"Move yer lazy bones, Nathaniel! Nobody's gon' wait wait for you!" A rather loud and a rather angry voice echoed through the smithy. The master smith, frowning like a nightmare, was obviously not too satisfied with the effort his son put to the preparations for the festival - and thought that shouting may encourage him. "If you want it done like you want, then do it yourself!" the boy replied back, dragging a hammer too big for his thin body towards the wagon that stood just outside the smithy. And like if it wasn't difficult enough without it, that stupid cat was getting in his way! It looked like Ashi did it intentionally... He softly pushed him out of his way with his foot, receiving a surprised 'meow' just for the cat to start brushing his head against his ankle again. The hammer thudded as he dropped it into the wagon, and he let out a long sigh, kicking Ashi out of the way again.<br/><br/>Almost immediately after returning inside, his father loaded him with more tools. His knees bent under the weight, but he forced himself up. "That's the last ones." the old smith encouraged him, tapping him onto the shoulder with his large, heavy hand. The last one... There was about ten loads of them! Ten! He already lost all feeling in his hands, and his spine was begging him to stop. Well, he was no smith like he should have been...<br/><br/>When that last load was finally done for, he hoped he'd get at least a little break, and stepped behind the carriage to stretch his back. Not a good idea, as he was seen by his father... And apparently he didn't have the right to stand around and stare. "Hurry up! Yer late!" was all he heard before being dragged through the smithy and pushed onto the staircase that led up to his room. Not even a minute he could escape the eyes of that man! Sure he meant it good, but trying to make a smith out of someone that definitely wasn't smith material was just forceful. And inconsiderate. And rather ruthless. At least that's what he thought while changing his usual black robe for a long shirt and a leather coat, reaching down to his knees. Good pieces of clothing like those he reserved for special occasions - the festival he was sent to every year since he was fifteen was one of them. His father was too busy with the smithy to travel himself, and thus, Nathaniel got that pleasure. He'd rather not, though.<br/><br/>He was just about to pin his cloak and go, when the familiar thudding of the stairs warned him of the Old man's coming. "Ready to go?" he asked, and not waiting for the boy's answer dragged him back down again, pushing him up to the saddle and tossing a small bag of food he lacked for him into the back of the carriage. Hissing and meowing, Ashi landed on his clothes, skewing his sharp claws into the cape to hang onto him, and the horse neighed in all that rush. "Remember to bring a part of the tools to the old smith near the Boar's Head, too!" the old smith reminded him, and tapping on the horse's neck pulled the reins - even despite them being in Nathaniel's hands - and the horse started moving. "B-bye, father!" the boy got a shaky greeting out of himself, and let the horse carry him forth.<br/><br/>"Business?" the guard by the gate questioned him.<br/>"Blacksmith. Bringing tools and such." Nathaniel responded, raking through his long hair to brush it out of his hair. The man nodded. "The cat is-"<br/>"With me." he interrupted him, pulling Ashi off his shoulder and making him sit on his lap again. Or, where his lap normally would be, but on a horse was a saddle. Another nod. "Move along."<br/>It's not like he'd have to be told twice.<br/><br/>When he finally ended up renting a room and ordering a dinner - something resembling a mash of poultry meat, potatoes and vegetables - he was tired as a mule. More than a mule, actually. First, he wasn't built like a mule, and his thin frame wasn't much use with heavy work. Second, he had a long way done before that. And third, he wasn't interested in doing it at all. And so, eating his mash of poultry and potatoes (and shooing Ashi in the process while giving him small bits of meat he didn't want), he looked rather gloomy. He hardly gave the other people by his table a glance, jus systematically put one piece after the other into his mouth, occasionally feeding the cat, sat at his lap as usual.<br/><br/>When the voice of another boy, about his age or older, reached his ears, he raised his head from the now almost finished plate, and frowned a little. What an obvious question... They didn't look too much like locals, neither of them did, he concluded after giving the rest of his 'company' a quick glance. "No, I'm here to count the stars." he replied sarcastically. Did he look like he was there for something else? No. So why was that kid asking such stupid questions when the answer was obvious?