[Trade] [A01] [8108] A Friendly Attempt

Khal was unfamiliar with the necessary skills required for this particular item. Whittling wasn’t something that came to him easily, not to mention the lack of thumbs. T’Vali was clear in their instructions on this… thing dubbed the ‘Gatherer’s Charm’. Under his paws, it wasn’t exactly going to look that charming, he thought…

He huffed again when the wood slipped out from between his pads and it took an immense feat of willpower for him not to grumble in annoyance. Surrounding him were many other pieces of wood, both carved and not, and he’d taken to laying down while he was attempting to learn the intricacies of this particular craft.

“Having trouble with the wood, old man?”

The voice shook him out of his concentration and his ears folded back. The insult was one thing, and being perceived as he had failed another attempt was another, but both irked him just the same. His head turned to Reosean that joined him, his eyes immediately drifting to the covered up glowing mark around the runner’s neck. 

She smiled brightly down at him, though she was hardly any taller than him even with his body flush to the ground. Her eyes moved over the previous attempts, her head cocking as she took in the details and faults.

“Ohhh, are you whittling?”

“Attempting so, yes.”

He responded, shuffling his aching bones and moving to sit up- towering over the runner in the effort. She didn’t seem to mind, plopping her own behind down on the ground as she joined him- uninvited.

“What’s it for?”

“Hm. I am not quite sure of the exact reason why it must look so, but the crafter- T’Vali- has instructed me to recreate it in this shape.”

“Ohh! You know T’Vali too? So you’ve been taught by them?? Do you craft often too?? Other things as well??”

She practically assaulted him with the questions as she turned her head to him and Khal recoiled just slightly at the enthusiasm. He huffed again, mostly to himself, as he looked back down to his failed attempts.

“I am usually better at this. Do not judge my capabilities based on these.”

“I won’t- I won’t. I’m Bewitched, by the way!”

“Like the adjective?”

“... I suppose! I never questioned it, but… I guess you’re right, it is a bit weird.”

“I never uttered those words.”

Even though Khal did think it wasn’t … not weird.

“I am Khal.”

“Would you like me to show you an easy way to carve wood?”

His ears perked up, looking her up and down, and perhaps- judging her a little. 

“You craft?”

“Oh, yeah! I’m quite good, too.”

She reached with her paw for one of the unused wooden blocks, taking it within her paws. With one she held it down flush to the ground, with the other she carefully started stroking some ‘sketch’ lines with her claw.

“It helps to have an outline before you start going deeper.”

“Is that so?”

Khal looked from her current attempts to the failed ones around him. He hadn’t thought about that yet. Sure, on paper, or with clay, it was perhaps more feasible to have an outlined plan of sorts before carving or moulding the final product. But he hadn’t thought about doing something similar with wood, and it was obvious from his earlier blocks.

“How will you achieve the more delicate lines?”

He turned back from his thoughts to follow along with Bewitched’s process. She was more than happy to share tips and tricks she knew.

“Those are easier to do with knives and sharper objects. If you can use magic, I’d recommend that, too. I unfortunately can’t use that.”

Khal’s head tilted in confusion before the glowing around her neck caught his attention again. Ah. She was marked, he thought.

“While it would not be a problem for me, I feel as if magic would trivialise the process of creating.”

“That’s fair!”

Bewitched flashed him a smile, and as she continued, he kept watching. Eventually, she got him to try again, reaching for one of the untouched blocks and sliding it over to Khal. He was a bit slow with it when it was his turn, but his own claws ended up being carving straighter lines and such that he thought himself capable of it. Bewitched’s instructions seemed to ease his grievances with the process, too. Perhaps it was her airy attitude, or her patience, or the comforting tone of her voice, but he found himself enjoying their time together. 

Eventually, after a while that was probably longer than necessary, the both of them ended up with a carved up charm. Neither of theirs were the best of the best, but it looked close enough to the original that T’Vali surely would have counted it as a success. 

Bewitched and Khal found themselves talking for a while still after. About crafting, about life, about many things. 

“I would like to thank you. I will still need the practice, but with your advice I have made my best attempt thus far.”

“Ofcourse, Khal! Anytime. If you need help again in the future, you’re welcome to come and find me.”

“And likewise, Bewitched.”

He chuckled, his head lowering to the runners and she bonked her snout against his in a friendly gesture. And when it was time to part, she gave him that good old friendly smile and Khal returned it.