Benny and Kirk marched through the halls toward the forge room. Tyr was always there, and after repeated requests by Jura, Abe had even built him a proper bedroom in the back. The surrounding facilities were mostly just empty rooms, so it wasn't like space was lacking.

“This is gonna be awesome.” Benny grinned widely. “You're going to love this!”

Kirk was a maxxid. His people didn't make heavy use of magical artifacts, as most were constructed with the humanoid body in mind. Among the other awakened crustaceous lifeforms, they often used bands or bangles. But so far from home, he wasn't going to find something like that available for sale in just any shop. Instead, he often fought without them. Or, utilized consumables and spell scrolls to achieve a similar enough effect.

“Of course I will.” There was a hop in Kirk's step. Tyr had put his mind toward equipping the maxxid in armor. Maxxid did not accept gifts, though. Gifts were given as a reward for merit or valiant action, and had incredible significance in their society. This time, Kirk had managed to pay for the things himself, so it wasn't technically against his custom. He'd resisted the repeated requests at first, until Tyr had suddenly married him as well. Thereby making Kirk his husband. There weren't breeding pairs in maxxid society, only domestic partnerships. An administrator might marry their secretary, and so on and so forth. Everything was merit for the betterment of society. Breeding just happened wherever, they didn't copulate for pleasure and it was seen as an extremely barbaric way of communicate love in their society. Females laid eggs and males fertilized them, and then they went about their day. Very efficient.

Still, it felt odd to be made a partner of a human. But as far as humans went, the Tyr wasn't so bad and Kirk had named him brother long ago in any case. Mostly, he was just embarrassed he couldn't reciprocate the faith given him, items made specifically for him. Things he had not earned. Through negotiation, it had been determined that Tyr loved Benny. Benny, Kirk, and Tyr had all fought the scorpicore together. Thus, Benny may have died without Kirk's aid. It was... Close enough to a blood debt to make it 'legal'... Probably.

Ah! We're here!

The door to the forge hall was closed, but they could hear the voices beyond.

“Um...” Benny paused, resting his hand on Kirk's chitinous back. He was taller, now. Growing larger every year, near the height of a man's shoulder at the crown, and much wider.

“There's no way I'm going to be able to fit my whole arm in there.” Tyr's voice came from the other side of the door. “You do it, your hands are smaller than mine.”

“But I want you to do it.” Jura's voice, protesting. “Isn't that the point? What point is there in me doing it myself!?”

“Okay, fine.” Tyr grunted, wincing as something banged on the surface of a wooden table and another pair of hands clapped eagerly in a congratulatory sort of way. All met with an eerie squishing sound well audible from beyond the door to the forge.

“You did it! See, I told you it'd fit. How does it feel?”

“It's warm, at the very least.” Tyr sighed. “Very tight, but I guess that's to be expected, how am I going to get it out though...?”

Jura laughed joyfully. “Relax, just open it up as wide as you can and I'll pull as well. Together, anything is possible.”

“I never expected you to be into this sort of thing.” Tyr said. “Do you like doing this?”

“I love doing this!” She announced. “But only with you. If it's you, I'll do anything.” A wet sucking noise echoed throughout the hall, Tyr sighing in relief and saying something about a 'tight fit', wincing audibly and shuffling about.

“I like it too.” He replied. “I think I'll need to use some clamps to open it up, that way I can get a better feel for it. I need to go elbow deep, it doesn't feel right when it's just my hand.”

“You could try lubricating it with some oil.”

“That's a good idea, but I don't want you to get a rash.”

“Ah... Oh! This one feels good!”

Benny and Kirk looked toward one another. Kirk could not believe the depravity of these humanoid beings, but he could do nothing to hide his interest. Both of them inching closer to the door to get a better position and listen to the rest.

What in the name of the gods are they doing in there? Benny gulped, his breath becoming hotter by the second. Should we leave and come back later...?

“How do you feel about the length?” Tyr asked. “I was thinking that maybe it was too short, or lacking in girth. I'm a bit worried about that, in all truth.”

