Ashara was slightly amused by display of familial affection. It reminded her of her own family back home at the shrine. Though, had she been a smarter lass, she might have been able to pick up on the father's not-so-subtle jab at his daughter's affection for Mars, and her in-turn rather flustered defense and denial of said affection all but conforming it. Alas, the fox was none too bright in matters such as these, and so the entire spectacle passed right above her airheaded ... head. When the smith thanked her for helping his daughter do [i]her[/i] chores, she merely smiled and bowed politely.

"It was no trouble at all, sir." She said. Honestly though, it hadn't been any trouble. With her strength and speed, Ashara could probably have finished the entire thing faster if she'd done it alone, but she decided to not mention that since she didn't want the poor girl's efforts to be thought of as meaningless by her own father. Not even Ashara was [i]that[/i] dense.

Still, when the pouch of money was thrown her way, and she deftly caught the small bag in the air, Ashara did something most sane people wouldn't. Rather than actually count the amount inside, she merely plucked a single coin from within the bag, then held it out to examine it in the dim, lacking light of the forge. Turning and adjusting the angle, she inspected the strange currency. It was completely different from the coins back in YGGDRASIL, of which there were only two, but both were made of gold nontheless. This... Metal, whatever it was, seemed very different, and the shape of the thing seemed to be off and irregular as well. Deciding she could neither figure out what metal the little thing was made from, nor if it was actually valuable or not, Ashara returned the coin to the pouch and tied the whole thing to the side of her sash. She then gracefully bowed - deeper this time - in response.

"You are most generous, you have my thanks, good sir." Of course, for all Ashara knew, this money could be fraudulent and the man was merely playing a trick on, or taking advantage of, her good will. It really didn't matter though, whether he was earnest or not would be provne once she returned to the Chateau, and thereafter the interactions with the villagers could be discussed, and what actions to take against them decided on later.

Still, there was a certain something tha Ashara couldn't help but shake. The metal ore they had brought, this Amberyte, seemed to be something quite special. And judging from how Corona had sung its praises, it might even be quite valuable. Not to mention, the fox was certain that Graft would cry metaphorical tears of joy if he was given a brand new resource with which to indulge his Factory. As such, there was only one thing left to do!

"Pardon me for asking." She began, calm and serene as alwys. "Would you mind parting with a small bit of this Amberyte ore?" She asked politely. "If you wish, I could use the payment you just gave me to buy a small lump, if you desire compensation." She paused, before adding. "If the money I received is enough to do so, of course." Ashara smiled sweetly. "I have never seen mketal quite like this, and would love to bring some as a memento of my visit to your village. After all, my friend and I sadly cannot stay for long." She explained, without going into details, just as Lord Rodias had instructed! Oh, she was doing good, yes indeed! Surely she would earn her lord's praise after this mission was done an-

[i]... Huh?[/i]

Ashara's face shifted. No longer smiling, her eyes turned sharp and serious. She looked over her shoulder, towards the door and window of the smithy. There was an unpleasant feeling... A presence, a strong one at that, which was not familiar to her. It was not the aura or energy of someone from the Chateau, but it was nontheless powerful and - more alarmingly - on the same level as the Chapter Keepers. Though it only lasted for a short few moments, the uneasiness did not leave Ashara and she worried for her companion. After all, she had sworn to protect Lady Kath to the best of her abilities, and that was what she was going to do.

"Excuse me." She said, turning back to the father and daughter. "I need to check on my friend." Ashara said, rather abruptly for her, giving only a slight bow before leaving through the door, the bells around her ankles jinglign contineously as she moved at a quick pace.

Locating Kath was not difficult. For one, Ashara's superior senses of smell and hearing made it rather easy to pick on where the Librarian was. Furthemore more, her ability to sense the spiritual essence and distinguish between familiar auras and unfamiliar ones made it even easier to pinpoint where she was. Moving through the villge at a brisk pace, she weaved and flowed past the villagers and peasants taht either got in her way or moved too slowly and needed to be circumvented. It took less than a minute before she found her ally, now busy with hispering to herself...

"Milady Kath." She announced, concern on her face and worry in her eyes. "Are you alright?" She asked in earnest. "I felt something unfamiliar but powerful just now, so I came back to make sure you were unharmed." The fox-girl stated, looking at and examining her friend form different angles. Glad to see that she had no injuries or visible signs of being attacked, Ashara let out a sigh of relief... Before asking. "Pardon me but... Why are you whispering to yourself out here?" Sge tilted her head, looking at Kath with a quizzical expression.