(( @timekeepertales - for Roscuro))
Emmett looked up at the building in front of him with a mix of curiosity and mild trepidation. The shop was unfamiliar to him, but a friend had recommended it. He only hoped they were as good as advertised.
His hand brushed his jacket pocket, checking once again to reassure himself that the watch was still there, wrapped in a clean cotton handkerchief for safekeeping. Then he steeled himself, put on his best attempt at a smile (not entirely a convincing one), and stepped inside.
Clocks and watches of all kinds ticked steadily all around him. He glanced curiously at a few of them before looking to the young man behind the counter. "Um... e-excuse me?" He stood a little stiffly, as if not quite sure where he ought to be. Interacting with people he didn't know had never been one of his strong points. He cleared his throat and tried that smile again, with little success.
"I, um... I was wondering about getting a watch repaired..." He hesitated, then took the watch in question from his pocket and set it on the counter very, very carefully.
The watch was very old, and, from what Emmett understood, a fairly rare model as well. It had been his grandfather's and then his father's before it was passed on to him, and it was one of the last things he had to remember his family by. The watch had already survived a great deal by the time it came into his possession, and he had always taken the utmost care to keep it safe. But it seemed that something entirely beyond his control had befallen it - the brass casing was badly dented and mangled, the glass cracked. Emmett hadn't dared look at the inner workings, but the way it rattled when moved indicated at least a few loose or broken gears.
Perhaps that was the source of some of his apparent anxiety - he seemed quite ashamed that he had let such an important heirloom become this badly damaged.
"I... I'm hoping it can be saved," he said quietly.
