29th of Summer 514AV
The heavy summer heat snuck through the wood shop hanging heavy on Jed's hair. As usual, Sander was walking an interested freeborn around the showroom, which had been looking particularly bare of late. Despite the fact that his work was not nearly as good as he would have liked it to be, Jed wasn't making as much furniture as he was selling. Which was why Timothy became a great help. However, Jed was starting to wonder if the young boy was worth the trouble. Despite Jed's obviously discomfort with children in general, the boy's sharp tongue and level of defiance was a particularly difficult challenge. The Radacke had always received slaves that were trained and ready for work, never had he been forced to do it himself or take on such a wild one. And Jed wasn't hiding his difficulty with Timothy very well, either.
Beside it all, Jed had been pleased with Tim's interest in the work. Although Jed wasn't the best at what he did, and he would never be the one to admit it, he liked the feeling of being the teacher and mentor. It was in the brief moments of peace that Jed forgot about class and worth of a person. His world focused until it was just his work and nothing else.
Currently, Jed was covered in a fine layer of sawdust as he smoothed the board of wood he had angled in his lap. The soft file didn't give off the loud grating sound like some of his other files, since he was simply smoothing out the board so that it would go into a shelf. Tim was tasked with doing the same thing, together they were finishing a six-shelf set. Sander and the customers shuffled about in the main room, and he couldn't hear Matilla, having tasked her with organizing the log books. Listening to the deafening silence relaxed Jed. His eyebrows weren't in their permanentally strained position, and his shoulders gave themselves a chance to relax, revealing the ache that came with being shot with stress as often as he was. As Jed finished with his last piece, he glanced over at Tim who worked beside him.
"Ready for the fun part?" His words weren't particularly loud, but they took an unexpected jab at the silence that surrounded the two. "If you're done, I'd like to start staining them now." Jed stood, peering over towards Tim's sanding work. It wasn't a hard task, hard to mess up.
Jed turned his own slab of wood over to see if it had nicked somewhere. The soft creamy color of the swamp wood was too light for Jed's liking. "Most of the wood around here is very light." Jed spoke his thought aloud as he set his piece on top of the four others that were more-or-less identical. Once Tim put his last piece with them, they would have the entirety of the shelf, which, given Jed and Tim's combined skill, would be completely bland. Oh well. "I'm not fooling anyone, but when you stain the wood, it gives off the feeling that is it from another region, maybe a little exotic. People get sick of seeing the same wood." One corner of his lips tugged up, forming half of a grin. Jed shrugged walking to the other side of his shop. Shavings and wood chips crunched under his feet, product of making Tim work with him instead of clean up after him the past few days. However Jed didn't mind the mess. He took care of his tools and materials, but everything else just got left where it was, and occasionally scooted to the side to make room for new projects. It wasn't his problem, after all.
Jed pulled two thick brushes out of a drawer and opened a cabinet revealing a series of small barrels. Each barrel had a strip of wood on the front, showing the color it would give after two coats. Jed forgot who's idea it was to do it that way, but he liked the organization. Jed glanced through the series of browns and occasional reds or purples. Jed was not a particularly creative person, but when he looked into the stains cabinet he saw many different possibilities for colors, but most other people saw nothing but brown. Although most of the stains looked nearly identical in color, Jed had nearly thirty different hues of brown, and he saw the differences. Maybe he needed to get some more ... "Hmm. Why don't you pick the color today?"
Beside it all, Jed had been pleased with Tim's interest in the work. Although Jed wasn't the best at what he did, and he would never be the one to admit it, he liked the feeling of being the teacher and mentor. It was in the brief moments of peace that Jed forgot about class and worth of a person. His world focused until it was just his work and nothing else.
Currently, Jed was covered in a fine layer of sawdust as he smoothed the board of wood he had angled in his lap. The soft file didn't give off the loud grating sound like some of his other files, since he was simply smoothing out the board so that it would go into a shelf. Tim was tasked with doing the same thing, together they were finishing a six-shelf set. Sander and the customers shuffled about in the main room, and he couldn't hear Matilla, having tasked her with organizing the log books. Listening to the deafening silence relaxed Jed. His eyebrows weren't in their permanentally strained position, and his shoulders gave themselves a chance to relax, revealing the ache that came with being shot with stress as often as he was. As Jed finished with his last piece, he glanced over at Tim who worked beside him.
"Ready for the fun part?" His words weren't particularly loud, but they took an unexpected jab at the silence that surrounded the two. "If you're done, I'd like to start staining them now." Jed stood, peering over towards Tim's sanding work. It wasn't a hard task, hard to mess up.
Jed turned his own slab of wood over to see if it had nicked somewhere. The soft creamy color of the swamp wood was too light for Jed's liking. "Most of the wood around here is very light." Jed spoke his thought aloud as he set his piece on top of the four others that were more-or-less identical. Once Tim put his last piece with them, they would have the entirety of the shelf, which, given Jed and Tim's combined skill, would be completely bland. Oh well. "I'm not fooling anyone, but when you stain the wood, it gives off the feeling that is it from another region, maybe a little exotic. People get sick of seeing the same wood." One corner of his lips tugged up, forming half of a grin. Jed shrugged walking to the other side of his shop. Shavings and wood chips crunched under his feet, product of making Tim work with him instead of clean up after him the past few days. However Jed didn't mind the mess. He took care of his tools and materials, but everything else just got left where it was, and occasionally scooted to the side to make room for new projects. It wasn't his problem, after all.
Jed pulled two thick brushes out of a drawer and opened a cabinet revealing a series of small barrels. Each barrel had a strip of wood on the front, showing the color it would give after two coats. Jed forgot who's idea it was to do it that way, but he liked the organization. Jed glanced through the series of browns and occasional reds or purples. Jed was not a particularly creative person, but when he looked into the stains cabinet he saw many different possibilities for colors, but most other people saw nothing but brown. Although most of the stains looked nearly identical in color, Jed had nearly thirty different hues of brown, and he saw the differences. Maybe he needed to get some more ... "Hmm. Why don't you pick the color today?"
PC/NPC Talking -- Common -- Thoughts
