After roaming around the ship for almost an hour, Eirik finally found Las'Tai, outside the armory of all places. Observing her for a moment, she seemed to not do anything besides just sit on the floor, looking at the door.

"Las'Tai?? What are you doing here?" Eirik did his best not to sound scolding or irritated as he spoke. "You know the amory is off-limits to you during your probation period."

Las'Tai turned her head towards his voice and looked at him with, what he could only guess, was a sad expression.

"I know Captain, but i wanted to see your melee weapons again. They are so different from what Kloxna use for combat, and yours looked special, compared to those carried by your crew. I was hoping, that by sitting here, i might catch a glimpse inside if someone entered. I have no intention of trying to get in there when im not allowed to. But sitting here and looking in, is not against the deal we made."

She sounded like this was a well rehearsed answer, but he could well understand the sentiment. He was curious about those knives Tai'Tanu had wielded during their fight.

"I can understand that," he said slowly while nodding to himself. "And you got a sharp eye, mine are indeed quite different from those of my crew"

"What makes them different" She asked, a small light igniting in her eyes as the conversation turned towards the weapons that fascinated her.

"I made them myself. From raw iron ore, to crucible steel alloy, i forged them." The pride in his voice was obvious as Eirik spoke of the weapons he had made for himself.

"YOU made them??" She exclaimed in disbelief. "Pardon me Captain, but i have a hard time believing that."

Eirik cocked an eyebrow at her and she immediately felt uneasy. "I feel like i have been issued a challenge" Eirik stated. "Let's go inside and inspect them, and next time we get to Terra, I will make a weapon for you, in the same forge i used for my own."

"You cannot be serious Captain. Learning how to do such work would take years upon years to master!!"

"Las'Tai, what is the average lifespan of a Kloxna??"

"Around 40 years in Terran time, if i calculate right."

"Hmm. Terran's have an average lifespan of 110-130 years, Las'Tai. At this current time, I am 34 Terran years old"

Las'Tai was stunned into silence at Eirik's words.

"Better close your mouth or you are gonna be cleaning the floors with your jaw" Eirik chuckled at her expression as he spoke. "I have been working with metal for at least 15 years at this point. But I work metal the old way. Hammer, anvil, tongs, and hand-operated bellows."

"No machinery to help??" Las'Tai's eyes were bulging at this point, the statements of the Terran bordering the impossible.

"Correct. I heat the metal with charcoal and hammer it out on the anvil. In any case, let us go inside and see my axes and seax.".

"But Captain, the deal says I am not allowed to enter." Her disbelief gave way to confusion.

"and with whom did you make that deal??"

"..You??"

"Yes, and now I am allowing you inside since you will be under my direct supervision. Unless, of course, you don't want to" Eirik's expression turned mischievous as he saw her surprised expression turn fearful.

"NO; I WANT TO!!" she all but yelled before she got embarrassed as he started laughing.

"Don't worry, I was goading you Las'Tai. I am not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you." Eirik said. Trying to remedy the situation, he opened the door to the armory and entered, gesturing for her to come with him, which she hurriedly did. Leading her to the back, he opened a wall locker and pulled the large dane axe he had made. Handing it to her, he saw her inspecting the engravings he had made in the axe head.

"This is what makes your weapons different. These engravings. I may not have known you very long, but I already figured out, you do not do anything without having a reason behind it."

"Again, keen observation skills. I will have to put them to better use. You are correct, Las'Tai. I have engraved all my weapons like this. the hard lines that look like writing, is just that. writing. but Runes. The old written language of my ancestors. Legend says that the Allfather, Odin himself, hung from a tree for 9 days, wounded in the side by a spear, to gain knowledge of the runes. They are not only a written language Las'Tai, they also hold much deeper and greater meaning.

For example," He pointed to a symbol that looked like an arrow pointing upwards. "That rune is *Teiwaz* The symbolism of it is a spear. It has many meanings, like all runes, but the way I weaved the runes, it stands for motivation and willpower."

On both sides of it was a straight vertical line with a slash running through it, and Eirik moved his finger over to one. "This is the rune *Nauthiz*. The symbolism is a fire signal, and in this weave, it stands for caution and restraint. I have placed this rune on both sides of *Teiwaz* to restrain the motivation, so it does not exceed my skills. It promotes caution, whereas *Teiwaz* promotes aggression in the wielder of the weapon.

If legends are to be believed anyway. Anything beyond the runic writing is merely decoration done for the sake of the weapon. To show care and love for it, despite being nothing more than a tool. But then again, a craftsman is no better than the tools he uses. "

Las'Tai was enamored with the weapon as Eirik talked. her claws traced the lines of the engravings, the silky smooth surface of the blade, the razor-sharp edge.

This was only 1 weapon, and he had made several. Owning a weapon made with such love and care would be magical. Despite how it looked, the *Dane axe* as he called it, had great balance. As Eirik showcased the rest of his weapons her fascination only grew. Finally, she asked a question that had been growing in her mind.

"Were you serious when you said you would make me a blade like these??" She looked at him with an intensity that surprised him.

"Not like these, i do not copy my work. but i will make a blade for you and you will help me design and engrave it, if you want it, that is." At the sight of her happiness he quickly added

"If you want runic writing however, I must request that you start studies on the runes, so you can personalize the weave you want placed on your weapon. I could make translations, sure, but understanding the deeper meanings of the magic in the runes, yourself, means you can make a better weave for youself than anyone else ever could."

"Deal" Las'Tai said and stretched out a clawed hand to shake his hand. She had seen Terran's doing this when they agreed on something and she thought it fitting for the situation.

Eirik was surprised at the gesture, but quickly gathered himself, grabbed her clawed hand and shook it once. "Deal. But remember, it is not a possibility before we get back to Terra, so you will have some time for your studies. I will have some reading material sent to your datapad later today."

Leading her out of the armory again,Eirik turned to her and said, "I hope this satisfied some of your curiosity. You behaved well in there. Consider that bonus points for taking some time off of your probation period." Before turning back around and heading to the bridge. As soon as he was out of sight she grabbed her tail and held it tight out of joy. "I am gonna get a blade fit for a ruler!!". After a moment, she quickly let go of her own tail again, the childish expression of joy being very unsightly in public amongst adults in her culture. Almost bouncing, she made her way towards her room. She was gonna start working on the design for her new blade immediately. She wanted to be ready for when the time came.