Weeds and Wildflowers
Crafting an item not related to any other skill: leather collar |Round|1|2|3|4|
He had lost himself in thought as he worked, cutting the thick leather he had cured with his blade into a long strip. For now the leather was pale and vaguely cream colored but with the help of the sun and the heated stone pools at the base of the mountain he would be able to dye it a thick burgundy. He had learned this skill abroad in the land heh ad traveled to with his son. Their culture greatly believed in the giving of gifts to those that had been significant to their lives and as he worked the leather his mind focused on only one person. Cloud, his brother. The last time he had seen him he had been a shell of a man, little more than a husk holding bones. He had been so delirious he wasn’t even completely sure it had happened, but Rain’s frantic rambling had confirmed that before he was dragged into the sea again his brother and mother had seen him and tried to help. He dipped the leather strip into the blood colored pool beside him and sighed. It would take time for the color to set and then it would need to dry.
He set to work on what would be the centerpiece for the collar; a brilliant golden coin with the visage of a mythological creature pressed into the metal itself. A human looked out at the stormy wolf with its back hunched and its expression stern. The foreign wolves spoke of these creatures with a mix of reverence and fear, and the artifact he had found by mere chance was said to b of immense value. There was a time when he considered selling it for food, but after he had decided to give it to his brother he found he was unable to part from it. An so it had stayed pressed between his leather cuff and his wrist, surviving the sea not twice but three times.
Dominus was becoming a presence that was harder to ignore around packlands, as were all of the pups. Each of them were unusually massive, though considering their bloodline.. perhaps, it wasn't so unusual. Dominus was up to sixty pounds now and at over four months old, he had more energy than he'd ever had in young life. Most of his infancy and toddlerhood was spent reserving energy for the incredible rate at which the titanopuppy was growing. He was becoming more energetic, especially after his training was complete.
The routine task of going to training with their father in the mornings was something that he was growing bored of, in all honesty.. but that was not to say the incredibly intelligent youth was at all less eager to learn. He was immensely curious of the outside world beyond pack borders, but also about what lied right here within it.
He'd yet to meet all the pack members, his father doing good work at keeping them under his watch and not letting him stray too far without supervision... but he was getting older now and left to his own devices more often than not. The stripping of leather was something he could hear, as all the dens were within close proximity to one another. A cluster of wolf dens seemed a little short on privacy, but.. his father said it was safer this way or something. Plus, it gave Dominus something to do on relaxed days like this where their father had to dismiss their training early to tend to pack matters. It happened all too often, but Dominus was getting used to entertaining himself.
He followed the sound until he could see the wolf making it, bright blue eyes wide as they witnessed the leather be dipped in what appeared to be blood. He lifted his eyes back to look at the wolf, who seemed to look a lot like the other males in their family. He knew this one hadn't been here when he was younger, but still, he wondered about who he was.
“No my dear I’m afraid not.” He responded calmly and watched with satisfaction as the serpent lowered her head with disinterest. “I’m making a gift, for my brother.” He said, addressing the boy’s confusion now that his companion had been dealt with. “I haven’t seen him in some time, but he always finds his way back to me.” He explained thoughtfully. Even with one of his newer siblings to keep him company his mind drifted toward his littermate. Was he safe? Was he fed? Was someone else protecting him? The last thought struck a chord in him but he refused to let it show on his outwardly calm expression. “Would you like to help?” He asked, cocking his head in a friendly manner and letting the end of his tail tap against the pebbled base of the mountain.
Speech, Thought, Raanee You |
Begrudging eyes softened considerably as he watched the snake uncoil itself from around the wolf's neck. Dom hadn't noticed it when he walked in, and that startled him slightly. He took a step back though Tyranis whispered something to her and she seemed to settle down. They were undoubtedly friends, but this was Dom's first time witnessing a bond between wolf and familiar. A grin overcame his maw, showing off his black lips and tongue as he walked toward the pair with interest.
This guy was fucking cool, he had a pet snake. Dominus wanted to learn everything he could, and learn it immediately. He sat down beside Ty and inspected what he claimed to be a gift for his brother. He couldn't help but wonder what it's purpose was for, though he was more interested in the snake around the man's neck.. truth be told. He did his best to listen, anyway.
He picked up the coin in his mouth and placed it on a relatively flat rock then picked up the tool resting beside him and set it down in front of the boy.“Take this and hit the coin with this end as many times as you can.” He said gesturing to the knobbed end of his faithful weapon. “But be careful with this end, it’s very sharp, and make sure you don’t hit your paws either.” The rock he had chosen, thankfully reached up to the boy’s chest and if he got close enough it would hopefully prevent any accidents from occurring. He paused briefly on the thought of what his father would do if one of his pups was injured and couldn’t stifle the tremor that ran over his neck. He sensed a side to his father that could be unpredictable at times, and he knew in an instant that if whatever demon lay dormant within his father was unleashed upon him, he would be unable to stop it.
