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Description

She had wandered into the forge on a whim. It was a dark night, rain pelted everything. Thunder rolled over the hills, silencing crickets and drowning out anything that moved.
Lightning curved through the sky, casting harsh shadows across walls, giving still things an eerie feeling of liveliness.
It was the nightmares again. Dionne was in the middle of reliving a memory, when a crack of lightning and boom of thunder pulled her from her sleep. She had dragged herself from the small cave she claimed for herself, moving for the constant glow the forge emitted. She was cold.
The forge was warm. Thor wouldn’t mind, he was probably sleeping.

She laid down near the flames, gazing into them. She was tired, but couldn’t sleep. At least she was warm. She didn’t like sleeping near Aine, it seemed invasive. She already had five other cats to worry about. It was always warm in their den, but Dionne’s nightmares had disturbed them one too many times.

The main gladiator den was too crowded. Cats she didn't know came too close. She couldn’t sleep there, either.
It was quiet for a while. She didn’t know what time it was when Thor walked in. Still raining, still dark.
He looked at her for a second, and she stared back, through the flames.

“I hope I’m not intruding.”

“You aren’t.” She watched as he started to go about his day, adding wood to the fire and rearranging materials. “Can’t sleep?”

“Haven’t been able to recently.”

“I see. I’ve got the same problem. Unfortunately, my problem has names.”

Dionne smiled a little. His ‘problems’ were funny to interact with. They all had little balls of fire inside them, and caused quite a lot of trouble. She almost felt bad, but she knew he loved them. That is what children were like.
“Nike thinks she can touch the lightning if she jumps high enough. I had to explain that… is not possible. She’s sleeping now, and I can’t fall back asleep.”
“At least she has high goals.”

“Ugh, don’t push it. The four of them are running me into the ground. I’m pretty sure Prue pulled a prank on Aine’s cubs yesterday, and now they’re out for blood. I don’t know how our parents dealt with us.”

“We couldn’t be mean to my mother, or we felt bad. She had been through enough by that time. We just didn’t have the same fire as them.”
He chuckled, sitting down next to her. It was so… weird being the adults in the situation. Well, weird for her. She never really thought she’d be seeing them again.
“Do you want to talk about it? You don’t have to tell me everything.. But it helps sometimes.”
Dionne sighed, curling her paws to her chest. She didn’t want to articulate it.
“Nothing quite seems the same, you know?”
“How so?” Thor questioned, flicking a piece of ash off his pelt.
“Aine has Crowley, and their children. You have Vani, and now your children. Everyone seems to have someone, now.”
“And you don’t?”
“Honestly? Not really.”
“Hmm. I’ve found the warmth of the forge tends to heal wounds. Keeps you company. Is that why you came?”
“Kind of. I don’t know.”

“Oh yeah? I think you do, though.”

Dionne rolled her eyes. Only Thor could say that and not get kicked.
“While I was.. Captive, I was held with another cat. She was terrified of fire, but that was the only way we could stay warm at night. She came from the wilds. It took me days to convince her to go near it. I guess spending time in here to get my brace as a cub got me used to it. I learned to gain comfort from it, instead of fear.”

“So it’s comforting. I get that. Nike comes in here sometimes because she likes the warmth and the smell.”

“Hmmm. It’s not the warmth… so much the fire. The memories.”

“Memories? Of your time? Or...”

She huffed, oh gods. Sometimes others were really dense. “Memories of her, Thor.”

“Oh. So there… was something there. What happened to her?”

“She died, fighting the humans. Gave me a chance to escape, and gave her life for it.”

“I’m sorry. At least you have the memories.”

“Yeah. But it doesn’t just remind me of her.”

“Then who else?”

“The fire reminds me of my mother almost. And my sisters. Just.. life I guess. Happier times.” The conversation died there, and she noticed how Thor glanced at her odd. She missed them. Still, after a year and a half, she missed them. Everyone else seemed to have moved on.

