vatheon | 23rd Combo

Entry tags:

23rd Combo

Who: Lloyd Irving and Mat Cauthon
Where: Winespring Inn
When: Backdated to 11-24
Style: Either!
Status: Closed

[It's been a while since Lloyd was here. He'd been intending to, but other things kept coming up. Nothing managed to get in the way today, though, nothing happened to make it slip from his mind after the thought came up. He wants to work with metal again, even if it isn't his strongest point. Hopefully Perrin won't mind letting him borrow the forge again.

The blacksmith isn't out there when Lloyd approaches the smithy, though, and the forge looks cold, showing no signs of recent use. Something uneasy settles into his gut when that last part registers, but he dismisses it. Maybe Perrin just had other things to do.

Circling around to the front of the inn, he hesitates for a moment before knocking. Is he supposed to knock on this door? Or go inside and ask? Dammit, he really should have come by this place again sooner. He'll wait for a minute to see if anyone responds. If not...

Well, he'll figure it out from there.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[From where he'd been sitting - to work on plans for his bows - he could hear Lloyd's knocking clearly, but...No one said anything about dropping by, and unless they didn't realize Perrin or Rand had left...He doesn't think anyone would come here. It's possible someone saw the name and recognized it from Emond's Field...But that might mean Nynaeve or Egwene...

Hopefully it's just someone who didn't know Perrin and Rand left.]

Come on in. [He even pushes himself up with his ashandarei so he's standing when whoever it is enters - it might be Moiraine, Thom, any of his family, or maybe a barely remembered childhood friend too after all - no need to be at a possible disadvantage if it was someone who didn't just want to talk. It wouldn't surprise him if whoever it was decided to throw a knife at him.]

[No knives, no childhood friends at the door, no Forsaken or Aes Sedai. Just a teenage boy dressed in red and black. He has two swords hanging from the belts at his waist, but they stay sheathed when Lloyd pushes the door open. The boy scans the room, eyes finally falling on Mat, an expression on his face caught somewhere between questioning and disappointment.]

Hey, um... Is Perrin here?

[His eyes flicker to the ashanderei for only a moment before dismissing it. It's a strange weapon, but his mind is focused on something else. So long as the man isn't brandishing it, it isn't important right now.]

[He eyes those swords for a moment but gives up trying to judge how good they are. He'd never used one - at least he hasn't. He's not sure about those other memories of his. And he doesn't want to go through all of them right now.

He lets out a sigh and pulls on his hat down a bit, leaning on the polearm a bit more. Since he has no idea who Lloyd is...]

Sorry, boy. He went back to our world.

[And Rand'd followed a bit after...

Hopefully he won't get too mad that he's calling him 'boy'.]

[...well, technically he is still a minor. The comment earns a small huff from Lloyd, but otherwise he lets it pass without taking too much offense.]

I'm not that young.

[Then the rest catches up. A flicker of dismay crosses the teen's face.]

So, wait, he's gone? How long ago did he leave?

[Well, that's a lot better than some other people have taken it. Like Olver. And Olver is a lot younger than Lloyd. He sighs again.]

Yeah. [That's actually a good question. How long ago had Perrin left....? Even here he hasn't been paying attention to how many days have past. He scratches his cheek.]

A...month and a half ago? Somewhere around there. We never really payed attention to the days back in our world and I can't tell you what day it was. Didn't seem like the day mattered. [And he wouldn't be able to tell Lloyd what day today is if he asked. ~~Just realized this is technically happening on Mat's birthday. And he doesn't know it~~]

[He might make more of an issue of it if Mat repeats the offense.

For now, though, there's more important things to take his attention.]

Dammit... I wanted- I mean, I'd been hoping...

[But it didn't matter, because Perrin wasn't here to ask, and something about that made a lump stick in Lloyd's throat. He hadn't really gotten a chance to get to know the blacksmith very well, but they'd gotten along well enough. Perrin had seemed to understand Lloyd and what he'd needed at the time.

~~Oops, happy birthday, Mat?~~]

[The boy's reaction is interesting...He tilts his head to see him a bit better and because he's just plain curious.]

Been hoping what? Not sure if Perrin told you, but we grew up together. The three of us, I mean. If you tell me what you wanted, I'll at least be able to guess something close to what Perrin'd say.

[It is true, though he'd have to think about it for a little while. Perrin is a lot...calmer than he is about a lot of things, but he knows the blacksmith well enough from the fragments of Emond's Field and from what'd happened after he finally got free of that bloody dagger.~~Happy birthday indeed.~~]

[When Mat tilts his head, it's easier for Lloyd to get a good look at his face. His eyes widen a little when he realizes that the man is missing an eye, and for a moment he nearly forgets what he'd been about to say.

But the wound looks like it's been healed for a while, and Mat's talking to him again. Lloyd mentally shakes himself, trying to get back to the topic.]

Oh, um, it's just... He let me use his forge a while back. I wanted to borrow it again.

[What's with that look? Wait, he hasn't met this kid before. It's probably just his eye. Funny that he thinks of it as just his eye now. It has been healed for a while and he's gotten used to the difference of light and depth perception.

He raises his eyebrows. This boy really doesn't look like Master Luhhan or even a younger Perrin...]

