After cycles of witnessing the brutality of the caves, one inevitably had to face the unfortunate odds that someday relying on speed and cunning alone would meet a hard limit. Avoiding fights, though it always sounded like a fine plan to a small Gembound way out of their depth, was an impossibility when you'd be crushed sooner than you can escape the shadows cast by the caves' many hulking beasts. Reason and sweet-talking, too, had no guarantee of saving anyone from becoming a roasted meal; rarely did giants such as those in the Deathmatches care for those forms of civility, answering to violence's call above all else.

Therefore it came as no surprise that East was willing to risk singeing feathers for a chance at tipping the balances ever so slightly more in his favor. In a world of dramatic power differences, being able to leave a nasty parting blow in the right place might be the only way to create an opening to leave an unwanted conflict. What's more, failure might have a small upside then: he'd depart the world after giving his murderer a nice scar to remember their crime by.

It'd been rumor that'd first brought him to the Blacksmith. Despite initial hesitation, a bird's natural curiosity and a smidgen of likely misplaced hope had allowed him to brave the tunnel to Leo for a visit to this supposedly helpful being. The soft-spoken figure met there, while pleasant enough to converse with, didn't assuage the typical suspicions of deception lurking in his mind. Nevertheless he'd decided to give him a chance and see whether a small investment of faith would pay off or put him at a loss.

Wryly he thought the risk taken would provide plenty of entertainment as well for the Narrator's invisible viewing pleasure. Any danger encountered during his investigation might turn out a better show for them, after all, if he could provide an actual meaningful struggle against it.

Like all things requiring effort, the Blacksmith had needed time to craft this minor request of his, so East spent the wait on productive activities instead of lazing around and letting the hot cavern lights slow cook him. Whenever not poring over the contents of his ancient book and considering the information he had, prodding his secretive audience for answers they refused to directly hand over became a favorite past time. Once certain there must be some progress by now, a return was made to the workshop situated within the humid cave's volcano. Time to see the fruits that diligent work bore.

"Hey there," he said upon winging his way into the space. "You around? Any word on our project? You can take a look at my talons again if you're having trouble with the sizing," offered the hawk. He didn't know how much experience the Blacksmith had with Gembounds of his small stature.

Clunk—ding—hiisssss sounded the workshop, but at the call of the voice, they quieted for a moment as the Blacksmith peeked his head around the corner of a station to view the visitor.

"Ah, yes," he called back, disappearing momentarily to put aside his work, patting his hands against a smock he'd donned. "One moment, East," carried his voice as he shuffled into one of the store rooms to retrieve the knuckle-talons. The design had seen several iterations before the Blacksmith was happy with them, but he hoped East also approved. When he returned, he closed the distance between them and displayed his creation on an empty table, gesturing for the bat hawk to join him.

"Here they are," he announced proudly, delicately displaying the identical knuckles next to each other. They were darkened gunmetal stainless steel, nearly black, and matte in appearance rather than shiny: on purpose, of course. Couldn't have the glint of something giving our prized detective away! Three forward talon-rings boasted studded spike defensives along their length, connected by a light chain between each knuckle so that they could both be flexible and firm. The backward-facing talon had one ring and operated a spring-like mechanism that could retract or deploy steel claws on the end of the front rings to cover East's talons.

"This," the Blacksmith began, placing the one pair of rings on small model talons so that he could demonstrate, "is optional. It can detach, if you wish," he explained, using tweezers to remove a pin that dislocated the back talon ring from the ankle bracelet that connected all the pieces. "But if you choose for it, it attaches," he paused again, reattaching the ring to the model and inserting the pin through the designated hold, "to control the retractable claws, like so." He pulled the model toe back to disengage the spring and the three claws burst forward. When he pulled it back again, the spring engaged, coiling and retracting the claws which housed themselves in a hollowed area beneath the ring. "I have designed the pin to be used easily for beaks, I hope," he mentioned, pushing the other half of the pair toward East.

"Try them on, if you like. Let us see if there are adjustments to be made. There are two pins, one for the back talon, and one to close the bracelet," he said, pointing to each respectively, the bottom for the spring and the top to close the bracelet (which opened via a hinge in the front). Whether or not East decided to test them out, the Blacksmith continued with his explanation.

"Additionally, I've included some enchantments. On one bracelet there is Pickup, so that you may be ever swift and agile, especially in a situation where you may need to be defensive. On the other, likewise, is Barrier, so that if you are—" his voice caught for a moment, a tinge of sadness tightening it, "well, if you are damaged, then may it be less injury to you, if it must be at all."

Now he waited, hands clasped together before him, curious how East would like them and if there would need to be adjustments of any kind.

[] I'm not good at drawing and even less, technical drawing, lol, but I hope this makes sense!! If you have any questions about how they work or anything just shout !

@East

When the bat hawk joined the Blacksmith, landing with a soft flutter of feathers upon the table indicated for him, he did so with neither high nor low expectations of what might be presented. All in all, the affair was regarded as an experiment, testing whether someone else could be relied upon to craft a method of self-defense he'd be hard-pressed to create on his own. While his independent streak would've preferred to keep the matter personal, facts didn't lie: he was more likely to fall out of a tree, smacking every branch on the way down, than succeed in making an apparatus for talons by his lonesome. Expertise lay entirely within the Blacksmith's hands, and so he listened attentively while the function of the contraptions before him was explained in depth.

Mind, silence couldn't quite be held once the model talons were pulled out for a demonstration. Struck by the sight like a raindrop to the eye, a dumbfounded blink took it in. Then came a gentle huff of laughter as an audacious, entirely fictitious scenario crawled through his mind. This he didn't even attempt the barest hint of suggesting at until given one half of the set to try for himself, at which point an outrageous statement was finally voiced.

