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Post by bookity101 on Jun 17, 2009 21:54:02 GMT -5
Luxe smiled at the kit and ruffled his ears. “I’m sure Tano can do that, Caden.” Luxe looked up, raising one eyebrow in question to the fox tanner, Tano nodded with a small smile to the both of them, and bent his head again, working quickly to finish the band.
About two minutes later, Tano held up the leather band for Caden to look at and put on his neck. “Here you go laddy, this should serve you well,” Tano smiled, adding “It might even save your neck one day laddie.”
((Sorry really short))
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Post by Ladorak on Jun 18, 2009 12:18:06 GMT -5
Caden didn't mind the ruffling of the ears, though he inwardly saw it as unnecessary. In his eyes he wasn't a completely young kit anymore. He had never received such signs of affection outside of Galdea, and so receiving it now was just a bit.....odd for him, but he did not speak of it with Luxe.
Besides his band was ready at any rate, and the kit eagerly took in to his paws. He looked at it, noticing his name etched into the leather for what would be all time he hoped. Slipping it over his snout and then up and down over his head and past his large ears, the marten got it snugly around his neck, the band resting on the collarbone and coming up to form a shielf of sorts for a section of his throat.
Taking a moment to look down at it, Caden only wished he had a mirror so that he could see himself and what the green looked like around his neck, but he was sure Luxe had one back at his place. He could wait. It did seem to be a fine new addition to him now; something that belonged to him and only him. It made him unique....made him stand out.
"Right.....now we get to make those name tags....right?" He asked the blacksmith stoat as he shifted his pink eyes up to him.
((You can auto Caden walking alongside Luxe back to the house if you want, unless you want to talk on the way.))
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Post by bookity101 on Jun 20, 2009 21:24:56 GMT -5
Luxe watched Caden put the band, his own face breaking into a grin as did. After Caden asked about the tags he nodded, moving towards the tanners counter, where Tano was busily cleaned up, and laid a few shillings on the table, then leaned over, lowering his voice as he did “If that’s not enough, I’ll take care of when I come in for that shipment.” Tano simply nodded his head and went on cleaning up the counter.
Luxe led the way out the door, crossing the street to his shop. He held the door for Caden, then followed behind him, flipping the sign so it said ‘closed for the day’ so no one would walk in with an order while he was busy with Caden.
Once Luxe entered the shop, he immediately wlaked to the back wall, grabbing two heavy leather aprons from their hangers. One he threw around his neck, tying it deftly with one paw as he considered the other one. He wanted to test the kits reflexes, but the heavy apron might be hard to catch., it was made of a pretty thick leather. Still he threw it over his head towards the kit. “Here Caden, put this on, I don’t want Jal and Jis Fugate getting mad at me for you getting all burnt up while you help me make these plates.”
Luxe headed to the other side of the room, grabbing some other tools from off the wall, tossing some gently at the the table in the room, others he shoved under an arm. Dumping everything on the bench in front of the forge, then moved over to a large safe in the wall, he carefully shielded the combination from being seen from the window, though Caden was most likely able to see him fiddle with the gears. The thing was just a giant puzzle box that he had Gaylor had put together to keep the more precious metals safe from anybeast who might take a look-see around the shop.
After he pulled it open and snagged the lump of metal that was the gold he would be using with Caden. He tested the weight in his paws, then nodded. He glanced over his shoulder at Caden, then spun around quickly, calling out as he did, “Caden here, catch this!” He called a bit loudly, not wanting to hurt him again, and he had thrown it pretty softly, so, even if Caden missed, it wouldn’t hurt him.
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Post by Ladorak on Jun 21, 2009 11:42:27 GMT -5
Caden headed across the street and back to the blacksmith's. This was certainly a nice shop that Luxe had set up here. It was new in town from what Caden had heard, and he remembered the day that Luxe had come to town several months ago now. That was when he had seen Ladorak kill a beast....and had started to gain respect for him.
