The Smith and the Knight

Appearances

Arden said her goodbyes for the time being. She left several notes for Gelehrter to absorb, but he took on the arduous task of cleaning. He scrubbed and weaved magic for the clothes to appear to clean themselves. He kept a close eye on Ana too, for her sleeping habits were continuously halted by other avenues of thought. Her forge roared from time to time, but she produced nothing worthwhile. Scrap metal was quickly making its appearance known in her workshop.

Ana's hammer rang indignantly against her own fatigue, the strength behind each blow diminished rhythmically. He routinely checked her waterskins and filled her coffee mugs while they floated about the abode.

She gingerly set the hammer onto the anvil and glanced over her shoulder. She spotted him enter the workshop again, her grin widening. Though the weight of her tools seemed to grow with each passing moment—almost as if there was some other force feeding off her—she took solace in his presence.

"Is your weapon in good shape?" She broke the silence and he halted. For some strange reason, he spoke even less than usual.

"I've not had the opportunity to wear it."

He took a few mental notes as he watched her turn away. Ana took extensive efforts to avoid mirrors. The incident from some time ago had startled her subconsciously and he reached out to her mentally—albeit with a stealthy brush rather than an invasion. He restrained himself from doing a complete dive into her mind and chose the guardian approach. Feelings for her rested within and he took care in his attempts at garnering information. She was not stupid. Several brushes with her as they lived in close proximity only gave more mount for worry and in his mind, worry would only lead to more carelessness.

She relinquished her proxy of the forge and ventured over to him. Her entire being burst forth with strength as her arms crushed his form, his body hefted into the air.

"You've been so busy taking care of us...I'm glad you are here with me." The door to their abode opened and several people stepped in before Arden. She glanced over to them, released Gelehrter, then took a few steps away. Arden, despite the usual demeanor of camaraderie, wore a different mask. The indifference pierced through his chest and deep into his heart. Other Justicar activated their Blessed Star of Sanctuary, the dark robes covering their body with its luminescent pixel boxes. Arden, however, wore a uniform similar to theirs, but he recognized the small differences between Ovelia's and Arden's. The embroidery on the sleeves and other areas were missing, but the design was relatively the same.

"Hello, friend." She smiled and the other soldiers took station around them. Ana looked around in bewilderment.

"Why are they all here?" Ana asked. Gelehrter suspected foul play, but swallowed the thoughts for the time being.

"E-Er...no reason. I'd like to talk for a while, if you like." At this, Ana headed over to the kitchen after Gelehrter. Justicar had filed into this area and were stationing themselves in all corners of the room. The sight of the couple taking their places in front of Arden seemed to displease them. "Let's go over a few things. A few months ago, you experienced a strange phenomenon, how would you describe it?"

Ana seemed taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Gelehrter jumped in before Arden could press the issue. "You see, she has some trauma from her father passing. It is having an effect on her daily life."

Arden seemed unconvinced. "This event happened many years ago. She has used her work as her therapy, is that right?"

Ana merely shrugged. "I don't really know how to answer that. Papa taught me years ago that if he had passed when I was young, I would keep on with his teachings and spread his work throughout all of Sanctuary. So far I think I am doing well."