“I'm satisfied with it.” She replied. “But this is my first time, I'm not sure if I'll be of much help answering your questions. Did you measure it?”

“Yeah. Like any man would.” He said. “It's a little over six inches, I figure that's average. But it's always growing, so I'm going to try to compensate for that as well. Here, now you put your hand inside. I'll hold it open, but there's no way I can fit in this one. There we go. Nice! How does it feel?”

“You were right.” Jura said. “It is really warm. Why does it feel so wet? Is that normal?”

“It has to be moist, that's natural. Self lubricating to facilitate--”

“Oi!” Benny roared, shoving open the door. “This isn't right--... Ah... What the hell?”

“Benny?” Tyr turned toward him with a raised eyebrow, bent over the workbench. “You're a bit early but I think we can make this a test run.” Contrary to expectation, they were both fully clothed and sorting through a pile of steel cylinders and plates of varying shapes and sizes. “You okay, man? You look a little green.”

“Oh, yeah.” Benny cleared his throat. “I'm fine. But, uh... This is...?”

“Kirk's armor.” Tyr replied. “Due to his unique body shape, I've constructed it out of independent plates with articulating, segmented plates. They are all interlinked, so he can wear it at any time, but the problem was friction. His shell is rough, and I'm not so great with leather. So what we've done is taken the dermal layer of a marsh hydra and upholstered the inside of the plates to ease in their flexibility so as not to wear at his shell. It's fairly similar to my own armor, the only difference is that it'll take about five or six seconds to full incorporate at an estimate. I've also taken some liberties with the gauntlets that I think you're going to like. Dual emission foci that can be independently charged by yourself or by mana crystals. Yana is quite the tailor and helped stitch the leather while I riveted it into place, so make sure to thank her as well. Cool, right?”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Ah...” Benny gulped, unsure of whether to be disappointed or impressed. “Super cool.”

It didn't take Kirk long to be outfitted, remaining silent the whole time through. Tyr had measured his parts fairly accurately with the help of a more experienced smith, very little needed to be made in the way of alterations. There was a mass displacement rune as well copied from Jura's spear, allowing the armor to grow as he did with a thirty percent variance. Plates would become thinner, but he could always alter it in the future considering its modular nature. A whole body of armor that unlike his own could be taken apart once deactivated.

“Damn!” Jura breathed. “You look bad ass.”

“Really?” Kirk asked anxiously. His voice even more tinny than normal, echoing off his steel shod body. He felt a bit heavier, but nothing too restrictive. It was shaped in a rough approximate of his body, with some artistic liberties taken. Fluting all over his back so as not to grind against his shell, and soft joints clad in leather backed chainmail to allow for freedom of movement. Every movement he made would be supported rather than restricted as armor was wont to do. In history, he might be the only maxxid to wear a second shell like this, making him incredibly proud of the achievement. Even if it was not his own.

“Yeah, man.” Benny whistled, circling around the get a better look at it. The metal was a cool blue with striped patterns decorating the steel. His claws were sheathed in the same steel, wicked sharp and barbed in certain places. With a hidden recess at the joint, two small cylinders on each 'gauntlet' sealed by magic to prevent water from getting inside. There were even culverts built into the bottom of the armor to wick away the excretions that came from inside the shell. Only one places was unprotected, and that was the eyes, but it made sense. Tyr hadn't been sure how to protect those, so he'd added a fairly weak distortion field in their vicinity. Like a wind shield to prevent any arrows from getting too close, the maxxid would have to do the rest. “Cancer...”

“Cancer?” Tyr frowned. “No, maxxid's have an incredibly advanced biology. They metabolize cancerous cells automatically, but even so I've been checking every day. You're all clean. I was surprised at how incredible the immune system of the maxxid actually is. Can you even get sick?”

“Not in the way that you do.” Kirk replied.

“No.” Benny boomed with laughter. “Cancer, the great crab spirit. You know?”

“Is that the god you worship?” Tyr asked Kirk.

