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After all the excitement from the first arena fight, Scott had hoped he’d be able to get a decent night of sleep, even without wine to help him. Alas, he stayed up staring at the stars far longer than he’d hoped, the spot he’d chosen to build in far from his liking.
At least he’d still slept. Nightmares or not.
He’d just finished eating some berries as a quick breakfast when he hears footsteps approach him. When Scott looks up, a familiar face is making his way over.
Even though Scott isn’t exactly the greatest with names—it all starts to blur together when you meet dozens of new fans every day, really—at least this is someone he's made a point of remembering.
Light brown, fluffy hair. Check. Sharp, yellow eyes. Check. Black and red and gold clothes. Check. A neutral attitude and pointy teeth? Check.
“Oh hi!” Scott greets, putting on a smile.
He’s tired, but not that tired, he still knows how to play a role like the best of them— and Scott is the best of them.
“Hello Scott,” Abolish replies, his own smile polite. Hm, yes, he’s obviously not an actor, but Abolish definitely knows how to keep up appearances. “Do you have a moment?”
“Of course.” Scott looks around the empty place. The only thing he’s got is his makeshift bed, and nothing else. “I’d offer you a seat, but well, as you can see I haven’t gotten quite that far yet.”
“That’s fine.” Abolish shrugs uncaringly. “Either way, I have a proposal for you, if you’re willing to entertain me for a bit.”
He lets his smile grow. “Oh I’m all for entertaining! But sure, you mentioned something about it earlier and I admittedly have been wondering about it, so go right ahead.”
There’s really not much to think about when you’re struggling to fall asleep aside from the events of the previous day. Waking up alive, meeting all the champions, the blessings, his hot neighbour, the arena fight and first death, and Abolish’s request.
What he didn’t expect was for Abolish to show up right the next morning, before Scott could even take a bath! Not that he exactly knows where he could take one, but Scott would figure it out…
“Well, you see,” Abolish starts, drawing Scott out of his thoughts, “when I was alive, aside from being an entertainer, I was also a blacksmith of sorts, and I think that with my ability to make weapons, that combining it with your wind charges, we can make something new.”
That piques his interest. “Something new?” he questions, raising both his eyebrows. “Now that sounds quite intriguing.”
Abolish simply nods. “Yeah, so I was thinking of creating a hammer of sorts, capable of using your winds to carry its blows.”
“Ooooh.” Scott thinks for a moment, tilting his head. “So like, you put the winds inside of it? And when you hit something, it also hits them with some nice, extra gale force?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Abolish confirms, and his fingers brush absentmindedly against the sword hanging at his hip. “I think I can adjust it so the user gets carried away too, for some extra breathing room if you need it, or if I can get it to go up, to come down even harder.”
How peculiar. Scott doesn’t exactly need that, but for Abolish that would be like adding an extra ability to his arsenal. “And the higher you go, the bigger the bang as you come down!” he says with enthusiasm, leaning forward to show he’s listening with intent.
“Yep, exactly.” The yellow in Abolish’s eyes lights up ever so slightly as he continues to talk, evidently genuinely interested in the topic, “I’ve already thought of some designs I’d like to try out, but I'll need your help with some of the more complex parts for it.”
That makes sense, yeah, Scott might be made for the spotlight, but he’s been behind the scenes plenty, he knows how intricate some of the contraptions can be, and how delicate a simple-looking prop can be. A hammer fueled by the magic of the gods? Yeah, that will require some work. But that makes him wonder… “Do you just need the wind charges, or my wind powers?”
“Honestly? Preferably both,” Abolish admits with another, easy shrug. “I’d like to be able to use it myself, obviously, so wind charges will have to do for me for the most part, but if you’re using it with your powers, it will need to be adjusted to handle the additional force.”
Hm.
Scott would need to learn how to use a hammer as a weapon before he can start to even think about using his powers with it, but maybe if he plays this right—and he’s sure he is given that Abolish came to him first—Abolish might help him get a handle on it.
Neither of them want to go into the arena anyway, and definitely not against each other, so surely Scott can talk him into it given some time.
“True,” Scott replies after a beat. “I’m not much of a fighter myself, more a lover if anything to be honest, but I can throw a mean gust someone’s way.”
Abolish chuckles. “You know, I’m not gonna lie, Scott, you’re not asking as many questions as I thought you would.”
Ah. A fair observation, but honestly, being on Abolish’s good side is more important to him than the hammer. He’s not suddenly going to win using that, now is he, but the more people that don’t vote for him, the better! And if anything, Abolish is probably one he definitely doesn’t want to anger, not right after watching Pearl beat Nobody in the arena.
“As I said before, I like the sound of you,” Scott repeats casually, sending him another, winning smile. “I mean, I’m all up for being allies and all that, us entertainers gotta stick together, but you seem to be rather smart too, and to make something custom? That requires quite some skill!”
He lets out a soft hum. “You’re not wrong about that. I was still surprised by how quick you were about it, though.”
My my, observant aren’t we, Scott’s not the only one trying to figure out what they both get out of this conversation. “Ah, well I’d say I’m quite quick of mind, not just feet, and Hephaestus of all gods must have chosen you for a reason! It can’t be just because you’re such an entertaining guy.”
Abolish raises an eyebrow, unable to hide his surprise completely. “Hephaestus?”
“Yeah, between all the fire and the smithing, I think it would be quite obvious to anyone paying attention, no?” Scott shrugs. It’s better if Abolish knows that he’s figured it out than keeping it hidden, honestly, Scott just can’t make it seem like a big deal. Play it casual and all that. “I don’t think anyone else knows yet, if you’re trying to keep it a secret, but the making-weapons part kinda gave it away.”
There’s a contemplative gleam in Abolish’s sharp eyes. “Fair enough,” he eventually says, then moves on without another word, “well anyway, what do you think of my proposal?”
Back to business.
Scott’s best smile returns. “I quite like it! I’m rather used to allll kinds of proposals, you know, but nothing like that.”
Abolish blows out a soft laugh. “Right, so? You in?”
“Yep,” Scott says with a wink. “Let's start fanning those flames of yours.”