Remedy for Vexation [Aurin]

[Torin Kilvin]

61st, Searing 122


The effort to create a schematic to protect against a specific type of runic magic had been almost peripheral. The libraries Torin now had access to had many such things, and adjusting it to his own style of working aether, and to his specific needs from the object, had been simple compared to the original works he'd been wrestling with since his first solo project more than a year ago. The concept was simple enough in and of itself, (on the assumption that the one pursuing it already had a working knowledge of the complexities of Runeforging as a whole) taking the magic of Negation and applying it to an object was just how Negation worked. Preparing an object to hold and sustain that magic, or to project that field in a specific shape or size, or activate and deactivate, was where the 'Forging came in.

Torin had decided that a armband would be best for him, he could lock it in place and, with a little aetheric toughening, not worry about it being lost or damaged no matter what he was doing while he wore it. He planned to wear it at all times. He could have made a more complicated item, one that could protect him from any number of magical effects, but that would take more time than he wanted to spend. Truth be told, now that he was out of the mental haze that had taken Frost and some parts of Glade from him, it had taken all his willpower to work the jobs he was being paid before starting on the bracelet.

Part of him was glad, in retrospect, that he had waited, because now Aurin could be the one who put his Negation magic into the project. As much as Torin liked inviting mages who wanted work to his forge, working with his mentor-lover was always preferable. Doing anything with the firefox man was, for the young smith, almost universally preferable.

After taking a day to show both Aurin and Timon around the Runeforge, teaching them the process in the most basic of terms, he had forged the physical form of the item with care. Knowing he might wish to add magical protections to the item later he had created several places where gemstones, or similarly sized items could be placed without breaking the aether lines of the original piece. If the idea worked he would likely be making one for each of the people he considered a friend. Perhaps Kala and Kaus already had similar items, but he would ask anyway.

Having laid the groundwork in viscerite to make the solid curve of ash steel impervious to damage and wear, it was not ready to have the Negation against Mesmer added.

Aurin would join him in a few minutes and they would begin the process together.

[Aurin]

Of course, Aurin appreciated that Torin was such a hard worker; a great deal of his work went into supporting Aurin in many ways. But it was his day off and while he wasn't going to shirk his offer to help Torin with his runeforging, he could have wished Torin had skulked around in bed a while longer, whether to give suck or wake him up with strong tea. The man yawned when he shuffled into the forge. His ginger hair was awry and there was sleep clinging to his eyes, but Timon had given him the mug of tea, at least, and if he didn't quite fill out Torin's clothes, he liked that they smelled of the smith and gently held his skin.

He wasn't wearing his bracers, which was rare these days. But of course, they would be worn as soon as he left the property. Home just felt safe.

His skill with Negation had grown by leaps and bounds faster than his other tricks, probably because he had been able to watch Talon Shinsei craft shields before he even initiated him. Then there had been the warders Torin had hired whom he had peppered with questions or demands for demonstrations. And he had spent quite some time layering the wards around Torin's basement like the skin of an onion. Knowledge, practice, and no need to hide the trick had accelerated his facility with it.

Perhaps he was a mage after all. Or a witch. Semantics, really.

"So, all right," he began as soon as he found Torin, "walk me through this again? Am I making the gem an anchor and then tasking a ward against mind magic? Or... how do you get my trick into your gem? And I know you want this to protect you from Arry, but... if he put the full force of his trick against mine, I don't think I could hold out for very long. So are you going to be able to waggle your fingers and make my trick stronger or is this just to blunt the effects long enough for you to clock him in the mouth?"

Aurin didn't like the idea of his boys fighting, but he was beginning to despair of a reconciliation between them. He didn't even know if Arry would ever return from the deserts from whence his wench of a mother came, but if this would make Torin feel happier, more secure, then Aurin would do it. Hells, he would like to help Torin with his work more often, to understand it better. He knew the smith had a mind and talent, and he wanted those as much as he wanted his body and his loyalty.

[Torin Kilvin]

Aurin, looking sleep mussed and somehow smaller inside Torin's larger clothing made the younger man smile and then try and to hide it as he busied himself in the magical laboratory that, at times, still felt more like his home than the house did. When the questions started Torin's mind went all business (or, as much so as it ever did while he could see Aurin, or hear him, or smell him or...).

