FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Deep within a forest lie a village lit only by floating wisps of warm light. A short cloaked figure walked through the village avoiding contact with the inhabitants. Someone would brush against the cloaked figure who immediately seemed to recoil with a hop, a long tail curled at the end popping free from underneath the cloak. With a startled bow and a quick apology in a feminine squeak, the cloaked figure ran off further into the village. The startled cloaked girl finally came to a stop, nearly tripping over a root as she observed one of the few stone buildings in the village, an open shop and forge. From where she stood she could hear metal upon metal stopped only occasionally by the sound of sizzling water. It was then that she removed the hood, taking a breath before stepping further into the open door shop, her hands clasped together and her fur frizzing up as she heard a loud and booming voice declare, "I can hear your heartbeat out there! Come in, or get out of the way."

Tala's ears twitched and she cleared her throat as she saw the man step out halfway to meet her. The man himself at least doubled her in size, a great grey beard hanging low to show his age, scars marking his left arm like a map. His upper body was covered by a leather smock and he held a hammer in hand which glowed a faint red. Tala had come here to ask this man to instruct her in the ways of his craft, but at the moment she couldn't find it in herself to say a single word. She had never spoken to a human before and she could feel her heart thumping hard against her chest. Thankfully the man seemed to read her expression and he set the hammer aside to comfort her somewhat, "Are you a corpse standing up right? You might be a squirrel, but you've got a mouth and a request right? Out with it. I make swords, shields, armor and more. Metal is my passion so I'm only happy to accept commission for my work."

Tala finally managed to blurt out in a squeak, "I want to be your apprentice."

The blacksmith scratched through his beard, a snort coming as response first before he lowered himself just a bit to answer her properly, "I don't take strays. Besides, the pay would be terrible. You'd be better off learning to mend wood like most of your people do." Truth be told, perhaps he would think about it, but at the moment he would rather toy with her just a bit since he had a conversation with one of her kind.

Tala continued on despite his initial response, "But I'd rather work with metal than wood. Metalwork fascinates me and I...my magic isn't good for wood working. I don't have a connection with it, but metal is a precious thing, I can hear it sing."

A chuckle sounded off from the blacksmith's lips as he teased, "Oh...a natural talent waiting to be forged...interesting, but there are other blacksmith aren't there? Why do you want to take an apprenticeship here?"

Tala frowned her cheeks growing hot, "I...our kind doesn't do well with humans, let alone ones outside the forest. I'd rather learn here than out there. Besides, I want to learn how to run a forge in the forest, not outside of it, and you're the closest."

The blacksmith grunted and reached over to place a strong hand on her head speaking to himself, "Aye...you're the mouthy and determined type it seems, so...we'll end this with a wager and hopefully that will satisfy you. We'll see if you can help me with a hunt of mine. If you can handle it, then you'll be welcome, if not you're free to run."

Before Tala had a chance to accept the man turned his back on her and retreated deeper into the shop before coming out with a mining pick of all things in hand, dropping it in her arms nearly sending her crashing to the floor as she squeaked her response, "I accept master! But what does a blacksmith need to hunt?"

The blacksmith brushed past her and responded simply, "Metal and call me Gran."

Before Tala could figure anything else out about the hunt the blacksmith was already well on his way. Tala grunted, hefting the pick over her shoulder as she rushed to catch up with the man. After a bit of walking Tala wondered if she had made the right decision in following a man who seemed more intent on getting rid of her than actually helping her, but she was determined to be the first of her kind to take on this craft. For that goal of hers she would surmount any challenge the blacksmith had to offer, of course she wasn't really sure what he meant by a hunt still, that was, until they reached their destination.

They arrived in a clearing where the light broke through the darkness of the mystic wood. Tala's eyes were wide as she saw a collection of multi-colored boulders larger than any she had ever seen before and for some reason she heard what sounded like chimes. Stepping forward she prepared herself to begin mining the huge rocks until she was stopped by Gran's hand. He knelt down low and whispered, "You said you could hear it right...listen then, among those stones is a golem. Our only source of raw material out here, and typically well hidden."

Just as Gran finished speaking, one mass of rock and moss rose revealing a body made of the same material, glowing eyes shining underneath grooves to reveal life. Gran remained calm despite this fact and reached to grab and pull a hammer made of dirt and stone from the earth itself, "I do this once and a while to replenish my supply. I figured a demonstration would keep you far away from at least working in the forest. You'll need to learn powerful magic to keep up with my ways, and to command the strength to use it. The earth must be your tool."

Gran then stepped to the golem war hammer made of earth in hand. The golem reacted to the blacksmith's presence raising a great arm to swing and bat the blacksmith away. Without hesitation Gran broke his hammer on the creature's arm, shattering the golem's arm in the process. Gran then pulled out a spear from the earth covered in moss and tossed it directly into the center of the golem. It let out a low groan before doubling over, eyes flickering until the light faded away, leaving a lifeless boulder along with all of the material upon it. Gran then pulled a pick from the ground and turned to Tala to see that she had not run, "If you're going to stick around, then make yourself useful. We'll carry what we can."

