You Again? [Closed / Saber]

[kittygrey]

Ringing the Bell

Tailor shop, Market, Artisan, a bar.. How long was it going to take Ame before she found a blacksmith shop?! She let out a long sigh and continued to search. It was proving a hard task to find such a thing as someone who could make her a staff. She just had to have a metal staff, right? Right! Sure, the wooden ones were alright, until they started giving the user splinters, or broke apart after a few hits. Neither of those had actually happened to Ame, but she was a level fifty one using a starter staff. She definitely needed a new one. It proved a tiresome thing to want to fight high level monsters when your staff was a beginners weapon. She shook her head at the thought and continued her search. She would find one, and that was the end of it! "My lady, are you alright?" Ame jumped and looked down, for a moment, in her search, she forgot that her Myobu Kitsune was at her feet and her eyes and voice showed that she was worried. She stopped for a moment and patted Mamori on the head. "I'm sorry Mamori, yes, I'm alright, just having a hard time finding a blacksmith is all." She took her hand away and continued to walk a head, but Mamori nuzzled at her leg. "A blacksmith is one who uses metal, right? Well, follow me, I can smell a fairly large quantity of it around the corner." Ame nodded to the fox and watched with wide eyes as she darted away, then picked up her own feet and followed her.

Soon, Ame found herself staring up at the blacksmiths shop. It looked to be abandoned and the walls seemed to be crumbling apart. She tilted her head, looking up at the insignia above the door. "Mamori, this place looks abandoned.." She looked down at her fox and her fox looked up at the building as well. "It does look like that, doesn't it. But inside, I smell freshly cut metal, Lady Ame. This is definitely someones shop.." The tone of her voice was weary, just as Ame's had been but even still, she shrugged as she opened the door and walked in. It was deserted. "Uhm, Hello?" She called out, but heard nothing. She walked into the place, which needed a serious dusting and looked over to a shelf full of books. She eyes the sign that said "do not leave with any books" and tilted her head. Okay, so, maybe it wasn't completely deserted, but who could own the strange, dusted coffin shop that she stood in? She shook her head and walked over to a small table with paper on it. There was an order form placed there and she sat down, using the pen placed beside it. She sighed and looked carefully at the list of things it asked. It read, and she answered;
Name: Kitty
Level: 51
Class: Cleric
Weapon/ Armor: Weapon, Staff, Something.. cute?
Crafting/ Research Item: N/A

She looked down at her work with a tilted head. She definitely could have done some more explaining as, something cute was rather simple, but, that's what she wanted and if she went any more into detail, she would have written out many different things, as she really wasn't sure what she wanted. Blue, silver, white, pink? She did want it to match her new armor that she had ordered, but whether or not it would happen, she would never know. All she knew was that she wanted a staff and she wanted it to be cute. She sighed and shrugged as she stood up. "I suppose that's alright.." She made her lips into a hard line and shrugged. It would have to be. She went back to the door and opened it. "Mamori, come on!" She waited a few moments, but the fox was no where to be scene. She tilted her head and closed the door, hearing the bell ring for a second time, she headed into the shop once more to look for her fox who she found sitting by the table still. "Come, Mamori, we're leaving." Mamori said nothing as she was transfixed on the ceiling. Was she worried about it falling. "Mamori?" Ame touched her foxes head and the fox looked up and whispered to her. "There's someone here." Ame turned her head and sunk down to her fox, hugging her, waiting for whoever, or whatever was about to jump out at them.

- Words -
756

- Tags -
Saber

- Skills Used -
---

- Notes -
---

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

“GODS BE DAMNED!” Saber cursed loudly, throwing the messy piece of a failed crafting attempt across the library. The object soared for several seconds, but Saber didn’t care. After he threw it, the man slammed his fists down onto his anvil and snarled, staring at the black object that he used as a hammer board. The object he threw was a mangled piece of iron, and it actually got some distance. It may have been due to Saber’s strength stat, but the hunk of metal, which weight around eight pounds, flew across the library and slammed itself into the wall on the opposing side of the room. The finely chiseled rock sparked upon impact, and the metal piece bounced for several feet before coming to a loud standstill. Saber, on the other hand, was no frozen in place.

The Blacksmith stood there, leaning over the anvil with an agitated emotion plastered across his face. He was just trying to make a simple set of tools that he could use to enhance his ability to craft complex objects. So why was it so damn difficult? A wrench should only have taken him three hours to make, and he had started this morning. Bolts, nuts, screws, and even nails should have taken him half of the three hours it was taking him to make the stupid wrench, and not a single one of those was complete either. Was this game really that annoying? Or was he just missing something? Saber honestly couldn’t tell which one it was, but it sure as hell was pissing him off. The Blacksmith was on the verge of going on a rampage in his forge, but the only thing holding him back was the understanding that he could get it. If he just took one more second, one more try, he could make the tool…

Ching.. Or not.

The sound of bells rang down into the underground Library and caused the annoyed Elf to close his eyes. He breathed deeply and forced himself to calm down, letting the built up aggression seep from his flaring nostrils and his lips. The man dug his fingers into the metal of the anvil and clenched his teeth, letting the angered thoughts fill and cloud his mind. As it all built up, he inhaled, letting the aged air of the library around him fill his chest. His body lifted, his hands came off the anvil, and his back straightened. Everything in the last six hours came to its breaking point in his mind. It was as if a war had ravaged his soul…

One second, two second, three second, four…
Exhale…
One second, two second, three second, four…

The instant he let all of the built up tension in his chest and body go, his mind was wiped and cleansed of all which haunted it. Saber still felt the heat in his cheeks and his body still dripped sweat from the work he had been doing, but the thoughts of murdering a thousand people to ease his internal turmoil were gone. He was now much more relaxed, and his body felt just a little lighter. His shoulders still were tense, as the weight of the world still seemed to teeter on them, but he was fairly calm otherwise. With that in mind, he returned to his worktable and picked up the small towel he had smartly placed there before working, for the first time. He used that towel to clean up much of the sweat and soot off his face and brushed the ashes from the forge off his t-shirt. Today, he didn’t plan on going anywhere so he dressed light. His armory was on the table in the middle of the library, along with much of his heavier garments. Today Saber only wore his skin-tight t-shirt and his slick pants. Unlike the usual ragged pants, the puffy, ragged, and sad excuse for a shirt, his extremely aged and battle-worn cloak, and his scarf, Saber looked completely different in the mirror he had picked up in his travels. Though, it made him smile a little. For once, he wasn’t a murderer or a killer; he was just a teenager. That single thought made him smile again.

Yet, that smile was washed away as he headed towards the staircase in the wall. As he reached it, he looked down towards his left. On the floor, the jagged piece of a failed experiment sat there, as if it was mocking him. But, due to that mocking, it would stay there for now. Saber pushed the metal out of his view and headed up the stairs. As he took a few steps, he heard the bells on the door chime again which simulated that the person had left. Essentially, Saber was now safe to come out and see what request they had. It had been a few days since he had crafted something for somebody so this would be a good change of pace for him. Honestly, it would probably also cause him to make his own armory. His low level crafts needed a good update. He was nearing the level cap and was still strutting around with level ten swords, level five throwing knives, and… and not his dagger. That’s right, that thing was still missing in action.

A heavy sigh escaped Saber’s lips as he reached his hidden door and the man pulled the chain to his left, releasing the lock in the stone. Then, he tensed up his body and firmly pushed on the heavy door. Now that he thought about it, that door had to weigh almost a freaking ton. It made him strain every time he pushed it open, and it always opened with a loud thud. The man grunted and groaned as he pushed, forcing the thick layer of solid stone to move out of his way and didn’t stop pushing until the heavy and insanely strong hinges fought back, causing him to stop. Saber let out a heave of air and dropped his head, shutting his eyes out of annoyed fatigue for a moment. If it wasn’t for all the training he went through both as a child, when he was at college, and during this game, moving that door would be impossible.

Still, that was a good thing. The weight of the door would keep people out, and that would mean that Saber’s underground library would be kept a se---

“Oh no…” Saber turned around to see the last person he ever wanted to see in his store at the moment he opened his secret door. The absolute last person on the face of the planet and in the known universe, was standing on the other side of the table he used as a sort of a “check in” for players to use. Yes, it was the damned Blonde-Haired fox named Kittygrey, the woman whom had disturbed him after a long training session and had tagged along during a raid. Yes, that same woman, was now in his store the instant he opened the door to his secret cavern.

Shit.

“You… You’re not suppo-… Get out. Right now.” As the realization hit him like a train, Saber reached to his hi---Oh crap. As Saber reached for his swords which he was going to use to threaten the woman, he remembered that they were down the stairs and on the large stone table. The Assassin’s lips pulled into a tight line and his hands curled into fists. Then, his eyes looked at the book; her name was in it. Saber looked up at the woman after seeing her name and his lips pushed against each other even more. Did she just trick him? No, she probably wasn’t smart enough for that.