Motioning over to the aether forge, in which the cuff itself was already, he said, assuming Aurin would activate his Semblance,

"See the metal? Can you distinguish where I layered pure aether into it so it won't be damaged? It's the same as I did with your bracers." He was sure his mentor would have thoroughly examined his gift with his mage-sight. "A little different," He conceded, "Because the materials are different and the bracers are made to protect you as well as themselves, but, the magic is, more or less the same. If you recognize it and then ignore it, you'll see the shape of the warding lattice I'm working into the piece."

Learning to recognize what each pattern of magic on a runeforged item did was a skill learned in practice and in time, but it was something done with an aura glass, or Semblance, so there was no reason he couldn't teach Aurin to recognize them. It could be a useful skill, being able to tell what magic items did at a glance. The more complex ones took more than a glance to fully understand, but there were basic shapes. Protection was one of the most common and also one of the simpler, for most objects, when it came down to it, didn't 'want' to be damaged. Understanding the weird feel that runesmiths described as what aether 'wanted' (when they were alone with only others of their profession) was something that came to exist in ones head over long years as one worked with aether. Dragonshards resisted being used for things that didn't match up with their type, twisting runic magic into a shape too far from it's original intention became more difficult the further away to went. In the same vein, if you found a use for aether that it was particularly in agreement with it would often work far better than it should, given its power, or even lend unexpected abilities to the piece.

Torin explained this, carefully, trying not to sound crazy, knowing that Aurin understanding how his Negation magic would 'want' to form the shield if he let it would create a more powerful finished piece.

Stepping around to pull out the gem that he would be using for the piece, a small aetherite dragonshard, he held it up and showed where he had Scrivened tiny patterns onto it. "You use anchors with Negation already, you'll basically be using this as an anchor, except, after you have set it, it will draw the power it needs from this 'shard. The shard will recharge itself faster than they would in the wild because of the aether pool I etched into it."

It was a fairly common use of the combined world magics,

"When someone tries to use Mesmer, or similar mind effecting magic on me, or whoever is wearing the cuff, the aether will draw from the stone to protect me. If it is just a small attack, like a probe, it will only draw a little. If it is an attack, more. An attack from a powerful mage will draw all the magic out and sustain the shield for as long as possible. It will burn out, eventually, quicker the harder the attack but..."

Here he paused, turning away from Aurin, using the motion of placing the stone, carefully, with a set of special tongs, into the forge, onto the cuff, to cover his discomfort. Eventually he said, still not looking at the other man,

"Yeah, it'll give me a chance." To do what, he did not say, but his arms flexed far more than was needed for such delicate work. The cuff would alert him when it activated, and giving him a chance to react. He suspected that some mages who used their power to play with the minds or emotions of others probably used it in a similar way to how he used his Semblance, just passively scanning with it most of the time. Adjusting to those small scans, to being aware of them and not panicking would just be something Torin had to learn.

[Aurin]

Aurin caught a whiff of arousal from his boy and considered a nice morning fuck before they got started—just to liven the blood and wake him up. But Torin started talking shop and Aurin put the thought aside for now. If he was going to help properly, he had to understand what he was doing.

Under the smith's guidance, he took time to look beneath the initial layer of information his trick garnered him. Startled, he realized he could differentiate layer upon layer of work Torin had already managed. It made sense once the man gave him context. He realized that he could also comfortably analyze Torin's aura at the same time, and sense the patterns of energy in the yard that he had come to identify as nature spirits, and then there was Timon ruffling Huntress' ears and the wilder patterns within her that differentiated her from mere hunting dogs. His trick had become quite powerful. He blinked hazel eyes at his boy, marveling at the true extent of his talent and skill now that he could actually sort of understand it with a few words and quite a bit more that words couldn't quite articulate.

But all he did was nod, acknowledging what Torin said about Negation, about Mesmer, and about Arry.

Aurin stepped up and put his hand on the man's broad shoulder, squeezing hard, knowing it wouldn't hurt and sometimes Torin needed force to understand a thing, to break him out of the circles his mind could run in.

