Greetings to a Weaponmaker

Tatsui had heard much about a man named Sedgar, somewhat of a mechanic and blacksmith of sorts. His name was suggested as she wandered Main Street, exploring the proper weapon shops and smiths around. And one by one, she planned on visiting them to check what they had and also to introduce herself. If she was planning on making this place her home, she might as well get acquainted with others.

But as Tatsui shut the door to Sedgar's shop behind her firmly, the only thing that crossed her mind was 'What kind of lunatic would put a shop this high up in the mountains and this cold'. She took a second to breathe however, stretching out her back and legs, bending down to touch her the tips of her shoes and stretching her arms above her head. Then she proceeded to go inside. The first room Tatsui found was the reception room, which she looked curiously in from the doorway before stepping inside. After seeing no one in the room, she let her voice do some traveling.

"Hello~? Anyone around here?"

A loud alarm buzzed as several eye-cameras surrounded the girl, effectively pinning her where she was in the middle of the lobby. In a nearby room, a snoring Sedgar would be very rudely awakened as the loudness drilled into his head, and he viewed a small monitor in his room, with a display of the girl. It was an intrusion alert.

He dashed into the main lobby and noticed the wide open main door, and headdesk'd onto the nearest control panel at his own idiocy. He'd left the door wide open before taking his nap...

Pressing a button, he closed the door and deactivated the security system; the girl didn't seem harmful in the least, and didn't have but one star on her rank emblem. It'd be fine...

"So sorry to alarm you.." He said quite sleepily. "What can I do for you.... *yawn*"

The sirens that suddenly went off alarmed her, making her look nervously around. Perhaps she touched something that she wasn't supposed to? Maybe she just wasn't supposed to be here in the first place...

'Oh geez, what have I done...fucking hell--'

she thought to herself right before she was pinned instantaneously on the floor. Tatsui was going to shout, but heard footsteps coming close so she quickly quieted herself to look, her green eyes expecting some monster or crazy guy with ridiculously huge muscles who would smash her into a bloody mess with a giant mace he made himself 3 days ago...

"Ahhhh Tatsu I hate you, I hate you how could you put yourself in such a position..?"

She scolded herself under her breath, not noticing that the alarms had been turned off. As the person finally came out, she flicked her crimson hair away from her face to look. It was...only a tall man, lean and in a lab coat. D-Definitely not someone she expected. She stared only for a little bit before Tatsui realized her restaints were released...she was only laying there in the position it had left her in. Quickly she picked herself up, completely red in her full embarrassment.

"U-Umm...thanks for letting me go I guess."

'Just avoid his eyes. God that was embarrassing..'

Her green eyes made sure to look down at the floor, her fingers rubbing down her wrist.

"I heard you were a weapons smith...S-Sedgar, right?"

Well, that was definitely awkward. Had Sedgar been more awake he'd be just as red and fluttery as she was. Somehow he only kept his cool when dreadfully tired...

"Ah, that's me. Sorry about the alarms, totally my fault there."

He descended a staircase to the main floor, tiredly looking her over, and noticing that she was not only a newcomer, but unarmed as well.

"Here to design a weapon then?"

"Maybe...Maybe not."

Tatsui said, hardly paying attention. In fact she was much more interested in looking at everything else in his lab. The weaponry was indeed lovely too see. Maybe she could research it later, just for fun. She ran her hands over an equipment, making sure not to touch any buttons or lit objects that might cause a disarray of errors or even worse, fire something at her she didn't mean it be fired. Now that she thought about it, she linked her hands behind her back to make herself not touch anymore. Better safe than sorry.

"I'm not too keen on weaponry and how to use it...though I'd like to try, I'm much more of an...auric type of person."

The word, Tatsui wasn't sure if it was the right one...but it was general enough for him to understand, she hoped.

"Huh, that so..?"

He opened up a small console with a holographic-like screen, searching his database fro something. He'd been working on thousands of prototypes these days, his only downfall was that none had been selling the past few months. But a scientist never tires of his joy.

"So you'd prefer something that's more... hands-off, than hands-on."

"Actually...I'm not particularly sure."

Tatsui managed a small and nervous smile, much more occupied on the very basis of looking at his current inventions in the first place. As she walked around, she noticed some beautiful weaponry and machines about her; She was going to ask 'You...YOU built this?" but realized the obvious answer to that question. Of course he did. Without thinking, Tatsui said to him..

"This is a wonderful shop you have here."

He smiled. It became obvious to him that the girl was more interested in looking around. Though, he'd encountered others who were entranced by his machinery.. Ah, too many memories. Those days were gone.

"Well thanks, it's not too often I get.. fans of my work anymore."

As she looked around, he pressed a few buttons on a nearby control panel, and several mechanical arms came from the ceiling. Some held screens displaying the contents of his periodic elemental reserves, others cameras of the underground, automated forgery, and another displaying the thousands of blueprints, ready to be scrolled at the flick of a finger.

"Tell me.. how much of a... Techy are you?"

"A Techy?"

Her body turned to him curiously, then her laugh came to echo in the room. She smiled, tilting her head cutely to look at him.

"Not one at all really, I like to study the mysteries of the energy in the body and the manipulation of them. They're definitely, definitely somethin awesome to see. Everyone is so different afterall.."

She turned to look at the screens, still in absolute amazement. To be honest, Tatsui never had been so close to such advanced technology. She spoke as she looked at the screens and blueprints, studying them carefully.

