Three Easy Payments

Lich King

Well-Known Member
Jul 24, 2016
633
Malazan
The city outside the shop screamed its usual tune as Vatar wiped down the windows of its daily grime. The fast wind shook the glass, bolstering the vibration from honking horns and loud beat up cars. His day so far had been pretty busy, which was saying a lot compared to how the old man usually had him working anyway. He had been in charge of the register and the forge downstairs by himself for most of the early day and was only recently alleviated with his boss returning.

As usual, his niece was running around cleaning whatever spots he missed and poking at blades that should definitely not be within her reach range but was nothing a matter couldn't fix. Instead of worrying about a child that wasn't in any real danger he focused on his work which if things did go badly the boss man would have his hide....and hair!

The latter scared Vatar more and he scrubbed the windows to mere perfection before dropping the rag back in the bucket and moving it toward the back room where he could dispose of the water later. Surprisingly weapons on Manta Carlos sold very well and little time was left for him to do menial tasks The bell on the door jingled and jangled at a frequent enough pace that he had slowly lost track of the periods between.

Six more hours.

His shift would be up in six more hours but he still had to watch the forge downstairs as the boss took his niece home. They were demons..well at least some of them were. He had no clue as to what exactly he could classify the old man as but all he knew was that his age was pushing several thousand and death seemed like a faraway dream for him to this day.

Vatar knew his life would be long, a couple hundred at most, but thousands seemed like a goal that was not even on the same track.

Mindlessly pondering behind the register for a few moments he felt a leathery hand hit the back of his head.

"Wake up boy! Told you to start sleeping right didn't I!" It was the old man....sadly.

Vatar nodded as he watched the man take a sword from a case and carry it back downstairs,grumbling. The heat of the forge kept the place warm naturally but only when the door was opened did he get reminded of the immense heat he had to bathe himself in for a living.

With a small yawn, he perked up and focused on the door waiting for any and all customers who would stop by " The Hot Ticket" a name to this day the man regretted letting his young children make up.

@Demonicmuffin
 

Demonicmuffin

Well-Known Member
Inactive
Dec 24, 2017
194
Eremita glanced around nervously, looking at the people around her. Even with the large blanket draped over most of her body like a cloak, it was still clear something was off about the girl, what with the several mechanical and cybernetic legs moving beneath the edges of the fabric. Still, it at least made her feel at least a little bit more secure. It's much better to have them looking at her cloak confused then looking at her with hatred.


She didn’t go out into town often, almost at all in fact, especially not to the more populated parts of the city. But she had a reason, and a good one at that. She had heard there was a blacksmith of sorts around here somewhere, already enough to peak her interest, but adding on the fact that the owner had supposedly lived for over a thousand years, it became an almost must visit location. The chances of him having some way to extend her life were small, but there was a chance, and she was willing to go for it.


Stopping to look around, lifting herself up on her legs higher to see better. She spotted the place she was looking for down the street, carefully moving towards it as to not totter into any cars. “The Hot Ticket”. A rather strange name, but she didn’t know much about many things, and names were one of them.


She opened the entrance slowly, turning the knob with her human hand before pushing it with her large claw, the bell ringing, startling the girl. A burst of steam puffed out of the boiler she had instead of an ordinary shell, sending the cloth covering off the back of her. Panicked, she barged inside, attempting to reduce the amount of people who saw her body, tearing the cloak off so it didn’t get caught in any of her gears.


Now inside of the store, she noticed the cashier was looking straight at her. Hiding her face with her hands, she instinctively raised her large claws, snapping them several times before realizing what she was doing, a whistle sounding from her boiler.


“U-um… H-hello…” Eremita managed to stutter out, her voice having a somewhat metallic quality, as if someone was talking through a pipe, lowering her hands slowly. “I’m here to do something, I mean get something done.” She explained watching the man. She was the one who engaged, he had a clear motive for being here, there shouldn’t be anything to fear from him, at least physically. Obviously he would judge her appearance, there probably wasn’t a thing alive that wouldn’t. She hated the way people looked at her, but she couldn’t give up here, she had a mission.


“I would like to get some custom parts done, or at least be allowed to make them myself. If I don’t have enough money… I-I can probably help around. I’m good at making things… I’ll even just carry stuff if I have to.” She told the cashier, unaware that he was likely not the person she should be bartering with like this. “I also um… I have to ask the person in charge here something, is that you?” She asked, her hands fidgeting awkwardly.
 

Lich King

Well-Known Member
Jul 24, 2016
633
Malazan
Yeah, that about summed up his life. Of all the people to come through the door, it had to be a shy one. He didn't have a problem with shy people but servicing them made him feel off evil as they usually hadn't the slightest clue of what they want and he was taught to option the priciest stuff. Granted he received a bonus for doing so but it still didn't always sit right. In this case, the feeling of wickedness didn't emerge and instead, he just marveled at the girls...body? He couldn't be sure anymore. This island was to damn strange to just assume something about anyone. Still, Vatar silently listened to the girl ramble on, taking in her words while also examining the machinery she was hauling around with her.

Part of him wondered if the cloak was supposed to be some sort of surprise for him so she could unveil her body like it was a car. He didn't dwell on it but it did stick like glue to the back of his mind. It wasn't every day they had people asking for work so it would've really set the bar high in his opinion. Her wording of "Do something " at first made him think it was a robbery, which reflecting on it he wished had happened just to see the old man kill someone for evening trying.

"Ummm hello to you too and while i'm not the owner I am the person in charge as the old man finishes his work downstairs. So....start from the beginning...what do you want? To make an order? A job? I can help you with the first but the latter's gonna have to make me run downstairs. Actually..."

He looked over at the old man's niece who was silently appraising the girl's machinery. She hangs around here to much, he thought to himself as he snapped her out of her silent trance.

"Tell the old man I might need him."

She nodded and hopped over the counter, opening the door, and running down the stairs. The heat felt hotter on his neck and with no care for him, the little girl left the door open in her quest.

Kicking the door close he looked back to the girl and smile, trying to be charming. "As I was saying I'm gonna need to know what exactly you want."

@Demonicmuffin
 
Forgot your password?