Musings of Fire and Flesh [Aurin]

[Torin Kilvin]

Frost 15th, 122

It was the first truly cold day, as far as Torin was concerned, cold enough for a good solid freeze accompanied by a good foot of snow at the least. Despite this, the smith was not, at that moment, feeling the cold in the least. Stretched out on the deep, comfortable fur rug that was spread before the fireplace in his large bedroom wearing not a stitch and more contented than he could remember having been.

His redheaded man was stretched out near by, and, far from chilled, they were both sweating a bit from activities that had come to their conclusion only some moments before. They would cool, and dry, in good time; and when they had cooled enough they could scoot back closer to the fire, and to each other, to warm back up as needed.

Flopping one arm over from where it had lain on his chest, Torin's hand found whatever part of Aurin was closest and came to rest there. They panted quietly for a while, content in each other's company, the younger drifting slightly, not to sleep, but just in the peace of haze of the glow that filled him after his master had. Time passed, he did not know how much. Eventually he realized that his mind had come back on and was going over some of his ideas for his craft with no urgency or real pull on him.

Rolling over from his back to his stomach and resting his head on his folded arms he looked over at Aurin and smiled. He had already explained to him about the cloaks, which would now not be a surprise for him, but they would already likely not be for Timon or Sivan. The two being around all the time when he was working, even if they did not fully know his craft, combined with how well they knew him, were likely to at least guess that he was, yet again, making presents. Aurin had agreed to help, and Timon had been recruited to find the best merchant for the large, very expensive fabric purchase, so he was already keen on knowing what it was for. The lad was known by many of the cities higher quality merchants, or at least those that provided higher quality goods that Torin used often; leather, metal of all kinds, fabric, and dragonshards. Despite being young, and looking younger, the lad had developed a reputation of being a hard bargainer who had the gold to back up his choices.

It was nice to have someone else that could be trusted to buy things of the quality needed for Runeforging. Torin did not particularly enjoy the type of conversation and debate that large purchases often required, but Timon appeared to thrive on it.

There was another idea that had come to him along with the cloaks, but he had put it aside because the cloaks would be more universally useful to his friends. The other idea might be useful for Aurin and his growing set of clandestinely inclined students though.

"I was thinking," He murmured, a little muffled where part of his mouth was pressed against one forearm, "Lightstep boots might be a good fit for your Whispers, and you, if you wanted." His attempt to hide his guilty smile at the pun failed magnificently, but he went on before Aurin could chastise him for it, explaining what the boots did in basic detail.

"With your negation we could make the sturdy, to protect little feet as well as big, and I could make them adjust to the wearer so the kids could grow into them. What do you think?"

[Aurin]

Aurin made a vaguely questioning noise when Torin started talking. He was exhausted by a long day and an exceptionally fervent coitus, but even drifting in the afterglow and the warmth of the hearth on one side and his furnace of a lover on the other, he was paying attention.

"Lightstep boots?" he asked, then sniggered as the pun reached the part of his mind that could recognize it. His responses were a bit slower than usual just now. As Torin explained, he imagined how easy it would be to teach his Whispers how to safely jump from rooftop to rooftop without so much physical conditioning or more runes etched into their souls.

"You make them sturdy with your enchantment, but they could be warded against specific things..." He thought about it more seriously, then nodded, his hand finding Torin's on his hip. "That would be good. Just have to tell me how much money to budget for this. For outfitting them with cloaks and boots." He also considered how best to make it seem like he was giving them work uniforms as opposed to gifts. They had Jacq to be their father; they didn't need him. He was just their employer.

Arry had been like a younger brother, and that had become a decidedly less fraternal relationship. He often wondered if he had ruined it and the lad was just too kind to say anything. After all, he was on another continent now playing prince with his bard. With Torin, he had gone into things thinking of him as a student and a hot piece of ass and now they were in fucking love and he only pretended to be irritated by that fact sometimes. Thankfully, most of them were too young for a lot of complications, but he was not fit to be anyone's father figure.

