"This is amazing!" The beast watched as the old man fiddled with his newest invention, banging the hammer against the corks. The beast had no idea what it was supposed to be. It looked like a misshapen wooden table to him. "I've never used such good equipment before."

"Well, they are from the castle." The beast couldn't prevent the irritation that crept into his voice. "Naturally they'd be in top quality."

"Oh, of course." The man hurried to apologise. "Thank you. This will be even better than my previous invention. Thanks to your generosity."

The beast still didn't know why he had decided to be so generous. He had remembered the old man mentioning he was an inventor, and thought this room in the castle, tucked away and only known by the royal family and a select few servants, would appeal to him. He had practically started squealing when the beast had presented it to him, talking about all the new bits and pieces he could use for his inventions. It was to give him something to do, the beast had decided.

He also didn't know why Maurice had even decided to stay. Yes, he had saved the man's life, but surely he'd want to escape his imprisonment as soon as possible. He was probably just afraid of being attacked by wolves again.

He watched him continue to fiddle with whatever he was working on, constantly moving around to inspect it from all sides. The beast had never had the patience for such things. He was much better at destroying things than making them, even when he was a human.

He winced as the man accidentally hit his thumb with the hammer instead of the machine, letting out a howl of pain. He shook his thumb frantically and pressed it against his clothes, but in a matter of seconds, he picked up the hammer again and continued his work. The beast was a little impressed. He was very dedicated.

"Have you used this room before?" he asked casually as he continued hammering, as if he had never injured himself.

Was he trying to make small talk? "No, not much." Not at all. "I was never into inventing things." He was tempted to tell the man to mind his own business.

"It's difficult, but also quite fun. My daughter sometimes helped me..." He trailed off at the mention of his daughter, his voice becoming forlorn.

Something settled in the pit of the beast's stomach. Something like guilt. Without a word, he exited the room, leaving Maurice to his inventions.