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 Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 7:23 pm
Samir did not often have guests over to his place--much less from the Negaverse. He hadn't had much opportunity to make friends, but he figured the delay might have been worth it if the quality of friends was good enough.
...Though, perhaps it was juvenile of him to consider Alpersite a friend given the ranking situation within the Negaverse.
He hadn't had a good relationship with his General--really, it hadn't been any relationship. It had left him on his own, guessing what he was supposed to be doing. As a Captain, he at least knew what the Negaverse was. He wasn't arrogant enough to think that he was the best Captain, but he figured there was a benefit in having someone that cared, at least.
He'd trained with Alpersite not so very long ago, and the idea of an obstacle course was still fresh on his mind. The junkyard was fairy large, and he kept his organized and clean for the most part. He'd kept his eye on every piece that came in, scheming how it could be used. The biggest benefit was that it had space--and tall walls in more than a few corners.
It was a starting point, at least.
He was waiting for Jacob now; after training, he'd invited him to come over some time and they'd picked today as the most ideal time. A little walk around the Junkyard, showing him the Forge--introducing him to the dogs.
...Who must have known someone was on the way because they were all crowded around the door, eagerly waiting for their guest. Samir had warned Jacob; this wasn't going to be some surprise.
...Hopefully he took Samir's warnings about their enthusiastic greetings seriously, though.
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Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 9:20 pm
Jacob was excited for the chance to get to know his captain better. He was so pleased that he had the chance to have someone who actually seemed to care for him in the Negaverse. Someone who honestly gave a damn if he lived or died…and not only that, but someone who wanted him to thrive.
…If only he could find a way to get his brother roped into having Lopezite for his Captain…that would be good for the both of them…all three of them even.
He had a bag with him, full of some dog toys, and a small quilt that he had put together for Samir, nothing big, just one that would cover his lap if he got cold, but done up in the black gold and red of his uniform colors, with small checkers that he had put in the shape of what almost passed for a pixilated scimitar…well. It wasn’t perfect but. He had done his best.
Finally, the male grinned and knocked lightly on the door and waited for Samir to answer, tossing his long ponytail back over his shoulder, and clipping it to the back of his head so it wouldn’t be in the way…long hair like his was a bad idea for a forge…and around dogs. And perhaps wasn’t the best of ideas for a junk yard either.
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Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 10:00 pm
The moment the knock registered, the dogs were barking wildly. They seemed more excited about answering the door than they were about warning against any intruders.
"I'm coming," Samir called over the cacophony. His hand on the door, he had to shoo away the dogs, two of which were already pressing their noses against the door, boofing at the anticipation of a guest.
"I'm going to warn you, incoming," he said; he gave Jacob a few seconds to prepare and then pried open the door.
Three dogs were on him in an instant--a black and brown mammoth, first; a keen eye might have identified it as either a Leonberger. He was easily a hundred and seventy pounds and looked like he might have crushed the other dogs, but they seemed more pushy than him.
A smaller black dog was already standing on Jacob's foot by the time the behemoth creature was nudging his nose into his stomach; his tail wagged so much it looked like he might dent the door and it thudded loudly against the wood frame. The tiniest dog, the Affenpinscher, was a shadow, and weighed next to nothing as he tried to jump up to sniff; he barely made it to Jacob's knee.
The third dog was less intrusive than either--a Doberman Pinscher. She was thin and alert, unhappy with someone coming into her home. She was tall, ears on high, and though her tail wagged uncertainly. She stayed in the doorway, guarding the home.
Samir pat her atop the head and she seemed to relax, still alert and curious. "Come in, come in. Here, introductions." To the largest, "Leon. He's big, but harmless. He thinks he's a lap dog. Salvadore, he's that tiny thing on your foot. He steals shoes, so if you take them off, put them on this table here. Antoinette, Annie," he nodded to the Doberman. "...Gordy's here, but."
He leaned back, squinting into the kitchen. Over the barking, it was just barely audible--the sound of crunching and chewing.
"...Gordy's a Basset. And he does this every time someone comes over--he gets so excited he just has to eat everything." He seemed exasperated; deeper in the house, just behind a counter, was a black and white tail danced pleasantly. "...He'll come out here with dog food breath and try to lick you. Did you find the place all right?" he asked hopefully, moving aside and calling the dogs so he could try and clear a path into his house.
It was fairly clean, clearly a practical home more than a decorative one. He had a full bookshelf, a well maintained electronic system, a few decorate sculptures, all small enough to fit on table ends and coffee tables, and a fair share of weapons, some of which seemed to be fairly old.