Tala's mouth hung open. She had never expected the source of the blacksmith's material to be literal golems made of the stuff, but then again, perhaps it was the only place he could get any sort of ore without outside help. As to making herself useful, she rushed forward to begin working. She wasn't sure if she could handle an entire golem herself, let alone take one out so handily, but Tala was confident she could learn this craft, especially now that he seemed to be willing to teach her. It took some time to separate the material from the rock and during this time she found out just how playful her master could be. He had warned her that the core of a golem was something to be feared, that if struck it would blow them away, but as she found out it was nearly unavoidable as the core seem to hold the greater portion of the material they needed. While she was waiting, wondering, curious about what to do, her master had simply struck the core with his own pick causing her to yelp and fall from the rubble she was standing on. He only laughed aloud, a sound that echoed out, and haunted her ears. As she sat up she saw him dragging out the usable material from the remains of the golem, along with a few gems here and there. She could still hardly believe that she would one day be strong enough to do such a thing, and perhaps she would never be able to, but at the very least she would try with all of her might even if no one believed in her.

Looking up with a sigh she noticed that the sun was setting, a pretty sight certainly, a pretty sight interrupted Gran's questioning as he sat by her, "Are you still sure this is what you want to do? You seem perturbed. The offer to run is still there after all little one."

Tala closed her eye, bringing her knees up, "I'll be perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with a little bit of work, a little bit of struggle. I'll be just as good as you soon enough."

Gran snorted giving her head a sound pat, sending dust and dirt from his own hands everywhere causing her to sneeze, "Aim for higher. You didn't run so that is something...now we should celebrate. To a fine haul, and to our new partnership little one."

Tala opened her eyes to see Gran produce a gourd from his belt, offering it to her. As she took the gourd gingerly she smiled just a bit, "I'd prefer being called Tala, Gran..."

Gran huffed and ruffled her head fur sending more dust flying, "Master Gran to you now that I've actually accepted you, of course that could change in a flash if you don't keep proving yourself."

Tala's fur frizzed from the constant belittlement and teasing, but rather than respond she simply popped the cork taking a long pull from the gourd. She quirked a brow, unsure of what to really think. A thick, sweet mix slid down her throat. The taste was amazing, but it burned like nothing else she had ever had the displeasure of drinking, something perhaps akin to burning a finger on the pot. Not wanting to offend she downed a good bit before handing off the gourd, swallowing hard and exhaling, that same burn traveling from her throat all the way down to the pit of her stomach. She could hear Gran chuckling as he watched, her cheeks burning up again, but rather than spit or further embarrass herself she only cleared her throat to cough out, "Thank you."

As Gran began drinking the rest of the gourd's contents, seemingly unperturbed by the burning that had plagued her, Tala felt that burning in her cheeks continue on despite the fact she wasn't embarrassed anymore. In fact, the burning had moved to her head as well, a certain burning that made her head feel light and her body something strange. She hiccupped just a bit before realizing that the alcohol must have been just a bit too strong for her to handle. Her ears drawing back she fell to the side, her head landing on her master's thigh, "...I think I drank too much..."

Gran grunted, "That you did. You shouldn't try to be brave just to make me laugh."

Tala pouted, she hated being teased so much and it would only get worse as they went on and on, but she couldn't say anything against her master. At the moment though her lips were loose and so she retorted, "I wouldn't do that...you may expire just from laughing."

Gran snorted, "A joke at age? I'm young enough to be your brother, or at the very least a young father. Don't let the grey fool you."

Tala turned over so her chin was in his lap now. She giggled as she looked up to him. Looking at him she couldn't possibly think of him as a brother, or even as a young father, "Impossible" she snorted.

Gran raised a brow, looking down at her, "Hrmph? And why not?"

Tala grabbed on to his leg to lift herself up so she could give him a peck on the nose before falling over, "Lack of fur."

Gran looked to her hard before breaking out into laughter, a hand giving her back a soft pat, "I'll have to get you drinking regularly if it solves that personality of yours so well. I didn't think you'd be this funny. Now, come on. We'll come back tomorrow for our salvage since I'm sure you can't even lift yourself."

At this point Tala had fully nestled into his lap, her face firmly planted in his crotch, her tail curled around herself. The position was awkward certainly and when Gran jostled her she only seemed to cling tighter to his lap. Frowning just a bit he opened his mouth to say something when suddenly he felt her teeth at his crotch. She had gotten her head under the smock and her mouth was on his crotch, nibbling, chewing upon it, coming dangerously close to his manhood. He winced and kept as still as possible hoping she would stop and stop she did, but now she was nuzzling at his crotch, a bulge forming along with a deep seated feeling of shame. He would remind himself to never give her alcohol ever again, this was certainly not his intention, but he had to admit the attention felt nice after being alone for so long, but just as soon as he began enjoying the attention, she turned her head sharply to give his leg a bite before leaping from his lap, nearly falling over her own tail as she giggled, "Right master Gran, let's head home, tomorrow we'll get all of this good stuff and you'll begin teaching me...oh...and it isn't nice to get girls drunk for your fun."

Gran's eyes narrowed as he watched her saunter away, her hips swaying along with her cloak revealing an all too feminine form. Again he reminded himself that alcohol was off the table just as Tala fell over. When he finally got up to check on her he could hear light snoring, it seemed as though her sleep this time wasn't a prank this time. With a single arm the blacksmith gathered her, leaving the pickaxe he had given her behind as he began walking. The silence gave him time to think, time to reflect. He had received a strange apprentice, one who was willing to put up with his tricks and line of work. Truthfully he had been planning on taking her on as he had many, but most found his teaching style to be abrasive. That and he really couldn't care less about most of the people who had approached him, but this squirrel had captured his interest in more than one way and certainly he would do well to teach her, of course if she snuck into his alcohol he wasn't sure just how much he could take, only time would tell how his apprentice would grow.