Gerald looked up at the chattering group, the noise a little annoying, but the thrill of his discovery great enough to override any display of disdain. The flimsy shadecloth that had been hastily erected over the table he'd been working at was lazily flapping in the breeze, the support poles wavering, but holding position. The sieve he'd used was sitting in front of him on the table, the brushes and small hook lying in a bundle next to it. Dirt lay discarded, large lumps still in the sieve, the smaller particles having fallen away. The item that was causing the commotion lay revealed at last.
He tugged the silk kerchief from his pocket and carefully picked up the item. At first glance it looked like a smoothed pebble, colour similar to that of the dirt that had been carefully and painstakingly removed. But on closer inspection it was clear this was no ordinary pebble. The faces were smooth, how was still to be determined, but the etching into it, the face of a hooded, fanged creature, was what was making Gerald's eye twinkle with delight. "Found you!" he muttered to himself, his fingers closing around the stone for a brief moment as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the thrill of discovery.
Diggin' In The Dirt
He tugged the silk kerchief from his pocket and carefully picked up the item. At first glance it looked like a smoothed pebble, colour similar to that of the dirt that had been carefully and painstakingly removed. But on closer inspection it was clear this was no ordinary pebble. The faces were smooth, how was still to be determined, but the etching into it, the face of a hooded, fanged creature, was what was making Gerald's eye twinkle with delight. "Found you!" he muttered to himself, his fingers closing around the stone for a brief moment as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the thrill of discovery.