[Tifa watches him lift it, noting how the fire glints through and around it, a reddish light flickering over her features as she gives a nod, and she can feel the heat rising in her cheeks.]
Went out and found them in the fields outside the city. They say they'll bring good luck to anyone who has one.
[She lowers the cuff of her glove to reveal a bracelet similar to his, and inside its center is a similar four-leaf clover.]
[ Somnus continues to raise the trinket up so that it dangles leveled with his visor, as if inspecting it further. At her words, his attention moves to her wrist. ]
[Tifa motions to the one encased inside the bracelet with a shake of her head.]
This one was a gift from someone, but yours? Yeah. I mean... I went and found the clover, got the pendant, and put it in there if that's what you mean, but it should hold for a while, from what I've been told. They're lucky, after all.
[She echoes his words with a smile, but there's a sigh of relief mixed in there somewhere as well. He seems to like it, which is as much as she could have asked for. Whether it works or whether he needs it, that would be another story, but so far... the one around her wrist has done wonders.
Now it's time for her to take a look around the smithy, her eyes flaring up with intrigue.]
So this is your shop, huh? What kinds of things do you make?
Behold. [ Somnus steps to the side, closer to a nearby kiln, which reveals more of the shop. All things metal, precious and not, are on display. ]
Behold.
[ The projects still in the process remain upon tables obscured by a tarp further back, while the few finished products rest upon the walls and racks. With so few wares actually completed, it can be assumed that most of the work done is recycled for improvement, whether that be swords, staves, candelabras, jewelry, shields, or armor. ]
But you have only begun to use a blade, as you have said.
[Hands tucked behind her back, Tifa continues her appraisal of the place, pausing to admire the work of the items on the walls and shelves, hopping on her tiptoes to get a better look at their handiwork. She doesn't know much about smithing or weapons, for that matter, so this is all new to her.]
Not as experienced with it yet, but I'm learning. I mainly fight with martial arts, but it doesn't hurt to expand your horizons once in a while, you know?
[ A connoisseur of weapons may be able to determine two distinct styles of metalwork among the items in the shoppe, relating to the two primary smiths who forge them. Curiously, though, only half of the swords seem to come paired with a scabbard or sheath of some sort.
If she wishes to wander towards the displays, he will step out of her path. ]
Mm-hm. Had I known that you had a shop, I would've come here instead of the one in the marketplace.
[Always manned by the girl with cat ears that bothers her about her love life... so she'll make sure to come to this smithy for all the other weapons she needs.]
You know Kaine? She's been teaching me about a sword. Although, it's more like...
[She searches the displays until she finds something like her rapier.]
Like this one. I like how thin and light these ones are.
[ The name doesn't cause him to react-- as much as one can while veiled in iron-- suggesting that this 'Kaine' is unfamiliar. ]
The rapier. [ And so he replies, shifting his stance to regard the silver-colored blade mounted to the wall. In the light of the smithy, the edges gleam white, boasting their exact sharpness. ] Thinner than its sister-swords, the blade is useful for quick, precise movements.
Indeed. [ The longer they converse, the cool, steely quality of his tone seems to wear. ]
Foundation in martial arts will undoubtedly help you in your endeavors. [ Too many a swordsman are helpless without their blade, as she might already know. ] Should a weapon break, transitioning to fists and knowing how, will be an advantage.
[ The flow of his words is smooth, affirming, as if he speaks from experience. Having done his fair share of wrestling and hand-to-hand combat. In the age of steel, then in the age of firearms, such martial arts have fallen out of popularity. ]
[She hadn't even thought of it that way—it was more about honing her skills in another craft, but it's true. Should she be disarmed in battle if given a weapon, she'd still be able to fight. Not that she's had to do much fighting around here besides in the dreamscapes, but it could prove to come in handy in the future... Never know what's lurking around the corner when one goes to sleep around here.]
Martial arts isn't all just punches and kicks either. It's about finding an inner focus and keeping it.
[She's wandering around again, idly admiring the craftsmanship of another sword.]
I taught some meditation classes to the elders in our village when I was learning. Thinking of picking it back up again.
Meditation will build both strength and calm. [ He replies, watching her as she browses. She is free to inspect any of the wares the smithy has, and test any of the weapons' weights. ] It will be helpful to the community, more so than a weapon, as an extra tool to use when entrenched in nightmares.