“It feels like… everyone I knew moved on after I went missing. And when I came back, It’s like I’m not here. I can’t fight like I used to, there’s too much going on in my head. I feel like a rock, dragging everyone down. I don’t know how to contribute.” She played with a piece of leather, gently kneading it.

“You rip that, you find me a new deer to skin.” He huffed, “I see how hard it is. You’ve definitely withdrawn a lot.”

Dionne’s tail curled, and she didn’t say anything in response. She didn’t know what to say.

“You could try helping out the healers, maybe? Or, I could always use some help around the forge. If it helps keep you grounded it might help to have someone here who can lift more than I can. I got a new apprentice, Iseul, but he’s got a bad leg and is about the size of a cub at most.”

She flicked her ears, twisting the leather.

“Got room for another apprentice?” she joked, laying her head on the ground. “I’m too old, anyway. But I think I’ll take you up on that. I happen to be very good at pushing, pulling, and dragging. Just let me know when I can help.”

“You’re never too old to learn a new craft. If you find comfort in something, you tend to be good at it, too. Ever considered becoming a blacksmith?”

“Oh, yeah. I was so jealous of you when you first became an apprentice, I thought it was so cool. At the time, I wasn’t in the physical condition to be anywhere near the job. Bad leg healed, though. Humans can be good for one thing.”

“Yeah. Another way to help your family without the constant fighting.” He joked.

And then she realized what she could really do here. If she were to fashion armor for her family, she could protect them. Even if she wasn’t there, she could protect them. Huh, she never considered the real impact he had on the empire.

“I… suppose you’re right.” She hummed, gently pushing the leather back to the pile, and standing up. A small cat began to limp in the entrance, who she assumed was Thor’s new apprentice. “I’ll leave you alone here. Don’t want to get in the way.”
“‘S not getting in the way if I’m offering. Seriously, Dionne, think about it. The forge would do you some good.”

-

Three days later, Dionne was just about ready to fight the gods. Gods damned thunder and lightning. Despite the fact she did indeed live in Lightning empire, the recent storms were killing her. She had gotten maybe three total hours of sleep, which resulted in her being skittish all day, and exhausted.
But the lack of sleep had given her time to think. She had run over the pros and cons of becoming an apprentice multiple times, and every time, the pros outweighed the cons. But she still needed one last clarification.
That was Aine.
She didn’t know why she silently craved Aine’s approval, because they were sisters, but it seemed to be the last stepping stone on the longest path ever. The sun had broken through the clouds a while ago, and Dio was waiting for Aine to make an appearance. She was probably with one of her cubs, but Dio didn’t mind right now, she really wanted to talk to her.
She ended up waiting a very long time, long enough for Nike to come out of her den, run herself into the ground, and fall asleep next to Dionne.
Aine finally emerged from the trees, by herself, thank the gods. She gently picked up the sleeping monster next to her, jumped down from her rock perch, and deposited her right on the inside of Thor and Vani’s den.
She turned, heading towards Aine before she got too far into camp. “Aine!” she called, trotting over. The smaller cat perked up, and turned at the sight of her. “Are you busy, uhh, right now?” She asked, coming to a stop near her sister. “Because I kinda need to talk to you.”
Aine nodded, glancing around. “Right here? Or do you want to go somewhere else…”

“Oh, uh, follow me?” She turned, moving to walk along the shores of the stream that passed through camp. They followed it for a while, until Dionne decided they were far enough away from prying eyes, not that it mattered. She was ankle deep in water, flicking her paws at fish, when Aine spoke up.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything is fine.” she murmured, flicking her tail. She wasn’t here to talk about that whole situation. “I just wanted to get your opinion on something, I guess.”

“Oh, alright. Go ahead.”

“A couple nights ago I was talking to Thor… in the forge. Because I couldn’t sleep, and he kind of- did - kind of - didn’t offer me a blacksmith apprenticeship. He said he needed some more help and I tend to find comfort in the forges and stuff like that- so i’ve been seriously considering it and I just… Wanted your opinion on it. Blessing, or something. I don’t know. I haven't actually decided if I’m going to do it, but I wanted to ask you…” She hesitated, stopping her ramble, and she realized she was pacing.

