"Yes, ma'am." Tal surreptitiously straightened beneath the librarian's stern regard, tugging at the edge of his tunic to smooth out any wrinkles after she claimed her package. As she turned away he visibly deflated back down, shoulders hunching a little as he looked around at the walls and ceiling above them with a frown that desperately wanted to twitch towards a scowl, but he managed to keep it at bay until they were well away from his recipient.
"She reminds me of one o' my school teachers," he whispered to Maea with a shiver. "Th'one that used t'smack my knuckles if I fell asleep in class!" Not the most studious child, was young Tal. Not unless the lesson had to do with dogs or the geography of Halo outside the Citadel's walls.
He followed the Ancient to the storage room and some of his discomfort faded as he looked over the supplies inside, brightening a little. "Hey, this isn't too bad. We c'n get a couple o' shelves up pretty quick with this." The lumber was already treated and sanded so delicate covers wouldn't catch on splinters, and the nails and screws were methodically sorted by length into clearly labeled boxes. Tal stepped into the room and grabbed two rolled up measuring tapes, tossing one to Maea. "Can y'take measurements of one o' th'standin' shelves? Get those numbers back t'me an' I'll start cuttin' th'supports t'size."
The shelves were fairly simple constructs, thankfully, and it wouldn't be hard to make ones that looked close to the originals.
"She reminds me of one o' my school teachers," he whispered to Maea with a shiver. "Th'one that used t'smack my knuckles if I fell asleep in class!" Not the most studious child, was young Tal. Not unless the lesson had to do with dogs or the geography of Halo outside the Citadel's walls.
He followed the Ancient to the storage room and some of his discomfort faded as he looked over the supplies inside, brightening a little. "Hey, this isn't too bad. We c'n get a couple o' shelves up pretty quick with this." The lumber was already treated and sanded so delicate covers wouldn't catch on splinters, and the nails and screws were methodically sorted by length into clearly labeled boxes. Tal stepped into the room and grabbed two rolled up measuring tapes, tossing one to Maea. "Can y'take measurements of one o' th'standin' shelves? Get those numbers back t'me an' I'll start cuttin' th'supports t'size."
The shelves were fairly simple constructs, thankfully, and it wouldn't be hard to make ones that looked close to the originals.
