To Us [Sivan]

[Torin Kilvin]

6 Ash, 122

Torin grinned excitedly at his friend, leading the way up the stairs to the rooms above his forges. He moved carefully through the glass garden of the Alchemical lab and to the door on the other side that led to the small space they used to work on their Artificing projects.

"I think I solved the problem with the Well, I had done the calculation wrong, I should have rechecked it but I was sure I'd aligned the shards wrong." A laugh that managed to be as delighted as it was self deprecating filled the space as he threw open the window for light.

The tiny construct that lay on the table, made of metal plates and little gears meticulously attached looked like nothing so much as a strange doll or toy soldier. It was barely taller than the height of Torin's hand, size belaying the amount of effort he had put into it over the last several months.

Moving to the desk covered in schematic drawings and scribbled mathematical calculation he pointed to the drawing now on top and then to a freshly written set of numbers.

"See? Here, AND here. I'm an idiot. You were right, I should let you check all my maths from now on."

Waiting for the elf to go over the new information he recalled the first day they had worked together there. It had been his birthday, and starting the work had been the present he'd asked for.

~~~

40 Searing, 122

The day had dawned bright and fair, which felt fitting, in one way, and odd in another. Torin was twenty years old that day. It felt weirdly like a milestone in a way that turning eighteen, the age at which most would consider him a man, had not. He had been woken by Aurin, which had taken him from dawn into full day and then some. The man knew his boy, however old he was, and seemed intent on proving it.

Now he was up and dressing, delayed here and there by more proving, but he had plans for the day. When Sivan had asked him what he wanted as a gift he had said he wanted to open the Artificing lab properly, to work in it together. For this he had scheduled only Runeforging projects that would keep themselves for the day and had given Timon a free day from the shop so there wouldn't even be the chance of being called to speak to a customer. Aurin would leave him to his 'toys' for the day but Torin suspected the man had more plans for him that night.

The distractions were welcome. It kept him from thinking and, for some reason, he needed that. It was his first birthday since he'd struck out on his own, with only his own hands to catch him if he failed. That wasn't strictly true, of course, Aurin and Sivan would help him with any problem, and he had more friends who would see him through hard times, but the idea was still there. His mind kept tripping over it, going back to where, as an adolescent, he'd thought he'd be on this birthday.

So it was welcome to see Sivan was already there, waiting for him when he went down and found a mini-feast of a breakfast waiting for him. Timon stood proudly over the spread, pointing out his he'd adjusted traditional recipes to fit Torin's tastes. Aurin had stopped on his way out, tempted into eating with the other three and it was a good meal. A tiny part of Torin had worried, when he had first fallen into a sexual relationship with Sivan, that it might cause friction between he and Aurin. The opposite seemed to be proving true, both men seemed to have taken a little shine to each other.

Once Timon had cleared the remnants and thrown his cloak on with a wave out the door Torin turned to his Artificing teacher and said,

"Come, show me how to make magic."

[Sivan]

Sivan had laughed.

"I expect you will be teaching me what I've been doing all wrong the way you just... feel the magic." Of course, now they were both about as sensitive to the flows of aether as each other, but of course, their understanding of what they sensed differed. They seemed to complement each other, in fact, which had Sivan hopeful that working through the basics with Torin would help him understand them better as only teaching could do. Then, with that momentum, perhaps he could complete his own apprenticeship even though his old master had been dead for years now.

Then, perhaps, between the two of them, they might figure out how to revive IX.

With Timon off to the Cintamani Pavilion and Aurin to the Golden Peacock Theater, they had the run of the place. But they were nerds, so they were just going to be in the workshop all day. Sivan slipped his arm around Torin's waist as they walked from the house toward the workshop. The Searing sun warmed the grass and greenery that had grown under their care. Huntress frisked about, following them since she couldn't follow Aurin to work or Timon to the noble manse.

Sivan's head rested on Torin's shoulder for a moment as he breathed in the bouquet of growing things.

"So... today we are going to make lure wells," he said. "They are simpler than shroud wells, but they can be more effective in the right circumstances, and shrould wells will be even more effective when we are better at scrivening. Everything is connected in world magic, it seems. I think morphology will be the best place to start as you will understand how things fit together from smithing and clockwork. Preparing the core, teaching the golem to think and behave... that is a whole other thing we will get into. I hope today is a worthy birthday present."

