"Fang! Stop it!", Hope screeched, a drop of sweat running down the side of his face. "Relax! It won't hurt much longer.", Fang said urgently as her hand came down. Hope shrieked, "No! It hurts! Stop it!" He tried to wriggle free of her hold as she slammed down again. He shrieked from pain and a loud clanging accompanied it.

Hope grabbed the edge of a table to pull away again but Fang snatched him by the chest in her claws and held him down. "Just-keep-still!", Fang fumbled as she tried to keep the writhing boy quiet. She struck him again and he yelled, "No, you're going to completely break it!" She shouted in his ear, "If you'd keep still then I could be more precise and it would hurt less!" She hissed as he snatched his hand back just as her hammer came down again. She pressed her lanced hand into his back and hissed, "Do you want me to fix your hand or not?"

Hope pouted in defeat and Fang huffed as she raised her hammer up again. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the incoming slam. He inhaled sharply as the hammer struck his hand, sending a shattering feeling up his arm. Fang brushed his hand free of broken crystal shards and whispered, "See? It's getting better." He opened one eye and looked at his hand.

Sure enough, the spiky crystals were eroded and smoothed down. It retained more of a hand shape, minus the crooked fingers and slightly twisted palm. He could still see through it and it was still definitely crystal, but at least it wasn't as heavy or in the way as much. Fang sighed as she placed her hammer down and picked up a bucket, "Brace yourself, this might hurt." Hope quickly sucked in a breath and winced as she poured a lacquer like liquid over his hand. It burned and he bit his lower lip but it soon cooled and he exhaled with the ebb.

He opened his eyes and looked up at Fang, "Is it done?" She threw the bucket aside carelessly, "Yeah, I'd say that's the best I can do." He shook his hand to test it and said, "Did you really have to make it hurt that much though?" She snorted, "What'd you expect? I had to sand down your nerves!" He pushed that image to the back of his mind and simply nodded with a hard swallow. She exhaled and said, "But hey, at least the bad part's over."

He shot her a frightened look, "There's more?" She raised a hand to the back of her head, "Hey don't worry. I'm just giving you more equipment to survive out there. Besides..." She looked Hope up and down, "You don't want to stay in THAT do you?" Hope gave his nasty, torn clothes a look down and hesitantly nodded. She chuckled and patted his shoulder, "Come on, we'll get you all fixed up."

Fang was busy shuffling through drawers when she heard the door open again. She looked back and analyzed Hope, who had re-emerged from another room. "Hrm...I think that suits you well.", she nodded in approval. Hope toyed with his crystal fingers and said, "You sure it's okay?" Fang gave him another look down.

The new outfit was obviously much warmer for the cold weather out here, with an orange cap sleeved sweater and a black shirt underneath. The army green cargo pants were an obvious choice for durability and he finally had suitable shoes for all the running he'd be doing. He had wrapped a teal bandanna around his neck and she noticed with a twinkling eye he had covered his l'Cie brand with a yellow wristband. She chuckled and said, "You look fine kid."

"Now then,", Fang gathered up things in her hands and said, "You still have your boomerang right?" Hope nodded and pulled the boomerang out from his back pocket to show proof. "Good. I have some more presents for you. Happy birthday.", she grinned as she pushed something into his other hand. Hope put his boomerang away then stared down at the items before him.

"Iron..bracelets?", he asked, puzzled by the clamoring jewelry. Fang snorted, "Iron bangles thank you very much. Put them on." Hope hesitated but listened, slipping a bangle on each wrist. "They'll help you regain energy quicker. They're like a...health booster." Hope nodded as he felt them slightly vibrate on his skin, embedding itself in his inner energy through his skin as a magical brace. "For the next item..." Fang slipped her hands on either side of Hope's head and he took the hint to lean over as she slipped something around his neck.

He picked it up in his hand and ran his thumb over the face of the strangely shaped amulet. It sparkly a dark purple and looked a little like a mini shield crest. Slight wave-like vibrations came from the center of it and spread out to the sides in a rhythm. "That's a Watchman's Amulet. When you're in a pinch, it'll use synergy to cast a protective barrier around you." Hope tucked the necklace under his bandanna as something struck him upside the neck.

He let out a surprised yelp and then said, "What was that for?" Fang said a curt apology then huffed, "I wasn't trying to hurt you." Hope stuck the tip of his tongue out, "Because after what happened before that makes sense." She bumped his shoulder and he grinned. He went to raise his hand to the side of his neck, where his skin tingled a little bit from an almost electrical burn, "Seriously though?" Fang explained as the burn settled, "Oh yeah. I've slapped a Sorcerer's Mark on ya. It's a mark that has been imbued with magic power. It'll make your spells more powerful."

Fang took a step back, giving him a once over, "All that equipment together will synthesize to give you one powerful magical barrier. With all that strong equipment under your belt, I'm sure you'll be as strong as you want." He fiddled with his fingers as he thanked her. "I'll try my best.", he affirmed. She looked down at his hands, with a slightly pouting look. He shot her a look of curiosity as she quickly turned around and then turned back, snatching both of his hands.

He blinked as she slipped a pair of black and white gloves over his hands, concealing the crystal completely. "There.", she said, patting his shoulder, "Now you look perfect."

Hope tested the gloves by curling his fingers and was surprised when even his crystal hand moved rather smoothly. Fang flicked her head, "Come on then, let's take you back to your cell before the Mistress changes her mind." He shot her a questioned look, "She told you to do this for me?" She chuckled but didn't answer.

But for Hope, that was an answer enough. Or maybe it was more questions? Especially about this Mistress... he shook his head a little. He's just too curious.

"What?", Fang chuckled as she noticed him lost in thought, brushing his shoulder. "Nothing.", Hope smiled as he played with his gloved fingers.