1stmacleod | For watchingsparrow

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casper

For watchingsparrow

After some dithering, partly because he doesn't know exactly what kind of set-up he'll have to work with, Connor collects what he needs to begin his project. It all fits in an old duffel bag, along with some bottles of water. He can't seem to find his old apron and gloves, but assumes there will be some he can borrow. Once he's got what he needs, he sends a text message to alert Casper and make sure he won't be unexpected.

Connor spends plenty of time out of the house, just running or practicing kata alone, so his absence shouldn't worry Kairos. He puts on his oldest jeans and sweater, and the trenchcoat with the katana hidden away in the lining, and PINpoints to the Nexus before sending out a message to Casper that he's ready to visit the forge.

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'Will be there shortly.' That's the reply that message gets.

It doesn't take long for Casper to show up, though, but he looks a bit stressed when he does. And his hair is damn, all but still dripping water after a shower. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he says as he arrives. "Had just gotten back from a run when I got the message. Was in dire need of a shower."

It should be noted that he's apparently anticipating colder weather, wearing a somewhat heavier coat than he would wear in the Nexus, and a scarf wrapped around his neck. "Shall we?" He asks, Pinpoint in hand and ready to go.

Connor knew he might have to wait a short while, so he's not bothered about it. Casper finds him sitting lost in thought at the edge of the Nexus. "No problem... where do you go running?" His interest is piqued, because Connor likes running, but has trouble getting anyone to go with him. The only person he's found willing to is Clark, who can outrun a train. That's hardly sporting.

The trenchcoat is an old brown wool thing, threadbare at the elbows, but there's a sweater under it. Connor has a high tolerance for cold, and it won't be cold long once he gets the forge fire going anyway. He picks up his duffel bag with a metallic clank, and nods. "Ready."

"Here and there." he fiddles a bit with the PINpoint, getting the correct coordinates in. "Mainly at this sort of overgrown park near my place. I don't go running as often as I go flying, but sometimes it's nice to use my feet."

...aaand they're off!

Casper's hometown is a small town by the coast of Maine. And it's just cold enough that's it's snow falling down on them instead of a light rain. "This way," Casper says, leading Connor down the road and away from their somewhat hidden point of arrival behind some bushes.

"Flying?" Connor tenses as they PINpoint away, taking a few seconds to scan the new environment, analyzing it for any form of threat. Landing outdoors actually makes him a little quicker to relax, and he glances up to feel the snow on his face with a trace of a smile. He's not wearing a hat or anything, but doesn't seem to mind, and he follows Casper while still looking all around. "Where are we?"

"Maine. South of Bangor." Casper isn't wearing a hat either. He should, though, since his hair is wet. But they'll be inside shortly. "And, um... Yeah. I fly. Sometimes I'm much smaller than I am now, and dressed in feathers." That's a roundabout way to say that he's a shapeshifter. The Nexus has made it easier to talk about stuff like that.

Connor tears his gaze from scanning the landscape to blink at Casper, then gives a slow nod and looks away again. Nexus. He's starting to get used to that.

"...I used to live on Cape Yacatz... a long time ago..." His voice is quiet, and that's not just the snow muffling it.

"How long is a long time ago?" He did wonder a bit about Connor's age last they met.

He leads then up a long gravel road, going up to a fairly large house. A bit to teh side there's a smaller building, and as they draw near the sounds of a hammer striking metal can be heard. "Seems he's at it already."

Connor rubs the back of his neck a little with his free hand, grimacing slightly. "...Around the turn of the century? Uh, 1900, that is..." Because he can't really be sure what year it is in this world. Sadly, that only shows a fraction of his age.

As soon as they come within hearing of the sound of the hammer, he smiles slightly. It's been over a decade since he was at a forge, and that was just to remake his blade. The last time he did any real smithing, cars hadn't been invented yet.

Casper just nods at this information. He'd been right in his guess that Connor was far older than he looked.

He steers his steps towards the smaller building. Looking through the windows one can see that it is a fully equipped smithy, including a mechanical and an air-power hammer. Some of the things father Leavy makes are simply too heavy and tiresome to do entirely by hand.

Since Leavy was aware that they were coming, and since he probably wouldn't hear if they knocked on the door, Casper simply opens the door and steps inside.

It's a spacious smithy with room for several people, with four anvils of different shapes and sizes, and plenty of space in the forge. Leavy looks up and puts the large, elaborate hinges he's working on down when he notices the two men stepping inside. He looks like a man who never smiles, and wiry from a lifetime of work. If he hasn't already passed retirement age, he is at least approaching it quickly. He nods in greeting, removing his earplugs. "Was wondering when you would show."

Connor's never seen an air-power hammer, or a forge this big. He tries to scan the room warily for exits and defensive spots as they enter the building, but gets distracted just staring at the equipment instead. He looks like he's just stumbled into heaven.