And that was when he saw the fox at her feet. Instantly, all of his attention was put on that fox. All of the anger and hatred he had pushed out of his mind before now was directed towards that tiny, little, stupid, furry neeping thing that was in the middle of his damned building. He was going to kill i—No. Saber was going to hang that thing up by its feet, shave its fur so he could make a coat out of it, and then skin it alive while shaking salt into the exposed wounds. Then, he would slowly carve its limbs off until it was just a squealing subtle in the middle of his libra—

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Saber raised his eyes from the fox and stared at the other one, Kitty. His lips relaxed and the man cleared his mind very quickly, using a slow and steady breathing rate to do so. This was bad.

“I will make your request, but you will have to leave, and if you speak of this then I cannot guarantee your mental safety.” Yes, mental safety. Not physical safety as Kitty’s avatar would regenerate and heal after damage was done to it. However, with the things Saber was now considering; this Foxtail would not get out with a mind in one piece, should she talk that is.

: Post Title :
-Template-

: Word Count :
1562

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :

Saber, kittygrey

: Notes :
disbitchagain

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[kittygrey]

An Unexpected Sight

Well, this was a surprise, no, really, it was.. Ame, kneeling on the ground, let go of Mamori and shuffled around, hearing none other than the lone Assassin, Saber's voice. She found her eyes snaking their way up him, taking in his appearance. An unexpected sight indeed. She started off at his feet, sliding her gaze over his pants and then pausing a moment to stare at his body through his tight shirt. She was happy that this wasn't an anime, as she would be nose bleeding all over the place at the sight. She then forced herself to tear her eyes away from his chest and meet his eyes. One minute.. not even a minute and he was already telling her to get out. She felt her hand slink to the floor as her head dropped after she watched him reach to his side. He already wanting to kill her?! Wai universe?! Waaiii?! She pushed herself to her feet, making it seem as though she wasn't cursing her luck, even though she was. It wasn't even that he hated her or anything, or she hoped not anyways, but he definitely didn't want her around him and she knew it, but clearly, the universe had other plans for the pretty fox tail. Why had it let her see him like that? Even the grimace on his face made her ache at the sight of him. He didn't look like the assassin she knew, no, now he looked like a regular person, but not just regular. The sight attracted her more to him. Of course it would though.. How could she be attracted to him while he was covered up from head to toe, and not when he was.. Well, like he was. The sight was too much. She wished she had never walked through those doors, or if she had, that Mamori had followed her out. Her fox had led her here, and she wouldn't question that, because she knew, but why hadn't she come when she had called her? 'Because you need to tame her further, clearly..' The voice in her mind was cruel, and she pushed it away. She was going at her own pace, but perhaps she could bump it up a notch.

Ame watched as Saber first, looked to the book, then shifted his gaze to Mamori. She looked down at her and the fox must have felt it because she looked up at the same moment. "Ame-" She push her finger to her lips, tell Mamori not to speak, then shuffled her feet to cover her from his gaze. Well, now she knew sort of how he felt. Wanting to protect the people you care for by not being around them. She cursed her luck more now, as he targeted her animal. She shook her head desperately at him but stopped as he spoke. She felt her breath catch and she felt as though she couldn't breath. It wasn't from his words, no, it was how angry he seemed to be. The face on him scared her and she didn't know what to think, but he breathed in, letting his face relax and she nodded. "Okay, I'll leave.. I promise and I won't say a word, but, can you just make this as fast as possible? I'm leaving for a while, and I need a stronger weapon. That's the only reason I'm here." She pointed towards the book as she spoke. "I know my words are futile but, none of your enemies know I'm here, so, I wish you would let me stay, just until you finish.. But like I said.. futile.." She let out an awkward giggle and slapped her leg lightly, looking down at Mamori. This was the cue she had taught her, letting her know that it was time to leave. God she felt like she wanted to cry and on the inside she really was. She was pained because he was pretty much the reason she had to go on this journey, she had to find herself. Him not wanting her around, made her want to be around more than usual, but she was fighting something that was impossible to fight and she knew it and it hurt, badly.

She walked to the door, making sure that Mamori was beside her, which she was, and trembling slightly. She looked back one last time, looking around at the shop first, then finding her eyes back on the body of the assassin. God, he looked, hot.. like.. seriously hot.. She shook her head, forcing her eyes up to his. "I'm sorry, Saber. If I had known this was your shop, I wouldn't have come. I'll be waiting outside, so, let me know when you are finished." She didn't mean to force her order on him, but, she needed to leave, especially seeing him here and now, she really needed to start her soul search. Her heart wanted him, but her mind fought against it. She needed to meet at a common ground and convince one or the other that they were wrong. "Uhm, one last thing.. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you, I really am. So, maybe, when I come back-" She was cut short by the thoughts in her head. 'Don't make plans, Ame.. just, don't.' She felt her head hang as she looked to the ground, then slowly brought her head up to look at him again. "Maybe I'll see you around." Her voice was a bit of a squeak as she held back her tears. She gave him a small smile, one that she knew he would pass off as a fake, and with good reason, because it was. She couldn't possibly smile a real one now, not with the feeling she had inside of her chest. She looked behind her, Mamori was sitting behind her in the street. She gave him one last look, wanting him to ask her to stay, but she knew he wouldn't. She stepped back, away from the door and watched him until it closed itself in front of her.

She let out a long breath and put her hand up to the door as tears began to stream down her face. She took her hand away and shuffled to the wall, leaning against it, she felt her body slide down, and Mamori came to her, nuzzling her face into her own. "Ame.. do you.. love that man?" Ame looked at her, her eyes widened slightly and she felt her heart pound against her chest. She put her forehead against that of the foxes and continued to let her tears stream down. "Even if I do, Mamori, you saw the way he looked at me.. He can never love me back." She sobbed against the fox a little more, wrapping her arms around her and nuzzled her face into her fur. A few moments later, she unburied her face and wiped her tears. She let out a sigh and Mamori licked her face. "You should go back in there, and tell him." Mamori didn't look to happy about her words, but Ame smiled at her anyways. "It wouldn't change anything. And even still, the way he looked at you, I'd be afraid that he'd take my words out on you instead of me." She patted her foxes fur down, wiping the tears off of it. "If anything happened to you, I don't know what I would do.." She caressed the foxes face with her hand and smiled, put Mamori pushed her hand away. "I'm not real Ame, you need to realize that. That man in there, he is. And as cold as he seems, everybody has a bit of warmth in them. So why? What's the real meaning? Is it Balore? You don't want to hurt him? Do you think he's better for you?" Ame widened her eyes and raised her brow, her hand falling to the ground. 'What the hell.. a fox in love with a rabbit is giving me advice?!' She shook her head and sighed. "If Spoticus didn't return your love, what would you do? Would you spend your life chasing him, knowing that he would never love you? Or would you find someone who you knew could make you happy?" She watch her fox closely as she surveyed her questions in her mind. "I would chase him. I would make him love me because I would know, deep inside, that he did love me, no matter how harsh he appeared to be. Go Ame, you'd be happier chasing after him, at least able to see him. If you give yourself away to someone else, you're just proving that you aren't worthy.." The fox sat down, staring at her, but Ame shook her head. "Maybe one day I will.. Maybe I won't.. I'm going away for a reason, to figure it out.." All of a sudden, the fox tail felt tired, exhausted actually and she leaned her head up against the wall. She felt her eyes close and she drifted off into a deep sleep.

- Words -
1515

- Tags -
Saber

- Skills Used -
---

- Notes -
Uh.. yeah >.> Don't judge her or her animals!! ALSO! Don'tCallHerA Bitch!

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

The Assassin was on the verge of throwing the two beings out of his store, or at least coaxing them to do so before they got any funny ideas. However, what he did not expect was how fast the Blonde was put on the defensive. Due to her pushing and fighting back against him before, he half expected her to yelp at him, and half-expected her to hop right on down the stairs he was currently guarding with his life pretty much. Yet, instead she put herself between Saber and the little fox pet she had. She also seemed to be quite flustered and confused, as she was shaking her head and most importantly; listening. She didn’t bite back at him, but was instead taking in what he was ordering, all the way up to the point of agreeing. The first words out of her mouth showed this, and that made Saber wary of her. She still was intent on getting her craft, which was fine, but the sight of her backing off was quite different.

Though, then when she noted that his enemies hadn’t followed her, he became uneasy again. He eyed the foxtail and glanced to his left towards the door. The man narrowed his eyes on the object for a moment but then looked back at Kitty, dragging his sightline so he could scan the rest of the room in the process. Once he was staring at the Blonde again though, he was content with the fact that ninety-percent of the room was now vacant of living beings. Saber really missed the weight of his weapons right now, but it probably would have made the situation worse so he was happy he didn’t. If he did, the man would have had one of his blades out and pointing towards the female adventurer. Even though the game wouldn’t allow him to hurt her and would summon a Guardian to fight him, Saber was willing to fight to defend his Library. If it mean safeguarding his secret, he would die for it.