"I knew you were talented and skilled, boy, but this... you are even more amazing than I thought you were a few minutes ago." He paused. "I can see a lot better now than I could before..." That meant with his Rune and otherwise, but he couldn't bring himself to say it and hoped Torin just understood the way he understood so much without Aurin having to say it all the time. That was one of the reasons he loved him.

"I'm getting stronger with shields... faster than my other tricks. I guess necessity is the mother of invention, hey?" He took hold of Torin's messy bun and gave it a playful, if sharp, tug. "Eventually, I'll be able to go toe-to-toe with him if he goes bad. And so you'll have the strongest possible protections. I'm going to have to learn those... glyphs. Can you teach me? I think I'll be able to ward the basement better, and the house. And I'll just be able to take better care of you in general if I do the work..."

He paused. This was difficult.

"In the meantime, do you think you could... scrive it so my shield... reflects? I can't. The trick doesn't work like that. It's like drawing a line in the sand and saying no and whatever you say no to... it just can't pass. But perhaps with glyphs, you could redirect the energy as well? Then, if he attacks you with his trick, it'll blunt it, but some of it will bounce back. That'll give you more time to... deal with him." His insides were wrenching up, but he continued.

"I want you to make something else before he gets back... Maybe two of them because his minstrel... Collars or something. You can use my trick if you need it, or I can source you some high quality magebane. Something to block his trick entirely so if he pulls some shit, I can deal with him. I had hoped you'd be friends... I can abide you not liking each other, but I can't abide one person I care about attacking another. It..."

Aurin shook his head.

"Tell me when. I'm yours to command. In this, anyway."

He smirked, locking his feelings back up before they got out of hand.

[Torin Kilvin]

The warm pressure helped settle the smith, quieting the quacking in his chest that was a discomforting combination of anger and fear. Aurin knew how to handle him; like a trainer knew how to calm a horse or a hound. The comparison didn't bother Torin as his eyes closed for a moment, allowing the care to soothe him. The compliment made him want to turn into the redhead's arms and nestle his face into the strong shoulder offered, but there was work to do.

It was interesting that Negation was coming faster to Aurin than his other Runic abilities had. Perhaps the more Runes you received the easier it was to learn them, or perhaps the ability to speak to mages who could teach, combined with access to books on the subject had helped. After the ordeal of his threshold sickness, Torin seemed to have fallen into Semblance like sinking into warm water. In some ways, it felt like he'd always known how to do it, had only been waiting for the door to open.

"Glyphs?" The blond asked, coming back into the present from his contemplation of the nature of Runic magic, "You mean Scrivening? I'm still learning myself but I can teach you that much, at least. I learned quite a lot of it from Runeforging but understanding the art as a whole has helped me significantly.

The idea of Scrivening areas to add reflection to Aurin's Negation wards was intriguing and Torin's mind wandered off again through possibilities. He wanted to talk to Kala about it, she always had useful thoughts on such things.

"I think I could do that, yes, but I'd have to do each anchor individually. We should do it together, we can both learn."

Stepping over to his 'Forgers bench Torin pulled out a sheet of schematic paper and began sketching out an idea, murmuring,
"I wonder if..." The sound of his lead stylus sliding across the paper rapidly accompanied his voice, "A Lure Well could be used... Redirect the aether."

The Artificing work he'd been engaging in with Sivan in the second upstairs lab was begging to settle into his understanding of world magic the same as Scrivening had, but, after a moment he realized he'd become woefully distracted and set the drawing aside.

"Sorry, the more types of magic I learn the more they all seem to fit together in my head. But we should finish today's work before worrying about tomorrow's."

Positioning them so Aurin was facing the forge and Torin was half-behind, half beside him, he instructed the flow of the Negation, made little requests in adjustment, and used his tools to carefully lay the lines down into and around the cuff. His voice took on a steady cadence, somehow deeper, more resonant as the majority of his concentration settled into the work. His tone, the movement of his arms; if someone could see the aetheric flow and how he altered it, it became obvious that his whole being was working in concert to his goal.

Time blurred and passed unnoticed until, sweating and tired, he placed the final piece they would need for the session. It took a moment for his eyes to refocus back on what was happening outside the blowing aether forge, and when they did he laid his head down on Aurin's shoulder with a little shudder.

