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Aside from her obvious love for her archery lessons, Vex’ahlia looked back on her woodworking lessons with some level of fondness. They were not something she’d had the opportunity to do often, as Syldor focused more on the twins’ academic and martial studies rather than their artistic pursuits, but they put her at ease in much the same way that archery did, surrounding her with the comforting scent of wood even when she was indoors.
She naturally fell out of practice when she and Vax’ildan abandoned Syngorn, since she lacked access to the full range of necessary tools while they traveled. She picked up small projects where she could just to fill the idle moments, but her woodworking—limited as it was—became delegated to creating more arrows when she couldn’t buy them and carving small personalizing details into her bow. Even when Vox Machina earned Greyskull Keep, she still didn’t get a proper chance to return to it, since it took several months for the keep to be constructed and then their ordeals with the Briarwoods and the Chroma Conclave kept them away from their new home.
It wasn’t until Vox Machina spent some time away from each other that she could actually pick the craft up once more. As she and Percy settled more into Grey Hunt manor—her manor—they curated a workshop space for him, giving him an excuse to spend more time in her vicinity. (Not that he really needed an excuse, of course, but it was one of the reasons he gave Cassandra when she refused to stop needling him about it.) Over time, though, Vex eventually intruded on what she considered his space by installing a small workbench for her own tools, obtained gradually over the first few months of their break. She still didn’t turn to woodworking often, as she did have to focus on her Grey Hunt duties, but in the quiet moments where Percy was holed up in the workshop and she wanted the benefit of his quiet company, she would sit near him and cut and carve and shape the wood into more “frivolous” items.
She started small, carving small details and curling shapes along the curve of Fenthras, sprawling out from where she had made careful, tiny letters out of ‘sinaeth' as she made the Vestige hers and hers alone. Eventually, she allowed herself to graduate to larger projects: a small bear the size of her palm, a simple trinket box where she began to keep her Earring of Whisper when she wasn’t actively wearing it, a panel of the De Rolo family crest that she hung above the mantle in the main sitting room of the manor. When she regained some confidence in her hands and her skills, she turned her attention to a more complex trinket box, using different woods from across Exandria to represent all the places she and Percy had seen together, determined to create something for the man that spoiled her with his own creations.
“Darling?” Vex called with a light trio of taps on the doorframe of the workshop.
“Hmmm?” Percy pushed his work goggles up onto his forehead and glanced her way. “Yes, dear?”
“I have something for you.”
“Oh?” His brow furrowed a little in confusion, like he was trying to figure out what the occasion might be.
She nodded, almost hesitant and shy in the gesture. “May I?”
“Of course, dear,” he replied readily.
Vex smiled faintly and crossed the room, holding the completed box—wrapped in dark blue paper—behind her back. Once she stood next to Percy, she set the package down in the spot he had cleared for her on the workbench surface; he seemed even more confused and glanced at her in curiosity.
“Well, go on and open it, darling.”
He nodded slowly and returned his attention to the package, careful and meticulous as he unwrapped the paper. He revealed the most complex section of it—the various wood types carefully cut and arranged to portray a landscape view of Whitestone as she often saw it from one of her favorite hidden spots within the Parchwood—and ran his shaking fingers along the edge of the lid.
"Is this what you’ve been working on when you’ve been spending time in the workshop?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied with a small nod. “You always make such wonderful trinkets for me, darling, and I felt it would only be appropriate to return the favor.”
Percy seemed to be at a genuine loss for words, silent as he looked the box over. The longer the silence stretched on, the more anxious that Vex began to feel, a small and distant part of her remembering the time Syldor had discarded a pipe that she had put hours of work into as a gift to him. Before her thoughts could truly spiral, Percy let out something of a soft laugh as he glanced up at her again.
“You didn’t have to do this, you know.”
Vex smiled, trying not to let her relief show in her posture nor expression. “I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. And I thought that you might enjoy something practical rather than purely decorative.”
Percy’s expression softened (oh, how she loved that he only looked at her so) as he said, “I believe it actually serves both purposes, dear. It’s lovely work.”
Vex blinked, startled by the praise. “Oh…! Well… thank you for saying that, darling.”
He tilted his head before he frowned slightly. “You are aware that I’m being genuine, dear? I’m not merely spouting niceties?”
Vex didn’t answer, unsure of how she felt about him knowing exactly what he had inadvertently hit upon, even if that perceptiveness was one of the reasons she cherished him so deeply.
Percy sighed a little and set the box back down on the workbench before reaching out to take both of her hands in his, his tremor seeming to calm as he held onto her. “I do love the box, dear. It’s beautiful and speaks to a skill I did not realize you had. And I’m flattered that you spent so much time and effort on something for me.”
She offered him a shaky smile and, in return, he leaned down to press a kiss to her brow.
“Thank you, Vex’ahlia,” he reiterated when he pulled away. “Truly.”
“You’re welcome, darling.”