*~*~*

6th of Ash, Year 122 Steel

"Well, we should check each other's maths," he averred. "Precision is key and it never hurts to have someone check our work, especially as it only gets more complex."

As he started to peruse the new information, he startled.

"Oh, while I look at this, why don't you look at... this." He pulled a scroll from under the desk and handed it to Torin. As good as his word, he began to pore over Torin's work. Meanwhile, the scroll had a rather elegant diagram of are more advanced project as well as copious notes. Sivan wanted to build a mechanical creature in the shape of a scarab beetle, which he thought would have interesting capabilities. There was quite a bit about pieces he would need forged, and it looked like he wanted the thing to be a work of art as much as a thing of science and magic.

[Torin Kilvin]

The smith flushed faintly, enjoying that Sivan was making fun of him, not wholly understanding why it was nice, but knowing that it was.

"Aether as a whole just makes sense, in my head..?" He tried to downplay the way he sometimes waxed poetic about how aether 'spoke' or 'sang' to him, but sometimes, late at night when they shared sleeping space he would forget himself and just go off about its beauty and complexity. He wanted to give Sivan a little shove but decided against it. The elf was far from fragile but Torin also liked the way his arm felt wrapped around his waist and didn't want to dislodge it.

His was quickly distracted by shop talk, nodding as the instruction began. He had read books on Artificing, but they were often more confusing than useful. They seemed to assume you already were half a master in the art before you began reading them. The terms were ones he had familiarized himself with though, so he wasn't lost at least.

The quiet time to study was a gift, which he would thank both his apprentice and his master for later. Though, he suspect that Timon had only agreed to go because he had some sort of surprise brewing with Kala and Kaus. Aurin had woken him early with all the gift the blond had hoped for, but he wouldn't put it past the man to also have something up his sleeve. The interconnection of World Magic was something he was discovering for himself, though he was hoping he wouldn't have to delve into Necromancy to be fully effective with the others. Kala had declared him competent enough a Scrivener not to need her oversight any longer, though they still discussed their projects together.

As they made their way up the stairs to the little clockwork workshop he turned his mind wholly to the work, except for a tiny corner that always seemed to hone in on Sivan whenever his friend was near. Yes, it was exactly what he wanted for his birthday.



6 Ash 122

Torin sat down, turning to look over the paper Sivan was handing to him. Spreading it out on his part of the long counter that was used for desk space and workspace both he bit his lower lips as his mind began to concentrate. The elf's schematics were beautiful, even when they were simple, in a way Torin never thought of his own. They were elegant. Pulling out the notebook he kept for, well, notes, he began to make little notations, not wanting to put them on the actual schematic. Sivan could read through his notes any time and Torin was careful to label each page to make specific ones easy to find.

The idea was fascinating, intricate, beautiful and it looked like it would be quite difficult. While he worked with his eyes and right hand his left reached over and began to lightly massage at the muscles on the back of Sivan's neck, it was mostly an absent gesture but he'd noticed that hunching over books and drawings for hours caused tension there and wanted to help avoid it, if possible.

After some time, when he couldn't think of anything else to add he glanced over and waited to see if Sivan was at a pause point before saying,

"This is... amazing. I want to help however I can but I don't think I can make all the parts." A chagrined look overtook his features.

"I'm learning how to make gears and fine wire, but most of these parts and tiny and... beyond my skill yet, I'm afraid." The apology in his voice was plain. He did clockwork whenever he had time but, between everything else he was also working on and learning, and because he didn't actually have a teacher, clockwork forging received the least of his time.
"I can make molds for the outside, the armor, I'll even Runeforge it into real armor to protect the inside if it won't interfere with the rest of the magic, but I'll have to order the other parts."

[Sivan]

The elf didn't mind Torin's hand on his neck, eyes closing as he reveled in the warmth and strength, banishing mind while Torin put his mind to the schematics. He would answer questions as soon as they were posed, of course, but in the meantime, he was going to enjoy how Torin anchored him to his body in a way he had never been before.

"Mm," he murmured languidly, opening his eyes and turning in to kiss Torin's neck in thanks. "Not to worry, beloved. There is no rush. We could start with the armor carapace plates, and work on the internal structure. If the chassis and carapace are strong, it could be nigh invincible. I know how to mold some clockwork pieces, so we could work on those together if you want—a learning process. If we have to purchase some finer pieces, that is all right as well, and you know other smiths in the city better than I do. It will take a long time to teach the core anyway... I'm going to catch various beetles and try to borrow some aetheric patterns from them before I even teach it what I want it to know, so it will understand its body in a more natural way. Does that make sense?"

