God Of Crafting

"A simple tool of convenience for solving simple issues we would otherwise have to be quite bothered solving…" I've muttered, voicing out what Claire just said just to help my brain process it.

"That's certainly a good idea," I admitted, only to then turn my eyes from the items on the table back to Claire. "Do you have, by chance, some sort of an example? Just to help me get my bearings on it?"

This wasn't an attempt to shoot Claire's idea down, but a genuine wish to have her build up more on what she already came up with.

After all, when it came to crafting, who said I had to be the one providing the ideas for what to craft?

Holding copyright over my creation was currently the least of my concerns. And if Claire's idea was good, then there would be nothing stopping me from implementing it!

"Hmm…" Claire lowered her eyes while raising her hand to cover her mouth, a gesture that made it clear just how much she focused to crack this new task.

"How about…" she brought her hand out of her mouth a moment later, only to squint her eyes and hesitate a little, the distant look in her eyes indicating she was now making last-minute changes and developments to an idea that already existed in her mind.

"How about a barrier tool that can be switched from a barrier that absorbs the energy of the attacks, through a barrier that uses stored energy just to block attacks, all the way to a barrier that can be used to slam the attacks or even enemies with the very same gathered energy?"

Hearing Claire speak about her idea, I quickly came up with several different ways to implement her design. And while some, those capable of turning said idea into a proper, full-fledged weapon, would turn the finished product into a backpack-sized device… what was there to stop me from making it as small as possible, for those barriers to serve more as a distraction than an actual barrier?

"That can easily be developed into something really useful," I admitted without shame, more than happy to work on something that came from Claire's creative side rather than my own.

And even with just the few items already gathered on the table, I could already come up with several ways of making that idea happen!

"Well then," I clasped my hands together, pulling Claire out of the rabbit hole of trying to develop her idea even further, "do you have any other ideas?"

At first slightly distracted, Claire raised her eyes, appearing as if she couldn't quite grasp where she was and what she was doing… only to then shake her head and take a quick look at the items we've gathered.

In the end, however, rather than forcing herself to work something out, she ended up shaking her head again, this time as a gesture rather than an attempt to clear her mind.

"No, not right now. I mean…" she paused for a second, looking for the right words to convey her feelings, "I can see the use of those items, but it's nothing noteworthy enough to bother you with, yet."

I raised my eyebrow, not sure what was the best way for me to respond.

And so, I decided to just be open and honest about my own struggle.

"Claire, first, I really don't want you to doubt yourself. If you have any ideas, feel free to bother me with them. You cannot hit a shot you don't fire, do you?" I started by affirming the worth of whatever it was that she thought of. "With that said, if you are uncertain about those ideas yourself, how about you just take your time to think them through?" I suggested before shaking my head and pushing myself off the table as I stepped to the back. "Heavens know, I'm not sure about the majority of the ideas I come up with, and look how far we've gotten by implementing them!"

This was the main difference in idea-making between me and Claire.

I already accomplished quite a bit by turning my creativity into something tangible, something that worked and provided real benefits.

Claire, on the other hand, had yet to take that step to have her ideas materialize and be proven to be beneficial. And while there was nothing wrong with her starting off on this path a bit later than I did, it certainly was going to affect the level of confidence she would have in whatever ideas she could come up with!

"I see," Claire nodded her head, only to reveal one of her brightest smiles to date as she raised her face and looked right back into my eyes. "I will be sure to think all of them through. However, for now…"

"Yeah, yeah," I mirrored her action and nodded my head as I dismissively agreed with the point she was trying to make before she could even voice it out. "Back to work it is, right?"

"We better not waste the time we paid such a massive price to obtain, right, dear?" Claire smirked, only to push herself off the table and turn towards the storage area of the warehouse. "At this point, though, I can't help but wonder," she said while putting her forefinger down on her lips and then slightly leaning her head over her shoulder to give me a side-stare.

"Since when did you lose the joy of digging into all kinds of new tools and resources? Because I can clearly remember you nearly jumping out of yourself when you first stepped into the workshop back home."

Faced with such a sudden reality check, I opened my mouth… only to fail to produce a single word.
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I then lowered my eyes to the floor as I took my sweet time to actually look into myself in search of the answer.

"I think it's just a matter of scale and the rush," I finally came up with what seemed like the most genuine reply I could produce. "Because we are in a rush, I can't afford to properly enjoy the process of discovery. And because of how much there is for us to go through—all the while keeping in mind the time concern—it just looks more and more like a drag of a job than something I could derive satisfaction from."

"Oh?" Smiling as if she just saw me walk right into the trap she prepared, Claire turned around to face me properly while putting her hands down on her hips, plastering a huge, smug smile on her lips. "Is that so?" she asked, only to shake her head while clicking her tongue in pretended disappointment.

"Do you really think so little of how creative I can get when it comes to our intimacy?"

Claire shook her head again before relaxing her hands… only to drive one of them towards her chest while the other towards her crotch.

"I'm not sure, maybe it's just me…" she added, only for the look in her eyes to first grow distant and then switch to fierce when she turned her eyes over to my face while suddenly clamping her hand down on her breast.

"But given how we had to leave each other hanging, it was really hard to focus on new ideas when all I could think off was all the new things I hoping to try with you!"