Wilhelm’s head darted up at the sound of crunching boots. He stood, placing the notepad in his pocket and pen behind his ear, dusting his hands off on his pants. “Oh, uh- good morning, sir! I was actually going to look for you and your team today- I was wondering if I could shadow you as you work? I understand if you say no, but I’m very interested in plants and wondering how you work.” He almost sounded nervous, although he was doing a good job at masking it somewhat.
Connor glanced up, smiling a little bit at the nervousness in Wilhelm's voice, then went back to sketching. He stopped humming so that he wouldn't be distracting, and crossed his legs, still sketching.
Wilhelm had a slight German accent as he spoke, and apparently it was enough for the landscaper (who was assumably German as well) to begin speaking to him in that language. They conversed in German for a few minutes, Wilhelm slowly sounding more and more relaxed. The older man walked off, leaving Wilhelm to pull out his notepad and pen. He sat next to Connor on the bench, flipping back to the page he was working on.
Connor listened quietly to the German. He, obviously, didn't speak a word of it, and had no idea what the two were saying. He looked up as Wilhelm sat down. "So was that a yes, or a no?" he asked with a faint laugh.
“Mmm, a no. For today, at least. He said there’s too much going on right now, but, I can shadow- and possibly assist them- when they get ready for spring.” Wilhelm shrugged, drumming the back of his pen on the notepad.
Connor nodded, still working on the fine little details of each flower. "Oh. Well, tha' sounds like it should be fun, yeah?"
“God, Connor, it’ll be amazing!” Wilhelm grinned, his eyes lighting up. He closed his notepad.
Connor smiled, pausing and looking at Wilhelm. "Glad yeh think so." he replied, then looked at his sketchbook again, still carefully drawing the tiny little details.
Wilhelm watched Connor draw in silence for a little while, finally looking away to watch the garden itself. It was calm, nearly empty except for the pair and a few other students.
Connor's pencil made slow, careful movements as he drew in the details. He was being as detailed as possible with this drawing, capturing each little stalk and stem. Which meant, of course, that the drawing was coming along very slowly.
Wilhelm let out a quiet sigh of contentment. He leaned back a bit, adjusting his sweater. His eyes wandered back over to Connor’s drawing, and he was astounded by how slowly the boy was working.
Connor was only working that slowly because of the amount of detail he was putting into the drawing. But yes, he was working rather slowly.
Wilhelm drew his sweater in slightly, continuing to watch Connor draw. His fingers worked their way through his hair before finding their place back in his lap.
Connor started to hum softly again, and continued to work, pencil making careful, slow movements across the paper.
“Your work is very detailed, I’m impressed.” Wilhelm said softly, still listening to Connor hum. “You’ve even gotten the small bends in the stems.”
Connor glanced up. "Hm? Oh. Thanks." he replied with a quick, happy smile. He went back to drawing.
Wilhelm watched for a few more minutes, looking up every so often to try and figure out just where Connor was drawing.
Connor continued drawing carefully, and continued to do each little detail.
“Which spot are you drawing?” Wilhelm tilted his head, looking at Connor.
Connor looked up, and pointed wordlessly, then went back to drawing.
Wilhelm nodded quietly, pulling his notepad back out. He began to organize his notes and drawings in separate pages, trying to make sense of his chicken-scratch German.
Connor kept drawing, his pencil still moving in slow, careful, precise movements on the paper.
Wilhelm gritted his teeth as he referenced his previous pages, doing his best to make his drawing as neat and accurate as possible.
Connor sighed softly, and continued to draw. His pencil rasped softly across the pages.
Wilhelm sighed a bit- he wasn’t a fan of the continual silence. He wanted to break it somehow, but he wasn’t sure what to say.
Connor kept working, bent over his sketchbook. His tongue poked out of his lips just a little as he concentrated on his work.
Wilhelm shifted in his seat. He had finished neatening his notes, and now he wasn’t sure what to do. The icy air nipped at his extremities, but he tried not to let it show.
Connor continued to draw. He was now nearly halfway across the page, one side extremely detailed and neat, the other side still just little light lines sketched across the paper.
Wilhelm found it interesting how Connor worked across the page. Even when he drew, he did everything as he saw it, placing everything down sporadically, only neatening it up after the first time he’d drawn it.
Connor kept working, starting to hum softly again. He bounced his leg a little bit as he worked, then went still again, still drawing carefully.