He had to think fast though as a heavy leather apron was tossed at him. The marten's reflexes were good, thanks to his training under Helandria. The apron though was heavy, and it partly hit the ground as Caden's arms buckled a bit, but he still held it firmly within his paws. He'd have to start working out like Ladorak...though in reality Caden wasn't very weak for his age. He was pretty strong for a soon to be 12 year old kit, though of course any normal adult could probably overpower him with ease.
Taking it, he began to tie it around himself as he watched Luxe open a safe. Yes.....this would probably be best that his white fur wasn't singed during any work they were doing. He wondered at the combination of this safe and what was inside as the dials were twisted and the thing opened up. Gold! There was gold in there! He had only seen it on a few rare occasions now! And once again he had to think fast.
Catching deftly in his two paws, the albino stared down at it. "Wow...." he said. "Is this pure?" he asked. He didn't know that pure gold wasn't the best for molding into anything as it was too soft. It needed to be mixed with some other metal in order to gain some strength. "What do we do?" he asked, his pink eyes becoming a bit more eager now at the thought of working with this metal in order to craft those tags he had seen on Luxe's own band. Maybe it wasn't SO bad living here after all.....
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Post by bookity101 on Jul 5, 2009 20:32:02 GMT -5
Luxe grinned at the kits reflexes, glad that Caden had a good reaction time. He grinned at Caden’s two questions. “First, yes, that lump is about 90% pure, Second,” He went on, turning to grab another lump of metal this time keeping it in his own paws, as it was much bulkier than the gold lump. “Second, we mix this bronze…” He said swinging the lump in his paw, “… into the gold so its more sturdy.” Luxe took the gold from the kit and clamped a vice-like paw around it, squeezing it hard. When he opened his paw again, there were distinct marks were his claws had dug into the gold, pretty deeply too.
Luxe turned away from the kit again, this time to grab a pair of tongs and a heavy pair of leather gloves, throwing the gloves on his own paws, and placing the bronze on the burning coals, he reached out with on paw to grab the bellows, when he remembered that he wasn’t alone. Shaking his head for forgetting Caden , for the second time that day. He turned, this time sizing the kit up and down for height. Nodding his head, he moved over to grab a stool from the corner of the shop. Placing it on the ground by the bellows, that had been built for someone of Luxe’s size, not Cadens. He turned back towards Caden, motioning with one paw to him. “Over here bud, I’ll show you how to work the bellows.”
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Post by Ladorak on Jul 6, 2009 12:22:47 GMT -5
Caden trotted over, trying to pull the apron up a bit so that he didn't trip over it. It was heavy and a few sizes too big, but he didn't let it trip him up. He climbed atop the wooden stool and stood in front of the giant bellows. He was vaguely familiar with this thing. It was used for stoking the fires as he understood it, though by stoking all he understood was that it kept the fire going.
"So I just push these in? How often do I do it? Continuously?" the marten kit asked, shooting his questions off rapidly. He grabbed hold of the thick, rounded wood pawdles, but did not push down. It looked sort of like an accordion, which Caden WAS familiar with, as he had seen street performers before. There were so many bigger things here than back home. Everything in Galdea, if not bigger, seemed to be more in numbers and frequency. Their Navy, according to Ladorak, was gigantic, being close to 200 warships or some such thing. The Navy was of interest to Caden, but he knew little of life at sea or what ship to ship combat was really like.
"So uh.....I know you only just moved here like me....but what do you think about Ladorak?" Caden asked, standing on the stool patiently for instructions. He figured he'd throw that one out there. Get another beast's perspective on his caretaker.
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Post by bookity101 on Jul 7, 2009 19:24:09 GMT -5
Luxe addressed the first couple of questions first, “Well, yes you just push on these, slowly , and yes you push them continuously.” He smiled at the rapid fire question, as he adjusted Caden’s hold on them, spreading them a little farther apart.
Luxe moved to the front of the forge, pawing the bronze into the tongs, then placed it in the fire to soften. He seemed to be lost in thought about what he was doing, pausing for a long time, watching the bronze soften, occasionally reaching out a paw to give the bellows an extra hard push, not that Caden was doing a bad job, it was just that at that moment, the fire needed some extra heat.