*~*~*

40th of Searing, Year 122 Steel

"So, the lure well can be shaped in many different ways, but regardless of its shape, its function is like that of a funnel. It is a focused point that draws in aether and shifts it into the core where it can then be tasked to specific purposes. It draws fuel into the core, whose patterns send it out into various actions. Dragonshards are the easiest to work with because of their obvious affinity to energies, but one can use stone, metal, wood, some other hardy plant materials, even bone, though all these require the pictographs be written in blood. Dragonshards can just be etched. The logic behind all this is that we are trying to give the aether the malleability of life. The aetheric pattern of stone is very stable, but if you want to make a stone golem move, you have to persuade the aether that it can. And then it can."

He paused. "I have a feeling this will make sense to you... if not from my explanation, then from witnessing it. You understand aether. You persuade it to do things with runeforging. Runeforging and artificing are cousins, I suppose. And when you want to add more complexity, you can scrive that into the pictographs. Which... still following?"

He laughed easily. It wasn't that he thought Torin slow-witted, but it was complicated and it would require that he take everything he knew about magic and sort of squint at it so the soft focus allowed him to see how it all related. There was quite a bit of pomp and ceremony when it came to magic, and Sivan thought that rather obscured how it was all sort of the same thing.

[Torin Kilvin]

The runesmith nodded, a part of him that was mostly ignored glowing happily at both the casual intimacy and the use of the affectionate term.

"I would like to learn more clockwork, I've honestly have so little time for it I barely know more than you taught me in those first days I used to bother you at Jacun's shop. I know of a good clock maker that I think would be better suited to such minute work as this than any blacksmith. Perhaps he can give me some tips, I doubt he'd sell me copies of any of his molds but maybe he'd let me look at them if I explain that I need very specific parts."

Torin was a fair hand at making his own molds and had built up quite a collection that he kept carefully wrapped in a large steel-bound chest in the smithy. If they ordered gears he could use them to make molds for more, but it was less about the molds themselves than the exact mixes of metal, which were a secret every clock maker worked out for himself or learned from his master, and the creation of both wire and springs.

Torin could make a spring but not one smaller than several inches tall. Getting the metal mix right for them was even more important than for the gears or wires because if it was wrong the highly delicate balance of energy transfer wouldn't work. Being either too tight or to loose would render a clock, or a mechanism, useless.

"I wish I had time to take on an apprenticeship for a year or so with a clock maker." In truth he had more money than he literally knew what to do with and could live out many years without needing to earn more but he loved his work and beyond that he had contracts that he wanted to honor.

"I don't suppose you'd want to take lessons with a clock maker? I'd pay for them, of course, since they would benefit the business." Torin didn't know exactly how busy Sivan was, outside of his work at the forge/alchemical lab he knew the elf gave lessons in the use of his runes and took lessons with his neighbor.

"I wonder if Huntress can catch you any without crushing them. She is... very smart." It sometimes worried Torin how smart the wolf seemed to be. The 'language' that Timon had developed with her seemed to be some combination of gestures, facial expressions telepathic projection so far as he could tell and he saw her listening when people spoke as though she understood some of it. He knew wolves were smart but it was uncanny the way she looked at him sometimes, particularly after an encounter in which Aurin had been especially dominant, like she knew what he'd let be done to himself and was judging him for it.

Of course, other times she ran in circles after her own tail for hours or tried to bite little bits of metal he dropped as though they were scraps of food so...

40, Searing, 122

Listening to Sivan teach was, frankly, very attractive. It felt effortless while also feeling like the elf was concentrating and considering his words to ensure his student received the information in the most useful way possible. Torin was paying attention, closely, making mental notes and even some physical ones, though he had books that said the same things, if, usually, not as clearly.

The smith learned better by doing than being told but he knew well the importance of theory before execution so even if a part of his mind was beginning to move blood places other than his mind he kept himself under control enough to be a good student. It was his birthday and he had no work for the day and they were alone until at least dinner time so, if he found himself overly distracted by the way Sivan's intellect warred with his body in Torin's head for the prize of what attracted him most, they had time to take care of it and get back to the lesson.