“I don’t see why not.” Aine said, tearing Dionne from her internal criticism. “I figure you’ve gone through all of the reasons why you want to do it multiple times, so, even though I’m kinda… surprised, I think you should.”
Honestly, she hadn’t expected that. But Dionne rarely had positive conversations, so she was conditioned to be let down. “Okay, okay. Alright. I just needed a final push, I guess. Thank you Aine, uh, sorry if I bothered you, or anything.”
Aine smiled, and rubbed against Dionne’s side. “You didn’t.”

-
Dionne ducked into the armory, looking for Thor. He wasn’t in the forges, but Iseul said he was probably in here.
He was right, judging by the smaller, brownish figure inside. She stopped right by the actual entrance, waiting for him to notice her. He didn’t, though, just sat there with his back to her, consumed with his work. Huh.
“Thor?” She asked, taking a step forward. His ear flicked back in recognition, ok, so he was alive. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

He stopped, becoming her over with a paw. “Yes, now did one of my kids do something, or are you here about my offer?”

“I’m here because of your offer, yes. Even though it was very thinly veiled and cryptic. I thought about it, and asked Aine, and I think I want to be your apprentice. Even though that- okay actually, I know I want to be your apprentice. This is really going to help me, uh, help others and also myself, instead of just being a body, you know? I suck at protecting my family while I’m there, so maybe this can help instead.” She reasoned, “And I can learn how to help others too.”

He nodded, standing up and moving for the entrance.
“I have to help Iseul, but come talk to me later tonight. I need to speak to Slate about it, so we’ll see.” He smiled over his shoulder, “See you later, Dionne.”

-
2003 Words
-
Dionne's blacksmith apprentice Tryout!

Featured:

Also mentioned:
Aine, Nike
EP:
Detailed BG +4, +2 for thor, +2 for Iseul
4 EP - story
+12 EP for Dionne

Description

She had wandered into the forge on a whim. It was a dark night, rain pelted everything. Thunder rolled over the hills, silencing crickets and drowning out anything that moved.
Lightning curved through the sky, casting harsh shadows across walls, giving still things an eerie feeling of liveliness.
It was the nightmares again. Dionne was in the middle of reliving a memory, when a crack of lightning and boom of thunder pulled her from her sleep. She had dragged herself from the small cave she claimed for herself, moving for the constant glow the forge emitted. She was cold.
The forge was warm. Thor wouldn’t mind, he was probably sleeping.

She laid down near the flames, gazing into them. She was tired, but couldn’t sleep. At least she was warm. She didn’t like sleeping near Aine, it seemed invasive. She already had five other cats to worry about. It was always warm in their den, but Dionne’s nightmares had disturbed them one too many times.

The main gladiator den was too crowded. Cats she didn't know came too close. She couldn’t sleep there, either.
It was quiet for a while. She didn’t know what time it was when Thor walked in. Still raining, still dark.
He looked at her for a second, and she stared back, through the flames.

“I hope I’m not intruding.”

“You aren’t.” She watched as he started to go about his day, adding wood to the fire and rearranging materials. “Can’t sleep?”

“Haven’t been able to recently.”

“I see. I’ve got the same problem. Unfortunately, my problem has names.”

Dionne smiled a little. His ‘problems’ were funny to interact with. They all had little balls of fire inside them, and caused quite a lot of trouble. She almost felt bad, but she knew he loved them. That is what children were like.
“Nike thinks she can touch the lightning if she jumps high enough. I had to explain that… is not possible. She’s sleeping now, and I can’t fall back asleep.”
“At least she has high goals.”

“Ugh, don’t push it. The four of them are running me into the ground. I’m pretty sure Prue pulled a prank on Aine’s cubs yesterday, and now they’re out for blood. I don’t know how our parents dealt with us.”

