The cave was sweltering hot, but Glory had been living in it for so long that he barely even noticed. The fire at his forge was roaring, the coal he had mined carrying his flames well. He stood on his anvil and tapped at a piece of metal with a hammer he had carefully crafted some time ago. It was hard and tough, though much heavier then his original corundum hammer. It did prove useful, though. It was much easier to flatten things out with this.

He was growing weary, though. He had been at it for hours, carefully shaping metal so that it curved to fit his body, and he wasn't even done with the breastplate. It was different crafting armor, much different then crafting tools and decorations. He had spent enough time trying to measure himself, much less actually forging the armor. It would probably look terrible when he finished, but he wanted to do this right.

The metal beneath him was starting to cool so he put down his hammed and grasped it in his leather-covered talons. With a few flaps of his wings, he raised himself enough to hover over the trough and let it fall into the water. There was a loud hiss as it rapidly cooled before he took his back out to rest on his anvil again.

He landed on the ground and carefully stripped the leather gloves from his talons. He would take a break now, yes, he'd been at it for long enough. Perhaps he should work on the lining that would go under the metal. It was a lot more delicate and easier on his muscles.

Gathering the leather scraps he was using to create the lining, he stepped outside of his cave and sat down on the ledge, enjoying the considerably cooler air of Monoceros as he settled down, carefully picking at the leather, trying to weave it into one piece.

©art by rettamkrad
@Gea if you wanted to hop in

She woke.

It had been a long time since she had been awake, and it took her some time to orient herself.

What had happened?

Last she could remember, she had been... speaking. To someone. But everything after that was fuzzy, and blank.

She was enclosed in something, she could tell. And she didn't like it. So she twisted, easily breaking through the chrysalis.

As soon as she was on the ground, she realized that something was different.

She was tall. Taller, at least. And, spreading her wings, she saw she was no longer covered in down. Instead, she had feathers, bright grey ones with speckles of black. And oh! they were so shiny.

Could she fly?

Hesitantly, she spread her wings and wow! they were big! She took a bit of a running start, before kicking off the ground.

And flying came to her as naturally as breathing. It was freeing, leaving the ground beneath her. And the heat, oh, the heat felt so good. She could all but see the thermals, allowing her to swoop without even twitching her wings.

However, an odd sound drew her attention - a clanging, of sorts.

And so she followed it. She found that her ears were incredibly keen, allowing her to follow the noise as though she were looking right at the source.

To her surprise, she came across a fellow bird. Its feathers were a lovely shade of brown, and it seemed to have a crown of flame. It seemed to be messing with something, although she didn't yet know what.

Angling her wings, she dove down, tapping into the speed that came naturally to her species. She swooped to a stop in front of him, looking at him with a curious gleam to her eye. "Hello! What are you doing? It looks so interesting!"

The sound of wingbeats didn't distract Glory for a moment. It was merely another bird flying through Monoceros. Or merely the wind. He didn't need concern himself with it. It wasn't until the voice spoke directly in front of him did he look up with mild surprise.

Another bird, eyeing his work, their voice sparkling with interest. He was surprised that anyone would be asking him this. Nobody had shown interest in his work before. After a moment his feathers rippled with happiness and his eyes lit up. "Hello there, my friend! I am merely sewing together this leather. I'm making armor, you see!" He puffed out his chest proudly, showing the piece of work to the bird. "This will go under the metal to make it comfortable to wear and also as another layer of protection."

©art by rettamkrad
@Gea

The Falcon stooped over, lowering her head so that she could look more closely at the scraps he held. Oh, this looked so interesting! She must have missed so much while she slept!

"Leather? Armor? What are those?" she asked, looking closely at the work. "Oh, this is incredible! But protection, why? And is there other things that could be used? Crushed vines, perhaps, or plants?" she offered, trying to figure out what could be used in the leather's place. Her eyes gleamed brightly, excitedly, in her thirst for knowledge.

@Glory

The second round of questions excited Glory and he was all too eager to respond. "Leather is this stuff! Here, feel it." He held it out to the bird so they could touch the soft surface. "It's very comfortable stuff! Armor is a cover of metal that can be used to protect yourself! It's like a really thick, smooth, and hard layer of feathers that you can take on and off! And protection from evil, obviously! If someone attacks you, wouldn't you rather have their talons bounce of metal then sink into your skin?"

