(no subject)

[firacrux]

WHO: Seifer Almasy
WHERE: The blacksmith's
WHEN: 12-13(ish?)
OPEN TO: One for Tony Stark, one open to forge people and anyone else who would drop by!
WARNINGS: Mild swearing, possible mention of child soldiers

---

Hammering it out - Closed to Tony Stark:

"Tomorrow morning" hadn't been the most explicit time. Seifer, who was already accustomed to rising before the sun, was present at dawn to wait. Only after he'd already set out had he thought that perhaps his chosen time had been far too early for anyone reasonable. Too late now, he decided, kicking idly at the snow. His best bet would be to spend the morning dodging the extremely dangerous native mice. Maybe he should have borrowed Rinoa's peacat for the walk over. The nice thing was the blacksmith wasn't far from his house at all, in fact he could just cut across the field if he wanted to. Right now he was sticking to roads to better avoid getting turned into a giant ice sculpture.

Having successfully dodged any mouse related mishaps Seifer arrived just a little after sunrise, with the time of year Seifer was guessing to be somewhere around six or seven in the morning. Not too bad, he thought, as he pounded on the door to see if anyone was in or around and willing to let him in. If Stark wasn't ready for him he could always have a look around and familiarize himself with the layout of the smithy. Get a general idea of where he would be working.



Into the fire - OTA:

With the basics out of the way including the general safety guidelines of not putting one's hand in the molten metal or under a hammer, as well as a rough idea of what was expected of him Seifer went to work. Given his experience with blade maintenance much of his duty for the first day consisted of sharpening and honing. Knives, hatchets, anything with an edge that needed to be made sharp Seifer would work on it. When he had nothing on hand to sharpen he was put to work on casting. A simple enough task for a novice that was nearly impossible to mess up. And if he did? It could just be tossed back in to be melted down again.

At present he'd taken a break from sharpening duty to resume casting small parts for... something. Honestly he didn't really know what only knew he had to fill the molds, let them set, empty them out and repeat. This part was particularly nice because standing near the hot crucible was delightfully warm. Much better than wandering around outside in the cold. He was from a warm island where any snow was way up on top of the mountain range which you really had to go out of your way to find. This heavy, wet winter weather was taking some getting used to. Don't mind him playing at being a lizard and soaking up all the heat he could before returning to sharpening.

Comments

[nonstopnarcissist]

Benefit to coping in semi-healthy ways: more consistent work hours. Tony spent most of his day in and around the forge working on the mechanics of The Ferry Project, casting nails and smaller parts- projects that he could and would hand off happily to his brand new Smithtern once they arrived. The forge lit the space well enough till daylight filtered in, lanterns hung making up enough of the difference that it wasn't ever too difficult to see.

The door swung open and Tony grunted as he motioned Seifer inside, pot of tea still warm and waiting for his third, fifth, sixth cup to wake himself as he scrubbed clean a patch of his gigantic wall of notes and equations, drawing up a tidy little To Do list for the new guy.

"Right, how steady are your hands?" Jumping right into it seemed best. Learn as you do, that kind of thing.

[firacrux]

Phew, at least he didn't have to wait out in the cold for too long. He wasn't too early after all, fantastic. Taking off early let him dodge any potential awkward social interaction as well so this was nice.

Seifer just nodded his greeting, not bothering with pleasantries if Stark wasn't going to. Instead he just followed him inside, eyes drawn to his To Do list eliciting a faint smirk. Oh good, he'd have work after all. Staying busy would keep him from thinking too much. Best way to not have to deal with things, he was inclined to believe.

"Steady enough, can't be twitchy and run a gunblade. Timing's too sensitive." There were a number of reasons it wasn't an easy weapon to master, the wrist damage fairly high on that list. Seifer's just too proud to admit to that being an issue.

[nonstopnarcissist]

"Useful information but we are banning that word in this forge. No more of the weapon that shall not be named. Seriously. The very idea pains me on so many levels." Inefficient, edgy, it sounded like something a hyped up teen trying to design weapons would come up with. A sword that was also a gun? Could be done, but the way it sounded? No. Just-

No.

