Pt. 2 of the fantasy story I wanted to post, unsure if I got too bogged down in details, but the next two or so installments will move faster for it I hope.
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"But wait, what if it's expensive!"
*Thud*
He was already outside and well out of earshot.
"...I hope he gets fleas....feline bastard..." Lua muttered under her breath, before noticing her ashen companion absolutely beaming up at her.
"It'll be fine. I'll admit you're my first satyr I've had to shoe, but seeing as he has a solid point saying you are similar to a horse, from the waist down, I think I can manage it. As for the fee, I'm sure we can barter afterward. You look like the type who might be able to solve a problem for me as well."
Before Lua could ask the woman what she meant, she beckoned further into the room as she turned on the spot and began to slowly walk back into the back hallway.
"You can manage can't you? If you need you can use that staff by the door to help you hobble back here."
With that she disappeared around the corner, leaving Lua to hobble along behind and catch up
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Farrah left the room with her back turned as she was having a hard time focusing without taking her eyes off the Satyr. Yes, she's big, and yes, she's half goat with horns and hooves and hairy muscular legs and a tail....but more than that, she has pewter eyes. Her eyes look like polished pools of soft, silvery mist.
Her hair was Raven and curly, it hung like springs of steel that jostled too and fro when she moved. Her long locks nearly hid her velvety ears, more chestnut fuzz adorned the outer edges of those ears that hung at the sides of her head. Not quite drooping, but bowed from the weight of her hair. Her skin, a hue of onyx, yet full of warmth, like morning coals.
Her modest garb, betrayed by her physique, Farrah could tell besides just being tall, the woman was fit and well endowed. She had broad shoulders and a tapered waist, but better than half her weight would be from her hips down, and yet she was as solid as an oak trunk when Farrah held Lua up. "Maybe satyrs are just naturally heavier??.." Farrah mused. Her tawny furr from her ears seemed to extend to her hooves. Farrah had caught a glimpse of Lua's legs when she and the cat man were fighting.
Farrah was fixated, thinking not just about how Lua appeared, but more than that she was wearing. Probably 8 pounds of steel and rare metals adorned the satyr like accents. From what she could spot, Farrah noted 3 earrings, spectacles adorned in a set of chains that seemed to attach to the woman's lapell on one side. Several rings adorned her beautiful hands. Her nose bore a stud of some green stone and flashy metal, and if she was to believe it, Farrah could have swore she saw a glint of metal in Luas mouth. "I think that's stuck in her tongue" she thought to herself. As her abdomen was bare, Farrah was also aware of Lua's navel piercing, and atop all that her shoe was also visible. It had ornate designs partially visible on it despite being weathered by its purpose.
"So...so how er, where should I sit....so you can have a look"
The words snapped her out of her thoughts. "Wha...Oh right! Yes one second Lua"
The grimy woman set to moving about the workshop blindingly fast. Lua watched from the archway as a full sturdy table was cleared, and a smaller one lower to the ground beside it. It wasn't until the smaller table was being moved into place Lua noticed it. She kept hearing a familiar squeak and grind...but she didn't not see where from. Before she could ask Farrah gestured to the table
"Mind sitting here and putting your shoeless hoof on this bench? It'll allow me to reach better so I don't miss with my hammer swings."
"Oh, yes alright" and Lua set to hopping over and positioning herself with aid of the staff. Farrah was simply captivated. In spite of clearly being off balance, Lua had grace in her movement. She seemed no less foreign to her surroundings than Farrah, yet clearly was not accustomed to a forge. As she knelt to set herself on the bench, the copper haired girl could see the concern in her guests face.
"Trust me, that table comfortably holds several barrow loads of steel ore on a regular basis. Your cat friend could swing an axe and have a hard time taking it out in one go. You are far too light to cause it any stress"
Farrah beamed and again gestured to the makeshift seat.
"Now, without using your cat friends poor analogy, your hoof is larger than most of the horses here, so I'll need to test a fit a few times and resize before I hammer it home. Likewise so I have a easier means to work on said fit, I hope it's alright if I stand over your ankle and face your hoof. I don't want to strike at an odd angle and cause more harm than good."
"Oh, I suppose that is the only option isn't it..alright." Lua sighed. This was going to be awkward if she wasn't careful.
"Is that not okay? I'm open to suggestions, as your more familiar with satyr shoeing procedures." Said the copper haired girl.
" No that's fine, this is just going to be different than I'm used to. In the Enclave, we have larger chairs obviously, and as such we can recline and the Steel shaper works almost eye level as the chair reclines back. Honestly, I'm just greatful you're willing to help... I get the feeling Orrim would leave me behind if I didn't get this fixed here."
"That sounds relaxing, in an odd way" Farrah mused. "It's like what my cousin's wife did after her wedding. She was sent off to this temple or church thing for a fortnight, where she was pampered in all sorts and fashion. They had her soak in rose water, smoke certain herbs, and and eat strange things. She said she felt very refreshed and "invigorated".
"That sounds like a thalassotherapy temple. I've heard of one but never been to one..... Understandably, they are typically designed to be "human sized".
"That's more racist then your cat friend calling you a horse! If they can forge a set of armor for human elven or dwarven kind, and make all sorts of high or low tables or raised chairs for halflings to sit level with humans, then I don't see why we can make a few doors taller and chairs bigger for someone like...well like you"
The human was as bright and gentle as a summer breeze. Lua was not accustomed to kindness as a first response. Being a satyr meant some humans thought of her or her kin as lesser or beastly. Others decided to be equally foul and point out her size. Making accusations she could be dangerous or should be feared.
"No, um this is kind of silly...considering. I, or that is my hooves, are rather sensitive. Despite being just a big piece of boney outcrop, we satyrs have a significant amount of sensation in our hooves...so if I seem distraught-" the satyr was cut off by Farrah raising her hand as if to block the words.
"I, I understand. I'll be very careful. Just say so if we need to stop for a moment or something feels off. My usual clients just sort of blow raspberries or snort or stomp if they dislike something, so I reckon it'll be a lot simpler with actual words between us"
The copper haired girl's words felt like axwarm hug to Lua. The words were sincere, but at the same time it felt like there was something unsaid that Farrah wasn't explaining....for Farrah's sake, Lua wanted to just grin and bear it.
Farrah stood before Lua's shoeless hoof, just what would be her shin and ankle area was nearly her whole legs length! She stepped over the hock and inspected it carefully. Lua was right to be concerned, her natural hoot was uneven from the shoe being predominantly what she walked on and her outside edge had tamping nails in it still....it had to be literally like pins and needles to walk on.... Farrah rubbed her right thigh and winced at the thought of that pain.
"Alright, I'm going to start by removing the remaining pins and planing the surface so the shoe will sit evenly. Tell me if anything hurts"
Lua nods and subtlety grips the table betwixt her legs. Farrah felt bad for her patron having to wince and prepare for pain at her service, but she didn't have a better solution to this part.
Unbeknownst to Farrah though, Lua wasn't preparing for pain....no Lua was preparing to stifle her baser emotions. As luck would have it, she found the whole process of shoeing oddly sensual. Yes, there was discomfort at times, but much like a lashing, it left a burn later that somehow turned her gears. She both loved this and hated it, as she could tell no one how much pain was satisfactory to her in the right light. She'd rather stumble down a flight of stairs and have her bare arse in the sky to a gaggle of nobles then admit this fact to anyone. In the Enclave, this miryad of emotions she could hide under the logic she was sitting with her head back and blame it on the blood rushing to her skull... She wouldn't have that option here.
" You might feel a few pinches, as I draw the pins out"
" Understood." Lua whispered
