005

[ex_wolfbrother668]

Who: Perrin and anyone!
Where: the forge at the Winespring
When: Afternoon/Evening
Style: I'll match.
Status: Open!

They've settled in here, made the best of a strange situation, but Perrin still feels out of sorts with himself. Maybe it's that feeling of leaving so many things at home undone, of not knowing even if his efforts in the wolf dream had been successful. Maybe it's feeling incomplete himself, with Faile not here beside him. He misses her. She'd probably know what to do here.

But Perrin is a blacksmith, and the best way he's found to feel even a little at rights with himself is to work the forge. That's what the latter portion of the day finds him doing, on into the evening. The familiar weight of the hammer in his hand, the steady pounding of metal against metal, the heat of the fire.

Any who come to investigate won't find him making weapons like one might expect. Instead he's mostly forging tools, either things they could use around the Winespring or which could be sold to the locals. It's not difficult work, but it's absorbing, and comforting.

Comments

[redcladidealist]

In the aftermath of Lloyd's kidnapping and attack, the teen had been keeping himself indoors while the wounds on his soul tried to heal. He can only do that for so long, though, before restlessness begins to sink in. Despite trauma and fear, he needs to get out.

He doesn't bother to ask anyone, beginning to feel vaguely smothered. He appreciates and is grateful for everything they've done, but he feels like he needs to do this by himself. He leaves a note on his pillow so no one will worry, then quietly slips out. He doesn't really have a plan or a destination. He just lets his feet wander, trying to get used to being outside again. Lost in thought, he doesn't notice where he is until the familiar ring of a hammer hitting an anvil snatches his attention away from his thoughts.

A hammer. He knows the sounds of a smithy. He hasn't heard those sounds since he was last at home, but he's grown up with those sounds since he was three. There's no way he could mistake them for anything else.

Interest and curiosity piqued, he follows the sounds to their source. Sure enough, there's a man working a forge. Despite the fact that he's way too tall to be a dwarf, he definitely has the burly build that can only be gained from years beating metal into shape. For now, Lloyd keeps silent, not wanting to interrupt, but he's definitely watching with more than clear interest, waiting for the other to stop.

[ex_wolfbrother668]

Perrin notices his new audience of course--he could smell him before he came into sight--but he doesn't give any sign of it at first. There's a definite interest in the other's scent, that tells him the craft was what drew him. He won't mind waiting until Perrin reaches a stopping point.

He continues to work the piece of metal on his anvil, shaping it, returning it once to the coals, and then after a little while longer he's satisfied, and tranfers the piece to the quenching barrel nearby.

It's only then that he glances up at Lloyd, and gives him a quiet nod in greeting.

[redcladidealist]

That's all the signal Lloyd needs that now's as good a time as any to approach. Smiling, he steps closer, not minding the heat from the forge. "I didn't know we had a smithy here." He'd looked a few times, but never found anything. Had he somehow overlooked this area, or...? He looks around the structure with interest, trying to get a feel for its age. Everything he sees, from the wood that isn't yet dark with age to the unweathered stone, seems to suggest that it's relatively new, suggesting a different explanation. "Did you build this place?"

[ex_wolfbrother668]

Perrin nods, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"It's been finished perhaps a month, after the house." He gestures to the main building of the Winespring, whose back faces the forge.

[redcladidealist]

"You did really good." Granted, he's not a master carpenter or mason by any stretch of the words, but he'd done a little work with both, so he felt like he could judge. Even beyond that, it's impressive that someone built a whole house and forge.

That isn't really what he's interested in, though. His eyes drift back to the forge area, and he gestures towards the pieces that Perrin's been working on. "My Dad's a smith. He taught me some of what he knows. Mind if I take a look?"

[ex_wolfbrother668]

"My friends helped." Which, if you know what Rand is capable of, might make it a little less impressive. Although Mat's complaints about his using the Power meant they'd still built the better part of it with their own hands.

"Go ahead," he says in response to Lloyd's question. There isn't much of note to be seen--garden and kitchen tools that haven't yet been fitted to handles. But even so, someone with an eye for it can tell it's good work.