However, there was one exception. As he watched Kitty and her fox pet walk across his room, the Assassin followed them just to the point that he stood in front of his table. He eyed them, watching them readily as Kitty searched the room once more. When she looked at him again, she set down another set of verbal gestures. Saber remained silent, placing his right hand down on the table as he dispersed the weight on his knees. As he stood there, waiting for Kitty to actually leave, he was beginning to grow a little impatient. It seemed that every few seconds, she had something to say and it was just making it worse. The fact that she attempted to slide in some kind of promise didn’t help either, but Saber responded to her with a curt nod. Then, a few moments later, the door closed.

The sound of it was like a dam breaking open, and Saber nearly collapsed as he spun on his heels. Both hands of his slammed down onto the desk and he released a heavy, bated breath. His hands curled into fists and the Assassin cursed silently under his breath. That woman had come here for a staff, just a staff, but no it couldn’t have been easy. She had to have tricked him, or did whatever she did to make him come up the stairs. She just had to have been standing there, she just had to have been there, waiting, watching. She just had to have existed. Why? Why was the world doing this? That woman, even after he had told her to leave, made things so difficult. She begged him to stay and continued to request her item. She even said sorry and had said that she would never have come if she had the knowledge that this place was his. No, no she wouldn’t. Saber knew deep down that this woman would have shown up, at some point, but that would not have changed the outcome. That would have been too simple, wouldn’t it? Yes it damn well could have because Saber’s life was obviously plagued with mistakes and errors. As such, expecting something so plausible as a varied outcome was nullified by his bad luck. Everything that could go wrong, would go wrong, and has gone wrong. From day one, it was wrong. Everything, and there was no end to the cycle.

Saber had heard sadness in that woman’s voice, had seen the false mask she wore, and even had seen her physical depression several times whenever she looked down. Why? Was it because Saber needed to be punished? Was he that much of an asshole? All he wanted was to be alone, but that wasn’t complex enough was it? There just had to be a curveball, a trick up the sleeve, and a random variable. Yes, and, not or. All three tricks of nature were being thrown at him, and he hated every second of it… However, he would not blame life. He would not blame Kitty, he would not blade the fox. Instead, he blamed himself. He cursed the choices he made, the decisions, and the acts he took. Every step, he cursed, and every word, he begged had been deaf. But those steps weren’t cursed, and the words weren’t deaf. No, he had marched through this life with his head high, and he took responsibility for those steps. Every word was spoke and said, and so he dealt with the regret. But this… this was different.

“Sod it…” Saber pushed off the desk in front of him and immediately headed towards the door. Within seconds, he crossed the room and his hand clamped down on the knob. Though, the sound of sobbing and whispering caused him to stop. He stood there and listened to the voice on the other side of the door, immediately recognizing it as the Blonde Cleric’s; it was Kitty talking, and she was talking to her pet fox. At first, he was inclined to open the door, but then he stopped. She muttered the four letter word Saber had dared not speak or even go near, as playing with it was worse than committing a capital crime. And yet, he was standing there… Inches from where that foxtail was sitting and speaking, and she was talking about him. The Assassin grimaced as he remembered all of the hostilities he had directed towards the woman and frowned. He had been so mean to her, and all she wanted was to just be near him. Truly, was that too much to ask?

Saber gave it a thought, letting his mind mull over the potential of letting Kitty, or anyone be close to him. If they were, what would probably happen? Well for one, they would be targeted by all of his enemies. However, that person would always be within his reach, no? That would mean that Saber could always readily defend them from those attackers quite easily. Now what if they asked him about his personal life? He could just tell them no, right? Maybe… Saber didn’t know. He honestly had never let someone get close to him, so it was hard to really fathom what could happen. But… but then he remembered… Once he had let someone get close, someone he had called a friend; Shiori. She was a woman back in the real world whom had actually got Saber into Elder Tale, and they did fine together. How was that so different than now…?

The lips of the man pushed together into a thin line, and Saber found himself staring at the door knob, as if waiting for his hand to turn it on its own. Sadly, it did not. Instead Saber had to open the door of his own accord, but he did so bravely and did not stop in the middle. He pulled the wooden door in a wide swing and took a step out into the doorway. He was on the verge of speaking to Kitty but when he looked forward, he only saw the streets of London. The Assassin hesitated for a moment, until he heard breathing. That breathing came from his lower left, and it came from the blonde whom had apparently fallen asleep. The fox pet, on the other hand, was wide awake, and it stared at Saber as if it was going to do something. Yet, the man quickly put a finger to his lips, praying that it understood the gesture. If it didn’t, he performed a quiet shushing sound.

“Don’t you say a word, for the love of God…” Saber internally begged that the Fox wouldn’t say anything, squeak, or even fluffle its tail. Doing so would have probably stirred the woman further, and that didn’t exactly rest too well with Saber. He wanted her to stay asleep, as her waking up now would probably end up with more of a scuffle than he wanted. This would need to be a smooth process, and any problems would probably end terribly for both parties.

“Get inside.” The Assassin ordered the fox and jerked his finger through the door. After doing so, he scanned the streets around. Due to the distance from the rest of the town, there were very few bodies. Include his store’s positioning at the border of the safe zone as well as the broken down buildings all around and you have a place which is a complete ghost town aside for the ghosts themselves. That made it easy for Saber to keep his movement secretive, and it also helped him spot any strange things going on around him. After all the time he spent sneaking around in the area, he had memorized the still picture of how the area was supposed to look. Any slight change popped out at him like a bright red dot, but there was no dot this time. The female wasn’t followed, and she hadn’t brought company. Much like the first time he had come across her, she was all alone, which was strange because of her seemingly outgoing personality. Saber expected her to always be with friends, or at least be with somebody. He was lucky this time, to say the least.

Though, he was not completely one-hundred percent lucky. With a gentle kick, Saber pushed his door open a little wider and knelt down beside the sleeping woman. Carefully and very lightly, the man slipped one hand under her knees and the other across her high back, placing his arm just behind her shoulders. Then, once he was sure his grip was solid, the Assassin pushed off the ground. The female foxtail was surprisingly light, as Saber had absolutely no trouble picking her off the floor. He wiggled his nose at the thought but decided to ignore it for now. If she was light, so be it. Less work for him. Using the side of his foot, the Assassin ensure that Kitty’s little pet was inside and then used his heel on the door, hooking and pulling it closed. With the door closing right on his back, the man hopped on his toes of his lone-supporting foot until he was inside. By the time the door actually closed, Saber had begun walking and was already halfway across the room. He didn’t stop until he was at the secret door, daring not toy with the threat of someone else deciding to make an appearance.

Due to the weight of the secret door, Saber was forced to set Kitty down on the cold steps. He did so for as short of a time as he could, but it took a bit. The solid stone door was heavy, and even with all of his might it still barely moved, but once it was finally closed, there was a muffled hissing noise. The seal between the wall and the door was air-tight, and the stones practically slid into place rather than slamming shut. For that, Saber was thankful. Every time he closed the door, there was no loud bang or serious vibration but only a sliding and the quiet whistle of the air being pushed out of the way. It was subtle and hardly noticeable, even when he was standing right beside it. If anyone was standing outside, they probably wouldn’t ever hear it. That allowed Saber to slip in and out very easily, even if someone was close. However, opening the door was different because the hinges weren’t exactly new. They tended to squeak and thud sometimes.

But it was because of that quiet noise that Saber was happy, as when he looked towards Kitty he knew that she probably never even heard it. The man glanced over at the fox and pointed down the stairs, shooing it slightly as to get it to go down them. Once he did so, he lifted Kitty off the ground again and began his descent, taking each stony step lightly and smoothly. He kept his body up straight, leaning the little woman in his arms against his chest and moved with only tiny bounces of his torso. His arms locked in the positions they were in, ensuring that he wouldn’t drop the cargo that they carried. However like all things alive and with muscles, they began to grow tired and strained. By the time Saber reached the bottom steps, his arms were on fire. It wasn’t because the woman was heavy but more because of the steady and constant pressure on his body. It made him uncomfortable and his arms burned, begging for him to put her down, but he didn’t. No, he continued to carry the woman into his Library and patiently walked across the long stretch of aged floor to his large table. The table wasn’t much of a bed but he didn’t exactly have anything else really. There was no bed here in the library and Saber never really got a futon or a sleeping bag of any kind. He had grown so used to sleeping on hard, boring surfaces that it never bothered him. Now he sort of regretted that.

Rather than place the woman down on the cold seat, he set her down on her back on top of his cloak. It was massive compared to her little size and acted like a barrier, keeping the female off the stone directly. After that, he wrapped her up in the cloak, pulling both sides around her and tied them closed. It wasn’t a bag or a blanket, but the cloak was hardy enough to keep in a person’s warmth, even with all of its holes and cuts. Yet, just to ensure that she was warm, Saber summoned the cloth blanket he had purchased but never really used, and draped it over the foxtail. It honestly wasn’t much, but it was better than her sleeping outside or directly on the floor. Saber still felt a little concerned for her, and so he made his way to the forge and started the flames in his furnace. It was quite the distance away, but because of the way the Library worked, heat was distributed fairly evenly through the massive building through a series of pipes and heat vents. All of those pipes connected to the furnace, allowing for an internal heat source for the Library. It would take a few minutes, but as Saber adjusted the temperature of his boiling hell-pot, the Library would warm up to a much more normal setting. Saber liked it cold because of where he grew up, but he doubted the foxtail was as much of a mountaineer as he was.