"Well, if it comes to that, let's hope it goes better for me than the last fella," he said, nodding to the disembodied replica foot. "I don't think I've the rhythm to hop instead of run."

The knuckles were drawn even closer with a delicate tug of his talon, and East began attaching them.

If the pins' story matched the rest of the assembly, the work here was nothing to be scoffed at. True to the expressed hope, no struggle ensued to open the main bracelet; it closed like a charm too, the fit snug around the base of his leg. He lifted the appendage, testing its weight—a definite adjustment but not too burdensome to carry around. Toes flexed, and satisfaction noted little resistance would likely hamper him during his usual bat and bird hunts.

But that wasn't everything. The optional piece remained. After putting on the back talon ring and settling the required pin in its proper place, he ran through the same motions, comparing them to the previous sequence. Seeing negligible difference, operating the newly added feature followed. Metal rasped against metal as the claws activated and sprang, dark and wickedly hooked, in front of East's own.

"Fast and protected, huh?" He twisted his foot to capture the design at every possible angle. "Any way to tell them apart? Don't hear me wrong; I'm not interested in flying sideways stunts anytime soon. Just acquainting myself with these better."

The Blacksmith eyed the replica talons for a moment, digesting the humor in East's words before a hearty, chest-borne chuckle rumbled in his throat, his shoulders shaking softly while a curled hand raised toward his mouth. It was rare he had the opportunity to joke within his workshop. "Indeed," he muttered through the laugh, tapping a claw against the table at the base of his creation. He had fabricated it with East's measurements, but he did not consider how silly it looked by itself—for him, it was just another tool of the job.

He was very pleased as East explored the talons, nodding here and there while watching the hawk explore and learn the mechanisms. But when posed with the question, the Blacksmith tilted his head and tapped a claw to his chin.

"Hm, no, but I can add this. You can keep that one on," he said, leaning down so that he could view the bracelets. With a steady finger, he reached out to scribble glowing markings: on the Barrier one, still draped over the model talons, he drew a small shield; and on the Pickup one, which East was wearing, he drew three wavy lines. With a gentle motion of his hand, the glow disappeared, and all that remained were the burned-black etchings. He removed the second half of the set from the fabricated foot and set it out for East.

"How is that, then? Anything else you'd like adjusted?" he asked, leaning back with his hands folded before him, but still eyeing the knuckles keenly, looking for his own adjustments or improvements if any.

@East

Staying still as adjustments were made to the bracelet he wore wasn't too much trouble. If he'd been fooling himself, the absolute lack of motion on his part and refusal to ruffle a single feather out of place could have been chalked up to plain good manners. More realistically, the long shadow spilling over him and the table as the Blacksmith leaned in had activated old instinct. Despite his acquaintance's seemingly gentle nature, every muscle stayed frozen until the pictogram was etched. Only once this minor addition reached completion did East finally unwind the tension from his bones.

"Huh," he said regarding the simple depiction of waves now present. "Well aren't these the rat's whiskers."

And they really were, seeing as both symbols drawn didn't detract from the knuckles' overall design. From afar, it'd be doubtful anyone would notice these, small and burned into such a dark background. Up close they'd be slightly easier to separate from the steel—if not by using keen sight, then by noting the dips in what used to be a smooth surface with the casual brush of a foot.

"Neat. I suppose that's one way to make a point sink in."

Finishing his admiration of the new embellishments, he tugged the remaining set of knuckles over to him. Aided by demonstration and the previous practice of adorning the other half of the pair, putting these on became less of an exploration and more of a routine. Even though each feature was tested again, their novelty had faded; instead they were items to be checked off a list, ensuring no discrepancies in quality existed.

His verdict after he flexed his back talon and metal claws slid into place?

"Oh, there's plenty of things I'd like adjusting. A few attitudes, for starters. But talking about these?" He nodded toward his feet. "No, these are good. I dare say they'll do better for me than trying to peck out eyes. Especially when there's fellas around with more of them than I've feathers."

The Blacksmith listened, folding his hands across his lap as East tried the knuckles out.

Once his approval was given, the Blacksmith gave a little bow of his head. "I am glad they are suitable," he offered softly. "If... in the future, there are problems. Or if you need something more. My forge is always open." His offer was warm and genuine.

"In the meantime... do take care. I hope these serve you well, but I also hope there is no need for them."

Ahh, the true best-case scenario of any new weapon: that it would never need to be used.

@East

"For how high in demand hopes are, you'd think they'd have the decency to grow on trees for us all," East remarked. "Wish that were the case. I'd be one plump and pampered bird then."

Returning a respectful nod of his own to the benefactor in his midst, the observation made was a wistful one. Though the syllables spoken were a shallow reflection of the mind behind them, each carried a somber tint only unfortunate memories could grant. When eyes lifted to meet the Blacksmith's masked visage, no amount of staring could convey the various injustices they'd witnessed to achieve their current perspective. Nevertheless, from the other's statements, a mutual understanding of the caves' nature might certainly have been present: grim awareness of the dangers around every corner and domineering sorts who'd sooner swallow you whole than keep promises to the weak and weary.

"I'll be sure to drop in on you if there's any trouble though. Maybe bring them in for a polish?"

An effort to lighten the mood, the last was said mostly in jest, a glint in his eye. The whole of the comment, however, rang honest. While he didn't place trust in much, the solid craftsmanship he'd been presented with seemed decent enough items to hold it for the time being. So long as the steel endured, its forger would receive it too through association.

-Exit East