While Connor is distracted by the equipment, Casper goes to greet father Leavy properly. "We're not that late, Father." He grins. On first glance Leavy doesn't respond at all. But, looking closer there's a slight rise at the corner of his lips, and a warmer expression in his steely gray eyes as they shake hands in greeting.

"Anyway," Casper goes on. "This is Connor MacLeod. Connor, the one and only Father Leavy."

"Ben will do just fine," Leavy says, looking from Casper to Connor, seemingly sizing him up where he stands.

Connor doesn't smile all that much, himself, but he's got a youthful face that betrays subtle expressions better. He nods, meeting the other man's gaze with grey-green eyes that seem too intense for his age. The handshake is firm and calloused. "You've got an amazing place here." Compliments never hurt, and it's a heartfelt one. He's impressed.

Leavy just nods. He knows he has a good place set up, and thankfully for Connor - and a few other people around town - he doesn't mind sharing it.

"You know your way around?" Casper had said something about him having worked as a blacksmith before when they spoke on the phone.

"I'm not familiar with some of the more... modern equipment." He looks awkward saying it, but he's not about to try to use something he doesn't understand. "Thanks for letting me work here."

"The power hammers?" Again Leavy nods. If Connor asks, he might show how those work. "Then let me know if you need any help with sledge work." Because just because he has machines to help him in his work, he's no stranger to doing things the old fashioned way.

"I think I can manage with the tools I do know. Thanks." Connor hefts the duffel bag with another quiet clank. "I'd like to set up my own sometime soon, though..." Part of him is intrigued by the impressive set-up, while part of him wants his own forge to be traditional.

Yet another nod, and then Leavy glances at the coal bin. Half full. "We will need more coal. There's more in the shed out back, if you would be so kind." Obviously a man of few words, and now he'd like to get back to work. And trusting Connor to know his way around, he doesn't feel the need to supervise him. He's counting on Connor to let him know if he could use a pair of extra hands. He might even ask Connor to wield a sledge for him, if the apparently younger man knows his stuff.

Casper has in the mean time been studying a half-finished chandelier. It looks like it will be a big one, even if it's still mostly in pieces at the moment.

Finding an unobtrusive spot to set his bag, Connor nods and goes to fill the coal bin dutifully. Long, long ago he learned under a man with a similar personality, with the added trouble that Connor was falling in love with the man's daughter and terrified of losing his apprenticeship if the smith caught on. This is a picnic by comparison.

He gives Casper a nod before he goes out, unsure how long he'll be sticking around, but wanting to find out how to make his donation in the right currency for the world. After a couple of buckets of coal, he has to take his coat off, and hangs it carefully out of the way, and well away from the other two men. It's got his sword in it, after all.

When Connor is done filling the coal bin, Casper is ready to head out. "Thought I'd take the time to go visit my folks," he explains as he's re-wrapping the scarf around his neck. "I'll be back later, though. Or if you're ready to go back before that, give me a call and I'll come back down."

Leavy has gone back to the forge, re-heating the hinge he was working on before Casper and Connor arrived.

"Thanks. I'll have a couple of questions." Connor nods and gives him a look that's friendly enough, but he seems distracted now, ready to get to work. He's found a spare apron and gloves and is donning them, although he's really tempted to roll up his sleeves. Any burns that immediately heal could raise questions, though, and he wouldn't put it past Father Leavy to be just that observant.

Casper just nods, smiling. He was hardly going to leave Connor there. But but he's not reallt needed at the moment, and it's enough to show up when it's time to go home.

"Casper!" Leavy calls before Casper gets a chance to leave. "Your visits are far too rare. Just because you have gone off to this strange world of yours, it doesn't mean you get away with not keeping in touch."

Casper's smile slips a bit, and he looks sheepish. Not unhappy, just sheepish. "Yes, Father," he says, bowing his head a bit. "I'll be back in a few hours." Then he slips out into the falling snow, leaving the two blacksmiths to their work.

Connor raises an eyebrow, but doesn't speak until Casper's out of view. He pulls out metal bars, laying out what he needs to start. "...Strange world?" He was trying to play it safe, assuming Father Leavy knew nothing about the Nexus, and it's intriguing to find out that might not be the case.

If one were to put the look Leavy gives Connor, it would say: you know damned well what I'm talking about. "He said that's where he met you. That place between places." There's a that little twitch around his mouth, pulling the corners of his lips up a little bit in the tiniest of smiles. "There's not much that boy doesn't tell me."

Connor's not going to pretend he doesn't come from the Nexus, if that's no big secret, but he wants to know how much Father Leavy knows, first, so he doesn't phrase it wrong. "...Something like that. This place looks normal to me, though, so your world may not be much different from mine." He stokes up the fire for them both, careful to wear the gloves and apron for it.

"You're... some kind of mentor?" It's a slightly wary question, but there might be some hint in his tone that he's played that role.

