Issue 1 Downtime

Jennifer was in one of the art rooms, working at some clay on a potter's wheel. Her clothes had fresh clay on them and she was wearing safety glasses over her normal eyeglasses. Their purpose was clear as she had obviously managed to smudge them with some of the clay she was working with. She hummed to herself as she worked, though with no particularly recognizable tune.

"What's this, now?" Ayami asked, as she walked in.

Jennifer glanced over at Ayami before going back to working, "Oh, hello. I'm hoping it's going to be what's called a puzzle jug. Whether or not I'll be able to pull it off remains to be seen."

"A whatzit?"

"Puzzle jug," Jennifer said. "It's a drinking jug with holes in the neck. There's always a way to drink or pour from the jug without spilling, but it's usually hidden in some way."

"That seems...needlessly complex," Ayami admitted.

"For every day use, it was. It's more of curiosity and... well, I guess you could compare it to a party game." She began forming the sides into the shape she wanted them.

"A party game?"

"Sure. One of those things where you can watch other people make fools of themselves."

"Oh! I get it now! That's good. That's real good."

"That and they're hard to make, so I decided it would be a challenge."

"Challenges are good, I suppose...woud have been easier just to buy one though."

"Depends on what you're after I guess. Not the sort of thing they really make anymore." Water pulled itself out of a container near the wheel and drizzled onto the clay slowly, keeping things working smoothly.

"Oh. Why not?"

"It's more of an 18th or 19th century thing. Parties were duller back then I guess."

"I'll say."

"Now that I've outed myself as an art history nerd... My name's Jennifer."

"Ayami."

"Cool name. So what brings you to the art rooms?"