Closing the furnace after he toyed with the temperature, Saber opened up his menu and quickly entered in what Kitty had written down in his book. The craft she needed was a very simple one but had a lot of leeway to it so it would not take long to make, but for now he let it sit in his inbox. The woman was asleep and he wasn’t that much of a jerk as to wake someone from their slumber so rudely. Instead, he lit one of the lamps he had set beside his furnace and strolled over to one of the nearby bookshelves, his eyes drifting up its many shelves as he searched for a book he had planned to read. It didn’t take him long to find it, and he retrieved the collection of pages from where it lay. Thankfully, he didn’t need a ladder to reach this one. The book was named “Rosenthal’s Last Stand”. Saber had been drawn to it because of the name but had never really looked into it. Now, with time to spare, he decided it would be best to spend it wisely.

With the book in hand, Saber returned to the large table and set the lamp down at the center of it. As he did, the heat on the bottom of the lamp caused the table to react and a glyph on the top of the circular stone object started to glow. Saber sat down across from where the other player was resting and leaned his back against the table so that the light from the glyph would light up the pages of the book. He also sat this way so he could lay his head back against another open book, which he used as a cushion. Entertained and comfortable, all he had to do now was wait…

: Post Title :
-Not Accepting, but Dealing-

: Word Count :
2925

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, kittygrey

: Notes :
This is Saber making a moral decision.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[kittygrey]

Sleepless Nights

The fox pet, Mamori, nuzzled her head into her master's neck for a brief moment, but she sat up quickly, as to not disturb her. Her ears had posted the man in the shop at the door. She had heard him put his hand on the door knob and she turned her head and waited. She didn't know if he would come out, but she was betting on it. How could he not care for her sweet Master, someone who was loyal and trusting, and quite beautiful if she did say so herself. She touched the hearts of everyone she had met, Mamori had seen it many times with her own eyes. She cared for others, maybe a little too much sometimes, but that was who the fox tail was. Finally, she heard the knob of the door turn and her eyes flickered, watching the door open. He stood for a moment, not realizing where they were but soon he looked down and put his finger to his lips in a hushing manner. Ame had taught her that this meant to be quiet and she waited patiently to see what the man would do with the sleeping girl behind her. She nodded her head slightly as he spoke and the fox picked her tail up from the ground and found herself walking between the man and the door. She headed inside and waited for him to follow.

Ame breathed deeply, her dreams were filled with chaos, turning the into quick nightmares. She dreamed that she was running, running through the fields of the Savill Flower Grove. The sun was on her skin and she was laughing. She didn't know why she was laughing, except for the fact that she felt happier than ever before. But that happiness would soon come to an end. All of a sudden, night was upon her. The night turned dark, and all of her friends were there. Lavinia, Balore, Tobin, even the lone assassin Saber. Her eyes found him almost instantly. She wondered why every one was here, standing together, but soon, a monster of a beast came upon them. It was dark red, the color of blood, and had scales and large teeth and large, expanded wings on it's back. It was some sort of dragon, though she had yet to see a dragon in this world. The dragon stood, staring down at them, it blew smoke out of its nose and bared it's large teeth in a snarl. Ame called out to them to watch out, but the dragon struck. It's mouth came down on the first victim. Poor sweet Lavinia was tossed into the dragons mouth and swallowed whole. Ame stood, her eyes wide and she felt her hand reach out but she couldn't move. The next victom, engulfed in flames as Balore, burnt to a crisp. Her eyes narrowed into slits and she felt tears begin to stream. She felt a chill run up her back and enter her bones. Back in reality, it would be when Saber placed her on the stares to open the stone door. She would shiver and mumble quietly. Back in her dream, the dwarf was dead, burnt and eaten by the crimson dragon. She tried to pick up her feet, but couldn't. Tears streamed down her face, but she couldn't move or speak. She was paralyzed. The dragon's eyes searched for the last meat that he would take before herself. But where was he? Her eyes skimmed the land. The lone assassin was no where to be found. Had the dragon gotten him before she could see, or had he run to safety. She hoped for the second possibility, even if she would die in his place.

The dragon bore it's eyes into her, staring at her, wanting her flesh to join the others in it's stomach. It roared at her, making it known that she was next and then began to walk towards her. As it neared her, she wept silently, waiting for her death. But as the dragon's teeth came quick to her, she felt something warm behind her and she was lifted off of the ground. She breathed deeply, feeling the pounding of her heart against her chest. Her eyes looked up to the character behind her. "Saber?" She eyed him carefully, but felt her face push against his chest. She gripped onto the cloth of his shirt and sobbed lightly. Back in the 'real' world, Saber had picked her up and as her dream played out, she softly whispered his name and nuzzled her face into his chest. She breathed heavily, clearly having a nightmare, but when he had brought her to the table, and laid her down, her breathing would soften. In her dream, they ran from the dragon, ran from the memory of her friends who were lost in battle. She wept for them, her face nuzzled tightly into his chest. Soon, they stopped. She turned her head and skimmed the area. They were out front of Londinium, so near the gates. He set her down and she wiped her eyes, whispering her thanks to him. Suddenly, she began very warm as she watched him work at the gate. She smiled up at him, happy that he had been there, happy that he had protected her, but she still felt her heart pounding with the loss of her friends. What was she going to do without them? She didn't know if she would be able to handle life without them there. Her eyes looked to the ground with that thought. She was alone again. Like always. The pain in her chest grew larger. But she felt herself look up. No, she wasn't really alone. She stared at the assassin and rested her head against the wall.

Jumping back to the current scene, Mamori watched him carry her. She felt a smirk come in her lips. He was being ever so gentle with her and if she had cheeks, then they would be pink with the sight. She followed them up the stairs and watched as he wrapped her in his cape thing and then a cloth blanket. "You know, she's been under a lot of stress recently. No one else has seen it, except for me of course, and now you. She's good at hiding her fears and sadness from others. She never wants them to feel for her. But when she sleeps, she has nightmares. Bad ones. She wakes up screaming most of the time. I wonder why.. She's only told me a bit about you, Saber, but I can tell that she thinks about you a lot. It's strange, because at first hand, I would have thought that she would be head over heels for Balore. They would have been a sweet couple and he could have made her happy, but, when you came into her life..." The fox looked to her master. She knew she would probably want to kill her, metaphorically, if she knew she was going to say these things, but the fox couldn't help it. He had to know. She looked back to him as he worked. "You're the one she truly wants. But you know that don't you. You're good at hiding as well, but you're better at it. You're a closed book, only allowing people to see the outside, but what's on the inside, Saber?" She sighed and turned her head from him. "Actually, I don't want to know. Just, be gentle with her. She's constantly hurting these days, and it's unfortunate. I want to see her smile again, like she used to when we first met." With that, the fox disappeared under the table, curling up and letting herself rest as well.

Ame shifted, pulling the blanket in closer to her. Her eyes moved heavily across her lids, darting from one side to the other. In her dream, she had been waiting for Saber to open the gates of Londinium. She had been resting when the chaos had begun again. A Crimson flash appeared in the sky and she slid herself up the wall. Her breath was heavy again and she stuck her self to the wall. Saber tried to open the gates, but there was no use, they were closed shut, never to be open again. She watched the Crimson dragon soar through the air, eying the two people below, getting ready to strike. As it came in closer, she felt Saber cover her, pushing his body into hers against the wall. His face was down on her shoulder, and she nuzzled her head against his. She felt tears streaming down her face as she watched the dragon's eyes. It took in a large breath, and all she could see was red and orange and yellow. Her eyes shot open and she sat up, breathing heavily. She put her hand to her head and made a grimacing look appear on her face. Her head was pounding. She wondered how long she had been out. It was dark, with little light. Was she still outside? The sun had gone down already. She looked up, stone tracing a ceiling. She narrowed her eyes, her mind waking itself up. She looked around the room, then down at the blanket. She pulled it in closer to her and looked across the table. "Saber?" She was still breathing heavily from her dream, her head still pounding and she was confused. Had he.. Had he carried her in here. Her dream came into her head, her eyes growing slightly wide. Oh god, he had seen her sleeping. She pushed her lips into a thin line and let her tongue snake her lips softly, clearing away the dryness she felt.

- Words -
1624

- Tags -
Saber

- Skills Used -
---

- Notes -
Your post though
.... <3

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

The book he read was quite interesting, as he had expected. The story followed an aged man who went by the name of Lionas. Lionas was a General in the army of Thames and lead his troops into many battles, fighting alongside them rather than standing at the rear and shouting orders. This man was tall, bold, and brave, but he was also intelligent and wise. The General outsmarted many of his foes, forcing them into submission very early in battle. He was also quite ruthless as he went about it, slaying many of his enemies if they didn’t surrender to him. However, all things must come to an end, and that end came in a small box, a box which was provided to him by a messenger sent by the principality of Rhine, from the Monarch himself. Inside the box was a message; “I will end your advance and return the stolen lands you have taken back to their rightful owners.” The message brought a grin to Lionas’s face, and the General accepted the challenge.

