fandomhigh | Blacksmithing Basics - Thursday, First Period [06/13].

All things considered, Amaya thought it would likely be best if she got over her pride a little bit and had the class up in the old shop classroom. Sure, the forge was fine, once all those leaks were patched, but the kids' safety seemed pretty important. Amaya herself didn't really have a good track record with weird things being in town...at least twice now, she'd been attacked by something that left her either in the clinic or bound to a bed or locked in a jail cell...but those were instances where she didn't have the Crumbler with her and, just as she found out with that wasteland bit, the Crumbler was excellent at mowing down anything that might try to get in her way.

She'd just have to make sure to clean the rotorblades really well when she got back to the shop.

Either way, she sent out the message and brought with her their knives-to-be and a few other supplies, got in touch with her TA so that she could help with set up, and by the time class was ready to get going, she gave the students a nod.

"Morning, everyone," she greeted them. "As you can see, we're relocated to the shop classroom again. Now, the biggest issue with working in here rather than down at the shop was always the fact that the shop has forges. But, turns out, making your own forge for smaller projects like these knives really isn't that difficult. And it doesn't get much more basic than knowing precisely how to make the one tool that's arguably the most important part of blacksmithing. If anything, you can forge yourself something nearly anywhere after this class, assuming you've got the resources. To save time, I'll have you guys follow along, and once we get our new makeshift forges going, it's onto the next step of our knife-making, which is tempering and quenching our blades, or 'heat treating' as it's commonly called.

"Everyone ready?" She pounded a fist into her palm with a nod. "Let's get started, then."

[[ and the ocd is ~~on the way~~ up! Have at it! edit: heat treating vid switched out with a better one ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeaaaaaaaah, this part...

"Can I make up this class another time?"

Norman sounded small as he asked that. Looked a little bit like he was trying to make himself small, too. He just didn't have the focus for this, all it would take would be one good startle from a splicer ghost and he'd ruin his work or, worse, hurt somebody. He really should have known better than to think that this would be fine, but he'd been hoping for the distraction, more than anything.

And, once Amaya was finished explaining, she was intending to ask after the fact that Norman was clearly not approaching class today with the same sort of gusto and determination as he usually did anyway. She wanted to get through the lesson first, though, make sure the other students were set and could started working, and offered a faint, sympathetic, maybe a little encouraging sort of smile.

If it was Norman asking to step out, it had to be something pretty bad...

"Of course," she said, nodding. "It's not the kind of work you want to try to do if you're not feeling fully up to it. If you want to use this workshop some other day of the week, just let me know, I can open it for you, or you can just come on down to the regular shop whenever you like, too, I'm usually around. Maybe once the island sorts itself back out again..."

She hesitated with the next part a bit; she wasn't really one for feelings, after all, but it was Norman, and he was her best...and, sure, probably favorite...students, so she figured she should at least venture, "....everything alright, though?"

If her mark was right, he probably wouldn't want to talk about it anyway, and she could mostly avoid it while still expressing concern.

Norman opened his mouth to reply. Paused. Closed it again. Flinched away from something, just slightly; a ghost, screaming in his face, crying about how she was going to be a star, a star, but her face, her beautiful face-- and then he shook his head.

"It's nothing anyone can do anything about," he said. In reply to Amaya's question. In reply to the ghost. As a reminder to himself. "But I'm not going to be of much use to anybody until things change again."

So many people had died here, sudden, violent deaths.

Rapture was thick with the dead, seething with them, and the only fix was to just not be here at all.

Amaya nodded, though her furrowed brow joined her frown in concern. Hard not to notice that flinch; a lot more difficult to pinpoint exactly what it was on his face just then.

"Did you want to call it a day and head out?" she offered. "Or you could just hang back and watch your fellow students. Still a lot of learning in just watching, that's what I always say. But...I understand if you just sort of need to...take some time."

Norman swallowed heavily, and then shrugged one shoulder lopsidedly.

"Can I stay?"

He might not pick up on much of anything, but he didn't want to be alone with this. Not right now. It was wearing on him, and for the first time in his life, being around the living seemed like the better option.

"Of course you can," said Amaya, hoping the faint grin that brought out of her didn't give away the fact that she'd been hoping he'd say that. "Whatever you think's best, since the only one who knows that is probably you, right? And we'll catch you up on it when you're feeling better. How's that sound?"

"That sounds kind of perfect," Norman replied, giving her a grateful little attempt at a smile. "I'm recording some of this, too, so I can go back over it when my head is in it again."

This was great. He could just pick up whatever he missed next week, and for now?

For now, he just didn't have to be alone.

Blacksmithing Basics - Thursday, First Period [06/13].

Re: Class Activity - Heat Treatment - Blacksmithing, 06/13.

Re: Class Activity - Heat Treatment - Blacksmithing, 06/13.

Re: Class Activity - Heat Treatment - Blacksmithing, 06/13.

Re: Class Activity - Heat Treatment - Blacksmithing, 06/13.

Re: Class Activity - Heat Treatment - Blacksmithing, 06/13.

Re: Class Activity - Heat Treatment - Blacksmithing, 06/13.

Re: Class Activity - Heat Treatment - Blacksmithing, 06/13.