[Torin Kilvin]

The smith yawned wide and then blinked, sleepy eyed even if it was only about noon. It was one of the days the shop was closed each week, and though he would need to get down to the forge to check on the projects he had simmering there was nothing urgent. In a little while he would be ravenous, but there were mutton pies left over from the night before that could be slotted into the little oven Timon had insisted be restored, or eaten cold if his stomach wouldn't wait. The cost of the restoration had paid for itself many times over, as far as Torin was concerned, in pies, cakes and fresh bread. The scent of yeast and baking things made the house feel even more like a real home. Opening his eyes, which had drifted closed thinking about pastries, and seeing the most beautiful man he'd ever known laying close to him, touching him, almost brought the urge to cry. But the dark days of a year ago were fading, only showing up in odd little flashes now and then. It still felt like a part of his mind was scar tissue, but it wasn't something he wanted a healer poking around in. Maybe, someday, he would ask Kala about it, or Finn, but, for now, he was just happy to be able to be happy again.

Activating his new pendant he thought about Timon, who had decided to brave the snows to check that the most recent order of metals for the forge had arrived. The lad was turning out to be a real wunderkind with the merchants of the city, who had learned, at first grudgingly and then oddly with a sense of paternal seeming pride, to respect Torin's clerk, who was now his official buyer. When the teenager's voice came through from where the pendant lay on his chest, Torin requested the amount of leather he would need to the boots, explaining that it should be of a quality for runeforging. Timon knew what that meant by now, almost always the finest available. Luckily, leather hadn't gone up as much in price as many other things had in the last six months. When the connection cut he turned his attention fully back to his master.

"It won't be that much, maybe ten gold per pair, if you lend your magic and I mine." Stretching on the rub and slowly pushing himself to his knees to stretch again he mused,
"I should invert the enchantment like I did on your bracers and these new pendants. Wouldn't want anyone attacking the kids for running around with obvious magic on them."

Making a thing of magic hidden, even to those who could sense it normally through Semblance or other means, was something Torin had been doing a lot lately. The world was a more dangerous place than it had been, even a year ago, and walking around with obviously valuable items on your person was asking for trouble even in the 'safer' parts of the city.

Standing he grinned again and said,

"If they choose to make their cloaks look the same it'll be like a little uniform." The elder two of the Whispers weren't really that much younger than Torin, older than Timon, but they had come through into his yard looking so starved and terrified that the idea of them as children had sort of solidified in his mind.

Timon, Clover and Ruhig were all the same age and thick as thieves (Torin worried this might be literal) when they were together, but it was the youngest that had caught the smith's attention, as much as he had apparently caught theirs.

"How is Bast?" The boy was twelve, according to himself, but small, like Torin had been at the same age. He hadn't been willing to leave the forges after Aurin put them through a portal but before he came back from Zaichaer to collect them. This also reminded him of himself as a child. The youngest of the Whispers hadn't been one to talk, only doing so to his fellow coven members or when he wanted to know something about what Torin was doing too badly to be able to hold it in.

[Aurin]

Aurin, predictably perhaps, teased Torin's body as soon as he opened a connection through the portal. But the smith was used to this sort of shenanigans, and managed not to alert Timon—probably. When Torin continued talking about enchantments, Aurin settled down, though that didn't mean he wasn't touching the man.

"Mmm, aye. Anything for my people... going to need at least some minor glamours from me and inversion from you." He laughed. "Perhaps a bit of a uniform. Livery for the king of thieves. But I'd like them to be able to pass unnoticed—or quite noticed depending on circumstances—wherever they go. But only for the right reasons. Camouflage for my chameleons."

When Torin rose from the bed, Aurin turned over onto his back, tucked his hands behind his head, and leered at him. Sometimes the smith didn't even notice him noticing him. That amused the mists out of Aurin.

