Returning The Sword

Summary:
March 24, 2015: Zee returns Kanes sword at Lost Arts

Lost Arts - Gotham


Characters

NPCs

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Mood Music:
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Kane is in his shop. Last night's patrol went… long. It was a bit on the tiresome side as well and he managed to snap a sword fighting a possessed scrap heap. Which is always fun. The one bright side was that Zee had stopped by and had managed to figure out who he was. Now he wants her to figure out where she lives. He's given that some thought. But right now he's focused on forging himself a new sword. There's a great deal of clanging coming from the forge.


Zee meant to return the sword last night, but in teasing The Fox she'd been distracted and taken it with her. She's wearing the black leather trousers, high heeled knee boots, black crop top and black denim jacket today. The only colour in the outfit is the diamond encrusted collar and emerald pendulum on her left hip.

She's been careful to conceal the sword, it's daytime and the police really don't like it when people walk around with weapons like that, disguising it with a spell. The spell is effective to the mundane but those with some skill might be able to see it… a risk, she's prepared to take.

Making her way to the counter of Lost Arts, Zee pauses at the sound of the clanging… The sight of Kane at his forge brings a smile to the young womans face.


Kane doesn't hear her come in, for which he might be forgiven. He is, after all, concentrating on a hot peice of metal and a very heavy hammer and such things are not the kind that allow for day dreaming. He does seem to be the only one in just at the moment, though, so perhaps it'll be okay to approach him. Around Zee is the store area with all manner of forged metal, leather and wooden goods from weapons to decorations and everything in between.


Enjoying the view for many long moments, Zee finally glances around the showroom. The leather goods get more attention, the smile on her face broadening. "Hello…. F… Kane." the young magi moves to the end of the counter, pausing on the threshold between front and back of the shop. "I came to return your sword."


Kane glances over to Zee and gives her a smile. He takes the blade and quenches it in tempering oil before setting it off to the side to cool and dry. "Hello Zee…" He shrugs off the heavy apron and protective gloves and goggles. "Nice to see you. Ah, yes thank you."

The fox takes the sword and places it on a rack. He'll move it to his private stock later. "So. What do you think of the place?"


Watching his actions with evident interest, Zee lets him take the sword before turning to survey the shopfront proper. "It's….interesting…." She's been in many interesting places with her father as she's helped him investigate things. "You make all of this?"


"There's four other people that work here." Kane says, laying the hammer aside now. He's kind of sweaty. And in a black tee shirt and cargo pants under the thick leather apron. "Two other craftsmen and two apprentices. But we make it all yes. Mostly by hand. Have some machines in back for special jobs but mostly we don't use them."


"Five of you…" Zee murmurs "That's a fair number of craftspeople…" canting her head at The Fox, she can't help but think of him like that, "Business must be good to keep five on the books." She's aware, to a large degree, of the commercial realities of running a business "Like working with your hands then, Kane?" Zee looks to sword and then back to the sweaty Druid, a small impish smile gracing her lips.


"It is quite a few of us yes. Though we always do seem to be busy." Kane muses. Very busy, some seasons. It's hard to find help for a job like this. Mostly it's apprentices which aren't… quite help in some ways. "Well yes. I do." He looks over with a small grin. "Why do you ask?"


Zee shrugs as she looks at the sword he'd been working on and then back at Kane. "You have to ask? It's kind of obvious, really." Looking around the show room, the young Magi smiles widely "So, what of all this have you made?"


"Well a lot of it." Kane starts to walk about the sales floor showing examples. "I do wood, leather and metal. Mostly metal but I'm a good hand with the others." He does make his own wooden weapons after all. And his own leather armor. "The linen clothing over there is mostly one of my partners. I don't do weaving. Stitching, though, that I can do." He picks up a wooden statuette of an elk and hands it to Zee."


Zee looks at The Fox with interest "You made your armour and weapons then?" She follows behind and looks as he gestures and shows her his work. "You made that sword you gave me, didn't you?"

Taking the statuette, Zee turns it over in her hands inspecting it and the detail he's achieved. "It's very detailed." She's not talented that way…


"I make all my own gear yes." Kane smiles. He turns to look back at the sword. "That one though… no. My mentor made that. I carry it sometimes. Not often. Swords get broken or lost. I have to leave them behind occasionally." Or Batgirl takes them. "But I take it to remind myself why I keep fighting." Twelve dead friends. It's a hell of a reason, really.


"I see… your armour is very good work from what I've seen" The sword gets another glance as she hands the elk back to Kane "I'm sorry" again it seems, the words softly spoken "I didn't mean to pry." She's just inquisitive. "I know you don't want to discuss it…" if he does, she'll listen though. "Show me the leather work you do." Why leather? Look at how she's dressed.


"Thank you." Kane says quite simply. He doesn't comment on the sword. Some things are too fresh. Hurt too much. Work thouhg? Work he can show her.

"You want to see leather do you? You're going to smell it first. Leather processing starts with something called 'Pure'. It's… rather misnamed." Kane opens the door to the Tannery and true to his word. It stinks. At least he offers her a mask before they go in.

Stretched out on racks are hides in various stages of curing.


