@YanoraTheran hey! here's your order; let me know if any changes are needed!
Quote:
At first, the hammering disguised the tentative footsteps. It was only when Magnus paused his work to wipe the sweat from his forehead that he realised he was no longer alone.
Turning around, he saw a large white Ridgeback approaching the furnace with a ghostly Dire Hyena trailing behind him. His gaze was locked onto the ceiling in mild curiosity. It took him another five seconds to realise he was being stared at, at which he stopped in his tracks and just stared at Magnus as though he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself now that he had been found out.
Magnus knew his name: Ethir. The now-growling Dire Hyena with hackles raised was Id. Everyone knew the two; except they knew them like hatchlings knew fairytales, because Ethir was as elusive as he was snow-white. Skittish and awfully timid, it was a challenge not to scare him away with the merest actions. But this was not the first time Magnus had seen Ethir. He’d come to learn that the white Ridgeback favoured the warmth of the furnace, which was also where Magnus worked, as the clan’s blacksmith and metallurgist.
Magnus tilted his head in a welcoming manner, offering a warm smile to Ethir. “Hey,” he called, setting down his smithing tools and gesturing to the white Ridgeback to come closer.
Ethir said nothing. Id gave a low growl and bared his fangs, to which Magnus sighed and adjusted his Ultramel Amphithere over his shoulder. He could see why the others in the clan had no wish to really interact with Ethir, even if they knew about him. It was hard to get through to Ethir when the other was so reserved and afraid of socialising.
“It’s warm here,” said Magnus, stretching languidly to prove his point. His Ultramel Amphithere gave a squeak of protest as it nearly slid off his shoulders. “Very warm. Come and have a feel for yourself.”
Ethir looked slightly taken aback, as if he’d expected rejection or hostility from that sigh of Magnus’s. He crept closer in barely-disguised longing, the glow of the furnace bright in his teal-blue eyes. Magnus made no sudden movements, aware that he was dealing with someone terribly scared of him. Bit by bit, Ethir slunk his way to the furnace and settled down, a few feet from Magnus’s workplace. He trembled in what seemed to be relief, and a slight flutter of his wings had shards of ice falling to the floor, hissing as they melted instantly.
Magnus watched as Id slowly began to fade despite Ethir’s wary gaze still lingering on him, the grey Dire Hyena phasing out of existence itself as Ethir made himself comfortable. He’d learned that Id’s disappearance meant Ethir’s contentment and happiness, for Id was only ever present while Ethir wasn’t by the soothing warmth of the furnace. In fact, he’d only ever seen Ethir without Id when the former was by the furnace, soaking in the heat like a sponge.
“I hope you don’t mind the banging,” Magnus told him. Ethir blinked in surprise at being directly addressed. “But I have to get this straightened out before tomorrow.”
Ethir shook his head slightly. Magnus smiled to himself and picked up his hammer once more, beginning to hammer out the sections of the piece of metal that weren’t fully flat. The furnace gave a welcoming crackle as he tossed more wood into it, needing to up the heat for his Ultramel Amphithere; from afar, he heard the barest of sighs from Ethir and glanced over to find, surprisingly, that the wary gaze was no longer on him and that the white Ridgeback was now curled up with his wings spread out to maximise exposed surface area in order to gain as much of the heat as possible.
“It’s nice having you here,” he said softly, barely audible above his banging. “It’s nice to see you coming out, once in a while, you know. We’re all awfully curious about you. I know what happened to you was terrible, but the world doesn’t have to be as cruel as your captors were.”
Ethir said nothing, as Magnus expected him to. In fact, he wasn’t even sure if the Ridgeback was listening to him. But it didn’t matter if he was or wasn’t. All that mattered was that it was warm and cosy, the furnace was blazing, and his hammer was solid in his hands. And that there was a white Ridgeback next to him.
Turning around, he saw a large white Ridgeback approaching the furnace with a ghostly Dire Hyena trailing behind him. His gaze was locked onto the ceiling in mild curiosity. It took him another five seconds to realise he was being stared at, at which he stopped in his tracks and just stared at Magnus as though he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself now that he had been found out.
Magnus knew his name: Ethir. The now-growling Dire Hyena with hackles raised was Id. Everyone knew the two; except they knew them like hatchlings knew fairytales, because Ethir was as elusive as he was snow-white. Skittish and awfully timid, it was a challenge not to scare him away with the merest actions. But this was not the first time Magnus had seen Ethir. He’d come to learn that the white Ridgeback favoured the warmth of the furnace, which was also where Magnus worked, as the clan’s blacksmith and metallurgist.
Magnus tilted his head in a welcoming manner, offering a warm smile to Ethir. “Hey,” he called, setting down his smithing tools and gesturing to the white Ridgeback to come closer.
Ethir said nothing. Id gave a low growl and bared his fangs, to which Magnus sighed and adjusted his Ultramel Amphithere over his shoulder. He could see why the others in the clan had no wish to really interact with Ethir, even if they knew about him. It was hard to get through to Ethir when the other was so reserved and afraid of socialising.
“It’s warm here,” said Magnus, stretching languidly to prove his point. His Ultramel Amphithere gave a squeak of protest as it nearly slid off his shoulders. “Very warm. Come and have a feel for yourself.”
Ethir looked slightly taken aback, as if he’d expected rejection or hostility from that sigh of Magnus’s. He crept closer in barely-disguised longing, the glow of the furnace bright in his teal-blue eyes. Magnus made no sudden movements, aware that he was dealing with someone terribly scared of him. Bit by bit, Ethir slunk his way to the furnace and settled down, a few feet from Magnus’s workplace. He trembled in what seemed to be relief, and a slight flutter of his wings had shards of ice falling to the floor, hissing as they melted instantly.
Magnus watched as Id slowly began to fade despite Ethir’s wary gaze still lingering on him, the grey Dire Hyena phasing out of existence itself as Ethir made himself comfortable. He’d learned that Id’s disappearance meant Ethir’s contentment and happiness, for Id was only ever present while Ethir wasn’t by the soothing warmth of the furnace. In fact, he’d only ever seen Ethir without Id when the former was by the furnace, soaking in the heat like a sponge.
“I hope you don’t mind the banging,” Magnus told him. Ethir blinked in surprise at being directly addressed. “But I have to get this straightened out before tomorrow.”
Ethir shook his head slightly. Magnus smiled to himself and picked up his hammer once more, beginning to hammer out the sections of the piece of metal that weren’t fully flat. The furnace gave a welcoming crackle as he tossed more wood into it, needing to up the heat for his Ultramel Amphithere; from afar, he heard the barest of sighs from Ethir and glanced over to find, surprisingly, that the wary gaze was no longer on him and that the white Ridgeback was now curled up with his wings spread out to maximise exposed surface area in order to gain as much of the heat as possible.
“It’s nice having you here,” he said softly, barely audible above his banging. “It’s nice to see you coming out, once in a while, you know. We’re all awfully curious about you. I know what happened to you was terrible, but the world doesn’t have to be as cruel as your captors were.”
Ethir said nothing, as Magnus expected him to. In fact, he wasn’t even sure if the Ridgeback was listening to him. But it didn’t matter if he was or wasn’t. All that mattered was that it was warm and cosy, the furnace was blazing, and his hammer was solid in his hands. And that there was a white Ridgeback next to him.
@/kawacy
