Here he was, back in Leo.

It had been, what? Five days since Zookeeper was born? In that short timespan the little cub had manage to travel to a whole new cave, one full of ice and snow and a very peculiar grizzly bear. That place kinda spooked him, with the "white fluff" and all, so he quickly scampered back to his birth cave as soon as he was done with it. And how great did it feel to be back.

He stood at the base of a verdant volcano, eyes shaded from the harsh cavelight by the thick vegetation. He yawned. The heat was nice, but it did make him sleepy. To alleviate this effect, the cougar decided to go on a hike through the undergrowth, taking in the scenic sight of the bay as he went. 'This place is nice,' he decided.

It was around this time Zookeeper noticed a peculiar hole in the side of the mountain. No, more like a cave entrance, perhaps. His ears perked up curiously. Another adventure? Great beauty, he loved those! Filled with newfound energy, he trotted down the trail and up to the mysterious entryway.

And when the cub entered, he found his breath taken away. This was no meager tunnel-- it was a whole cavern full of who-knows-whats! He ooohed and aaahed at massive swords larger than his body, workshop tools made for giants, and of course, the little pebbles that crunched under his paws. This place was AWESOME!

And of course, he had to check for habitation. Not because he worried about intruding into other people's homes, but because he simply wanted to meet more friends. "Hey?" Zookeeper called, looking around the Workshop. " 'Body out there?"

Off in one direction came the quiet hiss and pump of a bellows. It was from here that the Blacksmith looked up; from here that his voice, soft and questioning, answered the cub's call.

"I... am here," he answered, pondering who this might be. Someone lost, perhaps? A traveller, one of the Gembound, wandering into new places? Or someone in need of help? Someone, maybe, looking for armor to be made? (That didn't happen often, these days.)

He set his tools gently aside, and made his way with the swish of black cloak--hands held quietly before him--toward the call. Zookeeper would spot him soon enough: towering and horned, masked, but somehow unthreatening nonetheless. And he, in turn, would see the cub: and wonder at its tiny size, its spots, its bright and wondering eyes. "You are in... my workshop," he offered, but it was a welcome, and not a warning. "You are... safe here."

Assuming, that was, the cub didn't try to play with any swords.

@Zookeeper

Zookeeper's eyes widened as a mysterious figure made itself known. "By crikey," he awed, taking a step back. Horns, fur, masks oh my! This creature was like none other he'd seen before. And was one that talked, apparently. How exciting!

Once he got over his initial surprise, the little cub wasted no time trotting over to the Blacksmith and looking up at him with big, baby-blue eyes. "Hello!" he greeted, waving a paw in a poor imitation of hands. "I'm Keeper! What's your name?"

He looked around the cave, taking in the sight of gigantic swords and anvils one more time. "The workshop, eh? Looks nice! What stuff d'ya make here?" His eyes lit up with an idea. "Ooh! Can I borrow somethin' of yours? Everything here looks so gnarly!" Looks like he was making up words again.

The made-up words certainly did throw the Blacksmith for a loop, but there were enough real ones in there that he found that it was no real trouble. He waited, patient and polite, for the cub to finish his series of remarks and questions; all the while he observed him, noting the important facts that he seemed young, enthusiastic, and very fluffy.

When at last he answered it was thoughtful, but attentive. "I am called the Blacksmith. It is good to meet you, Keeper. Er--what is it that you keep?" he asked, politely. It was always nice to ask about others' interests. The other questions left him gazing around his workshop for a moment. "Once... I made armor, and weapons. But weapons... They have two edges... even if we do not always see them. Even if I only hone the one." There was a soft sort of lamentation in his words, and he continued. "...Borrow?" He pondered on this, and on "gnarly," too, but once again his eyes were travelling his workshop.

"Most of my things," he said thoughtfully, looking over the massive armor intended for gigantic Valkhounds and swords and hammers for the same, "may be too large for you... err, but... what were you thinking? What is it... that you like? Perhaps--I can make something... just for you?" he suggested. There was no harm in it--he wasn't busy, just now, and it was always nice to have something aside from viciousness to forge.

@Zookeeper

Zookeeper's smile maintained throughout the conversation. Er--what is it that you keep? "I dunno," he admitted, looking down at his paws. "I mean, nothin' right now, but I really love creatures! I'm gonna be a creature keeper when I'm big!"

The part about weapons "having two edges" confused the little cub, his brain not having grown enough to understand the subtleties of language. So he skipped past that part and right onto the most exciting thing: the possibility of having something made for him. An ENTIRE thing! Made just for him!

"Oh, wow!" Keeper exclaimed. "Just fo' me? 'Ow sweet! Well..." He took a minute to ponder. "... I met a guy wi' these funny things on him. 'Armor,' you said? Maybe somethin' like that, but for my head! That'd be a beauty!"

An idea popped into his head. "Or-- OR! I know! Like I said, I wanna keep an.. an-i-m... creatures," -- He struggled to get past the three-syllable word and gave up-- "So I can keep them safe! From stuff like white fluff! Could you make anythin' to 'elp me with that? Like... hmm... a thingy that catches them safely!" He sighed a big whooh after getting all those sentences out of his little kitten mouth. "Bleh. So many words.

The white fluff? -Ah! the Blacksmith thought. He must mean those strange white wisps that comes with Order.