You know how to use the flaming forge? Perrin let you use his forge?

[He laughs.]

Boy, if he let you use his forge once, he'd let you use it again. Perrin usually doesn't make decisions fast; he thinks things through. He let you use it once - and he obviously didn't kick you out of it - so he'd let you use it again.

[The laughter startles Lloyd, and the first comments don't help. Lloyd almost huffs, almost hunches his shoulders to prepare to defend himself - what's so surprising about him using Perrin's forge? - until Mat goes on.

Oh. It isn't Lloyd that Mat's laughing at. Loosening his shoulders, Lloyd tries to pretend he hadn't been about to take the man's reaction the wrong way.]

You really think so?

[A pause, then he frowns.]

But I still can't ask him. Can I really just use his forge? It gets pretty noisy when I make things. Would the other people who live here care?

[He looks nothing like a blacksmith, okay? His shoulders aren't broad enough.

Other people? He shakes his head, smiling a bit sadly. He'd missed them before he arrived, but he'd had the Band; now he's here without them or the Band.]

Unless someone from our flaming world shows up, it's just me living here. And as long as you don't trash it, he wouldn't mind.

[There's a pause, and he takes out one of his knives, playing with it.]

Just don't use it in the middle of the night. I like my bloody sleep.

[Well, there is a reason why he's not as good a smith as his Dad, but he's stronger than he looks, okay?]

I wouldn't trash it. My Dad wouldn't let me near his tools or his forge if I didn't take care of them.

[Lloyd may not be the cleanest person when it comes to leaving his arts and crafts lying around the room, but when it comes to tools or dangerous work places, he isn't anywhere near so careless.

That last comment earns a small laugh from him. He opens his mouth, about to make a joke that he likes his sleep, too, only to catch himself just in time. Sleep isn't something he's been having an easy time with of late, ever since becoming an angel. Still, though, he shakes his head with a smile.]

I won't. I like having plenty of light to see by. Oh, um, I'm Lloyd.

[He starts to hold his hand out, then hesitates. Uh... knife in Mat's hand. Should he try to shake hands?]

[He'll...believe that when he sees it. Perrin and Master Luhhan are both really broad, and they're the only blacksmiths he's ever known. He doesn't want to try sorting through all the other memories to see if any of the poor fools the Eelfinn had given him memories of had met not-broad blacksmiths.

He gives a half-smile, tucking away the knife.]

Good. Perrin'd kill me if I'd let someone trash his forge. I'm Mat.

[He'd probably just ban Lloyd from the forge for a while if he's woken up by it though... And he'll extend his now empty hand for that handshake. Really, it'd be interesting to see what sorts of calluses this boy - Lloyd - has. He uses swords and is apparently a training blacksmith. He might be able to tell how long the boy's been using those swords!]

[Despite Lloyd's thin and wiry build, his grip is firm and strong when he reaches out to accept Mat's hand. He definitely has calluses, from years of wielding his swords, and carving wood and stone, but it's been more than a year since he really worked in a forge, even in training. Any evidence of that has greatly faded.

Lloyd notes the strength of Mat's own grip, and somewhere in the back of his mind he guesses that the older man is probably pretty good in a fight.

His smile widens a little bit.]

Thanks, Mat. I really appreciate this. So, um... Should I let you know whenever I'm going to use the forge? Or just go in?

[Well, that's interesting. Seems he can use those swords - and fairly well, at the very least. He waves the empty hand dismissively.]

Just go in. It's not mine and I never really go in there, unless I'm making sure someone didn't use it. Let me know if you're going to go anywhere else in the Winespring though, apart from this room.

[So he can make sure he doesn't wander into one of their rooms. He doesn't want to have to explain anything Lloyd might find.]

I shouldn't need to, unless I need to find you, but then I'd just knock on your door.

[Briefly, though, the thought crosses his mind that it would be nice to live someplace like this, where he'd have access to plenty of room and a forge. He could do all sorts of crafts over here...

The thought slips away when he lets go of Mat's hand. He's been given permission to use the forge. That's good enough for now. The smile doesn't leave his face. He's been looking forward to this all day.]

I guess I'll go get to work then. If you need anything, or if you need me to stop, just tell me.

Good. [That at least will make it so even if one of the Forsaken or someone else who wants to kill him or one of the other two, Lloyd might not get hurt.

Which is all for the good, really. With Rand gone, there isn't really a way to trap them anymore - not with them being able to come back after being killed. Besides, that nurse said there'd be penalties for killing and being killed now.]

Alright. Go do whatever it is you needed the forge for.

[He knows that you can make weapons, but you can do other things in forges too. And he has no idea what Lloyd was going to do - and doesn't really care - so that's that.]

[Lloyd isn't entirely sure what he's going to do either, but he remembers how good it felt to work the forge before. Maybe he'll work on a necklace piece, or one of the tools that Perrin had been making. Maybe he'll even start working on making some of the joins and braces he'll need for his boat. He'll know when he picks up the hammer what feels right for him to make.

With a nod, he steps back out of the inn, heading for the smithy.

Most of all, he's just glad to have something to do with his hands.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

23rd Combo

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

End~