At first Tal appreciated that Maea wasn't trying to stick things together willy-nilly. His pride was on the line after offering to make the shelves and he wanted them to look good - something that wouldn't happen if they had to pull apart pieces and scrape off half-dried wood glue. After the fifth time that she double-checked, however, the courier started losing patience, growing grumpy and gruff as they continued.
He didn't tell her to stop. He just simmered quietly and glowered at the nails with a fierce scowl, hitting them with a little extra muscle and occasionally muttering under his breath to himself. Better than th'alternative, he seemed to be saying, until he finally took over putting the pieces together and just telling Maea to hold them steady.
Despite his ill-grace they finally managed to finish the task at hand, and as they stepped back some of his grouchiness lifted. Surveying the finished shelves, he had to admit: they looked pretty good! Maybe not identical to the older shelves, but close enough that a casual browser probably wouldn't notice once the shelves were covered in books. Really, the biggest clue that they were new was the color of the wood, lacking the decades and centuries of aged patina that darkened the shelves on either side of them.
"Not bad," he agreed, gruff and grudging but sincere. "An' yeah, I'm famished. Boreal's gotta be gettin' hungry too. Let's get outta here an' find some food!" He'd happily follow her to the restaurant, but the courier didn't stick around. He had a companion to feed and a route to get back to, but he remembered his promise of free travel to the pale Ancient.
And he figured they'd meet again before too long.
~Fin~
He didn't tell her to stop. He just simmered quietly and glowered at the nails with a fierce scowl, hitting them with a little extra muscle and occasionally muttering under his breath to himself. Better than th'alternative, he seemed to be saying, until he finally took over putting the pieces together and just telling Maea to hold them steady.
Despite his ill-grace they finally managed to finish the task at hand, and as they stepped back some of his grouchiness lifted. Surveying the finished shelves, he had to admit: they looked pretty good! Maybe not identical to the older shelves, but close enough that a casual browser probably wouldn't notice once the shelves were covered in books. Really, the biggest clue that they were new was the color of the wood, lacking the decades and centuries of aged patina that darkened the shelves on either side of them.
"Not bad," he agreed, gruff and grudging but sincere. "An' yeah, I'm famished. Boreal's gotta be gettin' hungry too. Let's get outta here an' find some food!" He'd happily follow her to the restaurant, but the courier didn't stick around. He had a companion to feed and a route to get back to, but he remembered his promise of free travel to the pale Ancient.
And he figured they'd meet again before too long.
~Fin~