He, himself, was wearing a simple outfit--very different from his Negaverse uniform. Jeans, a well fitting white shirt with some obscure band on it, and a hoodie that didn't do much to hide his physique. His hair was tied back in something of a ponytail, though it wasn't quite long enough to quite successful. It did the job, to keep the hair from falling into his face, at least, and he didn't seem to mind.
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Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2019 9:42 am
At first Jacob was absolutely and utterly overwhelmed, but after a moment he began to laugh, looking at the wiggling dogs with their happily wagging tails. It took a little maneuvering but he managed to shift the bag he held to his other hand so he could pat the great creatures and get them used to his scent and his presence, but by the time Jacob looked up at Samir, his face was flushed with excitement and he looked rather like a kid at Christmas.
“You…really weren’t kidding about the dogs were you! I don’t know what I expected, but this wasn’t it…but I love them! Look how happy they are…I hope it’s okay that I brought them some presents?”
Quietly he held the bag out to the dark haired male and tried not to stare too much. He looked…he looked good.
“There…there’s something in there for you, too. Nothing too fancy? But I just. It’s rude to come to someone’s house without presents, I think. Not that I’m ever really invited to people’s houses but…” He was rambling, and he knew it and was annoyed by it. After a moment, he schooled his expression into something a little more relaxed and laughed. “Anyway, to answer your question, yes. I found my way here easily, thank you. You have a nice home. And I bet you’re never lonely, eh?”
He was scratching Leon behind the ears as he spoke, looking back to the dogs as he held the bag out, his smile back on his face once again.
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Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2019 3:52 pm
"Of course it's all right to bring them presents, they'd be offended if you didn't!" he laughed. "Not me, though. I'm flattered, though, thank you," he said, seeming genuinely appreciative of the sentiment. He accepted the bag, maneuvering it away from the dogs despite the way they tried to jump at it, or jab their noses at it.
Leon couldn't be tempted away from Jacob's touch though; his whole body rocked from the force of his tail, leisurely wag as it seemed to be. He pressed closer and closed his eyes, expecting as much attention as he could get.
Samir opened the bag, easily identifying the toys; he dropped a few to the ground, laughing as the smallest dog picked up the largest toy and dragged it away. Annie, still guarded, sniffed at the toys but glanced between Samir and Jacob for a few seconds before she lay down on the ground and began nudging one with her nose.
The quilt caught Samir's eyes and he paused when he pulled it out. He recognized the colors first--and though it was with a bit of a delay, he seemed surprised to see the scimitar design pop out as well.
"--Jacob," he paused, and lowered the quilt so he could peer over the top of it at his guest. "Did you make this?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 9:28 am
The reactions from the dogs made him smile and he continued rubbing Leon, making sure to get up behind his ears and enjoying the warmth that the large creature provided. His focus was on the large dog, though when he heard his name, he glanced up at Samir and grinned sheepishly. “…Yeah. Quilting is a big hobby of mine, and I wanted to make you something special. As a thank you for being my friend and mentor and you know. Saving my life and all.”
He quickly lowered his gaze and focused again on Leon. If Samir thought it was silly or stupid or some kind of a bribe…he didn’t want to know. He didn’t want to focus too closely on the male’s face lest he read something unwanted there.
“It’s not that impressive, I didn’t really have time to do anything big but…but I was kind of proud of the design. It worked out better than I had hoped it would.”
Hesitating for a moment, Jacob again glanced over at his friend. “…I hope it’s not too much. I know it’s stupid.” People didn’t give quilts to other people. That wasn’t how the world worked. He was being an idiot.
…He really enjoyed Leon’s cuddles though and bent to lavish more affection onto the dog.
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Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:12 pm
Samir still seemed to be impressed by the quilt; he ran his fingers over it and looked upon it with admiration and pride. "Not that impressive? You do yourself a disservice! This is amazing!" he said, lowering the quilt again and folding it carefully. "I'll treasure it. The weather will be getting cooler soon, and I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised to hear that my dogs are very greedy. They are always stealing my blankets, my pillows. But this one," he smiled. "This one will be mine."
He looked at it fondly for a moment more and then carefully tucked it back into the bag so he could make sure none of the dogs got to it.
They all seemed to be pleased with their toys--or the food, or, in Leon's case, the attention.
