In the home of an inventor

The sky was an explosive orange as the dark gem approached the old spruce wood storefront, two massive beautifully stained windows braced ether side of the thick dark spruce doors, making the man feel like he was approaching a creature's maw. The beast of a building made him feel so tiny as if to spite him and his hight, the whole city made him feel that way, but standing here at the foot of such a grand building made him feel so much smaller than the rest of it. A subtle anxiety rose up in the back of his throat.

I've come this far, no point in getting anxious when we're this close.
A small sign hung on in the window, CLOSED.

He reached out to simply swing the door open hard, hoping any crash or noise it made would announce his presence, but, he needed this to go well. If it didn't his failure would be crushing and the repercussions could spell his end, with a glare he reframed from the oh so tempting idea. With a small growl he grasped hold of the door knocker and gave it three hard strikes before pushing his way in. The noise that enveloped his pierced ears was jarring to say the least. The ticking of dozens of clocks, jingles of chimes hung high within the domed ceiling, the grind of gears from unknown machines and so much more he couldn't place. The warmth and smell was the next thing to hit him as he closed the doors behind himself, it wasn't the chilled cold of the ships or the overbearing heat of his kingdom's walls, it felt cozy, as if the air itself was soft around him. The smell of copper was just as strong here as everywhere else but it was buried in that of cinnamon and lemon grass, the strongest being that of baked bread or something of the sort, It made his mouth water.

A softer voice called out from one of the off shot rooms asking for just a second, he just hardly caught it over everything else. The tan skinned man took this time to mull over the details of the room he was stood in. it had normal stuff a front room had, a desk with a bell, albeit completely covered in paper sketches and mini inventions, a few seats scattered about for waiting customers. But the interesting thing was everything else, the walls looked hand painted and cracked in places with what could have been a hundred different unique clocks. The ceiling was way high up with overhangs and wooden paths spanning it in maybe three separate floors, he could only see into the first, the walls there were lined with books from end to end. The dark wood floor he was on was covered with a swerling red round carpet, the area around him was covered in clutter and art. Everything was cast in gorgeous reds and oranges from the setting sun.

The clunk of shoes drew his attention away from the grand display and back to the door the voice had previously come from.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting" the voice was bright and sweet, "your the general of ironhoof, are you not? Skeppy?" He locked eyes with a tall demon in surprise, he hadn't been expecting the inventor to be a demon, or a monster at that.ex

"I presume your halo?" The gruff in his voice made the words sound like a sneer. He cringed inwards at his own voice, his resting bitch face probably didn't help any with the words.

"You betcha! But please,call me Bad." The inventor's head turned towards the front windows "though I was expecting you much earlier, I hope you didn't have to much trouble getting here." He giggled softly and Skeppy just thought back on how many times he was nearly ran over and those damned stairs, huffing at We himself.

"Well there really is no point in standing around!" Bad turned on his heels slowly trotting towards a new hallway waving to Skeppy to follow, "From what I've heard you'd probably wanna get straight to business and skip the casual stuff!" The other relaxed voice never wavered as he pointed Skeppy to a couch in a separate room, saying something about tea before disappearing.

It was odd for Skeppy to go from a kingdom where he is feared for his power and control to walking the streets with traders and creators of all crafts, only the occasional second glance thrown his way. And then to enter the home of some supposedly insane inventor to be greeted with no fear or malice but with a big smile and warm voice. It was irking to say the least, he liked the power trip but the calm given by simply walking and being ignored by everyone around you was nice. Skeppy sat on the couch with a small thud before he sunk into it, he could feel his feet and legs beginning to fall asleep after so much use.

Bad reentered the room after a short few minutes with tea smelling of vanilla and still steaming cinnamon knots. Skeppy happily took the tea but had to muster ever bit of self control to leave the knots alone. That is until Bad offered him one.

They talked of business and what Skeppy needed from Bad, war ships and overthrowing an enemy, art and how to create said ships, how Skeppy claimed the throne and the power he holds, how Bad started inventing and the sheer mass of his ideas. They sat for hours talking back and forth, the conversation steadily drawing towards them selfs, they talked about life and interests, what they would redo if they could, things they've lost for dumb reasons and the list goes on.

Skeppy, for once in a very long time felt warm and safe where he sat, he felt seen and heard by someone not commanded to. Skeppy was warm from the tea and sweets, the talking, and the tall soft inventor sitting across from him.

After a few stifled yawns from both, Bad offers up one of his spare rooms for as long as Skeppy needs not wanting the conqueror to spend the night in some stuffy in. Skeppy also not liking the idea of more travel complys after a bit of bustle. The inventor leads him up to the third floor pointing out where stairs and lifts are, along with the closest washroom and where his room is.

Skeppy once again huffs for the millionth time, thinking over the events of the day. Arriving late to port and having to set off immediately to make up for lost time, getting lost the moment he sets foot around the corner. The bustle of people and monsters far too loud to be ever remotely considered normal, nearly getting trampled to death trying to cross the street, everything.

All to end up in the home of the inventor hours over due, the talking, the tea and sweets, the warm house clock tower thing that despite its size is lived in and cozy. Hell the inventor himself, Skeppy had taken the time to drink in every little detail, his lanky stacher, the blotchs of red staining the pure black of his cheek, his almost cat like white eyes and heavily jeweled ears would changing and flicking in reaction to his every word, the hand made copper goggles he would pick at while talking, the soft smile that had rarely left his face, how he smelt of cinnamon, rain and copper. Everything, right down to the gentle yellow-pink blush that dusted his cheeks after saying something embarrassing.

He had a few more days here, the inventor didn't seem opposed to him stay so he might as well get comfortable because Skeppy would much rather sleep here than some dingy hotel or on the ship.

Skeppy going to be seeing the city and the inventor much more than he originally planned.

But maybe the smell of copper and rust isn't so bad.