A month had now passed since her new life had started that night, laying in the mud and under the rain. Covered in her own blood from a gaping wound on her neck and shoulder. If it hadn’t been for Death herself, she would have died that night. But, the Reaper had saved her from death and had taken her in, given her a chance to make a new life from the one that she now had to leave behind.

In that time Cassandra had been learning to control the wolf that was within her, and under Serafina’s guidance that was showing results quickly. Still, once in a while Cass would slip up and almost lose herself, usually under high stress situations, or when she was hungry, or some customer at the Second Circle got a little too drunk.

But Cass was also training to defend herself in a fight. She was already a competent archer from her years of hunting for food for her family’s far, so she stayed that course and continued to hone her skills. What she hadn’t expected was to end up finding out she was rather skilled use twin daggers in a fight. While she had never been a fighter when she had been human, daggers and knives were common for her to use while hunting and working the farm. She hadn’t realized how much skill she had naturally picked up over the years, not until she started to get into sparring matches.

Now she was in Mamjaku, having been sent over by Serafina to get a new set of special daggers forged by a skilled smith that they had heard about. Cassandra, having never left the farm often before, let along having even considering going to Vilpamolan(where the Second Circle was located), had never dreamed of being in Onnen. Nervous as all hell, this was also a test for Cassandra to see if she could keep control of herself while away from everyone at the Second Circle who would help her.

Serafina had given Cass the materials needed to craft the special daggers, angels feathers and halos from the past invasion that had been set off by the Goddess of Light and Strength. In addition she had a name and a location for smithy, but that was, no other details. After arriving in the city apart from taking in all of the new sights and the new scents, Cass asked a few locals for directions. They obliged the obvious visitor and pointed her in the right direction.

It took Cass about an hour of wondering and asking for directions before someone was able to point to the place just down the street. Thankful to be at her destination, Cassandra wondered in, brushing the beaded door aside with a hand. ”Hello?” She called and looked around, no one, and they didn’t have a door either, very trusting then. Since she was here Cass decided to look around and wait, the heat in here was sweltering though but bearable.

There were tools and weapons of all kinds, and as Cass brushed a hand over a sword she liked the look of, she noticed then that nothing had a sharpened edge to it. Perhaps for safety? Looking past the counter and into the work area her eyes were drawn to the strange weapon that rested upon the wall. It was much too large for her, oh she could probably hold it given her new strength, but actually use it? Probably not.

As Cassandra eyed the weapon, she heard the beads of the door move and turned, and what she saw stepping in made her eyes go wide. The hell was that?!

The echoed life from outside the walls and crackle of flame were the only sounds that echoed in the forge before the beads were shifted, clattering with each other as they moved and swayed in the air before working to rest as they were before where the color differences would display such an emblem of sorts. A call to the air made it seem like no one was home, but the heart of the smithy flickered to her word. a pair of glowing spots, blending with the flames, took shape as the woman examined the items on display, ensuring the safety of the store. After all, even with the flame of the forge giving most of the light, the candles that rested upon the wall were still plenty to house her to get close.

Still, it did not take long for the beads to shift again as the Indlovu smith stepped in, hands full of bags that were filled with crops and seeds, and before her she could only assume to be a young woman. Still, she did smile beneath her trunk as she stated, "I did not expect a guest so suddenly. I am sorry if you had to wait long, as well as a bit longer," before taking herself around the counter and more to a backroom to rest the bags on a table and returning once more.

What now stood in front of the human was what could only be described as an elephant on two feet, standing wide and sturdy as if to imitate a wall, and a height difference of a foot and a half to add to it.. Tusks were well taken care of with decorated rings bound around them and ears wide, almost covering the forge as she stood there before her tusk reached over the counter and hovered a bit, Shuja's eyes closing in thought. "There be no need to be tense, outsider," she commented before opening her eyes again and looking down upon the woman, "as there is no need to. Now then, how can I help one such as yourself?"

Having never seen an elephant before, or even knowing what one was, all Cassandra could do was stand there and stare at the massive creature before her that walked into the smithy. This was the smith?! The trunk, those tusks! Covered in jewelry as they were Cass was rather scared of getting gored by them, a safety concern on the farm when it came to the bulls, but this was another level of dangerous. ”N, no, it’s ok.” Cassandra managed to blurt to, going by the voice, was the female smith carrying the bag behind the counter.

When the female… female, spoke again Cassandra managed to shake some of the shock from her skull and speak up finally. ”Uh, oh, yes, why I’m here.” She removed the backpack from her back as she spoke. ”I’d like to request that these be made into daggers. We have heard that it is possible and they will create a dagger with unique traits. We’ve also heard that you are one of the few smith so far that is capable of doing such word.” From the bag Cassandra removed feathers and halos from the invading angels and set them on the counter carefully. ”I’m hoping that’s enough for two daggers, and we have access to more if needed, though the trip to get them here from Canelux will take some time. Is this something that you are capable of?”

