The Engineer (an unrefined excerpt)

Tuck was tall for an earth fairy, standing at around two and a half feet tall. It was difficult to tell the tint of his pale skin and shaggy hair through the brown grease and gray ash that covered him from the tips of his pointed ears to his metal-clad boots.

Nearly every waking moment, he wore a pair of dark, bronze goggles that he had crafted for himself years ago to protect his sensitive eyes. The goggles were on their sixth elastic strap; originally a bright orange, this strap was the same dingy tone as the rest of him.

He wore a tan long-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned at the neck under a pair of dark brown canvas overalls. The overalls were clearly custom-made for him, with an unusual amount of pockets and loops. He filled them with bits and pieces of metal, screws, nails, washers, and various small tools. He never knew on a daily basis what he might find a use for, and so he preferred to carry a collection of supplies with him (even if sometimes his shoulders ached by the end of the day from the extra weight.)

The street was filling up with a bustling crowd - humans, fairies, elves, and other unique creatures. Air fairies buzzed overhead, darting back and forth among the birds. Horses with riders and carriages cut through the current of bodies like boulders in a river. 

Standing next to the female water fairy he had met the day before, Tuck watched the crowd go past. They all seemed so busy. Everyone had something to do, somewhere they needed to be... except him. His stomach growled, but it was drowned out by the noise of the busy street. 

Tuck stumbled as a small green plant fairy collided with his knees. He peered down at it, covered in leaves and greenery. It got back to its... feet? Stump? Roots, perhaps? Tuck was sure there was some sort of foot in there, but he couldn't quite tell.

Its face was round, with big emerald eyes and plump cheeks. It squeaked in surprise as it stared up into his huge, black goggles. He supposed he looked like some sort of bug-eyed giant to the young thing.

Tuck crouched down in front of the child, shoving the bronze goggles up into his already messy hair to reveal large clean circles of skin underneath. The young plant fairy gasped as they came eye to eye. Her vine-like green hair trembled slightly. Tuck smiled, pulling a small lump of silver metal from one of his many pockets. He showed it to the little fairy, winked playfully, and began rolling and tugging on the metal. He used a combination of his magic and his oversized, powerful claws to form it into a clumsy flower with four petals and thin stem.

He offered it to the child, who reached out only after their parent (Tuck wasn't sure of the fairy's gender, as they resembled a bush more than a male or female) nodded encouragingly. As the child grasped the little silver flower, their eyes wide with awe, Tuck nudged one of the petals with the tip of his claw, sending them spinning like a wheel.

The young fairy's face split in a wide grin, and it bounced up and down with delight. The parent thanked Tuck and the pair continued on their way down the street. Tuck stood, replacing his protective goggles over his eyes as he rose.

"What... are you?" the water fairy next to him asked in disbelief. Metal fairies didn't exist... Did they?

"Oh," he chuckled. "I'm an engineer. If I had more time, I would have smoothed out the stem, maybe added a fifth petal. If I could hollow out the stem like a straw..."

His voice faded from her mind. There's only one Engineer in this city, she thought as a grave chill ran down her spine to the tip of her finned tail.  The Engineer of Death.