Keeper's Knowledge (Balancer's Soul cycle) (8 page)

Sarah then turned to look at
her husband and
asked “What are they for?”

Connor
walked up to her and said “Since we command all the elements I thought we should use them to our advantage. We will always have Terra
beneath our feet
, Pressure
in the air
, Liquid
all around
and fire at our disposal, but we need to have Metal always at the ready
. I thought that we needed to look the part of powerful Balancers so I designed these
to be hidden in times of need
!”
He
reached in her box and handed her the first two parts of her new wardrobe.

Sarah took them graciously and studied them. “What are they?”

“Those are your new A
rmguards.”

Connor
spent quite a bit of time
tossing ideas around about
making this special outfit for the two of
them
.
The
design
of
each of the armguards
were made
into three separate pieces.
Each
stainless
steel
plate is curved to fit each spot perfectly.
The thicker back p
late
is designed to cover the
triceps
of
each
arm
,
almost
up
to the armpit
. The middle and smaller circular piece
is meant to
protect the elbow and the thin longer piece covers the
side of the
forearm
, almost like a bracer
. They are all designed to
comfortably
cradle and move with the body
while allowing
a full range of motion
without sacrificing flexibility
. The
black hardened leather
framing each plate
is also in three pieces and are all tied together in an intricate pattern that w
ould
take a lot of force to rip apart. The three metal
plates
are removable and slide into the
oiled
leather by a small slit inside the leather
,
like sliding a picture into a picture frame. The metal can be seen because the leather only holds
the border of each metal plate
securely
.

“What do I do with them?” She asked innocently.

“Let me show you.” She handed
over
both guards.
Connor
sat one on the table
,
took her left hand and pushed her sleeve a
ll the way up to her shoulder. He then
opened the leather strings and straightened her arm out; forearm up. She held
her arm
straight
and level
as
he
placed the armguard properly
up
to its
appropriate
destination.
Connor
first strapped the forearm portion first.
E
ach string
was
then
tied
in such a way that it will only need one hand to tighten or loosen each strap. The first strap
i
s laced about
two inches down from her wrist and the other strap
supported near
the bend of her elbow
and wouldn’t chafe when she’d need to fold he arm at the joint
. The elbow protector didn’t have any straps so
he
pulled the final
,
back plate up to her arm and tied the first
, lower
strap
near
the curve of her elbow and the upper string
fastened to
where her bicep and shoulder muscles connect
ed
.
He
then grabbed her other armguard and did it again for her right arm.

Connor
took a small step back and allowed her to get a feel of her new
ly protected
arms. She touched each
cool
metal plate curiously and couldn’t hide her
excited
smile.
Her emotions told
that Sarah loved
them
.
She
then
slid her sleeves back over her Armguards and
it was impossible to
tell that she even had them on
underneath
.
She twisted and bent her arms trying to get a feel of it for about a minute before speaking. Her emerald green eyes twink
led as they became riveted on him
. “
They feel great. It feels so natural to move with them.
The leather warms up very quickly.
Is this what you’ve been so secretive about
in your workshop
and why you bought somewhat loose fitting clothes today
?”

He
couldn’t help returning the
smile. “It sure is
,
and there is mu
ch more where that came from.” Connor
reached in
the box again
,
pulled out
two more guards
and held them up
. “These are your Shin Guards
or greaves if you want to be technical
.”
He
held two curved and long solid pieces if metal
with leather bindings
. They were the exact length of each of her shins. They started from her ankles and went all the way up to the
bottom
of her knee cap. The plate is mostly bent to an
curved
angle along the shin bone and it
stops
when it
meets
the knee.
The angle reduces the surface area so if one were to kick, the damage would be intensified.
The metal plate is
firmly
secured to black hardened leather
with metal rivets and industrial strength glue
, but these guards cannot be removed
from the leather
like the Armguards.
They were specifically
designed to prote
ct her shin incase she ever needed to kick her opponent
with unbound strength
.