"I like you here." He said simply. The exhaustion and vague disorientation he felt after a long session coaxing magic to his will was less taxing with Aurin to lean on, physically and otherwise.

[Aurin]

Aurin nodded, appeased. They would figure out Scrivening together, at least inasmuch as their needs overlapped. He was certain he would never reach Torin's level in that, but their goals were different. As for Arry, there was no telling when he would return. A part of him hoped he never did, but instead used what he had learned to carve out a place for himself among the desert elves.

Once Torin returned his attention to the task at hand, Aurin learned by following his lead, adapting how he created a shield into a pattern that the runeforger decided so that Aurin's trick could be played by the artifact itself within prescribed parameters, fueled by its own source rather than Aurin himself. He didn't understand it all, but Torin explained enough of it that he had an idea what was going on at any given time. It was fascinating, but he knew he was in the presence of a natural. Aurin didn't have the temperament for this beyond working his tricks into the things Torin was creating. His senses told him quite a bit, though he was only getting a bit of context as to what he was sensing.

When all was said and done, he was a bit worn out from spinning the stuff of his soul into the shape of a shield, but Torin seemed well and truly exhausted.

Aurin enfolded him in his arms and nuzzled his face against blond hair.

"I'm glad I could help, and learn a bit more about what you do." He kissed the top of Torin's head. "Are we safe to leave this here as it is? You're worn out. I need to get some food into you and..." One hand slipped down to grab a beefy buttock and pull their nethers closer together.

[Torin Kilvin]

Strong hands, currently tired, almost are kittenish as they slip around the trim waist before them; pawing for the comfort of touch. Torin let himself feel the solid form of the man he adores, eyes closed and face nuzzling at the shoulder and neck he knows by touch. A grunt comes from him, sounding annoyed, and he has to lift a hand away from Aurin to brush his ever-lengthening hair from where it is tickling his face.

With a sigh to accompany the grunt in tone the smith slowly disentangled himself from the embrace and replied,

"We can leave, it won't need more till tomorrow, just a little every day, now that it's started, but, will you cut my hair before we eat?"

As a child his master had always cut his hair; just sat him down with a pair of shears until there was no chance of it catching in anything or on fire. So, it was only natural, in his mind, that Aurin should do it now. Leading back out through the blacksmithy he collected a small pair of sheers and then sat down on a small stool he kept, mostly for leather working. Offering the tool up to his master he settled with a contemplative look on his face. There was something he'd been meaning to ask about, but it wasn't particularly interesting and seemed to flee his mind. Now was as good a time as any, so he began,

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something, about the shop, or the business I guess." As he spoke he moved however he was directed with no thought as to how he might want to look.

"I'm doing well. Between House Leukos and what commissions are coming in through the shop. The house is all fixed up, furnished. I put the new workshops in." Here he glanced up at the ceiling, which was now supporting the floor of said new workshops. "I guess I've done what I intended to do. I could expand the shop, but what's the point really? People don't wanted in and purchase Runeforged goods like they might at a blacksmith or jewelry shop."

Here he paused briefly in case Aurin had comments about his supposition before going on.

"I guess, what I'm saying is, I don't know what to do with the money." It sounded childish, when he said it out loud, but that was allowed, with the redhead. "Its building up, in the bank and it feels bad, just to have it there, doing nothing."

[Aurin]

"Mmm."

With their work completed for the day, he quietly reveled in the closeness and the strange shared weariness that came with working together on a project. Perhaps, in time, he would learn where and when it would be safe to claim Torin's body near an ongoing enchantment. But his boy had troubles, and so he just ran his hands over him as he listened.

When he found himself with shears in hand, he pushed Torin down onto his knees for better access to his hair. This wasn't his first time taking shears to hair, in fact. Arry had needed a cut when he arrived, swooning on his doorstep. Occasionally one of the courtesans had needed a little something done here or there and he was the person who fixed problems. So if he wasn't an artist plying his trade, he wasn't a complete novice either.

He concentrated on the job, listening, and allowed Torin's pause to go by without a response as he worked.

