Development Team Leader
User
Proxy wiped the sweat from his brow and slipped his hammer back into his toolbelt. The completed sword was ready for delivery, and he felt confident the player who commissioned it would be pleased.
As he slid the item into the custom-made sheath, a knock came at the door. "It's open!" he called, as he continued to clean up his workspace.
The door creaked open and Ysabel smiled as she entered. "I need a sword," she said, wasting no time with greetings. She reached the wooden workdesk and unceremoniously slid away the remainder of the tools scattered there with her arm as she withdrew a rolled parchment from her bag. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "it does have to be done quickly." As she unrolled the parchment onto the desk, they discussed the details of the weapon. The sword would be for the new Special Events Coordinator, and it wasn't unusual for Ysabel to make such a gift on special occasions.
"No problem," he assured. "It can be done tonight. I'll send word?"
She nodded and grinned. "I'm sure it'll be perfect, as usual." She nodded again, as if in conclusion, and turned to leave.
Saaya had heard the voices and hesitated, but she was determined to follow through with her plan, and there wasn't much time left. Lost in her thoughts, she actually came quite close to running straight into Ysabel as Ysa exited the Community Service office. Ysabel inhaled sharply and raised her eyebrows. Saaya fidgeted. "Sorry..." she mumbled, and brushed past Ysabel. Is she still mad? Saaya couldn't really tell, but she really wasn't prepared to deal with it right now if that were the case. Remedies would have to come later.
Ysabel, in fact, wasn't mad at all and hadn't been from the start. It was okay if Saaya thought she was (for now), so even though she could see the worry on Saaya's face, she said nothing and continued on her way.
Saaya rapped lightly on the door and called out timidly, "Proxy?"
"It's open!" he called once more, looking curiously toward the door this time. He thought Saaya looked quite uncomfortable and realized they hadn't really spent much time working together before. "Can I help with something?"
"I need... a favor, I guess, you could call it," she revealed. "It... um, it kinda needs to stay between us, though, if that's alright." Can I trust him? she wondered. She knew he and Ysa were pretty close, and didn't know to whom else he might speak regularly.
"That's fine," he said, chuckling a little. "What is it?" He listened carefully as Saaya described the project she had in mind for him, down to the last detail. It was amazing, in his mind, how similarly the two women who'd visited him that night thought--even if they appeared to be at odds at the moment. When she'd finished, and he'd confirmed with her that the sword would be ready by morning, he was a little surprised to see she was smiling. It wasn't that Saaya didn't seem like a cheerful little belf, but especially lately, she seemed a bit stressed and nearly always carried an anxious look.
"Thank you," she breathed, and visibly relaxed. "Thank you so much, he's going to love it..." With those words she seemed to catch herself and looked panicked. "I mean... ummm..." She looked down at the floor and wrung her hands, smile gone and tense demeanor returned.
Proxy patted her on the back and chuckled once more. "Don't worry, Saaya," he assured her, "every item made is made for some special reason. The way I see it, whatever that reason is or for whomever it is is your business and not mine. I'll send this along soon enough."
She nodded in agreement, looking only slightly relieved, but left him to his work and went off to return to her own.
Ysabel couldn't help but grin even while suppressed a giggle as she watched Saaya exit the office from her place at the end of the darkened hallway. Not much longer. Not much longer at all, she said to herself as she stepped lightly in the opposite direction. More business to attend to, elsewhere. As usual.