The Bold General marched his armies into the lands of Rhine and burned many of the outer cities to the ground, razing the lands as he massacred thousands. Resistance was light and the General continuously missed the retreating Rhine armies by just hours. Eventually, however, he caught sight of the fleeing cowards and ordered his cavalry to chase down the soldiers. Expecting a swift victory, they did so, and the horsemen rode into the horizon after the large group of men. They disappeared beyond the hills, and never returned. Once Lionas reached where the battle was thought to have taken place, he saw his men bathing in their own blood. Their bodies were stripped, their weapons taken, and their horses gone. Only the naked bodies of Lionas’s cavalry lay on the bloody land. Angered, Lionas ordered his men to move faster, and charged right towards the city of Dirus, the capital of the Rhine…

And that was where Saber was cut short of his time. The fox began to speak to him, and he masked his interest of its words by continuing to stare at the page. The little creature enlightened Saber to the fact that Kitty had been dealing with some issues lately, mainly stress, and it was leading her to having nightmares during her sleep. To be honest, Saber had not looked at the Blonde long enough to really notice. However, now that the fox mentioned it, the little woman did seem to be a little disturbed. As he carried her, she had gripped onto him a little tighter, as if she was hiding from something behind her eyelids. Even now, he could hear her unnatural breaths. But what could he do? Invading her mind was impossible, and even if he could he had no reason to. It would be a sever invasion of privacy to do such a thing.

Yet, that was not all the Fox had to say, and it made him a little upset. His face tensed up and his jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth together. The words which the fox spoke were ones he never wanted to hear, from anyone; Kitty seemed to have taken a liking to him. She talked to the fox, most likely about their meeting, and also probably about how she thought about him, but then she mentioned another name; Balore. Another person in her life? Maybe it was someone she was close to? That was alright with him, really. That person could probably take better care of her than Saber ever could. He probably was stronger too. Then again, it seemed that his suspicions were also correct. As the fox continued, Saber’s eyes finally drifted from his page and fell onto the little creature. Yes, he knew. He knew full well about the looks Kitty gave him and the thoughts which were probably in her mind. He also knew that saying anything about them would put him into a terrible spot. Saber couldn’t return those feelings she felt because he didn’t feel them. No, he couldn’t feel them was what it was. His body had become so cold and so used to being alone that companionship honestly didn’t strike any cords with him. Kitty was a beautiful woman… but Saber wouldn’t be able to treasure that like someone else could.

As the fox finished, Saber’s eyes returned to his book. He stared at it, hard, and looked straight through the black text to the aged yellow pages. For several minutes he sat there, just staring at the pages as he let his mind wander in the silence. Kitty was a woman who cared whole heartedly about the things she loved, she was kind, and he doubted that she could ever truly harm someone even if she had tried to attack him. She was fragile, but he knew that she probably had as much of a history as he did. How much of a history, he did not know. Nor did he know what kind of history it was. It could have been filled with happiness and she could be just a normal, happy girl. Or it could be full of darkness and pain, while the mask she wore was just that; a mask to hide the horrors and scars underneath just like Saber wore. However, Saber also considered the other name the fox had spoken; Balore. It sounded femine, to be honest, but was probably quite the opposite as Kitty had fallen “head over heels” for him, or her if Kitty was into that sort of thing. If that was true, then why didn’t she just pursue him? He would have been the easier choice, the choice with less problems attached. Balore would be able to protect her wherever she went because he could probably be there for her. He was probably strong and powerful if he was able to woo such a woman, and there was no doubt in his mind that the man probably loved Kitty just as much as she loved him.

Saber, on the other hand, couldn’t fulfill more than a quarter of that. The Assassin was always away, always fighting, and always making himself better. He hardly returned to London for anything besides a short break before he let himself vanish back into the world beyond. Sometimes, he was gone for days on end, crawling through a hole in the ground fighting some massive beast. Other times he was just grinding away in the fields. Partying with others or just being around other people never crossed his mind, and he doubted he would remember to bring someone along because of his habits. Saber ignored invites, muted the notification sounds on his interface, and never worried about running off to save someone he knew that may have been in trouble. Saber was a ghost, and he enjoyed living that way because he could do what he pleased without thinking of the effects it would have on others… He was unfit for Kitty, to say the least.

Before his mind tormented the thought of his and Kitty’s relationship anymore, he heard rustling behind him. He closed his eyes and listened to the movement behind him and didn’t move, not until he heard his name. Then, he opened his eyes and glanced at the page he was on; two-zeo-three. Once he had the number, he snapped the book closed and sat up. He stared forward, keeping quiet for a moment as his mind lingered over the problem of figuring out what to say. Then, he just turned around and stared at the Blonde. Her cheeks were puffed, she heaved air, and she honestly looked like a mess compared to how he had seen her before. Yet, he didn’t speak anything of it. He simply placed the book he held onto the table and nodded to her.

“Good evening. Welcome back to the land of the living.” It was a strange way to greet someone, but there were a dozen other ways to speak to her. He could have called her beautiful and said hello, he could have made a tasteless joke about how she looked, or he could have laughed at her for having such a hard time sleeping. Yet, he kept that all to himself. Instead, he spoke the stale words which he had said and pushed the problem off to the side. With his greeting done, Saber didn’t stay around for the small talk which would have ensued if he did sit there and just look at her. He didn’t want to talk, to be honest. He wanted to keep her at the distance she was because he knew what could happen. Instead, he kept things professional.

“You came here for a staff, and because of your vague description I decided it would be best to have you here so that you may tell me what you want out of your weapon.” While keeping his voce stable and flat, Saber lifted himself off the stone seat and turned away from Kitty. He didn’t dare stare at her too long and began to make his way over to the forge, raising his voice the further the distance he went. Once he reached his forge, the man took the two small stone steps down into the work area and headed straight to the furnace. The coals inside were extremely hot, as it was required of them in order to warm up the Library to a decent temperature. Now, however, he needed it to cool. To do that, he left the front grate open and then slid off the two upper grates. Next, he pushed some of the coals to the back of the furnace and out of the middle, allowing for the heat to dissipate much faster in the front of the stone and clay tool.

“All I need from you is the color you wish for, and any design details you want on the staff as well as where. Feel free to point them out for me, but you must keep your distance. Metal tends to spark.” As he spoke loudly, his voice echoing through the library slightly from him forcing his voice to project outwards, Saber walked around his workplace and gathered his tools. The Blacksmith grabbed his hammed, his tongs, poured a fresh bucket of water into his trough, and grabbed two pieces of iron bars. Then, he grabbed his chisel just in case he needed it. Once he had everything, Saber glanced over towards the woman where she was and held one of the iron bars in his left hand, his fingertips squeezing down on the object to keep it from slipping free.

“First, I need your height so I know how long to make the staff. Second, I need to know if you want it to be reforged and have a special ability or not. If you do, what ability?” Saber paused in between sentences in order to place the iron bar into the furnace. He reached in with an unprotected hand and set the bar inside the jaws of the pit, but quickly retrieved it as it began to burn.

“I also need to know its name… Should you wish to call it one. If you do not want to name it, then I shall give it one… But beware; sometimes they already have one.”

: Post Title :
-Escaping to The Fires-

: Word Count :
1902

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, kittygrey

: Notes :
The distance is quite far.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[kittygrey]

Where is Ame?

It took her a moment to come back to the 'land of the living' as Saber had called it. She was astounded at the fact that she was sitting in, some sort of underground lair, Saber's home perhaps? She let her eyes gaze across the room, seeing books and a forge and him. Her eye's stopped on his face as he began to speak again. She really had left a rather vague description, but if she had known that it was him, would she have written something different? She probably would have put something like 'do whatever you want' or something even more vague, but, she was here now, so maybe she could allow him a little bit of a description of what she wanted. She wanted it to match the new armor that was being made for her, but she wanted it to match an accent of it. "Dark blue, and sort of, curvy looking. Uhm, like, vines intertwining, but not vines.." She didn't know.. she really didn't. That was as much of a description as she could give after the swelling of her temples had began to cool down. She nodded her head to him as he spoke of her keeping her distance. Really, she didn't want to keep any distance, but she would, she would stay distance from him until she figured out what she was going to do. If she really wished to become his, would she have to become cold and distant from the world as well? She felt her head shake as her temples began to throb again and she put her fingers up to them, rubbing them softly. She couldn't think about that know, she was here for business after all. The thought let an annoyed sigh escape her lips and closed her eyes tightly, opening them quickly after as she saw fire burning in her mind. 'What the hell was that dream? Some kind of bad omen, or just my mind playing with me? What do these dreams, no, nightmares mean? Do they mean anything?' She felt her lips become tight as she heard Saber's voice again, but her mind wanted to continue to jump in with strange thoughts.

