#XIVRarepairWeek2026 Day 1: Forge
WoL/Original Character, H'naanza Esi | M/M | 1.3k words | MSQ: Pre-ARR
Ao3 version
XIVRarepairWeek info and prompts
Nothing that happened at the Armourer's Guild escaped H'naanza's notice. She made note of every grievance and squabble; who might need a hard push forward or a helpful word, who put their nose to the grindstone and who did not. Not that she went out of her way to interfere with her students' lives—it was up to them to conduct themselves in a manner befitting the guild's reputation, and Builder help them should they fail to do so on account of carelessness or idle fancies.
There were occasions, however, that necessitated her going out her way to set them straight.
"Koh'sae!" Raising her voice to let it cut through the fire-bellowing of forges and the clanging of metal on metal, she watched the miqo'te man in question jump, his ears and tail perking up to full attention where they had been lax a moment ago. He blinked at her with the look of a kit caught with his hand in a jar of sweets.
"Come see me in my office when your shift's over."
She heard the expected murmur of under-the-breath laughs and ooohs from the other armourers. With the precision of a doming hammer, she barked, "And don't let me catch the rest of you slacking as well." An answering chorus of yes, Forgemaster came back with haste. Satisfied, she dusted her hands off her apron and left for her office.
Let her be called harsh and uncompromising, but never unfair.
An hour or so later, when the coal fires had been banked and the shop closed, H'naanza sat at her desk, reading through a half-written letter. A triplet of knocks announced her apprentice's arrival. "Enter," she said. The door swung open with a tired creak—that one needed another splash of oil—and in came Koh'sae.
"Forgemaster!" He greeted her politely enough, though the nervous energy buzzing off him was palpable enough to attract a flock of levin sprites. She looked up. "If this is about the ingots, I swear I'll have them finished before the week's over. I only—"
She raised a hand to stem the flood of words pouring out from his mouth, and he promptly fell silent; she'd long since learnt that Koh'sae would talk her ears off every time if she let him. "This isn't about the ingots. The conversation would be taking a very different turn had I deduced an inability to finish your order." She finished writing the letter, less out of a desire to make him squirm and moreso an inclination to never leave a pot half mixed. When she thought that the stress of waiting might cause him to spontaneously combust, however, she relented and said, "You can sit down. I did not call you here to punish you."
"…Yes, ma'am." The young miqo'te relaxed, but only ever so slightly.
When she had set her quill aside, H'naanza folded her arms and regarded him. She would get straight to the heart of the matter. "Your attention has wavered far more than usual ever since your arcanist friend stopped showing up to the guild." The effect on Koh'sae was instant—it actually surprised her, for she didn't think it possible for a man's face to flush so quickly. His cheeks went dark red, and his yellow eyes fell upon the desk, even as he rallied himself with a smile.
"Well, about that…I have been worrying about him, a little. He's gone off for a trip outside of the city with the rest of his class, you see, and he isn't from around these parts, so I was wondering if he'd be alright…"
"You're both well of age. He's surely more than capable of taking care of himself for a spell." She'd seen Moro'a enough to take her measure of him. Quiet, appropriately respectful, if woefully bookish—she didn't think she'd ever seen him without his nose buried in a tome whenever he was at the workshop. But he possessed the air of a young man who'd long been acquainted with independence. "Nay, I suspect there's more to your bouts of melancholic distraction than worrying if he'll be mauled by a giant crab while he's gone."
Unsurprisingly, Koh'sae was not forthcoming. She sighed. "I can detail exactly what it is I think your feelings about him are, if you would like to hear it from my mouth rather than yours. For a start, every morning—"
"No, please! Lover, I mean, gods take me…" Koh'sae was sweating, and he looked just about ready to leave for the aetherial sea. Perhaps she couldn't blame him, having been the one to force this conversation. She waited patiently, granting him the time to regain his composure without judgment.
A long moment later, he'd recovered somewhat. "I," he coughed, the words catching in his throat, before trying again. "I like him, aye."
Finally. H'naanza held back from breathing a sigh of relief. "So you do. Yet this is hardly the first time you've pursued a lover, is it not? And while you've always been a dreamer, you've never let it affect your work to this extent. Would you elaborate on why that is?"
"I promise I don't mean to disappoint you, Forgemaster, it's just…well, Moro'a…doesn't know." It came out as a near squeak, so uncharacteristically shy of the usually boisterous young man before her. Understanding and clarity washed over her.
"I see." Uncertain for the first time, H'naanza debated on the best way to hammer at the problem. "When did this start?"
"A couple of moons ago." She nodded; that was more or less in line with her own observations. "Does he feel the same?"
"I…am not sure?" It did not escape H'naanza that the ordeal of having to confess all of this to his guildmaster was likely placing a significant burden on Koh'sae's faculties. "Maybe. I don't know."
Well, that did complicate matters. "And you have no desire to let these feelings be known?" she asked.
"Uhm." Koh'sae's tail had curled around his legs, and the tip of it flicked back and forth, like an anxious clock hand. She'd seen him woo men and women with the smoothness of fine wine, and fumble just as often. Even if those dalliances had rarely lasted for more than a handful of moons at most, Koh'sae had always been quick to bounce back. For him to be in such dire straits, she could only conclude that these feelings ran far deeper. Whether he was privy to the fact or not.
Wishing to sort this out now, H'naanza chose her words decisively. "As your Forgemaster…and as one who does not envy your position, my best and only recommendation would be to do so when he returns." Ignoring the way his eyes widened like saucers, she said, "Better to let your heart speak true while the flames of passion run hot than to let them burn out in uncertainty. And, it will be one less thing to distract you from your work."
"You've…had lovers?" He stuttered as she quirked her eyebrow. "I-I mean, I beg your pardon, I was not trying to imply…"
"Though you might struggle to see me as one with an onze or two of Menphina's wisdom, trust that I speak from experience." Pushing her chair back an ilm, she gathered the pages of her letter and began to fold them. "Regardless of how you intend to resolve the matter, I do expect improvement in your work, starting tomorrow. Is that clear?"
"Good." Slipping the letter into an envelope, she added, "I know you are a driven and courageous man when your heart and mind are as one, Koh'sae. I trust that you will be able to act, when the time comes."