He pondered, for a moment. "To keep creatures somewhere safe... to collect them safely. And a helmet. Hmm." He turned, beckoning with the crook of one finger, and shuffled softly back to his anvil, where he'd laid his tools. "Come here, please," he invited, and gave the billows a light pump or two, to keep the coals nice and hot. His work was still glowing, held by tongs--something metal and as-yet unformed--at the forge's edge.

For now, the Blacksmith went to an old crate. There, he began to pull forth helmets--all of them far too large for a creature like Zookeeper, but all in different styles. There were metal helmets with spikes... well, that was most of them, really. But there was an old, battered cowboy hat for some reason, and a faded red baseball cap, and a worn pith helmet. This one looked like an old safari or colonialist hat from some other strange world, with a leather thong to tie beneath the chin and a leather strap over its brim. It was hard, and much smaller than the rest, but a little worn around its edges.

"Tell me... do you like any of the styles... of these? Perhaps I can... create one in your size--err. Do you know... how big you will grow?" he added, peering. This one was a child--was it not? There was no sense in making a tiny hat if poor Keeper would only outgrow it in a cycle's time, and it would be a waste of a good enchant, too. Enchantments were difficult-!

"I can enchant one, I think... put magic into it, after I create it... so that creatures see you as less of a... threat. It will not be perfect," he warned; "they would not simply follow you, but they would be less... afraid. Less... aggressive," he explained. "...Would this do?" He looked to the cub, then, hoping it would make him happy.

He did so like it when they smiled!

@Zookeeper

A happy smile dawned on Zookeeper's face as the Blacksmith beckoned him to his anvil. He cheerily padded behind the shuffling figure, mouth open in awe at the massive tools glowing at the forge's edge.

And then the hats came out. His eyes widened to saucers as he studied his options. Spiky and pointy, spiky and pointy, spiky and pointy-- oooh! Pointy and spiky! But what really caught his eye was--

"That one," he exclaimed, pointing with a paw at the small safari hat he pulled out. It was love at first sight. Oh, the faded beige fabric, the leather straps...! He could envision himself wearing it already. "I like that one."

'Do you know... how big you will grow?' He frowned thoughtfully, looking down at his oversized feet. "Hmm... I dunno! Probably not as huge as that 'bear' I met. But I think I'll fit it in time!"

Next paragraph: "Great beauty! That sounds perfect!" Zookeeper beamed up at the cloaked figure. "That'd be so cool-- wait, would I need to... what's the word... pay for this? I don't have anything... but I could get you something! Pet mouse? Funny rock? I'll do anything for this!"

The Blacksmith watched, pleased at the cub's excitement. He nodded a long, just a little--absently--as the Keeper spoke; and when he'd finished, the Blacksmith hastened to reply.

"Oh... no. I enjoy... making things... for others. But," he went on, a little thoughtful--"granting... magic to a thing... means I cannot grant it for... others, for a time. It is--draining. So... perhaps... grant kindness to those you meet... but you do not need to pay. A gift," he added, and then--considering, a little shy--"-but if you ever find... a pretty stone... or plant... that you do not need." The blacksmith turned, gesturing out toward the tunnel mouth. "I like to gather... beautiful things."

How could he explain that Leo owed its lush beauty to him--when he didn't see it that way? It'd once been nothing but a quenching-hole for a massive forge; now it was a garden, a paradise. But... he liked it that way.

"Do not worry, though. It is... a gift," he repeated. Then he pushed the other helmets carefully back into their ancient crate, and lifted the pith safari hat high. "Come, then," he said softly, and turned to make his way into the back of his workshop.

@Zookeeper

Zookeeper nodded along as the Blacksmith spoke. "I will," he affirmed, "I will."

Spreading kindness to others... what did that mean to him? The first thing his mind came up with was animals for everyone! But then again, maybe not everyone would like that. Maybe all they would want is a flower, or a pretty stone, like the Blacksmith said.

Thinking about this, he dutifully followed him to the back of his workshop. "What's... magic, by the way? You said it would make them less scared, but how does it work?"

He turned back, looked over his shoulder, with some surprise. Keeper did not know-? Didn't they teach them, anymore? No-... No, they were on their own. He was young, then. Yet to even discover magic-!

The Blacksmith smiled at this opportunity. The chance to be the first to share magic with a young one..! "Magic... is a part of you. Of me. Of these caves... You have magic in you. I can weave it..." he lifted a hand, gestured; trails of pale blue light glittered and gleamed in the wake of his movements, then faded. "...as can you, once you learn it. I do not know whose element you have inherited," he added, pausing to study the cub.

Impossible to guess.

"There are many kinds... fire, earth. Light. The magic I will use... is a magic attuned to beasts, to the primal being. It won't... take long," he promised.

The room into which he now led Keeper was a small one, but ornate: a rounded hollow in the cave wall, shelves carved from the very stone. Crystals and gemstones lined each shelf, some giving off their own, brilliant glows of gold or blue or green. A raised stone table at the center of the room held a few feathers, a plant potted in clay--but this was to one side, like decoration--and a few objects of unknown purpose. Some sang and hummed; another gave off a faint mist. The Blacksmith, unhurried, placed the helmet onto the center of the table. "Do you have any questions, before I imbue it with this magic?" he asked, turning to peer at Keeper.

@Zookeeper