The small inner courtyard

As usual, Elyelen takes her break in the small inner courtyard that is completely surrounded by the houses it. This is her favorite spot in the city of Nel, mainly because she is just not used to the life in a bustling city with lots of people. With it being an imperial city, most people around are human, with just a couple of other races strewn in here and there.

She eats the food that she brought with her, which just consists of some bread and the water from her waterskin and then closes her eyes, letting the sunrays warm her face, not even noticing that Bricio has entered the little courtyard as well.

"You know, you are a really good blacksmith, Elyelen."

The elf is startled and opens her eyes, first in shock, but then calms down quickly when she notices that it is just Bricio.

"Thank you, Bricio... Uhm... I mean Master Bricio!"

The elf quickly corrects herself, but internally she could bite down on her tongue. She still is not used to all these formalities that humans learn even when they are still children. It always feels weird to Elyelen to talk to someone like this, especially since she never did so before coming to Nel. The elven society was far more relaxed than what she experiences now. Sure, they have their own rules and rituals that may seem strange to outsiders, but at least there were no such strict social structures within the tribe itself. Elyelen takes another sip from the waterskin as she looks up to him once again. He seems to be deep in thought for a moment and the young woman can't help feeling a bit nervous. What does he want? Is there something wrong with the blade or the forging process? Or maybe it's about the fact that she forgot to call him Master? Bricio smiles a little as if remembering some pleasant memory from the past:

"Oh... do not worry about it too much. After three weeks I have already given up on teaching you the proper etiquette."

Elyelen lets out a sigh of relief. She has been trying her best, but sometimes it is just impossible for her to remember all these formalities. And besides, Master Bricio is kind enough to let this slide every time.

"So... why are you here?"

The blacksmith chuckles a little and shakes his head:

"I wanted to tell you how happy I am with your progress so far..."

He sits down next to her on the bench and seems to enjoy the sun for a moment, before he continues, while the elf tries to move a bit to the side and hide how nervous she is and how much her heart is pounding in her chest right now.

"You really are doing great and I think we will soon be able to start making real blades and armor together!"

This news makes Elyelen beam even more brightly than before! The apprentice can hardly wait until they can actually work on something bigger then daggers or short swords.