At Somersby-Taking Things Apart and Putting Them Back Together

[makesthings]

Somersby doesn't have that many good places to hide and most of the boys know them all by their last year.

After a few bribes and Nick using his charm, they convinced the groundskeeper to let them use a shed as long as nothing broke.

Over the few years that Nick and Sam have had access to it, its become a fairly serious workshop which at the moment is full of the sounds of metal as Sam waves something that was once a clock at Nick,

"It won't work if you do it like that."

Comments

[wordofa_sayre]

"If it works at all, that'll be better than what I've got so far," he quips.


Several seconds pass. He's carefully shaping the new wire into a coil when he says,

"You know, Sam, if you're going to be stubborn about not coming to Corvere, maybe I should come with you instead."

He keeps it matter-of-fact. Nick doesn't look up from the wire.

[makesthings]

Sam almost drops the piece of metal he's working with in surprise,

"You'd consider that?"

[wordofa_sayre]

"Why not?"

He glances at Sam with a grin.

[makesthings]

"Things are quite different there, but if you can figure out a way to then you should."

Sam's just looking thoughtful, it would be wonderful and strange to have Nick in the Old Kingdom.

[wordofa_sayre]

"I know." Nick rolls his eyes. "You're always so secretive about it, going on about how dangerous and not like Ancelstierre it is -- frankly, it's enough to drive a chap mad with curiosity."

He carefully slides the wire onto the end of the carved wooden arm, then attempts to suspend it from a spring-coil scale.

"Figure I might as well come investigate, right? Someone with a scientific mind's got to see to figuring what the mystery's about."

[makesthings]

"Not mysterious, its just hard to explain if you don't know it is all. Well if you go then you're just going to have to accept the Charter when you see it in action."

[wordofa_sayre]

"And when I figure out what the scientific underpinnings are for your Charter, will you finally accept that everything has a rational explanation?"

[makesthings]

"If you can find them then I'll concede that."

Sam doesn't think even Nick could do that, no matter how hard he tried.

[wordofa_sayre]

"When I do, you'll be the first to know. Word of a Sayre."

Satisfied with the weight of the wire-wrapped wood, Nick takes it down and tries adding it back to the scales he's building.

This time it stays.

"Ha!"

[makesthings]

"Good since I'll be curious to know."

Now Sam just laughs again,

"Its a good scale, what are you going to weigh?"

[wordofa_sayre]

"Bees."

He looks perfectly serious.

"Probably a few beetles, too, but it's mostly the bees."

[makesthings]

"Alive or dead?"

Since all the dead things in the labs always give him a headache.

[wordofa_sayre]

"Alive-- although that's a good point, come to think of it...."

He begins rummaging around in a box under the bench.

"Cloth won't do it, not without some sort of frame for support, but that'd be far too heavy," Nick mutters.

[makesthings]

"Nick, what are you planning on doing to them?"

Sometimes Nick's ideas are good and other times, they're not that thought through. Not to say that Sam hasn't singed himself a couple of times or had things blow up but he just deals with things.

[wordofa_sayre]

"It's something I noticed out on the field this morning--"

It comes out a bit muffled, as his head is practically buried in the box now.

"-- I was watching the bumblebees at the daisies there at the edge of the ground, the big black and yellow ones, and it struck me how large they are in comparison to the size and delicacy of their wings-- ah-ha, here it is!--"

He emerges from the box with his blond hair disheveled and a roll of screen clutched in one hand.

[makesthings]

"Which was why you almost got hit in the head with the ball. Yes, wings are complicated things, I've been thinking about trying to make some just on a small scale."

[wordofa_sayre]

He ignores the issue of the ball entirely in favor of this announcement.

"You have? Brilliant!"

Nick looks exuberant as he brandishes the screen toward Sam.

"I'll figure out the weight to surface ratio you need based on what I observe from the bees, and then you'll be able to make a wing that could be used to fly!"

[makesthings]

"That will be useful especially if I end up putting them on something sort of odd shaped. I had an idea of something for Mother but I'm not sure about how to make it work."

[wordofa_sayre]

Nick claps him on the shoulder.

"Good thing you've got me around, isn't it?"

[makesthings]

"Yes and good thing you've got me to make sure your ego doesn't take over Somersby."

[wordofa_sayre]

He makes a face at him and turns his attention back to the screen.

"I think I can shape this into a couple of cages in short order."

A beat.

"Sam, how do you feel about catching bees?"

[makesthings]

"Can I use the Charter?"

[wordofa_sayre]

"Sure."

Dryly.

"You can use your Charter."

[makesthings]

"Then it shouldn't take long, hand me some of that mesh and I'll make sure the cage doesn't break."

[wordofa_sayre]

"You can have all of it for now. I've got to check the size of the balance plate so we don't make the cage base too big."

He hands the screen to Sam and reaches for a measuring tape.