Kirk huffed. “How ridiculous. We worship Veles, same as you humans. Lord of the sea ring a bell? Crab god! I'm not a crab! Still...” He calmed himself in tone. “This is incredible. What do these do...?”

He toyed with the joints on his claws, opening them wider than he normally would. On each one, the compartment holding the magical foci opened and a total of four cylinders of the same blue steel jutted out.

“Oi!” Tyr yelled. “Be careful how you aim that--”

BOOM!

From the right, twin bolts of fire shot out and cracked into the wall before bolts of lightning from the other finished the job and blew a hole straight into Tyr's new bedroom. Covering everything in dust, and revealing 'the swing'. Fortunately, Benny and Kirk were simply too amazed at the ridiculous armor to think of much else.

“Holy shit.”

“Why is his so much cooler than mine!?” Benny cried. “This is incredible! What the hell!?”

“Well...” Tyr explained slowly, throwing a canvas sheet over the aperture in the wall inconspicuously in the process. The gauntlets Kirk wore were spellbreakers, modified versions of them. Kirk could use magic like an awakened beast, but he could only use fairly weak water, earth, and air magic at the moment. He was no mage, just barely 'mana capable'.

To answer Benny's question, Tyr simply wasn't willing to toy with the oath he'd given the Anu. Even if it wouldn't kill him, he'd sworn not to give this technology freely to man. It could not be disassembled or studied, and he was sure of it. He'd enchanted the steel internally and ensured all surface level runes were welded over. Kijin weren't humans, but there were bipedal. This was as close as Tyr was willing to go. Beyond that, there was also the incredible weight of the artifact. Kirk was far stronger and more resilient than them. He doubted Benny could even move in a suit like that.

“I've gotten a bit better. It's been like three years, of course I'd learn more. Your armor is not inferior to this in in terms of protection. All you're lacking is the ability to emit magic, which is fine. You could equal many mages that I know. Maybe if you spent more time practicing...”

“If the gauntlets are foci themselves...” Kirk wondered. “Why the wands?”

“You lack articulating fingers. Your smaller frontal... Legs? Arms? Whatever... They are just as articulate as human hands, but I can't make something that thin and small. I'm sorry, but your biology is too unfamiliar. These cylinders are modular. The gloves are the control unit, the 'wands' aid in transiting the magic from point a to point b. Aiming, basically. I will have to make some adjustments to them as they are too dangerous and easily activated, I think I'll install some vocal commands. But they are modular, like I said. I can make them do whatever you want.”

He wanted to know if Kirk was happy with it. He'd spent over a month on this project alone and that was considering the fact that he'd used already refined metal. Tyr was desperate to know that he'd done good, requiring praise and validation for his efforts. Marrying a crab man hadn't been on his bucket list, but it was what it was. It just kind of... Happened.

“This is the greatest gift ever given to a member of my kind.” Kirk replied solemnly. “I will endeavor to be the best 'husband' that you've ever had. My hands will go places yours cannot without complaint. I will march into the fiery pits of hell and battle at your side, eternal. For I am Kirk of the wavekin, and you who have looked at me with such love and compassion, not as a monster as the others do... This, I swear...” As impossible as the mechanics might be, Kirk's artificial voice was full of emotion. “I will always watch over you, shell-less one.”

“Oh... Uh... Alright.” Benny and Kirk eventually left Tyr to his own devices, giving the armor one last adjustment. Just a tweak, and it'd be ready, too tight around the 'wrist' as it was. They closed the door with a resounding thud, leaving the two alone again, amidst all the dust and wreckage of Kirk's accidental mishap.

Jura first looked at the hole in the wall, the canvas falling to reveal the bedroom once again. Alternating her glance between that and Tyr himself. The forge light illuminated her body soaked in sweat, only a thin layer of linen beneath the leather apron. Revealing her long, athletic body and... Well... There was a lot to look at. Tyr was as shallow as his father before him.

“So... Do you wanna...”

“Yup.”