[Sivan]

They definitely took care of it, and then returned to the lesson. By the end of it, they had practiced the theory and thankfully Torin's Semblance allowed him to see what he had created without having to put together an entire golem to see what he had achieved. They made several of the lures because practice made perfect and he didn't know when they might have time to repeat it. He wanted the pictographs to become a bit more practiced, so Torin would have muscle memory with them as well, and then he showed him how they could be laid out to power articulated limbs—if they just built the actual limbs.

Torin's excitement was gratifying, and Sivan was only too happy to talk about it. He wanted to get back into this habit so he could hopefully, eventually, fix IX.

But apparently, Torin's excitement waned because he got bored and just wanted to shove his tongue down Sivan's throat to shut him up...

*~*~*

6th of Ash, Year 122 Steel

"Well... hmm..."

He considered. "Why don't we talk to this clockmaker and see which of my pieces he can make, and then, casually, I could ask him if he gives lessons or needs help. I wouldn't be lying if I said I was trying to get back into artificing and I needed help with my clockwork. I couldn't be a full apprentice, but I could help and learn at the same time. If he wants pay for lessons in order to share some of his secrets with me, I suppose, you could pay and then I would turn around and teach you what I learn."

His smile was sort of silly, the thought of Torin investing in his education was strangely wonderful.

"And Huntress could certainly help... Perhaps I could train her to hunt for the ones I'm looking for and at least point them out so I can catch them. Or... I suppose I should practice around her. Karhu—the, ah, druid—she said I already have the ability to communicate with wolves now. I just have to figure out how to do it. She would probably be the easiest since it was her fur that helped me call Wolf..." His eyes went faraway for a moment, then back to Torin. "Not to get ahead of myself, but I wonder what other animal totems I should seek out. I know you like foxes..."

[Torin Kilvin]

40 Searing

'Taking care of it' went quickly... the first time. It seemed that Torin's excitement for learning Artificing translated very well into his excitement for other activities. It still felt new with Sivan, like everything they did was the first time, and with most things that was at least partially true. There was also something about touching in a public space, even if that space was a room with windows that could be closed.

They did get to do a lot of the lessons, working their way through several practice wells and then investigating them with their shared rune so he could ask questions and better understand. Just, every few hours, they would brush up against each other or he would get distracted by bright blue eyes and need a few minutes of more mindless activity before he could properly concentrate again.

The relationship with Sivan felt natural and free. It felt like running through the forest or nesting in its branches. A part of Torin that had felt as though it had died after he'd found Finn beaten nearly to death had come awake between the smith and the alchemist. It felt good.

Their time followed the pattern they had established until it grew dark enough that they were forced to light lamps and it a day.

It was a good day. It was worth it to be alive.

6 Ash

The suggestions were good ones, less likely to step on toes or bruise sensitive pride.

"I could go take lessons myself but they would be maybe half a day once a week, not a real apprenticeship. Might be better though, if he knows it is a hobby and doesn't believe I'll ever try and open a competing business. Together, would be best, if we can manage it."

Learning with Sivan was just better than trying to learn alone, both because the elf's companionship settled something deep inside him away from the anxiety that often lived there now and because Sivan's mind was sharp in ways that complimented the ways that Torin's was.

The idea that Sivan might be able to directly speak to Huntress had the smith's brows raising,

"Really? That would be amazing! You can come spend time with her whenever you want or you can take her with you outside the city if being in the forest would help?"

His mind was all wrapped up into the idea of speaking to animals, something he'd very often imagined as a lonely child, so much so that he didn't initially catch on to the double meaning.

"Oh, I don't know, um, a bear maybe? They are at least as smart as wolves. Does it had to be a big animal, like... as big as you or could you turn into another squealmouse to scamper about with the one in your garden? A fox might be fun but they are pretty similar to wolv... oh."

He blushed and ducked his head, embarrassed but in a way that felt good. Sivan knowing about his relationship with Aurin added something to the complicated matrix in his head. He liked being seen, being watched by his lovers, and even though Sivan didn't watch what he did with Aurin, the elf knowing about it, sometimes gently teasing him about it felt...

He bit his lip and tried to clear his throat but one hand snaked over to lace his fingers with his friend's.