“We couldn’t be mean to my mother, or we felt bad. She had been through enough by that time. We just didn’t have the same fire as them.”
He chuckled, sitting down next to her. It was so… weird being the adults in the situation. Well, weird for her. She never really thought she’d be seeing them again.
“Do you want to talk about it? You don’t have to tell me everything.. But it helps sometimes.”
Dionne sighed, curling her paws to her chest. She didn’t want to articulate it.
“Nothing quite seems the same, you know?”
“How so?” Thor questioned, flicking a piece of ash off his pelt.
“Aine has Crowley, and their children. You have Vani, and now your children. Everyone seems to have someone, now.”
“And you don’t?”
“Honestly? Not really.”
“Hmm. I’ve found the warmth of the forge tends to heal wounds. Keeps you company. Is that why you came?”
“Kind of. I don’t know.”

“Oh yeah? I think you do, though.”

Dionne rolled her eyes. Only Thor could say that and not get kicked.
“While I was.. Captive, I was held with another cat. She was terrified of fire, but that was the only way we could stay warm at night. She came from the wilds. It took me days to convince her to go near it. I guess spending time in here to get my brace as a cub got me used to it. I learned to gain comfort from it, instead of fear.”

“So it’s comforting. I get that. Nike comes in here sometimes because she likes the warmth and the smell.”

“Hmmm. It’s not the warmth… so much the fire. The memories.”

“Memories? Of your time? Or...”

She huffed, oh gods. Sometimes others were really dense. “Memories of her, Thor.”

“Oh. So there… was something there. What happened to her?”

“She died, fighting the humans. Gave me a chance to escape, and gave her life for it.”

“I’m sorry. At least you have the memories.”

“Yeah. But it doesn’t just remind me of her.”

“Then who else?”

“The fire reminds me of my mother almost. And my sisters. Just.. life I guess. Happier times.” The conversation died there, and she noticed how Thor glanced at her odd. She missed them. Still, after a year and a half, she missed them. Everyone else seemed to have moved on.

“It feels like… everyone I knew moved on after I went missing. And when I came back, It’s like I’m not here. I can’t fight like I used to, there’s too much going on in my head. I feel like a rock, dragging everyone down. I don’t know how to contribute.” She played with a piece of leather, gently kneading it.

“You rip that, you find me a new deer to skin.” He huffed, “I see how hard it is. You’ve definitely withdrawn a lot.”

Dionne’s tail curled, and she didn’t say anything in response. She didn’t know what to say.

“You could try helping out the healers, maybe? Or, I could always use some help around the forge. If it helps keep you grounded it might help to have someone here who can lift more than I can. I got a new apprentice, Iseul, but he’s got a bad leg and is about the size of a cub at most.”

She flicked her ears, twisting the leather.

“Got room for another apprentice?” she joked, laying her head on the ground. “I’m too old, anyway. But I think I’ll take you up on that. I happen to be very good at pushing, pulling, and dragging. Just let me know when I can help.”

“You’re never too old to learn a new craft. If you find comfort in something, you tend to be good at it, too. Ever considered becoming a blacksmith?”

“Oh, yeah. I was so jealous of you when you first became an apprentice, I thought it was so cool. At the time, I wasn’t in the physical condition to be anywhere near the job. Bad leg healed, though. Humans can be good for one thing.”

“Yeah. Another way to help your family without the constant fighting.” He joked.

And then she realized what she could really do here. If she were to fashion armor for her family, she could protect them. Even if she wasn’t there, she could protect them. Huh, she never considered the real impact he had on the empire.

“I… suppose you’re right.” She hummed, gently pushing the leather back to the pile, and standing up. A small cat began to limp in the entrance, who she assumed was Thor’s new apprentice. “I’ll leave you alone here. Don’t want to get in the way.”
“‘S not getting in the way if I’m offering. Seriously, Dionne, think about it. The forge would do you some good.”