Tony made a note on another portion of the wall marked as FORGE RULES (YES THESE APPLY TO YOU THOR) for whenever the Aesir decided to show up. They were as follows: 1) Any weapon or weaponish tool must be recorded to enforce the no shank rule. 2) No gunpowder or guns. 3) Do not expect a coherent forgemaster before his third cup of tea. 4) GUNBLADE is a banned word.

Fast and loose rules but, whatever. They would work well enough. More would be added as needed. "Right. So. You ever cast metal before or seen it done?"

[firacrux]

"Tch," He's still going to say it. "Gunblade." He said again with a smirk, just to try Stark's patience. If he'd been expecting an entirely obedient smithtern he was in for a rough day. "I've spent more than ten years mastering that thing you expect I'm not gonna mention it?" It was barely more than ten years but still. He had never seen it in practice they were impressive. Probably why there were very few who specialized, however, due to the overall difficulty and taxing it put the body through.

Especially since they were also unreasonably large for swords.

"Somewhat, at the junkshops. Dunno why they call 'em that it's where weapons are upgraded, never done it myself." He'd watched from a distance any time his own blade was worked on. He treasured Hyperion more than his own arm.

[nonstopnarcissist]

Tony finally turned to look at Seifer, eyes flat, dark, and intent. Calculating. Gauging. How much was the extra help worth, really? How much would he be willing to put up with for an extra pair of hands.

"Right, do you want to learn forgework or not? Because I can get this shit done with or without you." It'd take longer without but he wasn't exactly in desperate need of help. He could, would, manage. "Call it something, anything else. Butterknife of destiny, sword that is also a gun, bulletbroadsword, I don't care. But that word? Is banned. I don't have many rules YET because I don't know what kind of bullshit I'm going to need to write down to keep Thor in line but even then, those that I have? Are meant to be followed. So. Fall in line or get the fuck out."

He didn't have time to be navigating social insubordination when going soft on one would lead to PointBreak walking all over him later. Because he would. Tony'd lived through that once, thanks, and it wasn't fun.

[firacrux]

Ah, yes, he knew that expression well. Sometimes it came with a weapon thrown at his head, sometimes being forced to run seven miles without a break. Or detention. All of which were amusing prospects. Sorry, Tony, this one had a bad habit of toeing that line.

On this, however, he did put his hands up in surrender, purposely adopting a more relaxed posture. It was entirely a display, a sort of submission gesture to say he wasn't going to press any more. For now. "Okay, okay." He just won't say it to Tony. He really didn't understand the hate. In particular on the word, at that. "Bulletbroadsword sure rolls off the tongue doesn't it?" See? He's conceding, don't kick him out yet.

Seifer could play by the rules he just had to figure out where the hard stances were first.

[nonstopnarcissist]

"Outside of the forge, do what you want, it's not my business. Aside from the 'no shanking' rule. But in here?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the rules list, staring Seifer down. Which, considering their difference in height (he was short compared to most supersoldiers, what of it) took some doing but he had nothing if not an overabundance of experience in the area.

"So. Casting metal." He turned to hit the billows, getting the forge nice and hot where the crucible was waiting. "Large margin for error here- because if you fuck it up you can toss it back in to be melted down again with minimal loss. I've got the casting molds for nails packed and set over there-"

Three jigs with damp sand packed and set, uniform indentations for nails and gears pressed into the surface waiting for molten metal. "Carry, pour, refill. Easy. Belt sander for polishing and sharpening is over here- it'll be a little tricky till I get power to this place."

Pedal powered to get the thing going, but it'd hit peak speed and keep turning to grind down and hone any edge put to it.

[constructionzone]

Facts are, the engineering degrees at MIT all have a practical component and Rhodey had then spent the rest of his life with Tony, so he needed less training than, say: Thor. Or this one, he thinks as he wander close to the crucible to peer over Seifer's shoulder.

"Just how many did Tonesy ask for?"

Look, he's just saying that pile of bits and parts is growing.