She tilted her head to him, lowering her hands from her head and she called out the information he wished to know. "I'm 5 feet, six inches and yes, I want it to be reforged. If possible, I would like both increase to magic damage and decrease in mana usage, but if I can only have one, just magic damage will do fine." She looked away, seeing Mamori come up from in under the table. The fox must have been sleeping, only becoming aware of her voice as she spoke. She nuzzled against her leg and looked up at her mater with weary eyes, telling Ame that she wished to ask her about the nightmare she had had. She shook her head at the fox spirit, as if telling her that now was not the time and opened her inventory. She took out half of a leftover steak sandwich she had, something she had made for a special occasion, and fed it to the fox, patting her on the head. "We will talk before I leave, alright?" She then turned her attention back to Saber and shook her head. She didn't know it's name and she wouldn't know what to call it until she saw it, if it didn't give them a new before he had finished. She just wanted her staff and wanted to leave. She felt herself becoming distant to her friends and even her poor pets. It didn't help that someone she had looked up to as a mentor had also confessed to her. She put her head down on the table, holding back tears that wanted to flow. Why did she have to make her character so damn pretty? Why did she have to be so damned nice? It was a nuisance on it's own, especially because every guy she met seemed to think she was hitting on them. Was it really her nature to be so friendly, to have men drop themselves to her feet. And yet, the one man who she seemed to want to be with, felt that she was most connected to, seemed to be emotionless. "neep.. There is seriously something wrong with me.." The words had meant to be for her own mind, but the words were a whisper that she doubted Saber could hear, then again, even if he did hear, she doubted he would say anything.

She looked up at the assassin, her hands folded on the table and her chin nestled in her arms. She felt her head tilt and she sighed as she watched him for a few moments before letting her eyes wander around to room again. By the looks of the place, he really did prefer to be alone, which made her chest begin to burn. It was a dark, underground hide out where he would have no visitors and where no one could find him. She knew he preferred to be alone, that way he wouldn't have to worry, he had said it himself, many times, but she hadn't let it truly sink in, not until now. He liked dark, quiet places. He seemed to like working on his own. She felt her mouth slide into a hard frown and she wished she could just stay here. The musty smell of the underground made her nose tickle, as did the smell of the burning coal. The air surrounding her was heavy, making her dismal mood feel right at home. But she knew that this wasn't who she was, but it was who he was. Could she get used to being in his world? Could she be happy under the protection of his sanctuary? Did she ruin it for him? She pressed her lips together again and closed her eyes, fighting back the tears of her want, but she shook her head and opened them again. She needed to stop thinking about these kinds of things. They were really starting to get to her, but, her eyes fell on him again and she sighed. It seemed like the world was pushing her towards him, or perhaps her heart longed for him so badly that she found herself at his door step more and more. The first time they had met, then the ghoul raid, now this? She sat up again, pulling his blanket around her more. She wasn't really cold, but she wanted to feel more of him. She felt her eyes widen slightly as she turned her face away from Mamori and away from him. 'What the hell kind of thought was that? What kind of closet pervert are you?!' She felt her face flush as she willed the thoughts out of her head, but she would focus on the wall on the side of the room she was facing, willing the blush to go away more and more. She couldn't let him see her like that, not again. She wanted to be strong for him, well, not just for him, but he was a part of it, now anyways. She had spent grueling hours on her own trying to become stronger, and he had been on her mind each time. She sighed, and sat quietly, forcing her mind to stop her thoughts. She just needed her staff, that was all.

- Words -
1244

- Tags -
Saber

- Skills Used -
---

- Notes -
I'll PM you what the staffs name is to be!

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

Once the iron bar inside of his furnace began to burn, Saber glanced over towards the blonde woman, giving her his full attention as he awaited her response. She hadn’t moved from the table like he had actually expected her too, but that was okay with him. The fact that she didn’t move meant that she wouldn’t be hurt by the sparks or be disturbed by the heat of the forge. Although that did not mean, at all, that she would remain there. If she did move, he would have to make sure he was careful with making the weapon she wanted. When he was alone, Saber didn’t care about where the sparks flew or if anything bad happened because he could handle it right away. If a spark had hit him and caused a burn, he usually just sucked it up and flicked the piece of metal off his skin before going back to forging. Now, if Kitty was hit; he would probably flip out and she most likely wouldn’t exactly be the easiest person to calm down. He did give her the benefit of the doubt though, as she hadn’t exactly run away after waking up. No she was just sitting there, looking at him and feeding him the information he needed.

The Foxtail was five foot six inches, meaning that her staff would probably need to be between five foot seven inches and five foot ten inches, as to give her a little extra reach with the object while also allowing it to act as a walking stick, of sorts. In addition to its height, Kitty made him of the fact that she wanted it reforged. If that was the case, than this craft would take a little longer than he originally expected. He didn’t have any complaints though. Saber didn’t mind taking some extra time to ensure that his client was well prepared for combat. In the case of Kitty; Saber honestly wished she had picked an enhanced blocking ability instead of magical damage as to protect her more, but maybe that was just his male-defensive instincts talking. How sexist. Either way, Kitty wanted what she wanted and Saber was not so foolish as to argue with her over it. Men who argued with what a woman wanted generally didn’t fair too well. That thought made Saber chuckled slightly, but he very quickly cut that off; the iron was ready.

Now that Saber knew what Kitty wanted, Saber opened the grate on the front of his furnace and reached in with his metal tongs, grabbing onto the orange bar. As he pulled it free, the Blacksmith stepped back twice and then quickly turned to face his anvil. The hot iron bar pinged against the casted anvil, and Saber took in a deep breath as he looked at it. Grabbing his hammer, the Assassin nodded to himself. The hammer twisted around in Saber’s hand twice and then he clamped his hand down on it. A moment later; metal bashed against metal. Saber envisioned the object Kitty wanted in his mind and began to work the super-heated bar in front of him into the shape that it needed to be. The metal bar was a long, compressed rectangular prism of sorts, and it needed to be flattened into a curving staff thing. To say that this was going to be a breeze because of it being a staff was ignorant and stupid. This craft was about to make Saber go haywire…

There were two steps to making the iron bar, and as Saber pounded the metal to make it stretch, he grit his teeth as he thought of both. The first step was getting the bar to be the right length. It had enough mass and would remain strong throughout the entire process if he distributed it all correctly. Yet, the second step was going to be making those damned curls this woman wanted. Those were going to cause Saber to cry inside once he got to them because it would require such precise moves that he probably was going to ruin a bar or two. However, there was another way he could handle the craft. Saber could potentially weld the pieces together inside of the furnace itself. Unlike in the real world, he didn’t have a welding device, so he would have to risk burning his flesh off in order to finish this staff. That didn’t bother him too much though, as he was quite content with a few burns if it meant appeasing his client.

That still didn’t mean he wasn’t a little afraid of it though. With each swing of his hammer, Saber knew he was getting closer to that part of the craft. He felt his body tense up and his swing intensified as his muscles became harder. Sweat, caused by that fear mixed with the intense heat of the forge, dripped off Saber’s forehead and began to line his skin. The Blacksmith breathed heavily and pounded the iron bar hard, locking his jaw as he clenched his teeth together. The bar was beginning to extended, but it was cooling much faster with every few inches Saber caused it to grow. Due to his anxiety making his adrenaline flow, which in turn made his swings harder and faster, Saber was working quicker than he had anticipated. Within thirty seconds of pulling the iron bar out of the flames, he dropped his hammer onto the anvil, squeezed the tongs which held the bar in place, and then the bar was return to where it had initially been placed in the furnace. After that, Saber shut the grate and released a heavy breath, replacing it with a deep, relaxing inhale.

After messing around earlier, Saber didn’t have much energy left in the tank to really go on with. This craft was probably going to be the last one of the day, and he probably would pass out at the table once Kitty left, if he could even get her out the door. Moving that large slate of rock was difficult, and he had almost failed to get it open before. If needed, he probably would just as Kitty to teleport out. That would probably be the best bet, as his arms were already starting to strain a little. Speaking of which, he let those tired arms rest and dangled them by his side. Closing his eyes to get a few moments of rest, Saber let his body just sulk a little, and as he did so, he listened as Kitty spoke a little strangely. He raised an eyebrow at what she said and raised his head to look across the room at her, and paused at the sight. Her head was down and she wasn’t really talking or anything. The man wiggled his nose for a moment and then looked back towards the iron bar in the furnace.

Flicking the grate open, Saber moved the only thing in his way of the glowing iron brick-cylinder thing. He latched onto it with his tongs and quickly returned to his anvil. The Blacksmith didn’t waste any time and pushed the words Kitty had spoken into the back of his mind, for the moment. Saber grabbed onto his hammer and returned to pounding on the hot metal, forcing it to extend and become even more slender. Sparks flared around the strikes and one of them burned their way into his shirt, but it dropped to the floor as if it had hit a trampoline. The heat on his stomach vanished as soon as it appeared and the man continued to swing at the bar, ignoring the several other sparks which followed the first. Saber probably should have gone to a tailor to get an apron made, but he seriously thought those looks tacky. Plus, as he worked with the metal, he didn’t like having anything in between him and his work. Sure, he had a shirt and pants on, but he didn’t like anything else. It got in his way and he wasn’t really comfortable with that. So, he dealt with the hot metal pieces flinging and sticking to his skin as he simply flicked them off whenever he was hit.

