Rhae had been adjusting to having a home to return to. It was strange, after all this time, to be able to say she had a home. It was weird to say that she had family to call home because in her eyes, that’s what a pack was: family. She imagined it was that way for everyone, that packs couldn’t differ that much from her Tribe or those that had surrounded her in her homeland. She felt she was adjusting well, all things considered, and Carlys seemed to have done so as well. That was just as important to her as settling in herself, because Carlys was the one constant she had in this life.

She’d been taking time to get to know the lay of the land, but that was not he goal right now. No, her goal instead was to seek out someone she saw as an old friend… at least an old friend in her eyes. Really, she didn’t have too many people she could consider friends, more of just people she had run into during her ventures as a loner… but he was a packmate now, and that meant something as well, right? She liked to think he was a friend at least. Carlys had taken to the skies searching for him, and Rhaegara was following along from the ground, tracking her wings in the sky as her friend guided her true.

Carlys swooped back down, settling on her shoulders as Rhae smiled softly. ’He’s up ahead, Rhae.’ She reported eagerly. She continued along until she caught sight of him, a soft smile on her features though she truly hoped she was not interrupting anything. “Cairo?” The question fell steadily from her maw. “I was wondering if you had a moment.”

"Rhae"  "Carlys"

He was bent over a buck’s belly, making the last cuts to free the hide from belly and legs. Now he flexed his toes, nearly fisting his paw with the bear claws on his bracer presenting smooth side first as he worked the curled paw along the sides of the deer’s hide on the inside, peeling the hide from the deer’s flesh with soft ripping noises. He was just finishing the back of the deer when Chrystal clicked her beak, alerting him before the paw steps had reached his ears. He turned with an easy grin as Rhaegara approached, brow points lifting as she greeted him. He nodded to Enito, and the Mandrill monkey took over the processing, laying cuts of meat out on the freshly removed hide, which he’d laid flesh side up. ”I do. Whatcha need? Settling in alright?” His tone was easy and warm, questioning as he spoke, and he faced her fully, seated on his haunches and tail flicking to curl at his paws. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

There was a brief flash of hesitation in her eyes when he appeared to be busy, though seeing his companions take over for him eased her nerves slightly in turn. She offered him a soft smile and a nod at his questions. “Aye, I am. Valhalla has a complex structure that was a little overwhelming at first, but Aurielle explained it all in quite some detail, and the lands are slowly becoming more familiar.” She figured she would start with his latter question before she got to the main event.

“I was wondering if you’d be able to help me with something…” Her words trailed slightly off her maw as Carlys couldn’t help but fly off of her shoulder to peer at what his companions were doing. “I wanted to try to craft some armor for myself… to use in battle like you do… only I have absolutely no idea where to start.” She started to explain before casting a hopeful look in his direction. “I was wondering if you might be able to steer me in the right direction and teach me a thing or two.”

"Rhae" "Carlys"

He listened, smiling with a satisfied nod as she spoke of how she was doing, and he added a cheerful, “I’m glad,” as she finished. From what he’d gleaned of her past during their first meeting, her past way of life differed from Valhalla’s – and probably many other packs these days. It was probably a culture shock, to say the least. But she was adaptable, so he had faith in her. As she posed her question, albeit hesitantly, he grinned, tail tapping the ground good-naturedly. “I’d be happy to. I enjoy the process, so I take any excuse I can. Come on.” He glanced at Enito as he spoke, and at the monkey’s nod he rose to his paws and led the way out of the open plainsland into the wooded hillock, tail flagging lazily in the air as he followed the narrow game trail that led deeper into the trees. All but the evergreens had fully shed their leaves, and the air had that crisp cold to it that said Winter had arrived, slowly sneaking in. Finally, they reached the very base of the hill, and the craggy ravine that opened into the side of it. At its heart was a wider area where the narrow, high ravine walls spread apart, and the sunlight dappled through a natural lattice of vines that in spring and summer often held blooms that he’d not learned the name of, yet—he simply hadn’t thought to ask. The floor here was soft sand that clearly saw a lot of activity, from pups playing to sparring. The heavy polar bear hide was up, now, keeping warmth in the cave, but it was held aside in a hide thong, leaving the way open. He invited Rhae with a flick of his tail as he mounted the three natural stone steps and into the cave itself. Black stone struck through with veins of gold, shimmers of mica made up the cave. Alcoves branched off almost consistently from the main chamber, and he led her to one, nodding to the rolls of hides and fur. “This,” He stated, resting a paw on a roll that was particularly thick, “Is Bison hide. More specifically, bull bison hide. Their hides are thick, tough, and withstand bites and clawing very well, especially when boiled and hardened.” He stepped aside to let her get a better look, grinning easily. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

It had taken time, and she supposed the wandering she had done over the past two seasons had helped a great deal with that as well. It had allowed her to see more of the land and how different wolves operated… and that had given her the insight that perhaps the way her family had done things had been weird, as opposed to how these lands operated. In her mind, the way Valhalla was set up made more sense than the way her parents had operated the Tribe… granted, if it was all they had ever known, could Rhae really blame them? She supposed not. She’d had many conversations at night with Carlys about the very topic.