"But I suppose you would know that type of passion...I can see it all over this place. It's nice to see someone who can relate, ya know?"

"Heh, the extreme physicist meets the extreme spiritualist.. on even ground. Most philosophers would laugh heartily."

He propped his feet up and observed her staring intently at the screens. It certainly was nice to have company, especially that that appreciated his work.

"What brings you here to this realm, anyway?"

"For knowledge! For science!"

She gave a small war cry jokingly, laughing a bit at herself. Tatsui went to the next panel to study it. It seemed to be the blueprint of a vat of some kind.

"I came here to learn more of this world and the energy within it. There's a large amount here, a massive amount of collective energies. I'd love to study it a little more...and perhaps meet new people and have new experiences. Everyone needs a little change every once in a while, ya know?"

With her hands behind her back, Tatsui turned to Sedgar, a satisfied look.

"Besides...it wasn't as exciting where I used to live anyway."

My, she was a warm person. Sedgar was completely comfortable with her personality already, something that can't be said for most people.

"Yeah, change is nice. I could go on and on about that, really.. But now I need to ask since you mentioned it. Where'd you live before?"

"Some boring place, one which doesn't even approve of any kind of energy, labeling it as some kind of blasphemy or something. Don't worry about it."

Her right hand raised to dismiss the whole ordeal, though it obviously stayed in her mind. She looked for a place to sit and found only the seat that was in the room had been taken by Sedgar, so Tatsui settled to sitting on a square and sturdy looking machine, her legs dangling from the edges. With her hands folded, Tatsui gave a soft smile and swung her legs absently.

"And you? Where you from, Mr. Inventor?"

He smiled at her and typed something else into the console, making a chair rise from the floor, coming forward to scoop her into it and move her back to where she was.

"There's a joystick on the armrest. I'm from a place that operates the exact opposite way, actually. Me, I can't do anything with energy. So, I was shunned too~"

"Oh how ironic!"

Tatsui laughed at their misfortunes. They were all in the past in her mind...now that she moved here she could do what she wished without being shunned at all.

"We were both shunned for our passions! Woe is us, huh?"

Turning in her chair a little, she ran her fingers along the curves of the chair, feeling out the structure.

"It's nice to just speak with someone casually... It was difficult at home. Everything was so stuffy. Even done to the clothes I wear."

"Well there are no limits here, as you can.. clearly see."

He got up now, going over to another, smaller machine by the wall. It was in need of a few repairs, and there was no better way to do so than in the midst of conversation. He focused better at both this way.

"Ah.. do you have a place to stay yet, by the way?"

"Nope, not yet...maybe that one place where rooming is free maybe, but so far...nope."

She said, turning to Sedgar with a big smile. She didn't mind not having a place to stay. Eventually she'll find somewhere to.

"Maybe once I join a nation, I'll get somewhere, but for now, the only place I can think of is the Creed guild. It's sort of a difficult place to get to not to mention, and I don't know about the rooms they can provide."

Tatsui thought for a moment...to be honest she wouldn't be surprised if it was all funded by blood money.

"Ah, those guilds.."

He snapped a wire into place as he said this, sending a few sparks out of the machine - a normal thing to happen.

"Well there's plenty of space in the lab, if you wish it. Must say it's quite comfy to live here while the outdoors are so... harsh."

"Also gets rather lonely up here.."

She was quiet for a moment, a bit nervous. It was strange for a complete stranger suggesting she stay here. Hell he had complete control of the whole lab, so it's possible she couldn't even leave now...but then again...Tatsui pondered it more, turning away from him for just a second.

"M-Maybe...The outdoors are harsh but I'm sure there are other places as well. Besides, I don't think I'd be able to sleep with such fascinating technology all around me."

"Well it's all up to you, of course~"

He said, poking his head up to smile at her. Finishing up with the machine, he got up and closed the side panel on it, as it whirred happily back in working order.

"Not like I'm some mad scientist up here"

"Well you'd be considered mad in these terms with your continuous work."

She laughed a little, actually wondering if she should accept his proposal to live here.

"Though I have to wonder why you'd invite a complete and absolute stranger here, eh? But shady, don't you think?"

Tatsui said mockingly, sticking out her tounge. Mischievous.

"One would normally think that, sure."

He strolled around, checking a few screens, before returning to his original seat.

"But you're a nice girl, with her head in the right place, and I could always use a spiritualist for ideas on how to improve my own wares."

"I'll be glad to be of service, to just give ideas and suggestions if you'd like."

Tatsui offered, following his walking pattern with her chair. She figured the idea of her staying there would be too soon. Even if Sedgar seemed like a nice guy so far. She smiled with a small laugh.

"And besides, you make it sound like you can't relate to those with energy. You could always pretend."

"Tch, all I ever did was pretend. No use lying to others and yourself.."

He closed his eyes, reminiscing a bit. He really didn't like going back there, but hey, some things just triggered his mind to do such things.

"I'd rather not be a poser."

"You make it sound like it's so helpless..."

Her voice was sober, but somehow kept her unusual cheer. Her hand ran across the chair of the arm gently. Tatsui watched it, trying to choose her words carefully.

"I think you have some in you...some energy. Maybe you just need to tap into it. Sometimes there are things you don't even know are there."

Her lashes covered her eyes as she thought about Kaza; Kaza wasn't someone she thought lived in her until recently. And even now she was unsure of his existance, even if she shouldn't be. It was just too remarkable to be true.