[PM to Join] New beginnings

[Tobias Murdock]

1st Yaris 2720

Tobias roamed around the smithy and chewed thoughtfully on the bit of ham and bread that constituted his breakfast. It was a king's meal compared to the thin air and watered down meals he'd been living on just weeks ago, and yet it had already become so normal to him that he hardly noticed the crunch of the crust, the warmth of the bread or the faint salty tang of ham freshly sliced that morning. The day was still young, young enough for the air to be cool, the streets to be abandoned and the chickens to still be roosting and even though he didn't have a pocket watch, he knew it'd be a little while before Gale would show up.

Even now, as he rounded the lonesome building and idly mulled over possible escape plans in his head, he wasn't sure if he'd made the right choice. He'd wanted the job, he'd bombarded Wisp with a million reasons why it was a good idea, but in truth there was only one reason.

He needed the money.

Not for his own survival, Wisp wouldn't let him starve and he was slight and nimble enough to gather a meal for himself even when he lacked the skill to cook it or the currency to pay for it. No, he needed the money for the freedom of his father whose face he struggled to remember. How long had it been? Two years at least, if not more. He'd sent money whenever he could (which hadn't been often) uncertain it ever arrived at the debtor's prison yet quite certain it did little more than pay off the interest. He'd been meaning to visit, but the journey back to Dorhaven would cost him time and money he couldn't afford.

Until now, he thought to himself. If everything works out.

Gale's offer had almost been too good to be true. Five days of work for starters, mornings and evenings only so they wouldn't have to stand near a forge in the sweltering midday heat, and the pay was much better despite taking up less than half the time he used to spent in the factory.

And yet, something irked him. Was it nerves? He had no reason to think he'd mess up, he'd worked with machines in the factory and before that he'd worked with tools in his father's woodworking shop, this couldn't be that much different. Maybe it was Gale themselves, they were nice, perhaps too nice, too friendly and private in a way that kept him grasping at straws as to who the blonde really was. They seemed vaguely familiar, like they had manifested out of some distant dream or memory, but that couldn't be right.

Tobias finished his breakfast, dusted off his hands and paced idly back and forth near the gate while he waited for Gale to arrive.

[Gale]

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."

[Tobias Murdock]

1st Yaris 2720

The noise of the shutters being opened stopped his pacing and pulled him from his thoughts. There was no going back now, he'd take the job, do his best, and with a little luck he could save up to visit his father back in Dorhaven. He sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils after the front door kicked open and a figure emerged from the depths of the smithee

To his dismay, thehe man that emerged from the building positively wasn't Gale. He had a leathery, weathered sort of face like he'd stood on a quay for all his life and the brine and wind had eaten away at his flesh. Even though the most Tobias had seen of Gale up until now had been in the stinking semi-dark of the sewers, he knew Gale was lean, fair haired and smelling of ash whereas the man marching his way reeked of something else entirely.

A wick.

Even though the stranger wore human clothes, he could tell from the man's wild looks that he was something else. His dark, wild, windswept hair and beady eyes just didn't go together with the casual, run of the mill clothes that hugged his form. What was a wick doing in Gale's forge this early?

Tobias half-hoped the man would prove to be little more than an early customer, done and dusted business that wouldn't mind him. Instead, the dreadful weight of willowy man's eyes landed on him and Tobias sensed that oppressive, cloying air around him. He hated the feeling, like some invisible air cushion was being pressed into him, it always made him feel short of air and tight around the chest.

Tobias's skin prickled as the man bore his dark eyes into him and called him restless, like he was some tail-wagging puppy whose qualities as a suitable pet were being assessed. He bit back a snarky reply, not wanting to insult one of Gale's customers or acquaintances right in front of the smith and merely offered a curt nod in response to the wick's warning.

Grumpy? Just his rotten luck that his first day on the job was already shaping up to become miserable. So long as grumpy didn't translate into being beaten senseless for sneezing in the wrong direction however, he supposed it would be a net improvement.

Eager to escape the wick's prying gaze, Tobias heeded his new boss's call without delay and hurried over through the gate towards the building. It didn't take much more than glance in the smith's direction to note that something was awry. Their blonde hair was a tangle, their sleeves were rolled up unevenly, there was a sleepy sort of stumbling and buckling in the way they moved around the forge even though their hands worked automatically and found each required tool without fail.

Tobias took the man's greasy hand and shook it firmly. He'd always known Gale as Gale so the name Abigail sounded odd to him. "I'm Tobias, Tobias Murdock," he answered. There was a tinge of pride at the mention of the last name. Fame like Jon Serro or the Wisp enjoyed was difficult to obtain but his father had been a loyal and dedicated member of the resistance whose many contributions to the cause had earned him a respectable reputation.

