Repurposed | Quirrel x Sheo x Nailsmith

Chapter Eight: In Which Sheo Plans An Outing

The house was silent as The Nailsmith worked on his craft. Sheo had left some time ago to tend to his garden, while Quirrel stayed behind to peek through the small collection of books in the home. Every so often, Quirrel would hear The Nailsmith let out a frustrated groan, though he pretended not to.

"Hey, Quirrel," The Nailsmith asked suddenly. "Do you think it's missing something?"

"What's missing something, Nailsmith?" Quirrel turned away from the bookshelf to look at him. On the table lay an incredible amount of paints of varying colors.

"I've been trying to make something for Sheo," The Nailsmith said after a pause as he held his unfinished creation in his hands. "I thought he might like it if I made him a watering can but- I can't get it to look right."

Slowly, Quirrel got up and came to The Nailsmith's side. The clay creation was definitely a watering can, quite a large one at that, (probably to account for Sheo's large hands,) but it was clear that The Nailsmith had been the one to make it. The can was lopsided and dent in many places, Quirrel wasn't even sure if it could properly hold water. Its surface was  currently being painted a light beige with colorful swirls and spirals of many colors over top, though The Nailsmith had stopped midway through.

"Perhaps you should have spent more time on the shape," Quirrel observed.

The Nailsmith groaned. "I did, but there's only so many times I can remake the handle before I want to tear it off."

"Ah, so you were being impatient?"

The Nailsmith glared at Quirrel. "I asked for help, not insults."

"I'm trying to say you should take your time," Quirrel said with an amused smile. "Even if you end up frustrated and moving on, it won't make you any more happy with the product."

The Nailsmith considered this as he stared into his watering can. When he first came up with the idea of making Sheo a gift, he'd been filled with a determination similar to how he would feel after receiving an order for a nail. He wanted to pour his heart and soul into it, he wanted it to be perfect. But when he actually had the clay in his hands, he couldn't help but become frustrated. No matter how many times he tried to mold the clay into the shape he wanted, it never listened to him. He must have spent hours trying to get the form right, but in the end he just gave up and put it in the kiln as it was. Of course now, he could see how stupid that was. Why did he think it'd be a good idea to cut corners on something as important as this?

"Although, I think your real issue is that you were too ambitious." Quirrel continued. "You've only ever made a bowl before this, and a watering can is quite complex."

"Hey, that bowl actually turned out pretty good!" The Nailsmith was sucked out of his depressive state to defend himself.

"I never said otherwise."

The Nailsmith's bowl was definitely a... well it was functional food holding device. After he'd finished it, The Nailsmith didn't eat in anything else. It was certainly a bowl, although clearly lopsided and had a few of his thumbprints forever imprinted in the clay. All in all, it was pretty good for a first attempt.

"I guess I should just scrap this," The Nailsmith picked up his unfinished watering can, no longer being careful with it. "Not sure how long I have left until Sheo comes back."

"You've already done the bulk of the work, why not just finish it?" Quirrel asked as he started to return to the bookshelf. "You could use it as a prototype, it'll give you some more practice as well."

"Hmm, I guess you're right."

And with that, The Nailsmith got back to painting, feeling as if a weight had just been lifted from his shoulders.