Leon seemed somewhat aware of his size; he had no shame as he nudged against Jacob's hand. He was happy and didn't want to hurt the man, but he wasn't going to waste this opportunity to try and get as much attention as possible. His size alone made it easy to push Jacob towards a wall so he could pin him there and force more pets out of him. Leon was courteous, though; he licked at his hand and knees.
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:02 am
Jacob felt his face growing warm at the praise and tried to focus all of his attention on Leon, though his eyes kept flickering over to Samir, feeling more and more pleased as he watched the male. “If you like it all that much, I’ll make you another one that’s a bit bigger. I was in a bit of a rush with that one because I had a deadline, but now I know what to do for a Christmas gift.”
He felt good about all of this now and laughed as the large dog began giving him kisses, though finally pressed a kiss to his nose and tried to scooch past. “Why don’t you go and lay down, Leon? I want to talk to your daddy for a while.”
He was so excited to see the forge and to spend more time with Samir…which was the whole reason he had come. Not that he didn’t adore this dog but…
“Do you let the dogs out by the forge or…?” Jacob looked up at his host and silently pled that the answer would be no.
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2019 7:35 pm
"I let the dogs everywhere," Samir said, almost apologetically. "But I can keep them in the house. They're well behaved, just excited with new guests."
He walked over and gave all the dogs a good pat on the head. "Stay here," he told them, gesturing for Jacob to follow. "Come." He lead him through the house and out back, closing the door behind him to make sure none of the dogs snuck up on them.
"When I'm using the forge I usually close them out, they're very good at understanding when they shouldn't be around. I suppose they don't like the heat, or the noise. Or they're just smart."
He lead him down a soft dirt path and to a solidly constructed building a bit always from the obvious junkyard; even in the distance, it appeared that there was some organized structure to it.
The forge was no exception; everything was organized, to a point. While it was clean, there were seven half finished, abstract style sculptures resting against the wall. "I only cleaned to a point," he confessed. "There's not much reason to tidy up my projects." More than the sculptures were weapons, some clearly decorative and some clearly still being worked on. He had an array of them, in all sorts of sizes, shapes and designs. The only thing they had in common was that there was an obvious skill that had gone into making them, and that there was an obvious love for them.
Samir's forge wasn't large, not compared to what he would have wanted, but it was easily the size of a two car garage and seemed to have everything he needed in it. "Nothing's on, it's safe to touch everything. I mean, be careful if you're touching the metal, especially if you haven't gotten your tetanus shot recently. But," he waved his hand across the room and smiled. "Welcome."
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 9:33 am
Jacob looked around with interest and seemed pleased that the forge was almost exactly what his idea of a forge should be, though it wasn’t quite as old fashioned as his imagination had been trying to make it. There obviously weren’t any donkeys to work the machinery like in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie but…still.
It was fancy.
“Samir…this…this is amazing. You’ve made all of these?” He moved over to peer at the different weapons, marveling at the details and the skill with which they were made. “You are astounding.”
Idly he wondered if he could somehow request one of these beautiful, handmade weapons for when he was given the next rank in the Negaverse, but somehow…he thought that maybe it didn’t quite work like that…though still. If he could…he would.
“What was the first thing you ever made? And what made you want to make yourself a forge? I just…I still can’t believe you actually have one. This is so cool.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2019 8:34 am
Samir smiled at him, pleased with the enthusiasm. He was fond of his forge and seemed to be happy that someone else appreciated it in the same fashion.
“The first thing I ever made?” He asked, and laughed a bit, fondly. “Oh, I don’t even know. I think it was some silly little...abstract shape. I don’t remember what it looked like, but I gave it to my mother. I’ll have to call her later and ask. Of these, though.”
He moved to the wall and took down a very thin, somewhat lopsided sword. It wouldn’t dnt have held up in any sort of battle but he had worked very hard to carve ornate symbols and shapes into the hilt. That alone was its saving grace; it was pretty, and not perfect, but Samir still smiled and presented it for inspection.
“This is one of my very early ones. I keep it to remind me of how far I’ve come. The metal is too brittle, so if i put too much pressure on it, its likely to snap. I was practicing on the hilt, though. I spent a lot of time on it, but it has a lot of mistakes. It was a very good learning tool! So I am not hard on myself for this one. Now, sometimes, I am hard on myself because I expect perfection. But it isn’t always possible. But,” he smiled again. “Even if something is not perfect, it can be beautiful. It can still be something you are proud of. So this sword is a milestone for me. I would not have been able to make that one,” he nodded to a much more ornate, smoother blade that hung a few feet down the wall, “If it weren’t for this one.”