His body continued to move in the familiar motion of hammering the anvil and the arm wielding the hammer began to burn, and it wasn’t because of the heat. Fatigue caused the muscles to cry out to Saber’s mind, begging for relief as he continued to swing and bash the glowing brick in front of him into a long, slender pole of sorts. He wanted to rest, but if he did then the metal in front of him would become far too weak because of the multiple reheating and cooling cycles. Too many would make the metal brittle, so he couldn’t stop even if his arm felt like it was going to fall off. Nor did he stop for the sweat which was dripping off his forehead and soaking his shirt. The blacksmith simply let his mind focus on the next strike, and let the rest fall into automatic mode. One thing that Saber did well besides kill was focus. As a crafter who performed such a tedious, repetitive task; that trait was perfect to have and he was thankful for it.

Just before the iron bar required its third reheat, Saber took a step back and stared at it. The rectangular iron bar had been lengthened to nearly five feet, maybe a little more, and it still had some extra metal that could be worked out. That was good, and it was almost time for step two because of that. With that in mind, the Blacksmith placed the iron into the furnace and closed the grate again. As it began to reheat, Saber went to his workbench and then to the metal pile beside it. There, he grabbed one of the already made iron cylinders. He took several of the short, six inch rods and a few of the twelve inch rods. By the time he returned to his anvil, Saber heard a pop and quickly went back to his furnace; the iron inside was ready.

The speed at which it heated was expected. The metal was no longer one large compressed brick of metal, but was instead an elongated piece, causing it the heat to distribute through the metal much faster. Either way, it was ready. Saber pulled the nearly completed rod-thing from the fires and stepped to his anvil. The instant he set it down, the hammer Saber used was back in the air. He sucked in air and began to pound out the last bulging sections in the metal and began to curve it, causing the hunk of junk to become more like what was requested; a staff. Using the cone of his anvil, Saber added a few curves throughout the length of the staff and then caused the top end to curl a lot more. Once he had the base done, he focused on the curves of the staff itself; making it rounded rather than like a square chunk. It didn’t take long to smooth all of that out, but once it was done, Saber shifted right into the next stage. Kitty wanted curved not only on her character, but on her weapon it seemed.

With the base formed, Saber placed the staff back into the fire and left it there for a moment so that he could prepare himself for what he was about to do; things were about to get hot. The blacksmith took in a breath and pulled off his shirt, wrapping the moist thing around his face to protect his nose, mouth, cheeks, and ears from the extreme heat. Then, he put on his black gloves to protect his hands. He didn’t have much to really save him from the fires, but it would have to do. Still; this was going to suck.

Taking one of the larger twelve inch rods, Saber leaned into the furnace slightly and placed the rod down in the heat. He let the iron warm to the bare minimum needed temperature for bending it and then grabbed it with both of his hands. Instantly, he felt his skin fry from the heat, but he closed his eyes slightly, locked his jaw, and pulled. The metal didn’t budge at first, but then it flexed and gave in. Saber caused the iron rod to bend to what he wanted it to be and then he shoved the bottom into the deep part of the forge. Once it was hot enough on one end, and his hand was nearly about to melt, Saber pulled the rod back and then shoved it against the staff. It burned and molded against the large object and stuck like glue. With one done, Saber pulled himself out of the furnace and stood up, smoke coming off his body as the cool air hit him. He wasn’t even sweating anymore because it had all evaporated, and the sweat which was now forming was whisking away the instant it started to streak down his skin. Boy that was hot.

“Suck it up.” The Blacksmith didn’t bother with any complaints that his mind ushered up and simply grabbed the next metal rod which needed to be attached. Then, he leaned back in and performed the same cycle from before; heat, bend, super-heat, stick. Each rod took Saber about thirty seconds to stick, and every one of those thirty seconds was literally thirty seconds of scorching hell. By the time he finished, his body literally had no sweat left and he was simply burning up from the outside in it seemed. His normal white skin was now red, and it was extremely sensitive to the touch. He didn’t want to move, but he knew that he wasn’t done. With the staff finished, he pulled it from the furnace and quickly dropped it into his trough, allowing the water there to cool off the weapon. The steam mixed with the mist which floated off Saber’s skin and both went up into the air. Saber heaved with every breath because of how dry his lungs and throat were from breathing inside of the furnace. In addition to being unable to breathe and not wanting to move, he couldn’t stop blinking. The moisture in his eyes had nearly completely evaporated, and he honestly felt as if he was about to go blind if he didn’t stop blinking.

“I am not doing that again.” Saber muttered as he remembered that he actually had to reforge this thing now, which meant that he would have to redo that entire process again. Though, this was a game, and games had shortcuts. Rather than toss the staff back into the fires like he normally would do with a weapon, Saber placed it onto his anvil and pulled open his interface. In exchange for some mana and materials in his inventory, the Blacksmith took the smarter move and decided that this thing was not work baking himself over. And so, he tapped the “Reforge” button and then targeted the staff in front of him. Upon doing so and after confirming the interaction, the Staff began to glow in front of him. It glowed blue and the black metal changed colors as well, tempering itself to a dark blue shade. Saber took a step back from the staff as the activity occurred and waited for several seconds until it finished. The lights danced all around the wavy staff, encircling it completely before someone turned out the lights. In an instant, the blue lines were sucked into the staff and the lights went out. A second later, Saber was notified by his interface that the Reforge was complete.

Grabbing onto the middle of the weapon, Saber walked out of his forge and left the furnace open so that it could cool (which was an excuse to just not go near the hot thing because he was already dying practically). He made his way across the library and pulled his shirt off his face, letting it rest on his shoulder as he approached where Kitty was sitting on the table. Once he was there, Saber placed the dark blue, magically power, staff down on top of the stone. His body had started to cool off because of his walking into the cooler area, thankfully, and he had swallowed enough saliva to lubricate his throat once again; meaning that he could speak. After he sat down the staff, he looked at Kitty.

“Star-Crossed Lover is her name, crafted and forged only for the purest of hearts. This Staff is powered by a being which has attached itself to you and is giving you its strength because it has trusted me, and it trusts you. Don’t misuse it, or you’ll risk your staff breaking. Should it break because of your mind wavering, I won’t replace it. Keep that in mind.” Saber pulled his shirt off his shoulder once he finished speaking and turned away from Kitty, making his way across the library back to his forge. There, he returned his tools to where they were meant to go and then closed his furnace, lowering the temperature on the gauges in order to get the room to cool down some; he couldn’t handle it, and needed to breathe.

“And there’s nothing wrong with you, by the way.” Saber didn’t look over at Kitty at first as he spoke, acknowledging the fact that he had heard what she had said earlier. Once the temperature of the room was set, however, then he looked over.

“What is wrong is how you’re going about the situation in front of you.” His eyes sharpened slightly as he looked towards the woman. He wouldn’t say anything to give away that he knew, or if he did then he wouldn’t say anything directly, but hopefully she would get his point.

“A building built on top of an unsteady foundation will come down. Years may past, and it will be fine, but one day it will come down.” Saber returned to the table as he talked, and pulled his shirt back over his head. It was just as hot as hit body, but he dealt with it. The job was done so he didn’t have to worry about jumping back into the furnace.

“And when it does, it will be when you are the least ready.” Saber stood there, a few feet away from Kitty and quieted down after he spoke. He simply looked at her, quietly forming the next words in his mind. Though, it wasn’t advice or anything, but it was more of an invitation. He simply didn’t want to seem like a forceful jackass.

“The door which leads out of here is quite heavy, and I can hardly open it on my own when I’m awake. I’ve been quite busy today and I’m not exactly in tip-top shape so I won’t be able to get it open. I don’t want you to strain yourself either. With that in mind, there is a target range at the back of the library you can use if you want to stay and try out your new staff. If you are interested in reading, you may stay and do that as well. But, if you want to leave, I ask that you use your Call to Home skill. If you take a book, please return it to where you found it…” Saber sat down on the opposite side of where Kitty was sitting and then let out a heavy exhale as he flopped down onto the circular stone bench. He closed his eyes and let the coolness of the stone fill his body.

“To put it bluntly; we aren’t alone down here and they don’t like when I get messy, so don’t get me in trouble please.”

