Building a Relationship

Keen · Aug 1, 2018

Arjean tried to slow down. One at a time, like Henry said. "I want... I want... I want to m-m-make a paper boat, please. Is it... um... I-Is it like origami?"

They gave a wide smile to their friend. This was going to be so fun! How could it not be? They learned what Legos were, then how to make a boat from them, and now they were going to learn how to make a boat from paper. It was like being in school! And what was more fun than being in school with a friend?

SirCatfish · Aug 2, 2018

"Yeah. It's just like origami, actually," Henry said. He remembered Owen teaching him how to fold a boat, when he was much littler. He wasn't very good at arts and crafts, but he always remembered how to make the boat. Paper with wax on it made the boat float better, but there wasn't waxed paper here.

"Have you got any paper here?" Henry asked, setting the Lego aside for the moment. They could always come back to it. "If it's thicker, or if there's wax on it it can float for longer. If there isn't it floats anyways."

Keen · Aug 2, 2018

"I have colored paper! Stay here." Arjean ran over to Aia Anrong to ask where the wax paper was. When given directions, Arjean scrambled upstairs on all fours. In the meantime, Anrong reminded Henry there were snacks available when he was ready.

After several minutes, Arjean pushed themself down the stairs on their behind while holding some waxed paper and plenty of colored paper. Red, green, blue, pink (a lot of it), and yellow.

Arjean sat the paper down in front of Henry and looked at him expectedly, like a dog who was told to bring back the thrown frisbee. If not for their bouncing, their swaying tail would be more obvious. "I got wax and colors. Then... Th-Then we can d-do arts and cr-cr-crafts and stuff."

SirCatfish · Aug 3, 2018

"Thank you," Henry replied, when informed about the snacks. He was taught to add a sir or miss when addressing grownups, but he wasn't sure if that was only for humans. And plus, it wasn't easy to tell who was a sir and who was a miss at times, so Henry just skipped it. Nobody seemed to mind, and dad wasn't around to tell him off.

He was a little surprised to see Arjean come back with so much coloured paper. It was like when he still went to school in Sheffield when Mr. Ginsberg asked him to go and get supplies for his whole class, and that was what he'd come back with.

"We should make the boat first," Henry said, taking a sheet of the waxed paper. "I'm not so good at arts and crafts, but we can try. I'll do it once first, then you can try."

Henry folded the paper, taking care to slow down with his movements so that Arjean could catch up with them. Soon, the form of a small paper boat emerged, neat and clean at the edges.

Keen · Aug 4, 2018

"Y-Y-You can do i-it! You're smart! And... A-And I like pr-practicing!"

Arjean leaned in as Henry built the paper boat. They watched like a child experiencing magic for the first time. The longer he worked, the more intense Arjean's focus became. They studied every movement of his finger and took mental notes of each step, breaking things down into simple instructions for them to understand.

When he was finished, Arjean looked absolutely stunned. "It's... It's r-really neat!" Their goal now was to make a boat as neat at Henry's.

They took a pink sheet of paper and began folding. They went much slower than Henry, with half of their thoughts full of worry that they would mess up and disappoint him. Perfection was what they were meant to be, and they would not accept anything else. The other half of their thoughts were about making their boat pretty by drawing designs on it. Perhaps they could surprise Henry by making a boat and customizing it for him, then giving it to him as a gift.

SirCatfish · Aug 4, 2018

"Thank you!" Henry replied. Arjean was always so nice to him. It was like having a nice little sibling who looked up to everything he did, like he did with Owen. He liked it, but it also made him a bit uncomfortable. He wasn't good at everything. But he did like teaching people about the things he did know.

Henry frowned when he caught the thoughts coming from Arjean's mind. Why were they so nervous all of the time?

"Hey, it doesn't matter if it isn't so good. It's only your first time making it," Henry said, trying to get his friend to feel a bit better. "If you mess up, we can always do it again. There's so much paper here."

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Building a Relationship

Keen

Clown Town

SirCatfish

Chaotic Tired

Keen

Clown Town

SirCatfish

Chaotic Tired

Keen

Clown Town

SirCatfish

Chaotic Tired