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 Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:35 pm
It was an overcast day, the sun only managing to offer a watery uninspired sort of light. The light came with enough heat to keep the chill off, but not enough to label the day anything like hot. In short, it was just the sort of day Shen liked working in, a day that didn't make it miserable to work outside. And with noon coming and the promise of a break for a meal, even Shen should have been in a good mood.
But, of course, he wasn't. Give Shen a shiny apple and he'd find the worm in it. Worse yet, he'd find a reason to blame himself for the presence of said worm.
The apple, in this case, was the extension he was currently in the process of adding onto his brother's home, a task he'd been alloted while both his brother and father worked on other, more pressing projects. He had all the time in the world to complete the job, which meant less stress over his usual slow, deliberate pace.
The worm was the most recent stone cut and hauled for the job. He was beginning to suspect that it wasn't nearly as high a quality as they'd originally thought. Which, as far as he was concerned, he should have notice. The stone had been his brother's choice, but he had been part of the decision making. They should have tried a different quarry. He could see that now. Now, when he already had half a wall done with the sub-standard stone.
He stood, arms akimbo, and glared at the wall. He needed to either push ahead or scrap what was done and start over. But, without his father or brother to advise, he was stuck staring at a wall, moping.
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:57 pm
For his part, Laelin was stumbling past with his arms laden with a heavy basketful of clay -- the thick, dripping muck was oozing slip down the front of his heavy, oversized tunic, and the potter looked somewhat... well, miserable. He was chewing on his lower lip as he trudged past -- this was his least favorite part, the hauling of the clay, since it was heavy and wet and had a miserable tendency to leak said wetness all over his front in a large, unfortunate muddy blotch. Still, as he walked the clay back to his father's workshed, he was ambling past the other, and paused to peer up at the wall that the boy was staring so intently at. He recognized the boy, but not why he was glaring at that poor hapless wall like it might topple over from sheer irritation and hatred.
Laelin pursed his lips, thought a moment. Now, he knew this boy's name... he did. It took a few moments of pondering through his mental list of people before it came to him, though.
"Shen, right?" he murmured, clearing his throat as he shifted his armful of heavy clay. "Is something the matter?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 9:11 am
As involved as he was in his stare down with said pile of rocks, Shen hadn't heard the other boy's approach. Though he didn't start at the sound of his name, his expression was clearly one of surprise. Still, after getting a good look at the person addressing him, he managed a brief, rather pained smile. Despite his own irritation it was clear that he wasn't the only one having something of a day, and Shen would much rather commiserate then suffer in silence.
"Yeah. And you're Lae-- Laelin." Again, he smiled, a bit more warmly this time, a smile that faded as soon as he glanced back at the wall in question.
"This walls the matter. Or I am." He shook his head, expression darkening as he spoke, "I'm just an idiot. Supposed to be adding this addition to my brother's place, but the stone we picked out's all wrong. Now I've got half a wall of weak stone."
Huff, sigh, headshake. "Nevermind. I don't mean to whine." He glanced at the apparently heavy burden Laelin was carrying and attempted another smile. "You look like you've got your own problems."
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 4:51 pm
Nodding, Laelin couldn't help feeling a bit gratified that Shen knew his name. Not too many people did -- or rather, often enough they knew his name but would not have attached it to his face. He shook his hair out of his eyes and smiled a little. "Well, it doesn't look half-bad, at least," replied the potter, trying to be encouraging. "You were doing a rather good job, I think..." Not that, in truth, Laelin would have known a good job from a poor one, beyond the aesthetics of the thing. It did not look like it was on the verge of bowing or toppling over, and that would have been good enough for him. Pots were not exactly as finicky as walls, though, he would have conceded if pressed.
"You weren't whining," he said after a moment, turning his pleasant, light-brown gaze back to Shen, the upturned corners of his eyes crinkled gently with his small smile. "And this isn't that bad... it's just heavy. I'm not quite as sturdy as my father." His nose wrinkled gently, scrunching in distaste. "He can carry a load of clay twice this size without even getting out of breath... and my arms feel as if they might fall off."
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Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 8:36 pm
"It was a good job." Shen agreed, ready enough to praise his own work when he was also about to put himself down. "But it doesn't matter. I might as well be building the wall out of straw for what these stones are worth. I just, I should have noticed earlier."
That was, in fact, hyperbole, but nevermind. That was how it felt, right now, after the hours he'd spent building what was essentially a useless structure. A structure he was now unsure of what to do with. The stones weren't really that bad. He could continue. But they were bad enough, so perhaps it was best to stop. Arg.
"My father is the same way." Shen replied, shifting his attention to something that didn't make him want to kick himself. "He'd build this wall in half the time, by himself, one-handed. Me, I get winded lifting a single stone."
It was almost true, too, and his rail thin form surely attested to his lack of real strength. Oh, he'd built up some simply from working and not giving up, but he'd never be the broad, powerful, bull of a man his father was.
"Listen, this is family stuff." Shen gestured at the wall in a cutting, dismissive way, "And I'm going to need to talk to my brother before I do any more. If you need help carrying that basket, I could use the chance to clear my head."
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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 8:10 pm
It seemed to Laelin that it was probably wisest to let poor Shen go on ahead and be upset about that wall, since clearly Shen knew better than he did about the stone. Still, he saw nothing wrong with it, and that should count for... something, right? It sort of bothered him that he couldn't see whatever was supposed to be so clearly wrong with this stone, but then, he reflected, there was plenty he just didn't get when it came to other crafts. Best to stick with what he was good at, and to do it well, right? Right. Keep your own nose clean and your own back bent to the wheel and it'd be fine. It was good to know, though, that the stone from one of the quarries was supposedly substandard, though; he filed that bit of trivial knowledge away.
"That would be pretty nice," said Laelin with a small, sheepish chuckle at the offer of help, shifting his grasp on the slippery basket and giving a huff. "If you think you can spare the time and don't mind a bit of a hike, that is. And any job is made easier with four arms instead of two." Still, there was that faint nervous twinge. Shells, he hoped that Shen didn't touch him... it was not out of any personal dislike for the boy -- quite the opposite, Laelin thought Shen a pleasant enough companion -- but he could not always be depended on to be cool-headed when that boundary was pushed. He fretted inwardly a bit.
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:52 pm
Given the opportunity to turn his mind away from the wall, Shen was only too ready. Laelin's heavy basket was more interesting, less personal, and most importantly, something he was fairly certain he wouldn't screw up. Sure, carrying heavy things wasn't exactly his forte, but helping someone else carry heavy things was at least within the realm of the possible.
Which was more than he could say about rock selection.
Sigh.
And he did sigh, too. Shen was good at sighing. He could manage sighs that expressed sorrows beyond the experience of someone much older and more wounded than he. One last, unforgiving look back at the wall and he allowed his attention to fully settle on Laelin.
"So, lets see." He frowned at the basket, trying to find some best way to deal with it, one that would perhaps not get him dirty. It was a concern he entertained until the moment he remembered he was already covered with dirt. So, a little clay wouldn't hurt, would it. "I guess I'll just take half?"
He reached out to slide his own hands underneath the basket. He made no attempt to touch Laelin, but admittedly no attempt to avoid touching him either. As long as the other boy was vigilant, it was unlikely that they'd touch. "What plans do you have for this batch, then?"
Pots? That was really all he could think of. Pots. They were made out of clay, after all.
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