"Bast? Hm. Still quiet. Still a runt." The last was said with more affection than most had ever heard in his voice. With Torin, he might still smirk and jibe, but Torin could to see the softer sides of him, as well. Few else did. "You want I should have him keep an eye on you for me? All those little Semblers, one of them might make a good apprentice for you, too. And at least if he's here more, Timon can fatten him up enough for a growth spurt or three."

And with Bast skulking about, he might even learn more about Torin's noble patron than he did. While he respected her for doing right by Torin and wished no ill upon her or hers, secrets were meant to be known. At least, that was how he felt about the matter.

[Torin Kilvin]

The assumption by both the lovers that their antics were not known to Timon was, perhaps, hubris, but the boy never mentioned anything, so no one was the wiser.

Torin's amusement, and attraction, to the idea of Aurin as 'the king of thieves' was obvious both in his expression and his form. The stretch of arms over head became a sort of pose, a showing off of what belonged to the lord laying upon the hearth rug. It was something he did now and then, having noticed the way copper colored eyes locked onto him when his body was shown to advantage. It embarrassed the smith but in a way he found he liked very much.

The truth was, Torin had noticed Bast noticing a lot of the intricacies of his work that even others with Semblance (such as Aurin himself) did not. The boy hadn't said much, but he had turned his head in certain ways, eyes following strings of aether and even correctly assuming where they would end up before they did so. The lad had the spark that would allow him to be a Runeforger, Torin was in no doubt. The spark that Timon, and most other people, lacked. Anyone could theoretically do the work, but it took a certain type of mind, and maybe a certain attachment or inert understanding of aether to be good enough at it to make even simple objects. The smith needed to have a conversation with Timon, needed to know that the lad wouldn't feel anything ill toward another apprentice, particularly one who could do the thing he had failed at. Timon's place was assured so long as he wished it. If, when his years of apprenticeship were up, he wanted to go into business for himself, Torin would set him up however he wished but would then have to try and find a new shop keeper. That worry was years off, where taking an apprentice for his own craft was more immediate.

"If you can convince him to come, I know he could learn the Runeforge. I sort of tested him a bit, without him noticing, while he was here. I'll teach him blacksmithy too if he wants, or send him to learn another craft." Almost all runesmiths knew at least one other craft and tended to specialize in runeforging items they made themselves. It was always easier when you'd crafted the thing you were pouring magic into.

That Bast would be willing to leave behind the others of his coven to become a full time apprentice as would be required to learn Torin's craft was not at all sure.

[Aurin]

"He'll show up if I tell him to. Well, I would probably have Jacq tell him to." His face did a thing. It was more comfortable to deal with the Whispers through Jacq, who was at least an adult. Aurin was sure he was a bad influence on Timon, and it would probably be better if he didn't have too much of an influence over the younger witches in his employ. Best to just ensure they were taken care of, but Jacq was their family, their paterfamilias as they said in Solunarium.

"I suppose one or two of the others might come by the first few times. Perhaps Timon could teach them some cooking, too? They all have a sizable apartment together, but..." Their home was in a nicer part of town, safer. Not terribly far away because he wanted them able to get to him in case of an emergency. They mostly saw to themselves, though. He knew they had various reactions to him, but all of them sort of looked at him with awe, which made him uncomfortable.

"But they all seem comfortable coming over here on errands," he continued. "It was the first safe place they knew... well... ever. And I think they like you, Timon, and the dog." Huntress was, in point of fact, a wolf, but he liked to call her dog. It was like she understood him, and she would sometimes make an offended huff about it. "And it's Frost, so he'll probably appreciate being warm all of the time."

Aurin gestured for Torin to turn around for him, and the smith knew it was to be slow and sensual, feeling Aurin's eyes upon his skin as if they were his hands. He liked to make him do that sort of thing while he worked on something else, but for now, he merely activated his pendant.

"Aurin?" came Jacq's voice.

"Jacq. Mmhm. I'm going to meet up with you tomorrow to talk about some assignments for the kids."