Not quite what Zee had in mind, she meant the finished products but she likes to learn. The smell… is overpowering and she holds the mask to her face, breathing shallowly. "Why" cough "is it call 'Pure'" she asks as she looks over the hides on the racks. "You do all this work?"


"I do most of it yes. I mean, we have appretices for this." He steps through the room toward the otherside and opens another door where cured leather is waiting to be boiled and shaped and stitched. "This is where I make things." There's vests and coats and several other things (Like armor) just waiting to be made.


"Apprentices, right." Zee smirks a little. Constantine and her father used that line a lot to get her to do the drudge work. She can't move fast enough to leave the curing room but stops quickly as she as she's the pieces arrayed. "Explain it to me…. please."


"Sure. Ever gotten nice leather wet? I mean, real wet." Kane gestures to some vats of water that are at present room temperature. "It forms to you, right? Get leather in boiling water and you can do the same. Boil it a little and it gets flexible. Boil it a lot and it gets hard. Hard as wood in some cases. You press it over forms and shape it with a knife and a few other tools and you've got yourself leather clothes. Or leather armor. As you like. Just an old trick that most of the rest of the world has forgotten."


"Not really all that wet" Zee tries to be careful with her clothing and belongings, "but I kindof get your point. Didn't one of the Greek or Roman civilisations use boiled leather armour?" Looking to Kane, Zee puts out a hand to touch the pieces raising an eyebrow in mute enquiry.


"A lot of civilizations did." Kane smiles. "It's cheap. And very effective so long as you're not going up against knights or something like that." He gestures to an armor form where a Fox suit is hanging. It's in need of some repair. Stitching is off. Couple of the leather panels need replacing. His is mre padding than armor. Leather armor won't stop bullets unless it's unaccountably thick after all, so he opts for freedom of movement instead.


Zee lets her fingers trail over the armour form, tracing what stitching is there and the panelling. "Looks like you've repaired this piece a few times." Glancing over her shoulder at The Fox, the Mistress of Magic gives a small smile "Have you thought about using some form of spell work to reinforce it?" She could probably come up with something, if he asked.


"My spellwork is difficult to work into clothing." Kane shrugs. "It's easier just to enspell myself and repair the clothing. And it gives me something to do. A bullet proof leather coat may turn eyes, after all. Be a means to track me. This? This just looks like a cosplay piece."


The cosplay reference gets a smirk from Zee "See, I told you if you ever wanted to get coffee, that's all you would have to say." But she gets his point, most certainly. "Been reading a series of books about a guy who has a bullet proof coat… it was just an idea." The smirk grows into a wide smile "Mind you, the trouble he gets into… you might want to avoid that." Yes, Zee does read.


"It can be done sure just… yeah." Kane does too. He might even know he series. "So that's how it's done. You have time some day I'll show you the process but it's a long one." He pauses with a smile. "Now, tell me. Did you really come all the way out here from Shadowcrest just to return my sword? Or was there something more?"


Zee snorts a little "All the way is not all that far" pariticularly when you can teleport or use the leyline network to move around. She can't help smirk and smile a little at the sword reference… Jes might be a slightly bad influence in that respect. Still, she pauses and looks at Kane with a shrug "I wanted to see you again, that's part of it." Zee isn't too worried about stating her mind but she touches the pendulum at her hip, a look of concentration on her face. There might be something else as well…


"I'm listening." Kane's eyes track down to see the pendulum. Unlike most, he does know what a dowsing pendulum looks like. That look of concentration makes him curious too. "That's no mere trinket is it?" He murmurs quietly.


Shaking her head, Zee looks serious. This is the Zee that most will see in conflict, the focussed, serious, potentially deadly, mage. "No… it's not." Finding a bench in the workroom, she leans a hip against it, keeping her fingers lightly on the pendulum. She doesn't have to, but see previous notes on how Zee thinks her power works.

"Without going into too much detail, the pendulum is attuned to the Leyline network. There's a number of us who carry these and we're, charged I guess, to protect the world from magical incursions. We can communicate using the pendulums… and Jes, you met her remember, she has one." Zee pauses and lets Kane catch up with that information dump "She's been gone for a few days. I wouldn't normally worry, but she's not answering on the network… I'm…. worried Kane." Raising her blue eyes to meet his, she shrugs "That's not why I came to see you though, I was hoping to be distracted."


"Distracted mmm?" There are all kinds of things a man might do to distract someone from those kinds of troubles. But he's not sure what Zee has in mind in paricular. "I can offer a lot of distractions. Some are more work than others. Some are work, honestly. What did you have in mind? And how long do you want to spend doing it?" Some distractions are very… well, involved.


Zee just blinks…. was that invitation? *shrug* she'll assume it was. Pushing herself off the counter and approaches Kane. "I have as long as you want, Fox" They're alone, she can use that name. Wrapping her arms around his neck, the Mistress of Magic murmurs "Distract me like this, Kane" and Zee kisses him good and long.


Kane's eyes widen suddenly. That was not the distraction he had in mind. Though it's not an unpleasant distraction. She can tell that she caught him off guard but if she's persistent (and it seems like she will be) She'll get a response. Readily.


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