All I See is You

The blacksmith sighed as he stepped back from his work, turning his head one way and then the other before rolling his shoulders, stretching a bit as worked the ache from his muscles after a long stint of hunching over the large piece he was constructing. The Hallows alpha had become a regular client with the numerous swords of all shapes and sizes that they had stashed away in that castle of theirs, but this was a new kind of project for him and it had absorbed a large amount of his time and attention. The table that Artorias had envisioned for their meeting room was quite the undertaking, but at this point in his life Ruga was really only hoping for some kind of job or commission that was at leas different from all of the other pieces he had made in his years of doing this. He was enjoying it, but he was in dire need of a break.

He stepped away from his workspace and went into his living quarters for a moment to get a drink from the water skin he kept there. Setting it back down, he glanced around the empty room until his seafoam gaze landed on a couple of little trinkets Keahi had left her in her numerous visits–including a large seashell they had found during a trip to the shore they had made together a while back. Well, formerly numerous visits, he supposed. After the raid Keahi had understandably had to see to herself and her wounds so he had given her some space to relax, but since then her visits had been few and far between and he had only really seen her in passing. A frown crossed his lips as he began to realize just how long it had been. He had been absorbed in his own work so he had assumed that she had been as well, but as he stood there in the quiet space looking at a seashell he started to wonder how true that was.

After giving his russet coat a good shake and taking a second to wash off the dust and metal shavings from his paws and front legs, Ruga went out through the Col to look for her. He went some of the places he was used to finding her, but when his initial search turned up with nothing he started to look elsewhere, asking a couple of wolves as he went if they had seen the red-hued woman anywhere. Finally he was pointed toward the tall, twisted woods outside of the Col and he made his way out into the cold, winter air. Once he was out in the woods it wasn't all that difficult to pick up on her scent so at least he knew she hadn't gone too far. Sure enough, he spotted her following the border, obviously on some kind of patrol, and a little lopsided smile pulled at the corner of his lips as he approached her. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were avoiding me," he teased with a chuckle as he came up alongside her, falling into step beside her easily.

"Ruga Amanto"