"All right, sounds good. They like the tutors, but they would rather be contributing to the family, you know."

"I know. We will figure out a good balance for them. Stay sexy."

He closed the connection just as Torin completed his turn. Aurin liked to tease his people.

"So, I'll take care of things with Bast. What do I get for getting you a new apprentice?"

[Torin Kilvin]

The sudden reality of having an apprentice, who he would teach himself, was, for a moment overwhelming. His mind rose with 'I can't have an apprentice! I am am apprentice!' before he caught back into reality. He was a full Runesmith, a master, even, based on what he was able to do. Having an apprentice was natural, expected even. But having several apprentices and no wife, or even housekeeper was going to earn him the notice of anyone in the community who knew. He was already earning looks from both mothers of unmarried daughters and the daughters themselves. He preferred his home modest and comfortable but as his reputation grew with his customer base anyone with any idea of what a man of his profession earned would know that he was wealthy in his own right.

That this was true was something he was being forced to accept as truth. The amount of money he had in the bank account Kala had opened for him and Aurin managed was enough to buy the village where he'd grown up, farms and all. Without knowing why, it made Torin feel ashamed. With all the suffering in the world, particularly with all the strangeness of the last year, sitting on that amount of money felt like a sin. He had the idea that he wanted to buy some land somewhere, to build a safe place for people who had been displaced by war and disasters both mundane and magical. It felt like the silly dream of a child though, enough that he hadn't brought it up to anyone except a little with Kala when they worked together because he thought that she, being a lady responsible for her people, might understand. Not that Torin had any pretensions to being a lord, the thought made him instantly uncomfortable.

Only thoughts of having an apprentice interrupted his showing off for Aurin, but showing off for Aurin also calmed his fears and grounded him, so he obeyed the gesture to spin around with as much sensuality as he knew how to put in. Sometimes he wanted to ask Kala so show him how to dance so he could be as graceful as would please his master more. Perhaps he would. Timon would surely enjoy such lessons as well, so it wouldn't be just him.

The Whispers, as far as he could tell, were doing their best to learn Kalzasi as well as they had known the city that had been their home. It would take years, but they seemed to take to it like little fish to a new pond, already knowing more than Torin himself did, if not as much as Timon, who had lived there all his life. That Aurin had gotten them tutors to teach them to read, write, and other things that might prove useful was no surprise to Torin, even if he hadn't heard it till then. Aurin, call it 'training to be useful' as much as he would, made sure that all those under his care were, well, cared for.

Thinking about this, and feeling flush from posing and turning, dropped back to his knees and lowered his face to worship all the firelit skin before him. Jacq sounded better, steadier, less consumed by worry, and that was good, it made Torin admire his man all the more, and he set about showing it.

[Aurin]

While Torin was growing practiced at inverting his enchantments so they could not be detected, he rarely his his aura from Aurin. Between his trick and how well he knew the smith, he could all but read his mind anyway. The reactions Torin had to responsibility for the lives of others mirrored his own in many ways. Perhaps, despite their differences, a part of them had recognized some sameness between them that had piqued their interest, drawn them together.

But even if Bast became his apprentice, Jacq would still be there to look out for him, as well as his siblings in the coven. Aurin would be there to look out for him, as he would continue to look out for Torin and Timon. The burdens were never entirely borne alone alone now.

Aurin sensed the flush rise in Torin as much as he saw his skin redden, and then the smith was crawling toward him and kissing his skin. He let him, laying back as he was, accepting it as his due.

"I appreciate how you care about those I take under my wing," he said, knowing that sort of praise would please Torin and that it needed to be said. It was definitely easier for him to tell Torin when he liked something or appreciated something than it was to tell him he loved him. He had told him. It had been said, but he wasn't the sort to say it often.

Sometimes he wondered if his influence on Torin would lead to the man finding a partner who was his equal. There would always be the dynamic between them: Aurin leading, Torin following. There were plenty of women and men who would marry Torin. Perhaps it would be Sivan. At least Aurin approved of the elf.

