If this is NOT your first time viewing Consent (IE: you read it BEFORE February 2011), I would kindly ask that you go back and re-read the first chapter! I've made some contextual edits to keep in line with Dark Dawn.

Massive Author's Note at the end of this chapter.

Enjoy!

Consent

Chapter 2

A year ago he'd meant to pass through the colony on his route back to Patcher's camp, but for his own reasons, had never made it out. One of the worst earthquakes ever felt in Loho had struck before he was set to leave, but even before that there had been someone to distract him from setting off for the Goma Highlands.

The earthquake had been a frightening event, even for him- the half-built ruins Loho was made up of had crumbled and hundreds had been trapped inside homes and public forums across the settlement. He'd let his psynergy out more than ever during this first terrifying hours combing through the rubble, and more still in the days that passed and the number of trapped survivors dwindled. Hiding his abilities had been next to impossible, and if Karst hadn't been there to deflect attention at just the right time, or if he hadn't let himself listen when she spoke reason, it would have been hopeless.

"I could heal them."

"I know that, but then what? How would you explain it?"

It had been difficult, but she was right. He'd given enough of his life, he wasn't going to give the rest of it. She let him be selfish for once, she let him take a stand: he took her out of the city to resist the temptation of his psynergy.

Besides, a strange monument had appeared north of Loho and had stirred up the monsters in the area: bringing them prowling down across town limits. Together Felix and Karst occupied themselves with that for weeks following the immediate catastrophe. When they returned everyone assumed they had just fled the chaos and disease that had spread shortly after the earthquake. No hard feelings. Felix's job was waiting for him when he went back to the forge and their home had contained nothing of value when the looters went through it.

Since then? It had mostly been rebuilding. The winter was kind, or maybe the earthquake had been since most food stores had been excavated with minimal water damage. No one starved, or at least no one who could work and earn their living for the cold months. But still, if it wasn't fixing things damaged or required at the forge, it had been continuing the construction of their own home which had consumed Felix's thoughts for months now.

Structurally, yes, it was sound and fine. But aesthetically the dry stone building was three walls protruding from an earthen wall in the township's west quarter. Near the tradesmen, far from the livestock, a long winding path from the sea and up a steep incline too. Close to the sanctum and a few neglected forums and a so far half-revealed statue of some ancient hero or deity.

Work kept him busy, so it fell on her to look after the house.

Karst did not mix kindly with domestic chores: her cooking was two parts trial and eight parts error, and as well as she could mend items, actually knitting or sewing something together from scratch seemed far beyond her skills. The only reason she stayed home at all was because the house wasn't fully constructed yet: she had several bricks of limestone sitting by their door for crushing and mixing into plaster today. She was the one who'd built their kitchen and properly installed the windows, both of them working on the chimney and exterior walls. Practically speaking: if Karst had been better versed in cooking and sewing, they probably wouldn't have enough of a home yet for it to matter.

Forging was hard work, and Felix wasn't even at the level where he did more than place rods and ingots in the oven for heating. It was his job to keep the fire roaring, shovelling coal in through the little red window and pumping hot air with the bellows. The objective was the glowing red coals, not high flame that just wasted energy. Smoke was also bad because it could cause impurities in the metal. When he wasn't constantly pumping or scraping up black lumps, he was sweeping away shards of metal and excess dust away to keep the floor clear.

It was grunt work, hard labour, with relatively little thinking or problem-solving. But you had to pay attention. It was the sort of work that left the body numb after a few minutes and didn't dissolve into pain until the sun went down and there was a real difference in temperature between doing one job and another. He rarely touched the metal itself unless explicitly told, but that was happening more and more the longer he worked here: the forgemaster had said Felix would be trained in the real work so long as he put in his dues on the furnace, and he was slowly making good on that promise. He could beat a rod until it was roughly the shape the blacksmith wanted, and would then back off to his other duties while listening to the man either critique or approve of the rough work.