[Her smile is bright when she turns around, and she waves a finger at him.]
Mostly to help with the dreamotion stuff. I don't know about anyone else, but it can be hard to keep in control sometimes. I figure... maybe people will find it helpful? Was thinking of lessons out by the river once in a while. You should come... if I ever do them.
[ Such meditation may help those who are prone to nightmares, or in the moment of them, unable to refocus from their panic and despair. Somnus may not be in need of these lessons himself; however-- ]
[Tifa stops her browsing to face him fully, and she rolls her shoulders in a bashful shrug.]
No, not really. I just wanted to come by and say thank you, and make sure you got that charm. Keep it close, okay? You better be wearing it the next time I see you.
[She kids, but she hopes that it at least brings him some good fortune. She can't do much, but she can pray for that, both as thanks for helping her through her dream and for simply being a solid pillar to lean against—something that she hasn't had much of in her life.]
[ Given that Somnus never seems to use the magic journal network, he's not the easiest person to contact on the fly. So Somnus will find a polite, if enigmatic, letter from Zelda at his home. ]
Somnus,
I hope this letter finds you well. An unexpected situation has arisen and I would value your counsel on the matter. At your earliest convenience, I ask you relay to me when and where we might meet.
[ Although it's a bit rude, Zelda will not respond to confirm the appointment. Instead, she will simply show up at the smithy at the appointed time.
Zelda lingers hesitantly near the entrance when she arrives, eyes darting around the smithy to ensure that it's completely empty. Although the subject of conversation she wishes to hold with Somnus isn't one that she's kept private from other dreamwalkers, a notable change has occurred that she isn't sure how to handle. She needs the input of someone who is both clearly knowledgeable on the subject matter and will not hold back an honest answer for the sake of her feelings, no matter how ugly the truth may be. ]
[ Somnus, while not working or walking within a dream, spends most of his time at the smithy or gathering raw materials from the clifflands. When not busy with those two tasks, he simply-- well, rest isn't a precise word for it, for there is none for the dead-- exists. His abode is the suit of armor in which he resides.
Letters that come and go to his residence (a treehouse in which there are no furnishings or objects anyway), are virtually non-existent, but he makes a habit of stopping by from time to time. As a matter of fact, he's only made habit of it since she had sent a letter to him months ago. It had been the first one he'd received in millennia.
Since then, he keeps all letters... of which there have only been two. Hers. ]
[ ...But it is like that, existing within his armor, that he remains in the smithy, standing beside the glowing, diminishing embers of the fire. Patience is an obligatory virtue for those who are cursed with undeath, and watching for coals to turn to ash is a tried and true practice. As she stalls, he merely waits.
He does not bid her to enter, but when she does at last, he will turn in her direction. ]
Greetings.
[ On the table are mock-ups of a sword, spear, crossbow, a shield, and what looks to be some sort of a barrel to a firearm, but it seems he is done working for the day. There is, also, her opened letter next to the weapons. ]
[ Zelda doesn't tarry for very long. Once she's satisfied that there's no one else around, she steps inside the smithy and approaches where Somnus is standing. ]
Good afternoon, Somnus. [ She inclines her head in greeting. ] Thank you for meeting me.
[ Zelda hesitates for a moment. She's tempted to try to make small talk with Somnus, to offer the appropriate amount of social cordiality before jumping into issue she needs his help with, but ultimately decides against it. He hasn't really been one for idle chit-chat, in her experience.
Instead, Zelda takes in a breath and simply blurts it out. ] There's something wrong with my powers.
[ He can appreciate her directness, for if there is ever a problem to be considered urgent, it would certainly be divine power malfunctioning. Discussion of it, or seeking help with it, is not to be delayed.
The metal plates of his shoulders raise, as if in a slight brace to prepare for dire news. ]
[ And it's no wonder she doesn't. When her powers finally awoke in Hyrule, Zelda had them for barely a handful of hours before she went to face Calamity Ganon and sealed the pair of them away together. The princess hardly knows what her powers feel like or how to command them. She didn't have the opportunity to get used to them before being sealed away and descending into a state of quasi-sleep. ]
I feel... something... [ She attempts to explain. ] ...Something different about them. I can't quite determine what this feeling is, but it's something.
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