Speech, Thought, You |
As Tyranis looked him over, Dominus just had a feeling he was being judged. For whatever reason, instincts told him to remain very still until the man was done looking at him so that is what he awkwardly did. He didn't even breathe. Finally, Tyranis moved and Dom let out his breath, sighing in slight relief until Ty stole his attention again with the coin.
So he wanted him to just.. what? Dom was confused, what did he want him to do with this tool? How did he hit with it? Dom took a step closer to the weapon, not wanting to fail this little test so he at least had to try. Perhaps the blade was sharp, but not sharp enough to prevent him from holding that end so he could hit with the other end? Fuck it.
Dominus leaned forward and widened his mouth right around the blade, clearly not fully understanding the concept of the weapon in the first place. He knew that his father cared for the dagger near the volcano, but he'd never actually seen it or knew what it was used for. It was very obvious he was aiming to take hold of the blade itself within his muzzle, but he did it so quickly Tyranis would have to have incredible reflexes to stop the accident from happening. If allowed, his teeth would grip onto the blade, his tongue coiling back to avoid it but his lips pressed against it in an attempt to get it to move where he wanted. He didn't notice that it was cutting right into this skin, not until the cuts on his lips got quite deep. As soon as the pain started to radiate, Dom would yelp and spit out the blade along with a few droplets of blood right onto the floor of the den.
He wasn't sure how to react to the pain, as this would be his first time ever really getting hurt. For now he sat there staring at the blade with wide eyes, the taste of his own blood on his tongue distracting him from the radiating pain for now. How strange.
Crafting an item not related to any other skill: leather collar |Round|1|2|3|4|
Speech, Thought, You |
The titan of a pup was feeling rather embarrassed, truth be told. He didn't want to disappoint Tyranis, afterall.. Ty would never let Dominus go anywhere near that snake if he proved himself to be clumsy. The fact that he had messed up and cut his lips made him frustrated, those bright blue eyes usually happy and spirited growing ice cold in an instant. It was eerie, the way his mood shifted and his eyes narrowed into the center of his visage.
With intentions to not make the same mistake again, Dominus watched carefully as he tried to replay what Tyranis had just done within his mind. He would get it next time, now that he knew what the thing Tyranis wanted him to use was. He didn't think a tool of any kind would be that sharp, though perhaps it had to be in order to do what it was intended to? Aaaahh, it hurt his brain to think about but he waddled closer and opened his maw, bleeding lips and all. Something about the pain sort of felt badass, too. He wasn't going to stop just because of his initial mess up. He had this!
Once Ty gave him the knife again, he got to work. This time he did it exactly like Tyranis did; he lifted the blade near the center, where the bone was rounded. His neck muscles twitched some, his hackles prickling along his neck as he focused on trying to get his body to move the way he wanted it to. He was sort of just a floppy, playful puppy up until this point. He slanted his head slightly and did a test half-swing, getting to know the motion. Then, once he had more confidence, he struck the coin with the knob end of the knife. His beautiful blue eyes shut closed tight with the first impact out of instinct and continued to do so for the next few strikes until he got used to it. Finally, he was able to hold them open and make even swifter work of trying to flatten out the metal of the coin.
“I don’t think I’ve introduced myself, have I?” He asked with a playful smile. “I’m Tyranis Praetor; your half-brother.” He said with a soft grin. He could tell from the boy’s scent that they were related, and it wasn’t hard for him to guess how, especially not in Ruina. His father seemed to have accumulated quite a brood in his years and the young male wondered, as his mind touched on his children, why he hadn’t tried to do the same.
Speech, Thought, You |
'Excellent!' It almost startled Dominus the way Tyranis suddenly praised him once he was finished, but immediately that stubby tail began to wag as he looked up to Ty and allowed him to take the blade from him. Awe man, he'd really done a nice job? There was a newfound sense of pride stirring within his chest and he couldn't help to puff it out and watch as Tyranis continued to show him what they were trying to accomplish here.
Okay, so his work had flattened the metal so it could be attached to the collar! That was a complex thought for Dominus, but he was understanding now that he could see Tyranis doing the work. His blue tongue lolled out of his mouth as he continued to watch, his eyes hungry for more until Tyranis turned to face him. Dominus listened as Ty introduced himself as his brother and he grinned wide as could be, pointy little teeth pristine white against the dark of his blue gums.