A new tool.

Hakon was working with a bronze brooch today, and bronze was interesting because you couldn't quench it like you could quench steel. Quenching would make it brittle. Bronze had to be strengthened by stress. The bronze had cooled, because you couldn't stress-harden it while it was still hot, or it would deform. He was sitting at his worktable, holding the small brooch in place, and gently tapping it with one of his smaller hammers. It was rhythmic, mindless work, easy to do but necessary. Besides, he had a plan for this little brooch. At the celebration for her mother's birthday, Freyja had suggested he could partner up with her mother and Visna. He could make small decorative pieces--which he didn't get to make often, and he liked to do all kinds of forging, so he liked the idea. And they could pair his work with some dresses or cloaks they were making. He could sell his work to them at a low price, so they could raise it enough to make a profit from it. After all, they would be doing the work of selling. He forged for the love of it, and sometimes he enjoyed a break from making weapons.

He looks up as the door to his shop opens, a small smile tilting up the corners of his mouth, and he's its down his hammer and the brooch and walks over to the counter. He can see her looking around, and something about her looks vaguely familiar but he can't quite place her. His smile widens as she speaks, and he nods. "I'm Hakon." He tilts his head, considering her for a moment. It must be the resemblance to her sisters that makes her look familiar to him, because he knows he hasn't met her yet. He walks over to a shelf near the door where a row of knives are on display. He grabs one, testing the grip of it in his hand, and purses his lips in thought. He grabs another, this one with a slimmer handle, and holds both out to her. "Whichever of these feels better in your hand is for you." After she takes the knives, he walks back to his worktable and picks up the small bronze brooch he'd been working on. He walks back over to Visna, holding his hand out. The brooch rests in his palm.

"At the celebration for your mother's birthday, Freyja mentioned I should talk to you about something. I don't often get the chance to make pieces like this, usually just weapons or ship fittings. I could use the practice. If you and your mother wanted to sell pieces like this with your dresses, I would sell the to you cheaply so you could raise the price enough to make a profit on them." He sets the brooch down on the counter and shrugs. It's small and delicate, a twisting piece of knot work to fasten a cloak closed. He shrugs, looking back up at Visna. "You do not need to, of course. I will not be offended." He offers her a small, easy smile. He's a bit gruff, it's true, but it's something he's working on. A frowning blacksmith is bad for business.

Hakon could see her looking around, and he knows his shop isn't exactly welcoming and pretty to the eye. Everything about it is purely functional, but it's meticulously organized, and it's his own, and he loves it. He doesn't mind her judgment because he knows his shop is very different from what she's used to. He hands her the knives and watches her for a moment as she tests the two of them in her hands, and he wonders briefly which one she'll choose. He'd initially intended the one with the thicker handle for her, since it was a slightly weightier weapon and would do more damage should she need it, but her hands were small and delicate and he worried the handle might be uncomfortable for her. The other knife had a slimmer handle and was a bit smaller overall, slender and razor-sharp, with a wicked point on it that would cut flesh as easily as butter. It would probably be better suited for her, but he decided to let her choose. She might surprise him and pick the bigger knife.

He sets the brooch between them on the counter and watches the top of her head as she leans forward to inspect it, and a small smile grows on his face as she tells him that its pretty. She looks up and he sees the smile on her face, and knows this is a business partnership that will probably be successful. He makes a note to thank Freyja for her suggestion. Her next words shock him for just an instant before he begins chuckling, waving away her awkward, stammering attempts at an apology. He only raises his eyebrows. "Can you teach Sofie your good manners?" His tone is light and joking, an attempt at easing her embarrassment, a small joke to show she hasn't offended him at all. He nods in thanks as she again tells him it's pretty, and her cheeks are red as she stops speaking. He smiles easily at her. "Thank you. I don't get the change to make things like it very often, but I like improving my craft. I would appreciate the chance to make more things like this, if you want to pair them with your dresses. This one is finished, you can take it with you if you want? As a trial piece, perhaps? If you're happy with it, we can make an agreement sometime later."