"Do I make you feel appreciated?" he asked as Torin nuzzled into his armpit.

[Torin Kilvin]

It was true that, while he had become an expert at hiding the workings of his work, Torin never thought to hide his own aura, even when he was out in public. If he had thought about it he might have said that if his customers or others wanted to know if he was being honest with them, and they had the ability to read his aura, they should be able to see what sort of man he was.

When Aurin expression appreciation Torin murmured part of the oath that bondsman in Kalzasi made to their liege lords,

"To work where you work, and love where you love..." If he had never gotten to his knees and pledged himself as a liege-man, he had knelt and pledged himself, many times.

When the question came he nodded into the skin and scent below his face, absorbing it, then pressing his tongue out to taste. To show just how much he felt appreciated he proceeded to return the appreciation to as much of Aurin's body as the other man would let him, becoming almost animalistic in the use of his full body to nuzzle, rub and touch. It was no real surprise he got along as well with Sivan after the elf took the Animus rune as before.

"Yes." He murmured, almost sound like he was purring, every once in a while. The single word came from deep in his chest, showing just how contented he felt all through his being. That he adored Aurin utterly would have been stark to even the most unobservant of celibate priests. It was almost laughably obvious, to the point where Timon, and even Huntress, rolled their eyes at it.

After some time of this worship the smith ended up curled close to his man, slow blinking as his mind tried valiantly to come back on, again. Eventually his stomach did the work for him, grumbling audibly. Planting one kiss where his face currently rested against skin and another, once he had mostly pulled himself to sitting, on Aurin's lips he said,

"I meant to say, but kept getting distracted last night. I received an invitation from House Leukos for an official visit at the New Year."

It had been decidedly odd, getting it via official messenger, rather than from Kala or Kaus, and that it wasn't their invitation, but that of their House, had filled him with vague trepidation. It was an invitation though, not a summons, so he figured he was at least not in trouble.

"I was wondering, if you aren't busy, if you might go with me?" Aurin was often busy, and, now that he had Traversion, often elsewhere than Kalzasi. Neither of them had what anyone might call court manners, but Aurin was at least better at dealing with, and understanding, the gentry than Torin was.

[Aurin]

"Good," he said, and then let his body be adored. It fit better to have oaths and devotion; he could count on those. He didn't have to fear that Torin's loyalty would alter.

To work where you work, and love where you love... Torin had brought him secrets. Torin outfitted his people, making them safer and more effective, and eating the cost of it. Aurin wasn't sure Torin understood how valuable his love was, notwithstanding it was the most precious thing in Aurin's life now. He wouldn't cry, though. Not now. He just smirked as he was wont to do, taking this paragon's adulation as though he deserved it, and reveled in the safety they had built together. Of course, safety was an illusion, but he was a master of those as well.

"An official visit?" he mused after receiving his kiss as well. "I suppose it's a symbolic gesture. You've your relationship with the twins, and you have been to Starfall several times. Perhaps their mother wants to thank you for your help when the Eclipse struck." When Torin extended the invitation to be his plus-one, his eyes opened up a bit from the contented slits they had been. He considered his boy, the request, the time of year. He wanted to help Jacq make it an actual holiday for the kids. He wanted to check on Elwes. There were events Elric, Yserloo, and even his secretary had invited him to. Darus of Haqs could make a show with Ashoka. But still...

"Sure," he said offhandedly. "I could go with you. Tell Lord Choi I'm making connections with noble families for him. Did the twins offer to take us on their airship...? Vaulting is a little wonky with the Eclipse. Neither the Circle nor the government has done anything to help out with that." He sighed, words dripping acid. There were rumors that Talon Novalys was back sometimes, though also making showings in Solunarium and Cathena City? Aurin was trying to make heads or tails of that. He supposed he could pray to the godling prince again. A bit of invective had drawn him before. And his husband.