[Sivan]

Sivan's smile was kinder and warmer than Aurin's tended to be, but there was something vaguely similar in it now when Torin ducked his head and blushed at something clever he had said. Wolf was a part of his soul now in a manner similar, yet distinct from Exael. It enjoyed the playfulness between them, and how they struggled through things together to achieve. Sometimes it wanted to struggle with Torin, however, to figure out whether Torin or Sivan was the more dominant. He never wanted to actually hurt him, but he often wanted to test his strength against Torin's. Most of the time, Sivan was self-aware enough to know what was going on; sometimes, though, he did want to pounce upon Torin unawares and force him to yield.

That wouldn't be so bad.

And often, it needn't even be physical dominance, though the mental and emotional sorts were more difficult to keep track of sometimes.

The elf leaned in to kiss Torin's lip where his teeth were biting it.

"I'll take Huntress out whenever I go foraging," he promised, "and we can take whatever lessons from the clockmaker that we can. Whatever I learn, I'll teach to you as well..."

He was speaking to clockwork, but he found that he meant much more than that. He knew the human would understand him. Though Sivan had learned the common tongue and Torin continued to study the elven languages, they hadn't needed a common tongue to understand each other.

Giving Torin's hand a squeeze, he moved in close until he was surrounded by Torin's heat and whispered into his ear, "If I take you out into the woods, would you strip down to your skin and let me hunt you...?"

[Torin Kilvin]

The kiss spread through the smith like a newly kindled forge, warming him slowly all over. The hand holding his own was strong and sure and somehow different than it had been when Searing dawned. Torin was particularly keyed to changes in behavior that might indicate changes in emotion or social standing. This was partly because of the trauma of the earliest part of his life, partly because he'd grown up uncertain of his own place in society, and partly because his Semblance was always a low murmur in the back of his mind.

Some of the changes in Sivan's aura since he'd received his newest rune were easy to understand, but the majority of it was of subtler stuff. Torin's scent had a greater effect on the elf now, and his touch was surer. Once in a while, his bright eyes tracked the smith's movements in a way that, with the aid of reading his Aura, Torin had come to think of as a 'hunting' look. There were elements of hunger, of curiosity, and of something not unlike the feeling he got from Aurin when the redhead was claiming him. Whatever the actual intent behind the way he was watched, he liked it. Sivan might even be unaware of it, though Torin doubted that. The elf was quite self aware, what with his meditation and aidolon.

They remained standing close after their lips parted and his unoccupied arm wound comfortably around Sivan, as natural a move for him now as anything he did in his forge. As thoughtful as he was, half in work-mode and half considering the changes Wolf had brought between them, he was still listening intently to what was being said, his mind sharp in it's attempt to understand. So it was that the change in subject caught him instantly, pulling the floor out from under whatever his blood had been being used for and dropping it down into the lowest parts of his belly so suddenly he was forced to lean forward till his nose and forehead was pressed to the Sivan's and their eyes were lined up perfectly for the elf to watch his pupils dilate.

His breath pressed out of him slowly and when he took it back in he said,

"Yes." The confirmation was sure and steady and deeper than his conversational voice, it did not shake or falter, and it did not question what might happen when the Wolf and the elf caught him.

[Sivan]

No slouch with Semblance, even so, Sivan was learning to rely on his heightened natural senses as well. Little tics and tells were clearly visible now and understood as body language speaking to him. He could hear the change in timbre in Torin's voice. He could feel the hairs on the man's arms rise in response almost as other things rose in response. He could smell the pheremones of desire. Many scenarios came to mind from rutting in a woodland bower to taking Torin right here in the workshop, and he felt his own heart pound and his trousers tighten.

"Good," he murmured, breath hot on Torin's lips. His tongue slipped out to taste them.

"I want to stalk and chase you. I want to catch you and try my strength against yours. I want to struggle against you... with you... and show you my strength so you will feel safe in my... family." He almost said pack, but he wanted to remain Sivan even as Wolf brought out things in him that were new or, at least, dormant. Torin was like Wolf—he had brought things out of Sivan, as well.

And Torin was family—a friend, a brother, a lover, and always something more: a collaborator, a thought-provoker, a feeling-evoker.

"I, ah... should we get back to work or...?"

On the one hand, Timon was entirely capable of manning the shopfront and Huntress could be dangerous enough to protect him if aught occurred; on the other hand, Sivan could quietly meditate for a few moments, mindfully extract himself from Torin's arms, and table this conversation for later. He just wanted to give Torin enough space to make a decision—this was, after all, his business.