Finally, "You should have a nest egg or emergency fund stashed at the bank. You should have one stashed in the basement. Enough that if... If Kalzasi were overrun by enemies or something else cataclysmic, you could cut and run and start over somewhere with Timon and Huntress." He gave Torin's shoulder a squeeze. "I would join you, of course, but I would have other things that needed doing before I could join you, most likely." He went back to the snip-snip-snipping, and laying out of financial plans. "You should have a separate amount... perhaps a separate account at the bank for repairs and upgrades to the business, as well as the house. Repair as needed, make upgrades when the amount grows large enough. You needn't expand the shopfront, but without making it ostentatious, you could make it finer... and the clientele with money ought to notice and feel more comfortable spending on your services. Skyforge is at loose ends without Talon Novalys; now could be the time you make a name for yourself here.

"And if your pockets are still overflowing... spend on yourself, on your loved ones. Luxuries if you like, practicalities are even better. You could invest in Portions for Foxes, but it would be best to diversify your investments... the way Foxes does. That way, if one takes a hit, all your eggs aren't in one basket."

He laughed. "Make a little army of automatons with your friend to help and to defend."

[Torin Kilvin]

The smith listened, a little to the soothing sound of the shears divesting him of the excess he did not want, but mostly to the man telling him what to do with the excess he did.

He supposed he could clean up the yard, pave the little path between the shop and the forge in case anyone with the ability wanted to check his work. The fence could be made something more solid and fancier. The house seemed fine to him. There was even plumbing now, a well stocked guest room. He didn't want to tear everything down and have it rebuilt. There had been consideration to having Renault add wards to the structures but Torin was fairly sure Aurin would want to do that work himself now.

The duel safety fund was smart. As much as it would hurt to lose the home they had all worked to put together, life was never a certain thing and he would need capitol to set up a new forge if the city should ever fall.

Luxuries were something to consider, but the last thing he needed was fine clothing or jewelry. Maybe he could keep a horse? The thought had some appeal but it would be so rarely used. There were plans for more things for his friends, but despite the value in gold they would hold, they didn't feel like luxuries to Torin. Cloaks to protect them from weather, heat and cold felt like useful tools, weapons and protections from harm also were not what he would have called 'luxuries'.

"Would you find my investments? Or I can invest in your business, since you already diversify." The idea just barely fit into the blond's head. He understood that you should invest in several industries in case of problems, but how one even actually invested was beyond him. "And maybe... I can start giving some of it away? Like to Timon's aunt, families like that?"

His apprentice surely knew that Torin sent food and other useful goods for a family with too many children to his aunt, but the gifts were anonymous and didn't actually solve any of the problems that plagued the family, only plugged them briefly.

Laughter slipped from him like little sparks at the idea of having a workshop area overrun with helpful little constructs, but, for all it was funny, there was an appeal to it.

[Aurin]

Aurin smiled at the delight in Torin's laughter; his mouth wanted to form a smirk, but nobody was watching so he let himself enjoy the moment without irony.

"If you had them, they could sweep up after your haircuts, as well." After considering, his attention also on the work at hand, he added, "I will look into wise investments for you. Part of diversifying will involve you having investments that have nothing to do with me and mine. We could also invest in some sort of side business for Timon... I could help him run it, and he could use that as a nest egg for himself, he might even hire relatives to give them income..." He might have to play the mean partner to give Timon an excuse not to let them walk all over him if he became a source of income. Family could be tricky.

Finally, he took a handful of Torin's hair and gave it a bit of a yank.

"Have to leave enough for me to control you," he reminded him. He waved his hand before Torin's eyes, showing an illusory look at what he saw as he walked around him. "Still long enough to pull up, as well, and I can braid a bit of your scrap leather to wear around your brow to keep any strays out of your eyes. Might even help with sweat..." The illusory Torin began to sweat. Then his lips parted as they did when he panted with desire. Then the illusory Torin's face twisted into that gorgeous mask of ecstasy he wore when Aurin allowed him his climax.

"What do you think?" he asked of the hair, though he was standing behind him now, one hand firm on his shoulder, the other tugging the sharp points of the shears across Torin's chest. Work hard, play hard, or something like that.