It was warm and muggy inside and Tobias loathed to think what it would smell like after a day's work. Still, the place had been kept in good order judging by the neatly organized racks that lined one of the walls. "Where do I put these?" He asked somewhat timidly after he'd shrugged off his coat and taken off his cap. There were many hooks on the walls but he wasn't sure which one counted as a coat hanger. Once he'd been directed to one, he hung his coat and cap from it, rolled up his sleeves and came up to Gale's side. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, who was that man outside? He was looking at me strange like," Tobias said while he sent a suspicious glance over his shoulder and decided against mentioning he'd already had breakfast. It was probably best to keep his mouth shut about Gale's disheveled appearance too, even though he was curious why the man looked almost sickly pale.

[Gale]

Saunders Forge | Early Morning

01 YARIS 2720

The forge let out an even crackle of noise, the faint pop of splintering coming from its iron and stone core. It groaned, the shifting internals as they responded to the cool air and the growing heat. It would take a lot of time before the forge was brought up to working temperature, a careful balance of practice and patience to obtain the optimum heat.

Gale shook his hand, squeezing a little, but did not so much look at him - their eyes skirted to the ground behind him, settling on the cracked stone that was in need of being filled and smoothed over. The name tickled briefly in the back of the smith's consciousness as if it meant something but what could not be placed. Their mind was focusing on the immediate, mentally plotting out which and what steps needed to be taken next. They pointed off to a rack by the rear door, where a heavy leather apron and coat hung, before releasing the boy. They shuffled the papers again, their hand rummaging beneath the workbench for their ink and pen - it was the same Dip pen they used when finalising their technical drawings of the steel horse, with the dark ink brought alongside it. There was a quick scan of the top of the document before Gale began to write in the pre-written gaps on the page.

"Tobias Murdock. Apprentice Smith to Abigail Saunders at Saunders' Forge." There was a small frown, noticing that the boy had yet to make a comment about their name. They shook their head, rubbed the sleep out their eyes and promptly yawned loudly. "Sorry, I'm normally a lot more... alert. Right. So... pull up a stool lad. Borin' stuff first, fun burnin' the forge down things later."

Question. The boy had asked a question.

Gale blinked. Tucking their hair behind their ears, they attempted to bring it into some better semblance of order.

"Oh. Him." Gale shrugged. "That's Henderson, he's a welder. I've asked for his help around here over the next few months. Got some changes goin' on around here and having a set of practised hands onsite would help."

It was the truth, to a point. Peter had already proven himself useful around the forge, performing the quick fix tasks that allowed Gale the time to focus on the bigger pieces and problems. The fact that his actual presence here was to help with more underhand and combative training was nothing Tobias had to concern himself with.

Frown. No, concern. Worry. Suspicion. Yes, that's it. The small pull of the brow, the quick glan-

"He'll be nay harm to ye." The smith spoke flatly. "He just... dunnae. He's always looked at everythin' a wee bit strange." Gale tapped their eye socket. "Methinks he cannae see proper."

Perhaps. Gale had never questioned him about his vision; he seemed to be able to read just fine and could pick a fly out on the wall from twenty feet away. Shrugging Gale continued.

"So, apprenticeship. Be payin' you at the end of the day for a bit, two forts an hour, sixteen a day... just to see if you settle in proper and that. Times and days are flexible if ye prove yourself willin'. What ye know about tools and working with your hands?" They were turning the sheets over now, eyes noticing the lodging clipping they cut out. "Ye got a place to stay that's safe, aye?" They tapped the advert. "Cheap four-man shared rooms are available over in Stourn. Not much. But well. A roof. A lot of apprentices take up there. Close enough to walk, but far enough we're not in each other's pockets."

Moving on, the Smith's brain began to spark into life - the clarity was taking form now, the scattered thoughts being dragged into position. They glanced to Tobias, scanning the boy up and down directly this time.

"Gonna send you with the coin to get an apron in the free time. Strong, thick leather." They scrawled a note out, their text was legible but far from the cursive font used by experienced writers. Basic. They slid it over to Tobias. "Mister Byston at the tannery at the Cattle Market will size you up. Tell him Saunders sent you."

The smith paused then, eyes glancing up to the tarp-covered steel horse in the courtyard. No, it was too soon for that, or at least Tobias had yet to raise any comment on it - better to wait until the moment came up organically. Gale's fingers drummed against the worktop surface, the tips feeling the smoothed grooves that were left in its surface.

"My intention with this apprenticeship is to give ye the skills you need to make a livin' out of smithin', be it with iron, copper, steel, brass, bronze... You get the idea. With it, you'll learn about metals, their properties and what they're best used for. And..." Gale grimaced then. "the paperwork. Ye can read and write?"

They turned to Tobias.

"And ye have any questions?"