[firacrux]

Garden's curriculum was great for the very specific thing it was designed to train cadets how to do: Function as a military-like mercenary. Infiltration, combat, field medicine, the basic core skills certainly. But anything resembling life skills or trade skills? Not even a little bit.

Which left Seifer making more and more nails and gears. Mostly nails, he felt those would be the most useful. Really he was just keeping the molds filled or setting. It felt like that's what he was supposed to do. He bristled a bit when Rhodey came so close, merely because he wasn't expecting anyone behind him while he was concentrating. This one's paranoid.

"Er..." He shrugged, considering his pile. "I ran outta stuff to sharpen. He hasn't said stop yet." Usually if directions were unclear it was implied to keep working until you're told to stop. So... he was going to work until he was told to stop. He might be a pain in the ass but no one could argue he didn't put every ounce of effort forth when he was doing something. He just tended to go a little overboard.

[constructionzone]

Rhodey has distinct memories of a fifteen-year-old Starkster grumping into his pancakes (it took Rhodey a couple of years to teach Tony the error of his breakfast ways) that the TA had made him do the same dumb thing over and over even though he figured out that dumb thing five years before on his own, so there's a secret reason for that amused smile. "Well, you can't have too many nails, I guess," he says.

"You been here very long yet?"

[firacrux]

Come now, pancakes are great! Although Seifer would concede that so are waffles. Just harder to make on the fly over a camp fire. Pancakes are easy. However, he didn't appear particularly perturbed over his current assignment. With another round of molds filled and setting he plucked up a gear to get to work filing off uneven edges and extra bits of metal. Has to make sure the teeth fit together smoothly.

This dumb thing is entirely new to Seifer so he has fewer qualms about the repetitive work.

"Just started this morning. Got anything needs sharpened?" He is a simple kid who enjoys knives and fire.

[constructionzone]

This is a kid who's ripe for the syrup and butter vehicle lecture, with a sub-lecture on surface area concepts integral both to engineering science and the determination of what breakfast food can hold the most maple goodness. Luckily, now is not the time for that.

"Nah, I haven't stabbed anyone with my new knife yet." Not that he's planning on it, specifically, but the possibility is always there. It's just that Rhodey's almost as new in town as Seifer is. "James Rhodes. Design, back up supervisor, and camp cook." Apparently.

[firacrux]

He's not saying that waffles are bad only that they're less convenient to make over a campfire, which is where most of his cooking experience comes from. Show him a waffle iron he can use on the stove and he'll be willing to be convinced.

"Well when you've dulled it after a good stabbin' spree you know where to go," Seifer offers with a lopsided grin. It's an awful joke, but morbid violent jokes come easy to mercenaries. "Seifer Almasy. Smithtern, forge novice, and... I dunno, pour monkey?" He shrugged as he moved to inspect is molds. Nope not yet, had to cool for a while which meant learning how to be patient.

It was really hard for him to do. "So, guessin' you know Tony by the nickname. Same world?"

[notsoangry]

Bruce spent his time between the schoolhouse and forge, but lately there were more hands in the forge. People who wanted to learn and join Tony in creating things, and Bruce felt like that was very good for his friend, to make new connections and get some distractions. So he spent more time in the schoolhouse pouring over his notes and working on a cure for Liv, and a few other little personal projects. He was coming down to the forge to see if Thor was there, and instead saw a tall young man.

Generally Bruce was not comfortable with new people, but that instant discomfort was set aside lately. This community was too social to allow his anxieties to win. So he crushed that down. "Hey," he said in greeting. He'd been in and out regularly enough he didn't actually think he knew him yet. He was a short and unassuming older man, and he took his glasses off to fold into his pocket. They sometimes got steamed up with hot air nearby. "What's he have you working on?"

[firacrux]

Hey, welcome to the socially awkward and anxious club. Clearly there should be a membership card. It'd be bright yellow and worn on front of the shirt so everyone knew to approach carefully in case they freaked out a little bit.

