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]

"I'm almost finished with this -- how're you coming along with the cage?"

Nick looks up from his work and eyes Sam closely.

"You look like you're getting a little overheated there, Sam."

[makesthings]

He can't speak yet since he's saying some of the Marks but when the last ones in, he leans back against the wall of the shed,

"Charter, that was harder than it should have been. I hate being this far from the Wall some days."

[wordofa_sayre]

"Come on."

He gets up and motions for Sam to do the same.

"We'll get out of the shed into the air for a bit. Do you some good. Besides--"

A quick grin.

"--we're not going to catch any bees inside, right?"

[makesthings]

Sam tosses the cage at Nick before getting up,

"No, and hopefully won't get too badly stung. We've a match coming up after all."

[wordofa_sayre]

"So we do."

He tosses the cage into the air and catches it again.

"Dormalan doesn't have a clue what they're in for."

[makesthings]

"Course not and be nice to be closer to the Wall for a change."

Outside he looks around and considers,

"Lots of flowers are blooming so this shouldn't be too hard."

[wordofa_sayre]

"Thirty miles south isn't really that far, is it?"

He points over toward the cricket ground.

"That clump of daisies by the high grass on the other side is where several were before..."

[makesthings]

"It can feel like it, things just aren't as real here. Oh I see them."

He heads off across the field towards where a number of bees are clustered around the daisies.

[wordofa_sayre]

"What are you talking about? Real is real," Nick argues, hurrying to catch up.

[makesthings]

Sam turns around as he eyes the bees,

"The Charter's so hard to grasp here and after all, its the basis of everything, its just strange."

[wordofa_sayre]

"That doesn't make it less real," he counters, stubbornly.



"... better look out there, old chap."

[makesthings]

"It does to me. Ow."

The bees were just a bit closer than he realized and one stung his wrist.

[wordofa_sayre]

He winces in sympathy.

"Should have thought to get a net somewhere," Nick mutters.

Carefully, with the small cage stretched out before him, he attempts to sneak up on a bee.

[makesthings]

At home, Sam would do a quick healing spell but here they just take too long so he sucks on the sting and tries to herd some bees towards Nick.

[wordofa_sayre]

The bee he's stalking so intently doesn't have a chance. Nick swoops down on the daisy, the bee, and all the way into the grass below with the force of his pounce.

Of course, that means he's not even ready when the other disturbed bees come zipping toward his corner of the daisy clump.

"What the--"

He breaks off with a yelp as a bee dives at his ear and gets tangled in lock of blond hair.

[makesthings]

Sam laughs when Nick falls and then starts trying to get the bees off of him which means they start to cluster around him,

"Charter, get them off."

Since Nick is being on the ground and not helpful, Sam tugs at his arm,

"Come on, move!"

[wordofa_sayre]

"Wait, wait -- the cage!"

He snatches up the slightly-crumpled screen enclosure and takes off after Sam... and away from the bees, save for the lone confused captive buzzing wildly around the cage.

[makesthings]

They're both fast so they make it back to the shed soon and Sam searches for the burn balm that he keeps around since his mother makes him.

She grew far too tired of treating his burns and still doesn't believe he knows the proper spells when he just forgets,

"Here, put this on the stings."

[wordofa_sayre]

"In a second."

He scratches absently at one of the welts on his neck, then tries to balance the cage on the scale.

[makesthings]

"Don't scratch it, that will make it hurt more."

He sighs and puts some on his stings and watches Nick.

[wordofa_sayre]

"Can't possibly," Nick counters. "Seeing as it stings like bloody blue blazes as it is."

He gets the cage arranged to his satisfaction, straightens up, and reaches for the balm.

[makesthings]

"Trust me it can hurt worse, they're like burns if you ignore them, they always get worse. So will that work?"

[wordofa_sayre]

"You know what?"

He gives the apparatus a once-over, then turns and beams a grin at Sam.

"I think it will."

[makesthings]

"Good, this is why you should listen to me."

[wordofa_sayre]

"Sure," Nick says, cheerfully.

"And I will. When you're right."