[for the sake of sanity and post's being 3 days old, have some Sifen filler]
It had been two hours in and Sifen had only just finished the "bones," as he called them, of the arm. It was a simple universal joint connecting two beams with another at the other end, where the wrist would go. A knock on the door of the obviously closed shop got his attention, some woman had walked in, no older than 25. Sifen looked up at her and then back down at his work. She didn't seem like she belonged in this shop, but she made no hesitation with dropping off money on the counter near Sifen's and making her way over to Sifen with her own bag and some tools.
"Never seen you around here, how'd you get the old man to let you in here while he was closed?" She asked chuckling. She pulled out a few large pieces, none of which could come together to make a machine without being cut or melted down and reformed. She had dainty hands and obviously wasn't a fan of forging or anything, as she didn't look strong enough. She cast some silent and concentrated fire spell and welded some pieces together. Sifen just stared at her strange positioning trying to figure out what she was doing. What she was going to build. "Well?" She asked.
Sifen perked up. "Uh ha, sorry. I'm Sifen, a mechanic of sorts form Bikanel, I just uh, asked I guess." He picked up the skeletal arm he was constructing. "He wanted to help me make an arm by lending me his shop." Sifen smiled and walked over to the scrap metal bin and grabbed a few larger pieces. The girl's face lit up when she saw that. She saw an opportunity. But sifen just started forming the metal into the shape of an arm, with no eloquence or pattern. Her hand grabbed his shoulder where he was missing an arm.
"Bikanel huh? Surprising with how sloppy this is going to look... May I..." She took the arm out of the vice Sifen used as a second hand and began studying it. She put it back in and grabbed the metal he was hammering and cut into it with the fire spell she had used before, or was it a lightning spell? He couldn't tell due to the bright blue light shining from her finger tip. before he could figure out what the spell was she handed him the hot metal, now cut into an ornate shape, as well as grabbing a few more different colored pieces of metal. Sifen looked at it and just saw a weak thin piece of metal.
"This won't work it's too thin!"
"That's why I'm making more of them."
"But why not just use on sheet?"
"It's hideous, that's why. I feel that, as an artist, I can't let you walk out with an ugly limb replacement." She handed him another piece of metal, it fit perfectly around the first bronze piece she handed him. "Weld those together and shape it into the arm, You can reinforce it later."
"I... I never cared about the looks of things. As long as it works right?" Sifen said, welding the pieces together seamlessly. He bent it delicately to the shape on a forearm, it was the perfect size. This woman had a knack for measuring things by eye. "How do you..."
"I just do, it's a gift." She said, handing him a few more pieces, some already welded together. "There that's a good shell for that arm, take notes before you... What is wrong with that rifle? Oh god it's... it's just a bunch of metal sheets stuck together too." She said putting her hands to her mouth. "Oh boy, we're gonna have to work on this, but not now. Will you be in Kilika next week?"
"Not that I know of, I'm a guardian or whatever now so I have to go with the summoner places, and I don't think she likes it here."
"Wait wait, guardian? Why are the guardians back?" She was taken aback by the casual statement. "Is something going on?"
"I mean, I didn't know they existed until yesterday, we've just started our quest for some guy who attacked Besaid. I just happened to accidentally join by trying to steal a robot. Life has been weird lately. All the other guardians got arrested, which was funny but they're gonna be mad since I led the youth league to them."
"So you. You're a guardian?"
"Yes ma'am!" He said. "Sifen's the name, you?"
"Crystal. I uh. I'm honored to be in your presence sir Sifen." She got on a knee to him. Sifen stared awkwardly and got down on one knee too..
"And you, Crystal." He said, looking to her for clues as to when he could stand up. Maybe this was a Kilika greeting? "I'd be happy to stop by next time I'm in Kilika though, I love everyone I've met here so far!" He shouted, seeing crystal stand up. He smiled and shook her hand. The two went back to work, helping one another with their projects, Sifen holding up heavier parts, and Crystal making Sifen's arm not look like it had 30 years of repairs done to it despite being new. She left after about 4 hours and Sifen and her promised to meet up again so she could teach him how to NOT make ugly machina, and so he could tell her of his adventures as a guardian.
[end filler]