[redcladidealist]

Lloyd's worked with magic to help build things before, back when Link had wanted a house in the forest, so even knowing what kind of help Perrin had had wouldn't dampen his appreciation for the work that had obviously gone into building the Winespring Inn. Good work is still good work, as far as he's concerned, no matter how it was done.

He lifts a spade from the table where the unfinished pieces have been placed and turns it over in his hands. Everyday tools are actually things he's seen more of, since there hadn't been much demand for weapons in Iselia, the only town close enough by to really provide much business for Dirk. Running his fingers along its edge, then testing its strength and resistance to flexing, it doesn't take him long to come to the conclusion that even his Dad would consider it a piece well made. "You're pretty good."

Suddenly feeling homesick, he sets the spade back down. "Do you do a lot of work here?"

[ex_wolfbrother668]

It was the same in Emond's Field, when he'd been apprenticed to Master Luhhan. There had been some requests from merchants' guards and the like, but farmers hadn't had much use for weapons. Not in those days.

"More than I had opportunity for back home." He studies the boy's face for a moment, though as usual it's his scent that's more telling. "Do you want to try your hand?"

[redcladidealist]

Lloyd figures some of his feelings must have shown on his face, because those are exactly the words he'd wanted to hear. His face lights up a little, though he still hesitates.

"You don't mind?" he asks. "I'm not as good as my Dad, and it's been a while since I did anything with metal." The implication being that he might ruin whatever he tried.

[ex_wolfbrother668]

"I don't mind." Perrin motions for Lloyd to join him. "Sometimes you just need to feel that you're doing something."

He doesn't know what might be on the boy's mind, but he's been here long enough to be sure there's something for him to work through. For Perrin, working metal has always helped him sort through his thoughts at the same time.

[redcladidealist]

Feel that he's doing something... It feels like it's been forever since he's done something besides staying in his room wrapped up in blankets, trying to come to terms with what happened to him. He's never been someone to like sitting still for long, but that's exactly what he's been doing for more than a week. Getting out of the house was something, at least, but this? This is an offer to do something with his hands, to make something and do something normal again. He smiles, genuinely grateful, as he joins Perrin next to the forge.

"I'm Lloyd," he says. Perrin seems familiar, like maybe they've met before, but he can't pin down where or put a name to his face. "And... thanks." He's not sure he can express how much he means that, but he hopes the smith can hear it in his voice.

Turning his attention to the task at hand, Lloyd lets his eyes go over the smithy again, this time focusing on what tools Perrin has and what stock iron is available. He picks up one hammer, getting a feel for it, then sets it down and picks up another. Once he's picked out a hammer that feels right, he selects a bar of iron.

What should he make?

He casts a questioning glance at Perrin. "Are there any orders you're working on right now?"

[ex_wolfbrother668]

"Perrin," he replies. "I think we met when I first arrived." Admittedly he had been more than a little disoriented then, and he remembers the boy's scent more than his appearance or his voice, but he's fairly certain it's the same person.

He watches quietly as Lloyd familiarizes himself with everything. He's reminded of the smith in Tear, who'd let him work in place of his apprentices, and given him the hammer Lloyd's chosen to use. It had been something familiar in the midst of an adventure he'd never asked for. It's maybe a little ironic that this place has let him come back to something he considers normal.

"Just a few left," he says in response to Lloyd's question, and moves to pull out the orders he hasn't started. There's still work to be done on some others, but he thinks Lloyd would rather start at the beginning, and own the whole process.

[redcladidealist]

It doesn't help that at the time they met, Perrin was definitely looking worse for wear. The name helps Lloyd connect a memory to his face, though, and he blinks in surprise.

"Oh, right! Perrin! I remember you now." A quick once-over confirms that there's no longer any sign of blood or injuries, prompting a smile from Lloyd. "You look like you're doing better."

Considering for a moment the range of tools Perrin seems to have been working on, Lloyd soon picks up a bar of stock iron and sets it in the coals of the forge. Maybe a spade or a large serving spoon would be good to start with for now, something that wouldn't be ruined if he didn't have the balance right.

Oh, right. He should probably work the bellows to get the coals back up to a good temperature. It probably shows that he's pretty rusty at remembering the order he's supposed to do all this in.

"It's been a few months, right?"