Felix wasn't made to work the front of the shop very often either, there were four ovens so he was quite content to remain as far away from the displays and money-boxes. There was no air in the front either, even with the front door propped open and the sunshine coming in from the round copper-rimmed windows that lit up finished axes and picks and shovels. In the back there was an entire wall that had been knocked out when the quake hit, so it had been renovated into a retractable door of wood and metal. Ample light and a lot of fresh air came in as a result, the autumn sunshine was cool instead of hot and made the work more enjoyable. It opened out onto a little side-street through which coal and ore deliveries were made, but there was only a few yards before the alley broke out onto the main thoroughfare.

He didn't like breaks, but was taking one by that open door when his day changed completely. She passed him without registering in his thoughts, though her red hair was incredibly bright, almost orange, in the sun. She stopped walking and he didn't pay it any mind, letting another breeze touch his sweaty skin and taking another drink of water from the wooden cup in his hand. If he hadn't tipped his head back he would have seen her turn and stare at him, instead he just heard:

"Felix!"

The water almost got stuck in his throat, but he forced it down and shook off the quick spark of surprise. He was looking at a pair of apple-red eyes in a pale oval face, just a few light freckles dusted across her nose and confusing him for a minute. A layered dress of green, red, and blue with white sleeves was standing there: shorter than him, the rumpled white collar of the shirt was in line with his collar-bone, and the shoulders slight enough that with his work he was nearly double it in breadth.

"...Kay?"

"It's you! It really is you! I can't believe I-" And she hugged him. He didn't expect it and was knocked back a little on his feet before recovering. His mind was starting to spin though: Kay was supposed to be in Vale, how was she here instead?

"Kay, I'm filthy, don't-" But she didn't care, and she didn't let go either until she was good and ready to. Her arms were tight around his chest and her face resting on his shoulder before she slowly pulled back. There was such a happy, sincere look on her face that he smiled back at her, a little nervous but, yes, happy to see her.

"This's a surprise, how did you get here?"

"With the others." What others? "Oh, I mean Isaac and Jenna. We all, well, we all came to see you!"

"Really? That... I didn't expect it, but I guess that's alright."

"You guess?"

Whatever she thought of that, or that he might have said to fix it, didn't ultimately matter. A sharp call from inside the forge gave Kay a start, and Felix quickly downed the rest of what was in his cup.

"Which inn are you staying at? I'll come see you this evening, catch up and everything, alright?" She was looking past him through the open forge wall. With a confused look on her face, her attention snapped back to him and she nodded slowly, smile returning.

"Sure, okay. I'll tell them." She half-turned when he did, but then whipped back around, "Don't be late!"

What, that's it? I KNOW, I'm SORRY.

PLEASE don't expect quick updates! I have a crushing school schedule and a happy social life now, so when I have to choose between Ficlets and Milton, my GPA gives the cranky old puritan a one-up on creativity.

However, to try and combat this I am (shuddering to say it) going to see if smaller, much shorter chapters will help me churn things out in a timely manner. My typical chapter length for the last few years has hovered between 3500 and 5000 words (7-10 pages). This current chapter, minus this AN, is only (sob) 1500 (3 pages).

Also: I have a love-hate relationship with Dark Dawn. I think it's an outstanding game, I think it is a quality addition to the series, I think it's the best we could have hoped for thematically and story-wise. However there is CLEARLY another game coming out (the TLA to Book 1's TBS) and that means I'm doing a funny dance with Lady Canon at the moment. If push comes to shove that bitch can throw a mean punch. Lets just hope GS4 doesn't kill Duskshipping forever!

And now for a quick plug: While I have a lot of Dusk-fics, I'm no longer the only author who writes this pairing! If you're looking for stories then please subscribe to "Duskshipping- Felix/Karst fics" in the C2s so you can add any Dusk-fics you come across! It makes me look bad when my stories make up half the archive.

Another great resource is also Martin III's forum "The Land of Fire and Ice". So be sure to check out both!