Leavy doesn't respond on the topic of different worlds. Everyone has to come from somewhere, after all.

"Depends on how you look at it," he says, staring into the burning coals. "I have my congregation. And sometimes I take in young people who have far too much free time on their hands but without a decent way to spend it." Keeping them out of trouble, in other words.

Connor doesn't look up from what he's doing, but gives a slow nod and lays metal rods in the coals. "Someone needs to." He's pretty sure that's not a job he'd want to take on, but Duncan's done that. Casper seemed like a sensible guy, though, not inclined to get into trouble. Maybe that's all Father Leavy's doing.

Had Connor said that out loud, Leavy might have laughed and said that Casper couldn't get himself into trouble if he wanted to. But he just nods briefly again, eyes focused at the metal heating up amongst the coal. Using a pair of tongs he takes out the now glowing orange half-formed hinge. He grabs his hammer in the same motion as he puts the hinge on the anvil. The sounds of metal striking metal once again fills the smithy.

They fall into a companionable silence, at least verbally. As the rods heat up, Connor lays out tongs and pliers and other tools, readying his work area. When he extracts them, the forge rings rhythmically with two sets of hammer blows. It's almost impossible not to subconsciously pace the strike of the hammer to the sound of the other man's work. There's pauses, of course. Much of what Connor's doing is careful bending and twisting. What starts out as a bunch of metal rods is gradually being twisted and woven into some kind of flat Celtic knotwork pattern that gathers into a bundle of rods at one end, all flattening and melting together. It's going to take him a few days, but with a good squint and a little imagination, it looks like the beginnings of some kind of tree-of-life wall hanging. Connor clearly knows what he's doing, and he's good at it.

Starting out Leavy keeps watch over Connor, looking at him with glances from then corner of his eye. But as it becomes clear that Connor knows what he's doing - and is in fact pretty damn good at it - Leavy relaxes and focuses on his own work. The times he looks at Connors work now it is from a professional point of view.

The hours pass, and eventually Casper comes back. Leavy just nods at an old coffee pot that sits on a work bench. That's all the instruction Casper needs, and he goes to fill it up with water and ground coffee. Then, as Leavy puts his work aside and goes to fetch three cups, Casper places the pot on the forge. It doesn't take long for it to boil, and the second it does Casper takes the pot away and puts it to the side "Mmmh, blacksmith coffee." He just about purrs.

Connor looks a little young to be so skilled, and truth be told he's too scrawny for the old-fashioned work. Back when he did this for a living, he managed to build up at least a respectable amount of muscle, but he's spent the last fifteen years in terrible shape. He's going to be sore tonight, even with his healing ability, and very hungry. Kai's going to wonder.

He would never be so careless as to not notice the entrance, but he doesn't look up or change his pace. Partly he's afraid that once he stops, he'll have to take a long break. It's the smell of the coffee that finally makes him put down the hammer. He dips the flat mass of interwoven metal to cool it a little, sets it aside, and comes over to the other men a little breathless and sweaty. Better eating and daily kata have put him on the road to recovery, but right now the strain of the work is showing. "...Coffee...?" He just hopes his hands won't shake when he takes a cup.

Coffee is poured and cup handed over. It's good coffee.

"If you are here working when I'm not around, I would appreciate a donation for the coal. If it's locked the key is in the coal shed." Leavy says and takes a gulp from his cup. He's obviously used to drinking his coffee piping hot. Casper grins. That comment means that Connor has been accepted and is welcome to work there at any time.

His hands do shake, just a little, muscles vibrating with fatigue. He prefers his coffee with milk, but Connor's grateful for coffee of any kind and he's drunk it black at the edges of battlefields and in other dark spots. Times like those, and like now, it tastes better than anyone could ever imagine coffee tasting. He burns his mouth on the first gulp, and doesn't care. "Of course. Thanks. I'll have to ask... about your suppliers, when I get my own set up."

"I suppose deliveries could be a problem," Leavy says. His suppliers couldn't very well deliver to another world, could they? "Unless I order additional so you can come pick it up, yourself."

Without anything to add to the conversation, Casper is happy to sip his coffee as he listens.

"That would work, or I could rent someplace nearby for them to deliver it to." Connor shrugs a little. "I don't even have a place to build a forge, yet. I don't think we'll be moving out of the apartment until after Christmas."

"Until you have somewhere, you are welcome here." Leavy apparently isn't interested in all the details. At least not at this time. Casper is, though, though he doesn't ask further than to give Connor a wondering look. But then Casper is more or less always interested in peoples lives.

If Casper wants to know specifics, he'll have to come out and ask. Connor's really not big on sharing. "Thanks." He gives Father Leavy a grateful look, hands steadying some on the mug. He's quiet for another long minute, gazing out the window with an almost wistful expression. "This is... a nice place. I wouldn't mind seeing more of it."

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