How Green Becomes Wood

[pandakatiefominz]

"I am not certain I will make it a contraption to unfold a letter," Dark clarified, "I only want it to be a contraption which does something when the crank is turned. Right now it had no purpose, but I am making gears."

 

[BookKnight]

"So, your gears are not turning yet?" Alec asked with a faint smirk as he picked up one of the gears on the table and examined it.

 

[pandakatiefominz]

"You are very funny," Dark replied dryly, looking up at him, "But it is difficult. I would like to make a new oddity for the home."

 

[BookKnight]

"What if you made a hand that could hold keys on its fingers, and when you turned the crank, it presented your keys to you?" Alec suggested.

 

[pandakatiefominz]

"Maybe," Dark mused, but it didn't seem to delight him, "I do not know. But if I make gears I will have them when they're ready."

 

[BookKnight]

Alec tapped his chin thoughtfully. "How about a music box? Or maybe not a music box, but something like that setup, but with two very elegant dancing skelletons?"

 

[pandakatiefominz]

Dark frowned, "That might be interesting, but it does not strike me as an odd contraption. I do not know how to explain my designs. I want it to be in a box, of some sort, with glass paneling so you can see all of the gears, I want the viewer to know how it works, but still be surprised by the outcome."

 

[BookKnight]

"Hmm, well, I look forward to what you make," Alec said happily. "Do you want any help?"

 

[pandakatiefominz]

"If you would like, you can help to sand the gears," Dark replied, handing him a gear and a sheet of sand paper.

 

[BookKnight]

"Alright," Alec agreed. He brought over a stool and sat near Dark, carefully sanding as he hummed. It was difficult to not hit his new nails at times, but he took care and managed to avoid them most of the time.

 

[pandakatiefominz]

"I would have you do something less potentially damaging," Dark replied, picking up his knife again and beginning to slice off the wood, "but gears are trickier than they look. It is not a good place to learn."

 

[BookKnight]

"That's okay. This needs done, so I might as well do it as you," Alec said cheerfully. "I did offer, so I'm happy to do it. And it's satisfying."

 

[pandakatiefominz]

"Sanding is the bulk of woodworking," Dark told him, "It is something which makes many people leave the hobby, because it takes so much time and is not particularly thrilling."

 

[BookKnight]

"I can see how it would get tiring, but I think it's kind of nice. Of course, maybe I think that only because I don't have to do it all the time," Alec said happily. He was in a good mood, despite the fact that some of the things Sloan said kept coming back to niggle at him just under the surface.

 

[pandakatiefominz]

"I enjoy it, I find it meditative," Dark replied, flicking his wrist as he cut out a spoke on his gear, "What colours did Sloan choose?"

 

[BookKnight]

"Emerald and silver. She has a competition coming up, and she wanted her nails to match her leotard," Alec told him as he industriously sanded away.

 

[pandakatiefominz]

"That sounds lovely," Dark nodded, "I can hardly ever bring myself to paint my nails any colour other than black."

 

[BookKnight]

"What about red or deepest purple?" Alec asked. "Or maybe like a silver. Matte, of course."

 

[pandakatiefominz]

"I have done red before," Dark replied, holding up a gear to the light and frowning at it, "I do not believe I have used purple nail polish, but I suppose if it was deep enough I may attempt it."

 

[BookKnight]

"You should try it sometime," Alec encouraged. "You might like it, and if you don't, it's just nail polish. Easy to get rid of! And I doubt Ivy will make fun of your nails."