Shawn looked at the beautifully trimmed orchids in the vase. Their staggered arrangement made a pleasing composition, and he could not help praising it.
"Professor, you're really good at flower arranging."
Still focused on her work, Vita took a particularly beautiful, vivid violet and placed it in the very center of the arrangement.
She adjusted the arrangement slightly by hand, then began trimming the excess edges and withered leaves and petals with her scissors.
Just as the arrangement reached perfection, Vita, whether deliberately or not, accidentally snipped through the violet in the middle.
As the orchid fluttered down into the discarded clippings, the beauty of the entire arrangement instantly dropped by several orders of magnitude.
Vita considered it for a moment, then tried trimming more extensively. But every so often, she cut through another orchid, until the arrangement was ruined beyond saving.
"Ah, a failed piece."
After voicing her regret, Vita set down the scissors, turned to Shawn, and asked calmly,
"Did you see what I was trying to teach you?"
Shawn raised his eyebrows. Something about the atmosphere and setting reminded him of an old monk pouring tea for his disciple until the cup overflowed.
Then the old monk would ask his disciple, "Have you attained enlightenment?"
Despite that thought, Shawn quickly considered everything Vita had just done.
"You're telling me to be more patient, Professor. I should proceed carefully, step by step, or impatience could ruin even the finest results."
Vita gestured for Shawn to sit down before explaining.
"You've only seen the most superficial meaning."
Shawn sat down and heard Vita's assessment without feeling any resentment.
After all, in Shawn's own estimation, setting strength aside,
Vita was definitely better than Grindelwald at handling details and navigating social relationships. Grindelwald's strengths were his personal charisma and his immense