13.Feb.21, 01:56 AM
The prospect of sorting tiny glass objects by color and then storing them neatly ensnared F’drel immediately. It was enough to break his hesitancy and he entered the room proper, joining R’dal and sitting in the indicated spot.
“I don’t need anything,” he said, already distracted by plucking up a bead, examining it, and placing it in the appropriate jar. F’drel thought he’d probably have used more jars, further differentiation between shades for convenience, but he wasn’t about to tell R’dal he was sorting his beads wrong—he might stop sorting them!
He went through a few beads before he answered the rest of R’dal’s questions.
“Keeping Kalea in check, mostly. Nothing exciting.” F’drel placed a few more beads in jars, liking the soft clink the glass made against the sides of the jars, and the softer sound if it landed in enough beads for the other to muffle its landing. One more bead sorted—dark blue, into the blue jar—and F’drel spoke again.
“You haven’t visited all week,” he said, picking up a green bead. “That’s unlike you.” He very intentionally did not say that he was worried; that would only upset R’dal, which was the opposite of what F’drel wanted.
“I don’t need anything,” he said, already distracted by plucking up a bead, examining it, and placing it in the appropriate jar. F’drel thought he’d probably have used more jars, further differentiation between shades for convenience, but he wasn’t about to tell R’dal he was sorting his beads wrong—he might stop sorting them!
He went through a few beads before he answered the rest of R’dal’s questions.
“Keeping Kalea in check, mostly. Nothing exciting.” F’drel placed a few more beads in jars, liking the soft clink the glass made against the sides of the jars, and the softer sound if it landed in enough beads for the other to muffle its landing. One more bead sorted—dark blue, into the blue jar—and F’drel spoke again.
“You haven’t visited all week,” he said, picking up a green bead. “That’s unlike you.” He very intentionally did not say that he was worried; that would only upset R’dal, which was the opposite of what F’drel wanted.