It was mindless work, like doing a puzzle. She didn't even have to stand as she shuffled about the tumbled stones and restacked them, occasionally shifting and wedging to repair what had long since stood here. Her sides stretched with the movement of her pups and honestly, she should have been back closer to her den, but she needed to keep working, keep busy, everything had to be perfect, had to be sorted, she didn't want this shit running through the back of her head while she was pushing out a kid.

So she enjoyed the mild winter sun, sorted through the tumbled stones and restacked them, looking back along the length to see how far she had come, trying not to look forward and see how far she had yet to go. She doubted she would make it all the way on her own, but she would do her best with what time she had left before her pups were born.

"speech"

Coming into his own, now that they'd moved. Now that they were somewhere dryer, somewhere he could feel the air in his lungs instead of fighting with it... it's not so bad, actually. The boy is a bit feral, but that's to be expected. Picking up a loose jog as he moves through the Moor, gaze curious. Why was mum out here?

Tracking closer, head tilting to the side. "Hey, I got that, Sakana would kick my ass if he saw you lifting shit right now." Drawing closer to his mother's side, reaching for the stone as she lifts it back into place.

WAKE UP

A snort leaves her lips when Wake pulls her up on lifting and a smirk tugs at her lips, "What's a stone when compared to the weight of carrying this pack?" It was meant as a joke, almost, but it seemed the only time anything around here got done was when either she or Jael made it happen. "Do you even know why it's a good idea to repair this wall? It won't keep the goats in, those bastards can walk up cliff faces," she'd seen it with her own two eyes on Dove Island. She sat back, waiting to see if Wake would continue to build the wall if she did stop, but also to see if he could formulate an answer other than "Cows".

"speech"

-lesson 1/3-

It's a joke, but one that resonates. Wake's snicker can't be concealed-- at least he's being useful today, so maybe he'll be off the hook for a little while. At least in his head, right? Stacking the stone and shifting it into place, ramming his shoulder against the slab to make sure it's just right. Taking a step back before finding another rock that's fallen out of place over time. "Should we be like... using something to secure these? Or does this look alright?" Looking to Modesty as he hoists the rock with a grumble.

Her question hangs in his head, mulling it over-- chewing the lesson along with manual labor. If the wall isn't good for keeping goats in, were they getting more animals? No... Jael or someone would have mentioned it. "Will it keep predators out? Are there predators that are like, less agile than goats?" Curious, rummaging through his (limited) common sense.

WAKE UP

It shouldn't be a surprise when Wake misses the mark, but she keeps her smile encouraging, gesturing to the angles on the different stones, "It's a bit more involved than just shoving them in, you've got to see where they fit..." She picked up a light piece of slate and angled it, wedging it into a gap between two larger stones, shoring up the wall, before indicating which stone should go next, it would need to be rotated to marry up with the planes of the other, "You've got to try and keep it level across the top or the next big wind will blow it back over."

With her attention diverted to predators though, she cocked her head, "Some of the bigger and stupider perhaps, but not foxes or felines," Anything with a bit of agility would be over the wall with a hop, "Though imagine showing up to a raid and needing to climb a bloody wall, you want to quickly be in and out, which way are you going to go? Walls can be topped with spikes, you can dig out trenches out of sight, it can serve for defenses, you can have sentries posted along the length of it to signal an attack, it narrows an oppositions opportunity to get one over you." She selected another stone, "As long as you build it right..." She wondered if he'd have any questions.

"speech"

-lesson 2/3-

Wake listens intently as his mother explains how to repair the wall. Taking a step back to assess the crumbling structure, scowling at the sloping piles of rocks. More carefully, he lifts the next stone into place. Wedging it together with some effort, and packing in a chunk of shale to ensure it wouldn't go anywhere. Turning back to his mum for approval, the boy has time to listen to her explanation.

"So we use the wall to create a chokepoint," he nodded slowly, putting the pieces together. "Y'think we can get something real intimidating-like? Skulls to put on the spikes?" Unfortunately for all of them, he's not kidding. Wake is quite serious about putting skulls on spikes, and using those to dress the walls. Only the spookiest thoughts in his head, as he moves to the next section of wall, satisfied that he's fixed his earlier shortcomings.

WAKE UP

A proud smile tugs at her lips as Wake continues to place stones, this time with a little more care. "Intimidation can be a defensive tactic, yes. The boneyard in the south might yield some interesting finds, if you are so inclined." She offered up, opening the possibility that Wake might just take on this project when she's unable to keep on top of it. "Funnelling your opponent into a narrower space means you can defend the location with less wolves, it means you can spread your forces out further. Once we take another territory, we will build another wall on the other side. Between the bay and the steep sides of the ravine, and the Estuary, we will still have some weak spots, but it will have us in a decently defensible position, for not being on an island anymore." They would make it work though, they always did.

"speech"

-lesson 3/3-