Of Men and Ice

[Tripion -- Shudamin]

Tripion immensely disliked venturing so far from his home. It was enough to go to the capital of the Azgedan land and travel far from his small hut in the woods for long periods of time . . . but this journey, was on a whole other level. Fortunately, he was not alone. He was accompanied by some of the finest warriors of Ice Nation, for his task was one of great import. He would be supplying the weapons for training the newest recruit of Nightbloods. He had done so in the past, but this time . . . his presence was expected. To tweak and mould each one to fit the warrior to perfection. The task was not impossible, or even difficult for the weapons maker . . . it was the unfamiliarity of his surroundings that made him uncomfortable. But he laid low and did his work, needed to meet with each of the warriors to get a better idea of their size and what weapon would best suit them.

He had set up shop in the busy city of Polis, already greeted by their Heda. He was often told by others that the less he said, the better. So he kept the conversation brief and to its point. But having to converse with the Nightbloods . . . well, it made not talking practically impossible. "Little man," he called to one of them. He didn't know their names and he had not asked. "What weapon you use?" He looked like a sword person. With the thought already in mind, he abruptly took the boys hand in his own, Tripion's finger tracing over the palm of his hand. "Sword." He concluded, answering his own question. It was actions such as these that deemed him odd, and while those in Azgeda knew him well enough to expect it, perhaps those in these parts of the land did not.

Aden

[Aden]

Aden went willingly to meet with the blacksmith who was apparently tasked with making him and the rest of his Natblida siblings new weapons that better fit them. He didn't completely understand the necessity of the task as the weapons they could already access had been working for him to a satisfactory degree so far. Attendance was compulsory though and thus, remaining within the familiarity of the tower had not been offered as an option to the young nightblood boy. Still, it was nice to see a little more of Polis beyond the tower walls, opportunity didn't come often enough to explore the world beyond confines of their tower home. Security was taken extremely seriously when it came to the Natblida youngsters.

Standing within the ranks of his peers, he watched the man in front of them with vague curiosity. This man had been tasked with the crafting of their weapons, so Aden knew that he must possess a great deal of skill- otherwise he would not have been entrusted with such a sensitive job. To have been deemed talented enough by their Heda for such a responsibility, Aden came to the conclusion that he must treat the man with the respect that he obviously deserved.

"Little man" the unfamiliar voice took a second for the boy to recognise and then a moment longer for him to realise that the blacksmith was talking to him. He opened his mouth as if to say something before promptly closing it again, at a loss for words- but he couldn't figure out if the man was being deliberately disrespectful or if it was just his usual manner to talk to people in that way without so much as asking fo their name first. "What weapon you use?" the man spoke again and Aden straightened his posture- perhaps in an effort to look taller than he had previously.

Before he had the chance to answer though, the man had already grabbed his hand and tracing a finger along his palm muttered the word "sword". Aden didn't know what to make of the man, the behaviour was not like any he'd experienced before, most who met him were usually automatically meek and respectful, knowing that was what was expected of them. Still, he was intrigued by the blacksmiths method and how he seemed to now such an answer when as of yet Aden had been unable to get a word out to address him with.

"How did you know that?" the boy asked, a question but not a demand- his voice quiet and searching, fuelled by curiosity and hungry for answers. Realising that the man still held his hand, Aden slowly pulled it from his grasp, finding the contact slightly uncomfortable from someone whom he had no prior experience. "Did someone tell you that?" he was disbelieving, but then what was he supposed to think? He'd never seen someone match a weapon to a warrior before simply by looking at them. This man was odd, there was no doubt about that but he also apparently possessed great knowledge and understanding for weapons and if Lexa trusted him with the nightbloods, then he trusted that they weren't in any danger- even if he was

a little peculiar.

Tripion -- Shudamin