only reason he was able to have anything with him as he stood before the bellows; it meant he was able to hold the trinkets and jewels and small amounts of additive materials that allowed him to craft the supremely high quality of metals and such.

From one of the small pockets that lined the apron, he retrieved a few sticks of coal; he would take the highest quality coals he found and save them for snacks and meals; and he began to nibble on it. He was thinking, planning how he would manage the trip, as well as for what he would need to get together to trade for the papers and such. "Well, since I will not be bothering with customers for a while; I should get this place a little more... livable. I have gotten rather accustomed to living alone, sadly. I do not really bother socializing with the people of this city, outside of the occasional trip to the large school. They do.. what do they call it... career fairs? Something like that; a time for the tradesmen and such to show their skills to the students, and possibly woo new apprentices. Many of us that are left are magical, or of the elder races, so those younglings at the school are like us. They enjoy the chance to see how they can live outside of the hidden grotto and slums that humans have relegated us to."

Marquetta made a soft snort of a sound. ”To be fair, I wouldn't probably be too bothered with it normally... except for the fact that for as much as they ogle me they could never handle me. I wouldn't even be able to live around them without fear of accidentally losing myself and causing them harm. Even playing around would be dangerous. Of course, attempting to explain that to any of them goes over their heads – they see me as weak because I am female.” True words of course: even though she could bring a mountain to its knees in a single blow she was still perceived as weak, or lesser.

”Hm. Yes. I saw that school. It worried me at first, but it seems nice enough. The children coming and going look happy – and the classes seem rather informing.” Of course, she hadn't stepped foot near the school, and had simply used her earth sensing ability to see this.

"Agreed. It is why I built this shop from scratch; took the time to gather the materials from so deep within the earth. It is the only way I can relax while living in the city. No human has ever seen the lower level of this shop. Needless to say, no human ever will. I carved it out myself, it's large enough for me to move around without risking hurting anyone. I made sure to sure to set it deep enough that it isn't a risk to the foundations of the city; deep in solid vein of marble and quartz. Perfectly insulated, solid beyond belief. Freedom, if only underground. Although, for me, that is freedom. As I said, patriarchy is in their nature; or some bastardized form of it. My kind are patriarchal in many ways, but we do not bother with division of the sexes or anything of the sort."

Nibbling on his coal snack a bit more, "They do their best at that school. I doubt most of those children would have had a chance at an education anywhere else. So few are able to pass for human; doubly so those that came from the other lands. The things they do to non-humans... barbaric. There are lands that physically brand anyone non-human in ways that are painfully visible; brands that are physically debilitating. Some of the elder teachers lack use of entire limbs, are missing eyes, things of that nature, due to the marking and the ensuing violence."