Fortunately Bruce's hesitance had given Seifer time to be aware of his presence enough not to startle when he approached. It helped he didn't look particularly intimidating, nor ready to lecture Seifer on the quality of his work, so he didn't feel the need to be immediately defensive. In fact much of his focus remained on his work, carefully pouring yet another batch of molten iron into the carefully prepared nail casts.

"Nails," Seifer's social skills were top notch, by the way. He grunted that while faintly nodding his chin toward a neatly stacked and ever growing pile of them. He'd been busy, very busy. "Lotta nails. And gears." He ran out of things to sharpen pretty quickly. While this batch set he'd go about filing off the rough edges and finishing. Finally, once poured he set the crucible back so he could turn to face Bruce. "Hey." Now he says hello.

[notsoangry]

Bruce has been in the socially awkward and anxious club for nearly fifty years, so he's a gold star member at the very least. A lot of people thought the Hulk was what made him withdraw from people and become more isolated, but he's always been fairly isolated. He was shy from childhood into the teens and well into his twenties. It took Betty coaxing him out to occasional interactions with others. This place had brought a little of that back too.

He was the farthest from intimidating someone could get. He smiled faintly at the young man. "That's helpful. It's always the little parts that really put a project together." Bruce and Tony really had to get down to the basics to do their work in this place, but there were good aspects about that. Challenges were distracting. It reminded them of who they once were too. "Have you done a lot of this before?" He does look like he knows what he's doing here, or maybe he follows direction well and Tony started him on these because they were easy. He doesn't assume either.

"I'm Bruce Banner, one of Tony's friends. It's been great having more hands in here, so thank you."

[firacrux]

Bruce is definitely a gold star veteran here in the socially awkward department. Seifer was never necessarily shy, his method instead involved lashing out and being incredibly unpleasant to approach. It saved him the trouble of having to be withdrawn if people never approached, right? Totally flawless plan.

This guy, however, definitely didn't seem like he was there to give Seifer a hard time or cause trouble, so he was a little more okay with focusing on his work rather than worrying about Banner. Didn't mean he wasn't keeping a wary eye on him anyway, just in case. Never underestimate someone, especially the harmless looking ones. "Figured I should focus on the nails. I'd like to learn to forge 'em too, probably the next step." He did know enough about blacksmithing to know they often made nails in their downtime. Good practice, and always useful to have on hand. "Nah, never. First time, place I came from didn't really leave time for learnin' trades or hobbies." They were too busy being turned into soldiers after all.

He rose an eyebrow over at the man at that. "Seifer Almasy," Genuinely he looked confused by the gratitude. Didn't think he'd done anything noteworthy enough to earn it. "Er, yeah. 'Course. Might wanna save that gratitude for after we're sure I haven't screwed these up." He's pretty sure he probably did that. It's a theme with him.

[notsoangry]

It used to be very wise to keep a wary eye on Bruce Banner. The mild mannered and quiet scientist had much more going on under the skin then. Not he was what he looked like, but he would never begrudge anyone else their wariness. Being withdrawn from others was one of his stronger skills. It was nice to see the young getting involved in these projects though. Tony could use apprentices to mentor, it was good for him.

"You'll be doing them in no time. Tony will let you know when you're ready to take the next step. This is his area of expertise." While Bruce could do a decent amount, they each had their greater strengths. It was what made them excellent partners. "If I remember back in the day it started with screws for me. It's been a long time since then." He's about to turn fifty so it's been a long while since he was a pre-teen at Harvard learning the basics. "Really? What did you do with your time in your world instead of hobbies?" He was endlessly curious about the other worlds.

"Nice to meet you, Seifer." Bruce waved a hand. "Don't worry if you do. We've all been there. Learning is a process." He smiled, maybe a little mischief in it. "You should ask Tony how many prototypes for his suit he had to go through before one worked the way he wanted."

[firacrux]

At least in the case of Seifer it was merely a wariness he displayed toward everyone he didn't yet know. Once he came to trust others around him he'd maintain a less hyper alert state. Until then the wary eye was there to stay. So far, despite his hounding Tony a tiny bit about the gunblade rule, he found he liked the man well enough. Didn't take shit, which he appreciated, wasn't unduly critical, which he really appreciated. Being given a chance meant a lot to Seifer, not that anyone here would truly understand that about him.