The shock and nerves were slowly wearing down as Shuja worked her best to try and comfort the shaken human, listening to her speak as she fumbled through her bag for materials. "I can only assume that the one who told you of my name had once been a guest here as many over the Grand Blue are not familiar on how we do trade," she chuckled, though smiling as she did not have to once again explain why "silver" was not a proper form of business here… at least not as strong. Still, her eyes did widen at what was presented to her. Who guided you here must have great confidence with me on this," she stated, being careful to pick up one of the halos, "as an improper handle would result in a dull blade for eternity at best. I would need to connect with Father to ensure their spirits are at peace and have their blessing for this. Should it work, you will have a fine blade indeed, but if not, the materials will be returned in hopes you can place these at ease.

"But that will be for another time. First, I must see the you that would stand behind these edges." Her arm moved over the counter, exposing her palm to  Cassandra, asking, "The hand that would handle it, please." Once given, Shuja shifted her hand about to expose her palm, eyes carefully eyeing over them carefully. The tips of her fingers were fine , well trained behind the string of a bow, yet still had the roughness of the earth behind them. Her hands were accustomed to farming tools, though seemed to fit finely with simple handles. Still, as she held her hands, there was a strange feeling, and followed it with turning her hand back over. Her nails… they housed a foreign sharpness to them, possibly even to the one whose hands they were attached to. Not enough to be unknown, but plenty to not really know what to do with or try to tame.

Her eyes closed as she rested the human's hands on the counter, processing her thoughts over what  she saw before opening her eyes once more. "I wish for you to be truthful for me on this: Do you seek the malice that can hide within a blade?"

”I suppose, but I think she’s only heard of you from other sources and hasn’t been here herself.” Cassandra explained, not wanting at the moment to get into exactly who that person was, cause that could get awkward. She listened as the smith explained that she would give back the materials if things didn’t work out. The… Cassandra still had no idea what the smith was, only that she was female, and she moved to place her arms on the counter with palms up. She asked for the hand that would hold the handle and after a moment’s hesitation Cassandra moved to the counter and placed her hands out for the smith.

Palm reading? Interesting. Cass had an interest in tarot card reading and was carrying her usual deck to, she normally did, and she was decent at reading the cards to. Cass was very curious to know what was going on in that female’s mind while she inspected Cassandra’s palms for a bit. Hands given back Cass took one step back so that she didn’t have to look as high up to look at the smith as she asked what Cass assumed was a very important question. ”I seek to use them to defend myself and those I care about and that have taken care of me. Should that mean I need to kill to defend their lives, than I will.” Though truthfully Cass hadn’t killed anyone before, at least not yet, though, now knowing what kind of life she was in she knew that that would happen one day. Sooner or later she would have to take a life and if she didn’t then most likely she’d be the one dead. Serafina was training her well, but, in the end, it was up to Cassandra to actually use what was taught to her.

With that out of the way, Cass’ curiosity got the better of her. ”Um, may I ask, if it’s not too rude, what are you and what is your name? Again, I don’t mean to be rude, but I have never seen your kind before. Oh, and my name is Cassandra, but you can call me Cass.”

Her ears hard-focused on her answer, processing the words through her mind. They were quite genuine, though nervous as what it meant to take the unthinkable. It is not as though she had heard such words before from those who truly aimed for homicide and had learned to catch hidden malice behind said words. No sign here. However, her concentration was broken when a more personal question was ask, making her chuckle lightly.

"I should be the one apologizing. I am known as Shuja Vasool, but no need for formalities if you struggle with the pronouncing. I have been called 'elephant-man' from others over the Great Blue, but my kind is known as Indlovu. Our largest gatherings are tribes along the land, and should you see them most will welcome with open arms if you are not being hostile.

"Now then, miss Cass, if you can follow me," she stated as she moved over to the counter break, inviting her towards the back and passed another doorway, leading the pair over to a backyard which housed many training dummies, each decorated with scars, gashes, impact marks, and… splinters? With the largest target being a thick tree had a massive gash in it as if a portion of it had suddenly exploded. And still, the only thing Shuja could say was, "Please do not mind the minor mess," as she lit another torch…. during midday…

"Now then, to anyone who wishes to use a weapon effectively, it must be comfortable to them. almost invisible." Holding her hands out, she gave a small chant as two specter knives forged before her, reshaping themselves from a more generic shape to the feathery style. "You are free to take these and try them out. Keep in mind of everything that you can feel: from the weight to style to handle grip. Its fit must match you as best as possible should you call it your own."

Once the blades were taken, Shuja took to a small corner before holding out the halos, careful fingers handling the rings, before stooping low, resting them upon her forehead and entering either a meditative or prayer-like state. As she did, the flame from the forge flickered before shooting out, latching from candle to candle until reaching the outside torch, where it began to glow with a much higher heat and radiated light… as if the flames were conscious.