He agreed and she let a wide grin split her maw as she eagerly followed him, her tail wagging softly as she followed after him. Carlys took to the sky, following Cairo and his companions through the crisp Winter breeze. They reached the base of the hill, and she looked around, following him as he guided her towards the stone steps by motioning with his tail. She followed him through, eyes widening in amazement as she looked around. Needless to say, this had not been one of the places she had ventured in learning the territory as of yet, and this was a new experience to her.

She looked around, Carlys following suite as they both investigated the materials as he pointed them out. Bison hide. “You pulled this off of a bison?” It was resourceful, and something she had truly never considered before. Then again, she supposed there was a lot she had never considered before. That was the point of learning, after all. He explained and she nodded, stepping eagerly towards it to investigate as he stepped aside. She put a paw on the material, putting her weight on it and giving it light scrapes with her claws. It did seem durable. “If it’s resistant to bites and clawing, then how do you shape it for a wolf?”

"Rhae"  "Carlys"

Cai chuckled, lifting a bracer-clad paw and wiggling his toes to flex the claws attached to the bracer. “These help tremendously with skinning clean hides.” He pulled the roll of hide from the stack and set it by the opening of the alcove before answering, “Water softens it, even rawhide, enough to cut and mold easily.” He nodded to several large pouches leaned against the wall. “Those are tools, both human and pack-made. A lot of the human tools are ones we found or repurposed. Enito had a few when we met that he gathered after he decided to stick with me.” He plucked up one of the pouches and set it by the roll of hide, opening the flap to show Rhae the tools within. Knives, shavers, awls and sinew sticks from moose and bison, beeswax and oils in stoppered clay bottles the lemurs had made. Everything a leather-worker needed. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Rhae’s eyes widened at the sight, mesmerized at the resourcefulness. She never could have imagined making such things before now. “How does it work?” The question fell freely from her tongue to allow for the answer. He rolled the hide from the stack and explained. “That’s amazing! How did you come up with such a clever idea? How did any wolf?” It seemed a bit beyond her depth, but perhaps that was just because she was from a simpler area for lack of better words.

There was the mention of humans, her brow furrowing confused. “What’s a human? Is it a kind of predator?” She had come from a remote enough area to had never had any kind of tale told about them she supposed. He mentioned one of his companions by name, and explained he had some of the tools as well. The tools available were amazing. “So you use these to shape and enforce the hide?” She asked again for clarification. She wanted to make sure she understood everything perfectly. “How do you adorn things like teeth or claws for offensive use in battle?”

"Rhae"  "Carlys"

He laughed softly at her amazement. It seemed her past hadn’t been as full of innovation as far as armor and ornamentation had gone. “I’d say it’s a relatively new innovation for wolves, but from what I’ve heard, humans were way, way more advanced.” At her question, his head cocked. “Humans were predators, according to Enito, but also prey. If it weren’t for their brains and ability to wield weapons, they’d have been much weaker than us wolves, and utterly helpless against such creatures as bears and big cats. They were primates, like monkeys and apes, but much more advanced. If you passed through the wall up north on the way here, that’s probably left behind by them. There’s a castle in Auster. But they just… disappeared a generation or more ago. No one knows what happened to them, but their mark remains, and we’ve adopted much of their ways, I think. Like Valhalla’s wall.” At her next question, he nodded, picking up a bag that clinked and setting it by the small pile in the alcove doorway. “Yep. And my new armor has metal between two layers of leather in each segment.” He studied the pile of hides and furs, then grinned, holding up a paw to study the toes of his bracer before removing it to offer to Rhaegara to examine. With these I drilled a hole in the base of each bear claw and used sinew laces to attach them to the toe grips, each loop wraps under my toes so it can flex individually.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She was relieved to hear it was a more recent innovation, not something her Tribe had just been lacking because of their remote and reclusive nature. She had come to see many faults in her own homeland, though she knew it was only natural because no wolf or pack was going to be perfect. “Fascinating.” She stated because she found herself still thoroughly amazed. She was looking forward to picking his brain some more. He knew a lot.

He started to explain and she hummed. “I wonder where they’ve all gone.” She mused, because it seemed like they had all just up and vanished. “Perhaps they became cave dwellers and live deep underground now.” She mused, recalling a tale from her homeland, though after airing such thoughts out loud it sounded almost foolish to her. “I wondered where the idea for the wall had come from.” She hummed softly, clearly eager to soak up all the knowledge she was being given.