"Figured I'd learn this one step at a time," Eager as he always was to jump in both feet first and hit the ground running he understood the necessity of learning the basics. Besides, there was something enjoyable about watching the molten metal flow. Then slowly harden into nails and gears. Astonishing to pick up something you knew was once molten liquid and was now hard as, well, iron. "How did you make screws, not at an anvil I'm guessin'?" Likely they had more advanced machinery they were working with. That's what he guessed anyway, just by talking to them.

"I was a cadet in a mercenary school, so training. Hunting monsters. Homework. That sort of thing." Alright he still hadn't entirely figured out that the monsters thing wasn't a universal concept. They had so much in common, and yet so many differences as well. Strange.

He nodded at the greeting, attention locked back on his molds and filing. "Same to you," He said easily, maintaining much of his focus on his work. He wanted to make a good impression here. "Long as I don't do somethin' like burn the place down maybe I'll get a chance to stick around and learn some more." He liked the idea, honestly. It was never something he could explore before. That last suggestion caught his attention and he glanced back up, clearly interested. "Suit?" Tell him more.

into the fire

[locum_tenens]

Niska wouldn't say that she ever goes looking for anyone, but between her charges at night and her time at the hospital, she's left with a great deal of time. She doesn't need to eat, nor spend time cooking, and so she's curious if the project to source electricity has furthered.

Instead of finding Stark at the smith, though, there's someone else entirely. The heat in here might be oppressing, but it's doing very little to her other than making Niska be cautious to avoid being burnt. She hasn't got the parts she needs to replace the skin and doesn't want to have to repurpose anything else. "What are you doing?" she asks, when she gets a chance in between his actions.

[firacrux]

Stark was around somewhere probably, couldn't completely leave his new Smithtern to his own devices. Still, for the moment, Seifer was being left to his own devices. Which meant continuing to build an ever growing pile of nails and gears. Just. So many of each. By now he was starting to grow accustomed to people being curious about his presence so he was far less jumpy about it now. He was adjusting quickly.

He flashed his new visitor a brief grin, keeping much of his attention on his work pouring a fresh round of molten iron into a gear cast. "Watch your eyes," He warned. It's bright, didn't want to stare right at it. "Makin' gears. And nails. You here for Tony? He's pretty popular." Had Seifer known he might have... no he would have still picked this. It felt rewarding in a weird kind of way. Making things. Especially useful things.

[locum_tenens]

She doesn't need to flinch, but she does so unblinkingly to at least give the appearance that Niska might have her eyes burned out if she were human and looking. She looks back when it seems safer.

"Not very well. I ran into him at the science fair they hosted and he mentioned some projects I have a personal interest in," she says, beginning to do a walk around the area so that she can properly case it. "Are you involved with any of them?"

[firacrux]

Well, burned out likely wouldn't be a problem but no one enjoyed bright spots in their eyes. Likely damage could occur if one were to stare too long without any eye protection. Seifer didn't know nor did he want to risk it.

"They had a science fair?" He shakes his head, setting aside the crucible back into the fire before plucking up one of his finished gears and a file to get to work taking off the rough edges. "Nah, I'm new. Just started today." He wouldn't know anything about science and the like anyway. It wasn't a big focus in the school he came from. "What kind of science projects?"

[locum_tenens]

"The only one I'm concerned about is a viable source of renewable energy," Niska says, dismissing the thought of anything else. She can code and work with computers on her own, but she'd never been given the knowledge required to invent, a shame that was.

If only David Elster had decided to fully equip her, she wouldn't be having this problem. "What are you working on here?"

[firacrux]

"Sure, that'd be nice." As would a reliable food source and maybe updated refrigerators. They had a lot of ground to cover, he imagined, before power would be especially easy to come by. Honestly he was just trying to figure out where he fit in for the time being.

"Nails and gears for the... river something project? River ferry? I don't know exactly. Just makin' parts." It was good practice and decent enough busy work to keep him out of trouble while Stark worked on his tea.