Luxe remained silent, pondering how to respond to the last question on Caden’s list. Almost 10 minutes had passed before Luxe took a breath to respond.
“Jal Fugate?” He paused again, not sure of what he was going to say, “I think he has a compulsion to help those in need,” he said remembering the time that Ladorak had charged out to save a snoring blacksmith, “is a very fair beast,” this time he recalled the fact that Ladorak had resisted the temptation, as any parent figure would, to brain Luxe after he broke Caden’s forelimb, “and I think he has a deep respect for weapons and fighting in general, which is very rare in anybeast, He also would seem to be a good commander.... Someone that anybeast would be proud to call father” He finished, his voice growing quieter on the last thought as he suspected that was one of the reasons Caden had asked in the first place. After a few moments, he turned his eyes from the hunk of bronze in from of him. “Why do you ask Caden?”
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Post by Ladorak on Jul 7, 2009 21:24:23 GMT -5
For awhile....Luxe said nothing. It was a long interval, about ten minutes, and Caden wondered if Luxe had not heard him at first. That was strange....but Caden didn't speak up. He kept to his task, staring into the fire, his pink orbs reflecting the glow of the coals and occasionally the leaping flames if they were stoked just right. What was going on through the kit's mind? Well....nothing.....it was as if he were entranced by those dancing flames before him, and he was struggling with his own inner identity and purpose. Who was he.....how would he fit in here?
Caden had been taught to be strong, to take what he wanted and show mercy to no beast...but that....was that really the way to live? Ladorak and Helandria were two contrasts in parenthood, as different as dark was from light. How could he accept Ladorak when he'd been raised by Helandria to look out for himself...and yet she was dead now.....and Ladorak presented a very different way of bringing him up. He was teaching that showing beasts respect would get him further in life, and that while defending himself was still essential, it was oftentimes better to negotiate first than to fight. Also there was the whole thing about Ladorak....he never wanted to take credit for anything he did.....in fact to Caden, he almost seemed to be weak because he was just that modest. And yet....despite all that....Ladorak commanded a strange sort of respect too that Caden had never fully been able to shake off of him.
And then Luxe spoke. Caden nodded at some parts, agreeing with most of it. "Yeah...." he said, after Luxe mentioned the fair part. Ladorak would not heavily discipline Caden, even when he broke rules in Ladorak's house. He WAS fair......not a driver like Helandria had been. And then....surprisingly.....Luxe brought up the fact that anybeast would be proud to call Ladorak their father. This left Caden with a feeling like his stomach was dropping out of him and onto the floor, like he was suddenly free-falling....free-falling into some abyss. Why....why had he asked? That was what the blacksmith was asking him now.
He was.....trying to remember.....trying to remember his mother.....but it was just so vague.....and then there was Helandria....and she was dead...and now Ladorak. Why had he acted so cruel towards Ladorak at first? Why was he angry? Was it because he had been confused....upset that he was leaving his home? Upset because he didn't really have any parents? Was Ladorak.....someone he COULD call father? Father...he had never known a father in his life.....was Ladorak somebeast he could call that? It was rather much for the marten kit to comprehend.
He sniffled. Did he have a home here? The gravity of that...of having a REAL home....it suddenly crushed him, like a weight, and his snout sniffled again, this time tears springing up into his pink eyes, and oddly enough, Caden began crying, something he rarely did. His body convulsed a bit as he sobbed, and he held his paws up to his eyes in order to try and wipe the tears away....but it was a bit too much for him. He staggered off the stool......backing up against the wall, and sliding down into a sitting position. He just let his emotions burst out, and he cried in such a manner that he couldn't remember the last time he had done something like this. He wanted to reject it at first....but Ladorak and Jayd were rather nice....and like it or not he did look up to Ladorak....and maybe....just maybe.....this would be "home" for him.
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Post by bookity101 on Jul 7, 2009 22:00:07 GMT -5
Luxe moved slowly to Caden's side, after placing the heated bronze on the workbench and removing his gloves. He too sank down the wall not touching Caden, but sitting close enough to him that he could if he needed to. After a few minutes of crying Luxe began to talk, gently so he wouldn't give the kit a start.