Cassandra listened as Shuja introduced herself and explained a little more of what she was. Elephant? ”I have no idea what an elephant is either. I used to work on my family’s farm and hunted game, never ran into any elephants.” Cass admitted, not trying to rude, just factual. Following Shuja around the counter and out the back door into a backyard with a bunch of training dummies set up Cass looked around. They were all well used and beaten up, and one of them was just a thick tree trunk with a huge gash in it like it had exploded.

Odd about lighting a torch in midday, but Cass didn’t comment, instead she watched as Shuja formed the spectral feather daggers and held them out for Cass to take. The lycan took them into her own hands and let them rest for a moment to test the weight while Shuja spoke. Understanding that Shuja wanted feedback on how they felt in her hands Cassandra went through a few practice motions with them.

Spinning them in each hand around a few times, she flipped them up and balanced them on the top of her middle finger by the end of the handle. ”Bring the centre of balance down a little.” She informed the smith who was busy with preparing things by the look of it. Cass flipped the blades around and then balance them for a moment on the tip of the blades on her fingertips.

Satisfied Cass stepped up to a dummy and started into a set of faster motions slashing and stabbing at the dummy. She kept the blades moving as quick as she could, keeping up the momentum to use it to attack with. It was clear she was no expect with them, not yet anyway, but she had the talent it just needed to be focused and refined further. As she spun around and used the right dagger to slash across the dummy’s throat and as she finished the spin her left hand shot out and the dagger it had held sailed across the yard and buried itself into the neck of another dummy. As Cassandra finished the whole move her right hand dagger went sailing for a target.

CLANG

It had struck with the flat and the blade and at the sound Cass flinched and looked to Shuja. ”Sorry, that was my fault, not the blade. But they do feel too light in my hands, if you can add a pound of weight. I know it sounds like it might be too much, but I’m not as human as I look, I can take advantage of my new found strength to carry a heavy blade.” Cassandra explained. ”I’ve only been a lycan for a month now, so things are… different for me than they used to be.” She elaborated a little further, Shuja had been kind enough to share more about herself, so Cassandra thought it fair to do the same.

Cassandra went onto add a few more details, like the shape of the handle needed just a little adjusting to fit her hands better, among other smaller and minor, but important, changes. Now she waited to see what Shuja would do from there.

With every passing phrase, her hand broke away to give a somatic motion, which in turn causes the daggers to gleam over, applying the adjustment on the spot, before returning over to her prayer. It was as if her consciousness was split between this realm and the celestial, as she sought the permission of the angels to use their halos and feathers as weapons. It was only with her final statement did she seem to fully return, stating, "So that was the feeling I got behind your nails then. A new predator, yet not practiced in how they hunt. The air of uncertainly and fear behind what truly rests within." Another somatic motion, and the thrown blade had warped back to her side before shinning over once more, applying the extra weight before getting up and handling the extra blade to her side.

The more the minute details came forth, the more the torch's flames grew until it was hard to say that the flame itself was no longer alive. In fact, it was easy to see the elemental who had taken home to the torch from the waist up move over to a stray metal plate before etching something upon it with her finger. It was as if it was writing something down, but not in a language familiar to this plane. She then used her other finger to cut it in half with a hot, accurate point, and began to etch something new.

"Now then, I have been able to make peace with the angels and gotten their permission with the craft, and while you not know what power sleeps in you, you are comfortable with your ideals. I pray that you never lose sight of this. Now then," she pulled out a stone which bore the same mark as on her weapon and the beads that made the door, handing it over before motioning over to the elemental, "take this and the top part of metal this Daughter has prepared and bring it over to the artisan. Fear not his pincers has he shall make your handles as I shall turn these into blades for you and shall fit them once ready."

Once she was assured Cass understood the instructions, the elemental jumped away from the torch back to the kiln, Shuja following along before working the halos into workable bars.

Cassandra gave a sideways glance at Shuja’s comment. ”Scared for what my future might hold, and scared that I might lose control of myself.” She muttered under her breath as Shuja continued with her ritual. Cassandra watched the elemental do its thing with much interest and curiosity, having never been exposed to such magics and creatures before this.

Cass’ attention went back to Shuja when the smith started to speak again and she listened carefully to the instructions given. Nodding that she understood what was told to her, Cassandra went about doing as instructed, taking what was wanted to where it was needed. She watched the elemental jump back into the kiln again and once she was finished what Shuja had told her to do, she watched the smith work. Oh Cassandra had seen smiths work before, horseshoes and tools and such, simple items made quickly but well. What Shuja was doing, however, was on a level that Cassandra had never seen before and she was getting excited to see the results of this. Already the long journey from Canelux to Onnen had been worth it, if only to see Shuja do her work, let alone know that what she was working on was for Cass herself.

[OOC: A bit short, sorry :/]