He seemed like he could have kept talking about his projects, or the lessons he’d learned from them, for much longer so it was a bit of a struggle for him to answer the other question; he was at least able to keep that answer brief. “I got into it because there were always scraps around. I wanted to see what they could be turned into. These remnants of something else. I wanted to save them from being trash. Also,” he shrugged. “Swords are cool, what little boy doesn’t want to play with them?”
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Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:14 am
Jacob took the sword into his hands and looked at it with a small smile. It looked silly, but the hilt was beautiful, and he knew that he would never have been able to make something like this, no matter how silly it looked! It was amazing, and Samir clearly had a lot of talent.
“That’s…a great way to look at things. If you…are ever in the mood to teach me to make something, I’d be pleased to. And if you ever wanted, I could help you learn how to quilt, if you’re ever feeling in the mood for that! Not that…quilting is half as impressive as this but…”
His eyes flickered to the smoother sword on the wall and he shook his head in amazement. “What an awesome way to show your progress. You have a great way of looking at things. And yes, I agree…swords are cool. Do…you think there’s any way you could make…my weapon for when—if I get to become a captain too? Is that how things work, because that would be pretty awesome to have a sword made by my captain…”
He looked away as he asked the question, still not sure if this was going to be a stupid one or not, though his fingers lightly moved over the markings on the hilt of the funny looking sword.
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Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 6:43 am
Samir seemed to contemplate this. "Truthfully," he confessed, "I do not know how our weapons are granted to us. No one ever handed me a weapon. When I awakened, I simply had one. And then when I grew, so too did it. I think, we shall have to see, when you become a Captain yourself. But if you don't get a better weapon, I'll throw quite a fit. I'll make you one, though," he said easily.
He leaned back thoughtfully, looking at the swords on the wall.
"As a present, for when you are ready for promotion. Just in case. Would you like to learn how to use them?" he asked, glancing back at him. "It's cathartic. I have too much energy. I don't know if I could quilt, I don't have the patience. I get all itchy, sitting still. It's why I have such aggressive hobbies," he laughed. "And why I have such respect for those that have the patience and willpower to do such things. But if you want to learn, come over more often. I would love to teach you. To make and wield them. It's good exercise, and good practice on focus and control. Plus," he smiled again, "It would be nice to have company over more often."
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Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 9:26 am
Jacob nodded, giving a little laugh as he thought about going through life, getting an upgrade but forever having the most useless weapon in the world…it sounded…cruel. But…also like something that would happen if he wasn’t careful or smart.
He paused and followed where Samir’s eyes were going, and then when his words reached him, Jacob looked more than a little excited. “…You’d really…make me a sword just for me? That would be…that would be amazing. And yeah, I’d love to practice with you, I’d love to get some sort of better physical fitness, and swinging a sword around seems like it will be a pretty good way to challenge myself.”
Glancing back towards his friend and mentor, Jacob returned the smile with an almost shy grin of his own. “I feel that. I’d love the chance to spend more time out with a friend, if that’s not being too presumptuous. I’ve really enjoyed today so far, and the idea of learning swordsmanship…that seems like it could benefit me pretty well in our line of business.”
If nothing else, he could just wield his butterfly stick like a sword…it took effort to break it, and if he hit with enough force…it could leave some nice bruises, maybe.
“Are you working on anything now?” The question sounded childish, rushed and eager. Clearly…he just wanted to see fire and sparks flying as Samir pounded the hot metal. …Oh. Well.
His face suddenly felt too hot and Jacob quickly tried to shut off his suddenly overactive imagination.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 8:17 pm
Samir tilted his head at the sudden flush but he completely misinterpreted the source of the man's redness. "Is it too hot back here? I try to work on things in the early morning or later at night, when it cools a bit. But the weather's nice enough that I'm most active in fall and winter. The truth is, I like the heat, but it can be a bit intimidating if you're not used to it. I have some things I'm working on, but," he gestured to a few projects; some looked like they might one day be weapons and others seemed like they might have been pieces set to go with one of his sculptures.
"I wouldn't want to make anything in the forge if you weren't feeling good--and there are a lot of safety rules we'd go over. But, if you want, we can do that. If you give me time, I can get some supplies ready, we could make something easy together. Something you can take home to be proud of, so you can compare to it when you are more talented, more skilled. And," he smiled, "I will, of course, make a sword for you. So you will always remember how proud I am of you. And also to encourage you to keep practicing. While all swords, all weapons, have a different feel, once you know how to wield one it will be easy to do the same with many others. When I am finished with you, you will be unstoppable!"
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