: Post Title :
-Stars Forged in Fire-

: Word Count :
3320

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, kittygrey

: Notes :
Craft is done. Continue or End, it's up to you.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[kittygrey]

Signal to Leave

Watching him work was like watching an artist paint a magic picture on the easel of his forge. He hadn't been working long but she could already see the beads of sweat that were forming on his forehead. Though she was far from him, from the heat, just watching her made her face flush and her body felt hot. She wondered what the weapon would look like and if she would be satisfied with it, though she doubted that she wouldn't. She felt as though it would be hard for him not to satisfy her though, as the way he worked he seemed to be very concentrated. She could almost tell that he was a perfectionist with his work. She watched him work the metal and could smell the forge burning, melting it down. She felt her eyes move to his body, then to his hands as he molded the staff. She felt her lips part lightly but she shut them quickly and sat up straight, looking away from him. She felt her tongue slide across her lips as she stared at the floor. She felt something rumble deep inside of her but she quickly tossed the feeling away. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily, wanting to leave, just so she didn't have to deal with the torture of her feelings when she looked at him. Of course, with that thought, she opened her eyes and tilted her gaze back towards him.

She felt her gaze watching him and her lips parted as he pulled off his shirt and wrapped it around his head. She couldn't help but stare at his molded body and wondered if he looked like his character in real life. She felt her head tilt lightly as she looked him up and down, staring at the sweet scene before her. She felt her head shake, wanting her to snap out of it, but her eyes wouldn't tear themselves away. She watched him continue his work, seeing that he was becoming parched, the dry heat of the fire was taking him over. She felt bad, that she couldn't do anything to help it but stay back and just continued to watch him. She knew not to get in between a man and his work, but she wished she could do something for him, something to cure the apparent dehydration that was overtaking him. Even the beads of sweat seemed to be evaporated from the heat of the fire. She knew she was paying him, but, he seemed to be working hard for her. Was he rushing the job to get rid of her? Sure, it crossed her subconscious mind, but her eyes took over and she continued to trail the movements of his body. She slid her arms forward and rested her left cheek on it, just watching. She figured that that was what perverts did, but she didn't care, if it meant she could watch him like this, then she wanted to stay there forever.

It didn't last as long as she had wanted it to, and when he brought the staff back to her complete and reforged, laying it on the table, she looked down at it, her face beaming her wide, beautiful smile. She reached out her hand to it, but before she could touch it, Saber began to speak and she looked up at him, her eyes watching his face. 'Star- crossed Lover? I- Is this for real?' She looked back down at the staff, feeling entranced by it. 'My mind, wavering? What does that mean? Only for the purest of hearts.. So, if I become, evil or something?' She didn't really understand what he meant, but the staff trusted him, and it trusted her, so she would trust it. She knew she would never be able to become someone evil, she could never change who she was and she certainly would never want to hurt or even harm anyone. She reached her hand out again, wanting badly to touch the staff, but again, she was interrupted by the voice of Saber. She put her hand in her lap and looked up at him, her face flushed with pink. "I- I said that-" She meant to finish with "out loud," but couldn't quite make it there. She watched him as he looked at her, and she felt her head move back slightly as she looked down to Mamori, then back to him. 'The situation?' She listened, wondering what he was saying to her and then pouted as he put his shirt back on, but mentally shook the look off of her face. She stared up at him. Did he mean that she was unsteady? Perhaps himself? Were they that building, built on unsteady ground? Did he know what she felt for him? She had so many questions, but she didn't want to ask a single one. Instead, she sat patiently, listening to his every word, for once, letting him speak and not wanting to fight back.

As he continued, telling her that she was more than welcome to stay, she felt her heart pound against her chest. She knew in her head that he probably didn't want her to stay, especially after he told her to use the call to home skill to leave, yet her heart pounded as he told her that she could. She didn't want to disturb him as she still wanted to go on her journey, but she felt something grow in her chest, something stronger than before. She felt her lips tighten as she watched him sit, then lay down and then she tilted her head, looking around. She didn't see anyone else, but now she wondered what he meant. She felt a chill on her spine, but she didn't ask. Instead she opened her inventory and laid down one of her strawberry chicken salads and a steak burger that she had previously made. The salad was to quench his thirst as it would burst with juices, and the burger was to fill his stomach. She then laid down a coin bag and picked up her staff. As she did so, she felt a surge of power flow through her, her entire being felt somehow, complete and the feeling made her walk around the table. She entered the staff into her inventory and stared down at the man for a moment before she finally let herself lean down. She swallowed hard, but she planted her soft lips on his and let them linger for a moment before she stood up, going over to Mamori, holding gently onto her head and quickly said, "Call to Home." She watched, wanting to see his reaction before she disappeared.

As she arrived at the cathedral, she felt herself move herself outside of the building. When she was out, she turned the corner and pressed her back up against the wall and let out a heavy breath before she let her body slide down the wall, her bum landing in a thunk on the ground. She put her head up against the wall and let out a loud laugh. "Well girl, you are one piece of work.." She shook her head but some how couldn't stop smiling. She looked to the side, seeing her fox staring at her and she shook her head to Mamori. "You told him, didn't you? You told him that I like him.. Now look what I went and did.." She felt her hand move up as she ran her finger across her lip. He seemed cold hearted, but he had warm lips, and soft too. She sighed as she put her head back. "Well, I didn't think you would kiss him, Ame.." She shook her head, but as she looked at her fox companion, she saw the smirk on her face. She was impressed, Ame could tell. She opened her interface and equipped her staff, looking at it, feeling it's smooth caress in her hands. "Star- Crossed Lover. Is that what we are? Is that why you have that name?" She held her staff for a long time, staring at it's beauty, still smiling. "Star- crossed... Yeah, I guess you could call it that.." She ran her fingers down it's length once more before popping it back into her inventory. "I'll see you soon." She spoke to the staff, but also wished it for Saber as well. With that she pulled herself up and headed back to her room, laying herself down on the bed and closing her eyes. That night, she had no nightmares, she slept soundly and in the morning, she would leave for her soul searching adventure, even though she knew it was no longer necessary.

- Words -
1452

- Tags -
Saber

- Skills Used -
---

- Notes -
You don't have to write it.. I wish I could see his reaction though.. Just saying >.>

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

The cool, flat, circular stone bench Saber lay on top of was slowly removing the burning sensation from his body, which felt really, really good. At the moment, he felt like he was overheating, almost as if he was about to just melt away into nothing just because of the sheer high temperature. His skin tingled all over whenever he felt cool air rush over it and he couldn’t make his breath any cooler even when he deliberately tried to do so, making it futile to blow on himself to help the cooling process along. Aside from the steady cooling effect by the stone, his eyes were starting to water up excessively, which probably made it look like he was about to cry, making it a lot easier to see now that they weren’t almost completely dried out. Yet, he didn’t want to see anything at the moment. Saber just wanted to stare at the backs of his eyelids and sleep. Well, until he heard his current customer slash guest move.

The woman across the table from him shuffled a little in her seat and Saber glanced over underneath the table to try and see what she was doing. He placed the back of his left hand on his forehead to help cool his head down and watched her body twist, and then listened to the sound of pottery tapping down onto the table. An eyebrow of Saber’s raised in question, but he didn’t move. He simply eyed Kitty’s lower body and waited. Maybe she was hungry, or she was going to craft something. Either way it was none of his business, so he turned his head back forward and closed his eyes again. He remained still and just let his tired body relax, listening to the footfalls of his company as she stood up and began to walk around the table. His lips pressed against each other when he heard the steps come closer until they finally stopped very close to where he was. After a few moments of silence, he opened his eyes just a little, peering through the slits to try and see where she was after she stopped moving. At that instant, his vision was filled with her face, but he didn’t move.

The lips he felt on his own were soft and moist, making his body heat back up a little. However, this warmth wasn’t like the one which the furnace had scorched him with. This warmth he felt from her lips heated his heart and caused the frozen object in his chest to pulse hard against his ribcage. Not even violent combat could do that anymore, nor could the sight of something familiar. The feeling was gentle, tender, and was honestly quite reassuring for Saber. Now he knew how she felt, and the words of her pet fox were not lies. Saber’s hand on his forehead clenched as he restrained himself from holding her head against his for a moment more. In doing so, Kitty pulled away from him and walked away. Saber opened his eyes for a moment and watched her back, eyeing her as she scooped up the little fox pet and then whispered the words he honestly didn’t want to hear; Call to Home. He stared at her, looking into her blue eyes for just a second before the lights took her away from him. Once she was gone, so was Saber’s will to sleep.

The chilled, frozen heart in his chest came to life as if someone had flipped its switch and the Assassin couldn’t stop it. He sat up in his seat and stared down at the two hands which he was born with, staring at the blood covered tools he used to create the blackened world he lived in. Then, he looked to his left to see that the woman whom had just vanished had left him with food; a salad and a steak burger of sorts. The sight made Saber grimace, and he dropped his hands to the stone bench, letting his stressed shoulders follow. His mind was blank and all he could think of was how close he just was to that Blonde. Each thought caused his heart to thud louder in his chest, and every second made him feel anxious. Saber closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, his ribcage cracking slightly as his lungs fully expanded before collapsing almost entirely.

He hated this feeling…

: Post Title :
-Ice Breaker-

: Word Count :
742

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, kittygrey

: Notes :
The stale reaction of a killer. Enjoy.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M