Changing Rain

Un-hidden

<pre>As Eric and Raiyne marched down the street, they received many strange

stares, and Eric could not blame them. He was still badly bruised

from his fathers assult, and Raiyne was a mystery, one who thourghly

stared at everyone and everything. Eric was not excluded from this.

She shot him him regular glances, but unlike most people, she didn't

turn away when she happened to look him in the eye. With their silvery

green color, it was slightly unnerving.

The color of her eyes actually bothered him, not that he didn't like

it, but there was a nagging familiar quality to them. Raiyne came to a

halt in front of the blacksmith shop, and watched with eyes round as

Marcus, the blacksmith, pounded away in a cherry red sword. Metal rang

on metal, making a pealing song that vibrated up to the rafters of the

smithery

Dipping the sword into a trough of water, Marcus looked up, and hailed

the two inward with a beckoning finger and a gentle smile before

dropping the sword into a trough of briny water.

" Hello Eric, what brings you here?"

" We're just enjoying the day, how is your-"

" What are you doing?" Raiyne interrupted their short, yet near

scripted conversation without a single hesitation. Hiding a smile at

her odd actions, Marcus lifted the now grey sword from the water and

proudly showed his work.

" I'm making a replacement sword for Aaron, his own broke. " Marcus

shook his head sadly.

" He didn't buy one of my swords, that much is clear. Went to a city

to get a 'specialized' one. Worthless, completely worthless." Eric had

to try hard not to roll his eyes. Marcus was a good and simple man,

but when it came to his metalworking he was obsessed with it.

" Why?" surprised, Marcus looked at Raiyne in confusion.

" Why what?"

" Why was the sword useless?" Marcus's weather beaten face cracked

into a smile as he realized that she genuinely wanted to know.

" The steel wasn't tempered, and the balance was off, first strenuous

strike and it cracked. Problem was he couldn't just put the blade down

and go get a spare, he was in the middle of a fight. Aaron kept on

using it till it broke down the middle. He was lucky to escape his

opponent, he could've died." Raiyne's eyes were wide as she listened,

Eric didn't know if she was really that interested in the story or if

she was trying to be polite.

" Who was he fighting?" Blinking rapidly a few times in shock, Marcus

said.

" A shifter of coarse."