As for her inquiries, he took another moment to respond. It was an interesting concept and one that he would have to explore. But there was one fatal flaw that he voice to the falcon. "Perhaps, but plants wither and die. And they're not nearly as touch as leather." As if to demonstrate, he held down the leather with one talon and tugged at it with his other. It barely stretched at all by his pulling. "See? If you did that with a plant it would rip apart immediately."

©art by rettamkrad
@Gea

Gea's face lit up as Glory began to explain, and she reached forward to touch the leather carefully. "Fascinating!" she gasped, before stepping back. She was entranced as he explained what 'armor' was.

However, she couldn't help but to ask, "Metal? Wouldn't that be heavy and make it so you couldn't fly? Would it be possible to make it with something else?" and then "Of course! That's a great idea!"

She watched as he showed her how tough the leather was, saying, "That's incredible!" she thought for a moment, before blurting out

"Vines! Could you use vines? If you wound them together they would be strong, and they would still be strong once they die." she suggested.

@Glory

Speech. Thought.

So many questions, Glory had to take a second to run each one through. Did he have a student on his hands? So soon after learning how to smith himself? Of course, that wasn't a problem! In fact, Glory really enjoyed being the spotlight of this gembound! His eyes were bright with happiness and he felt rejuvenated again, being around someone that was interested in him and his work. "Well, yes of course it's heavy. That's the point - if it was really thin and light it wouldn't protect you so well, would it? The true art of the smith is finding a good balance between thick and sturdy and light enough to maneuver around. I've been working on my flying with heavy things so I think I'm strong enough now to be able to fly for a little while with armor on! I don't know what else you could use besides leather to really protect yourself and leather won't really do much. But it's better then nothing, I guess." He looked down at the leather and wondered how well it would protect him. It certainly would weigh less then metal, but he liked the idea of the protection that armor would give.

He thought about the bird's suggestion for a moment, trying to imagine different types of vines. "Could be an idea to look into. Although the vines found in this room aren't very strong and they get dry and brittle once they're dead. That wouldn't work so well in crafting. I suppose other habitats would have some better pickings."

He suddenly looked at the bird, realizing that they hadn't actually introduced themselves. "I'm Glory, by the way. What do I call you?"

©art by rettamkrad
@Gea

Gea looked up at Glory with her eyes wide, gleaming with interest and excitement. Who would imagine, that she would find someone who shared her interests so soon after re-emerging?

She ruffled her feathers, tilting her head. "Wouldn't it be possible to just cover your vital areas? It would make things much lighter, after all, while still protecting what's important." she asked, curiously. "You could use leather and metal together?" the eagle suggested.

Gea preened slightly when Glory said that vines would be worth looking into. "What about in Polaris, or Eridanus? The vines there tend to be really healthy. And maybe you could find someone with a spell to preserve the plants, so they don't go brittle?"

When he offered her his name, she inclined her head. "It's Gea! Thanks for answering my questions, this is fascinating!"

@Glory

Speech. Thought.

Glory nodded. "Yes, that's what armor does." He carefully cleared away his leather, setting it aside in a neat little pile to his side. He stood and began scratching in the rock in front of him. It was a rough, messy scribble of a bird with its wings spread, but it was at least recognizable as such. He made small crosses over the heart, stomach, and neck. "These are the vital areas and are mostly covered by the breastplate. It'll be hard to cover the neck, though, since it will restrict head movement. So that's something to watch out for in a fight."

He made a scratching line just over the shoulders and little points on the legs. "If you're shoulder is injured, flying will be almost impossible. And if your legs are hurt, taking off and walking will be difficult. Putting small plates over those should solve the problem. As for the back, well, you don't want anyone snapping your spine." He stood back so Gea could take a look at his mess of a drawing. He wasn't exactly an artist, but he at least knew what he was doing. He had made this same diagram a few days ago in preparation for his work.

He waved his wing absently at their suggestion. "Yes, yes I suppose so. But I still think leather will work the best. And I am using leather and metal together. Leather to make a base protective layer and then thick metal plates over the important areas."

©art by rettamkrad
@Gea

Gea stepped in close, craning her neck to watch as Glory began to scribble on a rock. And, she wondered, could that be made easily? It seemed hard to do, from what she could tell. "Oh, alright." she hummed.

As Glory explained the different parts of the body, and what would happen if they were injured, she moved that body part. Her wings ruffled, her weight was adjusted from leg to leg, and she straightened her back as she stepped forward to look at the drawing more closely.

"Will you show me how you make it?" she asked hopefully, stepping towards him. That sounded fascinating!

@Glory

Speech. Thought.