Quote:
This occurs after A Phoenecian Cycle Burns.
It had been a few months since Elex had dropped the question so casually. A small smile danced across the purple-haired, you man as he thought back on it. Though the months that had passed hardly had them portraying the perfect, new engaged couple, Aelius hadn't stopped saving small portions of his paychecks. After all of his necessities were taken care of, he stashed away a bit of cash.
Years ago it wouldn't have been an issue. He could have left that exact night and went out to purchase the important trinket that would show his dedication to his boy. It would have been elaborate, gaudy and expensive. It would have expressed his love for a boy he would have only known half of. Those days, long ago, he would have never gotten to know Faustite. Not truly. But the ring would have been pure perfection.
Now, Aelius was set to a very strict budget. There had been a lot of e search involved too. The metal needed to be just right to avoid melting against that sweltering hot fire, but Aelius wanted it to be more than just a plain band. It was why, in his research, he'd thankfully run across a small jeweler in the city that specialized in a metal that, apparently, wouldn't even melt in molten lava. The man assured him he could help design the perfect ring within a budget. So, with his meager savings in hand, the dancer stepped into the small shop followed by a mechanical -ding- sound that announced his arrival.
The shop was small and was styled in dark wood tones and black leather. It had a very obvious masculine feel to it, and Aelius found himself almost uncomfortable in the high luxury feel, well aware he couldn't afford such things. A few glass cases were carefully illuminated with rings displayed just right. A few other pieces of jewelry were scattered about, but it was obvious what the jeweler running this shop specialized in.
A man popped out from a back room.short, brown hair showed the signs of greying at the temples. A smile emphasized the beginnings of wrinkles but the man wore them well. Just as well as the think black rimmed glasses that framed his face. “Welcome. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Yes. I am Aelius. I had contacted Derek online and we discussed my needs for a…”
“Ah! Yes. I am Derek!” the man cut Aelius off excitedly. “No worries, my boy. I have some ideas for you. Let me grab my sketches and show you some items I have here already.”
Aelius raised a brow at ‘my boy’ but said nothing. Instead he nodded and waited while the jewler disappeared into the back room to appear a moment later with a small notebook. He moved with precise movements as he slipped across the room to a case off to the left. “I have these here so you an get an idea for what the stone will look like. Now they are very interesting. These here all have a soft glow to them in darker light. You had expressed interest in something that looks similar to fire, yes.”
Aelius nodded as he reached the case and peered inside. Each ring inside were all the same in style. Tungsten base with a band of colored stone wrapped around the entire circumference. Each center was presented in under a light that helped show the glow that the jewler spoke of. It reminded Aelius of something phosphorus. A glow that was likely not eternal if the stone wasn't able to absorb light from elsewhere. That wouldn't be an issue for Faustite of course. The ring would have a forever source of light.
“I have these two rings specifically then.” Derek swiftly unlocked the case and pulled out two rings. One was red. Bright red with flecks of darker tones that reminded Aelius of blood. He quickly became uninterested in it though as the second ring caught his attention. This one was made with a dark tungsten. Likely dyed black or mixed with something to give it that tone instead of the normal steel grey that tungsten naturally had. Around it's middle was a stone that had a mix of both reds and golds. It looked like embers burning within a hearth, just waiting for that one breeze to kick them back into a full blaze. Aelius lifted it and shifted the ring around to fully study it, and no matter which way he turned it the color never wavered, never seemed to grow muddled. “That was the one I had most interest in for you.” Derek remarked.
Hands reached for the notebook he had placed on the case and Derek flipped to a dog eared page where he revealed an intricate design. It had an almost Celtic feel to it but lacked the tell-tale knots. Instead the pattern was delicate, simple, but eye-catching. “I have made several rings with an overlay like this on the colored middle. It's not too heavy that it would ruin the effect of the stone but it will add an extra dimension. You had said you wanted something custom within a reasonable price. This is what I can do for you within your budget.
Helio held the red stoned ring up next to the design to visualize what the ring would look like. Vaguely he wondered if it would look like an old time fire stove, but with a classy touch to it with the intricate designs having some curves. Biting at his lip he contemplated it. “How long will this take to make?” He questioned, as he looked up at Derek.
The man hummed a moment. “I can have it completed by Christmas if you need it but it’ll be an extra fee for the rush. Otherwise I can get it completed by the end of the month.”
“End of December is fine. I don’t need it for Christmas.” He imagined there was a large rush for those wishing to propose or get married on the holiday. Since he and Faustite were technically already fiancée's there was no point in rushing the ring; Even if Helio was itching to stake his claim on one of those fingers.
“I want the metals to be black like this ring.” He said as he held up the red and yellow ring. The other pure red ring had been pushed to the wayside enough that Derek finally took a moment to banish it back to the case it had come from. “I want the stone to look similar to this one. This has the perfect amount of red to gold with just a small hint of orange in there. Honestly, it’s exactly what I was looking for color wise.
“Also, this design. Can we do something with fewer straight lines and a bit more curvy? I am not so much a fan of geometrical and when I think of fire straight lines aren’t at the forefront of my mind. Think smoke?”
Derek nodded and pulled out a pencil from the pocket on his shirt and began sketching roughly next to his more refined piece. The design he had, he altered just a bit. Each straight line was given a curve and a few mild whirls was added to give it a more fire smoke feel. Aelius couldn’t help his smile as it started to come together in his mind. “Yes. That’s much better.” He said with a smile on his face.
“Also, Is it possible to engrave tungsten?” Aelius asked curiously.
The jeweler wrote notes down next to his sketch to make sure he didn’t forget anything Aelius had said about his wants for the piece. “Yes. We can do a laser engraving. It’ll be an extra fee on top of what I’ve quoted you.”
Aelius didn’t hesitate. “That’s fine. This is what I want.” He gestured for Derek’s pencil which the man handed off quickly enough. Aelius quickly jotted down what the engraving should be.
With the design settled on, and his notes finished, Derek closed his book. “Alright. All I’ll need is the non-refundable down payment. I won’t have the ring engraved until after you see the final design to make sure it’s exactly what you want. Then it’ll only be a few hours for the engraving to be completed and it’ll be all yours.” He smiled broadly. Aelius couldn’t blame him, though the ring was affordable for what it was, the jeweler was going to make a good amount off of the custom piece.
“That sounds perfect.”Aelius said as he and Derek moved to the register to begin the paperwork for the transaction and request. There all information was filled out including Faustite’s ring size. When everything was all filled out, signed, and money passed off Aelius shook Derek’s hand.”Thank you so much for your time and patience. I doubt you get too many requests for fire based rings and you’ve been very easy to work with. I look forward to seeing the ring when it’s completed.”
Derek returned the smile and nodded. “No worries, custom designs are my favorite to do. I am interested to see what other ideas people have for me. It keeps my job interesting. I will contact you as soon as the ring is completed.”
Aelius thanked the man again before leaving the shop. Next on the docket, the mundane duty of grocery shopping. He sighed. It certainly wasn’t as enjoyable as ring shopping for his boy.
Word count: 1595