"You know Caden," He said resting his head back on the cool smithy wall. "I used to be a lot like you were a couple weeks ago, at the party. Grabbing onto everything becuase that was I had been taught." He spoke slowly just a sentence or two at a time. "One of my earliest memories is of my father beating me for loosing.. something, I can't even remember what it was now." Luxe paused again, hopeing that he wasnt talking out of turn. "After my dad left, I had to leave as well, Mom couldnt feed all of us, so I ran away to the city to get a job," He grinned here, reaching up to rub his chin. "Thats were I learned blacksmithing, and had most of my bad habits worked out." Luxe shook his head chuckling to himself "I remember one time when my attitude got my into a corner. It was a fight seven to one, well maybe seven to two, me and my big mouth." He shook his head again "I still hold that I woulda whupped them if they didn't grab those crowbars."
Luxe paused again, then shifted so he was facing the kit more directly. "Gaylor Digun became the father figure in my life, taught me the stuff that my birth father should've." Luxe reached out, placing his work roughened paw on the kits shoulder, "Who knows, maybe Ladorak Fugate can be the beast who teaches you the ropes, since your birth father can't." Luxe paused a moment, not sure how that last bit came out, then he added "Though I'm sure he wanted to."
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Post by Ladorak on Jul 8, 2009 14:16:07 GMT -5
Caden buried his snout into his arms, ashamed to be seen crying in front of Luxe. Helandria had told him never to let anybeast see you do it....it was a sign of weakness according to her and could be exploited by others...and though he wasn't sure if he believed that now, he battled fiercely with himself in order to contain his emotions and keep them from spilling out as they were now. He HAD to control himself! He wasn't weak.....he didn't need to cry!
Luxe was talking to him now, explaining his background a bit. He had grown up it seemed without too much of a father showing him the ropes either, just as Ladorak had done. Just as Caden was doing now. Why were they all so similar? They shared a very disconcerting theme. With Caden at least...and Ladorak...and Luxe....they all lacked parents. Did Caden want to survive on his own....without Ladorak's help....or did he want to experience growing up with parent like figures in his life?
It was extremely hard for the kit to sort out, and he was doing his best. He WANTED to prove to others he could survive just fine on his own. He could beat up other kits and take what he wanted....he could bloody snouts and get his way....but yet....could he REALLY survive like that? Where would he go? He was stuck on an island. Stow away back home? But what did he really have back there? Nothing....he had nothing. Dead parents, dead guardian....no place to live. Here he at LEAST had a roof over his head, and a prospect of working aboard a warship....something he had always secretly wanted to do but had never dared breathe to Helandria. He had two stoats that took care of him.....but it was just such a contrast to what he had been raised to believe! Who was right!? The reality he'd always known...or Ladorak's?
Sniffling again, he raised his head after Luxe finished speaking. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve, trying desperately to get rid of the tears. Ladorak.....by Helandria's definition...he should be "weak" and unable to help others and yet....he was strong...and he commanded a sort of respect that even Caden's defiance had grown to like. "I know.......it's just....going to take some getting used to." He said, looking down at the floor and furrowing his brow. "It's just.....I have to get used to living with a 'family.' Ladorak married Jayd...and he told me that Jayd is expecting a kit so.....I've never really......had an environment like that."
He stood up, not wanting to interrupt the process of crafting his tags. "Sorry.....I don't normally do that." he said, shaking his head. He went back over to the bellows. "Ladorak....he's so different from Helandria...and I'd LIKE to accept him as a...a....." he pushed on the bellows after climbing onto the stool. "A father...." he finally said, the word feeling so strange to him, as if it had come from another language. "It's just going to take time....I have to judge for myself what I want I guess...." which right now the marten had absolutely no idea. It was such a desire within him to HAVE a father in his life...maybe even a family....MAYBE. But at the same time he wanted to seem self-reliant and self-assured to those around him. Quite a tizz the kit was in right now. But he'd give it time. That's all he could do. Give it time.
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