Slowly...Carefully... Mikael used his right thumb to gently grind the fine sand against the stone in his left palm, its surface a dusty, muted red. He strained the sand back into its bowl, taking a step to the left and refilling his palm with the final grain, a sand so find it was more a dusty powder. He applied his thumb again, slowly... Carefully... Turning the stone as he went. Nearly ten minutes later he sifted the sand back into its bowl and took the stone to the tapped water tub. This was the most rewarding part... and also the most delicate. The stone in his hand was neatly polished, but to see the finish he must rinse it, and in rinsing the stone becomes slippery. This particular stone was so brittle... To drop it at such a late stage would be a waste, and such large stones of this type were both hard to find and excavate intact. Cautiously, he loosened the tap, and began to place the stone under the dripping water-- "MIKAEL!!! MIKAEL!!! WHERE--"

He deftly palmed the stone, closing his eyes, then shutting off the tap as he straightened. His apprentice's outbursts were not uncommon, and he had grown used to them over the years. The woman stormed in, her eyes flashing hot with anger. "Mikael! The Benden contract? You gave her the BENDEN contract?!! I gave everything to that design, if it wasn't for me, the sale would NOT have gone through! I LANDED that deal! What, I just supposed to sit around and get shafted while that talentless glowworm prances off with my contract?!!" Speachless in her anger, Alecto's hands clenched tightly into fists. An ireful flush stood sharp against her prominant cheekbones, and even her rich, golden mane seemed to bristle. Mikael carefully dropped the stone into the powdery sand for later, and dusted his hand off calmly.

"I gave Hesca that constract, not you. End of story." His piercing blue eyes met hers from beneath bushy eyebrows. "She's more than earned it, and it's about time she was placed in a Weyr permanently. This might be the contract that gets her placed. No, she's NOT as talented as you, not even close. You know that, and you better get over this jelousy." His scowl became a grin, and he ran a hand over his sweaty, balding scalp, inadvertantly leaving a streak of ecru sand. "Besides, I need you here. You've got more potential, and therefore more to learn, and whoelse could provide nearly as much stress as you? Face it young lady, you have it down to an art!"

He laughed uproariously at his own pun, snatching back the stone and rinsing it. Alecto swung a leg over a stool, her rage cooled, but still glowing. Mikael dried the stone, testing the polish with a wide fingertip. Perfect. He smiled, and squeezed it tightly in his palm. He passed it to Alecto, who examined it critically before nodding her approval. The stone was a deep, bloody red, and glowed with a sharp inner fire. It was nearly the size of a duck's egg, the long face a near perfect sphere with only a slight bulging in one area. From the side it was about as wide as a child's thumb, tapering to a smooth edge no wider than a pea ((do they have peas?)). Alecto moved to hand it back, but Mikael stopped her. "No, that one is for you to finish. I've taken it this far, you do the rest. It's a commission from a dragon rider. She bought the stone, brought it to me raw. She wants two holes drilled in the bulge, so that as a necklace it will lay flat."

Alecto looked the piece over again, before shaking her head and laying it on the table. "I wont do it. I'd like to do it, but I wont. That stone wont take two holes, not that close together, probably wont even take one. It's too brittle, it would shatter. Shame, shattering a stone that fine. If she wants a necklace, I;d rather just etch a groove on the top and pinch a metal eye over the top" Mikael nodded, and gave her a grin.

"Perfect. And that is exactly what I told her when she comissioned it. Now get two work." The bear of a man grabbed a towel and dried the sweat off of his hairy chest as he walked out of the studio, heading towards the kitchens for a cup of red fruit juice. Alecto smiled to herself. She should have known better: Mikael had often asked difficult tasks of her, but never impossible ones. She sat down to work, the Benden contract put on her mental back burner. If she knew Mikael, he had something else up his sleeve, and if she played nice she just might get it.