Metal between layers? “How do you shape the metal? The same way you shape the hides?” She wanted to make sure as she started to picture what her own armor might look like. She definitely planned on crafting some once she got a lay of the land a bit more. Metal sure seemed harder than a hide did. She continued to examine, humming a soft tune as she looked and listened as he explained how he made them fit for offense. It was completely ingenious and she was left awestruck. He, along with the rest of Valhalla, really were quite amazing. “Where would you recommend one start if they were looking to make their own armor?”

"Rhae"  "Carlys"

He nodded cheerfully in agreement. Armor-making had fascinated him from the start and his first attempt with Red guiding him. It had been the activity he’d been doing when Nolan first came up to him, and they’d made their bracers together, getting to know each other. His head cocked at her theory. He, personally couldn’t see the humans leaving all those fantastic things they’d made behind. “Red, Aurielle’s Husband, might know more. He’s where I learned to make armor.” At her question, he grinned. “It’s a bit different with metal. One way it to throw it in a bed of hot coals and cover it, and then air the coals to heat them further. When the metal changes color to red or white – which is hottest – it’s more malleable, but you should always use very thick leather around your paws so you don’t get burned. For rounded shapes, putting it over a rounded rock and smacking it with another is one way. Enito helps with that.” He plucked a thinner piece of metal out of the bag. “Thinner metal like this bends without heat pretty easily.” And, finally, he smiled, head tipping to the side. “I’m happy to help make it and guide you through the steps.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She certainly understood why wolves wore armor. It had been such a strange concept to her at first, but seeing now how fun it seemed to make, and also how practical it was in a fight… no wonder wolves adorned themselves with it. She hummed softly, making a mental note to seek out Red and see what he knew about the matter. Perhaps he could shed some light that Cairo could not? Only time would tell. “I ought to seek him out after this.” She supposed a history lesson of the area might do her some good too, give her a better idea of what she was getting herself into.

He answered her question once more. Hot coals? How on earth did they touch it? He explained later on that there needed to be thick leather to prevent injury and she found herself nodding. She looked at the metal, and then she hummed. She supposed it made sense for Enito to handle it – he seemed quite dexterous with his paws after all. He could pick things up without using his mouth, and his paws were more like the talons that Carlys sported. Perhaps the bird could assist her. “If they bend easier than they’re probably also not as strong?” It was a guess, but one she felt comfortable making.

She found herself grinning and nodded. “If you’re willing, I would greatly appreciate the help. I was thinking about making some bracers, since they seem like the simplest thing to start with, but I don’t actually know if that’s simple or not?” She was babbling again, trying to make sense of what was around her. It all still seemed so complex even if she understood it better now.

"Rhae"  "Carlys"

He smiled slightly at her words, then, at her question, he grinned. “True, if you temper it wrong, it won’t be as strong. But metal hardens once it cools.” His head cocked slightly as she spoke next, a crooked grin on his features. When he spotted a point to interject, he nodded slightly, “Depending on how ornate you’re wanting to go, they can be the simplest project.” Enito, having finished with the kill, stumped in, dragging the kill, portioned out into cuts and bundled in the hide through the main chamber and into the fire chamber down the cave hall. Cairo picked up the various bags and nodded to the hide for her to carry, leading the way after the mandrill monkey. Recently, the primates of the pack had carved out wells in the dark stone walls of the cave, filling them with oil under the two Mandrill monkeys’ direction. They’d woven wicks from cotton, soaking them in beeswax, and coiled them in the wells, and in those wells, they poured oil rendered from the fat taken from kills. The halls were much less dark and dim now, with the rough sconces lit and lighting the way. More light, dancing and flickering, poured out of the opening into the fire chamber, along with a contented crackle and pop of flame dining on logs. Cai set the supplies a good distance from the fire pit and patted a spot on the stone floor with a grin. “If you drop that bison hide here we can spread it out.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She hummed softly as she considered his words. “How do you prevent yourself from tempering it wrong?” It all seemed so complicated, and so the questions just kept rolling from her tongue with ease. It was simple really when there was just so much to ask about. She thought about it for a moment, head tilting from side to side as she considered. “I think, at least to start, it ought to be simpler.” She didn’t think she was ready for any of that big and fancy stuff yet, so it was best to stick to what she knew, or more of the basics of what she was about to work. She followed curiously when Cairo went to follow his companion. Her eyes glanced around from side to side, widened with the amazement of a pup seeing the world for the first time. Cai was quick to give direction, and Rhae made her way over, dropping the bison hide on the spot on the stone floor. “This place is so cool.” It needed to be said, and in that moment she dropped the usual sense of grace and poise she tried to carry at all times, her tail wagging from side to side furiously as a result. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- 'Carlys' ---- "Hear" ---- Think