-

Three days later, Dionne was just about ready to fight the gods. Gods damned thunder and lightning. Despite the fact she did indeed live in Lightning empire, the recent storms were killing her. She had gotten maybe three total hours of sleep, which resulted in her being skittish all day, and exhausted.
But the lack of sleep had given her time to think. She had run over the pros and cons of becoming an apprentice multiple times, and every time, the pros outweighed the cons. But she still needed one last clarification.
That was Aine.
She didn’t know why she silently craved Aine’s approval, because they were sisters, but it seemed to be the last stepping stone on the longest path ever. The sun had broken through the clouds a while ago, and Dio was waiting for Aine to make an appearance. She was probably with one of her cubs, but Dio didn’t mind right now, she really wanted to talk to her.
She ended up waiting a very long time, long enough for Nike to come out of her den, run herself into the ground, and fall asleep next to Dionne.
Aine finally emerged from the trees, by herself, thank the gods. She gently picked up the sleeping monster next to her, jumped down from her rock perch, and deposited her right on the inside of Thor and Vani’s den.
She turned, heading towards Aine before she got too far into camp. “Aine!” she called, trotting over. The smaller cat perked up, and turned at the sight of her. “Are you busy, uhh, right now?” She asked, coming to a stop near her sister. “Because I kinda need to talk to you.”
Aine nodded, glancing around. “Right here? Or do you want to go somewhere else…”

“Oh, uh, follow me?” She turned, moving to walk along the shores of the stream that passed through camp. They followed it for a while, until Dionne decided they were far enough away from prying eyes, not that it mattered. She was ankle deep in water, flicking her paws at fish, when Aine spoke up.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything is fine.” she murmured, flicking her tail. She wasn’t here to talk about that whole situation. “I just wanted to get your opinion on something, I guess.”

“Oh, alright. Go ahead.”

“A couple nights ago I was talking to Thor… in the forge. Because I couldn’t sleep, and he kind of- did - kind of - didn’t offer me a blacksmith apprenticeship. He said he needed some more help and I tend to find comfort in the forges and stuff like that- so i’ve been seriously considering it and I just… Wanted your opinion on it. Blessing, or something. I don’t know. I haven't actually decided if I’m going to do it, but I wanted to ask you…” She hesitated, stopping her ramble, and she realized she was pacing.

“I don’t see why not.” Aine said, tearing Dionne from her internal criticism. “I figure you’ve gone through all of the reasons why you want to do it multiple times, so, even though I’m kinda… surprised, I think you should.”
Honestly, she hadn’t expected that. But Dionne rarely had positive conversations, so she was conditioned to be let down. “Okay, okay. Alright. I just needed a final push, I guess. Thank you Aine, uh, sorry if I bothered you, or anything.”
Aine smiled, and rubbed against Dionne’s side. “You didn’t.”

-
Dionne ducked into the armory, looking for Thor. He wasn’t in the forges, but Iseul said he was probably in here.
He was right, judging by the smaller, brownish figure inside. She stopped right by the actual entrance, waiting for him to notice her. He didn’t, though, just sat there with his back to her, consumed with his work. Huh.
“Thor?” She asked, taking a step forward. His ear flicked back in recognition, ok, so he was alive. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

He stopped, becoming her over with a paw. “Yes, now did one of my kids do something, or are you here about my offer?”

“I’m here because of your offer, yes. Even though it was very thinly veiled and cryptic. I thought about it, and asked Aine, and I think I want to be your apprentice. Even though that- okay actually, I know I want to be your apprentice. This is really going to help me, uh, help others and also myself, instead of just being a body, you know? I suck at protecting my family while I’m there, so maybe this can help instead.” She reasoned, “And I can learn how to help others too.”

He nodded, standing up and moving for the entrance.
“I have to help Iseul, but come talk to me later tonight. I need to speak to Slate about it, so we’ll see.” He smiled over his shoulder, “See you later, Dionne.”

-
2003 Words
-
Dionne's blacksmith apprentice Tryout!

Featured:

Also mentioned:
Aine, Nike
EP:
Detailed BG +4, +2 for thor, +2 for Iseul
4 EP - story
+12 EP for Dionne