Paradise

1 - Sorren

Sorren blew out a long sigh and leaned away from his work, raking the back of his hand across his forehead to wipe away the beads of sweat. Laid on the concrete table in front of him, his newest project - a sword infused with both iron and steel - was coming along nicely. He had specifically designed it so that the weapon was light and easy to swing, but so it held nasty power behind the deceiving smallness. It had taken him almost a week to forge the sword and reach the shaping step; but now that it was almost finished, he was quite proud of his work.

But it was nearing the end of the day, and Sorren hadn't eaten a proper meal since breakfast. He had been working relentlessly, impatient to complete the sword as quickly as possible. He was glad that he had nearly finalized the weapon, but he knew he couldn't finish it today. 

Huffing out another long sigh, Sorren turned away from his work and began pulling the thick gloves off his fingers. He was in charge of closing the Forgery, and the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. Cursing under his breath, Sorren realized that it was already past closing time. 

Cringing at the harsh words that were sure to come from Kyean, Sorren speedily tidied up his forging room, flicked off the lights in the whole shop, and closed and locked the door behind him. His companions - the ones who had raised him since he'd lost his parents - were most likely already packed up and headed home-

"Sorren." 

-except Kyean, of course.

An involuntary, nervous smile turned up Sorren's lips, and he turned around to find his higher-up standing impatiently on the sidewalk. The big man's arms were crossed over his heavyset chest, and a thick eyebrow was raised in disappointment. Kyean was a muscular man, but he wasn't tall in the slightest. He barely reached Sorren's nose, and the seventeen year old was 5'10". He had a bushy black beard that matched his shoulder length hair, giving him a harsh appearance. His looks told him well - Kyean was a short-tempered man, gruff and impatient in most situations. His voice was deep and gravelly, scaring off most children that got too near - if his harsh aspect hadn't done that already.

Sorren chuckled nervously, his shoulders tensing in a guilty cringe. "H-Hello, Kyean! Still, uhm... out and about, I see?" He flashed an impish grin that only completed the look of understood wrongdoing. 

"It's far past closing time," Kyean said roughly, tapping one foot on the concrete below him. "You should be home by now, Sorren." 

Sorren lifted one arm and rubbed the back of his neck - a tic he'd developed when he was much younger. "Yes, I know," he said with a sigh. "Sorry, I lost track of time. It won't happen again." He let his hand drop and stuffed it into the pocket of his work overalls. 

Kyean gave Sorren a dubious look, his eyebrows arching high. "Do I really need to remind you that you said those exact words last time?" 

Sorren laughed again, hoping to brush off the tension between them. Though Kyean and Sorren were like brothers, there were rough and iffy times throughout their friendship that made Sorren uncomfortable and Kyean angry. 

"I remember, Ky," admitted Sorren, shortening his friend's name in a way that used to anger Kyean, but now - after years of growing nearer to the younger forger - it only softened the blacksmith's mood toward Sorren.

Indeed, Kyean's expression smoothed a bit and he blew out a long sigh. "Well, it's closed now. Go on home, kid." He uncrossed his arms and waved a short farewell as he turned around to walk away. 

Sorren lifted his hand to wave back, though Kyean's back was already facing him, and sighed once more as he took off toward home. Kyean was a nice guy - in his own way, that is - but he was probably the most insufferable of all the forgers that had raised Sorren.