She took the hint and pulled a chair from the table and
promptly
sat down. She pulled her white pants up to her knee and playfully teased
him
with her
soft and
luscious legs
by slowly turning them side to side
.
Connor
dropped to one knee and took the first
greave
and slid it up her leg. It was a
little cold and he
saw her shiver for a second.
T
he leather strings
were quickly and easily
tied on to the back of her knee
and
one under
her calf muscle
. T
he last string
coupled
around her ankle.
The next leg was
quickly
tied as well
.

Sarah stood up and jumped a few times
after covering the
greaves
with her white pants
. She twirled her ankle and bent her knee
as graceful as any dancer
. When she
became
satisfied
about the superior quality
she
exclaimed
proudly “You’re a genius
!
Do you have any more gifts in the box?”

“Just wait, Princess.”  N
ext
he
pulled a belt an
d two more items from her box. Connor held the two items in hi
s
left hand and the belt in the other. “I made you two new daggers that are designed
specifically
for you. Slide this belt on first and you’ll see what I mean.” As she slid her hardened leather belt
around her slim waist
he
handed her one of the sheathed daggers.
Both daggers are identical and razor sharp. The dagger is a one sided
,
slightly curved blade with the back of the blade being perfectly flat and straight.
Both daggers were made completely out of
stainless steel
as were their
identical
sheath
s.
They looked mirror polished and seemed to have been poured into a mold as one solid piece, but he spent time creating it by using his abilities.
Each
polished
metal sheath had a
loop that would slide perfectly with her new belt.
A catch inside each
sheathe
secures the blades and takes nearly ten pounds of strength to unsheathe the blades.

She pulled
a
new dagger from its home a
s if pulling a knife out of butter a
nd held it tightly. “The grip feels like it was specifically meant for my hand.” Sarah said to herself. She then flipped her wrist and let go
,
allowing the blade to rotate once in the air before catching it by the metal hilt again. “You designed a perfectly balanced dagger.
The blade and the hilt are both the exact same weight.
Father taught me a thing or two about properly balanced weapons…” She smiled as she returned
the dagger into its sheath
with a sharp click
.
The oval guard kept the blade from going further.
“Connor, these are so amazing.” She undid her belt and slid one dagger on her left hip and put the other dagger at her other hip after
he
handed it
over
to her.

Connor
studied her for a moment. She looked
positively
radiant as she
appreciated
her gifts. “This is your last gift
, but I’ll need you to
take off your top.” She eyed him
suspiciously, but she put her arms straight up in the air followed by a wicked smile
,
aimed in his
direction
.
It is
impossible to resist
such
temptation. He
stepped forward and grabbed the bottom of her black shirt and pulled
it
up slowly. As
he
kept
lift
ing
t
he shirt up
he
stopped when her mouth
became
exposed and stole a quick
kiss. She let out an annoyed moan when he
pu
lled back. “That wasn’t fair.” Connor
then pulled
the
shirt completely off.

Her green eyes were
dark
er
as he
took a step bac
k and looked
over
her. On her upper body
were both
leather and metal
armguards that looked quite comfortable and
a
black
,
lacy bra
to cover her
pristine and perfectly proportioned
breasts
.
Milky flesh called to him nearly as much as her hourglass figure did.
She entered
his
mind saying
“You better have some good plans when we’re finished because I plan on having more than a single kiss.”
Then she arched her eyebrow.

His
mate is so
unabashed
when
they’re alone and he
love
s
it.

“You can punish me later, but first you
’ll
need
to attire
your last gift
.”
He
turned and grabbed
the last of
her present
s from the box
. It rattled
and chinked
as
he
pulled it from the box.

As he
held it up she said aloud “Chainmail
?
”

“You got it.” In
his
hands
lay folded
chainmail
,
custom made by
Connor
and
his
powers over Metal. Each
an
d
every tiny
link in the armor i
s perfectly connected to another without any seams
or deformities
. The mail was intricate and perfect. E
very
link
had been created smaller than a quarter of an inch
. Each
metal
link was held on four sides
,
making a seamless armor
that would fit only one person properly
.
They were
designed to be sleeveless a
s
it would
allow her
more
mobility
without sacrificing too much protection
.