Saunders Forge | Early Morning
01 YARIS 2720
Gale laid with their back on the forge floor, the cool stone seeping into the back of their skull. They woke up in the middle of the night with a hot sweat, disorientated while limbs tried to grasp upon something - anything. They were fortunate really that Peter was downstairs in the workshop, having heard their clattering and the dry retching from their living quarters. He managed to get them to settle on the cold floor, the briefest expression of concern swept aside by tired focus. The smith was muttering too, the brief flashes of the steel horse and thunder and lightning manifesting in their consciousness before settling into a comfortable numbness.
There was a distant bell ringing out in the dark, the slosh of the canal lapping against the walkway sides. There was the occasional clatter from Peter, the prickling of his glamour passing over Gale's senses - this odd, almost sea of calm against the noise of the city. They watched his shadow pass over their eyes, aware then that a lantern must have been lit, and that the Wick was hovering above them.
Gale blinked at him.
"What?"
"You going to be able to for your apprentice's first day?"
He had yet to groom his stubble, his hair flicking in all kinds of directions. He raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lip tugging-
A smile? No, frown.
"I am continuously surprised that you managed to live to your current age, seeing as you only seem to have lived on... What is this?" he was studying a cigarette pack. "Golds and Hemworths twice cut... Even Beckett would not touch these with a barge pole. Oh, what a hole you are in."
"Give me those."
"No."
Groaning, Gale pushed themselves up onto their elbows. The head rushed for a moment, sloshing before obtaining clarity. They pushed Peter's face aside as they climbed the side of the workbench, their hands pressing firmly against the surface - the dream and heat was fading now, slipping between their fingers and out of reach.
"It's Yaris first?"
"Oes."
Papers. Need to find employment papers.
They lurched, swayed and then found their footing proper-
Bare feet.
-and realised they were half-dressed. Peter fanned himself with a collection of pages as he took a perch.
"You were raging something rotten last night, if I had not stopped you, I am certain you would have ridden off down into the canal. Perhaps next time you will have more luck." He gave a half-smile. "Your boots are by the back door."
Stomping past him, Gale snatched the papers from him, smoothing them out and recognising them to be the employment documentation needed to hire the boy. They swallowed, pressing a hand against their chest and feeling the half-done up buttons of their shirt, before quickly doing them up the rest of the way. Sleeves rolled up, the smith pulled the bracers over their shoulders as they continued to stomp around the forge. Yes, they were hiring Tobias. No, work would not wait on them. They glowered at Peter, before going through the steps to ignite the forge and bringing the flame to life. The shutters were opened shortly after, letting the cool morning air in before the forge grew too hot and stuffy, the dawn light letting in a faint glow of the overcast sky.
The wick idly straightened the tools on the rack.
"Starting without eating-"
He was silenced when Gale glared at him.
"I'm goin' to be able for my apprentice." It was a growl. "And it'll be successful."
The smith pulled on their boots, before opening the rear courtyard doors. The wood groaned as they were hooked into place, a loud yawn escaping as they shivered - the cool air was definitely sobering. Eyes wide they blinked, stretching out as they passed by the tarp that hid the steel horse. No, the pleasure of lying on the floor for half the night had caught up with them; their back stiff as they eased out their joints and heard them click.
"Henderson. Make yerself useful."
The Smith went back inside, their hand finding the bellows and pulled upon it. A blast of air-filled the forge, the flames briefly fading before returning brighter than before, the wood chips and coals mingling together as they burned. They pulled again, this time finding a sense of rhythm while Peter and his glamour slipped from their notice. He had put on his cap, currently stuffing Gale's cigarettes into his waistcoat pocket.
"As you wish, Saunders. Breakfast it is."
They heard him skip away to the courtyard gate, unlocking it before his voice called back.
"Your apprentice is here."
Gale sighed, their fingers shifting around the bellows rope. They called through and promptly pulled again.
"Come in."
Peter flashed a smile to the boy.
"Well. You heard them. Oh my, you have the same restless energy. I will be back soon. Breakfast for three, courtesy of the Forge Master." The Wick leaned in hand raised beside his mouth as if sharing some grand conspiracy. "Forgive them, they are most grumpy this morning."
With that, he slid away and off down the street.
At the southern wall sat the forge, the smith standing before it while their body was cast within shadow. Across the walls the shelves and racks filled the space, tools and workbenches cleared and ready for work. It was across one wall that it had been smoothed out and painted black, chalk notes and designs poorly drawn across it, with the pinned blueprints of the steel horse and its related material stacked on a shelf beside it. Gale took in a deep breath, the warmth of the forge filling their chest. It was an apprenticeship, just like Gale and Peter had been to Beckett. Now it was beginning the next generation of workers and forming them up into creators.
We are more than destroyers. We are creators, and together we will make a better world.
Releasing the bellows, the smith gave a tired wave to Tobias. They shuffled their papers. Gale was younger than him when they started as an apprentice, but this situation was different - there were family secrets and identities to keep safe, where if the information got out to the wrong people it would result in a lot of problems.
"Good of ye to come so early. Welcome to Saunders' Forge. I guess... introductions are in order." Gale cleared their throat and offered a hand forward to shake. "Abigail Saunders. But ye can call me Gale, just like everyone else."